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Prince Fielder Rumors: Wednesday

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With Carlos Beltran expected to make a decision soon, the gap between Prince Fielder and the second-best hitter on the free agent market could grow even wider by the end of the week. Yesterday's rumors described varying levels of interest in the slugger from the Mariners, Cubs, Orioles, and Rangers. We'll follow today's Fielder items here…

  • The Nationals have Fielder on their radar, though they've been keeping a low profile in the process, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. According to Heyman, the Nats are one of about a half-dozen teams still eyeing the first baseman, and some of those clubs have either made offers or indicated "where they'd be willing to go monetarily."
  • Heyman also hears from people close to Fielder that the 27-year-old may prefer to stay in the East or Central time zones as opposed to playing on the West Coast.

Quick Hits: Oswalt, Andruw, Dobbs, Cuddyer

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A few notes to pass along as Tuesday becomes Wednesday …

  • The Red Sox haven't ruled out signing Roy Oswalt, tweets Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, although sources say the right-hander is not a priority for them. Earlier today we heard that interest in Oswalt has spiked significantly since he's been telling teams he's willing to sign for a one-year deal.
  • It seemed inevitable that Yankees would re-sign Andruw Jones earlier this offseason, but Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News reports the camps have not made much progress and that the outfielder is garnering interest from other teams, including the Red Sox.
  • The Nationals are among the final three suitors for free agent pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs, a source tells Bill Ladson of MLB.com, who adds that the Marlins are reported to be in the mix, as well.
  • Rockies outfielder Michael Cuddyer told reporters, including Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities radio, that he and the Twins never had discussions about re-signing once they reached agreement with Josh Willingham (Twitter link).
  • The Braves thought they may have been close to trading Jair Jurrjens to the Reds last weekend until Cincinnati instead acquired Mat Latos from the Padres, writes MLB.com's Mark Bowman in a mailbag.
  • In an interesting thinkpiece at Baseball Prospectus, Ben Lindbergh examines why it's becoming increasingly difficult for a GM to stand out from his peers.

Nationals To Sign Tracy, Carroll, Paul

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The Nationals announced that they agreed to sign Chad Tracy, Brett Carroll and Xavier Paul to minor league contracts with invitations to Spring Training. The team also confirmed minor league deals for Jeff Fulchino, Waldis Joaquin, Carlos Maldonado, Andres Blanco, Jarrett Hoffpauir and Jason Michaels. The Nationals will also invite right-hander Rafael Martin, catcher Sandy Leon and outfielder Corey Brown to Spring Training.

Tracy, 31, owns a .278/.337/.445 line in seven big league seasons, but hasn't produced much at the plate since 2007. The corner infielder spent the 2011 season with the Hiroshima Carp, posting a .235/.293/.336 line in 164 plate appearances. Carroll, 29, has big league experience in each of the past five seasons and can play all three outfield positions. In 322 career plate appearances, he has a .203/.281/.322 line. Paul spent the 2011 season with the Pirates and Dodgers, posting a .255/.292/.346 line in 262 plate appearances.

NL East Notes: DeRosa, Hamels, Martinez, Prado

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Ed Wade is heading back to the NL East after four years in Houston. Here are more links from the division, starting with Wade’s longtime team…

  • Mark DeRosa says he's interested in playing for the Nationals, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson (Twitter links). However, other teams are interested and DeRosa is not close to making a decision.
  • Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. says he's comfortable heading into Spring Training with the team he has, according to Paul Hagen of MLB.com. The Phillies have already made major free agent signings, added complementary players such as Laynce Nix, Jim Thome and Dontrelle Willis and signed players to minor league deals, as our Free Agent Tracker shows.
  • Those who know Cole Hamels doubt he would give the Phillies much of a discount on a potential extension, according to Tyler Kepner of the New York Times. The 27-year-old John Boggs & Associates client posted a 2.79 ERA with 8.1 K/9, 1.8 BB/9 and a 52.3% ground ball rate in 215 innings this past season. He's set to hit free agency after the 2012 season (MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $14MM salary for Hamels in his final season of arbitration eligibility).
  • Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com shows that the Mets already have a projected payroll in the $90MM range. GM Sandy Alderson has suggested the team's payroll could be less than $100MM, so the Mets may not have much offseason shopping remaining.
  • The Mets are interested in catcher Luis Martinez, who was designated for assignment by the Padres on Sunday, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post (on Twitter). The 26-year-old hit .203/.309/.305 in 68 plate appearances with the Padres this past season.
  • The Braves and Rockies have continued discussing a possible deal that would send Seth Smith to Atlanta for Martin Prado, according to MLB.com's Thomas Harding. The Braves appear to be seeing what they can get for Jair Jurrjens first, however. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports examined possible suitors for Smith earlier today, including the Braves despite their preference for a right-handed hitter. 

Nationals Agree To Sign Mike Cameron

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The Nationals have agreed to sign outfielder Mike Cameron to a minor league deal, the team announced (on Twitter). Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the agreement (on Twitter).

Cameron, 39 in January, also drew interest from the Indians recently. His production took a big dip in 2011, when he hit just .203/.285/.359 in 269 overall plate appearances with the Red Sox and Marlins. The advanced metrics continue to rate his outfield defense very well, however. Washington figures to keep looking for a long-term solution in center field, but Cameron represents a solid stopgap player or bench piece.

Blue Jays Favored To Win Rights To Yu Darvish

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10:03pm: The Nippon-Ham Fighters are keeping information of the winning bid "very tight," tweets Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan.  A source tells Passan that Darvish himself doesn't know the price of the winning bid.

6:04pm: There are reports from Japan indicating the winning bid for Darvish was around $48MM, tweets MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince.  Castrovince includes a Blue Jays hashtag on his tweet, but notes that nothing is confirmed about either the bid price or the winning team.

12:24pm: The Nationals did not bid on Darvish, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.

7:43am: The Blue Jays bid more than $40MM and possibly close to $50MM for Yu Darvish and are now favorites to win exclusive negotiating rights with him, George A. King III of the New York Post reports. Multiple sources confirm the Post's report to Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio and ESPN.com, who says the Blue Jays "won the bidding" (Twitter link).

The Yankees also posted a bid on Darvish, but it's not expected to top Toronto's bid, according to King. The Rangers made a bid and there's a belief the Cubs made a large bid, the Post reports. Rogers Communications, which owns the Blue Jays, ordered the team to make a "monster" bid, King reports.

The Nippon Ham Fighters have until 4pm CDT on December 20th to accept or reject the high bid for Darvish. The Fighters don't know the identity of the MLB team that won the bidding on Darvish, but they're expected to accept the bid.

NL East Links: Oswalt, Davis, Cedeno, Cuddyer

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Here's the latest from the National League East…

Gio Gonzalez Rumors: Friday

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No MLB pitcher has walked more opponents in the past two seasons than Gio Gonzalez and he's about to get expensive through arbitration, yet the Athletics are drawing strong interest in the left-hander. In fairness to Gonzalez, he has reached the 200-inning plateau in each of the past two seasons without posting an ERA above 3.23 and capable pitchers aren't easy to find (though Dave Cameron of FanGraphs has an alternative for teams who don't like the asking price on Gonzalez). Here are the latest rumors on Gonzalez:

  • The Nationals are "all but out" of the Gonzalez sweepstakes, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com. The Athletics' asking price is "way out of line," Ladson hears.
  • The Mets told the A's they won't include Jonathon Niese, Ike Davis, Matt Harvey, Jenrry Mejia or Jeurys Familia in a deal for Gio Gonzalez, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
  • The Tigers are on the "outskirts" of the Gonzalez sweepstakes, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. They aren't upbeat about their chances of trading for him.
  • The A's would love to get a future third baseman in a deal for Gonzalez, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Rangers prospect Mike Olt is one possibility.
  • The A's continue seeking a huge package for Gonzalez, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Though the Yankees "love" him, they aren't eager to surrender prospects such as Jesus Montero, Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances.
  • The Rangers, who are pursuing Gonzalez and Andrew Bailey, can be expected to try to trade for Gonzalez or Matt Garza if they don't win the bidding on Yu Darvish, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney also reports that the Rangers are likely to pursue Gonzalez if they miss out on Darvish. He tweets that 20-year-old left-hander Martin Perez would "almost have to be" in a deal between the A's and Rangers.
  • The market for Gonzalez and John Danks may pick up once the winner in the Darvish bidding is announced and the Rays decide which of their starting pitchers are available, tweets ESPN.com's Jayson Stark.

Minor Moves: Baxter, Blanco, Orioles, Michaels

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We'll track today's minor moves here…

  • The Mets signed outfielder Mike Baxter to a minor league contract, according to the team's official Twitter feed.  The deal includes an invitation to the Major League spring training camp.  Baxter, 27, was born in Queens and appeared in 22 games with the Mets last season.
  • The Nationals signed Andres Blanco to a minor league deal, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson. In 82 plate appearances for the Rangers in 2011, the versatile 27-year-old posted a .224/.263/.342 line and played four positions.
  • The Orioles agreed to sign outfielders Antoan Richardson and Lee Cruz to minor league deals, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. Richardson, who briefly played for the Braves in 2011, is one of six players in MLB history from the Bahamas, Crasnick tweets.
  • The Nationals signed outfielder Jason Michaels to a minor league deal, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). Michaels spent the 2011 season with the Astros and posted a .199/.256/.295 line in 169 plate appearances. The 11-year veteran has a career line of .263/.335/.407 and experience at all three outfield positions.
  • The Rockies signed catcher Wilkin Castillo and right-handed relievers Mike Ekstrom and Zach Simons to minor league deals, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). Castillo spent the 2011 season at Triple-A, where he hit .262/.285/.366 in 291 plate appearances. Ekstrom, who appeared in one game for the Rays in 2011, posted a 4.35 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 for Tampa Bay's top affiliate. The 26-year-old Simons posted a 5.46 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9 in 61 innings in the Tigers' and Marlins' systems in 2011.

Nationals Sign Jeff Fulchino

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The Nationals have signed right-hander reliever Jeff Fulchino to a split contract according to his agent Lisa Pierce, reports Zachary Levine of The Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). He elected free agency back in October.

Fulchino, 32, spent last season with the Astros and Padres. He pitched to a 5.71 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 5.2 BB/9 in 34 2/3 innings, getting a ground ball 38.1% of the time. In five big league seasons, Fulchino has pitched to a 4.84 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 163 relief appearances. 

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