Urban On Athletics, Giants
CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban checks in with the latest on the A's and Giants.
- After failing to sign Adrian Beltre, the A's continue to seek a third baseman. The team has considered attempting to trade for the Pirates' Andy LaRoche or the Padres' Kevin Kouzmanoff. Neither player hit for much power in 2009, however (Kouz hit 18 home runs, but slugged only .420). Adam Kennedy is said to be Plan D or E.
- The A's are still talking to Jack Cust's agent, though they've yet to make an offer. Regarding the idea of returning to the A's after being non-tendered, Cust told Urban, "Stranger things have happened." Urban senses Cust would give the A's the opportunity to match any offer.
- Urban finds Cust a less-than-ideal fit for the Giants. He likes Adam LaRoche, or perhaps Miguel Tejada if LaRoche's demands remain high.
Giants Seek Left-Handed Bat
WEDNESDAY, 11:08am: Schulman adds Cust to the list of bats on the Giants' radar.
TUESDAY, 2:16pm: So far this winter the Giants have spent $15.25MM on Mark DeRosa and Juan Uribe. After a conference call with GM Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy, Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News and Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle offer insight on the Giants' plans for the rest of the offseason.
- Uribe could play third base regularly, which would push DeRosa to left field. Uribe will not compete with Edgar Renteria for the shortstop job.
- The Giants seek a left-handed hitter. It would be either an outfielder or first baseman, as Travis Ishikawa is not under consideration to start at first.
- Sabean said no deals are imminent. At various points this winter the Giants have been linked to Johnny Damon, Scott Podsednik, and Adam LaRoche. I should point out that other potentially available left-handed bats include Russell Branyan, Lyle Overbay, Luke Scott, David DeJesus, Jack Cust, Mike Jacobs, Rick Ankiel, and Aubrey Huff.
- Schulman says the Giants are unlikely to spend much on a fifth starter or catcher.
Jason Bay Rumors: Thursday
6:32pm: Joel Sherman of the New York Post is critical of how the Mets have handled negotiations with Bay. He said "the Mets are losing their dignity" by spending so much of their offseason time and energy in pursuit of a player "who clearly has major concerns" about coming to New York. Sherman suggests that the Mets should set a 24-hour deadline for Bay to accept their contract offer, and if he doesn't, the club should look at other left field options. Sherman thinks that a player like Jack Cust would be a wiser, lower-cost signing who could provide similar power numbers.
12:00pm: The Jason Bay to Boston rumors aren't exactly gaining momentum. An ESPNBoston.com article classifies the chances of a Bay return as a "long shot," while SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that the Red Sox would probably only consider Bay for less ("maybe much less") than the Mets' best offer. Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston adds (via Twitter) that Mike Cameron's agent hasn't heard anything about the Sox pursuing another left fielder.
8:36am: In yesterday's round of Jason Bay rumblings, we heard that there could potentially be a renewed mutual interest between Bay and the Boston Red Sox. Today, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe hears that the pairing would not be inconceivable, but that there are a couple of roadblocks: The Red Sox would have to extend their budget, after committing $15.5MM to Mike Cameron, and a potential contract would probably need to be heavily backloaded.
ESPN.com's Buster Olney agrees with that assessment, since a source tells him that the Red Sox have less than $5MM left in spending money. He writes that signing Bay would mean the Sox either blowing up their budget or having to move a contract or two.
As for the Mets' four-year offer that's still on the table, Olney says that the Mets are feeling more and more like Bay doesn't want to play for them, and are making alternative plans. Newsday's Ken Davidoff thinks it wouldn't be the end of the world if the Mets refused to increase their offer to Bay and he ended up elsewhere.
Odds & Ends: Treanor, Barton, Damon, Kelly Johnson
More links as the weekend draws closer…
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports that the Brewers signed catcher Matt Treanor to a minor league deal. The former Tiger struggled to stay healthy this year.
- The Dodgers signed outfielder Brian Barton to a minor league deal, according to Hernandez. The 27-year-old has hit just .268/.354/.392 in 179 big league plate appearances, all coming in 2008.
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson has learned that the Nationals are not interested in Johnny Damon because they're trying to improve their defense.
- David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution tweets that Damon has some interest in signing with the Braves. The outfielder would have to be willing to take a pay cut to join the club, in O'Brien's opinion.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports that the D'Backs have made Kelly Johnson an offer. The details aren't clear, but Piecoro guesses it's a one-year deal worth $2MM.
- Dodgers' GM Ned Colletti said that any talks with Cincinnati are "all but dead," according to Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times. Yesterday we heard the two teams were exploring an Aaron Harang trade.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that the Tigers, Giants and Royals have interest in Jack Cust. ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick says the Mariners may be the favorites to sign Cust.
- Jorge Arangure Jr. of ESPN.com hears that Jose Contreras is narrowing his options down and preparing to sign. His agent says "there are some interesting opportunities in the bullpen."
- Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com says that with his options dwindling, Miguel Tejada might have to slide over to third to be rewarded with a contract.
- Claudio Vargas' deal with the Brewers is worth $900K, says Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel. The righty could also earn another $400K in incentives.
- O'Brien mentions that Adam LaRoche said there's been no contact from the Braves that he knows of. Earlier we learned that some teams were put off by LaRoche's asking price.
- Corey Brock of MLB.com reports that the Padres have named Jaron Madison scouting director. Madison spent the last two years working as the assistant scouting director in St. Louis.
- Venezuelan reporter Efrain Zavarce says that Kelvim Escobar has signed with…a Venezuelan Winter League team. He'll pitch in relief tomorrow, and the Rays will have someone in attendance.
Cust Hopes To Sign By Christmas
Free agent outfielder/DH Jack Cust hopes to sign by Christmas, reports ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. He's expected to have two or three offers from which to choose.
Crasnick finds the A's, Rays, and Mets unlikely to sign Cust despite varying degrees of interest. Instead, the ESPN scribe considers the Royals, Mariners, and Tigers to be "possible fits." The issue with the Mariners: it'd be out of character for them to endure Cust's ugly defense in left field, and signing him as a DH would reduce Ken Griffey Jr.'s role.
Crasnick does not mention the White Sox, Rangers, or Blue Jays, though those teams could technically make room for Cust at DH.
Given that Cust played his first full season at 28 in '07, the concern is that his downward offensive trends of the last two years will continue.
Mariners Notes: LaRoche, Gomes, Cust
Let's take a look at some Mariners tidbits courtesy of The Seattle Times' Geoff Baker…
- Recently non-tendered Ryan Langerhans indicated to Baker that his friend Adam LaRoche is being looked at by the Mariners. Yesterday, it was reported that LaRoche is seeking a three-year, $31.5MM deal. We've seen some rather surprising deals go down over the years, but does anyone see that as a realistic figure?
- The aforementioned Langerhans wouldn't rule out the possibility of returning to Seattle on a minor-league contract.
- As the M's have made it a priority to find a DH who can also play a field position, Baker doesn't anticipate Jonny Gomes, Jack Cust, or Mike Sweeney to land with the club. As one person told him, "[The Mariners] can't carry two Griffeys."
Non-Tender Reactions: Buck, Wang, Capps, Cust
Yesterday, MLBTR recapped some of the more interesting names not to receive contracts at baseball's non-tender deadline. Those players, along with the rest of the non-tender list, have inspired plenty of discussion and speculation. Let's check out some links….
- ESPNDallas's Richard Durrett and MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan are in agreement: John Buck should be of interest to the Rangers.
- MLB.com's Bryan Hoch wonders if the Dodgers have some interest in Chien-Ming Wang. The Cardinals could also be interested, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- The Pirates' decision to non-tender Matt Capps shocked Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, who has some reaction quotes from the right-hander. Capps makes sense for the Rays, writes Tommy Rancel at DRays Bay. Meanwhile, the Cubs are interested, says Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney was less surprised about the Capps decision, and gives his opinion on a few of the other big moves.
- Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle says that, despite not tendering him a contract, the Athletics could still potentially retain Jack Cust. ESPN.com's Rob Neyer, however, says that the A's handled Cust well, avoiding paying a higher price for declining numbers.
- Chad Jennings of LoHud.com lists some new free agents that might intrigue the Yankees, while Scott Lauber of the News Journal mentions some possible options for the Phillies.
Odds & Ends: Mets, Braves, Red Sox, Cust
Some Saturday links:
- The Mets have yet to make an offer to John Lackey and continue to focus on Jason Bay, according to David Lennon of Newsday (via Twitter).
- Meanwhile, Jon Heyman tweets that the Mets would be willing to give Bay a five-year deal if necessary.
- Braves GM Frank Wren said the club is open to retaining Kelly Johnson at a lesser salary, he said that he would be better suited to an opportunity where he could get more at-bats, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- While Wren continues to explore other options on the open market, the club is leaving the door open for Jason Heyward to win the job in right field, writes David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- Prior to being selected by the Mets in the Rule 5 draft and sold to the Dodgers, Carlos Monasterios told Bravos de Margarita that both the Dodgers and the Tigers were in contact with him (passed along by Diamond Leung).
- The Red Sox trade of Mike Lowell to Texas has not been officially completed as Rangers officials are looking over the third baseman's thumb, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
- Recently non-tendered Jack Cust could be a fit for the White Sox, writes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.
- Diamondbacks managing general partner Ken Kendrick told Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic that the club still has room to spend this winter.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti says that barring something that's not currently on the team's radar, the second baseman job will go to Blake DeWitt plus a veteran, according to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.
- Matt Eddy of Baseball America brings us the latest minor league transactions. Most notably, former Seton Hall Prep standout and Yankees' first round selection Eric Duncan has landed with the Braves.
Athletics Non-Tender Jack Cust
Oakland has announced that they will not tender Jack Cust an offer, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). The writing has been on the wall for Cust since the A's acquired Jake Fox from the Cubs.
Cust is coming off of his weakest showing in his three years as a member of the Athletics, posting .240/.356/.417 with 25 homers. What teams should look into signing the soon-to-be 31-year-old slugger?
Cust Could Be Odd Man Out In Oakland
MONDAY, 3:10pm: Don't look for Cust to land in Seattle, says Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.
SUNDAY, 12:20pm: The A's acquisition of Jake Fox from the Cubs could spell the end of Jack Cust's time in Oakland, writes Carl Steward of the Mercury News. Cust, who is set to command between $4-5MM in arbitration, is a likely non-tender candidate.
However, Oakland GM Billy Beane may just find a taker for the soon-to-be 31-year-old slugger at the winter meetings. Both the Mets and Mariners could be interested. Beane also says that the club is more likely to sign a free agent during the meetings than make a trade.
How much could the A's get for Cust, considering that everyone knows the club is unlikely to tender him an offer?