Rumors for November, 2010
Rangers sign RHP Yoshinori Tateyama
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Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports reports that the Texas Rangers have signed 34-year-old right-handed pitcher Yoshinori Tateyama to a one-year Major League contract with two option years.
T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com says the 12-year veteran of the Japanese Major Leagues had a 1.80 ERA for the Nippon Hamon Fighters with 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings over 55 innings pitched in 2010. He had a 1-2 record with 4 saves.
Angels have room in budget for Carl Crawford and Rafael Soriano
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Super agent Scott Boras has had more than one meeting with the Angels according to ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Mark Saxon. Boras represents many free agents on the market, including third baseman Adrian Beltre, outfielder Jayson Werth and closer Rafael Soriano.
“I’ve heard from them a number of times this winter,” Boras said. “We had dinner together.”
According to Saxon, Soriano appears to be the Angels’ top target among the Boras clients, because they’re looking for a reliable closer. Earlier this month, several executives believed that Arte Moreno the Angels owner will open his wallet and spend big which could net them Carl Crawford, Beltre and Soriano. Although Saxon says Beltre is believed to prefer playing on the East Coast.
A source close to the Los Angeles Times’ Mike DiGiovanna says that the Angels have room in their budget for the heavily coveted Crawford and Soriano should they choose to pursue both.
The Angels primary target for this winter appears to be Crawford, but indications are they could expand their payroll sufficiently to add Soriano as well, Saxon reports.
Strong indications that Jesse Crain and Carl Pavano will decline arbitration
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Joe Christensen of the Star Tribune says that there are strong indications that Jesse Crain and Carl Pavano will decline arbitration from the Minnesota Twins.
Orlando Hudson will reject arbitration
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Orlando Hudson will reject the Minnesota Twins’ offer of arbitration, according to Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated.
Jesse Crain and Blue Jays have mutual interest
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There’s a strong interest between the Toronto Blue Jays and reliever Jesse Crain, according to sources close to FOXSport’s Jon Paul Morosi.
Several of our readers have pointed out that Crain was born in Toronto, but he went graduated from high school in Colorado. So it’s possible the he may lean toward familiar parts when making a decision to sign with a team.
As of last week, there were several teams in on the right-hander. MLB Network’s Peter Gammons said that Crain may be the hottest reliever on the open market. Several teams are interested including the Tampa Bay Rays, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals and Toronto Blue Jays.
The 29-year-old Crain was 1-1 with a 3.04 ERA in 71 appearances for the Minnesota Twins in 2010. He had an affordable $2 million contract with Minnesota in 2010, and with so many teams interested in him, he could command a nice raise. Crain is a Type-B free agent and the Twins offered him salary arbitration last week, so it won’t cost his new team any draft picks, but the Twins will get a supplemental pick if he goes to another team.
Yankees plan B for Jeter is Eduardo Nunez
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The New York Yankees expect shortstop Derek Jeter to be back, but according to Buster Olney of ESPN, their plan B would be 23-year-old Eduardo Nunez.
Olney adds that rather than going after a veteran shortstop such as Orlando Cabrera, Nunez would be given the opportunity win the shortstop job during Spring Training.
Safe to assume Randy Choate will decline arbitration
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ESPN’s Buster Olney says that it’s safe to assume Randy Choate will decline arbitration from the Tampa Bay Rays.
Felipe Lopez will decline arbitration from Red Sox
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Rob Bradford of WEEI says that Felipe Lopez will decline arbitration from the Boston Red Sox.
Diamondbacks and Orioles talking about trade for Mark Reynolds
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According to Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman, the Arizona Diamondbacks and Baltimore Orioles and other teams are talking about a trade for Mark Reynolds.
The Oakland Athletics are believed to interested in Reynolds too. However, the A’s are on Reynold’s no-trade list.
In October, there were rumors that the A’s could move Kevin Kouzmanoff and pitcher Vin Mazzaro for Reynolds. Mizzaro has since been traded to the Kansas City Royals.
Pedro Feliciano has declined arbitration
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According to Ken Davidoff of Newsday, Pedro Feliciano has officially declined arbitration from the New York Mets.
When Davidoff spoke with Feliciano’s agent, Melvin Roman, last week, Roman mentioned that his client was “seriously considering” accepting the Met’s offer of arbitration.
FOXSports’ Ken Rosenthal says that Feliciano could accept the arbitration offer where his salary could go from $2.9 million to the $4.5-$5 million range.
Feliciano who is a Type-B free agent made $2.9 million last season and could see his salary jump anywhere north of $3.3.million.
Back in August, both Feliciano and the Mets expressed a mutual interest in each other. The Mets were concerned about his workload as he set club records for most appearances in each of the last three seasons. Though he made a number of appearances, Feliciano has been one of the Mets most reliable relievers over the years. Feliciano will also be 36 at the conclusion of next season so many teams may be skeptical of giving him a multi-year deal.
