Orioles Acquire Kevin Millwood
8:46pm: Evan Grant reports that the Orioles will send their third overall Rule 5 pick to the Rangers.
5:26pm: The trade is official, according to Jorge Arangure Jr. of ESPN.com.
3:36pm: Evan Grant hears that only the medical report approvals remain before this deal is done. He believes the Rangers would use some of the money saved to sign a free agent starter.
2:08pm: Rosenthal is hearing the Rangers will pick up $3MM of Millwood's $12MM tab.
1:38pm: The two sides have a tentative agreement, reports Zrebiec. He says the deal could be completed as early as tonight. However, ESPN's Jayson Stark tweets that a Rangers official said his team hasn't signed off on the trade.
1:20pm: The Orioles and Rangers are close to swapping pitchers Kevin Millwood and Chris Ray, reports Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports agrees. The Rangers would of course send cash in the deal. Ray hasn't heard anything yet, according to MASN's Steve Melewski.
The Rangers allowed Millwood's option to vest in late September, triggering a $12MM salary for 2010. The righty, 35 later this month, posted a 3.67 ERA in 198.6 innings with a 5.6 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9. He dealt with a strained gluteus muscle around July. Ray, 27, closed for the Orioles in '06 and part of '07 but needed Tommy John surgery in August of '07. The arb-eligible righty is under team control for two more years.
Twitter Rumors: Capps, Felix, Harden, Pierre
A fresh batch of Twitter rumors, for those of you with extra-short attention spans…
- MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch learned that the Pirates plan to tender a contract to Matt Capps.
- Stubborn Dodgers GM Ned Colletti says he has no regrets about not offering arbitration to Randy Wolf, reports Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times. Hernandez also notes that the Dodgers are considering Ronnie Belliard, Craig Counsell, Juan Uribe, and Jamey Carroll as second base options. The Reds also like Carroll, says MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
- Yahoo's Steve Henson says the Rockies are open to re-signing Jason Marquis at a reduced number (less than the $9.875MM he made in '09).
- SI's Jon Heyman believes Felix Hernandez is seeking six years and $100MM, while the Mariners are thinking four years plus an option at less than $50MM. That phrasing makes a possible divide seem larger than it is, since those last two years of the deal would be the most expensive (more than $15MM per year). At any rate, Shannon Drayer and Mike Salk learned that no numbers have been exchanged on Felix yet.
- La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen wants Mike Redmond to back up A.J. Pierzynski.
- MLB.com's Steve Gilbert says the Rangers may have interest in arbitration-eligible D'Backs infielder Augie Ojeda. The Rangers added Joe Inglett off waivers, but were said to still be looking at utility infield candidates.
- Morosi tweets that Rich Harden is "willing to sign a one-year deal with a lot of incentives." Will he exceed Brad Penny's $7.5MM base salary? Morosi names the Red Sox, Yankees, and Mariners as the most serious suitors.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the Tigers have interest in Juan Pierre, and are "looking for a third team to supply the pitcher L.A. needs." Odd, since the Tigers have more bad pitching contracts than anyone. The Tigers apparently prefer to unload Carlos Guillen.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Pirates are not interested in bringing back Brian Giles.
- ESPN's Jayson Stark says the Red Sox "have two or three teams they could trade Mike Lowell to right now" if they'd take a similar contract back. Looking at our Bad Contract Swap Meet I don't see any obvious matches for one year and $12MM.
- There's been some tire-kicking with the Phillies and Ron Mahay, writes Andy Martino of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Red Sox were linked to Mahay by Michael Silverman on Monday. Martino also says the Phillies met with John Smoltz's agent this morning, "but discussions remain informal."
- Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star characterizes the White Sox and Red Sox interest in Coco Crisp as "low-level," but says that's still more than the Royals have shown. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the White Sox would consider Crisp, Mike Cameron, and Marlon Byrd. ESPN's Mike Salk notes that the Mariners spoke to Byrd's agent.
- Dutton also has the Red Sox eyeing Ryan Shealy on a minor league deal.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports names the most asked-about Padres: Heath Bell, Kevin Kouzmanoff, and Adrian Gonzalez (in that order). He says the Padres are "not hearing anything compelling on Bell." MLB.com's Corey Brock says about eight teams inquired on Kouzmanoff. Surprised not to see Kevin Correia mentioned by Rosenthal. He'd be a great affordable option for a team like the Brewers. ESPN's Buster Olney heard from rival execs who expect the Padres to get second-line prospects for Kouzmanoff and Correia.
- The Mets appear to find a Luis Castillo deal unlikely, says Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
- ESPN's Jayson Stark says the Yankees are shopping their #1 pick in tomorrow's Rule 5 draft, which they acquired for Brian Bruney. If they don't trade the pick, Yahoo's Steve Henson says the Yankees could use it on pitcher Arquimedes Caminero.
Boras Speaks
We'll add some links from Scott Boras' lobby chat in this post, though from what I can tell he didn't say anything interesting. We'll keep this a tweet-free post.
- Boras busted out his famous books, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com.
- Boras thinks Matt Holliday is a "different" kind of player than Jason Bay, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Of course it's Boras' job to distinguish between Holliday and Bay, so we should expect comments like this.
- EPSN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports that Boras compared Holliday's production to Mark Teixeira's.
- The Rays haven't discussed a contract extension for Carlos Pena, who's entering the last year of his contract, according to MLB.com's Bill Chastain.
- WEEI's Rob Bradford has Boras talking about Matt Holliday and Adrian Beltre, where Boras compares Beltre's offensive ability to Jason Bay's.
- Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News has Boras saying five or six teams are interested in Beltre, including the Mariners. Boras said some teams (many have speculated the Red Sox) would move their third baseman for Beltre.
- Baggarly quotes Boras as saying "There are teams that have interest [in Holliday] and don’t want to let anyone to truly know." Boras assumes the Giants are interested in Holliday.
- Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News has Boras explaining why the Mets can afford Holliday.
- Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has Boras saying that the Cardinals retaining Holliday is like keeping two players, since it will help them sign Albert Pujols.
- Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun has Boras saying the Kevin Millwood trade is not done, but they're having discussions.
Odds & Ends: Sheffield, Matsui, Darvish
Kicking off a fresh Odds & Ends post for Day 3 of the Winter Meetings in Indianapolis…
- NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman says reliever Ryota Igarashi received a one-year big league offer from an unknown team.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says Justin Duchscherer would like to pitch for the D'Backs, but a deal is not likely. He also notes that the D'Backs denied offering Chris Snyder to the Rangers for C.J. Wilson.
- Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe learned that Gary Sheffield has four suitors currently, the Red Sox not among them.
- John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle names the A's as a "possible suitor" for Hideki Matsui, which ESPN's Keith Law thinks would be pointless.
- Wezen-Ball gives us the history of the highest-paid player in baseball, from Nolan Ryan onward.
- Yu Darvish became the youngest player in Japanese baseball history (he's 23) to reach 300 million yen when he re-signed for 330 million, reports Kyodo News. That comes to about $3.75MM currently.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff notes that Rudy Seanez wants to pitch next year.
- ESPN's Mike Salk says the Mariners "specifically chose" Jack Wilson over J.J. Hardy.
Orioles Rumors: Millwood, Uggla, Atkins, Beltre
WEDNESDAY, 10:02am: Millwood update: Zrebiec says the Rangers originally wanted David Hernandez and a low-level prospect for Millwood, and were willing to pay $3MM of the $12MM owed to the veteran. Meanwhile Zrebiec's colleague Peter Schmuck says Chris Ray could be involved and the Rangers would pick up most of Millwood's salary, in one scenario.
TUESDAY, 9:36pm: Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun reports that the O's are still exchanging trade proposals with the Rangers for Kevin Millwood. T.R. Sullivan reported that the Rangers wanted Chris Tillman initially, but talks have since developed. The Orioles are among the frontrunners for Millwood.
The O's met with the Marlins about Dan Uggla, but the Marlins want two pitching prospects in return and the Orioles are reluctant to hand that kind of package over. The Marlins have one less suitor for Uggla, according to Andrew Baggarly, who says the Giants aren't serious bidders, so that could lower the asking price for the arbitration-eligible infielder.
Here are even more O's rumors:
- Kevin Kouzmanoff and Garrett Atkins interest the O's to an extent.
- Joe Crede and Pedro Feliz remain options for Baltimore, but Adrian Beltre has priced himself out of reach.
- We heard about their interest in Hank Blalock, Carlos Delgado and Nick Johnson earlier today.
- They also have "tepid" interest in Russell Branyan.
- The Orioles aren't particularly intrigued by Joe Blanton and Derek Lowe, who are both available via trade.
- Vladimir Guerrero, Adam LaRoche, Jose Valverde and Kevin Gregg all interest the O's slightly.
- They do have interest in Rafael Soriano, and spoke with the Braves about him.
- They're not interested in J.J. Putz.
- MLB.com's Spencer Fordin reports that the Royals engaged the O's in Felix Pie trade talks without ever coming close to a deal.
Rangers Tuesday Recap
Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas rounds up some Texas Rangers-related rumors from the second day of the winter meetings. We've heard one or two of these already, but let's check out the highlights of Durrett's recap….
- The Rangers are looking to bolster their bullpen, and names of interest include J.J. Putz, Matt Lindstrom, and Brett Myers. Ramon Ramirez and Chris Ray are also on their radar.
- As FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi indicated earlier today, no Kevin Millwood trade appears imminent. A few teams are interested, but the Rangers will pull the trigger only on "the right deal." Presumably the "right" return is more about money than talent.
- If the club is able to move Millwood, they'd look to fill the hole in their rotation with another veteran starter. Ben Sheets and Rich Harden are potential options, with the Rangers hoping to meet with Sheets' agent this week.
- Dealing Millwood would also allow Texas to free up some money to pursue a right-handed bat. Perhaps Vladimir Guerrero or Jermaine Dye.
- The team is looking for a catcher as well. Durrett names Jason Kendall, Rod Barajas, Jose Molina, and Yorvit Torrealba as targets.
- Durrett and others heard earlier that the Rangers offered top prospects Neftali Feliz and Justin Smoak to Florida in exchange for Josh Johnson. Another official denies that Texas made that proposal, but suggests that the team does have interest in Johnson.
Odds & Ends: Unit, Rhodes, Crisp, Valverde
More links for the evening…
- The Red Sox will find out tomorrow if their claim on Rays righty Ramon A. Ramirez went through, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. This isn't the same Ramon Ramirez that appeared in 70 games for Boston last year.
- Randy Johnson is still undecided about 2010, according to this AP report on ESPN.com.
- The Rangers discussed Arthur Rhodes with the Reds today, according to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. The Rangers are on the lookout for lefty relievers.
- The Rangers are considering Jason Kendall and Rod Barajas behind the plate, according to Sullivan. ESPN.com's Keith Law says this is a problem for the Rangers. He doesn't think much of any of the free agent catchers they're considering.
- Coco Crisp would be up for signing with the White Sox, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.
- Talks between the Twins and Joe Crede are progressing slowly, according to MLB.com's Kelly Thesier.
- The Mariners are keeping in touch with Rich Harden's agents, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
- The Nats were interested in Jose Valverde, but they felt his asking price was too high, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times reports that Scott Boras will meet with Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik tonight. Adrian Beltre is one of Boras' clients, so they'll presumably discuss him.
- White Sox reliever Matt Thornton tells Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that he's recruiting J.J. Putz. Thornton says he and Putz have a long-standing "bromance" that dates back to their Seattle days.
- ESPN.com's Keith Law says Justin Smoak and Neftali Feliz are too much to give up for Josh Johnson. Apparently, the Rangers offered the pair of top prospects up.
- Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus likes the Ivan Rodriguez signing for the Nats, partly because Pudge could help develop Stephen Strasburg.
- By the way, the deal is pending a physical, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
- The Braves are interested in Xavier Nady, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Mets may be more inclined to pay top dollar for John Lackey now that they've seen the asking prices of some lesser starters.
- The Cardinals won't be involved with Lackey, but they have interest in signing a lefty bench bat, according to MLB.com's Matthew Leach.
Rangers Interested In Jorge Cantu
The Rangers are showing "strong interest" in Marlins infielder Jorge Cantu, according to one of Jon Paul Morosi's sources. The FOX reporter writes that the Rangers could offer a starting pitcher in exchange for Cantu, though Kevin Millwood's $12MM salary is almost certainly too much for the cash-strapped Marlins.
Brandon McCarthy might be a better fit, according to a second source. The 26-year-old will likely earn about $1MM next year.
Rangers Offered Smoak & Feliz For Johnson
The Rangers must be confident in their chances next year. Both T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com and Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com are reporting that the team offered Justin Smoak and Neftali Feliz to the Marlins for Josh Johnson.
If that offer didn't get it done, then the Marlins truly are committed to starting the season with their 25-year-old ace. Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post says the Marlins are still open to an extension with Johnson.
Cubs Close On Milton Bradley Trade?
6:03pm: MLB.com's Jordan Bastian says Bradley is not a fit for the Jays.
5:37pm: A high-level Mariners official shot down the Cubs-Mariners rumor, according to Wittenmyer.
5:34pm: Another AL team – not the Angels or Mariners - is involved in the Bradley talks, according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat.
5:27pm: Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald reports that no deal is imminent. One Cubs person tells Miles that the team is more likely to complete a deal tomorrow.
5:17pm: Yahoo's Tim Brown reports that the Cubs and Mariners are talking about a Bradley for Carlos Silva swap, though nothing is imminent.
5:12pm: Wittenmyer reports that the deal is "three quarters done." Three teams are involved, but the Rangers and Rays aren't among them.
4:12pm: The Cubs are close on trade with a "surprise AL team" for Milton Bradley, tweets Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. He says the deal could happen tonight. We know the Royals aren't in on Bradley, and the Rangers or Rays wouldn't be a surprise. So let's hear your guesses.
On the other hand, we talked to someone familiar with the situation who said there's "nothing new" on Bradley. Early this morning, the Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan had this to say:
Sources outside the organization insist the best bet remains a deal with the Rays involving Pat Burrell, whom the Cubs would try to deal elsewhere, possibly to the Blue Jays for prospects.
Meanwhile Yahoo's Tim Brown tweets that Seattle is a possible destination for Bradley, in a trade for Carlos Silva. Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Rangers are no longer interested.