Dodgers Rumors

Odds & Ends: Pirates, Martinez, Blanton, Putz

By Mike Axisa | December 6, 2009 at 11:56pm CDT

A few links the night before all Hot Stove hell breaks loose…

Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports that team president Frank Coonelly said the Pirates have made less than $11MM profit over the last two years, and all of that was put back into the team.
Agent Alan Nero says that opening talks about a long-term deal for Victor Martinez "should be on the to-do list in January," according to Daniel Barbarisi and Joe McDonald of The Providence Journal.
Ed Price of AOL FanHouse says we can add Joe Blanton to the list of pitchers available via trade. He's arbitration eligible after making $5.475MM in 2009, and the Phillies can better use that money elsewhere.
The Diamondbacks are one of the teams that watched J.J. Putz's recent throwing session, according to FoxSports.com.
Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times takes a look at five issues facing the Dodgers heading into the Winter Meetings.
The Mariners are among the teams looking to land a catcher this week, says Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com.
Adam Rubin of The NY Daily News rounds up Omar Minaya's brief meeting with the press upon arriving in Indianapolis for the Winter Meetings.
Carl Pavano's agent says his client is undecided about whether to accept arbitration, according to FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal.
Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe says the Red Sox, Angels, Mariners, and maybe the Mets represent the market for Jason Bay.
MLB.com's Carrie Muskat spoke to a Rangers' official who said the team would be willing to bring Milton Bradley back, however they're not sure they want to deal with "that headache" again.
Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that the Angels will compete with the Mariners for John Lackey and Jason Bay, but they won't bid $100MM.
Omar Minaya suggests that trades are more likely than free agent signings for the Mets, according to Ben Shpigel of The NY Times.
Free agent Jamey Carroll says the "door hasn't been closed" on a return to Cleveland, according to Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Roger Mooney of The Tampa Tribune says the Rays will be looking to make more under-the-radar moves this year.
Andy Martino of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes about a perfect storm scenario that could send Roy Halladay to the Phillies.
LaVelle E. Neal III of The Star Tribune hears that Joe Mauer's agent might not attend the Winter Meetings because of all the attention that will paid to his client's possible free agency.
Tyler Hissey previewed the Orioles' offseason.

Multiple Teams Interested In Juan Pierre

By Mike Axisa | December 6, 2009 at 7:52pm CDT

Steve Henson of Yahoo! Sports says that three or four teams are interested in Juan Pierre, and that a three-team trade is being explored to bring a bad contract starter to the Dodgers in return. Henson says the bad contract starter wouldn't be ex-Dodger Derek Lowe.

The 32-year-old Pierre is still owed $18.5MM over the next two years, however he boosted his value a bit by hitting .308/.365/.392 with 30 steals in 2009. It was his best offensive season since 2004, and the second best of his career. UZR/150 pegged Pierre as excellent in LF (+16.4) but awful in center (-19.4).

Can you think of any "bad contract starter" fits? Maybe one of the Detroit guys (Jeremy Bonderman, Nate Robertson, Dontrelle Willis), or Jeff Suppan?

Odds & Ends: M’s, O’s, Closers, Molina, Willingham

By Zachary Links | December 6, 2009 at 4:29pm CDT

Let's take a look at some Sunday links:

A number of league officials have told the New York Post's Joel Sherman that they expect the Mariners and the Orioles to spend big this offseason. The M's have already started spending big, inking Chone Figgins earlier this week. Hearing that the Orioles are ready to spend big, however, comes as a surprise.
Peter Gammons agrees on the Mariners; he tweets that one executive says we should watch for Seattle to be in on both Jason Bay and John Lackey. The Mariners have money, and as Gammons says, "Jack Z loves to lay low and strike."
We know that there are plenty of capable closers available on the open market, but Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports reports that there are a handful available via trade as well. The Reds are hoping to move Francisco Cordero and the remainder of his hefty contract – two years, $25MM. San Diego believes that Heath Bell's value is at its absolute zenith and is looking to capitalize. The Pirates hope to find a new home for Matt Capps, who they labeled as their closer for 2010.
Jon Heyman wonders aloud if Bengie Molina is seeking a three-year pact, since the Mets are willing to give him two years and there is no deal in place yet (via Twitter).
Heyman also tweets that the Cubs and Rays are not close on a Milton Bradley-for-Pat Burrell swap. The possibility of including the Mets and Luis Castillo in a three-way trade is "not helping things."
The Mets are interested in Josh Willingham, according to William Ladson of MLB.com (via Twitter).
Don't expect the Padres to move Adrian Gonzalez in Indianapolis, writes Corey Brock of MLB.com. However, if San Diego does make any moves at all, it will likely be via trade.
Jon Paul Morosi offers a high-level preview of each team's thoughts going into the Winter Meetings, broken down by National League and American League.
A few overseas updates courtesy of Patrick from NPB Tracker: The Hansin Tigers are nearing a deal with Randy Messenger, and have interest in Jason Bulger, should he be removed from the Angels' 40-man roster. Patrick also adds that Nelson Payano is likely to return to MLB-affiliated ball. The lefty last worked with the AA affiliates for Seattle and Atlanta in 2008.
Ken Davidoff tweets that once the Yankees non-tender Chien-Ming Wang, the Dodgers will have interest in the right-hander, as Joe Torre and Larry Bowa are both big fans.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Beltre, Wolf, Callaspo, Rule 5 Draft

By Cork Gaines | December 5, 2009 at 7:25pm CDT

On this date two years ago, the Tigers acquired Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis for six players including Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller. Only one of the other four players, Burke Badenhop has yet to see significant playing time at the big league level. With this year's winter meetings set to begin next week more big players could be on the move. Let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…

Jorge Says No! wonders if the smart move for Adrian Belte is to accept arbitration from the Mariners now that the Phillies no longer need a third baseman.
Around the Majors explains why the Dodgers made a mistake in not offering arbitration to Randy Wolf.
The Baseball Opinion looks back at how each team did with their '04 free agency compensation draft picks.
Royals Authority makes a case for trading Alberto Callaspo.
River Ave Blues wonders who could play left field for the Yankees if they don't land Johnny Damon, Matt Holliday or Mike Cameron.
UmpBump looks at what the Astros need this off-season.
MLB Notebook believes Justin Duchscherer would be a good fit for the Pirates.
Bucco Fans previews the right-handed pitchers in the upcoming Rule 5 draft with Aneury Rodriguez of the Rays listed as one of the top options overall.
DRaysBay looks at some relief pitchers that are available in the Rule 5 draft.
We Should Be GMs examines the free agent market for relief pitchers and who might be a good fit for the Phillies.
The Pinstriper looks back at what might have happened had the Yankees not re-signed Alex Rodriguez in '07.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.

Latest On Roy Halladay

By Mike Axisa | December 5, 2009 at 10:24am CDT

Last night we heard from former Blue Jays' GM J.P. Ricciardi that Roy Halladay wants to be traded, adding that whenever you have a player of that magnitude, any decision to move him is one ownership makes. The Halladay talk figures to get hot and heavy during the Winter Meetings next week, so let's see what's being written about the situation right now…

The Jays are looking for "top prospects at pitcher, shortstop and catcher in any deal," says Phil Rogers of The Chicago Tribune. He adds that the White Sox surely would have been in on Halladay if they didn't acquire Jake Peavy at the deadline.
Anthony McCarron of The NY Daily News says the Yankees will "see what's there," referring to potential trade talks with Toronto.
ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes says "it's starting to sound like [the Red Sox] have considerable qualms about the kind of money and players it will take to land" Doc.
Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus says that a trade to the Angels will not happen because Halladay wants to train in Florida, and that's "absolute." The Halos train in Tempa, Arizona. If true, this demand would also eliminate the Cubs, Dodgers, and Rangers, all of whom train in Arizona and have been linked to Halladay at various times.

Odds & Ends: Kendall, Uggla, Reds, Pedro

By Mike Axisa | December 4, 2009 at 9:56pm CDT

You want links? Well we got 'em…

Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse says that Jason Kendall was looking for $5MM to return to Milwaukee for another year. Yeah, good luck with that. No wonder why the Brewers went with Gregg Zaun.
Dan Uggla doesn't have any control over whether the Marlins trade him or not, but if they do, he hopes it happens sooner rather than later, according to Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post.
When asked about the hot stove, Reds' manager Dusty Baker said "there's not much of anything going on," reports MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
Michael Silverman of The Boston Herald says that Pedro Martinez wants to pitch a full season in 2010, instead of going on the Roger Clemens plan (pitching in the second half only) again.
Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic says that the D-Backs' perfect world Winter Meetings scenario "involves them acquiring a cost-effective starting pitcher in a trade and then using their remaining payroll flexibility to upgrade other areas of the club."
According to WEEI.com's Alex Speier, Padres' GM Jed Hoyer said that given his (and new assistant Jason McLeod's) experience with the Red Sox, they have a “level of comfort” in any potential trade with them, moreso than with any other team.
Re-signing Andy Pettitte is the Yankees' top priority, says George A. King III of The NY Post.
MLB.com's Carrie Muskat says as many as three teams are interested in Milton Bradley, and Cubs' GM Jim Hendry will spend next week trying to find the best match.
Former Blue Jays' GM J.P. Ricciardi said that Roy Halladay wants to be traded, according to The Canadian Press. Ricciardi added that a "lot of these decisions are out of the general manager's hands as far as what ownership perceives as fan reaction and what the perception of the club (is) and the direction that they are going. I think any time you have a player of this magnitude, that's really an ownership call."
In addition to Justin Miller, the Dodgers also signed Prentice Redman to a minor league contract, according to Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times.
MLB.com's Steve Gilbert has the news of three players the Diamondbacks inked to minor league contracts: T.J. Beam, Drew Macias, and Carlos Corporan. All three received invites to Spring Training.
ESPN's Jayson Stark wrote about the five biggest plotlines going into the Winter Meetings next week, while Scott Miller of CBSSports.com has some pre-Winter Meetings chatter of his own.
Got a problem with how FanGraphs puts a dollar amount on a player's performance? If so, Dave Cameron clarifies some things.

Dodgers, Justin Miller Agree To Minor League Deal

By Tim Dierkes | December 4, 2009 at 4:00pm CDT

The Dodgers agreed to a minor league deal with reliever Justin Miller, according to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times. Hernandez says he'll earn $850K if he makes the big league roster, with another $50K in incentives.

Miller, 32, posted a 3.18 ERA in 56.6 innings this year for the Giants despite striking out 36 and walking 27. Miller was outrighted in October after undergoing arthroscopic elbow surgery.

Giants, Dodgers Pursuing Brad Ausmus

By Mike Axisa | December 3, 2009 at 1:12pm CDT

Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com report that the Dodgers and Giants are among the teams pursuing free agent catcher Brad Ausmus. Peter Mrowka, Ausmus' agent, said it's "possible" but "not likely" that his client will play for a team not based on the West Coast next year.

The 40-year-old Ausmus hit .295/.343/.368 in 36 games (107 plate appearances) with the Dodgers last year, his best offensive season since 1999. The FoxSports.com duo mention the Padres as another possible landing spot.

Eight Teams Interested In Carroll

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 3, 2009 at 12:59pm CDT

There's no shortage of interest in Jamey Carroll this year. Ed Price of AOL FanHouse reports that the Red Sox, Angels, Dodgers, A's, Rangers, Pirates, Reds and Indians all have interest in the 35-year-old utility man. We know the Marlins are interested, too.

Carroll hit .276/.355/.340 with the Indians last year, spending most of his time at second and third, and playing some outfield as well. UZR/150 suggests Carroll has been an above-average defender at second base over the course of the last five years.

Randy Wolf Open To Returning To Dodgers

By Luke Adams 2 | December 2, 2009 at 5:56pm CDT

Despite the club's uncertain ownership situation, Randy Wolf would welcome a return to Los Angeles next year, according to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.

Wolf states that he expects the Dodgers to be competitive next season, regardless of what happens with owner Frank McCourt's divorce. However, after the team failed to offer arbitration to the left-hander, it seems unlikely that Wolf will be wearing Dodger blue next year. The lack of an arbitration offer not only suggests that the Dodgers' payroll situation is up in the air, but also makes Wolf more attractive to other suitors who now won't have to part with a high draft pick to sign him. The lefty himself mentions that a couple teams have already been "aggressive" in their pursuit.

Nonetheless, if the Dodgers can afford him, Wolf would love to come back: "I always wanted to play for the Dodgers. My teammates are great. I had a great time with them."

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