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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. 

The Latest On Gio Gonzalez

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The Gio Gonzalez trade rumors have been vast and varied so far this offseason. Here's the latest on the A's left-hander from Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com:

The Mets and Mariners are now among the teams in on Gonzalez, a source tells Rosenthal (Twitter link), while the Marlins, Reds, Red Sox and Rangers remain in the mix.

As well, the Nationals are interested in Gonzalez, according to Rosenthal (via Twitter), who adds that Washington considers White Sox lefty John Danks an alternative. The Nats' focus remains acquiring a left-handed starter after missing out on Mark Buehrle, who signed with the Marlins.

The Mets are an odd addition to the growing list of Gonzalez suitors, as they have been rumored to be open to trading one of their young pitchers, Jonathon Niese. The Mariners, meanwhile, are thought to be seeking offense – including, perhaps, Prince Fielder – although Gonzalez would make for a nice No. 2 or 3, along with Michael Pineda, behind ace Felix Hernandez.

NL East Links: Johan, Cameron, Conrad

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Thirteen years ago today, the Cardinals acquired Edgar Renteria from the Marlins for Braden Looper, Pablo Ozuna, and Armando Almanza. Here's the latest from the NL East…

Minor Moves: Royals, Stavinoha, Santiago, German

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Today's minor moves…

  • The Royals signed Juan Gutierrez to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert (on Twitter).  The right-hander posted a 5.40 ERA with 11.3 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 18 1/3 innings with Arizona this past season.
  • The Astros released Nick Stavinoha so that he can sign with a Japanese team, according to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.  The 29-year-old spent the 2011 season at Triple-A, where he hit .270/.329/.488 in 586 plate appearances.  The Hiroshima Carp are working toward a deal with Stavinoha, according to a Japanese report passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker.
  • The Nationals signed Jarrett Hoffpauir to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson (on Twitter).  Hoffpauir, 28, posted a .281/.356/.428 for the Padres' top affiliate this past season.
  • The Royals announced that the club has granted the release of minor league pitcher Mario Santiago in order for the right-hander to sign a contract with the SK Wyverns of the Korean Baseball Organization.  Santiago, who turns 27 on Friday, split time between the Royals' Double-A and Triple-A affiliates in 2011.
  • Japan's Seibu Lions signed former Rangers utility man Esteban German for $1MM, tweets Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes.  The 33-year-old was removed from the Rangers' 40-man roster in November.

Nationals Sign Waldis Joaquin

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The Nationals signed right-hander Waldis Joaquin to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training, MLBTR has learned. The hard-throwing 24-year-old became a free agent in November after the Giants designated him for assignment. 

Joaquin made 19 relief appearances for the Giants from 2009-11, including five this past season. He spent most of 2011 at Triple-A Fresno, where he posted a 3.44 ERA with 4.9 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 49 2/3 innings. After the season Joaquin pitched in the Dominican Republic to get some work in.

Nationals Interested In Greg Dobbs

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Seeking an upgrade for their bench, the Nationals have expressed an interest in Greg Dobbs according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Ladson also reiterates the team's interest in Mark DeRosa.

Dobbs, 33, hit .275/.311/.389 with eight homers for the Marlins last season, playing mostly third base but also seeing time at first and in both outfield corners. He's a .259/.316/.430 hitter in 316 career pinch-hitting appearances, which would be a huge upgrade over the .186/.291/.240 line Washington's pinch-hitters produced in 2011.

National League Non-Tenders

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Here are this year's National League non-tenders. You can also keep track of all teams with our non-tender tracker and check out our list of non-tender candidates:

East Links: Cespedes, Nationals, Hanley

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Some afternoon reading pertaining to Eastern division teams…

  • The Orioles traveled to the Dominican Republic to scout Yoenis Cespedes this past weekend, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNSports. Among those in attendance were manager Buck Showalter, executive director or international recruiting Fred Ferreira, director of international operations David Stockstill, scout Carlos Bernhardt, and bullpen coach Bill Castro. Kubatko says O's brass is staying tight-lipped about whether or not they'll attempt to sign Cespedes.
  • Kubatko's colleague Pete Kerzel writes that the Nationals could non-tender Jesus Flores, Doug Slaten, and Tom Gorzelanny before tomorrow night's deadline.
  • There have been some reports that the Marlins have discussed trading Hanley Ramirez, but MLB.com's Joe Frisaro writes that the Fish aren't looking to Ramirez and those discussions were all intitiated by other teams.
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