Reds Rumors: Gonzalez, Reyes, Beimel
Let’s gather up the latest on the Reds.
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer figures the Reds would like to add a young shortstop. Alex Gonzalez was supposed to play winter ball but the plan changed. The Reds still hope he’s ready for spring training.
- Kerry Wood is not likely, but the Reds have an offer out to Arthur Rhodes and maintain interest in David Weathers after offering him arbitration.
- MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon throws a few new lefties into the mix: Dennys Reyes and Joe Beimel. Darren Oliver is not under consideration since he’d cost the Reds their second-round pick. I imagine Oliver’s agent is hearing that from most teams.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty also continues to talk to the agents for Mike Lincoln and Jerry Hairston Jr., according to Sheldon.
No Agreement Yet For Moyer
12:01pm: David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News says everyone expects the Phils to re-sign Moyer. He says not to read into the Lowe/Burnett inquiries; the team has inquired on more than 25 free agents. MLB.com’s Ken Mandel names six of them: Doug Brocail, Russ Springer, Raul Ibanez, Rocco Baldelli, Jerry Hairston Jr., and Nick Punto.
10:16am: According to Todd Zolecki of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Phillies are still talking to free agent pitcher Jamie Moyer but don’t have an agreement yet. Moyer apparently wants a multiyear deal. The Phils recently contacted Derek Lowe and A.J. Burnett to hedge their bets.
Odds and Ends: Weathers, Montero, Springer
Links for Friday…
- MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince says the Indians signed Andy Cannizaro and Damaso Espino to minor league deals.
- MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon says the Reds are still talking to David Weathers‘ agent, despite the reliever’s comment about flipping the page.
- RotoAuthority looks at Blue Jays outfielder Travis Snider, from a fantasy baseball point of view.
- Mum’s the word from C.C. Sabathia and his agents.
- Rany Jazayerli likes the Royals’ acquisition of Coco Crisp and respects Dayton Moore’s bullpen-building skills.
- Click here to download an mp3 of me chatting with Greg Schaum of KCSP 610 about the Royals last night.
- Nick Piecoro says the Diamondbacks haven’t been able to find a match on a trade for Miguel Montero, despite discussions with the Red Sox and other teams.
- The Cardinals spoke to Russ Springer‘s agent recently, but he’s drawing interest from several clubs.
- The Phillies won’t make a move in response to the Chase Utley injury, but one blog believes Jerry Hairston Jr. now makes more sense.
- John Van Benschoten, the 8th overall pick in the 2001 draft, chose minor league free agency over re-signing with the Pirates.
- Sidney Ponson‘s grievance against the Orioles will finally be heard next month.
Hairston, Weathers To Test Market
MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon has the latest on free agents Jerry Hairston Jr. and David Weathers.
- Hairston expressed gratitude toward the Reds for giving him a shot this year. The Reds made progress with his agent on contract talks, but don’t expect an agreement with Hairston or any of their other free agents to be reached by Friday. Based on his quotes, it sounds like Hairston will at least listen to offers from other teams. He posted a career-best .326/.384/.487 line in 297 plate appearances this year.
- Weathers says he’s "flipped the page" on the Reds. Talks never became serious, and the Reds never made an offer. He’s looking forward to testing the market, and doesn’t expect to return to Cincinnati. Walt Jocketty says he still wants to talk.
Reds Rumors: Pitching, Greene, Hairston
Here’s the latest from John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
- GM Walt Jocketty said he will not be trading young pitching for a quick fix. Still, you have to think Homer Bailey is available in the right deal for another young player.
- Despite an earlier report to the contrary, the Reds are not interested in San Diego shortstop Khalil Greene. If Jocketty is to acquire a shortstop, it’ll be a pre-arbitration player. The Reds are shaky at shortstop – Alex Gonzalez is penciled in for next year, but he missed all of ’08 with a compression fracture in his knee.
- The Reds like young backstop Ryan Hanigan, but they are still in the market for catchers. Fay says Jocketty chatted with the Rangers regarding their surplus, though a recent report didn’t have Cincinnati in the mix. Joel Sherman seems to indicate the Reds have interest in the Mets’ Brian Schneider.
- Jocketty made progress toward re-signing Jerry Hairston Jr. (also on Philly’s radar), and he plans to talk to the agents for David Weathers, Jeremy Affeldt, and Mike Lincoln this week.
Phillies Rumors: Baldelli, Hairston, Mench
5:44pm: MLB.com’s Ken Mandel says the Phillies have Rocco Baldelli, Jerry Hairston Jr., and Kevin Mench on the radar in the event they don’t re-sign Burrell. The Phillies have long liked Baldelli, though the Rays hope to talk contract soon. Reds GM Walt Jocketty recently met with Hairston’s agent, and feels he made progress. And the Hanshin Tigers hope to lure Mench to Japan.
9:38am: Checkin’ in on the Phillies…
- GM Ruben Amaro Jr. had an informal five-minute talk with Casey Close, who represents Ryan Howard and Joe Blanton.
- Talks have not yet begun with free agents Pat Burrell, Jamie Moyer, and Scott Eyre. Conversations will begin soon with Moyer and Eyre.
- Curt Schilling would be open to returning to the Phillies if he pitches next year. Amaro says he hasn’t even considered the possibility yet. He would make a nice fifth starter if they can re-sign Moyer.
- The Phillies control setup man Ryan Madson through 2009, but he’s represented by Scott Boras. Boras compared Madson to Mariano Rivera circa 1996, so don’t look for an affordable long-term deal.
- Amaro talked to at least 27 other GMs at the meetings.
- No word yet from the Philly writers on Andrew Baggarly’s rumor that the Phils will listen on Jimmy Rollins.
Reds Will Consider Mulder
John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer spoke to Reds GM Walt Jocketty recently. A few nuggets from the conversation:
- The Reds will "at least explore" signing free agent lefty Mark Mulder. Jocketty, of course, has a history with Mulder from the Cardinals. Mulder recently told MLB.com’s Mychael Urban he won’t consider signing until he’s healthy and throwing well.
- Jocketty has spoken to the agents for free agents David Weathers, Mike Lincoln, Jeremy Affeldt, Jerry Hairston Jr., and Javier Valentin. Weathers doesn’t seem interested in taking a discount, while Valentin said last month he’d love to return.
- The Reds aren’t interested in signing Ken Griffey Jr. The White Sox are expected to pass as well, but Mark Gonzales believes he could be considered in a lesser role if healthy. At any rate, the two teams will split Junior’s $4MM buyout.
Reds Make Offers To Hairston, Weathers
5:00pm: Jocketty told MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon that he hasn’t heard back from Weathers’ or Hairston’s people in about a week since making the offers.
1:01pm: According to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Reds made contract offers to David Weathers and Jerry Hairston Jr. Both are eligible for free agency. Weathers would probably serve as the seventh inning guy, while Hairston might handle center field duties. Weathers seems to profile as a Type B free agent, while Hairston is neither A nor B.
Fay believes GM Walt Jocketty will also attempt to re-sign relievers Mike Lincoln and Jeremy Affeldt. Affeldt had pretty big demands at the outset of the last offseason (four or five years), but ended up signing for one year.
Odds And Ends: Cardinals, Astros, K-Rod
Links for Saturday…
- It doesn’t sound like Jon Daniels has autonomy in Texas.
- Ian Hunter of Country 103.9 in Ontario recently talked to MLBTR about the Blue Jays. Click here to download the mp3.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty has talked to three or four of the Reds’ nine free agents. John Fay speculates those players are David Weathers, Jerry Hairston Jr., Mike Lincoln, and Jeremy Affeldt.
- The Padres’ grievance against shortstop Khalil Greene won’t be heard until spring. The case of Doyle Alexander may be a precedent; the Yankees were not able to recover any money after Alexander broke a knuckle by attacking a dugout wall in ’82.
- Matthew Leach of MLB.com takes a look at the Redbirds’ upcoming offseason. Leach estimates that after all the contract and arbitration items are settled, the Cards will have around $25MM to look for a middle infielder, a middle reliever, and perhaps a new closer or #4 or #5 type slugger.
- Likewise, earlier this week Astros MLB.com beat writer Alyson Footer reported on GM Ed Wade’s offseason plans. Wade is expected to make some tweaks to the roster, but it’s unlikely he’ll make any major moves. Footer suggests the Astros could look for a couple of rotation arms, and speculates on the possibility of signing Ben Sheets.
- The O.C. Register’s Mark Whicker doesn’t see Francisco Rodriguez coming back to the Angels.
Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com and can be reached here: alexo05 {at} umpbump {dot} com. Tim Dierkes also contributed to this post.
Odds and Ends: LaCava, Colletti, Andruw
Links for Wednesday…
- I did a Q&A with the Roselle Press. The article includes a sweet picture of me hacking the Internet.
- Greg Cote of the Miami Herald speculates on the new-look 2009 Marlins. If defense is a goal, they could look to acquire Adrian Beltre and try Jorge Cantu at first base. Randy Winn could improve the defense in right.
- John Fay runs through the Reds’ nine free agents. He believes Jerry Hairston Jr. wants to return.
- Brian Cashman wants to acquire a real first baseman, rather than have Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui spend time there.
- The Mariners received permission to interview Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava, according to Geoff Baker.
- It’s still not known whether the Dodgers will bring GM Ned Colletti back for the final year of his contract. Interesting note from ESPN’s Buster Olney – the Andruw Jones signing was engineered by owner Frank McCourt rather than Colletti.
- Olney feels Brian Cashman is more likely to pursue Derek Lowe than Mark Teixeira.
- Will Joe Girardi’s presence discourage free agents from signing with the Yankees?
- McCovey Chronicles sees the Giants trading for a second or third baseman this winter. I tossed out a bunch of names in my Offseason Outlook.
- Pedro Alvarez clammed up when asked precisely what time he accepted the original deal from the Pirates.
- MetsBlog tries to figure out whether Ryan Church loves or hates New York.
- Oliver Perez predicts a tough offseason following the Mets’ final-day elimination. On the bright side, he stands to earn a ridiculous amount of money as a free agent.