Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Yankees Rumors

New York Notes: Cano, Jeter, Castillo, Paulino

By | at

We've already heard this morning about one New York club finalizing some minor league deals, while the other had a minor league offer turned down. Let's catch up on the rest of the latest updates on the Yankees and Mets….

  • On the heels of hiring agent Scott Boras, Robinson Cano says he doesn't intend to ask the Yankees for a contract extension before his current deal expires, writes Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger.
  • Derek Jeter spoke to media today at Spring Training, including Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). The longtime Yankee said that, when the time comes, he fully plans to exercise his 2014 player option.
  • Feinsand's Daily News colleague Bill Madden would like to see the Yankees open up the competition for the fourth and fifth rotation spots to some of their top prospects.
  • Luis Castillo arrived later than expected to Mets' camp, due in part to his brother's upcoming surgery, tweets Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork. Newsday's David Lennon adds (via Twitter) that Castillo cleared up the misunderstanding with manager Terry Collins and is ready to compete for the team's second base job.
  • Ronny Paulino's arrival to camp has also been delayed, in his case by visa issues, says Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger. Paulino, who was suspended last year for violating baseball's drug policy, will miss the first eight games of this season as he finishes serving the suspension.

Millwood Rejected Yankees’ Minor League Offer

By | at

One of the few notable names left on the starting pitching market, Kevin Millwood still appears to be seeking a Major League contract. The veteran right-hander recently turned down a minor league offer from the Yankees, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. According to Sherman, the deal was structured similarly to the one Freddy Garcia signed with the club.

Despite their ongoing need for help at the back of the rotation, the Yankees are "adamant" about not guaranteeing Millwood big league money to compete for a starting pitching job. If the righty were to sign a minor league deal, he would have to beat out New York's other in-house options to earn a roster spot.

Considering most teams have figured out their rotations by now, there may not be a Major League offer out there for the 36-year-old. While it's never safe to underestimate Scott Boras, Millwood doesn't seem to have many suitors, with the Yankees and Indians among the few teams linked to him in recent weeks. When we asked you last weekend for predictions on Millwood's landing spot, those two clubs combined to earn about 70% of over 6,800 votes.

AL East Notes: Yankees, Red Sox, Fenway, Epstein

By | at

Here is the latest from two of baseball's biggest powerhouses…

  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Chad Jennings of The Journal News that there are no player moves on the horizon. "I have nothing I'm involved with right now," he said. "Zero."
  • Red Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino told Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe that his team will have the financial room to add players at the trade deadline, if needed (Twitter link).
  • Lucchino also told Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston and Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe that he was informed by engineers that Fenway Park will be structurally sound for another 40-50 years, so there are no plans for a new ballpark (Twitter links).
  • Red Sox owner John Henry told Alex Speier of WEEI.com that he doesn't even know how long GM Theo Epstein is under contract, and there are no real discussions about his future (Twitter link). Cot's Baseball Contracts doesn't know how long Epstein is under contract either.
  • Boston has paid upwards of $85MM in revenue sharing and approximately $1.5MM in luxury tax, tweets Speier.
  • Anyone dreaming of Mark Teixeira for Albert Pujols trade can stop now. The Yankees first baseman told Joel Sherman of The New York Post (on Twitter) that "I've got that no-trade [clause] for a reason. I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to be buried in these pinstripes."

AL East Notes: A-Gon, Yankees, Rays, Pujols

By | at

A few items from baseball's high-rent district…

  • John Boggs, agent for Adrian Gonzalez, tells Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald that he'd be "surprised" if his client isn't signed to a long-term deal with the Red Sox once the season begins.  Boggs said he hasn't been in negotiations with Sox managment since December, but will travel to the team's Spring Training camp in March to continue talks.  There have been rumors that Gonzalez has already agreed to an extension but the deal isn't being announced until April so the club can avoid a luxury tax hit; the first baseman denied these rumors in December.
  • The Yankees, for a change, head into Spring Training with a lot of competition for jobs, writes Fanhouse's Ed Price.
  • In his profile of the Rays' "sleeper" pitching prospects, John Sickels of Minor League Ball says Tampa Bay's collection of minor league arms is so deep that "in other organizations, some of these would be Top Ten prospects and considered anchors for the future, rather than 'oh yeah, him too' pitchers."
  • Albert Pujols in a Red Sox uniform?  It's not a hint about next winter, but rather a what-if from the 1999 draft that ESPNBoston.com's Gordon Edes explores with Boston scout Ernie Jacobs.

New York Notes: Wilpon, Sabathia, Torrealba

By | at

There seems to be no shortage of on- and off-field baseball news coming out of the Big Apple these days. Here's some of the latest out of New York …

  • High-ranking baseball people are concerned about whether the Wilpons will be able to keep the Mets in the wake of the ongoing Madoff fallout, writes Jon Heyman of SI.com. MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, a "friend and ally" of Wilpon's, according to Heyman, will give Wilpon a long leash in sorting through the mess, but some are doubting whether the Wilpons can withstand a loss worth half or even a quarter of the $1 billion that Madoff trustee Irving Picard is seeking.
  • The Yankees may actually benefit if CC Sabathia opts out of his contract after 2011, writes Joe Sheehan of SI.com. Typically, opt-out clauses are considered player-friendly, but because of Sabathia's injury risk due to his body type and age between 2012-15, the Yanks might do well to let Sabathia walk and spend the money elsewhere, according to Sheehan, especially with some promising pitching prospects on the way up. One interesting hypothetical posed by Sheehan: Let Sabathia walk, move Mark Teixeira to full-time DH duties and sign potential free agent Albert Pujols.
  • The Mets won their grievance case with catcher Yorvit Torrealba, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. An arbitrator ruled that the Mets were within their rights to call off a three-year, $14.4MM agreement they had reached with Torrealba following the 2007 season upon conducting a physical which caused them "concerns" about the condition of Torrealba's throwing shoulder.

Quick Hits: Ortiz, Cabrera, Pujols, Astros

By | at

On this date in 2008, the Rockies signed Scott Podsednik. The Blue Jays did just that yesterday, agreeing to a minor league deal with the speedy outfielder. Here are some links for Thursday…

Quick Hits: Wilson, Allen, Swisher, Maholm, Tigers

By | at

Ten years ago today, the Angels signed Alberto Callaspo as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela. He spent four years in their farm system before being traded to the Diamondbacks for Jason Bulger. After a stint with the Royals, Callaspo ended up back with the Halos following a mid-summer trade last year.

Here are today's batch of links…

  • MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith appeared on this week's edition of the Beyond The Box Score Podcast, so head on over and give it a listen.
  • C.J. Wilson told MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan that he's not thinking about his upcoming free agency, mentioning that the Rangers has never offered him a long-term deal.
  • The Russell Branyan signing seems to indicate that the Diamondbacks don't see Brandon Allen as a fit anymore, says Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic (Twitter links). He adds that Arizona gauged Allen's trade value at the winter meetings, and he's heard that the Rays were high on him in the past.
  • Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher said he and former agent Joe Bick "just grew apart," which is why he signed on with Dan Lozano recently, reports Ken Davidoff of Newsday.
  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm that he's not a fan of performance-based incentives because of the uncertainty they create.
  • Paul Maholm told Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that he's willing to discuss an extension with the Pirates, which pleasantly surprised GM Neal Huntington. "Paul's done some good things for this organization," said the GM. "We'll give it due consideration." The team holds a $9.75MM club option for Maholm's services in 2012 after he earns $5.75MM in 2011.
  • John Lowe of The Detroit Free Press points out that there is no dead weight on the Tigers' $105MM payroll. Detroit paid close to $24MM for Nate Robertson and Dontrelle Willis last season, who gave them 43 1/3 IP with a 4.98 ERA (all by Willis).
  • Larry Stone of The Seattle Times spoke to Yankees GM Brian Cashman about last summer's near trade for Cliff Lee. Cashman said he's glad he didn't agree to Seattle's revised offer after seeing Lee sign with Philadelphia. "Now I'm like, I've got one of the premier hitting talents here, and I didn't have a two-month rental," said the GM, referring to top prospect Jesus Montero.

Reactions To Albert Pujols & The Cardinals

By | at

The Cardinals and franchise player Albert Pujols failed to come to an agreement on a long-term extension before today's deadline, meaning the first baseman will hit the free agent market after the season. As you'd expect, plenty of reactions have poured in, some from team executives. Let's recap…

  • Team owner Bill DeWitt says the club "will honor [Pujols'] wishes and not discuss this matter until the completion of the season," reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). "[We] remain hopeful that Albert will finish his career in St. Louis," added DeWitt, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse (on Twitter).
  • "Albert is an iconic player," said DeWitt at an afternoon press conference. "We made every effort to extend his contract." Jon Heyman of SI.com passed along that quote (on Twitter).
  • Pujols' agent Dan Lozano released a statement, saying the "expiration of today's deadline does not eliminate the possibility of Albert returning to the Cardinals in 2012, but simply delays negotiations until the conclusion of the Cardinals' season." Bob Nightengale of USA Today passed that along.
  • GM John Mozeliak told Heyman that he believes Pujols wants to test the free agent market (Twitter link).
  • Joel Sherman of The New York Post compares a Pujols extension to Derek Jeter's new contract with the Yankees, saying that "teams have to stop paying for what players did and concentrate on what players are likely to do over the course of a contract."
  • Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports says that rejecting the team's offer(s) was the right move for Pujols.
  • Jeff Gordon of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Cardinals should now go "all in" to win in 2011.
  • A source told ESPN's Andrew Marchand that the Yankees have no plans to look into Pujols' availability. Earlier today we heard that the Cardinals have no intention of trading their superstar despite not reaching a deal.
  • Cubs manager Mike Quade wouldn't comment on the Pujols situation when asked by Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune. Chicago's north siders are believed to be a potential match for Pujols if he does hit the market. 
  • Rosenthal says the Cardinals are taking a big risk by letting Pujols hit the open market.

Minor Moves: Geary, Perkins, Cotts, Petit

By | at

Some minor league moves from early Spring Training…

  • The Padres signed righty reliever Geoff Geary, tweets Baseball America's Matt Eddy. He did not pitch in the majors last season, instead appearing in 31 games for the Triple-A affiliates of the Rangers and Dodgers (4.32 ERA). 
  • The Padres also released infielder Gregorio Petit, tweet Eddy. He signed on with San Diego back in December.
  • The Yankees signed righty reliever Fernando Hernandez, tweets Eddy. The 26-year-old pitched in three games with the 2008 A's as a Rule 5 Pick, though he spent last year with their Triple-A affiliate (4.77 ERA in 77 1/3 innings).
  • The Yankees also released Neal Cotts, reports Marc Carig of The Star Ledger (Twitter link). Cotts signed a minor league deal in November, but was still coming back from Tommy John and hip surgeries. 
  • The Blue Jays signed Vince Perkins, who they originally drafted back in 2000, tweets Eddy. The Canadian-born right-hander last pitched in 2009, when he made 53 appearances in the Cubs' minor league system (3.02 ERA).
  • The Braves signed left-hander Jose Lugo, tweets Eddy. The 25-year-old posted a 6.72 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 85 2/3 innings with the Twins' Triple-A affiliate last season.

Yankees Notes: Sabathia, Lee, Posada

By | at

C.C. Sabathia made headlines yesterday when he declined to say definitively that he won't opt out of his contract after the coming season. Here are some updates on Sabathia and his teammates as Spring Training continues…

  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Joel Sherman of the New York Post he won't have regrets about granting Sabathia's opt-out clause even if the left-hander exercises it, since the Yankees won a World Series with him (in 2009).
  • Yahoo's Jeff Passan says Sabathia will opt out after the season, because the market will allow him to earn more than $92MM in guaranteed money (that's how much will remain on his contract after 2011).
  • Sherman says Cliff Lee haunts the Yankees' past, present and future and guesses that it would cost at least seven years and $175MM for the Yankees to re-work Sabathia's contract, partly because of Lee.
  • Jorge Posada told Tyler Kepner of the New York Times that it would be "real tough" to play elsewhere after the coming season, when he hits free agency (Twitter link).
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