New York Notes: Beltran, Garcia, Pettitte
The Angels considered the possibility of trading for Carlos Beltran before they acquired Vernon Wells from the Blue Jays, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Here are the details on the Angels' interest in Beltran and other notes from New York City:
- Sherman hears that the Mets and Angels discussed Beltran, but the Angels preferred Wells despite the $86MM remaining on his contract. The Angels had more confidence in Wells' health and defense.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman tells Sherman that he doesn't want to have to rely on pitching prospects Manuel Banuelos and Dellin Betances in the majors this season. “They shouldn’t be caught up in our major league problems,” Cashman said. But as Sherman points out, the Yankees have summoned prospects like Phil Hughes to the majors earlier than expected; once the season starts, it's tough to predict what will happen.
- In conversations with Yankees people, Sherman never got the impression that they liked Freddy Garcia that much. The team agreed to a minor league deal with Garcia Monday.
- There's "a pretty good likelihood" that Andy Pettitte returns and the Yankees trade for a starter during Spring Training, Sherman writes.
New York Notes: Pettitte, Mets, Pitching
Let's check out a few items concerning the Yankees and Mets..
- Yankees people continue to hear from friends of Andy Pettitte that they think the 38-year-old will pitch this year, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. Of course, there's still no word from Pettitte himself on the matter.
- As expected, Mets principal owner Fred Wilpon, COO Jeff Wilpon and team president Saul Katz met with commissioner Bud Selig today to talk about the team's finances, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. On Friday the club announced that they are looking to sell 20 to 25 percent of the team in order to give themselves a cushion against any settlement that comes from the Bernie Madoff case.
- Mike Piazza, who earned more than $120MM over the course of his major league career, says he isn't interested in buying a share of the club right now, according to Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com.
- Nick Swisher isn't concerned about the Yankees' pitching woes, writes Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger.
Yankees Reach Agreement With Freddy Garcia
The Yankees have agreed to sign Freddy Garcia to a minor league contract, reports ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). The deal will pay Garcia $1.5MM if he makes the Major League roster, and the total value of the contract could be worth $5.1MM if Garcia reaches all his start-based incentive plateaus, up to 30 starts. Garcia is represented by Peter Greenberg.
Garcia, 35, expressed his preference to pitch for the Yankees earlier this week, saying it would be "an inspiration" to pitch in the pressurized environments of both New York and the AL East. The Mets, Orioles and White Sox all showed some degree of interest in Garcia this winter, though Garcia ruled out a return to Chicago earlier today.
The veteran right-hander posted a 4.64 ERA, 1.98 K/BB ratio and a 40.7% ground ball rate in 28 starts with the White Sox last season. Garcia threw 157 Major League innings in 2010 — he pitched in just 129 innings combined over the prior three seasons due to nagging shoulder injuries.
Garcia joins the likes of Bartolo Colon, Ivan Nova, Andrew Brackman, Sergio Mitre and even Mark Prior in the battle for the final two starting spots in the Yankee rotation. This competition could be limited to just the number five spot, of course, should Andy Pettitte announce his return.
Garcia: Not Returning To Chicago
Freddy Garcia continues to indicate that he'd prefer to spend 2011 playing outside of Chicago, despite recent reports that the White Sox are still considering him. Last Wednesday, he stated his goal to pitch for the Yankees this season, while not explictly ruling out out Chicago or any other team. But in a recent interview with Leonardo Mendoza and Francisco Zambrano from the Venezuelan paper Lider en Deportes (link in Spanish), Garcia seemed ready to say goodbye to the South Side:
"I would love to stay in Chicago because I like the city and I have friends here, but I don't think I'm going to come back," Garcia said. "In any case, I appreciate them for trusting me last year; however, a team like New York would be ideal, and would match up with this stage of my career."
Were he to head East, Garcia would presumably slot behind Phil Hughes in the Yankees' rotation, leaving the fifth spot open for contention among a group including rookies Ivan Nova and Andrew Brackman and veterans Bartolo Colon and Sergio Mitre. With Andy Pettitte's return far from a sure thing, and Joba Chamberlain looking more like a trade chip than a starter, a healthy Garcia could help the Yankees buy time in the short term to continue weighing their long-term options.
New York Notes: Pettitte, Mets, Collins, Crawford
The Yankees would like a certain left-handed starter and the Mets are looking for the right minority owner. Here's the latest on baseball's two New York teams:
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders if Andy Pettitte will demand more than Hiroki Kuroda money ($12MM) from the Yankees. The Bronx Bombers are reportedly set to offer the left-hander $12MM to play another season.
- Martin Luther King III told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he has interest in advancing "the vision of a more diverse ownership group in professional sports."
- Mets owner Fred Wilpon "is expected" to meet with commissioner Bud Selig in New York tomorrow, according to Peter Botte of the New York Daily News.
- A number of baseball officials tell Joel Sherman of the New York Post that the Wilpons are "delusional" if they expect to sell just part of the franchise without losing operating power.
- Sherman suggests the success of the upcoming Mets season depends on how well their expensive players produce or how much they bring in July trades.
- Sherman writes that Mets manager Terry Collins does not appear to have the same 'gravitas' as Bobby Cox, or even Joe Girardi.
- Carl Crawford's deal does not prevent a team from acquiring the left fielder and flipping him to the Yankees, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. Crawford can block trades to two teams thanks to the no-trade protection in his contract.
AL East Notes: Scott, Chavez, Pettitte, Rays
Last season, the AL East produced two 95-win teams and two more who won at least 85 games. However, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the division has seen recent success off the field as well as on it. Three AL East teams – the Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Rays – rank among the top five in Sherman's list of baseball's best offseasons. Here are a few other division-related items:
- Luke Scott would be "all for" signing a contract to keep him in Baltimore long-term, he tells the Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly. As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, Scott is one of two remaining arbitration cases for the Orioles, along with Jeremy Guthrie.
- Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star (Twitter link) thinks it makes a lot of sense for the Jays to sign Eric Chavez to a minor league deal, though he acknowledges that the third baseman has other offers and the final say.
- Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News believes Andy Pettitte will pitch for the Yankees again, "sooner rather than later."
- Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times runs through a few moves the Rays could make in the coming weeks, but says the team is "pretty much set" for Spring Training.
New York Notes: Dickey, Murphy, Posada
SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that the 2013 All-Star Game will be played at Citi Field, making it very possible the stadium will host an All-Star Game before it hosts its first playoff game. Let's check out the rest of today's Mets- and Yankees-related links….
- The Mets' two-year deal with R.A. Dickey could be a coup, says Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger.
- Daniel Murphy has played all over the diamond in recent years, and will head into the 2011 season aiming to become the Mets' starting second baseman. Manager Terry Collins says Murphy could also play some first and third base. ESPNNewYork's Adam Rubin has the details.
- Speaking to the media, Jorge Posada discussed his and Derek Jeter's defensive positions for 2011 and beyond. Peter Botte of the New York Daily News passes along quotes from the Yankees' new designated hitter, who says he still expects to see some time behind the plate this year.
- Chad Jennings of the Journal News explores possible fits for the Yankees' bench, naming Lastings Milledge or Felipe Lopez as potential targets.
Indians Interested In Kevin Millwood
The Indians are interested in signing free-agent starter Kevin Millwood, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com, but the sides are far apart on a price.
The Royals are in interested in Millwood, as well, and the Yankees may be in play, too, depending on what happens with Andy Pettitte, according to Heyman.
New York Notes: Mets, Cashman, Rangers
The Wilpons announced that they're willing to sell a minority share in the Mets and the Yankees are making news today, too. Here's the latest:
- Fred Wilpon says the Mets are talking about selling 20-25% of the team, according to Tyler Kepner of the New York Times (on Twitter).
- Jeff Wilpon says Citi Field and SNY are not for sale, according to ESPNNewYork's Adam Rubin (Twitter link).
- Brian Cashman didn't want to sign Rafael Soriano for $35MM in guaranteed money, but that doesn't mean he wants to leave New York. As Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports explains, Cashman likes New York and is likely to stay there.
- Rangers owner Chuck Greenberg suggested earlier in the week that Texas helped Philadelphia sign Cliff Lee and Yankees president Randy Levine didn't take kindly to those remarks. He told Jon Heyman of SI.com that Greenberg is "delusional" and pointed out that the Rangers have benefitted from revenue sharing, or to borrow Levine's word, "welfare."
Heyman On Pettitte, Millwood, Molina, Wandy
Yankees people seem a bit more optimistic about the potential return of Andy Pettitte, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. They’ll consider alternatives such as Kevin Millwood, but only after hearing from Pettitte. Here are the rest of Heyman’s rumors:
- The Indians and Royals remain possibilities for Millwood.
- One rival executive doesn’t think the Bartolo Colon signing means much for the Yankees. "There is no real risk. But there is no real reward, either," the executive said.
- Bengie Molina might consider returning for “special opportunities,” Heyman writes.
- The Rangers and GM Jon Daniels have started discussing a contract extension and Rangers people expect a new deal for Daniels, whose current contract expires after the 2011 season.
- One competing executive believes the Astros overpaid for Wandy Rodriguez. I don’t mind this deal for the Astros, since solid left-handed starters aren’t cheap or easy to find and Rodriguez was about to hit free agency.