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.
Yankees Close To Agreement With Derek Jeter
Derek Jeter and the Yankees could have a contract finalized by Saturday, according to Roger Rubin and Bill Madden of the New York Daily News. The reported deal would pay Jeter "in the neighborhood of $19MM annually" over three years, and there could be a fourth year that vests if Jeter meets certain "reachable parameters."
The $19MM annual salary roughly matches the average salary earned by the Yankee captain over the span of the 10-year, $189MM pact he signed with New York before the 2001 season, if a mild step down from the $21MM he earned in 2010. $19MM also happens to be about the midpoint between each side's demands — Jeter was reportedly looking for $23MM per season and the Bronx Bombers only offered a three-year, $45MM contract.
If Jeter signs by the weekend and Mariano Rivera's contract is soon finalized, the Yankees will reach their goal of having both franchise icons back in the fold before the start of the winter meetings on Monday.
Derek Jeter Rumors: Saturday
The Yankees and long-time captain Derek Jeter appeared to be closing in on a deal late last night, but there are still some hurdles that need to be cleared. Let's keep track of latest surrounded the game's active career hits leader throughout the day, with the most recent news up top…
- Jack Curry of the YES Network tweets that both Jeter and Mariano Rivera have agreed to defer money, concessions that help pushed talks along. Rivera is close to re-signing as well.
- SI.com's Jon Heyman says a contract could be finalized today. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says that the deal will be for three years at $15-17MM annually, and that the fourth year option will be a "creative hybrid solution" that is not guaranteed and can't vest. (Twitter links)
- Sweeny Murti of WFAN.com tweets that the Yankees worked deep into the night to get a deal done, and they're talking about a three-year contract worth $51MM that includes a fourth year vesting option at $10MM. The two sides are reportedly "very close."
This post was originally published on November 4th, 2010.
Derek Jeter Rumors: Friday
Not only are the Yankees close to signing Mariano Rivera to a two-year deal, negotiations with Derek Jeter seemed to take a step forward yesterday. The Yankees increased their offer to Jeter and agent Casey Close lowered his asking price. Here are the latest updates on Jeter and the Yankees:
- "Significant progress" has been made between Jeter and the club over the last two days, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated.
- The Yankees are still waiting to hear Jeter's response to their most recent proposal, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
- The Yankees are hesitant to add a guaranteed fourth year, though they are willing to offer Jeter more than $15MM per season, according to Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com. If the Yankees do add a fourth year, it would likely be an option triggered by performance.
Olney On Crawford, Berkman, Konerko
The Angels are seen as the favorites to sign Carl Crawford and we know the Red Sox met with him and his representatives, but it looks like at least one more American League team has strong interest in the left fielder. ESPN.com's Buster Olney has the details:
- The Yankees are very much engaged in conversations with Crawford, though it's unclear whether they have the flexibility to spend on him and Cliff Lee (Twitter links). The Yankees plan to set up a meeting with Crawford, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link).
- The A's are targeting Lance Berkman enthusiastically, but they haven't started talking salary with him (Twitter link).
- The White Sox still appear to be the favorites to sign Paul Konerko, Olney writes. The Orioles and Cubs appear to be in on the first baseman, but the Diamondbacks may no longer be bidding for him.
- Olney says the Nationals missed out on a chance to extend Adam Dunn or recoup more value for him.
- Olney boldly predicts that the Yankees will reach an agreement with Derek Jeter today.
Interesting Non-Tenders
By our unofficial count, 50 players were non-tendered yesterday. You can sort the decisions by team in our non-tender tracker. Those that reached our playing time requirements have been added to the 2011 free agents list, which is robust at the moment. Let's take a look at some of the more interesting non-tenders.
- Bobby Jenks, RP. There are plenty of good right-handed relievers available, but if you take Mariano Rivera and Rafael Soriano off the board, Jenks might be the best closer. Jenks throws hard and posted huge strikeout and groundball rates this year, so he should find multiple years and at least $5MM per.
- Russell Martin, C. Martin was once one of the game's best catchers, but his performance waned and he's recovering from a hip fracture. There aren't a ton of starting catching gigs available, however. The Yankees nearly acquired Martin on Thursday for Francisco Cervelli, tweets Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times.
- Jack Cust, LF/RF/DH. Cust doesn't impress defensively, but not too many free agents can match a .395 OBP.
- Edwin Encarnacion, 3B. Another defensively-challenged player, Encarnacion hit 21 home runs in 367 plate appearances this year. Someone will give him a shot in a weak market for third basemen.
- Andrew Miller, SP. The former first-round pick is a project at this point, with his velocity down and walks up.
- Joel Peralta, RP. He's not a hard-thrower but it's difficult to argue with a 2.02 ERA, 9.0 K/9, and 1.7 BB/9. He is an extreme flyball pitcher though.
- Jose Veras, RP. Veras has control issues, but he did rack up strikeouts this year and averaged 94.4 mph on his fastball.
- Fourth outfielder types: Matt Diaz, Ryan Church, Tony Gwynn, Lastings Milledge, and Scott Hairston.
- Former setup types: Manny Delcarmen, Hideki Okajima, and George Sherrill.
- Interesting pitchers coming back from shoulder surgery: J.P. Howell, John Maine, Chien-Ming Wang.
American League Non-Tenders
This post will list all the American League players non-tendered today, but the best place to track all 200+ arbitration eligible players is our new non-tender tracker.
- Blue Jays: Fred Lewis, Jeremy Accardo
- Red Sox: Hideki Okajima, Andrew Miller, Taylor Buchholz
- Mariners: Ryan Rowland-Smith
- Rays: Lance Cormier, Willy Aybar, Dioner Navarro, J.P. Howell
- Royals: Josh Fields
- Rangers: Dustin Nippert
- Angels: Kevin Frandsen
- Athletics: Jack Cust, Travis Buck, Edwin Encarnacion
- Yankees: Alfredo Aceves, Dustin Moseley
- Orioles: Matt Albers
- White Sox: Bobby Jenks, Erick Threets
- Tigers: Zach Miner
Minor Deals: Gotay, Rays, Duckworth, Carlyle
A number of former big leaguers agreed to minor league deals today. Here are the details:
- The Marlins signed Ruben Gotay, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). The 27-year-old hasn't appeared in the majors since 2008, but he led the Pacific Coast League in walks and posted an .845 OPS last year.
- The Rays announced that they signed five players, including righty Cory Wade and lefty R.J. Swindle, to minor league deals. Wade, 27, spent last year in the minors, but he pitched for the Dodgers in 2008-09. He has a 3.18 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 99 big league innings. Swindle is another 27-year-old who spent the 2010 season in the minors. He posted a 2.45 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 in 55 innings for the Rays' Triple-A affiliate. Like Wade, Swindle could prove useful for the 2011 Rays, who are building a bullpen on a budget.
- The Reds signed outfielder David Cook, according to Eddy (on Twitter). The 29-year-old has a .258/.369/.468 line in eight minor league seasons.
- The Red Sox signed right-hander Brandon Duckworth, according to Eddy (on Twitter). The 34-year-old spent the 2010 season pitching for the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate, where he posted a 3.32 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9. He has a 5.28 ERA in parts of eight big league seasons.
- The Yankees signed right-hander Buddy Carlyle to a minor league deal, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Carlyle, 32, spent the 2010 season in Japan after posting a 5.61 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in parts of six big league seasons.
- The D'Backs signed David Winfree, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The 25-year-old has a .273/.319/.448 line in his eight-year minor league career.
Derek Jeter Rumors: Thursday
3:09pm: The Yankees have increased their offer to Jeter by an unknown amount, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.
2:28pm: The Yankees informed Close today they're willing to improve upon their three-year, $45MM offer to Jeter, reports ESPN's Jayson Stark. Jeter's side lowered their request, adds SI's Jon Heyman on Twitter.
8:03am: Derek Jeter and his agent Casey Close reached out to the Yankees to set up Tuesday's meeting in Tampa, report Mark Feinsand and Bill Madden of the New York Daily News. Hal Steinbrenner, Randy Levine, and Brian Cashman attended for the Yankees.
Money and years were not discussed, say Feinsand and Madden. Instead, the meeting concluded with the Yankees' brass asking Close for ideas on how to bridge the large gap. The tenor of the meeting was cordial, reports Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times. Close did not get back to them on Wednesday.
The Yankees were emboldened by Troy Tulowitzki's new deal, in he has a $15.7MM average salary over the next ten seasons and Cashman and company offered Jeter $15MM per year. Of course, the new part of Tulowitzki's contract is $134MM over seven years from 2014-20, which comes to $19.1MM per year. To include Tulowitzki's low 2011 and '12 salaries in an average would be disingenuous, since those weren't potential free agent seasons for him. At any rate, MLB is pleased that the Yankees have not gone overboard on their Jeter offer, report Feinsand and Madden.
Yankees Re-Sign Sergio Mitre
The Yankees have re-signed Sergio Mitre to a one-year, $900K deal, reports Jerry Crasnick of ESPN (via Twitter). The right-hander could earn up to $200K more through incentives. Mitre was entering his third year of arbitration eligibility.
Mitre appeared in 27 games for the Yanks in 2010, registering a 3.33 ERA with 4.8 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9. While the 29-year-old didn't start many games for the Bombers last season, he does have 64 career starts to his credit, giving the Yankees an option as a spot starter.