Odds & Ends: Pavano, Greinke, Soria, Pettitte
Two years ago today, the Yankees officially signed C.C. Sabathia to the largest-ever contract for a pitcher. Sabathia's $161MM record figures to hold for a while, though a couple of monster seasons by Francisco Liriano, Cole Hamels, Zack Greinke, and Matt Cain could put it in jeopardy in the 2012-13 offseason if those pitchers do not sign extensions. Today's links:
- The Brewers are officially out on Carl Pavano now that they've acquired Zack Greinke, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Pavano appears to be down to the Twins and Nationals, unless the Pirates jump in.
- Greinke told Anthony Witrado of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel he removed the Brewers from his no-trade list once they acquired Shaun Marcum and retained Prince Fielder.
- Greinke fired his agents at SFX after the Winter Meetings because he felt they were responsible for his not being traded, tweets Yahoo's Jeff Passan. Passan adds that SFX facilitated a deal with the Nationals, but the pitcher rejected it. SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Royals sought Jesus Montero and Eduardo Nunez from the Yankees, but they weren't convinced New York was right for Greinke. The Royals also wanted Manuel Banuelos or Dellin Betances, tweets Joel Sherman.
- MLB.com's Peter Gammons analyzes the Brewers' and Royals' situations.
- Though the Royals are getting calls on closer Joakim Soria, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that they have no plans to move him.
- Andy Pettitte is still leaning toward retirement, Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Jack Curry of the YES Network. If that doesn't change, Curry tweets that the Yankees intend to fill the rotation from within and have low interest in Freddy Garcia/Kevin Millwood types. ESPN's Wallace Matthews has more comments from Cashman.
- Free agent first baseman Derrek Lee seeks $8-10MM, tweets Rosenthal. That'd fall in the range of Lance Berkman and Carlos Pena, he notes. Rosenthal says the Padres probably can't afford Lee at that price but it's not necessarily too high for the Nationals.
Yankees, Mets, Others Considering Freddy Garcia
The Yankees, Mets, and others have asked for medicals on free agent starter Freddy Garcia, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News was first to report the Yankees' request. The White Sox have also checked in, tweets Feinsand's colleague Andy Martino. Heyman opines that Garcia is the best free agent starter left after Carl Pavano.
Garcia, 35, posted a 4.64 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 1.3 HR/9, and 40.7% groundball rate for the White Sox in 157 innings this year. It was his highest innings total since 2006, though he did miss time with back pain. He's not close to signing and is believed to be seeking less than Jon Garland's $5MM guarantee, tweets Martino.
As for Heyman's contention? Garcia's competition includes injury bounceback candidates like Brandon Webb, Jeff Francis, Chris Young, and Brad Penny, as well as innings guys like Kevin Millwood, Rodrigo Lopez, and Dave Bush.
Yankees Sign Luis Vizcaino
The Yankees have signed right-hander Luis Vizcaino to a minor league contract according to Marc Carig of The Star Ledger (via Twitter). If he makes the team, he'll earn $750K.
Vizcaino, now 36, has not pitched in the majors or minors since being designated for assignment by the Indians back in June of 2009. The former workhorse reliever appeared in fewer than 70 games just once from 2002 through 2007, and he owns a 4.33 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in his career. If we remove intentional walks, that drops all the way down to 3.3 BB/9.
MLB.com's Tom Singer recently listed Vizcaino as one of several players looking to revive his career, noting his effective stint in the Dominican Winter League.
Odds & Ends: Rays, Red Sox, Rockies, Yankees
Links for Sunday, though it's unlikely that any news will top today's Zack Greinke trade:
- The Rays have enough money to pursue another low-end bullpen signing or two, writes Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. Topkin quotes executive vice president Andrew Friedman in saying there's no way they could've predicted the relief market would look like this.
- WEEI.com's Alex Speier says the Red Sox would like to add a left-hander to their bullpen, but will wait to see if someone falls into their lap. Boston is against multiyear deals for relievers, though they did recently make an exception in the case of Bobby Jenks.
- Rockies' owner Dick Monfort answered some questions for the Denver Post's Troy E. Renck. Topics included Troy Tulowitzki's new contract, extending young stars, and their odds of keeping Carlos Gonzalez long-term.
- Bill Madden of the New York Daily News opines that the Padres' elite bullpen last season which nearly brought them an NL West title has fueled the rising prices in the relief market. Madden also wonders if the Yankees might make a run at Jon Rauch to replace the departed Kerry Wood.
Greinke Links: Nationals, Yankees, Pavano, Reactions
It's not often that the Brewers and Royals are the two teams dominating discussion around baseball, but that's exactly what's happening today, after the clubs agreed to a blockbuster deal. Let's check out some reactions and a few more details on the trade that will send Zack Greinke to Milwaukee….
- According to Yahoo's Tim Brown (via Twitter), the Dodgers were discussing Greinke and even brought a third team into the mix in an attempt to meet Kansas City's needs. Ultimately, they ran out of time.
- SI.com's Jon Heyman reports that the Royals were close to a deal that would've sent Greinke to Washington, if not for the right-hander's no-trade clause. MLB.com's Bill Ladson confirms that Greinke turned down a potential trade to the Nationals (Twitter links). Heyman adds that Drew Storen and Danny Espinosa likely would've been involved in the hypothetical deal (Twitter link).
- Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post hears that the Royals coveted Jordan Zimmermann, who the Nats were reluctant to give up.
- Heyman tweets that Greinke approved the Brewers and not the Nats because he believes Milwaukee is closer to serious contention. He's also apparently fond of the city.
- According to Heyman (via Twitter), Greinke told the Royals that he wouldn't mind playing for the Yankees, but New York never got close to making a trade for the Kansas City ace.
- The Brewers had some interest in Carl Pavano, who they presumably won't pursue now. As such, the Twins' leverage with Pavano should improve, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets that the $2MM going to Milwaukee will cover the buyout for Yuniesky Betancourt's 2012 option, if the Brewers choose to buy him out.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports praises Brewers GM Doug Melvin for choosing an established player over prospects. Rosenthal also examines the trade from the Royals' perspective.
- With Prince Fielder a year from free agency, Melvin saw the team's window for playoff contention closing and moved aggressively to improve the 2011 roster, writes Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.
- Fangraphs' Marc Hulet breaks down the package acquired by Kansas City, noting that their haul is "certainly quantity over quality." In an Insider-only article, ESPN.com's Keith Law makes a similar point, calling the Royals' return "bulk, and fit, but not impact."
- Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus and two front office people he spoke to "really like" the move for the Royals (Twitter link).
Odds & Ends: Rauch, Rays, Jenks, Rockies, Rangers
On this date in 1997, the Red Sox traded Tony Armas Jr. and Carl Pavano to the Expos for reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martinez. A case can be made that Pedro's 1999 and 2000 seasons were the two best pitching seasons in baseball history, in which he held batters to a .186/.231/.274 batting line with 597 strikeouts in 430.1 innings.
It's highly unlikely that we'll see a pitcher of Pedro's caliber traded anytime soon, but that Zack Greinke kid is pretty good in his own right. Here are today's links…
- Two days ago we heard that the Rockies had interest in David Aardsma, Grant Balfour, and Todd Coffey, and now Troy Renck of The Denver post throws Jon Rauch's name into the mix.
- Marc Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times has some quotes from Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg, who called the size of free agent contracts being handed out this winter "discouraging." He also commented (briefly) on the team's 2011 payroll.
- Bobby Jenks will take his physical on Monday, tweets Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe. It was originally scheduled for today but was pushed back, and it's necessary to finalize his contract with the Red Sox.
- Renck also has the goods (Twitter links) on two recent Rockies signings. Ty Wigginton took less money to sign in Colorado, earning $3.5MM in 2011, $4MM in '12, and a club option for $4MM in '13 ($500k buyout). Meanwhile, pitcher Eric Stults has an out in his $435k minor league deal that will allow him to sign with the Hiroshima Carp if he does not make the big league roster.
- Richard Durrett of ESPN.com applauds the Rangers' efforts to bolster their starting depth.
- Dan Wheeler is happy to be a member of Boston's improved bullpen, writes MLB.com's Ian Browne.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that Seth McClung's deal with the Rangers will pay him $700K if he makes the team. There are another $700K available in bonuses tied to the number of starts he makes.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a report (via Twitter) indicating that Hideki Matsui's contract with the A's has a limited no-trade clause preventing trades to the Mariners, Orioles, Twins, Blue Jays, Indians, and Royals.
- Mariano Rivera told Erik Boland of Newsday that he plans to give long-time teammate Andy Pettitte a call to try to convince the lefty to come back for another season.
- Finding a left-handed bat off the bench is one of the last remaining items on the Marlins offseason agenda, but MLB.com's Joe Frisaro says they might already have that guy on their roster. Catcher John Baker, who is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery, said he would be up for the job until he's cleared to catch again.
- Former Mets GM Omar Minaya told Ian Begley of ESPN New York that he plans to sit down with new GM Sandy Alderson after the holidays to discuss a potential new role with the team. Minaya said he has several offers on the table, including interest from the Diamondbacks.
- Hey iPhone users, do you have the MLBTR app yet? Jason Bartlett does, and that's how he found out his trade to the Padres was in the works.
Odds & Ends: Hall, Wood, Jenks, Angels
Some links after another busy day in baseball..
- Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times wonders what the Dodgers will do now that Bill Hall is off of the market.
- The one-year, $1.5MM guarantee that Kerry Wood received from the Cubs isn't close to the bids he received from the Yankees and Red Sox, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. In fact, the Yankees would have bid $10MM over two seasons if the right-hander was interested.
- Bobby Jenks will give Boston's bullpen a much needed shot in the arm, writes MLB.com's Mike Bauman.
- Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports wonders if the Angels plan on being frugal this winter.
Minor Deals: Antonelli, Parraz
We'll keep track of all of today's minor deals in this one handy post. The most recent updates are up top:
- Matt Antonelli announced that he has signed with the Nationals on his personal blog. The Padres' first-round selection in the 2006 draft carries a reputation as a second baseman with a solid glove and bat but doesn't possess a great deal of power, writes Pete Kerzel of MASNSports.com.
- The Yankees have claimed outfielder Jordan Parraz off of waivers from the Red Sox, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The 26-year-old's time in the Boston organization was rather brief as the club claimed him off of waivers from the Royals just three weeks ago.
Odds & Ends: Angels, Greinke, Tigers, Gregg
Links for Friday, as we await the holidays and debate the merits of multiyear deals for relievers…
- The Angels have been slow to address their weaknesses this winter, opines Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Earlier today Halos owner Arte Moreno denied that the club made a formal offer to outfielder Carl Crawford who was long considered to be the team's top free agent target.
- Zack Greinke has changed agents, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse (on Twitter). Jeff Berry and Casey Close of CAA now represent the right-hander, who had been with SFX.
- John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press explains why the Tigers may not need more left-handed relievers than Daniel Schlereth and Brad Thomas. Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Tigers add a low-cost free agent lefty like Mark Hendrickson or Will Ohman if one is available in the new year.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports calls Kerry Wood's decision to return to the Cubs the most touching story of the offseason.
- The Yankees have spoken to the Astros about acquiring Jeff Keppinger for their bench, Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi report. The infielder is available, but a trade does not appear close.
- The agent for Kevin Gregg told Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun that the Orioles are one of "a few teams" still in the mix for the reliever. Gregg would like to work out a deal by the holidays and could choose a team soon.
Yankees To Sign Pedro Feliciano
The Yankees have agreed to sign Pedro Feliciano, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link). MDR Sports represents the left-hander. The two-year deal will be for $8MM and include an option for 2013.
The 34-year-old is durable, effective against left-handed hitters and used to pitching in New York. Feliciano has led the National League in appearances in each of the past three seasons for the Mets, the team with which he has spent his entire eight-year career. Overall, Feliciano posted a 3.30 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 62 2/3 innings in 2010.
Feliciano limited left-handed hitters to a .211/.297/.276 line last year. He did not allow a home run in 139 matchups against lefty batters.
The Yankees will not have to surrender a draft choice, but the Mets will obtain a supplementary first round pick, since Feliciano turned down their offer or arbitration. The Red Sox, Rockies and Phillies also had interest in the reliever.
The Yankees now seem likely to pursue starting pitching, a right-handed reliever and an outfielder who bats from the right-side.