Rangers Sign Neal Cotts
The Rangers signed lefty reliever Neal Cotts to a minor league deal, MLBTR has learned. Cotts will not be in Major League camp, notes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Cotts, 32 in March, last pitched in the Majors for the Cubs in '09 before going down for Tommy John surgery. He later signed minor league deals with the Pirates and Yankees, though the Yankees released him in February last year.
Quick Hits: Appel, Angels, Uehara, Garland, Oswalt
On this day in 1982, the Padres traded Ozzie Smith, Steve Mura, and Al Olmsted to the Cardinals for Luis DeLeon, Sixto Lezcano and Garry Templeton. The trade was sparked by both Smith and Templeton having issues with their respective teams. Here's a look at today's links..
- Stanford righty Mark Appel isn't a lock for the No. 1 pick in the draft, writes ESPN's Keith Law (Insider req'd). Appel touched 97mph in the first inning of his first start, but sat 91-95mph for the next six innings and doesn't command his fastball well enough in the zone to miss as many bats as he should, says Law. Law also looks at some Stanford hitters who should go high in the draft and notes some impressive velocity from around the country yesterday.
- The Angels have hired former big leaguers Gary Varsho and Jeff Cirillo as scouts, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.
- Rangers reliever Koji Uehara wants to get his situation settled and know where he's playing this season, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. Texas has been talking with clubs about a possible deal, including the Athletics.
- The Indians are still working through details in their talks with Jon Garland, tweets Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. The pitcher was originally set to undergo a physical on Monday but that now seems unlikely.
- When asked about adding Roy Oswalt or anyone else, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak told reporters, "We're always open for business here," tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.
- Dusty Baker only has one year remaining on his contract, but the Reds skipper says that he isn't concerned about it, writes Mark Sheldon of MLB.com.
- Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner told Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter) that he hasn't heard from the team about a long-term contract yet.
- Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter) has the contract figures on two minor league signings from earlier this offseason. Joel Pineiro will earn $1.5MM if he makes the big league roster with the Phillies while Ryan Spilborghs will receive a $1MM base salary if he's in the majors with the Indians.
Cafardo On Soler, Gonzalez, Ibanez, Abreu, Kazmir
In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe looks at the Red Sox's shortstop position after the trade of Marco Scutaro. Major league evaluators are skeptical that Mike Aviles and Nick Punto can get the job done, which could leave the door open to prospect Jose Iglesias getting the nod. All eyes will be on manager Bobby Valentine to see how he handles the club's shortstop situation this spring. Here's more from Cafardo..
- Two GMs told Cafardo that Jorge Soler will go for more than the five years and $15MM-$20MM most thought he would settle for. Some of the clubs who elected to stay away on Yoenis Cespedes because of the hefty price and question marks about his game have decided that Soler is a better value. The Red Sox are one of about eight teams in on Soler.
- Mike Gonzalez is likely headed to the Rangers if they can trade Koji Uehara. The A's have also been connected to the free agent reliever recently.
- The Yankees prefer Raul Ibanez to Johnny Damon because of cost. Damon is seeking about $5MM while Ibanez will likely be in the $1.5MM-$2MM range.
- Angels veteran Bobby Abreu would have gone back to the Yankees in an A.J. Burnett deal. The Halos have a logjam with Kendry Morales returning and Albert Pujols at first base and Abreu has been offered around.
- The Red Sox didn’t attend Scott Kazmir’s workout on Friday and have no plans to watch Brandon Webb throw when he is on display. That's because Boston decided not to delve into the rehab market for pitchers. The club has tried a number of pitchers coming back from serious injury and in most cases, it hasn't worked out.
- Cafardo wonders if Cardinals backup Tyler Greene is worth a look for the Red Sox shortstop mix. The 27-year-old was once a promising prospect and is out of options this year.
Quick Hits: Uehara, Burnett, Diamondbacks, Tigers
Friday Night Links..
- While one source told Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram that a trade of Koji Uehara could free up enough money for the Rangers to sign free agent Roy Oswalt, another source said that any money saved would be pocketed rather than be used on Oswalt or Mike Gonzalez.
- The other team involved in the A.J. Burnett talks was the Phillies, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. However, the club would've had to clear Joe Blanton's to make the deal work.
- The Diamondbacks will be on the lookout for catching depth through Spring Training, Olney tweets.
- In his blog for the Detroit Free Press, Jamie Samuelsen writes that the Tigers should stay in-house when it comes to their fifth starter position rather than scour the open market for an affordable arm. The highly-touted Jacob Turner is among the candidates for the backend of the rotation.
Rangers, Athletics Getting Closer To Uehara Deal
4:05pm: A deal between the A's and Rangers is unlikely today, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link), since the Rangers are talking to another team. More progress could be made over the weekend.
2:48pm: Several clubs, including the A's, are talking to the Rangers about Uehara, reports T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.
12:57pm: The Rangers and Athletics are "getting close" to a trade involving reliever Koji Uehara, reports Joe Stiglich of the San Jose Mercury News (via Twitter). The A's are known to be looking for relief help, with Uehara and free agent Mike Gonzalez the two names most frequently connected to the club. Texas has also been connected to Gonzalez and in fact have been trying to create payroll space for that signing by dealing Uehara.
Uehara has a partial no-trade clause in his contract and has already blocked one deal this winter that would've sent him to Toronto. It's unknown if the A's are one of the other five teams on Uehara's no-trade list.
The two AL West rivals last completed a trade with each other in January 2011, a swap that sent Guillermo Moscoso to Oakland. The Rangers were one of several teams who talked to the A's about Andrew Bailey before Bailey was eventually dealt to the Red Sox earlier this winter.
Rangers Notes: Uehara, Oswalt, Organization
Here's the latest from the Lone Star State….
- The Rangers may be looking to sign Roy Oswalt with the money they'll save by dealing Koji Uehara, reports Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. We heard earlier today that Texas is talking to several teams about Uehara, with the Athletics possibly being in the lead, and the Rangers could instead be planning to sign Mike Gonzalez once Uehara's salary has been moved. Wilson says the Rangers want prospects for Uehara, but could also look for a middle infielder from Oakland, with the A's preferring to deal Adam Rosales rather than Eric Sogard.
- Besides rejecting a trade to the Blue Jays, Uehara has also used his limited no-trade clause to block another potential deal, Wilson reports.
- Oswalt's chances of becoming a Ranger are still "slim," tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.
- Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas looks at the major trades, strategies and management hirings in recent Rangers history that has helped the team become one of the top franchises in baseball.
Quick Hits: Arbitration, Hamilton, Castillo, Kazmir
Condolences go out to the family of Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter, who passed away today following a long bout with cancer. He was 57. Carter hit .262/.335/.439 and made eleven All-Star Games in his 19 seasons, 12 of which came with the Expos. He backstopped the Mets to the 1986 World Championship. Here is some news from around the league…
- The 142 players who filed for arbitration last month averaged a 112% raise reports the AP (via ESPN). That's down from 123% last offseason and the lowest average raise since 106% in 2007. Check out our Arbitration Tracker for the answers to all of your arbitration questions.
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels reiterated that contract extension talks with Josh Hamilton are on hold, reports Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas. "The priority needs to be his recovery and his family and, secondarily, getting ready for the season," said the GM. "We're not going to get in the way of those things with contract talk.
- The Diamondbacks have signed 16-year-old Dominican right-hander Luis Castillo for $80K according to a release, which said his fastball sits 84-87 mph. He also throws a curveball and a changeup.
- The trade market is likely to heat up as the season progresses, writes MLB.com's Richard Justice. As he explains, most GMs feel confident in their team this time of year and prefer to take their time evaluating needs.
- Scott Kazmir, who had been scheduled to pitch in front of scouts yesterday, won’t audition until Friday, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets. The left-handed free agent is feeling well, Olney writes.
- Brandon Webb is throwing painlessly off of flat ground, agent Jonathan Maurer told Olney. Webb will throw in front of scouts at some point, Olney tweets.
- Newsday’s Ken Davidoff adds up teams’ payroll commitments for 2015 and beyond and finds that nine clubs — the Orioles, Cubs, Indians, Astros, Royals, Mets, Padres, Giants and Mariners — haven’t committed a thing for ’15 or beyond.
- Yahoo’s Jeff Passan examines the market for the top remaining free agents, including Roy Oswalt, Mike Gonzalez and a crowd of designated hitters.
- Joe Jordan, the Phillies' new director of player development, breaks down a number of the team's top prospects with Joe Berkery of the Philadelphia Daily News.
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
West Notes: Cruz, Cespedes, Dodgers, Padres
Passing along a few stray items out of the West divisions …
- Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz's two-year, $16MM contract is backloaded, according to the Associated Press (h/t Boston Herald). Cruz will earn $5MM in 2012, along with a $500K signing bonus, and will earn $10.5MM in 2013. The right-handed hitter can also earn up to an additional $500K based on plate appearances.
- Yoenis Cespedes did not secure a no-trade clause in his contract with the Athletics, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, so the A's will have the option of trading off the outfielder if he becomes too expensive as he nears free agency after 2015.
- The remaining bidders for the Dodgers will meet with MLB's ownership committee early next month, according to Ronald Blum of the Associated Press.
- The Padres will receive a rights fee of $30MM in 2012 for their new TV deal with FOXSports, a source tells Jay Posner of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The source adds that the Friars could earn as much as $40MM this year depending on a signing bonus and other factors.
Latest On Roy Oswalt
Even as pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training, Roy Oswalt remains unsigned. Here’s the latest buzz on the 34-year-old, who’s undeniably the top free agent available…
- Royals GM Dayton Moore explained to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that he has passed on available starting pitchers this offseason because he wants to see what his young pitchers can do at the Major League level. Moore said he doesn't think the Royals' offseason plan would have changed much if they had known from the start that Oswalt and Edwin Jackson would end up signing one-year deals.
- Rangers senior director of player development Tim Purpura said adding Oswalt to a pitching staff that already includes six starters wouldn't be easy, according to Bryan Dolgin of ESPNDallas.com.
- The Reds haven't been in touch with Oswalt's agents in the past week and GM Walt Jocketty thinks the right-hander is waiting for the Rangers to create room for him on their payroll.
Athletics In On Uehara, Mike Gonzalez, Manny
The Athletics are continuing to talk to the Rangers about reliever Koji Uehara, and they are also in talks with free agent lefty Mike Gonzalez, tweeted ESPN's Buster Olney this morning. Though Olney's tweet came prior to the Yoenis Cespedes bombshell, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports later tweeted that the A's still seek a reliever and Gonzalez is a possibility. And according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, the A's are still likely to sign designated hitter Manny Ramirez, although they're out on Cuban free agent Jorge Soler in the wake of the Cespedes signing.
The A's and Rangers have spoken about a few relievers this offseason, most notably Andrew Bailey before he was traded to the Red Sox. Uehara recently invoked his no-trade clause to block a deal to the Blue Jays, and is said to prefer a return to the Orioles. Texas is reportedly looking to move the righty to free up room for Gonzalez, who finished last season with them. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes took a look at some other potential suitors for Gonzalez this morning.
Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.