According to Ken Rosenthal, the A’s, Twins, and Dodgers are pursuing Russ Springer. Rosenthal adds that the Twins prefer Springer to Eric Gagne. The Twins’ interest in Springer was first reported by Seth Stohs, while Buster Olney mentioned the A’s a few days ago. Ken Gurnick had the Springer-Dodgers connection back in December.
Twins Rumors
Twins Rumors: Crede, Gagne, Springer
La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune checks in with the latest on the Twins.
- Free agent third baseman Joe Crede will work out for scouts next week, and the Twins are expected to attend. Neal’s source says Crede believes he’s finally overcome his back problems with a minor surgery this winter. He’s willing to sign for one year to re-establish himself.
- Brandon Lyon and Eric Gagne remain in the Twins’ sights, with the Twins "swapping offers" with Scott Boras for Gagne.
- Neal was able to confirm a rumor first reported by Seth Stohs: the Twins have interest in Russ Springer.
Third Base Remains A Mystery For Twins
According to MLB.com’s Kelly Thesier, the Twins are preparing to head into spring training with a third base platoon of Brian Buscher and Brendan Harris.
The Twins have made a few attempts to snag a strong third baseman this offseason, but all talks have fallen flat. They pursued Casey Blake before he signed with the Dodgers, and Mark DeRosa before he was sent off to the Indians.
Joe Crede remains a free agent, but the Twins might not want to throw money at a guy with chronic back problems. The 30-year-old played only 97 games last season, finishing with a .248 average on top of 17 home runs and 55 RBI.
Twins Closing In On Gagne?
La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune heard from an insider source that the Twins aren’t far apart in contract negotiations with Eric Gagne.
A second source cautioned that the team is looking at several relievers, and that Gagne is only one of them, but it appears the Twins are finally close to inking some bullpen help. Gagne, 33, posted a 3.52 ERA after the All-Star break last season. He had a 5.44 ERA in 50 appearances overall.
Odds and Ends: Cordero, Varitek, Hudson
Links for Monday…
- The Twins watched Chad Cordero’s recent long-toss session. As you know, they’re also eyeing Brandon Lyon and Eric Gagne.
- Baseball America has the minor league transactions. Charlie Zink stays with Boston and the Cubs signed Ken Kadokura, among other deals.
- Sean McAdam breaks down the Jason Varitek situation, saying his value isn’t much higher than Gregg Zaun. Zaun signed for $2MM.
- Athletics Nation asks: how about Orlando Hudson at shortstop?
- RotoAuthority finds some upside starters for fantasy drafts.
- Rob Bradford of WEEI explains why signing Jonathan Papelbon long-term will be more difficult than Dustin Pedroia or Kevin Youkilis.
Twins Pursuing Lyon, Gagne
MLB.com’s Kelly Thesier has an update on the Twins’ ongoing search for a setup man. According to her report, the team is focused on Brandon Lyon and Eric Gagne.
- Lyon has drawn interest from several teams this offseason and, according to his agent, could sign with one of them next week. The Tigers and Cardinals are two of the teams in pursuit of his services. The 29-year-old righty posted a 4.70 ERA while recording 26 saves for the Diamondbacks last season.
- A source told Thesier that the Twins have actually discussed terms with Gagne’s representatives. He’s coming off his worst major league season and should come fairly cheap. Then again, his agent is Scott Boras.
Rosenthal On Andruw, Nady, Lyon, Madson
The latest from Ken Rosenthal…
- The Braves are pulling back for the moment in their search for an outfield bat. They’ll hope for a free agent bargain or the right trade. Rosenthal says they’re torn about Andruw Jones. The Braves seek a right-handed hitter but aren’t dead set on it. They were unwilling to meet the Yankees’ demands for Xavier Nady.
- Brandon Lyon’s agent is telling teams he has a two-year, $9MM offer in hand (Kyle Farnsworth money). The Tigers or Twins are possibilities there, while the Cardinals may have offered one year. Jon Paul Morosi confirms Detroit’s interest, but says they’ve yet to make an offer. Morosi believes the Tigers have about $5MM left in their budget.
- Ryan Madson turned down a three-year, $12MM extension from the Phillies. The Scott Boras client is eligible for free agency after the season.
- Execs have all kinds of concerns with Oliver Perez: his flyball tendencies, frequent walks, and inability to reach 200 innings.
- The Yankees have little interest in Ben Sheets and Freddy Garcia. The Rangers, Mets, and White Sox remain in the mix for Garcia.
- The Brewers and other teams are in on Braden Looper, while the Orioles and Dodgers have backed off.
- Edgardo Alfonzo is playing well in the Venezuelan Winter League and could make a comeback.
Odds and Ends: Putz, Mitsui, Varitek
Links for Friday…
- Jacob Jackson proposes a new, simpler free agent compensation system.
- Jon Paul Morosi says the Mariners wanted Fernando Perez from the Rays in the failed talks that would’ve brought J.J. Putz to Detroit. The Rays were unwilling to do this in part because B.J. Upton will be unavailable to start the season.
- Koji Mitsui again failed to garner a bid from an MLB team.
- Aaron Gleeman discusses the Twins’ decision not to use certain advanced statistics.
- Tony Massarotti and Curt Schilling talk about the Jason Varitek situation.
- Former GM Woody Woodward is back with the Mariners, as a scout. The Pirates added former Tigers GM Bill Lajoie as a senior advisor to Neal Huntington.
- The Nationals have done little in the Japanese market, and they were never involved on Koji Uehara.
Twins Inquire On Eric Gagne
According to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Twins inquired on free agent reliever Eric Gagne. Gagne, a Scott Boras client, posted a 5.44 ERA in 46.3 innings for the Brewers in ’08. It was $10MM poorly spent, though it was cool when Gagne bought up several thousand tickets to a September game and gave them away for free.
Odds and Ends: Lowry, Kawakami, Lowe, Young
Links for Wednesday…
- Rany Jazayerli has withdrawn his support for Royals GM Dayton Moore.
- Chris Haft says that if Noah Lowry has a nice spring, perhaps the Giants should trade him rather than Jonathan Sanchez.
- Keith Law says Kenshin Kawakami should provide bulk innings for the Braves, while the risk with Derek Lowe is his age.
- La Velle E. Neal III doesn’t get the sense the Twins are interested in Michael Young.
- Jeff Wilson looks at the likely free agent options for the Rangers.
- Peter Abraham suggests the Yankees don’t have sufficient rotation depth without Andy Pettitte or a similar veteran addition.
- It was bound to happen sooner or later…a blog dedicated entirely to Scott Boras.
- The Reds are looking for power off the bench…Mark Sheldon has suggestions.
- A look at the Twins’ non-roster invitees.
- Geoff Baker says the Mariners screwed up with Jarrod Washburn.
