Yankees Sign Freddy Garcia
The Yankees have signed Freddy Garcia to a one-year deal, the club announced today. Garcia, a Peter E. Greenberg & Associates client, will obtain a guarantee of $4MM plus incentives.
Garcia, 35, signed a minor league deal in February and delivered a surprisingly strong 3.62 ERA in 146 2/3 innings. The 13-year veteran posted 5.9 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 36.4% ground ball rate for the Yankees, spending part of August on the disabled list with an index finger injury.
Though the Yankees have locked up C.C. Sabathia, their search for starting pitching continues. Sabathia and Garcia will join A.J. Burnett, Ivan Nova and Phil Hughes in the team's projected 2012 rotation.
David Waldstein of the New York Times tweeted the sides were nearing agreement on November 23. ESPN.com's Buster Olney was the first to report the two sides had agreed to terms on November 24, with Jon Heyman of MLB Network (on Twitter) adding the contract details.
Yankees Haven’t Made Offer To Hiroki Kuroda
9:59am: While no offer has been made, the Yankees indeed "like Kuroda very much," according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link).
8:55am: The Yankees haven't made Kuroda an offer, tweets MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.
8:13am: The Yankees have offered Hiroki Kuroda a one-year contract worth approximately $12MM in U.S. dollars, reports Japanese news outlet Sponichi (passed on by Mike Axisa of River Ave Blues). The Yankees were one of several teams known to have an interest in Kuroda and as Axisa points out, the presence of Kuroda's old battery-mate Russell Martin could be a factor that only the Yankees could offer the right-hander.
If signed, Kuroda would join a rotation that features C.C. Sabathia and four relative question marks in Phil Hughes, Ivan Nova, Freddy Garcia and A.J. Burnett. On paper, Kuroda would be the No. 2 starter, though it remains to be seen how the 36-year-old would fare pitching in the AL East as opposed to pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium.
Quick Hits: Wilson, Jays, Rule 5, Pudge, Ekstrom
Let's round up a few Winter Meetings leftovers…
- C.J. Wilson was a little disappointed the Rangers didn't try to make more of an effort to re-sign him, writes Richard Durrett of ESPN.com. The Yankees also passed on a final opportunity to get involved on Wilson, tweets Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record.
- Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com has a rundown of comments made this morning by Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos on Kelly Johnson, Yu Darvish, and potential areas of need.
- John Manuel of Baseball America shares some thoughts and quotes relating to this morning's Rule 5 draft.
- The Nationals didn't make any major moves at the Winter Meetings, but GM Mike Rizzo says they're still "open for business," as MLB.com's Bill Ladson writes.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says the Angels' signing of Albert Pujols is a wake-up call for the Mariners. Several Cardinals players were surprised by Pujols' decision, according to MLB.com's Matthew Leach. For more reactions and fallout on Pujols, click here.
- The Rays and Mets could be among the suitors for Ivan Rodriguez, who is working out in Miami, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network.
- The Rockies are expected to sign Mike Ekstrom to a minor league deal, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan thinks the Angels and Marlins might regret spending so aggressively this offseason.
Bidding For Yu Darvish Ends Wednesday
6:22pm: The Nationals have interest in Darvish, writes Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. GM Mike Rizzo didn't divulge whether the Nats plan to bid, but his refusal to comment suggests to Kilgore that they will.
4:50pm: Now that Darvish has been posted, teams will have until 4:00pm CST on December 14th (four business days) to submit bids, tweets Buster Olney.
12:40pm: The Yankees are unsure about whether they'll bid on Darvish, tweets Buster Olney. He considers their interest lukewarm. I think everyone's playing coy at this stage; we'll see where the bids were when the dust settles. By the way, Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski said this week he will not be bidding on Darvish, according to Jason Beck.
11:07am: The Dodgers won't be bidding on Darvish, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times, but A's assistant GM David Forst wouldn't rule it out in talking to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News hears the Rangers aren't willing to gamble $100MM on Darvish. The Red Sox will discuss Darvish but feel pretty good about the front end of their rotation already, GM Ben Cherington told reporters.
4:56am: Following the announcement last night that the Nippon-Ham Fighters will post ace Yu Darvish, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports write that the Rangers, Blue Jays, and Yankees are all expected to bid on the Japanese righty. ESPN's Buster Olney also tweets that rival executives are expecting both the Rangers and Blue Jays to bid big Darvish, with the Rangers fueled by the expected loss of C.J. Wilson to the Angels or Marlins.
Rosenthal and Morosi write that the Red Sox could be a wild card for a big Darvish bid, as new manager Bobby Valentine, who saw Darvish first-hand many times as manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines from 2004-2009, is said to "love" the 25-year old. FOX's duo also note that both Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos and Rangers GM Jon Daniels saw Darvish pitch in Japan last season.
The posting period will last four days, and the winning team will have a 30-day exclusive negotation period with Darvish and his representatives Don Nomura and Arn Tellem. If a contract agreement cannot be reached between Darvish and the winning team, that team will be refunded the total of the posting fee.
Tim Dierkes and Luke Adams contributed to this post.
AL East Notes: Eyre, Jeroloman, Golson, Miller, Rays
The Yankees, Red Sox, and the rest of the AL East have been overshadowed this morning by a big spender out west, but here's what's going on in the division:
- The Orioles designated reliever Willie Eyre for assignment to make room on the roster for Dana Eveland, announced the team. The 33-year-old would have been arbitration eligible. The O's also announced second baseman Greg Miclat will go the Texas as the player to be named later in the Taylor Teagarden deal.
- The Blue Jays have designated Brian Jeroloman for assignment, tweets MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm. The move clears a roster spot for the returning Kelly Johnson.
- Greg Golson has been released by the Yankees, tweets MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. Having added two players in this morning's Rule 5 draft, the Yanks needed space on their roster, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
- The Yankees are close to signing former Indians prospect Adam Miller to a minor league deal, tweets Sherman. Miller ranked among Baseball America's top 100 prospects for five straight years from 2005 to 2009.
- The Rays are open-minded about listening to trade offers, even for players like James Shields or Jeremy Hellickson, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network. However, they'd need a very large return for their high-end pitchers.
- Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal looks at a few Red Sox trade chips, as the team searches for pitching help.
2011 Rule 5 Draft Results
Rule 5 players must stay with their new big league club all year or be offered back to the old team. MLB.com has a full recap of both the Major League and minor league portions of the draft. The results of the Major League phase are listed below:
- Astros take Rhiner Cruz from Mets.
- Twins take Terry Doyle from White Sox.
- Mariners take Lucas Luetge from Brewers.
- Orioles take Ryan Flaherty from Cubs.
- Royals take Cesar Cabral from Red Sox; traded to Yankees for cash.
- Cubs take Lendy Castillo from Phillies.
- Padres
- Pirates take Gustavo Nunez from Tigers.
- Marlins
- Rockies
- Athletics
- Mets
- White Sox
- Reds
- Indians
- Nationals
- Blue Jays
- Dodgers
- Angels
- Giants
- Braves take Robert Fish from Angels.
- Cardinals take Erik Komatsu from Nationals.
- Red Sox take Marwin Gonzalez from Cubs, traded to Astros for Marco Duarte
- Rays
- Diamondbacks take Brett Lorin from Pirates.
- Tigers
- Brewers
- Rangers
- Yankees take Brad Meyers from Nationals.
- Phillies
Angels Want Pujols And Wilson
We heard late last night that there is "no shot" Albert Pujols will make a decision before the Winter Meetings end. Still, here's the latest on the man who has $200MM+ offers from three teams including the Cardinals, Angels, and a mystery team who would reportedly need to trade an established first baseman to clear a path for the three-time MVP:
- The Angels want both Pujols and C.J. Wilson, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Angels have offered Pujols a ten-year deal worth at least $210MM and Wilson a five-year deal worth more than $70MM, reports Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times.
- ESPN's Buster Olney says that the Yankees are not the mystery team that's trying to set up a Pujols deal (Twitter link). That makes sense, given that Mark Teixeira has a full no-trade clause in his contract.
Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.
Overnight Links: Wise, Gonzalez, Fielder, Rule 5
Some links for the bleary-eyed readers still awake at their computers/smartphones/tablets:
- The Yankees are discussing a minor league deal with outfielder Dewayne Wise, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). A strong defender, Wise is probably best known for preserving former teammate Mark Buehrle's 2009 perfect game in the ninth inning by robbing a home run off the bat of Gabe Kapler.
- Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets that the Rangers met with Scott Boras to discuss Mike Gonzalez today, and they also checked in on Prince Fielder.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin said his team probably won't make a pick in Thursday's Rule 5 Draft, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
- The Pirates have at least thought about picking Nationals lefty Josh Smoker in the Rule 5 Draft, though it's not a lock according to John Perotto of Baseball Prospectus (on Twitter). Smoker was selected 31st overall by the Nats in 2007.
- Even with tonight's hiring of Jeff Luhnow as the new Astros GM, it will be interim GM Dave Gottfried and scouting director/assistant GM Bobby Heck calling the shots at the Rule 5 Draft tomorrow, tweets Alyson Footer of the Astros.
- Baseball America's John Manuel writes that reports of the Twins focusing on pitching led to speculation on Mets righty Rhiner Cruz, but a club source said the team is looking in another direction.
- The Red Sox compensation from the Cubs for Theo Epstein is expected to be sorted out after the Rule 5 Draft, writes MLB.com's Carrie Muskat.
Five Teams In On Hiroki Kuroda
The Cubs, Rockies, Diamondbacks, and others are trying for Hiroki Kuroda, tweets MLB Network's Jon Heyman, though he could still return to Japan. ESPN's Jerry Crasnick adds the Yankees and Red Sox to the list of suitors.
The Rockies also remain interested in the Reds' Edinson Volquez, tweets Troy Renck.
Yankees Willing To Assume $8MM In Burnett Trade
The Yankees will listen to offers for starter A.J. Burnett, reports George A. King III of the New York Post, and they're willing to assume $8MM of the $33MM owed to him for 2012-13.
I don't think teams will be lining up to pay Burnett $25MM over two years, however, so the Yankees will probably have to do better to move him. Burnett, 34, posted a 5.15 ERA, 8.2 K/9, 3.9 BB/9, 1.47 HR/9, and 49.2% groundball rate in 190 1/3 innings this year. A change of scenery might help.