Giants Notes: Jeter, Fontenot, Uribe, Tejada
The Giants have agreed to a deal with Miguel Tejada and may still be pursuing a deal for Jason Bartlett. Here's the latest on GM Brian Sabean's search for infielders:
- The Giants contacted Derek Jeter's agent, according to the Wall Street Journal, but Brian Sabean explained to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that team's discussions with Casey Close revolved around another client, Mike Fontenot. (Twitter link). Fontenot, a non-tender candidate, would earn over $1MM next winter if the Giants tender him a contract.
- Before the Dodgers signed former Giant Juan Uribe, San Francisco offered the infielder a three-year deal worth $20MM, according to Schulman (on Twitter). That's $1MM less than the Dodgers offered and $5MM less than Uribe was asking for.
- The Giants weren't the only NL West team to lose an infielder to a division rival this week. The Padres spoke to Miguel Tejada's agent today, but weren't willing and/or able to match the Giants' $6.5MM offer, according to Dan Hayes of the North County Times (on Twitter).
Odds & Ends: Jeter, Berkman, A’s, Upton, Webb
Exactly ten years ago, the Orix Blue Wave lost a 27-year-old outfielder to the Seattle Mariners. A decade later, Ichiro Suzuki has ten Gold Gloves and 2244 big league hits to his name. Here are today's links…
- Derek Jeter is meeting with agent Casey Close, according to Newsday's Ken Davidoff (on Twitter). They met with the Yankees in Tampa today, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- An executive interested in Lance Berkman expects that it would take a one-year deal worth $7MM to sign the switch-hitter, according to Yahoo’s Jeff Passan.
- Passan reports that the A’s continue to talk with right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma, though talks appeared to sour earlier in the month.
- The Nationals are still discussing potential deals with Carl Pavano, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post (on Twitter).
- D'Backs GM Kevin Towers told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert that he'll know by the end of next week's winter meetings whether it makes sense to trade Justin Upton.
- A.J. Pierzynski said on The Waddle & Silvy Show on ESPN 1000 that he's talking to the White Sox and some other teams about potential deals (via ESPNChicago). The White Sox are open to bringing the catcher back, though they didn't offer him arbitration last week.
- Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball looks back at some record salary arbitration cases from over the years. For instance, Tim Lincecum's demand for a $13MM salary last year was the most any first-time eligible pitcher has ever asked for.
- The Rangers have signed a European player for the first time in franchise history. They agreed to a minor league deal with 18-year-old Dutch middle infielder Nick Urbanus, according to the Newberg Report.
- The agent for Brandon Webb told Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the former Cy Young Award winner would have interest in pitching for the Pirates. About six teams are interested in Webb, including Pittsburgh.
Yankees Rumors: Jeter, Chamberlain
The latest on the Yankees, as GM Brian Cashman prepares to rappel down a building dressed as an elf on Sunday…
- Eduardo Nunez is the team's Plan B if they are unable to re-sign Derek Jeter, reports ESPN's Buster Olney. Rather than try to sign a veteran replacement, the Yankees would install Nunez and allocate the money elsewhere. Of course, Olney feels that the Yankees would remain flexible for potential upgrades if Nunez became their starting shortstop.
- SI's Tom Verducci looks at how other teams have compensated aging icons in recent years, with Cal Ripken, Barry Larkin, George Brett, Craig Biggio, and Paul Molitor serving as examples. It may be difficult to reduce Jeter's pay from his previous $18.9MM average annual value.
- Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues estimates Joba Chamberlain's 2011 salary at a bit less than $2MM.
International Links: Marmol, Cano, Jeter, Ruiz
Baseball was an afterthought on most international sports pages this morning, due to FBC Barcelona's 5-0 humiliation of Real Madrid, but links in Spanish still abound…
- Carlos Marmol confirmed that he and the Cubs are in discussions about a long-term extension, talking to Hoy's Dionisio Soldevila. "There still isn't anything, but we're talking," Marmol said. "I would like to sign something long and stay with the team."
- Derek Jeter's double-play partner Robinson Cano thinks the shortstop "would retire before he would go to another team," Cano told Soldevila on his Dominican talk show La Semana Deportiva.
- The Rays released Cuban first baseman Jose Julio Ruiz in mid-November, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. After a long and complicated courtship, the team signed Ruiz to a minor-league deal last June and had until November 15 to offer him a $4MM major league contract. He showed little of his reputed power over the summer in brief stints with Double-A Montgomery and in the Arizona Fall League. Less than a year ago, Ruiz seemed like the most promising Cuban power hitter since Kendry Morales, drawing interest from numerous teams and being rumored as a possible successor to David Ortiz in Boston.
Giants Contact Jeter’s Agent
The Giants have contacted Casey Close, the agent for Derek Jeter, according to Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal. However, the Giants are not seriously pursuing Jeter and there’s no evidence that a team other than the Yankees is bidding on the shortstop.
A rival executive tells Costa that he fully expects Jeter to re-sign in New York, even though his representatives are in contact with other teams. The Giants, who recently lost Juan Uribe to the rival Dodgers, are focusing on finding a shortstop. Though it's highly unlikely that the Giants sign Jeter, they do have a connection to him. When the Yankees drafted Jeter in 1992, current Giants GM Brian Sabean was their vice president of player development.
Jeter and the Yankees are far apart, though the team has made multiple proposals. GM Brian Cashman encouraged Close to talk to other clubs and it appears that the agent has acted accordingly.
Yankees Rumors: Jeter, Rivera
The latest Yankees talk…
- Talks between the Yankees and Derek Jeter are "at a standstill until Jeter and his agent, Casey Close, 'drink the reality potion,'" a source close to the negotiations tells ESPN's Wallace Matthews. The Yankees are stuck on three years and $45MM, while Jeter wants more years and $23-25MM annually. Matthews says the Yankees are not budging from their offer, though SI's Jon Heyman expects them to up the money but not the years this week.
- The Yankees and Mariano Rivera, on the other hand, are progressing smoothly in their negotiations according to ESPN's Andrew Marchand. Rivera could be bumped to $16-17MM per year, but it's unknown whether the Yankees will guarantee two years.
- Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues estimates Phil Hughes' first-year arbitration reward in the $3.2-3.5MM range.
Odds & Ends: Vazquez, Nationals, Yankees, Werth
Links for Sunday…
- Juan C. Rodriguez of The Sun Sentinel says (via Twitter) that the Marlins never give out no-trade clauses, but they gave one to Javier Vazquez to get his price down.
- Meanwhile, Ben Goessling of MASN Sports looks at some pitching options for the Nationals now that Vazquez is off the board.
- With the Yanks and Derek Jeter still far apart during negotiations, Seth Livingstone of USA Today looks at some other star Yankees that ended their career elsewhere.
- Jayson Werth told CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury that he's not close to signing via text message. "It’s very early. I will make an informed decision in due time," said the free agent outfielder.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports explains why Juan Uribe would make sense for the Dodgers.
- Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wonders if the Pirates are sincere with their interest in several big name free agents, but he notes they do in fact have money to spend.
- In the wake of Victor Martinez signing with the Tigers, John Tomase of The Boston Herald looks at how the Red Sox have done with their extra draft picks over the years.
- SI.com's Jon Heyman says that Magglio Ordonez remains a possibility for the Tigers (Twitter link), who have already committed close to $90MM for four players this offseason.
- Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News explains how declining his option and not offering Vladimir Guerrero arbitration suggests the Rangers want him back.
- Right-hander Waldis Joaquin, who was released by the Giants then claimed off waivers by the White Sox, have rejected the claim and elected to become a free agent according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin (Twitter link).
Yankees Notes: Burnett, Jeter, Albaladejo
When Javier Vazquez's deal with the Marlins becomes official, the Yankees will have earned a sandwich pick in next year's draft in exchange for losing the right-hander. Here are a few other items of interest out of the Bronx….
- Brian Cashman flew to Maryland this week to meet with A.J. Burnett, writes ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider required). While it's not the first time Cashman has met with one of his veteran players during the offseason, the visit was more noteworthy because of Burnett's disappointing 2010 campaign. The Yanks' GM "made it clear" to the 33-year-old that the team still believes in him going forward.
- Former Yankee Tino Martinez tells George A. King III of the New York Post that he's bothered by the way Derek Jeter is being perceived this offseason: "It's making it seem like he is greedy. He is not being greedy. He is going through a baseball negotiation like everybody else. It's made him look like he doesn't know what's happening in the real world, and he is not like that."
- Within the same piece, King says the Yomiuri Giants sent the Yankees $1.2MM for Jonathan Albaladejo, who finalized a one-year deal with the Japanese club yesterday.
- Chad Jennings of the Journal News considers some potential landing spots for Jeter and shortstop alternatives for the Yankees in the unlikely event that the two sides can't reach an agreement.
Derek Jeter Rumors: Saturday
The latest news on the tug-of-war between Derek Jeter and the Bronx Bombers…
- We've already heard (Twitter link) from Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman that the Yankees were willing to increase their offer of $45MM over three years to Jeter. Heyman now tweets that the increase is worth "a couple mil a year," but Jeter will "have to accept [a] pay cut to stay."
- The Yankees "would like to make inroads" about a Jeter contract next week and perhaps have things worked out by the winter meetings, says Heyman in a follow-up tweet.
- The difficulty of these negotiations has already harmed both Jeter's reputation and the Yankee brand, argues Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News. Raissman speculates that Brian Cashman may be emboldened to take such a firm stance on Jeter's contract since the GM experienced no backlash when dealing with another beloved Yankee, Bernie Williams.
- ESPN's Rob Neyer says that a new deal for Jeter isn't really a sure thing, even though most assume it is.
- A four-year contract worth around $70MM (a "painful sacrifice" for both sides) should be enough to get Jeter re-signed, argues Ian O'Connor of ESPNNewYork.com.
MLBTR's Mike Axisa contributed to this post
Jeter & Yankees Are Far Apart
7:39pm: Michael S. Schmidt of The New York Times reports that Jeter is seeking a four- or five-year deal worth $23-24MM annually according to "a person in baseball who had been briefed on the matter."
3:24pm: Close tells Yahoo's Tim Brown that the Daily News report is off base (Twitter link). "The recently rumored terms of our contract extension are simply inaccurate," Close said.
10:12am: Jeter is asking for less than $150MM over six years, according to Jim Baumbach of Newsday (on Twitter).
8:06am: Derek Jeter’s representatives are asking for at least $80MM more than the Yankees are willing to offer in negotiations for the free agent shortstop, according to Bill Madden of the New York Daily News. The starting point for Jeter and agent Casey Close was six years and $150MM, according to Madden, who reports that the Jeter camp is not budging from demands for a $25MM annual salary. Alex Rodriguez’s contract “is at the crux of Jeter’s and Close’s stance,” according to Madden.
The Yankees have offered Jeter multiple deals, including one that would pay the 36-year-old $45MM over the course of the next three seasons. Close suggested that the Yankees' tactics are "baffling," so Yankees GM Brian Cashman encouraged Jeter and his agent to test the free agent market in search of a more generous deal.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post proposes that the Yankees could sign Jeter to a six-year $75MM deal that could become more lucrative if Jeter reaches incentives based on plate appearances. The suggested deal would pay Jeter $20MM per season from 2011-13 and shield the Yankees from the luxury tax.