Nationals Have Serious Interest In Bradley
According to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson, the Nationals have serious interest in free agent Milton Bradley. The Nats would try Bradley in center field. Bradley is the Cubs’ top target to play right field, so there could be a battle for his services.
Ladson adds that Adam Dunn and Orlando Hudson also remain on Washington’s radar. It seems that they intend to sign at least one solid free agent after failing to sign Mark Teixeira.
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.
Marquis For Vizcaino Deal Close
7:28pm: Ken Rosenthal confirms what most people are saying–that this deal is close, but not yet official.
7:11pm: Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald calls the deal "possible, but not done yet." Additionally, says Miles, the deal is apparently "more in the Rockies’ hands than the Cubs’ right now."
Gordon Wittenmyer of the Sun-Times says a deal is "close," and suggests a Milton Bradley signing may be the next move for the Cubs.
6:20pm: This story has been confirmed by Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
While the deal likely won’t be official until next week, it looks like the Cubs will be paying $1MM of Marquis’ salary in 2009. That makes a net reduction of roughly $5MM in payroll for the Cubs.
4:44pm: According to ESPN’s Steve Phillips, the Cubs and Rockies are close to a swap of starter Jason Marquis for reliever Luis Vizcaino (saw it scroll across the screen on ESPN2). Marquis is set to earn $9.875MM in ’09, while Vizcaino will make $3.5MM plus a $4MM option for 2010 with a $500K buyout.
Marquis, 30, tossed 167 innings of 4.53 ball in 2008. He did roughly the same in ’07. Vizcaino, 34, posted a 5.28 ERA in 46 innings. He dealt with a strained shoulder and later expressed concerns that he didn’t pitch enough. His velocity was up from ’07 and he whiffed more than a batter per inning, but he was done in by walks and home runs. Vizcaino added a DUI to his resume in October.
Rays Looking For Big Bat
Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times says the Rays are still in the market for an impact bat, likely to be their designated hitter. While it appears the Cubs are confident they’ll land Milton Bradley, that still leaves Jason Giambi, Pat Burrell, Garrett Anderson, and Bobby Abreu. The Rays have already added to their outfield by acquiring Matt Joyce, so whoever they sign will most likely need to be onboard with playing DH.
Smith also notes that 25 year old Fernando Perez "is playing well in the Venezuelan winter league, hitting .301 with two homers and seven RBIs" possibly giving the Rays even further depth at outfield.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Bradley, Burrell, Dunn
Ken Rosenthal filed a new column earlier today.
- The Angels are lukewarm on Manny Ramirez, and for now are talking about filling their lineup with internal candidates.
- Kevin Towers says that if the Jake Peavy sweepstakes heats back up, "nobody is going to know it." Rosenthal discusses the chances of the Angels or Cubs.
- Mark Teixeira is "almost certain" to get an escape clause in his deal.
- The Cubs are confident about signing Milton Bradley, but the Rays, Yankees, and Nationals are interested too.
- Rosenthal looks at possibilities for Pat Burrell, discussing the Rays, Mariners, Rangers, and Reds.
- The Brewers expressed interest in Adam Dunn as they were mulling a Mike Cameron trade (Corey Hart would’ve played center).
- Bobby Abreu "remains in touch with the Yankees." Surprisingly to hear, as the two sides reportedly had not spoken for quite a while.
- The Rangers would like to move some salary, with Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, and Hank Blalock the candidates.
- The Royals like Jerry Hairston Jr., but don’t have the money to sign him.
Odds and Ends: Napoli, Schilling, Bradley
Links for Monday, to be updated as more come in.
- RotoAuthority suggests Mike Napoli could be a top five catcher in fantasy baseball next year with enough playing time.
- Curt Schilling gives his thoughts on agents.
- Geoff Baker thinks Milton Bradley would be a good fit for the Mariners.
- River Ave. Blues likes Gabe Kapler for the Yankees.
- Nationals pitcher Collin Balester calls it – World Series sweep if they sign Mark Teixeira. Balester keeps a blog here, check it out.
Heyman: Burrell A Fit For Tampa Bay
Jon Heyman calls a potential Pat Burrell signing by the Tampa Bay Rays a "real possibility," in his latest blog post. Heyman says Burrell would be signed as a designated hitter.
Other free agents on the Rays’ short list include Bobby Abreu, Jason Giambi, Milton Bradley, Garrett Anderson and Ken Griffey Jr., according to the update. The Rays are focused on upgrading their offense this offseason.
Alex Walsh can be reached at alexander.walsh@gmail.com.
Angels Agree To Terms With Juan Rivera
2:44pm: The AP reports Rivera’s three-year deal is worth $12.75MM. It might turn out OK if Rivera is able to hit .300 to push his OBP to an acceptable range.
FRIDAY, 1:49pm: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick says Rivera has agreed to a three-year contract with the Angels. Three years seems excessive, but we don’t know the money yet. Does this take the Halos out of the mix for Manny Ramirez?
THURSDAY, 10:37pm: According to Yahoo’s Tim Brown, the Angels are nearing a three-year agreement with free agent outfielder Juan Rivera.
Brown says the Halos are pursuing other free agents as well and operating as if Mark Teixeira will sign with the Red Sox. GM Tony Reagins has talked to the agents for Bobby Abreu, Pat Burrell, and Adam Dunn, but not Milton Bradley. The Angels may also sign a closer, and Brian Fuentes makes sense.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Teixeira, Giants, Braves, Bradley, Pirates
On this date 17 years ago, the Blue Jays signed 40-year old future Hall of Famer Dave Winfield to a one-year, $2.3MM contract. The signing was a good one as Winfield helped the Jays to their first title in 1992. That year he hit .290-26-108 with a .377 OBP and 137 OPS+, including what would prove to be the series-winning two-run double in the top of the 11th of game 6 of the World Series. Did I mention he was 40? With this year’s crop of free agents playing euchre as they patiently wait for Mark Teixeira to make up his mind, let’s take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
- Sully Baseball is not worried about the Red Sox possibly losing out on Mark Teixeira feeling the money may be better spent on pitching.
- The Bottom Line wonders if the Red Sox are better off waiting a year and going after Matt Holliday to replace Jason Bay.
- El Lefty Malo projects the Giants offense for next season and shows that one more big bat would give them a league-average offense.
- Braves Blast laments the Braves inability to land a starting pitcher so far this off-season and wonders what options are left.
- The Launching Pad does not see any of the remaining free agent pitchers as an upgrade for the Braves over what is already on the roster.
- Goat Riders of the Apocalypse is aggravated by the lack of big moves from the Cubs and while they would like Milton Bradley as a Cub, they think it is unlikely.
- Baseball Handyman offers grades for the free agent signings to date, with only the Francisco Rodriguez contract earning an ‘A’.
- The ‘Burgh Blues takes a look at the Pirates inability to find pitchers that can find the strike zone.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Teixeira, Markakis, Johnson
We have a new column from Ken Rosenthal this evening.
- Mark Teixeira is holding up many areas of the free agent market, as guys like Brian Fuentes and Milton Bradley know the Angels will be interested if Tex signs elsewhere.
- Rosenthal believes the Yankees should continue to be aggressive and make a competitive bid for Teixeira.
- The "poor working conditions and occasionally unruly crowd behavior" make it hard for the A’s to attract free agents. Their move in 2012 should help.
- Rosenthal believes Chase Utley‘s seven year, $85MM deal could provide a framework for a Nick Markakis extension.
- The A’s will wait for free agent bargains now that they’ve lost Rafael Furcal.
- The Red Sox and Mets are the main suitors for Derek Lowe, with the Yankees less likely.
- The Braves have been shopping Kelly Johnson for an outfielder. Attempts to acquire Ryan Ludwick or Corey Hart did not work out.