Uncategorized News & Rumors

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• See who is currently a free agent, updated to the minute.  The list includes Type A and Type B statuses. 
• Check out Tim Dierkes' Top 50 Free Agents with destination predictions.
• Click here to see who's eligible for free agency after the 2010 season.
• Ben Nicholson-Smith's Trades of the Decade series is currently running.
• Other fun links: Scott Boras clients, non-tender candidates, offseason outlooks by team, free agent market analysis by position, trade market analysis by position, and important dates.
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The Rookie of the Year awards are in; it's A's reliever Andrew Bailey in the American League and Marlins outfielder Chris Coghlan in the National League.  Your thoughts?  Who was robbed?

Bailey, 25, posted a 1.84 ERA, 9.8 K/9, and 2.6 BB/9 in 83.3 innings.  He took over the closer job and saved 26 games.  Coghlan, 24, hit .321/.390/.460 in 565 plate appearances, playing mostly left field.  He'd played second and third base in the minors.

Hundreds of players are eligible for arbitration, and Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball has the full list from the MLBPA.  Dozens of these players will become free agents on December 12th, the non-tender deadline.  Based on numbers from ESPN's Buster Olney, it seems typical to see at least 40 players non-tendered.  Check out our list of non-tender candidates here.

We wrote quite a few posts today, and it's easy to miss items.  If you ever want to see the hard news in a quick glance, check the Top Stories section on the right-hand sidebar.  And if you are really adamant on getting just the news and not the rumors, you can subscribe to MLBTR's Transactions-Only RSS feed.

Also don't miss out on our normal RSS feed (28K strong) and Twitter feed (inching toward 15K followers).  No matter your opinion on Twitter, it is now a huge part of the hot stove coverage, so sign up if you don't want to miss anything.

Today let's take a look at the Wasserman Media Group's free agent clients.  Their best known agent is probably Arn Tellem.  Here's the list:

Wilson Betemit
Aaron Boone
Nomar Garciaparra
Jason Giambi
John Grabow
Rich Harden
Shawn Hill
Ryota Igarashi
Reed Johnson
Jason Kendall
Hideki Matsui
Jason Michaels
Guillermo Mota
Vicente Padilla
Wily Mo Pena
Joel Pineiro
Matt Treanor
Randy Wolf
Omar Vizquel

WMG is light on regular position players this year, with Matsui and maybe Kendall qualifying.  They've got several of the free agent market's top starters in Harden, Pineiro, and Wolf, with Padilla generating interest as well.

If you've had a busy couple days, you're probably overwhelmed by the number of rumors that have surfaced. But worry not – here's a summary of what's happened at the Chicago GM Meetings so far:

• The Twins are considering verteran starters, including Carl Pavano.
• Nick Green and Joey Gathright became free agents. The Red Sox prevented Victor Martinez from reaching free agency, when they picked up his 2010 option, and they reached a two-year deal with the ageless Tim Wakefield. Jason Varitek's future with the Red Sox is still uncertain. If he hits the open market, the Mets won't pursue him.
• Meanwhile, the Rays made some option decisions of their own. They picked up Carl Crawford's option, but declined their options for Gregg Zaun and Brian Shouse.
• The Yankees are likely to check in on Jason Bay, Matt Holliday and John Lackey, but they're focusing on Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui and Andy Pettitte for now.
• Holliday and Bay may be too pricey for the Mets. 
• The Dodgers aren't pursuing Aroldis Chapman.
• The Mariners have offered Russell Branyan and Jack Wilson contracts, but Branyan has rejected their offer.
• Randy Winn won't be back with the Giants, but there's still a chance Bengie Molina will return.
• The Cardinals would like to re-sign Matt Holliday, but they're prepared in case he signs elsewhere.
• The Cubs are looking to unload Milton Bradley, and the Rangers would consider re-acquiring him. Texas should be active on the trade market, but won't pursue top free agents.
• The Blue Jays won't settle for anything less than elite talent if they deal Roy Halladay.
• The Phillies are looking for a third baseman, but don't seem likely to pursue Halladay aggressively. Their division rivals, the Mets, will at least inquire about Doc's availability.
• John Smoltz will pitch again next year.
• Don't forget to check out MLBTR's list of free agents and Tim's list of the top 50 players to hit the open market.

It's going to be a busy and exciting offseason, and we here at MLBTR will have all of the latest news as it breaks.  We'll be tracking all of the winter's trades and constantly updating our list of available free agents, so stay tuned.  For now, here are a few reactions from around the baseball world on some of the moves that have already taken place…

• Matt Eddy of Baseball America takes a deeper look at the trade that brought Mark Teahen (and $1MM) to the White Sox.  Teahen will start at third base in 2010 with sophomore Gordon Beckham sliding over to second.
• Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reviews the swap that netted the Twins shortstop J.J. Hardy.  "The deal has the potential to look very good for the Twins if Hardy can regain his pre-2009 form," writes Christensen, "but that “if” is as big as Hardy’s 6-2, 190-pound frame."

Today was a busy day for options, as eleven decisions were reached.  Here's a summary:

• The White Sox declined Jermaine Dye's $12MM option, paying a $950K buyout.
• The Phillies exercised their $9MM option on Cliff Lee.
• The Diamondbacks exercised their $8.5MM option on Brandon Webb.
• The Royals declined options on Coco Crisp, Miguel Olivo, and Yasuhiko Yabuta.
• The Brewers declined David Weathers' $3.7MM option, paying a $400K buyout.
• The Mets declined J.J. Putz's $9.15MM option, paying a $1MM buyout.
• The Rockies declined options on Yorvit Torrealba and Alan Embree.
• The Nationals declined Austin Kearns' $10MM option, paying a $1MM buyout.
• Our 2010 MLB Free Agents list shows the remaining options: Ramon Hernandez, Victor Martinez, Jason Varitek, Gregg Zaun, Alex Gonzalez, Jack Wilson, Pedro Feliz, Carl Crawford, Manny Ramirez, Tim Hudson, Braden Looper, Tim Wakefield, Rafael Betancourt, and Brian Shouse.  Decisions on several of these have already been publicized though.

Our free agent list has it all – it's constantly updated, broken down by position, and includes information on options, player ages, and Elias rankings.  Scott Boras clients are bolded.

Bookmark our 2010 MLB Free Agents list today!  You can always find the list on the sidebar of the site under MLBTR Features.

Congratulations to the Yankees on winning the World Series.  Now the offseason officially begins.  Players may file for free agency, and teams have an exclusive 15-day period to negotiate and sign them.  On November 20th, free agents can negotiate and sign with any team.  The GM Meetings are set to begin Monday in Chicago.