Free Agent Notes: V-Mart, Hart, Grilli, Ichiro
A few notes on some free agents on a busy first day of the annual GM Meetings…
- Octagon agent Alan Nero and his team are ready to advance talks regarding clients Victor Martinez, Jason Hammel and Asdrubal Cabrera, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe tweets. While we don’t typically see too many free agents come off the board this early in the offseason, it sounds as if Octagon is being aggressive.
- Corey Hart has received interest from several teams despite his down season in 2014, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link). The market is thin on power hitters and Hart, 32, was a 30-homer threat from 2010-12 before undergoing surgery on both knees and sitting out the 2013 campaign.
- Jason Grilli has had some interest from multiple clubs, but the bullpen-hungry Tigers aren’t among them, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press tweets.
- Ichiro Suzuki has switched agents and is now represented by John Boggs, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link). Suzuki had previously been represented by Tony Attanasio.
- Also from Rosenthal, Alberto Callaspo has switched agents and is now represented by Praver Shapiro Sports Management. Callaspo had previously been represented by Eric Goldschmidt. For agency info on over 1,700 players, check out MLBTR’s oft-updated Agency Database.
Bay Area Notes: Callaspo, Colon, Arroyo, Vogelsong
Here's the latest from both the Athletics and Giants…
- The A's are scheduled to meet with Adam Katz, Bartolo Colon's agent, this week to discuss a one-year deal for the veteran righty, CSNBayArea.com's Joe Stiglich reports. Colon has shown an interest in returning to Oakland but a number of teams would be interested on Colon for just a one-year commitment.
- Also from Stiglich, he wonders if Alberto Callaspo could be expendable now that Nick Punto has been signed to increase the Athletics' infield depth. Callaspo is set to platoon with Eric Sogard at second base next season, but Callaspo's salary ($4.875MM) is a high one for the payroll-conscious A's.
- Bronson Arroyo has been linked to the Giants in trade rumors, so CSNBayArea.com's Andrew Baggarly breaks down the pros and cons of an Arroyo signing for San Francisco.
- The Giants are "continuing a dialog" with Ryan Vogelsong's representatives, assistant GM Bobby Evans tells Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter).
AL Notes: Reynolds, Green, Callaspo
We'll begin a quiet morning in baseball with a few links from the American League …
- Mark Reynolds started his Yankee tenure with a bang, ripping a two-run homer, going two-for-five, and adding another RBI on the evening. As Mark Feinsand and Roger Rubin of the New York Daily News report, Reynolds and his new teammates and manager all seemed pleased with his signing after the game. The Yanks will hope that Reynolds catches one of his patented hot streaks down the stretch this year.
- The Angels' acquisition of young second baseman Grant Green in exchange for Alberto Callaspo is looking better and better in the eyes of MLB.com's Lyle Spencer (via Twitter). Spencer says that Green evidently has the kind of talent that it is worth taking a chance on. After an underwhelming (0-for-15) stint with the Athletics earlier this year, Green has been on fire early in his Angels tenure. In his 36 plate appearances with the Halos, Green has posted a .433/.528/.500 triple-slash.
- For his part, Callaspo's .229/.308/.371 line since joining the A's corresponds to the OPS+ mark (92) he put up in Anaheim this year. With his defensive metrics trending down, Callaspo seems unlikely to put up more than one win above replacement this season (whether measured by Fangraphs or Baseball Reference) for the first time since he became a regular. He will earn $4.875MM next season before becoming a free agent the following year.
Quick Hits: Lee, A’s, Rays, Yankees
In reality, the Red Sox were a "non factor" for Cliff Lee before they landed Jake Peavy, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Will he get moved today to another club? Baseball people are highly doubtful anyone would meet the supposed Phillies' asking price of three top prospects for a pitcher who has $70MM left on his deal through 2015. "I don't know of a team in baseball that would [do] that. Taking on that much money and giving up three legit prospects seems like a stretch for anyone," one exec said. Here's more from around baseball as we approach the 3pm central deadline..
- The A's are still pursuing bullpen depth, tweets Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio and ESPN.
- Teams that have spoken with the Phillies say they're not upbeat about making any deals today, tweets ESPN.com's Jayson Stark. Michael Young is still in play, but there's no clear destination for the third baseman.
- The Cardinals are leaning towards standing pat at the deadline unless there is a last minute drastic change, according to Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
- Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times writes that the Rays have been looking into at least one more potential deal, presumably to add a bat. Tampa Bay made a splash earlier this week when they landed Jesse Crain in a swap with the White Sox.
- The Yankees were mainly working on smaller acquisitions like Alberto Callaspo this week and didn't have any interest in Alex Rios once they landed Alfonso Soriano, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Callaspo wound up going from the Halos to the A's.
- The Marlins don't expect to do much today and plan to keep Chad Qualls, Justin Ruggiano, and other trade chips if they can't get good value in return, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Meanwhile, the Marlins are gauging interest in Juan Pierre and Placido Polanco, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.
- The Royals' search for a second baseman continues, but they don't appear to be close on anything at the moment, writes Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. “Anything’s possible,” one club official said. “We looking at a lot of things, but I doubt anything get done unless things change in the last few hours.”
- The Indians got the left-handed reliever they needed yesterday in Marc Rzepczynski and would still be open to a rotation upgrade, but they don't like the price so far, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). For now, the Tribe is prepared to stand pat.
- There are a lot of present and veteran Braves who think the club is making a serious mistake by allowing Brian McCann hit the open market at the end of the season, writes Peter Gammons at GammonsDaily.com. "Only the people around the team understand what he means to that pitching staff. He’s a star player in the team concept,” said David Ross of McCann, who also leads the team with a .884 OPS.
- Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com spoke with Nationals players to get their take on the trade deadline. Scott Hairston and Adam LaRoche have both been involved in multiple deadline deals.
Athletics Acquire Alberto Callaspo For Grant Green
The Athletics have acquired Alberto Callaspo from the Angels, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Danny Knobler of CBS Sports tweets that the A's will send Grant Green to the Angels in the deal, which has now been officially announced.
Callaspo, 30, was hitting .253/.323/.348 with five homers for the Angels so far this season, prior to tonight's game. Originally acquired from the Royals, he has extensive experience at second and third base, though he hasn't played second base since 2010. In spite of that fact, the A's plan to use him at second, according to MLB.com's Jane Lee (Twitter link). He is under contract for the 2014 season at $4.875MM — the second year of a two-year deal he signed with Anaheim this offseason.
The Athletics selected Green, 25, with the 13th overall pick inthe 2009 draft. He's 0-for-15 with the A's thus far in 2013 — his first taste of Major League action, but he's batted .325/.379/.500 with 11 homers in 415 plate appearances at Triple-A this season. He ranked among the game's Top 100 prospects from 2010-11 according to Baseball America and in 2012, according to MLB.com.
Prior to the 2013 season, BA ranked Green eighth among A's prospects, noting that he may not be an impact bat but should provide enough offense from second base to be a solid regular. MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo ranked Green as the No. 3 prospect in Oakland's system, noting that he could be an offensive-minded second baseman who has plus athleticism.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Yankees, Angels Have Discussed Alberto Callaspo
6:09pm: The Yankees have indeed called about Callaspo, but they think of him merely as one option at third base, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post, who adds that the Yankees don't currently have Callaspo on the front burner.
5:47pm: The Yankees have contacted the Angels about third baseman Alberto Callaspo, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. Knobler's colleague, Jon Heyman, tweeted earlier today that Callaspo figures to be available as well. Knobler adds that the Angels "have made nearly everyone available" in trades.
Knobler reports that multiple teams have expressed interest in Callaspo, who is hitting .253/.323/.348 with five homers. The switch-hitting 30-year-old is earning $4.1MM in 2013 and is guaranteed a $4.875MM salary in 2014, after which he will be eligible for free agency for the first time.
Yankees third basemen are hitting just .215/.275/.285 this season, and while the Yankees will theoretically have Alex Rodriguez rejoining the team soon, the looming Biogenesis suspensions could take him out of action for the 2013 season and possibly 2014 as well.
Stark On Howie Kendrick, Cubs, D’Backs
ESPN's Jayson Stark begins his latest column with a look at the Biogenesis situation. As Joel Sherman of the New York Post first reported, suspension announcements are not expected today. Sherman expects the announcements to come Thursday or Friday. In Stark's opinion, the Rangers are acting like a team that knows what Nelson Cruz will do if suspended, in that their aggressive search for a bat suggests he might serve a suspension now to preserve his free agent value. Meanwhile, the Tigers' lack of pursuit of a backup plan to shortstop Jhonny Peralta suggests he'll appeal. Elsewhere in Stark's column:
- The Dodgers and Angels, who haven't made a trade in 20 years, had a "mostly casual conversation" regarding Halos second baseman Howie Kendrick. There are no indications a deal is in the works.
- The Angels are at least listening on infielders Kendrick, Erick Aybar, and Alberto Callaspo, and seeking high quality big league ready pitching in return.
- The Cubs could move Kevin Gregg and Nate Schierholtz, but are extremely unlikely to trade lefty reliever James Russell and there's just about zero chance of a Jeff Samardzija trade.
- Pitchers Ian Kennedy and J.J. Putz of the Diamondbacks and Kyle Farnsworth of the Rays "have suddenly been made available." Trading Kennedy would allow Arizona to clear around $1.4MM toward another move. Are they that hard up for cash?
Angels, Callaspo Agree To Two-Year Deal
5:00pm: Callaspo will earn $4.1MM in 2013 and $4.875MM in 2014, Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com reports (on Twitter). The deal includes standard award bonuses.
4:08pm: The Angels have finalized their two-year, $8.975MM contract with Alberto Callaspo, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (Twitter link). Agent Eric Goldschmidt represents the 29-year-old.
The contract buys out Callaspo's final season of arbitration eligibility and his first free agent year. He is now on track to hit free agency following the 2014 season.
The third baseman posted a .252/.331/.361 batting line in 520 plate appearances with the Angels in 2012. In seven seasons at the MLB level, Callaspo has a .335 on-base percentage. He has considerable experience at other positions, but the Angels have relied on him almost exclusively at third since trading for him in 2010.
MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez first reported that the deal was nearly done and Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times first reported the value of the contract.
Angels Nearing Two-Year Deal With Alberto Callaspo
January 28: Callapso's deal is worth $8.975MM, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times (on Twitter). There haven't been any hang-ups in the deal, despite the fact that it has yet to be completed. Callaspo simply hasn't been cleared to travel from Venezuela in order to complete his physical yet.
January 17, 8:45pm: The two sides will formally exchange figures tomorrow, Gonzalez tweets. The veteran still has to travel from Venezuela to take his physical.
8:41pm: Callaspo's deal is essentially done, pending a physical, an industry source tells Gonzalez (via Twitter). The third baseman's two-year deal pay him nearly $9MM.
8:34pm: Alberto Callaspo has a two-year proposal on the table from the Angels, an industry source told MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez. Callaspo is in his final year of arbitration and is set to hit the open market after the 2013 season.
Signing the third baseman to a multi-year deal will give them a stopgap until top prospect Kaleb Cowart is ready to take over. The 29-year-old is represented by Eric Goldschmidt.
SoCal Links: Walden, Angels, Fujikawa, Field, Kuroda
The Angels finalized their contract with Ryan Madson today, but here's some more out of Southern California…
- In the wake of the Madson signing, the Angels are letting teams know Jordan Walden is "very available" according to ESPN's Jayson Stark (on Twitter). The 25-year-old right-hander pitched to a 3.46 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 39 innings this year.
- Angels GM Jerry Dipoto would not say whether he was still pursuing Japanese free agent reliever Kyuji Fujikawa, reports Mike DiGiovanna of The Los Angeles Times (on Twitter).
- The Angels will tender contracts to all four arbitration-eligible players according to DiGiovanna (on Twitter). Kendrys Morales, Alberto Callaspo, Jerome Williams, and Kevin Jepsen represent the team's class of arb-eligibles.
- The Angels have claimed shortstop Thomas Field off waivers from the Twins, the team announced. The 25-year-old has hit .260/.315/.260 in 54 plate appearances with the Rockies over the last two years.
- The Padres offered Hiroki Kuroda a one-year deal worth $17-18MM, reports George A. King III of The New York Post. The right-hander instead took a one-year, $15MM deal to return to the Yankees.
- Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports hears Brian Wilson's first choice (aside from the Giants) would be to pitch for the Dodgers next year (Twitter links). Wilson lives in Los Angeles during the offseason and will likely be non-tendered later this week.