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Juan Uribe

Rosenthal On A’s, Westbrook, Uribe, Soriano

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You’ve heard by now that the A’s acquired David DeJesus, but he was far from the only bat they considered trading for. GM Billy Beane was after Josh Willingham and considered making a deal for Dan Uggla, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The A’s probably aren’t done adding offense. Beane told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he’d still like to make an upgrade or two (Twitter link). Here are the rest of Rosenthal’s rumors.

  • The Red Sox aren’t likely to offer Adrian Beltre a five-year deal.
  • The Cardinals are still in contact with Jake Westbrook, but they would prefer to reach a two-year deal and Westbrook might be able to get three years from another club, so talks appear to be losing momentum.
  • Orlando Cabrera and Juan Uribe are already drawing more interest than they did at this time last year, according to Rosenthal.
  • The White Sox are checking in on Rafael Soriano and, as Rosenthal points out, that’s yet another sign that they’re open to trading or non-tendering Bobby Jenks.

Giants Notes: Sandoval, Huff, Uribe, Burrell, Crawford

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It's been less than a week since the Giants were crowned World Champions, but GM Brian Sabean has already started to act on his offseason agenda. Here's the latest from San Francisco, courtesy of Andrew Baggarly of The Mercury News…

  • Sabean was very explicit in saying that Pablo Sandoval will be sent to the minors next year if he doesn't improve his conditioning. Kung Fu Panda will spend the winter with fitness and nutrition experts in San Diego before reporting to Spring Training a month early. He will have benchmarks to meet this offseason.
  • Sabean has reached out to the agents for Aubrey Huff and Juan Uribe, and although he acknowledged that both players are priorities, he couldn't commit to bringing them back. The market could play out very favorably for those two.
  • The team is currently discussing Pat Burrell internally, who would be brought back in a reserve role if anything. Remember that the Giants will have Mark DeRosa and his righty bat back from injury next season.
  • Sabean's priority is to get more left-handed, and when asked about Carl Crawford, he responded "We'll see. That's the best answer I can give you."
  • Sabean also said that he's still upset about being portrayed as a suitor for CC Sabathia two offseasons ago, claiming he never met with the player or his representatives. "[W]e do not want to be somebody’s fallback or stalking horse to be used as leverage," said the game's longest-tenured GM.
  • Baggarly doesn't think the Giants will be serious players for Jayson Werth, and their desire to get more athletic could take them out of Adam Dunn sweepstakes.
  • The team's payroll is expected to eclipse the $100MM mark for the first time, and Sabean wouldn't commit to offering arbitration to all eight of his eligible players. He is interested in bringing them all back, however.
  • It almost goes without saying, but Sabean is hopeful that the World Series victory will make San Francisco a more desirable landing spot for free agents. 

Odds & Ends: Mets, Giants, Gregg, Pujols, Webb

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Links for tonight as we remember Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson, who passed away today at the age of 76.  MLB.com's Marty Noble penned a great article today looking back at the life and career of the universally beloved skipper.

Odds & Ends: Loux, Uribe, Dipoto, Cubs, Phillies

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Links for Thursday night, following Juan Uribe's two-homer, six-RBI inning….

Free Agent Stock Watch: Juan Uribe

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Juan Uribe will draw interest after the season, when he brings his versatile glove and powerful bat to the free agent market. Uribe signed a one-year, $3.25MM deal with the Giants in January and he has certainly been worth the investment so far. 

At the plate, Uribe is walking more than ever, though his walk rate remains a modest 8.1%. He does have power (15 homers and 20 doubles), but his .256/.318/.449 line makes him a league-average hitter. Much of the ten-year veteran's value comes from his versatility; he plays regularly at second, third and short. UZR suggests that Uribe is an above-average defender this year and has played above-average defense at second, third and short over the course of his career. 

Placido Polanco ($18MM/ three years) and Chone Figgins ($36MM/ four years) signed deals that are presumably out of reach for Uribe. Other veteran infielders, including Pedro Feliz ($4.5MM/ one year), Orlando Hudson ($5MM/ one year) and Miguel Tejada ($6MM/ one year) signed deals that provide context for Uribe's next contract. 

Uribe currently projects to be a Type B free agent, but he is close to Type A status and could become a Type A by the end of the season. If he's a Type B free agent, teams won't have to surrender draft picks to sign him. However, Type A status would hurt Uribe's free agent value, since teams would have to surrender a top pick to sign him if the Giants offer arbitration. San Francisco wouldn't necessarily offer arbitration, but it's in Uribe's best interest to stay in the Type B range.

If Uribe is a Type B free agent, as expected, a two-year deal seems possible, but not likely. Regardless, the 31-year-old can expect a significant raise from his current $3.25MM salary because of his versatility, power and improved walk rate.

Odds & Ends: Bell, Giants, Lowell, Maine, Indians

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Sunday linkage..

Odds & Ends: Gonzalez, Benson, Giants, Mariners

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A quick rundown of some of the day's items…

  • In an appearance on WEEI's Dale & Holley Show, ESPN's Keith Law said that the Red Sox are the clear front-runners if and when Adrian Gonzalez hits the trade market.  "I really think that Boston could top anybody if Adrian Gonzalez becomes available, and he will," Law said.  The transcript of Law's appearance is available here.
  • It looks like Washington might still be the only team interested in Kris Benson.  Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets that the Indians have no interest in the right-hander.
  • ESPN.com's Jayson Stark polled "20 baseball wise men" to get their take on the offseason moves.  The panel picked Seattle and Arizona as the most improved teams in their respective leagues, while Cleveland and the Dodgers were the least improved.  John Lackey was named the winter's best free agent signing, while Brandon Lyon's deal with Houston was considered the worst.
  • Giants infielder Freddy Sanchez underwent shoulder surgery on December 23, but the news of the procedure didn't come out until almost a month later.  Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News believes the club wanted to keep Sanchez's condition a secret in order to help them sign Juan Uribe to a more team-friendly contract.  Uribe signed a one-year, $3.25MM deal on January 5.
  • MLB.com's Jim Street answers some Mariner-related questions in a fan mailbag.  Some topics of note include the possibility that the M's could deal one of their surplus outfielders, and Chad Cordero could also be trade bait if he doesn't make the Seattle bullpen but otherwise appears recovered from shoulder surgery.
  • Matt Klaassen of Fangraphs thinks "Arizona overpaid a bit" in the arbitration settlement between the Diamondbacks and Edwin Jackson, but also notes that "there is reason to believe this deal is fair to both sides."
  • Miguel Olivo took less money to play in Colorado because he wanted to be on a contending team, reports Troy Renck of The Denver Post.
  • "It's decision time" for teams to negotiate with players entering the last year of their contracts, says USA Today's Bob Nightengale.
  • Wandy Rodriguez and the Astros had their arbitration hearing today, and The Associated Press reports that a decision should be reached by tomorrow.  Rodriguez wants $7MM, while Houston has countered with an offer of $5MM.   
  • Jane Lee of MLB.com breaks down the dollars and reasoning behind Oakland's quick flip of Willy Taveras earlier this month.
  • There are no new developments between Jonny Gomes and the Reds, but John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that the two sides are still talking.  GM Walt Jocketty is hopeful the team and player "can get something done this weekend."
  • Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette looks at some of the issues facing the Pirates this spring, and notes that the club's young players could be helped without the pressure to win starting jobs.

Nationals Willing To Offer Two Years To Hudson?

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9:44pm: "Don't look for [the Nationals] to offer Hudson a two-year deal," a source tells Ladson.  The source also says that the Nats only want to give Hudson a deal akin to Juan Uribe's one-year, $3.25MM contract with San Francisco, feeling that Uribe's deal "set the market for infielders like Hudson."  Ladson's piece also goes into greater detail about Washington's interest in Adam Kennedy. 

11:48am: The Nationals would be willing to offer a two-year deal to free agent second baseman Orlando Hudson at the right price, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Morosi mentioned on Twitter that the "per annum wouldn't be too high."  MLB.com's Bill Ladson tweets that Hudson "wants $9MM for 2010," which is out of the Nats' price range.  It seems likely that the handful of other teams considering second base help would also not be interested at that price.

Hudson, 32, did not sign last year until February 20th.  His contract with the Dodgers guaranteed only $3.38MM, but he ultimately earned about $8MM after incentives.  He hit .283/.357/.417, but lost playing time down the stretch.  If you are a believer in the defensive stat UZR, Hudson has been average at best the last few years.  The Nationals, who Morosi says are "prioritizing defense," must be evaluating Hudson in some other manner.

Odds & Ends: Cantu, Lowry, Nationals, Braves

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Some links for Wednesday night…

  • The Marlins have no interest in trading Jorge Cantu to save money, even if they don't trade Dan Uggla before the season, tweets Clark Spencer of The Miami Herald. Yesterday we heard the team may "start taking calls" about Cantu if they can't unload Uggla. 
  • Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times says that the Dodgers are among the 14 teams that have asked for Noah Lowry's medical records according to his agent Damon Lara. We first heard of their interest in the lefty way back in early December.
  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo said he is still looking for starting pitching and to improve his team's defense, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. 
  • MLB.com's Mark Bowman says that Braves' team president John Schuerholz indicated the team's payroll "won't be diminished at all." Bowman's rough estimate has the team's 2010 payroll at about $87MM after they spent roughly $95MM in 2009.
  • MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports (via Twitter) that the Brewers have outrighted pitcher Omar Aguilar to Triple-A, however assistant GM Gord Ash said the team has no move in the works to the fill the vacated 40-man roster spot according to Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel (again, via Twitter).
  • In response to a fan on Twitter, C.J. Wilson tweets that the Rangers have never offered him a long-term deal.
  • Andrew Baggarly of The Mercury News says there's a chance Juan Uribe could be the Giants' starting third baseman, shifting Mark DeRosa to the outfield. He adds that the team plans to make more moves, however their lack of pitching depth will make it tough to swing a trade. 
  • Alex Speier of WEEI.com examines how the recent moves by the Red Sox impact their payroll with regard to the luxury tax.
  • The Diamondbacks have released minor league righthander Tony Barnette so he can pursue opportunities in Japan, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert (via Twitter).

Giants Re-Sign Juan Uribe

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The Giants officially re-signed the versatile Juan Uribe to a one-year, $3.25MM deal today.  Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported that the Giants appeared close to a deal with Uribe on December 24th.  Jon Heyman of SI.com first tweeted that the sides had reached an agreement, while ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted the value.

With new addition Mark DeRosa guaranteed a starting job, the Giants could once again use Uribe as a super-utility player. His January minor league deal with the Giants proved to be one of last offseason's best, as he hit .289/.329/.495 in 432 plate appearances while playing solid defense at second base, shortstop, and third base. The 30-year-old split his time evenly between the three positions, playing about 300 innings at each. Uribe, who played center field for the Rockies once in 2003, is just as versatile as DeRosa.

Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.

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