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Aroldis Chapman

Odds & Ends: Mora, Figgins, Tejada, Rangers

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Links for Day 2 of the Winter Meetings, which are taking place in Indianapolis…

  • Add Robb Quinlan to the list of utility men on the Rockies' radar, according to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.  Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports names Melvin Mora as another target.  MLB.com's Lyle Spencer tweets of interest from the Twins in Quinlan.
  • The Mariners' deal for Chone Figgins is official, tweets the Brock & Salk show. The team press release notes it's a four-year deal with an option for 2014.
  • Cardinals manager Tony La Russa acknowledged interest in Miguel Tejada, talking to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  By the way, Astros GM Ed Wade is certain he won't re-sign Tejada, tweets Alyson Footer.  Tejada apparently wants multiple years.
  • MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan says the Rangers are considering free agent catchers such as Rod Barajas, Jason Kendall, Yorvit Torrealba, and Jose Molina.
  • WEEI's Alex Speier passes along Scott Boras' comments from an XM Radio appearance.  Boras discussed Matt Holliday, Johnny Damon, Ivan Rodriguez, and Adrian Beltre. 
  • The Brewers are discussing relievers Kevin Gregg and Mike Gonzalez at least internally, writes MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.  The Crew recently lost reliever Mark DiFelice for the 2010 season.  Gonzalez would cost good money and the Brewers' second-round pick (currently #50).
  • Yahoo's Kevin Kaduk asks whether Twitter is helping or hurting the Winter Meetings.  My opinion: hurting.  The information crush was tolerable when reporters all got blogs a few years back, but now it's excessive.  Of course, we're not helping.
  • Jamey Carroll would love to play for the Reds but hasn't received an offer yet, writes MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
  • The D'Backs offered Chris Snyder to the Rangers for C.J. Wilson and were turned down, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  Wilson tweets that he's "borderline offended" by Arizona's offer.
  • The Pirates have had further talks with free agent hurler Justin Duchscherer, says Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but don't expect him to sign soon.  We learned yesterday that the Rockies have cooled on Duchscherer.  Kovacevic also reports that despite scouting Aroldis Chapman, the Pirates are not a player for him.  ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. indicates that Chapman will be showcased in Houston later this month.
  • The Rays and White Sox discussed a Carlos Quentin–Carl Crawford trade, says Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.  Manager Ozzie Guillen implies that nothing is cooking on that front though.  The two clubs also discussed closer Bobby Jenks, but the Rays did not like the asking price.
  • Angels GM Tony Reagins admitted to interest in Hideki Matsui, reports Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times.  Keep in mind, though that the Japanese press is apparently grilling every GM on Matsui.  Reagins also said he hasn't ruled out re-signing Vladimir Guerrero.
  • Carl Pavano explained his decision to accept arbitration from the Twins, in an email to Kelsie Smith of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.  La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune suggests retaining Pavano makes Glen Perkins expendable.
  • The Rangers are not interested in trading for Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit, reports MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch.

Orioles Day One Recap

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The Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec takes a look back at Baltimore's first day of the Winter Meetings:

  • The O's targeted pitching heavily, inquiring on Kevin Millwood and attaining the medical record for former Baltimore ace Erik Bedard. The O's would want Texas to eat some of Millwood's $12MM salary. They won't go after Bedard (or any other pitcher) if they're not 100% for Opening Day.
  • Andy MacPhail will meet with Bedard's agent in the next couple of days.
  • The Orioles were interested in Rafael Soriano prior to his decision to accept arbitration from the Braves.
  • Kevin Gregg is an option for relief help, but Baltimore sees him as a 7th or 8th inning guy, not a closer.
  • Felix Pie has drawn a lot of inquiries, but MacPhail points out that none of Pie, Nolan Reimold, and Adam Jones have played a full, healthy season yet, and the depth is probably a good thing for the Orioles when taking that into consideration.
  • Lots of young O's pitching has come up, including Zach Britton and David Hernandez.
  • MacPhail met with Joe Urbon, agent for Mark Hendrickson. Zrebiec says it's only a matter of time before a deal is done.
  • There hasn't been much in the way of talks for Dan Uggla recently.
  • Baltimore won't be bidders for John Lackey, but they like Hank Blalock, Nick Johnson, and Carlos Delgado as options for first base. Luke Scott is not a full-time first base option. Pedro Feliz is their primary third base target.
  • Baltimore isn't in on talks for Edwin Jackson or Matt Lindstrom, but they did meet with the agent for Aroldis Chapman.
  • Baltimore may sign another catcher, but it's not a priority.

Odds & Ends: Colletti, Chapman, Duchscherer

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More links. These rumors never stop…

  • Remember the extension Dodgers GM Ned Colletti agreed to after the season? Jon Heyman of SI.com says it's for five years, through 2014.
  • ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. passes on a tidbit from his colleague, Enrique Rojas: the Phils have apparently inquired on Aroldis Chapman.
  • The Red Sox met with Justin Duchscherer's agent last night, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.
  • The Mariners should finalize the Chone Figgins signing tomorrow, according to MLB.com's Doug Miller.

Odds & Ends: Reed Johnson, Laynce Nix, Counsell

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Links for Monday, the first day of the Winter Meetings in Indianapolis…

Heyman On Lowell, Tejada, White Sox

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The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…

  • The Phillies had a "brief talk" with the Red Sox about Mike Lowell, but Heyman finds a free agent signing more likely.
  • A competing agent believes Fern Cuza might be able to get a three-year deal for Miguel Tejada, which seems unlikely to me.  Heyman says Tejada is drawing interest from the Cardinals, Astros, Giants, Phillies, and Rangers.  The Rangers keep getting linked to starting infielders, but they're really only looking for a backup.
  • Heyman notes that the White Sox signing Andruw Jones represents a rare Kenny Williams-Scott Boras matchup.  He says Boras tried to sell the Sox on bringing back Joe Crede, prior to their Mark Teahen acquisition.
  • Kendry Morales apparently advised Aroldis Chapman to switch from API to the Hendricks brothers.

The Latest On Aroldis Chapman

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Jorge Arangure Jr. of ESPN.com explains that Aroldis Chapman will focus exclusively on baseball, now that he has dropped his former agency, API. The interviews and public appearances are over for now.

"He's preparing to fulfill his dream of pitching in the major leagues," agent Rodney Fernandez said.

Fernandez, who works for the Hendricks Brothers, says Chapman has a reserved nature and prefers not to be in the public eye. One MLB executive doubts that questions about Chapman's character will limit his value, but says the prospect shouldn't expect to get paid like an established player.

"The $40-$50 million being floated by the other agent was silly," the exec said. "The way the player was being paraded about was also a negative. This guy is a prospect … not a veteran major league player."

Chapman's former agent, Edwin Mejia, may try to recover some of the expenses he incurred while housing and feeding Chapman (the lefty has apparently gained muscle now that he's eating more beef). It's possible that the agent will file a grievance with the MLBPA, but he wouldn't be likely to win such a case.

Red Sox Express Interest In Scutaro, Escobar, And More

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Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald says the Red Sox have kicked the tires on many free agents already, with Marco Scutaro and Kelvim Escobar the newest names.  Others include Rafael Soriano, Matt Holliday, Rick Ankiel, Adrian Beltre, John Lackey, Aroldis Chapman, Billy Wagner, Mike Gonzalez, Alex Gonzalez, and, of course, Jason Bay.  Silverman cautions that not all names connected to the Red Sox have "enduring news value."

Scutaro certainly makes sense for Boston; he's the best available shortstop, considering both the free agent and trade market.  We ranked Scutaro the eighth-best free agent overall, perhaps a reflection of a weaker market this year.  It'd be nice to see Scutaro sign with the Red Sox, as we'd get at least one of our 50 predictions right. 

Aside from committing a multiyear contract to Scutaro, the Sox might have to surrender their #29 pick in the June 2010 draft to the Blue Jays.  Looking at the Elias numbers, it is possible that the Jays get screwed out of a first-rounder again, as they did losing A.J. Burnett last year (of course, the Jays failed to sign James Paxton anyway).  If the Red Sox sign Scutaro and any of Soriano, Gonzalez, Holliday, or Lackey, the Braves, Cardinals, or Angels would get Boston's #29 pick instead and the Jays would get their second-rounder (assuming arbitration is offered to those players).

As Silverman notes, Escobar would fit right in with the John Smoltz/Brad Penny signings of last year.  Those two bombed, but here's the question – what kind of success rate should the Red Sox expect from these one-year pitcher gambles?  It is OK if one out of five works out?

Passan On Arguelles, Bedard, Jackson

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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."

Gammons’ Latest: Yankees, Tigers, Chapman

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ESPN's Peter Gammons touched on a bunch of hot stove topics in his latest blog post, so let's round everything up…

  • Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain will come to Spring Training as starters, but the Yankees haven't ruled out a run at John Lackey, Ben Sheets, or another starter. The feeling inside the organization is that the payroll will be scaled back a bit.
  • One Tigers source emphatically told Gammons "there will be no fire sale. [Owner] Mike Ilitch wouldn't allow it."
  • At least one GM says that switching agents raises some character questions about Aroldis Chapman.
  • Conor Jackson's stint in winter ball convinced the team he's healthy, and he'll be in their first base/left field mix next year. Jackson made our list of non-tender candidates.

Odds & Ends: Chapman, Cubs, Holliday, Damon

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Links for Saturday afternoon …

  • Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News spoke with a baseball executive who believes the Yankees will wind up with Aroldis Chapman.  "My bet is that it'll come down to the Yankees and Red Sox, like it always does…" said the executive. "And I think the Yankees will get him.  They can give him a big-league contract over five years for $20 million and they don't even feel that."
  • The NY Post's Bart Hubbuch reports that the rumored three-way deal involving Milton Bradley, Kevin Millwood and Luis Castillo "isn't happening because the Rangers aren't interested in giving up Millwood so easily." He also mentions that the Mets aren't expected to make any majors moves until the Winter Meetings in two weeks.
  • Paul Sullivan at The Chicago Tribune rounds up some Cubs' rumors all in one convenient spot, just like our Cubs archive.
  • Meanwhile, Phil Rogers of The Chicago Tribune posted his projections on where some notable free agents will land. He sees Matt Holliday signing with Boston, while both Jason Bay and John Lackey land with the Angels.
  • Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post Dispatch notes that the market for Holliday is diminished because officials from the Angels and Giants said they "would not be vying" for his services. 
  • The Yankees' biggest focus right now is finding a "common ground" with Johnny Damon, according to Newsday's Ken Davidoff. Hideki Matsui seems to be less of a priority. 
  • Larry LaRue of The News Tribune says that the Josh Johnson situation in Florida represents the worst-case scenario for the Mariners and Felix Hernandez.
  • Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a report that says Yusei Kikuchi has inked his first pro contract with the Seibu Lions. Kikuchi will not be eligible for international free agency for at least nine years, though Seibu could make him available through the posting process before that.
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