Odds & Ends: Treanor, Barton, Damon, Kelly Johnson
More links as the weekend draws closer…
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports that the Brewers signed catcher Matt Treanor to a minor league deal. The former Tiger struggled to stay healthy this year.
- The Dodgers signed outfielder Brian Barton to a minor league deal, according to Hernandez. The 27-year-old has hit just .268/.354/.392 in 179 big league plate appearances, all coming in 2008.
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson has learned that the Nationals are not interested in Johnny Damon because they're trying to improve their defense.
- David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution tweets that Damon has some interest in signing with the Braves. The outfielder would have to be willing to take a pay cut to join the club, in O'Brien's opinion.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports that the D'Backs have made Kelly Johnson an offer. The details aren't clear, but Piecoro guesses it's a one-year deal worth $2MM.
- Dodgers' GM Ned Colletti said that any talks with Cincinnati are "all but dead," according to Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times. Yesterday we heard the two teams were exploring an Aaron Harang trade.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that the Tigers, Giants and Royals have interest in Jack Cust. ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick says the Mariners may be the favorites to sign Cust.
- Jorge Arangure Jr. of ESPN.com hears that Jose Contreras is narrowing his options down and preparing to sign. His agent says "there are some interesting opportunities in the bullpen."
- Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com says that with his options dwindling, Miguel Tejada might have to slide over to third to be rewarded with a contract.
- Claudio Vargas' deal with the Brewers is worth $900K, says Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel. The righty could also earn another $400K in incentives.
- O'Brien mentions that Adam LaRoche said there's been no contact from the Braves that he knows of. Earlier we learned that some teams were put off by LaRoche's asking price.
- Corey Brock of MLB.com reports that the Padres have named Jaron Madison scouting director. Madison spent the last two years working as the assistant scouting director in St. Louis.
- Venezuelan reporter Efrain Zavarce says that Kelvim Escobar has signed with…a Venezuelan Winter League team. He'll pitch in relief tomorrow, and the Rays will have someone in attendance.
Olney On Gonzalez, LaRoche, Holliday
ESPN.com's Buster Olney asked an "independent evaluator" to guess what the Red Sox would have to give up to obtain Adrian Gonzalez. Olney's source says the Padres need to acquire Ryan Westmoreland and Casey Kelly, plus other highly-touted prospects. Gonzalez is under control for two more years at $10.25MM. He'd probably be worth $40MM-plus over two years on the open market, so the Padres have some serious bargaining power. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:
- The A's are interested in Adrian Beltre, but "only in an Oakland economy size financial package."
- Some teams bristle at the idea of paying eight figures for Beltre.
- Some teams have been put off by Adam LaRoche's asking price.
- The Orioles checked out of the Matt Holliday derby when they learned that he's asking for considerably more than $75MM.
Padres, Crisp Talking Deal
Tim heard yesterday that Crisp, who says he's healthy after surgery on each shoulder, would prefer a one-year deal with the Padres or A's. As for other teams, the Cubs have some interest and the Royals are open to bringing him back. Some considered the Red Sox and White Sox suitors, but they've both added outfielders this week in Mike Cameron and Juan Pierre.
Padres Notes: Denorfia, Gonzalez, Payroll
The San Diego Padres have signed Chris Denorfia to a minor league contract, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock. Denorfia, who will receive an invite to Spring Training, has posted respectable career numbers in the majors (.279/.356/.380), albeit in only 237 plate appearances. The 29-year-old outfielder spent the last two years with the Oakland A's organization.
Meanwhile, Brock also shares some information from Padres CEO Jeff Moorad regarding Adrian Gonzalez. Moorad says that "there's nothing active" or currently "on the table" involving the first baseman. The Red Sox have been linked to Gonzalez most frequently in trade rumors, but Moorad doesn't believe GMs Jed Hoyer and Theo Epstein have had any conversations since the Winter Meetings. Still, Moorad concedes the Padres would "be silly not to listen" on any Gonzalez offer that would "dramatically improve" the club. The catch there, of course, is that even a strong haul of prospects probably has no chance of dramatically improving the Padres for at least a year or two.
One more note from Moorad: After the Padres slashed payroll by nearly $30MM heading into 2009, the team may have a little more breathing room this winter. Moorad says Hoyer "has money to spend, not a lot, but money to spend." San Diego's 2009 salaries totaled around $43MM, while 2010 could potentially see them up closer to $50MM. This slight flexibility perhaps explains the club's decision to retain Kevin Correia, following rumors that the righty would be non-tendered.
Odds & Ends: Mike Gonzalez, Second Base, Penny
Links for Thursday…
- One official who spoke to MASN's Roch Kubatko called yesterday's Gordon Edes tweet about the Orioles making a run at Adrian Gonzalez "complete fiction."
- ESPN's Keith Law doesn't mind the Orioles' Mike Gonzalez signing, but finds the loss of a decent draft pick to be the "real negative." Law does not expect much from Garrett Atkins.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says there's a surplus of available second basemen this year. He suggests some free agents will have to switch positions to find jobs.
- Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes about the "longstanding mutual interest" between the Cardinals and Brad Penny.
- Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe does not think the Red Sox should include Jacoby Ellsbury in a trade for Gonzalez.
- Talking to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News, Yankees catcher Jorge Posada said he'd like the team to acquire one more starter to allow Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain to work in relief. Also, Posada expects Johnny Damon to return.
Olney On Holliday, Bay, DeRosa
Hot stove nuggets from ESPN's Buster Olney…
- Olney doesn't see Jacoby Ellsbury as a great fit for the Padres in a potential Adrian Gonzalez deal, in that Ellsbury will be arbitration-eligible a year from now and is represented by Scott Boras.
- Olney heard the Red Sox would be interested in signing Matt Holliday at less than the current Cardinals offer. Here's the question: what exactly did the Cardinals offer to Holliday in guaranteed money and years? $15-16MM a year for up to eight years is pretty vague. Is it just a five-year offer, as Olney suggested a few days ago?
- Jose Valverde is in a bad place, writes Olney, as there's no clear suitor looking to spend $8-10MM for a closer and give up a draft pick. If Valverde lingers on the market into February he could be a bargain.
- Olney heard that the Mets' "five-year concept" for Jason Bay is heavily backloaded, so much that the true value is similar to Boston's rejected four-year, $60MM offer.
- Righty Edgar Gonzalez might be Japan-bound. He spent this year in the Oakland organization.
- Mark DeRosa's asking price appears to have come down – Olney says it's in the three-year, $18MM range. Still seems too pricey, but it's a step in the right direction.
Adrian Gonzalez Rumors: Wednesday
8:00pm: Edes tweets that the Orioles "made a pretty good run" at Gonzalez during the Winter Meetings. It seems clear that Gonzalez has the potential to spark quite a bidding war.
1:36pm: ESPN's Gordon Edes tweets that there's "nothing going on" on the Gonzalez front. Edes doesn't expect the Red Sox to land Adrian Beltre or Matt Holliday either. Larry Stone of the Seattle Times believes that if the Padres do make Gonzalez available, the Mariners "won't let the Red Sox get him without a fight."
11:36am: Interesting tweet from ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. – he has a source close to Gonzalez who believes the player will be traded to Boston within the next ten days.
9:13am: The Red Sox are "working hard" to obtain Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, write Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The writers caution that a deal is "not close, and might not happen at all." Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote late last night that the two teams are not talking, but wondered if they'd re-engage.
Rosenthal and Morosi suggest the signings of John Lackey and Mike Cameron give the Red Sox flexibility to trade Clay Buchholz and Jacoby Ellsbury, and the Padres would be tempted by the chance to acquire both for Gonzalez. The Sox are reluctant to make that deal. Still, getting Gonzalez at $10.25MM over two years would free up resources for other pursuits during that time.
Odds & Ends: Carroll, Crisp, Cameron, Hermida
Links for Wednesday…
- The Tigers signed lefty Brad Thomas out of Korea, and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that they paid $1MM.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette confirmed our report of the Pirates' interest in Kelly Johnson, explaining that the Pirates view him as a corner outfield option.
- FanGraphs' Dave Cameron wonders why teams seem to undervalue Cliff Lee. In a related story, Lee's agent Darek Braunecker believes their position has been mischaracterized.
- ESPN's Buster Olney expects Jamey Carroll to choose between two-year offers from the A's and Dodgers, probably today (I mistakenly wrote the Angels earlier).
- Mentioned first on Twitter: I've heard that Coco Crisp would prefer a one-year deal with the Padres or A's.
- Boston's Mike Cameron signing was officially announced today. Michael Silverman and John Tomase of the Boston Herald have details on the two-year, $15.5MM contract. John Lackey's deal was also announced.
- WEEI's Alex Speier says the Red Sox told Jeremy Hermida they'd trade him if they re-signed Jason Bay. Speier wonders if the Cameron signing will prompt a Hermida deal.
- The Angels' one-year, $6.5MM deal with Hideki Matsui was also announced, as was John Buck's one-year, $2MM deal with Toronto and Ross Gload's two-year, $2.6MM deal with the Phillies.
- The Royals put out word they've re-signed outfielder Shane Costa to a minor league deal. Costa, 28, missed almost the entire '09 season with a leg injury.
- USA Today's Bob Nightengale tweets details on LaTroy Hawkins' two-year, $7.5MM deal with the Brewers.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker examines the reports about reliever Ryota Igarashi, who might be headed to the Red Sox or Mets.
- The Mariners signed 19-year-old shortstop Pedro Okuda to a minor league deal, according to a team press release. Okuda was born and raised in Brazil but attended high school in Japan.
Odds & Ends: Wang, Yankees, White Sox
Some Sunday links…
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) says that three AL teams and three NL teams have shown interest in Chien-Ming Wang. However, the Dodgers are not one of those teams "yet." Rosenthal notes that Wang is a favorite of Joe Torre and his staff.
- In his running blog, Rosenthal says that Kevin Youkilis' versatility gives the Red Sox a number of options this winter. Boston could sign Adrian Beltre to play third or, for a much lower price, Nick Johnson to play first.
- Regardless of where Wang signs, we can safely assume that it will not be for a split contract. The Yankees made the 29-year-old a minor-league offer that would become a major-league deal once his shoulder was healthy. Wang's agent demanded guaranteed money, according to Bill Madden of the New York Daily News.
- Earlier today, Buster Olney mentioned the Yanks as a possible destination for free agent outfielder Brian Giles. Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger hears that the club is just doing its "due diligence" by checking in on the soon-to-be 39-year-old.
- The White Sox have signed Freddie Bynum and T.J. Bohn to minor league deals, according to the FutureSox twitter page.
- Kevin Correia's agent Barry Axelrod told Dan Hayes of the North County Times that the Brewers and Rays both showed interested in trading for his client. While GM Jed Hoyer gave him no guarantees that the one-year deal won't be a sign-and-trade, Axelrod is confident that the 29-year-old will pitch for San Diego in 2010.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel spoke to Mike Rivera, who was non-tendered by the Brewers yesterday. Rivera says he was caught off guard by the decision but was told by GM Doug Melvin that the organization might reach out to him again at some point.
Cafardo On Gonzalez, Rodney, Valverde
In his latest column for the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo applauds the Yankees' offseason moves so far, but writes that they still have some major decisions ahead of them. Here are some other highlights from Cafardo:
- According to a source, talks between the Red Sox and Padres about Adrian Gonzalez aren't progressing. Padres GM Jed Hoyer is asking for at least Clay Buchholz and either Casey Kelly or Ryan Westmoreland, and the Sox would prefer not to give up that much.
- Cafardo likes Mike Cameron, but not Milton Bradley, as a fit in Boston.
- An NL scout views Boof Bonser as a reliever with closing potential, rather than as a starter.
- Before signing Brandon Lyon, the Astros were talking to Fernando Rodney as well. Apparently his asking price was near $30MM over three years. If that's true, he'll probably end up disappointed this winter.
- Jose Valverde may be "pricing himself out of the market" as well. Teams like the Tigers and Orioles seem unwilling to commit $10MM+ annually to Valverde in a long-term deal.