Rockies Rumors: Oswalt, Millwood, Francis, Tanaka
The Rockies revamped their catching situation by signing Ramon Hernandez and trading Chris Iannetta, but now let's see what else is cooking in Colorado…
- The Rockies are out of the running for Roy Oswalt, reports Troy Renck of The Denver Post. They remain aggressive in their pursuit of a starting pitcher though, and have interest in Kevin Millwood and former Rockie Jeff Francis. The Twins are in on Francis as well.
- Japanese second baseman Kensuke Tanaka will remain in Japan, reports Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports (on Twitter). The Rockies had expressed initial interest in the free agent according to Morosi.
- The Braves want good prospects along with Seth Smith in return for Martin Prado, reports SI.com's Jon Heyman (on Twitter), so the two clubs have some work to do if they're going to make a trade.
National League Free Agent Arbitration Offers
10 National League teams have free agent arbitration offer decisions to make today, and we'll update them in this post in advance of the 11pm central time deadline. For a fantastic customizable chart with all 57 Type A/B free agents and their teams' decisions in real-time, click here.
Updated team decisions:
- The Giants won't offer arbitration to Pat Burrell (B) or Cody Ross (B) according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). Carlos Beltran (A) contractually cannot be offered arbitration.
- The Dodgers declined to offer Hiroki Kuroda (B) arbitration, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times (on Twitter). Rod Barajas (B) already signed with the Pirates.
- The Pirates offered arbitration to Derrek Lee (B) while declining to offer Ryan Ludwick (B) and Chris Snyder (B) arbitration. Ryan Doumit (B) already signed with the Twins.
- The Phillies did not offer Roy Oswalt (A) or Brad Lidge (B) arbitration, according to the AP (via ESPN). The team announced that it offered arbitration to Raul Ibanez (B), Ryan Madson (A, will not cost signing team a draft pick), and Jimmy Rollins (A), according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com (via Twitter).
- The Cubs offered arbitration to Carlos Pena (B) and Aramis Ramirez (B) but not to Kerry Wood (B), according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter).
- The Cardinals offered Edwin Jackson (B) and Albert Pujols (A) arbitration, but declined to make offers to Rafael Furcal (B) and Arthur Rhodes (B), according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter). That leaves Octavio Dotel (modified B, no arbitration offer necessary).
- The Mets offered Jose Reyes (A) arbitration, according to Newsday's Ken Davidoff (on Twitter).
- The Padres will offer arbitration to Heath Bell (A, will not cost signing team a draft pick) and Aaron Harang (B), tweets Corey Brock of MLB.com.
- The Brewers offered Prince Fielder (A) and Francisco Rodriguez (A, will not cost signing team a draft pick) arbitration. They declined to offer Yuniesky Betancourt (B) arbitration. Takashi Saito (A), contractually cannot be offered arbitration.
- The Braves did not offer arbitration to Alex Gonzalez (B), according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Teams with automatic decisions only:
- Reds: Francisco Cordero (modified B, no arbitration offer necessary), Ramon Hernandez (modified B, no arbitration offer necessary)
- Astros: Clint Barmes (B, already signed with Pirates)
- Rockies: Mark Ellis (B, already signed with Dodgers)
Nationals Visiting Buehrle At His Home Today
Nationals officials including GM Mike Rizzo are visiting free agent lefty Mark Buehrle and his agents at his home in St. Louis today, reports Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. Kilgore says Buehrle is the team's top free agent choice. Roy Oswalt seems to be Plan B. The Nationals met with the agents for both pitchers at last week's GM Meetings.
Rizzo is looking for a horse, and the 32-year-old Buehrle fits the bill with 11 consecutive seasons of 201+ innings. As I noted in October, the Nationals have front-end rotation talent in Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann, but neither is likely to be an innings-eater in 2012.
Aside from the Nationals, the Marlins, Cubs, Twins, Rangers, Yankees, Royals, Red Sox, Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, and Angels reportedly have interest in Buehrle.
Los Angeles Notes: Kuroda, Wilson, Dipoto, Colletti
Here's the latest from the City Of Angels (And Dodgers)….
- Ned Colletti wants to bring back Hiroki Kuroda next season, but isn't sure if the Dodgers can afford him or if Kuroda will return to Japan, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles.
- The Dodgers' major offseason moves could be wrapping up but Jerry Dipoto's first offseason as Angels GM is just beginning, writes Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times.
- From that same piece, DiGiovanna notes the club will look at "second-tier starters" like Kuroda, Aaron Harang, Jeff Francis, Bruce Chen and Roy Oswalt. Kuroda, Harang and Francis are also known to be on the Dodgers' list of pitching options.
- Of bigger-name starters, the Angels have been connected to C.J. Wilson this winter, but Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles wonders if the Angels' courtship of Wilson just a "smokescreen" intended to drive up Wilson's price for the Rangers. I'm not sure this tactic would specifically work on the Rangers given how they seem prepared to let Wilson leave if his price gets too high, but it could force one of Wilson's several other suitors to up their offer.
NL West Rumors: Dodgers, Oswalt, Rockies, D’Backs
Evening links from out of the NL West….
- While the Dodgers are still prioritizing Hiroki Kuroda, they're considering other starting options and met with Aaron Harang's agent today, writes MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.
- The Rockies are being "quietly aggressive" in their pursuit of trade targets and free agent Roy Oswalt, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Oswalt's agent, Bob Garber, says the Rockies "have a shot" at signing his client, though multiple GMs are expected to meet with Oswalt at his home next week.
- It sounds like the Diamondbacks only have mild interest in Oswalt, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. In a column, Piecoro adds that GM Kevin Towers is "kicking the tires" on possible trades, but doesn't feel a sense of urgency to get anything done soon.
- Despite the run on middle infielders to start the offseason, the Rockies won't reach for a second baseman, says Gurnick.
- The Giants will have a $130MM payroll in 2012, with arbitration raises making up most of the slight increase, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links).
C.J. Wilson Rumors: Wednesday
Bob Garber, the agent for both C.J. Wilson and Roy Oswalt, has been quite busy at the GM meetings as he's met or plans to meet with the Marlins, Yankees, Royals, Angels, Nationals, Rockies, and Rangers during his time in Milwaukee. Garber also told MLBTR that he had at least three new meetings scheduled for today. Here's the latest news surrounding Wilson, with the newest updates up top…
- Rangers president Nolan Ryan only had good things to say about Wilson today, but didn't sound overly optimistic about re-signing him, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Ryan said of the left-hander: "You know, he was a big part of our team. Any ballclub's going to miss that if they lose it" (Twitter link).
- The Red Sox will meet with Garber tonight, tweets Daniel Barbarisi of the Wall Street Journal.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter) reports that Wilson is setting his sights high for his next contract, seeking a six-year deal worth close to $120MM.
- Wilson will start visiting clubs next week and the Angels are among the teams that will get visit, tweets Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. DiGiovanna adds that Garber will have met with ten teams by end of the GM meetings.
- As we learned yesterday, Garber requested a meeting between Wilson and the Yankees in New York. Garber is still waiting to hear back from the Yanks, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated.
- The Marlins have interest in both Wilson and Oswalt, but have more interest in Wilson, tweets Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post.
NL West Links: Street, Furcal, Prado, Rockies
The latest out of the National League West..
- Rockies closer Huston Street is a name to keep in mind for the Red Sox, tweets Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe.
- Based on multiple conversations with executives and agents, Troy Renck of The Denver Post tweets that the Rockies are not in on free agent Rafael Furcal. The shortstop is seeking a two-year deal in the $16MM range.
- The Rockies don't feel as though they have to give up a center fielder to get Martin Prado from the Braves in a trade, so there is still hope for a deal, Renck tweets.
- If Prado isn't a possibility for the club, Orlando Hudson might be, says Renck (via Twitter). However, the club is divided on whether he fits or if they would be better off turning to internal options instead.
- Rockies General Manager Dan O'Dowd is after a "No. 3 or No. 4" pitcher, writes Troy Renck of The Denver Post. The team's search has led them to talks with Roy Oswalt, and the team is being aggressive in their pursuit, according to several agents and executives, Renck tweets. While Oswalt is interested, he's in no rush to sign with anyone.
- Dodgers owner Frank McCourt will sell 100% of the team but retain the land outside of the Dodger Stadium parking lots in a deal that could be worth upwards of $1.3 billion, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
- FOX Sports released a statement on the Dodgers' lawsuit against them and termed the action as the "latest chapter in the current owner's ongoing scheme to avoid honoring his contractual obligations," tweets Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
Who’s Met With Bob Garber?
1:05pm: Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. is talking with Garber today, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
11:53am: As the agent for top free agent starters C.J. Wilson and Roy Oswalt, Bob Garber of Select Sports Group has been popular so far at the GM Meetings. He's met or plans to meet with the Marlins, Yankees, Royals, Angels, Nationals, Rockies, and Rangers, according to reports, and tells me he has at least three more new meetings today.
Nats GM To Meet With Buehrle’s Agent
WEDNESDAY, 11:21am: Rizzo will meet with Buehrle's agent before the GM Meetings end, the GM told Kilgore.
MONDAY, 11:25pm: Nationals GM Mike Rizzo met for about 45 minutes tonight with Bob Garber, the agent for free agents C.J. Wilson and Roy Oswalt, writes Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post. Afterward, Garber wouldn't say much about the talks but did note that Rizzo expressed interest in both pitchers and the sides will keep talking as the offseason moves forward.
Garber characterized the talks as "preliminary" but noted that there's enough interest on both sides of the table for talks to continue. The Nats will also make a strong push for left-hander Mark Buerhle, a person familiar with the Nationals’ plans told Kilgore.
Central Notes: Neil Walker, Royals, Oswalt
The latest on several Central division clubs…
- The Pirates are not currently engaged in contract extension discussions for Neil Walker, reports Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The second baseman is under team control through 2016, and will be eligible for arbitration after the 2012 season if he qualifies as a Super Two player.
- Roy Oswalt's agent Bob Garber is expected to meet with the Royals today or tomorrow in Milwaukee, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Garber's agency also represents C.J. Wilson. Kansas City's interest in Oswalt is minimal, however, cautions a Royals source (Twitter link).
- SI's Jon Heyman hears scuttlebutt that if Jim Crane is approved as Astros owner this week, he may spend on a free agent or two. Click here to read my offseason outlook for the team.
- The Tigers have scouted Cuban center fielder Yoenis Cespedes several times, assistant GM Al Avila told John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press.
- The Cubs and White Sox could lose possible supplemental draft picks if Type B compensation is eliminated this winter, explains Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune. Of course, under the current system the player has to receive and turn down an arbitration offer for compensation to be possible. For a look at all the Type B free agents, click here.