Latest On Jorge Soler
7:57pm: The Yankees and Phillies are in hardest on Soler now, Yahoo's Jeff Passan tweets.
5:21pm: Marlins president David Samson said on 790 the Ticket that the club doesn't have interest in Soler, MLB.com's Joe Frisaro tweets.
2:51pm: The Marlins are interested, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal hears Soler's power is comparable to that of Miami outfielder Mike Stanton — high praise to say the least.
12:59pm: The Blue Jays watched Soler and others Wednesday at the team's complex in the Dominican Republic, writes MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez. The Orioles will be in the D.R. to watch him Sunday. Sanchez lists the Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, Phillies, and Cubs as other interested parties.
WEDNESDAY, 8:26am: The Phillies are also interested in Soler, reports Olney.
TUESDAY, 2:18pm: The Yankees have serious interest in Soler, ESPN.com's Buster Olney tweets.
12:33pm: Many teams remain involved in the bidding for 19-year-old Cuban prospect Jorge Soler, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). The Cubs have been extensively linked to the outfielder, but they’re not the only club involved.
The Yankees are in on the bidding, tweets David Kaplan of CSN Chicago, and Heyman suggests the Marlins could be involved. Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald hears that “a good number” of teams have interest (Twitter link). Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus explained yesterday that Soler would rank 38th or 39th on his list of top prospects.
NL East Notes: Kazmir, McCann, Hamels, Oswalt
The Mets took a chance on Jason Isringhausen exactly one year ago, signing him to a minor league deal. Isringhausen collected his 300th career save in 2011, and the Mets obtained 46 2/3 innings of 4.05 ERA baseball from the 39-year-old right-hander. We haven’t heard much about Isringhausen’s free agent prospects in recent weeks, but we do have some links from the NL East…
- Ten years ago the Mets made Scott Kazmir their first round pick. Much has changed in the last decade, but the Mets have some interest in bringing the left-hander back, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News tweets. The Mets were expected to have someone in attendance at Kazmir's audition in Houston today.
- Brian McCann said he's not concerned about signing an extension for 2014 and beyond, David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution tweets. The Braves have a 2013 option for McCann on his current contract and they figure to exercise if after the season.
- Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. joined Jim Duquette and Kevin Kennedy on MLB Network Radio and said he's still hoping to work out an extension with left-hander Cole Hamels. The sides haven't set a deadline for a long-term deal.
- Amaro suggested the Phillies don't have the payroll flexibility required to add Roy Oswalt. "I just don't know that it's a fit for us right now," he said.
- The Phillies and Marlins are among the teams eyeing Cuban outfield prospect Jorge Soler.
NL East Notes: Hamels, Bonifacio, Jurrjens
The two biggest free agent contracts handed out by NL East teams this offseason went to Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle of the Marlins. They signed deals worth $106MM and $58MM, respectively, in December. Here are the latest links from the division…
- Bob Nightengale of USA Today previews the 2012-13 free agent market and explains that Cole Hamels and B.J. Upton project as two of the top available players. Nightengale suggests Johan Santana’s $137.5MM contract could be a target for Hamels, who has had some talks with the Phillies about a long-term extension. The Phillies aren’t expected to offer the left-hander more than five years, Nightengale writes.
- Now that the Marlins have officially missed out on Yoenis Cespedes, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com examines the team's center field options. Emilio Bonifacio figures to start in center with Aaron Rowand, Chris Coghlan and other players in the mix for reserve roles.
- Frisaro doubts the Marlins will make a last-minute push for Ivan Rodriguez.
- Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com suggests Braves right-hander Jair Jurrjens could draw trade interest this spring if he appears to be healthy.
Phillies Confident In Hamels Talks
With an ever-increasing payroll, it would seem difficult for the Phillies to find room to sign Cole Hamels to a lucrative new deal. However, team president David Montgomery told Matt Gelb of The Philadelphia Inquirer that he is confident that a deal can be reached.
"I don't think it's difficult," said Montgomery. "We've let [Hamels] know we're anxious to have him stay here. Cole enjoys it here…It'll probably come down to what we think is an appropriate length and what they think. You try to minimize risk by not going longer than necessary. And a player is looking for as much security as he can get. It's an equation that takes time to hopefully get worked out."
Recently, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wrote that the Phillies will have trouble re-signing the left-hander for anything less than market value after giving hefty deals to Ryan Howard, Cliff Lee, Jonathan Papelbon, and Jimmy Rollins. Hamels' agent John Boggs also says that he doesn't consider Jered Weaver's team-friendly five-year, $85MM deal as a parallel.
Cafardo On Oswalt, Burnett, Phillies, Rodriguez
In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe takes a look at what we can expect out of David Ortiz's arbitration hearing on Monday. The only way the hearing can turn bad, according to one source with experience in arbitration cases, is if the Red Sox mention that Ortiz's positive test for a banned substance in 2003. However, Boston may be reluctant to go there, for risk of inviting bad feelings. Here more from Cafardo..
- The Red Sox are willing to give Roy Oswalt a one-year deal worth $5-$7MM, but the veteran remains reluctant to pitch in Boston. However, as we've heard elsewhere, the 34-year-old hasn't ruled Boston out.
- Any money that the Yankees save in a potential A.J. Burnett trade will be put toward a lefthanded-hitting DH/outfielder type, with Raul Ibanez and Johnny Damon likely in that mix.
- Don't be surprised if Vladimir Guerrero, Magglio Ordonez, Xavier Nady, or Manny Ramirez wind up with the Phillies. The Phillies really want to add a righthanded hitter who can pinch hit and occasionally play the outfield. However, they’re extremely close to luxury tax territory.
- The Athletics, Orioles, and Blue Jays remain the main teams interested in Ramirez.
- Mike Gonzalez remains the most high-profile lefty reliever on the market and agent Scott Boras is hoping teams reassess their needs right before camp. The Phillies could be a fit, but they have budget concerns. The Orioles also want to add one more bullpen piece but they might not want to go down that road again.
- The lack of interest in Astros left-hander Wandy Rodriguez is surprising considering that the club would assume a fair portion of the $36MM left on his deal. Houston is also surprised at the lack of interest in righty Brett Myers, who would appear to be a good piece for a contending club.
- While interviewing for the Red Sox managerial job, Tigers third base coach Gene Lamont felt confident that he was going to get the nod. Lamont met with Ben Cherington and Larry Lucchino in Boston, John Henry in Boca Raton, Florida, and Tom Werner in New York City.
- After watching Ryan Flaherty in camp with the Orioles, Cafardo believes that the infielder and Rule 5 draft pick can win a spot with the club.
Quick Hits: Oswalt, Renteria, Pirates, Indians
Links for Friday…
- ESPN.com's Jayson Stark says Roy Oswalt is not going to sign with the Rangers or Phillies. The right-hander could end up in Boston, where he doesn't seem to want to play, or with the Cardinals, who are interested if Oswalt agrees to their terms.
- Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com suggests the Brewers, Cubs and Astros are all fits for Edgar Renteria, who intends to play in 2012 (Twitter link).
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review discusses the difficulty of luring free agents to Pittsburgh and points out that the Pirates have never signed a free agent for more than $10.5MM, which is what Clint Barmes obtained earlier in the offseason.
- The Indians don't have any guaranteed contracts on the books beyond 2012, MLB.com's Jordan Bastian points out (on Twitter).
- Keith Law lists sleeper prospects for all 30 teams at ESPN.com.
- Matt Eddy of Baseball America has the complete minor league transactions for February 2nd-7th.
Contract Details: Pierre, Belisle, Andrus
Juan Pierre, Matt Belisle and Elvis Andrus recently agreed to new deals; here are details on their respective contracts:
- Pierre would earn $800K on the Major League roster and he could earn additional incentives based on plate appearances, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The outfielder signed a minor league deal with the Phillies last week.
- Belisle will earn $4.1MM in 2013 and his extension includes a mutual option worth $4.25MM for 2014, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports. If Belisle accepts his half of the option, the Rockies can still decline for $250K. The deal includes $450K in incentives for games finished.
- Andrus gets a signing bonus of $750K, $2.375MM in 2012, $4.8MM in 2013, and $6.475MM in 2014, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets.
Phillies Considered Oswalt; Deal Unlikely
The Phillies have called around to determine trade interest in Joe Blanton, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports (all Twitter links). Moving Blanton and part of his $8.5MM salary would create payroll room for Roy Oswalt, but GM Ruben Amaro Jr. doesn't expect to be able to free up money to sign the right-hander. Though the Phillies have had dialogue about bringing Oswalt back to Philadelphia, a deal seems unlikely.
We heard yesterday that there's no traction between the Red Sox and Oswalt, that the Reds haven't had serious talks with him, and that he doesn't want to play in Pittsburgh. Oswalt, the top free agent pitcher remaining, is likely to sign a one-year deal for 2012. I doubt teams would commit $8.5MM to Blanton, who pitched just 41 1/3 innings last year.
Roy Oswalt Rumors: Tuesday
The latest on free agent righty Roy Oswalt…
- GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said the Phillies don't really have room for Oswalt, MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reports. "We have five, six starters, and our resources are about where we want to be right now," he said. "I think he wouldn't mind coming back, but I don't know that's feasible or a real possibility."
- Yesterday Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports wrote that the Reds remain in talks with Oswalt. However, today Jocketty told John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, "It's all rumors. I'm sick and tired of it. We've had no serious talks. We've had no contact with the player."
- The Pirates inquired about Oswalt and were willing to jump into the bidding but were rebuffed, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
- There's "no traction" in talks between Oswalt and the Red Sox, a big league source tells WEEI's Rob Bradford.
Latest On Roy Oswalt
7:09pm: Rosenthal now hears that the Reds are not actively pursuing Oswalt, but they are kicking the tires on the right-hander (Twitter link).
1:53pm: Pitcher Roy Oswalt is without a contract two weeks before the start of spring workouts and a number of suitors remain in the mix for his services. Because the right-hander's top choices – St. Louis and Texas – are dealing with budget constraints, clubs such as the Reds continue to explore the possibility of signing him, according to Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Walt Jocketty & Co. have spoken with Oswalt’s representatives recently and would probably need to move payroll and stretch their budget in order to afford him, according to a source. Signing the 34-year-old, the duo writes, would signal that the Reds are going all-in and looking to win before the potential departures of Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips via free agency. Votto is signed through 2013 while Phillips is set to hit the open market next winter.
Oswalt and the Red Sox continue to have “mutual interest” in one another, according to one source with knowledge of the dialogue. He also remains interested in returning to the Phillies, according to sources, but they haven’t been aggressive in looking for starters.