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Archives for November 2010

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Barmes, Thornton, Braves

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Links for Thursday night..

NL East Notes: Willingham, Werth, Phillies

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Let's take a look at a few items on the Nationals and Phillies..

  • A baseball source familiar with the Nats' thinking tells Bill Ladson of MLB.com that Josh Willingham will most likely be traded before 2011.  Yesterday, we learned that the Nats are unlikely to offer the outfielder an extension this winter.  Washington controls Willingham for one more season and the slugger's agent Matt Sosnick says that his client has no animosity towards the club.
  • An interesting note from the Philadelphia Inquirer's Bob Brookover: Phillies GM Ruben Amaro referred to outfielder Jayson Werth in the past tense when addressing the media today.  Most believe that the Phillies are not interested in retaining the 31-year-old, who is sure to fetch hefty offers on the open market.
  • Little surprise here, but Amaro says that the club's recent signing of Dan Meyer to a minor-league deal will not preclude them from getting other left-handers, Brookover writes.  The GM has made no secret of the fact that he is after left-handed relief this winter and has begun to show interest in Hisanori Takahashi.

The Latest On Mets Managerial Search

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Mets executives concluded their second round of managerial interviews today when they met with Wally Backman and Terry Collins, writes ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin.  While they did not specify the reason, the club has told SNY to get ready for a press conference on Tuesday, tweets Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record.

Collins has been rumored to be the favorite for the job but Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter) says that he is somewhat unsure of his chances as the 61-year-old spoke today about being helpful to the Mets in any role.  Sherman tweets that he still believes Collins is the slight favorite over Bob Melvin and Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (via Twitter) also sees Collins as the frontrunner.

Backman told Rubin that he felt that the interview went "very good" and remains focused on securing the Mets managerial post.  However, Backman will likely wind up managing the club's Single-A or Double-A affiliates as the three runners-up are expected to remain in the organization.

Tigers Sign Joaquin Benoit

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Talk about rebuilding value.  The Tigers officially signed righty reliever Joaquin Benoit to a three-year, $16.5MM deal today, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  He can earn another $1MM per year in incentives.  It's the biggest contract for a non-closer reliever since Scott Linebrink's four-year, $19MM pact with the White Sox three years ago.  Benoit's last contract had been of the minor league variety with the Rays, but now he'll be paid $5.5MM annually.  The contract is another big score for the Levinson brothers at ACES, who also did the deals for John Buck, Brandon Inge, and Jhonny Peralta. 

Benoit was one of baseball's best bargains in 2010, as he posted a 1.34 ERA, 11.2 K/9, 1.6 BB/9, 0.9 HR/9, and 38.9% groundball rate in 60 1/3 innings.  Benoit was available cheaply because he was coming off rotator cuff surgery performed in January of 2009.  The Rays will receive a supplemental draft pick for their loss. 

This time around, the Tigers had to pay full sticker price with a commitment reminiscent of the Astros' three-year, $15MM deal with Brandon Lyon a year ago.  Benoit will set up for Jose Valverde in 2011, and could close in the following seasons.  The Tigers' biggest offseason deals are yet to come, as they're expected to add a big bat or two.  Tip of the hat to MLBTR's Mark Polishuk, who correctly predicted the Tigers would sign Benoit. 

Benoit is off the board, but right-handed relief remains a strong suit of this year's free agent class.

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports was first to report the near-agreement, while ESPN's Enrique Rojas added details.

Brewers Notes: Weeks, Free Agency, Trades

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We've already heard that the Brewers are leaning toward keeping Prince Fielder this offseason. Here are the rest of the day's Brewers rumors:

  • Rickie Weeks is open to discussing an extension with the Brewers, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Jon Heyman of SI.com reported yesterday that the Brewers were set to start talking about a potential deal with the second baseman.
  • The Brewers will not pursue free agent starters aggressively, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Instead, they'll look to add pitching through trades. Acquiring top starters without dealing Fielder will be a major challenge for GM Doug Melvin.

Vazquez Would Like To Pitch For Marlins

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Javier Vazquez has told associates that he’d like to pitch for the Marlins, according to Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The right-hander would like to return to the National League and Florida has added appeal, since Miami is relatively close to Puerto Rico, his home country.

Vazquez has become the Marlins’ top pitching target, but they may not be able to afford him. Rodriguez hears that Vazquez has received some offers that could price him out of the Marlins’ grasp. After struggling through the 2010 season, Vazquez wasn’t expecting to see offers like the ones he’s getting, though it's unclear what those offers actually look like.

Minor Deals: Royals, Dumatrait, Bailey, Larish

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We'll keep you posted on all of today's minor deals right here:

  • The Royals officially announced that they signed right-hander Steven Shell and outfielder Brett Carroll to minor league deals. The team also re-signed Luis Mendoza, Julio Pimentel, Cody Clark, Irving Falu, Mario Lisson and Jamie Romak to minor league deals.
  • The Twins signed left-hander Phil Dumatrait to a minor-league deal, according to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The 29-year-old has a 7.06 ERA in 109 2/3 career innings, most of which he logged for the Pirates. Dumatrait has walked 65 and struck out 68 in his big league career. He started 8 games at Triple-A for the Tigers in 2010, walking more batters than he struck out.
  • The Twins also signed former Red Sox Jeff Bailey to a minor league deal. Bailey batted .289/.387/.462 in 564 plate appearances for Arizona's Triple-A affililate last year. The former second-round pick has 176 minor league home runs to his name.
  • The Phillies signed Jeff Larish to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki (on Twitter). The 28-year-old batted .179/.267/.313 in 75 plate appearances for the Tigers and A's in 2010. He has played first, third and left field in his three-year MLB career.

Orioles Interested In Bartlett, Hardy

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The Orioles have discussed potential trades for Jason Bartlett and J.J. Hardy with the Rays and Twins, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. The Orioles discussed trading David Hernandez to the Rays for Bartlett, but the deal seems unlikely at this point. 

Hardy is a non-tender candidate after a 2010 season in which he missed time with a bruised wrist and batted .268/.320/.394 in 375 plate appearances. The 28-year-old continued to play strong defense, according to UZR.

Like Hardy, Bartlett is heading into his final year as an arbitration eligible player. He earned $4MM in 2010, while Hardy made $5.1MM. Bartlett batted .254/.324/.350 in 532 plate appearances. If they trade the 31-year-old, the Rays could pencil Reid Brignac in at short.

O’s president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail wouldn’t comment on specific players, but said he has had some “productive disucssions” at the GM Meetings in Orlando. The team could still bring back free agent shortstop Cesar Izturis.

Visit The MLBTR Forums

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The offseason is in full swing, and you've got plenty of opinions.  The MLBTR Forums is the perfect place to contribute to a discussion with other diehard hot stove fans.  We've got over 7,700 members and counting.  You'll find areas for actual trade rumors, speculative trades, free agents, the draft, prospects, general baseball discussion, fantasy baseball, and all 30 teams.  Sign up today!

Heyman On Prince, Pavano, Reynolds

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The Brewers are leaning toward keeping Prince Fielder this winter, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Not surprisingly, manager Ron Roenicke wants the big first baseman in his Opening Day lineup. Here are the rest of Heyman's rumors (all links go to Twitter):

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