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Delmon Young

Odds & Ends: Smoltz, Cubs, Melky, Lima

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Twins, Young Agree To ‘Split’ Contract

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According to the Associated Press, via Yahoo! Sports, the Twins have agreed to terms on a one-year, $1.152MM split contract with outfielder Delmon Young.  I’ll let the AP explain this one:

Young gets a raise from the $700,000 he made last season, but his salary is technically being cut the maximum allowable 20 percent when the final prorated share of his initial $3.7 million signing bonus ($770,000) is factored in.

Since Tampa Bay gave him a $5.8 million, five-year deal after selecting him with the first overall pick in the 2003 amateur draft, the $1,152,000 figure was the least Young could have made in 2009 despite not being eligible for arbitration.

Young hit .290/.336/.405 with 10 dingers and 69 RBI last season, but might struggle to find playing time in a crowded outfield this year.  If he’s unable to stay in the majors, his salary gets bumped down to $864K.  Young, as most readers will recall, has been at the center of various trade rumors this offseason.

Twins Showing Interest In Jarrod Washburn

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TUESDAY, 7:37pm: Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes that the Twins have "lost their appetite for a Jarrod Washburn trade."  It probably had something to do with his $10.35MM ’09 salary.

MONDAY, 8:49pm: According to John Hickey of the Seattle Post-Intellegencer, the Twins have "some interest" in dealing for left-hander Jarrod Washburn.

Hickey writes that the Mariners and Twins discussed a deal last week that would have sent Washburn and catcher Jeff Clement to Minnesota for 23-year-old outfielder Delmon Young.  It’s not known whether that particular deal fell through, but it’s likely.  The pieces just don’t seem to fit.  Washburn, 34, went 5-14 last season with a 4.69 ERA and the Twins already have a young, All-Star catcher.

The M’s are trying to dump some cash in order to make a play for one of the remaining free agent outfielders and would accomplish the feat if they can move Washburn, who’s set to rake in $10.35MM this year.  They’ve shown interest in Bobby Abreu, Garret Anderson and Ken Griffey Jr. so far this offseason.

Cafardo’s Latest: Players Out Of Options

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Lots of stuff in Nick Cafardo’s column in the Boston Globe to go over.

With around 100 free agents vying for less than 20 remaining roster spots, things become more interesting with 227 players on big-league rosters who are out of options. If a player is out of options and is not rostered, he has to either be traded or designated for assignment. If designated, that player has to clear waivers. This could affect remaining free agent signings. Cafardo makes note of a few who are out of options and may wind up as trade fodder or designated for assignment before the season begins:

Red Sox: George Kottaras
Yankees: Melky Cabrera
Cubs: Chad Gaudin, Rich Hill (possibly heading to Baltimore?)
Brewers: Tony Gwynn Jr.
Indians: Anthony Reyes, Andy Marte
Twins: Boof Bonser, Philip Humber
Rays: Jeff Niemann
Orioles: David Pauley

  • With Jason Varitek re-signed, the Red Sox will either have to trade catcher Kottaras or designate him for assignment.
  • Cafardo notes Niemann is a former No. 1 pick and the righthander should garner some attention.
  • Bonser or Humber could be traded to land a reliever. Cafardo also mentions Delmon Young as a possible trading chip.

A few more bullets from Cafardo’s notebook:

  • Scott Boras thinks the World Baseball Classic will showcase Ivan Rodriguez and generate "even more" interest for the 14-time All-Star catcher.
  • Cafardo mentioned Manny Ramirez to Omar Minaya and Minaya laughed it off saying, "We’ll look into adding some offense, but only if it makes sense."
  • All quiet on the Jake Peavy front.
  • Cafardo calls Randy Johnson’s $8MM deal from the Giants as "a stroke of genius" by his agents.
  • In case you missed it, Bobby Kielty signed a minor-league deal with the Mets last week.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Mariners, Young, Shouse

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Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports compiles a number of rumors from around the majors:

  • The Mariners need to free up money, but to do so, they’d likely have to trade one of Adrian Beltre, Jarrod Washburn or Miguel Batista. All three will be free agents after the season, but moving one of them would be "extremely difficult."
  • The Mariners and Yankees considered a Hideki Matsui-Washburn swap, but Matsui’s contract ($13MM) pays him more than Washburn’s ($10.35MM) so they didn’t find a match.
  • The Twins are looking to move Delmon Young.
  • They showed interest in Washburn last year, but only some of Rosenthal’s sources believe he and Delmon Young could be the foundation for a larger deal.
  • Rosenthal has a source who says the Yankees are not currently pursuing Juan Cruz. Yesterday, we had a discussion about the rules regarding free agent quotas.
  • The Yanks like their bullpen, but they could try to add an arm if they trade Xavier Nady or Nick Swisher.
  • The Rays are making a strong run at Brian Shouse.
  • The Orioles would not likely have to give up much more than a low-level prospect to deal for Rich Hill.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Red Sox, Yankees, Braves, M’s, Cards, Mets, Manny

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On this date eight years ago, Juan Gonzalez signed a one-year deal for $10MM with the Indians. The contract is significant because Gonzalez had turned down an eight-year, $143MM deal from the Tigers less than a year earlier. Four years later on this same date, Carlos Beltran would not turn down a seven-year, $119MM offer from the Mets, becoming the tenth $100MM player in Major League history. With C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira already spoken for this year, there are no more $100MM players available, but there are still plenty of signings being made and many players still looking for work. Let’s gander at what is being written in the Blogosphere…

  • The Bottom Line takes a look at which prospects the Red Sox should be willing to part with in order to acquire a catcher. 
  • In Mo We Trust wonders if the Yankees would be better suited to keep both Xavier Nady and Nick Swisher.
  • When Sid Slid wonders if Kenshin Kawakami is a good fit for the Braves and feels the money would be better spent on Derek Lowe.
  • Bleeding Blue and Teal asks if the Mariners are better suited looking at a player like Eric Hinske.
  • C70 At The Bat contemplates the Cardinals’ payroll and wonders how the team can consider keeping all six of their outfielders.
  • Mets Geek breaks down the Mets’ offseason and wonders if Omar Minaya miscalculated the market.
  • El Lefty Malo is warming to the idea of the Giants signing Manny Ramirez.
  • Feeling Dodger Blue says Manny is a "must," outlining why he is worth more than just the offense he will provide.
  • We Should Be GMs chronicles the Phillie’s history of signing the "wrong brother."
  • Midwest Sports Fans breaks down the Twins’ roster and payroll and looks at who the Twins should bring in and who should be moved, arguing that the team should keep Delmon Young.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.

Delmon Young Rumors

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8:22pm: Doesn’t sound like the Rays will acquire Delmon Young, but Aaron Gleeman does believe the Twins will move him.

5:49pm: Renck said below that the Rockies had not spoken to teams about Atkins, though LEN3 says they’ve talked to the Twins about him.  Seems that the price is too high for the Twins, anyway.

4:40pm: MLB.com’s Kelly Thesier talked to a source who said it’s highly unlikely the Rays reacquire Young.

3:18pm: Troy Renck says the Rockies have not spoken to teams about Atkins.  But it should be noted that Stark has only speculating with the Rockies portion of the below rumor.

10:53am: ESPN’s Jayson Stark is now speaking of "indications Monday night that Tampa Bay was still talking to the Twins about a deal that would bring outfielder Delmon Young back to the Rays."  Stark speculates that it could be a three-team deal where the Rays ship out Andy Sonnanstine or Edwin Jackson, maybe to Colorado as a means of getting Garrett Atkins to Minnesota.  Stark had a source yesterday saying the Rays would "never" take Young back, but that has apparently changed.

Yesterday, there was quite a bit of chatter about the Phillies doing their homework on Young.  And keep in mind the Rockies had interest too.

Phillies Interested In Delmon Young?

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7:05pm: LEN3 says the Twins would want more than Donald for Young, but it’s a moot point because the Phillies don’t want to trade Donald.  The teams haven’t spoken lately and don’t have plans to meet in the near future.

Neal also says there’s nothing going on between the Twins and Giants.

4:20pm: LEN3 says the Twins do like Donald.  Neal also believes the rumor about the Giants being interested in Young.

One other fresh note from Neal’s blog post – Dennys Reyes "might be on the Reds’ radar."

1:26pm: According to Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Daily News, the Phillies have inquired on Twins outfielder Delmon Young.  Hagen believes the Twins would want shortstop prospect Jason Donald in return.

Bartlett Only Available In Major Deal

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According to ESPN’s Jayson Stark, the Rays are telling inquiring teams that shortstop Jason Bartlett would only be available in a "major deal."  Stark wonders if Jeremy Hermida would qualify.  A bit of a tough match in that Hanley Ramirez is entrenched at short in Florida.

Stark is also hearing that the Rays would never take Delmon Young back.

Twins No Longer Talking With Blake

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According to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Twins have broken off talks with free agent Casey Blake. Neal heard from a source that discussions ended when the Twins, who preferred a two-year deal with an option, wouldn’t offer a guaranteed three-year contract.

The Twins have varying levels of interest in Adrian Beltre, Garrett Atkins, Jason Donald and Jack Wilson. Neal writes that Minnesota balked earlier this year when the Rockies requested Kevin Slowey and Denard Span in exchange for Atkins.

Since shortstops are disappearing fast, Neal’s source says the Twins felt pressure to improve their infield and didn’t want to negotiate for too long with Blake.

Neal heard that the Twins have received calls about Delmon Young, but aren’t in a hurry to trade him for infield help, regardless of how well he fits into their outfield.

There’s a chance the Twins could restart talks with Blake, but for now the Dodgers are the frontrunner for his services, according to Neal.

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