Heavy Interest In C.J. Wilson
Interest has been heavy in free agent lefty C.J. Wilson, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, despite his disappointing postseason. The Yankees, Angels, Blue Jays, Marlins, Nationals, and Rangers have already expressed interest, reports Morosi. All six clubs had been expected to be in the mix.
An official with an involved club expects at least five years with a sixth-year option for Wilson, while another official believes six years guaranteed is possible. Could a sixth year push Wilson to $100MM? In an August 30th poll, 78% of nearly 7,000 MLBTR readers polled felt Wilson would fall short of nine figures.
Rangers GM Jon Daniels recently commented on Wilson to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan, saying, "We would like to have him back. We know he's in a great position. He'll explore his options. We'll prepare for both possibilities." At the least, the Rangers are expected to offer arbitration to the Type A free agent nine days from now. If Wilson does leave the Rangers, they could end up with a top 20 draft pick as compensation if the Nationals, Jays, or Angels sign him and the current system remains in place for 2012. Out of Morosi's five competing suitors, only the Marlins have a protected first-round pick.
AL East Notes: Yankees, Ortiz, Red Sox, Reynolds
Here's a look at some items out of the American League East..
- The Yankees remain unlikely to pursue David Ortiz, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.com. General Manager Brian Cashman reiterated that the team's focus is on shoring up the starting rotation and also noted that the team has a number of internal candidates for the DH spot.
- More from Speier as Cashman says that he's intrigued by the possibility of finally being able to have trade talks with Theo Epstein now that he is in charge of the Cubs.
- The Red Sox will have to address the back of their rotation this winter and Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe outlines the different avenues that GM Ben Cherington can explore. Abraham writes that even though the Sox will look into lefthanders C.J. Wilson and Mark Buehrle, a major deal is unlikely.
- Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com wonders if Mark Reynolds' name will come up at this week's GM meetings in Milwaukee. The Orioles hold an $11MM option on Reynolds' contract for 2013 and he isn't eligible for free agency until the following year.
Quick Hits: Aoki, Cespedes, Pirates, Doumit
The Royals acquired Vin Mazzaro from the Athletics for David DeJesus on this date last year. A few days ago, Kansas City acquired Jonathan Sanchez from the Bay Area's other team. Here are today's links…
- The A's, Nationals, Mets and Indians could be interested in Norichika Aoki, the three-time Central League batting champion who will be posted this offseason, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. SI.com's Jon Heyman suggests those same four teams could be interested in Grady Sizemore (Twitter links).
- ESPN.com's Keith Law previews the market for starting pitching and explains that if there's an available ace it's Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes previewed the market for starting pitching earlier this week.
- Ben Badler of Baseball America explains that international scouts have known about Yoenis Cespedes for a while. The recent showcase video and the subsequent reaction gave fans the impression that the center fielder appeared out of nowhere, but that’s not the case.
- Danny Knobler of CBS Sports hears from someone who expects Cespedes to sign for upwards of $30MM (Twitter link).
- The Yankees and Pirates had preliminary discussions about trades involving catchers, but the Pirates' deal with Rod Barajas makes a trade between the Pirates and Yankees seem unlikely, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post explains (on Twitter).
- Speaking of Pirates catchers, free agent Ryan Doumit has obtained multiple offers and expects to sign this month, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter links). The versatile 30-year-old is looking for a one-year deal.
Yankees Notes: Sanchez, Catchers, Pitching, Posada
Yankees GM Brian Cashman spoke to reporters while at a charity function earlier today, and Marc Carig of The Star Ledger provided a recap. Here are the highlights…
- The Yankees were aware that Jonathan Sanchez was on the trade block, but Cashman said the team did not have discussions about acquiring him. The Giants traded Sanchez to the Royals for former Yankee Melky Cabrera earlier this week.
- Clubs have already inquired about the Yankees' young catchers, such as Jesus Montero, Austin Romine, and Francisco Cervelli. "I've had a lot of teams express 'Hey, if you're ever going to do something there, mark us down,' that type of things," said Cashman.
- Cashman said it's too early to know if the best pitching options are available via trade or free agency. "I haven't talked to every team and I haven't talked to every agent yet," said the GM. "And I certainly haven't had any agent tell me what they want financially. So, no one's made any demands to me, no one's made me an offer, so I don't know what these current free agents are looking for yet in terms of years and dollars."
- The Yankees have requested the medical information for some players, which Cashman said is standard procedure.
- Cashman has not had any talks with Jorge Posada or Eric Chavez yet, and he doesn't know if either will continue playing or retire. Posada told Carig that he's undecided about playing in 2012, but he's resigned to the fact that it would not be with the Yankees. He believes he can still serve as a backup catcher and DH, and he told Newsday's Erik Boland that he's been contacted by five or six teams (all Twitter links).
- Posada's wife hinted that the Marlins could be a fit, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (on Twitter). "We live in Miami, so… We love Miami. Nice transition," she said.
- The Yankees have the flexibility to stretch the budget, if needed. "There's no set number where you can't exceed it that obviously exists in other environments," said Cashman.
- The team has a ton of scouts in the Dominican Republic this week, and they are there to see more players than just Yoenis Cespedes.
Latest On Yoenis Cespedes
The market is strong for Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes, who currently resides in the Dominican Republic. The paperwork required for the center fielder to play baseball in the United States should be done this month, advisor Edgar Mercedes told Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus. Said Mercedes, "I'm confident that he'll be in spring training with a major league club."
Private workouts are beginning this week, with a large Marlins contingent scheduled to visit Thursday. The Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, Indians, Blue Jays, and Pirates are among the teams that will visit in the coming weeks, Mercedes told Goldstein. Mercedes also answered questions about the legendary showcase video he produced for Cespedes.
On Monday, the Rangers, Tigers, Nationals, and Athletics were named as other clubs interested in Cespedes, who is represented by Adam Katz of Wasserman Media Group.
More Potential Cuban Free Agents
There's been plenty of hype this week on Yoenis Cespedes, a Cuban center fielder who defected this summer and could command Aroldis Chapman money or more. But yesterday, MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez provided more interesting names.
19-year-old outfielder Jorge Soler and 23-year-old right-hander Armando Rivero participated in a showcase at the Yankees' complex in Boca Chica last week. Like Cespedes, both players are in the process of becoming eligible to play in the United States.
One year ago, Baseball America's John Manuel had this to say about Soler: "Soler has a strapping 6-foot-3, 205-pound body and has five-tool potential. Soler has bat speed and what one scout called 'explosive power' to go with above-average arm strength." He's on the Yankees' radar, according to George A. King III of the New York Post. Sanchez writes that Rivero "features a slider, split-finger fastball, sinker and changeup in his repertoire and reached 98 mph with his fastball in the showcase." King says he's viewed as a reliever.
Sanchez notes that outfielders Henry Urrutia and Gerald Sanchez and lefty Omar Luis also participated in the showcase.
Quick Hits: Yankees, Rodriguez, Ankiel
Links for Tuesday night as CBA talks progress and the Phillies work toward a deal for Ryan Madson…
- Keith Law of ESPN.com previews the free agent market for outfielders. Law likes Carlos Beltran, isn't optimistic about Michael Cuddyer and suggests avoiding Raul Ibanez, Rick Ankiel and Ryan Ludwick.
- Though the Yankees have reached out to many agents, including Mark Buehrle’s representative, GM Brian Cashman says they have yet to make formal offers, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (on Twitter).
- Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner outlines his offseason plan for the Mariners, assuming Seattle doesn't trade for Reds first baseman Joey Votto.
- Agent Scott Boras says a lot of teams have inquired on free agent catcher Ivan Rodriguez, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
- Rick Ankiel, another free agent Boras client, is still developing as a Major Leaguer, according to the agent. “We have not seen his best years," Boras said. "It’s certainly clear the Nats liked what they saw. It’s just pretty hard to find guys who can play center field, who have that arm strength and who can hit for power.”
Yankees, Red Sox, Rangers Interested In Buehrle
6:05pm: It's highly unlikely that the Yankees will make a serious run for Buehrle, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
1:54pm: The Yankees, Red Sox, and Rangers are interested in free agent lefty Mark Buehrle, report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, and the Marlins are meeting with him today. Buehrle, 32, posted a 3.59 ERA, 4.8 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 0.92 HR/9, and 44.9% groundball rate in 205 1/3 innings this year. The long time White Sox starter has pitched 200+ innings in every season since 2001.
The Marlins and Blue Jays are the teams most aggressively pursuing trades for starting pitchers, add Rosenthal and Morosi. One GM said of the Jays' Alex Anthopoulos, "You can’t pin him down. He has interest in every one of your players."
James Shields, Wade Davis, Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill, Jair Jurrjens, John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Chad Billingsley, and Wandy Rodriguez are the pitchers "known or thought to be available in trades," according to the FOX writers. Cahill and Billingsley are the new names here, but it's unclear whether they fall under "known" or "thought." The availability of Rodriguez will depend on whether Jim Crane is approved as new Astros owner next week, as Crane does not share Drayton McLane's reluctance to move the 32-year-old.
Heyman On Posada, Dodgers, Beltran, Morrison
The latest rumors tweeted from SI's Jon Heyman…
- The Yankees haven't been in touch with free agent Jorge Posada so far this offseason, according to Heyman.
- A person with knowledge of the Dodgers sale says bidding will definitely go over $1 billion, and Frank McCourt may well reach his $1.2 billion target.
- The Phillies and Ryan Madson are now engaged in serious discussions, and Heyman expects the two sides to reach an agreement soon. This fits with what was written about Madson and the Phillies yesterday.
- The Red Sox are interested in free agent right fielder Carlos Beltran. I ranked Beltran ninth on my top 50 free agents list, predicting Boston as his destination.
- One executive who spoke to the Marlins tells Heyman 24-year-old left fielder Logan Morrison is off-limits. The executive could see the Fish making an exception for James Shields, however.
- The Brewers believe they have almost no hope to re-sign Prince Fielder and are now targeting free agent shortstop Jose Reyes. The Marlins will meet with Reyes in South Florida tomorrow, tweeted Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Brewers would have to give the Mets the 28th overall pick in next year's draft to sign Reyes, while the Marlins would only have to surrender a second-round pick.
- The Yankees were disappointed Jonathan Sanchez went to the Royals, as they believed they had more to offer to the Giants. The Royals acquired Sanchez and a minor leaguer from the Giants for Melky Cabrera yesterday.
- The Yankees are impressed by what they've seen so far of Cuban center fielder Yoenis Cespedes, though it's mainly limited to video. Cespedes' bizarre showcase video mostly shows off the player's athleticism and style. For a rundown of Cespedes' suitors, click here, and for a scout's view of him, check out the latest from MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.
- Yankees executive Billy Eppler grew up with free agent lefty C.J. Wilson, for what it's worth. The Yankees will talk to Wilson, who GM Brian Cashman acknowledged is the "best pitcher on the marketplace right now."
Quick Hits: Maddux, Maine, Jackson, Darvish
The Orioles officially announced that they’ll name Dan Duquette their executive VP of baseball operations tomorrow. While that front office change was expected, the Twins’ decision to replace Bill Smith with Terry Ryan was most certainly not. Here are some notes from around MLB on yet another busy day for front office movement…
- The Cubs will interview Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux for their managerial opening Wednesday, according to reporters, including MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat (on Twitter). Maddux withdrew from Boston’s managerial search for family reasons.
- ESPN.com’s Keith Law explores the middle infield market and warns potential suitors that Willie Bloomquist, Alex Gonzalez and Yuniesky Betancourt may disappoint in 2012. MLBTR has examined the market for shortstops and second basemen in recent weeks.
- John Maine feels healthy and intends to pitch in 2012, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).
- The Yankees have had preliminary discussions with agent Scott Boras about free agent starter Edwin Jackson, according to George A. King III of the New York Post.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports explains that the upcoming collective bargaining agreement relates to the market for starting pitching, since teams aren’t likely to commit tens of millions to players before the details of the CBA become clear. Morosi also reports it’s likely, but not definite that Yu Darvish will be posted this offseason.
- Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has told clubs and agents he intends to be proactive this winter, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark (on Twitter). Stark and others have reported that the Phils are currently pushing to sign Ryan Madson.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America looks back at the drafted players who fell furthest because of signability questions.