Quick Hits: AL West Grades, O-Cab, Scott, Hernandez
Offseason grades were revealed for the NL Central on Tuesday by ESPN.com's Jayson Stark, and his colleague Jerry Crasnick has marks for the AL West today. Here's more on that and a couple other tidbits of note …
- The A's had the best offseason of the AL West clubs, writes Crasnick, after adding some pop to their lineup relatively cheaply and solidifying their bullpen behind their strong, young starting rotation. They missed out on a couple bigger-ticket players and added some guys with injury questions, Crasnick notes, but they improved overall. The Rangers fared OK this offseason, writes Crasnick. The loss of Cliff Lee hurts Texas, as does its mishandling of a good asset in Michael Young, although Adrian Beltre was a nice if pricey add. The Angels and Mariners had a rough go of it, according to Crasnick, with the Halos committing too much money to Vernon Wells in the wake of losing out on Carl Crawford, and the M's pulling off some "uninspiring" signings, like Miguel Olivo.
- Free-agent shortstop Orlando Cabrera is talking to a couple teams and is "too good not to get a job," writes Jon Heyman of SI.com. The Twins, Brewers and Pirates all could make sense as a landing spot for Cabrera, Heyman explains.
- The Mets have signed outfielder Lorenzo Scott to a minor league deal, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. Scott, 28, spent 2010 in the Marlins organization, primarly with the Double-A Jacksonville Suns of the Southern League. There he hit .265/.369/.412 in 324 plate appearances.
- The Mariners have signed Moises Hernandez, the older brother of Seattle ace Felix Hernandez, to a minor league deal, tweets Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Hernandez, 26, was last with a Major League organizaiton in 2009, when he pitched for three Braves affiliates. For his minor league career, Hernandez has a 4.37 ERA in 116 appearances (57 starts).
- MLBTR founder and owner Tim Dierkes was interviewed by the folks over at BaseballNation.net recently, so be sure to give that a read for more information on the innerworkings of MLBTR.
Michael Young Rumors: Tuesday
The Rangers announced yesterday that Michael Young has had a change of heart and requested a trade. That's not quite the way Young sees it though. He told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he has been "misled and manipulated and [has grown] sick of it." Here's the latest on Young, who can veto deals to teams other than the Cardinals, Yankees, Twins, Astros, Rockies, Dodgers, Angels and Padres, but would consider other destinations:
- The Cardinals haven't heard from the Rangers about a possible trade and don't plan to initiate discussions, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. GM John Mozeliak didn't mention Young by name, but says his roster is set at this point and that he doesn't expect "any major additions at this point." The Cardinals have discussed Young before, according to Strauss.
- It's time to forget the idea of Young going to the Astros, writes MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. The Astros like his tools, but not his contract. GM Ed Wade declined to comment on his club's interest.
- The Rangers are increasing their asking price for Young, since it's harder to find offense now that Vladimir Guerrero has agreed to terms with the Orioles, according to Rosenthal (Twitter link).
- The Twins have discussed trading for Young in previous years, but there's "zero chance" a deal happens now, according to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
- The Mariners will "probably stay the course," GM Jack Zduriencik tells Morosi (Twitter link).
- Detroit GM Dave Dombrowski told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that the Tigers are "set" at second base (Twitter link). Detroit is also set at third and short, so Young isn't a fit.
- A Carlos Lee for Michael Young trade is a longshot, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Lee, a former Ranger, can veto deals to 14 teams, including Texas.
- The Dodgers have had preliminary talks about acquiring Young, writes Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. However, it's "a very long shot" that the sides agree to a deal, according to a baseball source.
- There is no imminent deal with the Rockies, though Colorado has shown the most interest in Young, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
Mariners Sign Gabe Gross
The Mariners have signed outfielder Gabe Gross to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, according to the team's official Twitter feed. Gross is represented by Moye Sports Associates.
Gross, 31, declared free agency after being outrighted off the Athletics' 40-man roster in October. The former first-round pick of the Blue Jays hit .239/.290/.311 with one home run in 105 games for the A's last season.
West Notes: Hamilton, Paxton, Rockies, Dodgers
Some news from baseball's western divisions….
- Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine gives ESPNDallas.com's Richard Durrett an update on negotiations between the team and arbitration-eligible Josh Hamilton. "I would characterize our communication as very open and strong….with each call we're making progress," Levine said.
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik tells The Seattle Times' Larry Stone that the team has had "a conversation or two over the course of the winter" with fourth-round draft pick James Paxton, who still remains unsigned. Paxton was selected 37th overall by the Blue Jays in the 2009 draft but didn't reach an agreement, and then couldn't return to college ball due to his association with agent Scott Boras.
- The Rockies may have ended their search for pitching depth, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Colorado was looking at Rodrigo Lopez and Mark Hendrickson, but those pursuits proved fruitless when the pitchers signed elsewhere (Lopez with the Braves, Hendrickson with the Orioles).
- The potential sale of a minority share of the Mets "could provide a clue" as to what will happen with the Dodgers' ownership situation once the McCourts settle their divorce case, writes Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
Mariners Re-Sign Jamey Wright
The Mariners have re-signed right-hander Jamey Wright to a minor league contract with an invite to their Major League Spring Training camp, reports the team's Twitter feed.
Wright pitched in the Cleveland and Oakland organizations last season before signing with Seattle last July. He posted a 3.41 ERA in 28 appearances for the club and had a 61.2% ground ball rate overall with the M's and Indians. The 15-year veteran has pitched for eight different teams in the majors, plus his minor league stint with the A's last year.
Orioles & Nationals Are Finalists For Duchscherer
5:03pm: The Mariners are now out of the running, reports Connolly (Twitter links). The Orioles definitely offered Duchscherer a Major League contract.
2:36pm: Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun tweets that Duchscherer's search is down to three teams: the Mariners, Orioles, and Nationals. All three have offered one-year deals, and more than one are Major League offers.
2:14pm: ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that Duchscherer has narrowed his options to four teams, and that the Nationals and Orioles are both making pushes to sign the former Athletic.
2:10pm: Duchscherer told MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli (Twitter link), via text message, that he's "very close" with several teams and that his decision will be made this week.
1:19pm: The Orioles are the frontrunner to land Justin Duchscherer's services, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. According to Rosenthal, the O's have made an offer that's believed to be a Major League deal. Whether it's from Baltimore or another team, Rosenthal says the right-hander has at least one Major League offer.
Duchscherer, who turned 33 last November, has been limited to just 28 innings since a stellar 2008 season that was also marred by injury. Duchscherer's most recent trip to the DL occured in April this past season, and resulted in season-ending hip surgery on June 7. It was his his third trip to the 60-day disabled list of his career.
When healthy, Ducscherer provides plenty of value, owning a career 3.13 ERA, 6.87 K/9, and 2.4 BB/9 through 454 2/3 innings, mostly out of the bullpen.
Chone Figgins: “I’m A Seattle Mariner”
7:06pm: Regardless of whether or not Figgins would allow a trade to the A's, talks appear to be dead. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link) hears from a source that "nothing is going to happen," and ESPN.com's Buster Olney says (via Twitter) that the Mariners, who talked to Oakland three weeks ago, aren't motivated to move Figgins.
3:47pm: We heard yesterday about a proposed trade that would've sent Chone Figgins from Seattle to Oakland, but the rumored deal would have hinged on Figgins accepting the move, given that the A's are one of the teams on his no-trade list. Speaking to fans and media — including Larry Stone of the Seattle Times — at the Mariners' FanFest event on Saturday, Figgins said he didn't want to be traded anywhere.
"I always said, it's a great thing to be wanted,'' Figgins said. "But I want to win here. I've said all along, this has been one of the best places I've ever played — the city, the fans. I'll always love playing here. This is where I want to be, and until they force me out of here, this is where I'm going to be.''
"I've been on the trade block for years, even with the Angels. Like I said, it's always a great thing to be wanted, but I'm a Seattle Mariner. I'm going to play third base unless they rip the jersey off me.''
Figgins briefly spoke to Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik at the event, and Zduriencik told reporters that their chat was the first time the two had spoken since the trade rumors broke yesterday.
"I just let Chone know how things get started," Zduriencik said. "In this game, it's interesting how things get started. It happens all the time. You have general managers talk, agents talk about players – I'm not referring to this particular situation, but the next thing you know, someone is putting two and two together and coming up with five."
This would seem to put an end to this trade speculation for the time being, unless the rumors about the Blue Jays as a third team involved in the deal develop into a seperate Toronto-Oakland swap involving Kevin Kouzmanoff. The Jays are in the market for a third baseman, though it's hard to see why the Athletics would create their own hole at third by moving Kouzmanoff without getting another third baseman (like Figgins) in return.
Olney On Mets, Young, Figgins
The fallout continues from the Mets' announcement on Friday that a portion of the team is up for sale, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Here's Olney's take, as well as some other items of note …
- The Madoff scandal could prove to be a turning point in Mets history if it leads to a change in the team's ownership. The financial implications go a long way toward explaining why the Mets' baseball-operations staff has been on a shorter payroll leash since the signing of Jason Bay, and one has to wonder how long the Mets will be operating in that mode as the legal process plays out. To that end, signing a big-ticket free agent like Albert Pujols in the near future would be difficult. Finally, was new GM Sandy Alderson aware of the Mets' financial standing when he took the job?
- Rangers president Nolan Ryan and manager Ron Washington are on record as saying that Michael Young will be with Texas on Opening Day, as Young is well-liked by the organization and will be useful in the super utility role. Both the Rangers and Rockies say that trade talks regarding Young have not been rekindled.
- The Athletics' rumored pursuit of Chone Figgins makes sense if you consider that he fits Oakland's preference for acquiring players who are fast and defensively sound. To boot, Figgins would cost the A's only about 60 percent of what they were willing to spend on free-agent Adrian Beltre, who signed with the rival Rangers. Olney interprets Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik's comment that Figgins is the Mariners' third baseman as a, "no comment."
Chone Figgins Rumors: Friday
6:29pm: Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik told MLB.com's Jane Lee and Greg Johns that the team's plan is to have Figgins at third base on Opening Day. "I'm looking forward to Figgins being our starting third baseman … He'll be here tomorrow [for the Mariners' FanFest]. He's been agreeable to moving back to third base and that's our plan, to have Chone be our Opening Day third baseman."
1:17pm: The A's are on Figgins' limited no-trade list and he hasn't yet been asked to waive it, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
12:50pm: There could be a third team involved in trade talks, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter link). Olney suggests the Blue Jays could be the third team. Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos acknowledged last night that the team has toyed with the idea of adding a third baseman, so the Blue Jays could have interest in Kouzmanoff.
8:47am: The A’s are trying to acquire Chone Figgins for Kevin Kouzmanoff and perhaps a pitcher, according to Joe Stiglich of the Contra Costa Times. Figgins, 33, could play third base for the A's, who missed out on free agent Adrian Beltre.
The Mariners owe Figgins $26MM through 2013 and the infielder's contract includes a vesting option for 2014. Figgins hit .259/.340/.306 last year with 42 stolen bases and 74 walks. He led the league with 101 walks in 2009, stealing 42 bases and posting a .298/.395/.393 line for another AL West team, the Angels.
The Braves inquired on Figgins last July, but there hasn't been reported interest in him since.
Mariners Retaining Milton Bradley
The Mariners plan to keep Milton Bradley and have him compete for a starting job in Spring Training, writes Larry Stone of the Seattle Times.
Bradley was arrested earlier this month after allegedly threatening a woman in southern California — the latest in a long line of off-field troubles — leading some to wonder whether the M's would cut bait with the embattled outfielder/DH.
Bradley is entering the final year of a three-year contract he originally signed with the Cubs prior to the 2009 season. He was dealt to Seattle before last season.
As for whether the outcome of Bradley's court date could change the Mariners' decision to keep him, GM Jack Zduriencik declined comment, Stone writes.
Bradley, 33, played in just 73 games in 2010.