Rumors for February, 2010
Johnny Damon Rumors: Braves are on the top of his list
Posted by: | CommentsUpdate 2/11 11:19: According to Ken Davidoff of Newsday, he tweets, “#Tigers have expressed a willingness – if not a flat-out offer – to pay Damon about $500K more than the #Braves’ $4 mil w/$2 mil deferred.”
Update 2/10 16:39: According to Mark Bowman of MLB.com, he tweets, “A Major League source said that even with deferred funds, the Braves offer to Damon totaled less than $4 million.”
Update 2/10 13:57: According to Tyler Kepner of The New York Times, he tweets, “Hearing Braves’ offer to Damon is $2M now + $2M deferred. If they raise it a little, it will be pretty much like Yanks’ final offer.”
Update 2/10 13:53: According to Mark Bowman of MLB.com says that the Braves and Damon have discussed a one-year offer. The club has not confirmed that it made an offer to Damon. The financial terms were not disclosed, but it is believed that the portion of the salary would be deferred.
2/10 06:02: David O’Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that free agent Johnny Damon is making it known that he would like to play for the Atlanta Braves.
“I hope. They are definitely a team that is on top of the list,” Damon said in a text message to the Journal-Constitution when asked if he had reason to think or hope the Braves would make him a competitive offer.
The Braves have about $2-3 million let on the player payroll, but some believe that the figure could be at least twice that. Frank Wren, the GM of the Braves said that they were close to the payroll limit, but he would not say what the limit is or how far they are under it.
In addition to the Braves, the Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays have expressed interest in Damon.
Damon, 36, hit .282 with a 24 home runs and 82 RBIs for the World Champion New York Yankees in 2009. You can see Damon’s contract history and statistics here.
Darin Erstad Rumors: Marlins consider free agent Erstad
Posted by: | CommentsUpdate 2/11 10:39: Erstad tells the Orange County Register that he is “at peace” with the possibility of retirement. He adds, “things can happen in a hurry. I’m just staying in shape and keeping an open mind to everything.”
2/10 13:15: Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports today that the Florida Marlins are interested in free agent first baseman and outfielder Darin Erstad for the role that Ross Gload had before he went to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Erstad, 35, hit .194 with 2 home runs and 11 RBIs in 107 games with the Houston Astros in 2009. You can see Erstad’s contract history and statistics here.
Gload, 34 in April, hit .261 with 6 home runs and 30 RBIs in 125 games (mostly in a pinch hitter role) with the Marlins in 2009. Gload signed with the Phillies in early December. You can see Gload’s contract history and statistics here.
Giants make 3 year, $37 million offer to Lincecum
Posted by: | CommentsUpdate 2/11 10:37: Baseball sources told ESPN’s Buster Olney that as of noon ET Thursday, the two sides were not close to a deal.
2/11 10:15: John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that the San Francisco Giants have made a three-year, $37 million offer to pitcher Tim Lincecum. The three-year offer is said to offer annual salaries of $9.5 million, $12.5 million and $15 million. The representatives of Lincecum are said to have made a counter proposal of $40 million.
Lincecum and the Giants are scheduled for an arbitration hearing on Friday in St. Peterburg, Florida.
MLB Rumors: Lincecum, Petit, Hernandez, Johnson, Aurilia, Washburn
Posted by: | CommentsHere are a few links for Wednesday:
- Tim Lincecum’s arbitration hearing will be held on Friday, 2/12 in St. Petersburg, Florida according to Chris Haft of MLB.com.
- Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com writes that former Mariners Gaby Hernandez was claimed off of waivers by the Red Sox.
- Yusmeiro Petit cleared waivers and was outrighted by Seattle to Triple-A Tacoma according to Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports tweets, “#Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik is pleased with C Rob Johnson’s progress, but he’s not ruling out an addition behind the plate.”
- Andrew Baggerly of the San Jose Mercury says that free agent infielder Rich Aurilia is not retired yet. He has a Comcast studio hosting job lined up, but that is contingent on him finding a playing job.
- Jim Street of MLB.com reports that free agent left-handed pitcher Jarrod Washburn is in no hurry to sign a contract. Rather, he is waiting for the “right offer.” Washburn turned down a few offers this winter, including a one-year $5 million offer from the Twins. Washburn is interested in returning to the Mariners.
Hisanori Takahashi Rumors: Offers from Red Sox, Giants, Padres and Dodgers
Posted by: | Comments2/10 20:41: According to Ken Davidoff of Newsday, he tweets, “Nippon Sports is reporting that free-agent LHP Hisanori Takahashi will sign a minor-league deal with either the #Mets or the #Dodgers.”
2/8 05:23: According to Sanspo (via Patrick at NPB Tracker), the Pirates have suddenly emerged as a destination for Takahashi. Patrick also syas that Takahashi prefers the West Coast and wants to have Major League deal as a starter.
2/7 16:08: JapaneseBallPlayers.com says that Takahashi has declined offers from the New York Mets and Baltimore Orioles.
2/6 13:55: Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated tweets, “…the mets, dodgers, giants, padres, red sox and pirates in mix.”
2/5 17:45: Hank Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle Tweets: Giants waiting on word from Japanese screwball pitcher H. Takahashi on their minor-league contract offer.
2/3 16:21: According to the Nippon Professional Baseball Tracker, left-handed pitcher Hisanori Takahashi has received Minor League offers from the Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers.
Takahashi, 35 in April, played for the Yamiuri Giants in 2009. He went 10-6 with a 2.94 ERA in 25 games with 126 strikeouts. You can see Takahashi’s stats here.
Carlos Delgado Rumors: Conditioning programming is progressing
Posted by: | CommentsUpdate 2/10 15:40: According to a Puerto Rican newspaper, via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, Delgado may retire if he does not receive a fair offer on the open market. Delgado told Primera Hora that he will be content to retire if no team offers him a suitable contract.
Update 2/10 13:18: According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the Marlins have spoken with Carlos Delgado’s agent and would have interest in him as a low-money backup or pinch hitter. However, Delgado wants substantial money and playing time.
2/10 04:56: Yesterday Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com found out that free agent Carlos Delgado’s conditioning program is progressing well according to his agent, David Sloane. However, there is no word on which teams may be interested.
The word from the Winter League has not been good for Delgado. A few weeks ago, one scout said, “He’s got no range at first — none. He actually limps out there. He can’t play first on a day-to-day basis. I think he can still DH, because he’s still got power.” If Delgado can prove that he can play the field, he can be more appealing beyond an American League DH role.
The Mets could be a destination, but ESPN Insider says that New York would only be willing to sign Delgado for a very low base salary and Joel Sherman of the New York Post said last week that the Blue Jays were not interested.
Delgado played in 26 games for the Mets in 2009 before going down to a hip injury that required surgery. You can see Delgado’s statistics here.
