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Odds & Ends: Upton, Jackson, Tigers, Lopez

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Friday night linkage..

  • B.J. Upton and the Rays had their arbitration hearing today and the decision from that hearing is expected tomorrow, writes Bill Chastain of MLB.com.  Tampa Bay is offering $3MM while Upton wants $3.3MM.
  • Steve Gilbert of MLB.com tweets that there is still no movement in talks between the D-Backs and Edwin Jackson.  Jackson is seeking $6.25MM while Arizona is offering $4.6MM.
  • If the Tigers ink Johnny Damon, the club may look make a trade to free up their glut in the outfield, writes James Schmehl of MLive.com.  Ryan Raburn and Clete Thomas could be shipped elsewhere in order to make room for Damon in the lineup.  Schmehl also writes that GM Dave Dombrowski may try to move Nate Robertson and Carlos Guillen, though their hefty contracts will be an impediment.
  • Phil Wood of MASNSports.com fails to understand the Nats' interest in pitcher Kris Benson.  The 35-year-old has not pitched a full season since 2006, when he posted a 4.82 ERA with 4.3 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 for the Orioles.
  • Australian catcher Guy Edmonds has signed with the Texas Rangers, according to Christian Nicolussi of The Daily Telegraph.  Nicolussi writes that the 16-year-old has the potential to outperform the country's greatest baseball export, Dave Nilsson.
  • ESPN's Rob Neyer defends Tim Lincecum's signing of a two-year deal with the Giants.  Tiny Tim was seeking $13MM in arbitration with the club.
  • Rangers pitchers Omar Beltre and Alexi Ogando – banned for the past five years due to their involvement in a visa fraud scandal – have received their visas and are expected in Spring Training, according to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.  In total, the Rangers are expecting 56 players in camp.
  • On his website, MetsBlog.com founder Matthew Cerrone was asked by a reader if reporters in the mainstream media "make up" hot stove rumors.  While he says that this is not the case, the seriousness of talks between clubs are, at times, not communicated effectively.  Because of the strange nature of the baseball rumor mill, Cerrone says that he and Tim Dierkes provide an important service to fans by adding context to hot stove rumblings.

Nationals Sign Adam Kennedy

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The Nationals officially signed second baseman Adam Kennedy to a one-year $1.25MM deal today, which includes a $2MM club option for 2011. Kennedy's fate was known to be tied to Orlando Hudson, who signed with the Twins the day before Kennedy agreed to terms with the Nats.

Kennedy, 34, hit .289/.348/.410 in 586 plate appearances for the Athletics last year.  In his career he's been a strong defender at second base, though that was not evident in 2009's 421-inning sample.

The Cardinals released Kennedy in February of '08, eating most of the $4MM owed to him.  The Rays signed him to a minor league deal and traded him to Oakland for a player to be named later in May.  The Rays later received Joe Dillon in that deal.

MLB.com's Bill Ladson first reported the agreement and ESPN.com's Buster Olney added the terms of the deal.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Heyman On Damon, Braves, Wang, Dye

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Jon Heyman of SI.com explains that expectations for Johnny Damon were unrealistically high at the beginning of the offseason. Here's Heyman's latest on Damon and others:

  • Tigers manager Jim Leyland is said to want Damon badly.
  • Heyman hears that the Braves might have $6MM to spend. 
  • Chien-Ming Wang's agent says his client is still a week or so away from deciding where he'll sign. Competitors still expect the righty to sign an incentive-laden deal with the Nationals. 
  • We've heard that the Indians are considering Jermaine Dye; Heyman says he could play some first base in Cleveland. 

Teams That Could Use Rotation Depth

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There isn't much choice for teams in search of starters, but some remaining free agens will provide rotation depth, if not dominance. Mike Hampton, Livan Hernandez, Braden Looper, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, Chien-Ming Wang and Jarrod Washburn are among the starters looking for jobs. Let's take a look at some of the teams with the least rotation depth:

Chien-Ming Wang Rumors: Thursday

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Chien-Ming Wang's agent says his client does not have a formal or informal deal in place with the Nationals, writes Chico Harlan of the Washington Post. Alan Nero says recent reports that indicated a deal was in place are inaccurate.

"We haven't finalized anything with anybody," Nero said.

The Dodgers are no longer pursuing Wang and the Nats appear to be favorites to add the 29-year-old, but Nero says we shouldn't expect a deal for a week or so.

Nationals Favorite For Chien-Ming Wang

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5:49pm: Ken Davidoff of Newsday tweets that the Nationals will guarantee Wang $2MM, with a chance to more than double that through incentives.

12:37pm: Heyman now tweets that the Dodgers have "pulled out of the Wang derby."

10:32am: SI's Jon Heyman tweets that Dodgers execs Ned Colletti and Logan White are watching Wang throw today.  Heyman presumes the Dodgers are the second finalist for the righty.  Still, one Chico Harlan Nationals source seems to believe they're the favorite.

8:59am: MASN's Ben Goessling reports that Wang is still seven to ten days from a decision, and nothing has changed since yesterday.  MLB.com's Bill Ladson tweets that nothing is close between the Nationals and Wang, though they remain a finalist.  Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the Nationals and one other team have made offers.

7:52am: Righty Chien-Ming Wang has chosen the Nationals and is close to a deal, tweets Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.

Wang, 30 in March, had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right shoulder capsule on July 29th of last year.  On January 28th, Wang's agent Alan Nero told ESPN's Jayson Stark that his client is expected to "make a major-league start sometime in the first two weeks of May."  Wang will join Jason Marquis and John Lannan in Washington's rotation, with the remaining spots to be determined during Spring Training.

The Dodgers, Phillies, Cardinals, and Mets were also linked to Wang this winter.

Wang Has Offers, Could Sign Soon

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5:04pm: MLB.com's Bill Ladson reports that the Nationals are "aggressively pursuing" Wang, and that they are one of the finalists for his services. Ladson adds that it's unknown if they've made him an offer, though.

4:02pm: Chien-Ming Wang has received offers from two clubs and could sign soon, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Mets and Dodgers are not among the teams to offer Wang a contract. Rosenthal hears that the 29-year-old Wang would like to play for Joe Torre again, but Torre's Dodgers are lagging behind in their pursuit of the right-hander. As for the Mets, they're even further behind than the Dodgers.

The Orioles have discussed Wang and the Cardinals, Nationals and Phillies have all been connected to him this offseason. Rosenthal says the Blue Jays were in on Erik Bedard and wonders if they could pursue Wang, too.

Wang, who is recovering from arthroscopic shoulder surgery, will likely make a decision within a week or ten days.

Nationals Talk: Guzman, Dye, Hernandez

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MLB.com's Bill Ladson spilled some hot stove goodness in his latest mailbag, so let's round it up with some good old fashioned bullet points…

  • Because he's owed $8MM in 2010, Ladson doesn't see Cristian Guzman getting traded before Opening Day. He'll get another chance to play shortstop because the team realizes his problems last year were due to injuries.
  • Unless he comes in as a fourth outfielder, it's unlikely the Nats will pursue Jermaine Dye. 
  • The only way Ladson sees Livan Hernandez returning to the nation's capital is if they're unable to land a pitcher they really want first. If they do sign him, it would likely occur in Spring Training. 

Nationals Sign Shawn Estes To Minor League Deal

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The Nationals have signed veteran lefty Shawn Estes to a minor league contract according to the AP (via MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez). Estes will earn $600K and could pocket another $400K in incentives if he makes the club.

Estes, 37 later this month, last pitched in the big leagues back in 2008, when he gave the Padres 43.2 innings of 4.74 ERA ball, though his peripherals were ugly (3.9 K/9, 3.7 BB/9). He spent last season with the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate, posting a 3.07 ERA in 13 starts despite similar peripherals. On the bright side, he did hold lefties to a .206 batting average.

Orlando Hudson’s Other Offers

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Orlando Hudson agreed to a one-year $5MM deal with the Twins yesterday, but other teams were in it until the end. Here's a look at the offers the O-Dog turned down to play in Minnesota:

  • The Nationals offered Hudson a $4MM deal that could have reached $5MM with incentives, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
  • The Indians offered Hudson $10MM over two years, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Indians, who have had a remarkably quiet offseason, wanted Hudson on a heavily-backloaded deal. Lots of money was tied up in the buyout of a third year option.
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