Dodgers Designate Brent Leach For Assignment
5:43pm: The Yokohama BayStars signed Leach, according to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker.
5:07pm: The Dodgers designated Brent Leach for assignment, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times (on Twitter). The lefty appeared in 38 games for the Dodgers in 2009, but hasn't surfaced in the majors since.
Like Scott Nestor, whom the Dodgers signed today, Leach has struggled with command and posted high strikeout totals as a professional. Leach, who has started occasionally in the minors, has posted 9.3 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 over the course of his six-year minor league career. Last year he posted a 5.25 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 104 2/3 innings for the Dodgers' Double-A and Triple-A affiliates. Now 28, Leach has been in the Dodgers organization since they selected him in the 6th round of the 2005 draft.
Dodgers Sign Scott Nestor
The Dodgers signed right-handed pitching prospect Scott Nestor to a minor league deal, MLBTR has learned. The 26-year-old reliever has struck out more than a batter per inning in his eight-year minor league career, but has struggled to limit walks.
In 67 innings split between Triple-A and A ball last year, Nestor posted a 5.91 ERA with typically high strikeout (8.6 K/9) and walk (7.1 BB/9) rates. Though he allows lots of walks, Nestor has limited hits throughout the minors (career 7.8 H/9). The California native pitched for Giants affiliates last year after spending time in the Pirates, Phillies and Marlins organizations.
Greinke Links: Nationals, Yankees, Pavano, Reactions
It's not often that the Brewers and Royals are the two teams dominating discussion around baseball, but that's exactly what's happening today, after the clubs agreed to a blockbuster deal. Let's check out some reactions and a few more details on the trade that will send Zack Greinke to Milwaukee….
- According to Yahoo's Tim Brown (via Twitter), the Dodgers were discussing Greinke and even brought a third team into the mix in an attempt to meet Kansas City's needs. Ultimately, they ran out of time.
- SI.com's Jon Heyman reports that the Royals were close to a deal that would've sent Greinke to Washington, if not for the right-hander's no-trade clause. MLB.com's Bill Ladson confirms that Greinke turned down a potential trade to the Nationals (Twitter links). Heyman adds that Drew Storen and Danny Espinosa likely would've been involved in the hypothetical deal (Twitter link).
- Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post hears that the Royals coveted Jordan Zimmermann, who the Nats were reluctant to give up.
- Heyman tweets that Greinke approved the Brewers and not the Nats because he believes Milwaukee is closer to serious contention. He's also apparently fond of the city.
- According to Heyman (via Twitter), Greinke told the Royals that he wouldn't mind playing for the Yankees, but New York never got close to making a trade for the Kansas City ace.
- The Brewers had some interest in Carl Pavano, who they presumably won't pursue now. As such, the Twins' leverage with Pavano should improve, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets that the $2MM going to Milwaukee will cover the buyout for Yuniesky Betancourt's 2012 option, if the Brewers choose to buy him out.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports praises Brewers GM Doug Melvin for choosing an established player over prospects. Rosenthal also examines the trade from the Royals' perspective.
- With Prince Fielder a year from free agency, Melvin saw the team's window for playoff contention closing and moved aggressively to improve the 2011 roster, writes Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.
- Fangraphs' Marc Hulet breaks down the package acquired by Kansas City, noting that their haul is "certainly quantity over quality." In an Insider-only article, ESPN.com's Keith Law makes a similar point, calling the Royals' return "bulk, and fit, but not impact."
- Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus and two front office people he spoke to "really like" the move for the Royals (Twitter link).
Dodgers In Contact With Three For Left Field
At this time last season, the Dodgers were ready to start the season with a future Hall of Famer roaming left field. Now they're still trying to find someone for the job after Scott Podsednik declined his half of a mutual option. They had some interest in Bill Hall, but he decided to sign with the Astros. The Dodgers have now turned their attention to three other left field candidates according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick, making contact with Marcus Thames and the brothers Hairston: Scott and Jerry Jr.
Thames, 34 in March, hit .288/.350/.491 in 237 plate appearances for the Yankees in 2010, his best offensive season since 2006. He's a disaster defensively, with a -27.4 UZR/150 in left over the last three seasons. Jerry, the older of the two brothers, played primarily shortstop for the Padres last year, hitting .244/.299/.353 in 476 plate appearances. He dealt with a stress fracture in his tibia at the end of the season. His brother hit .210/.295/.346 in 336 plate appearances for San Diego while battling hamstring issues.
Both Thames and Scott excel at punishing left-handers, with .264/.333/.505 and .278/.331/.498 career batting lines against southpaws, respectively. That would be useful in a division that features lefties Barry Zito, Jonathan Sanchez, Joe Saunders, and Clayton Richard, among others.
Odds & Ends: Hall, Wood, Jenks, Angels
Some links after another busy day in baseball..
- Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times wonders what the Dodgers will do now that Bill Hall is off of the market.
- The one-year, $1.5MM guarantee that Kerry Wood received from the Cubs isn't close to the bids he received from the Yankees and Red Sox, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. In fact, the Yankees would have bid $10MM over two seasons if the right-hander was interested.
- Bobby Jenks will give Boston's bullpen a much needed shot in the arm, writes MLB.com's Mike Bauman.
- Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports wonders if the Angels plan on being frugal this winter.
Busy Offseason For The Dodgers
The Red Sox, Nationals and Phillies have made the biggest acquisitions of the offseason, but none of those teams have been quite as active as one West Coast club. Since the Dodgers' season ended, they have added four starters, two catchers, their starting second baseman, a setup man, a fourth outfielder and then some.
Ned Colletti agreed to sign eight players for $1MM or more. He has mixed in some low-cost acquisitions with some major commitments. Three multiyear deals later, the team has committed over $90MM to players so far this offseason. Here's the breakdown, which you can find via our Transaction Tracker:
- Ted Lilly (extension) three years, $33MM
- Juan Uribe (signing) three years, $21MM
- Matt Guerrier (signing) three years, $12MM
- Hiroki Kuroda (signing) one year, $12MM
- Jon Garland (signing) one year, $5MM
- Rod Barajas (signing) one year, $3.5MM
- Vicente Padilla (signing) one year, $2MM
- Dioner Navarro (signing) one year, $1MM
- The Dodgers have signed Tony Gwynn, Jay Gibbons, Juan Castro, Eugenio Velez, JD Closser, Trent Oeltjen, Alexis Pacheco and Dana Eveland to deals worth less than $1MM.
- Colletti also acquired Blake Hawksworth and Anthony Jackson in trades.
The Dodgers have not signed a Type A free agent who turned down an offer of arbitration (the Twins declined to offer Guerrier arbitration) so they still have all of their top 2011 draft picks. Their first rounder is protected, but they would lose a second rounder in the unlikely event that they sign Carl Pavano, Adrian Beltre or Grant Balfour.
Yankees Rumors: Soriano, Hall, Garcia, Joba
We found out lots about the Bronx Bombers' search for pitching yesterday: it seems likely that Andy Pettitte will return to the Yankees, they don't like Brandon Webb that much and they're looking at left-handed relievers. We've since learned that they're making progress with Pedro Feliciano and that deals for Carlos Zambrano or Felix Hernandez seem unlikely at best. Here's the latest on their pitching hunt, plus news on a position player:
- The Yankees are not in on Rafael Soriano, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link). They aren't anxious to pay closer money for a pitcher who will set up for Mariano Rivera. ESPN.com's Buster Olney agrees that the Yankees are not in on Soriano (Twitter link).
- The Yankees and Dodgers are the "most aggressive" of the four teams interested in Bill Hall, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. We heard about the Yankees' interest in Hall last month, and the Astros and Pirates are probably the other two clubs in the hunt.
- The Yanks have asked for the medicals on Freddy Garcia, according to Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).
- In spite of the club's lack of rotation depth, Brian Cashman tells MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez that Joba Chamberlain will remain in the bullpen.
- In another piece from Alden Gonzalez, Mariano Rivera says that the Red Sox did pursue him this offseason, but he can't really imagine pitching for Boston.
MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post
Dodgers, Giants, Rays Finalists For Guillermo Mota
Guillermo Mota has been offered minor league contracts from five clubs and the "finalists" for his services are the Dodgers, Giants and Rays, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes (Twitter link). Mota, 37, signed a $750K minor league deal with San Francisco last winter, but it paid off in the form of his first World Series ring. Mota posted a 4.33 ERA in 56 relief appearances last season, including 2 1/3 scoreless innings in the Fall Classic.
The well-traveled Mota has pitched for seven teams in his 12-year career, and it would be his third stint in Dodger blue if he were to sign with Los Angeles. The Rays have already added one veteran reliever today in Joel Peralta, but have a clear need for more bullpen help given how many of their 2010 relievers are testing the free agent waters.
Dodgers To Sign Matt Guerrier
The Dodgers signed Matt Guerrier to a three-year deal, the team announced today. The deal is for $12MM over three years, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Newsday's Erik Boland first reported the agreement (on Twitter).
The right-hander joins Scott Downs and Joaquin Benoit as the setup relievers to agree to three-year contracts this winter. Guerrier will not cost a draft pick, since the Twins declined to offer him arbitration.
Guerrier led the league in appearances in 2008-09 and pitched in 74 games this past season. Not only is he durable, he is a ground ball pitcher with a career 2.7 K/BB ratio against righties. That figure drops against lefties (1.5 K/BB), but he induces more ground balls against them.
However, defense independent pitching stats like FIP and xFIP suggest Guerrier's 3.17 ERA would have been higher if he had been less lucky in 2010. He posted solid ratios of 5.3 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 last year, but both rates were better in 2009.
The Red Sox, Orioles and Blue Jays also expressed interest in the 32-year-old this offseason. Boston offered a two-year deal with a vesting option for 2013, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. The Rockies also bid on Guerrier, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link).
When I examined Guerrier's free agent stock earlier in the offseason, I expected him to land a one-year deal, so agent Joe Bick deserves credit for taking advantage of a player-friendly market.
Dodgers Sign Dioner Navarro
The Dodgers signed Dioner Navarro, the team announced. He'll earn $1MM, according to the Associated Press (via the Miami Herald).
The Rays non-tendered the former Dodger earlier in the month after his tenure in Tampa Bay ended poorly. Navarro made the All-Star team in 2008, when he batted .295/.349/.407, but his line is just .212/.263/.306 in 552 plate appearances since.
GM Ned Colletti says the Dodgers "are comfortable with how [Navarro] handles a pitching staff,” calling the 26-year-old a “solid Major League catcher."
Navarro joined the Dodgers in '05 as part of the Shawn Green trade with Arizona, but then was shipped to Tampa Bay the following year. Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times first reported the Dodgers' agreement with Navarro (on Twitter).