D’Backs Notes: Towers, Tanaka, Garza, Santana
The latest out of Arizona..
- Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers says that he's been telling free agents he'd rather pay a higher salary on a shorter deal, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Towers says he won't go to five years and probably not even four on a free agent deal. More from the NL West..
- Towers understands that his stance might take him out of the running for some free agent starters, Piecoro tweets. He would go longer to ink Masahiro Tanaka (link), however, as he is the club's No. 1 priority at the moment.
- In addition to talking to Matt Garza, the Diamondbacks met with agents for Ervin Santana, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Of course, signing Santana would cost them first-round pick. Their refusal to go beyond three years for the majority of free agents could also prove to be a road block.
Masahiro Tanaka Is D’Backs Top Priority
Masahiro Tanaka is the Diamondbacks' No. 1 target, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The D'Backs continue to explore trades and free agents as they await the decision on whether Tanaka will be posted.
Arizona has made no secret of their desire to land a frontline starter. Tanaka, who is widely regarded as the top arm on the open market this winter, would certainly fit the bill.
The MLB and NPB are said to be in agreement on a new posting system and it should be ratified by the MLB Executive Council on Monday. MLB fully expects the Golden Eagles ace to be posted.
NL Central Notes: Bailey, Marmol, Brewers, Tanaka
Despite the fact that Reds GM Walt Jocketty told reporters the team won't be trading Homer Bailey, some within the organization feel they'll have to overpay to sign him to an extension at this point, which could eventually change Jocketty's stance, says Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal adds that the Reds would only move Bailey if they felt it improved their 2014 club (All Twitter links). More from the NL Central…
- The Brewers are one of a few teams to have shown interest in Carlos Marmol, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter).
- The Brewers could get jump back into the Ike Davis market, tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Much like their interest in Logan Morrison, Milwaukee's interest is contingent upon Corey Hart's decision, says Martino.
- The Cubs will be in on Masahiro Tanaka, tweets Bruce Levine of WSCR. As he notes, the potential ace could greatly accelerate their timeline to compete.
MLB, NPB Reach Agreement On Posting System
WEDNESDAY: The MLB Executive Council will have a conference call on Monday to ratify the agreement, tweets Sherman.
5:43pm: The posting system document has yet to be finalized, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman adds, even when approved by NPB, the agreement still needs to be ratified by MLB's Executive Council, which could come this week. In a second tweet, Sherman reports the main points of the new posting deal have been settled with smaller items slowing things down.
SUNDAY, 3:15pm: Japanese teams will be able to set a desired amount for the posting fee up to a maximum of $20MM, reports Mainichi. Once the Japanese team sets the posting fee, it will be made public to all 30 MLB clubs and all teams who tender that figure will be able to negotiate with the player. The Mainichi report adds the new posting system is expected to go into effect as early as next week and will pave the way for Tanaka to be posted.
THURSDAY: Major League Baseball and Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball have reached a basic agreement on a new posting system, according to the Japan Times. The new system will indeed have a maximum posting fee of $20MM. A formal draft of the agreement is currently being prepared, NPB secretary general Atsushi Ihara told the Times.
The Times report says the final details are being ironed out, but Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports spoke with a source who told him that if multiple teams submit the same bid, the player will be allowed to negotiate with all of those clubs. Only the signing club would be required to pay the posting fee, which still will not count against MLB's luxury tax (the ensuing contract, of course, will count). MLB fully expects Rakuten Golden Eagles ace Masahiro Tanaka to be posted, Rosenthal adds (All Twitter links). Rosenthal's report meshes with the details reported by Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times yesterday.
The Golden Eagles, not surprisingly, opposed the $20MM maximium posting fee even when NPB's other 11 teams all agreed to the pact, according to the Times report. However, they have now accepted the system, meaning the new system has been passed.
The new changes should open Tanaka and future top players to negotiate with nearly any team, as the $20MM posting fee doesn't figure to be a deterrent for most big league clubs.
Edward Creech contributed to this post.
Pitching Rumors: D-Backs, Colon, Twins, Williams
Things are starting to heat up again on Day Three of the Winter Meetings, so let's dive right in and round up a few early morning notes on a handful of starting pitchers….
- The Diamondbacks are targeting front-line starters, as we heard yesterday, and Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports (via Twitter) that, besides Masahiro Tanaka, Matt Garza is the team's top choice due to the lack of draft pick compensation.
- Bartolo Colon and agent Adam Katz continue to focus on a two-year deal rather than a one-year pact, tweets ESPN.com's Buster Olney. This isn't the first time we've heard about the righty's desire for a multiyear contract — the deals for Scott Kazmir and Tim Hudson have recently been cited as possible comparables for Colon.
- La Velle E. Neal III of The Star Tribune has a few updates on the Twins' search for starting pitching, including word that the club could be in on Garza and, if he becomes available, Tanaka. Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities cautions (via Twitter) that there are no real developments on the Garza front, and that the Twins have spoken to agent multiple times and are familiar with his asking price.
- Jerome Williams represents a solid buy-low candidate, and is expected to top his projected $4MM arbitration salary on the open market, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- MLBTR's Tim Dierkes hears that as many as eight to 10 teams have checked in on Williams in the past 48 hours (Twitter link).
Rakuten President Undecided On Whether To Post Tanaka
Rakuten Golden Eagles president Yozo Tachibana is undecided on whether to post star pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports (via Twitter). Tachibana adds that he is "disappointed" with baseball's new posting system, and says that he'll speak with Tanaka next week, according to the Los Angeles Times' Bill Shaikin (also on Twitter). Rakuten assistant GM Aki Sasaki, meanwhile, adds that he is unsure whether the posting fee of $20MM "is fair value for this kind of trade," Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan tweets.
Rakuten Golden Eagles President Traveling To Winter Meetings
Yozo Tachibana, president of Masahiro Tanaka's Rakuten Golden Eagles, will arrive at the Winter Meetings in Orlando today, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. Tachibana's appearance may lend some clarity as to whether or not Tanaka will be posted.
Passan adds that Rakuten owner Hiroshi Mikitani is one of Japan's most successful businessmen and is not known as one who will "kowtow to convention." As such, Tanaka's situation may not be as simple as merely honoring his wish and allowing him to pitch in the Majors. Rakuten can hold onto Tanaka, sell him on defending their Japan Series title despite a likely salary around $5MM, and post him next offseason. As Passan notes, even if Tanaka were to suffer an injury, teams may still be willing to gamble on a $20MM posting fee for him.
Major League executives remain split on whether or not Tanaka will be posted; one NL executive told Passan today that he thinks Tanaka will be posted, while an AL official told him he thinks Tanaka will remain in Japan.
NL Central Notes: Cubs, Pirates, Brewers, Hart
After passing along several updates from out of the NL East and NL West, we'll turn to the National League's third division, as Monday winds down…
- According to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link), the Cubs have received inquiries about Starlin Castro's availability, but have no intention of trading him. "We're excited to have Starlin," said GM Jed Hoyer.
- Hoyer hasn't ruled out the possibility of the Cubs trading a top prospect, telling reporters, including Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com (Twitter link), that they "would certainly consider it" if it made sense for the club's long-term future.
- Discussing potential free agent additions, GM Neal Huntington said today that it's very unlikely the Pirates would sign a player that required giving up draft pick compensation, and confirmed that Pittsburgh won't be in on Masahiro Tanaka if he's posted (Twitter links via Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review).
- The Pirates plan to fill their hole in right field internally, but are keeping an eye out for a starting pitcher, a middle infielder, and another bat (likely a first baseman), according to Huntington (Twitter link via Sawchik).
- Adam Rubin of ESPN New York (Twitter link) continues to hear that the Brewers' preference is to re-sign Corey Hart, assuming the money doesn't rise out of their price range. In that case, the Mets would have to look elsewhere for an Ike Davis trade partner.
Latest On Masahiro Tanaka
Peter Gammons' published a new piece today on Rakuten Golden Eagles owner Hiroshi Mikitani, which included several quotes. On of the most notable comments from Mikitani was about his prized starting pitcher, Masahiro Tanaka: "I don’t intend to post him." However, Gammons' interview was conducted last Wednesday, and many additional reports have surfaced since then suggesting that the matter is far from resolved. Here are a few Monday evening updates on Tanaka from Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports:
- Yozo Tachibana, the Golden Eagles' president, plans to arrive at MLB's winter meetings in Orlando on Tuesday. As Passan writes, Tachibana's appearance may lead to some clarity on whether or not the team will post Tanaka.
- The influence of the Rakuten front office over Tanaka is "significant" and recent changes to NPB posting rules are believed to have drastically reduced the club's interest in opening the bidding for its star pitcher.
- While the Golden Eagles are expected to try to persuade Tanaka to remain in Japan, sources tell Passan that if Tanaka wants to make the jump to MLB, Mikitani and the team may be willing to simply honor his wishes.
- Executives who spoke to Passan on Monday pegged a deal in the six-year, $100MM range for Tanaka, if he's posted.
- Passan hears from sources that in the past there have been arrangements where NPB teams agreed to give a portion of a player's posting fee back to the player. The Yahoo! scribe wonders if an agreement could be reached that would funnel money back to Rakuten in excess of the $20MM max, if the team decides to post Tanaka.
NL West Rumors: D-Backs, Padres, Giants
It remains to be seen whether or not Masahiro Tanaka will be posted by the Rakuten Golden Eagles, but if he is and the Diamondbacks have yet to address their starting pitching needs, expect Arizona to place a bid on the Japanese right-hander, tweets Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. Here's more on the D-Backs and a pair of their NL West rivals:
- Kevin Towers and the D-Backs don't mind waiting on Eric Chavez, who is deciding where he wants to play and monitoring Arizona's moves, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link).
- Asked about the possibility of trading Archie Bradley, Towers suggested today that it would be "very, very tough" for the D-Backs to do so, tweets Gilbert.
- The Padres have interest in Scott Downs, among other southpaw relievers, tweets Jon Morosi of FOX Sports. San Diego's Josh Byrnes confirmed that the team is casting a wide net for bullpen help, indicating that he has touched base with "most" available left-handed relievers (Twitter link via Adam Berry of MLB.com).
- According to Berry (Twitter links), Byrnes said the Padres have weighed "six or eight ideas" and have meetings set up to discuss free agents and trades. Byrnes also shot down the latest round of Chase Headley rumors, stating that the team views the third baseman as part of its 2014 plans.
- Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area has some details on the Giants' search for an outfielder, tweeting that the Giants called three times on Norichika Aoki before the Brewers decided to send Aoki to the Royals. In a second tweet, Baggarly says the Giants are interested in Michael Morse and Corey Hart, but probably not at the years and dollars those players will command.
- John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle provides a couple more Giants updates, reporting that no teams have inquired on San Francisco's five starters, but that the club's young pitching has drawn some interest. Shea adds that the team appears unlikely to bring back Chad Gaudin (Twitter links).