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Athletics Pushing To Sign Brian Fuentes

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Despite agreeing to sign Grant Balfour, the Athletics still aren't done trying to upgrade their bullpen. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says that Oakland is "pushing" to sign Brian Fuentes, and he reiterates that the Blue Jays are a serious suitor for his services as well.

A multitude of teams have expressed interest in the free agent lefty this offseason, and with Balfour and Rafael Soriano now off the board, Fuentes has emerged as arguably the best free agent reliever available. Oakland already has two effective left-handers in its bullpen (Craig Breslow and Jerry Blevins), but there's no such thing as too many quality relievers.

We've also seen young, cost-controlled relievers traded quite a bit this offseason, including in deals for J.J. Hardy, Mark Reynolds, Jason Bartlett, and Cameron Maybin. Oakland could turn around and deal Blevins, Joey Devine, or Brad Ziegler for help at another position now or before the deadline. The market is certainly there, and adding Fuentes would help maintain the team's relief depth.

Athletics Close To Deal With Brian Fuentes

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8:09pm: The two sides are closing in on a two-year deal worth about $10.5MM, according to Jon Heyman of SI (via Twitter).

6:55pm: Expect the A's to announce the signings with Fuentes and Balfour on Tuesday or Wednesday, according to Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter).

5:08pm: The deal calls for Fuentes to get more than $5MM per year and will include "lots" of closing incentives, a source told Rosenthal (via Twitter).

4:50pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says (via Twitter) that it is expected to be a two-year deal with an option for a third.

3:36pm: The Athletics are close to finalizing a deal with Brian Fuentes, reports Steve Phillips of AOL FanHouse (on Twitter). We heard that Oakland was pushing to sign the free agent lefty just yesterday. ESPN's Buster Olney says the deal isn't done just yet (Twitter link).

The A's have remade their team quite a bit this offseason, facilitating trades for David DeJesus and Josh Willingham while signing Grant Balfour and Hideki Matsui as free agents. Fuentes would join Balfour in an already strong bullpen that features Michael Wuertz, Craig Breslow, Brad Ziegler, and All-Star closer Andrew Bailey.

ESPN's Buster Olney pointed out that geography could work in Oakland's favor since Fuentes if from nearby Merced. The Blue Jays were also considered a serious suitor to sign the lefty reliever, and both the Yankees and Rays were connected to him earlier this month. Fuentes was said to be seeking Scott Downs money a few weeks ago, though it's likely that his asking price has since come down.

AL West Notes: Holland, Beltre

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Quick notes from the game's only four-team division…

  • Derek Holland told Anthony Andro of The Dallas Morning News that he didn't even know his name popped up in recent trade talks with the Rays."I didn't even hear the Matt Garza stuff," he said. "You have to sit back and just let it go. It's just talk. You don't know if it's going to happen or not. I just try to not worry about those things."
  • ESPN's Buster Olney heard that the Athletics' final offer to Adrian Beltre was $76.8MM spread over six guaranteed years (Insider req'd). Beltre took five years and $80MM guaranteed from the Rangers, though a sixth year vesting option could put another $16MM in his pocket. 

A’s, Balfour Close To Multiyear Deal

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10:13am: The deal will likely include two guaranteed years, Morosi reports (on Twitter).

9:41am: The A's are close to a multiyear deal with Grant Balfour, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). ACES represents Balfour.

Balfour posted a 2.28 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 55 1/3 innings for the Rays last year. The 33-year-old has always been a fly ball pitcher and last year was no exception; he posted a 30.6% ground ball rate and a 49.7% fly ball rate. 

Since Oakland's first round pick is protected, the Rays will obtain a second round pick from the A's for losing the Type A free agent. Tampa will also add a supplementary first round pick to its growing collection of draft picks. The Rays have 11 of the first 89 picks in next year's draft, including nine before the start of the second round.

If Balfour and Carl Pavano finalize deals with the A's and Twins, as expected, all Type A free agents tied to draft pick compensation will have signed.

This post was originally published on January 14th. 

AL West Notes: Mariners, A’s, Daniels, Thome

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The four AL West teams averaged 78 wins in 2010. Here's the latest on the A's, Rangers and Mariners as they look to win baseball's smallest division:

  • The Mariners are not looking at left fielders at the moment, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link).
  • The A's issued a statement saying that owner Lew Wolff "has no interest whatsoever in purchasing the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise." Earlier in the week, ESPN.com's Buster Olney speculated that Wolff could be a potential buyer for the Dodgers.
  • MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan suggests Rangers execs Nolan Ryan and Chuck Greenberg could discuss an extension with GM Jon Daniels this week. Daniels' contract is up after the season, but he has said he would like to stay in Texas. 
  • Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News explains how a potential Jim Thome signing would shape the 2011 Rangers. I examined the same issue earlier in the week.

Athletics Acquire Guillermo Moscoso, DFA Humber

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12:27pm: The A's designated Phil Humber for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Moscoso, according to the team. Humber was claimed off waivers from the Royals last month.

11:44am: The Athletics have acquired Guillermo Moscoso from the Rangers, reports Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (on Twitter). Oscar Prieto Rojas first reported the deal (on Twitter). Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News tweets that Texas will receive minor league right-hander Ryan Kelly.

The 27-year-old Moscoso was designated for assignment just yesterday. He spent the majority of 2010 pitching for Texas' Triple-A affiliate, posting a 5.18 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 123 1/3 innings. He has a 3.46 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in parts of six minor league seasons, and his brief major league career features a 4.30 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 in 11 appearances. The Rangers originally acquired Moscoso from the Tigers in exchange for Gerald Laird.

Oakland acquired Kelly from the Pirates in exchange for Corey Wimberly just last month. The 23-year-old had a 4.20 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 75 innings for Pittsburgh's Single-A affiliate in 2010, almost all in relief. 

Details On Beltre’s Other Offers, Vesting Option

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Adrian Beltre turned down offers from the A's and Angels before signing with the Rangers. It turns out that one of those offers was larger than initially thought. According to Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com, the A's offered the third baseman a six-year, $76MM deal, not a $64MM deal as we'd heard before. Peter Gammons first reported that the A's had offered $76MM (Twitter link). The Rangers outbid both of their AL West rivals, as the Angels reportedly offered a $70MM deal.

The 2016 option in Beltre's contract is complex, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports explains. Beltre needs 600 plate apperances with the Rangers in 2015 or 1,200 plate appearances in 2014-15 for the $16MM option to vest in 2016. If the option vests and Beltre's on the disabled list at the end of the 2015 season and a mutually agreed upon doctor determines that he's unable to play at a normal level by the spring of 2016, the team can defer $12MM of the third baseman's 2016 salary at 1% interest (Twitter links).

AL West Notes: Beltre, Rangers, A’s, Guerrero

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Needless to say, the Adrian Beltre signing is the biggest news of the day in the AL West.  Here are some other items from the division with the longest World Series title drought (albeit only since 2002) in baseball…

  • There isn't any deferred money in the five guaranteed years of Beltre's contract, reports Evan P. Grant of the Dallas Morning News.  (Twitter link)  Grant says the Rangers are "trying to do away with deferrals."
  • Beltre's signing could push the Rangers' payroll over the $100MM mark for the first time since 2003, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  Team president Nolan Ryan says the team is not only prepared for the possibility, but says Beltre's deal won't affect plans to explore extensions with players like Josh Hamilton.
  • Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com thinks the Beltre signing "isn’t necessarily a loss for the jilted A’s" since the Rangers didn't solve their main need of pitching, and Beltre's production last year "represents a wash offensively" with the departed Vladimir Guerrero.  
  • Speaking of Guerrero, Angels manager Mike Scioscia discussed the veteran slugger with Jim Duqette and Kevin Kennedy of MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM.  (MLB.com's Lyle Spencer has a fuller recap of Scioscia's appearance.)  Scioscia said his team isn't looking for a long-term contract with Guerrero, but admitted that "he's definitely a guy that's very interesting to look at."  We've heard mixed reports about the Angels' interest in bringing Guerrero back to Anaheim, but with Texas out of the picture, the Halos probably won't have to offer more than a one-year deal to sign the possible Hall-of-Famer. 

The Significance Of The Adrian Beltre Deal

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Beltre
Adrian Beltre agreed to a deal that guarantees him $80MM over five years. It's the biggest contract of Beltre's career and the fourth biggest free agent deal of the 2010-11 offseason.

The left side of the Rangers' infield should improve when Beltre joins defensive whiz Elvis Andrus. Since Andrus became a regular in 2009, he ranks seventh among MLB shortstops in UZR/150 and Beltre ranks second among MLB third baseman for that same time period. Beltre has had his highs ('04 and '10 stand out) and lows ('01, '05, '09) at the plate, but he has been an above average hitter and defender more often than not.

Beltre joins the defending American League champions on what will presumably be the last major contract of his career (he'll be at least 36 when the deal expires). For what it's worth, Beltre has a career .306/.336/.521 line in 229 plate appearances in Texas.

Here's what it means for the others involved:

Michael Young

  • This could be the end of Young's tenure in Texas, but he won't be easy to trade and he adds value as a utility player, so the Rangers may keep him. Young, who has already proven that he can adjust to big league position switches, may have to play shortstop for the first time since 2008 and second base for the first time since 2003.

Vladimir Guerrero

The Angels

  • The Angels could have used Carl Crawford and Beltre, yet they did not sign either player. While the A's and Rangers have made a number of acquisitions, the Angels have been relatively quiet, adding left-handers Scott Downs and Hisanori Takahashi.

The A's

The Red Sox

  • The Red Sox will obtain two top draft picks next year since they offered arbitration to Beltre, a Type A free agent, and he turned it down. One draft choice will be a supplementary first rounder and the other will come from the Rangers. It will be Texas' first rounder as long as the Rangers don't sign Rafael Soriano. If they do sign the closer, the Rays would get the Rangers' top pick and the Red Sox would get their second rounder.

Jose Bautista & Aramis Ramirez

  • Bautista and Ramirez are set to enter free agency after the season. They're far from perfect comps for Beltre – Bautista may end up playing right field next year – but this deal could play in their favor if they hit free agency after strong 2011 seasons at third base.

Scott Boras

  • Did anyone expect Jayson Werth to sign for $126MM and Beltre to sign a deal that could make him $96MM? Finding the right deal for Rafael Soriano is another major test for Boras, who has found unexpectedly big paydays for his clients so far this winter.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI

Odds & Ends: Lee, A’s, Tigers, O’s, Dodgers

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The first batch of links for 2011…

  • MLB.com's Bryan Hoch wonders if waiting on Cliff Lee could come back to bite the Yankees.
  • The A's still have the cash to continue adding offense according to Jane Lee of MLB.com, but the problem is that the free agent market is thinning. Oakland has added David DeJesus, Josh Willingham, and Hideki Matsui this offseason, but their bid for Adrian Beltre looks to have fallen short.
  • MLB.com's Jason Beck reminds us that both Tigers' manager Jim Leyland and GM Dave Dombrowski aren't under contract beyond the 2011 season, and their fates could be a package deal based on the team's performance.
  • Meanwhile, Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com notes that Andy MacPhail of the Orioles is in the same situation as Dombrowksi.
  • MLB.com's Todd Zolecki says that even though GM Ruben Amaro insists that the Phillies don't have enough financial flexibility left to make mid-season moves, we basically have to see it to believe it.
  • Right now, the plan for the Dodgers appears to be to see what the in-house candidates can do in left field platoon before making another move, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.
  • In a series of tweets, ESPN's Buster Olney says the Orioles liked Adam LaRoche, but not enough to give him a three-year contract. Manager Buck Showalter likes having a good defensive first baseman, which is what Derrek Lee is, and his one-year contract also gives them some flexibility going forward. 
  • Olney and Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel (via Twitter) wonder if the O's will make a run at Prince Fielder next offseason, while Haudricourt speculates that the Cubs could be in that mix as well. They signed Carlos Pena to a one-year deal earlier this offseason.
  • MLB.com's Tom Singer wrote about the surprising clubs that are making big moves this offseason, namely the Brewers and Nationals. 
  • In a reader column at the Detroit Free Press, Casey Caid says the Tigers are just one starting pitcher short of serious contention.
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