Rangers Interested In Crawford, Konerko
5:47pm: MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan says that the Rangers have just "kicked the tires" on Crawford, but are "far more in" on Paul Konerko. The team obviously likes both players, but they feel Konerko is the better fit given their needs.
1:49pm: The Rangers are in on free agent outfielder Carl Crawford and the interest is mutual, according to Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated (via Twitter). The Angels and the Yankees are also of particular interest to Crawford, Heyman tweets.
If Texas were to land Crawford, they would have to creatively re-align their outfield. Crawford would presumably take over in left field, likely making Josh Hamilton the full-time center fielder. Hamilton's career -6.0 UZR/150 in center field indicates that he's below average at that position.
Earlier today, ESPN's Buster Olney surmised that the BoSox will still have enough money after the Adrian Gonzalez trade to go after someone like Carl Crawford or Jayson Werth. However, Heyman believes that recent events make Werth to the Red Sox a likely scenario.
Rosenthal On Greinke, Lee, Rangers, Yankees
The Rangers are trying to work out a way to both sign free agent left-hander Cliff Lee and also acquire Zack Greinke from the Royals, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. This would be the "perfect world" scenario for Texas, but Rosenthal notes that such a scenario is unlikely to happen as the Rangers "face steep odds" in getting even one of the aces.
Texas has been considered the favorite to land Greinke if Kansas City does indeed move him this winter, but a source tells Rosenthal the Rangers' proposals for Greinke have been "not even close" to convincing the Royals. Rosenthal notes that some members of the Rangers organization believe the Royals don't really intend to deal Greinke given the high asking price of at least "two young pitchers with Greinke-like potential in any trade for their ace." While the Rangers are able to expand their payroll this winter, Rosenthal wonders if they would have enough to even afford both Lee's sure-to-be massive contract and the $27MM Greinke is owed through 2012.
The Rangers' main competition for Lee, the Yankees, could afford to have both pitchers in their rotation, but Rosenthal says "the Yankees don't view a Greinke trade as realistic" since they "still have reservations" about Greinke's ability to pitch in New York.
Execs Think Konerko Will Stay With White Sox
"Competing execs" think Paul Konerko will ultimately re-sign with the White Sox for around $13MM per season, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. Konerko's close relationship with owner Jerry Reinsdorf is cited as a main factor.
The Cubs, Orioles and Rangers have all been mentioned as suitors for Konerko this winter, and the Orioles have made Konerko an offer. Still, moving elsewhere could be a tough call for Konerko given his ties to the White Sox and the fact that the team seems to be doing all it can to find payroll space for him. Adam Dunn and A.J. Pierzynski deferred money from their contracts just so the Sox could have more cash available in 2011 to re-sign Konerko. "They literally put their money where their mouth is so we can put a better offer on the table for Paulie," GM Kenny Williams told MLB.com's Scott Merkin.
Cubs, Other Teams Also Pursuing Adrian Gonzalez
The Red Sox aren't the only team in the hunt for Adrian Gonzalez. "Multiple teams besides [the] Red Sox," including the Cubs, are interested in the Padres slugger, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. This isn't the first time we've heard about Chicago's interest in Gonzalez, and the Cubs' search for a big-hitting first baseman may have intensified now that Adam Dunn has signed with the crosstown rival White Sox.
Two big obstacles stand in the way of a Cubs/Padres deal: the Cubs' ability to provide the blue-chip prospects that San Diego desires in any Gonzalez trade, and whether the Cubs can afford the long-term extension that Gonzalez wants after 2011. One obviously impacts the other, since it would be foolish for the Cubs to move several prospects for just one season of Gonzalez. With the Carlos Silva and Kosuke Fukudome contracts coming off the books after this year, Chicago has about $63MM committed to their 2012 payroll.
Besides the Cubs, Rosenthal lists the Angels, Blue Jays, Orioles, Nationals, Rangers and Rays as having a "possible interest" in a Gonzalez trade. All of the teams could potentially afford a Gonzalez extension except Tampa Bay, and all of the clubs have intriguing minor league prospects to interest the Padres (though it might be hard for L.A. to acquire Gonzalez without giving up star prospect Mike Trout). Dan Hayes of the North County Times tweets that it's the Cubs and Red Sox, however, who are the "main focus" of San Diego's trade talks.
Vlad Willing To Give Rangers A One-Year Discount
Vladimir Guerrero wants a three-year contract from other clubs, but is willing to accept a two-year deal to return to Texas, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. "Length of contract appears to be more important to Guerrero than the financial terms," Sullian writes, and he also says that the Rangers would prefer bringing Guerrero back on just a one-year pact.
The Rangers declined their $9MM option on Guerrero for 2011 and didn't offer him salary arbitration, so he can be signed by any team without the loss of a draft pick. We've heard that Guerrero has been talking to at least four teams, including the Rangers, but his desire for a multi-year contract may be a hurdle given his age (36) and the fact he's limited to just a DH role.
Given Guerrero's popularity in the Rangers clubhouse and his big role in their march to the AL pennant, the club could give Guerrero the two-year deal he wants if it comes with a very modest raise on the $5.5MM he made in 2010. It's hard to see any team giving Guerrero a three-year contract, however, so he may be forced to lower his demands to two years for everyone, or perhaps sign a one-year deal with a vesting option.
Rangers Close To Bringing Back Treanor
The Rangers are close to announcing that they are re-signing catcher Matt Treanor, who will likely serve as backup to the recently acquired Yorvit Torrealba, according to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. Rangers GM Jon Daniels told Sullivan that he's "pretty confident that Matt is coming back."
Treanor, acquired by the Rangers in a trade with the Tigers on March 22nd, ascended to a platoon role with Bengie Molina during the Rangers' run to the World Series following a rash of injuries and ineffectiveness at the catcher position for Texas at the big league level. Treanor played in 82 games, batting .211/.287/.388.
American League Non-Tenders
This post will list all the American League players non-tendered today, but the best place to track all 200+ arbitration eligible players is our new non-tender tracker.
- Blue Jays: Fred Lewis, Jeremy Accardo
- Red Sox: Hideki Okajima, Andrew Miller, Taylor Buchholz
- Mariners: Ryan Rowland-Smith
- Rays: Lance Cormier, Willy Aybar, Dioner Navarro, J.P. Howell
- Royals: Josh Fields
- Rangers: Dustin Nippert
- Angels: Kevin Frandsen
- Athletics: Jack Cust, Travis Buck, Edwin Encarnacion
- Yankees: Alfredo Aceves, Dustin Moseley
- Orioles: Matt Albers
- White Sox: Bobby Jenks, Erick Threets
- Tigers: Zach Miner
Red Sox, Tigers, Phillies Seem Serious About Werth
The Red Sox, Tigers and Phillies are seen as the most serious suitors for Jayson Werth, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Red Sox met with Werth and agent Scott Boras yesterday, according to ESPNBoston.com. However, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports that the sides did not discuss contract terms yesterday. Instead, Werth, GM Theo Epstein and manager Terry Francona got to know each other.
The Rangers haven't ruled out pursuing Werth, but the White Sox are not pursuing him, Morosi reports.
Rangers Have Some Interest In Mark Prior
Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels has some interest in bringing Mark Prior back for 2011, writes Richard Durrett of ESPN.com. Prior inked a minor league deal with the club just before the end of the 2010 season and pitched just one inning for their Triple-A affiliate.
"He's a free agent now and we have discussed him coming back," the GM said. "There’s a level of interest."
Texas could possibly bring the right-hander into spring training to find out what he can do as a reliever. Recently, Prior's agent John Boggs told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that his client has offers from three teams.
Prior hasn't pitched at the major league level since 2006 due to injuries. In his sophomore campaign in 2003, Prior posted a 2.43 ERA with 10.4 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9.
Rangers To Make Lee An Official Offer
4:23pm: The Rangers met with Lee in Arkansas yesterday, GM Jon Daniels confirmed to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Daniels declined to say whether the team has made Lee a formal offer.
10:39am: The Yankees haven’t made Lee an offer, a source tells Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com. In fact, agent Darek Braunecker isn’t looking for proposals just yet.
“He really doesn't want any offers until next week,” Matthews’ source said. “He wants to be the ringmaster at the winter meetings. I don't expect anything to get done until after that."
8:50am: The Rangers are on the verge of making Cliff Lee an official offer, according to George A. King III of the New York Post. A source tells King that the Rangers are prepared to offer a five-year deal and believe the Yankees have already offered a five or six-year deal. Though Lee’s agent wouldn’t confirm specifics, he did acknowledge that talks are progressing.
"We are starting to move stuff along," Darek Braunecker told the Post.
If the Rangers lose Lee to the Yankees, they will likely consider trading for Zack Greinke. The Royals like Rangers prospects Martin Perez and Tanner Scheppers, according to King.
Though Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reported that Greinke would not necessarily mind pitching in the Bronx, the Yankees aren’t so sure. They don’t believe that the right-hander wants to pitch for them, according to King.