Mariners Acquire Brendan Ryan
The Mariners have acquired Brendan Ryan from the Cardinals in exchange for pitching prospect Maikel Cleto, according to a team press release. Because Cleto was on Seattle's 40-man roster, no corresponding roster move will need to be made.
Ryan, 29 in March, is an elite defender at shortstop, as his career UZR/150 mark of 11.4 at the position (in nearly 2400 innings) indicates. While he's not much with the bat (career .259/.314/.344), Ryan has decent speed and base-stealing success (39 SB in 415 games, 75% success) and won't cost the Mariners much. He's arbitration-eligible for the first time after earning just $425K last season. He could serve as a defensively efficient stopgap until top prospect Dustin Ackley is ready at second base.
Cleto, 21, came to the Mariners in the J.J. Putz deal almost exactly two years ago today. The Dominican right-hander throws in the upper-90s, but struggles with his control and secondary pitches, tweets Kevin Goldstein from Baseball Prospectus. Last season, pitching for the High Desert Mavericks in High-A, Cleto threw 102 1/3 innings over 23 games (21 starts), striking out 7.3/9 and walking 3.9/9. His 6.16 ERA was a result of allowing 11 hits per nine innings pitched.
The Twins had been linked to Ryan earlier this weekend, but will now likely turn elsewhere in their search for middle infield depth.
Odds & Ends: Guerrier, McCutchen, Blue Jays, Punto
As the baseball world says goodbye to Cubs great Ron Santo, here are some news tidbits heading into the weekend…
- The Red Sox have made an offer to reliever Matt Guerrier, reports WEEI.com's Alex Speier (as passed along in a tweet from WEEI.com's Rob Bradford).
- Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review looks at how Jay Bruce's extension might influence a future extension offer from the Pirates to Andrew McCutchen.
- Lyle Overbay would be a familiar solution to Toronto's search for a first base/DH partner for Adam Lind, but MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm thinks Overbay "does not appear to be a good fit" since Overbay wants an everyday job. Chisholm's piece also contains several quotes from Alex Anthopoulos from the winter meetings and what the Jays might look to do during the rest of the offseason.
- The Indians and Nick Punto had "meaningful negotiations" at the winter meetings, reports MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.
- Manny Ramirez will receive $15MM in deferred payments from the Dodgers over the next three years and $1.94MM for each of the next 16 years from the Red Sox, reports Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com (with a tip of the cap to Cot's Baseball Contracts).
- Larry Stone of the Seattle Times looks back at the 11-year contract Dave Stieb signed with the Blue Jays before the 1985 season.
- Also from Stone, Jack Zduriencik says the Mariners could be in the market for an extra infielder.
Mariners Sign Jack Cust
The Mariners have signed Jack Cust on a one-year deal, according to a team press release. No terms were announced, but Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets Cust's base salary is around $2.5MM.
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, and will probably stick to the latter for Seattle. He is represented by TWC Sports.
Morosi (Twitter link) first broke the news of the agreement and the terms, with Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times adding that Cust can match last year's $2.65MM salary through incentives. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle first tweeted a deal was close.
Mark Polishuk contributed to this post
Mariners Offer Contract To Laynce Nix
The Mariners added Jack Cust and Miguel Olivo at the Winter Meetings, but they continue to tinker. The Ms offered a contract to outfielder Laynce Nix, tweets John Hickey of AOL Fanhouse.
Nix, 30, hit .291/.350/.455 in 182 plate appearances across 97 games for the Reds this year, playing mostly left field. He was shielded against lefties by manager Dusty Baker. Nix missed most of September with an ankle injury and was outrighted in November.
Mariners Reach Agreement With Miguel Olivo
The Mariners won't be going young at catcher anytime soon. Today they reached an agreement with backstop Miguel Olivo on a two-year, $7MM deal, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times notes, "Adam Moore's stock with this team appears to have taken a hit." As you might expect, Olivo has been told he's the No. 1 catcher.
Olivo, 32, hit .269/.315/.449 with 14 home runs in 427 plate appearances for the Rockies this year. He caught 935 innings, throwing out 42% of attempted basestealers. Olivo previously played for the Mariners in parts of the '04 and '05 seasons after coming over from the White Sox in the Freddy Garcia trade. This is a nice contract for Olivo, who is represented by Martin Arburua. He's the fifth catcher to score a multiyear deal this winter.
The Rockies shipped Olivo to the Blue Jays in November, who declined his mutual option at the price of $500K and later offered him arbitration. They'll now get a supplementary draft pick for their troubles.
Mariners Offer Olivo Multiyear Deal?
THURSDAY, 9:12am: Olivo has told people he expects to get a deal done with somebody today, tweets Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. Baker notes that Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik said he's had "in-depth dialogue" on a catcher.
WEDNESDAY, 8:31pm: The Mariners have not made an official offer, according to Ryan Divish of the Tacoma News Tribune (on Twitter).
8:10pm: The Mariners have offered Miguel Olivo a multiyear deal and are discussing a potential agreement with him, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). In 427 plate appearances for the Rockies last year, the nine-year veteran batted .269/.315/.449 with 14 homers. Olivo spent part of 2004-05 in Seattle.
The catcher declined arbitration from the Blue Jays after earning a $2MM base salary in 2010, so he and agent Martin Arburua presumably believe that there's more than $3MM or so available on the open market. Otherwise, they could have accepted Toronto's offer. If the Mariners complete a major league deal with the 32-year-old, the Blue Jays will obtain a supplementary first round pick.
Phillies Close To Deal With Dennys Reyes?
1:22pm: The Phillies have offers out to Reyes and Sherrill, tweets Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly, but it looks like Sherrill might be headed elsewhere. The Phils are "very close" with Reyes, tweets Salisbury.
12:46pm: The Phillies are very close to a one-year deal with a club option with Reyes, tweets Rojas.
WEDNESDAY, 11:45am: The Phillies are not close to signing Reyes and have yet to make a formal offer, reports Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Daily News. Word is they're not close on any reliever right now.
TUESDAY, 4:27pm: Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hears that Reyes will sign with the Phillies (Twitter link).
2:34pm: Reyes could sign within the next 48 hours, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, probably deciding between the Phillies and Marlins. The Mariners and Athletics are also in on Reyes, tweets John Hickey of AOL Fanhouse.
12:14pm: The agent for lefty Dennys Reyes, Oscar Suarez, is meeting with the Phillies today, tweets ESPN's Enrique Rojas. Suarez says at least five to six teams are interested.
The Phillies could be a match for lefty George Sherrill; Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun says they're considered the favorite by most in the industry.
Astros Notes: Rowland-Smith, Hall, Cust, Rodriguez
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
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
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.