Yankees To Sign Luis Ayala
The Yankees agreed to sign reliever Luis Ayala to a minor league deal, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter links). The right-hander a career ERA of 3.67 with 5.9 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in parts of six major league seasons.
Ayala last appeared in the majors in 2009, but he has been pitching recently. The 33-year-old closed for Mexico in the Caribbean Series, according to Morosi. Another Mexican right-hander, former Yankee Alfredo Aceves, signed with the Red Sox yesterday.
Ayala will presumably compete for a spot at the back of the Yankees' bullpen with the likes of Buddy Carlyle, Neal Cotts and Mark Prior. There doesn't appear to be much room for competition in the Yankees' restocked 'pen, but spots could open up because of injuries or ineffectiveness.
New York Notes: Aceves, C.C., Emaus, Martin
Alfredo Aceves' signing seems like just the latest wrinkle in a long line of them in the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry, but the Mets had a stake in that deal, too. Here's more on that and some other items of note coming out of the Big Apple on Tuesday …
- The Mets, like the Red Sox, offered Aceves a Major League contract, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com, but the right-hander preferred to play for Boston. The Mets were disappointed to miss out on Aceves, Heyman tweets, and understandably so, as Aceves would have been another decent addition for a team that entered the offseason on a tight budget. Interestingly, Aceves is reportedly throwing in bullpen sessions, which is further along than the Yankees anticipated he'd be at this juncture, tweets Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger. One has to wonder whether the new timetable would have influenced the Yanks' decision to non-tender Aceves in December.
- Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia has shed 30 pounds this offseason in an effort to reduce the load on his surgically repaired right knee, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Typically, we don't get too excited over this sort of Spring Training cliche, as we're bound to hear quite a bit about who's in shape and who's not over the next couple weeks, but 30 pounds is a lot of weight, and we're especially mindful of the opt-out clause in Sabathia's contract after the 2011 campaign. If he's healthy and has a big season, Sabathia could be in for another big payday next offseason.
- Mets second baseman Brad Emaus, a Rule 5 draftee, has a good chance of making the Mets' Opening Day roster as either their starting second baseman or in a platoon/utility role with Daniel Murphy, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. To that end, Rubin notes it's now "widely expected" that Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo will both be "jettisoned" before Opening Day.
- Yankees catcher Russell Martin is not 100 percent recovered from the right knee surgery he underwent in December, writes Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, but the Bombers' backstop expects to be ready by Opening Day. The Yankees are known to have exceptional depth at catcher with Jorge Posada, Francisco Cervelli, Jesus Montero and Austin Romine, so they probably won't have to range outside the organization in the event that Martin isn't fully healthy after Spring Training.
- Mets shortstop Jose Reyes feels sorry for the Wilpons on account of their financial plight, tweets Peter Botte of the New York Daily News, but he's not concerned about his contract status and is ready to "play baseball and see what happens." Reyes, a free agent after this season, also said that he feels as good as he's felt in the past two years and is expecting a big season, tweets Botte.
Yankees Notes: Delgado, Washburn, Pavano
The latest on the Yankees from Joel Sherman of the New York Post, as the Bronx Bombers trickle down to Florida for the start of another Spring Training…
- The Yankees have zero interest in Carlos Delgado. The longtime Blue Jays slugger wants to play in 2011, but hasn’t been getting much interest so far.
- The Yankees checked in on Jarrod Washburn earlier in the winter, but talks did not progress much. However, the Yankees would consider Washburn if he’s willing to accept a minor league deal like Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon did.
- The Yankees had interest in Carl Pavano but didn’t want to surrender a draft pick for the former Yankee, so they discussed a scenario that would have seen the Diamondbacks sign Pavano and trade him to New York for prospects. The Yankees could have kept their draft picks and worked out a deal with Arizona GM Kevin Towers, who worked for the Yankees last year and knows their farm system well. The D’Backs would have lost their second-round pick (63rd overall) to the Twins had they signed Pavano.
MLB Teams Sign Six Dominican League Prospects
The Dominican Prospect League announced that Major League organizations have signed six of its top prospects. Here are the details on the deals:
- The Yankees signed 20-year-old center fielder Freiter Marte for $100K. Marte had been selected to play in the DPL All-Star Game.
- Elvis Rubio, who was also chosen to play in the All-Star Game, signed with the Brewers for $95K. Rubio is a 17-year-old corner outfielder.
- If you think Rubio is young, look at who the Rays signed. Tampa Bay signed 16-year-old left-hander Luis Cepeda for $60K. The Rays get another DPL All-Star in Cepeda.
- The Cardinals signed Fernando Gonzalez, a 16-year old right-hander, for $66K. Gonzalez has drawn comparisons to a young Leo Nunez, according to the league.
- The Indians signed Kevin Calderon for $80K. The 16-year old made this year's All-Star team and is considered a top defensive catcher.
- The Pirates signed Leandro Rodriguez, a 17-year-old right-hander with a loose arm, for $80K.
Michael Young Requests Trade
TUESDAY, 12:10am: Young feels a breach of trust occurred with the Rangers in part because they told him they were not trying to trade him when they actually were, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. Stark adds that Young would be willing to consider expanding his eight-team list on a "case-to-case basis."
MONDAY, 10:34pm: MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan has the list of eight teams Young is willing to accept a trade to: Cardinals, Yankees, Twins, Astros, Rockies, Dodgers, Angels, and Padres. The team has said they are dealing with just those eight teams right now.
9:45pm: Grant passes along some strong words from Young…
"I've kept a low profile out of respect for the team, the coaching staff, my family and the fans because I didn't want to put anybody on an unnecessary roller-coaster. Now, I think it's important to address the inaccurate portrayal that is being painted. The suggestion that I've simply had a change of heart and asked for a trade is a manipulation of the truth."
"I want to be traded because I've been misled and manipulated and I'm sick of it."
Young wouldn't elaborate when asked how he was "misled and manipulated," instead saying it "would be unproductive for everybody, particularly my teammates and coaches. I know the truth and Jon Daniels knows the truth and I will sleep well."
9:16pm: Jeff Wilson of The Star Telegram hears that the Rangers would be willing to trade Young within the AL West as long as it helps improve the team. He reminds us that Texas traded high-end prospects to a division rival for Cliff Lee just last summer.
5:06pm: Michael Young has officially requested a trade according to Rangers GM Jon Daniels, reports Anthony Andro of The Star Telegram (Twitter links). The request came about a week ago, though Daniels said "nothing's imminent" according to SI.com's Jon Heyman (on Twitter).
"It's not our first choice," said Daniels. "We'd like to go to camp with him … If we can accomodate his request and upgrade the club he would like to do that."
Those quotes come courtesy of Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News and Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter links). Team president Nolan Ryan said they're "going to do what’s in the best interest of the ballclub" according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Ryan would not speculate about whether the team would eat some of Young's salary, and he said he expects "proper compensation" for his third baseman according to Andro and Renck (Twitter links).
This is not the first time Young has requested a trade from the Rangers. He did so before the 2009 season, after the club asked him to play third base in deference to Elvis Andrus. Obviously nothing came of that, but Young still had a clearly defined role with the team back then. Now he's expected to be a part-time infielder and part-time DH with Adrian Beltre and Mike Napoli on board.
Young, 34, has been mentioned in trade talk all winter, most notably with the Rockies. He was said to have "grown disillusioned about his diminished role" over the weekend, and we heard that Colorado would need Texas to eat about $20MM of the $48MM left on Young's salary to make a deal happen.
Young has a limited no-trade clause that allows him to block deals to all but eight teams, however Colorado is one of the eight. Ryan says that Young will not expand the list of teams he's willing to go to even though some of the clubs on the no-trade list have expressed interest in acquiring him according to Renck and Andro (all Twitter links). Daniels would not specify which teams have inquired about Young.
If Texas was willing to trade within the division, they might find suitors in the Angels and Athletics, though that is speculation on my part. Both clubs whiffed on Beltre and are known to be seeking upgrades at the hot corner. Colorado would use Young at second base full-time.
AL East Links: Lowell, Guerrero, Jeter
This round of Monday afternoon links includes updates on one player who is leaving the AL East, one who is just arriving in it and one who has played his entire career there…
- Former Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell tells Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he knows he'll miss playing this year, though his transition to retirement has been smooth so far.
- Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun explains that Orioles owner Peter Angelos and president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail wanted to sign Vladimir Guerrero and that Guerrero wasn't wavering on his $8MM asking price. The sides agreed to a deal last Friday.
- Derek Jeter tells Brian Costello of the New York Post that that he's "done with" feeling hurt by his contract negotiations with the Yankees and not worried about potential position switches.
Quick Hits: Diamondbacks, Guerrero, Marcum, Pence
Football will dominate today's sports headlines, but ESPN.com's Jayson Stark tweets some good news for baseball fans – Super Sunday also represents the start of the last week without baseball until November! Here are today's links, as the Packers and Steelers prepare to square off in Texas….
- The Diamondbacks could hit it big in the draft this year, a rival scout tells Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. Arizona will hold the No. 3 and No. 7 picks this June.
- It's time to give Peter Angelos and the Orioles credit for signing Vladimir Guerrero, writes Kevin Cowherd of The Baltimore Sun. The big ticket signing is the latest move made by the O's who will see their payroll jump from $73MM in 2010 to $93MM in 2011.
- Francisco Liriano's $4.3MM salary could impact the Brewers' negotiations with Shaun Marcum, writes MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Both pitchers submitted a $5MM figure. Milwaukee countered with $3MM while the Twins offered Liriano $3.6MM before settling on a $4.3MM mark last week.
- An arbitration hearing for Hunter Pence and the Astros has been set for February 18th, reports Stephen Goff of the Houston Astros Examiner. As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, Pence is Houston's last remaining case, and the two sides' figures are $1.75MM apart.
- Within a piece on the Rays' bullpen, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune writes that the team is waiting until early this week to make roster moves to free room on the 40-man roster for Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez.
- The Yankees' hunt for starting pitching and the Mets' financial issues will get more attention, but Joel Sherman of the New York Post thinks the more intriguing stories in New York involve the futures of the two starting shortstops.
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer previews some storylines and poses some questions for the Reds as they prepare for the season.
Cafardo’s Latest: Pettitte, Millwood, Blanton
Even now that Andy Pettitte has announced his retirement, it seems the debate over whether he'll pitch again won't die. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe talked to one scout who, following Pettitte's press conference, was still unconvinced the left-hander is done for good.
"I get the feeling his career isn’t over. For one, he can still pitch at a high level. Secondly, he didn’t retire with any conviction. The stuff about going back and forth on whether or not to pitch leads me to believe he’ll decide to pitch again."
Whether or not the scout is on to something, the Yankees are looking elsewhere for starting pitching. Cafardo has a couple notes on their search among this week's hot stove updates….
- We heard yesterday that the Indians were "making progress" with Kevin Millwood, who is talking to multiple clubs. Cafardo names the Yankees, Mets, and Tribe as teams still in on the right-hander, with salary as the primary hang-up. Given Scott Boras' success so far this offseason, it would actually be somewhat surprising if he and Millwood don't eventually get what they're asking for.
- The Yanks will "see what they have" with pitchers like Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon, and Sergio Mitre before they consider trading for someone like Joe Blanton.
- The Red Sox are eyeing former Yankee Alfredo Aceves as a potential injury rehab project.
- According to Cafardo, it would be the "shock of the century" if Adrian Gonzalez and the Red Sox don't come to terms on a contract extension by the end of Spring Training.
Quick Hits: Vlad, Brewers, Yankees, Pujols
Nine years ago today, MLB announced it had withdrawn its plan to contract the Twins and Expos due to legal issues and major opposition from the players' union. Minnesota has won six division titles and moved into Target Field since then, and they now boast a $100MM+ payroll. The Expos have since relocated to Washington and moved into Nationals Park, and this winter they handed out their first $100MM+ contract.
Here's some links for Saturday…
- Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes reports (on Twitter) that Vladimir Guerrero is scheduled to take his physical with the Orioles this upcoming Friday in Baltimore.
- Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio spoke to Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel about letting talent dictate the team's payroll as opposed to spending for the sake of spending.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman wasn't terribly interested in the starters that were left on the open market after Cliff Lee signed with the Phillies, writes Chad Jennings of The LoHud Yankees Blog.
- In today's blog post at ESPN (Insider req'd), Buster Olney says there does not to appear to have been much progress in talks about a long-term contract extension between the Cardinals and Albert Pujols. The Spring Training deadline is about two weeks away.
- Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun says the Guerrero signing has created some questions, such as what the Orioles' Opening Day payroll will be.
- Minor league contract signees Eric Chavez and Ronnie Belliard will compete with four homegrown players for two spots on the Yankees' bench according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, but he notes that Ramiro Pena and Eduardo Nunez have an advantage because they can play shortstop.
Yankees Notes: Pettitte, Williams, Chavez
Earlier this week, Andy Pettitte announced his retirement, bringing an end to months of speculation. Well, for the most part anyway. Here's some news on the left-hander and other Yankees tidbits..
- Pettitte isn't planning on a comeback but he won't completely rule out another go-round after a year off, tweets Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger.
- For Pettitte retiring was a tough decision, but ultimately the right one, says Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter).
- The Yankees have shown patience as of late but Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated wonders if Pettitte's retirement will make the club antsy. Their newfound restraint has them 0-for-2 on Heyman's scoreboard when considering their miss on Cliff Lee.
- GM Brian Cashman insists that patience is still the name of the game, writes Carig.
- Bernie Williams is one Yankee who is ready to shut the door on his playing days for good, writes MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. The 42-year-old centerfielder plans to make his retirement official at some point in 2011. Williams hit .297/.381/.477 in 16 big league seasons for the Bombers.
- Eric Chavez told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter) that if he makes the Yankees' major league roster, he knows he'll be playing in support of two phenomenal corner infielders. Slusser tweets that it It sounds as though the Yankees made best offer of the teams that showed interest in the veteran. The Dodgers, Blue Jays, and Mariners were among the other clubs known to be in talks with Chavez.