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Rays Notes: Desmond Jennings, Carlos Pena

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Talking to Jim Bowden of MLB Home Plate (Twitter link), Rays Senior VP of Baseball Operations Gerry Hunsicker said it would take extraordinary circumstances for top prospect Desmond Jennings to play in the Majors this year.  Jennings is regarded by most as the sixth-best prospect in the game, and it seemed quite possible that he'd muscle his way into the outfield picture this summer.  If Jennings is expected to remain in Triple A, perhaps Carl Crawford is less likely to be traded (although maybe a Crawford trade qualifies as an extraordinary circumstance).

Both Crawford and Carlos Pena will be eligible for free agency after the season, and Hunsicker told Bowden it will be very difficult to retain both.  Rays owner Stuart Sternberg is on record saying, "We're going to do everything we can to make sure [Crawford] stays here longer."  And Rays president Matt Silverman said the team is currently focused on Crawford, with talks ongoing.  That doesn't necessarily make Pena a midseason trade candidate, as the Rays need his bat to contend.  Pena told Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times today that he hopes to stay with the Rays beyond 2010 and is extremely grateful for the opportunity no matter what happens.

Heyman On Blalock, Crawford, Reynolds

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The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…

  • Heyman writes that the Rays and Marlins are thought to have interest in Hank Blalock.  We discussed Blalock here; his prospects are dim now that the Indians, Orioles, Braves, and Pirates have gone in different directions.
  • Heyman notes that the Yankees love Carl Crawford and that could be one reason they were reluctant to give Johnny Damon a two-year deal.  We discussed Crawford's situation earlier today.
  • The Diamondbacks offered Mark Reynolds an extension to cover his first three arbitration years, in the $11MM range.  That'd be quite a concession, since he should easily top $5MM in his first arbitration year.
  • Heyman tweets that the Braves and Reds "could be in the mix" for outfielder Garret Anderson.  Presumably, Anderson is in line for a minor league deal.  He was linked to the Dodgers before they signed Reed Johnson.

Carl Crawford Enters Contract Year

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Rays executive Andrew Friedman will probably address Carl Crawford's contract situation next week, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The 28-year-old outfielder is slated to earn $10MM in 2010 before he reaches free agency.  Rays owner Stuart Sternberg said on Friday, "We're going to do everything we can to make sure he stays here longer."

Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times spoke to Crawford, who would prefer not to negotiate during the season.  Crawford hopes to stay with the Rays, but also noted that "you go [to free agency] to be paid like the guys playing against you."

In a January article, ESPN's Buster Olney noted that Crawford "may turn out to be one of the big beneficiaries" of teams' increasing emphasis on defense.  Disciples of UZR might suggest Crawford is worth north of $15MM a year, potentially more than a quarter of the Rays' projected 2011 payroll.

Rays Links: Soriano, Crawford, Pena, Branyan

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Rays links are plentiful this afternoon…

Odds & Ends: Phillies, Iannetta, Braves

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Links for Tuesday…

  • Phillies' GM Ruben Amaro said a lefty reliever and another starter are still on his wish list, according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.
  • Troy Renck of The Denver Post provides the details of Chris Iannetta's contract extension. The backstop can void the $5MM club option for 2013 if he is traded anytime before then.
  • Braves' GM Frank Wren said he's looking for just "one more small piece" to fill out his club's offensive needs, tweets MLB.com's Mark Bowman. Bowman notes that the Braves need a primary pinch hitter.
  • Adrian Beltre will take his physical on Thursday, tweeted Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports.
  • Joel Sherman of The New York Post provides some thoughts on the Mets' deal with Jason Bay. He notes that the team's scouts "contend Bay is a better defender than (Matt) Holliday," despite what the metrics and people outside the organization say.
  • The Giants designated defensively-skilled shortstop Brian Bocock for assignment to make room for Juan Uribe, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.
  • ESPN's Keith Law sees "very little downside" for the Red Sox with the Adrian Beltre deal.  He notes that Boston's defense should be terrific this year.  Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says Beltre is "in the conversation of the best defensive third baseman of all time."  WEEI's Rob Bradford says the Red Sox considered signing Beltre after the '04 season, and even discussed trying him at shortstop.  Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe says Beltre is, at the least, an upgrade over Casey Kotchman.
  • Ken Davidoff of Newsday feels the Mets could raise payroll in 2011, so they won't be limited because of Jason Bay's contract.  By the way, Bradford has the transcript from Bay's press conference today.
  • Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball notes that the ten-day arbitration-filing period begins today.  MLB.com's Doug Miller highlights the biggest eligible names.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney suggests the Giants and Mets have been the slowest to adapt to advanced stats.  He also notes that the proliferation of better defensive metrics could greatly benefit Carl Crawford as a free agent next offseason.
  • MLB.com's Brian McTaggart talked to Astros GM Ed Wade, who said the trade market isn't great because of all the remaining free agents.  Also, Wade is focused on one-year deals for arbitration-eligible players such as Michael Bourn, Wandy Rodriguez, and Hunter Pence.
  • With Matt Holliday inching toward a large contact with the Cardinals, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks at other $100MM deals given to outfielders.
  • MetsBlog's Matthew Cerrone has a summary of Peter Gammons' appearance on WFAN this morning.
  • R.J. Anderson of DRays Bay interviewed Dan Feinstein, the Rays' Director of Baseball Operations.

Odds & Ends: Mora, Figgins, Tejada, Rangers

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Links for Day 2 of the Winter Meetings, which are taking place in Indianapolis…

  • Add Robb Quinlan to the list of utility men on the Rockies' radar, according to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.  Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports names Melvin Mora as another target.  MLB.com's Lyle Spencer tweets of interest from the Twins in Quinlan.
  • The Mariners' deal for Chone Figgins is official, tweets the Brock & Salk show. The team press release notes it's a four-year deal with an option for 2014.
  • Cardinals manager Tony La Russa acknowledged interest in Miguel Tejada, talking to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  By the way, Astros GM Ed Wade is certain he won't re-sign Tejada, tweets Alyson Footer.  Tejada apparently wants multiple years.
  • MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan says the Rangers are considering free agent catchers such as Rod Barajas, Jason Kendall, Yorvit Torrealba, and Jose Molina.
  • WEEI's Alex Speier passes along Scott Boras' comments from an XM Radio appearance.  Boras discussed Matt Holliday, Johnny Damon, Ivan Rodriguez, and Adrian Beltre. 
  • The Brewers are discussing relievers Kevin Gregg and Mike Gonzalez at least internally, writes MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.  The Crew recently lost reliever Mark DiFelice for the 2010 season.  Gonzalez would cost good money and the Brewers' second-round pick (currently #50).
  • Yahoo's Kevin Kaduk asks whether Twitter is helping or hurting the Winter Meetings.  My opinion: hurting.  The information crush was tolerable when reporters all got blogs a few years back, but now it's excessive.  Of course, we're not helping.
  • Jamey Carroll would love to play for the Reds but hasn't received an offer yet, writes MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
  • The D'Backs offered Chris Snyder to the Rangers for C.J. Wilson and were turned down, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  Wilson tweets that he's "borderline offended" by Arizona's offer.
  • The Pirates have had further talks with free agent hurler Justin Duchscherer, says Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but don't expect him to sign soon.  We learned yesterday that the Rockies have cooled on Duchscherer.  Kovacevic also reports that despite scouting Aroldis Chapman, the Pirates are not a player for him.  ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. indicates that Chapman will be showcased in Houston later this month.
  • The Rays and White Sox discussed a Carlos Quentin–Carl Crawford trade, says Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.  Manager Ozzie Guillen implies that nothing is cooking on that front though.  The two clubs also discussed closer Bobby Jenks, but the Rays did not like the asking price.
  • Angels GM Tony Reagins admitted to interest in Hideki Matsui, reports Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times.  Keep in mind, though that the Japanese press is apparently grilling every GM on Matsui.  Reagins also said he hasn't ruled out re-signing Vladimir Guerrero.
  • Carl Pavano explained his decision to accept arbitration from the Twins, in an email to Kelsie Smith of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.  La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune suggests retaining Pavano makes Glen Perkins expendable.
  • The Rangers are not interested in trading for Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit, reports MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch.

Tigers Notes: Needs, Cabrera, Jackson, Granderson

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Steve Kornacki takes a late-night look at what Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski needs heading into the Winter Meetings. Not surprisingly, help at the back of the bullpen, a spark plug at the top of the lineup, and a shortstop top Kornacki's list. Here's the highlights of the piece:

  • With Brandon Lyon and Fernando Rodney expected to receive multi-year offers, Detroit will need to address its bullpen. Kornacki doesn't like the Tigers chances to sign the two. Lyon's agent has "guaranteed" his client will receive multiple years.
  • The Tigers could re-sign glove man Adam Everett if a shortstop can't be had via trade. Everett had yet another strong season at shortstop, posting a 13.6 UZR/150. They've also been linked to Bobby Crosby, but I don't think any team would feel comfortable entering the season with Crosby as their primary shortstop option.
  • Kornacki would be surprised to see Miguel Cabrera dealt anywhere. "Nothing even remotely possible has been reported," writes Kornacki.
  • If Edwin Jackson or Curtis Granderson is dealt, it will be in to make the team better and not to slash payroll. With Seattle's recent agreement with Chone Figgins pending, if the Angels want to acquire Granderson to fill the leadoff spot, the price may have just gone up.
  • Kornacki says the biggest offensive need is a leadoff man, and suggests scenarios for both Juan Pierre and Carl Crawford.
  • Kornacki suggests packaging Jackson and Carlos Guillen to bring Pierre and George Sherrill to Detroit.
  • He suggests a one-for-one swap of Granderson for Crawford, provided Dombrowski can extend Crawford. The thinking there is that Granderson will be more affordable for the Rays down the line.

Kornacki finishes up by reminding how active Dombrowski was at last year's meetings. If you'll remember, he acquired Gerald Laird on day one, signed Adam Everett two days later, and on the final day sent Matt Joyce to Tampa Bay in exchange for Jackson. He also spent a great deal of time attempting to acquire J.J. Putz.

Kornacki opines that the biggest move will come somewhere we're not looking, which always makes for fun discussion. Any thoughts on what Dombrowski may have up his sleeve? If you're still up with me, let's hear it in the comments.

Odds & Ends: Crawford, Hernandez, Tigers

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Some news tidbits that aren't arbitration-related on this busy day in the majors…

  • Rays general manager and executive VP Andrew Friedman told Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times that the team has no plans to deal Carl Crawford, and said that the "mutual goal" of both Crawford and the Rays was to work out a long-term contract.
  • From Topkin's same post, he notes that Tampa Bay won't go after an established free agent closer this winter but relief pitching is still the club's top need.
  • Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi use the Marlins' negotiations with Josh Johnson as a springboard to speculate about how much it would cost Seattle to sign Felix Hernandez to an extension.
  • CBS Sports' Danny Knobler discusses how the Tigers aren't acting very desperate for a team that's allegedly having a fire sale.
  • MLB.com's Bill Ladson says that Ron Villone might be the only Nationals free agent who the team would want back in 2010.
  • Marc Carig of the New Jersey Star-Ledger reports that if any free agents are curious about playing for the Yankees, Derek Jeter says they're welcome to call and ask him any questions they might have.  Jeter could save himself some time by simply mailing every prospective free agent a picture of his hand wearing five World Series rings.

Cafardo On Lowe, Red Sox, Millwood

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As usual, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe brings us a Sunday morning column with some info from around the league. Let's check out a few highlights….

  • Derek Lowe likes pitching for the Braves and would prefer to stay in Atlanta, but acknowledges that he doesn't have much control over the situation. "I understand this is a business and I know the Braves have some things they’d like to do," Lowe told Cafardo. "I hope I can be here because I really enjoy it."
  • Cafardo doesn't think that Roy Halladay will be a Red Sox next season. He can't see a trade happening "unless some sense of realism overtakes the Blue Jays" and they lower the asking price for their ace.
  • Boston's "ideal scenario" according to Cafardo is signing John Lackey and then dangling Clay Buchholz to acquire a bat. Ideal, maybe, but probably not likely.
  • Although the Marco Scutaro-to-Boston rumors have gained momentum since Toronto signed Alex Gonzalez, the Red Sox could still explore other options, such as dealing for Stephen Drew or signing Adam Everett.
  • Given Carl Crawford's strong leadership role in the Rays' clubhouse, Cafardo speculates that the team could eventually bite the bullet and pony up the money to extend Crawford's contract.
  • The Brewers have inquired about Kevin Millwood, but the Rangers haven't actively tried to move the righty.
  • The Giants, Rangers, and Orioles are among the teams who have Miguel Tejada on their radar.

Rays Rumors: Crawford, Upton, Zaun

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Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times has the latest on the Rays' offseason plans. The highlights:

  • The Rays are said to be interested in discussing a long-term extension with Carl Crawford. If the team does decide to move him, however, the Mets and Braves have expressed interest.
  • The Rangers and White Sox are among the teams interested in acquiring B.J. Upton.
  • Executive VP Andrew Friedman on his team's offseason targets: "We have a list of guys on other teams we have an interest in, and a list of free agents as well. And depending on how the market evolves on both fronts, it will go a long way toward shaping our thought process…. We feel like there are a lot of talented names out there."
  • Smith notes that the Rays have a history of signing relievers who are coming off injuries or down years. He mentions Kevin Gregg and J.J. Putz as a couple of possibilities in that realm.
  • The club could be open to bringing back Gregg Zaun and giving last season's catching platoon of Zaun and Dioner Navarro another try.
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