Added To 40-Man Roster: Giants, Dodgers, Pirates
Today is the deadline for teams to add players to the 40-man roster to protect them from next month's Rule 5 draft. Here's more on which players need to be protected and here are the details on which players have had their contracts selected to the 40-man roster:
- The Giants added Hector Correa, Charlie Culberson, Tyler Graham, Roger Kieschnick, Dan Otero and Angel Villalona to their 40-man roster, reports Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News (Twitter links). Baggarly suspects Villalona's inclusion may be a "procedural move," since Villalona still needs a new visa to play in the United States.
- The Dodgers have added Michael Antonini, Alex Castellanos, Stephen Fife, Josh Wall and Chris Withrow to their 40-man roster, according to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times (Twitter link).
- The Pirates have announced the additions of Matt Hague, Starling Marte, Jordy Mercer, Rudy Owens, Duke Welker and Justin Wilson to their 40-man roster. Pittsburgh's 40-man roster is now full.
- The Mariners added Chih-Hsien Chang, Francisco Martinez and Carlos Triunfel to the 40-man roster, reports Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Radio Seattle (via Twitter).
- The Angels added Johnny Hellweg, Fabio Martinez, Ariel Pena and Jean Segura to their 40-man roster, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
- The Red Sox announced that Drake Britton, Che-Hsuan Lin and Will Middlebrooks were added to the club's 40-man roster.
- The Rangers added pitchers Jacob Brigham, Roman Mendez, Justin Miller, Martin Perez, Neil Ramirez and Matt West to their 40-man roster, reports Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest (via Twitter).
- The Indians announced that Scott Barnes, Juan Diaz and Danny Salazar were added to the team's 40-man roster. The Tribe's roster now has a full complement of 40 players.
- The Cubs announced that Jeff Beliveau, Junior Lake, Matt Szczur and Josh Vitters have been added to the club's 40-man roster.
Giants Links: Lincecum, Free Agents, Baer
A few notes regarding the 2010 World Series champs …
- Tim Lincecum's agent, Rick Thurman of Beverly Hills Sports Council, said he's not seeking more than a one- or two-year deal for the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner, tweets Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News, although Thurman added that "there are never any absolutes."
- Lincecum is eligible for two more rounds of arbitration — and could see an historic raise if it gets that far — before free agency after 2013. Suffice it to say Lincecum, still only 27, has some bargaining leverage, so it could take something as substantial as an eight-year deal to lock him up, as suggested by Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com.
- VP of baseball operations Bobby Evans said the Giants could add an outfield bat, but he doesn't envision drastic changes, tweets Morosi. Evans also mentioned Buster Posey and Freddy Sanchez are on track to be healthy for Spring Training as they recover from their respective season-ending injuries in 2011.
- The owners today approved Larry Baer's appointment as Giants CEO, according to Baggarly. Baer replaces for Bill Neukom, who was asked to step down in September. Baggarly expects business as usual under Baer, who has been a long-tenured executive with the organization.
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).
Giants Attempting To Extend Matt Cain
While we heard earlier today that the Giants are more focused on a long-term extension for Tim Lincecum than fellow starter Matt Cain, team president Larry Baer says the club is trying to lock up Matt Cain as well, tweets SI.com's Jon Heyman. Heyman adds that the Giants may prefer deals of approximately four years.
Here are a few other items of interest from the National League West:
- The Padres are preparing for the Rule 5 draft with some minor moves. They've requested waivers on Alberto Gonzalez, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (Twitter link), and will remove Jeremy Hermida from the roster later in the week, according to Dan Hayes of the North County Times (via Twitter).
- Rusty Ryal signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks after having spent a year in Japan, reports Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter).
- The Rockies met with Milton Bradley's agents today, tweets Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Minor Moves: Kimball, Corporan, Rottino, Pascucci
Today's minor moves…
- The Twins re-signed left-hander Phil Dumatrait, according to the Sosnick Cobbe Twitter page. Dumatrait appeared in 45 games for the Twins last season, posting a 3.92 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9.
- The Blue Jays claimed right-hander Cole Kimball off of waivers from Washington, according to the Nationals' official Twitter feed. Meanwhile, the Nats outrighted outfielder Corey Brown to Triple-A Syracuse.
- Astros catcher Carlos Corporan cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Oklahoma City, tweets Alyson Footer of the Astros. Corporan has the right to elect free agency due to previously being outrighted.
- The Mets signed catcher/left fielder/first baseman Vinny Rottino and first baseman/DH Val Pascucci to minor league deals, reports ESPN's Adam Rubin. Both players saw their first big league action in several years in 2011.
- Eric Duncan, drafted in the first round by the Yankees in 2003, has signed with the Royals, tweets Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus. The 26-year-old played mostly first base, second base, and left field this year for the Cardinals' Double-A affiliate, hitting .274/.322/.527 in 385 plate appearances.
- The White Sox re-signed Leyson Septimo, tweets Goldstein. The Sox claimed the hard-throwing 26-year-old southpaw off waivers from Arizona in June but removed him from their 40-man roster in October.
- The Giants signed center fielder Gregor Blanco, according to his agency (via Matt Eddy of Baseball America on Twitter). The 27-year-old spent the year with the Triple-A affiliates of the Nationals and Royals, hitting .201/.350/.327 in 252 plate appearances.
- The Phillies acquired righty Adam Worthington from the Diamondbacks to complete the September Mike Zagurski trade, tweets Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Worthington, 24, posted a 4.48 ERA, 10.0 K/9, 4.6 BB/9, and 0.6 HR/9 in 62 1/3 High-A relief innings this year.
- The Yankees signed lefty reliever Mike O'Connor, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. The 31-year-old appeared briefly in the Majors for the Mets this year, also posting a 5.22 ERA, 9.8 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, and 1.0 HR/9 in 60 1/3 Triple-A innings.
Quick Hits: Sizemore, Ponson, Braves
Wednesday afternoon linkage as the news continues to fly in from the Milwaukee meetings..
- A number of teams remain in play for Grady Sizemore including the Giants, Rockies, Cubs, Red Sox, Rangers, Mariners, and Nationals, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
- The Athletics met with Sidney Ponson's agent today, a source tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter).
- Braves GM Frank Wren and agent Adam Katz are now meeting in Milwaukee, tweets MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith. Katz is a part of Wasserman Media Group and represents a number of players, including Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes. To view WMG's client list, check out MLBTR's Agency Database.
NL West Rumors: Lincecum, Rockies, Dodgers
The latest out of the NL West…
- Signing Tim Lincecum to a multiyear deal is at the top of the Giants' agenda, reports SI's Jon Heyman. The Giants are aiming for at least a four-year deal, which would buy out two years of free agency. Though Matt Cain is a year closer to free agency, Heyman says the focus is more on Lincecum. Heyman believes Lincecum's agents at Beverly Hills Sports Council could file as high as $25MM in arbitration this winter, in my opinion a risky move if the Giants come in around $20MM. For more on Lincecum's historic arbitration case, click here.
- The Rockies will not dabble financially in marginal players, explained GM Dan O'Dowd to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. They do have interest in Paul Maholm, Jeff Francis, and J.C. Romero, though, according to Renck, after bigger free agent targets such as Grady Sizemore and Roy Oswalt.
- The Dodgers will lower their payroll in 2012, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times. The team's opening day payroll was about $120MM in 2011. So far this offseason they've added $6.5MM in 2012 salaries for Mark Ellis and Juan Rivera. Here's my offseason outlook for the club.
- Unlike Ellis' deal, Aaron Hill's new contract with the Diamondbacks is not backloaded. He'll earn $5.5MM in each of the '12 and '13 seasons, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Piecoro has an updated look at Arizona's payroll, and concludes that they'd need to non-tender Joe Saunders to be able to afford one of the better free agent pitchers on the market. MLBTR readers are split remarkably evenly as to whether Saunders will be tendered a contract on December 12th.
Eight Teams Interested In Grady Sizemore
TUESDAY, 11:27am: The Rockies have examined Sizemore's medical records and believe he's worth the risk on a one-year deal, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. The Rockies expect to watch Sizemore work out in the coming days.
The A's have no interest in pursuing Sizemore, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
MONDAY, 7:38pm: There's no shortage of interest in Grady Sizemore this offseason. The free agent outfielder has drawn interest from eight teams, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. The Cubs, Rangers, Giants and Yankees are potential suitors for Sizemore, along with the Phillies, Rockies, Red Sox and Indians.
The Giants are interested, even after acquiring Melky Cabrera, and the Cubs view Sizemore as a possible fit in right field. The A's, who saw their entire outfield hit free agency after the season, have also been linked to Sizemore.
Sizemore's knees have limited him to 104 total games in the past two seasons, so the Indians declined their $9MM club option after the season, making the 29-year-old a free agent. He hit 10 homers and posted a .224/.285/.422 line in 2011, but Sizemore combined power, speed and on-base skills as one of baseball's premier center fielders from 2005-08.
Marlins Offered Jose Reyes Six Years, $90MM
The Marlins offered $90MM over six years to Jose Reyes, a source told Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. They say Reyes is intrigued by playing in warm weather and for Ozzie Guillen. Reyes wants a contract worth a minimum of $100MM, however, tweeted Joel Sherman of the New York Post yesterday. More from Rosenthal and Morosi…
- The Marlins have not discussed moving Hanley Ramirez to center field.
- Many in the industry are skeptical of the sincerity of the Marlins' early offers to Reyes, Albert Pujols, Mark Buehrle, and Ryan Madson, feeling the proposals are competitive but not good enough to accept.
- The Rangers and Angels are among the teams that are interested in both C.J. Wilson and Roy Oswalt. The Nationals prefer Oswalt. Both pitchers are clients of Bob Garber.
- Heath Bell could benefit from the new collective bargaining agreement if teams no longer have to surrender a draft pick to sign Type A free agents who turned down arbitration. Ramon Hernandez too, in my opinion. I'm surprised to hear that such a change could be instituted for the 2012-13 offseason, after some teams made July trade decisions based on the old free agent compensation system.
- The Padres want to trade Jason Bartlett or Orlando Hudson. They are currently the only two players the Padres have under contract. Bartlett's $5.5MM option for 2013 will vest with 432 plate appearances in 2012.
- Rafael Furcal has drawn interest from the Rockies, Tigers, and Blue Jays as a second baseman, but he prefers to remain at shortstop.
- Rosenthal and Morosi say not to rule out the Giants on Carlos Beltran yet.
- The Angels will know more about Kendrys Morales' condition after January 1st. Morales is still recovering from a fracture in his leg suffered in May of 2010.
Mariners Willing To Include Cash In Figgins Trade
The Chone Figgins' signing has been nothing short of a disaster for the Mariners, which is why the team is willing to include cash in any trade involving the infielder according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. There isn't much interest right now, but Morosi says the Mariners view the Reds, Giants, and Tigers as possible trade fits.
Figgins, 33 in January, has hit just .236/.309/.285 with 53 steals in 74 chances during his two years in Seattle. He can play second and third bases, and has also filled in at left field in recent years. There are still two years and $17MM left on his contract, and a $9MM option for 2014 will vest with 600 plate appearances in 2013. It's not unreasonable to think the Mariners will have to eat upwards of $15MM to move Figgins.