Odds & Ends: Hall, Wood, Jenks, Angels
Some links after another busy day in baseball..
- Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times wonders what the Dodgers will do now that Bill Hall is off of the market.
- The one-year, $1.5MM guarantee that Kerry Wood received from the Cubs isn't close to the bids he received from the Yankees and Red Sox, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. In fact, the Yankees would have bid $10MM over two seasons if the right-hander was interested.
- Bobby Jenks will give Boston's bullpen a much needed shot in the arm, writes MLB.com's Mike Bauman.
- Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports wonders if the Angels plan on being frugal this winter.
Cubs To Sign Kerry Wood
The Cubs agreed to sign Kerry Wood to a one-year deal, the team announced. The contract will pay Wood $1.5MM, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. The reliever also considered a one-year $3.5MM offer from the White Sox, according to Wittenmyer. David Kaplan of Chicago Now first reported that the sides were close to an agreement. SFX represents Wood.
It appeared earlier in the week that Wood was looking for a two-year, $12MM deal. That's a lot of money, but not an unreasonable asking price in this market. Ten relievers have agreed to multiyear deals this offseason and Mariano Rivera is the only one of them who will definitely be a closer next year. Despite the strong market for middle relievers, Wood clearly wanted to return to the organization he was with from 1995-2008.
And that organization has lots of reasons to want Wood back. After the Indians traded him to New York, he posted a 0.69 ERA with 10.7 K/9 and 6.2 BB/9 in 26 innings. Like Chicago closer Carlos Marmol, Wood walks and strikes out lots of hitters. Wood's walks remain an issue and he did struggle early in 2010, but for $1.5MM, he appears to be a bargain.
Cubs Close To Finalizing A Deal With Kerry Wood
It appears that Kerry Wood will be going back to where it all started. David Kaplan of Chicago Now reports that the free agent right-hander is "moving towards finalizing a deal" with the Cubs, the team that originally drafted him. Earlier tonight we learned that the White Sox offered Wood a two-year contract, but it's entirely possible that they changed course once they landed Jesse Crain.
No longer the pitcher that once struck out 20 batters in one game or set the then-single season record with 12.5820 K/9 in 1998, Wood has morphed into a high-strikeout late game reliever. His 2010 season featured 9.6 K/9 for the Indians and Yankees, and a few years ago he saved 34 games for the Cubbies while striking out 11.4 batters per nine innings.
White Sox Offer Kerry Wood Two Years
The White Sox just landed Jesse Crain, but they aren't done yet. Fred Mitchell and David Kaplan of The Chicago Tribune report that the ChiSox have offered Kerry Wood a two-year contract.
Wood, 33, is reportedly seeking a two-year deal worth $12MM, and interestingly enough a Wood-White Sox rumor was shot down last week. The former Cub pitched to a 3.13 ERA in 46 innings in 2010, aided greatly by his brilliant stint with the Yankees. After being acquired at the trade deadline, Wood pitched to a 0.69 ERA with 10.7 K/9 in 26 innings with New York, though he walked way too many batters at 6.2 per nine innings.
Rosenthal On Cubs, Greinke, Beltre, Pavano
The Mariners could presumably ask for a king’s ransom in exchange for Felix Hernandez, but Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports thinks Seattle should build around the reigning Cy Young Award winner, not trade him. Here are the rest of Rosenthal's rumors:
- The Cubs are still willing to trade Kosuke Fukudome, but they’d likely have to cover some of the $13.5MM the outfielder is set to earn in 2011.
- Were it not for his salary, the Reds might be a more serious suitor for Zack Greinke. However, a rival executive says Cincinnati is “tapped out,” payroll-wise.
- The Nationals’ pursuit of Greinke has slowed and one source says it’s because of the team’s reluctance to include Jordan Zimmermann in a potential deal.
- Adrian Beltre remains a “focus” for the Angels.
- The Rangers, however, are more inclined to re-sign Vladimir Guerrero and add a first baseman than pursue Beltre, according to Rosenthal’s sources.
- Don’t expect Texas to spend on a top free agent reliever, even if Neftali Feliz moves to the rotation.
- Kerry Wood wants a two-year, $12MM deal, Rosenthal reports.
- Another former Yankee, Carl Pavano, is searching for considerably more. He wants a three-year deal worth $10-11MM per season, one GM says. The Rangers are not pursuing Pavano right now.
Odds & Ends: Counsell, Ibanez, Johnson, Sheffield
Exactly one year ago, the Angels signed Hideki Matsui. Today, the slugger finalized his one-year agreement with the A's. Here are today's links…
- The Brewers are having ongoing discussions with the representatives for Craig Counsell, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (on Twitter).
- If you've heard about agent Darek Braunecker, but don't know much about him, you're not alone. David Waldstein of the New York Times introduces us to Cliff Lee's agent.
- The Phillies do not intend to trade Raul Ibanez, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Joe Blanton, on the other hand, is available.
- Rosenthal also notes that the Rangers and Rockies have not discussed Michael Young since the Winter Meetings (Twitter link).
- The Orioles are still talking to the representatives for Adam LaRoche, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.
- Indians manager Manny Acta is watching Bartolo Colon's start in the Dominican Republic tonight, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes (on Twitter).
- Kerry Wood told Fred Mitchell and David Kaplan of the Chicago Tribune that he could see himself playing for the Cubs, but probably not for the White Sox.
- In case you were wondering, the Marlins don't intend to trade Josh Johnson, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro (on Twitter).
- Gary Sheffield told Mike Ferrin and Tom Gordon of MLB Network Radio that he has discussed a potential deal with the Rays. However, manager Joe Maddon told Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times that the Rays have limited interest in Sheffield, though they wanted to get to know him better.
Yankees, White Sox Interested In Kerry Wood?
2:15pm: The White Sox-Wood rumor was "just blown up by a source," tweets Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
11:06am: The Yankees and White Sox are interested in free agent reliever Kerry Wood, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Yankees want to take care of Cliff Lee first, while the Sox must address Paul Konerko.
The Orioles and Cubs have previously been linked to Wood, who finished strong with the Yankees despite some control issues.
Yankees Notes: Feliciano, Wood, Pettitte
The Yankees met with Cliff Lee's agent today. Here are the rest of the updates on the team's quest for pitching:
- The Yankees will meet with Pedro Feliciano's representatives this week, according to Newsday's Ken Davidoff. The Rockies have also expressed interest in the lefty, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter link).
- The Yankees are interested in re-signing Kerry Wood, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch (Twitter link). GM Brian Cashman says he isn't interested in paying Wood "closer money."
- When Cashman checked in with Andy Pettitte recently, he heard that the lefty was still leaning toward retirement, according to Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger (on Twitter).
Orioles Notes: Tillman, Hernandez, Reynolds, Uehara
The Orioles missed out on Victor Martinez and Adam Dunn, but they're still in the hunt for Paul Konerko. Here's a look at some of their other offseason targets…
- Chris Tillman's name has been mentioned in connection with the Mark Reynolds trade rumors, tweets Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic thinks the D'Backs "seem to like" David Hernandez more, but Hernandez would be just one piece of what's likely to be a pitcher-centric package (Twitter links).
- The O's are one of three teams known to be exploring a Reynolds deal, but they're the ones with "the heaviest interest" in the third baseman according to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. The Blue Jays and Padres, in fact, "strongly deny" that they're even pursuing Reynolds.
- "Some progress has been made" between the Orioles and Koji Uehara, reports Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. The club has been keeping in touch with Uehara's agent and Zrebiec says team officials "feel pretty good" about their ability to re-sign the reliever.
- Zrebiec also notes that Baltimore has been in discussions about a number of free agent relievers and have contacted the representatives of Grant Balfour, Jesse Crain, Scott Downs, Brian Fuentes, Matt Guerrier and Kerry Wood. The O's "have at least one offer out" to one of these pitchers, Zrebiec says.
- Baltimore has contacted Bobby Jenks' agent, reports Zrebiec in another piece.
- From that same article, Zrebiec writes "the next person I speak to in the organization who feels the O’s have a shot at Konerko would be the first." The Orioles' interest in Konerko is "largely overblown" and most insiders feel Konerko will re-sign with the White Sox.
American League Free Agent Arbitration Offers
10 American League teams have free agent arbitration offer decisions to make, and we'll group them in this post. For a fantastic customizable chart with all 65 Type A/B free agents and their decisions in real-time, click here.
- The Blue Jays offered arbitration to Scott Downs (A) Jason Frasor (A) Kevin Gregg (B) Miguel Olivo (B), according to MLB.com's Gregor Chisolm (on Twitter).
- The Twins offered arbitration to Carl Pavano (A), Jesse Crain (B) and Orlando Hudson (B) and declined to offer arbitration to Matt Guerrier (A), Brian Fuentes (B) and Jon Rauch (B), according to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (on Twitter).
- The Rays offered arbitration to Grant Balfour (A), Carl Crawford (A), Rafael Soriano (A), Randy Choate (B), Brad Hawpe (B) and Chad Qualls (B), according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. They did not offer Dan Wheeler (A) or Carlos Pena (B) arbitration. It seems possible that Hawpe has agreed in advance to turn down arbitration.
- The Orioles won't offer arbitration to Koji Uehara (B) or Kevin Millwood (B), according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links).
- The Angels declined to offer Hideki Matsui (B) arbitration, the team announced.
- The Rangers offered arbitration to Cliff Lee (A) and Frank Francisco (A), but not to Vladimir Guerrero (A) and Bengie Molina (A), according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
- The Yankees will offer arbitration to Javier Vazquez (B), but not to any of their other free agents, according to Ken Davidoff of Newsday on Twitter. Andy Pettitte (A), Derek Jeter (A), Mariano Rivera (A), Lance Berkman (B) and Kerry Wood (B) were the team's other ranked free agents. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported that the Yankees would offer Vazquez arbitration and noted that the right-hander has agreed to reject the offer, a common gentleman's agreement that can take place with Type B free agents. Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger first reported on Twitter that the Yankees would not offer Jeter arbitration.
- The Red Sox offered arbitration to Adrian Beltre (A), Victor Martinez (A) and Felipe Lopez (B), but not to Mike Lowell (B) or Jason Varitek (B), according to the team.
- The White Sox offered arbitration to Paul Konerko (A) and J.J. Putz (B), but not to A.J. Pierzynski (A) or Manny Ramirez (A) according to the team (on Twitter).
- As expected, the Tigers announced that they will not offer arbitration to any of their free agents, including Scott Boras clients Magglio Ordonez (A), Johnny Damon (B), and Gerald Laird (B).