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Odds & Ends: Montanez, D’Backs, Rays

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A year ago today, the Yankees acquired Javier Vazquez from the Braves for a group of players led by Melky Cabrera. Neither headliner did much in 2010, but the two lefty relievers in the deal – Michael Dunn and Boone Logan – did well and the Braves acquired a promising young arm in Arodys Vizcaino. As we await the next big trade of the 2010-11 offseason, here are today's links…

  • Cardinals assistant GM John Abbamondi is leaving for San Diego, where he'll be a VP with the Padres, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter links).
  • Luis Montanez told Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com that he has drawn interest from some AL East teams and some Japanese teams. The 29-year-old outfielder posted a .223/.257/.323 line in 266 plate appearances for the Orioles from 2008-10.
  • The D'Backs have avoided incentive-based contracts in the past, but as MLB.com's Steve Gilbert explains, GM Kevin Towers has been creative with the contracts he's worked on this offseason. Click here for more contract details from around the majors.
  • Cork Gaines of Rays Index explains that Tampa Bay's Opening Day payroll projects to be much lower in 2011, perhaps under $40MM.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports explains that former Ray and Type A free agent Grant Balfour could end up returning to Tampa Bay, though it seems unlikely.
  • The Phillies will have almost no flexibility to acquire players next summer unless they trade Joe Blanton to free up salary, according to Rosenthal.

Cardinals Sign Gerald Laird

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The Cardinals signed catcher Gerald Laird on a one-year deal, the team announced. SI's Jon Heyman reports that the contract will pay Laird $1MM.  He can earn another $300K in incentives.  Laird will serve as Yadier Molina's backup, replacing Jason LaRue.

Laird, 31, hit .207/.263/.304 in 299 plate appearances for the Tigers this year, catching 670 2/3 innings.  He gunned down 34% of attempted basestealers, so the Cardinals will never be easy to run on in 2011.  Laird's offensive woes in his two-year Detroit stint have relegated him to backup duty, and his starts could be particularly rare given Molina's durability. 

Laird is represented by Scott Boras.  Our transaction tracker reveals that he's the fourth Boras client to sign this winter.  The free agent market for catchers is down to four viable options, three if Bengie Molina retires.

Odds & Ends: Bartlett, Bengie Molina, Bill Hall

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A year ago today, John Buck signed with the Blue Jays, Bruce Chen with the Royals, and Scott Olsen with the Nationals.  Currently only Chen remains on the market.  Today's links:

Mariners Acquire Brendan Ryan

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The Mariners have acquired Brendan Ryan from the Cardinals in exchange for pitching prospect Maikel Cleto, according to a team press release. Because Cleto was on Seattle's 40-man roster, no corresponding roster move will need to be made.

Ryan, 29 in March, is an elite defender at shortstop, as his career UZR/150 mark of 11.4 at the position (in nearly 2400 innings) indicates. While he's not much with the bat (career .259/.314/.344), Ryan has decent speed and base-stealing success (39 SB in 415 games, 75% success) and won't cost the Mariners much. He's arbitration-eligible for the first time after earning just $425K last season. He could serve as a defensively efficient stopgap until top prospect Dustin Ackley is ready at second base.

Cleto, 21, came to the Mariners in the J.J. Putz deal almost exactly two years ago today. The Dominican right-hander throws in the upper-90s, but struggles with his control and secondary pitches, tweets Kevin Goldstein from Baseball Prospectus. Last season, pitching for the High Desert Mavericks in High-A, Cleto threw 102 1/3 innings over 23 games (21 starts), striking out 7.3/9 and walking 3.9/9. His 6.16 ERA was a result of allowing 11 hits per nine innings pitched.

The Twins had been linked to Ryan earlier this weekend, but will now likely turn elsewhere in their search for middle infield depth.

Cardinals Rumors: Ryan, Bengie Molina

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The latest out of St. Louis, from Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch….

  • The Cardinals appear to be getting closer to moving Brendan Ryan, who is drawing interest from the Twins.
  • The team has "pressed" to sign Bengie Molina, but a club source believes a Ryan trade is likely to happen before Molina makes a decision one way or the other.
  • Molina has been told by the Cards that he's their preferred choice as a backup catcher, but he'd have to be willing to accept the reduced playing time and salary that come with that role. The club has allotted about $1MM for their backstop opening.
  • Tony La Russa on the possibility of adding Molina: "He's built up a certain value and what his role needs to be. That's one thing that might be a complicating factor. It would be great if it can work for us and work for him."

Twins Interested In Brendan Ryan

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The Twins are attempting to trade for Cardinals shortstop Brendan Ryan according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Minnesota just sent the incumbent J.J. Hardy to Baltimore, and Ryan became expendable when St. Louis acquired Ryan Theriot. 

The 28-year-old Ryan isn't much with the stick, just a .256/.308/.344 hitter over the last two seasons, but his defensive skills are second to none. His +18.7 UZR since the start of 2009 leads big league shortstops, just about four full runs ahead of the second best defender, the aforementioned Hardy. The Twins are expected to sign Tsuyoshi Nishioka this month and they also have Alexi Casilla in house, though it's hard to fault them for wanting to create some middle infield depth.

International Links: Reyes, Molina, Anderson

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Links in three very different-sounding accents of Spanish…

  • Jose Reyes has heard the rumors, and he met with Mets GM Sandy Alderson last week to discuss them, the shortstop told Juan Mercado at the Dominican paper El Dia. "[Alderson] assured me that [a trade] wouldn't happen, however, I recognize that this is a business," Reyes said. He added that the Mets picking up his $11MM option for 2011 was a "good sign," but reiterated his hopes for the future, saying, "I've repeated many times that I don't want to leave the Mets, since I feel very comfortable here."
  • Yadier Molina says the Cardinals have approached his elder brother Bengie about backing him up at catcher next season. "They want to get him, but they're waiting for his decision," Yadier told Lester Jimenez at the Puerto Rican daily Primera Hora. The younger Molina said he was confident Bengie could still handle a starting job at 36, and still might seek a contract as such, "but if he's thinking of retirement and wants to take it easy as a backup catcher, then I want him here with me."
  • The Rays' options to replace Carlos Pena and Carl Crawford could extend beyond in-house options Dan Johnson and Desmond Jennings, or free agents such as Edwin Encarnacion. The agent for Leslie Anderson told El Nuevo Herald's Jorge Ebro that the versatile Cuban prospect will be in the mix for both the Ray's outfield and first base openings this spring. After signing a four-year, $3.75MM deal last March, Anderson put up a combined .302/.359/.442 line in 422 PAs across the Rays system, including a .328/.359/.418 showing at Triple-A Durham.

Odds & Ends: Greinke, Ryan, Jeter, Atkins, Garza

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On this date two years ago, the Tigers sent Matt Joyce to the Rays for Edwin Jackson. It's been a busy couple of years for Jackson, who has bounced from Detroit to Arizona to Chicago, twirling a no-hitter along the way. Here are today's links…

Cardinals Consider Zaun Fallback Option

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The Cardinals consider Gregg Zaun a fallback option in their search for a backup catcher, tweets Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  The Cards have also been linked to Yadier Molina's brother, Bengie.  Assuming Matt Treanor and Henry Blanco finish expected deals, the backup catcher market could be down to Zaun, Josh Bard, Gerald Laird, and Molina if he's willing.

Cardinals Rumors: Pujols, Backup Catcher, Berkman

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On Wednesday night, we heard that the Cardinals would like to add some pitching depth to supplement their current staff. As we enter the early hours of Thursday morning, let's take a look at some other Cardinals notes:

  • Jayson Stark of ESPN.com discusses Albert Pujols' contract negotiations, wondering if the Cardinals will be able to fit an Alex Rodriguez-esque contract into their budget. Within the piece, Tony La Russa reiterates that Pujols doesn't want negotiations to leak into spring training, leading Stark to conclude that if the two sides don't reach an agreement within the next ten weeks, Pujols will be heading for free agency.
  • Speaking to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, however, Cards chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said he wasn't feeling any urgency about a Pujols extension.
  • Goold writes that the team believed they were close to a deal for a backup catcher before talks faltered late Tuesday night. As of Wednesday, the Cardinals' search for a catcher was in a "holding pattern," according to GM John Mozeliak. St. Louis has been linked to names such as Bengie Molina and Gregg Zaun so far at the Winter Meetings.
  • La Russa told Goold that the Cardinals may go into the year with newly-signed Lance Berkman in right field and Matt Holliday in left, rather than vice versa as initially thought.
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