Four Teams Interested In Pudge?
3:32pm: Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times says not to expect any interest in Rodriguez from the Rays.
11:56am: Yesterday we heard that the Royals were interested in free agent catcher Ivan Rodriguez, and today SI.com's Jon Heyman adds the Rangers, Giants, and Rays to the mix.
Texas could be looking to bring Pudge back for depth after Jarrod Saltalamacchia left winter ball with a shoulder injury, while the Giants and Royals are looking to replace the departed Bengie Molina and Miguel Olivo, respectively. Tampa Bay, on the other hand, currently has both Kelly Shoppach and Dioner Navarro under contract, however both are prime non-tender candidates if the Rays don't like price tags.
The 38-year-old catcher hit .249/.280/.384 last year, and is a Type-B free agent. If he signs elsewhere, the Rangers will receive a supplemental first round draft pick, somewhere around 50th overall.
Giants’ Talk: Catchers, Rotation, Howry
Andrew Baggarly of The Mercury News and John Shea of The SF Chronicle have some notes on the Giants' for us…
- GM Brian Sabean said "nobody thinks [Buster Posey] is ready to catch 100-plus games in the big leagues," however they haven't made any "money offers" to any free agent catchers. He acknowledged that a multi-year deal for a backstop "wouldn't be wise."
- As for why they didn't offer Type-A free agent Bengie Molina arbitration, Sabean said the team didn't "need another arbitration case," and that they "have multiple needs and we want to spread the money throughout the roster."
- Sabean indicated that the team isn't comfortable paying Brad Penny or Juan Uribe what they want, and neither is likely to return. Both players declined one year deals last week.
- Shea says that if Penny leaves, the team probably won't move Jonathan Sanchez in a trade, while Baggarly says there is "less resistance to the idea of Madison Bumgarner beginning the season in the rotation."
- The team has informed reliever Bob Howry that they would like to bring him back, but they have not yet talked about money.
- The Giants will not forfeit a draft pick to sign a player, which rules out the Type-A's. They hold the 24th overall pick in next year's draft. However, Sabean said that Type-A's who weren't offered arbitration were "more sensible targets."
Odds & Ends: Oeltjen, Hensley, Gload, Halladay
Links for Friday, as team execs and media folk pack their bags for Monday's Winter Meetings in Indianapolis…
- The Brewers signed Trent Oeltjen to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Oeltjen, 27 in February, hit .303/.362/.500 in his third Triple A tour, playing the outfield corners.
- Brewers assistant GM Gord Ash spells out why his team won't be acquiring Roy Halladay, talking to McCalvy.
- MLB.com's Joe Frisaro tweets six minor league free agents signed by the Marlins, including Jesse Foppert, Vinny Rottino, and Hector Luna.
- The Pirates expressed "mild interest" in free agent pitcher Clay Hensley, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Hensley, 30, spent the year at Triple A in the Astros and Marlins organizations, posting a 3.56 ERA in 124 innings.
- Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post feels there's "still a good chance [Ross] Gload returns [to the Marlins] with a two-year deal."
- Darren Dreifort's five-year, $55MM deal tops Jeff Passan's list of the ten worst contracts of the 2000s for Yahoo.
- Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues explains why the Yankees probably won't sign Rafael Soriano.
- In his Winter Meetings preview for AOL FanHouse, Ed Price says there was some discussion about a Tigers-Diamondbacks trade involving Edwin Jackson and Max Scherzer.
- ESPN's Buster Olney talked to rival executives who say the Tigers have not aggressively shopped Curtis Granderson.
- Olney doesn't think the Mariners will pay up for Jason Bay. He believes the Red Sox are "controlling the market" for Bay and Matt Holliday.
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Cardinals are "increasingly weighing spreading what it would cost to retain Holliday over several players." Bernie Miklasz of the P-D feels the Cards are "enacting their exit strategy from the Holliday sweepstakes." I would not be surprised to see the Cardinals make their best offer soon - let's say $110MM over six years – and entirely move on if Scott Boras rejects it.
- SI's Jon Heyman tweets that Nick Johnson is "drawing interest from the Giants, maybe Braves, and a half-dozen more."
- MLB.com's Corey Brock talked to former Padres GM Kevin Towers, who will meet with the Mets, Yankees, Mariners, and Red Sox at the Winter Meetings.
- ESPN's Keith Law isn't impressed with the Phillies' Placido Polanco signing. My initial impression upon hearing about the signing is that no other team would've valued Polanco that highly.
- MLB.com's Joe Frisaro tweets that other teams have been more aggressive on Jamey Carroll than the Marlins. Other Carroll suitors include the Rockies, Red Sox, Angels, Dodgers, A's, Rangers, Pirates, Reds and Indians.
Giants Rumors: Penny, Uribe, Molina
Joan Ryan of MLB.com spoke to Giants' GM Brian Sabean about a variety of hot stove topics, so let's round 'em up…
- Sabean said the market "right now is as slow or slower than last year in developing."'
- The Giants made a one year offer to Brad Penny, and offered one year plus an option to Juan Uribe last week. Both were declined.
- Sabean added that catcher Bengie Molina "probably has been offered" a multi-year deal by another team, which would essentially guarantee he isn't coming back to San Francisco.
- Even though there might be some interesting "secondary free agents,'' as Sabean called them, he says they may not make as much sense as giving their own young players a chance.
- "In a perfect world, you'd love to have (Madison) Bumgarner and (Buster) Posey burst on the scene,'' Sabean said. "But you don't want to rush them. So you keep at it, at the grindstone, and be ready when the best opportunities pop.''
- Sabean mentions that they're "willing to go at the pace of the marketplace and show more patience," adding that people shouldn't read anything into it if nothing happens during the Winter Meetings next week.
Giants, Dodgers Pursuing Brad Ausmus
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com report that the Dodgers and Giants are among the teams pursuing free agent catcher Brad Ausmus. Peter Mrowka, Ausmus' agent, said it's "possible" but "not likely" that his client will play for a team not based on the West Coast next year.
The 40-year-old Ausmus hit .295/.343/.368 in 36 games (107 plate appearances) with the Dodgers last year, his best offensive season since 1999. The FoxSports.com duo mention the Padres as another possible landing spot.
Odds & Ends: Jenks, Polanco, Tate, Marquis
Some links for Thursday…
- John Manuel of Baseball America ranks all 30 MLB farm systems at SI.com. The Rangers, Rays and Giants top the list.
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick lists nine potential free agent bargains.
- Keith Law, Dave Cameron and Tyler Hissey don't like the Placido Polanco deal from the Phillies' standpoint.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Pirates have tentative interest in Xavier Nady and Ron Villone, who are both Scott Boras clients.
- Sam Borden of the Journal News wonders how many long-term contracts the Yanks can take on.
- The Yankees get the sense that Andy Pettitte isn't done yet, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.
- They aren't expected to consider an extension for Joe Girardi this offseason.
- Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports that the White Sox have begun preliminary talks with arbitration-eligible reliever Bobby Jenks.
- Placido Polanco appears to be nearing a three-year deal with the Phillies, but the Astros have some interest in the Gold Glover, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.
- Curtis Granderson tells MLB.com's Jason Beck that he doesn't let the trade talk get to him.
- The Rockies have tentative plans to meet with Rafael Betancourt's representatives this coming Monday, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
- As Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports, Donavan Tate, the Padres' third overall selection in the June draft, was injured in an ATV accident. He broke his jaw, but should be ready for Spring Training.
- Jason Marquis had a falling out with the Rockies, so Jon Heyman of SI.com suggests he isn't likely to accept the team's offer of arbitration.
- MLB.com's Matthew Leach explains why long-term deals are becoming less frequent in MLB.
- Juan Castro passed his physical, so his deal with the Phils is now offiicial, according to Andy Martino of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Pudge Likely To Turn Down Arbitration
Ivan Rodriguez is likely to turn down the Rangers' offer of arbitration to explore other options, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter). The Rangers could still work out a deal with the catcher, but they're not the only ones interested. The Royals and Giants are also in the picture, according to Heyman.
Pudge earned a base salary of $1.5MM last year, a figure he could presumably top by accepting arbitration. The 38-year-old hit .249/.280/.384 last year, splitting time with the two Texas teams. He threw out 35% of would-be base stealers, so he's still reasonably good at limiting the running game.
Heyman On Pudge, Wolf, Crede
The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…
- The Giants, Mets, and Royals have interest in free agent catcher Ivan Rodriguez, assuming he doesn't accept the Rangers' arbitration offer. Heyman says the Royals were trying to sign Brian Schneider before the Phillies signed him.
- Heyman names the Mets, Brewers, and Phillies as three clubs "believed to have some interest" in free agent lefty Randy Wolf. First we've read this winter of a possible Wolf-Phillies reunion.
- "At least the Orioles and Astros" are interested in free agent third baseman Joe Crede.
Odds & Ends: Hudson, Wolf, Betancourt, Braves
Links for Wednesday…
- The Reds signed pitcher Jon Adkins to a minor league deal, according to the pitcher's Twitter (hat tip to The Hall Of Very Good). Adkins spent 2009 pitching in Korea.
- The Giants were right not to offer arbitration to Bengie Molina, writes Grant Brisbee of McCovey Chronicles.
- Chris Pummer as well as our own Howard Megdal from The Perpetual Post weigh in on Andruw Jones, who recently signed with the White Sox for $500K.
- Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News discusses the chances of the Giants signing Miguel Tejada, Johnny Damon, Jermaine Dye, or Hudson.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says the Mariners are interested in Orlando Hudson, at the right price. The lack of an arbitration offer helps.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs looks at Ned Colletti's claim that the Dodgers' decision not to offer arbitration to Type A free agent Randy Wolf "was made strictly from a baseball perspective."
- No surprise here: Astros GM Ed Wade indicated that a reunion with Wolf is unlikely (MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reporting). Wade also downplayed the reports linking the Astros to Brett Myers and J.J. Putz, saying, "We've made contact with agents for about every player out there as a matter of course. I would not read anymore into it than that."
- ESPN's Buster Olney believes Rafael Betancourt "could be the player whose market is most affected" among the ten Type As offered arbitration.
- Ken Davidoff of Newsday questions the Mets' Billy Wagner trade from August.
- David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wonders if the Braves might now pursue a setup man such as Octavio Dotel or Fernando Rodney.
- Corey Brock and Steve Gilbert have Winter Meetings previews at MLB.com for the Padres and Diamondbacks, respectively.
- Diamond Leung links to stories indicating the Chiba Lotte Marines "are interested in purchasing the contract of Dodgers left-hander Eric Stults." Stults posted a 4.86 ERA in ten starts for the Dodgers last year, making another 13 starts in the minors.
Several Clubs Interested In Jermaine Dye
Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times has the latest on free agent outfielder Jermaine Dye. Cowley notes that while the Rangers are interested, Dye may prefer not to be a DH. He names the Red Sox, Cardinals, and Giants as other teams that have shown interest. Dye would presumably be a backup plan for the Red Sox and Cardinals.
What about the Yankees, who ESPN's Jerry Crasnick said yesterday discussed Dye internally? Cowley says the Yanks denied the report, yet his source said the team asked for Dye's medical reports.
As for the Giants, MLB.com's Chris Haft notes that Xavier Nady is another outfielder on their radar.