NL West Rumors: Morse, Rosario, Rockies, Padres
The latest from the NL West..
- The Giants are looking for left field help but they’re not focused on Michael Morse, according to Alex Pavlovic of the Mercury News (via Twitter). SF loved what Morse did for them, but defense is a big concern for the club at the moment. Both the Orioles and Marlins are known to have interest in the 32-year-old (33 by Opening Day).
- A number of teams, mostly AL clubs, have inquired on Wilin Rosario and the Rangers appear to be the frontrunners, writes Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post. Texas has relievers that interest the Rockies, including right-handers Roman Mendez, Jon Edwards, Shawn Tolleson, Phil Kleinand Spencer Patton, as well as lefty Robbie Ross Jr.
- If the Rockies and Angels get serious about a Josh Rutledge deal, Saunders writes that Colorado could target right-handers Vinnie Pestano and Fernando Salas. As of last night, the two teams were only talking and had yet to exchange proposals.
- The Padres are now among the teams that are kicking the tires on Mets pitchers Dillon Gee and/or Jonathon Niese, a source told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.
- The Dodgers were said to be among the finalists for Andrew Miller but it turns out they never even made an offer, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).
Angels Notes: Infielders, Beachy, Medlen
Here’s the latest from Angel Stadium…
- The Angels are targeting the Rockies‘ Josh Rutledge, the Astros‘ Marwin Gonzalez, the Tigers‘ Eugenio Suarez and the Cardinals‘ Pete Kozma in their search for middle infield depth, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports. Rutledge would require the most back in return since he has experience in an everyday role.
- Also from Fletcher’s Twitter account, he reports that the Angels aren’t interested in Brandon Beachy or Kris Medlen. Both starters underwent Tommy John surgery last year and were recently non-tendered by the Braves.
- GM Jerry Dipoto told reporters (including MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez and Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times) that his team is “probably not” going to pursue more international players during the 2014-15 signing period, though “we’re open to it.” The Halos have already far exceeded their bonus pool for the 2014-15 period thanks to their $8MM expenditure on Roberto Baldoquin, an overage that will prevent them from spending any significant money when the 2015-16 international market opens.
- The player most often asked about by other teams is catcher Carlos Perez, Dipoto said.