Heyman On Royals, Cuddyer, Andruw, Astros
Congratulations to national baseball writer Jon Heyman, who has a new job with CBSSports.com starting Monday. As usual, Heyman is tweeting up a storm; here's his latest from the Winter Meetings (all links go to Twitter):
- The Royals are talking trades for starters and are in on Oakland's Gio Gonzalez.
- Everyone wants bullpen help but few want it more than the Padres, Brewers, and Red Sox.
- The Phillies haven't completely ruled out Michael Cuddyer, but the Twins are still trying to bring him back as well. The Giants and Red Sox are other logical destinations, in Heyman's estimation.
- The Yankees would love to bring back Andruw Jones for his right-handed pop and strong clubhouse presence.
- Former Reds executive Scott Nethery is in the mix for the Astros GM opening. Andrew Friedman is still their top choice, Bill Geivett and Jeff Luhnow are also in the mix.
- The Astros will also eat most of Carlos Lee's contract to facilitate a trade. They still expect a good return for Wandy Rodriguez and something decent for Brett Myers in any trade.
- Heyman also said this morning that the Angels are looking for a closer and the Pirates are talking to Derrek Lee.
Heyman On Braves, Wilson, Reyes, Astros, Minaya
The Marlins agreed to sign Heath Bell last night and they may make more major free agent signings later this month. Here’s the latest from Jon Heyman of SI.com, starting with a note on the Marlins (Twitter links):
- The Braves want a young outfielder and shortstop plus other players for Jair Jurrjens.
- The Yankees have looked at free agent left-hander Mike Gonzalez.
- The Nationals will push for C.J. Wilson, according to Heyman. They want a left-handed starter and Wilson appears to be their top target.
- The Marlins are optimistic about signing Jose Reyes and they are considering upping their initial bid (it was in the $75-90MM range). The Mets and Marlins appear to be Reyes' two main suitors, but interested teams view the Tigers as a threat to sign the shortstop. “They are good poker players,” one exec said.
- The Astros are shopping Wandy Rodriguez, Brett Myers and Carlos Lee. I’d guess it’s unlikely they make a move before they hire a new GM.
- The Astros "will do whatever it takes'' to hire Rays executive Andrew Friedman, according to Heyman. Friedman is unsure if he wants to leave the Rays, however.
- The Padres and Brewers are showing interest in former Mets and Expos GM Omar Minaya and he may make a decision soon.
- Jorge Posada would like to play if he can find the right job and Heyman suggests the Marlins are a possible fit for the switch-hitter.
Quick Hits: Murton, Wilson, Twins, Draft
Here are some links for Monday night as we anticipate the end of a managerial search in Boston and the beginning of a GM search in Houston…
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker hears that Matt Murton will return to the Hanshin Tigers for 2012 (Twitter link). Murton could have been an outside-the-box alternative for teams looking for outfield help this offseason. The 30-year-old has a .286/.352/.436 line in parts of five MLB seasons and has hit well in Japan.
- C.J. Wilson, who visited with the Marlins today, has another free agent visit scheduled this week, but it’s not with the Rangers, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter).
- Twins people expect former GM Bill Smith to remain in the organization, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Minnesota replaced Smith with longtime GM Terry Ryan earlier this month.
- Speaking of the Twins, they’re one of many teams in on Yoenis Cespedes, according to Yahoo’s Tim Brown. This appears to be the first time they’ve been linked to the 26-year-old outfielder.
- The Astros are shopping Wandy Rodriguez all over, according to Brown.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America hears that the 30 MLB teams will be limited to $180MM in total spending for the first ten rounds of the draft under the new collective bargaining agreement (Twitter link).
- Teams that fail to sign top draft picks can’t re-allocate the money saved toward deals for other draft picks, according to MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo. For example, a team that fails to sign a top pick who had a recommended bonus of $1.5MM would see its spending ceiling fall by $1.5MM and would not have the option of spending that $1.5MM on other players.
Astros Links: Rodriguez, Wade, Mills
Ed Wade's tenure as Astros GM lasted four years and a few months, as his dismissal was announced last night. David Gottfried will serve as interim GM. New Astros president and CEO George Postolos described the team's criteria for their next GM in a statement last night:
"We are searching for a candidate who has the knowledge, skills and experience to build a winner and a strong commitment to player development in order to sustain success. Our goal is to consistently compete for a championship, and we know the first step towards that goal is to develop one of the top farm systems in baseball. We will hire the best candidate available to achieve our goal."
That's a pretty standard-issue statement. Here are today's Astros links…
- The Astros don’t expect to hire a new GM before the Winter Meetings begin next Monday, according to MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart.
- There’s a “decent-sized” market for Wandy Rodriguez if the next Astros GM wants to move him, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (on Twitter).
- Wade was informed by owner Jim Crane and Postolos Wednesday morning that he wouldn't return, he told MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. The Astros will be paying him through 2013. Wade expressed disappointment he won't be able to see the rebuilding project through to the end. He added, "We were able to acquire Randy Wolf, LaTroy Hawkins and Jose Valverde and several other players, who, in different economic circumstances, we could have retained and could have been more successful at the big league level. The last couple of years in the economic environment we were in, we were in position of being mandated to trade iconic players — Berkman and Oswalt in 2010 and then young All-Stars in Bourn and Pence and [Jeff] Keppinger, who was a solid piece to our club."
- Wade indicated he wants to find a new job in baseball quickly, saying, "I haven't had a lot of down time and I'm not looking for down time."
- Wade "inched the franchise back toward respectability," in the opinion of Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle.
- One "really smart executive" estimated that the Astros will take four to seven years to become respectable again, writes ESPN's Buster Olney.
- The Astros will choose their new GM before clarifying the status of manager Brad Mills, hears SI's Jon Heyman (Twitter link). Mills is not a candidate to return to Boston as their next manager, tweets Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald.
NL Central Notes: Saito, Fielder, Pujols
The Astros announced last night that GM Ed Wade and longtime executive Tal Smith have been dismissed. Here are some notes from the NL Central…
- The Brewers announced Johnny Narron will replace Dale Sveum as their hitting coach. Narron, who's the older brother of Brewers bench coach Jerry Narron, had previously worked with the Rangers and developed a strong relationship with Josh Hamilton. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has reaction from GM Doug Melvin, manager Ron Roenicke and Narron.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Brewers need relievers (assuming Francisco Rodriguez turns down arbitration).
- The Brewers have maintained dialogue with the agent for free agent reliever Takashi Saito, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
- Baseball executives tell Yahoo’s Jeff Passan that they have trouble identifying a team other than the Cardinals that’s a realistic potential destination for Albert Pujols. The Marlins bid on Pujols, but they aren’t seen as a realistic suitor.
- Generally speaking, Passan’s sources say they prefer overweight players to aging ones. This could play in Prince Fielder’s favor, since he’s just 27.
Cafardo On Lowrie, Rodriguez, Gonzalez, Marlins
In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe gives a list of suggestions for the Red Sox's offseason. As they look for a solution in right field, Cafardo feels that the club should go after Michael Cuddyer with Carlos Beltran as a Plan B. The BoSox are also looking for a pair of affordable starters and two interesting names that could be had in deals are Joe Saunders of the Diamondbacks and Francisco Liriano of the Twins. Here's more from Cafardo..
- There were many scouts and GMs in the Dominican Republic recently and Jed Lowrie came up often as a possible shortstop/third base candidate. Teams like his offense and are skeptical about his defense, but are more worried about his mental toughness and his ability to play through injury. The 27-year-old may become a chip for the Red Sox in a deal.
- The Astros are getting more and more inquiries about the availability of Wandy Rodriguez. The Red Sox are one of the teams that have asked.
- Scouts and GMs believe that the Athletics would deal left-hander Gio Gonzalez for the right price. An NL talent evaluator noted that the 26-year-old would be at the top of a lot of teams' lists.
- Baseball people we talked to seem to think that if the Marlins are thinking big, Jose Reyes is the most logical signing for them, with Hanley Ramirez shifting over to third. Cafardo also wonders if the Brewers would explore signing with the likelihood of losing Prince Fielder.
- Free agent David Ortiz is still very much in play with the Orioles. O's GM Dan Duquette met with Ortiz’s agent, Fern Cuza, at the GM meetings.
- Cafardo could envision Jason Varitek backing up Matt Wieters in Baltimore
- The BoSox have considered former Mets GM Omar Minaya for a front office role, but nothing is official yet.
NL Central Links: Wandy, Reds, Cards’ Manager
Some NL Central linkage …
- Astros GM Ed Wade said today on MLB Network Radio that he is open to all offers on left-hander Wandy Rodriguez, tweets Jim Bowden. The Astros tried to move Rodriguez in a post-deadline transaction in August, but they were unable to reach agreement on trade with the Rockies when Colorado was awarded a waiver claim on the southpaw. We heard a couple weeks ago, though, that some expect the Rockies to again pursue Rodriguez this offseason.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty said that Cincinnati is more likelty to pursue players via trades than free agency this offseason, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The club's most pressing needs, according to Fay, are a top-of-the-rotation starter and a right-handed-hitting power bat.
- The Cardinals' won't expand their candidate list beyond Mike Matheny, Terry Francona, Ryne Sandberg, Jose Oquendo, Joe McEwing and Chris Maloney, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com, who's hearing great things about Matheny and wouldn't be surprised if Matheny were named the next skipper in an upset (Twitter links).
Yankees, Red Sox, Rangers Interested In Buehrle
6:05pm: It's highly unlikely that the Yankees will make a serious run for Buehrle, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
1:54pm: The Yankees, Red Sox, and Rangers are interested in free agent lefty Mark Buehrle, report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, and the Marlins are meeting with him today. Buehrle, 32, posted a 3.59 ERA, 4.8 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 0.92 HR/9, and 44.9% groundball rate in 205 1/3 innings this year. The long time White Sox starter has pitched 200+ innings in every season since 2001.
The Marlins and Blue Jays are the teams most aggressively pursuing trades for starting pitchers, add Rosenthal and Morosi. One GM said of the Jays' Alex Anthopoulos, "You can’t pin him down. He has interest in every one of your players."
James Shields, Wade Davis, Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill, Jair Jurrjens, John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Chad Billingsley, and Wandy Rodriguez are the pitchers "known or thought to be available in trades," according to the FOX writers. Cahill and Billingsley are the new names here, but it's unclear whether they fall under "known" or "thought." The availability of Rodriguez will depend on whether Jim Crane is approved as new Astros owner next week, as Crane does not share Drayton McLane's reluctance to move the 32-year-old.
Rockies Links: Wandy Rodriguez, Michael Young
Let's round up the latest from the club at the highest altitude…
- People within the game believe that the Rockies will make another aggressive attempt to acquire Wandy Rodriguez from the Astros this winter, according to Troy Renck of The Denver Post. There is $36MM left on Rodriguez's contract, but Colorado was willing to absorb that when they claimed him off trade waivers in August. The two teams could not work out a deal and lefty remained in Houston.
- The Rockies were "100 percent convinced" they had a deal in place for Michael Young before the season, reports Renck (on Twitter). He says the trade fell through on the Rangers' end, not Colorado's.
- Tim Dierkes broke down the team's Offseason Outlook and Arbitration Cases earlier this month.
Quick Hits: Nationals, Mets, Wandy, Blue Jays
On this date 25 years ago, A's rookie Mark McGwire hit his first MLB home run. Another historic slugger, Jim Thome, could be on the move this week. Here are the latest links from around MLB…
- Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post wants to see Davey Johnson return as the Nationals' skipper in 2012. Earlier this week, GM Mike Rizzo raved about Johnson's ability to connect with his players.
- The Mets haven't yet had internal discussions about picking up the 2013 option for manager Terry Collins, but they'll likely discuss the possibility within the next month, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears from someone connected to baseball management who wonders why MLB players don't insist on slotting. Capping bonuses does have potential benefits, but as Rosenthal explains, it's far from an ideal system.
- The Astros wanted Wilin Rosario or Drew Pomeranz for Wandy Rodriguez, but the Rockies were only offering Jason Hammel, Casey Weathers or Christian Friedrich, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Talks between the two teams reached a standstill yesterday, after the Rockies claimed Rodriguez earlier in the week.
- The Blue Jays announced that they signed non-drafted free agent Luke Willson, a left-handed hitter who also plays tight end for the Rice University Owls.