Jack Wilson Rumors: Thursday
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes about Jack Wilson:
Only the Minnesota Twins are known to be interested, but the Los Angeles Dodgers could come back if their bid to re-sign free agent Rafael Furcal falls short.
Ken Rosenthal chimes in that the Astros could become an option if they first overcome the "extremely slim" odds against trading Miguel Tejada. Kovacevic adds that in the Pirates’ final Wilson proposal to the Tigers a few days ago they sought shortstop prospect Danny Worth and one of the team’s top pitching prospects.
Manny Ramirez Rumors: Wednesday
10:13pm: According to Ed Price:
The Dodgers have had internal discussions about extending their contract offer to Manny Ramirez to three years.
9:47pm: Dan Graziano’s source suggests "there is a push by some members of the Yankees’ organization to make a play for free-agent outfielder Manny Ramirez."
5:02pm: Despite numerous reports to the contrary, Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times says the Angels are "believed to be considering a two-year offer to Manny Ramirez." Shaikin adds that Juan Rivera remains on the Halos’ radar.
4:12pm: Jayson Stark talked to a source who said the Angels have zero interest in Manny.
9:59am: Jon Heyman talked to people close to Hank Steinbrenner who say he wants Manny. Heyman says the Yanks are mulling a run at the slugger.
9:28am: T.J. Simers talked to Dodgers GM Ned Colletti, who said Scott Boras told him four other teams have expressed interest in Manny Ramirez. Colletti quipped: "That’s good. I wouldn’t like to see a guy out of work."
Astros Shopping Wigginton
9:36pm: Nick Piecoro says there’s nothing to the D’Backs-Wigginton rumor.
4:19pm: According to Ed Price, the Astros are shopping Ty Wigginton. He’s arbitration-eligible and under team control for one more year. Price says the D’Backs are showing the most interest, while the Dodger and Indians are out. We’ve also seen the Blue Jays and Twins linked to Wiggy.
Rafael Furcal Rumors: Wednesday
9:31pm: The Royals hope to clear payroll to make room for Furcal, preferably by trading Jose Guillen. Orlando Cabrera is their backup plan. The Royals would eat some money to move Guillen, but predictably the market is "almost nonexistent."
The Royals believe Furcal requires a four-year, $44MM deal. Kinzer has four offers for Furcal currently, all for three or four years. The surprising implication is that the Dodgers went past two years.
2:50pm: Buster Olney says the A’s met again with Furcal last night. Apparently Oakland’s four-year offer had been worth about $36MM. Meanwhile Steve Phillips says Royals GM Dayton Moore asked ownership for more money to sign Furcal.
2:07am: Richard Griffin suggests the Blue Jays are just being used by Kinzer to add negotiating power.
12:10am: The most important takeaway from yesterday’s Rafael Furcal rumors: his agent Paul Kinzer told Ken Rosenthal the Dodgers, Blue Jays, Royals, and A’s are in the running. Furcal still wants four years. We also have word from Yahoo’s Tim Brown that the Orioles are in on Furcal, and the list might at times include the Indians. Brown says the O’s would sign Furcal as a complement to Mark Teixeira.
Saito Could Choose Free Agency
WEDNESDAY: The Dodgers are in a staredown with Saito, who will probably be non-tendered Friday if he doesn’t accept their one-year, incentive-laden offer.
MONDAY: 11:14pm: Ned Colletti suggested Saito is a non-tender candidate for Friday.
4:54pm: According to Gerry Fraley, a mixed report on closer Takashi Saito has caused the Dodgers to increase their search for a reliever. They’ve been linked to Trevor Hoffman.
Padres Have Interest In Vizquel; Dodgers Don’t
7:39pm: Ned Colletti told Diamond Leung the Dodgers aren’t looking at Vizquel.
5:55pm: Andrew Baggarly says the Padres also have interest in Vizquel. He adds that the A’s are looking at free agent pitcher Kevin Correia for a minor league deal.
4:52pm: Tony Jackson says the Dodgers might have interest in free agent shortstop Omar Vizquel if they can’t sign Rafael Furcal.
Pirates Rumors: McLouth, Maholm, Doumit
WEDNESDAY, 6:22pm: Kovacevic says Doumit’s agent will meet with the Pirates later tonight to discuss their offer. Rob Biertempfel says the Pirates did make offers to all three and want to finalize deals within six to eight weeks.
TUESDAY, 11:28pm: Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette offers up the latest information on the Pirates.
- The Pirates have initiated extension talks with Nate McLouth, Ryan Doumit, and Paul Maholm. The Braves inquired on McLouth and Maholm, but the Pirates’ demands were "way high" according to an Atlanta official. Kovacevic mentions Jordan Schafer as someone who could be offered.
- The Pirates had conversations with David Eckstein‘s agent, but not negotiations. The Bucs would probably have to trade a middle infielder for it to make sense. They never made a formal offer to Mark Loretta, who signed with the Dodgers today.
- The Jack Wilson market is tepid – the Twins have mild interest, the Dodgers have moved on to Rafael Furcal.
- While the Pirates have gotten inquiries on John Grabow, teams apparently want to look at free agent options first.
- John Perrotto says Jason Davis will refuse the Pirates’ Triple A assignment and head to Japan.
Mets Not Interested In Juan Pierre
5:36pm: Mets GM Omar Minaya shot down the Pierre report, and added that he is not interested in Andruw Jones either.
11:59am: According to Ken Rosenthal, the Mets have shown interest in Dodgers outfielder Juan Pierre. Pierre’s has another $28.5MM on his deal, which runs through 2011. The Dodgers would need to take on "a large chunk" of that.
Dodgers Sign Mark Loretta
WEDNESDAY: The Dodgers officially announced Loretta’s one-year deal, which is for $1.25MM.
MONDAY: According to MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick, the Dodgers agreed to terms with Mark Loretta on a one-year deal worth around $1.4MM tonight. He’ll take his physical on Tuesday. Loretta was a Type B free agent, but the Astros did not offer him arbitration so there will be no draft pick compensation.
Randy Johnson Rumors
WEDNESDAY, 1:11pm: Nolan Ryan confirmed the Rangers’ interest in Johnson.
TUESDAY, 8:37pm: Jack Magruder says the Astros and Angels met with Johnson’s reps at the Meetings. He adds that the Rangers, Brewers, and Cubs touched base before the Meetings.
2:54pm: Four California teams are said to be eyeing Randy Johnson: the Dodgers, Angels, Giants, and A’s. Mike DiGiovanna learned that the Dodgers and Angels are more on the fringes. We’ve also seen Johnson linked to the Cubs as a fallback for Jake Peavy.