Holliday Would Play Anywhere
Like Jason Bay, Matt Holliday is choosing not to rule out any potential suitors. Holliday told Jody McDonald and Rob Dibble of SIRIUS XM Radio that he's open to signing anywhere; Newsday's Ken Davidoff has the transcript.
"I've been around, and I've lived in some big cities so I would say that I'm open to any sort of coast or city," Holliday said. "Obviously I've never lived in some of the big cities on the East Coast, but at the same time, I've spent some time there."
Davidoff writes that Holliday considers the Yankees his first choice and the Mets his second choice. The Yankees may simply bring Johnny Damon back, but Davidoff says the Mets consider Holliday a "serious" option for their left field vacancy.
Shelley Duncan Elects Free Agency
Shelley Duncan has elected to become a free agent after being outrighted by the New York Yankees, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.
Duncan, 30, was drafted in the second round in 2001 by the Yankees, eventually seeing his first major-league action in 2007. He slugged seven homers in just 83 plate appearances that year, but has struggled in limited playing time since. In the last two seasons combined, Duncan has played in 34 games at OF/1B/DH, hitting .181/.250/.264 in 80 plate appearances.
Passan On Arguelles, Bedard, Jackson
Jeff Passan covers a few items in this piece for Yahoo Sports, headlined by 19-year-old Cuban pitcher Noel Arguelles. The young left-hander impressed a number of agents and representatives from various teams at a workout last month in the Dominican Republic, and the four teams most interested in signing Arguelles are the Athletics, Mariners, Rays, and (who but?) the Yankees. Passan predicted that Argulles' deal will be worth somewhere around $8.2MM to $10MM, which match the contracts given to Jose Iglesias and Dayan Viciedo last year by the Red Sox and White Sox, respectively.
In other news from Passan's column…
- Passan says the Yankees are much more interested in Aroldis Chapman than they are in Arguelles, and that Chapman's recent agent switch to Randy and Alan Hendricks may help New York. Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens are/were both represented by the Hendricks brothers.
- The Royals are "going hard" to sign Erik Bedard to a short-term contract. Passan thinks Bedard will sign with someone for an "incentive-loaded one-year deal" in an effort to prove that he's healthy and worthy of a more lucrative longer-term deal for 2011.
- Detroit seem to be becoming more determined in their quest to trade pitcher Edwin Jackson. An unnamed executive is quoted as saying, "It’s like they want to give him away, and I don’t really understand why."
Yankees Sign Eladio Moronta
Baseball America's Ben Badler is reporting that Dominican outfielder Eladio Moronta signed today with New York. The signing concludes a hectic seven-month period for Moronta, 20, who was given a one-year suspension by Major League Baseball last May for misrepresenting his age as 17 years old. Moronta's suspension was lifted at the end of September.
The deal is reported to worth $570K according to Baseball Prospectus' Kiley McDaniel (via Twitter). In other tweets on the subject, McDaniel said that Moronta has been compared to Raul Mondesi by scouts and could have commanded a seven-figure contract when the international signing period opened last July 2 had he been eligible to be signed.
Odds & Ends: Dye, Pettitte, Bay, Yankees, Mauer
Some links to start the day…
- Yesterday we heard that Jermaine Dye was open to playing first base, and Jack Moore at FanGraphs determines that unless he takes a massive paycut, Dye's still not worth taking the spot of a prospect.
- Andy Pettitte isn't expected to make his decision about a 2010 return anytime soon, according to Mark Feinsand of The NY Daily News.
- FoxSports.com's Tracy Ringolsby runs down the ten biggest free agency blunders. I have to disagree that the Dodgers are better off with Juan Pierre in left instead of Manny Ramirez, what about you?
- Cathal Kelly of The Toronto Star says there is a "school of thought" that the Blue Jays could be a surprise suitor for Jason Bay, who is Canadian. The move could ease some fan anger should they trade Roy Halladay.
- After last year's spending spree, Yankees GM Brian Cashman said "We're not going to spend as much this year," according to The NY Post's Dan Martin. Maybe he means they can afford only one nine-figure contract instead of two this offseason.
- Charley Walters of The Pioneer Press notes that playing on the East Coast could result in enormous endorsement opportunities for Joe Mauer, something he'd have to consider before agreeing to an extension with the Twins.
- A's majority owner John Fisher and minority owner Lew Wolff reinforced their desire to build a new ballpark in downtown San Jose, reports Joe Stiglich of The Contra Costa Times.
- The Boston Herald provides a nice little primer for the AL East hot stove.
Olney On Cabrera, Yankees, Cust, Rays
In today's blog post at ESPN, Buster Olney writes about the potential market for Miguel Cabrera, who is now apparently available in a trade. He notes the enormous financial commitment attached to Cabrera's All-World bat, and discusses the Red Sox, Angels, Mets, White Sox, Giants, Mariners, and Braves as potential landing spots.
Here's the rest of Olney's rumors…
- Olney tweets that the Astros' payroll will be cut from $107MM to the low $90MMs.
- Olney says the Yankees will look to add two relievers in all likelihood, though it's unclear if they're willing to give up a first round pick for one of the Type-A bullpen arms. For what it's worth, GM Brian Cashman said the bullpen wasn't an area of "obvious need" yesterday.
- Jack Cust could be in line for a $4.5MM payday through arbitration, which just might get him non-tendered. Given all the DH-types on the market, that might not be a good thing for Cust. We learned yesterday that the Mets might be among the suitors for him.
- Regarding a potential Milton Bradley to Tampa trade, Olney says the Rays "absolutely will not do it unless it's on their terms, which is that the Cubs might absorb enough money in the swap of Bradley and (Pat) Burrell to make it worthwhile for the Rays."
- Olney also reiterates that it's extremely unlikely the Padres will move Adrian Gonzalez given his favorable contract.
Mariners Interested In Nick Johnson
The Mariners are interested in free agent first baseman Nick Johnson, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com. Johnson has also heard from the Giants, Mets, and Yankees.
Despite their interest in Johnson, the Mariners are still negotiating with Russell Branyan, and they've also discussed Lyle Overbay with the Blue Jays. Toronto appears willing to pay some of Overbay's $7MM salary according to the Fox scribes. Both Johnson and Branyan are reportedly seeking multi-year deals.
The team has also discussed moving Jose Lopez to first, but Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times thinks he'll be moved this offseason. Casey Kotchman could also be an option should the Red Sox non-tender him.
Gammons’ Latest: Yankees, Tigers, Chapman
ESPN's Peter Gammons touched on a bunch of hot stove topics in his latest blog post, so let's round everything up…
- Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain will come to Spring Training as starters, but the Yankees haven't ruled out a run at John Lackey, Ben Sheets, or another starter. The feeling inside the organization is that the payroll will be scaled back a bit.
- One Tigers source emphatically told Gammons "there will be no fire sale. [Owner] Mike Ilitch wouldn't allow it."
- At least one GM says that switching agents raises some character questions about Aroldis Chapman.
- Conor Jackson's stint in winter ball convinced the team he's healthy, and he'll be in their first base/left field mix next year. Jackson made our list of non-tender candidates.
Odds & Ends: Yankees, White Sox, Red Sox
When you prepare the turkey, don't forget to add these tidbits for flavor…
- According to Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger, Yankees GM Brian Cashman will deal with his own free agents before moving to others. "I'll talk to our guys first," Cashman told Carig. "And after I have my conversation with our guys, I'll be full blown into the marketplace." For his part, Johnny Damon wants to return.
- White Sox GM Ken Williams slammed his closer, Bobby Jenks, once again for a lack of conditioning. With Jenks set to receive a raise from his 2009 salary of $5.6MM, a trade could be in the offing. Williams isn't exactly raising Jenks' value around the league, however.
- The Red Sox have finalized their coaching staff for 2010.
- Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com report that Matt Treanor will play winter ball with Toros del Este of the Dominican Republic in an effort to show teams he is ready for 2010.
- That deal Ken Griffey Jr. signed with the Mariners could be worth as much as $3.9MM. Seattle also added several scouts.
- NPB Tracker profiles possible MLB jumper Hisanori Takahashi.
- Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports that the Pirates are looking at the catcher market.
- Marty Noble believes the Marlins wouldn't trade Josh Johnson in-division.
Odds & Ends: Towers, Randy Johnson, Arroyo
Links for Monday…
- Former GM Kevin Towers will attend the Winter Meetings and meet with three or four teams about possible employment, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Towers prefers the American League.
- Randy Johnson is undecided about pitching in 2010, say Rosenthal and Morosi.
- MLB.com's Mark Bowman tells readers in his latest mailbag that he wouldn't be surprised to see the Braves trade Jordan Schafer.
- Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues speculates on what the Yankees would have to give up for Josh Johnson.
- ESPN's Buster Olney compares a potential Joe Mauer extension to Todd Helton's contract, in that it'd make up such a large percentage of the Twins' payroll.
- Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel discovered that a handful of teams have avoided four-year commitments to pitchers in recent years.
- Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos talked to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports about the team's strategy to beef up scouting.
- For someone who hasn't been paying attention to the hot stove, Bronson Arroyo has a reasonable take on the Reds' direction and recent Scott Rolen/Ramon Hernandez commitments (MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reporting).
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick discusses the role of advanced defensive metrics in player acquisitions.
- MetsBlog's Matthew Cerrone notes that a very similar report surfaced in three different media outlets within a span of a few hours.