By | at
As reported by Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, free agent Chad Cordero will hold another workout for interested teams on Friday.
The Rangers will be in attendance. You can bet the Twins will also be there. The Marlins, Royals and Brewers are also likely to send scouts. Cordero, who will turn 27 in March, missed most of the 2008 season after undergoing shoulder surgery. He racked up 113 saves for the Nationals between 2005 and 2007.
By | at
According to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Twins have ended their pursuit of right-handed reliever Juan Cruz.
Cruz rejected the Twins’ contract offer before talks ever evolved into the sign-and-trade stages, and it doesn’t sounds like the club plans on making another run at him. Cruz, 30, posted a 2.61 ERA in 51 2/3 innings last season.
Neal suggests that the Twins might now focus their attention on free agent Chad Cordero, who threw for several teams on Wednesday.
By Tim Dierkes | at
Let’s take a look at the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
By Tim Dierkes | at
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.
By Brian Shephard | at
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.
By Tim Dierkes | at
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.
By | at
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.
By Tim Dierkes | at
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.
By Tim Dierkes | at
MLB.com’s Kelly Thesier says the Diamondbacks claimed pitcher Bobby Korecky off waivers from the Twins today, a move that signifies the completion of Minnesota’s Luis Ayala signing.
Korcecky, 29, made his MLB debut in ’08 with 17.6 relief innings for the Twins. He did a nice job out of the pen in Triple A.
By Tim Dierkes | at
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.
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
