Rays Rumors

Quick Hits: Farnsworth, Durbin, Izzy, Duchscherer

By Dan Mennella | January 29, 2011 at 11:55am CDT

Here are a few items of note for Jan. 29, 53 years to the day after Stan Musial became the National League's highest-paid player with the one-year, $100K contract he signed with the Cardinals …

The Rays will pay Kyle Farnsworth $2.6MM in salary in 2011, tweets Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. If Farnsworth's option for 2012 is picked up, he will earn $3.3MM that year. If it's declined, the buyout is $650K. The deal also includes up to $300K in incentives for games finished.
The Phillies have not re-signed free-agent reliever Chad Durbin because he is seeking a two-year deal at a higher annual salary than the club is comfortable giving him, tweets Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. Philly is also intent on preserving the roster spot for the sake of grooming younger relievers, according to Stark.
The Reds will decide whether to sign free-agent reliever Jason Isringhausen after watching him throw a bullpen session on Monday in Arizona, tweets John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Isringhausen signed a minor-league deal with the Reds last July but did not appear in any games for them. He last appeared in the big leagues with the Rays in June 2009, a stint that ended when he suffered an arm injury that required Tommy John surgery.
The Orioles remain fairly interested in free-agent pitcher Justin Duchscherer after receiving positive feedback on the right-hander's Friday bullpen session, blogs Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.

Rays To Sign Casey Kotchman

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 28, 2011 at 2:07pm CDT

The Rays signed Casey Kotchman to a minor league deal and invited him to Spring Training, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. The deal could pay Kotchman $750K, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). Kotchman, 28 next month, provides insurance for Dan Johnson, another left-handed hitting first baseman.

Kotchman hit .217/.280/.336 in 457 plate appearances for the Mariners last year, adding nine homers and 20 doubles. He hit as many as 37 doubles for the 2007 Angels, but his production has dropped off since. The former first rounder has a .736 OPS against right-handed pitching and a .656 OPS against left-handed pitching in his career.

The Indians had interest in Kotchman as recently as yesterday.

Rays Claim Rob Delaney

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 28, 2011 at 12:42pm CDT

The Rays claimed minor league right-hander Rob Delaney off of waivers from the Twins, according to LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (on Twitter). The Twins had designated Delaney for assignment when they claimed Dusty Hughes from the Royals earlier in the week.

Delaney has appeared in just one big league game so far, but the 26-year-old right-hander has plenty of minor league experience. He has a 2.96 ERA with 9.5 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 242 minor league relief appearances. Last year he posted a 3.44 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 83 2/3 innings for the Twins' top affiliates.

The Rays lost most of their best relievers this offseason, but they have added or re-signed Dirk Hayhurst, Kyle Farnsworth, Christopher Archer, Adam Russell, Cesar Ramos, Joel Peralta, Jonah Bayliss, J.P. Howell, Cory Wade and R.J. Swindle, as MLBTR's Transaction Tracker shows.

AL East Notes: Beimel, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Jennings

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 27, 2011 at 2:13pm CDT

We've already caught up on the Yankees, but it's now time to check in on a few of the Bronx Bombers' AL East rivals. Here's the latest:

Joe Beimel is deciding between three teams, according to MLB.com's Evan Drellich. The Red Sox, Orioles and one National League club are the finalists for the lefty's services, agent Joe Sroba says.
Could Michael Young be a fit in Toronto? Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star thinks so. Nobody asked me, but I don't see the Blue Jays as a possible destination for Young, who happens to be a close friend of Vernon Wells'.
An MLB executive tells ESPN.com's Buster Olney the Blue Jays “have a chance to be a real power for years to come,” and believes that Alex Anthopoulos & Co. will do a lot with their upcoming draft picks and newfound payroll flexibility.
A lot of rival executives tell Olney that they consider the Red Sox the best team in baseball on paper, but wonder how much Jason Varitek and Jarrod Saltalamacchia will produce behind the plate.
Some people around the league question whether Rays prospect Desmond Jennings will reach the potential he showed a couple seasons ago.

Rocco Baldelli To Retire

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 26, 2011 at 8:00am CDT

Rocco Baldelli told Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times that he will retire as a major league player. The former sixth overall pick will remain in the Rays front office as a special adviser in scouting and player development, the team has confirmed with a press release.

After a promising debut in which Baldelli played center field, stole 27 bases and added 51 extra base hits, the injuries started piling up. He missed the entire 2005 season and considerable chunks of the 2006-10 seasons as he dealt with foot, hamstring, and hip injuries, plus a type of channelopathy, which has caused muscle fatigue.

"It's tough, because you almost never put playing and being an athlete behind you," Baldelli told Topkin. "But in my mind, I already feel like it's a step behind me."

Baldelli, who is still just 29, decided to retire in October and spent a few months making sure he was ready to call it a career.

AL East Links: Red Sox, Bautista, Wells, Jeter

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 25, 2011 at 7:20pm CDT

Four American League East teams won at least 85 games last year. Here are some notes on AL East clubs, as they prepare to compete in baseball's most challenging division:

It's "doubtful" that the Red Sox will sign another pitcher to a Major League contract this offseason, reports WEEI.com's Alex Speier. One reported Boston target, Joe Beimel, has already been offered a minor league deal by the Orioles and has three other teams interested.
The "belief" is that the Blue Jays will go to an arbitration hearing with Jose Bautista, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. There have been rumors that the Jays might avoid a hearing by signing Bautista to a long-term contract, but Bautista's agent told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that the team has yet to offer such a deal to the defending AL home run champion. Check out our Arb Tracker for the latest.
Many of Bautista's current and former teammates believe Vernon Wells will thrive in L.A, Morosi writes.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman suggested this morning that Derek Jeter will likely shift to the outfield before his current deal expires, but he tells MLB.com's Bryan Hoch that it's "not an issue we have to deal with right now" (Twitter link).
The Orioles have "limited funds" at this stage, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
Carl Crawford, who recently left one AL East team for another, plans to meet some of his former Rays teammates for dinner this spring, and B.J. Upton jokes that it will be a good chance for Crawford to put his new contract to good use. "I won’t be the first one to pull out my credit card,’’ Upton told Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (Twitter link).
Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com discussed the challenges of developing healthy pitchers with Orioles scouting director Joe Jordan.
As Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes, the Orioles could sign a utility player to a minor league deal and have him compete for a job with Brendan Harris and Robert Andino.
WEEI.com's Rob Bradford explains why Manny Ramirez's $2MM base salary isn't necessarily a bad omen for David Ortiz, who will hit free agency after 2011. Big Papi has continued to produce offensively, so Bradford suggests the slugger could be in line for an $8-9MM salary next offseason.

Quick Hits: Brewers, Cardinals, Tigers, Rays

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 24, 2011 at 4:50pm CDT

On this date in 2003, the White Sox signed Esteban Loaiza as a free agent. He went on to lead the league in strikeouts, post a 2.90 ERA and win 21 games, finishing second in the AL Cy Young Award balloting to youngster Roy Halladay. Here are today's links…

Yahoo's Jeff Passan says it's hard to call the Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum deals "anything other than a resounding victory" for Brewers GM Doug Melvin.
Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch explains how the selective shopping of Cardinals GM John Mozeliak might pay off this season. Players like Nick Punto, Brian Tallet and Miguel Batista could contribute in 2011.
ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick examines a Tigers pitching staff that's loaded with dynamic young arms.
At ESPN.com, Kevin Goldstein gives us a sense of what the Rays could do with their many 2011 draft picks. I previewed Tampa Bay's draft last week.

Rays, Jays & Angels Links: Manny, Damon, Wells

By Mike Axisa | January 22, 2011 at 12:55pm CDT

Unsurprisingly, there is still plenty of chatter going on about yesterday's Vernon Wells trade as well as the Rays' agreement of terms with both Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon. Let's round up the latest…

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears from his sources that the Rays would not have taken one player without the other. It was either both Manny and Damon, or neither.
Rosenthal wonders if Ramirez will be happy making just $2MM, and if the Blue Jays would have caved and sent even $20MM to the Angels in the Wells trade had they been asked to do so (Twitter link).
The acquisition pushes the Angels' 2011 payroll up to about $145MM according to Mike DiGiovanna of The Los Angeles Times. He also notes that the team has about $29MM coming off the books after the season in the form of Fernando Rodney, Scott Kazmir, and Gary Matthews Jr.
One long-time talent evaluator told ESPN's Buster Olney that the Blue Jays would have had to eat "at least $30 million" for the trade to make sense for the Angels (Insider req'd).

Quick Hits: Helton, Hamilton, Danks, Giants

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 21, 2011 at 4:23pm CDT

Some links to read as the Rays eye Johnny Damon, Manny Ramirez, Vladimir Guerrero and even Mike Napoli…

Todd Helton told Troy Renck of the Denver Post that he plans to play for three more seasons. He's under contract through 2013.
Josh Hamilton isn't under contract for 2011 yet, but he tells Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com that he's bracing himself for an arbitration hearing with the Rangers. The club could look to extend the reigning MVP instead.
Starlin Castro and Andrew McCutchen are among the players on Jayson Stark's list of the most underrated players in baseball (link at ESPN.com).
Meanwhile, ESPN.com's Buster Olney includes Jose Reyes and Nate McLouth on his list of players at a career crossroads.
Rays executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told Peter Gammons of MLB Network that he's looking forward to the coming draft, when the Rays will select ten times before the second round. I previewed the Rays' 2011 draft yesterday.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports argues that John Danks would be better off not signing an extension at this point.
The Giants' 2011 payroll will likely be in the $115MM range, writes Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News.

Rays Targeting Mike Napoli

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 21, 2011 at 2:53pm CDT

The Rays are targeting Angels catcher Mike Napoli as they look to add thump to their lineup, according to Stan McNeal of the Sporting News.

The arbitration eligible 29-year-old could play first base and catch for the Rays, who are also interested in Johnny Damon, Manny Ramirez and Vladimir Guerrero. Napoli asked for $6.1MM in 2011 and the Angels countered with a $5.3MM offer, as MLBTR's Arb Tracker shows. That means he'll likely cost at least as much as any of the DH options the Rays are considering.

The Rays currently have John Jaso, Kelly Shoppach and Robinson Chirinos as catching options, while the Angels have similar depth. Along with Napoli, the Halos have backstops Jeff Mathis, Hank Conger and Bobby Wilson on their 40-man roster.

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