Rays Rumors

Hiroki Kuroda May Be Nearing Deal

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 20, 2011 at 2:06pm CDT

Yahoo’s Tim Brown heard yesterday that Hiroki Kuroda was close to agreeing to a new contract. However, it’s not clear which team is nearing a deal with the right-hander. Here are the details and more of Brown’s links from around MLB:

The Mariners, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Rangers, Red Sox and Yankees were among the teams that informed Brown they were not the team nearing a deal with Kuroda.
The Dodgers didn’t scout Yoenis Cespedes in earnest or consider bidding on Yu Darvish, Brown reports. It cost the Rangers $51.7MM for the rights to negotiate with Darvish and Cespedes figures to cost tens of millions as well, so the players are too expensive for the cash-strapped Dodgers to consider.
Carlos Beltran figures to agree to terms by Sunday. His market includes the Cardinals, Blue Jays, Red Sox and a fourth team, possibly the Rays. Beltran is weighing two and three-year offers, Brown reports.

Rays, Joel Peralta Avoid Arbitration

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 20, 2011 at 1:44pm CDT

1:44pm: Peralta will earn $2.175MM, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (on Twitter).

12:18pm: The Rays announced that they avoided arbitration with right-handed reliever Joel Peralta, and agreed to terms on a one-year, Major League contract for 2012. Mark Gilling represents Peralta, who had a projected $2MM salary for 2012, according to MLBTR's estimates.

Peralta, 35, posted a 2.93 ERA with 8.1 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 27% ground ball rate in 67 2/3 innings of relief this past season. The Rays signed Peralta a year ago this week after the Nationals non-tendered him.

AL East Rumors: Latos, Blue Jays, Rays, Red Sox

By Luke Adams 2 | December 18, 2011 at 10:40am CDT

The latest out of the AL East:

Peter Gammons of MLB Network tweets that the Blue Jays "went to the end" on Mat Latos, though the Reds ultimately won out. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports also hears Toronto was a finalist on Latos, though he doesn't know the details of their offer (Twitter links). The Jays are one team that could have comfortably matched the quantity and quality of the prospects Cincinnati sent to San Diego.
While the Rays would ideally like to add another reliever with high-leverage experience, GM Andrew Friedman tells Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times he's comfortable with the bullpen arms he has now.
The Red Sox probably aren't done making moves, though they don't seem inclined to make a big splash such as a Gio Gonzalez trade, writes Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald.

Cafardo On Red Sox, Rays, Cubs, Wandy, Zumaya

By Luke Adams 2 | December 18, 2011 at 10:06am CDT

In his latest column for the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo writes that the Red Sox have to be wary of an American League where the competition continues to get stiffer. With the Albert Pujols-led Angels and the improving Blue Jays aiming to contend for the postseason, the Red Sox may need to continue making moves to avoid missing the playoffs for a third straight year, says Cafardo. Here are some highlights from his piece:

Other GMs say Ben Cherington has been active in discussing potential moves. The Red Sox have looked into a number of pitchers on the trade market, including Gio Gonzalez, Jair Jurrjens, Gavin Floyd, and John Danks. According to Cafardo, the Sox probably don't have the caliber of prospects the Athletics want for Gonzalez.
An AL executive on how the Rays might fill their roster holes: "They could just continue to bottom-feed and keep all of their pitching. There's that January market that they've done very well with, and as long as they keep making the right decisions, their pitching is so good it will keep them in that playoff hunt every year."
Cafardo is skeptical that the Cubs are legit contenders for Prince Fielder, saying right now the team's mindset is "let’s not spend until we’re ready to spend and right now we're not ready to spend." It makes sense then that Cafardo also hears Chicago's bid for Yu Darvish was low, as detailed in MLBTR's Darvish rumors.
The Astros seem willing to take on some salary in a Wandy Rodriguez trade. We heard during the Winter Meetings that Houston didn't want to eat any of Wandy's contract to move him, so perhaps the club modified that stance after Jeff Luhnow took over as GM.
One NL scout who watched Joel Zumaya pitch this week said the righty "didn't have much of a breaking ball but threw 93-96 on his fastball. Somebody will bite on him."

West Rumors: Rizzo, Pujols, Dodgers, Shuey

By Mike Axisa | December 17, 2011 at 9:36pm CDT

The Padres made a mini-blockbuster earlier today by trading Mat Latos to the Reds, and now let's recap the latest rumors from out west…

Clubs have already started calling the Padres about Anthony Rizzo, and the Rays and Cubs are among those interested according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). Rizzo could be on the market after Yonder Alonso joined San Diego in the Latos trade.
Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports provided the details of the incentives in Albert Pujols' contract with the Angels (Twitter link). The slugger will get $3MM for his 3,000th career hit and $7MM for his 763rd career home run, which would break the all-time record. The soon-to-be 32-year-old currently has 2,073 hits and 445 homers.
Dodgers GM Ned Colletti has restructured his front office slightly, according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. Vance Lovelace was promoted to director of professional personnel after serving as special assistant to the GM and director of pro scouting. Rick Ragazzo replaces Lovelace as director of pro scouting after serving as a special assistant to the GM.
The Dodgers are still fighting with Hartford Life Insurance Co. over Paul Shuey's $3.25MM salary for the 2004 season, reports Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times. The team sued the insurance company in 2006, saying they didn't honor their claim when the right-hander did not pitch that season due to injury.

Cardinals Maintain Strong Interest In Beltran

By Mike Axisa | December 17, 2011 at 6:47pm CDT

The Cardinals won't be able to replace all the offense they lost when Albert Pujols left for the Angels, but there are ways to replace some of it. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Cardinals did extensive background work on Carlos Beltran this week, and they continue to maintain strong interest in the outfielder.

Beltran, 34, hit .300/.385/.525 with 22 homers last season, the first time he's played in more than 100 games since 2008. He's mulling over a variety of two and three-year offers according to Rosenthal, with the Blue Jays, Red Sox, and Rays also having interest in the outfielder. Toronto is said to have "significant financial flexibility," but Boston is more focused on pitching and Tampa only figures to get seriously involved if Beltran's market crashes.

Rosenthal says the Cardinals have expressed interest in both Cody Ross and Coco Crisp as well. St. Louis can add an outfielder because Allen Craig figures to miss the start of the season after having knee surgery recently, and also because Lance Berkman will move back to first base, his best position.

AL East Notes: Beltran, Blue Jays, Orioles, Rays

By Mark Polishuk | December 16, 2011 at 9:49pm CDT

Here's the latest from the AL East…

The Blue Jays are one of Carlos Beltran's suitors, but ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter link) wonders if Beltran is similarly serious about coming to Toronto "or if (like some players) he has no interest in playing there."
The Orioles re-assigned six pro scouts to their amateur scouting department, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. General manager Dan Duquette says the move is part of the club's push to incorporate more video and statistical analysis in their Major League scouting.
To that same sabermetric end, the Orioles have also hired economic advisor Stephen Walters to help gauge players' true values, reports Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Walters, an economics professor at Loyola, worked under Duquette with the Red Sox in 2002 and has also worked for the Cubs organization.
John Romano of the St. Petersburg Times thinks the Rays are just one hitter away from the AL pennant.
The Red Sox and Yankees have both been relatively quiet this winter, and MLB.com's Anthony Castovince explores how it's unusual to see the two clubs explore more cost-efficient strategies.

NL East Links: Oswalt, Davis, Cedeno, Cuddyer

By Mark Polishuk | December 16, 2011 at 5:41pm CDT

Here's the latest from the National League East…

The Nationals "have had little contact with" Roy Oswalt, a source tells MLB.com's Bill Ladson. We heard last week that Oswalt was the Nats' "plan B" once Mark Buehrle signed with Miami. The Nats didn't bid on Yu Darvish and won't meet Oakland's price for Gio Gonzalez, so the club may stick with its current rotation.
Ladson believes the Nationals will look for bench help before re-entering the pitching market. To that end, Ladson reports the team is maintaining interest in Mike Cameron, Mark DeRosa and Greg Dobbs. (Both links go to Ladson's Twitter account.)
The Marlins are interested in Rays right-hander Wade Davis, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. With Matt Moore, David Price, Jeremy Hellickson as untouchables and the Rays seemingly determined to keep James Shields, Davis and Jeff Niemann are the most likely Rays pitchers to be moved, if the club does indeed try to deal from its pitching surplus. The inter-Florida rivals have already completed one (lower-profile) trade this offseason, involving righty Burke Badenhop.
The Mets have talked to Ronny Cedeno and Jack Wilson, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). Wilson has been linked to the Mets for a few weeks, but Cedeno is a new name in the mix for the Amazins. The Red Sox and Braves have also had interest in Cedeno this offseason.
Also from Heyman, the Phillies made Michael Cuddyer an early contract offer worth more than $25MM. The club lost interest in Cuddyer, however, after signing Ty Wigginton and Laynce Nix. Cuddyer agreed to a three-year, $31.5MM deal today with the Rockies.
Dontrelle Willis sounded confident that he will play alongside his longtime friend Jimmy Rollins with the Phillies next season, reports Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Jose Reyes has yet to speak to Hanley Ramirez since signing with the Marlins, according to The Associated Press. "As soon as I have the opportunity, I'm going to talk to him, because we are very good friends," Reyes said. "We're both here for one reason — to win the World Series. It doesn't matter where I'm going to play or where he's going to play."
The Braves will rely on several players aged 24 and under next season, but Fangraphs' Jason Roberts thinks the health of veterans like Chipper Jones and Tim Hudson are bigger concerns for the club.

Reds Eyeing Gonzalez, Latos, Jurrjens

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 16, 2011 at 4:14pm CDT

Gio Gonzalez, Mat Latos and Jair Jurrjens are among the pitchers on the Reds’ wish list, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). Latos may be available in the right deal, Gonzalez could be had, but Oakland's asking price is high and Jurrjens also appears to be available. GM Walt Jocketty recently told Rosenthal that he’s looking aggressively at ways of improving his team’s pitching staff, despite the high asking prices sellers are setting for available arms.

Matt Garza, who could earn a salary approaching $9MM through arbitration, is too expensive for Jocketty’s liking and John Danks is less appealing than some alternatives, as he’s under team control for just one season, Rosenthal writes. James Shields appears to be out of the reach for every team, including the Reds, and Jocketty is aiming to obtain a better pitcher than Wade Davis.

Minor Moves: Rangers, Lindsay, Texeira, James

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 15, 2011 at 3:07pm CDT

Here's where we'll track today's minor moves, most of which were reported by Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus on Twitter…

The Rangers invited recent non-tender Fabio Castillo and catcher Chris Robinson to Spring Training, according to Anthony Andro of FOXSportsSouthwest.com (on Twitter). The Rangers signed former supplemental first round pick Zach Jackson, according to Goldstein.
The Twins signed right-hander Daryl Thompson, Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune tweets. They also signed lefty Aaron Thompson, according to Goldstein.
The Dodgers signed Shane Lindsay.
The Reds signed Kanekoa Texeira.
The Pirates signed lefty Kris Johnson.
The Giants signed Joaquin Arias.
The Mariners signed catcher Guillermo Quiroz.
The Blue Jays signed 2002 first rounder Clint Everts.
The Rays signed right-hander Matt Torra.
The Mets announced the signing of left-hander Chuck James, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). James appeared in eight games for the Twins this past season, and spent most of the season at Triple-A. The 30-year-old posted a 2.30 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 62 2/3 innings as a reliever for the Twins' top affiliate.
The Padres released utility man Eric Patterson, tweets Matt Eddy of Baseball America.
The Royals released righty Jake Rodriguez, tweets Eddy.
The Red Sox released righty Miguel Gonzalez.

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