Giants Sign Eli Whiteside
The Giants have signed catcher Eli Whiteside to a Major League contract, reports John Shea of The San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). San Francisco non-tendered the 32-year-old Pro Star Management client this past Monday, and we heard he was close to a return on Wednesday.
Whiteside started playing regularly when Buster Posey's season ended this past May, posting a modest .197/.264/.310 line in 236 plate appearances. Had the Giants tendered Whiteside a contract, he would have been in line for a 2012 salary in the $700K range, according to our projections. He figures to compete with Hector Sanchez and Chris Stewart for playing time behind Posey in 2012.
Quick Hits: Beltran, Vizquel, Pirates, Gio
Happy birthday to Phillies second baseman Chase Utley, who turns 33 on December 17. Utley is looking to rebound from his most disappointing full season in the majors, as he posted just a .769 OPS and didn't play until May 23 due to an unusual knee injury.
Some news from around baseball as we head into the weekend…
- Carlos Beltran has at least one offer worth $10MM per year on the table, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. With the Rockies out of the picture after signing Michael Cuddyer, Beltran's known market includes the Blue Jays, Cardinals and two mystery teams.
- Responding to fans on his Twitter feed, Omar Vizquel says he plans to play in 2012, isn't returning to the White Sox and would "go now" if the Giants offered him a one-year deal (all links are via Twitter).
- Pirates players and officials took part in a Q&A period at today's Piratefest fan event and Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review was there to tweet some pertinent hot stove information. Manager Clint Hurdle said the team is still interested in re-signing Derrek Lee and team president Frank Coonelly said the Pirates were prepared for the cap on draft signings in the new collective bargaining agreement.
- Reggie Willits intends to play in 2012 and has discussed opporunities with MLB teams, tweets MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith.
- GM Neal Huntington said the Pirates want to keep Andrew McCutchen "as long as we can (but) we've got to be smart about it" (via Biertempfel's Twitter account). McCutchen's name was floated in trade rumors earlier this winter but they were quickly shot down by Bucs management.
- The Tigers should keep pursuing Gio Gonzalez, writes John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press, even though he doesn't think the Tigers would deal the Athletics' asking price of prospects (Jacob Turner, Drew Smyly and Nick Castellanos) "for any one player."
- The Rule 5 draft is losing relevance and could soon be abandoned "in history's dustbin," writes Baseball America's John Manuel.
- The Astros, Athletics, Cubs, Padres and White Sox are "the five most intriguing sellers" in baseball according to FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi, who lists each club's biggest trade chips and what teams could fit as trade partners.
Sign-And-Trade Involving Nakajima Possible
FRIDAY: The Yankees have not discussed a sign-and-trade with Nakajima since winning the bidding for him, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports (on Twitter).
WEDNESDAY: The Yankees won the bidding for Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be wearing pinstripes in 2012. Agent Greg Genske has approached the Yankees about the possibility of a sign-and-trade, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Giants and Cubs like Nakajima, according to Rosenthal.
The Yankees won the rights to Nakajima with a bid in the $2MM range last week. They now have 30 days to reach an agreement with the 29-year-old, who will return to the Seibu Lions for another year if he doesn’t sign. Nakajima would like to play every day, but he’s not ruling anything out — even a backup role with the Yankees.
Minor Moves: Rangers, Lindsay, Texeira, James
Here's where we'll track today's minor moves, most of which were reported by Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus on Twitter…
- The Rangers invited recent non-tender Fabio Castillo and catcher Chris Robinson to Spring Training, according to Anthony Andro of FOXSportsSouthwest.com (on Twitter). The Rangers signed former supplemental first round pick Zach Jackson, according to Goldstein.
- The Twins signed right-hander Daryl Thompson, Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune tweets. They also signed lefty Aaron Thompson, according to Goldstein.
- The Dodgers signed Shane Lindsay.
- The Reds signed Kanekoa Texeira.
- The Pirates signed lefty Kris Johnson.
- The Giants signed Joaquin Arias.
- The Mariners signed catcher Guillermo Quiroz.
- The Blue Jays signed 2002 first rounder Clint Everts.
- The Rays signed right-hander Matt Torra.
- The Mets announced the signing of left-hander Chuck James, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). James appeared in eight games for the Twins this past season, and spent most of the season at Triple-A. The 30-year-old posted a 2.30 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 62 2/3 innings as a reliever for the Twins' top affiliate.
- The Padres released utility man Eric Patterson, tweets Matt Eddy of Baseball America.
- The Royals released righty Jake Rodriguez, tweets Eddy.
- The Red Sox released righty Miguel Gonzalez.
Giants, Eli Whiteside Nearing Deal
The Giants are nearing a deal with catcher Eli Whiteside, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (on Twitter). San Francisco non-tendered the 32-year-old Pro Star Management client Monday.
Whiteside started playing regularly when Buster Posey's season ended this past May, posting a modest .197/.264/.310 line in 236 plate appearances. Had the Giants tendered Whiteside a contract, he would have been in line for a 2012 salary in the $700K range, according to our projections. He figures to compete with Hector Sanchez and Chris Stewart for playing time behind Posey in 2012.
Giants To Sign Guillermo Mota
The Giants have agreed to re-sign Guillermo Mota, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). It's a $1MM deal, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reported the sides were nearing a deal last week.
Mota pitched 80 1/3 innings for the Giants in 2011, posting a 3.81 ERA with 8.6 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 40.8% ground ball rate. In 13 big league seasons, the native of the Dominican Republic has a 3.91 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9. Wasserman Media Group represents the 38-year-old right-hander.
Michael Cuddyer Rumors: Tuesday
Michael Cuddyer is drawing lots of interest and with Josh Willingham agreeing to sign with the Twins, it won't be long before the market for Cuddyer becomes easier to read. Here are the latest details on Cuddyer:
- Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com say (on Twitter) that the Mariners are talking to Cuddyer as well.
- The Rockies offer to Cuddyer was larger than the three years and $25MM the Twins offered him, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). Cuddyer is seeking $30MM+ and has been mulling Colorado's offer for days.
- The Twins maintain that their deal with Willingham is not yet finished, and that they are still talking with Cuddyer according to Joe Christensen of The Star Tribune (on Twitter).
- There has been no immediate movement between the Rockies and Cuddyer following the news of Willingham's agreement with the Twins, reports MLB.com's Thomas Harding (on Twitter).
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that there is at least one team besides the Rockies pursuing Cuddyer, and it's hardly a given that he heads to Colorado (Twitter links). The Giants and Red Sox are not the teams interested in Cuddyer, according to Morosi (Twitter links).
- Cuddyer's original asking price was $36MM over three years and he continues to seek $30MM for three years, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
- A person close to Cuddyer told Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he'll likely decide on his next team within three or four days. It appears that the Twins' most recent offer to Cuddyer — $24MM over three years, according to Christensen — is essentially a final offer. Jason Kubel remains high on the Twins' list as well, but the team will sign just one of Willingham, Cuddyer and Kubel.
- The Twins are feeling some confidence that they'll end up with either Cuddyer or Willingham, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
- Earlier today, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported that the Rockies are pushing for Cuddyer or Carlos Beltran.
National League Non-Tenders
Here are this year's National League non-tenders. You can also keep track of all teams with our non-tender tracker and check out our list of non-tender candidates:
- The Braves non-tendered Peter Moylan, according to Ronald Blum of the AP. They also non-tendered Brooks Conrad, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports (on Twitter).
- The Mets non-tendered Ronny Paulino and Mike Baxter, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).
- The Cardinals will non-tender Ryan Theriot, according to B.J. Rains of FOXSportsMidwest.com (Twitter link).
- The Giants will non-tender Jeff Keppinger and Eli Whiteside, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News (on Twitter).
- The Pirates announced that they're non-tendering infielder Pedro Ciriaco and catcher Jason Jaramillo.
- The Padres announced that they non-tendered Jeremy Hermida.
- The Marlins non-tendered Clay Hensley, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post (on Twitter).
- The Dodgers announced that they non-tendered Hong-Chih Kuo (Twitter link).
- The Rockies announced that they non-tendered outfielders Ryan Spilborghs and Cole Garner (Twitter link).
- The Cubs non-tendered Koyie Hill, according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat (Twitter link).
- The D'Backs will non-tender Joe Saunders and Micah Owings, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Arizona will try to re-sign both pitchers. The team has confirmed the moves.
- The Nationals will non-tender left-hander Doug Slaten, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post (Twitter link).
Players To Avoid Arbitration
Tonight is the deadline for teams to tender contracts to arbitration eligible players. Many teams will agree to terms with players before the deadline and we'll keep track of them here:
- The Orioles have agreed to terms with Dana Eveland on a one-year, $750K deal for 2012, MLBTR has learned.
- The Giants have agreed to terms with Mike Fontenot on a one-year deal for 2012, avoiding arbitration, MLBTR has learned. It's a $1.05MM deal, according to the Associated Press.
- The Red Sox announced that they re-signed Matt Albers. He'll earn $1.075MM, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com.
- The Padres agreed to terms with Chris Denorfia on a one-year deal, according to Dan Hayes of the North County Times (Twitter link). The deal is worth $1.165MM, according to Ronald Blum of the AP
The Pirates agreed to terms with Jason Grilli on a one-year, $1.1MM deal for 2012, MLBTR has learned. - The Rockies agreed to terms with Kevin Slowey on a one-year deal, the team announced (on Twitter). Slowey obtains $2.75MM from the Rockies, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter link). MLBTR had projected a $2.7MM salary.
- The Blue Jays agreed to sign Jeff Mathis to one-year deal that guarantees the backstop $1.5MM in 2012, MLBTR has learned. The Blue Jays have since confirmed the move.
- The Blue Jays have avoided arbitration with Jesse Litsch (one-year, $975K) and Dustin McGowan (one-year, $600K) according to a team press release.
- The Dodgers have signed outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. to a two-year deal.
- The A's announced that they agreed to terms with Landon Powell, Daric Barton and Adam Rosales on one-year deals for 2012. The A's aren't non-tendering any arbitration eligible players this offseason. Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group hears Barton will earn $1.1MM in 2012 (Twitter link). Rosales will earn $600K and Powell will earn $620K, according to Ronald Blum of the AP.
- The Marlins signed Donnie Murphy to a contract for 2012, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post (Twitter link). He'll earn $560K, according to Ronald Blum of the AP.
- The Brewers announced that they signed George Kottaras to a one-year deal, avoiding arbitration. He'll earn $700K, according to Ronald Blum of the AP.
- The Astros avoided arbitration with Humberto Quintero, signing him to a one-year deal worth $1MM, according to the team. MLBTR had projected a $1.2MM salary for Quintero.
- The Angels agreed to terms with right-hander Jerome Williams on a one-year deal, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times (on Twitter). Williams agreed to sign for $820K with $120K in incentives, according to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez (on Twitter).
- Skip Schumaker is nearing a two-year deal with the Cardinals.
Quick Hits: Bell, Reyes, D’Backs, Rox, Rollins
A handful of odds and ends as Friday night winds down …
- Joe Frisaro of MLB.com has the breakdown on Heath Bell's and Jose Reyes' respective contracts with the Marlins. Bell's 2015 club option for $9MM will vest if he finishes 55 games in 2014 or 100 games in 2013-14. Reyes will earn a $1MM bonus if he wins a World Series MVP.
- D'Backs GM Kevin Towers told reporters, including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, that he's looking to fortify his bullpen and perhaps add another starting pitcher (Twitter link).
- The Rockies are looking for a short-term answer at third base so as not to block the path of prospect Nolan Arenado, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
- Phillies GM Ruben Amaro will meet with shortstop Jimmy Rollins' agent, Dan Lozano, on Saturday, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.
- Brewers shortstop Alex Gonzalez told Spanish-language sports talk radio show Los Cronistas in Venezuela that he had offers from the Giants and the Mets but that he chose to sign with Milwaukee because he wanted to be a starter (Twitter links). Thanks to MLBTR's Nick Collias for the translation.