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Astros Notes: Rowland-Smith, Hall, Cust, Rodriguez

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The Rangers are grabbing all the headlines, but the other Texas team has been busy, too. The latest on the Astros:

  • Houston is interested in Ryan Rowland-Smith, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com (on Twitter).
  • The Astros think they could get more offense from second base and have expressed interest in Bill Hall, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. The Yankees and Dodgers have also shown interest in Hall this offseason. Clint Barmes and Jeff Keppinger figure to play short and second for the Astros unless GM Ed Wade makes an addition.
  • The Astros and Mariners are pushing for Jack Cust, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter). Seattle's interested in a number of free agents, including the former A's slugger.
  • Hall and Cust are free agents, but the Astros haven't ruled out making a trade or two. Wade told McTaggart that he exchanged trade proposals with teams today, though Houston's advances weren't embraced by rival clubs (Twitter link).
  • Wandy Rodriguez changed agents from Barry Praver to Adam Katz, according to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Rodriguez is set to discuss an extension with Houston.

Mariners Targeting Luis Valbuena

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9:00pm: The Mariners have yet to make their pitch to the Indians, according to Hoynes (on Twitter).

8:22pm: The teams are talking about a deal that would send Valbuena to Seattle and reunite him with former Indians manager Eric Wedge, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (on Twitter).

5:17pm: The Mariners are targeting Indians infielder Luis Valbuena as a second baseman, according to Shannon Drayer of ESPN 710 in Seattle (Twitter link). The 25-year-old appeared in 91 games for the Tribe last year, batting .193/.273/.258 in 310 plate appearances. He hit considerably better in 2009 when he posted a .250/.298/.416 line with 25 doubles.

Kevin Gregg Has Multiple Offers

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Kevin Gregg is drawing strong interest on potential multiyear deals and has offers from the Red Sox, Pirates, and Nationals, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). The Red Sox have offers out to a number of relievers other than Gregg, according to Rosenthal. They're known to be interested in Scott Downs, Matt Guerrier and Pedro Feliciano.

Rosenthal reports that the Orioles and Mariners are also in the mix for Gregg, who has also drawn interest from the Rockies. The Blue Jays will obtain a draft pick for losing Gregg, a Type B free agent.

Cardinals, Mariners, Athletics Interested In Zaun

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TUESDAY, 2:52pm: The Athletics are also in on Zaun, tweets John Hickey of AOL Fanhouse.

MONDAY, 4:48pm: Gregg Zaun is on the Cardinals' radar, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter). However, the team hasn't spoken to Zaun's representatives so far at the Winter Meetings. Earlier today, Yahoo's Tim Brown named the Mariners and Cardinals as possible suitors for the veteran catcher (Twitter link).

Zaun missed the second half of the 2010 season after undergoing surgery on his right labrum in June. Zaun, 40 in April, should still be able to reach base if healthy; he has a career .344 on base percentage and posted a .350 OBP before getting hurt this summer. Last month, Zaun said he would prefer to return to the Rays.

Rays, Mariners Eyeing Mark Hendrickson

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The Rays and Mariners are interested in lefty reliever Mark Hendrickson, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Hendrickson's former team, the Orioles, is also keeping tabs on him.  The O's declined a $1.2MM option on him last month.

Hendrickson, a 6'9" southpaw, turned 36 in June.  This year he posted a 5.26 ERA, 6.6 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, 1.1 HR/9, and 42.9% groundball rate in 75.3 innings.  Hendrickson's FanGraphs splits show he's been plenty effective against left-handed batters over the past few years.

Josh Willingham Rumors: Tuesday

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Josh Willingham may  have become expendable for the Nationals with the Jayson Werth signing, but Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the asking price is said to be absurd.  Rosenthal says the Athletics and Red Sox have checked in, while his colleague Jon Paul Morosi adds the Tigers and Mariners.

Mariners Close To Deal With Jack Cust?

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Jack Cust is about to sign with the Mariners, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.  However, John Hickey of AOL Fanhouse tweets that the Mariners figure to leave the Winter Meetings tomorrow without having completed a deal aside from a possible Rule 5 pick.

Cust, 32 in January, hit .272/.395/.438 in 425 plate appearances for the Athletics before being non-tendered this month.  He's spent time at the outfield corners and designated hitter.

Mariners Rumors: Olivo, Second Base, Diaz

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The Mariners have been linked to Rich Harden, Gregg Zaun, Eric Chavez, Hideki Matsui, Jack Cust, Matt Diaz, Koji Uehara, and even Zack Greinke in recent days.  The latest:

  • ESPN's Mike Salk says Miguel Olivo's name is popping up more than Zaun's in association with Seattle.  Olivo spent parts of the '04 and '05 seasons with the Mariners.
  • Salk says the Mariners are looking harder for a second baseman than a third baseman.  They prefer Chone Figgins at third.
  • Salk describes the Mariners' interest in Matsui as tire-kicking and is skeptical a deal will happen.
  • The Ms are more focused on their everyday lineup than rotation right now, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
  • The Mariners are in on Matt Diaz, but they're one of as many as ten teams.  ESPN's Jayson Stark tweets that things are moving fast with Diaz.  He's expected to pick a team by midday Wednesday, tweets Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse.  Diaz's agent Larry Reynolds told WEEI's Rob Bradford his client could even sign today.

At Least Seven Teams Checked In On Rich Harden

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The Yankees, Twins, Rays, Diamondbacks, Brewers, Mariners, and Rockies have checked in on free agent righty Rich Harden, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Morosi says some teams like Harden as a starter, others as a reliever.

The oft-injured Harden received a $7.5MM guarantee from the Rangers last year, but had a lost season.  He posted a 5.58 ERA, 7.3 K/9, 6.1 BB/9, 1.8 HR/9, and 34.5% groundball rate in 92 innings, battling a strained glute and shoulder tendinitis.  These days he's a fastball/changeup pitcher with a 90.5 mph average heater.

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