Cardinals Rumors

Carlos Beltran Decision Expected This Week

By Luke Adams 2 | December 21, 2011 at 8:22am CDT

As Yahoo's Tim Brown reported yesterday, one club involved in the Carlos Beltran derby should expect a Christmas gift before Sunday, as Beltran is expected to decide on his new team this week. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hears the same thing, noting that Beltran is weighing a variety of two- and three-year contract offers from five different clubs. Based on various reports, including Goold's, the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Rays, Cardinals, and one other NL team are believed to be in on the 34-year-old. Here are the rest of today's Beltran rumors, with the newest additions on top:

The Cards view Coco Crisp as a "Plan B or another direction" if Beltran signs elsewhere, a source tells Goold.
How quickly Beltran can return to his home in Puerto Rico is something of a factor in his decision, tweets ESPN.com's Buster Olney. While this would seem to favor a team like the Rays, it doesn't rule out the Jays, given the non-stop flights between Toronto and Puerto Rico (Twitter link).
The Rays are very unlikely to outbid Beltran's other suitors, Olney adds in one last tweet.

Latest On Coco Crisp

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 20, 2011 at 3:49pm CDT

TUESDAY, 3:49pm: Agent Steve Comte told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that Crisp wants to play for a winner and find a home for a few years. The Cubs and Cardinals are among the teams involved, Rosenthal tweets. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes first mentioned the Cubs' interest last week.

MONDAY, 9:12pm: Multiple teams remain interested and Crisp's agent declined to characterize discussions, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter).

8:00pm: The Cardinals are discussing a deal with free agent outfielder Coco Crisp, according to Yahoo's Steve Henson (on Twitter). If the sides complete the deal, Crisp would play center field and bat atop the Cardinals' order with Jon Jay moving over to right field.

The switch-hitting Crisp led the American League with 49 stolen bases in 2011, hitting .264/.314/.379 with 27 doubles as Oakland's center fielder. The California native seems to prefer West Coast teams, but explained in September that he’s also looking to play on a winner and find a good "financial situation" for himself.

If Crisp signs in St. Louis, then Carlos Beltran will probably have one less suitor. The move would provide the Cardinals with depth as Allen Craig recovers from last month's knee surgery.

Hiroki Kuroda May Be Nearing Deal

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 20, 2011 at 2:06pm CDT

Yahoo’s Tim Brown heard yesterday that Hiroki Kuroda was close to agreeing to a new contract. However, it’s not clear which team is nearing a deal with the right-hander. Here are the details and more of Brown’s links from around MLB:

The Mariners, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Rangers, Red Sox and Yankees were among the teams that informed Brown they were not the team nearing a deal with Kuroda.
The Dodgers didn’t scout Yoenis Cespedes in earnest or consider bidding on Yu Darvish, Brown reports. It cost the Rangers $51.7MM for the rights to negotiate with Darvish and Cespedes figures to cost tens of millions as well, so the players are too expensive for the cash-strapped Dodgers to consider.
Carlos Beltran figures to agree to terms by Sunday. His market includes the Cardinals, Blue Jays, Red Sox and a fourth team, possibly the Rays. Beltran is weighing two and three-year offers, Brown reports.

Latest On Carlos Beltran

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 19, 2011 at 4:44pm CDT

Carlos Beltran is one of the top free agents remaining (#4 among unsigned free agents on MLBTR's top 50 list). He hit .300/.385/.525 with 22 homers for the Mets and Giants this past season and won't cost a draft pick, so teams looking for a capable outfield bat have taken note. The 34-year-old switch-hitter won't come cheap, however. Here's the latest on Beltran:

The Cardinals, who maintain strong interest, could play Beltran in right field while using him in center on occasion and asking him to DH during interleague play, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links).
The Blue Jays, another interested club, could use Beltran as more of a DH, Rosenthal notes. They could also ask him to play left field.
It appears that Beltran will sign for $12-12.5MM per season on a two or three-year deal, Rosenthal notes.
Agent Dan Lozano seeks a three-year deal for Beltran, according to Yahoo's Jeff Passan.

Cardinals Maintain Strong Interest In Beltran

By Mike Axisa | December 17, 2011 at 6:47pm CDT

The Cardinals won't be able to replace all the offense they lost when Albert Pujols left for the Angels, but there are ways to replace some of it. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Cardinals did extensive background work on Carlos Beltran this week, and they continue to maintain strong interest in the outfielder.

Beltran, 34, hit .300/.385/.525 with 22 homers last season, the first time he's played in more than 100 games since 2008. He's mulling over a variety of two and three-year offers according to Rosenthal, with the Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Rays also having interest in the outfielder. Toronto is said to have "significant financial flexibility," but Boston is more focused on pitching and Tampa only figures to get seriously involved if Beltran's market crashes.

Rosenthal says the Cardinals have expressed interest in both Cody Ross and Coco Crisp as well. St. Louis can add an outfielder because Allen Craig figures to miss the start of the season after having knee surgery recently, and also because Lance Berkman will move back to first base, his best position.

Prince Fielder Rumors: Saturday

By Steve Adams | December 17, 2011 at 4:08pm CDT

There have been conflicting reports about the Cubs' interest in Prince Fielder, and the market for him has been slow to develop even after Albert Pujols signed with the Angels. We'll keep track of today's Fielder rumors here:

The Cubs will continue to be involved in the free-agent bidding for Fielder, two major league sources with knowledge of the negotiations tell Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com.
Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets that a well-placed source tells him Chicago's interest in Fielder is nothing more than a smokescreen and that the hefty first baseman may wind up taking a shorter-term deal. In a second tweet, Strauss speculates that the Cardinals could slow-play Carlos Beltran and see what happens with the Fielder market.

NL Central Notes: Reyes, Astros, Molina, Pujols

By Mark Polishuk | December 16, 2011 at 9:09pm CDT

The Cardinals not only won the World Series, but they've also been named Baseball America's 2011 Organization Of The Year. This is the first time the St. Louis organization has taken top honors since Baseball America instituted the award in 1982.

Here's some other news from around the NL Central….

The Pirates are talking to southpaw Jo-Jo Reyes about a minor league contract, reports Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Twitter link). Reyes posted a 5.57 ERA in 29 games with the Blue Jays and Orioles in 2011 and was non-tendered by the O's earlier this week.
The Astros will give several of their young arms a shot at the closer's job in Spring Training, reports MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. Houston also has Brandon Lyon returning to provide some veteran closing experience. Stay tuned to Closer News for the latest on the Astros' late-game situation.
Yadier Molina's contract is up after 2012 and Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wonders if Molina's friendship with Albert Pujols could make the catcher less inclined to re-sign with the Cardinals. Molina would be one of the most-sought after members of the 2013 free agent class if he and the Cards don't agree on a new deal. Miklasz suggests the Angels could target Molina this winter if he hits free agency, but I'd think such a move would only happen if Chris Iannetta is a big disappointment behind the plate in Anaheim.
Tony La Russa tells Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Pujols was "conflicted' about leaving the Cardinals to sign with the Angels. "I know it was a painful decision and it pains him now," La Russa said. "He deserves what he got. He earned it. There's no bad guy here." La Russa also felt the situation was "unavoidable" and that Pujols "was disappointed there wasn't more enthusiasm from the Cardinals" when the Angels and Marlins made big pushes to sign the superstar at the Winter Meetings.

Cardinals Sign J.C. Romero

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 15, 2011 at 3:45pm CDT

The Cardinals announced that they signed J.C. Romero to a one-year deal in a move that will add left-handed depth to their bullpen. MDR Sports Management represents the 35-year-old reliever, who signed for $750K plus incentives, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter).

Romero spent the 2011 season with the Phillies and Rockies. He posted a 4.01 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 5.5 BB/9 and a characteristically high 54.4% ground ball rate in 24 2/3 innings. With Arthur Rhodes on the free agent market, Marc Rzepczynski was the Cardinals' lone established left-handed reliever until GM John Mozeliak added Romero. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported yesterday that the sides were nearing a deal.

Cardinals, J.C. Romero Nearing Deal

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 15, 2011 at 11:06am CDT

THURSDAY: Romero is on the verge of a deal with the Cardinals, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports (on Twitter).

WEDNESDAY: The Cardinals are nearing a one-year deal with free agent left-hander J.C. Romero, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). MDR Sports Management represents the 35-year-old reliever.

Romero spent the 2011 season with the Phillies and Rockies. He posted a 4.01 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 5.5 BB/9 and a characteristically high 54.4% ground ball rate in 24 2/3 innings. With Arthur Rhodes on the free agent market, Marc Rzepczynski is the Cardinals' lone proven left-handed reliever, so GM John Mozeliak's interest in adding depth makes sense.

Quick Hits: Varitek, A’s, Braves, Cordero, Lee, Pujols

By Mike Axisa | December 13, 2011 at 11:42pm CDT

Some links as Tuesday turns into Wednesday…

The Red Sox have not yet made catcher and captain Jason Varitek a contract offer, reports Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Boston added Kelly Shoppach to Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ryan Lavarnway on Tuesday, a move that likely spelled the end of Varitek's time with the Sox.
There are clubs with interest in trading for both Gio Gonzalez and Andrew Bailey and others with interest in both Jair Jurrjens and Martin Prado, but Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the Athletics and Braves are likely to deal their players separately to maximize the return. Rosenthal and Morosi note that the Braves and Orioles have discussed a deal that included both Jurrjens and Prado.
Interest in free agent closer Francisco Cordero has slowed down, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). His market could hinge on how clubs fill their other roster holes.
The Pirates still have interest in first baseman Derrek Lee even after trading for Casey McGehee, reports CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman (on Twitter). Bringing Lee back at first base would allow them to use McGehee at the hot corner with Pedro Alvarez.
Heyman hears that the Angels put a deadline on their ten-year, $254MM offer to Albert Pujols (Twitter link). The deal did seem to come together very quickly Wednesday night into Thursday morning last week.
The Rockies do have some money to spend according to Heyman (on Twitter). In addition to Carlos Beltran and Michael Cuddyer, they also have interest in Hiroki Kuroda, Joe Saunders, and various trade targets.
Morosi says (on Twitter) that Andruw Jones could also be an option for the Rockies if Beltran and Cuddyer sign elsewhere.
The Cardinals' interest in pitching upgrades is "understated," reports Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter). Both Kyle Lohse and Jake Westbrook remain on the trade block.
The Yokohama Bay Stars have released right-hander Hiroki Sanada so that he may pursue a deal in MLB according to a report passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. No teams bid on Sanada when he was posted last week.
The Astros and Rays are possibilities for Ivan Rodriguez, according to Heyman (on Twitter). Though the Mets have discussed Rodriguez, they’re leaning toward relying on Mike Nickeas as their backup to starter Josh Thole.
MLBPA executive director Michael Weiner says the Joint Drug Agreement should provide Ryan Braun with privacy and fair proceedings. “I urge all to reserve judgment on this matter until the JDA's process has played itself out," Weiner said in a statement.

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