Michael Young Rumors: Saturday
In today's blog post at ESPN (Insider req'd), Buster Olney notes that something has changed in the relationship between Michael Young and Rangers, possibly because of trade talk this winter. He speculates that the Athletics and Blue Jays could be fits in a deal. Let's keep tabs on the latest regarding Texas and their third baseman here throughout the day…
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan says the Dodgers are interested in Young, but their unstable ownership situation is standing in the way.
- A well placed source told Renck (via Twitter) that he doesn't think the Rockies will get Young. Renck also hears (via Twitter) that the Rockies would need Texas to eat $20MM or more in a deal.
- A source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that talks between the Rangers and Rockies have reached an "advanced stage," and a trade could come as soon as Monday. Texas is not talking to any other club, and a source confirmed that Jose Lopez is in the latest offer.
- Renck says it's "very, very unlikely" that Dexter Fowler would be involved (on Twitter).
- Troy Renck of The Denver Post reports that the Rangers have not reached out to Rockies as of Friday, contradicting what we heard yesterday.
- Renck notes (on Twitter) that Colorado would be willing to give up Lopez in a trade, but not Aaron Cook. That is subject to change, however. The Rox are understandably leery of surrendering big league starting pitching.
Dodgers To Sign Ron Mahay
The Dodgers have agreed to sign Ron Mahay, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark (on Twitter). The left-hander gives manager Don Mattingly another option out of the 'pen, along with southpaws Hong-Chih Kuo and Scott Elbert.
Mahay posted a 3.44 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 34 innings for the Twins last year. The 39-year-old has always fared better against left-handed hitters, including in 2010, when he held them to a .219/.239/.281 line and posted 6.2 K/9 and 1.0 BB/9 against them.
NL Notes: Mets, Martis, Loney, D’Backs
Hall-of-Famer and Cardinals legend Red Schoendienst celebrates his 88th birthday today. Let's celebrate by looking at some news from the league where Schoendienst spent his entire 33-year career as a player and manager.
- The Mets want to find a new minority owner by June, reports The Wall Street Journal's Matthew Futterman, Michael Rothfeld and Chad Bray. If the Wilpons can't sell a minority share of just the club, Futterman, Rothfeld and Brian Costa report that the Mets ownership group could look to add a share of the SNY cable network to the sale "if and when it became a necessity." Jeff Wilpon said last week that SNY wasn't for sale.
- Mark Cuban tells Newsday's Barbara Barker that after failed attempts to buy the Cubs and Rangers, he won't pursue another baseball ownership opportunity unless he's approached. Cuban thinks the Mets are "a great opportunity, but I'm not going to call their investment banker." Cuban also said it's "very unlikely" he would settle for a minority share in a franchise unless he was given the first chance at buying a majority share in the future.
- Shairon Martis has cleared waivers and been outrighted to the Nationals' Triple-A affiliate, reports the team's official Twitter feed. Martis was designated for assignment by Washington on January 24.
- James Loney and the Dodgers "don't appear close to a settlement" of Loney's arbitration case, reports ESPNLosAngeles.com's Tony Jackson. Loney is L.A.'s last arb-eligible player, now that Hong-Chih Kuo has come to an agreement with the club. You can keep track of all the outstanding and settled arbitration cases at the MLBTR ArbTracker.
- Joe Pawlikowski of Fangraphs looks at what the Diamondbacks have done to remake their bullpen after last year's disastrous performance.
Dodgers Avoid Arbitration With Hong-Chih Kuo
The Dodgers have avoided arbitration with reliever Hong-Chih Kuo by agreeing to a one-year, $2.725MM contract with the southpaw, reports MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. Kuo can earn an extra $700K in incentives, with $600K of those bonuses related to games finished, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. This was Kuo's second year of arb-eligibility and he is represented by the Octagon sports agency.
Kuo, 29, is coming off an All-Star season that saw him post a 1.20 ERA, a 4.06 K/BB ratio and an 11.0 K/9 rate in 56 relief appearances with L.A. The 56 games pitched was a career-high for Kuo, who was pitched on consecutive days just four times all season in an attempt to keep him fresh, given Kuo's past elbow injuries. Over the last three seasons, Kuo has a 1.96 ERA in 133 games and has averaged 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings.
The Taiwanese left-hander recorded 21 holds and also 12 saves, taking over the closing job from Jonathan Broxton in mid-August. Broxton has been pencilled into the closer's job headed into Los Angeles' Spring Training, but Kuo performed well enough that the Dodgers wouldn't hesitate to put him at the back of their bullpen if Broxton struggles again.
As you can see on MLBTR's Arbtracker, the settled contract is worth slightly below the midpoint of the numbers submitted by Kuo and the club earlier this month — Kuo was looking for $3.08MM, and the Dodgers were offering $2.55MM. James Loney is the only arb-eligible Dodger who has yet to settle on a contract for 2011.
Quick Hits: Guerrero, Kawakami, Johnson, Dodgers
Some links from around the majors as the market for Vladimir Guerrero becomes a little clearer…
- When I looked at possible destinations for Guerrero last week, I listed the Rangers, Angels, Orioles and Blue Jays. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that the Rays are not in on Guerrero, which makes sense, since they already added Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez (Twitter link).
- The Braves would like to trade Kenshin Kawakami this spring, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter). The Braves have a number of starting pitching options without Kawakami, especially now that they've signed Rodrigo Lopez.
- D'Backs GM Kevin Towers told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert that he considers Kelly Johnson's arbitration case a tough one, but hopes to "create some dialogue" before the sides go to a hearing. As our Arb Tracker shows, Johnson asked for $6.5MM while the D'Backs countered with a $4.7MM offer.
- Longtime Astros right-hander Brandon Backe, who last pitched in the majors in June of 2009 and is recovering from a pair of shoulder operations, told Stephen Goff of the Houston Examiner that he is working toward a possible comeback.
- The Dodgers signed right-hander Merkin Valdez to a minor league deal, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America. The 29-year-old appeared in two games for the Blue Jays last year after spending parts of three seasons with the Giants.
West Notes: Hamilton, Paxton, Rockies, Dodgers
Some news from baseball's western divisions….
- Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine gives ESPNDallas.com's Richard Durrett an update on negotiations between the team and arbitration-eligible Josh Hamilton. "I would characterize our communication as very open and strong….with each call we're making progress," Levine said.
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik tells The Seattle Times' Larry Stone that the team has had "a conversation or two over the course of the winter" with fourth-round draft pick James Paxton, who still remains unsigned. Paxton was selected 37th overall by the Blue Jays in the 2009 draft but didn't reach an agreement, and then couldn't return to college ball due to his association with agent Scott Boras.
- The Rockies may have ended their search for pitching depth, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Colorado was looking at Rodrigo Lopez and Mark Hendrickson, but those pursuits proved fruitless when the pitchers signed elsewhere (Lopez with the Braves, Hendrickson with the Orioles).
- The potential sale of a minority share of the Mets "could provide a clue" as to what will happen with the Dodgers' ownership situation once the McCourts settle their divorce case, writes Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
Quick Hits: Weeks, Dodgers, Cuddyer, Mets
On this day 20 years ago, the Atlanta Braves signed Falcons cornerback Deion Sanders as a free agent. Though he struggled in his first year as a Brave, 'Prime Time' was a key contributor for the National League champs in 1992; he hit .304/.346/.495 with 26 stolen bases in 325 regular season plate appearances and added eight hits and five steals in four World Series games. Sanders ended up leaving both Atlanta franchises in 1994, but not before he racked up 75 stolen bases and ten touchdowns for the Braves and Falcons respectively. Here are Sunday's links:
- The Brewers are comfortable with Rickie Weeks' deadline for an extension, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. He relays a quote from assistant GM Gord Ash praising Weeks for focusing on the right area once the season starts — baseball.
- Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times looks at the possibility of Tony Gwynn Jr. hitting well enough to play every day and how that would impact the Dodgers' roster.
- Michael Cuddyer and agent Casey Close have yet to discuss a long-term extension with the Twins, writes MLB.com's Kelly Thesier. While Cuddyer is open to talking about a contract during Spring Training, he'd prefer to table the topic during the regular season.
- Martin Luther King III, son of the civil rights leader, is leading a group that's interested in buying at least 50% of the Mets, reports Kevin Kernan of the New York Post. The Wilpons were said to be willing to sell up to 25% of the team.
- Given the Mets' financial situation, some rival executives think Jose Reyes is likely to be moved before this year's trade deadline, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider-only).
- In a tweet, Olney adds that, despite considering it, the Diamondbacks are "probably not" going to implement a humidor at Chase Field this year.
- Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer wonders why expectations for Phillies' prospect Domonic Brown seem to have diminished since last summer.
- Within an Indians mailbag, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer says he can see the Tribe signing a couple more players before Spring Training, though the team would likely only do minor league deals.
Quick Hits: Chavez, Vlad, Pierzynski, Royals
Happy 51st birthday to Steve Sax! Sax was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1982, played on two World Series champions, made five All-Star teams, and holds a special bit of pop culture history as one of Mr. Burns' softball ringers on The Simpsons.
Today's news tidbits…
- As part of a Dodgers-related mailbag, MLB.com's Ken Gurnick cites the Blue Jays, Marlins and Indians as teams that could offer Eric Chavez more playing time than the Dodgers could. Toronto's interest in Chavez is well-known, but Florida and Cleveland are new to the mix. Other teams known to be looking are Chavez include the Yankees, White Sox and Mariners.
- The Angels are looking for a leadoff man and bench help, and don't seem to be interested in Vladimir Guerrero, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com. The Orioles look like they're Guerrero's most ardent suitors at this point.
- A.J. Pierzynski tells Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune that he was all but officially signed by the Dodgers before the White Sox swooped in with an offer to bring the catcher back to Chicago. "It all came together in a 15-minute span," Pierzynski said. "I was pretty much resigned to the fact I wasn't coming back." Had Pierzynski not returned, the White Sox would have focused on Miguel Olivo as a replacement behind the plate.
- The Chone Figgins-to-Oakland rumor looks to be dead, which Joe Pawlikowski of Fangraphs thinks may be a good thing for the A's.
- The Royals are converting prospect Wil Myers from catcher to outfielder, reports Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star.
Dodgers Sign Mike MacDougal
The Dodgers have signed Mike MacDougal to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training according to the team (on Twitter).
MacDougal, 34 in March, appeared in 17 games for the Cardinals last season, striking out 14 and walking 12 in 18 2/3 innings of work. He saved 20 games for the Nationals in 2009, though he walked (38) more batters than he struck out (34) in 54 1/3 innings that year. MacDougal still throws extremely hard, but he's always been held back by command issues.
The former All-Star has signed minor league contracts in each of the last three offseasons.
Los Angeles Notes: Trout, Wells, Padilla, Gores
This year's Oscar nominations were announced today, so it's only fitting that we check out the latest baseball news from Hollywood. The envelope please…
- Mike Trout holds the #1 spot on MLB.com's 2011 Top 50 Prospects list. Trout is the only Angel on the list, while Dee Gordon (#44) is the only Dodger.
- Toronto sent $5MM to the Angels as part of the Vernon Wells trade, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Ilustrated. The cash transaction wasn't officially reported since the clubs "apparently just didn't want to" do so.
- News of the $5MM payment might have changed Fangraphs' Matt Klaassen's analysis of the Wells trade against the Giants' signing of Barry Zito in a "which move was worse?" breakdown.
- If Jonathan Broxton loses the closer's job and Hong-Chih Kuo can't stay healthy, Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com suggests Vicente Padilla as an outside-the-box closing candidate.
- Billionaire Alec Gores may have an interest in buying the Dodgers, but his equally-rich brother Tom won't be joining the bid, reports Gregg Krupa of the Detroit News. Tom Gores is reportedly focusing his attention on buying the NBA's Detroit Pistons.
- ESPN NFL Insider Chris Sprow finds "it hard to fathom" that Jake Locker would consider leaving the NFL behind to refocus on his baseball career. Locker was a 10th round pick of the Angels in the 2009 draft, but is projected to be one of the first quarterbacks taken in this spring's NFL draft. ESPN.com's Jason A. Churchill opined that Locker could look to baseball as a fallback option if the NFL's labor troubles threaten the 2011-12 season.