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Rosenthal On Cubs, Greinke, Beltre, Pavano

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The Mariners could presumably ask for a king’s ransom in exchange for Felix Hernandez, but Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports thinks Seattle should build around the reigning Cy Young Award winner, not trade him. Here are the rest of Rosenthal's rumors:

  • The Cubs are still willing to trade Kosuke Fukudome, but they’d likely have to cover some of the $13.5MM the outfielder is set to earn in 2011.
  • Were it not for his salary, the Reds might be a more serious suitor for Zack Greinke. However, a rival executive says Cincinnati is “tapped out,” payroll-wise.
  • The Nationals’ pursuit of Greinke has slowed and one source says it’s because of the team’s reluctance to include Jordan Zimmermann in a potential deal.
  • Adrian Beltre remains a “focus” for the Angels.
  • The Rangers, however, are more inclined to re-sign Vladimir Guerrero and add a first baseman than pursue Beltre, according to Rosenthal’s sources.
  • Don’t expect Texas to spend on a top free agent reliever, even if Neftali Feliz moves to the rotation.
  • Kerry Wood wants a two-year, $12MM deal, Rosenthal reports.
  • Another former Yankee, Carl Pavano, is searching for considerably more. He wants a three-year deal worth $10-11MM per season, one GM says. The Rangers are not pursuing Pavano right now.

Carl Pavano Rumors: Tuesday

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With Cliff Lee off the market, Carl Pavano is the best available free agent starter – putting aside Andy Pettitte and those trying to bounce back from injury.  The Yankees won't be entertaining a reunion, but we can't rule out the Rangers for Pavano now.  The latest on the righty:

Orioles Still Have Offer On Table For Gregg

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2:48pm: Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun tweets that the Orioles have not made a two-year, $12MM offer to Gregg and they don't feel a deal is imminent.  They've still got a two-year offer in the $8-10MM range on the table.

2:44pm: The Orioles are close to a two-year, $12MM deal with reliever Kevin Gregg, reports ESPN's Joe McDonald.  He notes that the Red Sox and Nationals are still involved in talks with Gregg, but the Orioles are the frontrunner.

The potential Baltimore deal is the same as the one they struck with Mike Gonzalez a year ago, and I think they'll have similar regrets in overpaying for saves again.  Gregg, 32, posted a 3.51 ERA, 8.8 K/9, 4.6 BB/9, 0.6 HR/9, and 42.3% groundball rate in 59 innings this year.  He saved 37 games in 43 tries, an improvement on his 76-77% success rate of the previous two years.    

Nationals Reach Agreement With Matt Stairs

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The Nationals reached an agreement on a minor league deal with Matt Stairs, according to the team's Twitter feed.  Stairs has assumed a pinch-hitter role in the last few seasons, hitting .232/.306/.475 in 111 plate appearances for the Padres in 2010.  He holds the big league record with 23 career pinch-hit home runs.  Stairs, 43 in February, was originally signed by the Expos as an amateur free agent in 1989.

Zack Greinke Rumors: Monday

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10:30pm: The Yankees are reluctant to pursue Greinke if Cliff Lee signs elsewhere, according to Heyman (on Twitter). Jack Curry of the YES Network reports that the Yankees won't make Greinke their Plan B, though they have discussed him (Twitter link). Heyman suggests the Yankees will spend aggressively on relievers if they don't sign Lee.

12:09pm: Royals GM Dayton Moore is "actively gauging" the trade market for Zack Greinke, reports ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.  Moore "has focused on adding up-the-middle position players who are close to major league ready," and the Yankees, Rangers, and Brewers are not considered among the best matches.

The Blue Jays and Nationals have been actively pursuing Greinke, and the Jays theoretically do have the players to pull off a deal if the righty's no-trade clause can be addressed.  However, ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted on Saturday that the Blue Jays "have no intention of giving up Kyle Drabek and Travis Snider" for Greinke.

Brett Gardner's name has come up in talks between the Royals and Yankees, according to Crasnick. 

SI's Jon Heyman covers Greinke today as well, adding that the Dodgers have been linked to him and the Angels could make sense.  Heyman feels that the Yankees do have the players "to form a respectable deal."

Nationals Aggressively Pursuing Greinke, Garza

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The Nationals are "aggressively pursuing" a trade for Matt Garza or Zack Greinke, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. However, Kilgore’s source doesn’t expect Washington to trade for either pitcher. Earlier today, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reported that Royals GM Dayton Moore is actively gauging the market for Greinke.

The Rays and Royals could have interest in Ian Desmond and Jordan Zimmermann, but the Nationals are not likely to move either player. However, Kilgore hears that the team would move Danny Espinosa “in a heartbeat.” Roger Bernadina would be available and it’s possible that the Nationals would consider trading Drew Storen or Sean Burnett, according to Kilgore.

Rosenthal On Werth, Bill Hall, Cliff Lee

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports leads his latest column by contrasting the value of Zack Greinke and Matt Garza.  Though Greinke is widely viewed as the superior pitcher, Garza comes with an extra year of control at similar overall money.  Either righty would require a huge trade bounty.  On to Rosenthal's other rumors…

  • Jayson Werth's contract includes decent-sized bonuses for strong finishes in the MVP voting.
  • The Dodgers are in discussions with Bill Hall to be their primary left fielder.  Rosenthal feels that such a signing would be the team's last significant move.  Hall's last strong season as a regular was 2006, the 35 home run campaign for the Brewers that earned him a $24MM contract.
  • Rosenthal tweets that the lack of state income tax in Texas has minimal impact in the Cliff Lee talks, since Lee would reside in Arkansas instead.  Rosenthal feels that the income tax-related savings the Rangers could promote would be balanced by a higher salary from the Yankees plus endorsements.  George A. King III of the New York Post offers a similar take.

Cliff Lee Rumors: Sunday

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If Nolan Ryan is right in believing that Cliff Lee will weigh his options this weekend and come to a decision Monday, we'll have to wait at least another day before hearing anything concrete on Lee. In the meantime, here are the rumblings on the left-hander since yesterday….

  • The Nationals are officially out on Lee, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
  • Christian Red of The New York Daily News hears from a source that the Lee situation "should get resolved early this week."
  • SI's Jon Heyman tweets that there are "strong indications" of a third team being involved in the Lee discussions, but conventional wisdom still says it's between the Rangers and Yankees.
  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman tells Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger that "nothing has happened as of yet" regarding Lee's decision.
  • Sherman's colleague, George A. King III writes that the Yankees will not increase their offer to Lee again. The Yankees have extended three offers, the longest of which is believed to be in the seven-year, $160MM range.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post opines that Lee and agent Darek Braunecker have "used time expertly" to discomfort the Yankees and force them into upping their offer one last time prior to sealing the deal (Twitter link).
  • We heard on Saturday that some Yankees officials were expressing "a bit of skepticism" about the team's chances of landing Lee. ESPN.com's Buster Olney says the same thing today in his Insider-only blog. According to Olney, one Yankee exec told another team's GM that he figures the odds of New York signing Lee are about 50-50.
  • Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal explains how Texas' tax rates mean the Rangers could effectively match the Yankees' offer without actually matching it. Ken Belson of the New York Times made a similar observation earlier this weekend.
  • Rangers manager Ron Washington thinks Lee will be back in Texas in 2011, as Tom Spousta of the Dallas Morning News writes.
  • Ken Davidoff of Newsday examines some of the oft-repeated theories about Lee's decision, attempting to determine which ones are legitimate.

National News: Lee, LaRoche, Pavano, Webb

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Let's round up the latest from the nation's capital, courtesy of MLB.com's Bill Ladson…

  • The Nats have expressed interest in free agent first baseman Derrek Lee, echoing a report from yesterday.
  • All of their eggs are not in one basket however, Ladson says the team also maintains interest in Adam LaRoche. It appeared that a deal between the two sides was a go last week, but obviously nothing came from it.
  • "We will explore both options, so it expands our pool a little bit more," said GM Mike Rizzo, referring to short and long-term first base options, not Lee and LaRoche. "I don't ever want to feel rushed to do a deal. I think when you feel rushed to do a deal, you make a deal that you may not have wanted to do. So we are going to look at our options. We feel there are still good options out there, and we will see where they take us."
  • The Nats are still in on Carl Pavano and expect talks to get serious this week. Two days ago we learned that Washington wasn't thrilled with the idea of offering the right-hander a multiyear deal.
  • Brandon Webb "remains excited" about the Nationals, and the two sides talked during the winter meetings.

Odds & Ends: Arroyo, Varitek, Angels, Werth

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The Red Sox officially introduced Carl Crawford to Red Sox Nation at a press conference this morning, but that's not the only hot stove news today…

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