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Nothing Close For Juan Cruz, Twins

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4:46pm: Steve Gilbert of MLB.com talked to D’Backs GM Josh Byrnes.  Byrnes is in regular contract with Cruz’s agent Barry Praver, but has nothing new to report and is not talking to any teams about Cruz.

3:47pm: MLB.com’s Kelly Theiser reports that the Twins have not even extended a formal offer to Cruz. She agrees with Neal that Twins fans should not expect a Cruz acquisition, though they definitely are interested.

SUNDAY, 1:27pm: Neal is back with another update, though not a pleasant one for Twins fans. Neal writes that the reports saying the Twins are "closing in on a deal" are not true. The trade, may in fact, be very difficult to pull off:

"It’s going to be hard enough to agree to terms with the agent. Getting the Diamondbacks to agree on a trade might be even tougher. Things could always change but, for now, there’s little reason to feel optimistic that the Twins can land Cruz."

SATURDAY: Bob McManaman of The Arizona Republic reports that the Diamondbacks are "closing in on a likely sign-and-trade deal" with the Twins for Juan Cruz. He adds that "various reports expected the deal to be completed by Saturday." 

FRIDAY: According to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Twins made an offer to reliever Juan Cruz tonight as part of a possible sign-and-trade with the Diamondbacks.  If Cruz accepts the offer, Neal says the teams would then have 48 hours to work out a trade.

Cruz would represent a power arm for the back of Minnesota’s pen; his average heater was 94.3 mph in 2008.  Cruz’s big-time strikeout stuff is accompanied by poor control, however.

Twins, Joe Crede Agree To Terms

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SATURDAY, 10:48am: La Velle E. Neal III heard from a source that the Twins are expected to announce the signing this afternoon. Crede is apparently on a plane to Fort Myers.

Neal adds the terms of the contract. The Star-Tribune’s source suggest the deal guarantees Crede $2.5MM, but could pay him up to $7MM depending on how many plate appearances he makes. The incentives start at 250 PAs and continue until Crede comes to bat for the 525th time.

FRIDAY: Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune cites "a major league source" who says that Joe Crede and the Twins have agreed to terms. No details of the contract were available, but La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune wrote earlier tonight that it appeared Crede "is willing to sign for less than the $7MM base that we believed he was seeking."

Even battling back issues, Crede’s third base defense is among the game’s best.  Last year he saved 13 more bases than the average third baseman despite missing a third of the season.

Twins Closing In On Deal With Joe Crede

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6:36pm: La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that there are indications that Joe Crede "is willing to sign for less than the $7MM base that we believed he was seeking."

Neal reached Boras, who would only say, "We are in discussions. Nothing has been finalized."

Neal adds that he spoke with another person with knowledge of the talks. "The sense I got was the that Smith and Boras could be one call from wrapping things up," Neal says. "But given the several weeks that talks have gone on – and with full-squad workouts set to begin – the Twins could decide to stick with what they have and move on."

6:04pm: According to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, Giants sources say they are "not in last-minute negotiations" with Scott Boras regarding Crede. The Giants have told Boras they will not go beyond the one-year deal they have on the table.

4:11pm:According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, the Twins are closing in on a deal with third baseman Joe Crede.

Giants, Twins To Take A Chance On Marte?

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The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Paul Hoynes believes the Giants and Twins "are the two teams that would probably have interest in Andy Marte."

Marte, a 25 year-old third baseman, was designated for assignment on Thursday.  The Indians now have nine days to either trade, release or outright him.  As Hoynes notes, both the Giants and Twins are seeking a third baseman and Marte, "young and inexpensive, would fit nicely into their payrolls."

The Giants or Twins could claim him on waivers, take a look at him in camp, and release him at the end of spring training because he’s out of options, adds Hoynes.

Neal Discusses Ayala, Cruz, Cordero

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8:48 Neal has another update, reporting that Ayala’s contract is indeed guaranteed. Ayala will get the previously-reported $1.3MM base salary, along with $250K of appearance incentives. $50K for 50 appearance, and then another $50K for every five games after that – up to 70 games.

Ayala also has bonuses for finishing games, which would require an injury to All-Star closer Joe Nathan. He also has bonuses for making the All-Star team, winning ALCS or World Series MVP honors, or finishing in the Top 3 of the Rolaids Relief Award.

Aside from his appearance incentives, none seem plausible. Nothing further on Cruz or Cordero in this update.

9:52am: La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune learned that newly-signed reliever Luis Ayala does not have a guaranteed contract:

The Twins can cut Ayala up until 16 days before Opening Day and be on the hook for just 1/6th of his $1.3MM salary [about $217K]. If they cut him 15 days from the first pitch on in, they are on the hook for about 1/4th of the salary [$325K]. The Twins have a little protection if Ayala doesn’t have a good spring.

That’s good to hear, because Ayala wasn’t really deserving of a guaranteed contract based on his ’08 and the current market.  Neal also has more on Juan Cruz:

If Cruz is moved as part of a sign and trade deal, Arizona is out a first-round pick and sandwhich round pick as compensation. That should influence the types of players the D’Backs would want in return for Cruz. It also stands to reason that several teams, and not just the Twins, would be in on Cruz if draft picks aren’t a factor.  But there are indications that Arizona can’t just sit back and demand a lot for Cruz. Cruz is making noises about sitting out until after the June draft, so Arizona would get nothing for compensation once Cruz signs with a club. So there’s motivation on their part to get something in return for him. The Twins have made a call to the league office to check on the change in the sign-and-trade rules. If they haven’t already been informed of the changes they should know today.

Sitting out is Cruz’s only leverage…is he bluffing?   A bit more on the relief front: Neal was unable to confirm that the Twins attended Chad Cordero’s audition yesterday.

Twins, Crede Reach Impasse

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According to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Twins and Joe Crede/Scott Boras have reached an impasse in contract talks.  Crede’s been rumored to want a $7MM base salary; I’m guessing the Twins are probably thinking he deserves about half that.  Twins players support the idea of a Brian Buscher/Brendan Harris platoon.

Yesterday Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News said the Giants aren’t confident about signing Crede but they do maintain interest.

Giants Maintain Interest In Joe Crede

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Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports that the Giants are still keeping an eye on free agent third baseman Joe Crede.

Special assistant Ron Schueler, who attended Crede’s workout last week, said the free-agent third baseman looked pretty agile while taking ground balls and his back appeared to hold up fine in the cage, writes Baggarly. Schueler noted that Crede appeared stronger in the upper body.

The Twins also remain interested in Crede, but talks haven’t progressed too far with that club either.  At last check, the 30-year-old Scott Boras client was still seeking $7MM guaranteed, plus around $4MM in incentives.  That kind of asking price obviously isn’t going to entice too many teams.

D’Backs Working On Sign-And-Trade Deal?

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According to Steve Gilbert of MLB.com, the Diamondbacks could be hammering out a sign-and-trade deal with reliever Juan Cruz.

"I can’t say too much," Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes said Monday. "But of late, they’ve talked to the union, we have talked to the Commissioner’s Office to see if there is a way where they could sign through us and then we would receive in trade what we would deem as enough value."

Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic also has a column on the topic.  Ken Rosenthal and La Velle E. Neal III have done a nice job of explaining this complicated situation.  As Neal notes, the Twins may be interested in Cruz if they aren’t forced to surrender a high draft pick for his services.  Yahoo’s Jeff Passan says the Brewers and Rangers also have interest in Cruz.

MLB To Lend A Hand To Type As

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MONDAY: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has more on the topic.  He says:

Major League Baseball, the players’ union, the Diamondbacks and Cruz’s agents are in discussions to facilitate a sign-and-trade involving Cruz that adheres to the collective-bargaining agreement.  Free agents cannot be traded before June 15 without their consent, but the union will permit Cruz and other Type A players to waive that right, according to Rob Manfred, baseball’s executive vice-president of labor relations.

Rosenthal says the D’Backs are not discussing this kind of scenario with Hudson’s agents, and it’s unknown whether Cabrera and the White Sox are talking about it.  Rosenthal says there would be a window, perhaps 48 hours, for the team to make a deal.  If no deal is made then the player would remain a free agent.

SUNDAY: La Velle E. Neal of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune suggests MLB might allow for a workaround for Type A free agents:

There have been rumblings that Major League Baseball, which is aware that Type A free agents like Juan Cruz and infielders Orlando Hudson and Orlando Cabrera have been hindered by the compensation rules, are willing to make it easier for teams to sign then trade those free agents. For example, Arizona could sign Cruz to a contract that the Twins are willing to take on. The Twins and Diamondbacks would then work out a trade for Cruz. The Twins could land Cruz without losing a draft pick.

No word on what MLB would do to facilitate these sign n’ trades.  Perhaps they’d just give their approval.

Neal notes that the Twins have discussed Cruz internally, but wouldn’t be willing to give up their #23 pick in the June draft for him.  Also keep in mind that the Twins just brought in reliever Luis Ayala.

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