Rumors for December, 2010
Athletics sign RHP Vinnie Chulk
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According to Matt Eddy of Baseball America the Oakland Athletics have signed right handed pitcher Vinnie Chulk. The 33-year old spent half of last season playing with the Hiroshima club in Japan.
Boras: Has had no discussions to extend Shin-Soo Choo’s contract
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Agent Scott Boras told MLB.com (as reported by Eugene McCormick of the Cleveland Leader) that he has had no discussions with the Indians regarding a contract extension for Shin-Soo Choo. It’s starting to sound as if Boras is trying to get Choo out of Cleveland as soon as possible.
“I don’t think I’ll be doing a lot of discussing on those fronts right now,” Boras said.
Choo, 28, is under team control through the 2013 season. He made $461,100 in 2010, but his contract could balloon to around $3 million next season in arbitration. There have been talks about signing Choo to a long-term contract this winter, but being a Boras client it may not happen. Boras rarely gives up arbitration years in exchange for a long-term deal. He would rather maximize the contract by waiting until the player is a free agent.
It was speculated that Boras and Indians were going back and forth over several multi-year contracts before the season started, but the deal never completed.
“It’s something we remain interested in (a contract extension),” GM Chris Antonetti said.
Fausto Carmona drawing trade interest
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In an article by Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports, he mentions that teams are asking the Cleveland Indians about pitcher Fausto Carmona. The Indians are not eager to move the right-hander, but a Major League source close to Morosi says the team is in “listen and explore” mode.
The interest has peaked in Carmona for teams that could not land Cliff Lee and who may be hesitant to pay a high price for the Kansas City Royals’ Zack Greinke.
Carmona has a favorable contract in terms of cost and flexibility: $6.1 million in 2011, followed by team options worth $7 million, $9 million and $12 million.
The 27-year-old pitcher was 13-14 witha 3.77 ERA in 33 starts for the Indians in 2010.
New York Yankees to target Carlos Zambrano?
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Is Carlos Zambrano on his way out of Chicago? In the aftermath of losing out on Cliff Lee, the New York Yankees will likely target Zambrano, according to The New York Posts’ Bill Madden.
It won’t be easy to move Zambrano from the North side to the Bronx. The right-hander has a no-trade clause in his contract, and a Cub’s official close to Phil Rogers of The Chicago Tribune says that Zambrano is unwilling to waive the clause.
In mid-November, it was reported that Zambrano would use his no-trade clause if there were any attempts to move him this winter, but during the season he was open to being traded.
Zambrano was 11-6 with a 3.33 ERA in 2010, but went 8-0 with a 1.41 ERA in 11 starts since he came back from the restricted list midway through the year. Zambrano will earn $17.87 million in 2011 and $18 million in 2012. He has a $19.25 million mutual option in 2013 that will vest depending on his health and his placement in the Cy Young voting.
Cliff Lee officially signs five-year, $120 million contract with Phillies
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In a team press release, the Philadelphia Phillies have announced that they signed left-handed pitcher Cliff Lee to a five-year, $120 million contract. The contract includes a vesting option for 2016 and bonuses.
T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com was the first to report the deal on Monday evening. Lee left millions on the table in order to sign with the Phillies rather than return to the Texas Rangers or go with the New York Yankees. Both teams were offering longer and higher value contracts.
Lee went 12-9 with a 3.18 ERA in 28 starts for the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers in 2010. Lee returns to the team that he spent the latter half of 2009. He helped them reach the World Series in a losing effort to the Yankees.
Matt Guerrier agrees to a three-year deal with the Dodgers
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According to a source close to Newsday’s Erik Boland the Dodgers have agreed to a three-year deal with reliever Matt Guerrier.
FOXSports Ken Rosenthal adds that Guerrier deal is worth $12 million, and that it’s pending physical.
The Red Sox and Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox were interested in the right-handed pitcher with the Red Sox making an offer.
Guerrier has spent his entire Major League career of seven seasons with the Minnesota Twins. In 2010, he went 5-7 with a 3.17 ERA in 74 games. In the previous two seasons he led the American League in appearances with 76 and 79, respectively.
Primarily a ground-ball pitcher, Guerrier’s best pitch is a slider, which helped limit right-handed batters to a .210 batting average in 2010. He also walked just 22 in 71 innings last season.
Oakland Athletics to sign Rich Harden
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The Oakland Athletics have a Major League deal in place with Rich Harden, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Slusser adds that Harden could be a bullpen option.
Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated says the deal is for $1.5 million plus incentives.
The right-handed pitcher drew interest from Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers and the Colorado Rockies last week at the Winter Meetings.
Harden, 28, was 5-5 with 5.58 ERA in 20 appearances for the Rangers this season. He does have a career 3.63 ERA which is why teams are probably showing interest in the pitcher. He made $7.5 million on a one-year contract with Texas.
Astros signed Dopirak and Gervacio to Minor League deals
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Houston Astros signed infielder Brian Dopirak and right handed pitcher Sammy Gervacio to Minor League deals with invitation to Major League Spring Training, according to the Astros’ Sr. Director of Social Media Alyson Footer.
Diamondbacks agree to terms with Henry Blanco
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The Arizona Diamondbacks have agreed to a one-year, $1 million deal with catcher Henry Blanco, according to FOXSportsArizona.com’s Jack Magruder. The deal is pending physical.
Yesterday we reported that Blanco was lose to signing a one-year deal with the D’Backs.
Leonard Ojeda of Diario Meridiano recently reported that Blanco could reach an agreement with the Diamondbacks soon.
“Although there’s nothing official, I think that by the beginning of next week the transaction will be official,” said Blanco. “I’m happy because I would be with fellow country man Gerardo Parra and Melvin Mora. I think it’s going to be a very good year, and I expect to get far away because that’s what you look for; to play good baseball.”
The 39-year old Venezuelan played with the New York Mets last season, where he hit .215/.271/.300 with 2 HR and 8 RBI’s. The Diamondbacks are in a market for an experienced catcher to backup Miguel Montero.
Joe Blanton Rumors: Phillies will have to eat some money in order to move him
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Here are your Joe Blanton rumors for Wednesday (newest rumors on top):
– Buster Olney of ESPN.com heard from several GM’s that the Phillies will have to eat some money if they want to move Blanton, via trade, or take a sub-par contract back in order to offset the financial part of the deal.
