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Anthopoulos Talks Offseason Approach, Closers, CBA

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Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos spoke to Sportsnet's Shi Davidi at the GM meetings and commented on a few hot stove issues. Here are some highlights:

  • Anthopoulos said there are still so many options available that he doesn't expect to be too active this week, since it would close the door on too many other possibilities.
  • The Jays are doing their due diligence on closers, having looked into health records for a few of the big-name free agents. However, Anthopoulos hasn't found any deals to his liking yet: "Some of them I'm fine with the terms and I'm not fine with the dollars, some of them I'm fine with the dollars and not fine with the terms."
  • Anthopoulos is very wary of making the mistake of signing or taking on a bad contract, since that would limit his freedom for other roster changes: "Cash, spots open on the roster, I think for the most part we have tradable players, tradable contracts. We've got the ability to go in a lot of directions."
  • We heard earlier today that free agent compensation could be modified this offseason as part of the new CBA, which could hurt the Blue Jays' chances of landing draft picks. But Anthopoulos thinks "the league is going to consider their impact on clubs" and isn't worried about the changes.
  • Davidi indicates the Jays' desire for a closer may be slightly overblown. He says the club would like to have one guy for the ninth rather than an ever-changing rotation of arms like they had last year with Frank Francisco, Jon Rauch, and others. However, they're not interested in committing to any reliever for the four years that Jonathan Papelbon received from the Phillies.

Cubs, Buehrle’s Agent Have Had Multiple Discussions

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The Cubs have had multiple discussions with Mark Buehrle's agent Jeff Berry, a source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Berry also met with Marlins earlier today.  Morosi sums up the other interested clubs: the White Sox, Blue Jays, Royals, Angels, Nationals, and Diamondbacks.

Earlier in November, we heard that the Cubs would have interest in the longtime White Sox pitcher "if the price tag and years aren't astronomical." Considering the number of Buehrle rumors we've heard so far this offseason, there appears to be plenty of competition, but we don't have a clear idea yet of the years and dollars the lefty might be offered.

Francisco Cordero Drawing Heavy Interest

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At least seven teams have expressed interest in free agent right-hander Francisco Cordero, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Cordero's agent Bean Stringfellow told MLB.com's Mark Sheldon as much yesterday, but Morosi also names many of the clubs who have interest in Cordero: the Red Sox, Reds, Blue Jays, Marlins, Dodgers, Angels, and Mets.

Although Jonathan Papelbon is off the market, Cordero is one of many closers still available, along with Ryan Madson, Heath Bell, and Francisco Rodriguez, among others. The Reds declined their option on the 36-year-old Cordero at season's end, despite a successful 2011 campaign in which he posted a 2.45 ERA and reduced his BB/9 to 2.8.

Blue Jays Offer Scouting Position To Minaya

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The latest out of the AL East…

  • Former Mets GM Omar Minaya was offered a scouting position with the Blue Jays, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  Minaya is weighing other options.  Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun first reported Toronto's interest in Minaya, citing the Padres as another suitor.  Elliott notes that the Jays already employ three former GMs in Jim Beattie, Ed Lynch, and Chuck LaMar.  In October, Minaya interviewed for the Angels' GM job.
  • The Jays are "pushing hard for a closer," one GM tells Elliott.  Elliott reported a few days ago that the Blue Jays were shocked by the asking prices, however.
  • No matter what they say publicly, Yankees people are telling friends to expect an eventual big splash with a pitcher, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.  I don't think that'd shock anyone, but there's not much out there currently.
  • The Red Sox weren't surprised Jonathan Papelbon priced himself out of their range, writes WEEI's Alex Speier.  The Sox are not looking to make a quick strike in the closer market to replace him.

Marlins Offered Jose Reyes Six Years, $90MM

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The Marlins offered $90MM over six years to Jose Reyes, a source told Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  They say Reyes is intrigued by playing in warm weather and for Ozzie Guillen.  Reyes wants a contract worth a minimum of $100MM, however, tweeted Joel Sherman of the New York Post yesterday.  More from Rosenthal and Morosi…

  • The Marlins have not discussed moving Hanley Ramirez to center field.
  • Many in the industry are skeptical of the sincerity of the Marlins' early offers to Reyes, Albert Pujols, Mark Buehrle, and Ryan Madson, feeling the proposals are competitive but not good enough to accept.  
  • The Rangers and Angels are among the teams that are interested in both C.J. Wilson and Roy Oswalt.  The Nationals prefer Oswalt.  Both pitchers are clients of Bob Garber.
  • Heath Bell could benefit from the new collective bargaining agreement if teams no longer have to surrender a draft pick to sign Type A free agents who turned down arbitration.  Ramon Hernandez too, in my opinion.  I'm surprised to hear that such a change could be instituted for the 2012-13 offseason, after some teams made July trade decisions based on the old free agent compensation system.
  • The Padres want to trade Jason Bartlett or Orlando Hudson.  They are currently the only two players the Padres have under contract.  Bartlett's $5.5MM option for 2013 will vest with 432 plate appearances in 2012.
  • Rafael Furcal has drawn interest from the Rockies, Tigers, and Blue Jays as a second baseman, but he prefers to remain at shortstop.
  • Rosenthal and Morosi say not to rule out the Giants on Carlos Beltran yet.
  • The Angels will know more about Kendrys Morales' condition after January 1st.  Morales is still recovering from a fracture in his leg suffered in May of 2010.

Kinzer On Ramirez, Capps, Lindsay

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Agent Paul Kinzer confirmed to reporters today that Aramis Ramirez won’t re-sign with the Cubs. Here are the details plus more notes from the exchange (all links go to Twitter):

Heavy Interest In C.J. Wilson

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Interest has been heavy in free agent lefty C.J. Wilson, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, despite his disappointing postseason.  The Yankees, Angels, Blue Jays, Marlins, Nationals, and Rangers have already expressed interest, reports Morosi.  All six clubs had been expected to be in the mix.

An official with an involved club expects at least five years with a sixth-year option for Wilson, while another official believes six years guaranteed is possible.  Could a sixth year push Wilson to $100MM?  In an August 30th poll, 78% of nearly 7,000 MLBTR readers polled felt Wilson would fall short of nine figures.

Rangers GM Jon Daniels recently commented on Wilson to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan, saying, "We would like to have him back.  We know he's in a great position. He'll explore his options. We'll prepare for both possibilities."  At the least, the Rangers are expected to offer arbitration to the Type A free agent nine days from now.  If Wilson does leave the Rangers, they could end up with a top 20 draft pick as compensation if the Nationals, Jays, or Angels sign him and the current system remains in place for 2012.  Out of Morosi's five competing suitors, only the Marlins have a protected first-round pick.

Jays “Shocked” By Asking Price For Free Agent Closers

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Bob Elliot of the Toronto Sun has a host of Blue Jays news including numerous quotes from GM Alex Anthopoulos:

  • Elliot hears that the Blue Jays have been "shocked" by the asking prices they've received when contacting the representatives for free agent closers. Anthopoulos sounds wary of signing closers to four- and five-year deals. Noting some research he did on injuries long-term deals for relievers when he was still an assistant GM, Anthopolous said: "…basically if you were giving out a five-year deal you were only going to get a player for four seasons."
  • When asked what the club's greatest surplus was, Anthopoulos replied "prospects," which Elliot speculates could hint that the Jays may try to acquire a closer via trade.
  • The Blue Jays aren't prepared to trade J.P. Arencibia because of Travis d'Arnaud's minor league success. The 22-year-old d'Arnaud ranked 36th on Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects list prior to a 2011 campaign that saw him hit .311/.371/542 and crush 21 homers at the Double-A level.
  • The organization is at least one year away from considering d'Arnaud for the Major Leagues, and the same goes for shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria.
  • The Blue Jays are content with Colby Rasmus as their center fielder for 2012, and Anthopolous calls him an upgrade defensively.
  • The Jays need an everyday second baseman, which leads Elliot to speculate on Brandon Phillips.

Blue Jays, Marlins Interested In Ryan Madson

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The Blue Jays have been "making inquiries" about Ryan Madson, according to Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun, while the Marlins are "also in on" the free agent closer, reports Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated (both Twitter links).  The Jays and Marlins join the Rangers, Red Sox and Nationals as clubs reportedly interested in Madson in the wake of his four-year, $44MM deal with the Phillies failing to materialize.

Toronto is known to be looking at several established free agent stoppers.  Signing a Type A free agent like Madson would cost the Jays their first round pick (17th overall) in next year's draft, and giving up high draft picks and spending millions on a closer both seem to run counter to Alex Anthopoulos' modus operandi.  The Jays do have the 22nd overall pick in the 2012 draft as compensation for not signing Tyler Beede last year.

Madson is only the latest target for the Marlins, who have been connected to most of this offseason's major free agents and have already made offers to Albert Pujols, Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle.  Juan Carlos Oviedo is the incumbent closer in Miami, but he is currently embroiled in legal issues surrounding his adoption of the "Leo Nunez" name for the last several years.  Heyman tweets that the Marlins could stick with Oviedo since the free agent closing market may be too pricey. 

AL East Notes: Sveum, Posada, Blue Jays, Mora

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Some news from the AL East….

  • Team sources tell Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston that Ben Cherington is "extremely high" on Dale Sveum.  The former Red Sox third base coach is one of five candidates that appear to be the finalists to be Boston's new manager.  Edes guesses that Cherington may have already settled on his choice and "is just going through the process" for the sake of due diligence.  
  • We heard yesterday from SI's Jon Heyman that Jorge Posada could sign with the Orioles or Marlins if he decides to keep playing, but Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com doesn't see Posada in Baltimore "under any circumstances" next year.  I agree with Melewski; it's hard to imagine Posada wanting to spend his probable last season as a bench player for a non-contender.
  • Bob Klapisch of the Record lays out the case for Posada to retire.
  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos enters this offseason with much more "clarity" about the state of his team after spending two years remaking the roster, writes Rogers Sportsnet's Shi Davidi.
  • Melvin Mora tells Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun that he wants to return to the Orioles.  If not Baltimore, Mora wants to play on the East Coast to be near his wife and six children.
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