A decent knuckleballer is a great asset to have, they typically eat innings and save bullpens. Niekro, Hough, Wakefield, they would have 200+ innings a year
R.A. Dickey is 22-28 with a 5.43 ERA in 48 starts and 96 relief appearances in seven big league seasons. He has maxed out with 116.2 innings back in 2003. He has avg 63 innings per year.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX reports that the Nats are near a deal with Everyday Eddie Guardado. Guardado went 1-2 with a 4.46 ERA in 48 relief outings for the Rangers this year. He had talked about retiring at the end of last season, but he has a left arm, however, which means he'll probably be able to pitch until they pry the ball from his cold dead fingers.
UPDATE: According to ESPN.com's Buster Olney, the Phillies would like to ink Fernando Rodney on a contract worth around $12 million over two years. Rodney is reportedly seeking a three-year, $30 million deal, but hopefully he'll soon realize that kind of demand is ridiculous. Even paying him $12 million over two years is ridiculous, in fact. Rodney, 32, was 37-for-38 in save opportunities this year, but posted an ugly 4.40 ERA and 1.47 WHIP in 75 2/3 innings. He would serve as a setup man in Philadelphia.
The deal is official with the Braves and Glaus, 1 year deal to play 1st, no word on the $ yet but it's loaded with incentives.
Rosenthal tweets it. He'll play first base. He has six career games at first base. It's a one-year, incentive-laden contract. Hmmmmm.....
Wow I would have bet money that he played 1st base for a full season with Arizona. I don't know why but for some reason I thought that. Anyway he was a good defensive 3rd baseman so switching to 1st shouldn't be a problem for him.
If the Braves can work out a deal for Dan Uggla, I'll be satisfied with the offseason. If that happens, we could move Prado around to spell Chipper and/or Glaus. Nice to see Frank Wren making moves though.
Today Buster Olney says that Justin Duchscherer could land right back where he started with the A's. The Yankees had been one team inquiring about him, but now that their take-a-chance-on-a-comeback-candidate strategy has been jettisoned, Duchscherer may decide to simply go back to that with which he is familiar.
ESPN's Buster Olney gets constructive and makes eight suggestions for adding depth and improving the team without blowing a big chunk of money on Jason Bay. His ideas: 1. Sign Orlando Hudson; 2. Sign a cheap, defense-first outfielder like Randy Winn; 3. Sign Mark DeRosa 4. Get a reliever or two in the Bob Howry or Chan Ho Park mold; 5. Rotation filler like Jarrod Washburn; 6. Make an offer for Fernando Rodney; 7. Get a starter like Brett Meyers, Jon Garland or Vicente Padilla; 8. Make an offer to Joel Piniero. Not sure if that's really eight ideas given that two of them deal with getting a reliever and three of them deal with getting some back-of-the-rotation help, but at least someone's thinking about how to make the Mets better. God knows Omar Minaya isn't.
The Pirates have made an offer to Octavio Dotel to be their closer. The offer: $3 million plus games-finished incentives. Not a deal yet or anything, but it's out there. Dotel has turned in back-to-back healthy seasons since coming back from Tommy John surgery, and he continues to post excellent strikeout numbers. Still, surprising that he's being looked at as a closer. Then again, these are the Pirates.
Blue Jays acquired RHP Brandon Morrow from the Mariners for RHP Brandon League and OF Yohermyn Chavez. PTBNL is Chavez. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=CF&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=503345
Angels signed Fernando Rodney to a 2 year 11 million dollar deal. That has disaster written all over it with him and Fuentes in the back of the pen. But hey it's another move that's a win for the Mariners this offseason.
Mariners haven't improved as much as people think. Bedard/Washburn's production has been replaced by Lee. As for Rodney, **** that guy.
It's slightly less than the rumored two-year, $12 million offered by the Phillies, so perhaps he was promised a chance to compete with Brian Fuentes for the ninth-inning gig. That isn't to say he's a solid option. Rodney converted 37 of 38 save chances with the Tigers last season despite a mediocre 4.40 ERA and 1.47 WHIP. My Spanish stinks...where is Lucky??? I'm going to go out on a limb and say that that is ESPN's Enrique Rojas announcing that the Angels have signed Fernando Rodney to a two-year $11 million contract, but damn, I'm just not as sure as I should be.
Athletics signed OF Coco Crisp to a one-year contract. Terms were not disclosed, but he is expected to earn $5 million next season, with a club option for 2011. Crisp, 30, hit .228/.336/.378 in 180 at-bats with the Royals last season before undergoing season-ending surgery on both his shoulders. Crisp, Rajai Davis and Ryan Sweeney could comprise one of the best defensive outfields in the sport, but we're not sure it will actually happen. Remember, Scott Hairston and the newly-acquired Michael Taylor are also in-house, so chances are Billy Beane will work out a trade to cash in on his depth.
Well it's a mixture of the Mariners getting better and the Angels getting worse. Getting Lee and Figgins while the Angels lost Lackey and Figgins is a pretty big deal. On paper right now the Mariners have to be the favorites in the West.
According to a person with knowledge of the situation, the Phils have an agreement in place with a pitcher that they believe will help fortify their bullpen. The person could not divulge the name of the reliever, but did say the agreement is pending a physical, which would take place during the first week of January. A different person with knowledge of the Phillies' offseason dealings said the team's recent focus has been on free-agent reliever Danys Baez. http://www.csnphilly.com/pages/landing/?blockID=107196&feedID=693
The Diamondbacks are interested in OF Randy Winn, but not as a starting outfielder. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says that Winn is still attempting to find an everyday job, something the Diamondbacks are unwilling to do. If he was to sign, he could get around 300 at-bats. The market for Winn likely won't develop for a while. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports the Diamondbacks are interested in bringing back closer Jose Valverde. The only way such a scenario would occur would be at Arizona's price. Piecoro says the club will consider a one-year deal at a low base salary -- around $5 million -- along with a guarantee not to offer him arbitration following the year. Valverde certainly will continue to shop around for a better offer than that.
Bill Ladson of MLB.com reports that right-handed reliever Matt Capps has signed a one-year contract with the Nationals. Capps should get a shot at closing duties in Washington, which is presumably why he took the Nationals' offer over the Cubs'. He had a disappointing 5.80 ERA and 1.66 WHIP in 54-plus innings for the Pirates this past season and will try to rebuild his reputation with a solid 2010 campaign in D.C.. Brian Bruney may be relegated to a setup gig for the Nats.
Mark DeRosa is leaning towards accepting a two-year deal from the Giants, reports Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Just yesterday it was rumored that the Giants offered DeRosa a two-year, $12 million contract, so perhaps the market for the veteran utility player wasn't as strong as once thought. Should he sign with San Francisco, DeRosa would step into a full-time gig, likely at third base, with Pablo Sandoval making the switch over to first base, where he'll be less of a liability in the long-term.
Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports that the Athletics have agreed in principle to a one-year contract with free agent Justin Duchscherer. According to Crasnick, the contract would be worth $5.5 million if he reaches specific incentives. It's a minor upset to see Duchscherer stay in Oakland, as many big-market teams were rumored to have interest in the 32-year-old right-hander. Duchscherer missed the entire 2009 season due to injury and clinical depression, but his body of work suggests an excellent chance at a rebound.
Mets have signed kelvim escobar to a minor league deal. I like it...buy low on a pitcher with upside. Now go get sheets ya dumb sheets. Quote of the year by gammons on a Boston radio station yesterday: "bay would rather play in beruit then queens next year." so if you insist on overpaying for a LF Omar go get the better player...Matt holiday or wait til next year for Carl Crawford.
Remaining Free Agents List: The 126 remaining free agents. AMERICAN LEAGUE BALTIMORE (4) - Danys Baez, rhp; Mark Hendrickson, lhp; Chad Moeller; c; Melvin Mora, 3b. BOSTON (4) - Rocco Baldelli, of; Jason Bay, of; Paul Byrd, rhp; Chris Woodward, 3b. CHICAGO (4) - Ramon Castro, c; Octavio Dotel, rhp; Jermaine Dye, of; Scott Podsednik of. CLEVELAND (1) - Tomo Ohka, rhp. DETROIT (3) - Aubrey Huff, 1b; Fernando Rodney, rhp; Jarrod Washburn, lhp. KANSAS CITY (3) - Bruce Chen, lhp; Miguel Olivo, c; Jamey Wright, rhp. LOS ANGELES (3) - Kelvim Escobar, rhp; Vladimir Guerrero, dh; Robb Quinlan, of. MINNESOTA (4) - Orlando Cabrera, ss; Joe Crede, 3b; Ron Mahay, lhp; Mike Redmond, c. NEW YORK (5) - Johnny Damon, of; Jerry Hairston Jr., inf-of; Eric Hinske, of; Jose Molina, c; Xavier Nady, of. OAKLAND (4) - Justin Duchscherer, rhp; Nomar Garciaparra, dh; Adam Kennedy, 3b; Brett Tomko, rhp. SEATTLE (6) - Miguel Batista, rhp; Erik Bedard, lhp; Adrian Beltre, 3b; Russell Branyan, 1b; Endy Chavez, of; Mike Sweeney, dh. TAMPA BAY (5) - Chad Bradford, rhp; Jason Isringhausen, rhp; Troy Percival, rhp; Brian Shouse, lhp; Russ Springer, rhp. TEXAS (4) - Joaquin Benoit, rhp; Hank Blalock, 1b; Marlon Byrd, of; Eddie Guardado, lhp. TORONTO (2) - Rod Barajas, c; Kevin Millar, 1b. NATIONAL LEAGUE ARIZONA (3) - Doug Davis, lhp; Scott Schoeneweis, lhp; Chad Tracy, 1b. ATLANTA (3) - Garret Anderson, of; Adam LaRoche, 1b; Greg Norton, 1b. CHICAGO (3) - Chad Fox, rhp; Kevin Gregg, rhp; Reed Johnson, of. CINCINNATI (1) - Kip Wells, rhp. COLORADO (8) - Joe Beimel, lhp; Jose Contreras, rhp; Alan Embree, lhp; Josh Fogg, rhp; Jason Giambi, 1b; Matt Herges, rhp; Juan Rincon, rhp; Yorvit Torrealba, c. FLORIDA (2) - Kiko Calero, rhp; Brendan Donnelly, rhp. HOUSTON (6) - Aaron Boone, 1b; Doug Brocail, rhp; Darin Erstad, of; Mike Hampton, lhp; Miguel Tejada, ss; Jose Valverde, rhp. LOS ANGELES (12) - Brad Ausmus, c; Ronnie Belliard, 2b; Jon Garland, rhp; Orlando Hudson, 2b; Mark Loretta, 3b; Guillermo Mota, rhp; Eric Milton, lhp; Will Ohman, lhp; Vicente Padilla, rhp; Jason Schmidt, rhp; Jim Thome, 1b; Jeff Weaver, rhp. MILWAUKEE (5) - Frank Catalanotto, of; Braden Looper, rhp; Felipe Lopez, 2b; Corey Patterson, of; David Weathers, rhp. NEW YORK (4) - Carlos Delgado, 1b; Ramon Martinez, ss; Gary Sheffield, of; Fernando Tatis, 1b. PHILADELPHIA (7) - Paul Bako, c; Miguel Cairo, 2b; Scott Eyre, lhp; Pedro Martinez, rhp; Brett Myers, rhp; Chan Ho Park, rhp; Matt Stairs, of. ST. LOUIS (8) - Rick Ankiel, of; Mark De Rosa, 3b; Troy Glaus, 3b; Khalil Greene, ss; Matt Holliday, of; Joel Pineiro, rhp; John Smoltz, rhp; Todd Wellemeyer, rhp. SAN DIEGO (1) - Brian Giles, of. SAN FRANCISCO (6) - Rich Aurilia, 1b; Bobby Howry, rhp; Randy Johnson, lhp; Bengie Molina, c; Juan Uribe, 2b; Randy Winn, of. WASHINGTON (5) - Josh Bard, c; Livan Hernandez, rhp; Austin Kearns, of; Ron Villone, lhp; Dmitri Young, 1b.
The Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro reports that the Diamondbacks and Bob Howry have come to terms on a one-year deal with an option for 2011. The contract is worth between $2 million-$3 million. Howry was guaranteed $2.75 million last season under the terms of a one-year deal with the Giants. He had a 3.39 ERA for San Francisco, but he wasn't one of the team's trusted relievers after failing to impress early on. He totaled 10 holds and just three over the final three months.
Jon Garland's market is beginning to develop, reports Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Texas is the early front runner, which would probably end in disaster with Garland's skill set in the Rangers' ballpark. The 30-year-old right-hander was 11-13 with a 4.01 ERA, 1.40 WHIP in 33 starts this past season, including a 2.72 ERA in six starts with the Dodgers down the stretch. The Nationals were also linked to Garland, although the signing of Jason Marquis may have taken them out of the equation.
Free agent outfielder Jermaine Dye is drawing interest from the Yankees to fill their left field vacancy, according to Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune. Of course, a team's offseason plans can change rather quickly, but it's worth noting that the Bombers denied interest in Dye last month. Believe him or not, general manager Brian Cashman has repeatedly said that the Yankees will not be in the running for a big-ticket left fielder -- i.e. Matt Holliday, Jason Bay and possibly Johnny Damon -- so despite Dye's pronounced shortcomings on defense, he would be a low-cost alternative on the heels of a lackluster finish.
Mets signed RHP Kelvim Escobar to a one-year contract. Escobar is expected to make $1.25 million in base salary for the Mets, with a $125,000 bonus if he makes the opening day roster, and $2 million in incentives as a starter and $1 million as a reliever. Although he has appeared in just one game over the past two years, the 33-year-old Escobar is expected to set up closer Francisco Rodriguez.
Mark DeRosa is close to accepting a two-year deal from the Giants, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. It has been rumored that the Giants offered DeRosa a two-year, $12 million contract. Assuming Rosenthal's report is correct and he signs with San Francisco, DeRosa would step into a full-time gig, likely at third base, with Pablo Sandoval making the switch across the diamond to first base, where he'll be less of a defensive liability long-term. DeRosa, 34, would also be used as a "super-utility man," according to Rosenthal, filling in around the diamond as the Giants see fit. He batted .250/.319/.433 with 23 homers, 23 doubles and 78 RBI this past season.
The Washington Nationals have signed infielder Eric Bruntlett and first baseman Josh Whitesell. The shocking thing about this is not so much that someone managed to snatch up Bruntlett and Whitesell before the bidding wars began, as it is that we learn about it through a team press release. My guess: Buster Olney and Ken Rosenthal were both trying to be the first to break this baby, encountered each other as they were going to meet the same source in a parking garage somewhere, and then killed each other in pitched battle, with the story being the ultimate victim in all of this. As for the deals themselves, I can only assume that Bruntlett's championship pedigree will combine with Jason Marquis' veteran presence (and according to reports, Marquis is a veteran) to put the Nats over the top in 2010. I think they had to take Whitesell because his daddy donated the money for the scoreboard or something.
I'd like to think that the Mariners saw what the Nationals did earlier today, decided that they would NOT be outdone in the almost negligible transaction department and rushed to sign Josh Bard and Chad Cordero. Maybe this isn't quite as minor as Washington's deal: you actually start your backup catcher once in a while, so Bard should come in mildly handy. He's a switch hitter. He might luck into the occasional home run. Cordero was once an All-Star closer who lost half of 2008 and all of 2009 with shoulder surgery.
Mets Reach Agreement With Jason Bay By Tim Dierkes [December 29, 2009 at 1:42pm CST] 1:42pm: Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes that Bay has a four-year, $66MM agreement with an easy fifth-year vesting option. The 2014 vesting option appears to be worth more than $14MM, as ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that Bay's deal could be worth "slightly more than $80MM over five years." Sherman cautions that Bay's physical "might not be a formality."
Regardless of the signing, and I am sure Gammons' believed it, etc....it was still very funny at the time.
According to Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com, Mark DeRosa has passed his physical and is has signed a two-year deal with the Giants. The deal is thought to be worth $12 million total, or about $6 million annually. DeRosa batted .250/.319/.433 with 23 homers, 23 doubles and 78 RBI this past season and is expected to man third base for the Giants in 2010.
Well I doubt Beruit was offering that much money, in fact who else besides the Mets were offering Bay anything? Good old Omar, at it again.
The Diamondbacks and Kelly Johnson are nearing agreement on a contract -- if they haven't already done so -- according to a report by Arizona Republic. The proposed deal is believed to be worth around $2 million for one season and would likely slot Johnson as the team's starting second baseman. The 27-year-old hit just .224/.303/.389 with eight home runs and 29 RBI this past year, but produced a .282/.362/.451 line in the two previous seasons combined. If Johnson can bounce back, this would be a stellar bargain-basement move by the D'Backs. One ancillary benefit: the club would control his rights in 2011 if they inked him to a one-year deal.
