Dodgers Rumors

NL West Rumors: Lincecum, Rockies, Dodgers

By Tim Dierkes | November 15, 2011 at 1:19pm CDT

The latest out of the NL West…

Signing Tim Lincecum to a multiyear deal is at the top of the Giants' agenda, reports SI's Jon Heyman. The Giants are aiming for at least a four-year deal, which would buy out two years of free agency. Though Matt Cain is a year closer to free agency, Heyman says the focus is more on Lincecum. Heyman believes Lincecum's agents at Beverly Hills Sports Council could file as high as $25MM in arbitration this winter, in my opinion a risky move if the Giants come in around $20MM. For more on Lincecum's historic arbitration case, click here.
The Rockies will not dabble financially in marginal players, explained GM Dan O'Dowd to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. They do have interest in Paul Maholm, Jeff Francis, and J.C. Romero, though, according to Renck, after bigger free agent targets such as Grady Sizemore and Roy Oswalt.
The Dodgers will lower their payroll in 2012, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times. The team's opening day payroll was about $120MM in 2011. So far this offseason they've added $6.5MM in 2012 salaries for Mark Ellis and Juan Rivera. Here's my offseason outlook for the club.
Unlike Ellis' deal, Aaron Hill's new contract with the Diamondbacks is not backloaded. He'll earn $5.5MM in each of the '12 and '13 seasons, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Piecoro has an updated look at Arizona's payroll, and concludes that they'd need to non-tender Joe Saunders to be able to afford one of the better free agent pitchers on the market. MLBTR readers are split remarkably evenly as to whether Saunders will be tendered a contract on December 12th.

Dodgers Making Progress With Matt Treanor

By Zachary Links | November 15, 2011 at 12:51pm CDT

12:51pm: The Dodgers are making progress with Treanor on a one-year deal likely to be worth just under $1MM, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.

1:09am: The Dodgers are after a veteran catcher and are now looking at Matt Treanor, a baseball source told Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. Treanor, 36, would serve as a veteran backstop alongside second-year catcher A.J. Ellis and rookie Tim Federowicz.

Treanor split time between the Royals and Rangers in 2011 and hit .214/.338/.291 in 242 plate appearances.

Dodgers Sign Mark Ellis

By Tim Dierkes | November 15, 2011 at 12:03pm CDT

Check another item off the Dodgers' winter to-do list, as the team officially signed second baseman Mark Ellis to a two-year, $8.75MM deal that includes a team option for 2014. Dylan Hernandez has the contract breakdown; only $2.5MM is owed to Ellis in 2012. He can earn an additional $125K per year in plate appearance-based incentives.

With Dee Gordon penciled in at shortstop and Juan Uribe at third, second base was considered one of the Dodgers' offseason needs. Ellis, 34, hit .248/.288/.346 in 519 plate appearances for the Athletics and Rockies this year. He's best known for his strong second base defense. Assuming the current free agent compensation system remains in place for this offseason, the Rockies will receive a supplemental draft pick for losing the Type B free agent.

Ellis' deal may have been based on Omar Infante's September pact with the Marlins. Ellis is represented by TWC Sports.

It's been an active offseason for Dodgers GM Ned Colletti amid recent news of the team going up for sale. Colletti reached an agreement with Matt Kemp on an eight-year, $160MM deal yesterday, signed Juan Rivera for $4.5MM, and made an offer to Ryan Doumit.

ESPN's Buster Olney broke the story of Ellis' agreement, with Ken Rosenthal adding the total and the option info. Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Dodgers, Mark Ellis On Verge Of Two-Year Deal

By Tim Dierkes | November 13, 2011 at 10:30pm CDT

The Dodgers are on the verge of a two-year deal with second baseman Mark Ellis, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the deal is worth $8.75MM. Ellis is represented by TWC Sports.

Kemp, Dodgers On Verge Of Eight-Year Extension

By Tim Dierkes | November 13, 2011 at 8:10pm CDT

The Dodgers and center fielder Matt Kemp are in serious discussions on an eight-year, $160MM contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Dodgers and Kemp are on the verge of a deal, adds ESPN's Buster Olney. Such a contract would be the largest in Dodgers history by a long shot, and tied with Manny Ramirez for seventh all-time.

Kemp, 27, is coming off an MVP-caliber season and would be eligible for free agency after the 2012 season. He projects to earn over $15MM through arbitration, so if Rosenthal's figure proves final Kemp will receive more than $20MM per each of seven free agent seasons. The Dodgers would essentially be getting Kemp's free agent years for Carl Crawford money.

It was reported on Thursday that the Dodgers' extension talks with Kemp's agent Dave Stewart had more substance lately. Earlier this month, owner Frank McCourt agreed to sell the Dodgers.

Doumit Turned Down Dodgers Offer

By Zachary Links | November 13, 2011 at 4:32pm CDT

The Dodgers offered free agent catcher Ryan Doumit a one-year deal for just under $3MM and the catcher turned it down, a source close to the team told Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter). The Angels, meanwhile, still haven't called on the veteran.

Doumit has reportedly received several offers and plans to sign with a team before the month is through. Yesterday, Doumit's agent Paul Cobbe said that his client could sign within the next few days.

The 30-year-old hit .303/.353/.477 in 236 plate appearances last season.

Quick Hits: Twins, Cuddyer, Cardinals, Phillies

By Zachary Links | November 13, 2011 at 4:17pm CDT

Some links on this Sunday afternoon..

In an interview with "Sunday Morning SportsTalk," Twins GM Terry Ryan indicated that Trevor Plouffe will likely play in the outfield and DH in 2012, writes Phil Mackey of 1500ESPN.com. Mackey (via Twitter) sees this as a sign that Michael Cuddyer won't be back in Minnesota.
Regardless of what Albert Pujols decides to do this winter, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak doesn't envision making major changes to the team's core, writes Joe Strauss of the Post-Dispatch.
The Phillies can’t keep adding and retaining the biggest, most expensive stars, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The club's signing of Jonathan Papelbon to a four-year, $50MM deal could hamper them both in the short-term and long-term.
The Dodgers can fetch a record price tag of $1 billion can be expected for the organization, Dodger Stadium and the surrounding real estate, writes Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. One of the biggest reasons for the team's value is all of the undeveloped real estate surrounding Dodger Stadium, which sits on 275 acres of land that is largely used for parking.

Quick Hits: Lee, Cespedes, Indians, Cards, Dodgers

By Mike Axisa | November 12, 2011 at 10:52pm CDT

On this date last year, the Red Sox and Marlins swapped Dustin Richardson for Andrew Miller, a deal that didn't really work out for either side. Here are some notes from around the league…

Sosnick Cobbe Sports will represent Korean left-handed pitcher Seung-ho Lee according to the agency's Twitter feed. The 30-year-old is a free agent and looking to join a team in MLB.
MLB.com's Carrie Muskat reports that the Cubs will hold a private workout session for 26-year-old Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes at some point soon.
"We're looking to improve the position player side of the roster," said Indians GM Chris Antonetti to Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer. The team's payroll will jump from $49MM to about $70MM, with much of that going towards arbitration raises.
Cardinals GM John Mozeliak told Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the team is projecting Daniel Descalso as their Opening Day second baseman (Twitter link). He added that he "wouldn't mind" a double play combination of Descalso and Tyler Greene.
Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times reports that Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to let him negotiate a sale of the team's television rights, which will increase the sale price of the club. FOX Sports, which holds the clubs television rights, is trying to prevent the move.

NL West Notes: Hudson, Soon-Shiong, Rockies, Hill

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 11, 2011 at 7:53pm CDT

The Diamondbacks have been one of baseball’s busiest teams so far this offseason. GM Kevin Towers and manager Kirk Gibson agreed to extensions and John McDonald, Henry Blanco and Willie Bloomquist have all re-signed with the defending NL West Champions. Here’s the latest from the division…

If the Rockies are indeed interested in Padres second baseman Orlando Hudson, Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune doubts the Padres would be willing to pick up any of Hudson's salary in a trade. Hudson will earn $5.5MM in 2012, with an $8MM option for 2013 that can be bought out for $2MM. Center also discusses several other Padres topics in his weekly chat with fans, such as the possibility of moving in the fences at Petco Park.
Billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong told Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles that he has been approached by at least one of the groups trying to buy the Dodgers. Soon-Shiong is considered to be the richest man in Los Angeles and bought a 4.5% share of the L.A. Lakers last year.
The Rockies aren't going to revisit their pursuit of Michael Young, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Colorado and Texas were very close to a deal involving Young last winter in the wake of Young's trade request, but Young settled things with Rangers management and now there is "no motivation for [the] Rangers to move him."
Also from Renck, he doesn't think the Rockies will look to move Matt Belisle this winter, though Matt Lindstrom could be available.
As part of a reader mailbag, MLB.com's Chris Haft was surprised that the Giants needed to include Ryan Verdugo along with Jonathan Sanchez in the deal that brought Melky Cabrera to San Francisco. That said, Haft writes "it's conceivable that the Giants might have obtained the most that Sanchez and Verdugo would bring."
The Rockies “love” Jamey Carroll, but wouldn’t be interested in signing him to a multiyear deal, according to Renck (Twitter links). The former Rockies infielder is nearing a multiyear deal with Twins.
The Rockies aren’t likely to sign Michael Cuddyer, but they continue pursuing Martin Prado, Renck reports.
The Diamondbacks have a multiyear offer on the table to Aaron Hill and it expires Monday, according to Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com (on Twitter). If Hill signs, the Diamondbacks will turn their attention to starting pitching.
Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle suggests the Giants should re-sign Carlos Beltran to a two or three-year deal.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post

Carroll Nearing Multiyear Deal With Twins

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 10, 2011 at 9:00pm CDT

2:24pm: Carroll's nearing a multiyear deal with the Twins, according to Crasnick (on Twitter). He would be Minnesota's everyday shortstop.

2:08pm: The Twins continue to pursue Carroll, according to Morosi (Twitter link). Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that the Twins and Carroll are talking regularly (Twitter link).

12:50pm: The Twins have had recent discussions for Carroll, according to Morosi (Twitter link).

12:19pm: The Braves and Indians aren't finalists for Carroll, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

11:40am: The Padres are not the team nearing a deal with Carroll, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock (on Twitter).

10:57am: The Dodgers aren't the team that's nearing a deal with Carroll, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times (on Twitter). Troy Renck of the Denver Post says the Rockies aren't the mystery team (Twitter link) and Morosi reports that the Tigers aren't involved.

10:36am: The Blue Jays are showing serious interest in Carroll and were one of three finalists for him as of yesterday, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (all links go to Twitter). Morosi hears that the infielder is "very close" to agreeing to a deal.

7:38am: Jamey Carroll is nearing a multiyear deal with an unknown team, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (all Twitter links). The Tigers, Rockies, Dodgers and Indians have been mentioned as potential suitors for Carroll, a Millenium Sports Management client who is expected to sign within a few days. The Phillies and Braves have also expressed interest.

The 37-year-old infielder played shortstop and second base for the Dodgers in 2011, posting a .290/.359/.347 line in 510 plate appearances. He hasn't posted an on-base percentage below .355 in any of the past four seasons and he has a career mark of .356 after a decade in the Major Leagues. Carroll, who also has experience at third base and in the outfield, stole ten bases without getting caught this past season. He is not a ranked free agent and won't cost his new team a draft pick.

Carroll spoke with MLBTR's Tim Dierkes in June and you can check out the interview here. Tim predicted the Tigers would sign Carroll, placing him 41st on MLBTR's list of top free agents.

This post was originally published on November 11, 2011.

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