Mariners Rumors

Dickey Picks Twins

By Ben Jones | December 24, 2008 at 4:58pm CDT

Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey has chosen to pitch for the Minnesota Twins over returning to the Seattle Mariners, Kirby Arnold of The (Everett, Wash.) Daily Herald reported.

Dickey told Arnold that he likes his chances of playing at the major-league level with the Twins, despite a larger amount of money offered by the Mariners. Arnold writes that he agreed to a “split minor-major league contract.” I’m guessing Dickey signed a minor-league deal that will pay more if he makes the 25-man roster.

The Mets and Brewers also had interest, Arnold writes.

UPDATE: MLB.com’s Kelly Thesier has it posted now. It is a minor-league deal.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Bradley, Burrell, Dunn

By Tim Dierkes | December 23, 2008 at 1:54pm CDT

Ken Rosenthal filed a new column earlier today.

The Angels are lukewarm on Manny Ramirez, and for now are talking about filling their lineup with internal candidates.
Kevin Towers says that if the Jake Peavy sweepstakes heats back up, "nobody is going to know it." Rosenthal discusses the chances of the Angels or Cubs.
Mark Teixeira is "almost certain" to get an escape clause in his deal.
The Cubs are confident about signing Milton Bradley, but the Rays, Yankees, and Nationals are interested too.
Rosenthal looks at possibilities for Pat Burrell, discussing the Rays, Mariners, Rangers, and Reds.
The Brewers expressed interest in Adam Dunn as they were mulling a Mike Cameron trade (Corey Hart would’ve played center).
Bobby Abreu "remains in touch with the Yankees." Surprisingly to hear, as the two sides reportedly had not spoken for quite a while.
The Rangers would like to move some salary, with Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, and Hank Blalock the candidates.
The Royals like Jerry Hairston Jr., but don’t have the money to sign him.

Mariners Re-Sign Jamie Burke

By Tim Dierkes | December 23, 2008 at 1:21pm CDT

According to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, the Mariners re-signed recently non-tendered catcher Jamie Burke to a minor league deal. Burke, 37, hit .261/.303/.326 in 100 plate appearances while throwing out 29.4% of attempted thieves.

Odds and Ends: Napoli, Schilling, Bradley

By Tim Dierkes | December 22, 2008 at 2:25pm CDT

Links for Monday, to be updated as more come in.

RotoAuthority suggests Mike Napoli could be a top five catcher in fantasy baseball next year with enough playing time.
Curt Schilling gives his thoughts on agents.
Geoff Baker thinks Milton Bradley would be a good fit for the Mariners.
River Ave. Blues likes Gabe Kapler for the Yankees.
Nationals pitcher Collin Balester calls it – World Series sweep if they sign Mark Teixeira. Balester keeps a blog here, check it out.

Odds and Ends: Wilson, Bautista, Hairston

By Tim Dierkes | December 19, 2008 at 4:29pm CDT

Linkage for Friday…

The AP explains how C.C. Sabathia will be paid $9.5MM before throwing a pitch for the Yankees.
The D’Backs signed lefty Travis Blackley.
Dan Johnson is headed to Japan.
The Cardinals signed Japanese pitcher Katsuhiko Maekawa to a minor league deal. Patrick Newman has details.
Interesting discussion involving Raul Ibanez’s defense.
I did a Q&A with SportingGurus.com.
Ken Rosenthal guesses destinations for 11 remaining free agents in this slideshow.
MLB is undergoing a hiring/salary freeze and taking away 20% of vacation time for ’09.
Dejan Kovacevic had a lengthy chat with Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson, who wishes the team would get more players to become competitive. In his article Kovacevic also notes that the Pirates have had talks about bringing back pitcher Denny Bautista, who was non-tendered a week ago.
Are the Mariners trying to open up a spot for Jerry Hairston Jr.? They’re looking to add a plus-plus defensive second baseman; not sure if he qualifies.
Aubrey Huff tops the list of fantasy baseball’s biggest draft position gainers.
Royals pitcher Kyle Davies is working a construction job this offseason.
The Orioles settled with Sidney Ponson regarding their grievance.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Crosby, Kawakami, Wolf

By Tim Dierkes | December 19, 2008 at 3:44pm CDT

3:44pm: MLB.com’s Jim Street says Crosby cleared waivers.

9:00am: The word from Ken Rosenthal…

The A’s placed shortstop Bobby Crosby on outright waivers in the hope that some team will assume his $5.75MM salary for ’09. After his lousy ’08, he may go unclaimed.
The Braves were focused on Rafael Furcal; they’re not looking to add a different infielder as a backup plan. They still want another starting pitcher. Dave O’Brien names some possible targets.
Rosenthal says some teams fear Kenshin Kawakami might want to match Hiroki Kuroda’s three-year, $35.3MM deal.
The Mariners would like to add a left-handed hitter with power; they’re waiting for a bargain.
The Rockies are apparently debating whether to sign Tim Redding or trade for Jason Marquis. Reports in the Denver Post suggest Redding is the top target.
Randy Wolf is looking for $30MM over three years. The Astros were in the $22-24MM range before pulling back.

Odds and Ends: Abreu, Millwood, Wigginton

By Tim Dierkes | December 18, 2008 at 2:58pm CDT

Links for Thursday…

Luke Hudson agreed to stay with the Royals on a minor league deal. And because Braves fans keep emailing it…the Braves signed Lance Niekro as a pitcher, as noted in the minor league transactions we linked yesterday. Talking Chop and Henry Schulman have more.
Along similar lines, here’s a link to Joel Sherman’s December 12th story about the Orlando Hudson and Adam Dunn being the Nationals’ backup plan for Mark Teixeira. That came four days before the Jon Heyman report people keep emailing.
C.C. Sabathia’s preferred teams heading into free agency: the Yankees, Brewers, and Angels.
Dave O’Brien tries to figure out what the Braves should do with all their money.
John Fay explains why the Reds may attempt to acquire a young shortstop.
The Orioles may move on to Gregg Zaun now that Matt Treanor is off the board.
Geoff Baker speculates on a possible Mariners-Brewers trade match, though nothing seems to be cooking currently.
RotoAuthority looks at the biggest losers, comparing ’09 fantasy baseball mock draft positions to ’08.
I did a Q&A with Called Safe At Second.
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick writes about how teams view free agent outfielder Bobby Abreu.
Kevin Millwood has twelve million reasons to pitch 180 innings in 2009. I never understood that phrase. Why is each dollar a reason?
Dejan Kovacevic says Ty Wigginton has no wish to return to Pittsburgh.
Roch Kubatko is hearing the Orioles may have reached a settlement with Sidney Ponson regarding the grievance.
Pitcher Jon Leicester is the latest to head to Japan.
Might not read about this on MLBTR, eh? Chico Harlan says the Nationals signed 16 year-old Dominican prospects Bill Pena and Gregory Baez.

Heyman’s Latest: Perez, Greinke, Dye, Garland

By Tim Dierkes | December 18, 2008 at 2:16pm CDT

The latest from SI.com’s Jon Heyman, non-Teixeira department…

Heyman describes the Mets’ chance of signing Oliver Perez as "remote for now." He names other "potential suitors" – the Brewers, Dodgers, Reds, and perhaps Mariners.
Apparently some Yankees people wouldn’t mind if Andy Pettitte passed on their $10MM offer, as they’d be able to pursue Ben Sheets or Derek Lowe.
The Red Sox "looked into" trading for Zack Greinke but didn’t like the price.
Heyman says the Reds, Braves, and Rays are still showing interest in Jermaine Dye.
He says the Dodgers, White Sox, and Mets "could be possibilities" for Jon Garland. A return to Chicago?

Odds and Ends: Ponson, Pie, Dohmann

By Tim Dierkes | December 17, 2008 at 2:00pm CDT

Links for Wednesday…

Check out the recent minor league transactions, always some familiar names.
Scott Erickson’s wife talks about his comeback bid.
The Red Sox have had "early-stage conversations" about an extension for Kevin Youkilis.
The Phillies invited ten players to Spring Training and signed a bunch of minor league free agents. The Royals invited four, including Lenny DiNardo and Oscar Villarreal.
Roch Kubatko suggests the Orioles should try to acquire Ryan Garko.
Curt Schilling weighs in on Mark Teixeira’s options.
Dayton Moore still doesn’t sound willing to trade Zack Greinke.
Peter Schmuck and Craig Calcaterra discuss the Sidney Ponson case, which could have a significant impact on the game.
RotoAuthority looks at the current top fantasy draft picks at each position.
Gordon Wittenmyer expects Felix Pie to be traded.
Cesar Izturis’ contract is actually for two years and $5MM guaranteed, plus incentives.
John Fay looks at options for a right-handed bat for the Reds.
Reliever Scott Dohmann is headed to Japan on a $650K deal plus incentives.
Chris Capuano can earn over $3MM this year based on incentives.
Willie Bloomquist hasn’t received an offer yet, and he doesn’t expect to return to Seattle.

Wigginton Too Pricey For Twins?

By Tim Dierkes | December 17, 2008 at 10:06am CDT

According to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:

The Twins like Ty Wigginton but believe he’s looking for a bigger contract than the three-year, $17.5 million deal the Los Angeles Dodgers gave Casey Blake. So the Twins have had little to no dialogue with Wigginton’s agent, Dan Lozano.

I had Wigginton pegged for two years and $12MM or so, but he is four years younger than Blake and outhit him in 2008 (though he had 172 fewer plate appearances and was largely aided by Minute Maid Park). If Wiggy can really get a better contract than Blake, it would’ve made sense for the Astros to tender him a contract and then trade him.

Christensen adds that the Twins still have hope for acquiring Mark DeRosa, but talks for Garrett Atkins and Adrian Beltre hit dead ends. Also, Jon Heyman tosses the Twins into the mix for Michael Young. We’d previously heard about the Mets, Angels, Dodgers, and Royals discussing him. Heyman did not find evidence talks for Young got serious with any team, though, and he wonders if Young would approve a trade to Minnesota.

In other Twins news, Christensen notes that the Twins expressed interest in free agent reliever Brandon Lyon, who seems to be waiting until Brian Fuentes signs.

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