Rosenthal On Cubs, Greinke, Beltre, Pavano
The Mariners could presumably ask for a king’s ransom in exchange for Felix Hernandez, but Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports thinks Seattle should build around the reigning Cy Young Award winner, not trade him. Here are the rest of Rosenthal's rumors:
- The Cubs are still willing to trade Kosuke Fukudome, but they’d likely have to cover some of the $13.5MM the outfielder is set to earn in 2011.
- Were it not for his salary, the Reds might be a more serious suitor for Zack Greinke. However, a rival executive says Cincinnati is “tapped out,” payroll-wise.
- The Nationals’ pursuit of Greinke has slowed and one source says it’s because of the team’s reluctance to include Jordan Zimmermann in a potential deal.
- Adrian Beltre remains a “focus” for the Angels.
- The Rangers, however, are more inclined to re-sign Vladimir Guerrero and add a first baseman than pursue Beltre, according to Rosenthal’s sources.
- Don’t expect Texas to spend on a top free agent reliever, even if Neftali Feliz moves to the rotation.
- Kerry Wood wants a two-year, $12MM deal, Rosenthal reports.
- Another former Yankee, Carl Pavano, is searching for considerably more. He wants a three-year deal worth $10-11MM per season, one GM says. The Rangers are not pursuing Pavano right now.
Carl Pavano Rumors: Tuesday
With Cliff Lee off the market, Carl Pavano is the best available free agent starter – putting aside Andy Pettitte and those trying to bounce back from injury. The Yankees won't be entertaining a reunion, but we can't rule out the Rangers for Pavano now. The latest on the righty:
- The Brewers are definitely in the hunt for Pavano, a source tells Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin spoke with O'Connell yesterday but has yet to make an offer, tweets MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
- The Nationals and Pavano's other suitors are still in, agent Tom O'Connell told MASN's Ben Goessling.
- Pavano is still exploring his options, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, but other suitors think he's going back to the Twins.
National News: Lee, LaRoche, Pavano, Webb
Let's round up the latest from the nation's capital, courtesy of MLB.com's Bill Ladson…
- The Nats have expressed interest in free agent first baseman Derrek Lee, echoing a report from yesterday.
- All of their eggs are not in one basket however, Ladson says the team also maintains interest in Adam LaRoche. It appeared that a deal between the two sides was a go last week, but obviously nothing came from it.
- "We will explore both options, so it expands our pool a little bit more," said GM Mike Rizzo, referring to short and long-term first base options, not Lee and LaRoche. "I don't ever want to feel rushed to do a deal. I think when you feel rushed to do a deal, you make a deal that you may not have wanted to do. So we are going to look at our options. We feel there are still good options out there, and we will see where they take us."
- The Nats are still in on Carl Pavano and expect talks to get serious this week. Two days ago we learned that Washington wasn't thrilled with the idea of offering the right-hander a multiyear deal.
- Brandon Webb "remains excited" about the Nationals, and the two sides talked during the winter meetings.
Twins Notes: Pavano, Bullpen, Nishioka
La Velle E. Neal III from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune is having a busy offseason. Here's his latest on the Twins:
- Neal doesn't think the Twins have to match the best offer to sign Carl Pavano, who's told his teammates and club officials that he really wants to stay in the Twin Cities.
- The Twins' trade of J.J. Hardy isn't enough to shore up the bullpen, writes Neal. They've been in contact with several relievers, including Chad Qualls, Jeremy Accardo, Kevin Gregg, and perhaps Sean White. Neal linked the Twins to Gregg last week as well, but noted that he's probably too pricey. Their in-house candidates include Anthony Slama, Kyle Waldrop, Pat Neshek, Glen Perkins, and Alex Burnett.
- There are rumblings that Tsuyoshi Nishioka is set to fly to Minneapolis to take a physical this week, an obvious sign that the two sides are getting closer to a deal.
Cafardo’s Latest: Red Sox, Pavano, Buehrle, Millwood
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe names the winners and losers of the Winter Meetings in his newest piece, with the Red Sox, Nationals, and White Sox topping his list of winners. Cafardo also shares a handful of hot stove notes. Here are the highlights:
- Before they signed Carl Crawford, the Red Sox "did a ton of work" on Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Beltran.
- Carl Pavano figures to wait for Cliff Lee to sign, so he can see the type of offers he receives as the top pitcher on the market. Cafardo thinks Pavano could be a backup plan for the Rangers if they don't land Lee, though the Twins still remain the favorites for the 34-year-old. Texas has also inquired on Matt Garza and James Shields.
- The White Sox will listen to offers for Mark Buehrle, whose contract expires after the 2011 season. Buehrle earned ten and five rights this year, so he'd have the option of vetoing any trade.
- Agent Scott Boras says a strong market is developing for Kevin Millwood.
- Team officials that spoke to Cafardo had mixed opinions on free agent backstop Russell Martin. One opined that Martin "can't call a game," while another raved about the enthusiasm the catcher brings each day.
- According to Cafardo, the Red Sox were the only team to discuss Justin Upton with the Diamondbacks, balking at Kevin Towers' insistence that Daniel Bard be included in a potential deal.
- The Astros would have interest in trading Matt Lindstrom and Jeff Keppinger.
- Grant Balfour is seeking a three-year contract. The Red Sox have looked into him, but are hoping Matt Guerrier will accept their offer. As Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston noted today (via Twitter), Guerrier is one of the top relief targets for Boston, along with Brian Fuentes and Jesse Crain.
Carl Pavano Rumors: Saturday
Yesterday we learned that the Nationals are reluctant to offer Carl Pavano a multiyear deal, but they're still interested in the right-hander. The Twins and Brewers would also like to sign the man once traded for Pedro Martinez. Here's the latest on Pavano, with any updates up top…
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that Pavano isn't close to a deal with anyone, and is instead "evaluating his options."
Carl Pavano Rumors: Friday
Yesterday, we heard that the Brewers don't aim to offer Carl Pavano a contract longer than two years. The Twins and Nationals are also in on the bidding for Pavano, who's arguably the top free agent starter not named Cliff Lee. Here's the latest, with more updates to follow throughout the day:
- The Nationals are reluctant to offer Pavano a multiyear deal, but they’re still talking to agent Tom O’Connell, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. The right-hander will wait until after the weekend to decide on an offer, according to O’Connell.
Brewers Aim To Stop At Two Years For Pavano
Yesterday's Carl Pavano rumors focused mainly on the Brewers' interest. The latest:
- The Brewers do not want to go past a two-year offer for Pavano, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
Carl Pavano Rumors: Wednesday
Carl Pavano met with four teams yesterday; here's the latest…
- The Brewers are discussing a three-year deal with Pavano, according to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com.
- Top Brewers executives dined with Pavano and his agent on Tuesday, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). The Twins and a mystery team are also involved.
- Brewers owner Mark Attanasio would increase payroll to accomodate the right pitcher, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
- Pavano's agent told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that his meetings with the Brewers were "very productive" (Twitter link).
- Milwaukee is serious about Pavano, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, who says the Twins are still frontrunners (Twitter link). Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that the Brewers do intend to add another starter, but aren't optimistic about trading for Zack Greinke or Matt Garza (Twitter links).
- The Brewers were one of the teams that met with Pavano yesterday, GM Doug Melvin told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
- Pavano's camp is telling people not to expect a deal before the end of the Winter Meetings, tweets Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse.
- The Twins are making a serious push to get something done with Pavano, reports ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Crasnick's colleague Buster Olney tweets that the Twins "continue to have a very good shot" to re-sign the righty. Pavano was impressed by the presence of Bill Smith, Rob Antony, and Terry Ryan at yesterday's meeting, tweets La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
- The Nationals are still in the mix for Pavano, his agent Tom O'Connell tells Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
Nationals Rumors: LaRoche, Lee, Pavano
MLB.com's Bill Ladson has some late night Nationals rumors. Let's take a look:
- In the wake of Carlos Pena's deal with the Cubs, the Nats will likely shift their focus to Adam LaRoche. LaRoche said on Monday that he'd have definite interest if he and Washington were on the same page. The free agent is coming off a season in which he hit .261/.320/468 with 25 HR in his age-30 season.
- A source told Ladson that Washington's chances of winning the Cliff Lee sweepstakes actually increased after the club signed Jayson Werth to his seven-year contract. He also said the Nationals won't offer Lee seven years.
- GM Mike Rizzo says the club likely won't acquire Lee, but Ladson's source says the Nats "are not out of it by any means." Washington won't, however, get into a bidding war like they did for Mark Teixeira in 2008.
- The Nationals appear to be out of the bidding for Carl Pavano's services, as they're not comfortable giving him a multiyear deal. A trade may be Washington's best bet at acquiring a starter.