Quick Hits: Putz, Castillo, Varitek, Pirates, Ortiz
Links for Saturday evening..
- New to Arizona, J.J. Putz tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he's a perfect fit for the Diamondbacks.
- Second baseman Josh Barfield is competing for a utility spot on the Phillies but isn't concerned with talk of Luis Castillo, writes Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com.
- Brian MacPherson and Tim Britton of The Providence Journal wonder how much longer Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek will continue to play. Varitek could be asked to backup Jarrod Saltalamacchia in 2011 but could still be given plenty of playing time in a platoon. McPherson set the over/under at 2.5 years but Britton takes the under, pointing out that the list of catchers who have played the most games is chock full of players who retired before reaching 40-years-old. The team captain will celebrate his 39th birthday in less than a month.
- Pirates left-hander Joe Beimel was scratched again due to elbow pain today, which seems to contradict what GM Neal Huntington said yesterday after picking up Garrett Olson off of waivers, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Huntington insisted yesterday that the addition of Olson was not motivated by concern about Beimel or Scott Olsen.
- Pittsburgh right-hander Kevin Hart was on the bubble for a roster spot with the club and out of options for 2011, but the club will now have more time to consider him after a shoulder injury sent him to the 60-day DL, writes Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.
- Dave Cameron of Fangraphs rallies against the tyranny of the corner label.
- Red Sox veteran David Ortiz told Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com that the pressure isn't off, even with the new additions.
- ESPN's Buster Olney (Insider req'd) hears from a talent evaluator that the best way for Kevin Millwood to get back to the big leagues is by signing with a team and pitching in games. "That's no way to win a job — sitting at home," said the source. Millwood's fastball was clocked at 85 mph during a recent workout.
- The Rangers ackowledge that Chris Davis has opened some eyes with his strong Spring Training, writes MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. He's under consideration for a roster spot, though teams have inquired about his availability.
- Now without star second baseman Dan Uggla, the Marlins are once again in a transitional phase, writes Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.
- While he really enjoyed his time in Houston, Lance Berkman is happy to be with the Cardinals, writes MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.
Quick Hits: Votto, Garcia, Francis, Contracts
Some news items to take us into the weekend….
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer hears from some player agents that Joey Votto will submit an arbitration number between $8.5-$9.5MM, while the Reds' counter-offer will be around $7MM. Back in August, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith suggested that Votto would ask for $7MM, but since then Votto has added a playoff appearance and the NL MVP Award to his resume. Of course, arbitration talk could be moot if Votto and the Reds agree to an extension.
- The White Sox don't have room in the rotation to bring back Freddy Garcia, says MLB.com's Scott Merkin as part of a reader mailbag.
- The Royals' agreement with Jeff Francis is "the best deal of the winter in free agency," according to Dave Cameron of Fangraphs.
- ESPN's Jayson Stark examines at the high number of expensive and/or long-term contracts signed this winter.
- Lance Berkman talks to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about his offseason training regiment and how much pressure he's putting on himself to perform for the Cardinals. "If I have a repeat of last year I'm probably out of the game," Berkman says.
- The top ten most favorable trades in Reds history are counted down by the Cincinnati Enquirer's Nick Hurm. Recent deals for Brandon Phillips and Bronson Arroyo are included, but it's hard to top the Cincinnati/Houston trade that installed Joe Morgan into the Big Red Machine.
NL West Notes: Pierzynski, Reynolds, Rockies
The latest NL West rumors, aside from a certain huge trade…
- The Dodgers were extremely close to signing A.J. Pierzynski before White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf stepped in, tweets Peter Gammons of the MLB Network. The Dodgers have been in the market for a catcher ever since they declined to offer arbitration to Russell Martin.
- Earlier this week we learned that the D'Backs were looking at getting pitcher David Hernandez from the Orioles in a package for Mark Reynolds. This isn't the first time that Arizona has tried to land Hernandez, says Britt Ghiroli of MLB.com (via Twitter). Ghiroli adds that several other teams, including Tampa Bay, are high on the right-hander.
- Troy Renck of The Denver Post (via Twitter) could see the Rockies getting in on outfielder Josh Willingham. We have long heard that Willingham and the Nats would part ways over an impasse in extension talks. Now after the arrival of Jayson Werth, it now seems very likely that Willingham will be moved.
- Meanwhile, the Rockies lost out Lance Berkman because they did not want to give the veteran $8MM and an everyday job wasn't realistic in Coors Field, Renck tweets.
Athletics Notes: Beltre, Berkman, Matsui
Let's take a look at a few Athletics-related items..
- It makes sense for the A's to have withdrawn their offer to Adrian Beltre as he has repeatedly ignored the club's offers, says Buster Olney of ESPN (via Twitter).
- Before signing with the Cardinals, Lance Berkman was offered a two-year deal from Oakland, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Berkman chose St. Louis in part because of familiarity with the division, having an everyday spot in the outfield, and relative proximity to his home in Houston.
- While Beltre and Berkman are the latest big-time free agents to shrug off offers from the A's, Hideki Matsui doesn't seem to have any concerns about being in Oakland, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The veteran enjoys hitting in the Coliseum and likes the Bay Area. Also, his agent Arn Tellem gets along very well with the A's front office, Slusser says (via Twitter).
Odds & Ends: Marlins, Cardinals, Bruce, Jeter
Links for Saturday night…
- Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post says the Marlins are still looking for bullpen help (specifically a veteran lefty), a lefty bat off the bench, and outfield help.
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said that his team's lineup is set for 2011 after today's Lance Berkman pickup, reports Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter links). Mozeliak described the team's payroll as "leaking," adding that Berkman received a higher salary as a trade-off for just one year.
- Jay Bruce is optimistic about a new contract with the Reds according to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. Bruce mentions that nothing is imminent, however.
- SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that about five teams called to express interest in signing Derek Jeter before he re-upped with the Yankees, though the shortstop never considered going anywhere else. In fact, he didn't even listen to what they had to say (Twitter link).
- The recently non-tendered George Sherrill has drawn some interest according to Marc Carig of The Star Ledger (Twitter link). The Yankees are not one of the interested teams, however.
- Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News looks at Plan B and C should Texas be unable to retain Cliff Lee.
- Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic tweets that Chad MacDonald will be the Mets' new scouting director. He served as the Diamondbacks director of international scouting for the last two years.
A’s Rumors: Iwakuma, Berkman, Beltre
The latest on the Oakland Athletics, all of which comes in the form of Twitter links…
- The A's have until 12am ET Monday to finalize a contract with Hisashi Iwakuma, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. That includes the contract and physical. Oakland broke off negotiations a few weeks ago, which prompted Iwakuma's agent to tweet his side. If a deal is not reached, Iwakuma's former team does not receive the posting fee.
- Rosenthal adds that the A's were not confident with Lance Berkman, who just landed in St. Louis. Their spacious ballpark is proving to be a tough sell.
- Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle says that the A's are "very likely" to feel they need to get the Adrian Beltre situation resolved given all the recent signings and trades. Oakland made the free agent third baseman a five year offer a few weeks ago.
Cardinals Sign Lance Berkman
The Cardinals have signed Lance Berkman to a one-year deal, the club has announced (via Twitter). Berkman will earn $8MM according to Jon Heyman of SI (via Twitter). The former Houston Astro will be placed in left field with Matt Holliday being moved to right field.
Big Puma identified the Cardinals as one of his many suitors earlier this week. GM John Mozeliak says that the slugger will be an everyday player in St. Louis, according to Tom Ackerman of KMOX 1120 AM (via Twitter).
“He’s an impact player who not only helps solidify our everyday lineup, but he also brings a wealth of experience," the GM said.
Berkman was likely drawn to the Cards in part because of their ability to offer him a spot in the outfield. The veteran never ruled out signing on with an American League team as a DH though he made his disdain for it well known.
The 34-year-old last played in the outfield in 2007, and he owns an ugly -2.1 UZR/150 for his career, with most of his work coming in right field.
Olney On Crawford, Berkman, Konerko
The Angels are seen as the favorites to sign Carl Crawford and we know the Red Sox met with him and his representatives, but it looks like at least one more American League team has strong interest in the left fielder. ESPN.com's Buster Olney has the details:
- The Yankees are very much engaged in conversations with Crawford, though it's unclear whether they have the flexibility to spend on him and Cliff Lee (Twitter links). The Yankees plan to set up a meeting with Crawford, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link).
- The A's are targeting Lance Berkman enthusiastically, but they haven't started talking salary with him (Twitter link).
- The White Sox still appear to be the favorites to sign Paul Konerko, Olney writes. The Orioles and Cubs appear to be in on the first baseman, but the Diamondbacks may no longer be bidding for him.
- Olney says the Nationals missed out on a chance to extend Adam Dunn or recoup more value for him.
- Olney boldly predicts that the Yankees will reach an agreement with Derek Jeter today.
Rockies Aggressively Pursuing Berkman
THURSDAY, 7:51am: The Rockies' initial offer to Berkman was low, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. It appears Berkman is looking for $8-10MM, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. Rosenthal notes that if Berkman were to sign with Oakland, he would spend some time in the field.
WEDNESDAY, 6:50pm: The Rockies are aggressively pursuing free agent outfielder Lance Berkman, writes Troy Renck of The Denver Post. Renck writes that the slugger will likely get offered more money elsewhere but his preference to return to the National League helps Colorado's chances. Berkman recently said that there are eight teams interested in him this winter.
While the 34-year-old slugger won't rule out being a DH, he says that he is still capable of playing either first base or corner outfield. Berkman has not played the outfield since 2007 but claims to have made a full recovery from the arthroscopic knee surgery he underwent in March.
In 122 games for the Astros and Yankees last season, the five-time All-Star hit .248/.368/.413 with 14 homers in 481 plate appearances.
Odds & Ends: Berkman, Edmonds, De La Rosa
On this date in 1998, the Orioles signed Albert Belle to a five-year, $65MM deal. He batted .289/.374/.509 with Baltimore, but didn't play at all after the 2000 season. Here are today's links…
- Stop by at 2pm CDT for this week's chat.
- Oakland’s immediate goal is to sign Lance Berkman, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The A's met with Berkman and Adam Dunn yesterday.
- Rosenthal suggests the A’s likely want to hear back from Scott Boras and Adrian Beltre about the five-year, $64MM offer they reportedly made in November.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan asks Bud Selig to leave the playoffs alone and suggests the commissioner could improve the game by introducing more instant replay and asking major TV networks to show a more diverse selection of teams.
- Jim Edmonds is contemplating playing one more season, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
- The Phillies are more likely to pursue free agent left-handers who don't cost a draft pick, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). In other words, they'd rather not give up a pick to sign Scott Downs.
- Speaking of relievers, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun explains that the Orioles have interest in any competent veteran reliever and will kick the tires on most.
- The Mets re-signed former big leaguer Mike O'Connor according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (on Twitter). The 30-year-old left-hander last pitched in the majors for the 2008 Nationals, but he appeared in 51 games at Triple-A Buffalo in 2010, posting 8.9 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 for the top Mets affiliate.
- The Pirates made a competitive offer for Jorge de la Rosa before he agreed to a deal with the Rockies, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (on Twitter).
- De La Rosa's agents approached the Padres about a potential deal, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. San Diego couldn't afford the lefty, though they were interested.