Rumors for December, 2011
Cardinals and Furcal agree to two-year deal
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The St. Louis Cardinals have resigned shortstop Rafael Furcal to a two-year, $14mm deal Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com reports.
This is the Cardinals first post Pujols move. The signing also takes away a possible Jimmy Rollins suitor making the market for him even smaller than it was.
The 33-year old Furcal hit .255/.316/.418 with 7 HR’s and 16 RBI’s in 196 AB’s for the Cardinals in 2011. The Cardinals acquired him from the Dodgers during the trade deadline on July 31.
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Ryan Braun tests positive for PEDs
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National League MVP Ryan Braun has tested positive for performance enhancing drugs, according to Yokal Sports. Braun faces a 50-game suspension if the finding is upheld.
A spokesman for Braun issued a statement Saturday: “There are highly unusual circumstances surrounding this case which will support Ryan’s complete innocence and demonstrate there was absolutely no intentional violation of the program. While Ryan has impeccable character and no previous history, unfortunately, because of the process we have to maintain confidentiality and are not able to discuss it any further, but we are confident he will ultimately be exonerated”
Braun was notified of a positive test in late October – about month before he was named National League MVP.
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Pirates designate RHP Jeremy Hefner for assignment
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The Pittsburgh Pirates have designated right-handed pitcher Jeremy Hefner, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. The 40-man roster is now full with this move.
Hefner, 25, has a record of 46-34 with a 3.84 ERA in 131 appearances (120 starts) over five Minor League seasons
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Diamondbacks could trade Joe Saunders
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The Arizona Diamondbacks could trade Joe Saunders, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports. He’s being told that Saunders’ chances of sticking around may not be good in the aftermath of the Trevor Cahill acquisition.
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Nationals trade Balester to Tigers for Perry
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The Washington Nationals have traded right-handed pitcher Collin Balester to the Detroit Tigers for right-handed pitcher Ryan Perry, the team announced via a press release.
Balester was orginally an Expo and had a 5-16 record with a 5.17 ERA in 62 games (22 starts) for the Nationals from 2008-2011. The 24-year-old Perry was 5-6 with a 4.07 ERA in 149 relief appearances for the Tigers over three seasons.
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D’Backs acquire Cahill and Breslow from the A’s
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The Diamondbacks have acquired Trevor Cahill and Craig Breslow from the Athletics in exchange for prospects Jarrod Parker, Collin Cowgill and possibly Ryan Cook, according to Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle and Steve Gilbert of MLB.com.
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic was the first to report the likely trade.
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What’s next for Francisco Rodriguez?
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Right handed pitcher Francisco Rodriguez decided to accept the Brewers’ arbitration offer last Wednesday, and now he’s facing a complicated situation.
By accepting the arbitration offer Rodriguez will probably get a raise from the $12.5 he made during his past contract, but as a setup man. This could make the situation a little difficult for everybody.
According to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports, Rodriguez has been drawing interest from a “handful of teams,” but at $13-$14 million a season it might be a little pricey for most teams. After all, Heath Bell signed for an average $9 million per season, and Jonathan Papelbon for $12.5 million per season.
Rosenthal points out that the Brewers estimate that Rodriguez will slot somewhere between Bell and Papelbon. Even so, Rodriguez, at $10 million is still a pricey setup man, and if he definitely doesn’t want to be a setup man, they will have to explore a trade.
Rodriguez was 6-2 with a 2.64 ERA with 25 saves in 71.2 innings with the Mets and Brewers in 2011.
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Friday Hot Stove rumors: Carlos Pena remains a possibility for the Cardinals
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Here’s a running list of rumors around the Major Leagues:
– Carlos Pena remains a possibility to the St. Louis Cardinals to replace Albert Pujols according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports. He adds the the Cardinals could also look at Carlos Beltran and Jimmy Rollins. Whether the will pursue Prince Fielder remains unknown.
– The Texas Rangers are among the teams currently talking to the Oakland Athletics regarding left handed pitcher Gio Gonzalez reports Buster Olney of ESPN. He adds that at least two teams “seem to match up” the A’s demands.
– Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports believes that one of the reasons the Marlins won’t pursue Prince Fielder is because his agent, Scott Boras, would probably insist on a no-trade clause and the Marlins would not change his policy on no-trade clauses. They didn’t do it for Albert Pujols, and they’re probably not doing it for Fielder either.
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Yankees officially sign Freddy Garcia
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The New York Yankees have announced that they have officially signed right handed pitcher Freddy Garcia. Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger adds that Colin Curtis has been designated for assignment.
The Yankees agreed to a deal with Garcia back in November. It had been no secret that New York wanted to bring back Garcia for 2012. The 35-year old Garcia was 12-8 with a 3.62 ERA in 146.2 innings throughout 26 games, 25 starts, for the Yankees in 2011.
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Rays agree to a five year deal with Matt Moore
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The Tampa Bay Rays have agreed to a five-year, $14 million deal with left handed pitcher Matt Moore according to sources close to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.
Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times adds that the teams holds options for 2017, 2018 and 2019, and the total value of Moore’s contracto could be $39.78 million over eight years.
Moore made his Major League debut this season with the Rays. In 9.1 innings, three games, one start, Moore was 1-0 with a 2.89 ERA and 15 strikeouts.
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