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Twins Rumors: McCarthy, Blanton, Dempster, Myers

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Here's the latest on the Twins from Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN…

  • So far, the Twins have reached out to free agents Brandon McCarthy, Anibal Sanchez, Joe Blanton, Ryan Dempster, and Brett Myers. They're interested in Myers as a starter. They've also reached out to Brandon Webb even though he hasn't thrown a pitch in the big leagues since 2009.
  • The club continues to have regular conversations with Alan Nero, who represents right-hander Scott Baker. The two sides are working on a new contract after Baker's $9.25MM option was declined.
  • The Twins have not shown any interest in Jon Garland and were not present when the right-hander threw for teams during an audition back in September.
  • Talks with reliever Jared Burton about a contract extension are underway. Matt Swartz projects a $2.1MM salary for the right-hander next season, after which he'll become a free agent.
  • The Twins have inquired about reliever Randy Messenger, though the Hanshin Tigers in Japan will not allow the right-hander out of his contract.
  • The team has not contacted Bill Bray after he hit free agency. Special assistant Wayne Krivsky acquired the left-hander during his tenure as Reds GM.

AL Central Links: Willingham, Butler, Tigers, Cabrera

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Here's the latest from the home of the American League champion Tigers….

  • The Twins might not receive much more than a No. 4 starter in exchange for Josh Willingham, an AL executive tells Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities Radio.  "There's no doubt Josh has a very good contract, but I really doubt a team would trade a viable starting pitcher for a guy with a strong bat but who is limited defensively," the executive said.  "It's a lot easier to find a left-field or DH-type than to trade a good starting pitcher for one and then have to backfill the rotation spot."  The 33-year-old Willingham is owed $14MM through 2014 and posted an .890 OPS last season, but another AL executive says Denard Span is a better trade chip for Minnesota.
  • The Orioles have asked the Twins and Royals about Willingham and designated hitter Billy Butler, reports MLB.com's Paul Hagen.  Both the Twins and Royals are desperate for pitching and while the O's have some good young arms, I don't think Baltimore has the pitching depth to spare in either the majors or minors.
  • The Tigers want to keep backup catcher Gerald Laird but he will probably leave for a team that will give him more playing time, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.
  • The Tigers are generally active early in the offseason, though FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi (Twitter link) thinks this won't be the case this winter as the club's plans were pushed back by their World Series appearance.
  • Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch sees Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera as a good trade target for the Cardinals, and he suggests a few young Cards prospects who could go to Cleveland in exchange for the All-Star.

NL East Notes: Span, Hamilton, Wright, Upton

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We've already had one batch of NL East notes today but there's no shortage of news coming out of the division.  Here's the latest…

  • The Braves are looking at center field options to replace Michael Bourn and the Twins' Denard Span "is likely high on the list of potential trade target," writes David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  The Braves and Twins match up well as trade partners, as Minnesota is desperate for pitching and Atlanta is one of the few teams with available young arms.  The Braves "haven’t entirely given up" on re-signing Bourn, but the club is unlikely to match the demands from Bourn and agent Scott Boras.
  • Despite a report last week that claimed the Braves were "intrigued" by Josh Hamilton, O'Brien doesn't think Atlanta has much interest, as Hamilton is too expensive and the club would prefer to add a right-handed hitting bat.
  • While the Mets have begun to explore trade possibilities for R.A. Dickey, the Mets aren't yet looking to deal David Wright, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.  While the two sides aren't close to a contract extension, "there's always been a feeling something will get done with Wright, and while talks are taking much longer than expected or predicted, that hasn't changed," Heyman writes.
  • Phillies GM Ruben Amaro spoke to Larry Reynolds (B.J. Upton's agent) at the general managers' meetings and the two sides plan to stay in contact, a source tells Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.  One executive told Salisbury that Upton "was the Phils' priority" this offseason.
  • The Phillies are close to a new contract with Kevin Frandsen, reports ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link).  The 30-year-old Frandsen hit an impressive .338/.383/.451 in 210 plate appearances for the Phillies last season, taking over as their regular third baseman in the second half of the year.  Frandsen is arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter, and MLBTR's Matt Swartz projected Frandsen would earn $800K.

Sherman’s Latest: Dickey, Wright, Hunter, Upton

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Here's the latest from Joel Sherman of The New York Post…

  • The Mets are making progress, albeit slowly, in contract talks with David Wright and R.A. Dickey. The impression is that there is still a substantial gap in talks with Dickey, and they've been gauging his trade value during the GM Meetings. They are not doing the same with Wright, however.
  • The Yankees would not do a two-year deal worth $20MM or so for Torii Hunter since they want to get under the luxury tax threshold next year. They are fixated on one-year contracts this offseason and could fill their right field hole with a low-cost platoon.
  • "The Yankees are not on him," said a source about Justin Upton, in part because they're unsure if he's a good fit for New York (Twitter link). The Rangers and Rays are strongest early players for Upton, and Sherman gets the sense that the D'Backs want to act quickly (Twitter links).
  • The Diamondbacks want high-end, MLB ready players in return for Upton and would love to get Jurickson Profar or (more likely) Elvis Andrus from the Rangers. They don't love Mike Olt, however (Twitter links). GM Kevin Towers likes Yankees prospect Mason Williams, but he is several years away from the show and unlikely to be enough to headline a trade package (all Twitter links).
  • Next year's crop of free agent starting pitchers is weak, which could benefit Zack Greinke since teams won't be able to find a stopgap and reassess next year. Josh Johnson and Tim Lincecum highlight next winter's pitching crop, and both come with question marks.
  • The Mariners, who have young pitching, are said to be talking to the Royals and Twins, who have young hitting. Seattle would love to pry Wil Myers, Aaron Hicks, and/or Ben Revere loose.
  • Jason Bay didn't produce with the Mets, but he lived up to his billing as a hard worker and good teammate. Sherman expects the outfielder to take a low-salary, change of scenery deal (Twitter link).
  • Mets officials think Scott Hairston will get a two-year deal worth between $8-10MM this winter.

Twins To Sign Deduno, Vasquez

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The Twins have agreed to sign Sam Deduno and Esmerling Vasquez to minor league contracts, Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Both pitchers were outrighted off of Minnesota's 40-man roster in recent weeks.

Deduno, 29, started 15 games for the Twins this past season, posting a 4.44 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 6.0 BB/9 in 79 innings. The right-hander also has some MLB experience with the Rockies and Padres. Vasquez, 28, started six games for the Twins in 2012, posting a 5.68 ERA with 4.0 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 in 31 2/3 innings. The Twins claimed him off of waivers from Arizona in September of 2011.

Cafardo On Shields, Twins, Wells, Red Sox, Aceves

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After 25 years as a General Manager and president of the Twins, Cubs, and Orioles, Andy MacPhail stepped away from baseball last season to take care of his ailing father.  Now, MacPhail tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that he wants to return to baseball in some capacity.  The executive was often viewed as a future commissioner and it would make sense for him to get involved with the league office.  He also won’t rule out working as a GM again, but he has yet do discuss that with any team and most clubs already have their front office leadership in place.  Here’s more from Cafardo..

  • The Twins have already inquired on Rays pitcher James Shields.  Tampa Bay will field plenty of other calls on Shields in the coming weeks but whether they pull the trigger to obtain offense remains to be seen.  The Dodgers say they’re not shopping Andre Ethier, but it may make sense to use him to get Shields if they have their eye on Josh Hamilton.  The problem there is that the Rays may not be able to carry Ethier’s contract.
  • The Angels are shopping Vernon Wells in an effort to clear some of the $42MM still owed to him.  The Halos have tried to start talks with the Red Sox and would like to get John Lackey back, but the Sox are curious to see what Lackey looks like after Tommy John surgery.
  • There was speculation that the Red Sox were trying to include Alfredo Aceves in a deal for Dan Haren.  The Red Sox love Aceves’ arm and stuff, but could do without the high maintenance. Aceves is very much available, but they won’t give him away for nothing.  The pitcher can fill different roles, but he still prefers to start.
  • The Dodgers would love to reunite with free agent Hiroki Kuroda.  The hurler could have more suitors than any other pitcher this winter if the Yankees don’t tie him up quickly.
  • Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia is taking a wait-and-see approach on his agents, the Levinson brothers.  A few clients have already jumped ship but Pedroia noted that they have been good to him and his family.
  • The Red Sox would like to re-sign Vicente Padilla, but he is on the radar of a few teams, including the Angels, who are desperately looking to retool their bullpen.  Padilla ran out of gas late in the year but turned in a decent year in total.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Ishikawa, Torres, Ford, Nickeas

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Tonight’s outright assignments..

  • The Brewers announced via press release that they have outrighted first baseman Travis Ishikawa to Triple-A Nashville.  Ishikawa, 29, hit .257/.329/.428 with four homers in 94 games last season.
  • The Rockies announced (via Twitter) that they have outrighted right-hander Carlos Torres.  In related moves, the club selected the contracts of right-hander Josh Sullivan, reinstated Todd Helton, Juan Nicasio, and Christian Friedrich from the 60-day DL.  The right-hander appeared in 31 games for the Rockies this season posting a 5.26 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9.
  • The Orioles announced (via Twitter) that they have outrighted Lew Ford, Zach Phillips and Steven Tolleson to Triple-A Norfolk.  Ford turned in another strong Triple-A batting line in 2012, hitting .331/.390/.550 with 11 homers in 62 games.
  • Mets catcher Mike Nickeas cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Las Vegas, tweets Andy McCullough of The Star-Ledger.  Nickeas saw time in 47 big league games for the Mets this season as one of several backstops to pitch in at the position.
  • The Twins announced that right-hander Sam Deduno has been assigned outright to Triple-A Rochester.  The move will help make room for the acquisitions of Thomas Field, Josh Roenicke, and Alexi Casilla off of waivers.
  • The Royals sent catcher Manny Pina to Triple-A Omaha on outright assignment, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.  In related moves, left-hander Danny Duffy and right-hander Felipe Paulino have been reinstated from the 60-day disabled list.  Pina, 25, hit .260/.389/.397 in 162 Double-A plate appearances last year.

Orioles Claim Alexi Casilla

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The Orioles claimed second baseman Alexi Casilla off of waivers from the Twins, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports (Twitter links). The Orioles have confirmed the move.

Casilla had been a non-tender candidate in Minnesota since he projects to earn $1.8MM following a disappointing season. The 28-year-old hit .241/.282/.321 in 326 plate appearances in 2012. Orioles executive VP Dan Duquette said the acquisition of Casilla means the Orioles won't pursue other second basemen, Connolly reports.

Twins Claim Josh Roenicke, Thomas Field

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The Twins claimed reliever Josh Roenicke and infielder Thomas Field off of waivers from the Rockies, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports (Twitter links). Neither player has become arbitration eligible yet.

Roenicke made 63 relief appearances for the Rockies this past season, completing 88 2/3 innings. The 30-year-old posted a career-best 3.25 ERA with 5.5 K/9, 4.4 BB/9 and a 50.2% ground ball rate with Colorado. His average fastball checks in at 92.3 mph and he generated swinging strikes with 8.8% of his offerings.

Field, 25, appeared in two games with the Rockies this past season. He spent most of the year at Triple-A, where he posted a .246/.315/.400 batting line in 494 plate appearances as the team's primary shortstop.

Twins Notes: Santana, Casilla, Messenger

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The Twins made a push to trade for Ervin Santana before the Royals acquired him this week, Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN.com reports. The Twins were “in heavily” on Santana, but they wanted the Angels to absorb more than $1MM in salary. Here are some more Twins-related notes from Wolfson…

  • Rays starter James Shields could become a target for the Twins in Wolfson’s view.
  • Assistant GM Rob Antony was expected to speak with the agent for second baseman Alexi Casilla yesterday. It seems likely that the Twins will non-tender Casilla, who’s arbitration eligible this winter. You can view MLBTR’s full list of non-tender candidates here.
  • The Twins have inquired about right-hander Randy Messenger. The 31-year-old last pitched at the MLB level in 2009, but he is coming off of a strong season with the Hanshin Tigers in Japan. Messenger posted a 2.52 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 196 2/3 innings this past season.
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