Results tagged ‘ carl crawford ’

July 18 Late Night Roundup

  • USA Today’s Bob Nightengale provided the splashiest rumor of the day, reporting that the Marlins had informed the Red Sox of their willingness to deal third baseman Hanley Ramirez and closer Heath Bell, in exchange for left fielder Carl Crawford and a prospect. But ESPN’s Buster Olney later shot down that idea, tweeting that the proposal “immediately died.”
  • According to our own Joe Frisaro, the Marlins are more likely to explore trading Ramirez during the offseason. Miami, scuffling below the .500 mark, still could look to move the likes of starting pitchers Anibal Sanchez and Josh Johnson or infielder Omar Infante below July 31.
  • Three different scenarios remain in play for Brewers ace Zack Greinke, Jon Morosi and Ken Rosenthal reported at FOXSports.com. The 28-year-old could walk away as a free agent after the season. He could sign a long-term contract to remain in Milwaukee, although the report stated there is “no evidence,” that a formal offer has been made. Greinke also could be traded before the deadline, although he will start only twice more before then, following an extended break.
  • Greinke, along with the Phillies’ Cole Hamels, is a prime deadline target for the Rangers, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. Texas also could consider bringing back Philadelphia’s Cliff Lee.
  • Several teams have looked into acquiring third baseman Chase Headley or outfielder Carlos Quentin from the Padres, but San Diego’s asking price for both has been “exorbitant,” reported CBSSports.com’s Scott Miller. The club also might attempt to re-sign Quentin this winter.

– Andrew Simon

Red Sox in on Beimel, kicked tires on Bautista

The Red Sox and about four other teams, including the O’s, are going after southpaw reliever Joe Beimel, according to the Baltimore Sun. No teams besides the O’s and Red Sox were named, but one other club is identified as being an American League team.
Turning 34 in April, Beimel went 1-2 with a 3.40 ERA for the Rockies in 45 innings and 71 appearances last season, striking out 21 and walking 15. 
Beimel’s been better been against left-handed hitters (.221 last season vs. .329 against righties) and he’s been durable in a 10-year career, making no fewer than 62 appearances in each of the last six seasons. For Baltimore, Beimel would be a complement to Michael Gonzalez, while for Boston, he’d provide depth behind Hideki Okajima.
—
Mulitple outlets on Tuesday reported that the Red Sox pursued Jays’ slugger Jose Bautista before landing Carl Crawford, making “multiple offers” for him — a sign of how serious Boston was about upgrading its offense. The lineup took a hit when Adrian Beltre and Victor Martinez departed via free agency, but was quickly revamped when Adrian Gonzalez (via trade) and Crawford (via free agency) arrived in the same week.
Other unnamed teams reportedly pursued Bautista, who led the Majors with 54 homers, as well.
“It’s all just rumors to me at this stage…who knows if any of it is true?” Bautista told The Boston Globe by text. “There’s nothing for me to comment on yet.”
The Jays reportedly were never serious about trading Bautista, who is looking for more than $10.5 million in arbitration. Toronto submitted a $7.6 million figure. Bautista is a free agent after this season and, according to FOX Sports, there aren’t current talks of a long-term extension.
– Evan Drellich

Roundup: 1B locked up in Windy City

Day 3 of the Winter Meetings saw a couple of slugging first
basemen land in Chicago, as the White Sox resigned
their captain, Paul Konerko, and the Cubs took
a chance on Carlos Pena.

The Konerko deal was somewhat surprising, considering talks between the two
sides seemed to be on life support just a day ago. But even after signing Adam
Dunn, Chicago was able to give Konerko a three-year, $37.5 million to form what looks like one of the best lineups in baseball for 2011.

With the Cubs, Pena is reunited with his old esteemed hitting coach, Rudy
Jaramillo, and receives what super-agent Scott Boras referred to as
a “pillow contract” — because, as Boras said, it’s comfortable for both
sides. That deal is for one year and $10 million, as Pena will try to rebuild
his worth after hitting 28 homers but batting below .200 in 2010.

Here’s more from around the league on Wednesday …

* No more fooling around for the Yankees. They’re ready to make ballyhooed
free-agent starter Cliff Lee a
preliminary offer of six years and between $140 and $150 million, MLB.com’s
Bryan Hoch confirmed. Will that be enough, considering reports of mystery teams
offering seven years?

* The Rangers met with Carl Crawford‘s agent, according to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan.

* Adrian Beltre is still open to signing with the Athletics, according
to Boras. Boras also said negotiations for his third-base client are moving
quickly, and that the Angels are a very possible suitor.  

* There had been several reports that the Red Sox would be interested in
trading for Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran. But Boras, who represents
him, says Beltran plans
to be a Met in 2011. That’s significant, considering he has a no-trade clause.

* Five teams are seriously pursuing Zack Greinke while another three are
“on the periphery,” according to FOXSports.com. It still seems like
he’d be tough
to move, however. The Royals are specific with what they want: pitching and
up-the-middle help.

* The Red Sox, according to CBS Sports, are zeroing in on Magglio Ordonez
to fill their outfield void, which would not be good news for Crawford. The Tigers are also checking.

* The Twins continue their
interest in resigning Carl Pavano, but they have competition. The
Brewers, according to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy, have
also met with Pavano. The Nationals are another club known to have
interest. 

* In less-heralded one-year deals on Wednesday, the Mariners signed
non-tendered designated hitter Jack Cust; the Royals brought
in outfielder Jeff Francoeur; the D-backs were reportedly on the verge of signing catcher Henry
Blanco and veteran lefty Mike Hampton (Minor League deal); the
Braves acquired non-tendered lefty reliever George Sherrill; and the Dodgers were close to bringing back Russell Martin. 
 

– Alden Gonzalez 

Padres ready to make moves?

Aside from trading for Marlins CF Cameron Maybin last month, it’s been a quiet winter for the Padres.

Well, aside from watching free agents Jon Garland, Miguel Tejada and Yorvit Torrealba sign elsewhere.

It looks like the Padres have reached a deal with right-handed pitcher Aaron Harang, who is a San Diego native and said Thursday that he would love to pitch at PETCO Park. I imagine it’s going to be a one-year deal, maybe with a mutual option.

Harang, effectively, would take the spot left by the departure of Garland.

So what’s next for the Padres? How about dealing first baseman Adrian Gonzalez? It could happen, as an online report Friday stated the Padres are talking to the Red Sox.

It’s a forgone conclusion that Gonzalez, a free agent after the season, won’t finish the 2011 season with the Padres. Until recently, it looked as though the team was prepared to take him into the regular season.

Perhaps that has changed. If so, the Padres, who won’t likely have a payroll exceeding more than $40 million or so, would be asking for a handful of prospects. The Red Sox have plenty and Padres GM Jed Hoyer — who used to be the assistant GM in Boston — knows the farm system well.

We figured to hear a lot about Cliff Lee, Carl Pavano and Carl Crawford at the Winter Meetings next week in Florida. Could we hear more about Gonzalez?

– Corey Brock, MLB.com

Soriano reportedly on Angels’ radar

The Angels apparently have let bygones be bygones and are meeting with agent Scott Boras, who numbers among his stable of clients Adrian Beltre, Rafael Soriano and Jayson Werth. Boras and the club reportedly had a falling out over the Mark Teixeira negotiations two winters ago, but the agent said he has met with general manager Tony Reagins and other club officials this winter, according to ESPNLos Angeles.com

Reagins confirmed that there have been discussions in the report by Mark Saxon, who suggests that Soriano is the Angels’ top target among the Boras clients to fill the void left by the trade of closer Brian Fuentes to the Twins. The Angels’ primary target continues to be outfielder Carl Crawford, but they could expand their payroll to add Soriano as well. – Lyle Spencer

Tigers might not be done shopping

The Tigers found the hitter who can protect Miguel Cabrera in the lineup
with their Victor Martinez signing. But just because Martinez can fill
the job, doesn’t mean that he will.

Jim Leyland said Friday afternoon that he’s up in the air whether to bat
Martinez third or fifth. The reason for the indecisiveness is that the
offseason moves are potentially incomplete.

“It depends on what our team looks like by the time we get to Spring
Training,” Leyland said by phone. “He’s either going to hit right in
front of [Cabrera] or right behind him.”

Asked if the fact that Martinez is a switch-hitter will play into the decision, Leyland came up with the line of the day.

“No, the fact that he’s a great hitter,” Leyland said.

Dave Dombrowski didn’t give a firm answer either way when asked if they
have the wiggle room for one more signing — which pretty much should mean
they have room. If they knew they were up against it on payroll, there
would be no reason to play coy. Whether they have the realistic potential to
compete on another big free agent, such as Carl Crawford or Jayson
Werth, is another question. So is the potential for bringing back
Magglio Ordonez, which Dombrowski didn’t want to address Friday.

He did indicate that the one area where they have the opening for an addition is in the corner outfield.

“We’ve actually made four signings this wintertime, so I think what
we’ll probably do next week is sit back [and analyze],” Dombrowski said.

– Jason Beck

‘Serious’ Angels-Crawford talks reported

According to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, an unnamed Major League source says the Angels have engaged in “serious talks” with free agent left fielder Carl Crawford, who is expected to command a deal in the five-year, $100 million range. Crawford is close with Torii Hunter, who has made no secret of his desire to have Crawford join him in the Angels’ outfield.

The Angels have a club policy of not commenting on specific free agents and have neither confirmed nor denied interest in Crawford, who would provide Gold Glove defense, consistent offense and the blazing speed they lost in the top third of their batting order when Chone Figgins left for Seattle.– Lyle Spencer

Magglio’s return to Tigers far from certain

The Tigers have interest in Magglio Ordonez, and Ordonez has interest in staying with the Tigers. Starting Sunday, other teams and other free-agent outfielders will get to enter the mix and negotiate with each other. And the talk won’t just be on the Tigers side.

While the Tigers hit the free-agent market in search of a run producer for the middle of their order, Ordonez’s agent, Scott Boras, expects to gather interest in his client from several teams. So if an Ordonez return to Detroit is going to happen, it isn’t likely to happen quickly.

“We’ve gotten a lot of early calls,” Boras said. “I think with this marketplace, the right-handed hitters of that ilk, like Magglio, there’s going to be a very strong demand for them.”

How much of an impact Ordonez’s ankle makes on his offseason remains to be seen. He’ll turn 37 at the end of January, and Tigers fans witnessed Scott Sizemore’s slow recovery from ankle surgery this past season. Boras, however, echoed comments Ordonez made to Venezuelan reporter Augusto Cardenas last month, that his ankle is at 90 percent and strengthening.

“I think a lot is being made of a standard fracture, what a lot orthopedic surgerons say a minor fracture,” Boras said. “There’s no issue with flexibility, weight bearing, anything like that. It was really just a very simple fracture. It simply took some time to heal. This was not a complicated event. There really will not be any time frame where teams will wait and see if he has any trouble performing.”

There’s a huge advantage for Ordonez in this market if he’s viewed as a full-time outfielder. The outfield market drops off significantly beyond top free agents Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth, unless there are teams that see Adam Dunn, Vladimir Guerrero and Hideki Matsui as full-time outfielders. Ordonez was an everyday right fielder at the time of his injury, and while his short strides towards fly balls looked uncertain at times, his routes were generally true. The one question would be the ankle, and Boras doesn’t expect it to be an issue.

He’s strong enough about it that he doesn’t expect Ordonez to play winter ball — not that he can’t, but that he shouldn’t.

– Jason Beck

Yankees not chasing Crawford, Werth

The Yankees are not planning to make a hard charge for Carl Crawford or Jayson Werth this winter, the New York Daily News reported Thursday.
General manager Brian Cashman has said that the team’s focus will be on adding pitching – Cliff Lee is their top priority – and re-signing free agents Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. 
The Yankees are content with Brett Gardner in left field, Curtis Granderson in center field and Nick Swisher in right field. 
Gardner’s emergence in particular has changed the Yankees’ thinking on Crawford, who is expected to command at least a six-year deal at $15 to $18 million per year.
“We are better with Crawford, but at that price?” a Yankees source told the Daily News. “I’m not sure it’s that good of an upgrade.”
– Bryan Hoch

Roundup: Blue Jays, Braves swap shortstops

In a rather surprising All-Star break move, the Blue Jays in essence acquired young shortstop Yunel Escobar from the Braves in exchange for veteran shortstop Alex Gonzalez. Left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes also is going to Toronto, with Minor League lefty Tim Collins and Minor League infielder Tyler Pastornicky migrating to Atlanta’s organization. 

Escobar, still considered one of the more talented shortstops in the National League despite his off-year (.238 batting average, .618 OPS, zero homers), will be heading into his first of three arbitration years this offseason, while Gonzalez (batting .259 with 17 homers) has a $2.5 million club option. 
Both are very good defensive players, but right now, it’s Gonzalez who seemingly gives the Braves their best chance to maintain their NL East division lead, while Escobar could — if a change of scenery serves as a big beneficiary — give the Blue Jays a young, talented shortstop for years to come. 
Here’s more from around the league … 
* The Brewers are reportedly shopping All-Star and Home Run Derby participant Corey Hart, with the Giants, Rays, Padres and Braves rumored to be interested. According to The San Francisco Chronicle, the Brewers asked the Giants for Jonathan Sanchez and Madison Bumgarner in exchange for Hart. Giants general Brian Sabean, however, is reluctant to part with those two. 
* Torii Hunter is playing GM a little bit. Hunter, the Angels center fielder signed through 2012, told MLB.com’s Bill Ladson he’d like to have Adam Dunn in Anaheim, and according to The Los Angeles Times, he’s been working on speedster Carl Crawford, too. 
* Don’t expect a 2010 reunion between Pedro Martinez and the Phillies, writes MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. Martinez hasn’t even thrown off the mound yet. 
* The injury-ravaged Red Sox have spoken to the Royals about outfielder David DeJesus, according to FOXSports.com. The Web site said the two clubs talked less than two weeks ago and said they’d remain in touch. The Royals have been scouting the Red Sox’s farm system, but names haven’t been exchanged, FOXSports.com added. 
* The Braves, seeking a right-handed-hitting outfielder, have shown interest in the Marlins’ Cody Ross. Florida finds itself 10 games back in the NL East heading into the second half of the season and could be sellers before the Trade Deadline. 
– Alden Gonzalez
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