GM Trade Histories: NL East
Brendan Bianowicz is back with a bunch of updates to the GM Trade History series. The Excel spreadsheets linked below cover each GM's trades, free agent signings, and top draft picks via tabs along the bottom. It's interesting to see each GM's most frequent trade partner – for example, Omar Minaya has matched up with Larry Beinfest and Mark Shapiro most often in his career.
Odds & Ends: Byrd, Werth, Tigers, Brewers
Here's your first batch of links for 2010…
- Marlon Byrd signed with the Cubs partly because of hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. Jaramillo worked with Byrd in Texas.
- The Marlins are willing to spend on Aroldis Chapman because they don't anticipate handing big bucks over to their first round pick next year, tweets MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. The Marlins have the 23rd overall pick in the draft.
- Jayson Werth is set to become a free agent after the 2010 season, and MLB.com's Todd Zolecki says he isn't sure the Phillies could retain him if he goes looking for a deal similar to what the Mets gave Jason Bay.
- Jason Beck of MLB.com says he'd be surprised if the Tigers didn't trade for a veteran reliever on a short-term contract to fill in at the back of the bullpen.
- Don't discount the idea of Brewers' GM Doug Melvin making another move to bolster his pitching staff, says Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Such a move could come before the season, or ahead of the trade deadline.
- MLB.com's Corey Brock notes that Padres' GM Jed Hoyer has talked about finding players that fit Petco Park, which would be "an athletic one, has doubles-power, someone who can run … if it's an outfielder, someone who can go get a ball, someone who won't clog the bases."
- The Rangers will bring in "at least one and possibly two" veteran catchers, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. He notes that the team has talked about Rod Barajas and Yorvit Torrealba, but both are looking for two-year deals.
- In an interview with Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chipper Jones says that he's told team officials he'll only change positions if the team brings in "the right personnel." Chipper also reiterated that he's going year-to-year at this point of his career, and admits there's parts of being a ballplayer that he's sick of.
- Here's the current 2010 draft order based on the free agent signings that are official. At the moment, the Angels have five of the first 37 picks.
Angels Preparing Offer For Chapman?
Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles says that the Angels "appear to be lining up an offer" for Cuban southpaw Aroldis Chapman. The Halos might have an advantage over other clubs in the Chapman sweepstakes because of first baseman Kendry Morales, who has become a good friend of the lefthander.
"Selfishly, we're a nice fit. It's hard to come over here, and Kendry gives him some idea of the pitfalls of the adjustment," Angels scouting director Eddie Bane said. "It's a fit, but who knows? It depends on the price."
So far only two teams have made an offer to Chapman (the Red Sox and Marlins), and Bane said that he doesn't "see a team like Oakland or Kansas City or someone like that getting him." We just learned about the A's interest in Chapman two days ago.
The Market For Jose Valverde
Jose Valverde and Juan Cruz have a lot in common. The two relievers were born within months of each other in the same country; they both pile up big strikeout totals; they even anchored Arizona's bullpen together for a couple seasons. Now Valverde's Type A status is limiting interest from potential suitors, just as Cruz's did a year ago.
Valverde has struck out over a batter per inning every year of his major league career, so he'd be a difference maker in any bullpen. The only season in which he has allowed more hits than innings pitched came in 2006 when he surrendered 50 hits in 49.1 innings. His fastball has been extremely effective and consistently hits the upper nineties.
The 31-year-old right-hander is one of the top free agents available, but he hasn't generated much buzz this offseason, partly because he'll cost teams a high draft pick. He could return to the D'Backs, who are keeping an eye on him, and it's too early in the winter to rule out a surprise bidder, but so far the market doesn't appear to have developed.
The Marlins, Pirates and Tigers could use closers, but as ESPN.com's Buster Olney recently pointed out, those three teams seem unlikely to spend big on Valverde or any other reliever. Plus, Valverde would cost the Tigers and Marlins their first round picks and the Pirates would have to give up a second rounder to sign him. The Nationals and Orioles were connected to Valverde earlier in the month, but they've moved on and signed Matt Capps and Mike Gonzalez, respectively.
The market for Valverde doesn't look good now, but there's some hope for him: Cruz did sign a multi-year deal in the end.
Odds & Ends: Mariners, Gomes, Holliday, Bay
Links for Wednesday…
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times sees Adam LaRoche as the best free agent first base option for the Mariners. He likes the idea of acquiring the Orioles' Luke Scott as an alternative.
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer talked to Reds assistant GM Bob Miller, who said Jonny Gomes wants to explore the market.
- Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch can't see how Scott Boras will find a suitor for Matt Holliday aside from the Cardinals.
- WEEI's Alex Speier looks back at the circumstances that resulted in Jason Bay being traded by Omar Minaya and Steve Phillips early in his career.
- MLB.com's Joe Frisaro has a new Marlins mailbag up, in which he explains that Dan Uggla no longer appears to be a fit for the Giants.
Athletics Rumors: Chapman, Duchscherer, Beltre
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle brings us the latest A's buzz…
- The A's are "in the thick of the bidding" for Aroldis Chapman. We saw a tweet yesterday from MLB.com's Joe Frisaro that the Marlins are also "firmly in the Chapman sweepstakes." ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. pointed out yesterday that Chapman stands to lose millions to taxes if he signs in 2010, and it's unlikely the paperwork could be done in time even if an agreement is reached in '09.
- Slusser says Justin Duchscherer had a physical yesterday and his signing should be announced this morning. His contract calls for a $2MM base with another $3.5MM in incentives.
- The Athletics' talks for Adrian Beltre "have not progressed much beyond the initial stages," writes Slusser. ESPN's Buster Olney wrote on Saturday that the A's are "taking a serious look" at Beltre. We read details on Boston's interest from ESPN's Gordon Edes yesterday.
Odds & Ends: Bay, Guardado, Yankees, Marlins
Let's round up some lingering Tuesday links….
- John Tomase of the Boston Herald reports that the Red Sox kept in touch with Jason Bay's representation right up until the outfielder agreed to terms with the Mets. Boston was a longshot destination for Bay though, with the Angels and Mariners also involved.
- Like Brian Bruney, Eddie Guardado hopes to close for the Nationals in 2010, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com. Doesn't seem too likely, with Bruney and Matt Capps on board, but Guardado could earn a setup role for the Nats.
- Dave Cameron of Fangraphs argues that even if they have the money to sign Matt Holliday, the Yankees don't need him. ESPN.com's Rob Neyer and Joseph Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues respond to Cameron's piece.
- The Florida Marlins haven't been aggressively signing their arbitration-eligible players so far this winter, but they should take care of it soon, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro (via Twitter).
- Frisaro also tweets that the Marlins remain "firmly" entrenched in the Aroldis Chapman sweepstakes.
Odds & Ends: Uggla, Marlins, Pirates
Let's check out some links on this Sunday evening…
- In his column this morning, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wrote that there is "no doubt" the Marlins are planning another salary dump with Dan Uggla at the center of it. Cafardo adds that the club, which receives a ton in revenue-sharing and central-fund money, is looking to keep its profit margin high.
- Meanwhile, the Marlins are eager to stay just below $40MM in payroll, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Considering their $36.8MM payroll entering last season and the mass of players owed raises in arbitration, moving Uggla would likely put them where they want to be.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette estimates that the Pirates' offer to Matt Capps was about $500K shy of what he received from the Nationals. With Washington, Capps will earn a base salary of $3.5MM with the chance to make an additional $425K in performance bonuses.
Atlanta Interested In Dan Uggla?
According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the Braves have "mild" interest in Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla, who they would place in left field. However, landing the 29-year-old might prove to be too costly for Braves GM Frank Wren.
The Palm Beach Post's Joe Capozzi writes that the Marlins would have to be "blown away" by a proposal to surrender Uggla to a division rival. Furthermore, Uggla's stated desire to remain at second base would throw a wrench in Wren's plans. Capozzi stresses that even though the Marlins are willing to open the season with Uggla if they can't find the right deal, they are working hard to move him.
Moving Uggla would leave Florida with a void at his position, assuming they don't receive a second baseman in return. Capozzi says that the recent signing of infielder Danny Richar to a minor-league deal would give Florida depth at the position. He also mentioned Emilio Bonifacio as a candidate, someone who MLB.com's Joe Frisaro believes would be given a shot to be the everyday solution, along with Chris Coghlan.
While the Marlins do have options available to fill the gap, none of those options can come close to producing at the same level as the two-time All-Star.
Marlins Notes: Amezaga, Uggla, Coghlan
MLB.com's Joe Frisaro answered some questions from fans and discussed all things Marlins in his latest inbox piece…
- Though Florida non-tendered Alfredo Amezaga earlier this month, "both sides have mutual interest" in seeing the utilityman back in the teal-and-black. Amezaga played in just 27 games last season due to knee surgery, and was non-tendered since he likely would have earned an arbitration raise from his 2009 salary of $1.3MM. If the Fish are hoping to sign Amezaga at a lower price, however, they'll have to make a better offer than the other 10 teams interested in Amezaga's services.
- If Dan Uggla is traded, Frisaro thinks that it isn't automatic that Chris Coghlan would take over at second base. Frisaro thinks the defensively-superior Emilio Bonifacio would be given a shot at playing second, though he notes that both Bonifacio and Coghlan combined couldn't make up Uggla's power numbers.
- Frisaro shoots down any chance of the Marlins pursuing Erik Bedard, since even on a short-term and discounted contract, he's still out of the club's price range.
- Moreso than finding a starter, Frisaro says that Florida's greater priority is signing an experienced reliever.