Twins Rumors

Rockies To Keep Atkins?

By Tim Dierkes | December 4, 2008 at 8:10pm CDT

THURSDAY, 8:10pm: Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports on comments from Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd. O’Dowd says Atkins’ future with the Rockies is closely tied to the future of Todd Helton. If Helton can’t produce, Atkins becomes a seemingly irreplaceable part of the Rockies offense.

WEDNESDAY, 11:27pm: MLB.com’s Thomas Harding talked to Atkins’ agent, who said his client is still willing to listen if the Rockies make a fresh extension offer.

11:13am: Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post gets the impression that Rockies third baseman Garrett Atkins will not be traded this winter. Renck says GM Dan O’Dowd fielded inquiries from the Reds and Twins but hasn’t found a match. The Rockies would want pitching in return. Atkins is under team control for two more years, so O’Dowd isn’t pressing to move him.

The Indians were also linked to Atkins at one point, but MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince says they’ve cooled on the idea.

Odds and Ends: Teixeira, Izturis, Gaudin

By Tim Dierkes | December 4, 2008 at 3:30pm CDT

Links for Thursday…

Check out this week’s minor league transactions. Some familiar names were signed.
The Red Sox officially announced the signing of Junichi Tazawa.
J.C. Bradbury likes the Dustin Pedroia contract.
Sox Machine has parting words for Javier Vazquez, whose trade to the Braves was officially announced today. ESPN’s Keith Law tells you all you need to know about the players involved in the deal. Tyler Flowers is the key, Santos Rodriguez the wild card.
The Rockies’ talks for lefty reliever Joe Beimel continue. In another article, Patrick Saunders looks at the team’s wish list.
Rob Neyer believes teams are starting to figure out defensive evaluation, creating a weak market for lumbering LF/1B/DH types.
Jesse Spector spoke to Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski.
T.R. Sullivan says the Tigers’ talks for Rangers catcher Gerald Laird continue.
Larry Dobrow offers suggestions to fix the Reds.
Aaron Gleeman says the Twins have already missed several good opportunities to affordably improve their bullpen.
Viva El Birdos explains why the Cardinals should’ve offered arbitration to Russ Springer and Braden Looper.
Lee Jenkins provides insight into Mark Teixeira – the perfect baseball player and ideal Boras client.
Roch Kubatko says Cesar Izturis remains a strong possibility for the Orioles.
Fred Claire notes that Jack Zduriencik will always remember Russell Branyan as his first free agent signing. Geoff Baker examines the Branyan signing and the Ken Griffey Jr. idea.
Paul Sullivan suggests Chad Gaudin is a non-tender candidate for the Cubs. He’s set to get an arbitration raise on this year’s $1.775MM salary.

Twins, Dodgers Lead Charge For Blake

By Tim Dierkes | December 3, 2008 at 6:31pm CDT

6:31pm: Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says the Twins offered Blake a two-year deal worth about $6MM per year with an option for 2011. Christensen says not to expect a signing tonight. Jayson Stark wrote earlier today that if the Twins or Dodgers guarantee a third year they’ll get Blake.

9:07am: Casey Blake’s agent Jim McDowell talked to all kinds of outlets yesterday. In speaking with Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, McDowell said they’re not far apart with the Dodgers or Twins. The Twins are apparently "within shouting distance" on the years and money. The Indians seem less interested than the other two clubs; Anthony Castrovince doesn’t see it happening. Castrovince notes that the Tribe could’ve signed Blake through ’09 a year ago but figured Andy Marte would be ready.

Yesterday Yahoo’s Tim Brown said McDowell’s initial request was $20MM over three years for Blake, more than the Twins want to spend.

Stark’s Latest: Sabathia, Furcal, Peavy

By Tim Dierkes | December 3, 2008 at 5:48pm CDT

A few notes from Jayson Stark’s latest blog post…

Stark believes the possibility of C.C. Sabathia signing with the Giants is alive, and the Giants have talked to the pitcher’s agent. Such a signing might compel Brian Sabean to remove Matt Cain’s "untouchable" tag, in Stark’s opinion. Earlier today Ken Rosenthal suggested the Giants were a dark horse for C.C. Also, Sabathia’s wife Amber prefers the Giants according to George King.
The Giants offered three years to Rafael Furcal. He wants four, so they switched their attention to Edgar Renteria. The Giants want a shorter-term deal so their own prospects can take over within a few years.
Stark notes that the recent Jake Peavy-Cubs rumors do not seem to be coming out of Chicago. He suggests those talks may not be active, partially because the Cubs are in payroll limbo til their sale goes through.
The Twins and Dodgers have two year offers out to Casey Blake. Whichever team blinks and adds a third year can get him.

Odds and Ends: Griffey, Springer, Hoffman

By Tim Dierkes | December 3, 2008 at 3:14pm CDT

Links for Wednesday…

Common misconception Joe and I keep running into: signing one of the 15 Type A free agents who were offered arbitration will only cost the signing team one draft pick. The player’s old team also gets a second pick, but it doesn’t come from the new team. It’s just squeezed into the supplemental round. Check out a deeper explanation here.
Nuggets from a Frank Coonelly chat: he expects the Pirates to make room on the 40-man roster for a potential Rule 5 addition, and they’d still like to re-sign Doug Mientkiewicz.
Pirates pitcher Jason Davis looks like a non-tender candidate.
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire doesn’t have Delmon Young in his preferred starting outfield.
The Cubs signed pitcher Chad Fox to a minor league deal.
Ken Griffey Jr.’s agent Brian Goldberg says he’s fine with DHing but is capable of playing the field. Goldberg thinks Junior can bounce back and have a 30 home run season.
Click here to listen to free agent reliever Russ Springer talk to The ITD Morning After radio show on 1380 AM. He’s gotten calls from teams in both leagues, including "World Series participants." Springer is known to be on the Phillies’ radar.
Recently I talked to Sarah Small of the Daily Illini.
SI.com’s Tom Verducci looks at the supposed shortstop revolution that seems to have petered out.
Dave Cameron respects the Astros’ signing of Mike Hampton.
Tony Jackson says the Dodgers offered a minor league deal to Juan Castro.
Royals GM Dayton Moore did a Q&A with fans at MLB.com. His priority is adding right-handed relief help after trading Leo Nunez and Ramon Ramirez. Also, he says Mark Teahen is "more important to our team today then he was in all of 2008 — and he was very important to our team in ’08."
McCovey Chronicles is skeptical of all the teams blaming the economy.
Drunk Jays Fans predicts Kevin Mench’s Japan experience.
Jesse Spector looks at comparable pitchers for C.C. Sabathia.
Trevor Hoffman may meet with the Mets soon. Also, Mets COO Jeff Wilpon spoke of "addition by subtraction" yesterday.
East Windup Chronicle disputes a Richard Griffin column.
The Phillies are still willing to sign Type A free agents who were offered arbitration, such as Raul Ibanez or Juan Cruz.
Evan Grant’s latest Rangers mailbag, always a good read.
Joe Sheehan discusses various poor arbitration decisions by teams.
Minor league deals for the Mets: Nelson Figueroa, Adam Bostick, and Rene Rivera. Marty Noble adds Andy Green.
Rany Jazayerli figures Mark Grudzielanek agreed in advance to reject the Royals’ offer of arbitration.
As usual, ESPN will be all over the Winter Meetings. I’m told they’ll be doing daily Baseball Tonight specials and will have a team of seven on the scene in Vegas.
ESPN’s Peter Gammons says the free agent and trade markets are flooded with corner/DH type bats. There will be bargains.
Bruce Miles thinks Milton Bradley would be a nice match for the Cubs. The biggest issue would be his ability to play right field every day.

Brown’s Latest: Sabathia, Blake, Young

By Tim Dierkes | December 2, 2008 at 6:56pm CDT

6:56pm: Ken Rosenthal has more on Blake after talking to his agent Jim McDowell. Blake seeks a three-year deal, and the Twins and Dodgers are in the lead for his services. The Indians have been less persistent, as they don’t want to give him three years. Brown wrote earlier that the Twins feel the same.

6:23pm: Let’s take a look at the latest from Yahoo’s Tim Brown.

C.C. Sabathia has had no conversations with the Dodgers in recent weeks.
Casey Blake opened negotiations with the Twins at three years and $20MM. That’s not a price the Twins are willing to pay, rightfully so. The Indians have cooled on Blake as well.
Brown says teams aware of the Twins’ outfield depth have been calling Twins GM Bill Smith about Delmon Young.

Rays Willing To Trade Bartlett?

By Tim Dierkes | December 2, 2008 at 3:43pm CDT

Rays Index points us to a Danny Knobler report that indicates the Rays are willing to trade shortstop Jason Bartlett. Not only that, but the Rays had brief talks with the Twins about acquiring Delmon Young or Denard Span.

With Reid Brignac posting a .299 OBP in Triple A and Tim Beckham a year removed from high school, it’d be surprising if the Rays dealt their starting shortstop.

Twins Offer Arb To Dennys Reyes

By Tim Dierkes | December 1, 2008 at 4:20pm CDT

According to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Twins offered arbitration to Type B free agent reliever Dennys Reyes. Reyes earned $1MM this year while tossing 46.1 solid innings, so the Twins can’t go wrong either way.

Twins Rumors: Padres, Blake, Reyes

By Tim Dierkes | November 26, 2008 at 4:48pm CDT

Joe Christensen brings us the latest on the Twins, but unfortunately there’s not much going on.

Christensen learned from a Padres official that there’s been very little dialogue with the Twins. Some have suggested Kevin Kouzmanoff and Khalil Greene would be fits for Minnesota. Hopefully they’re setting their sights higher.
On the Casey Blake front: slight progress.
The Twins have an arbitration decision to make by Monday’s deadline with Dennys Reyes, who is a Type B. The Twins won’t get burned badly if Reyes accepts, so I imagine they’ll offer. He probably wants two years somewhere instead.

Odds and Ends: Kawakami, Griffey, Greinke

By Tim Dierkes | November 25, 2008 at 1:05pm CDT

Links for Tuesday…

The weekly chat has been moved to Wednesday at 2pm CST this time.
I’ll be on Seth Stohs’ radio show tonight around 8pm CST.
From NPB Tracker: Kenshin Kawakami has switched to Dan Evans as his agent, while Koji Uehara wants a rotation spot and multiple years.
Ken Griffey Jr.’s agent, Brian Goldberg, has been in contact with nine teams (six AL, three NL). The Mariners were one of the AL teams.
It’s been over a decade since the White Sox signed a free agent from another team for more than $20MM.
Justin Morneau would like the Twins to add one more bat.
East Windup Chronicle has scouting reports on Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel.
Things are quiet with the Dodgers – no recent talks for Manny Ramirez, "no real movement" on C.C. Sabathia.
Rany Jazayerli questions the Royals’ nonchalance toward signing Zack Greinke.
Nothing is close with the Tigers and Joe Beimel, and the team will not make an offer to Junichi Tazawa (partially to preserve their relationships in Japan).
The Brewers signed Jason Bourgeois to a minor league deal. Bourgeois, 27 in January, hit .286/.335/.404 in Triple A this year.
Quietly, the Indians signed reliever Greg Aquino. He pitched well in Triple A this year but missed time with a hamstring strain.

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