Athletics Rumors

Athletics Agree To Terms With Joey Devine

By Luke Adams 2 | December 2, 2009 at 6:11pm CDT

Joey Devine and the Oakland Athletics have agreed to terms on a one-year deal, according to the Associated Press. The right-hander's 2010 contract will earn him about $0.56MM.

Devine was dominant for the A's in 2008, posting an ERA of 0.59 over 45.2 IP. He was expected to compete for the closer's job in 2009, but underwent elbow surgery and did not pitch in a single regular season game.

We should be seeing plenty of similar stories coming in over the next week or two, as teams decide whether or not to tender contracts to their arbitration-eligible players before the December 12th deadline. Check out our list of non-tender candidates here.

Pirates, Dodgers, Braves, A’s After Kameron Loe

By Tim Dierkes | December 2, 2009 at 4:52pm CDT

Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the scoop on righty Kameron Loe, who spent the year in Japan and is apparently contemplating a return. Back in November of '08 the Rangers sold Loe's rights to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, who paid him $900K. He pitched only 27 innings, posting a 6.33 ERA. Kovacevic names the Pirates, Dodgers, Braves, and A's as teams interested in Loe.

Another Pirates note: president Frank Coonelly confirmed the team's interest in Rick Ankiel, in an MLB.com chat with fans today.

A’s, Royals Had Failed Talks For Callaspo

By Tim Dierkes | December 2, 2009 at 2:48pm CDT

WEDNESDAY, 2:46pm: Royals GM Dayton Moore told Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that the Royals aren't actively pushing any of their players, but they're open-minded with all of them. It seems like Moore will at least listen on Callaspo.

TUESDAY, 10:15pm: The A's and Royals held talks for infielder Alberto Callaspo at the GM Meetings, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The A's would've used Callaspo at third base, but "talks failed to progress."

The takeaway is that the Royals appear willing to discuss Callaspo now that they've acquired Chris Getz from the White Sox. Callaspo, 27 in April, hit .300/.356/.457 in 634 plate appearances this year while playing second and third base. His second base defense graded below average using UZR/150, but it's only a 1240-inning sample from 2009. Callaspo is a valuable player, and he's not even arbitration-eligible yet. He's under team control through 2013. Getz appears to be the inferior player, so maybe the Royals should hang on to Callaspo.

Multiple Teams Interested In Noah Lowry

By Tim Dierkes | December 2, 2009 at 1:45pm CDT

1:45pm: Aside from the Pirates and Rockies, ESPN's Jerry Crasnick says the Dodgers, Padres, A's, Mariners, and Reds are interested in Lowry.

10:56am: The Pirates are interested in free agent lefty Noah Lowry, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. As Kovacevic notes, the former Giant had forearm surgery in March of 2008, which the pitcher's agent later claimed was a misdiagnosis. In May of '09 Lowry had surgery to remove a rib to help with thoracic outlet syndrome. Earlier this month, Lowry's agent said his client is finally "completely healthy." Yesterday, Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post noted the Rockies' interest in Lowry.

The first four spots in the Pirates' rotation appear set, with Paul Maholm, Zach Duke, Ross Ohlendorf, and Charlie Morton. Lowry could compete for the fifth starter job; the Bucs would have three lefties in the rotation if he won it. Lowry's best season came in 2005, when he made 33 starts with a 3.78 ERA. That campaign netted him a four-year, $9.25MM extension.

Athletics Offer Arbitration To Duchscherer

By Mark Polishuk | December 1, 2009 at 5:54pm CDT

MLB.com's Mychael Urban reports that Oakland offered arbitration to its one ranked free agent, pitcher Justin Duchscherer. The right-hander is a Type B free agent, so with the offer, Oakland will earn a sandwich pick in next year's draft if Duchscherer declines arbitration and signs with another team.

As Urban notes, Duchscherer is highly likely to decline the Athletics' offer and instead sign a short-term, incentive-laden contract to prove that he is both physically and mentally recovered after missing the 2009 season with clinical depression and a variety of injuries.

Odds & Ends: Matsui, Cardinals, Arb Offers

By Tim Dierkes | November 30, 2009 at 2:02pm CDT

Links for Monday…

MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan wonders if Bobby Crosby could be a match for the Rangers as a utility infielder.
MLB.com's Mychael Urban has an update on free agent lefty Mark Mulder.
Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball analyzes Tim Lincecum's possible 2010 salary, and predicts the pitcher might submit $16.8MM against the Giants' $8MM figure.
ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that Hideki Matsui's marketability is not a factor for the Yankees.
Alex Speier of WEEI examines the chances of Roy Halladay remaining a workhorse over the next several seasons.
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch doesn't see geography as a big factor for Matt Holliday. Meanwhile, Bernie Miklasz of the P-D doesn't understand Albert Pujols' reasoning as to why he needs to wait to discuss an extension.
MLB.com's Brian McTaggart asks readers to predict the Astros' arbitration decisions for free agents. Jose Valverde and LaTroy Hawkins are tough calls in that it makes sense but we're not sure if the Astros will. We'll have predictions on all Type A/B free agents later today.
Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel explains why he feels only Felipe Lopez will get an arbitration offer from the Brewers.
MLB.com's Joe Frisaro says the Marlins are leaning against offering arbitration to Type B free agents Kiko Calero and Nick Johnson. Calero might be worth it.
Jon Weisman of Dodgers Thoughts says the Dodgers' arbitration decisions won't necessarily be influenced by the McCourts' divorce.
Staying with this theme, FanGraphs' Dave Cameron looks at the factors that should influence a team's arbitration-offer decision.
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports look at the market for Miguel Tejada.
Morosi suggests ten teams that should talk to the Tigers about Miguel Cabrera, Curtis Granderson, and Edwin Jackson.
Jacob Jackson of Athletics Nation has a detailed offseason plan for the A's.
Righty Miguel Batista told Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times that he has a few contenders interested in his services.
Notes from NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman: the Orioles are eyeing pitcher Hisanori Takahashi, and Hideki Okajima would like a contract extension (he's under team control through 2012 as an arbitration-eligible player).
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the fates of Jeff Karstens, Robinzon Diaz, and Justin Thomas will be decided today.
Elmer Dessens doesn't have a contract with the Mets quite yet, writes Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News.

Odds & Ends: Johnson, Cabrera, Mets, Contreras

By Mike Axisa | November 27, 2009 at 2:22pm CDT

Here's some discount links on Black Friday…

ESPN's Keith Law notes that the Marlins have a history of moving players early, and says that they could land two big league ready players and two Double-A prospects for Josh Johnson.
There's no evidence to suggest that the Red Sox have approached the Tigers about a trade for Miguel Cabrera according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com.
Bob Klapisch of FoxSports.com writes that it'll take more than one offseason to get the Mets back on track.
Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe says that next week's arbitration deadline will have a big impact on the Red Sox, and wonders if GM Theo Epstein has a trade for a shortstop in mind.
MLB.com's Steve Gilbert says a marriage between the Diamondbacks and free agent Nick Johnson seems unlikely because the team has a little more than $10MM to spend and more pressing needs in the rotation.
Jose Contreras met with officials from the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks of Japan's Pacific League, according to the AP (via NBCSports.com).
SI.com's Jon Heyman hears that Jermaine Dye would like to go west, and suggests that he could be an alternative righty bat for the Rangers.
Heyman also hears that the Blue Jays like Jesus Montero of the Yankees and Casey Kelly of the Red Sox, referring of course to a potential Roy Halladay trade.
FoxSports.com's Dayn Perry takes a look at some free agents teams should avoid.
R.J. Anderson at FanGraphs chimes on three recent moves: Dallas McPherson to the A's, Tug Hulett to the Red Sox, and Radhames Liz to the Padres.

Odds & Ends: Jackson, Cabrera, Guillen, Bedard

By Luke Adams 2 | November 25, 2009 at 9:41pm CDT

It's a slow night for rumors on the eve of Thanksgiving, but here's a roundup of a handful of interesting evening links:

FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi tweets that the Tigers have been more aggressive attempting to deal Edwin Jackson than Curtis Granderson. Jackson, for his part, says the trade rumors don't bother him.
Morosi also reports (via Twitter) that Daniel Cabrera is in search of a 40-man roster spot on some team this winter.
In the most recent post on the FOX Sports blog by Morosi and Ken Rosenthal, the pair discusses Miguel Cabrera's future. One executive suggests that Cabrera's availability (or lack thereof) will depend on whether or not the Tigers believe his off-field issues at the end of the season were a one-time lapse in judgment.
Jose Guillen wants to stay in Kansas City and play in the field next year, according to Dick Kaegel of MLB.com. We mentioned Guillen as a possible trade candidate when evaluating the market for right fielders, and he's been the subject of rumors in the past week.
Following up on a story about the Royals "going hard" after Erik Bedard, Kaegel talks to Kansas City assistant GM J.J. Picollo. Picollo indicates that Bedard's left-handedness is intriguing, but that it's "probably an overstatement" to say the club is in hot pursuit of the 30-year-old.
MLB.com's Brian McTaggart passes along news of some minor organizational moves by the Astros.
One item of note in Kelly Thesier's Twins mailbag on MLB.com: When Minnesota prospect Miguel Angel Sano begins playing in the States, he'll be using the surname Jean, rather than Sano (which is his mother's maiden name).
Larry Dobrow of CBS Sports looks ahead to the Athletics' offseason and makes some suggestions for the team going forward.

Passan On Arguelles, Bedard, Jackson

By Mark Polishuk | November 24, 2009 at 9:14pm CDT

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."

Odds & Ends: Dye, Pettitte, Bay, Yankees, Mauer

By Mike Axisa | November 24, 2009 at 12:44pm CDT

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.

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