Marlins Meeting Notes: Uggla, Bullpen, Free Agents
Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald looks at what's in store for the Marlins as the Winter Meetings approach:
- No surprise here, but the Marlins won't be players for any reputable free agents. In fact, were you aware that over the past three offseasons, the most the Marlins have spent on any one free agent was the $2MM they gave Luis Gonzalez in 2007? Needless to say, Matt Holliday and Jason Bay aren't headed to South Florida.
- The Giants have been one of the most outspoken suitors for Dan Uggla, but the Marlins have asked for Madison Bumgarner in any deal for Uggla. The Giants top pitching prospect is a hefty price to pay, and could lead the Giants to pursue other avenues to add some thunder.
- As we've heard before, Renyel Pinto and Matt Lindstrom could very well be moved at the Winter Meetings.
- Even if Pinto and Lindstrom stay put, the Marlins will be on the lookout for affordable bullpen help now that Kiko Calero and Brendan Donnelly have departed.
- The Marlins will turn to internal options such as Gaby Sanchez and Logan Morrison to replace departed free agent Nick Johnson and his monstrous OBP.
- Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco are the team's two locks for the starting rotation. From there, a combination of Anibal Sanchez, Andrew Miller, Sean West, Rick VandenHurk, Chris Volstad, and Hayden Penn will fill out the final three spots.
Spencer closes, quoting Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest: "We'll definitely be active… There's no reason to go there and not do anything. Whether that leads to anything is anyone's guess."
Nolasco Not On The Market
Despite listening to offers for Matt Lindstrom and Renyel Pinto, the Marlins are telling teams that starter Ricky Nolasco is not available, reports Juan C. Rodriguez of The Sun Sentinel.
Nolasco, who earned $2.4MM this year, is arbitration eligible for the second time after an odd 2009 season. His periperhal stats were outstanding (9.49 K/9, 2.14 BB/9, 3.35 FIP), yet he still finished with a 5.06 ERA. Considering his cost and relative production, you'd have to think the Fish could get a pretty nice return if they made him available in a trade.
Rodriguez adds that the team is in the "early stages" of trade discussions involving Dan Uggla.
Giants Notes: Rodriguez, Uggla, Bumgarner
Let's take a look at some Giants tidbits courtesy of Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News…
- We heard earlier today that the Giants are one of a handful of teams interested in Ivan Rodriguez. It has also been reported that the club is interested in Yorvit Torrealba and Brad Ausmus as they look to ease Buster Posey into the role of catcher. However, Baggarly says Miguel Olivo, Rod Barajas, and Jason Kendall are more likely targets.
- Although Florida's Dan Uggla is highly coveted by GM Brian Sabean, he is unwilling to sacrifice valuable commodities such as left-hander Madison Bumgarner to get him.
- Just as the club wants to wait before giving Posey the reins as starting catcher, they would like to have Bumgarner start the year in Triple-A. In order to do this, they need to find a fifth starter. If they cannot retain Brad Penny, they'll have to look out-of-house.
Odds & Ends: Kendall, Uggla, Reds, Pedro
You want links? Well we got 'em…
- Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse says that Jason Kendall was looking for $5MM to return to Milwaukee for another year. Yeah, good luck with that. No wonder why the Brewers went with Gregg Zaun.
- Dan Uggla doesn't have any control over whether the Marlins trade him or not, but if they do, he hopes it happens sooner rather than later, according to Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post.
- When asked about the hot stove, Reds' manager Dusty Baker said "there's not much of anything going on," reports MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
- Michael Silverman of The Boston Herald says that Pedro Martinez wants to pitch a full season in 2010, instead of going on the Roger Clemens plan (pitching in the second half only) again.
- Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic says that the D-Backs' perfect world Winter Meetings scenario "involves them acquiring a cost-effective starting pitcher in a trade and then using their remaining payroll flexibility to upgrade other areas of the club."
- According to WEEI.com's Alex Speier, Padres' GM Jed Hoyer said that given his (and new assistant Jason McLeod's) experience with the Red Sox, they have a “level of comfort” in any potential trade with them, moreso than with any other team.
- Re-signing Andy Pettitte is the Yankees' top priority, says George A. King III of The NY Post.
- MLB.com's Carrie Muskat says as many as three teams are interested in Milton Bradley, and Cubs' GM Jim Hendry will spend next week trying to find the best match.
- Former Blue Jays' GM J.P. Ricciardi said that Roy Halladay wants to be traded, according to The Canadian Press. Ricciardi added that a "lot of these decisions are out of the general manager's hands as far as what ownership perceives as fan reaction and what the perception of the club (is) and the direction that they are going. I think any time you have a player of this magnitude, that's really an ownership call."
- In addition to Justin Miller, the Dodgers also signed Prentice Redman to a minor league contract, according to Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times.
- MLB.com's Steve Gilbert has the news of three players the Diamondbacks inked to minor league contracts: T.J. Beam, Drew Macias, and Carlos Corporan. All three received invites to Spring Training.
- ESPN's Jayson Stark wrote about the five biggest plotlines going into the Winter Meetings next week, while Scott Miller of CBSSports.com has some pre-Winter Meetings chatter of his own.
- Got a problem with how FanGraphs puts a dollar amount on a player's performance? If so, Dave Cameron clarifies some things.
Giants Interested In Beltre, Uggla, Johnson
The Giants would like to add offense and, as Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports point out, Pablo Sandoval and Freddy Sanchez are versatile enough to give GM Brian Sabean plenty of options. The FOX Sports duo reports that Adrian Beltre, Dan Uggla and Nick Johnson are all high on the team's wish list.
One source tells FOX Sports that the Giants and Marlins are in the midst of ongoing discussions about Uggla, a prime trade candidate. The Marlins are looking to obtain major league-ready players for the arbitration-eligible infielder. The Giants, not surprisingly, would only have interest in Johnson on a short-term deal.
Rangers Rumors: Marlins Talks, Dye, Millwood
The latest Rangers hot stove buzz, courtesy of MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan…
- The Rangers were told by the Marlins that Josh Johnson is not available, which jives with Michael Hill's recent comments. Texas also inquired on other Marlins pitchers, and Sullivan says "there doesn't appear to be a match."
- Sullivan says the teams had "absolutely no discussions" about Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla. On November 19th, ESPN's Jayson Stark had written that talks with the Giants and Rangers for Uggla had gotten hot and heavy at the GM Meetings.
- The Rangers will need to add a utility infielder, with Omar Vizquel signing with the White Sox.
- Jermaine Dye remains a top Rangers target as they search for a right-handed middle of the order bat. Dye's willingness to play first base appeals to the Rangers. Despite the nice fit, Sullivan believes Dye will land in San Francisco.
- The Rangers "are not trying to move" veteran starter Kevin Millwood. Millwood under contract for 2010 after recording "The $12 Million Out" on September 21st.
Orioles Looking “Short-Term” At The Corners
The Orioles aren't expected to be major players on the free-agent market this winter, but if the team does make a move, it will likely be to acquire a veteran presence at first and/or third base.
Speaking to MASN Sports' Steve Melewski, Baltimore team president Andy MacPhail said that given the Orioles' young outfield and second-year catcher Matt Wieters, he would "like to put more proven bats" in the lineup to compliment the team's young stars. The O's have prospects Brandon Snyder and Josh Bell in the pipeline at first and third, respectively, but since MacPhail said he doesn't see either making the leap to the majors in 2010, the experienced hitters that MacPhail wants will have to come at the corner infield spots.
Baltimore already has Luke Scott (a team-leading 25 homers in 2009) penciled in at either first base or DH, and utilityman Ty Wigginton is available to play third. Prospect Michael Aubrey (an .826 OPS in 95 plate appearances last season) is also in the 1B mix, possibly in a lefty-righty platoon with Wigginton that would lock Scott into a DH/LF split with Nolan Reimold and would then leave third base open for either a free agent or a player to be acquired in a trade. The Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly predicted the O's would sign Pedro Feliz, while there has been some speculation that the Orioles will make a trade with Florida for Dan Uggla and then move Uggla from second to third base.
In his Offseason Outlook series entry about Baltimore, Tim Dierkes listed names like Adrian Beltre, Carlos Delgado and Nick Johnson as possible targets for the Orioles. These players would fit the "short-term" designation that MacPhail mentioned, but since MacPhail didn't rule out the possibility of "the right deal for the right player, even if it was a longer-term deal," would there be any other bigger-name corner infielders that you could realistically see Baltimore signing?
Dodgers “Long Shot” To Land Halladay
Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports that the Dodgers are a "long shot" to land Roy Halladay, while Los Angeles GM Ned Colletti indicated an unwillingness to add Chad Billingsley into any Halladay deal.
It doesn't take much of a leap to think the former is a result of the latter.
Colletti refused to discuss Halladay specifically, but said of his desire to improve the pitching staff, "We would like to improve our pitching, especially starting pitching. I don't believe we can subtract from it in order to improve it."
The Dodgers have plenty of prospects for a potential Halladay deal, but adding Billingsley, an established arm, would give them a leg up on other teams who would have the financial flexibility to sign Halladay long-term.
Hernandez also writes that Colletti has been in contact with Brad Ausmus, but hasn't had discussions about Brandon Phillips or Dan Uggla.
Marlins To Keep Jorge Cantu?
MLB.com's Joe Frisaro has a source suggesting the Marlins are "almost 100 percent" certain to retain infielder Jorge Cantu. Cantu is due an arbitration raise on this year's $3.5MM salary, and the Marlins "appear willing to pay."
Dan Uggla, the team's other arbitration-eligible infielder, will earn more than Cantu next year. Uggla is widely expected to be traded, with ESPN's Jayson Stark writing Thursday that the Giants and Rangers were hot and heavy on Uggla at the GM Meetings (November 9th-11th). However, Giants GM Brian Sabean told Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle Thursday that no trades were close.
Giants Rumors: Posey, Molina, Uggla, Johnson
Recently re-signed GM Brian Sabean has his work cut out for him this offseason. Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle brings us the latest on the Giants offseason:
- Giants brass are discussing whether or not they feel Buster Posey will be ready to play in the majors at the start of the 2010. Even if they decide he's not, Bengie Molina isn't likely to be back in San Francisco. As we've heard elsewhere, the Mets are interested in the 35-year-old catcher.
- Sabean said that as of Thursday, the club wasn't close to a deal for Florida's Dan Uggla. However, Schulman notes that Sabean pointed out Freddy Sanchez's ability to play third base, which leaves open the possibility of acquiring someone to play second base.
- Sabean also said that he is looking at "second-tier" free agents who want to play at AT&T Park. One player to keep an eye on is Nick Johnson, who is beloved by manager Bruce Bochy. In 133 games with the Nationals and Marlins last season, the 30-year-old posted .291/.426/.405 with 8 HRs – his lowest total in any 100+ game season.