Odds & Ends: Rangers, Wang, Indians
A few links to pass along….
- Jon Daniels says "it's less than 50-50" that the Rangers make any more moves before spring training, reports Jeff Wilson of The Dallas Morning News. Wilson adds that Rod Barajas and Rocco Baldelli have been connected to Texas this winter, and the Rangers might also be interested in a platoon partner for Chris Davis.
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Cardinals are out of the Chien-Ming Wang sweepstakes. We've already learned that the Nationals are the favorites to sign the right-hander.
- Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer answers some reader mail that covers such topics as a possible Grady Sizemore trade and Omar Vizquel's somewhat surprising criteria for picking a new city.
- Orlando Cabrera and Aaron Miles aren't exactly the first two names that leap to mind when you're thinking about October baseball, but Reds GM Walt Jocketty said that the duo's playoff experience was a factor in their acquisition, reports John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
- Larry Stone of the Seattle Times provides a general recap of the 2009-10 offseason.
Heyman On Damon, Braves, Wang, Dye
Jon Heyman of SI.com explains that expectations for Johnny Damon were unrealistically high at the beginning of the offseason. Here's Heyman's latest on Damon and others:
- Tigers manager Jim Leyland is said to want Damon badly.
- Heyman hears that the Braves might have $6MM to spend.
- Chien-Ming Wang's agent says his client is still a week or so away from deciding where he'll sign. Competitors still expect the righty to sign an incentive-laden deal with the Nationals.
- We've heard that the Indians are considering Jermaine Dye; Heyman says he could play some first base in Cleveland.
Chien-Ming Wang Rumors: Thursday
Chien-Ming Wang's agent says his client does not have a formal or informal deal in place with the Nationals, writes Chico Harlan of the Washington Post. Alan Nero says recent reports that indicated a deal was in place are inaccurate.
Nationals Favorite For Chien-Ming Wang
5:49pm: Ken Davidoff of Newsday tweets that the Nationals will guarantee Wang $2MM, with a chance to more than double that through incentives.
12:37pm: Heyman now tweets that the Dodgers have "pulled out of the Wang derby."
10:32am: SI's Jon Heyman tweets that Dodgers execs Ned Colletti and Logan White are watching Wang throw today. Heyman presumes the Dodgers are the second finalist for the righty. Still, one Chico Harlan Nationals source seems to believe they're the favorite.
8:59am: MASN's Ben Goessling reports that Wang is still seven to ten days from a decision, and nothing has changed since yesterday. MLB.com's Bill Ladson tweets that nothing is close between the Nationals and Wang, though they remain a finalist. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the Nationals and one other team have made offers.
7:52am: Righty Chien-Ming Wang has chosen the Nationals and is close to a deal, tweets Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.
Wang, 30 in March, had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right shoulder capsule on July 29th of last year. On January 28th, Wang's agent Alan Nero told ESPN's Jayson Stark that his client is expected to "make a major-league start sometime in the first two weeks of May." Wang will join Jason Marquis and John Lannan in Washington's rotation, with the remaining spots to be determined during Spring Training.
The Dodgers, Phillies, Cardinals, and Mets were also linked to Wang this winter.
Odds & Ends: Lincecum, Jackson, Blalock, Bedard
Some Tuesday night links…
- Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports tweets that neither Tim Lincecum nor the Giants have budged in their negotiations, and his arbitration hearing is set for Friday.
- MLB.com's Steve Gilbert reports (via Twitter) that the Diamondbacks and Edwin Jackson still haven't made any progress towards an agreement. Their arbitration hearing is now just eight days away.
- In addition to having interest in Russell Branyan and Jermaine Dye, the Indians are also talking to Hank Blalock, reports Rosenthal. He adds that the Blue Jays are also in on Branyan.
- In a pair of tweets, Rosenthal passes along the incentives in Erik Bedard's contract. They lefty could bring in $500K each for 14, 17, 20, 23, and 26 starts, plus $600K for every 25 innings after 75.
- Meanwhile, Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com report that Damon hasn't moved off his demand of a two-year deal. Good luck with that, Johnny.
- Morosi and Rosenthal also report that the Rangers and Mets appear to be "hamstrung by complications at the ownership level," meaning they're approaching their payroll limits.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that Astros' GM Ed Wade said the team has some interest in bringing Willy Taveras back on a minor league deal. Oakland released Taveras today.
- Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun (via Peter Schmuck) spoke to Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail, who indicated that the team has not had recent talks with the agents for Jarrod Washburn or Chien-Ming Wang. The O's were linked to both pitchers earlier today.
- MLB.com's Corey Brock says (via Twitter) that it's "highly unlikely" that the Padres will sign Japanese lefty Hisanori Takahashi. Several teams reportedly offered the southpaw a minor league contract.
Wang Has Offers, Could Sign Soon
5:04pm: MLB.com's Bill Ladson reports that the Nationals are "aggressively pursuing" Wang, and that they are one of the finalists for his services. Ladson adds that it's unknown if they've made him an offer, though.
4:02pm: Chien-Ming Wang has received offers from two clubs and could sign soon, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Mets and Dodgers are not among the teams to offer Wang a contract. Rosenthal hears that the 29-year-old Wang would like to play for Joe Torre again, but Torre's Dodgers are lagging behind in their pursuit of the right-hander. As for the Mets, they're even further behind than the Dodgers.
The Orioles have discussed Wang and the Cardinals, Nationals and Phillies have all been connected to him this offseason. Rosenthal says the Blue Jays were in on Erik Bedard and wonders if they could pursue Wang, too.
Wang, who is recovering from arthroscopic shoulder surgery, will likely make a decision within a week or ten days.
Nationals Monitoring Chien-Ming Wang
The Nationals are the latest team linked to free agent righty Chien-Ming Wang, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Wang, 30 in March, had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right shoulder capsule on July 29th of last year. On January 28th, Wang's agent Alan Nero told ESPN's Jayson Stark that his client is expected to "make a major-league start sometime in the first two weeks of May." If we project Wang's return date as May 15th, that'd be 75% of a season.
Nero told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports a week ago that he's "anticipating a major-league offer with a substantial guarantee and substantial upside." About six clubs have been in on Wang this winter to some extent, including the Nationals, Dodgers, Phillies, Cardinals, and Mets. SI's Jon Heyman says an April showcase is possible.
Odds & Ends: Carroll, Wang, Hudson, Fielder
Sunday night linkage..
- Despite their budget constraints, Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times expects the Rays to upgrade their roster. Topkin mentions several quality free agents who may have to accept minor league deals such as Jim Edmonds, Rocco Baldelli, and ex-Ray Jonny Gomes as proof that the market is rife with valuable players.
- At the Mariners Fan Fest event, pitcher Mark Lowe told the crowd in attendance that he keeps up on all of the latest transactions with MLBTradeRumors (video from MLB.com, :40 mark). Dave Sims – the television voice of the M's – followed that up with his own mention of MLBTR. Thanks guys!
- Tim brings us the terms of Jamey Carroll's contract with the Dodgers via Twitter. Carroll will earn $1.35MM in 2010 and $2.5MM in 2011. The 35-year-old could also earn up to $525K per year in plate appearance incentives.
- The Dodgers are among the teams that have reviewed Chien-Ming Wang's medical records, according to a tweet from Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. Recently, ESPN's Jayson Stark pegged the Dodgers as a possible destination for the 29-year-old.
- Washington GM Mike Rizzo and Orlando's Hudson's representative haven't talked in a couple of days, according to MLB.com's William Ladson (via Twitter). Furthermore, Rizzo says that if Hudson has brought his price down, it's news to him (also via Twitter).
- In response to a fan asking how much he thinks Prince Fielder will sign for, MLB.com's Adam McCalvy writes that he doesn't think he will sign at all and will instead opt to hit the open market after the 2011 season (via Twitter).
- Jon Weisman of the Los Angeles Times writes that the Dodgers' rumored signing of Reed Johnson likely means that Ronnie Belliard will get the nod over Blake DeWitt at second base. Weisman's reasoning is that the roster, as it stands now, would feature an all right-handed bench without DeWitt's inclusion. Weisman wonders if this overload of righty sluggers means that the Dodgers will pursue another free agent backup outfielder.
Odds & Ends: Hudson, Wang, Brewers, Cabrera
Some links for your Sunday…
- Bryce Harper is not among the top ten on the Pirates' draft rankings currently, reports Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Jason Marquis, Ryan Zimmerman, Nyjer Morgan, and Ivan Rodriguez have all voiced their desire for the Nats to sign Orlando Hudson, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson. - The Phillies have talked about Chien-Ming Wang, but don't believe he's a fit, according to Scott Lauber of the News Journal.
- Brewers pitching coach Rick Peterson says it's up to Mark Mulder to decide if he wants to pitch for the Brewers, according to this tweet from Haudricourt.
- The Brewers have pulled their latest offer to Corey Hart and are preparing for an arbitration hearing with him, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- Orlando Cabrera wasn't willing to move from shortstop, so he picked the Reds over the Rockies, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown.
- Chien-Ming Wang will end up on one of the coasts, according to this tweet from Jon Heyman of SI.com.
- Melvin Mora is talking extensively with the Rockies and another club, writes Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
- The Dodgers are in the midst of talks with Garret Anderson, writes Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times.
- Tony Jackson of ESPN.com adds Reed Johnson, Gabe Gross and Brian Giles to the list of backup outfielders the team is considering.
- The Indians are talking about bringing Russell Branyan back, according to Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. A reunion seems unlikely unless Branyan doesn't see appealing offers elsewhere.
- The Brewers engaged Jason Marquis but backed off since they were convinced he would sign with the Mets, writes Ken Davidoff of Newsday.
Cafardo On Damon, Ohman, Sheffield, Wang
Scott Boras tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that he has seen some "very creative proposals" for Johnny Damon's services. The market for Damon seems limited, but teams like the Blue Jays, Tigers and A's could be fits at some price. Here are the rest of Cafardo's rumors:
- The Blue Jays, Orioles and Royals seem most aggressive in their pursuit of reliever Will Ohman.
- Gary Sheffield is considering two unidentified teams and waiting for offers from them.
- Boras is trying to find interest for Jeff Weaver.
- There's interest in Chien-Ming Wang, but teams aren't offering the two-time 19 game winner much money.