Quick Hits: Nakajima, Wilson, Pena, Mariners, A’s
Some late night links from around the league…
- According to a report passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker (on Twitter), at least one MLB team has bid on Hiroyuki Nakajima since the posting process started on Monday. The Seibu Lions are expected to accept the highest bid, regardless of amount.
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels has spoken to C.J. Wilson's agent as recently as today reports Jeff Wilson of The Fort Worth Star Telegram (on Twitter), and MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan says the two sides are expected to meet again at the winter meetings.
- Before signing with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks for $5MM over two years, Wily Mo Pena had drawn interest from the Indians, Giants, Brewers, and Mariners according to SI.com's Jon Heyman (on Twitter).
- Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times wonders if the Darren Ford signing clears the way for the Mariners to trade some of the outfielders on their 40-man roster, like Trayvon Robinson, Michael Saunders, or Franklin Gutierrez.
- “We’re very open,” said Athletics assistant GM David Forst to John Shea of The San Francisco Chronicle when asked if any of the club's pitchers were untradeable. “If we didn’t have the (pitching) depth, we wouldn’t have this option.” Gio Gonzalez and Andrew Bailey have been popular names, but Forst's statement suggests Trevor Cahill and Brandon McCarthy could be had as well.
Latest On Astros’ GM Search: Friedman, Geivett
Former Astros GM Tim Purpura will be named the Rangers' farm director, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. For details on who might be the Astros' next GM, keep reading…
- Cardinals vice president of player procurement Jeff Luhnow has interviewed for the job, reports MLB.com's Brian McTaggart (on Twitter).
- White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn and Kim Ng of MLB turned down the opportunity to interview for the Astros GM job, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
- The Astros will do "whatever it takes" to obtain Andrew Friedman of the Rays, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. However, Friedman's friends don't expect him to leave Tampa Bay.
- Rockies assistant GM Bill Geivett is interviewing for the Astros' GM job today, MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports. “I’m very excited to be here and it’s a great organization and a great city and everybody knows a great state,” Geivett said. “I’m very excited and we’ll see how it goes today.”
Minor Moves: Ford, Hernandez, Pagnozzi, Brown
The most recent minor moves from around MLB…
- The Mariners signed Darren Ford to a minor league deal, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times (on Twitter). The Giants had designated him for assignment last month.
- The Astros announced that they signed infielder Diory Hernandez to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training. The 27-year-old, who has spent parts of the last three seasons with the Braves, posted a .201/.229/.308 line in 289 Triple-A plate appearances this past season.
- The Rangers signed catcher Dusty Brown, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America, who has details on the week's minor moves. Brown, 29, has big league experience with the Red Sox and Pirates. He posted a .285/.367/.506 line in 199 Triple-A plate appearances in 2011.
- The Indians announced that they signed catcher Matt Pagnozzi to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training. Pagnozzi, who has appeared in the big leagues in each of the past three seasons, posted a .275/.337/.421 line for the Rockies' top affiliate in 2011.
Quick Hits: Pena, Zumaya, Soler, Peterson
Some news items to wrap up the evening as we inch closer to the Winter Meetings….
- Carlos Pena would be a fit with the Blue Jays, Brewers, Cubs, Mariners, Nationals, Rangers, Red Sox and Yankees, opines SBNation's Rob Neyer. The Yankees tried to claim Pena on waivers last August but the Cubs pulled him back.
- Joel Zumaya said the Red Sox expressed an interest in him as soon as he hit free agency, reports MLB.com's Jason Beck. Boston will be one of the 10 or more teams present when Zumaya throws a mound session in two weeks. The right-hander underwent elbow surgery in March and didn't pitch last season.
- Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (via Twitter) lists, in order, the Yankees, Rangers and Phillies as the top candidates to sign Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler.
- The Orioles interviewed Rick Peterson for their open minor league pitching coordinator's position, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Peterson (former pitching coach of the Brewers, Mets and Athletics) is also a candidate to be Bobby Valentine's new pitching coach with the Red Sox.
- Also from Rosenthal, the Royals "backed off" pursuing free agent starters due to their large number of minor league pitching prospects and also because the club wants to remain flexible since they know not every young arm will properly develop. The Royals re-signed Bruce Chen and their other major starting acquistion this winter (Jonathan Sanchez) came via a trade.
- The Cardinals could make an acquisition or look internally to fill their middle infield needs, writes MLB.com's Matthew Leach, but the team won't know how much they have to spend until Albert Pujols makes his decision.
AL West Notes: Iannetta, Kawasaki, Chavez, Rangers
Here's the latest from the AL West…
- The Angels are considering a contract extension for the newly-acquired Chris Iannetta, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter link). Iannetta is signed through 2012 and the Halos have a $5MM club option for 2013 that Iannetta can now void due to being traded before the start of the 2013 season.
- Also from Renck, the Rockies tried to acquire Angels right-hander John Hellweg in the Iannetta trade. Hellweg, 23, has a 3.83 ERA, an 11.4 K/9 rate and 7.6 BB/9 in four minor league seasons. He spent last season pitching for the Halos' Class A+ affiliate.
- Japanese shortstop Munenori Kawasaki wants to play in the Major Leagues, but only for the Mariners, reports MLB.com's Matt Weber. Kawasaki, 30, is a free agent so he can sign without a posting fee and he said he's willing to sign a minor league deal and play a different position if necessary.
- MLB.com's Greg Johns has more details on Kawasaki, who has a career .294 average but just hit .267/.310/.327 last season with Fukuoka. Johns says the Mariners have scouted Kawasaki in Japan so he is "at least on the Mariners' radar."
- The Athletics aren't one of the teams interested in Eric Chavez, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). "He wouldn't be a fit for them and vice versa," Slusser writes.
- In a mailbag piece, MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan looks at the obstacles preventing the Rangers from making a move for Prince Fielder and Matt Garza. Sullivan also notes that it's only a matter of time before Ron Washington gets another contract extension from the club.
- The Mariners' deep minor league system seems to give them an advantage under the new collective bargaining agreement, writes Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.
Rangers Hopeful Of Multiyear Extension With Napoli
The Rangers are "optimistic" about signing Mike Napoli to a long-term contract this winter, a source tells FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi (Twitter link). Napoli is under control through just 2012, and he projects to earn $9.2MM in his third trip through the arbitration process, according to Matt Swartz's arbitration-calculating model.
Napoli was one of baseball's breakout stars last year, posting a .320/.414/.631 line and 30 homers in 432 plate appearances for Texas, plus a big postseason performance that likely would've included a World Series MVP trophy had the Rangers won the Fall Classic. He played mostly catcher last season, though also saw significant time at first base and DH as the Rangers tried to find enough playing time for Napoli, Michael Young, Yorvit Torrealba and Mitch Moreland.
The book on Napoli going into 2011 was that he was a defensive liability behind the plate and that he couldn't hit right-handed pitching. Napoli ended up being a decent defensive catcher (much to Mike Scioscia's chagrin) and posted virtually equal numbers against both righties and lefties last year, so while his bat obviously plays best at catcher, he is also a solid fit at both first and DH in case he needs to be moved in the later years of a multiyear contract.
An extension would easily net Napoli an average annual value of more than $10MM per season, so something like a four-year, $48MM contract (with maybe a club option or two) would be a great fit for the Rangers while still providing some flexibility should Napoli not be able to repeat his breakout campaign.
From Napoli's perspective, a long-term deal would give him security and since Texas was where he was embraced and delivered his best season, it seems natural he would want to stay put. If Napoli didn't sign an extension and had another big year in 2012, however, he would be in line for a huge contract as (by far) the best-hitting catcher on the market and one of the best free agent hitters overall.
Orioles To Acquire Taylor Teagarden
The Orioles and Rangers have agreed to a trade that will send Taylor Teagarden to Baltimore for minor league right-hander Randy Henry and a player to be named later. The Orioles have a full 40-man roster and will have to clear room on it for Teagarden.
Teagarden, 27, has a .220/.286/.417 career line with 16 home runs in 392 career big league plate appearances over the course of four seasons. The 2005 third rounder has a .262/.374/.488 line in parts of six minor league seasons. He'll back up starter Matt Wieters.
Henry, 21, has a 3.33 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 75 2/3 minor league innings since the Orioles selected him in the fourth round of the 2009 draft. He has yet to reach Double-A.
While the Orioles had just one catcher — Wieters — on their 40-man roster, the Rangers had three of them. Mike Napoli and Yorvit Torrealba were ahead of Teagarden on Texas' depth chart, which made the out-of-options backstop expendable.
Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun first reported the discussions and added detail, while Jon Heyman of SI.com first reported that the teams had agreed to a deal.
Orioles, Rangers Discussing Taylor Teagarden Trade
The Orioles and Rangers have had ongoing talks about a deal that would send Taylor Teagarden to Baltimore, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. The teams don't have a match yet, though they have discussed specific players.
The Orioles are looking for a solid defender who's comfortable backing Matt Wieters up, Connolly writes. Baltimore isn't interested in Jeff Mathis, who appears to be available now that the Angels have obtained Chris Iannetta, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link).
The Orioles are showing interest in Jason Varitek, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. They have offers out to some minor league free agents, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Kubatko suggests the team will likely make an acquisition today (Twitter link).
While the Orioles have just one catcher — Wieters — on their 40-man roster, the Rangers have three of them. Mike Napoli and Yorvit Torrealba are ahead of Teagarden on Texas' depth chart, making him expendable.
Rangers Notes: Fielder, Pujols, Moreland, Levine
9:25pm: The Rangers have interest in Fielder, but he's not high on their priority list, according to Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Texas isn't seriously courting Pujols, either.
7:43pm: The Rangers announced that Mitch Moreland underwent right wrist surgery today and may not be ready in time for Spring Training. However, the GM Jon Daniels expects Moreland to be healthy in time for Opening Day 2012 and says the team won't need to change its first base plans drastically.
"We may look for some protection there now, but I don't see it changing the level of investment we're going to allocate there," Daniels said, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
Michael Young and Mike Napoli can also play first base for the Rangers if Moreland's recovery takes longer than expected. Though Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols are available on the free agent market, the Rangers say they don't have interest in costly options at the position.
Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine, who ranked third on MLBTR's list of GM candidates, announced that he is foregoing job opportunities outside of the organization, according to Sullivan. The Astros requested permission to interview Levine for their GM vacancy.
Rangers Pursuing Andrew Bailey
The Rangers signed Joe Nathan last week, but they're still exploring ways of adding relief help, since they aim to enter the 2012 season with the strongest bullpen possible. They're one of the teams trying to trade for A's closer Andrew Bailey, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. ESPN.com's Buster Olney notes that the Red Sox are also pursuing Bailey (Twitter link).
The 27-year-old right-hander posted a 3.24 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 41 2/3 innings in 2011 after recovering a forearm strain that sidelined him early in the season. MLBTR projects a $3.5MM salary for Bailey in 2012. One of Rosenthal's sources promised that the Rangers will add another reliever to join Nathan, Mike Adams and Koji Uehara at the back end of the bullpen. The Red Sox, who lost Jonathan Papelbon to the Phillies, also have interest in adding to the back end of their bullpen this offseason.
The Blue Jays, Mariners and Reds are also interested in Bailey, who appears to be available. The Rangers had interest in him leading up to last summer's trade deadline.