Rumors for January, 2011
Rockies sign Joe Crede to a Minor League deal
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According to a Tweet by the Colorado Rockies, the team has signed infielder Joe Creded to a Minor League contract. The deal also includes an invitation to the Major League Spring Training.
The 33-year-old missed all of the 2010 due to back surgery. In 2009, he hit .224 with 15 home runs and drove in 48 RBIs in 90 games for the Minnesota Twins.
Nationals officially agree to terms with Jerry Hairston Jr.
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The Washington Nationals have officially agreed to terms with Jerry Hairston Jr. on a one-year contract, according to a team press release.
Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports was the first to report that the sides agreed to a deal earlier today. Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated clarifies that Hairston will make $2 million plus $1 million in possible incentives.
Hairston’s ability to play multiple positions in the infield and outfielder will allow Washington the insurance in the event of injury or poor performance by a starter.
The 34-year-old signed a one-year, $2.125 million contract in January 2010 with the Padres and was open to returning to San Diego. In mid-December, we heard, that four or five teams were talking with Hairston and the market for him was “heating up”, according to his agent.
Bill Ladson of MLB.com was the first to report that the Nationals were looking at Hairston.
Mets hopes to add another left-handed reliever
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New York Mets manager, Terry Collins, hopes to add another left-handed reliever to his bullpen, according to ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin.
“We’re hoping to sign another one,” Collins said. “It certainly would make it a little bit better for us if we had another one coming into camp, and I know Sandy [Alderson] is working with a couple of people.”
Whoever the Mets add will compete with the recently signed Taylor Tankersley.
Available left-handed pitchers on the market include Joe Beimel, Ron Mahay, Dennys Reyes and Mark Hendrickson.
Andy Pettitte is starting to get into baseball shape
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Maybe Andy Petitte is becoming the reincarnation of Brett Favre. Will he retire? Will he return to the Yankees? So far this winter, the pitcher has been on the fence regarding his future in baseball.
Howver, Yankees’ manager, Joe Girardi, says that Pettitte is at least getting into baseball shape in the event he decides to pitch in 2011.
“I believe he is throwing,” Girardi said, according to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. “He wants to be prepared, whatever his decision is.”
GM Brian Cashman sounded a less optimistic about Pettitte’s possible return.
“Andy has told us he’s not in,” Cashman said on Wednesday. “He told us that right after we got knocked out by Texas. He told us if he ever changes his mind, he’ll let us know.”
While there’s an obvious competitive desire for Pettitte to continue his career, there are two factors that will ultimately affect Pettitte’s decision: his desire to be closer to his family in their Houston, Texas home and the amount of money the New York Yankees want to offer. It’s been previously reported that Pettitte will return to New York if they offer him a contract that “isn’t insulting.” It’s believed that Pettitte may be unhappy with his previous pay structure – he’s the team’s number 2 pitcher, but he’s being paid like a number 4 starter. The Yankees have about $20 million left in their 2011 budget,
“We always have hope. I always think positive,” Girardi said. “I hope he does come back — who wouldn’t want Andy Pettitte to come back? But you do have to kind of prepare like he’s not coming back.”
Nationals officially acquire LHP Tom Gorzelanny
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According to the team, the Washington Nationals have officially acquired left-handed pitcher Tom Gorzelanny from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for outfielder Michael Burgess, right-handed pitcher A.J. Morris and left-handed pitcher Graham Hicks.
Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com was the first to report the deal on January 17. Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports and Bill Ladson of MLB.com contributed to the reporting of the trade.
Twins and Carl Pavano could complete deal as soon as today
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In a Tweet by Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated, he notes that the Minnesota Twins are working hard to finalize a two-year deal for Carl Pavano. He notes that a deal could be completed as soon as today.
On Tuesday evening,Star Tribune’s Joe Christensen reported that the sides were working on the final details of the deal and had confirmation from GM Bill Smith that the sides were close.
Smith said, “I think we’re in the home stretch here.”
Oakland Athletics officially sign Brian Fuentes
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The Oakland Athletics have officially signed Brian Fuentes to a two-year deal, according to a team release.
The Associated Press was the first to report that the sides had agreed to a deal on January 16.
Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman and FOXSports’ Ken Rosenthal provided details on the length and amount of contract ($10.5 million).
The A’s just wrapped up Grant Balfour with a two-year deal plus an option year. Balfour joins an already stellar Oakland bullpen that is packed with young talented arms. Though you can never have enough quality arms in the bullpen, one has to wonder if Fuentes would be willing to settle for a non-closer role as Andrew Bailey and his 1.47 era appears to be the closer of the future for the A’s.
In a parallel move to make room for Fuentes on the 40-man roster, the A’s designated Steve Tolleson for assignment.
Cardinals sign Freddie Bynum to a Minor League deal
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The St. Louis Cardinals have agreed to a Minor League deal with shortstop Freddie Bynum according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America.
Bynum spent the 2010 season playing for Orix in Japan. He last played in the majors in 2008 with the Orioles. He hit .179 with 8 RBI’s in 112 AB’s that year.
What are the options for Armando Galarraga?
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The Detroit Tigers designated Armando Galarraga for assignment yesterday, one day after they signed him to a one-year, $2.3 million deal. The right handed pitcher was the fifth starter for the Tigers in 2010, and he was supposed to compete with recently signed Brad Penny for that job this year.
After Penny’s deal became official, the Tigers decided to give him Galarraga’s spot on the rotation and on the 40-man roster.
The first thing I thought was, why would you give a guy a contract the day before you’re going to designate him for assignment? It’s hard to think that a team like the Tigers made that decision out of nowhere and without any considerations. I’m not saying it’s a horrible decision, but if they tendered a contract for Galarraga that means they were taking him into an account for the 2011 season.
I’m not writing this because I’m Venezuelan just like Galarraga, but because I find this strategy baffling. The Tigers will go with Penny who only played nine games and pitched 55.2 innings last year before going to the DL with a season-ending upper-back strain in May. Until that point he was 3-4 with a 3.23 ERA. Galarraga on the other hand pitched 144.1 innings, although he only had 4 wins in 24 starts and a 4.49 ERA.
The Tigers could have easily given the fifth spot to one of them and go with the other as a long reliever/swingman. Maybe that’s why I’m not a team owner or GM, but I don’t see the point of what they did yesterday.
Tigers GM, Dave Dombrowski, said yesterday (via MLBBlogs.com) that he’s confident on trading Galarraga. “I’m confident,” he said. “You never know until you get it done. We’ve had enough clubs express some interest. It’s not like I have a for-sure deal, but I do have enough clubs that have asked me about him.”
I’m pretty sure too that the right handed pitcher could find a new home on another team’s rotation. Galarraga’s health is not a concern and he has a reasonable $2.3 million contract, although he had an up-and-down season in 2010, he can still pitch at a Major League level.
A possible suitor for the Venezuelan could be the Yankees. The Bronx Bombers only have three starters to this point and they have not expressed any interest in giving Joba Chamberlain a chance to become a starter again.
Chamberlain will be a middle reliever at best now that the New York Yankees have agreed to terms with Rafael Soriano, and the team has said that they could be open to trading him, but probably only in package that includes a viable starter. Now the question is, do the Yankees consider Galarraga a viable starter. I think they should consider him given the options left on the market.
The Yankees could give Galarraga and Ivan Nova a chance to become the fourth and fifth starter, although the Yankees have been linked to another Venezuelan starter Freddy Garcia.
Both Garcia and Galarraga pitched in the AL Central in 2010, and ended with similar ERA, 4.64 for Garcia and 4.49 for Galarraga. The decisive points here could be the age of the hurlers, Garcia is 35 and Galarraga 29, and the fact that Garcia is a free agent while the team will have to trade for Galarraga.
Another team that has expressed some interest on Galarraga are the Baltimore Orioles. Apparently they are looking to add some pitching depth and they could make a run for the right handed pitcher, but for now, we’ll have to sit and wait who presents the best offer to the Tigers.
Nationals agree to terms with Todd Coffey
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The Washington Nationals and reliever Todd Coffey have agreed to terms according to William Ladson of MLB.com. The deal is pending a physical.
The 30-year-old Coffey was mentioned as a candidate this winter for bullpen starved teams such as the Tampa Bay Rays and Colorado Rockies.
Coffey was 2-4 with a 4.76 ERA in 69 relief appearances for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2010.
