Twins Rumors

Twins Avoid Arbitration With Alexi Casilla

By Mike Axisa | January 16, 2011 at 1:30pm CDT

The Twins and Alexi Casilla have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract worth $865K, tweets SI.com's Jon Heyman. It was his first time eligible for arbitration.

Casilla, 26, missed almost two months of the 2010 season after having surgery to remove bone spurs from his throwing elbow. When he was on the field, he hit .276/.331/.395 in 170 plate appearances, a nice rebound from a .202/.280/.259 effort in 2009. The departures of J.J. Hardy, Orlando Hudson, and Brendan Harris have created an opening for Casilla to get regular playing at one of the middle infield spots. New pick-up Tsuyoshi Nishioka will handle the other spot.

MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows that the Twins still have five players eligible for arbitration: Matt Capps, Kevin Slowey, Glen Perkins, Delmon Young, and Francisco Liriano.

Cafardo’s Latest: Bonderman, Pettitte, Pavano, Bautista

By Luke Adams 2 | January 16, 2011 at 11:42am CDT

Despite their impressive offseason, the Red Sox will still need some luck at a couple positions, says Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Cafardo leads this week's column by discussing the production the Red Sox hope to receive behind the plate and from their left-handed relievers. Here are the rest of the items of interest from the piece:

Jeremy Bonderman is still looking to land a spot at the back of a rotation, and is drawing "minor interest" from the Rangers and Cardinals. The Yankees, whose interest in Bonderman we heard about earlier this month, have also been in touch with the right-hander's representation.
Someone "close to" Andy Pettitte told Cafardo that he would be shocked if we've seen the last of the left-hander in the bigs. The longtime Yankee won't start the 2011 season with the club, but hasn't officially announced any plans to retire.
There has been a "strange silence" surrounding Carl Pavano's situation over the last week, but Cafardo suggests that since Pavano definitely wants to remain a Twin, there's no urgency to act quickly.
According to Cafardo, Jose Bautista would prefer to play right field rather than third base for the Blue Jays this season. Where Bautista ends up on the field may hinge on whether the Jays add another bat.

Quick Hits: Carpenter, Martin, Francis, Yankees

By Mike Axisa | January 15, 2011 at 10:26pm CDT

Eighteen years ago today, the Angels traded Lee Stevens to the Expos for minor leaguer Jeff Tuss, but Tuss refused to report to his new team. Keith Morrison, another minor leaguer, was included in the deal instead, and Tuss never played affiliated baseball again.

Here are today's batch of links…

Chris Carpenter told MLB.com's Matthew Leach that he's not worried about his future with the Cardinals. The right-hander is under contract for 2011 with a $15MM club option for 2012, but an extension for Albert Pujols might push the 35-year-old Carpenter out of town if the team needs to shed payroll.
Richard Griffin of The Toronto Star reports that the Blue Jays offered Russell Martin the same amount of money as the Yankees, but the catcher signed with New York because of a better opportunity to win (Twitter link). Shi Davidi of The Canadian Press tweets that the Jays wanted Martin to catch four times a week as well as play another position.
Jeff Francis said the Blue Jays did not show any interest in him before he joined the Royals according to Davidi on Twitter. Francis grew up in Canada, but nowhere close to Toronto.
Chad Jennings of the The Journal News takes a look at the Yankees' multiyear relief contract from the last decade.
Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets that Cardinals GM John Mozeliak has pledged to keep negotiations about a contract extension with Albert Pujols private.
The Rangers offered Jim Thome more than $4MM before he decided to sign with the Twins for $3MM, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). We knew that Thome turned down more money from Texas, but now we know how much.
Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts told fans that he has confidence in GM Jim Hendry at today's Cubs Convention according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat (on Twitter).
Matt Gelb of The Philadelphia Inquirer says this winter's market for free agent relievers has been wonderful for Ryan Madson. The Phillies' setup man is due to become a free agent next offseason after his three-year, $12MM contract expires.

Five Teams Have Expressed Interest In Manny

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 15, 2011 at 9:24pm CDT

SATURDAY, 9:24pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that the Blue Jays are still considering Ramirez.

FRIDAY, 10:04am: At least five teams have shown some level of interest in Manny Ramirez, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com (link in Spanish). The Angels, Twins, Rangers, Rays and Blue Jays have asked about Manny, according to Rojas’ source.

Ramirez is training in Arizona and he’s preparing to play defense if necessary. Agent Scott Boras made the case for Manny yesterday, speaking to ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick. Crasnick heard that Ramirez could be a fit in Tampa Bay, but suggested that the Blue Jays are less likely to sign him.

The five clubs mentioned in Rojas' report all appeared on my list of teams with potential interest in designated hitters.

Twins Work To Sign Pavano; Decision Expected Soon

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 14, 2011 at 1:34pm CDT

The Twins continue to work toward a deal with Carl Pavano and hope to know by next Monday or Tuesday if the right-hander will accept their offer, according to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (Twitter links). Christensen reports that Pavano appears to be taking the weekend to consider the Twins' proposal.

We heard last week that the Twins were closing in on a deal with Pavano, but there's no official agreement so far. The 35-year-old has posted a 3.97 ERA in 294 2/3 innings since arriving in Minnesota midway through the 2009 season. He posted 4.8 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 2010, when he logged 221 frames of 3.75 ERA ball.

Twins To Sign Jim Thome

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 14, 2011 at 11:08am CDT

The Twins agreed to a one-year deal with Jim Thome, the team announced. The SFX client gets a $3MM guarantee with incentives based on plate appearances, according to MLB.com's Kelly Thesier (on Twitter). The left-handed slugger turned down overtures from the Rangers to continue his pursuit of 600 homers in Minneapolis.

Thome was a welcome addition to the 2010 Twins. He hit 25 homers and posted a .283/.412/.627 line in 340 plate appearances. The 40-year-old was especially effective against right-handers (1.047 OPS), but he held his own against southpaws, too (.763 OPS).

Thome is 11 home runs away from reaching 600 and 20 away from matching Sammy Sosa for seventh place on the all-time list.

Quick Hits: Soriano, Manuel, Galarraga, Angels

By Mark Polishuk | January 12, 2011 at 11:16pm CDT

Some items from around the majors…

The Angels aren't one of the teams reportedly still interested in Rafael Soriano, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. The Yankees are "still trying," in spite of their earlier statements to the contrary.
Charlie Manuel's agent tells Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com that Manuel and the Phillies have a mutual interest in working out a contract extension before Opening Day. Manuel has one year left on his current deal, and Salisbury speculates that he's looking for a two-year extension worth roughly $4MM per season.
Armando Galarraga is out of options, eligible for arbitration and has probably been squeezed out of the Detroit rotation by Brad Penny, reports Jason Beck of MLB.com. If Galarraga gets too large of a salary bump in arbitration, the Tigers could choose to trade or just release him before Opening Day.
The Angels' quiet offseason has been heavily criticized, but Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com reminds us that the Halos still have a very solid team.
If the Twins don't re-sign Jim Thome, Kelly Thesier of MLB.com says the team could return to what it was looking for last winter: a right-handed hitting backup option in the outfield or at first base. Thesier cites Jorge Cantu and Troy Glaus as possibilities, and we've heard the Padres were considering the same two players. The Twins could also dip into the rest of the DH market, or look to upgrade their bullpen.
There isn't much historial evidence to suggest that Josh Beckett will return to his ace form over the long run, writes John Tomase of the Boston Herald.

Six Clubs Offer Jose Veras Minor League Deals

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 12, 2011 at 3:56pm CDT

The Giants, Rockies, Twins, Marlins, Rays and Pirates have all offered Jose Veras minor league deals and invited him to Spring Training, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes (on Twitter). The 30-year-old right-hander will likely decide on a team soon.

Veras posted a 3.85 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 in 48 innings for the Marlins last year, before they non-tendered him. Veras has been tough to hit throughout his five-year MLB career, but he has always allowed plenty of walks (5.0 BB/9 in his career). His mid-90s fastball (94.4 mph last year) has helped him strike out 8.7 batters per nine in his career.

Quick Hits: Pujols, Jones, Nationals, Ledezma

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 11, 2011 at 2:13pm CDT

One year ago today, the Reds won the bidding for Aroldis Chapman. The Cuban left-hander made 15 relief appearances in the majors last year and figures to have an even bigger impact on the 2011 season. Here are today's links…

The Cardinals' negotiations with Albert Pujols could resemble the Yankees' negotiations with Alex Rodriguez, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Cardinals executives have acknowledged that an extension with their first baseman would take the organization "places it hasn't gone" in terms of contract value and potential incentive clauses, Goold writes.
Benjamin Kabak of River Ave. Blues says he'd lean toward Andruw Jones over Marcus Thames for the Yankees in 2011.
Meanwhile, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports that the Rockies still have some interest in Jones (Twitter link).
The Rangers are concerned that Jim Thome would prefer to return to Minnesota, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports (on Twitter). The Rangers are interested in Thome, though he's not a perfect fit for their needs.
The Nationals need a utility player who can back Danny Espinosa up at second base and potentially play in the outfield, according to Ben Goessling of MASNSports.com. He lists Willie Bloomquist, David Eckstein and Willie Harris as possible fits.
Dan Szymborski explains the challenges the Giants face if they want to repeat as World Champions in a piece for ESPN.
The Blue Jays announced that they outrighted Wil Ledezma to Triple-A Las Vegas.

Olney On Qualls, Balfour, Damon, Pavano, Soriano

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 11, 2011 at 12:01pm CDT

Ivan Nova, Craig Kimbrel and Madison Bumgarner are among the young players who will play major roles in determining their teams’ fates in 2011, as ESPN.com’s Buster Olney points out. Here are the rest of Olney’s rumors, with the latest updates up top:

Olney hears that Chad Qualls is looking to re-establish his value with a one-year deal (Twitter link). With all due respect to Qualls, finding a mutliyear deal might never have been an option, since he posted a 7.32 ERA and allowed 85 hits in 59 innings last year.
Teams believe Grant Balfour's asking price is dropping, according to Olney (Twitter link).
Once Jim Thome signs, other first base/DH types will likely follow. There are lots of them out there, as MLBTR’s Free Agent Tracker shows. Vladimir Guerrero, Jason Giambi, Russell Branyan, Johnny Damon, and Manny Ramirez are still available.
Olney says Damon “probably made a mistake in not following up on the Yankees' overtures last winter about a two-year deal.”
Carl Pavano and the Twins continue to make progress toward a deal and the sides could reach an agreement by the end of the week.
Rafael Soriano is prioritizing money over his 2011 role, Olney writes. Olney suggests that “if some club was willing to pay him to be its bullpen catcher for $45MM over the next three years, Soriano would consider it.”

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