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Nationals To Sign Tyler Walker, Chuck James

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The Nationals officially signed Tyler Walker to a one-year deal that will pay the reliever $650K if he's in the majors and $120K if he's in the minors.  They also added lefty Chuck James on a minor league deal.

Walker, 34 in May, posted a 3.06 ERA, 6.9 K/9, and 2.3 BB/9 in 35.3 innings for the Phillies last year.  He tossed an additional strong 19.3 innings in the minors.  Despite Walker's efforts, the Phillies outrighted him in November and he elected free agency.

James, 28, had rotator cuff and labrum surgery in November of '08 and was subsequently non-tendered by the Braves.  He missed all of 2009, but Rosenthal says Nats assistant GM Roy Clark saw James throwing 88-90 on Saturday.  James was once serviceable, logging a 4.05 ERA over 280.3 innings for the Braves in 2006-07.

Walker and James join a long list of Nationals pitching acquisitions this winter: Jason Marquis, Matt Capps, Brian Bruney, Eddie Guardado, Doug Slaten, Ryan Speier, and Joel Peralta.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the two deals and MLB.com's Bill Ladson and CBS Sports added the value of Walker's contract.

Odds & Ends: Prospects, Livan, Cardinals, Damon

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Some links for Wednesday night…

  • MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo released his list of the top 50 prospects in the game. Jason Heyward and Stephen Strasburg rank one-two.
  • Livan Hernandez sent a contract proposal to Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo back in December, but he never received a response according to a tweet from MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
  • MLB.com's Matthew Leach reports that Cardinals' GM John Mozeliak confirmed that any pickups from here on out would be on the offensive side of the roster.
  • Scott Boras said that "The Yankees never even made an offer to me regarding Johnny Damon during the entire process," according to a tweet from Tyler Kepner of The New York Times. In a second tweet, Kepner says Boras indicated that the two-year, $14MM offer the team reportedly made was conditional on whether or not Nick Johnson would sign. 
  • ESPN's Jorge Arangure reports that 17-year-old righty Rafael DePaula is back on the market after being suspended for a year by MLB after lying about his age. His agent hopes to have him signed within the next 15-20 days, and Arangure mentions that both the Yankees and Red Sox are interested.
  • Pirate relievers Anthony Claggett and Steven Jackson both cleared waivers according to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch, and have been outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis. Claggett was designated for assignment to make room on the roster for Octavio Dotel, Jackson for Ryan Church.  
  • Astros' GM Ed Wade said that signing Wandy Rodriguez to a long-term deal would become a "front-burner discussion for us" if he repeats his 2009 success in 2010, reports MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. Wandy had a 3.02 ERA with an 8.4 K/9 in 205.2 innings last season.
  • Craig Calcaterra of NBCSports.com says that the Braves have discussed Johnny Damon recently, but came up with three reasons why he wasn't a fit.
  • David Murphy of The Philadelphia Daily News lays out the Phillies' payroll commitments for the next four years. As of right now, the team stands to shed almost $70MM off the books following the 2011 season.

Bowden Interviews Rizzo

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Those hoping for drama might be disappointed upon reading the transcript of Jim Bowden's interview with his Nationals GM successor Mike Rizzo.  Still, a few hot stove nuggets emerged from the XM Radio program, which Bowden co-hosted with Seth Everett.  Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post has the details.

  • Rizzo thinks the Nationals will eventually be able to compete for top free agents "once the revenues catch up with the city."  In his defense, they've had some sizeable offers rejected over the last few years.
  • Rizzo said he's talked to the agents for Orlando Hudson and Orlando Cabrera, among others, as the team seeks to improve defensively.  Rizzo described his rotation as "kind of a pitch-to-contact group."  Rotation locks Jason Marquis and John Lannan certainly fit that mold.
  • The Nationals were close on a couple of deals for Josh Willingham, Rizzo indicated.  The Nats GM would consider a trade for a young starter, but is in "no hurry to trade Willingham."

Three Teams In On Orlando Hudson

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Last offseason was disappointing for second baseman Orlando Hudson.  He signed with the Dodgers on February 20th, accepting one year and a $3.38MM guarantee.  He had a decent '09 season, managing to stay healthy and hit most of his incentives.  Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports have the latest on Hudson's search for a new team.

The Nationals and Rays are known to be pursuing Hudson, with the Nats possibly offering more money.  The writers say a mystery team is also in the mix, and speculate on the Twins.  The Rockies could be another match, but Minnesota and Colorado would be looking for a bargain.

ESPN's Buster Olney first reported the Rays' interest in Hudson yesterday, but Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times finds a signing unlikely.  And in an interview with MLB.com's Bill Ladson, Hudson alluded to the Indians and Padres.  Those clubs are considered longshots.

Rays Interested In Orlando Hudson

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9:36pm: Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (via Twitter) thinks "it's unlikely anything happens" between Tampa Bay and Hudson, noting that the Rays are happy with Zobrist, Reid Brignac and Sean Rodriguez at second base.  He does say, however, that the Rays "have interest in [a number] of free agents."

8:12pm: ESPN's Buster Olney reports (via Twitter) that Tampa Bay is "in on Orlando Hudson talks."  The plan would be to install Hudson at second base while Ben Zobrist gets moved to right field.  Olney says that the move "all depends on the price," which would presumably have to be significantly lower than Hudson's $9MM asking price.

The Nationals have been considered to be the leaders in the Hudson sweepstakes this winter, and MLB.com's Bill Ladson was told today by a source that the Nats "have a good chance" of signing the free-agent second baseman due to Hudson's close ties to Adam Dunn and Willie Harris. 

Ladson also went straight to the horse's mouth and talked to Hudson himself, who told Ladson that "progress had been made."  The interview also included this interesting passage from Hudson that cited two other teams in the hunt:

"I will sign soon enough. You can put it on the Internet and on TV. I'm going to sign. I can't say exactly when. It will not be long. I can't say if it's with the Nationals, San Diego or Cleveland. I can't say with whom. Something is getting done."

The Padres could be a longshot if, as MLB.com's Corey Brock tweeted earlier today, they've completed their winter shopping following the signing of Jon Garland.  The Tribe also seem like unlikely suitors given Hudson's contract demands.

Odds & Ends: Hudson, Turnbow, Delgado, Nady

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Links for Tuesday…

  • Orlando Hudson is "making progress on signing with a team," tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson, however Hudson declined to name the team. In separate tweet, Ladson says a source told him that the Nationals top Hudson's wish list.
  • ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that the Diamondbacks and Rockies are pursuing Derrick Turnbow, who could sign soon.
  • MLBTR's resident translator Nick Collias passes along this report from Esteban Rivera of the Puerto Rican newspaper Primera Hora, in which Carlos Delgado says that the Mets, Orioles, and Royals "have seen him [play] on the island." Omar Minaya said there is still a mutual interest in bringing Delgado back to New York, tweets ESPN's Jorge Arangure
  • The final offer Scott Boras presented the Yankees with for Xavier Nady was worth $5MM, tweets Joel Sherman of The New York Post. He adds that the Yanks would have considered him at the price he signed for today, and that they'll only do a minor league deal for Rocco Baldelli (via Twitter).
  • Now that Ben Sheets has signed with the A's, Ken Rosenthal at FoxSports.com tweets that the Mets' next target appears to be John Smoltz. A source tells him they haven't aggressively pursued Jon Garland. 
  • MLB.com's Brian McTaggart mentions that the Astros and Wandy Rodriguez are set to go an arbitration hearing on February 17th. Wandy filed for $7MM, the team $5MM.
  • Meanwhile, Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle breaks down the Astros' offseason in a video.
  • Rick Ankiel said that the Nationals, Marlins, and Yankees were in it until the end, reports Doug Tucker of The Brownsville Herald.
  • Cody Ross' arbitration hearing has been scheduled for February 15th, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. Ross is seeking a $4.45MM salary in 2010, but the Marlins are countering with $4.2MM.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney wrote about baseball's internal discussions on how to fix the draft, including some notes about what was discussed at the recent general managers meeting (sub. req'd).
  • In a mailbag, MLB.com's Kelly Thesier says the Twins payroll appears to be right around $90MM, and they don't seem willing to spend much more than that.    
  • Meanwhile, Lyle Spencer of MLB.com writes in his mailbag that the Angels "appear to have stretched the salary budget to its limit," so don't expect any more major moves.
  • Ken Davidoff of Newsday lists what he thinks are the best run organizations in baseball (sub. req'd). There's 15 of them, however ten are from the AL while just five come from the NL. 
  • John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer looks at the list of remaining free agents, and sees only one fit for the Reds: Orlando Cabrera. He's probably too expensive for them at this point, however. 
  • MLB.com's Marty Noble says in a mailbag that he doesn't believe the Mets' current roster and the Opening Day roster will be the same, but he's not sure where the club can turn to improve.

Nationals Sign Chris Duncan

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The Nationals signed outfielder Chris Duncan on January 19th, according to the team's official transactions page.

Duncan, 29 in May, hit .227/.329/.358 in 304 plate appearances for the Cardinals last year before being traded in July to the Red Sox for Julio Lugo.  He was released from the Triple A Pawtucket club about a month later.

Talking to Rob Rains of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat in December, Duncan's agent Barry Meister suggested his client's neck injury and surgery caused his poor performance in 2008-09.  Duncan hit .273/.358/.527 in his first two seasons with the Cards.  It's been a busy offseason for the Duncans, as Dave re-upped as Cardinals pitching coach and Shelley landed with the Indians.

Odds & Ends: Byrdak, Rangers, Storen

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Sunday night links..

  • The Astros have agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.6MM with pitcher Tim Byrdak, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.  The dollar figure is the midpoint between Houston's offer and Byrdak's submission.  The agreement leaves Wandy Rodriguez as the team's last remaining arbitration eligible player.
  • Boston's international scouting efforts are starting to yield some results, writes Daniel Barbarisi of The Providence Journal.  Of the twelve minor leaguers at this year's rookie development program, six of them were foreign-born.
  • Jon Heyman of SI (via Twitter) hears that Chuck Greenberg's group will pay $570MM for the Texas Rangers, though he notes that is unconfirmed.
  • While all eyes are on Stephen Strasburg in Washington, right-hander Drew Storen is trying to make the Opening Day roster, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com.  The Nationals used their other first-round selection, tenth overall, to select Storen in the 2009 draft.

Odds & Ends: Rangers, Hudson, Loretta, Pence

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More Saturday linkage..

  • Ty Wigginton of the Orioles will likely see his number of at-bats decrease after the team's signing of Miguel Tejada and Garrett Atkins.  Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com says that the 32-year-old could be a trade candidate in Spring Training.
  • The sale of the Rangers to Chuck Greenberg's group is complete and an announcement is forthcoming, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
  • Phil Wood of MASNSports.com understands the Nats' pursuit of Orlando Hudson, but not their reported interest in Orlando Cabrera.  Hudson is reportedly seeking $9MM per season whereas Mike Axisa estimates that Cabrera can be had for $3MM.
  • Veteran infielder Mark Loretta is expected to retire this week and take a job with an unspecified major league club, writes Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.  The 38-year-old, who spent 2009 with the Dodgers, has a career .754 OPS.
  • Brian McTaggart of MLB.com writes that signing Hunter Pence to one-year, $3.5MM deal makes sense for Houston.  McTaggart senses that there is some kind of a groundswell of support by Astros fans to lock up the 26-year-old, but the club still has three years of contractual control to make such a deal happen.
  • Signing Brad Penny saved money for the Cardinals, writes Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  While it may seem as though Penny's $7.5MM deal is similar to Joel Pineiro's two-year deal that will pay him an average of $8MM per season, the extra year on Pineiro's contract didn't fit into the Cards' budget.
  • Due in part to the team's overload of left field options, top Reds prospect Todd Frazier could see some time at shortstop this season, writes John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.  Frazier played shortstop in his time at Rutgers University but was moved to the outfield as he was considered to be "too big for the spot."  GM Walt Jocketty said that there will be open competition for the role of starting shortstop, though Fay says that it will likely go to the light-hitting Paul Janish.

Nationals Interested In Orlando Cabrera

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The Nationals have interest in free agent Orlando Cabrera, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson. They view him as a possible second baseman if they're unable to land the other Orlando, as in Orlando Hudson.

We really haven't heard too much about the 35-year-old Cabrera at all this offseason. He hit .281/.316/.389 last year for the A's and Twins, though his defense at short was among the worst in the game according to UZR. Considering the deals that players like Alex Gonzalez and Jerry Hairston Jr. have gotten this winter, Cabrera seems to be in line to pull down about $3MM in 2010.

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