Cafardo On Red Sox, Rays, Cubs, Wandy, Zumaya
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Bidding Period For Yu Darvish Ends
The deadline for teams to submit bids to the Nippon Ham Fighters for the exclusive rights to negotiate with Yu Darvish passed at 4pm central time today. Nippon Ham has until 4pm CDT on December 20th to accept or reject the high bid, according to a Japanese report passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker (on Twitter). The latest updates:
- The Giants did not bid on Darvish, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link).
- The A's didn't bid on Darvish, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
- The Marlins did not bid on Darvish, according to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald (on Twitter).
- The Mets didn't place a bid, Howard Megdal of the Journal News reports.
- The Yankees' bid is modest, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Indications are the winning bid is "sky high."
- Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reports (on Twitter) that the Fighters plan to accept the posting bid no matter how large it is.
- The Nippon Ham Fighters were very excited by how large the high bid was according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Still no word on the the money, though.
- The Yankees did post a bid, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter link).
- The Rays did not bid, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (on Twitter).
- The Angels did not bid on Darvish, according to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez (on Twitter).
- Three MLB executives speculated that the Blue Jays and Rangers are candidates to win the bidding for Darvish, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
- The Twins did not bid on Darvish, according to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (on Twitter).
- The Red Sox did not bid on Darvish, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (on Twitter).
- At least one team submitted a bid on Darvish, according to Jack Curry of the YES Network (on Twitter). Nippon, which doesn't know the identity of the MLB team that won the bidding, must decide whether to accept the high bid by Tuesday.
- One MLB official expects an announcement regarding the winning bid tonight or tomorrow morning, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
- The Orioles are not bidding on Darvish, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports (on Twitter).
- Darvish has more leverage than any previous player coming from Japan to MLB, one executive tells Yahoo's Jeff Passan, because the righty seems willing to stay with the Fighters. In October, my poll of five agents and one team executive showed that they felt he has the leverage to extract a five or six-year deal worth $72-75MM from the winning team, on top of a posting fee for the Fighters ranging from $30-55MM. Passan's survey of six executives suggests the Rangers and Blue Jays are favorites for Darvish and the Nationals, Yankees, and Mariners may submit bids. Darvish appears to have a strong preference for the West Coast. Passan feels that the higher the posting fee gets, the less likely Darvish is to sign.
- In a poll of over 26,000 MLBTR readers yesterday, 27% felt the Yankees would win the bid, followed by 17% for the Blue Jays and 15% for the Rangers.
Quick Hits: Varitek, A’s, Braves, Cordero, Lee, Pujols
Some links as Tuesday turns into Wednesday…
- The Red Sox have not yet made catcher and captain Jason Varitek a contract offer, reports Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Boston added Kelly Shoppach to Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ryan Lavarnway on Tuesday, a move that likely spelled the end of Varitek's time with the Sox.
- There are clubs with interest in trading for both Gio Gonzalez and Andrew Bailey and others with interest in both Jair Jurrjens and Martin Prado, but Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the Athletics and Braves are likely to deal their players separately to maximize the return. Rosenthal and Morosi note that the Braves and Orioles have discussed a deal that included both Jurrjens and Prado.
- Interest in free agent closer Francisco Cordero has slowed down, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). His market could hinge on how clubs fill their other roster holes.
- The Pirates still have interest in first baseman Derrek Lee even after trading for Casey McGehee, reports CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman (on Twitter). Bringing Lee back at first base would allow them to use McGehee at the hot corner with Pedro Alvarez.
- Heyman hears that the Angels put a deadline on their ten-year, $254MM offer to Albert Pujols (Twitter link). The deal did seem to come together very quickly Wednesday night into Thursday morning last week.
- The Rockies do have some money to spend according to Heyman (on Twitter). In addition to Carlos Beltran and Michael Cuddyer, they also have interest in Hiroki Kuroda, Joe Saunders, and various trade targets.
- Morosi says (on Twitter) that Andruw Jones could also be an option for the Rockies if Beltran and Cuddyer sign elsewhere.
- The Cardinals' interest in pitching upgrades is "understated," reports Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter). Both Kyle Lohse and Jake Westbrook remain on the trade block.
- The Yokohama Bay Stars have released right-hander Hiroki Sanada so that he may pursue a deal in MLB according to a report passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. No teams bid on Sanada when he was posted last week.
- The Astros and Rays are possibilities for Ivan Rodriguez, according to Heyman (on Twitter). Though the Mets have discussed Rodriguez, they’re leaning toward relying on Mike Nickeas as their backup to starter Josh Thole.
- MLBPA executive director Michael Weiner says the Joint Drug Agreement should provide Ryan Braun with privacy and fair proceedings. “I urge all to reserve judgment on this matter until the JDA's process has played itself out," Weiner said in a statement.
Josh Willingham Decision Expected Soon
3:43pm: Though the Indians aren't entirely out on Willingham, they haven't made him an official offer, according to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian (Twitter link).
2:35pm: The Twins are the front-runner for Willingham, Rosenthal tweets. The Reds are not involved, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer (on Twitter).
2:23pm: The Indians are out on Willingham, Rosenthal tweets. At this point, we know the Twins and up to two more teams remain in the mix.
1:56pm: The Indians are believed to be in the mix for Willingham, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The Rays and Rockies are out.
1:15pm: Agent Matt Sosnick told Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune that Josh Willingham "has three viable options" available to him. The free agent outfielder and his wife will make a decision within 48 hours, possibly as soon as today.
The Twins are one of Willingham's three options and though Sosnick didn't mention the other clubs by name, it wouldn't be surprising if the Indians and Rockies remain in the mix. Both clubs were linked to Willingham over the weekend. The Rockies and Twins also have interest in free agent Michael Cuddyer.
Willingham is a Type A free agent who declined his team's offer of arbitration, but it won't cost a draft pick to sign him under modified free agent compensation rules. Many other clubs, including the Rays, have expressed interest in Willingham this offseason.