Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Yankees Rumors

Olney On Guthrie, Royals, Pettitte

By | at

While Jeremy Guthrie’s three-year, $25MM contract prompted some to question the Royals, the deal was considered fair in front offices of some other teams, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports. Some executives think of the contract as reasonable given Guthrie’s durability at the MLB level. Here are more notes from Olney…

  • The Royals will continue seeking starting pitching, even after adding Guthrie and Ervin Santana, Olney writes. They could trade minor leaguers to add to the MLB rotation.
  • Royals officials still view the club as a work in progress, but rival evaluators are intrigued by their talent. "They're a team to watch," an AL GM told Olney. The team’s young bullpen draws especially strong reviews, Olney writes.
  • The Yankees believe that the return of Hiroki Kuroda increases the chances Andy Pettitte will decide to pitch for another season, Olney reports. The Yankees signed Kuroda to a one-year, $15MM contract yesterday.

Rosenthal On Royals, Uehara, D’Backs, Span, Catching

By | at

Here are the latest hot stove items from FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal….

  • Teams in search of bullpen help have been looking at Royals right-handers Greg Holland and Aaron Crow, though Kansas City isn't likely to trade any of its Major League players unless they can move Jeff Francoeur.
  • The Royals bolstered their pitching staff by re-signing Jeremy Guthrie and trading for Ervin Santana, but Rosenthal still feels the team needs a true ace.
  • The Phillies are interested in free agent reliever Koji Uehara.
  • The Diamondbacks could deal Jason Kubel instead of Justin Upton, which would be an easier move to make though Kubel would bring back a lesser return.  A source tells Rosenthal that the Rangers are still interested in Upton but are waiting for the D'Backs to back down on their demands for Elvis Andrus or Jurickson Profar in return.
  • Denard Span could be a good trade target for a club that doesn't want to pay for one of the expensive center fielders on the free market.  With the Twins desperate for pitching, Rosenthal speculates that a team like the Braves (who need a center fielder and have pitching depth) could be a trade partner.
  • The free agent catching market is stalled since the Red Sox and Blue Jays have catchers available for trade, plus the Yankees are waiting to address their pitching before making a decision on Russell Martin.
  • Speaking of the Blue Jays' catching depth, Rosenthal thinks that Toronto is in no hurry to deal J.P. Arencibia, as a dependable catcher is needed if top prospect Travis D'Arnaud hasn't recovered from his season-ending knee injury.
  • Reed Johnson is drawing interest from several teams, including the Braves, who acquired Johnson from the Cubs last July.

New York Notes: Kuroda, Pettitte, Wright, Dickey

By | at

The Yankees' new deal with Hiroki Kuroda is the biggest baseball story out of the Big Apple today, but here are some more items from both the Yankees and the Mets…

  • "Everyone [I] talk to seems confident [Andy Pettitte] will return" to pitch in 2013, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Pettitte will surely want a significant raise from his $2.5MM salary in 2012, Sherman warns.
  • Also from Sherman, he believes the Yankees will make "bold" one-year contracts akin to their deal with Kuroda, as the team is comfortable signing veterans to short-term deals.  The Yankees will also look for less-expensive "Freddy Garcia type" pitchers later in the winter to add depth, though Sherman doesn't mean Garcia specifically.  Sherman suggests Dallas Braden as a possible candidate to fit this mold (both links are to Twitter).
  • David Wright's chances of signing an extension with the Mets are no better than 50-50, an industry source tells Mike Puma of the New York Post.  Wright and his representatives are dissatisfied with the length and guaranteed value of the Mets' offer, as Wright is looking for a contract in the neighborhood of seven years and $125MM.  It has been previously reported that the Mets were going to offer Wright a deal worth at least $100MM and that the two sides had exchanged offers.
  • Also from Puma, a Mets official is "not sure" if R.A. Dickey wouldn't be traded even if he did sign an extension.  Some in the industry believe Dickey could look for some type of no-trade clause in any new contract with the team.
  • Mets COO Jeff Wilpon told reporters (including MLB.com's Anthony DiComo) that he is "more optimistic" than he was two months ago about completing extensions for Wright and Dickey.  Wilpon said that trading either player would be the Mets' third option, behind signing them long-term and beginning the season with both men still on the roster.  "They're both under contract. This is not a free-agent situation. This is not an arbitration situation. They're both under contract. We have all the flexibility in the world with that," Wilpon said.

Yankees Sign Hiroki Kuroda

By | at

The Yankees have retained their most consistent starter from 2012 as the club has announced that it has re-signed Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year contract.  ESPN's Buster Olney reports that Kuroda's contract is worth $15MM (plus incentives worth less than $1MM) and was the first to break the news that Kuroda had agreed to terms with New York (Twitter links).  Kuroda is represented by the Octagon agency.

“I am very happy and excited to re-sign with the Yankees,” said Kuroda.  “I am very grateful for all of the interest and all of the offers that I received from the various teams that courted me.  It was a tough decision for me to make, but at the end of the day, I wanted to try to win a championship with the teammates that I went to battle with last season.”

Uspw_6648978

Kuroda was seen as fairly likely to re-sign with New York entering the offseason, and indeed, it was reported earlier today that the Yankees were "very confident" about their chances of retaining the Japanese veteran.  MLBTR's Tim Dierkes ranked Kuroda as the ninth-best free agent on the market this winter and correctly predicted that he would re-sign with the Yankees. 

The righty did turn down a one-year, $13.3MM qualifying offer from the Yanks a few weeks ago, assuming (correctly) that he could find a richer deal on the open market.  Kuroda's list of suitors included such MLB teams as the Red Sox, Angels and Dodgers, plus Japanese teams, as Kuroda has said that he would like to eventually finish his career by returning to pitch in his native country.

After four years with the Dodgers, Kuroda signed a one-year, $10MM free agent contract with the Yankees last January and made a strong transition to the AL East, posting a 3.32 ERA and 3.27 K/BB ratio in 33 starts.  Kuroda turns 38 years old in February but seems to be as durable as ever, pitching a career-best 219 2/3 innings in 2012.  His return will bring some stability to a Yankee rotation that has a lot of question marks given CC Sabathia's recent injury problems, Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova's up-and-down performances and Andy Pettitte again considering retirement. 

Photo courtesy of Anthony Gruppuso/US Presswire

Tigers, Red Sox, Yankees Interested In Stephen Drew

By | at

Shortstop Stephen Drew is drawing interest from such clubs as the Tigers, Red Sox and Yankees, reports CBS Sports' Jon Heyman.  Drew became a free agent after the A's declined their half of a $10MM mutual option in October, though Oakland is still interested in re-signing the Scott Boras client at a lower price.

Drew could start in Boston or at least provide veteran backup behind Jose Iglesias, while Heyman writes that the Yankees saw Drew as a "super sub" who could provide depth around the infield.  New York didn't see Drew as a short-term fill-in for Derek Jeter at short since Brian Cashman is confident that Jeter will be recovered from ankle surgery by Opening Day.

The Tigers already have a shortstop in Jhonny Peralta, though ESPN's Jim Bowden reports (Twitter link) that the Tigers look to sign Drew and then deal Peralta to either the Red Sox or the Diamondbacks.  We heard earlier today that Peralta was drawing interest from Arizona. 

Peralta hit .239/.305/.384 batting line in 585 plate appearances for the Tigers last season and the Tigers picked up his $6MM club option for 2013 last month.  Peralta's 2012 performance wasn't much better than Drew's .223/.309/.348 line in 327 PAs with Arizona and Oakland, though Drew was returning in July after being sidelined for almost a full year with a severe ankle injury.

Yankees Agree To Terms With Hiroki Kuroda

By | at

The Yankees have retained their most consistent starter from 2012 as the club has agreed to terms on a one-year, $15MM contract with Hiroki Kuroda, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter links).  Kuroda is represented by the Octagon agency. Uspw_6648978

Kuroda was seen as fairly likely to re-sign with New York entering the offseason, and indeed, it was reported earlier today that the Yankees were "very confident" about their chances of retaining the Japanese veteran.  The righty did turn down a one-year, $13.3MM qualifying offer from the Yanks a few weeks ago, assuming (correctly) that he could find a richer deal on the open market.  Kuroda's list of suitors included such MLB teams as the Red Sox, Angels and Dodgers, plus Japanese teams, as Kuroda has said that he would like to eventually finish his career by returning to pitch in his native country.

After four years with the Dodgers, Kuroda signed a one-year, $10MM free agent contract with the Yankees last January and made a strong transition to the AL East, posting a 3.32 ERA and 3.27 K/BB ratio in 33 starts.  Kuroda turns 38 years old in February but seems to be as durable as ever, pitching a career-best 219 2/3 innings in 2012.  His return will bring some stability to a Yankee rotation that has a lot of question marks given CC Sabathia's recent injury problems, Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova's up-and-down performances and Andy Pettitte again considering retirement. 

MLBTR's Tim Dierkes ranked Kuroda as the ninth-best free agent on the market this winter and correctly predicted that he would re-sign with the Yankees.

Photo courtesy of Anthony Gruppuso/US Presswire

Yankees Favored To Sign Kuroda; L.A. Teams Out

By | at

5:12pm: The Dodgers "are not in" on Kuroda, an industry source tells Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).  Feinsand adds that the Angels appear to be out of the running for Kuroda as well.

4:00pm: The Yankees are seen as the favorites to sign free agent starter Hiroki Kuroda, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. In fact the Yankees are "very confident" they'll sign Kuroda, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark. Stark suggests Kuroda will pitch for the Yankees if he's pitching in MLB next year. However, Heyman reports that the Yankees sense a threat from Japan, where Kuroda pitched before joining MLB.

The Dodgers, Angels and Red Sox have also expressed interest in Kuroda, who is linked to draft pick compensation after declining a qualifying offer from the Yankees. It appears the Dodgers and Angels are shifting their focus elsewhere, Stark writes. The Dodgers are now pursuing Zack Greinke, Anibal Sanchez, Ryan Dempster and others, according to Stark. The Angels are also targeting Greinke.

The Yankees feel good about talks with Mariano Rivera so far, Heyman reports (on Twitter). They still haven't officially heard whether Andy Pettitte intends to return for another season in 2013.

Yankees Sign David Herndon

By | at

The Yankees have signed right-hander David Herndon to a one-year contract, reports his agent Joshua Kusnick (via Twitter).  The split contract will pay Herndon $750K if he makes the Major League roster, plus $50K in possible incentives. 

Herndon was claimed by the Yankees earlier this month and, according to a team press release, had elected free agency after he was outrighted to Triple-A.  Herndon has a career 3.85 ERA in 97 relief appearances for the Phillies over the last three seasons, though he appeared in just five games in 2012 and underwent Tommy John surgery in June.

Yankees Claim Mickey Storey

By | at

The Yankees claimed right-hander Mickey Storey off of waivers from Houston, the Astros announced. The Astros now have 36 players on their 40-man roster.

Storey made 26 relief appearances for the Astros this past season. The 26-year-old posted a 3.86 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 30 1/3 innings at the MLB level. He also spent considerable time at Triple-A in 2012, posting a 3.05 ERA with 10.0 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 65 innings.

Mutual Interest For Yankees, Ibanez

By | at

Postseason hero Raul Ibanez would like to re-sign with the Yankees this offseason and the interest is mutual, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reports. The Yankees have “significant interest” in the 40-year-old, according to Davidoff. The club has asked Ibanez to wait while they focus on pitching, and that hasn’t diminished his interest in returning to the Bronx.

“If I get an opportunity to play for the Yankees again,” he told Davidoff, “it would be fantastic.”

Ibanez provided power throughout the regular season, hitting 19 home runs and posting a .240/.308/.453 batting line as a designated hitter and corner outfielder. The 40-year-old had a remarkable postseason, hitting two memorable home runs in the ALDS and another in the ALCS. He shouldn't face left-handed pitching at this stage in his career, and manager Joe Girardi acknowledged as much by using Ibanez against right-handers for 85% of his 425 plate appearances.

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