Marlins Notes: Fielder, Oviedo, Green, Buehrle
The Marlins offered huge deals to Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson, but the pair of free agents opted to sign with the Angels for less money. Will the Marlins turn their attention to the top free agents still available? Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post tweets that he wouldn't be surprised to see the Marlins "at least kick the tires" on Prince Fielder, despite their insistence they don't have interest (Twitter link). Here are the rest of the latest Marlins updates:
- Juan Carlos Oviedo, formerly Leo Nunez, was arrested in his native Dominican Republic today, but won't face false identity charges, according to an AP report (via ESPN.com).
- The Marlins will sign Nick Green to a minor league deal, tweets Joe Frisaro of MLB.com.
- Ozzie Guillen wants White Sox fans to know that he didn't steal Mark Buehrle away from the Sox, as he told ESPN 1000 today (hat tip to ESPN Chicago).
2011 Rule 5 Draft Results
Rule 5 players must stay with their new big league club all year or be offered back to the old team. MLB.com has a full recap of both the Major League and minor league portions of the draft. The results of the Major League phase are listed below:
- Astros take Rhiner Cruz from Mets.
- Twins take Terry Doyle from White Sox.
- Mariners take Lucas Luetge from Brewers.
- Orioles take Ryan Flaherty from Cubs.
- Royals take Cesar Cabral from Red Sox; traded to Yankees for cash.
- Cubs take Lendy Castillo from Phillies.
- Padres
- Pirates take Gustavo Nunez from Tigers.
- Marlins
- Rockies
- Athletics
- Mets
- White Sox
- Reds
- Indians
- Nationals
- Blue Jays
- Dodgers
- Angels
- Giants
- Braves take Robert Fish from Angels.
- Cardinals take Erik Komatsu from Nationals.
- Red Sox take Marwin Gonzalez from Cubs, traded to Astros for Marco Duarte
- Rays
- Diamondbacks take Brett Lorin from Pirates.
- Tigers
- Brewers
- Rangers
- Yankees take Brad Meyers from Nationals.
- Phillies
AL Central Rumors: Navarro, Lillibridge, Wheeler
A few of Wednesday's rumors from the AL Central:
- The Royals are shopping Yamaico Navarro in an attempt to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for the Rule 5 draft, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. He names the Pirates, Mariners, and Astros as possible fits.
- In their search for a utility infielder, the Royals are considering Edgar Renteria and several other players, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick.
- Brent Lillibridge has been the White Sox player drawing the most interest in Dallas, sources tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- The Indians talked to free agent reliever Dan Wheeler, but they don't consider the bullpen an area of need, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
- Indians GM Chris Antonetti won't make any moves in the Rule 5 draft, according to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian (Twitter link).
White Sox, Red Sox Meeting On Danks, Floyd
The White Sox and Red Sox are meeting to discuss Chicago starters John Danks and Gavin Floyd, tweets ESPNBoston's Gordon Edes. Yesterday White Sox GM Kenny Williams called the Sergio Santos trade "the start of a rebuilding," but said that he'd probably keep his pitching intact due to insufficient offers.
Sox Rebuilding, Seek Huge Return For John Danks
The White Sox are looking for a "Ubaldo Jimenez package" in return for John Danks, an executive told ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter link). The Rockies' haul for Jimenez at this year's trade deadline consisted of four pitching prospects, including two former first-rounders in Drew Pomeranz and Alex White. However, Jimenez was still under team control for two-plus seasons when the Indians acquired him, while Danks' contract expires at the end of 2012.
Let's check out a couple more White Sox links (newest at the top)…
- Referring to the Santos trade, GM Kenny Williams told reporters (including Knobler): "It is the start of a rebuilding … And you guys know I have not used that word in 12 years."
- Danks, Gavin Floyd, Carlos Quentin, and Gordon Beckham could all be gone by Opening Day if Chicago's rebuild goes according to plan, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.
- The White Sox have talked to Aaron Rowand's agent about bringing the outfielder back in 2012, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick.
- Neither Keith Law at ESPN.com or R.J. Anderson and Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus are overly enamored with the newest member of the White Sox, Nestor Molina, acquired today for Sergio Santos. Both pieces require a subscription.
Red Sox Rumors: Wakefield, Varitek, Trade Talks
We heard earlier this evening that David Ortiz plans to return to Boston next season, either through arbitration or a multiyear deal. Now let's check in on some other Red Sox news:
- GM Ben Cherington's comments today suggest the Red Sox won't be bringing back Tim Wakefield and Jason Varitek, says Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.
- The Sox have talked to other clubs about Marco Scutaro and Jed Lowrie, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
- The Red Sox and White Sox met to discuss a possible Carlos Quentin trade, but there's no match at the moment, says Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (on Twitter).
- Boston has checked in on Brad Lidge, tweets Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald.
- DeMarlo Hale, the club's bench coach for the last two seasons, won't be returning for 2012, writes ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes. Hale is expected to take a job in the Orioles' organization.
Orioles Rumors: Quentin, Floyd, Koji, Street, Erbe
The latest on the Orioles:
- Baltimore has interest in Carlos Quentin and Gavin Floyd, but it's unclear if they match up with the White Sox, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. The Sox would like young pitching and the O's don't want to give that up, Connolly adds. Brad Bergesen was one name floated by Baltimore in trade talks, tweets MLB.com's Scott Merkin.
- The Orioles are talking to the Rangers about re-acquiring Koji Uehara, according to Britt Ghiroli of MLB.com.
- A club official told Connolly that there's "no chance" the team wants Alfonso Soriano (Twitter link).
- The Orioles are telling other clubs that Adam Jones is off limits, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post hears that talks between the Orioles and Rockies about Huston Street have "no traction" (Twitter link).
- GM Dan Duquette says he has several offers out to free agent position players and pitchers, and adds that the club was in on Kevin Slowey before the Twins sent him to the Rockies, tweets Ghiroli.
- The O's have re-signed Brandon Erbe to a minor league contract, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com.
Matt Thornton-Braves Rumor Shot Down
1:53pm: This rumor is bogus, tweets O'Brien.
1:37pm: A potential trade of White Sox lefty reliever Matt Thornton to the Braves is picking up steam, tweets Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. However, David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says this one's not happening.
Thornton, 35, posted a 3.32 ERA, 9.5 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 0.45 HR/9, and 48.8% groundball rate in 59 2/3 innings for the White Sox this year. He's owed $12MM through 2013 on an extension signed in March. It's unclear whether Sox GM Kenny Williams would further deplete his bullpen depth after trading Sergio Santos to Toronto today, but relievers generally aren't crucial to a rebuilding effort.
Blue Jays Acquire Sergio Santos
The Blue Jays acquired reliever Sergio Santos from the White Sox for righty prospect Nestor Molina, announced the team.
In Santos, 28, Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos found his closer on the trade market. The converted infielder posted a 3.55 ERA, 13.1 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, 0.85 HR/9, and 43% groundball rate in 63 1/3 innings for the White Sox this year, saving 30 games in 36 tries. He was formerly a shortstop in Toronto's minor league system from 2006-08. It was surprising to see Santos (pictured) dealt, as there had been no rumors and he signed a three-year, $8.25MM deal with the Sox in September. The contract includes three club options, so the Blue Jays have cost certainty on Santos potentially through 2017. For fantasy analysis of Toronto's Santos acquisition, check out Bryan Grosnick's post at CloserNews.
Molina, 22, posted a 2.21 ERA, 10.2 K/9, 1.1 BB/9, and 0.6 HR/9 in 130 1/3 innings across High and Double-A this year. Molina is a converted infielder himself, and appears close to MLB-ready. Though Molina was not among the Blue Jays' top 30 prospects in Baseball America's handbook before the season, his stock presumably rose with his excellent 2011. Molina is a good prospect who doesn't offer much projection, writes ESPN's Keith Law. Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus agrees, saying "his stuff falls well below his statistics," and he projects as a #4 starter with a shot at becoming a #3.
"This is the start of a rebuilding," White Sox GM Kenny Williams told reporters today, noting that it is not "the start of falling domino rebuilding." Santos himself was affordable, but perhaps Williams preferred a future rotation candidate in Molina. A lot is riding on Molina after this surprising one-for-one swap. Given Williams' rebuilding comment, look for plenty of rumors regarding John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Carlos Quentin, and others in the coming weeks, although the offers have disappointed Williams to date.
Anthopoulos and Williams matched up once before, on the July deal that sent Jason Frasor and Zach Stewart to Chicago for Edwin Jackson and Mark Teahen.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Overnight Links: O’s, LaRoche, Giants, Quentin
I'll be at the wheel until 8am again as part of MLBTR's 24/7 Winter Meetings coverage. Here's tonight's batch of overnight quick hits that will be updated throughout the wee hours of the morning…
- After speaking with several Orioles executives yesterday, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun has a gut feeling that an O's trade will take place today. Connolly notes that Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, and Nick Markakis won't be going anywhere, though.
- Adam LaRoche says he's 100% and ready for Opening Day, but Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post writes that the Nationals would still like to add a right-handed insurance policy at first base that could also platoon with LaRoche if needed.
- The Giants are looking to add offense but aren't comfortable offering three-year deals — at least not yet, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Morosi speculates that Twins free agents Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel seem like three-year types. Personally, I think Cuddyer will have an easier time finding three years than Kubel.
- Jon Heyman of the MLB Network tweets that the Giants also met with Tim Lincecum's agent, Rick Thurman of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, on Monday, but talks didn't progress much. Over the weekend, it was reported that the Giants are seeking a four-year deal while Lincecum prefers to either sign for eight years, or stick to a one- or two-year deal.
- White Sox outfielder Carlos Quentin is aware that he's a trade candidate and is eager to learn his fate, writes MLB.com's Scott Merkin.
- George Sherrill is on the Phillies' radar, writes MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. Phillies special advisor Pat Gillick told reporters on Monday that it would be nice to add a veteran left-hander to complement Antonio Bastardo.