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Zack Greinke

Olney On Dunn, Lee, Greinke, Jeter, Pena

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The Rangers have money to spend and ESPN.com's Buster Olney suggests they could spend it on Adam Dunn. GM Jon Daniels could pursue Carl Crawford or another free agent if Cliff Lee signs elsewhere, but Dunn would provide the Rangers with a formidable power threat. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:

  • The Rangers' priority is still to sign Lee.
  • Rival executives see Texas as the team that's most likely to acquire Zack Greinke from the Royals. 
  • To create leverage with the Yankees, Derek Jeter will need another club to make a significantly better proposal than the three-year $45MM deal the Yankees are offering. Needless to say, it will be difficult for agent Casey Close to find such an offer for a 36-year-old coming off a down year. 
  • Olney hears that the Nationals are the most enthusiastic team about signing Carlos Pena.

Odds & Ends: Rasmus, Gilbert, Nishioka, Hoffman

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MLBTR wishes all of its American readers a very happy Thanksgiving.  For those readers not from the USA…uh, happy Thursday!  Onto some news items:

  • "Three contending clubs" have a "persisting interest" in Colby Rasmus, tweets Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  Strauss noted in a follow-up tweet that these are teams with a "new interest," so presumably that eliminates past suitors like the Braves, Blue Jays, Diamondbacks and White Sox.  The Rasmus rumor mill seemed to have petered out, with the most recent report stating that there was a 99% chance that Rasmus would still be in St. Louis next season.
  • Dennis Gilbert will not try to buy the Houston Astros, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com.  Gilbert led a group bidding for the Rangers earlier this year and has been rumored to be a potential future ownership candidate for the Dodgers.
  • The Twins are "very much in on" Tsuyoshi Nishioka, tweets Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman.  We heard last week that Minnesota had an interest in the Japanese infielder.
  • When Kevin Towers was general manager of the Padres, he planned to eventually bring Trevor Hoffman back to San Diego so the future Hall-of-Fame closer could retire as a Padre, tweets Fanhouse.com's Tom Krasovic.  Though Towers has moved on to Arizona, Krasovic says there's a chance Hoffman could still return to San Diego now that Sandy Alderson and Paul DePodesta are no longer with the organization.
  • Bill James talks to CBSSports.com's Evan Brunell about a variety of topics, including the new Mets front office, the Justin Upton trade rumors and what the Royals should do with Zack Greinke.
  • Joe Pawlikowski of the River Ave Blues blog wishes the Derek Jeter negotiations moved as smoothly as Mike Mussina's contract talks with the Yankees after the 2006 season.

Rosenthal On Greinke, Reynolds, Rhodes

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The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…

  • Rosenthal wonders if Zack Greinke will change his opinion of the Royals in Spring Training when he sees how close many of their prospects are.  Rosenthal says the Royals have no urgency to deal Greinke, though ESPN's Buster Olney writes that "some rival general managers are convinced the Royals are intent on moving Greinke this winter."
  • Mark Reynolds is a "trade possibility under discussion" for the Orioles, depending on how their offseason unfolds.  We heard from Yahoo's Tim Brown on November 10th that the Diamondbacks are shopping Reynolds and "looking for contact hitters and bullpen help."  You'd have to think the D'Backs would want David Hernandez from the Orioles.
  • Rosenthal feels that a Heath Bell trade would not happen until after free agents like Rafael Soriano and J.J. Putz sign, if at all.
  • The Reds do not want to offer arbitration to Type A free agent Arthur Rhodes, but they could re-sign him this week.  Check out Rhodes' free agent stock watch piece here.     
  • One GM Rosenthal spoke to thought Joaquin Benoit's lucrative contract could discourage teams from offering arbitration to relievers such as Jason Frasor and Grant Balfour, because if they accept they could use Benoit as a comparable for their 2011 salaries.  On the other hand, I think teams could be more inclined to offer arbitration knowing relievers might turn it down in hopes of finding a multiyear deal on the open market.
  • The Rays' payroll is very limited, so they won't be spending much on a free agent closer type.
  • Rosenthal writes, "Suggestions that the Pirates are pursuing major free agents such as outfielder Jayson Werth appear greatly off-base."  I've yet to see any writer make a Pirates-Werth connection, but SI's Jon Heyman has said they've been aggressive in making free agent calls so far.

Odds & Ends: Rangers, Greinke, Ordonez, Rays

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Links for Friday, exactly one year after the Cubs signed John Grabow and traded Aaron Heilman to Arizona…

  • Vladimir Guerrero is talking to the Rangers and three other AL teams, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
  • Heyman reports that Bengie Molina wants to play another year (Twitter link).
  • Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. suggested that Raul Ibanez and Jayson Werth are comparable hitters, according to David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News. That's probably not the first comparison agent Scott Boras would make about Werth.
  • An AL executive explained to Sherman that he believes the Royals will trade Zack Greinke sooner rather than later for two reasons: the demand for ace-level starters is high and the Royals don’t want to see a personal or physical issue reduce Greinke’s value.
  • Boras tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that Magglio Ordonez has finished rehabilitating his fractured right ankle and "returned to full workout routines"
  • Rays president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman tells Cork Gaines of Rays Index that he's likely to hold onto his starting pitching because it's so hard to come by.

Odds & Ends: Jones, Mets, Yankees, Guerrero, Greinke

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A few more links for Wednesday night…

Melvin: “We’re Not Shopping Prince”

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Prince Fielder has just one more year to go before becoming eligible for free agency, and as a result many around the game expect the Brewers to shop their hulking first baseman. GM Doug Melvin told USA Today's Bob Nightengale that isn't the case however, saying explicitly "We're not shopping Prince." Here's the full quote…

"We're not shopping Prince,'' said the Brewers GM. "I'd like to keep him. He's a homegrown player who wants to play every inning of every game. But we'd like to get something done by the end of the off-season. I don't want to negotiate during the year.''

Melvin indicated that the end of Spring Training is the team's deadline for working out an extension with their two-time All Star. Fielder, 26 and a Scott Boras client, is a .279/.385/.535 career hitter, averaging 38 home runs in his five full seasons as a big leaguer.

Nightengale also lists a number of players that are already "under discussion," including Zack Greinke, Dan Uggla, Adrian Gonzalez, Bobby Jenks, Jonathan Papelbon, Nick Swisher, Jason Bartlett, Mark Reynolds, and both Justin and B.J. Upton. 

Sherman On Crawford, Angels, Tigers, Greinke

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In his latest Hardball piece for the New York Post, Joel Sherman previews the upcoming GM meetings and look specifically at what to expect for a few top free agents and trade targets. Here are some of the highlights:

  • "Three teams with money will definitely be bidding" on Carl Crawford, according to an American League insider. Those three teams? The Red Sox, Tigers, and Angels.
  • People around baseball expect the Angels to spend big this winter, with one of Sherman's sources indicating that it wouldn't surprise him to see the Halos end up with Crawford, Rafael Soriano, and Adrian Beltre.
  • Several executives believe the Tigers will make a play for two bats from the top tier of free agents, which includes Crawford, Jayson Werth, Adam Dunn, and Victor Martinez.
  • Sherman predicts that Werth will sign a contract that lands somewhere in between the deals signed by Jason Bay and Matt Holliday a year ago. Five years and $90MM is the estimate from Sherman.
  • According to an NL exec, a Zack Greinke trade may be unlikely because the Royals "are starting from a position of not wanting to trade [Greinke], and when you start there, it is hard to get anywhere." Still, Sherman names the Rangers as a team to watch in the Greinke sweepstakes, particularly if Cliff Lee signs elsewhere.

Moore Explains Greinke Trade Rumors

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Royals GM Dayton Moore repeated today that he is willing to listen to offers for his ace. Moore told Jim Duquette and Kevin Kennedy on MLB Network Radio what will happen if they can’t sign Zack Greinke to another multi-year contract.

“Then we are going to have to make a decision to move him at some point in time,” Moore said. “Is that this winter?  I don't know.  Is it prior to the deadline in 2011?  Possibly.  Is it off-season 2011?  But we will have to make that determination no different than other clubs have had to make.  Minnesota had to make a similar decision with [Johan]  Santana and, of course, Cleveland had to make a decision similar with [Cliff]  Lee and [C.C.] Sabathia.  So we will have to maximize his value certainly at some point in time.”

Moore says the Royals have received calls on Greinke at multiple points, including at last year’s trade deadline. The Blue Jays and Red Sox are among the teams that have inquired on Greinke, who has a partial no-trade clause and two years and $27MMM remaining on his current deal.

Moore added that the Royals are approaching the free agent market cautiously. The club will look to add one or two right-handed hitting outfielders this offseason and, as we heard yesterday, Jeff Francoeur is one option for Kansas City.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Cox, Crawford, DeJesus

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Two years ago today the Athletics acquired Matt Holliday from the Rockies in exchange for Carlos Gonzalez, Huston Street, and Greg Smith. Holliday hit .286/.378/.454 in exactly 400 plate appearances with Oakland before being dealt to the Cardinals for a package led by Brett Wallace at the 2009 trade deadline.

Street has battled injuries but has been solid when on the mound for Colorado, pitching to a 3.30 ERA with 9.5 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 109 innings. Smith has appeared in just eight games for the Rox (all starts), putting up a 6.23 ERA. The real get was CarGo, who will certainly be in the MVP mix after a .336/.376/.598 season with 34 doubles, 34 homers, 26 stolen bases, and a batting title.

The hot stove league will certainly bring us more blockbuster trades, but for now you'll have to settle for this long collection of links, the best the blogosphere had to offer this week…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Odds & Ends: Beltre, Counsell, Greinke, Kuroda

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Thursday night linkage..

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