Odds and Ends: Andruw, Marquis, Coonelly
Links for Monday…
- In his first post for RotoAuthority, David Chase looks at players who were said to have lost weight or gained muscle during Spring Training ’08. How did they perform in ’08?
- The Red Sox inked infielder Nick Green to a minor league deal.
- Murray Chass explains why the New York Times Company’s purchase of a share of the Red Sox was a conflict of interest.
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik: "We’ve got an offer out right now for a piece of the puzzle, and I’d hope to hear in the next few days."
- David Laurila talked to new Mariners exec Tony Blengino. One of many interesting quotes (in reference to the Bill Bavasi regime and the ’07 club): "I thought that it was clear going in that, with all due respect, they overrated their team from the last year."
The Yankees will introduce Mark Teixeira tomorrow. He passed his physical today. - River Ave. Blues and Peter Abraham ask whether the Yankees should consider Andruw Jones. Evan Brunell looks at other possible fits.
- The Dodgers talked to the Cubs about Jason Marquis, according to MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick.
- Pirates president Frank Coonelly joins Mark Attanasio (Brewers) and Drayton McLane (Astros) in supporting a salary cap.
- Jeff Moorad might be aggressive in the draft if he takes over the Padres. Tom Krasovic adds that the Padres have already discussed spending up to $6MM on their #3 pick this June.
- Keith Law likes the Angels’ Brian Fuentes signing, and doesn’t think the Indians gave up much for Mark DeRosa.
- If the Indians are to add another significant player, they’ll have to get creative with contracts.
- RAB and In Mo We Trust discuss Kevin Kernan’s recent suggestion that the Yanks sign Oliver Perez over Andy Pettitte.
- A couple of recent Hot Stove Dailies from Jeff Passan: the Braves and A’s.
- Athletics Nation asks whether Brian Sabean is "out-GMing" Billy Beane this winter.
- Sox Machine on why the Gavin Floyd–Brian Roberts rumor makes no sense.
Odds & Ends: Rockies, Iguchi, Indians
Some odds and ends for a quiet Sunday morning:
- Troy E. Renck notes that after acquiring Jason Marquis, arbitration is going to result in a slight payroll increase of $5MM for the Rockies.
- From Kyodo News: The Lotte Marines will begin talks with Tadahito Iguchi on Wednesday in Okinawa.
- Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe points out that the Red Sox prefer short, low cost, low risk contracts for established talent (i.e. Wade Miller, Bartolo Colon, and now Brad Penny) rather than large free agent contracts for pitchers.
- Keith Law says the Indians got Mark DeRosa for cheap, adding that a ".285/.365/.440 line is well within reason."
Odds and Ends: Bard, Cubs, Guardado
Links for Friday (feels like a Monday)…
- Boston’s deal for catcher Josh Bard is official. Bard had offers from the Cubs and Nationals as well.
- SI.com’s Jon Heyman ranks the top 20 remaining free agents.
- RotoAuthority asks readers to name their #1 sleeper for 2009.
- The Marlins reportedly have interest in reliever Jesus Colome.
- MLB.com’s Barry Bloom explains that the arbitration filing period begins Monday. He gives a nice primer on the arbitration system for those that need to brush up. Ryan Howard is due for another big raise.
- Buster Olney does not like the Cubs’ recent moves, particularly the Mark DeRosa trade.
- Jeff Wilson says the Rangers remain in contact with free agent reliever Eddie Guardado.
Peavy To Cubs Unlikely
Yahoo’s Tim Brown asked Padres GM Kevin Towers whether the Cubs’ talks for Jake Peavy might reopen now that they’ve freed up cash. Towers’ reply: "Doubtful." To Tom Krasovic, Towers said, "The Cubs’ most recent trades have no bearing or connections with us and the Cubs in a potential Peavy deal." Krasovic notes that one big factor for the Cubs remains getting approval from new ownership to add Peavy’s $16MM salary to the 2010 payroll.
Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times agrees that the team’s trade of Mark DeRosa "was made independent of Peavy considerations." Brown says the $8MM or so the Cubs cleared from the ’09 payroll is to pay for Milton Bradley, their top right field target. Bradley wants three years and $30MM and the Cubs will approach that.
Bruce Levine of ESPN Radio considers the Cubs signing Bradley a "done deal," though the Nationals were reported yesterday to have serious interest. Wittenmyer says the Cubs still "appear confident" about signing Bradley. It could be something they try to announce at the Cubs Convention, which begins January 16th. Paul Sullivan says the Cubs have been Bradley’s "preferred choice since Day One of the offseason."
Odds and Ends: Miles, Bako, Sheets
A couple of links for you bar-hopping kids with Blackberries. Happy New Year’s Eve. Be safe out there…
- Aaron Miles said the Cardinals jumped in on the last day, but by then it was too late. He was somewhat miffed by being non-tendered twice during his Cardinals career.
- According to the Chicago Tribune, Paul Bako is expected to sign with the Cubs for around $500,000. He’ll be a nice, cheap backup to Geovany Soto.
- Indians GM Mark Shapiro told Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that Mark DeRosa is the "perfect fit" for the Tribe.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic wants the Diamondbacks to go after Ben Sheets. "Right now."
- San Francisco Chronicle beat writer Henry Schulman is preaching patience to the Giants’ fan base.
DeRosa Traded To Indians
12:44pm: Levine says the three minor league pitchers coming to Chicago for DeRosa are Jeff Stevens, Chris Archer, and John Gaub. The move feels like a salary dump – of a player whose production was worth $19.4MM this year.
A note from Bruce Miles: the Cubs’ ownership situation will have to be settled before the Cubs are able to complete a Peavy trade. Levine says the same in his post.
12:25pm: Levine and Buster Olney are saying it’s a done deal – DeRosa to the Tribe for three minor league pitchers. The Cubs have trimmed roughly $9MM from the 2009 payroll with their recent moves. Coming in: $3.5MM for Luis Vizcaino (plus another million sent in salary relief) and $2.2MM for Aaron Miles. Going out: $5.5MM for DeRosa and $9.875MM for Jason Marquis.
11:27am: According to Bruce Levine of ESPN Radio, the Indians are getting close to a deal for Mark DeRosa that would send two or three young pitchers to the Cubs. At least, that statement was attributed to him in the station’s recent SportsCenter update. Levine recently scooped the Cubs’ signing of Aaron Miles.
In his blog, Levine suggests a DeRosa match with Cleveland but does not say a deal is close. Levine considers the Cubs’ Milton Bradley signing "a done deal" and says they’ve back in the mix for Jake Peavy. Jon Heyman says Bradley seeks a three-year deal.
Cubs Sign Aaron Miles
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the Cubs signed infielder Aaron Miles to a two-year deal worth $4.9MM. The deal was first reported by ESPN Radio’s Bruce Levine. Speculation is that the move could allow the Cubs to trade Mark DeRosa.
Miles, 32, hit .317/.355/.398 in 408 plate appearances for the Cardinals this year while playing all around the diamond. Miles was one of the top free agent bargains of 2008 at $1.6MM.
Twins Rumors: Lyon, Wigginton, DeRosa
La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune has the latest on the Twins.
- The Twins are one of several teams in on free agent reliever Brandon Lyon.
- It does not seem that the Twins are pursuing Ty Wigginton.
- Nothing new on the Twins’ rumored interest in Mark DeRosa; the two teams don’t match up well (the Twins are not willing to trade Jason Kubel).
- Neal likes the match between the Twins and Brewers, but J.J. Hardy has not been discussed.
Wigginton Too Pricey For Twins?
According to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:
The Twins like Ty Wigginton but believe he’s looking for a bigger contract than the three-year, $17.5 million deal the Los Angeles Dodgers gave Casey Blake. So the Twins have had little to no dialogue with Wigginton’s agent, Dan Lozano.
I had Wigginton pegged for two years and $12MM or so, but he is four years younger than Blake and outhit him in 2008 (though he had 172 fewer plate appearances and was largely aided by Minute Maid Park). If Wiggy can really get a better contract than Blake, it would’ve made sense for the Astros to tender him a contract and then trade him.
Christensen adds that the Twins still have hope for acquiring Mark DeRosa, but talks for Garrett Atkins and Adrian Beltre hit dead ends. Also, Jon Heyman tosses the Twins into the mix for Michael Young. We’d previously heard about the Mets, Angels, Dodgers, and Royals discussing him. Heyman did not find evidence talks for Young got serious with any team, though, and he wonders if Young would approve a trade to Minnesota.
In other Twins news, Christensen notes that the Twins expressed interest in free agent reliever Brandon Lyon, who seems to be waiting until Brian Fuentes signs.
Odds and Ends: Kawakami, Max Ramirez, Lowell
Links for Friday…
- Mets owner Fred Wilpon lost some dough.
- The Red Sox expressed interest in Kenshin Kawakami yesterday. Michael Silverman says Kawakami is expected to choose a team and sign in January (the Orioles are also interested).
- John Perrotto says the Marlins like Max Ramirez and are willing to trade pitching prospect Ryan Tucker.
- Bernie Williams will play winter ball in preparation for the World Baseball Classic.
- Paul Sullivan says Cubs manager Lou Piniella was upset at the thought of losing Mark DeRosa.
- Rany Jazayerli weighs in on the Royals’ signing of Kyle Farnsworth. Joe Posnanski talks about Farnsworth and many other topics.
- Andrew Baggarly says the Giants are not interested in Mike Lowell.
- Bob Elliott says the Blue Jays had an agreement to pay the Braves to take Everth Cabrera seventh in the Rule 5 draft, but the Padres picked him third.