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Stark On Tigers, Angels, Werth, Rangers

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Teams have money to spend this offseason and ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark explains which clubs will spend more than others and what they’re going to devote their resources to. Here are the details:

  • The Tigers, who announced the Victor Martinez signing today, are still “prowling” for a right-handed corner outfielder. Scott Boras clients Jayson Werth and Magglio Ordonez could be options for Detroit. 
  • One AL executive predicts that the Angels will “spend their butts off."
  • Teams will be surprised if Carl Crawford doesn’t end up with the Angels, who could add Adrian Beltre, too.
  • The Red Sox appear to be the favorites to sign Werth.
  • Other clubs expect the Rangers to pursue Crawford or Zack Greinke if they can’t sign Cliff Lee.
  • The Orioles, Nationals, A’s, Brewers and Pirates are also looking to spend this offseason.

Olney On Dunn, Lee, Greinke, Jeter, Pena

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The Rangers have money to spend and ESPN.com's Buster Olney suggests they could spend it on Adam Dunn. GM Jon Daniels could pursue Carl Crawford or another free agent if Cliff Lee signs elsewhere, but Dunn would provide the Rangers with a formidable power threat. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:

  • The Rangers' priority is still to sign Lee.
  • Rival executives see Texas as the team that's most likely to acquire Zack Greinke from the Royals. 
  • To create leverage with the Yankees, Derek Jeter will need another club to make a significantly better proposal than the three-year $45MM deal the Yankees are offering. Needless to say, it will be difficult for agent Casey Close to find such an offer for a 36-year-old coming off a down year. 
  • Olney hears that the Nationals are the most enthusiastic team about signing Carlos Pena.

Minor League Transactions

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Here's a look at some notable names involved in minor transactions between November 16-21, as compiled by Baseball America's Matt Eddy…

  • Left-hander Scott Rice signed with the Cubs.  Rice was picked 44th overall by Baltimore in the 1999 amateur draft, but has yet to get a cup of coffee in the majors after appearing in 377 minor league games.
  • Right-hander Jon Huber re-signed with the Dodgers.  Huber last pitched in the majors in 2007 with Seattle.
  • Veteran right-hander Scott Patterson re-signed with the Mariners.  Patterson has four major league games to his name, with the Padres and Yankees in 2008.
  • The Marlins re-signed Vinny Rottino, and also signed relievers Victor Garate and Frank Mata.  The Fish also removed right-hander Brett Sinkbeil from their 40-man roster.  Sinkbeil was Florida's first-round pick (19th overall) in the 2006 draft, drafted ahead of such notables as Daniel Bard, Joba Chamberlain and Chris Perez.
  • Former Tigers outfielder Jeff Frazier signed with the Nationals.  Frazier made his major league debut with Detroit last season, posting a .511 OPS in 24 plate appearances.
  • The Orioles removed right-hander Armando Gabino and first baseman Rhyne Hughes from their 40-man roster, and Gabino elected free agency.  Gabino has a 15.12 ERA in 8 1/3 major league innings with Baltimore and Minnesota.  Hughes posted a .530 OPS in 51 plate appearances for the O's last season.
  • Pittsburgh released a number of minor leaguers, including a few notable international players.  Taiwanese prospects Sheng-Cin Hong and Chih-Wei Hsu, both signed by the Pirates at the start of the 2009 international signing period, have been let go by the club.  Also released was Dinesh Patel, signed by Pittsburgh in 2008 after being a finalist on the Indian reality show "Million Dollar Arm." Patel, a cricket player, had never pitched or even picked up a baseball before appearing on the show.
  • The Rangers reinstated Nathan Haynes from the inactive list and released the outfielder.  Haynes hasn't actually played since 2008.  Drafted 32nd overall by Oakland in the 1997 amateur draft, Haynes never caught on in the bigs, managing 95 career plate appearances with the Angels and Rays in 2007-08.
  • Right-hander Chad Reineke, best known for being traded straight-up for Randy Wolf in 2008, has re-signed with the Reds.
  • The Tigers outrighted Fu-Te Ni to Triple-A and removed the Taiwanese southpaw from their 40-man roster.  Ni had an impressive 2.61 ERA in 36 outings in his 2009 rookie season, but his ERA ballooned to 6.65 in 22 games with Detroit last year.

Renck On De La Rosa, Floyd, Nationals

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Troy Renck of the Denver Post shared a few Rockies-related items and opinions with his Twitter followers today.  All links within quote marks are tweets unless noted otherwise…

  • Renck feels it's "highly unlikely" that Jorge de la Rosa will re-sign with Colorado.  As we heard last week, the Rockies aren't prepared to offer the free agent starter anything more than a three-year contract, and one of the many clubs interested in De La Rosa will offer him at least four years.
  • Renck personally would have pursued De La Rosa had he been the Rockies GM, but he thinks the club should "shift toward" trading for Gavin Floyd and acquiring two of Kevin Kouzmanoff, Jose Lopez or Josh Willingham.  Kouzmanoff and Lopez have drawn some interest from the Rockies already.
  • The White Sox "like Ian Stewart," Renck said in regards to rumors from earlier in the week that Chicago and Colorado had at least discussed swapping the third baseman for Floyd.  Stewart would give the Sox some left-handed pop, possibly in a third base platoon with Dayan Viciedo.
  • Also noted in Renck's previous Twitter link was the fact that the Nationals "want pitching in every trade. Either big league pitching or guys who are close [to the majors]."
  • Type A free agent Carl Pavano will turn 35 in January and would cost the Rockies a draft pick to sign him, but Renck feels Pavano is "worth the risk" if the Rockies can't get Floyd.

Minor Deals: Parraz, Mattheus, Boggs

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We'll keep track of the latest minor deals right here:

  • The Red Sox claimed outfielder Jordan Parraz off of waivers from the Royals, the teams announced. The 26-year-old has yet to appear in the majors, but he posted solid numbers at Triple-A last year. In his second stint at Omaha, he batted .266/.350/.410 with 27 doubles.
  • The Royals also outrighted right-handers Gaby Hernandez and Victor Marte to Omaha.
  • The Nationals announced on Twitter that they outrighted right-hander Ryan Mattheus to Triple-A.
  • The Brewers signed Brandon Boggs, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (on Twitter). The 27-year-old outfielder hasn't played much in the past two seasons, but he posted a .733 OPS in 334 plate appearances for the 2008 Rangers.
  • The Mariners and Astros also made minor deals today.

National League Free Agent Arbitration Offers

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11 National League teams have free agent arbitration offer decisions to make, and we'll group them in this post.  For a fantastic customizable chart with all 65 Type A/B free agents and their decisions in real-time, click here.

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Boras, Francisco, Dunn

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Links for Tuesday night, one year after the White Sox signed Omar Vizquel. One year later, the White Sox have already re-signed the 43-year-old infielder for 2011… 

Vazquez Seeks One-Year Deal; Marlins In Pursuit

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Javier Vazquez wants a one-year deal, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark. The right-hander could be looking to re-establish his value and hit the open market a year from now in search of a bigger payday.

Vazquez has turned down at least one offer worth about $20MM over two years, according to Stark. The Nationals, Cubs and Rockies have expressed interest in Vazquez, but another club appears to be in the lead for his services.

Talks with the Marlins have gotten "hot," according to Stark. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports confirms on Twitter that the sides had extensive discussions about a deal. We heard last week that there's mutual interest between the team and the pitcher, partly since the Marlins play relatively close to Vazquez's native Puerto Rico. 

The Yankees offered Vazquez arbitration, but he appears to have agreed to turn it down and, because he is a Type B free agent, no team will have to surrender a pick to sign the 34-year-old.

Justin Upton Rumors: Tuesday

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Only two or three teams have the players to make a Justin Upton deal work, Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers told MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.  Towers added, "We're not talking about getting A-ball prospects back. It would have to be players that could help us in 2011."  Towers expects to know whether Upton will be traded before the end of the Winter Meetings (December 9th).  Diamondbacks president and CEO Derrick Hall predicted, "I think he'll probably be here on Opening Day."

Two GMs who spoke with Towers told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that Towers is growing more pessimistic about trading Upton.  Rosenthal's sources say possible suitors like the Reds and Nationals "do not appear to match up for one reason or another."  ESPN's Buster Olney wrote today that the Marlins, Rays, and Blue Jays are thought to be in the best position to make a deal.

We learned yesterday that the Mariners, Athletics, Tigers, and Royals are on Upton's no-trade list.

Cafardo On Crawford, Lee, Upton, Dodgers

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This week's Sunday Baseball Notes piece from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe is packed with juicy hot stove tidbits. According to one of Cafardo's major league sources, the Angels have had "serious talks" with Carl Crawford. The team's front office has been mum on the subject, but they've long been viewed as a strong potential suitor for the speedy outfielder. When five MLBTR writers predicted free agent destinations, all five guessed Crawford would sign with the Halos. Here are some of the other highlights from Cafardo's column:

  • "Word is" that the Yankees are currently willing to offer Cliff Lee about $115MM over five years. Cafardo says the Rangers are aiming to match whatever the bidding gets up to, while the Nationals are also still in the hunt. Earlier in the week, Nolan Ryan said he didn't expect Texas to be able to outbid the Yanks for Lee.
  • One National League scout said if he had limited trade chips to put toward a big bat, he'd acquire Adrian Gonzalez over Justin Upton. Gonzo is, as the scout notes, currently a "much better hitter," though he's also five years older than Upton and only under contract through 2011.
  • While Cafardo adds Kansas City to the list of teams who have "considerable interest" in Upton, we learned Friday that the 23-year-old can block a trade to the Royals.
  • The Dodgers would like to add a veteran "who can step up and be vocal when times are tough." Cafardo speculates that A.J. Pierzynski, Juan Uribe, or Johnny Damon could be a good fit.
  • The Dodgers are also considering signing a low-cost starter, and haven't ruled out bringing back Vicente Padilla.
  • "More and more teams" in need of middle infield help are eyeing Uribe.
  • The Nationals and Giants, in addition to the Orioles, have some interest in trading for Jason Bartlett. The Rays are looking for young bullpen help in return.
  • Mark Prior, attempting to make it back to the bigs, has three teams waiting on his decision, according to his agent, John Boggs.
  • Not all of the clubs who are showing interest in acquiring Marco Scutaro would necessarily use him at shortstop. The Dodgers could have interest in Scutaro as a second baseman, Cafardo says.
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