Russell Martin Suitors
5:50pm: The Yankees and Red Sox are in on Martin and the Mets and Blue Jays are less interested, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
4:34pm: The Dodgers have not been in contact with Martin's agent since Thursday, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times (on Twitter).
3:29pm: ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that Martin will be a catcher next year. The Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Mets all examined his medical information in the last day (Twitter links).
3:09pm: The Mets consider Martin too expensive and too much of an injury risk, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News (on Twitter).
MONDAY, 1:31pm: The Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Mets are also thought to be interested in Martin, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.
FRIDAY, 9:16am: The Yankees, who tried to trade for Russell Martin this week, are one of six teams interested in the 27-year-old free agent, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times reports that the Yankees nearly sent Francisco Cervelli to the Dodgers for Martin (Twitter links). In fact, the Yankees and Dodgers even exchanged medical records on Wednesday.
The Dodgers are nearing a deal with Rod Barajas, but they still have interest in re-signing Martin. Agent Matt Colleran says the Dodgers view his client differently than most teams do.
“They want to continue discussions with the idea that Russ could come back and catch, play second base and third and a little bit out of outfield to see if he likes something like that in the event he ever wants to transition from behind the plate,” Colleran said.
It wouldn't be surprising to see the Royals, Rangers, Mariners, Mets or Brewers look to upgrade behind the plate. ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports that Martin, who is from Montreal, wants to play on the East Coast (Twitter link).
Blue Jays, Yankees, Mariners Interested In Diaz
4:17pm: The Blue Jays also have some interest in Diaz, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter).
3:15pm: The Yankees and Mariners are interested in Matt Diaz as a possible platoon player. New York would mix Diaz in with Brett Gardner and Curtis Granderson, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse. The Mariners are interested in platooning Diaz with Michael Saunders in left field, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
Like Marcus Thames, who excelled for the Yankees in a part-time role last year, Diaz handles lefties well. He has a .335/.373/.533 line against them in his career, though he bats just .269/.327/.382 against right-handers. The Braves non-tendered the 32-year-old last week, making him a free agent.
Diaz has experience in right field, but he has spent most of his big league career in left. The Dodgers and Phillies are other potential suitors for Diaz.
Rockies Not Interested In Alfredo Aceves
4:55pm: The Rockies are not interested in Aceves, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter).
8:34am: The Rockies are among the teams interested in recently non-tendered righty Alfredo Aceves, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. He says the Yankees would like Aceves back, but on a minor league deal.
Aceves, 28 on Wednesday, missed most of the season with back pain and then fractured his left clavicle in November in a bicycle accident. In 2009, he was quite useful with a 3.54 ERA, 7.4 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, 1.1 HR/9, and 35.2% groundball rate in 84 innings. His flyball tendencies don't seem a great match for Coors Field.
Stark On Crawford, Beltre, Lee, Greinke, Bartlett
In his latest piece for ESPN.com, Jayson Stark discusses the ripple effect that Jayson Werth's $126MM deal will have on the remaining free agents. One AL official opines that it raises Carl Crawford's price in a "big, big way": "He's looking at maybe eight years, $180 million now, maybe 10 years, $190 million." Here are the rest of Stark's hot stove notes:
- Crawford is the clear top target for the Angels, but in the past they've tried to avoid going as high as eight years for any player, let alone ten.
- Despite getting Werth's contract done already, Scott Boras often drags out negotiations for his top clients. Stark polled a dozen people across baseball on when Adrian Beltre would sign, and many predicted it wouldn't happen until Christmas or later.
- Neither the Yankees or Rangers have made a formal offer to Cliff Lee yet, but many of those baseball people polled by Stark expect a deal to get done within the next week.
- There's good news and bad news for the Royals and Zack Greinke's trade value: with many free agent arms coming off the board already, Greinke has become more valuable in a pitching-thin market. However, according to one AL source, "Greinke has been trying to convince the Royals that it's not a great idea if he's there next year," which reduces Kansas City's leverage.
- The Diamondbacks haven't totally ruled out trading Justin Upton, though it appears unlikely. Kevin Towers tells Stark "it's going to take somebody a little on the crazy side" to get anything done.
- There's a sense that Jason Bartlett is the player most likely to be traded this week. However, Stark has trouble finding a team in need of a shortstop that matches up well with the Rays, who would like a late-inning reliever in return.
- With Werth off the market, the Phillies will look to replace him with a complementary player rather than a big name. Stark lists Scott Hairston, Jeff Francoeur, and Matt Diaz as a few possible targets. Philadelphia has also been trying to find a taker for Raul Ibanez, but would likely have to eat a good chunk of salary to do so.
Odds & Ends: Paulino, Beltre, Werth, Thome
Some links on what has been a very busy day in baseball..
- Ronny Paulino is on the Rockies' radar after being non-tendered by the Marlins, writes Joe Frisaro of MLB.com.
- Don't expect Adrian Beltre in Baltimore, GM Andy MacPhail told Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com.
- GM Ruben Amaro says the Phillies offered Jayson Werth a significant contract, writes David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News.
- The Nationals' offer for Werth was so far beyond what everyone else was offering that agent Scott Boras didn't bother to ask other teams if they wanted to match, tweets Jayson Stark of ESPN.
- Not only does Jim Thome plan on coming back in 2011, he wants to play for two more seasons, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Mariano Rivera's new deal with the Yanks is for exactly $30MM but deferred payments make it worth $14.7MM per year, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.
- The Carl Pavano market should become a little more transparent this week, says Buster Olney of ESPN (via Twitter). Earlier we learned that the Nats are in the mix for the veteran pitcher.
Cliff Lee Rumors: Sunday
We checked in earlier today on the top free agent hitter, Carl Crawford. Now, let's round up the latest updates on the market's top pitcher….
- Lee told teammates that he would return to the Rangers if they offer him a sixth year, sources tell Tim Brown of Yahoo (via Twitter).
- Jon Heyman of SI (via Twitter) hears that Texas will not offer six years to Lee but expects the Yankees to do so.
- The Nats are a longshot to land Lee, GM Mike Rizzo told MLB.com's Bill Ladson (via Twitter).
- The Yankees have yet to make a formal proposal to Lee and his agent Darek Braunecker is hoping to get a deal done in Orlando, says Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter links).
- It still looks like a two-horse race for Cliff Lee, who has been visited in person twice by the Rangers and once by the Yankees, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. "It appears the Rangers will draw the line at five years for the 32-year-old lefthander," Cafardo says. "But the Yankees could put it over the top with a sixth year."
- An AL exec explains to Joel Sherman of the New York Post why the Yanks are the favorites: "There is no Plan B that is acceptable [when it comes to upgrading a rotation that needs to be upgraded]. They have looked around and know it is worthwhile to spend what they must to fix what is broken."
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports isn't necessarily buying that there are only two clubs seriously in on Lee.
- Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News breaks down the kind of offer the Rangers could make to keep Lee in Texas.
Odds & Ends: Rivera, Pirates, Beltre, A’s
Links for Sunday, with winter meetings right around the corner….
- Mariano Rivera hinted that he may retire when his two-year pact with the Yankees is up, though he left some wiggle room. Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News has the details.
- The Pirates will focus on pitching at this week's winter meetings, writes Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Biertempfel names Aaron Heilman, Jeff Francis, Brandon Webb, Justin Duchscherer, and Chris Young as potential targets for Pittsburgh.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider required) wonders if the Orioles could be a match for Adrian Beltre.
- The Athletics will be focused on free agents, rather than trades, at the winter meetings, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Carl Crawford Rumors: Sunday
In his ESPN.com blog entry today (Insider required), Buster Olney passes along an interesting note: Agents that have spoken to Olney believe "a ton" of free agents will sign within the next week. Of course, while we could see a lot of second- or third-tier names come off the board, it may take a little longer for elite players like Carl Crawford to sign. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that Crawford's representatives have told teams negotiations could take some time, with plenty of suitors emerging. Here are today's other Crawford-related tidbits:
- Crawford would be a perfect fit for the Angels, says Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. According to DiGiovanna, the Angels, who have long been considered a favorite to land Crawford, would prefer to pay the outfielder a higher annual salary over five or six years rather than guaranteeing seven or eight years.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post discusses the Yankees' interest in Crawford, writing that the team is "staying in touch if, for no other reason, to make sure the Red Sox pay a premium should he go to Boston." Sherman doesn't expect the Yankees to seriously consider Crawford unless they miss out on Cliff Lee and need to use one of their current outfielders to trade for a pitcher.
- Within Cafardo's aforementioned piece, he notes that Theo Epstein and the Red Sox are reluctant to dish out long-term deals, meaning it's unlikely they'd make Crawford an eight-year offer.
Odds & Ends: Marlins, Cardinals, Bruce, Jeter
Links for Saturday night…
- Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post says the Marlins are still looking for bullpen help (specifically a veteran lefty), a lefty bat off the bench, and outfield help.
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said that his team's lineup is set for 2011 after today's Lance Berkman pickup, reports Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter links). Mozeliak described the team's payroll as "leaking," adding that Berkman received a higher salary as a trade-off for just one year.
- Jay Bruce is optimistic about a new contract with the Reds according to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. Bruce mentions that nothing is imminent, however.
- SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that about five teams called to express interest in signing Derek Jeter before he re-upped with the Yankees, though the shortstop never considered going anywhere else. In fact, he didn't even listen to what they had to say (Twitter link).
- The recently non-tendered George Sherrill has drawn some interest according to Marc Carig of The Star Ledger (Twitter link). The Yankees are not one of the interested teams, however.
- Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News looks at Plan B and C should Texas be unable to retain Cliff Lee.
- Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic tweets that Chad MacDonald will be the Mets' new scouting director. He served as the Diamondbacks director of international scouting for the last two years.
Rosenthal On Greinke, Lee, Rangers, Yankees
The Rangers are trying to work out a way to both sign free agent left-hander Cliff Lee and also acquire Zack Greinke from the Royals, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. This would be the "perfect world" scenario for Texas, but Rosenthal notes that such a scenario is unlikely to happen as the Rangers "face steep odds" in getting even one of the aces.
Texas has been considered the favorite to land Greinke if Kansas City does indeed move him this winter, but a source tells Rosenthal the Rangers' proposals for Greinke have been "not even close" to convincing the Royals. Rosenthal notes that some members of the Rangers organization believe the Royals don't really intend to deal Greinke given the high asking price of at least "two young pitchers with Greinke-like potential in any trade for their ace." While the Rangers are able to expand their payroll this winter, Rosenthal wonders if they would have enough to even afford both Lee's sure-to-be massive contract and the $27MM Greinke is owed through 2012.
The Rangers' main competition for Lee, the Yankees, could afford to have both pitchers in their rotation, but Rosenthal says "the Yankees don't view a Greinke trade as realistic" since they "still have reservations" about Greinke's ability to pitch in New York.