Dodgers Rumors

NL West Notes: D’Backs, Barmes, Darvish, Dodgers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 9, 2011 at 9:01pm CDT

The Diamondbacks finalized a new deal with Willie Bloomquist today and the move has had an impact for at least two NL West teams. Here are the details.

The Giants offered Bloomquist a two-year deal worth more than $3.8MM before he re-signed in Arizona, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (on Twitter). San Francisco’s offer was worth $4.6MM over two years, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown. The D’Backs remain interested in Aaron Hill.
The Giants are looking for a shortstop as a fallback for Brandon Crawford, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News (on Twitter). Baggarly notes that some Giants coaches are big fans of free agent Clint Barmes.
Brad Lefton of the New York Times explains the origins of the posting system MLB teams use to bid on Japanese players. Within the piece, Lefton reports that the Diamondbacks scouted Yu Darvish this past season.
Not surprisingly, the Dodgers won't be able to bid on free agents such as Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols until the team is sold, according to ESPNLosAngeles.com.
The Rockies will consider pursuing Roy Oswalt, according to MLB.com’s Thomas Harding.

Olney On Dodgers, Beltran

By Tim Dierkes | November 9, 2011 at 8:39am CDT

The latest blog post from ESPN's Buster Olney (Insider required)…

Many agents feel that most teams are working slowly in the early days of free agency due to a desire to see the new labor agreement and how draft pick compensation is affected.
One insider guessed that MLB currently has a pretty good idea of who the next owner of the Dodgers will be. That person recalls how Peter Magowan was able to take part in the Barry Bonds signing before being approved as the Giants' new owner, which in theory could happen with the Dodgers and top free agents this winter.
Olney isn't terribly impressed with the 2012-13 free agent class. He ranks Cole Hamels, Josh Hamilton, Matt Cain, Mike Napoli, Andre Ethier, John Danks, Zack Greinke, Michael Bourn, Howie Kendrick, and B.J. Upton as his early top ten if Matt Kemp is signed to an extension. But let's not forget Shane Victorino, Brandon Phillips, Yadier Molina, Miguel Montero, Erick Aybar, Stephen Drew, Nick Swisher, Carlos Quentin, Anibal Sanchez, and Shaun Marcum. Check out MLBTR's full list here.
To date there have been no talks between the Red Sox and Carlos Beltran. SI's Jon Heyman reported their interest yesterday.

NL West Notes: Bloomquist, Giants, Dodgers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 8, 2011 at 9:33pm CDT

The Rockies are interested in Kevin Millwood, Rich Harden and Bruce Chen and the Diamondbacks have signed Chris Jakubauskas. Here are some more news items from the NL West as the offseason continues…

The Diamondbacks and Willie Bloomquist had a miscommunication over the weekend, but the club hasn’t given up on re-signing the utility player, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (on Twitter). The sides had dialogue Sunday and Monday, according to Piecoro.
The Giants are a possibility for Bloomquist, according to Yahoo’s Tim Brown (on Twitter).
Former MLB commissioner Peter Ueberroth said he’s not currently interested in buying the Dodgers, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times. Ueberroth has led bids for the Dodgers and Angels in the past.

Yankees, Red Sox, Rangers Interested In Buehrle

By Tim Dierkes | November 8, 2011 at 6:05pm CDT

6:05pm: It's highly unlikely that the Yankees will make a serious run for Buehrle, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).

1:54pm: The Yankees, Red Sox, and Rangers are interested in free agent lefty Mark Buehrle, report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, and the Marlins are meeting with him today. Buehrle, 32, posted a 3.59 ERA, 4.8 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 0.92 HR/9, and 44.9% groundball rate in 205 1/3 innings this year. The long time White Sox starter has pitched 200+ innings in every season since 2001.

The Marlins and Blue Jays are the teams most aggressively pursuing trades for starting pitchers, add Rosenthal and Morosi. One GM said of the Jays' Alex Anthopoulos, "You can’t pin him down. He has interest in every one of your players."

James Shields, Wade Davis, Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill, Jair Jurrjens, John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Chad Billingsley, and Wandy Rodriguez are the pitchers "known or thought to be available in trades," according to the FOX writers. Cahill and Billingsley are the new names here, but it's unclear whether they fall under "known" or "thought." The availability of Rodriguez will depend on whether Jim Crane is approved as new Astros owner next week, as Crane does not share Drayton McLane's reluctance to move the 32-year-old.

Heyman On Posada, Dodgers, Beltran, Morrison

By Tim Dierkes | November 8, 2011 at 4:02pm CDT

The latest rumors tweeted from SI's Jon Heyman…

The Yankees haven't been in touch with free agent Jorge Posada so far this offseason, according to Heyman.
A person with knowledge of the Dodgers sale says bidding will definitely go over $1 billion, and Frank McCourt may well reach his $1.2 billion target.
The Phillies and Ryan Madson are now engaged in serious discussions, and Heyman expects the two sides to reach an agreement soon. This fits with what was written about Madson and the Phillies yesterday.
The Red Sox are interested in free agent right fielder Carlos Beltran. I ranked Beltran ninth on my top 50 free agents list, predicting Boston as his destination.
One executive who spoke to the Marlins tells Heyman 24-year-old left fielder Logan Morrison is off-limits. The executive could see the Fish making an exception for James Shields, however.
The Brewers believe they have almost no hope to re-sign Prince Fielder and are now targeting free agent shortstop Jose Reyes. The Marlins will meet with Reyes in South Florida tomorrow, tweeted Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Brewers would have to give the Mets the 28th overall pick in next year's draft to sign Reyes, while the Marlins would only have to surrender a second-round pick.
The Yankees were disappointed Jonathan Sanchez went to the Royals, as they believed they had more to offer to the Giants. The Royals acquired Sanchez and a minor leaguer from the Giants for Melky Cabrera yesterday.
The Yankees are impressed by what they've seen so far of Cuban center fielder Yoenis Cespedes, though it's mainly limited to video. Cespedes' bizarre showcase video mostly shows off the player's athleticism and style. For a rundown of Cespedes' suitors, click here, and for a scout's view of him, check out the latest from MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.
Yankees executive Billy Eppler grew up with free agent lefty C.J. Wilson, for what it's worth. The Yankees will talk to Wilson, who GM Brian Cashman acknowledged is the "best pitcher on the marketplace right now."

NPB Rumors: Aoki, Nakajima, Chen, Kuroda, Igawa

By Tim Dierkes | November 8, 2011 at 9:22am CDT

Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker has scoured Japanese newspapers for the latest rumors.

Yakult center fielder Norichika Aoki has asked to be posted. Aoki hit .292/.358/.360 in 643 plate appearances in 2011. Newman wrote last year that Aoki was "the best pure hitter Japan has produced since Ichiro," but that was before his numbers dropped off significantly in 2011. Despite great range, Newman thought last year that Aoki's weak arm could limit him to left field in MLB.
Seibu shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima will again ask to be posted this offseason. Nakajima was denied that request last winter, though the Orioles and Mariners were reportedly among the interested teams. The 29-year-old hit .297/.354/.433 with 16 home runs in 633 plate appearances this year. Newman considered Aoki Japan's second-best hitter in his August 2010 article.
Chunichi southpaw Wei-Yin Chen was 50/50 on moving to MLB as of October 26th. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports dubbed Chen a "likely free agent" in a report this morning. The 26-year-old posted a 2.68 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, and 0.49 HR/9 in 164 2/3 innings this year. He's represented by Alan Nero of Octagon.
The Hiroshima Carp have an offer out to Hiroki Kuroda. Kuroda said he's happy to have received the offer from his former team. His plans for 2012 remain unknown though.
Multiple Japanese teams have interest in Kei Igawa, who reached free agency after his five-year deal with the Yankees expired.

West Notes: Hill, Bell, Bourjos, Dodgers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 7, 2011 at 9:44pm CDT

We've checked in on the Giants, who made a major trade today. Here are some notes from the other teams in baseball's western divisions…

The Diamondbacks have an offer out to Aaron Hill, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (on Twitter). The club’s proposal comes with a deadline and team officials expect Hill to wait as long as possible before deciding whether to accept the deal.
Free agent reliever Heath Bell told Jim Bowden of Sirius XM Radio that he’d prefer to sign with the Padres, Angels or Dodgers (Twitter link). Bell says he’d also like to play for the Red Sox or Phillies.
Dave Cameron of FanGraphs argues that the Angels should keep Peter Bourjos instead of trading him. Viewing Bourjos and Mike Trout as players who are getting in each other’s way would be a mistake, Cameron explains.
Dodgers owner Frank McCourt may ask the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for permission to sell the team's TV rights, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times. This would violate his sale agreement with MLB, however.
The Rangers aren't likely to bring free agent Brandon Webb back and may explore potential trades involving Yorvit Torrealba, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
A's GM Billy Beane and Moneyball author Michael Lewis discussed the inception of the best-selling book with Todd Watson of InternetEvolution.com.

NL West Links: Hoyer, Lidge, Dodgers, Alcantara

By Mike Axisa | November 5, 2011 at 12:20pm CDT

Earlier this morning we heard that the Giants are open to trading Jonathan Sanchez, so now let's see what else is going on in the NL West…

Cubs GM Jed Hoyer told reporters (including Bill Center of The San Diego Union-Tribune) that he wasn't looking to leave the Padres, instead calling it the “perfect storm of opportunities.”
Tracy Ringolsby of Inside The Rockies speculates (on Twitter) that the Rockies could kick the tires on free agent reliever Brad Lidge. Lidge is from Colorado and lives in Denver during the offseason.
Larry Altman of The Daily Breeze reports that Dennis Gilbert has assembled an ownership group and will attempt to purchase the Dodgers. The former White Sox executive made a push to buy the Rangers two years ago.
Baseball America's Ben Balder reports that Padres prospect Yoan Alcantara has been caught in an identify fraud investigation. The purported 18-year-old outfielder's real name and age is unknown. Badler says the investigator, who was an outside contractor and not an MLB employee, has been charged with taking a $25K bribe in exchange for helping the player pass the background check.

Dodgers Notes: Kemp, Fielder, Ownership, Trump

By Mark Polishuk | November 3, 2011 at 5:37pm CDT

Now that Frank McCourt has agreed to sell the Dodgers, expect a winter of speculation about who might take over the club. Here's the latest on the ownership front and a few other items…

Matt Kemp spoke to reporters (including MLB.com's Ken Gurnick) during a conference call about such topics as the McCourt sale, trying to recruit his friend Prince Fielder to Los Angeles, and his own desire to stay with the Dodgers over the long term. Kemp agreed with his agent Dave Stewart's stance about not letting extension negotiations drag into the 2012 season. "I've heard from people that negotiating can get tough and maybe overwhelming," Kemp said. "I don't want to mess up the chemistry of the team. I just want to play baseball."
Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times breaks down the details of McCourt's sale and notes that signing a big free agent like Fielder could be "a nine-figure liability" that could lower the club's sale price.
Donald Trump tells Greta Van Susteren of FOX News (video link, around the 9:00 mark) that says he's "probably not" going to make a bid to buy the Dodgers but "there's always interest…because it's a great asset."
As reported earlier today, the Dodgers signed Juan Rivera to a one-year, $4MM contract with a $4MM club option for 2013.

Dodgers Sign Juan Rivera

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 3, 2011 at 5:14pm CDT

The Dodgers have announced a new one-year contract with Juan Rivera. The deal, which is pending a physical, would guarantee the outfielder $4.5MM. It includes a $4MM salary in 2012 and a $4MM club option for 2013, with a $500K buyout. The Dodgers and Rivera's representatives at Proformance were closing in on a deal earlier in the week.

Rivera joined the Dodgers when the Blue Jays sent him to Los Angeles for a player to be named later in July. The 33-year-old posted a combined line of .258/.319/.382 with 11 homers and 23 doubles for the Blue Jays and Dodgers in 2011, his 11th season in the Major Leagues.

Rivera has produced against left-handed pitching over the course of his career (.830 OPS) and 2011 was no exception (.805 OPS). He played left field, right field and first base for the Dodgers and will likely play a similar role in 2012. He was not a ranked free agent, so the Dodgers could not have obtained compensation for losing him via free agency.

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports was the first to break the news of the agreement, and the contract details were added by ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (both Twitter links).

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