Cardinals Have Discussed Bengie Molina
The Cardinals would like to have a backup catcher signed by the end of the Winter Meetings, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. GM John Mozeliak declined to discuss specific names, though the club has known interest in Gregg Zaun. Goold informs us that St. Louis has discussed another interesting option — current catcher Yadier Molina's older brother, Bengie Molina.
Bengie, 35, had one of his worst seasons, hitting just .249/.297/.326 in 416 plate appearances between the Giants and Rangers. It marked the first season in which he didn't post an OPS of at least .717 since 2002, and his five homers on the season tied for a career low. He did show some life with a huge postseason, in which he hit .293/.341/.488 with two home runs, albeit in a small sample size of 41 plate appearances.
Earlier tonight, we heard that Bengie is on the fence about whether or not to play in 2011. My own speculation, but perhaps the allure of teaming up with his younger brother would be enough to convince him to play, should the Cardinals decide to get serious about the idea. The Rockies expressed interest in Molina over the weekend as well.
Possible Extensions For Pujols, Uggla, Cahill
TUESDAY, 7:39pm: Braves GM Frank Wren and agent Terry Bross will discuss an Uggla extension soon, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Wren says he would like to sign Uggla to an extension and is optimistic about reaching one.
MONDAY, 8:43pm: The Cardinals, Braves and Athletics have interest in locking up star players to multiyear extensions. Cardinals GM John Mozeliak met with the representatives for Albert Pujols today, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter).
The Marlins traded Dan Uggla to Atlanta partly because extension talks with the second baseman stalled, but the Braves are now making progress on a possible extension, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link). Uggla, who turned down a four-year, $48MM offer from the Marlins this fall, will likely earn about $10MM in 2011.
The A's are exploring a possible multiyear deal with Trevor Cahill, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). The 22-year-old is under team control through 2014. It wouldn't be the first time GM Billy Beane has locked up a young starter, as Tim Hudson, Barry Zito, Rich Harden, Dan Haren and Brett Anderson will attest.
Nationals, Rockies, Indians Eyeing Adam Everett
7:20pm: The Nationals are also considering Eckstein, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
1:57pm: The Rockies and Indians are eyeing slick-fielding shortstop Adam Everett for a utility role, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. Everett sat out the last three months of the season after the Tigers released him in June. He played only 31 games this year. Everett has played shortstop almost exclusively in his pro career, so he'd have to learn the other positions to act as a true utility infielder.
The Rockies also have an eye on Cardinals shortstop Brendan Ryan for shortstop protection, tweets Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.
Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Garcia, Delcarmen, Gomez
Links for Tuesday, exactly five years after the Blue Jays signed A.J. Burnett to a five-year, $55MM deal. Now with the Yankees, Burnett's part of a Yankees rotation that's very much in flux. Here are today's links…
- The Cardinals announced on Twitter that they avoided arbitration with Ryan Theriot, signing the infielder to a one-year deal for 2011. Fanhouse's Steve Phillips says the deal is for $3.3MM.
- A Los Angeles judge ruled that Frank McCourt is not the sole owner of the Dodgers and the ruling is not expected to impact the team's day-to-day operations, according to Bill Shaikin and Carla Hall of the LA Times. If anything, the Dodgers have spent more aggressively than usual this winter.
- The Mets talked to Freddy Garcia's representatives at some point before the meetings, but the right-hander is not the team's top priority, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter).
- Manny Delcarmen, who was non-tendered by the Rockies last week, is drawing interest from two AL East teams (but not the Red Sox) according to Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com (on Twitter).
- Carlos Gomez is available, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter). The Brewers want pitching for Gomez and are reluctant to part with Lorenzo Cain.
- Quiet day for the Reds – GM Walt Jocketty tells MLB.com's Mark Sheldon that he's had "zero" discussions with teams or agents today (Twitter link).
- The Diamondbacks have some interest in Henry Blanco, but the catcher isn't expected to decide on his next team at the meetings, according to Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona (on Twitter).
- Derek Jeter told reporters, including Ben Shpigel of the New York Times, that he was bothered by how public his contract negotiations became.
Cardinals, Mariners, Athletics Interested In Zaun
TUESDAY, 2:52pm: The Athletics are also in on Zaun, tweets John Hickey of AOL Fanhouse.
MONDAY, 4:48pm: Gregg Zaun is on the Cardinals' radar, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter). However, the team hasn't spoken to Zaun's representatives so far at the Winter Meetings. Earlier today, Yahoo's Tim Brown named the Mariners and Cardinals as possible suitors for the veteran catcher (Twitter link).
Zaun missed the second half of the 2010 season after undergoing surgery on his right labrum in June. Zaun, 40 in April, should still be able to reach base if healthy; he has a career .344 on base percentage and posted a .350 OBP before getting hurt this summer. Last month, Zaun said he would prefer to return to the Rays.
Pujols Seeking A-Rod Money?
Yesterday we learned that the Cardinals' brass planned to sit down with Albert Pujols' agent Dan Lozano and discuss an extension to keep the game's best player in St. Louis.
Today, SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Cardinal slugger is thought to be looking for the type of contract that Alex Rodriguez received to stay in New York. A-Rod inked a 10-year, $275MM contract back in December of 2007 at the age of 32, so it would be no surprise to see Pujols, 31 in January, making similar demands.
Pujols boasts a career line of .331/.426/.624 with 408 home runs and three NL MVP awards to his name. He finished second in this year's voting to Joey Votto, his fourth runner-up finish.
Cards Out On Bartlett, Shopping Ryan
We know that St. Louis GM John Mozeliak met with the agent for Albert Pujols today in regards to a possible extension, but as Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch informs us, their immediate to-do list is far shorter.
Following the club's acquisition of Lance Berkman, the Cardinals are now focused on exploring trade interest for defensive whiz Brendan Ryan and securing a backup catcher. The $8MM allocated to Berkman, as well as the same figure that was allocated to Jake Westbrook and the acquisition of Ryan Theriot have left the redbirds with little financial flexibility.
Mozeliak adamantly denied rumors of continued interest in Tampa Bay shortstop Jason Bartlett, stating two reasons:
"One is, we've already made a trade for a player," he began. "And Number 2 is, after we did the Berkman deal, (finances) are something we have to become aware of, too. We're pretty comfortable now with what we've done in the middle infield."
Strauss says the Cardinals would want a pitching prospect or fringe major leaguer in return for Ryan's services. Mozeliak made his intentions clear when he prioritized their plans for Ryan in order: trade him for immediate help, trade him for depth, or retain him as a backup.
Ryan's bat doesn't bring much to the table — he hit just .239/.279/.294 last season — but his reputation as a defensive sensation is well-deserved. His UZR has increased in each of the past three seasons, and his cumulative UZR/150 at shortstop over that time is 11.4, second only to Jack Wilson (among players with 1500 innings or more). He's capable of swiping a base (25 SB over the past two seasons, career 75% success rate) and is arbitration-eligible for the first time, meaning he won't see a significant salary in 2011.
The Cardinals filled their backup catcher role with Jason LaRue from 2008-2010, but LaRue retired this season after suffering an injury in a team brawl with the Reds. Earlier today, they were linked to Gregg Zaun, who missed most of 2010 with an injury of his own. However at age 39 and coming off that injury, he should fit into the club's pay range.
As it stands, St. Louis is projected to have approximately a $106MM payroll, which includes a small allocation for a backup catcher in the mold of Zaun. Other options in that price range could include (my own speculation) Josh Bard, Gerald Laird, and Henry Blanco.
Rays Rumors: Howell, Johnson, Bartlett
The latest on the Rays, who are looking to re-build their bullpen and acquire a hitter or two:
- The Rays have progressed toward a deal with J.P. Howell, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (on Twitter). The team non-tendered the lefty last week.
- The Rays avoided arbitration with Dan Johnson and agreed on a 2011 salary of about $1MM, according to Topkin (Twitter links).
- The Rays and O's were discussing a trade that would have sent Jason Bartlett to Baltimore for a package similar to the one the Orioles sent to Arizona for Mark Reynolds, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown (Twitter link).
- Cardinals GM Joh Mozeliak told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he's not looking to acquire middle infielders, so a Barlett trade seems highly unlikely.
- Rays President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told Topkin that he wouldn't be surprised if he ends up making a trade or two this week (Twitter link).
International Links: Renteria, Pedro, Williamson
Links in Spanish from where winter is just a cool breeze…
- Edgar Renteria has "three options" for a 2011 contract, according to an AP story out of Colombia. "All of them are in the National League, and one is the Giants," Renteria said. "I'd like to return [to the Giants], but if it doesn't work out, there are the other teams." The Cardinals and Marlins could be the fallbacks, as Renteria has said he'd like to end his career playing for one of the two.
- No matter the season or league, Pedro Martinez wants to play for a winner. Martinez downplayed reports that he is training with the Licey Tigers in the Dominican Winter League, telling Pedro G. Briceño at Listin Diario, "I'm taking a break right now." In another interview, though, Martinez sounded more open, telling El Dia's Justo de la Cruz that he might change his mind if the Tigers improve in the standings or qualify for the Dominican playoffs. In regard to his plans stateside, Martinez told de la Cruz he hasn't hung up his spikes, but on the other hand said: "I don't rule out having an impulse to leave definitively."
- Scott Williamson is planning to pitch in Mexico this winter, and several Major League teams will be watching, Williamson's agent told the blog Baseball Mexico (link in English). The former National League Rookie of the Year hasn't pitched in the majors since 2007, but he put up impressive numers in part-time closing duty for the independent Somerset Patriots last summer.
Pirates Rumors: Correia, Accardo, Duchscherer
4:05pm: The Pirates are interested in Kevin Correia, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
3:25pm: The Pirates are aggressively pursuing Accardo, according to Kovacevic (on Twitter).
2:51pm: The latest on the Pirates:
- The Pirates are deeply interested in Jeremy Accardo, reports Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Dodgers are also known to be in on the recently non-tendered reliever.
- A couple of teams have approached the Pirates about center fielder Andrew McCutchen, tweets ESPN's Gordon Edes, but they'd have to be overwhelmed.
- The Pirates and Justin Duchscherer have mutual interest, reports Kovacevic.
- The Pirates have shown some interest in Braves starter Kenshin Kawakami, reports MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. She estimates Kawakami would only cost the Pirates $1-2MM and no significant players, as the Braves are just looking to unload part of his $6.667MM salary.
- Langosch says the Pirates have mild interest in Cardinals shortstop Brendan Ryan. Kovacevic says the Pirates continue to discuss shortstops with many teams, including J.J. Hardy with the Twins.
- Kovacevic adds that the Pirates would love to trade Ryan Doumit. He says they'd only trade Evan Meek or Joel Hanrahan for a very significant return.