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Mariners Notes: LaRoche, Gomes, Cust

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Let's take a look at some Mariners tidbits courtesy of The Seattle Times' Geoff Baker…

  • Recently non-tendered Ryan Langerhans indicated to Baker that his friend Adam LaRoche is being looked at by the Mariners.  Yesterday, it was reported that LaRoche is seeking a three-year, $31.5MM deal.  We've seen some rather surprising deals go down over the years, but does anyone see that as a realistic figure?
  • The aforementioned Langerhans wouldn't rule out the possibility of returning to Seattle on a minor-league contract.
  • As the M's have made it a priority to find a DH who can also play a field position, Baker doesn't anticipate Jonny Gomes, Jack Cust, or Mike Sweeney to land with the club.  As one person told him, "[The Mariners] can't carry two Griffeys."

Jason Bay Rumors: Sunday

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In yesterday's round of Jason Bay rumors, we heard that Bay had rejected the Red Sox' offer and was exploring other options. Bay's agent, Joe Urbon, took this news one step further, saying that his client is prepared to "move on," according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Regarding negotiations with the Sox, Urbon added:

"We’ve got to a point where, based on the offers we’ve received from other clubs, we needed to make it clear where we stand, and they’ve made it clear where they stand. If they want, they can reengage at some point in this process, but we’re not going to wait. We can’t wait. We have to go at the pace of the other clubs."

Articles by John Tomase and Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald and Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post both point out that this stance could just be a negotiating tactic by Urbon. Even so, Hubbuch notes that it should only improve the Mets' chances of landing Bay, though Bill Madden of the New York Daily News is skeptical about Bay coming to New York. SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that the Mets seem more concerned about Seattle's involvement than Boston's.

Roy Halladay Rumors: Saturday

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11:07am: ESPN's Jayson Stark spoke to a source who says Toronto is pushing the Angels for lefty pitching prospect Trevor Reckling in any Halladay deal. Baseball America rating Reckling the fourth best prospect in the Angels' organization coming into the 2009 season.

9:44am: It's just a hunch, but Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com wonders if the Phillies are trying to move Cliff Lee as part of a three or four team trade to land Roy Halladay. The idea is that Lee would get moved to one team for prospects, then Philadelphia would then use those prospects to land Halladay, perhaps keeping some for themselves as well. That would sure be a fun deal.

Meanwhile, in today's blog post at ESPN, Buster Olney mentions that other GMs feel Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos is "aggressively preparing" to move Halladay. He also notes that we still don't know if team ownership will approve a Doc trade.

Gammons On Bay, Beltre, Red Sox

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Peter Gammons' departure from ESPN has become a story in itself during this busy off-season, and Gammons' media rounds continued today as a guest on the WEEI Sports Radio Network's Big Show.  A full transcript is available here, but here are some of the hot stove items that Gammons had to share….

  • Gammons said that Jason Bay "does not want to play in San Francisco, pure and simple," in spite of the fact that the Giants would be willing to offer Bay the five-year contract that he is apparently seeking.
  • The Angels won't be players in the Bay sweepstakes, as Gammons predicted they will instead spend their money to re-sign John Lackey.
  • Gammons thinks the Mariners might still make an offer to retain Adrian Beltre, though such a move might create some issues with the newly-signed Chone Figgins, who came to Seattle under the impression that he would be the new third baseman.  Gammons reported that Beltre "hates" Safeco Field.
  • Given Roy Halladay's injury history, Gammons said "it would be a disaster" for Boston to trade Casey Kelly and Clay Buchholz for Halladay and sign the Toronto ace to a long-term contract.
  • If the Red Sox don't end up with either Bay or Matt Holliday, Gammons opined that Boston could pursue a defense-first strategy for a season by signing Mike Cameron and Xavier Nady.  Or, Boston could just save their money now and stand pat until mid-season before making any trades.
  • Even if the Red Sox add another big-money starter, the team would like to keep Josh Beckett because of the leadership he provides to the younger pitchers.
  • Speaking of clubhouse leadership, Gammons said that Marco Scutaro's ability to mentor Jose Iglesias was a factor in Boston signing the former Blue Jays shortstop.  Another reason was that Scutaro had a clean bill of health, unlike Mark DeRosa, who Gammons said the Red Sox were "a little bit cautious" on signing due to his wrist problems last season.

Orioles, Mariners Interested In Jason Marquis

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4:35pm: An Orioles official told MASN's Roch Kubatko not to get too excited about Marquis.  Kubatko says the Orioles are "more likely to sign a pitcher who's coming off injury to an incentive-ladened deal."  They're known to have interest in bringing Erik Bedard back, for example.

3:20pm: This week we learned that the Phillies, Mets, and Nationals are in on free agent starter Jason Marquis.  Today Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports add two American League clubs to the mix: the Mariners and Orioles.  Marquis' positive traits: he can eat innings, and he was third in baseball with a 55.6% groundball rate.

The FOX writers note that the Mariners are in on many free agent starters, including John Lackey, Ben Sheets, Doug Davis, and Jarrod Washburn.  This is the first I've heard of the Sheets connection.

Jason Bay Rumors: Thursday

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7:36pm: A source tells Joel Sherman of the New York Post that the Mets offered Bay more than $60MM, but less than $65MM.

5:57pm: The Mets confirmed that they made Bay and Bengie Molina offers, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.

3:27pm: SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Mets offered Bay four years and about $65MM.  He feels "they'd probably have to bump it to five years to get him."  Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the offer was in the four-year, $60MM range.  Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News agrees with Heyman's figure.

12:57pm: Newsday's David Lennon tweets that the Mets' first two free agent offers are going out to Bay and Bengie Molina.

5:18am: Going into the fourth day of the Winter Meetings, the Angels, Mariners, Red Sox, and maybe even the Mets are suitors for free agent outfielder Jason Bay, writes Michael Silverman of The Boston Herald. One source indicated that Boston was in a "holding pattern" until the Bay situation was resolved, however they could turn to Matt Holliday, according to MLB.com's Ian Browne.

WEEI.com's Alex Speier writes that if anyone offers Bay a five year contract, that would likely seal the deal. However, ESPN's Buster Olney hears that there are "concerns within the Boston organization about whether Jason Bay would hold up physically through a multi-year deal." For what it's worth, Bay has only been on the DL twice in his career, the last time coming way back in 2004.

Meanwhile, Kevin Baxter of The LA Times says that Angels' manager Mike Scioscia would prefer to re-sign John Lackey instead of importing Bay, noting that they have to be as balanced as possible.  

Mariners Seek Starting Pitching

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The Mariners are looking for starting pitchers, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. John Lackey, Doug Davis and Jarrod Washburn are all on Seattle's list, according to Morosi.

Lackey, the top free agent starter, has been linked to the Mariners for a while. One consideration for GM Jack Zduriencik: the Angels already have the Mariners' first round selection in next year's draft, so the M's would only have to give up a 54th overall pick to sign Lackey, even though he's a Type A free agent. That would deprive the Angels of the chance to obtain two first rounders.

Washburn has been linked to the Twins and Brewers, but the Mariners could be a fit, too. He excelled in Seattle this year, pitching to a 2.64 ERA in 20 starts, though his peripherals were not as good as the low ERA suggests. We've seen Davis connected to the Mariners, too, though he hasn't pitched in the AL since 2003.

Rangers Sign Rich Harden

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THURSDAY, 3:22pm: Harden's deal with the Rangers is official, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The medical info checked out.

WEDNESDAY, 9:39pm: Ed Price of AOL FanHouse has the specifics: Harden makes $6.5MM next year, with $3.5MM in incentives based on innings pitched. The deal includes an $11MM  mutual option for 2011 that includes a $1MM buyout in case either side wants to decline. So the deal, which is still pending a physical, guarantees Harden a minimum of $7.5MM.

5:10pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says Harden is close to signing with the Rangers.

4:24pm: Harden is close to signing with the Rangers, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  NBC Sports' Craig Calcaterra had it first on Twitter, and says it's for $7.5MM with an $11.5MM option for 2011.  As Evan Grant wrote earlier, Harden and Chris Ray would be risky but an upgrade on Kevin Millwood.

3:46pm: ESPN's Buster Olney has heard that Rich Harden is on the verge of an agreement with an unknown team.  Olney notes that Harden has been heavily involved in negotiations with the Mariners, so that's one possibility.  Indeed, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that Harden is in talks with the Mariners.

Odds & Ends: Wolf, Stammen, Lackey

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Post-Winter Meetings links for Thursday…

  • ESPN's Keith Law calls the Astros' signing of Brandon Lyon "hobbling," but likes the Rays impending acquisition of Rafael Soriano.  He says the Soriano situation shows that if a team has a borderline call with a Type A free agent, they should offer arbitration.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney says Randy Wolf would've re-signed with the Dodgers for a two-year deal in the $14-16MM range.
  • Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun says the Blue Jays talked to the Nationals about pitcher Craig Stammen but "he does not appear to be available."
  • The Cardinals touched base with Scott Boras before leaving Indianapolis, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  The Cards still haven't made an offer to Matt Holliday.
  • ESPN's Mike Salk heard that John Lackey is the Mariners' top priority.
  • The Hanshin Tigers signed reliever Randy Messenger for about $600K, says NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman.  Messenger will replace Scott Atchison, who signed with the Red Sox.
  • The Big Lead did a Q&A with new Yankee Curtis Granderson.

Multiple Teams Interested In Darren Oliver

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THURSDAY, 2:15pm: Evan Grant tweets that the Rangers met for a second time with Oliver's agents today, while the Red Sox and Angels are also still in.

WEDNESDAY, 2:14pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Angels and Rangers have been the most aggressive on Oliver.

TUESDAY, 5:51pm: Darren Oliver is drawing interest from multiple teams, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. Along with the Mariners and his old team, the Angels, the Red Sox, Rays, Rangers and Mets are interested. MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports that the Rangers are expected to meet with Oliver's agents sometime tonight.

Oliver wasn't offered arbitration, so he won't cost a draft pick.

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