Royals Rumors: Soria, Gordon, Buck, Jacobs
ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick explores many of the disappointing elements of the Royals' 2009 season and turns up some rumors along the way. Here they are:
- GM Dayton Moore says he tried to build a winner and holds himself accountable for the team's failure.
- Now he wants to build through scouting and player development. The Royals' system has improved as the team has spent more, but there's not an abundance of talent in the upper minors.
- Crasnick says the Royals need a "major overhaul" but suggests no one on the team's roster other than Zack Greinke or Joakim Soria would fetch much in a trade.
- Some believe the Royals would be better off shopping Soria for two or three young players. Moore says he'll be open-minded to that sort of deal if it helps the Royals long-term.
- One AL scout says the Royals rushed Alex Gordon and prevented him from developing fully.
- The Royals may not offer contracts to John Buck and Mike Jacobs after the season.
Stark On Cameron, Ohman, Jenkins
ESPN's Jayson Stark has a new blog post up.
- The Astros plan to give Chris Johnson a chance to win the third base job, but Stark says Juan Uribe, Jose Bautista, and Jeff Baker "could still show up on their shopping list in the next two weeks."
- Stark heard "rumblings the Yankees are poking around again on Mike Cameron's availability." Back in December, the Yanks and Brewers were pretty close on a deal.
- Eric Milton is looking decent and appears to be the frontrunner for the Dodgers' fifth starter job (given Pedro Martinez's asking price).
- Will Ohman seeks a one-year, $1.75MM deal with easily-reachable incentives for another million. He also prefers the West Coast, and Stark believes the Padres and Giants are more likely than the Dodgers. Like the Dodgers, the Phillies and Marlins have interest at a lesser price. Stark has also heard the Phils connected to Giants lefty Jack Taschner.
- Shawn Camp, Geoff Geary, John Buck, and Geoff Jenkins are currently available. The Phillies would eat almost all of the $8MM owed to Jenkins.
Royals Catchers In Demand
According to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star, opposing team scouts have been tracking the Royals’ surplus of catchers this spring.
"A lot of teams need catchers," one scout told Dutton, "and they’ve got three guys who can help a big-league club. You know they’re probably only going to keep two. So you know somebody is going to be available."
The Royals have Miguel Olivo, John Buck and Brayan Pena in camp. Olivo will start at catcher on Opening Day, so Buck and Pena are the most likely to be moved. Dutton writes that "club officials believe a trade market exists for all three players."
Royals Avoid Arb With John Buck, Joel Peralta
According to Sam Mellinger, the Royals avoided arbitration with John Buck and Joel Peralta ($640K) by signing both for 2009. The cases of Brian Bannister, Zack Greinke, Mike Jacobs, and Mark Teahen remain unresolved. Dayton Moore has yet to go to a hearing as Royals GM.
Stark’s Non-Tender Candidates
With midnight on Friday being the deadline to tender a contract to an arbitration-eligible player, ESPN’s Jayson Stark has some predictions on who could be added to the free agent market…
Pitchers: Daniel Cabrera, Chad Gaudin, Jimmy Gobble, Brandon Backe, Takashi Saito, Tyler Yates, Wil Ledezma
Hitters: Marcus Thames, Gabe Gross, John Buck, Jose Bautista, Chris Burke, Willy Taveras, Jonny Gomes
What does everyone out there think? Any other non-tender possibilities? MLBTR posted a speculative list a week ago.
Odds and Ends: Gammons, Kawakami, Buck
Links for Monday…
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik admitted to have a conversation with Ken Griffey Jr.‘s agent, but wouldn’t reveal anything else.
- One of Matthew Cerrone’s readers dug up a Primera Hora article saying the Mets have been scouting free agent reliever Fernando Cabrera.
- Bob Klapisch looks at Pedro Martinez‘s four-year, $53MM deal and asks: was it worth it?
- Rays Index notes that Grant Balfour will use WBC participation as a bargaining chip in contract negotiations (he’s eligible for arbitration).
- Marc Hulet of Baseball Analysts looks at top hitters for the Rule 5 draft.
- Fire Brand of the American League did a Q&A with ESPN’s Peter Gammons. Some good stuff in there.
- A few notes from Patrick Newman at NPB Tracker. The Hanshin Tigers are reportedly considering offering $20MM over four years to Kenshin Kawakami, while Yu Darvish had his contract renewed at $2.7MM for next year.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Mets want to add one starter and push Jonathan Niese to the #5 spot.
- Rany Jazayerli notes that a John Buck trade would make sense for the Royals.
- I mentioned the Royals’ signing of J.R. House earlier, but should add that they also signed Franquelis Osoria and Matt Tupman to minor league deals.
Looking Beyond Varitek
According to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, a slew of catchers are being shopped to the Red Sox. Among them: Jeff Mathis, Mike Napoli, Brian Schneider, Miguel Montero, John Buck, Ramon Hernandez, Bengie Molina, Carlos Santana, Kelly Shoppach, Victor Martinez, Jesus Flores, Kenji Johjima, Jeff Clement, Yorvit Torrealba, and the Rangers’ guys. Silverman says the Braves, Cardinals, and Rays also have catchers available. It seems that teams are asking for players like Justin Masterson, Clay Buchholz, or Lars Anderson in some cases.
On the Jason Varitek front, Scott Boras told the AP yesterday that he’s had no financial discussions with the Red Sox. He expects the matter to be discussed after Thanksgiving. Curt Schilling commented last week about Varitek possibly playing fewer games in 2009, but Boras shot down the idea of a reduced role.
Olivo Staying With Royals
TUESDAY: The 2010 mutual option is for $3.25MM, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. Olivo decided to stay because he was promised the starting catcher job. John Buck is still expected to receive plenty of playing time, and catcher Brayan Pena was added to the 40-man roster.
MONDAY: According to Jesse Spector of the New York Daily News, the catcher Miguel Olivo will remain with the Royals for the 2009 season. Hell yes! The Royals exercised his $2.7MM option, and Olivo chose not to void it. Another mutual option for 2010 was added.
Olivo, 30, hit .255/.278/.444 in 306 plate appearances. He continued to show good power against lefties. He threw out 42.4% of baserunners, up from 32.9% in ’07.
What’s Next For The Royals?
MLB.com’s Dick Kaegel notes that the Royals have closer Joakim Soria and outfielder David DeJesus under contract multiple years into the future. Is anything cooking with other young Royals?
- The Royals didn’t seek Soria out to sign him. Instead, he was "very aggressive" and approached the team, according to Dayton Moore. And Allard Baird signed DeJesus.
- Kaegel spoke to Alex Gordon and Brian Bannister, and learned that nothing is in the works. Bannister wondered whether his age (27) could be a factor.
- Kaegel didn’t talk to Zack Greinke or John Buck, but Bob Dutton did a week ago. Neither has been approached to talk extension. Greinke said he didn’t know what he was worth, while Buck admitted he’d welcome talks. No word on Billy Butler or Mark Teahen.
- Craig Brown of Royals Authority offers his predictions on contenders for long-term deals.