Central Links: Danks, Twins, Indians, Royals, Cubs
Here are some links from baseball's two central divisions…
- The White Sox have been shopping left-hander John Danks in advance of the winter meetings, reports Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. He won't come cheap though, with one of Cowley's sources saying: "[ChiSox GM Kenny Williams] asked for everyone on our roster in return."
- Yesterday we heard about the Twins' interest in retaining Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel, and today Joe Mauer told MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger that he's willing to help recruit free agents to Minnesota. "I told [GM Terry Ryan] and everybody here that I'm here to do everything I can to help out," said Mauer. "I want to be part of the solution that gets us back to where we need to get to."
- The Indians are not expected to bid on any Japanese players going through the posting process, reports Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer (on Twitter). That would include Hiroyuki Nakajima (who was posted on Monday) and possibly Yu Darvish.
- ESPN's Buster Olney says (on Twitter) that the Royals are looking to a utilityman, preferably someone that hits left-handed. As our Free Agent Tracker shows, players like Andres Blanco, Craig Counsell, and Willie Harris are available.
- Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune reports that the Cubs have hired Chris Bosio to be their new pitching coach. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein confirmed that the rest of the coaching staff would be announced at the winter meetings next week.
Twins Interested In Jeff Francis And Edwin Jackson
The Twins were among the finalists for Chris Capuano before the left-hander signed with the Dodgers, and now they're turning their attention to Jeff Francis and Edwin Jackson according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. They've had preliminary discussions with Francis' agent and are likely to continue talks at the winter meetings next week.
Jackson, a Scott Boras client, would not a cost draft to sign as a Type-B free agent, but Minnesota is wary of his price tag according to Morosi. At the moment, the Twinkies have Carl Pavano, Scott Baker, Nick Blackburn, Francisco Liriano, Kevin Slowey, and Brian Duensing as potential starters, but Baker, Liriano, and Blackburn have injury concerns and Slowey is a non-tender candidate.
Rosenthal On Capuano, Fielder, Marlins, Red Sox
The Twins offered Chris Capuano a two-year deal before he accepted the Dodgers' offer, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Here are more of Rosenthal's notes from around MLB…
- The Marlins have discussed Prince Fielder internally and some team officials like the idea of pursuing him, according to Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi. However, they're more focused on Albert Pujols. Agent Scott Boras is telling teams that Fielder is the last available young power bat until Mike Stanton hits free agency.
- The Pirates were also pursuing Capuano before he signed, Morosi tweets.
- One GM says other teams backed off from Jose Reyes after the Marlins offered him $90MM over six years.
- The Cardinals offered Albert Pujols a nine-year deal worth $190-200MM in Spring Training and haven’t changed their proposal since.
- The Red Sox are exploring every trade possibility and considering every free agent closer, according to Rosenthal. Boston is hoping to find a bargain somewhere in the crowded market for top-tier relievers.
Twins Interested In Chris Capuano
The Twins are interested in free agent left-hander Chris Capuano, reports La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Twitter link). The Dodgers are the only other club known to be pursuing Capuano, whose desire for a two-year contract was the reason the Mets lost interest in re-signing him.
Capuano, 33, posted a 4.55 ERA in 33 games (31 of them starts) for the Mets last season, though as Ben Nicholson-Smith explained in a recent Free Agent Stock Watch post, Capuano's xFIP and SIERA were each almost a full run lower. Capuano didn't pitch in 2008 or 2009 due to Tommy John surgery and has spent all seven of his pro seasons in the National League. He would seem like a good fit in Minnesota, where the rotation is unsettled beyond Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker and Carl Pavano.
AL Central Notes: Cespedes, Royals, Cuddyer
The Tigers, who agreed to sign Ramon Santiago to a two-year deal today, have interest in Coco Crisp. Here are the latest updates from their division, starting with a note on another possible outfield target for Detroit:
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski will watch Yoenis Cespedes play in the Dominican Republic, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com, who suggests this is “very unusual” for Dombrowski (Twitter link). Cespedes isn’t yet a free agent, but he’s in the process of establishing temporary residency in the Dominican and may hit the open market soon.
- Before the Royals signed Jonathan Broxton, outfielder Jeff Francoeur and manager Ned Yost went hunting with the right-hander in Georgia, according to Kevin Kernan of the New York Post. The outing helped convince Broxton to join the Royals.
- Twins manager Ron Gardenhire says the team is "making a mad effort" to sign Michael Cuddyer, according to Phil Mackey of ESPN 1500 (on Twitter).
- Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle hears Josh Willingham may be a fit in Minnesota if the Twins don’t re-sign Cuddyer. Similarly, the Red Sox may have interest if they don’t re-sign David Ortiz, Slusser writes.
Quick Hits: Murton, Wilson, Twins, Draft
Here are some links for Monday night as we anticipate the end of a managerial search in Boston and the beginning of a GM search in Houston…
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker hears that Matt Murton will return to the Hanshin Tigers for 2012 (Twitter link). Murton could have been an outside-the-box alternative for teams looking for outfield help this offseason. The 30-year-old has a .286/.352/.436 line in parts of five MLB seasons and has hit well in Japan.
- C.J. Wilson, who visited with the Marlins today, has another free agent visit scheduled this week, but it’s not with the Rangers, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter).
- Twins people expect former GM Bill Smith to remain in the organization, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Minnesota replaced Smith with longtime GM Terry Ryan earlier this month.
- Speaking of the Twins, they’re one of many teams in on Yoenis Cespedes, according to Yahoo’s Tim Brown. This appears to be the first time they’ve been linked to the 26-year-old outfielder.
- The Astros are shopping Wandy Rodriguez all over, according to Brown.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America hears that the 30 MLB teams will be limited to $180MM in total spending for the first ten rounds of the draft under the new collective bargaining agreement (Twitter link).
- Teams that fail to sign top draft picks can’t re-allocate the money saved toward deals for other draft picks, according to MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo. For example, a team that fails to sign a top pick who had a recommended bonus of $1.5MM would see its spending ceiling fall by $1.5MM and would not have the option of spending that $1.5MM on other players.
Central Notes: Pena, Twins, Quade, Rodriguez
Some items out of the AL and NL Central to round out the evening..
- Cubs first baseman Carlos Pena is unlikely to accept the club's arbitration offer, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. Heyman writes that the Type B free agent should be able to land a multi-year deal after hitting .225/.357/.462 with 28 homers in 2011.
- Twins insiders believe that the new collective bargaining agreement will make it easier for them to sign the No. 2 pick in next June’s draft, writes Joe Christensen of the Star Tribune. The slot bonus for that pick has been set at $6.2MM.
- More from Christensen as he writes that before hiring Gene Glynn as their Triple-A skipper, the Twins spoke to recently dismissed Cubs manager Mike Quade, who was a top minor-league manager before landing the Cubs' job. Quade wasn’t interested, as he’ll still be drawing a paycheck from the Cubs for 2012.
- Wandy Rodriguez represents an appealing option for several teams looking to improve their starting pitching, writes Stephen Goff of Examiner. Earlier today, Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe wrote that the Astros are getting more and more inquiries about the availability of the 32-year-old and the Red Sox are among the interested clubs.
- MLB.com's Mark Sheldon (video link) doesn't see the Reds moving Yonder Alonso for anything less than a top-end starter. Sheldon goes on to say that he thinks the Reds should hang on to the 24-year-old slugger.
Heyman On Ortiz, Rodriguez, Nathan
Now that this year's arbitration offers are officially in, the free agent market has become that much easier to read. Jon Heyman of SI.com examines some of last night’s decisions and provides more notes from around the league (all Twitter links):
- One agent predicts David Ortiz could get $16MM if he accepts Boston’s offer of arbitration. Heyman suggests a two-year deal in the $25-28MM range could also work for both sides.
- Though the Brewers took on some risk by offering Francisco Rodriguez arbitration, the right-hander seeks a multiyear deal and a closing job, so he’ll decline Milwaukee’s offer. The Brewers already have John Axford in place, so for Rodriguez to close games he’ll have to move on.
- The Twins offered Joe Nathan a two-year deal that would have guaranteed him a bit less than the $14.75MM contract he signed in Texas. However, one AL executive told Heyman that Nathan "wanted to go to Texas."
American League Free Agent Arbitration Offers
10 American League teams have free agent arbitration offer decisions to make, and we'll update them in this post throughout the day in advance of the 11pm central time deadline. For a fantastic customizable chart with all 57 Type A/B free agents and their teams' decisions in real-time, click here.
Updated team decisions:
- The Blue Jays offered arbitration to Frank Francisco (B), Kelly Johnson (A, will not cost signing team a draft pick), Jose Molina (B) and Jon Rauch (B), according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (on Twitter). They declined to offer Shawn Camp (B) arbitration.
- The Red Sox announced that they offered David Ortiz (A) and Dan Wheeler (B) arbitration. They declined to offer Jason Varitek (B) arbitration. Jonathan Papelbon (A) already signed with the Phillies.
- The Yankees offered Freddy Garcia (B) arbitration according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch (on Twitter).
- The Royals offered Bruce Chen (B) arbitration, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
- The White Sox announced they've offered arbitration to Mark Buehrle (B) and not Juan Pierre (B).
- The Athletics announced David DeJesus (B) and Josh Willingham (A, will not cost signing team a draft pick) were offered arbitration.
- The Rangers announced C.J. Wilson (A) will be offered arbitration. Modified Type B free agent Darren Oliver does not require an offer.
- The Orioles announced they will not offer arbitration to Vladimir Guerrero (B).
- Twins GM Terry Ryan said today on a conference call that he will offer arbitration to Michael Cuddyer (A, will not cost signing team a draft pick) and Jason Kubel (B), and noted that no arbitration offer is necessary for modified Type B free agent Matt Capps.
Teams with decisions still due:
- Tigers: Wilson Betemit (B), Magglio Ordonez (B)
Quick Hits: Red Sox, Sizemore, Padres, Chen
Links for Wednesday night as we await arbitration decisions from the National and American Leagues…
- Rob Bradford of WEEI.com surveyed this offseason's stronger-than-usual relief market with the help of many Major League GMs. The Red Sox aren’t desperate for a closer, because Daniel Bard and Bobby Jenks are already in their ‘pen, but GM Ben Cherington figures to explore the market for closers after losing Jonathan Papelbon to the Phillies.
- The Phillies, Rockies and Cubs had more interest in Grady Sizemore than any teams except the Indians, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Twitter links). Hoynes has the details on Sizemore’s incentives: the outfielder obtains $1MM if he reaches 500 plate appearances and $500K for every 25 plate appearances until he reaches 650.
- The Padres aren’t likely to sign any free agent pitchers to Major League deals this offseason, according to MLB.com’s Corey Brock (on Twitter). Padres GM Josh Byrnes sent starter Wade LeBlanc to Miami yesterday.
- The Rockies had mild interest in Bruce Chen before he re-signed in Kansas City, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter).
- The Twins and Cubs were Chen’s primary suitors other than the Royals, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).