Cardinals Sign Scott Linebrink
The Cardinals have signed Scott Linebrink to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training, B.J. Rains of FOXSportsMidwest tweets. SFX represents the right-hander.
Linebrink posted a 3.64 ERA with 7.0 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and a 38.8% ground ball rate in 54 1/3 innings for the Braves in 2011. The 35-year-old owns a 3.51 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 12 MLB seasons. The Angels were the one team that was publicly linked to Linebrink this offseason. Given their interest in Luis Ayala and others, it appears that GM Jerry Dipoto still seeks relief help.
The Cardinals have also added J.C. Romero and R.J. Swindle to the bullpen mix since winning the 2011 World Series.
Cardinals Sign Dominican Prospect Serrano
The Cardinals signed Dominican right-hander Andres Serrano for $750K, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. The agreement, which dates back to October, is still pending an MLB investigation into the prospect’s age and identity.
The 17-year-old Serrano stands 6’3” and has a fastball that clocks in from 90-95 mph. He also has a curveball and change-up, Badler reports. The bonus would be the highest of 2011 for a pitcher from the Dominican, assuming MLB approves the deal.
Central Links: Gordon, Molina, Astros, Braun
Seven years ago today, the Cubs traded Kyle Farnsworth to the Tigers for Scott Moore, Roberto Novoa, and Bo Flowers. Farnsworth spent half-a-season in Detroit before being traded to the Braves at the deadline. Here's the latest on baseball's two central divisions…
- Alex Gordon told Rustin Dodd of The Kansas City Star that he and his agent wanted to work out a one-year deal for 2012 before discussing a longer contract (Twitter link). He also confirmed that the Royals have offered him a long-term deal. Gordon avoided arbitration with a one-year pact earlier today.
- "I love the city. I love the fans, I love the park. But it's out of my hands," said Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch when asked about a new contract (Twitter links). "Whatever they like to do is how it is … They let Albert [Pujols] go. It's business for the team, too. It's out of my hands." Molina can become a free agent after the season.
- "We're very active in terms of looking at transactions that are happening out there," said Astros GM Jeff Luhnow to Examiner.com's Stephen Goff. "Right now, most of the free agents have signed. Roy Oswalt is probably the last guy out there. We've got our fingers in everything. Are we actively looking to move a player or sign somebody at this point? No. We have got 61 guys coming to camp. From that group of 61, we believe we can get a real good 25-man roster to start the season."
- Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter) that the arbitrator in Ryan Braun's case won't be limited to the usual 25-day window, so a decision isn't necessarily expected by this Sunday. The Brewers slugger is appealing his failed banned substance test.
NL Central Notes: Greinke, Cardinals, Rodriguez
All three of the National League's unsigned arbitration eligible players play in the NL Central, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows. Here are the latest links from the division…
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin joined Todd Hollandsworth and Jim Memolo on MLB Network Radio and said that he and Zack Greinke have had some conversations about the right-hander's future in Milwaukee. Greinke told Melvin that he likes pitching for the Brewers and wants them to remain competitive going forward. Greinke is one of the top starting pitchers scheduled to hit free agency after the 2012 season.
- The Cardinals are waiting to see if Roy Oswalt will sign on their terms and at their price, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney writes.
- Astros GM Jeff Luhnow said Wandy Rodriguez is "definitely an important part" of the team's plan at this point, Stephen Goff of the Houston Astros Examiner reports. Rodriguez has been involved his share of trade rumors in the past year, but Luhnow says the left-hander is an important part of Houston's roster.
- Jose Veras of the Brewers and Casey McGehee and Garrett Jones of the Pirates are the NL's remaining unsigned arbitration eligible players.
Latest On Roy Oswalt
10:45pm: The Reds continue talking to Oswalt, though he'd prefer to pitch for the Cardinals or Rangers, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports report. Cincinnati would have to clear payroll to add Oswalt and Homer Bailey would be the most likely candidate to be dealt.
9:33pm: Cardinals GM John Mozeliak acknowledges he’ll be ‘opportunistic’ about potential deals, but says he’s not expecting significant moves before Spring Training, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Though the Cardinals and Roy Oswalt had mutual interest in a deal, they couldn’t reach an agreement.
Oswalt was asking for a significant guarantee in terms of role and salary, but the Cardinals aren’t looking to add payroll. The Cardinals haven’t spoken to Oswalt’s agent in the past week or so, Goold writes. The Reds appear to be kicking the tires on the right-hander, but the Rangers aren’t likely to sign him.
Cardinals Sign Alex Cora
4:19pm: Cora would get $800K in the Major Leagues, the Associated Press reports (via ESPN.com).
12:00pm: The Cardinals agreed to a minor league deal with a spring training invite with infielder Alex Cora, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. On Saturday, MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez reported a deal was close.
Cora will compete for a utility infield role, writes Goold. The 36-year-old Scott Boras client hit .224/.287/.276 in 172 plate appearances for the Nationals last year, spending most of his time in the field on the left side of the infield.
Cardinals Close To Signing Alex Cora
The Cardinals are close to signing Alex Cora to a minor league contract reports MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez. The team didn't confirm that a deal was close. Cora is a Scott Boras client.
Earlier this month we learned that the 36-year-old infielder intended to play in 2012, though he was drawing interest as a coach. Cora hit just .224/.287/.276 in 172 plate appearances with the Nationals last season while playing all four infield spots.
Nationals To Sign Edwin Jackson
The Nationals haven't finished above .500 since moving to Washington in 2005, but there's reason to expect significant improvement from the 2012 club. GM Mike Rizzo continued bolstering his pitching staff today, agreeing to terms with free agent right-hander Edwin Jackson.
The team announced the one-year deal, and Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, who first reported the news (all Twitter links), says the agreement is valued at $11MM. The Scott Boras client will earn $11MM plus incentives this year, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reports.
The Nationals' projected starting rotation includes Jackson (pictured), Gio Gonzalez, Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann and Chien-Ming Wang. Every one of the starters except Wang had an average fastball velocity of at least 92 mph in 2011. John Lannan and Ross Detwiler would provide rotation depth, though Lannan is now on the trade block.
Jackson, 28, posted a 3.79 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 with a 43.8% ground ball rate in 199 2/3 innings for the White Sox and Cardinals this past season. The hard-throwing right-hander has averaged 208 innings per season with a 3.96 ERA since 2009, but has a career ERA of 4.46 with 6.7 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 since he debuted with the Dodgers on his 20th birthday in 2003. Jackson ranked sixth on MLBTR’s list of top free agents entering the offseason.
Jackson profiled as a Type B free agent after the season and the Cardinals offered him arbitration. They'll obtain a compensatory draft pick in the supplementary first round of this year's amateur draft, but it won't come from the Nationals.
As MLBTR's Agency Database shows, the Boras Corporation has quite a presence on the Nationals' roster. Danny Espinosa, Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, Stephen Strasburg and Jayson Werth are all Boras clients.
Last week the Nationals added Brad Lidge to a bullpen that includes Drew Storen, Tyler Clippard and Henry Rodriguez. Washington's offense finished 24th in MLB in runs scored last year, but improvements to the pitching staff could make them a threat in the NL East this coming season.
Photo courtesy Icon SMI. Jim Duquette of MLB Network Radio first tweeted the value of the deal.
Roy Oswalt Rumors: Wednesday
Free agent righty Roy Oswalt, his wife Nicole, and his agent Bob Garber met with Rangers GM Jon Daniels and CEO and president Nolan Ryan for an exploratory lunch meeting in Arlington yesterday, reported Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com. The latest on Oswalt:
- Red Sox GM Ben Cherington won't rule out adding a starter before Spring Training, but he says it's unlikely at this point, Alex Speier of WEEI.com tweets. "I wouldn't expect any major changes between now and the report date," the GM said.
- The Red Sox are still talking to free agent pitchers, including Oswalt and Edwin Jackson, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald reports.
- The Red Sox appear to be waiting for Jackson or Oswalt to say yes to the offers they've extended, ESPN.com's Buster Olney tweets.
- The Red Sox still have a great chance of signing Oswalt, a Major League source tells Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com. However, this is the same source that told Edes on Friday that Oswalt would sign with the Cardinals soon, and that did not materialize.
- The Cardinals have not made Oswalt a financial offer anywhere close to what he considers sufficient, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal reiterates that Oswalt seeks a one-year, $10MM deal. Rosenthal questions Oswalt's leverage, if he remains adamant about pitching for two teams with full rotations in the Cardinals and Rangers.
Orioles Notes: Gregg, Uehara, Trades
The Orioles signed Pat Neshek and Ronny Paulino today and also added 17-year-old Korean lefty Seong-Min Kim on a minor league deal. Here are some more notes on the club:
- Orioles right-hander Kevin Gregg told Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun that last year left a bad taste in his mouth. “I think we all have something to prove to ourselves and to the rest of the league," Gregg said. He posted a 4.37 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 6.0 BB/9 during his debut season in Baltimore.
- MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli has heard that the Orioles’ interest in re-acquiring Koji Uehara has been overstated. It doesn’t seem likely that the right-hander will be traded back to Baltimore at this point. He is drawing trade interest after posting a 2.35 ERA with 11.8 K/9 and 1.2 BB/9 in 65 innings for the Orioles and Rangers in 2011.
- The Orioles aren’t comfortable with the demands potential trade partners are making, Encina reports. The Orioles discussed deals with the Cardinals and the Rangers, who are both looking to unload salary. The 2011 World Series foes have both been linked to Roy Oswalt in recent weeks.