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Odds & Ends: Hampton, Prince, Berkman, Miner

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Links on an intensely busy Monday for the Rockies…

Who’s Looking For Starting Pitching?

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We're a week from the Winter Meetings, and starting pitchers Jon Garland, Hiroki Kuroda, Ted Lilly, Javier Vazquez, and Jake Westbrook have already signed – three of them with the Dodgers.  For the many teams that can't afford Cliff Lee, it's down to Jorge de la Rosa, Carl Pavano, and a field of comeback candidates or back-rotation arms.  Let's take a look at which teams are in the market.

  • Astros – They subtracted Felipe Paulino, and have been linked to Brandon McCarthy and Jeff Francis.  GM Ed Wade explained earlier this month that he'd like to add someone on a one-year deal similar to the Brett Myers contract.
  • Athletics – They showed their desire to add starting pitching by bidding $19.1MM for the right to negotiate with Hisashi Iwakuma.  If they're unable to reach a deal with him by Wednesday of next week, the A's could check out the free agent market.  They're known to be interested in McCarthy.
  • Brewers – They're in on McCarthy, Francis, and Jarrod Washburn, but are expected to focus on trade possibilities as they look to add a starter or two.
  • Cubs – The Cubs have five starters, but could add insurance with Jeremy Bonderman, Aaron Harang, Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, or Brandon Webb.
  • Diamondbacks – They were linked to McCarthy prior to acquiring Zach Duke.  With their front four settled, I expect them to worry about other needs.
  • Mariners – They've been linked to McCarthy and Jeff Francis, suggesting they're targeting injury comeback candidates.
  • Mets – The rumor mill has been quiet, but Joel Sherman of the New York Post can see them getting in on a reclamation-project starter in the new year.
  • Nationals – The Nationals are seeking pitching by trade, free agency, or both.  They're in on Lee, De La Rosa, Webb, and Pavano at the least.
  • Orioles – They apparently have tepid interest in De La Rosa, and have been linked to position players more frequently this offseason.
  • Padres – Garland's gone and Kevin Correia is a free agent.  The Padres have been linked to McCarthy and will probably seek late bargains.
  • Pirates – They seem very likely to sign some kind of free agent starter this winter.  They've moved on from Duke and are eyeing Scott Olsen, De La Rosa, Webb, and Francis.
  • Rangers – They could move Neftali Feliz to the rotation, but the top priority is signing Lee.  If Lee signs elsewhere they're expected to look into Zack Greinke.  They're known to be in on Webb, and happen to employ Webb's surgeon Dr. Keith Meister as the team physician.
  • Reds – They've been loosely linked to Webb based mainly on geography, but already made a big commitment to Bronson Arroyo and don't have a ton of spending money.
  • Rockies – They're likely to add a starter and are in on Webb and Francis.  They could also look at trades and lesser free agents, but at least they've added Paulino.
  • Royals – The Royals cut Brian Bannister and are interested in Kevin Millwood, to name one option.  If Kyle Davies is non-tendered on Thursday that would heighten their need.
  • Tigers – They seem content with their rotation options, but they were among the seven clubs linked to McCarthy.
  • Twins – They'll need an arm, possibly Pavano.  They placed a bid on Iwakuma and have been tied to Webb.  Washburn could also work.
  • White Sox – They haven't been linked to anyone, and appear to be in good shape even with Jake Peavy missing the beginning of the season given the possibility of moving Chris Sale into the rotation.  However, I won't rule Kenny Williams out if he finds one of the aforementioned free agent arms intriguing.
  • Yankees – They're the favorites for Lee, and Andy Pettitte might be leaning toward a return.  The Yankees are not expected to participate in the next bracket of free agent starters if one of those options falls through, and the trade market is barren if Greinke is off-limits.
  • The Angels, Blue Jays, Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers, Giants, Indians, Marlins, Phillies, Rays, and Red Sox have either stayed out of the rumor mill or already made their additions.  Still, it would not be a shock for some of these teams to add starting pitching.

Stark On Tigers, Angels, Werth, Rangers

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Teams have money to spend this offseason and ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark explains which clubs will spend more than others and what they’re going to devote their resources to. Here are the details:

  • The Tigers, who announced the Victor Martinez signing today, are still “prowling” for a right-handed corner outfielder. Scott Boras clients Jayson Werth and Magglio Ordonez could be options for Detroit. 
  • One AL executive predicts that the Angels will “spend their butts off."
  • Teams will be surprised if Carl Crawford doesn’t end up with the Angels, who could add Adrian Beltre, too.
  • The Red Sox appear to be the favorites to sign Werth.
  • Other clubs expect the Rangers to pursue Crawford or Zack Greinke if they can’t sign Cliff Lee.
  • The Orioles, Nationals, A’s, Brewers and Pirates are also looking to spend this offseason.

Eight Teams Interested In Lance Berkman

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Lance Berkman tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that eight teams have expressed some interest in him this offseason. ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reported earlier in the month that the A's were interested and Rosenthal adds the Cubs and Rockies to the list.

Berkman says Oakland has been the "most aggressive" in terms of contacting him. The 34-year-old isn't ruling the A's out, but he'd prefer not to be a DH and Oakland has first baseman Daric Barton and lots of outfielders.

“I’m not a DH-slash-first baseman," Berkman told Rosenthal. "I’m a first baseman-slash-outfielder.”

Berkman has not played the outfield since 2007, but he says he feels better now that he has recovered from the arthroscopic knee surgery he underwent in March. Berkman has said he'll look for an everyday role and he told Rosenthal that he would like to return to the National League. There will be no reunion with the Astros, however.

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Boras, Francisco, Dunn

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Links for Tuesday night, one year after the White Sox signed Omar Vizquel. One year later, the White Sox have already re-signed the 43-year-old infielder for 2011… 

Minor Deals: Mariners, Sutton, Braves, Burroughs

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Here is today's batch of minor league deals, with the most recent updates at the top:

  • The Mariners signed Luis Rodriguez, a shortstop who played in the majors from 2005-09 with the Twins and Padres, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). The light-hitting 30-year-old exploded with 16 homers and 17 doubles in 400 plate appearances for the White Sox at Triple-A in 2010.
  • The Yankees signed Neal Cotts, the Marlins signed Josh Kroeger and the A's signed Adam Heether and Anthony Lerew, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (all links go to Twitter). Cotts, a 30-year-old left-hander, has pitched parts of seven seasons in the majors, but he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2009 and didn't pitch in 2010 because of hip surgery. Kroeger, 28, has 47 homers and 51 steals over the course of the past three seasons at Triple-A.
  • The Red Sox signed former Reds outfielder Drew Sutton, according to Eddy (on Twitter). The 27-year old has a .229/.302/.381 line in 118 major league plate appearances, but he did hit 20 homers at Double-A two seasons ago.
  • Eddy reports that the Cubs have re-signed longtime minor leaguer Bobby Scales (Twitter link).
  • The Braves have signed four players, according to Eddy (all links go to Twitter). Outfielder Jose Constanza, 27, batted .319/.373/.394 at Triple-A for the Indians; 28-year-old infielder Ed Lucas hit .307/.398/.480 at Triple-A for the Royals; utilityman Wilkin Castillo can catch and play in the infield and outfield, but hasn't hit Triple-A pitching and Shawn Bowman, 25, hit 22 homers at Double-A.
  • The Mariners signed left-hander Fabio Castro to a minor league contract, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes (on Twitter). The 25-year-old hasn't appeared in the majors since 2007; he posted a 4.93 ERA with 8.8 K/9 for Boston's Triple-A affiliate in 2010.
  • The White Sox claimed releiver Waldis Joaquin off of waivers from the Giants, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. The 23-year-old made the Giants' Opening Day roster, but allowed six earned runs and seven walks in 4 2/3 innings, so he was demoted to the minors. He posted a 4.43 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9 in 40 2/3 innings split between Rookie ball and Triple-A.
  • The Brewers signed signed right-hander Zack Segovia to a minor league deal and invited him to Spring Training, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. The 27-year-old has big league experience with the Phillies and Nationals. He spent the 2010 season with the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate and posted a 4.19 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 62 1/3 innings.
  • The D'Backs signed Sean Burroughs, according to minor league transactions cited by Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (on Twitter). The third baseman is reunited with GM Kevin Towers, who signed Burroughs in 1998 to what was then the biggest amateur bonus in team history. Now 30, Burroughs hasn't played pro ball since 2007.

At Least Seven Teams Interested In Brandon McCarthy

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The Athletics, Astros, Diamondbacks, Brewers, Padres, Mariners, and Tigers are among the teams interested in free agent righty Brandon McCarthy, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The Rangers acquired McCarthy four years ago mainly for John Danks and Nick Masset in what I described at the time as an offer Kenny Williams couldn't refuse.  McCarthy's Rangers career was ruined by injuries, and he was outrighted and elected free agency earlier this month.

Morosi notes that McCarthy has thrown well in the Dominican Winter League, and teams have been scouting him heavily.  McCarthy has a history of shoulder injuries, but Morosi says he's subject to a "buy-low frenzy."  Since the 6'7" righty has less than five years of big league service time, he could be controlled by his new team through 2012 as an arbitration eligible player.

McCarthy, 27, posted a 3.36 ERA, 7.0 K/9, 1.8 BB/9, and 1.3 HR/9 in 56 1/3 Triple-A innings this year.  He tossed 119 innings between the Majors and minors in 2009.

Iwakuma’s Agent Tweets His Side

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Talks between the Athletics and Hisashi Iwakuma broke off on Saturday, and his agent Don Nomura has taken to Twitter to explain why.

Nomura says the A's offered a four-year, $15.25MM deal, for an average of $3.8125MM per year.  The team was using Kei Igawa (five years, $20MM) and Colby Lewis (two years, $5MM) as comparables, while Nomura countered with Hiroki Kuroda (three years, $35.3MM) and Daisuke Matsuzaka (six years, $52MM).  The A's pointed to their $19.1MM posting fee, but Nomura wanted to keep the pitcher's contract separate (presumably since Iwakuma wouldn't see any of the posting fee money).  Nomura remains open to a deal since the sides have until December 8th, though he suggests the A's are now "hunting two free agent pitchers."  He finished by noting that the team's offer to Adrian Beltre "was just a PR" move.

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle broke the story yesterday; her blog post was updated with similar information prior to Nomura's barrage of tweets.  Her source pegs the posting fee at $18MM.  In either case, Iwakuma would have cost the A's over $8MM a year.  In my opinion, that commitment was already plenty risky.

Oakland Breaks Off Talks With Iwakuma

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4:58pm: Slusser writes that the figure Iwakuma was said to be seeking was including the posting fee. She also notes that Iwakuma wasn't looking for the same number of years as Zito, just the same annual salary. Oakland, on the other hand, was thinking somewhere along the lines of a $3MM-$5MM salary.

The A's are also looking for a power hitter, and one thought was that signing Iwakuma could have made Oakland a more appealing destination for Hideki Matsui.

Slusser says she recently spoke with a scout who saw Iwakuma pitch in Japan, and described the 29-year-old as "Nothing special. Just a guy." With Iwakuma presumably out of the picture, Slusser says a healthy Outman would be the frontrunner for the fifth starter job. The 26-year-old lefty was having a strong season in 2009 before he underwent Tommy John surgery and missed all of 2010.

3:38pm: The Athletics have broken off talks with Hisashi Iwakuma, according to this series of tweets from Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

While the A's will have until December 7 to make a decision on Iwakuma, Slusser's sources have told her that Iwakuma was seeking something similar to Barry Zito's seven-year, $126MM contract with the Giants to sign in Oakland, which the A's are obviously unwilling to do. Iwakuma is preparing to announce his return to the Rakuten Golden Eagles at an upcoming fan fest.

If Iwakuma's demands don't come down, the A's will be down one fifth starter option, having traded Vin Mazzaro to Kansas City in exchange for David DeJesus. Slusser says the A's will then approach the season with Josh Outman, Tyson Ross, and Bobby Cramer as fifth starter candidates, barring a free agent signing of course.

It's not unthinkable that the A's would venture to free agency to find a suitable replacement; they clearly have the money to spend on pitching should they see fit. Oakland bid around $17MM to win the rights to negotiate with Iwakuma, but that amount will be returned if no deal is reached.

Odds & Ends: Soria, Garland, Abreu, Ramirez

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Here's a round-up of news tidbits from around the majors today…

  • The Royals might as well also trade Joakim Soria if they're going to move Zack Greinke this winter, reasons Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman (Twitter link).  Soria will make $4MM next season and then has team options worth $6MM, $8MM and $8.75MM in 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively.  Those are big numbers for a closer on a non-contending team, but if Soria is moved to the rotation and keeps producing, those salaries will be bargains.  Interestingly, Soria has a limited no-trade clause that gives him the right to veto deals to the Cardinals, Cubs, Phillies, Red Sox, Tigers and Yankees. 
  • Heyman also tweets that Colorado wants to sign Jon Garland to a one-year contract with an option for 2012, but Garland will probably find a guaranteed multi-year deal elsewhere.
  • Bobby Abreu would be happy to become a full-time DH if the Angels were to sign a left fielder like Carl Crawford, reports MLB.com's Lyle Spencer.
  • Manny Ramirez's 2010 season is compared to the most recent walk years of Vladimir Guerrero and Gary Sheffield by Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci.  We know that Scott Boras sees Ramirez as this year's Guerrero, but Verducci points out that with the glut of DH-types on the market this winter, there's at least a chance that Ramirez could end up without a contract as Sheffield did last offseason.
  • Speaking of Manny, MLB.com's Jane Lee shoots down a reader's query about Ramirez possibly ending up in Oakland.  She says Ramirez is too expensive, would cost the A's a draft pick to sign him and Ramirez "wouldn't exactly fit the veteran-leadership mold the club is looking to also get out of their DH next year."  Bad news for those of us that thought Ramirez would end up in Oakland green in 2011.  Keep in mind that since Manny is highly unlikely to be offered arbitration by the White Sox on Tuesday, draft pick compensation will not be a factor.
  • Doug Melvin might be in "a no-win situation" in his attempts to trade or hold onto Prince Fielder, writes The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Anthony Witrado.
  • Tribe GM Chris Antonetti tells MLB.com's Jordan Bastian that a third baseman and a starting pitcher are his club's offseason priorities.  Antonetti says the Indians are specifically looking for a veteran hurler who can eat innings and provide "certainty" within the otherwise young rotation.
  • Now that Zach Duke has been designated for assignment, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweets that the odds of the Pirates signing a free agent starter have risen.  Biertempfel mentions Jorge de la Rosa, though the Bucs will have to out-negotiate several other clubs to sign him.
  • David Waldstein of the New York Times thinks Bob Melvin will be the next Mets manager, though he notes that "if this really were a horse race, I would box Melvin and [Terry] Collins in an exacta."
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