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Archives for February 2010

Astros Extend Ed Wade Through 2012

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The Astros have extended the contract of GM Ed Wade through 2012, reports MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. The official announcement is expected later today.

Wade is entering his third full season as Houston’s general manager. His most notable pickups include Michael Bourn, Jose Valverde, Miguel Tejada, LaTroy Hawkins, Ivan Rodriguez, Matt Lindstrom, and Brandon Lyon. You can find his full trade history here, courtesy of Brendan Bianowicz.

Under Wade, the Astros are exactly .500 with a 166-166 record. Before becoming Houston’s general manager, he held the same position with the Phillies for eight years.

Johnny Damon Rumors: Saturday

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After the White Sox pulled their offer to Johnny Damon yesterday, Braves' GM Frank Wren indicated to MLB.com's Mark Bowman that "Nothing has changed on our end," perhaps meaning that they weren't preparing a last minute offer. At the moment, it appears the only offer Damon and his camp have is from the Tigers, who reportedly offered a deal worth up to $7.5MM with some money deferred. 

ESPN's Buster Olney reported yesterday that Scott Boras wanted one of two things from Tigers' owner Mike Ilitch: a one-year deal that doesn't include any deferred money, or a legitimate two-year deal. 

Cubs Win Arbitration Case Against Ryan Theriot

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The Cubs won their arbitration case against infielder Ryan Theriot according to Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune. He will earn $2.6MM in 2010 instead of the $3.4MM he filed for.

The 30-year-old Theriot hit .284/.343/.369 in 677 plate appearances as Chicago's every day shortstop in 2009. He won't become a free agent until after the the 2012 season.

Mets Trying To Void Waiver Claim On Jay Marshall

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The Mets are trying to void the waiver claim they made on lefty reliever Jay Marshall because of a pre-existing shoulder injury, reports Adam Rubin of The New York Daily News. Marshall was claimed from the A's back in early January, and the commissioner's office is looking into the matter.

Marshall, 27 next week, missed 32 days at the end of last season with tendinitis in his throwing shoulder. In 49.1 big league innings, he's posted a 7.66 ERA with more walks (22) than strikeouts (19), though his minor league numbers are more than respectable. 

Odds & Ends: De La Rosa, Halladay, Astros, Molina

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Let's round up the last of the leftover links from the work week….

Rod Barajas Considering Offers From Mets, Rangers

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FRIDAY, 7:20pm: Barajas is now weighing multiple minor league offers, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. In addition to the Mets' $1MM proposal, Barajas is considering a $1.5MM offer from the Rangers, according to Rosenthal's source.

THURSDAY, 7:57am: Barajas is likely to accept the Mets' offer, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter). The minor league deal would be worth $1MM. 

WEDNESDAY, 12:57pm: Speaking to Brian Costa of the Newark Star-Ledger, a Mets official denied that they're making a "hard push" for Barajas.  They have interest on a minor league deal.

7:40am: The Mets are making a "hard push" to sign free agent catcher Rod Barajas on a one-year deal, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Barajas is the only starter available at the position, and the Mets still have a need.  The Mets offered a low-dollar, minor league deal, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.

Barajas, 34, hit .226/.258/.403 in 460 plate appearances for the Blue Jays last year, earning $2.5MM.  Consider him the poor man's Bengie Molina.

Johnny Damon Rumors: Friday

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7:15pm: Morosi and Ken Rosenthal at FOX Sports provide another Damon update, writing that the Tigers' offer to the outfielder could be worth up to about $7.5MM, with some of it deferred. They acknowledge that it's anyone's guess where the 36-year-old lands, suggesting that the Rays and Braves could still be under-the-radar players for Damon.

5:36pm: Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (via Twitter) that, according to Dombrowski, Williams' comments will not affect the Tigers' approach to Damon.

5:00pm: Let's not rule the White Sox out completely. Williams told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that Damon has until Sunday morning to take the team's last offer.

4:27pm: Williams told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune that Damon and Boras were willing to be creative (Twitter link). Ultimately, Williams says "the total dollars and cents didn't make sense" for the White Sox.

3:41pm: ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that Scott Boras wants two things from the Tigers. First, he's asking them to remove all deferred money from the one-year $7MM deal they have offered. Second, he wants the Tigers to add a second year (Twitter links).

3:26pm: The White Sox have pulled their offer to Damon, reports Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com. White Sox GM Kenny Williams said he had to withdraw it.

"It became clear to us in our recent negotiations that the money that we were offering was not going to be good enough for Johnny at this time," Williams said.

Williams said the White Sox are "very much interested in" Damon. Levine hears that the White Sox offered him $6MM. Levine's sources tell him that the Tigers never offered a two-year deal; they have only offered a one-year $7MM contract.

9:29am: Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski went public with his interest in Johnny Damon yesterday, confirming to Patrick Zier of the Lakeland Ledger that he's offered Damon a contract.  Dombrowski would not discuss the particulars of the offer, though a source of Zier's "would be very surprised if it's for more than one year."

As you know, Scot Gregor of the Daily Herald finds the White Sox an unlikely landing spot for Damon given GM Kenny Williams' plan to "talk about this on Sunday."

ESPN's Buster Olney spoke to one executive involved in Damon talks in recent months who said, "There is so much BS out there, and [I] don't want to contribute to it."

Odds & Ends: Tigers, Branyan, Indians, Beckett

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Links for Friday…

Dodgers Sign Eric Gagne

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The Dodgers have officially signed Eric Gagne to a minor league deal worth up to $1MM. Gagne makes $500K if he breaks camp with the Dodgers and he can earn up to $500K more in incentives based on games and games finished. 

Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times first reported the deal and noted that it was official (via Twitter). Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports added detail on the terms of the deal (via Twitter).

The Rockies offered the 34-year-old Gagne a minor league deal as well, however he apparently preferred the familiarity of the Dodgers' organization. He's returning to where he enjoyed his most big league success, saving 152 games while winning a Cy Young Award during a three year stretch from 2002-2004.

Blue Jays Sign Jose Molina

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The Blue Jays signed Jose Molina to a one-year deal that includes a club option for 2011, according to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. Molina is guaranteed $400K and he makes $400K more if he is on the team's opening day roster. The 2011 club option is worth $1.2MM. The Blue Jays are putting Jesse Litsch on the 60-day DL to make room for Molina.

Molina made $2MM with the Yankees last year, hitting .217/.292/.268 in 155 plate appearances. The 34-year-old has a passable .690 career OPS against lefties, but free agent acquisition John Buck also does better against southpaws (.749 OPS against left-handers, .687 OPS against right-handers). 

The move gives the Blue Jays depth to go along with Buck and Raul Chavez. It's a low-risk signing that gives the Blue Jays the power to keep Molina for two seasons if they like his production. The Blue Jays signed Jose's brother, Bengie, to a one-year $5MM deal four years ago.

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