Dodgers Rumors: Wolf, Johnson, Strickland
Diamond Leung of the Riverside Press-Enterprise has some info on the Dodgers.
- Randy Wolf would be open to playing for the Dodgers again, which doesn’t come as much of a surprise. They have not made an offer though. Wolf is said to be looking for three years and $30MM.
- Randy Johnson has a few offers in hand, but not from the Dodgers…yet.
- The Dodgers signed reliever Scott Strickland to a minor league deal.
Heyman’s Latest: Perez, Greinke, Dye, Garland
The latest from SI.com’s Jon Heyman, non-Teixeira department…
- Heyman describes the Mets’ chance of signing Oliver Perez as "remote for now." He names other "potential suitors" – the Brewers, Dodgers, Reds, and perhaps Mariners.
- Apparently some Yankees people wouldn’t mind if Andy Pettitte passed on their $10MM offer, as they’d be able to pursue Ben Sheets or Derek Lowe.
- The Red Sox "looked into" trading for Zack Greinke but didn’t like the price.
- Heyman says the Reds, Braves, and Rays are still showing interest in Jermaine Dye.
- He says the Dodgers, White Sox, and Mets "could be possibilities" for Jon Garland. A return to Chicago?
Wigginton Too Pricey For Twins?
According to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:
The Twins like Ty Wigginton but believe he’s looking for a bigger contract than the three-year, $17.5 million deal the Los Angeles Dodgers gave Casey Blake. So the Twins have had little to no dialogue with Wigginton’s agent, Dan Lozano.
I had Wigginton pegged for two years and $12MM or so, but he is four years younger than Blake and outhit him in 2008 (though he had 172 fewer plate appearances and was largely aided by Minute Maid Park). If Wiggy can really get a better contract than Blake, it would’ve made sense for the Astros to tender him a contract and then trade him.
Christensen adds that the Twins still have hope for acquiring Mark DeRosa, but talks for Garrett Atkins and Adrian Beltre hit dead ends. Also, Jon Heyman tosses the Twins into the mix for Michael Young. We’d previously heard about the Mets, Angels, Dodgers, and Royals discussing him. Heyman did not find evidence talks for Young got serious with any team, though, and he wonders if Young would approve a trade to Minnesota.
In other Twins news, Christensen notes that the Twins expressed interest in free agent reliever Brandon Lyon, who seems to be waiting until Brian Fuentes signs.
Cardinals Rumors: Fuentes, Saito, Kawakami, Uehara
Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has the latest on the Cardinals’ hunt for pitching.
GM John Mozeliak is getting impatient with Brian Fuentes‘ agents, who are waiting for the market to develop. They might be waiting for the Angels to jump in, but that won’t happen until the Mark Teixeira situation is resolved. Strauss says the Cardinals have offered two years and $16-18MM, and the ball is in Fuentes’ court. Fuentes, of course, wants three years and more than $30MM. The Cardinals are reluctant to give him the third year.
Strauss says the Cards "may investigate the availability" of Takashi Saito, though the Dodgers hope to re-sign him. Strauss also learned that Mozeliak met with the agents for Kenshin Kawakami and Koji Uehara at the Winter Meetings.
No Trade Market For Jack Wilson
According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates might not be able to trade shortstop Jack Wilson this offseason. Even if the Dodgers miss out on Rafael Furcal, their Plan B is Orlando Cabrera. The A’s, Royals, and Blue Jays have not expressed interest in Wilson. Kovacevic says the Blue Jays are definitely not interested. You may recall that J.P. Ricciardi went out of his way to deny interest in Wilson in July of last year.
Furcal Close To Deciding Between Braves, Dodgers
11:40pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman says a Braves person said Furcal had a "gentleman’s agreement" with the team. Talks continued with the Dodgers nonetheless.
7:00pm: Matthew Leach is reporting that the Royals are no longer pursuing Furcal. Leach says the Royals were unable to fit Furcal’s demands into the payroll. Dayton Moore added that if the Royals are to add a player at this point, the team "would have to subtract [someone] because of where [the Royals] are financially." We previously heard that the Royals were one of four teams Furcal was considering offers from.
4:43pm: Tim Brown explains that while some Braves people believed they had a deal with Furcal, Kinzer and Arn Tellem are still talking to the Dodgers. The Braves probably aren’t terribly amused with the agents.
3:13pm: Ned Colletti says he’s still talking to Kinzer about Furcal, while Yahoo’s Tim Brown talks about the Dodgers and A’s shifting their focus to Orlando Cabrera.
1:00pm: Furcal’s agent Paul Kinzer says there’s no agreement yet. He says that if Furcal chose right now, it’d be Atlanta. Jerry Crasnick says it’d be a three-year, $30MM deal with a fourth-year vesting option. However, Kinzer will call the Dodgers today to give them a final chance to sign Furcal. Furcal will probably accept an offer today, and it’ll be the Braves or Dodgers.
10:51am: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman says the Braves have no intention of trading Johnson or Escobar – they are moving Johnson back to left field. Bowman believes Furcal will play second base.
9:42am: Crasnick now says the Braves have a preliminary agreement with Furcal. Dave O’Brien thinks the signing points to an Escobar trade.
8:35am: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick has a source saying no agreement has been reached, but the Braves are confident and interest is mutual.
7:50am: According to Ken Rosenthal, shortstop Rafael Furcal has reached an agreement with the Braves. He came up with Atlanta, of course. Furcal just needs to pass a physical. Rosenthal believes the Braves offered three years with a fourth-year vesting option, and Furcal chose that over Oakland’s guaranteed four years.
Now we’re left to wonder what happens with Yunel Escobar and Kelly Johnson. Dave O’Brien notes that the Braves have inquired on young starters such as Zack Greinke and Paul Maholm. Danny Knobler says the Braves will likely put Furcal at second base and Johnson in left field.
Pirates Rumors: Wigginton, Hairston, Wilson
Jenifer Langosch tidies up a few rumors we have heard previously concerning the Pirates…
- While the Buccos are in need of an outfielder, and have expressed interest in both Ty Wigginton and Jerry Hairston Jr, Langosch says the Pirates will not spend a lot on a fourth outfielder and may be priced out of the market for those two.
- If Rafael Furcal does go back to the Braves, the Dodgers could once again turn their attention to acquiring Jack Wilson. Langosch says the Pirates may be willing to pay some of Wilson’s $7.25MM salary for 2009.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Odds and Ends: Wigginton, Andruw, Royals
Links and notes for Tuesday…
- The Rays held a "get-to-know you" chat with free agent reliever Joe Nelson. Also, exec Andrew Friedman doesn’t see their pursuit for a hitter lasting into late January.
- The Mets will not be affected by the money a few of their owners lost in the Bernard Madoff scheme.
- Argenis Reyes and Ambiorix Burgos are now free agents after being non-tendered.
- RotoAuthority has a running list of pitchers who are moving from the AL to the NL for 2009.
- I chatted about the Yankees with Coast To Coast Baseball.
- El Lefty Malo discusses the idea of the Giants signing Ty Wigginton.
- Kevin Baxter passes along quotes from Andruw Jones regarding the future.
- Rany Jazayerli weighs in on recent Royals moves.
- Bleeding Blue and Teal tells us about Taiwanese lefty Fu-Te Ni, who may sign with a Major League team.
Rafael Furcal Rumors: Monday
10:42pm: The fourth team is the Braves, according to Ken Rosenthal. Kinzer told Rosenthal the Braves are "in deep" and Furcal is seriously considering their offer. Rosenthal believes it’s a three-year offer with a vesting option. Rosenthal spoke to an exec who felt the same as Joel Sherman, that Furcal does not want to sign with the A’s.
Adding Furcal would give the Braves a middle infield surplus. Good shortstops are hard to find and the Braves would have two.
4:40pm: Yahoo’s Tim Brown talked to Furcal’s agent Paul Kinzer, who said his client will sign by Tuesday. He’s mulling offers from the Dodgers, Royals, A’s, and…a mystery team.
1:32pm: Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Blue Jays have dropped out of the bidding for Furcal (now confirmed by Furcal’s agent). Sherman adds that Furcal prefers the A’s the least but they are offering the most money.
1:10pm: ESPN’s Buster Olney says the A’s offered four years and $40MM, up about $4MM from their previous offer.
8:10am: According to Ken Rosenthal, the A’s appear to be the frontrunners for free agent shortstop Rafael Furcal. Joel Sherman said the same on Friday. Rosenthal says the A’s have upped their initial four-year offer to Furcal, and it appears to be the only four-year proposal on the table. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan suggested on Wednesday that the Royals believe it will take four years and $44MM to sign him. The A’s were reportedly in the $35-40MM range previously.
The Dodgers, Blue Jays, and Royals were identified as other finalists last week by Furcal’s agent. Those teams all have issues coming up with the money or years Furcal desires. Rosenthal suggests Orlando Cabrera, Angel Berroa, and Jack Wilson as possible alternatives for the Dodgers.
Mets Considering Randy Wolf, Oliver Perez
10:14pm: Wolf told MLB.com’s Marty Noble tonight that the Mets have shown "some interest." Noble says the Yankees, Orioles, Dodgers, Braves, and Giants are also "thought to have interest."
7:58am: According to Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News, the Mets have checked the bullpen off their list and will now look to upgrade the rotation. It seems that Oliver Perez and Randy Wolf are the top targets, with the pricey Derek Lowe a less likely possibility. McCarron notes that the Mets have a strong relationship with Wolf’s agent Arn Tellem, who brokered the Francisco Rodriguez contract.
With A.J. Burnett off the board, perhaps the market for Lowe will heat up this week. The free agent starting pitching options remain strong – look at what was available on this date a year ago.
Offensively, McCarron doesn’t see much more than an Alex Cora addition on the horizon for the Mets.