Odds & Ends: Lee, A’s, Tigers, O’s, Dodgers
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.
Six Teams Interested In Chad Qualls
The A's are one of six teams with legitimate interest in Chad Qualls, the reliever's agent told Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter links). Alan Hendricks acknowledged that he has spoken with the Athletics, but says no "substantial" discussions have taken place yet. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported earlier today that the A's will look at Qualls and Hideki Okajima.
Qualls will not cost a draft pick since he is a Type B free agent, but the Rays will receive an extra 2011 selection if the right-hander signs a big league deal elsewhere, since he turned down their offer of arbitration. In 59 innings for the D'Backs and Rays last year, Qualls posted a 7.32 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9.
The Mets, Twins and Rockies have been linked to the 32-year-old this offseason, but it seems unlikely that the Rockies will sign Qualls now that they have obtained Matt Lindstrom. The Royals, Orioles, Mariners, Nationals, Pirates, Blue Jays and Rays could also be on the lookout for right-handed relief help.
Athletics Out On Adrian Beltre
The Athletics pulled out of talks with Adrian Beltre this week, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. They made multiple offers for the third baseman this winter, but will now look at relievers Chad Qualls and Hideki Okajima and possibly a different third base option.
Rosenthal says the Rangers maintain interest but "remain uncomfortable with both the price and fit" for Beltre given incumbent third baseman Michael Young.
Unless a surprise team jumps in, the Angels remain the favorite despite pulling their offer. It does not appear that their situation has changed since these reports eight days ago.
Unfinished Business: AL West
We've examined the unfinished business for the NL East, Central, and West; now it's time to check out the AL West.
- Angels: Third base, outfielder/DH, leadoff man. Adrian Beltre remains a great fit for the Angels, but owner Arte Moreno criticized recent huge deals for Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth. Another possibility could be to add Scott Podsednik or Johnny Damon in what many fans would deem a disappointing offseason.
- Athletics: Reliever. GM Billy Beane mentioned 12 days ago that he might be in the market for a reliever after sending Henry Rodriguez to the Nationals in the Josh Willingham deal. However, that was before the A's inked Rich Harden to improve their pitching depth. We can't rule out the possibility that the Angels and Rangers remove themselves from the Beltre bidding and Scott Boras has to come crawling back to the A's.
- Mariners: Starting pitcher, left fielder, reliever, backup infielder. The Mariners figure to add a back-end starter, and possibly a reliever if they move David Aardsma. Back around the Winter Meetings, there was talk of finding a left fielder to supplement Michael Saunders. They could also use a reserve infielder, so the Ms should be active in the shallow end of the free agent pool.
- Rangers: Designated hitter, possible extensions. It's a buyer's market for designated hitters, so the Rangers can probably get Vladimir Guerrero back at their price. Theoretically, they could make a move for Adrian Beltre and shift or trade Michael Young. Brandon Webb was affordable, so the Rangers could sign another veteran starter if they're so inclined. The Rangers may also look into extensions for arbitration eligible players like Josh Hamilton and C.J. Wilson in the coming months.
Pirates, A’s Swap Minor Leaguers
The Pirates acquired Corey Wimberly from the A's, according to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch (on Twitter). The A's acquire right-hander Ryan Kelly in the deal, according to MLB.com's Jane Lee.
Wimberly has not appeared in the majors, but he turned in a productive season as a utility player for the A's at Triple-A in 2010. The 27-year-old posted a .284/.373/.354 line with 56 steals while playing at least ten games at short, second, third, left and center.
Kelly, a 23-year-old reliever, posted a 4.20 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 75 innings at A ball last year. It was his second season in the South Atlantic League and his fourth as a pro, so his ascension through the minors has been unhurried.
Olney On Beltre, Adam LaRoche, Derrek Lee
The latest from ESPN's Buster Olney…
- Olney ranks the rotations, with the Phillies, Giants, and Athletics taking the top three spots. It seems odd to see the Cardinals in an eighth-place tie, but there are a lot of good ones. How does your top ten look?
- The Athletics would talk to free agent third baseman Adrian Beltre again if the player is willing. Beltre reportedly ignored Oakland's five-year, $64MM offer, which isn't much lower than the offer the Angels pulled yesterday. Beltre appears to crave $85-90MM over five years, or a sixth year.
- The Orioles have been talking to Adam LaRoche's agents about a three-year deal in the $21MM range, though it was said yesterday they're at an impasse. LaRoche had a near-miss on a multiyear deal with the Giants last offseason, though that offer came with undesirable options attached. Olney says the Orioles are in the one-year, $8MM range with Derrek Lee, which should be close to enough. Failing those options, Olney suggests a platoon involving Troy Glaus and Russell Branyan or Jason Giambi.
Athletics Sign Rich Harden
Rich Harden is returning to Oakland, as the Athletics continue to collect starting pitchers with injury concerns. Harden's one-year deal, which is now official, is worth $1.5MM plus incentives, so the risk is low in this case.
ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that Harden will compete for a rotation spot in Spring Training (Twitter link). Another signing of this type, Brandon McCarthy, could be his main rival. Harden spent the first five and a half seasons of his career in Oakland, where he posted lofty strikeout numbers and a 3.42 ERA between trips to the DL. Last winter the Athletics brought in Ben Sheets and Justin Duchscherer as their injury-risk signings, committing $12MM to the pair despite both missing the entire 2009 season. This year, they've guaranteed only $2.5MM to Harden and McCarthy.
The 29-year-old Harden continued to encounter health issues in 2010, but the low ERA and remarkable strikeout rate were nowhere to be found. Harden battled glute and shoulder injuries this year and posted a 5.58 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 6.1 BB/9 in 92 innings for the Rangers. His 51.2% flyball rate was the third-highest in baseball among those with 90 innings, so he's suited for a big ballpark.
Seven teams other than Oakland reportedly had some interest in Harden: the Yankees, Twins, Rays, Diamondbacks, Brewers, Mariners, and Rockies. WMG represents Harden.
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle broke news of the agreement and SI's Jon Heyman added the amount.
Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.
Odds & Ends: Rauch, Rays, Jenks, Rockies, Rangers
On this date in 1997, the Red Sox traded Tony Armas Jr. and Carl Pavano to the Expos for reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martinez. A case can be made that Pedro's 1999 and 2000 seasons were the two best pitching seasons in baseball history, in which he held batters to a .186/.231/.274 batting line with 597 strikeouts in 430.1 innings.
It's highly unlikely that we'll see a pitcher of Pedro's caliber traded anytime soon, but that Zack Greinke kid is pretty good in his own right. Here are today's links…
- Two days ago we heard that the Rockies had interest in David Aardsma, Grant Balfour, and Todd Coffey, and now Troy Renck of The Denver post throws Jon Rauch's name into the mix.
- Marc Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times has some quotes from Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg, who called the size of free agent contracts being handed out this winter "discouraging." He also commented (briefly) on the team's 2011 payroll.
- Bobby Jenks will take his physical on Monday, tweets Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe. It was originally scheduled for today but was pushed back, and it's necessary to finalize his contract with the Red Sox.
- Renck also has the goods (Twitter links) on two recent Rockies signings. Ty Wigginton took less money to sign in Colorado, earning $3.5MM in 2011, $4MM in '12, and a club option for $4MM in '13 ($500k buyout). Meanwhile, pitcher Eric Stults has an out in his $435k minor league deal that will allow him to sign with the Hiroshima Carp if he does not make the big league roster.
- Richard Durrett of ESPN.com applauds the Rangers' efforts to bolster their starting depth.
- Dan Wheeler is happy to be a member of Boston's improved bullpen, writes MLB.com's Ian Browne.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that Seth McClung's deal with the Rangers will pay him $700K if he makes the team. There are another $700K available in bonuses tied to the number of starts he makes.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a report (via Twitter) indicating that Hideki Matsui's contract with the A's has a limited no-trade clause preventing trades to the Mariners, Orioles, Twins, Blue Jays, Indians, and Royals.
- Mariano Rivera told Erik Boland of Newsday that he plans to give long-time teammate Andy Pettitte a call to try to convince the lefty to come back for another season.
- Finding a left-handed bat off the bench is one of the last remaining items on the Marlins offseason agenda, but MLB.com's Joe Frisaro says they might already have that guy on their roster. Catcher John Baker, who is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery, said he would be up for the job until he's cleared to catch again.
- Former Mets GM Omar Minaya told Ian Begley of ESPN New York that he plans to sit down with new GM Sandy Alderson after the holidays to discuss a potential new role with the team. Minaya said he has several offers on the table, including interest from the Diamondbacks.
- Hey iPhone users, do you have the MLBTR app yet? Jason Bartlett does, and that's how he found out his trade to the Padres was in the works.
A’s Claim Phil Humber
The A's claimed Philip Humber off of waivers from the Royals, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter). The Royals had designated Humber for assignment earlier in the week.
Humber, 28 next week, posted a 4.15 ERA in 21 2/3 big league innings this year. As short as that stint was, it was the most Humber's pitched in a big league season. The former first rounder was once considered a top prospect and the Mets sent him to Minnesota in the Johan Santana deal. In 664 1/3 minor league innings, he has a 4.48 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9.
Odds & Ends: Hudson, Jackson, Lee, Crain
These days it takes more than a dollar to get a can of soda from a vending machine. Back in 1936, a dollar represented the late Bob Feller's signing bonus with the Indians. Pretty nice bargain for the Tribe on that one.
Onto tonight's links…
- Orlando Hudson is running out of suitors, but ESPN.com's Jason A. Churchill suggests the Blue Jays could be a potential match, with Aaron Hill moving to third base to accomodate Hudson at second. Hudson was originally drafted by Toronto in 1997 and played four seasons for the Jays before being dealt to Arizona following the 2005 season.
- The White Sox are pushing their payroll to new heights, and ESPNChicago.com's Doug Padilla suggests they might consider trading Edwin Jackson to create some salary breathing room.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com (Twitter link) has the breakdown of Cliff Lee's annual salaries with the Phillies. Lee will earn $11MM next season, $21.5MM in 2012, and then $25MM per season from 2013 to 2015, plus the previously-reported vesting option for 2016. Rosenthal tweets that Lee's $27.5MM vesting option in 2016 becomes a club option for the same total if it fails to vest, but in such a situation it seems a lock that Philadelphia would just pay Lee the $12.5MM buyout.
- There was no pressure put on Lee by the players' union to take the largest contract offer, says Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman (Twitter link). "As long as a player makes an informed choice, we're happy," says MLBPA executive director Michael Weiner.
- Jesse Crain spoke about his all-but-official contract with the White Sox in an interview on KFAN 1130 AM in Minneapolis, and MLB.com's Scott Merkin reports on the highlights of the chat. Crain said he was swayed by the chance to close games and Chicago's offer of a three-year deal, also noting that "the Twins didn't really make an offer" to re-sign him.
- Washington GM Mike Rizzo says Oakland's offer for Josh Willingham was better than any of the offers he received for Willingham before last year's trade deadline, tweets MASNsports.com's Ben Goessling.
- The Tigers have the young pitching (Andy Oliver or Jacob Turner) and middle infield prospects (Danny Worth, Will Rhymes, Scott Sizemore) to meet Kansas City's asking price for Zack Greinke, writes Steve Kornacki of MLive.com. Count me as skeptical — it's hard to see the Royals dealing Greinke to a division rival unless they got an absolute monster of an offer, and they'd probably ask Detroit for both Oliver and Turner just as a starting point.
- ESPN's Keith Law covered such topics as Jay Bruce's extension, the 2011 amateur draft and the spate of multi-year contracts for relievers in an online chat with fans today.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com outlines ten of the major holes that various contending teams still need to fill this winter.