Odds & Ends: Everidge, Lincecum, Lewis, Manny
Links for Wednesday…
- Tommy Everidge cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. The Mariners designated Everidge for assignment last week to make room on the roster for Eric Byrnes.
- Various agents think the Giants and Tim Lincecum will somehow avoid an arbitration hearing regardless of how poorly talks are going, reports MLB.com's Chris Haft.
- The Astros signed 18-year-old Nicaraguan first baseman Mesac Laguna yesterday, reports Roger Olivas of El Nuevo Diaro.
- Free agent journeyman Nelson Figueroa hopes to return to the Mets but wants to avoid the minors, reports Angel Pinto Vaamonde of the blog BeisbolVenezolano.net. Thanks to Nick Collias for translations on these two bullets.
- Colby Lewis heard from 12 or 13 teams before signing with the Rangers, reports ESPN's Tim Kurkjian. The A's and Twins also offered two-year deals.
- Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball explains how an arbitration hearing works. Hearings are scheduled through February 21st, with Tim Lincecum's case drawing the most attention.
- Manny Ramirez "seriously considered opting out of his contract to return to the American League for a designated-hitter role," reports MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. The idea seems silly now, but in November it wasn't ridiculous to think Manny might've preferred to chase, say, a two-year, $32MM deal elsewhere.
- Bill Shanks of Scout.com talked to Braves assistant GM Bruce Manno, who replied "Never say never" when asked about Johnny Damon. Still, Manno likes the club as it stands. And MLB.com's Mark Bowman believes the Braves are not actively pursuing Damon.
- Rany Jazayerli examines a "delusional" quote from an anonymous Royals official regarding the team's 2008-09 offseason.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says the Blue Jays should have significant payroll flexibility after the 2010 season.
- MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince doesn't see Orlando Hudson as a fit for the Indians.
Lincecum Talks Not Going Well
Talks about a two-year contract between the Giants and two-time defending Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum have not been going well according to CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban. In fact, Urban says it would be more accurate to call the negotiations "dismissals" rather than "discussions," because the righty's camp has rejected every one of the team's proposals.
SI.com's Jon Heyman states the obvious and says that the two sides are likely headed to an arbitration hearing later this month, however he adds that this is something that likely never would have happened under Peter Magowan's watch. Magowan stepped down as the team's managing partner after the 2008 season, and had historically taken care of his star players.
Lincecum filed for $13MM in his first year of arbitration eligibility, while the team countered with just $8MM. He's going to set a new salary record for a first year eligible pitcher regardless of the outcome, but it's worth noting that Lincecum's average fastball velocity dropped from 94.1-mph in 2008 to 92.4-mph last season, so perhaps the club has some concerns about his long-term durability.
Slusser On Tomko, Kennedy, Nomar
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle addresses free agents Brett Tomko, Adam Kennedy, and Nomar Garciaparra in a new blog post.
- Tomko suffered a nerve injury on September 14th that caused his biceps to atrophy to the point of resembling lumpy gravy. The biceps is better now, but Tomko trying to pitch through forearm numbness. He hopes to be game-ready by the start of the season and spoke of a preference for the A's or Giants.
- Kennedy is talking to the Nationals and Indians, but continues to wait on Orlando Hudson's decision.
- Nomar is "widely expected" to retire. If he does, he'd bow out at age 36 with a career line of .313/.361/.521.
Odds & Ends: Tejada, Lincecum, Bedard
Some links for your Tuesday night…
- Melvin Mora wasn't the only former Oriole the Rockies were interested in this offseason. Dan O'Dowd & Co. had interest in Miguel Tejada before he signed with the Orioles, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. The Rockies were willing to spend on Tejada, but the infielder didn't seem to like the idea of rotating between infield positions.
- The Giants have only engaged Tim Lincecum in "very insignificant" conversations about two-year deals, the pitcher's agent tells Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. Rick Thurman expects the sides to go to a hearing.
- Even scouts aren't sure when Erik Bedard will be able to pitch, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
- Peter Gammons tweets some advice to Adam Kennedy: call the Tigers.
- Tyler Hissey says Boston's improved defense should combine with the club's deep rotation to prevent more runs, especially if Clay Buchholz breaks out.
Giants Sign Guillermo Mota
The Giants signed Guillermo Mota to a minor league deal, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. Unlike Horacio Ramirez and Byung-Hyun Kim, who also agreed to deals with the Giants today, Mota receives an invitation to Spring Training.
The Dodgers didn't offer Mota arbitration after the righty posted a 3.44 ERA for them last year in 65.1 innings of relief. The 36-year-old's rate stats – 5.4 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 – are nothing special, but his average fastball is about 94 mph.
Giants Sign Horacio Ramirez
The Giants signed lefty Horacio Ramirez to a minor league deal, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Ramirez, 30, pitched only 22.6 big league innings for the Royals in 2009 after re-signing for a surprising $1.8MM in December '08. He was designated for assignment in June, and landed with the Nationals' Triple A club. Ramirez made 16 uninspiring starts for Syracuse.
Giants To Sign Byung-Hyun Kim
The Giants agreed to a minor league deal with reliever Byung-Hyun Kim, reports ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Kim last pitched in the Majors for the Marlins in '07. He signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Pirates in February of '08, but was bought out a month later for $300K.
Kim, now represented by Paul Cobbe, spent most of the last few years "re-charging" in South Korea.
Players To Avoid Arbitration: Saturday
Here are the players who have avoided arbitration by agreeing to contracts today…
- Brian Wilson and the Giants have agreed to a one-year deal worth "about" $4.4MM, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal notes that this total is the midpoint between the two competing figures. The deal gives Wilson a healthy raise over the $480K he made last season.
Giants Done Shopping; No Calero, No Byrnes
Two high-ranking Giants officials told Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com that the club is done shopping. As Urban notes via Twitter, the Giants' decision not to hand out more major league contracts means we shouldn't expect a Kiko Calero signing. The door appears shut on the Eric Byrnes front and Johnny Damon appears to be an unlikely fit, also.
Hisanori Takahashi Seeking Major League Deal
Japanese lefty Hisanori Takahashi seeks a big league deal as he attempts to transition to MLB, reports ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Crasnick names five interested teams: the Orioles, Dodgers, Mets, Red Sox, and Giants. Takahashi, 35 in April, is willing to pitch as a starter or reliever.
Last year for the Yomiuri Giants Takahashi posted a 2.94 ERA, 7.9 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, and 1.0 HR/9 in 144 innings. Takahashi's '08 numbers: 4.13 ERA, 6.9 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, and 1.18 HR/9 in 122 innings. By numbers alone Takahashi could be considered a command guy who might have trouble keeping the ball in the yard and exceeding 150 innings.
Back in November, Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker profiled Takahashi. He earned about $1.3MM in '09 and is represented by Peter Greenberg. Takahashi doesn't throw very hard or shut down lefties, but is known for his screwball.