Rangers, Cubs Talking Multiplayer Trade
8:52pm: The Cubs like Davis, but don't want to part with much in a trade, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link).
6:00pm: The Rangers and Cubs are discussing a trade that would send Chris Davis and Darren O'Day to Chicago, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse (on Twitter).
Davis, 24, has the makings of a slugger, but has struggled to realize his potential. He has 39 homers in 872 big league plate apperances, which projects to 25 or 30 over the course of a full season. Davis has a .248/.300/.459 line in parts of three major league seasons and he strikes out in 32% of his plate appearances.
The Rangers claimed O'Day off of waivers from the Mets in 2009 and saw him develop into a valuable cog in their bullpen. The sidearmer has a 1.99 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 117 2/3 innings for Texas.
Matt Garza Rumors: Tuesday
The Rays have lots of pitching depth and a number of holes to address, so the Matt Garza rumors were inevitable. Here's the latest on the Rays righty:
- Garza is a fallback plan for the Rangers in case they can't sign Cliff Lee or trade for Zack Greinke, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse. Price reports that the Rays are motivated to move Garza.
- The Brewers have talked to the Rays about Garza, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (on Twitter).
Brandon Webb Rumors: Tuesday
Things are heating up for free agent starter Brandon Webb. The latest:
- Webb's agent will meet with the Cubs again this afternoon, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.
- The Nationals will meet with Webb's agent Jonathan Maurer soon, MLBTR has learned.
- The Rangers met last night with Maurer, tweets Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse. The agent also spoke with the Cubs last night, tweets Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.
Nationals, Rangers Interested In Jeff Francis
The Nationals and Rangers have checked in on Jeff Francis, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Previous reports have linked the lefty to the Rockies, Pirates, Mariners, Brewers, Astros and Mets. However, the Mets appear to be more serious about Chris Young than Francis.
A number of the clubs above have been linked to another pitcher who has dealt with shoulder injuries, Brandon Webb. Francis, 30 in January, posted a 5.00 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 104 1/3 innings for the Rockies in 2010.
Zack Greinke Rumors: Monday
Zack Greinke appears willing to waive his no-trade clause in any deal, but his list of potential suitors appeared to shrink when the Brewers acquired Shaun Marcum. Milwaukee tried to pry Greinke away from the Royals, but found that GM Dayton Moore was asking a lot for the 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner. We'll keep track of all the day's Greinke rumors right here:
- The Royals appear to be tiring of the Rangers' offers, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. Discussions with Toronto appear to hinge on the Blue Jays' willingness to include Kyle Drabek and Travis Snider in a potential deal. Royals officials say a deal could come together in a hurry if the Blue Jays decide they're willing to part with those two players.
- The Reds have not talked to the Royals about a potential Greinke deal, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
- The Braves are not pursuing Greinke and have not been pursuing him, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter).
Brandon Webb Rumors: Monday
Given the guarantees required to sign Cliff Lee or Carl Pavano, Brandon Webb must appeal to many teams even after missing almost all of the last two seasons. The latest on the sinkerballer:
- The Cubs, Nationals, and Rangers remain in the mix for Webb, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. The righty's surgeon issued a positive report for 2011, according to Crasnick (Twitter link). The Mets appear to think Webb is too risky, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.
- The Pirates' pursuit of Webb appears to have gone cold, writes Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Kovacevic says the Bucs have not been in touch with him since November 22nd.
Stark On Crawford, Beltre, Lee, Greinke, Bartlett
In his latest piece for ESPN.com, Jayson Stark discusses the ripple effect that Jayson Werth's $126MM deal will have on the remaining free agents. One AL official opines that it raises Carl Crawford's price in a "big, big way": "He's looking at maybe eight years, $180 million now, maybe 10 years, $190 million." Here are the rest of Stark's hot stove notes:
- Crawford is the clear top target for the Angels, but in the past they've tried to avoid going as high as eight years for any player, let alone ten.
- Despite getting Werth's contract done already, Scott Boras often drags out negotiations for his top clients. Stark polled a dozen people across baseball on when Adrian Beltre would sign, and many predicted it wouldn't happen until Christmas or later.
- Neither the Yankees or Rangers have made a formal offer to Cliff Lee yet, but many of those baseball people polled by Stark expect a deal to get done within the next week.
- There's good news and bad news for the Royals and Zack Greinke's trade value: with many free agent arms coming off the board already, Greinke has become more valuable in a pitching-thin market. However, according to one AL source, "Greinke has been trying to convince the Royals that it's not a great idea if he's there next year," which reduces Kansas City's leverage.
- The Diamondbacks haven't totally ruled out trading Justin Upton, though it appears unlikely. Kevin Towers tells Stark "it's going to take somebody a little on the crazy side" to get anything done.
- There's a sense that Jason Bartlett is the player most likely to be traded this week. However, Stark has trouble finding a team in need of a shortstop that matches up well with the Rays, who would like a late-inning reliever in return.
- With Werth off the market, the Phillies will look to replace him with a complementary player rather than a big name. Stark lists Scott Hairston, Jeff Francoeur, and Matt Diaz as a few possible targets. Philadelphia has also been trying to find a taker for Raul Ibanez, but would likely have to eat a good chunk of salary to do so.
Cliff Lee Rumors: Sunday
We checked in earlier today on the top free agent hitter, Carl Crawford. Now, let's round up the latest updates on the market's top pitcher….
- Lee told teammates that he would return to the Rangers if they offer him a sixth year, sources tell Tim Brown of Yahoo (via Twitter).
- Jon Heyman of SI (via Twitter) hears that Texas will not offer six years to Lee but expects the Yankees to do so.
- The Nats are a longshot to land Lee, GM Mike Rizzo told MLB.com's Bill Ladson (via Twitter).
- The Yankees have yet to make a formal proposal to Lee and his agent Darek Braunecker is hoping to get a deal done in Orlando, says Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter links).
- It still looks like a two-horse race for Cliff Lee, who has been visited in person twice by the Rangers and once by the Yankees, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. "It appears the Rangers will draw the line at five years for the 32-year-old lefthander," Cafardo says. "But the Yankees could put it over the top with a sixth year."
- An AL exec explains to Joel Sherman of the New York Post why the Yanks are the favorites: "There is no Plan B that is acceptable [when it comes to upgrading a rotation that needs to be upgraded]. They have looked around and know it is worthwhile to spend what they must to fix what is broken."
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports isn't necessarily buying that there are only two clubs seriously in on Lee.
- Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News breaks down the kind of offer the Rangers could make to keep Lee in Texas.
Odds & Ends: Marlins, Cardinals, Bruce, Jeter
Links for Saturday night…
- Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post says the Marlins are still looking for bullpen help (specifically a veteran lefty), a lefty bat off the bench, and outfield help.
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said that his team's lineup is set for 2011 after today's Lance Berkman pickup, reports Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter links). Mozeliak described the team's payroll as "leaking," adding that Berkman received a higher salary as a trade-off for just one year.
- Jay Bruce is optimistic about a new contract with the Reds according to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. Bruce mentions that nothing is imminent, however.
- SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that about five teams called to express interest in signing Derek Jeter before he re-upped with the Yankees, though the shortstop never considered going anywhere else. In fact, he didn't even listen to what they had to say (Twitter link).
- The recently non-tendered George Sherrill has drawn some interest according to Marc Carig of The Star Ledger (Twitter link). The Yankees are not one of the interested teams, however.
- Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News looks at Plan B and C should Texas be unable to retain Cliff Lee.
- Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic tweets that Chad MacDonald will be the Mets' new scouting director. He served as the Diamondbacks director of international scouting for the last two years.
Blue Jays Still Showing Interest In Zack Greinke
The Blue Jays are still showing interest in Royals ace Zack Greinke, reports Bob Elliott of The Toronto Sun. They inquired about the right-hander last month, and Elliott hears that the Jays believe the need "one more big piece" to make a run at the AL East title next season.
The Twins, Rangers, Braves, Reds, Mariners, and Nationals have all inquired about Greinke according to Elliott. The Royals have said they won't trade the former Cy Young Award winner within their division, limiting their options somewhat. The market for Greinke could heat up once Cliff Lee signs, since both the Rangers and Yankees could turn their attention towards him since he's the only other ace-caliber starter that we know is available.