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Justin Upton Rumors: Friday

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Put an affordable 23-year-old with superstar potential on the trade market and you're going to hear some juicy rumors. We found out yesterday that the Diamondbacks are prepared to deal Justin Upton even if the move isn't popular with the team's fan base. The Blue Jays are showing strong interest in the right fielder and the Mariners, Marlins, Orioles and Red Sox are among the other interested teams. Here are today's rumors, with more to come throughout the day:

  • The Athletics, Indians, Royals and Tigers are the four clubs on Upton's no-trade list, tweets FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal.  Upton can be dealt to any of the other 25 teams without his approval.
  • At least 15 teams approached the D’Backs about Upton at the GM Meetings and five of those clubs wanted to push talks further along, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, who notes that the Yankees were not one of the five clubs in hot pursuit of the outfielder.
  • Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald says the Red Sox need to deal for Upton and Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic says it would be a mistake for the D'Backs to trade him.

Braves Rumors: Uggla, Prado, Hinske, Diaz

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Dan Uggla is now officially a Brave and David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that both Uggla and the club are both interested in giving Uggla the extension he couldn't get from Florida.  Atlanta GM Frank Wren said the Braves are willing to talk about a long-term contract but not immediately: “I don’t see any reason not to do [an extension]. I mean, we knew what we were getting when we made the deal, and he was the top guy on our list. But I just don’t think we need to jump into things right now.” 

O'Brien explains how the Uggla trade talks developed and what's next for the team (links go to Twitter):

  • The Marlins asked for Martin Prado in exchange for Uggla two weeks ago, but Braves GM Frank Wren said no. He offered Omar Infante, whom Larry Beinfest accepted, along with Mike Dunn, for Uggla.
  • Uggla will wear the #26 jersey formerly worn by Brooks Conrad, but this doesn't mean the Braves will be getting rid of Conrad this winter.
  • The Braves have offered free agent Eric Hinske a contract.  MLB.com's Mark Bowman reports the offer is a one-year contract worth $1.5MM.
  • The club has not yet decided whether to tender Matt Diaz a contract. Arbitration eligible for the fourth time, the outfielder is a non-tender candidate.
  • The Braves sent minor league outfielder Cody Johnson to the Yankees for cash considerations, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch (on Twitter). The 2006 first-rounder batted .189/.269/.343 in 260 plate appearances at Double-A this year. Johnson, 22, hit 32 homers in 2009 and 26 homers in 2008, so he has some pop.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post.

Odds & Ends: Rangers, Greinke, Ordonez, Rays

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Links for Friday, exactly one year after the Cubs signed John Grabow and traded Aaron Heilman to Arizona…

  • Vladimir Guerrero is talking to the Rangers and three other AL teams, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
  • Heyman reports that Bengie Molina wants to play another year (Twitter link).
  • Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. suggested that Raul Ibanez and Jayson Werth are comparable hitters, according to David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News. That's probably not the first comparison agent Scott Boras would make about Werth.
  • An AL executive explained to Sherman that he believes the Royals will trade Zack Greinke sooner rather than later for two reasons: the demand for ace-level starters is high and the Royals don’t want to see a personal or physical issue reduce Greinke’s value.
  • Boras tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that Magglio Ordonez has finished rehabilitating his fractured right ankle and "returned to full workout routines"
  • Rays president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman tells Cork Gaines of Rays Index that he's likely to hold onto his starting pitching because it's so hard to come by.

New York Notes: Jeter, Minaya, Rivera

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The Yankees are about to offer their captain a three-year deal worth $45MM. Here's the latest on Derek Jeter, the Yankees and the Mets:

  • Bill Madden of the New York Daily News says Jeter is about to learn that more often than not the Yankees are willing to pay more for someone else's free agent than for their own.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post says Jeter and the Yankees "are a married couple that knows the soft spots with which to hurt each other. Yet they know the marriage must go on."
  • The D'Backs have offered a front office job to former Mets GM Omar Minaya, according to Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal (on Twitter).
  • Mariano Rivera has told friends he'd like a two-year deal from the Yankees, but the sides have not yet discussed contract terms, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
  • The Yankees announced the hiring of Larry Rothschild as their new pitching coach today.  Rothschild has been the pitching coach for the Cubs and Marlins, and was also Tampa Bay's first-ever manager.

Yankees To Offer Jeter $45MM For Three Years

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The Yankees are about to offer Derek Jeter a three-year deal worth $45MM, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported yesterday that the Yankees would likely make such an offer to their captain.

Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork reported earlier in the week that Jeter wants at least a four-year deal and would prefer a five or six-year contract. He also reported that the Yankees would be happy to agree to a three-year $63MM deal. Some have suggested that the Yankees could play hardball with Jeter if he doesn't like their offer and tell him to test the open market and see if he does better.

Yankees Interested In J.C. Romero

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The Yankees are interested in left-hander J.C. Romero, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The longtime Phillie has also drawn interest from the Tigers, though they don't necessarily need to add a left-handed reliever.

Romero, 34, kept his ERA under 4.00 for a fourth consecutive season in 2010, pitching to a 3.68 mark in 36 2/3 innings. He gets lots of groundballs and is effective against left-handed hitters, but his free agent value will likely be limited. Romero struggles against right-handed hitters, he walked more batters (29) than he struck out (28) in 2010 and he dealt with elbow and back soreness.

The Yankees are also interested in Pedro Feliciano and, potentially, Scott Downs. Teams will not have to surrender 2011 draft choices to sign Feliciano or Romero, but Downs may cost a pick.

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Barmes, Thornton, Braves

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Links for Thursday night..

Yankees Acquire Scott Allen For Juan Miranda

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It's no blockbuster, but Kevin Towers and Brian Cashman made a deal today. The Yankees acquired right-hander Scott Allen from the Diamondbacks for first baseman Juan Miranda, according to a team press release.

The Diamondbacks chose Allen, 19, in the 11th round of the 2009 draft. In 95 2/3 innings over two seasons, he has a 3.95 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9. He won't figure into the Yankees' big league plans for a while, but Miranda could compete for Arizona's first base job in 2011. 

Miranda, now 27, has played parts of three seasons with the Yankees and has a .253/.330/.458 line in 94 big league plate appearances. With Mark Teixeira at first base and Jorge Posada DHing, the Yankees don't have much room for Miranda, who has a .281/.367/.478 line in 1779 minor league plate appearances. He's out of options, so the D'Backs will have to expose him to waivers to send him to the minor leagues.

Towers worked for the Yankees in 2010, so he knows their farm system – and their general manager – well. It's not the first time in recent history the two GMs have matched up on a trade. Cashman acquired Chad Gaudin from Towers' Padres in 2009 and acquired Darrell May from San Diego for Paul Quantrill and Tim Redding in 2005.

Justin Upton Rumors: Thursday

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Yesterday we learned that rival teams continue to kick the tires on Justin Upton. It will take four or five players to meet Arizona's demands, but GM Kevin Towers seems genuinely open to moving the 23-year-old. The Rockies, Marlins and Red Sox appear to be among the interested teams, but the Braves aren't likely to get involved. Here are today's rumors:

  • D'Backs president Derrick Hall isn't concerned about potential fallout if the club does not move Upton, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.  Arizona has talked to Upton and told him that they "owe it to [themselves]" to listen, Crasnick tweets.
  • The D’Backs are more inclined to move Upton than they were when the GM Meetings began, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, who confirms that the Blue Jays, Mariners and Marlins “have expressed a high level of interest in Upton.”
  • The Blue Jays are showing "strong interest" in Upton, according to Rosenthal (on Twitter). They are the mystery team from FOX Sports' earlier report.
  • The Mariners are not ruling out Upton and could construct a deal around pitching prospect Michael Pineda, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
  • The Orioles are not pursuing Upton now, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
  • Towers is determined not to trade Upton within the NL West, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
  • The Red Sox are on the "backburner" in the Upton talks after a mystery team made a strong push yesterday, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. About half of MLB teams showed some interest in Upton, but the D'Backs aren't going to trade him unless they "win" the trade. Arizona wants four prospects in return and teams like the Yankees aren't comfortable parting ways with that much talent. The D'Backs and Red Sox have discussed expanded deals that involve at least one other team.
  • The Red Sox are showing more interest than the Yankees, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link). He says the D'Backs would likely request Daniel Bard and Jacoby Ellsbury from the Red Sox.

Ryan Expects Yanks To Outbid Rangers For Lee

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Nolan Ryan told Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal that he expects the Yankees to outbid the Rangers for Cliff Lee (Twitter link). The Rangers will try to sell the appeal of Texas to Lee, an Arkansas native, but they don't have the same spending power as the Yankees.

The Rangers met with Lee at his home on Monday, less than a week after the Yankees made the same trip. Lee will command a deal worth more than $100MM and no team wants to enter a bidding war with the Yankees, but the Rangers can afford to make multiple free agent additions this winter, according to FOX Sports. It's not just the Yankees and Rangers, of course; the Nationals are among the other interested teams.

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