Orioles, Mariners Interested In Jason Marquis
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Mariners Exploring Adrian Gonzalez Trade
The Mariners are exploring an Adrian Gonzalez trade with the Padres, report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. However, the writers say that "it doesn't appear that talks between Seattle and San Diego are advancing toward a deal."
Gonzalez, 27, hit .277/.401/.551 in 681 plate appearances for the Padres this year. He's owed $4.75MM in 2010 and has a $5.5MM club option for '11. Brandon Morrow could be a starting point, but who else would the Ms have to include to pull off a Gonzalez deal?
Twitter Rumors: Smoltz, Damon, Mulder, Felix, Counsell
Twitter madness…
- Surprisingly, Ken Davidoff of Newsday writes of an "increasing expectation around MLB" that the Yankees will eventually re-sign Hideki Matsui.
- Crasnick talked to one exec who says Scott Boras wants three years and big money for outfielder Rick Ankiel.
- The Royals talked to the Dodgers about Juan Pierre, writes ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, but the Dodgers would have to eat too much money to make it work.
- ESPN's Jayson Stark says the Phillies are now looking hard at John Smoltz as a possible "back-of-the-bullpen weapon." Smoltz's agent apparently told the Phils that the pitcher has no problem with Citizens Bank Park.
- ESPN's Buster Olney heard "the Yankees are in the process of negotiating with Johnny Damon's camp." He adds that the Yanks "intend to use market forces to pressure Damon to make a decision quickly." I'm sure Scott Boras will love that.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin plans to visit free agent lefty Mark Mulder in January to discuss a possible contract, says Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says there have been no Felix Hernandez negotiations this week after an initial four-year offer from the Mariners.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti told Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times that they'll tender contracts to all of their arbitration-eligible players. No big surprise, though it's a large group of players.
- Scott Lauber of the News Journal talked to Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr., who said Astros GM Ed Wade stole Brandon Lyon from the Phillies. The Astros committed three years and $15MM to Lyon despite holes at shortstop and third base.
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy says the Brewers upped their offer to Craig Counsell this morning and GM Doug Melvin is confident they'll get it done. The Reds are still in the mix for Counsell, says MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
- La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune heard last night that Twins infielder Alexi Casilla is available.
Mariners Re-Sign Josh Wilson
The Mariners signed infielder Josh Wilson to a minor league deal, tweets Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. Wilson, 29 in March, hit .219/.279/.333 in 211 plate appearances for the D'Backs, Padres, and Mariners this year, mainly playing shortstop.
Jason Bay Rumors: Wednesday
11:08pm: The Red Sox are one of four teams involved with Bay, according to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. The Mariners and Angels are talking with him and Silverman hears indications that the Mets might be, too. Still, that's speculation at this point. The Red Sox are still interested in Matt Holliday and willing to get creative if Bay signs elsewhere.
5:04pm: Theo Epstein doesn't expect any kind of blockbuster move before the meetings end, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. Talks haven't progressed with Jason Bay's reps.
2:16pm: Angels m anager Mike Scioscia said his team has "more pressing needs" than Bay right now, reports WEEI's Alex Speier.
2:41am: Although the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are among the main players for Jason Bay, they have still only engaged in "preliminary talks" with the slugger, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.
"He's a guy we have interest in," [GM Tony] Reagins said. "We have to find out what it's going to take to make a deal, and we don't have an indication right now."
We didn't hear a whole lot about Bay on Tuesday, so we'll see if Wednesday brings any more action.