Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Rays Rumors

Six Teams Pursuing Luis Ayala

By | at

There are six teams in on free agent reliever Luis Ayala, tweets Jim Bowden of ESPN XM radio, including the Mets, Yankees, Rays, Blue Jays, Angels and Red Sox.

Ayala was an excellent value signing for the Yankees in 2011 after inking a minor league contract in February. The right-hander, who did not appear in the Majors in 2010, posted a 2.09 ERA in 56 innings last season and could land a Major League contract this trip through free agency.

Of the clubs listed here, the Mets, Jays and Rays, in particular, have several openings in their respective bullpens, while Ayala could simply provide depth for a team like the Yankees or Red Sox.

Quick Hits: Damon, Wilson, Wakefield, Dodgers

By | at

A few odds and ends to pass along …

  • Free agent outfielder/DH Johnny Damon prefers to re-sign with the Rays but said he hasn't had discussions with Tampa because EVP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman is a "free agent," according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Friedman isn't under contract and is expected to be courted by the Astros to be their next GM, but Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times reiterates that it's unlikely Friedman will leave the Rays.
  • The Rangers are making "no progress" in talks with free agent starter C.J. Wilson, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com, who suggests Texas may look elsewhere — perhaps at Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols.
  • Tim Wakefield would like to pitch one more year with the Red Sox, according to Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. The free agent knuckleballer, 45, has also mentioned the possibility of pitching in the National League.
  • NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson plans to bid on the Dodgers as part of a potential ownership group with former Braves and Nationals president Stan Kasten and Mark Walter of Guggenheim Partners, a financial services firm, according to Bill Shaikin and Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times. Johnson is a former minority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, selling his 4.5 percent stake in the team in 2010, according to the report.

Latest On Astros’ GM Search: Friedman, Geivett

By | at

Former Astros GM Tim Purpura will be named the Rangers' farm director, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. For details on who might be the Astros' next GM, keep reading…

  • Cardinals vice president of player procurement Jeff Luhnow has interviewed for the job, reports MLB.com's Brian McTaggart (on Twitter).
  • White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn and Kim Ng of MLB turned down the opportunity to interview for the Astros GM job, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
  • The Astros will do "whatever it takes" to obtain Andrew Friedman of the Rays, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. However, Friedman's friends don't expect him to leave Tampa Bay.
  • Rockies assistant GM Bill Geivett is interviewing for the Astros' GM job today, MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports. “I’m very excited to be here and it’s a great organization and a great city and everybody knows a great state,” Geivett said. “I’m very excited and we’ll see how it goes today.”

AL East Notes: Valentine, Wilson, Howell, Johnson

By | at

Here are some notes from the AL East on the day the Red Sox officially introduced their new manager…

  • The Red Sox and manager Bobby Valentine agreed on a two-year deal, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).  The Red Sox hold team options on Valentine for 2014 and 2015, tweets WEEI.com's Alex Speier.
  • Valentine reached out to David Cone about becoming the new Red Sox pitching coach, reports Jack Curry of the YES Network (Twitter link).  Cone isn't expected to take the job but was "flattered."
  • The Yankees turned down a request by C.J. Wilson's agent for a visit to Yankee Stadium, reports ESPN New York's Andrew Marchand.  That's not a good sign for Wilson's chances of signing with the Bombers, which Marchand believes are "less than five percent."
  • Erik Hahmann of the DRaysBay blog looks at the situation between the Rays and lefty J.P. Howell.  MLBTR's Tim Dierkes listed Howell as one of this winter's non-tender candidates.
  • The Blue Jays are still open to bringing back Kelly Johnson next year, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
  • Also from Morosi, he thinks the Blue Jays could — and should — sign free agent first baseman Prince Fielder.
  • Eric Chavez definitely wants to play in 2012 and a number of teams have strong interest in him, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links). Some West Coast teams are interested in Chavez and the Yankees appear to be in the mix as well.
  • The Rays have some interest in Cuban center fielder Yoenis Cespedes, but probably can’t afford him, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (on Twitter).
  • The Orioles hired former Phillies GM Lee Thomas as a special assistant, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com first mentioned the possibility (on Twitter). It's worth noting that Scott Proefrock and Joe Jordan of the Phillies are former Orioles front office employees.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post

Rays Notes: Pitching, Kotchman, Damon, Friedman

By | at

Andrew Friedman spoke with the media today about the Rays' plans heading into the Winter Meetings.  Here are some highlights, courtesy of Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times…

  • Friedman stuck to only discussing the Rays and declined to comment on his connection to the Astros' open general manager's job.  The Astros have permission to speak to Friedman and he is thought to be their top candidate.
  • The Rays' are looking for help at DH and first base, so free agents Casey Kotchman and Johnny Damon are "very much in the discussion" to be brought back, Friedman said.
  • The club isn't looking to deal one of its eight starting pitchers but if one was dealt, Friedman says it would be for Major League players that could contribute right away.  Topkin writes that there has "been heavy interest" in Tampa Bay's pitching from other teams.
  • Reid Brignac, Elliot Johnson and Sean Rodriguez are expected to handle shortstop, so Tampa Bay isn't looking to bring in another player for the position.
  • Friedman is open to adding catching depth but isn't sure it will be available.  The catching job will be split between the newly-signed Jose Molina and either Robinson Chirinos or Jose Lobaton.
  • Since the Rays want to add to their offense, it doesn't seem likely that B.J. Upton will be traded this winter.

Minor Moves: Nunez, Palmer, Moss, Mock

By | at

The latest minor moves from around MLB…

  • The Rays signed righty Jhonny Nunez to a minor league deal, tweets Baseball America's Matt Eddy.
  • The Padres signed right-hander Matt Palmer to a minor league deal, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock (Twitter link).
  • The Brewers signed outfielder Miguel Velazquez to a minor league deal, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (all links go to Twitter).
  • The A’s signed outfielder Brandon Moss to a minor league deal, according to Goldstein.
  • The Padres signed left-hander Alex Hinshaw to a minor league deal, according to Goldstein.
  • The Blue Jays signed former Nationals prospect Garrett Mock to a minor league deal, according to Goldstein.
  • The Royals announced that they signed right-hander Zach Miner, infielders Jamie Romak, Eric Duncan, Sharlon Schoop and Tony Abreu and left-handers Marlon Arias and Tommy Hottovy to minor league contracts. Miner, Abreu and Hottovy have big league experience, though only Hottovy appeared in the Major Leagues this past season. Duncan, once a highly-regarded prospect, posted a .849 OPS at Double-A as a utility player in 2011. Romak posted an .803 OPS for the Royals in 2011 and even pitched on two occasions.

Latest On Astros’ GM Search: Friedman, Picollo

By | at

The Astros will interview Rockies assistant GM Bill Geivett for their general manager job, but Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine withdrew his name from consideration. Here's the latest on Houston's search:

  • Rays executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman declined to address the Astros' interest in him, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (on Twitter). The Astros have obtained permission to speak to Friedman.
  • Royals assistant GM J.J. Picollo is drawing attention from the Astros as a GM candidate, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter).

13 Teams Eligible For First Competitive Balance Lottery

By | at

The new collective bargaining agreement calls for a competitive balance draft pick lottery beginning in 2013, and MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo has details.  13 teams will be eligible for the first lottery based on their market size and revenue: the Diamondbacks, Orioles, Indians, Royals, Athletics, Pirates, Padres, Rays, Reds, Rockies, Marlins, Brewers, and Cardinals.  The lottery gives each of these teams the chance to win one of six extra picks in the 2013 draft, which will come after the compensation picks for free agents.  The odds of winning a pick will be based on each team's winning percentage in the previous season.

There will be another group of six picks after the draft's second round.  The teams in the mix for these will be the ones that did not win a pick in the first lottery, as well as any other team that receives revenue sharing.

Mayo says lottery picks can be traded, but only once by a team and only during the regular season.  The picks cannot be sold for cash.

A third lottery will be held for picks forfeited by teams that exceeded their bonus pools.  Teams that did not exceed their pools will be eligible, with odds based on a formula of revenue and winning percentage.  Got all that?  There will be a quiz tomorrow.

Royals To Sign Jonathan Broxton

By | at

The Royals announced that they have agreed to sign Jonathan Broxton to a one-year deal, pending a physical. The deal is worth $4MM and includes $1MM in incentives based on games pitched for the 27-year-old right-hander, who will be Kansas City's setup man in 2012.

“We are delighted to add someone as talented as Jonathan to our bullpen,” Royals GM Dayton Moore said. “He will be used in a setup role to closer Joakim Soria and will help solidify what we feel is a young and talented bullpen.”

Broxton’s 2011 season ended in May after just 12 2/3 innings with a 5.68 ERA and nearly as many walks (9) as strikeouts (10). He had arthroscopic elbow surgery in September and was expected to begin an offseason throwing program this month. A dominant reliever for the Dodgers from 2006 to the early part of 2010, Broxton will look to rebuild value on a one-year contract in Kansas City.  

Other than the Royals, the Mets, Rangers and Rays pursued Broxton most intently, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter links). Overall, at least ten teams expressed interest in Broxton, who's represented by B.B. Abbott of Jet Sports Management.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the agreement (Twitter link) and Jon Heyman of SI.com added the terms of the deal (Twitter links). Dan Mennella explains the fantasy baseball implications of the move at CloserNews.com, the destination for all reliever-related fantasy baseball news and analysis.

Astros Obtain Permission To Interview Friedman

By | at

The Astros obtained permission to interview Rays executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, according to Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle. The Astros have asked to interview a handful of candidates, but Friedman, a Houston native, is clearly their top choice, according to Justice. The team dismissed GM Ed Wade less than two weeks after owner Jim Crane completed his purchase of the franchise.

Thad Levine and A.J. Preller of the Rangers are believed to be under consideration for the GM job as well. However, former Astros GM Gerry Hunsicker, who now works with Friedman and the Rays, will not be interviewed. Astros president and CEO George Postolos has explained that he's looking for a GM with a strong commitment to player development who can develop 'one of the top farm systems in baseball.'

It's not the first time a team with a GM opening has expressed interest in Friedman. This offseason alone, the Cubs, Orioles and Angels appeared to have some interest in the 35-year-old. It's "very unlikely" that Friedman will leave Tampa Bay, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top