Odds & Ends: Giants, Yost, Red Sox, Blue Jays
Wednesday linkage…
- It appears that the Yankees added pitcher Zack Segovia on a minor league deal, writes Chad Jennings of The Journal News.
- Reed Johnson is still in the mix for the Cubs' fourth outfielder job, assistant GM Randy Bush told Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.
- Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News passes along a comment from Giants GM Brian Sabean: someone will be designated for assignment to make room for Aubrey Huff. CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban says it won't be Fred Lewis, but Lewis is probably done with the Giants anyway.
- The Royals named former Brewers manager Ned Yost special advisor to baseball operations, according to a team press release.
- John Dewan of Baseball Info Solutions suggests the Red Sox could add eight or nine wins via their defensive improvements (hat tip to Alex Speier of WEEI). In an article for ESPN, Dave Cameron says the Red Sox "have traded on-base percentage for ultimate zone ratings."
- Rany Jazayerli says the Royals' move for Scott Podsednik "wasn't a good signing, but it's not worth getting worked up over either."
- Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle suggests Drayton McLane's $650MM asking price for the Astros "might make it difficult for him to find a buyer."
- Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues assesses possible Yankees target Xavier Nady.
- Jack Moore of FanGraphs likes the Ryan Church signing for the Pirates.
- MLB.com's Jordan Bastian writes that the Blue Jays signed pitcher Willie Collazo, infielder Jesus Merchan, and outfielder Jorge Padilla to minor league deals.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reiterates the Cubs' interest in Kiko Calero, but guesses the team's interest "is probably contingent" on the health of the reliever's shoulder.
- Brett Myers intends to "stick it" to the Phillies, according to the AP. How dare they pay him over $30MM and stick by him through domestic abuse charges.
Odds & Ends: Valverde, Gardner, Wells
Rounding up some news from around the majors on this Tuesday night….
- MLB.com's Jason Beck cites a report from an unnamed radio station which states the Tigers' offer to Jose Valverde is for two years. In another piece, Beck calls Detroit "the most logical destination" for Valverde.
- Brett Gardner has two backers (sort of) in Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News and ESPN's Keith Law. McCarron would like to see the Yankees acquire a "get-the-uniform-dirty type" but thinks Gardner should get "a real chance" to play every day. Law would let Gardner start the season because he feels that potential signings Reed Johnson or Xavier Nady are "marginal improvements that may not justify the cost."
- Jordan Bastian of MLB.com says the Blue Jays aren't thinking of moving Vernon Wells to a corner outfield spot in spite of Wells' declining UZR numbers in center. One factor might be that the Jays don't really have any other solid CF options, especially with Alex Rios no longer on the roster.
- C.J. Wilson is not a candidate to be traded despite the Rangers' signing of Darren Oliver, reports Ben Rogers of ESPNDallas.com.
- MLB.com's Jim Street says Miguel Tejada's asking price is too high for the Mariners to make a play for the free-agent infielder.
- Brian McTaggart of MLB.com passes along a report from Houston's KRIV-TV that Great Court Capital is the investment company negotiating to buy the Astros from Drayton McLane.
- Eric Hinske tells David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Atlanta "really seemed like the best situation" out of the clubs who made him offers.
- Doug Miller of MLB.com provides a quick round-up of some of the remaining free agents on the market.
Damon Remains Unlikely For Yankees
Buster Olney of ESPN and Joel Sherman of the New York Post find a Johnny Damon-Yankees reunion unlikely.
Both writers say Damon would have to greatly reduce his salary demands. According to Sherman, the Yankees are telling agents they have only $2MM to spend. Both writers also agree that Brian Cashman would have to lobby Hal Steinbrenner to expand the budget to accomodate Damon. Sherman says a July trade for Mike Cameron was scrapped because Hal would not approve a $5.5MM increase.
In the likely event the Yanks move on from Damon, Sherman ranks the team's targets: Xavier Nady, Reed Johnson, Rocco Baldelli, Jerry Hairston Jr., and Marcus Thames.
Rangers Considering DH Targets
MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan has the latest on the Rangers' pursuit of a free agent designated hitter. He suggests the Rangers are very interested in Vladimir Guerrero and Jermaine Dye, and consider Xavier Nady an intriguing name. Gary Sheffield and Jim Thome are also in the mix.
There are issues with Vlad and Dye. With Vlad, it's a matter of agreeing on the financials. Maybe Guerrero expects big money, but I imagine reality will set in a month from now. DH jobs are few and far between. Dye, on the other hand, isn't quite ready to stop playing defense.
Cardinals Eyeing Felipe Lopez
Mark DeRosa is off the board, and the Cardinals continue to await an answer from Matt Holliday. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch sums up the Cards' other free agent targets in an article this morning.
Goold says the Cardinals are "known to have interest" in free agent infielder Felipe Lopez, who finished the '08 season with a bang in St. Louis. He was used in a super-utility role in his brief time there. Lopez had a fine 2009 (.310/.383/.427), but he's received little interest so far this winter. Last time around Lopez was scooped up by the D'Backs for $3.5MM on December 12th.
Goold also reminds us of two other free agent targets for the Cards: Xavier Nady and Jermaine Dye. It's unclear whether the Braves still have interest in Nady, while the Rangers are the team most often linked to Dye.
Yankees Search For Left Fielder
The New York Yankees are interested in Mark DeRosa and will be disappointed if the versatile veteran agrees to terms with the Giants, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter). Here are a few other recent updates on the Yankees' hunt for a left fielder:
- The Yankees still appear serious about their payroll restrictions. GM Brian Cashman says Xavier Nady's price "is above the Yankees' current budget," according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.
- Hoch adds that Cashman is "throwing ice water" on any ideas of signing a player like Jason Bay or Matt Holliday. Hoch notes that the situation is reminiscent of 2005, when the Yankees insisted Bubba Crosby would start in center field, before they eventually signed Johnny Damon.
- The Yanks also don't appear to be a primary suitor for Jermaine Dye, tweets Heyman. Heyman lists a handful of teams more likely to sign Dye, including the Braves, Giants and Rangers.
Odds & Ends: Yankees, Beltre, Carroll
Merry Christmas everyone! It's time to see what news has been left for us under the tree. I hope there's a vortex football in there for me as well…
- Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports took a look at the offseason thus far in the National League. For his portion on the Cubs, Ringolsby writes that they got the better end of the Milton Bradley-for-Carlos Silva swap.
- Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball counted up the money spent by every team in baseball from 1999-2009, using the end of year salary totals. Over this stretch, the Yankees have spent 44% more than the number two top spender, the Red Sox.
- Sam Borden of the LoHud Yankees Blog takes a look at the remaining free agents who could fill the Yankees' vacancy in left field. Three names that jump out to him: Jonny Gomes, Xavier Nady, and Reed Johnson. Although Gomes had a strong '09 offensively (.879 OPS), his career defensive metrics leave much to be desired. Nady, of course, is only an attractive option if healthy.
- The A's are talking with free agent Adrian Beltre, according to the headline of a post by Mychael Urban of Comcast SportsNet. We first heard that Oakland was interested a week ago, but "only in an Oakland economy size financial package." Urban's piece says that Beltre is reportedly seeking $10-15MM per season.
- Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times writes that Jamey Carroll's contract with the Dodgers does not include the "Ramirez Provision", which is a clause that mandates a donation to the team's charity. While owner Frank McCourt said that the clause would be standard for all contracts after Manny Ramirez signed his new deal, a grievance filed by the player's union may have caused the Dodgers to ease up on the requirement.
- The Chiba Lotte Mariners will be sending a representative to California to negotiate with/for Dodgers pitcher Eric Stults, according to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker who passes along the report from Spinochi. The Japanese club has been interested in Stults for a couple of months and have already been rebuffed by the Dodgers once already.
Outfield Options For The Braves
The Braves have Nate McLouth, Melky Cabrera, Jordan Schafer, Jason Heyward and Matt Diaz under team control next year, but they could still go after an outfielder.
ESPN.com's Jayson Stark says the Braves saved about $9MM by dealing Javier Vazquez. Jason Bay is too pricey for them, but Johnny Damon and Xavier Nady could be fits. As an alternative to free agency, Stark suggests the Braves could deal an outfielder for a bat (he mentions Dan Uggla as a possible trade target).
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Braves and Yankees both say Bay and Matt Holliday are too expensive. Both teams are interested in Mark DeRosa, and Rosenthal says we shouldn't rule out Marlon Byrd for either club. The Braves would prefer to sign a right-handed hitter like DeRosa or Byrd, but could still bring back lefty-hitting first baseman Adam LaRoche.
Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Overbay, Nady, Holliday
Some links for your Tuesday morning…
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says there's no guarantee the Dodgers will spend the money they saved in the Juan Pierre deal.
- Newsday's David Lennon says Omar Minaya had plans to speak with John Lackey today and concludes that the pitcher wasn't interested in joining the Mets.
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick says there's speculation that the Jays will deal Lyle Overbay now that they're set to obtain Brett Wallace.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that the Red Sox are looking at righty outfielders such as Xavier Nady to contribute in a utility role.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff doesn't expect the Yankees to commit to another nine-figure salary and sign Matt Holliday, especially since they need pitching.
- Rob Neyer of ESPN.com says the $130MM or so the Cardinals have apparently offered Holliday is "too much risk for too many years."
- The Marlins signed Clay Hensley to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. The 30-year-old righty didn't pitch in the majors last year.
- Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel says the Marlins, who will watch Aroldis Chapman throw, have "legit" interest in the 21-year-old lefty.
- Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston points out that the Red Sox have tons of cash, even if they like to downplay their wealth.
- Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe likes the Lackey signing for the Red Sox.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Kelvim Escobar will pitch in front of teams this week in Venezuela. We know the Mets recently offered him a minor league deal.
- Lots of people have said the Brewers are a threat to sign Mark Mulder. GM Doug Melvin confirmed on 1250 WSSP in Milwaukee that he thinks the Brewers are the "frontrunners" to sign the lefty (Hat Tip: MLB.com's Adam McCalvy).
- Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner says the Mariners could use a player like Luke Scott.
- Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun wonders how seroiusly the Orioles are interested in Japanese pitcher Hisanori Takahashi. The O's met with his agents at the Winter Meetings.
- Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News says the Yankees are glad to see Roy Halladay leave the AL East. I'm sure Yankees fans agree.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Yanks would be comfortable playing Melky Cabrera in left and using Johnny Damon as the primary DH.
- The A's sent three people to watch Aroldis Chapman throw in Houston, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Gammons On Bay, Beltre, Red Sox
Peter Gammons' departure from ESPN has become a story in itself during this busy off-season, and Gammons' media rounds continued today as a guest on the WEEI Sports Radio Network's Big Show. A full transcript is available here, but here are some of the hot stove items that Gammons had to share….
- Gammons said that Jason Bay "does not want to play in San Francisco, pure and simple," in spite of the fact that the Giants would be willing to offer Bay the five-year contract that he is apparently seeking.
- The Angels won't be players in the Bay sweepstakes, as Gammons predicted they will instead spend their money to re-sign John Lackey.
- Gammons thinks the Mariners might still make an offer to retain Adrian Beltre, though such a move might create some issues with the newly-signed Chone Figgins, who came to Seattle under the impression that he would be the new third baseman. Gammons reported that Beltre "hates" Safeco Field.
- Given Roy Halladay's injury history, Gammons said "it would be a disaster" for Boston to trade Casey Kelly and Clay Buchholz for Halladay and sign the Toronto ace to a long-term contract.
- If the Red Sox don't end up with either Bay or Matt Holliday, Gammons opined that Boston could pursue a defense-first strategy for a season by signing Mike Cameron and Xavier Nady. Or, Boston could just save their money now and stand pat until mid-season before making any trades.
- Even if the Red Sox add another big-money starter, the team would like to keep Josh Beckett because of the leadership he provides to the younger pitchers.
- Speaking of clubhouse leadership, Gammons said that Marco Scutaro's ability to mentor Jose Iglesias was a factor in Boston signing the former Blue Jays shortstop. Another reason was that Scutaro had a clean bill of health, unlike Mark DeRosa, who Gammons said the Red Sox were "a little bit cautious" on signing due to his wrist problems last season.