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Jonny Gomes

Royals Considering Gomes, Thames

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The Royals are looking to add a power hitter, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The bat would slot into right field or the DH spot, depending on the health of Jose Guillen.  Morosi names Jonny Gomes and Marcus Thames as two players of interest who could fit into Dayton Moore's limited budget.

Gomes, 29, was non-tendered by the Reds after hitting .267/.338/.541 in 314 plate appearances.  35% of those PAs came against left-handed pitching, keep in mind.  Gomes would be best-served as a DH, as his limited defensive work in the outfield corners grades poorly.  We haven't heard about much of a market for Gomes, aside from seemingly mild interest from the Reds and Yankees.

Thames, 33 in March, hit .252/.323/.453 in 294 plate appearances for the Tigers and was cut loose in November.  He saw lefties even more often than Gomes.  The main defensive difference between the two is Thames' 239.3 career innings at first base.  The Indians and Blue Jays were named as interested parties in mid-December, though the Tribe may be out after signing Austin Kearns and Shelley Duncan.

Though not mentioned by Morosi, free agents Gary Sheffield and Jermaine Dye also fit the profile of right-handed bats with pop and limited defensive ability.

Olney’s Latest: Chapman, A’s, Yankees, Marlins

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In his blog post this morning, ESPN's Buster Olney notes that evaluators are split on Aroldis Chapman, as some see him as once in a generation talent, while others see extreme risk because of control and makeup concerns. "Where was Randy Johnson when he was that age?" asked one scout, and the answer is in A-ball walking 94 batters in 119.2 innings.

Here's the latest on Chapman, and here are the rest of Olney's rumors…

  • Olney hears that if Oakland doesn't commit to a new ballpark for the Athletics, that commissioner Bud Selig will step in and negotiate a lucrative territorial rights deal with the Giants, similar to what happened with the Orioles when the Nationals moved into town. That could result in the A's getting their long desired San Jose stadium.
  • The Yankees are in no big rush to sign a righty hitting left fielder, and are content to let the market for guys like Reed Johnson and Jonny Gomes play out. Last night we learned that the team had interest in bringing Jerry Hairston Jr. back. 
  • The Marlins continue to scour the free agent market for a closer, however Jose Valverde is too expensive and they aren't expected to bring back Kevin Gregg. 

Pirates Rumors: Dotel, Ankiel, Iwamura

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The Pirates won't spend as much on free agents as their division rivals, the Brewers and Cardinals, but they're still being aggressive. Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Pirates are gaining momentum with Octavio Dotel, though talks with Rick Ankiel aren't progressing as well.

The Pirates, who made initial inquiries on Jose Valverde and Kevin Gregg before talks with the two relievers slowed, have offers out to Dotel and other relievers. As Ed Price reported yesterday, the Pirates are interested in Dotel's former teammate, D.J. Carrasco.

The Pirates aren't willing to promise any free agent – including Rick Ankiel – a starting job. The outfielder's agent, Scott Boras, hopes to find a full-time role for his client, so talks aren't developing, though the Pirates are open to signing the one-time pitcher.

Kovacevic also updates us on a couple former Rays. In this article, we hear that Akinori Iwamura has a release clause in his contract that allows him to become a free agent before he has six years of service time. He'll hit the open market after this year year if the Pirates don't lock him up. Also, the Pirates aren't interested in Jonny Gomes.

Odds & Ends: Yankees, Beltre, Carroll

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Merry Christmas everyone!  It's time to see what news has been left for us under the tree.  I hope there's a vortex football in there for me as well…

  • Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports took a look at the offseason thus far in the National League.  For his portion on the Cubs, Ringolsby writes that they got the better end of the Milton Bradley-for-Carlos Silva swap.
  • Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball counted up the money spent by every team in baseball from 1999-2009, using the end of year salary totals.  Over this stretch, the Yankees have spent 44% more than the number two top spender, the Red Sox.
  • Sam Borden of the LoHud Yankees Blog takes a look at the remaining free agents who could fill the Yankees' vacancy in left field.  Three names that jump out to him: Jonny Gomes, Xavier Nady, and Reed Johnson.  Although Gomes had a strong '09 offensively (.879 OPS), his career defensive metrics leave much to be desired.  Nady, of course, is only an attractive option if healthy.
  • The A's are talking with free agent Adrian Beltre, according to the headline of a post by Mychael Urban of Comcast SportsNet.  We first heard that Oakland was interested a week ago, but "only in an Oakland economy size financial package."  Urban's piece says that Beltre is reportedly seeking $10-15MM per season.
  • Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times writes that Jamey Carroll's contract with the Dodgers does not include the "Ramirez Provision", which is a clause that mandates a donation to the team's charity.  While owner Frank McCourt said that the clause would be standard for all contracts after Manny Ramirez signed his new deal, a grievance filed by the player's union may have caused the Dodgers to ease up on the requirement.
  • The Chiba Lotte Mariners will be sending a representative to California to negotiate with/for Dodgers pitcher Eric Stults, according to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker who passes along the report from Spinochi.  The Japanese club has been interested in Stults for a couple of months and have already been rebuffed by the Dodgers once already.

Odds & Ends: Gomes, Duchscherer, Chapman

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Some links for your Tuesday…

Reds Notes: Gomes, Nix, Amezaga

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Some Reds notes courtesy of John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, who spoke to GM Walt Jocketty…

  • Jocketty says the club is "open" to bringing back recently non-tendered Jonny Gomes. Talking to Gomes last night, Jocketty told the outfielder that they would like to "make it work," but didn't want to be locked in by arbitration.
  • The GM continues to chat with Laynce Nix's agent and says something is "pretty close" to getting done.  Nix elected free agency after being outrighted by the Reds in November.
  • Fay mentioned the name of Alfredo Amezaga, who was non-tendered by the Marlins last night. While Jocketty noted that he is a good athlete, he mentioned that he has trouble staying healthy.

Mariners Notes: LaRoche, Gomes, Cust

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Let's take a look at some Mariners tidbits courtesy of The Seattle Times' Geoff Baker…

  • Recently non-tendered Ryan Langerhans indicated to Baker that his friend Adam LaRoche is being looked at by the Mariners.  Yesterday, it was reported that LaRoche is seeking a three-year, $31.5MM deal.  We've seen some rather surprising deals go down over the years, but does anyone see that as a realistic figure?
  • The aforementioned Langerhans wouldn't rule out the possibility of returning to Seattle on a minor-league contract.
  • As the M's have made it a priority to find a DH who can also play a field position, Baker doesn't anticipate Jonny Gomes, Jack Cust, or Mike Sweeney to land with the club.  As one person told him, "[The Mariners] can't carry two Griffeys."

Reds Rumors: Counsell, Carroll, Gomes

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MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports that the Reds have interest in Craig Counsell. The Brewers have made Counsell an offer, but his versatility and .357 OBP interest other teams.

The Reds like that Counsell can play short, but they worry that another target doesn't have enough recent experience at the position. We found out yesterday that Jamey Carroll would love to play for the Reds, but they feel that Carroll, who hasn't played short since 2007 cannot be relied upon there, so they won't pursue him.

Meanwhile, Jonny Gomes still hopes to return to Cincinnati, but the team hasn't made any progress with its arbitration-eligible outfielder.

Reds Expect To Maintain Payroll

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MLB.com's Mark Sheldon talked to Reds GM Walt Jocketty, who offered up a few hot stove nuggets.

  • Jocketty said the Reds' 2010 payroll will be close to last year's ($73MM).  The Reds are already around $72MM committed before arbitration raises to Jared Burton, Jonny Gomes, and Nick Masset.
  • The Reds did not talk to Gomes' agents last week.  It'd be a surprise to me to see him non-tendered after a .267/.338/.541 campaign.
  • Asked if players would be moved to meet payroll, Jocketty replied, "I don't want to talk about that.  I'm still working on it."
  • The Reds would like to improve their offense and possibly add a fifth starter, but Jocketty does not want to trade young players.
  • My take: Jocketty has a tall order ahead of him, improving the team despite a complete lack of payroll space.  Committing $3MM to Ramon Hernandez was a questionable start.  At this point Jocketty can only create flexibility by trading Aaron Harang, Bronson Arroyo, Francisco Cordero, or Arthur Rhodes.  ESPN's Buster Olney heard from rival executives that the Reds prefer to trade Harang over Arroyo.

Reds Notes: Jocketty, Nix, Gomes

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John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer gathered a few bits of information Saturday from Reds general manager Walt Jocketty:

  • The Reds have made an offer to Laynce Nix, who was outrighted off the 40-man roster this week and elected free agency.  Jocketty believes he "may take it" but first wants to "see what's out there."
  • Jocketty believes the Reds will be able to "get something done" with arbitration-eligible outfielder Jonny Gomes, who hit .267/.338/.541 in 2009 with 20 home runs and 51 RBI. It's not clear if the two sides are talking about a multi-year deal, but that would make some sense.
  • Jocketty also had some nice things to say about the prospects that the Reds added to their 40-man roster on Friday, protecting them from December's Rule 5 Draft.

To track the Reds throughout the offseason, check out MLBTR's team archive.

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