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Archives for February 2010

Rockies Offer Eric Gagne Minor League Deal

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Eric Gagne has an offer for a minor league deal from the Rockies, according to MLB.com's Thomas Harding (via Twitter). We heard earlier in the week that the Rockies were in the mix, with the Dodgers involved, too. Gagne threw for Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd and Jim Tracy, his former manager, but he has also thrown in front of the Dodgers, who are still in the mix.

Gagne, 34, hasn't been effective in the majors since the first part of the 2007 season. He pitched in the Can-Am league last year and is looking to return to the big leagues.

Russell Branyan Rumors: Thursday

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2:10pm: The Rays are in the running for Branyan, but not for Chan Ho Park, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.

8:13am: Russell Branyan has a major league offer from the Indians, but the Rays are seriously fighting the Indians for the first baseman's services, according to Peter Gammons (via Twitter). It isn't clear which club the 34-year-old slugger will choose, but he does appear to be down to the Indians and Rays.

MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince hears (via Twitter) that the Indians are still waiting to see if Branyan will accept their offer. 

Angels, Aybar Avoid Arbitration

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The Angels avoided arbitration with shortstop Erick Aybar, signing him to a one-year deal worth at least $2.05MM, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times. Aybar can earn $100K in bonuses if he makes 625 plate appearances this year.

The sides agreed on a deal $200K below the midpoint. The Angels had offered $1.75MM and Aybar countered with $2.75MM. This is Aybar's first season as an arbitration-eligible player. He isn't expected to hit free agency until after the 2012 season.

Aybar, who turned 26 last month, hit .312/.353/.423 in 556 plate appearances for the Angels last year. He added value in nearly 1200 innings at short last year, posting a UZR/150 of 7.6.

Ruiz, Anderson Drawing Interest, Could Sign Soon

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Jose Julio Ruiz is drawing more interest than fellow Cuban first baseman Leslie Anderson, reports ESPN.com’s Jorge Arangure Jr.. Ruiz has attracted interest from many teams, including the Red Sox and his agents have fielded multiple offers. It’s unlikely that the 25-year-old will sign before Monday, but he could sign soon. Some teams wonder if Ruiz could hit in the majors immediately.

Anderson worked out in Mexico last week, but the nine teams that watched the 27-year-old were generally unimpressed. One interested executive called the showing "mediocre at best." Still, Anderson could sign with a big league club within a week.

Here are a few other notes from Arangure Jr.:
  • Eduardo Salcedo, an 18-year-old infielder, could be cleared to sign with MLB teams sometime this week. If everything goes through, the D’Backs and Braves will be among the teams interested in signing him. The bidding could reach $2MM for the shortstop-third baseman.
  • The Pirates agreed to sign 17-year-old Dominican outfielder Willy Garcia for $280K. 
  • The D’Backs signed 17-year-old Dominican outfielder Socrates Abrito for $190K.

Heyman On Yankees, Park, Lincecum

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Jon Heyman of SI.com expects the Yankees to reach resolution with Joe Girardi, Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter without much fanfare after the season. Heyman imagines a three or four year deal for Jeter at $20-25MM per season. Here are the rest of his rumors:

  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman says he's confident in Curtis Granderson's defense. "We still have him as a plus defender," Cashman said.
  • The Yankees could add Chan Ho Park, who the Cubs and Rays are eyeing, too. 
  • If the Rays add Park, they would likely be done and Russell Branyan could be out of luck. A Rays person tells Heyman the club has enough money for one signing only.
  • The Giants never offered Tim Lincecum anything more than a three-year deal. Heyman hears that the club offered Lincecum $36MM, not $37MM, as we heard earlier. 

Johnny Damon Rumors: Thursday

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White Sox GM Kenny Williams told Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald that he won't discuss his club's interest in Johnny Damon until Sunday. It's unclear what that means, but Gregor suspects it means Damon has chosen the Tigers.

Early in the day yesterday it seemed that Damon was moving slowly towards a deal with the Tigers. But the White Sox appeared to gain momentum as the day went on, though their $4.5MM offer is nothing spectacular. Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times tweeted that the White Sox were going from long shots to frontrunners. 

And we've heard lots about Damon's wife, but the outfielder says the decision is up to him.

Astros Win Arbitration Hearing With Wandy

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The Astros won their arbitration hearing with Wandy Rodriguez, according to MLB.com's Alyson Footer (via Twitter). Rodriguez will earn $5MM in 2010, instead of the $7MM he was asking for.

Rodriguez, 31, pitched to a 3.02 ERA in 205.2 innings for the Astros last year, with 8.4 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9. The lefty won't become a free agent until after the 2011 season.

Shapiro To Become Indians President, Antonetti GM

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Indians GM Mark Shapiro will become team president after the season and assistant GM Chris Antonetti will become GM. Current president Paul Dolan will become team chairman and CEO at that point. 

Jim Duquette of MLB Home Plate first reported the move (via Twitter). MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince added detail and noted that the deal had become official (via Twitter). Last July, Jon Heyman of SI.com suggested this change could occur sometime.

Antonetti, 35, has already taken on many day-to-day GM responsibilities, according to Castrovince. The executive oversees player development, pro scouting, information systems, statistical analysis and video scouting. He joined the Indians in 1999 and turned down the chance to become Cardinals GM after 2007. 

Shapiro started with the Indians in 1992 and replaced John Hart as team GM in 2001. Shapiro's Indians won 635 regular season games, losing 661. The Indians won the AL Central in 2007 but lost to Red Sox in the ALCS. Click here to check out Shapiro's trade history and here to look back at one of his most successful deals.

Cards Could Spend, Waiting For Now

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The Cardinals have spent big this offseason, but they have one bullet left. Team officials hope to see David Freese, Brendan Ryan and Tyler Greene take over on the left side of the infield, though they haven’t ruled out free agent additions. As GM John Mozeliak tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, free agent position players want to sign soon, so interested teams have limited time.

“When you look at it in the terms of looking outside the organization the clock is definitely ticking on the free agent market,” Mozeliak said. “But there is a name or two there that could still fit the bill should we need to go down that path."

Felipe Lopez qualifies. The free agent infielder is coming off a strong season and the Cardinals are interested along with the Padres and two other teams, according to FOX Sports. Mozeliak and other unnamed team officials say the Cards would like to see what Greene can do as Ryan recovers fully from his recent wrist surgery.

Johnny Damon Rumors: Wednesday

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11:06pm: Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune hears from a team source who says he can imagine Damon signing with the White Sox. "I think we have a good shot to get him now," the source said.

Another person discounted the importance of Damon's recent golf outing with Pierzynski and Harrelson.

6:26pm: Joe Cowley talks to Pierzynski about the Damon negotiations, and Cowley quotes an unnamed member of the White Sox who says "I would be surprised if [Damon] didn't sign with us.''

4:13pm: Rosenthal tweets that the present-day value of Chicago's offer to Damon is in the $4.5MM range, considering deferrals.  He's hearing that Damon doesn't want to go to the Tigers.  As for Damon's wife's preferences, the player texted to SI's Jon Heyman that "It's up to me.  She's going wherever I go."  Cowley tweets that the Sox "are going from long shots to frontrunners in the Damon sweepstakes the last few hours."

12:02pm: Rosenthal wrote yesterday that "some with the White Sox are confident that a deal with Damon could happen, and believe it might even be close."  Similarly, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes today that "the White Sox front office is feeling like they may have 'significantly' closed the gap between themselves and Detroit for the free agent's services."  However, Cowley has one source that still considers the Tigers the frontrunner.  Also, Scot Gregor of The Daily Herald believes the Braves are still in the mix.

8:50am: Yesterday we heard from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that free agent Johnny Damon played golf Monday with White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski and broadcaster Hawk Harrelson.  The Sox remain firm on their initial offer, one that could be slightly above $4MM according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.  SI's Jon Heyman tweeted this morning that White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf recently got involved in the Damon talks.  Gonzales notes that the White Sox-Scott Boras relationship appears to be thawing, given the Damon talks, the Andruw Jones signing, and the Sox drafting a Boras client in the 16th round of last year's draft.

Meanwhile, Lynn Henning of the Detroit News says the Tigers and Damon "appear to be moving, at less than full speed, toward a deal."  It seems that one of these two clubs will sign Damon, but it's difficult to peg a frontrunner.

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