The Marlins did not offer arbitration to Type B free agents Kiko Calero and Nick Johnson, nor did they offer to Brendan Donnelly or Ross Gload, tweets Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald.
Calero merited consideration after posting a 10.4 K/9 and 1.95 ERA in 60 innings, but apparently the Marlins did not want to risk giving him a raise on this year's $500K salary. It's a similar story for Johnson, whose .426 OBP leads all free agents.
Links for Monday…
In a blog post, Newsday's Ken Davidoff announces that he'll be voting for Mark McGwire on this year's Hall of Fame ballot, and recaps some other items of note:
Here's some discount links on Black Friday…
The Orioles aren't expected to be major players on the free-agent market this winter, but if the team does make a move, it will likely be to acquire a veteran presence at first and/or third base.
Speaking to MASN Sports' Steve Melewski, Baltimore team president Andy MacPhail said that given the Orioles' young outfield and second-year catcher Matt Wieters, he would "like to put more proven bats" in the lineup to compliment the team's young stars. The O's have prospects Brandon Snyder and Josh Bell in the pipeline at first and third, respectively, but since MacPhail said he doesn't see either making the leap to the majors in 2010, the experienced hitters that MacPhail wants will have to come at the corner infield spots.
Baltimore already has Luke Scott (a team-leading 25 homers in 2009) penciled in at either first base or DH, and utilityman Ty Wigginton is available to play third. Prospect Michael Aubrey (an .826 OPS in 95 plate appearances last season) is also in the 1B mix, possibly in a lefty-righty platoon with Wigginton that would lock Scott into a DH/LF split with Nolan Reimold and would then leave third base open for either a free agent or a player to be acquired in a trade. The Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly predicted the O's would sign Pedro Feliz, while there has been some speculation that the Orioles will make a trade with Florida for Dan Uggla and then move Uggla from second to third base.
In his Offseason Outlook series entry about Baltimore, Tim Dierkes listed names like Adrian Beltre, Carlos Delgado and Nick Johnson as possible targets for the Orioles. These players would fit the "short-term" designation that MacPhail mentioned, but since MacPhail didn't rule out the possibility of "the right deal for the right player, even if it was a longer-term deal," would there be any other bigger-name corner infielders that you could realistically see Baltimore signing?
The Mariners are interested in free agent first baseman Nick Johnson, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com. Johnson has also heard from the Giants, Mets, and Yankees.
Despite their interest in Johnson, the Mariners are still negotiating with Russell Branyan, and they've also discussed Lyle Overbay with the Blue Jays. Toronto appears willing to pay some of Overbay's $7MM salary according to the Fox scribes. Both Johnson and Branyan are reportedly seeking multi-year deals.
The team has also discussed moving Jose Lopez to first, but Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times thinks he'll be moved this offseason. Casey Kotchman could also be an option should the Red Sox non-tender him.
The Mets have called to inquire on free agent Russell Branyan, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown. Branyan was the subject of a November 2nd discussion post here at MLBTR, where it was noted that the first baseman was productive only for the season's first three months perhaps due to a back injury. At the time, interest in a Mariners reunion was mutual, with readers finding a $3-5MM base salary to be reasonable.
On-base machine Nick Johnson could be another option for the Mets at first base; his discussion post can be found here. Johnson's agent Rex Gary told ESPN's Jayson Stark today that more than six teams have expressed interest in his client. Stark wonders if the Giants, Mets, Mariners, Orioles, Nationals, and Red Sox are among them.
The Orioles are positioned to be buyers in free agency, according to Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun. GM Andy MacPhail says that the club is looking to spend this offseason, but there remains some skepticism in Baltimore as to whether owner Peter Angelos will be willing to open up his checkbook. If the O's decide to dole out dollars this winter, here are some of the players they will and won't be targeting:
Recently re-signed GM Brian Sabean has his work cut out for him this offseason. Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle brings us the latest on the Giants offseason:
You could hardly think of two more dissimilar players than Omar Vizquel and Nick Johnson, but Evan Brunell of The Hardball Times took a look at where these two free agents may end up playing in 2010.
First, Vizquel. Brunell thinks that Vizquel's desire to play for a higher-profile club than Texas may stem from the fact that playing for a big-market team may improve Vizquel's chances of being voted into the Hall of Fame when his career is over. There's also the fact that the 42-year-old shortstop would no doubt love to get another chance at a World Series title after coming so close with Cleveland in 1995 and 1997.
With these factors in mind, Brunell feels that Philadelphia is the ideal destination for Vizquel, as he can serve as a backup to Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and whomever the Phillies get to play third base. Vizquel's presence as a late-inning defensive replacement would also mean that the Phils could focus their third baseman search on finding a solid hitter, not necessarily a top gloveman.
As for Johnson, Brunell points to Arizona as a good landing spot for the first baseman. The Diamondbacks' .324 team OBP last season (22nd in MLB) would get a big boost from Johnson's career .402 OBP (.426 in 2009). In signing Johnson to a one or two-year contract, Brunell argues, the D-Backs would buy some more development time for prospect Brandon Allen, whose presence would also serve as cover in case Johnson's well-documented injury history again becomes a problem.
One flaw in Brunell's argument is that he doesn't account for Conor Jackson, who may avoid being non-tendered by the Snakes if he shows in winter ball that he is fully recovered from Valley Fever. If Jackson is back, then he would provide a cheaper alternative at first base than Johnson while still providing solid production — Jackson posted a .292/.371/.451 line in his three full seasons with Arizona from 2006 to 2008.
What do you fans think? If you're a Phillies or Diamondbacks supporter, are you on board with the idea of Vizquel or Johnson in the fold? Or are there some other teams who would be better fits for these two players?
