Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Twins Rumors

Heyman On Lee, Reynolds, Mauer

By | at

The Mariners and Cliff Lee will likely wait until the season ends before discussing a deal to keep the lefty in Seattle long-term, but both sides tell Jon Heyman of SI.com that such an agreement is possible. GM Jack Zduriencik said there’s “no doubt” he’d like to have Lee around after he hits free agency this offseason. And Lee can imagine extending his stay in Seattle, too.

"So far I like it a lot,'' Lee said. "Obviously, free agency is where you want to be as a player … I'm not going to rule anything out.''

Lee says the Phillies offered him a deal “close” to the three-year $60MM extension they gave Roy Halladay after trading for him. Heyman notes that Zduriencik tried to acquire Halladay before the Phillies did, only to discover that Doc didn’t want to join the Mariners. Here are a couple more rumors from Heyman:
  • Mark Reynolds would like a two-year $18MM deal to cover his first two arbitration years. That's Prince Fielder money, but the D'Backs would prefer to pay him $13MM or so, which would be closer to what Dan Uggla made for the same stretch of his career.
  • There has been no acrimony between the Twins and Joe Mauer. That's a good thing for Twins fans, but other than that we know very little about the negotiations.

Mauer’s Agent Arrives At Twins’ Camp

By | at

As expected, uncovering details on the Joe Mauer extension talks has proven difficult.  Still, La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune learned that Mauer's agent Ron Shapiro arrived at Twins' camp in Fort Myers, Florida.  Neal explains:

While it's being shaped as Shapiro's annual visit to spring training, the sides are expected to hold face-to-face discussions about the future of the Twins' MVP catcher.

In a slightly pessimistic note, Neal speaks of "indications that progress has slowed recently."  But don't worry Twins fans, SI's Jon Heyman (Twitter) and ESPN's Buster Olney both speak of optimism about these talks.  Neal still contends that no deadlines have been set.  Yahoo's Jeff Passan reported on November 30th that Mauer "plans on ending contract negotiations if a deal isn't struck by the end of spring training."

Tom Tango of Inside The Book recently tackled Mauer's value in an ESPN article, and determined that somewhere between $145-176MM would be appropriate for eight years.

Why Padres Likely Won’t Sign Adrian Gonzalez

By | at

A pair of interesting viewpoints emerged today about the Padres, and why they are likely to trade Adrian Gonzalez, rather than extend his contract.

As Ken Rosenthal puts it in his latest column, regarding Padres fans, "I would want to know just one thing: Why can’t my team sign Adrian Gonzalez if the Twins can sign Joe Mauer?"

Of course, Rosenthal lists the many reasons: attendance is down in San Diego, San Diego is the 28th biggest television market in baseball, and a Gonzalez deal could net a number of prospects in return.

But there is a more ominous reason cited by Rosenthal: there are questions about new ownership's viability. As Rosenthal writes, "Just over a year ago, Moorad’s group reached agreement to gain controlling interest of the club from John Moores over a five-year period. That’s right, the other owners allowed one of their franchises to be purchased on a layaway plan — an unusual arrangement, to say the least."

Jake Peavy also weighed in on the choice by the Padres to deal Gonzalez during an interview with Dan Hayes of the North County Times.

"He's a great player, and at times I think to myself, 'How could they not sign this guy?'" Peavy said of Gonzalez. "A hometown guy playing for his hometown team and being the superstar player he is. At the same time, this is the same organization that let their Hall of Fame closer walk away."

Peavy was referring, of course, to Trevor Hoffman.

If ownership can't afford Gonzalez, of course, that puts them in company with many other small-market teams. But it will be interesting to watch just what San Diego can spend-payroll was less than $44MM last season.

Offseason In Review: Minnesota Twins

By | at

Next up in our Offseason In Review series, the Twins.

Major League Signings

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Trades and Claims

Notable Losses

Summary

For about $20MM and Carlos Gomez, Twins GM Bill Smith revamped his middle infield, retained a mid-rotation starter, added an excellent bench bat, and signed a groundballing middle reliever.  On paper, Smith improved his team at a reasonable cost.

In Hardy, Smith traded for two seasons of the offseason's best available shortstop.  Hudson should easily earn his salary, and might be able to top last year's Twins second base offensive output (.209/.302/.267) batting blindfolded.  Pavano's '09 peripherals suggest he deserved an ERA around 4.00 as opposed to his actual 5.10 mark.  Thome should come in handy; he hit .262/.383/.498 against righties last year.

The Twins' rotation looks respectable, with Kevin Slowey and Francisco Liriano likely to provide much more than last year's 227.3 innings of 5.42 ball.  Does the lineup pack enough punch?  CHONE projections suggest the Twins will score 850 runs.  That's optimistic, since injuries are inevitable for all teams.  Still, it's all relative, and the Twins' offense projects as the best in the division.  Thanks to Smith's fine winter, the Twins are my AL Central favorite.

Athletics Sign Brett Tomko, Jason Jennings

By | at

The Oakland Athletics have signed right-handers Brett Tomko and Jason Jennings to minor league contracts, according to Joe Stiglich of the Oakland Tribune (via Twitter).

Jane Lee of MLB.com tweets that Jennings will report to the team's spring training camp, while Tomko will continue rehabbing an arm injury at Minor League camp. The San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser adds, via Twitter, that the Twins made Tomko a similar offer, but that he felt more comfortable in Oakland. Slusser also tweets that Jennings was close to a deal with the Giants at one point, while Stiglich adds the Cardinals and Mets to the list of teams spoken to by Jennings in a separate tweet.

Tomko was extremely effective in six starts for the A's in 2009, winning four games with a 2.95 ERA. Jennings, meanwhile, acted as a setup man for the Rangers, posting a 4.13 ERA in 44 relief appearances.

Odds & Ends: Beckett, Jones, Cust, Cubs

By | at

A roundup of some news on this Thursday night…

  • In an interview on CSNNE's Sports Tonight show, Josh Beckett said he would "probably not" negotiate with the Red Sox about a new contract once the season begins.  WEEI's Rob Bradford reports on Beckett's appearance here.
  • Bobby Cox thinks Chipper Jones will play out the final three years on his contract, reports David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  Jones was hinting at retirement last fall in the wake of his disappointing (for him) 2009 campaign, but thus far in spring training, O'Brien reports that Jones has been nothing but enthusiastic about Atlanta's chances this season. 
  • In an interview with Jane Lee of MLB.com, Jack Cust confirms what we all thought about this winter's crop of free agents at outfield and DH: "it just wasn't a very good market unless you're Matt Holliday or Jason Bay. Even for those guys, I don't think the interest level was as high as they may have thought it to be. Unless you're one of those big dudes, you take what you can get."
  • Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com says that the Cubs have some interest in Luke Gregerson and/or Jason Frasor.
  • Jon Paul Morosi tweets that there is "not much new" going on with the negotiations between Joe Mauer and the Twins.
  • MLB.com's Anthony DiComo reports that Alex Rodriguez offered Johnny Damon some free agency advice this winter.  Oh, so THAT's why it took so long for Damon to sign…
  • We had heard about Toronto's possible interest in Jose Julio Ruiz, and MLB.com's Jordan Bastian now reports that the Jays may be looking at another Cuban prospect: Adeiny Hechevarria.
  • Dick Kaegel of MLB.com reports that the Royals agreed to terms with Josh Fields and Kila Ka'aihue on one-year contracts.  Terms were not disclosed, but Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star tweeted that neither deal is expected to exceed $500K.

Minor League Transactions: Bierbrodt, Jimerson, Cintron

By | at

The latest minor league transactions, from Baseball America's Matt Eddy…

  • The Reds signed Aaron Harang's brother Daryl out of the Atlantic League.
  • The Rockies signed lefty Nick Bierbrodt, the Diamondbacks' first-ever draft pick in '96.  Bierbrodt, 31, sat out the '09 season.
  • The Twins signed outfielder Charlton Jimerson out of the Atlantic League.  He put up big numbers there in '09.
  • The Mets inked second baseman Alex Cintron, who hit .285/.303/.387 in Triple A last year.

Odds & Ends: Floyd, Looper, El Duque, Manny

By | at

Links for Monday…

Edes On Lowell, Ortiz, Martinez

By | at

Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com chatted with fans today about the Red Sox, and here were a few items of note during the conversation…

  • Edes said "there is a consensus expectation" that the Twins and Joe Mauer will come to terms on a long-term deal for the superstar catcher.  Edes said that Mauer's negotiations might be holding up Boston's attempt to sign current backstop Victor Martinez to a contract extension, but only in the sense that the Red Sox want to use Mauer's contract to set the market, not out of a hope that they might sign Mauer in the offseason.
  • Speaking of Martinez, Edes believes that the Sox will soon begin to negotiate with both the catcher and fellow impending free agent Josh Beckett.
  • In response to a fan who asked why the Red Sox don't hang onto Mike Lowell (who has been considered to be as good as traded for months) as insurance in case David Ortiz has another early-season slump, Edes said that Boston thinks Lowell is simply too big of a health risk.  If Ortiz does indeed struggle again, Edes believes the club will acquire a new player rather than look within the organization. 

Odds & Ends: Cubs, Lowell, Mauer, Adrian

By | at

Links for Wednesday…

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top