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AL East Links: Red Sox, Jays, Rays, Rivera, Martin

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Who would have guessed that two AL teams would hand out $200MM+ contracts this winter, and neither of them would reside in the AL East? Here's the latest from the only division with three 90-win teams in 2011…

  • The Red Sox have checked in with Edwin Jackson and maintain interest in Roy Oswalt, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). They're also looking at some infielders.
  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm that he doesn't anticipate a move to upgrade the starting rotation before Spring Training (Twitter links). "I wouldn't expect us to do anything else. Maybe adding a reliever is probably the only thing I think we have a chance at doing," said the GM a few hours before signing Francisco Cordero.
  • In an interview with Jim Duquette and Jeff Joyce of MLB Network Radio, Anthopoulos said that Brandon Morrow's work ethic was one reason why the Blue Jays signed him to an extension. "I haven't been doing this very long … but the mistakes we have made, we haven't necessarily put as much stock into someone's character and the work ethic," he said.
  • Anthopoulos also acknowledged that the Blue Jays would be able to support a high payroll down the road, but they're "not there yet right now."
  • Rays president Matt Silverman told Marc Topkin of The Tampa Times that they haven't found a deal to trade one of their excess starters yet, but that doesn't mean they aren't still looking (Twitter link).
  • Yankees closer Mariano Rivera hinted at retirement during Jorge Posada's retirement press conference today, reports MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. "[It's] the same thing; just knowing that it's time to go," Rivera said. "You just have to accept that. I mean, I love the game and I have the passion for the game, but when the time comes and you have to go, you have to go."
  • WEEI.com's Alex Speier wrote about the Red Sox in the wake of the Prince Fielder signing, saying they preferred trading for Adrian Gonzalez last offseason to waiting for this year's crop of free agent first baseman.
  • Prior to avoiding arbitration with a one-year deal, the Yankees and Russell Martin discussed a two-year contract according to WFAN's Sweeny Murti (on Twitter).

Koji Uehara Rejects Trade To Blue Jays

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Rangers reliever Koji Uehara has invoked his no-trade clause to reject a trade to the Blue Jays, reports Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas. The right-hander's limited no-trade clause allows him to block trades to six teams, and Toronto is one of those six.

Uehara, who turns 37 in April, posted a 2.35 ERA, an 11.8 K/9 rate, and a phenomenal 9.44 K/BB ratio in 65 games last season with the Orioles and Rangers. His $4MM option for 2012 vested in the process, but the Texas bullpen is starting to get crowded, particularly with righties like Uehara, Joe Nathan, Mike Adams, and Alexi Ogando. The Jays were one of several teams interested in acquiring him, but they have since signed Francisco Cordero.

Blue Jays To Sign Francisco Cordero

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The Blue Jays agreed to sign right-handed reliever Francisco Cordero to a one-year, $4.5MM contract, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. The Proformance client will set up for closer Sergio Santos, Rosenthal writes.

Cordero, 36, posted a 2.45 ERA with 5.4 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 50% ground ball rate in 69 2/3 innings for Cincinnati this past season. Cordero reached the 30-save plateau for the fifth consecutive season, saving 37 games. His average fastball velocity checked in at 93 mph, but peripheral stats such as xFIP (4.14) and SIERA (3.91) suggest his 2.45 ERA may be artificially low. The Angels, Phillies, Orioles and Rangers all showed interest in Cordero leading up to today's agreement, MLBTR has learned.

The Blue Jays' bullpen will look considerably different in 2012, with newcomers Cordero, Jason Frasor, Sergio Santos and Darren Oliver joining holdovers Carlos Villanueva, Luis Perez, Jesse Litsch and Casey Janssen. Toronto's relievers placed 24th in MLB with 7.5 K/9 and 21st in MLB with a 3.88 ERA in 2011. The bullpen appears considerably stronger heading into the 2012 season, but the Blue Jays' rotation doesn't boast the same depth as other American League clubs such as the Yankees, Tigers, Rays, Angels and Rangers.

Though the Blue Jays won't have to surrender a draft pick to sign Cordero, the Reds will obtain a supplementary first round pick because of the modified procedure for Type A free agents under baseball's new collective bargaining agreement.

It's been a busy week for the Blue Jays, who signed Omar Vizquel last night and extended Brandon Morrow this morning. The Cordero agreement seems to remove them from the Koji Uehara trade talk.

Blue Jays Extend Brandon Morrow

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11:20am: Morrow will earn $4MM in 2012 and $8MM in 2013 and 2014, Mike Wilner of Sportsnet Radio FAN 590 in Toronto tweets. There's a $10MM option with a $1MM buyout in 2015 for a total guarantee of $21MM.

7:30am: The Blue Jays have signed right-hander Brandon Morrow to a three-year, $20MM extension, the team announced. The deal includes a 2015 option for $10MM. The Blue Jays and the Wasserman Media Group client were known to be nearing an agreement last night.

Brandon Morrow - Blue Jays

Morrow, who is arbitration eligible for the second time, had filed for a 2012 salary of $4.2MM, while the Blue Jays had countered at $3.9MM. The contract buys out both of his remaining seasons of arbitration eligibility and at least one free agent season.

The Blue Jays moved Morrow (pictured) to the rotation full time in 2010, soon after acquiring him from the Mariners for for Brandon League and Johermyn Chavez. In two seasons as a starter, the 27-year-old owns a 4.62 ERA with 10.5 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 over the course of 325 2/3 innings.

Despite Morrow's ability to overwhelm opposing hitters — he led the American League in K/9 last year — he has posted below-average ERAs since joining the rotation. SIERA (3.31) and xFIP (3.53) suggest his ERA of 4.72 could have been considerably lower in 2011. There's reason for the Blue Jays to expect some improvement in terms of ERA, even if Morrow continues under-performing his peripheral stats. Though he's a fly ball pitcher (36.0% ground ball rate in 2011), he hasn't been particularly homer-prone (21 home runs in 2011).

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk examined Morrow as an extension candidate last August and his prediction (a three-year, $19MM deal with an $11MM option) came extremely close to the actual numbers. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet first reported that the sides were nearing a three-year, $20MM extension.

Photo courtesy Icon SMI.

Rangers Talking Uehara Deal; Jays, Others Interested

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The Rangers are discussing reliever Koji Uehara with several teams, one of whom are the Blue Jays, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link).  The Red Sox and Orioles were both involved in talks regarding Uehara earlier this winter, with Uehara himself saying he wished to return to Baltimore.

Uehara posted a 2.35 ERA, an 11.8 K/9 rate and a phenomenal 9.44 K/BB ratio in 65 games last season with the Orioles and Rangers.  Despite his great regular season numbers, he struggled for Texas in the playoffs and was left off the Rangers' World Series roster, leading to speculation that he would be made available by the team in the offseason. 

Uehara, who turns 37 in April, pitched well enough to cause his $4MM option for 2012 to vest.  He also has a limited no-trade clause in his contract that allows him to block deals to six teams, so Uehara has some control over where he would be dealt, if anywhere.

The Jays have already added Sergio Santos, Darren Oliver, Jason Frasor and Aaron Laffey to their bullpen this winter.  In Uehara, Toronto would add to this depth with a right-hander who has enjoyed success in the AL East and some experience (13-of-15 in save opportunities with the O's in 2010) as a closer should Santos struggle.

Angels, Jays, Orioles, Phillies Are Pursuing Cordero

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6:54pm: Bean Stringfellow, Cordero's agent, wouldn't comment on whether the Angels were looking at Cordero as a closer or as Jordan Walden's setup man, reports DiGiovanna.  Stringfellow called it "a delicate situation."

6:21pm: The Angels, Blue Jays, Orioles and Phillies are all pursuing Cordero, reports Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).  These could well be the four finalists Gonzalez referenced.

5:29pm: Free agent reliever Francisco Cordero expects to sign with a new team by the end of the week, reports MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez.  Four clubs are finalists for Cordero; Gonzalez's source identifies the Angels as one of the four, but the Rays are not in the mix.  One of the unknown teams "is a championship-contending team looking to slot [Cordero] in the eighth inning," and Gonzalez speculates this could be the Phillies, looking at Cordero as Jonathan Papelbon's setup man.

The Angels, Red Sox, Reds and Orioles have all been linked to Cordero this winter, though Boston's acquisitions of Andrew Bailey and Mark Melancon probably eliminate them from the hunt.  The Reds are probably also out due to their signing of Ryan Madson, though they fit Gonzalez's description of a title contender and Cordero could be open to remaining in a familiar environment to chase a World Series.

Blue Jays Sign Omar Vizquel

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The Blue Jays have signed 44-year-old infielder Omar Vizquel to a minor league contract that contains an invitation to the Major League Spring Training camp, the team announced.  ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link) had the scoop first, hearing the news from Adam Katz, Vizquel's agent.  The infielder would earn $750K if he makes the Blue Jays, Mike Wilner of Sportsnet Radio FAN 590 tweets.

An 11-time Gold Glove winner at shortstop, Vizquel has played mostly second and third base over the last few seasons and provides the Jays with depth at both positions behind starters Brett Lawrie and Kelly Johnson.  The Blue Jays are Vizquel's sixth different club over his long career, which would reach 24 seasons if he plays in 2012.  Vizquel still has an outside chance at the 3000-hit club (he has 2841 career hits) if he can keep playing through 2013, judging by his recent offensive output.

Blue Jays Close To Extension With Brandon Morrow

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The Blue Jays are close to a three-year, $20MM contract extension with Brandon Morrow, reports Shi Davidi of Rogers Sportsnet (Twitter link).  The deal also contains a $10MM option for 2015 (with a $1MM buyout) and the contract could be announced as soon as tomorrow.

The extension would cover Morrow's remaining two arbitration years and at least his first year of free agency.  Morrow has a 4.62 ERA, a 10.5 K/9 rate and a 2.82 K/BB ratio in two seasons and 56 starts with Toronto, pitching a career-high 179 1/3 innings in 2011.  I examined Morrow as an extension candidate last August and my prediction (a three-year, $19MM deal with an $11MM option) came quite close to the actual numbers.

Many Teams Eyeing Gerardo Concepcion

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Cuban left-hander Gerardo Concepcion has been declared a free agent and is drawing interest from many MLB teams, Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com reports. The 18-year-old recently established residency in Mexico and was said to be close to declaring free agency last week.

The Rangers, Yankees, Cubs and White Sox have expressed the most interest in Concepcion, agent Jaime Torres said. The lefty worked out in front of Rangers personnel, including Nolan Ryan, in the Dominican Republic today. The Phillies, Giants, Blue Jays, Red Sox and Royals have also expressed interest.

Concepcion has an offer on the table and will likely sign within two weeks, according to his agent. He defected from Cuba last June while playing in the Netherlands.

Quick Hits: Lincecum, Red Sox, Gordon, Francis

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Friday night links..

  • The Giants and the agent for Tim Lincecum have made significant progress since exchanging arbitration figures and both sides are confident that a resolution can be reached before a hearing would be scheduled, writes Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News.
  • The Reds could look to land an infielder via trade, writes MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
  • It appears that talks between the Rockies and Red Sox regarding Marco Scutaro are dormant, but Rob Bradford of WEEI.com writes that Boston's possible motivation for a move involving Scutaro would be to free up payroll.  The club has reportedly expressed interest in White Sox starter Gavin Floyd and free agent outfielder Cody Ross, but neither move could be made unless a trade was made to offer budgetary relief according to a source.
  • The Royals and Alex Gordon aren't particularly close on a deal but talks remain cordial and both sides want to get something done, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
  • Left-hander Jeff Francis is starting to attract more interest from teams in the market for a starting pitcher including the Mariners, Reds, Blue Jays, and Mets, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (Twitter links)
  • Jesus Montero has dealt with his visa issue and is scheduled to travel from Florida to Seattle today for his Mariners physical, tweets Ken Davidoff of Newsday.
  • Braves GM Frank Wren doesn't believe that his club has a major personnel need, writes Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  Wren also believes that this year's bullpen figures to be even deeper that last year's.
  • Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post (via Twitter) is told that the Marlins have no interest in bringing Ivan Rodriguez back.
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