Free Agent Rumors: Lannan, Escobar, Youkilis, Drew
With plenty of rumors flying around the lobby of the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, we're making sure we don't let anything slip through the cracks. Here are a few morning updates from around the league on some of this winter's free agents:
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the Mets have displayed interest in the recently non-tendered John Lannan, perhaps as insurance if the team trades a starter.
- Although he hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2009, Kelvim Escobar is healthy in winter ball and is drawing interest at the Winter Meetings, tweets ESPN.com's Buster Olney.
Earlier updates:
- The Yankees have spoken with Kevin Youkilis' agent, reports Jack Curry of the YES Network (Twitter link). According to Curry, Youkilis would consider a one-year deal if the salary was at a "premium amount."
- The Mariners are interested in free agent outfielder Nate McLouth, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
- A rival evaluator tells ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter link) that there's "no way" Stephen Drew would sign with the Yankees to be a part-time or utility player. Drew is seeking a full-time job.
- Red Sox GM Ben Cherington acknowledged that giving up a draft pick to sign Nick Swisher would be a factor in Boston's pursuit of the outfielder (link via Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com).
- Mike Silverman of the Boston Herald hears that the Red Sox still have a chance in the Josh Hamilton sweepstakes, but it's a long shot (Twitter link).
- After getting a clean bill of health on his hand and wrist, Ian Stewart has drawn wide interest from teams looking for third base help, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Tyler Kepner of the New York Times notes (via Twitter) that Stewart could be a fit for the Yankees.
- Within his latest piece for the New York Post, Ken Davidoff hears that the Mets and Ryan Ludwick are an unlikely match, and wonders if Nick Swisher could end up with the Mariners.
- The Reds will meet with Ludwick's agent this morning, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The veteran outfielder could accept the offer on the table from Cincinnati, though Fay speculates that the Reds are offering two years and Ludwick wants three. A two-year deal with a third-year option might work for both sides, says Fay.
- The Athletics will meet with the reps for Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima today, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- The Dodgers, Giants, Brewers, Angels, and Rays are among the teams that have inquired on free agent reliever Mark Lowe, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
- Scott Kazmir, who is throwing 90-94 mph in Puerto Rico, is drawing interest from a host of teams and could choose from a handful of offers soon, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. However, the Mets aren't in the mix for the lefty, tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.
Overnight Links: A’s, Cole, Parnell, Headley, Espinosa
As Day Two of the Winter Meetings rapidly approaches, here are some miscellaneous links to get all of you insomniacs out there through the night…
- The Athletics had a fair amount of talks with the Marlins about Yunel Escobar yesterday but will be meeting on Stephen Drew today, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington didn't sound very open to the idea of Gerrit Cole breaking camp with a spot in the Major League rotation when he talked to reporters (including MLB.com's Tom Singer) yesterday. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft reached Triple-A for one start last year.
- The Mets consider Bobby Parnell to be "virtually untouchable" right now, according to ESPN's Adam Rubin. The Tigers tried to acquire Parnell last season but were rejected, according to Rubin. That could explain the report shortly after last year's Winter Meetings that the Mets had considered dealing the flamethrower to an unknown team.
- The Padres had "very rough" extension talks with Chase Headley earlier this year and would like to keep him long-term, writes Scott Miller of CBS Sports. There's no great urgency since he's controlled for two more seasons, GM Josh Byrnes said Monday, but they'll continue talking over the winter and could work something out in the spring.
- Danny Espinosa isn't bothered by trade talks speculating that the Nationals could deal him to the Rays, writes MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Such a trade would reunite Espinosa with his college teammate, Evan Longoria.
- Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos will be focused on smaller moves to add depth at the Winter Meetings as the team's payroll is "in the dust, the rear-view mirror" of where he thought it was going to be for 2013 (Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reporting). Toronto opened 2012 with an $83.7MM payroll but projects to be in the $120MM range for 2013 as things stand right now.
Marlins Shopping Escobar; Nolasco Wants Out
Tuesday, 1:42am: Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets that the Cubs and Yankees have also checked in on Escobar. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle also recently confirmed that the A's are in ongoing discussions with the Marlins about Escobar.
Monday, 9:05pm: A's GM Billy Beane met with Marlins officials today, hears MLB.com's Jane Lee. However, Lee does not know if the meeting involved Escobar.
6:23pm: The Rays are pursuing Escobar and the A's could be in play, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
5:58pm: The Marlins are "actively shopping" shortstop Yunel Escobar, tweets MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. The Marlins are in trade talks with at least two teams, tweets Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. Escobar, acquired in last month's blockbuster trade/salary dump with the Blue Jays respresents one of the Marlins' bigger contracts at $5MM. The Marlins also acquired shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria in the trade, so Escobar has been penciled in as the team's third baseman.
The Marlins' highest-paid player, pitcher Ricky Nolasco, would prefer a trade, agent Matt Sosnick told ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Neither Nolasco nor Sosnick has directly requested a trade, however, tweets Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Nolasco, 30 in December, posted a 4.48 ERA, 5.9 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, 0.85 HR/9, and 46.6% groundball rate in 191 innings this year. He'll earn $11.5MM in 2013.
A’s Discussing Escobar With Marlins
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the A's are indeed engaged in ongoing discussions with the Marlins regarding Yunel Escobar, as was previously speculated. Slusser's piece contains plenty of A's material, so here's the latest on the reigning AL West Champs…
- Not surprisingly the Escobar discusssions aren't believed to be centered around anyone on the Athletics' Major League roster.
- Slusser reports that the A's have heavy competition for Brandon McCarthy, as the Diamondbacks, Cubs, Royals, Red Sox, White Sox and Twins have already met with the right-hander, and the Angels and Rangers are expected to join the fray.
- McCarthy would consider a one-year deal to prove that he has successfully recovered from his frightening head injury and brain surgery late in the 2012 season.
- Hiroyuki Nakajima is more concerned with playing time than salary, according to Slusser, which could increase Oakland's appeal to the Japanese shortstop.
Athletics Notes: Drew, Nakajima, McCarthy
Athletics GM Billy Beane met with reporters today at the Winter Meetings in Nashville; here's the latest.
- The A's are considering two free agent shortstops: Stephen Drew and Hiroyuki Nakajima (Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reporting). Slusser heard from Drew's agent Scott Boras last night that he will meet with Beane this week. As for Nakajima, the A's may have some competition from the Giants, as Slusser's colleague John Shea hears they've spoken with his reps as a Plan B if they're unable to re-sign Marco Scutaro.
- Beane noted the A's have more options at shortstop via trade. Slusser and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports have made the connection with the Marlins, who are shopping Yunel Escobar.
- Beane says nothing is imminent with free agent pitcher Brandon McCarthy, and the GM realizes the righty will have a significant market (Jane Lee of MLB.com reporting).
Bowden On The Winter Meetings, Dickey, Drew
Jim Bowden of ESPN.com and MLB Network Radio offered his five bold predictions for the Winter Meetings including the Mets trading R.A. Dickey and the Rangers re-signing Josh Hamilton to a four-year contract. Here are some other notes from Bowden (all Twitter links):
- Dickey made an appearance today at the Gaylord Opryland, site of the Winter Meetings, to meet the Mets trainer to follow-up on his recent abdominal surgery. Dickey expressed optimism a contract extension will happen, but a source tells Bowden the sides aren't close to a deal.
- The Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers, Cardinals, and A's are all in on free agent shortstop Stephen Drew.
- The Yankees' interest in Drew is based on serious concern about the declining range of both Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.
- The Red Sox are in pursuit of Drew because they are not sure of Jose Iglesias' bat and Xander Bogaerts is at least a year away.
- If the Cardinals sign Drew, look for Rafael Furcal to be traded or moved to second base.
American League Non-Tenders
Here are today’s American League non-tenders. All decisions must be in by 11pm CT tonight. Be sure to track all tender decisions using MLBTR's Non-Tender Tracker. Related resources include our list of non-tender candidates, our projected arbitration salaries and our arbitration eligibles series.
- The Rays have non-tendered Ben Francisco according to Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter).
- The Blue Jays have non-tendered Bobby Wilson, the team announced.
- The Mariners have non-tendered Robert Andino, the team announced. They acquired him from the Orioles less than two weeks ago.
- The Rangers have non-tendered Geovany Soto, Brandon Snyder, and Jacob Brigham according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan (on Twitter).
- The Orioles have non-tendered Mark Reynolds in addition to Omar Quintanilla and Stuart Pomeranz, the team announced (on Twitter).
- The Athletics have non-tendered Jermaine Mitchell, the team announced. Mitchell was designated for assignment earlier this week.
- The Red Sox have non-tendered Rich Hill, Ryan Sweeney, and Scott Atchison, the team announced. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports had the Sweeney news earlier (on Twitter) while Rob Bradford of WEEI.com had the Atchison news.
- The Indians announced they non-tendered Jack Hannahan, Rafael Perez and Chris Seddon
- The White Sox announced that they've non-tendered right-hander pitcher Anthony Carter and infielder Dan Johnson.
- The Royals announced that they won't tender outfielder Derrick Robinson a contract for 2013 (Twitter link). Robinson has no MLB experience so he wasn't arbitration eligible.
- The Tigers announced that they will non-tender Daniel Schlereth. The left-hander was limited to six appearances this past season, which he mostly spent on the disabled list with shoulder tendinitis. Schlereth was not yet arbitration eligible.
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
Players To Avoid Arbitration
Tonight is the deadline for teams to tender contracts to arbitration eligible players. Many teams will agree to terms with players before the 11pm CT deadline and we'll keep track of them here. Be sure to check out MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker for complete details:
- The Mariners have avoided arbitration with Josh Kinney, the team announced. It's a one-year deal.
- The Pirates have agreed to terms with Charlie Morton, the team announced. The right-hander missed most of the season following Tommy John surgery. Morton will earn $2MM, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes has learned.
- The Athletics avoided arbitration with Adam Rosales, the team announced. They also agreed to sign Daric Barton to a one-year, $1.1MM contract, avoiding arbitration, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (on Twitter). The non-guaranteed deal includes $250K in incentives. Barton had been a non-tender candidate.
- The Orioles announced that they have avoided arbitration with Taylor Teagarden, Steve Pearce, and Alexi Casilla. Casilla's deal is worth $1.7MM with a $3MM option for 2014 ($200K buyout) according to Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun (on Twitter).
- The Astros announced that they have avoided arbitration with Phil Humber. It's a one-year deal worth $800K with a $3MM club option for 2014 ($500K buyout), reports the AP via MLB.com's Brian McTaggart (on Twitter). Houston claimed the right-hander off waivers earlier today.
- The Yankees announced that they avoided arbitration with Jayson Nix, signing the infielder to a Major League deal for 2013.
- The Royals announced that they avoided arbitration with second baseman Chris Getz, agreeing to a one-year, Major League contract. Getz will earn $1.05MM in 2013 on a deal that includes up to $150K in performance bonuses, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports (on Twitter). Luke Hochevar is Kansas City's lone unsigned arbitration eligible player as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows.
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
Athletics Designate Sandy Rosario For Assignment
The Athletics have designated Sandy Rosario for assignment, the team announced. The move creates room on the roster for the recently acquired Chris Resop.
Rosario, 27, was acquired from the Red Sox earlier this week. He pitched in four games for this year's Marlins team, but spent most of the season in the minor leagues. He posted a 1.99 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 in 31 2/3 total innings for three of Miami's affiliates.
Athletics Acquire Chris Resop
The Athletics have acquired Chris Resop from the Pirates in exchange for Zach Thornton, the team announced.
Resop, 30, pitched to a 3.91 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 73 2/3 innings for Pittsburgh this year. He is arbitration-eligible for the second time and is projected to earn $1.3MM next season. Thornton, 24, posted a 4.53 ERA in 53 2/3 innings for Oakland's High Class-A affiliate in 2012.