Yankees signed Randy Winn to be their 4th OF. He's a switch hitter who can't hit LHPing, not sure how he helps them since neither Granderson or Gardner can either.
yeah, just saw and posted in NYY thread.... As for Winn Winn had 790 OPSs and played good right field defense in 2007 and 2008, but fell all of the way to .262/.318/.353 last season. What's worse is that while he's a switch hitter, he hit.158/.184/.200 in 125 plate appearances vs lefties last year, which is the single worst split since at least 1954 (Retrosheet doesn't have data before then) (thanks to Jay Jaffe for that tidbit). Ultimately Winn is a bench player who could back up Nick Swisher and whoever gets the left field job (though if he brings anything different to the table than does Brett Gardner I'm struggling to see what it is). He's also taking up the last Yankee roster spot into which Johnny Damon could have dreamed of falling.
Reds signed IF Miguel Cairo to a minor league contract. He'll receive an invite to Spring Training. Cairo, who turns 36 in May, batted .267/.283/.422 in 45 at-bats with the Phillies in '09, but spent most of the season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Brewers signed OF Jim Edmonds to a minor league contract. Edmonds, who turns 40 in June, must be added to the major league roster by March 25 or he will be granted his release. He'll make $850,000 if he makes the roster, with a chance to make between $2-2.5 million with performance incentives. Edmonds hasn't appeared in the majors since 2008, but still proved pretty valuable, slugging 19 homers with a 937 OPS in 250 at-bats with the Cubs. One of the more underrated players in recent memory, Edmonds is just 18 home runs away from 400. It's a very nice low-risk acquisition.
According to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, the Rangers, Rockies, Mariners and Reds are among the possible landing spots for free agent IF Melvin Mora. Rosenthal categorizes the Rangers as having "fringe" interest in the veteran. Mora, 37, hit just .260/.321/.358 with eight home runs and 48 RBI last season. He's clearly not an everyday player anymore and will have to embrace being a complimentary piece in order to extend his career.
The Mets are interested in free agent right-hander Josh Fogg, according to Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog.com. Fogg, 33, compiled a 3.74 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in 45 2/3 innings with the Rockies last season, but it was largely aided by .197 batting average on balls in play, over 100 points lower than his career average. Don't be surprised to see him join the Mets on a minor league deal, but they'd be crazy to pay for a repeat with this shaky skill set. Quote of the day: -- Jerry Manuel, referring to the Mets' starting rotation, as currently constructed. You know you're in for a long season when your team's manager refers to the pitching staff as though it were a crime.
Tampa Bay has signed one of the biggest busts in draft history, inking former No. 1 overall pick Matt Bush to a minor-league contract. When last we saw Bush in July he'd been sentenced to 120 days in residential rehab, 240 hours of community service, three years of probation, and $2,000 in fines after being charged with a DUI, resisting arrest, driving on a suspended license, and vandalism. Just a month before that--on the day of the 2009 draft, no less--Bush pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor battery charges from what the San Diego Union-Tribune called a "drunken assault" on lacrosse players at his old high school. And then of course he's been a mess on the field as well. Bush was a disaster from Day 1, getting into a bar fight before even making his pro debut and then hitting .192 at rookie-ball. He moved up to Single-A in 2005 and hit .221, missed most of 2006 with a broken ankle, hit .204 at Single-A in 2007, and was then converted from shortstop to pitcher as the Padres tried to salvage some value from the blown pick. It didn't work, as a torn elbow ligament led to Tommy John surgery and ... well, now he'll be in the Rays' minor-league camp next month. Assuming he doesn't assault any teammates or fans while at spring training the Rays aren't really risking anything by signing Bush and perhaps there's a non-zero chance of him turning things around, but so far he's proven to be a bust as a hitter, pitcher, and human being. Quite an accomplishment for a 24-year-old.
Washington has signed Miguel Batista, late of Seattle, to a minor league deal. Batista turns 39 next month. Last year he went 7-4 with a 4.04 ERA in 56 relief appearances for the Mariners. Before last year he had mostly been a starter, though he's spent some time as a swingman and was exclusively a reliever in 2005 for the Blue Jays. Recently the Nats said that they're looking for "a Livan Hernandez type." Though they apparently don't think Livan Hernandez fits that description, Batista is probably a reasonable facsimile in that he generally stays healthy and isn't all that good anymore. Oh, and I'm assuming his crime novels and poetry are better than Livan's.
ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports that the Marlins have agreed to terms on a minor league contract with reliever Derrick Turnbow. Nice little gamble....The deal also includes an invitation to spring training, where Turnbow will try to win himself a spot in Florida's bullpen. It's probably a longshot. The 31-year-old right-hander hasn't appeared in a major league game since 2008 and posted a 15.63 ERA in eight appearances that season.
According to SI.com's Jon Heyman, the Yankees offered Johnny Damon a one-year, $6 million contract late last week and he turned it down. Half of the contract -- $3 million -- would have been paid out in deffered sums over the next few years. Damon, who hit .282/.365/.489 with 24 home runs, 82 RBI and 107 runs scored last year, is holding out for something better. It'll be interesting to see if he can find it. So far the A's, Rays, Tigers, Reds, Braves and Blue Jays have expressed interest in the 36-year-old outfielder. Damon turned that down and the Yankees quickly signed Randy Winn for $2 million instead, so now he's searching for a new team. Damon's agent, Scott Boras, is said to have told the Yankees early in the offseason that he'd accept nothing less than a two-year deal worth $26 million and after it became clear that wasn't happening they reportedly turned down a two-year, $14 million offer. Shooting for the moon early and then having too much pride to accept a lesser-but-still-good offer is one thing, but turning down $6 million in mid-January is flat-out foolish for a guy who's repeatedly said he wants to stay in New York. My guess is that Damon won't get $6 million from wherever he winds up, and even if he gets around that same money from his new team was it really worth leaving the Yankees?
Mets signed IF-OF Fernando Tatis to a one-year contract. Terms of the contract weren't released, but he could earn up to $1.5 million with incentives, close to the salary he made last season. Tatis, 35, has batted .289/.352/.458 with an 811 OPS over the past two seasons with New York, and though the choice is uninspiring, he figures to be the right-handed part of a platoon with Daniel Murphy at first base.
Larry Stone of the Seattle Times reports that the Mariners have signed OF Eric Byrnes to a one-year contract. Jack Z was in the market for a right-handed bat and part-time left fielder so Byrnes should do the trick. The oft-injured 33-year-old was cut loose by the Diamondbacks earlier this month and will join the Mariners at the major league minimum. It's worth a shot if Byrnes can add some speed and defense off the bench.
A source told MLB.com that Orlando Cabrera will take a one-year, $3 million contract to play fir the Reds. The deal also contains a $3 million option for 2011 with a $1 million buyout. We're going to assume that's either a player option or a mutual option, since there's no way Cabrera would want to cap his 2011 salary at $3 million. Cabrera will start at shortstop and probably bat second for the Reds. He'll be a nice upgrade over Paul Janish, even though the Reds will lose some defense with the switch.
Many expected one to follow the other, and true to form, after Orlando Cabrera signed with the Reds, the Rockies inked Melvin Mora to a one-year contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. He'll earn $1.3 million, tweets Rosenthal. Mora, who turns 38 next month, batted .260/.321/.358 with eight home runs and 48 RBI in tumultuous year with the Orioles last season. He battled with manager Dave Trembley after being benched and went over two months without hitting a home run. Nobody wanted to take a chance on his fading production as a starting player, so he'll have to embrace the role of a utility man, similar to the early days of his major league career with the Mets and Orioles.
Reds traded outfielder Willy Taveras and infielder Adam Rosales to the Athletics for second baseman Aaron Miles and a player to be named later. The A's, not interested in paying his $4 million salary in 2010, immediately designated Taveras for assignment. Billy Beane may be working on a trade, or Oakland could just eat the money and release him outright. Taveras batted just .240/.275/.285 in 404 at-bats last season, but he is fast and plays good defense, and would be a fine fourth or fifth outfielder for a different team. The problem in Oakland is the team already has five major league-caliber outfielders, plus designated hitter Jack Cust.
The Mariners have signed free agent first baseman Ryan Garko to a one-year, $550,000 contract, according to the Associated Press. Okay, Jack Z is just showing off at this point. Garko -- and his 887 career OPS against lefties -- figures to be the right-handed part of a first base tandem with Casey Kotchman. Garko, who turned 29 earlier this month, batted .268/.344/.421 with 13 homers and 51 RBI in 354 at-bats with the Indians and Giants last season. He was non-tendered by the Giants in December
The Red Sox on Monday inked 35-year-old right-hander Joe Nelson to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training. It'll be the second stint in the organization for Nelson, who received a World Series ring after pitching in three games and allowing five runs over 2 2/3 innings in 2004. The oft-injured reliever broke through at age 33 for the Marlins in 2008, amassing a 2.00 ERA and a 60/22 K/BB ratio in 54 innings. However, Florida non-tendered him anyway and the Rays never took much of a liking to him after signing him. He had a 4.02 ERA in 40 1/3 innings before being dropped from the roster on Aug. 1. Nelson stands little chance of winning a spot in the Boston bullpen, but he'll qualify as nice insurance if he's willing to open the year in Triple-A.
been on vaca....and lots of slow moves...mostly arbritration deals with existing clubs, etc (which I dont see value in posting)..... but this........ Pete Abraham tweets that Chien-Ming Wang has decided to accept an offer from the Nationals. Good move for the Nats. He's probably not going to cost a ton, and he'll be around later in the season when their young guys could use some innings relief. Still don't know why the Dodgers or Mets didn't take a flyer on him. Ken Davidoff of Newsday reports the Nationals will guarantee right-hander Chien-Ming Wang a base salary of $2 million. Incentives can more than double the base salary, so Wang is in a nice position to cash in provided he can get healthy. While Wang has his injury issues, it's surprising no other team was willing to compete with the Nationals in a year that Ben Sheets landed $10 million. The 29-year-old has yet to begin throwing off a mound and is hoping to return in May.
MLB.com's Mark Bowman reports that the Braves "have made a one-year offer to" Johnny Damon that includes "some money that would be deferred." Along those same lines, David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution wrote this afternoon that the "Braves' interest in Damon has increased" and Chipper Jones even contacted him about coming to Atlanta (presumably when he wasn't busy hyping prospect Jason Heyward, who'd likely be kept in the minors by a Damon signing). O'Brien adds that Damon and agent Scott Boras "haven't backed off" their demand for a two-year deal, and are in fact telling teams that they already have a two-year offer on the table from someone. Of course, earlier this week Boras claimed that Damon had "four or five" offers on the table. That table? Located on mars.
According to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, Tigers owner Mike Ilitch has authorized a two-year, $14 million contract offer for free agent outfielder Johnny Damon. Scott Boras is also weighing a one-year, $7 million contract from the club, but is believed to be pursuing a two-year contract. As Rosenthal notes, a two-year, $14 million contract would match what the Yankees offered Damon before they signed Nick Johnson to be their designated hitter, so if true, this would be awful tough to pass up. If the White Sox are as aggressive as we are beginning to hear, that might change.
Frank Thomas is officially retiring today, eventhough he didn't play at all in '09. He's definitely a future Hall of Famer. The ChiSox plan on retiring his #35 as well.
Biggest and perhaps last major announcement Sources told ESPN that the Tigers and Johnny Damon have come to terms on a one-year, $8 million contract. Damon will become the Tigers' primary left fielder, leaving Carlos Guillen in the DH spot and pushing Ryan Raburn back to the bench. He'll probably bat second behind Austin Jackson. His fantasy value won't be nearly the same as it was in New York, but he'll be a real asset as the Tigers try to win the AL Central.
LOL....thought this is a fitting close to the thread..... [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDTnzx01NtA&feature=player_embedded"]YouTube- Baseball Free Agents PSA[/ame]
