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Odds & Ends: Lowe, Tigers, Halladay, Capps

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Links for Monday…

  • MLB.com's Mark Bowman says the Braves made it known they were willing to eat $9MM of the $45MM owed to Derek Lowe over the next three years, but found no takers.
  • MLB.com's Jason Beck talked to Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski, who said nothing has changed in terms of using Scott Sizemore as the second baseman.  Beck points out that if the Tigers wanted a veteran at the position they probably would've offered Placido Polanco arbitration.
  • Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik told Murray Chass they he expressed interest in Roy Halladay a couple of times, before the trade deadline and at the Winter Meetings.  It sounds like Halladay's no-trade clause was an obstacle.
  • Chico Harlan of the Washington Post has a Q&A with new Nationals reliever Matt Capps, who agreed to a one-year, $3.5MM deal on Christmas Eve.  MLB.com's Bill Ladson tweets that Capps' physical is scheduled for Tuesday.
  • Baseball America's Jim Callis gives us a couple of prospect "All-Bust" teams for the 2000s.
  • MLB.com's Todd Zolecki notes that the Phillies have a minor league offer out to Scott Eyre.
  • MLB.com's Mark Sheldon talked to Reds GM Walt Jocketty, who will be looking at minor league deal possibilities.  Sheldon indicated that the Reds' interest in Noah Lowry is now less than minimal.
  • MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan fills us in on the Rangers' offseason plans and potential targets in his mailbag.
  • Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues would like to see the Yankees buy low on Oakland's Travis Buck.  Buck made our list of right field trade candidates back in November.

GM Trade Histories: NL East

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Brendan Bianowicz is back with a bunch of updates to the GM Trade History series.  The Excel spreadsheets linked below cover each GM's trades, free agent signings, and top draft picks via tabs along the bottom.  It's interesting to see each GM's most frequent trade partner – for example, Omar Minaya has matched up with Larry Beinfest and Mark Shapiro most often in his career.

Odds & Ends: Bay, Guardado, Yankees, Marlins

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Let's round up some lingering Tuesday links….

Odds & Ends: Bay, Holliday, Bruney

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Monday night linkage..

  • Daniel Barbarisi of The Providence Journal points out that Boston giving Jason Bay a backloaded contract would do nothing to keep them out of luxury tax territory.  Payroll is calculated by totalling the average yearly earnings of a player, not a player's year-to-year salary.  However, Barbarisi offers up a number of other ways the Red Sox could retain Bay without getting hammered by the luxury tax.
  • Chuck Brownson of The Hardball Times writes that the Cardinals can afford to be patient with Matt Holliday as long as alternatives remain on the open market.  Brownson feels that Mark DeRosa signing with the Giants put a little more pressure on St. Louis.
  • Brian Bruney told Bill Ladson of MLB.com that he wants to close for the Nationals in 2010.  Bruney will have to compete with newly acquired Matt Capps for the role.

Nationals Reach Agreements With Bruntlett, Whitesell

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The Nationals agreed to terms on minor league deals with infielder Eric Bruntlett and first baseman Josh Whitesell, according to a team press release.

Bruntlett, 32 in March, was acquired by the Phillies in November of '07 along with Brad Lidge.  Bruntlett hit .171/.224/.238 in 118 plate appearances this year while playing all around the diamond.  The Phils released Bruntlett in November and replaced him with Juan Castro.

Whitesell, 28 in April, hit .194/.346/.287 in 133 plate appearances for the D'Backs this year as well as .293/.398/.471 at Triple A.  He raked at Triple A in '08, and has at times shown an impressive ability to draw walks.  Whitesell came up through the Expos organization, but was claimed off waivers by the D'Backs in March of '08.  According to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert, the D'Backs were unable to sell Whitesell's rights to a Japanese team and non-tendered him at the December 12th deadline.

Nationals Sign Eddie Guardado

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The Nationals signed veteran left-hander Eddie Guardado to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training. The deal is now official, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com. Fellow Nats beat writer Chico Harlan of the Washington Post reported that the sides agreed to a minor league deal, and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports first reported that a deal was close.

Guardado, 39, posted a 4.46 ERA, 4.7 K/9, and 3.5 BB/9 for the Rangers in 38.3 innings this year after signing a minor league deal in February. He battled shoulder and knee injuries and mulled retirement after the season. Guardado had a preference for the West Coast, but presumably the opportunity wasn't there.

The Nats, who also signed Matt Capps this week, add an option for tough NL East lefties like Chase Utley and Ryan Howard; Guardado has allowed just a .228/.273/.372 line against left-handed hitters in his 17-year career.

Ben Nicholson-Smith also contributed to this post.

Royals Sign Brian Anderson

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The Royals signed outfielder Brian Anderson to a one-year, Major League deal worth $700K.  He can earn another $100K in incentives.  MLB.com's Scott Merkin broke the news yesterday, while Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports added contract details.  Anderson was acquired by the Red Sox from the White Sox for Mark Kotsay and cash on July 28th, and non-tendered on December 12th.

Anderson, 28 in March, has a career line of .227/.290/.370 in 883 plate appearances, mostly with the White Sox.  He's mainly played center field in his career, and the Royals probably represented his best opportunity for big league playing time.  The Royals will have the chance to retain Anderson beyond 2010 as an arbitration-eligible player.

Merkin notes that the Cubs, Nationals, and Reds had also expressed interest in Anderson.

Odds & Ends: Vazquez, A’s, Orioles, Marlins

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A few links…

  • ESPN's Keith Law rated David Ortiz signing with Boston as the best free agent pickup of the decade. Darren Dreifort's deal with the Dodgers was the worst, and he called the Erik Bedard trade the biggest of the decade. That last one is certainly debatable; I prefer the Bartolo Colon for Grady Sizemore (plus others) deal.
  • Interestingly, Yankees' GM Brian Cashman noted today that the club tried to acquire Javier Vazquez from Arizona after 2005 and the White Sox after 2008, “but we just didn’t match up," reports Chad Jennings of The Journal News.
  • Bruce Jenkins of The SF Chronicle says that the A's are winning the battle of the Bay Area this offseason. Of course, the regular season is the battle you really want to win.
  • Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports that Orioles' president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said "My guess is I wouldn't think we'll be doing anything anytime soon, which is not to be interpreted as not doing anything between now and Sarasota." The O's finalized the Garrett Atkins deal today.
  • MLB.com's Joe Frisaro writes about the Marlins' first base situation, noting that there's certainly no shortage of in-house options.
  • Bill Ladson of MLB.com tweets that the Nationals continue to show interest in righty John Smoltz, "but they are not willing to break the bank to get him."
  • Coco Crisp's physical with the A's was delayed because of travel issues, so the announcement of his signing will have to wait says Susan Slusser of The SF Chronicle. 
  • Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball takes a look at the growth of player salaries over the last decade.
  • Here's some news on a different kind of contract negotiation: According to the AP (via ESPN) MLB and the umpires hope to have a new agreement in place tomorrow, which will allow for greater flexibility with postseason assignments.

Nationals Notes: Garland, Orlando Hudson

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So far this winter the Nationals have traded for reliever Brian Bruney and signed starter Jason Marquis and catcher Ivan Rodriguez.  They're a finalist to sign reliever Matt Capps.  They've also added Joel Peralta, Jamie Burke, and Doug Slaten, among others.  What's next for GM Mike Rizzo? 

  • Chico Harlan of the Washington Post says the Nats initially targeted Jon Garland, but Garland prefers to sign with a West Coast team.  He should have some options if he's willing to take a one-year deal in the $6-7MM range.
  • MLB.com's Bill Ladson tweets that the Nationals still have interest in free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson.  Signing Hudson would mean keeping Cristian Guzman at shortstop.

Nationals Sign Jason Marquis

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The Nationals signed starting pitcher Jason Marquis to a two-year, $15MM deal today.  MASN was first to report the agreement yesterday, with MLB Network's Hazel Mae adding the length and Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News tweeting the value.  The Phillies and Mets were other clubs reportedly in the mix for the 31-year-old righty.  Back on December 15th, Marquis explained to MLB.com's Bill Ladson that he found the ability to mentor the Nats' young pitching staff appealing.

Marquis racked up 216 innings for the Rockies this year with a 4.04 ERA, 4.8 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, and 55.6% groundball rate.  The Rox will receive a supplemental draft pick for their loss.  I have to wonder if Marquis agreed in advance to turn down their arbitration offer.

My take: this is an uninspired move by the Nationals.  I understand that an innings-eater is needed to take pressure off young pitchers, but it's likely that similar pitchers will be available in March at a fraction of the commitment.  Plus, unlike an Erik Bedard type gamble, Marquis doesn't have upside.

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