Quick Hits: Pujols, Jones, Nationals, Ledezma
One year ago today, the Reds won the bidding for Aroldis Chapman. The Cuban left-hander made 15 relief appearances in the majors last year and figures to have an even bigger impact on the 2011 season. Here are today's links…
- The Cardinals' negotiations with Albert Pujols could resemble the Yankees' negotiations with Alex Rodriguez, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Cardinals executives have acknowledged that an extension with their first baseman would take the organization "places it hasn't gone" in terms of contract value and potential incentive clauses, Goold writes.
- Benjamin Kabak of River Ave. Blues says he'd lean toward Andruw Jones over Marcus Thames for the Yankees in 2011.
- Meanwhile, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports that the Rockies still have some interest in Jones (Twitter link).
- The Rangers are concerned that Jim Thome would prefer to return to Minnesota, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports (on Twitter). The Rangers are interested in Thome, though he's not a perfect fit for their needs.
- The Nationals need a utility player who can back Danny Espinosa up at second base and potentially play in the outfield, according to Ben Goessling of MASNSports.com. He lists Willie Bloomquist, David Eckstein and Willie Harris as possible fits.
- Dan Szymborski explains the challenges the Giants face if they want to repeat as World Champions in a piece for ESPN.
- The Blue Jays announced that they outrighted Wil Ledezma to Triple-A Las Vegas.
Quick Hits: Pettitte, Figgins, Giants, Hoffman
On this date in 2002, the Diamondbacks signed Carlos Gonzalez as an amateur free agent. Two blockbuster trades and one breakout season later, CarGo has agreed to a seven-year extension with the Rockies. Here are today's links…
- Andy Pettitte told Brian Costello of the New York Post at his home in Texas that he's just "chilling out, hanging" and still hasn't decided whether he'll play in 2011.
- The Mariners have officially asked Chone Figgins to move back to third base, reports Kirby Arnold of the Daily Herald. Figgins has played more games at third than at any other position, but he played second base last year.
- The Giants will likely rely on players already in the organization for infield depth now that Edgar Renteria has agreed to sign with the Reds, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
- Trevor Hoffman is leaning toward retirement, according to Heyman (on Twitter). The reliever has drawn some interest this offseason, but he had hoped for the chance to close in 2011.
- Michael Girsch will replace John Abbamondi as the Cardinals' assistant GM, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
Quick Hits: Keppinger, Pettitte, Bell, Molina
Here are some items of note on this Thursday, a day on which the Reds and Rangers each settled with one of their arbitration-eligible players. Remember to refer to our handy Arbitration Tracker, as those cases will continue to pop up in the coming weeks …
- The Astros were thought to be mulling the idea of trading Jeff Keppinger this offseason, but the utility infielder is scheduled to undergo left foot surgery next week and will likely miss the start of the regular season, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. This offseason, Houston acquired Bill Hall to play second base and Clint Barmes to man shortstop, so Keppinger has become expendable, but the injury should put a significant dent in the likelihood of him being dealt before the season. Keppinger enjoyed a career year in 2010, hitting .288/.351/.391 in 575 plate appearances. The Astros and Yankees briefly discussed a swap for Keppinger, but those talks went nowhere.
- The Yankees are willing to offer $12MM or $13MM to Andy Pettitte and are awaiting a decision from the lefty, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com. As Heyman notes, either of those figures would represent a modest raise for Pettitte, who earned $11.75MM in 2010, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts. Pettitte, who has been playing on one-year deals in each of the past four seasons, will probably either re-sign with the Yankees or retire.
- Padres closer Heath Bell hopes to remain in San Diego with a multiyear contract, writes Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Bell is in his final year of arbitration eligibility, and, having turned 33 in September, wants to garner long-term security, notes Center. Padres GM Jed Hoyer didn't offer much, saying that he and Bell's agent have "touched on it."
- After splitting 2010 between the Giants and Rangers, free-agent catcher Bengie Molina is seeking the "right fit," and one scenario that interests him is backing up his brother Yadier with the Cardinals, tweets Heyman. However, St. Louis already has a solid backup backstop in Gerald Laird, who signed a one-year deal with the Cards in December, so that seems unlikely.
Cards Notes: Pujols, Penny, Punto, Eckstein
In a chat with fans today, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch dished out some information about the Cardinals' remaining offseason wants, some free agent rumors and the Albert Pujols extension talks. Here are some of the highlights…
- Strauss thinks it's "feasible" that Pujols could agree to an extension that doesn't stretch over as many years (maybe a five- or six-year deal) but pays him the highest average annual salary in baseball history. This way Pujols gets his big payout, but it doesn't leave St. Louis on the hook for a huge salary in the seventh or eighth year of a longer contract.
- The Cardinals are looking for some infield depth at shortstop and third base, plus another starter to provide rotation depth. They're looking for players with Major League experience to fill these roles, but on non-guaranteed contracts.
- There is "little enthusiasm" for bringing back Brad Penny. Strauss isn't sure Penny would be content with serving as an emergency starter out of the bullpen.
- If the Cards sign a backup infielder, it will have to be an infielder who is "adroit" at third base in case David Freese can't handle the everyday job. This seems to rule out a return to St. Louis for David Eckstein, but Strauss says Nick Punto "is a popular name within some quarters of the organization." We haven't heard much about Punto since the Winter Meetings, where the former Twins infielder engaged in "meaningful negotiations" with Cleveland.
- The Cardinals believe Mitchell Boggs and/or Jason Motte can develop into a solid closer, so there isn't much interest in Rafael Soriano.
Cardinals Open Extension Talks With Albert Pujols
The Cardinals have opened extension talks with Albert Pujols, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Negotiations between the team and agent Dan Lozano have been “positive” so far, Strauss reports.
The Cardinals are discussing potential deals with considerably more urgency than they were a year ago, when Pujols was two seasons away from free agency. The first baseman is now just months away from the open market, so he’s the team’s top remaining offseason priority.
Lozano did not exchange figures with Cardinals GM John Mozeliak when the pair discussed a Pujols extension at last month’s Winter Meetings. Pujols has said he will not negotiate once he reports to Spring Training in February, so the sides have less than two months to work out an agreement.
Odds & Ends: Greinke, Young, Rangers, MacLane
Links for Sunday….
- SI.com's Jon Heyman says the "word is" that the Nationals offered Zack Greinke a big contract extension in an effort to entice him to join their team (Twitter links). He simply didn't believe the Nats could win, so he instead waived his no-trade clause to go to the Brewers.
- A source told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that the Rangers and Rockies have not had any serious talks about Michael Young in the last week, so if he does get traded, it will likely be to a team that did not show much interest in him at the Winter Meetings (Twitter links).
- Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News offers a "semi-educated guess" that if the Rangers do sign Adrian Beltre, they'll shift Young to a DH/utility role rather than trade him (Twitter link).
- NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman passes along a Japanese report that has the Orix Buffaloes set to acquire Evan MacLane from the Cardinals. An official announcement is expected soon.
- Cole Hamels and the Phillies haven't yet begun discussions for a multiyear extension, writes Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer. As MLBTR's Tim Dierkes noted when he examined the Phillies' four aces, Hamels is arbitration eligible after next season and can become a free agent after 2012.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider required) shares a list of 36 potential MLB storylines for 2011. Olney's list includes the Albert Pujols negotiations, Heath Bell trade talks, and C.C. Sabathia's out clause.
- The Jason Bartlett trade potentially opened up a spot on the 25-man roster for long-time Rays' farmhand Elliot Johnson, according to Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times.
- WEEI's Rob Bradford and Alex Speier attempt to determine whether Hideki Okajima is likely to rebound for the Red Sox in 2011.
- Roch Kubatko of MASN can't see the Orioles signing a full-time DH now that Derrek Lee is on board.
- Police say Alfredo Simon is the primary suspect in a fatal shooting in the Dominican Republic, reports the Associated Press (via the Miami Herald). Simon insists he was not involved in the incident, according to Orioles Dominican representative Felipe Alou Jr.
Lots Of Arb Cases For Angels, Jays, Giants, Padres
The Angels and Blue Jays have more upcoming arbitration cases than any other major league teams. Toronto and Los Angeles both have eight remaining arbitration eligible players, one more than the Giants, Padres and Rockies, who lead the National League with six apiece.
Teams and arbitration eligible players file for arbitration early next month in the first part of the process that determines players' 2011 salaries. If teams and players don't reach an agreement by January 18th, they exchange salary figures. If the sides don't reach a deal by the end of the month, they schedule a February hearing that would take place in front of a panel of arbitrators who decide between the player's pitch and the team's.
The Blue Jays avoided arbitration with their eligible players last offseason, the team's first under GM Alex Anthopoulos. The organization has avoided arbitration hearings for 13 consecutive offseasons, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see the team settle with Jose Bautista, Shawn Camp, Rajai Davis, Yunel Escobar, Casey Janssen, Jesse Litsch, Carlos Villanueva and Brandon Morrow.
The Angels have as many arbitration eligible players; the club faces potential hearings with Erick Aybar, Alberto Callaspo, Howie Kendrick, Jeff Mathis, Kendry Morales, Mike Napoli, Jered Weaver and Reggie Willits.
Most teams have 3-5 arbitration eligible players, but the Red Sox, Phillies and Pirates have just two. Kyle McClellan is the Cardinals' lone remaining arbitration eligible player.
Be sure to keep track of every arbitration case using MLBTR's new Arb Tracker, which you can find under the Tools tab at the top of the site.
Odds & Ends: Montanez, D’Backs, Rays
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
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
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:
- There's a "strange silence" coming from the Padres and Rays regarding the reported Jason Bartlett trade, writes Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
- Looks like a brotherly catching tandem won't happen in St. Louis, as Joe Strauss of the Post-Dispatch tweets that the Cardinals are not optimistic about signing Bengie Molina and are ready to move on.
- Bill Hall's agent told MLB.com's Brian McTaggart he's had "some conversations with Houston, but nothing substantial at this point" (Twitter link). Hall has a chance to be the Dodgers' primary left fielder, if their discussions are fruitful.