Ramblings: Miller, Renteria, Encarnacion

Andrew Miller is the newest
Red Sox

• The Boston Red Sox have acquired left-hander Andrew Miller from the Florida Marlins.  Florida gets lefty reliever Dustin Richardson.  The 6'7" Miller was a first round pick in the 2006 draft, but has not reached the ceiling that scouts once believed he had.  He's thrown 294.1 major-league innings, with a horrific 5.84 ERA and 1.73 WHIP.  Boston will likely turn him into a reliever, which MLB Network's Peter Gammons believes might work.  Richardson has only thrown 16.1 innings in parts of the last two seasons, and has got very lucky posting a 3.31 ERA despite a WHIP over 2.  The Kansas native had a decent minor-league career though, so the Marlins pretty much got a piece with a lower ceiling but higher current state, with the Red Sox doing the oppostie and taking a gamble on Miller.
• World Series MVP Edgar Renteria has now made it clear that he wants to retire with either the Florida Marlins or St. Louis Cardinals, which is very odd considering he just won a world title with the Giants.  This might hurt his free-agency as well, since those teams don't seem to have room for him and now the Giants will likely turn their back on the 34-year old since he doesn't want to be back with San Fran.
• The busy Oakland A's made another move today, claiming third-baseman Edwin Encarnacion off waivers from the Blue Jays.  Edwin hit .244 last year, and cranked out 21 home-runs. A's GM Billy Beane is deep into his search for some bats, already acquiring OF David DeJesus earlier.

Free-Agent Predictions: Part 4

7. Rafael Soriano:  Soriano was by far one of the best closers in baseball last year, and he will definitely get paid like it.  One problem is that there does not seem to be too many teams that have enough money to spend on a closer the tier of Rafael.  I see the Atlanta Braves wanting Rafael back in Atlanta (he was there in 09), especially since their closer Billy Wagner has announced his retirement.  The Angels and Diamondbacks may also be in play.  4-years $39.5M

8. Paul Konerko: The power-filled Konerko hit  .312 with 39 jacks with 111 RBI in 2010, but seems to be a ticking time bomb in the sense that he is 35-years old.  After such a large 2010 though he will get his money, but the length of the team will most likely not be longer  than 2-years.  I'm going with the Baltimore Orioles  with this pick.  2-year $18M

Ramblings: Rangers, de la Rosa, Beltran

Victor Martinez is one of the names
that Texas may be looking at.

• Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports believes that the Texas Rangers might have enough in their budget to sign two premiere free-agents: Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez.  They would first need ownership to approve a budget increase, pushing Texas' payroll to about $90M.  They will have a terrific club if they can re-sign Lee and add a terrific hitter in Martinez.
• Cliff Lee isn't the only lefty the Yankees are talking to, as they have been talking to free-agent Jorge de la Rosa (according to the NY Daily News).  It looks like New York believes de la Rosa would be their consolation prize of choice. Jorge has always been a strike-out specialist (113 in 121.2 innings in 2010) but has lacked command throughout his career, with a whopping 1.523 career WHIP. I'm not so sure he'd be a good fit for the Yankees, as pitching in such a large market might be tough on a guy who has pitched with KC, MIL, and COL throughout his 7 year career.
• New York Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran told the media that he would indeed waive his no-trade clause if the Mets came to him with a deal.  He also said he'd be willing to move to right-field if new GM Sandy Alderson.

Ramblings: Buck, Reynolds, de la Cruz, Blum, Contreras

• The Red Sox might look at catcher John Buck in the free-agent market, says Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.
• Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Arizona Diamondbacks are shopping K-artist Mark Reynolds.  The third-baseman is the most notorious feast or famine hitter around (hitting 32 HR but striking out 211 times last year).  They are looking for contact hitters, especially after such a pathetic strike out-laden 2010 season they had.
• The Oakland Athletics continue their busy week, this time signing 16-year old international free-agent Vicmal de la Cruz.  The center-fielder seems to be a 5-tool player with tons of upside.  Oakland paid Vicmal a $800K bonus.
• A pair of veterans are deep in negotiations with their previous teams: Geoff Blum and Jose Contreras.  Blum is thought to be "close to resigning" with the Astros while the Phillies acknowledged that they are trying extremely hard to bring back Contreras.

Oakland A's Acquire OF David DeJesus

And the offseason begins.  In the first major trade of this offseason, the Oakland Athletics have acquired outfielder David DeJesus from the Kansas City Royals.  The Royals get SP Vin Mazzaro and SP Justin Marks.  DeJesus hit .316 last year for the Royals, but did not supply much pop (5 HR in 91 games) or speed (3 for 6 in stolen base attempts).  He is entering the last year of the 6-year/$19.3M extension he signed in 2006, so Oakland gets a year of David to see if he'll be a productive enough bat for their outfield.  The Royals got a decent deal, as the 24-year old Vin Mazzaro pitched 122.1 innings last year for Oakland.  His ERA sat at a decent 4.27, but his peripherals were a bit low (5.8 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9).  Still, he is young and should be a decent number three starter for Kansas City.  Justin Marks seems to be a low-ceiling prospect, who was more of a throw in.  The 22-year old pitched his first full year, throwing almost 130 innings with a ERA of 4.87. 

This deal looks fairly even, with a high-contact hitter going to Oakland for a young pitcher who has bit of an upside going to Kansas City.  (Image courtesy of croixdestick.com)

Ramblings: Jeter, Hampton, Hansen

• The New York Yankees are going to likely offer SS Derek Jeter a 3-year deal worth anywhere from $45-60M (According to ESPNNewYork.com).  It's only evident that Jeter will return to the Yanks, but any other short-stop who put up a 2010 like Jeter did would not get even $10M, yet alone $15M. In this case, the name sells.
• Often-injured lefty Mike Hampton wants to return in 2011, and his agent has told Ken Rosenthal that Mike is getting quite a bit of interest.  Hampton threw a mere 4.1 innings in 2010 for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
• The Dodgers are close to signing Dave Hansen as their new pitching coach under manager Don Mattingly.  Hansen was recently the hitting coach for an Arizona Diamondbacks' minor league club.

Free-Agent Predictions: Part 3

I hope you guys are loving these as much as I am!
5. Adam Dunn: The powerhitting should-be-DH does not want to DH, which limits the list of clubs he will draw interest in.  35+ HR bats are hard to come by nowadays, and my prediction here is a clean cut re-sign with the Washington Nationals. They will finally give him the fourth year he is yearning for.  4-years $48.5M

6. Victor Martinez: The switch-hitting catcher is a lot better with the bat than he is behind the plate, so what ever team signs him needs to remember defense is not his cup of tea.  Still, the Detroit Tigers should use another large chunk of their avaliable resources for a middle of the order type bat at a premiere position. 3-years $27M

Dan Uggla turns down 4-year/$48M Deal

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reports that Florida Marlins second-baseman Dan Uggla turned down a 4-year, $48M deal extension offered by the Marlins.  Uggla wants a 5-year pact, but in all honesty $12M seems like quite a bit for his services.  Not to mention the fact that the Marlins are usually quite tight with their finances.  Uggla should have taken the offer while it was there.

Oakland Athletics Sign Iwakuma?

A Japanese reporter, Don Nomura, has seemingly reported that the Oakland Athletics have won the bidding war for pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma. More as this story progresses.....

Ramblings: Cliff Lee, Dunn, Iwakuma

• The Yankees have already contacted top free-agent Cliff Lee, which should come as no surprise since most believe his services will come down to a battle between the Yanks and Texas Rangers.
• MLB.com reports that the Washington Nationals have had a three-year offer to first baseman Adam Dunn for quite some time, and the slugger has insisted that they add a fourth year.  It doesn't seem like they are willing to, and therefore Dunn should be changing locations this offseason.
• Japanese import Hisashi Iwakuma and his former club Rakuten are looking over the offers (which are coming from teams such as Seattle, Oakland and Texas to name a few) and should announce where Iwakuma will be going shortly.  The 28-year old right-hander has good perphirals and has posted a career ERA under 4 in his Japanese career. His top bid is thought to be about $16M.

Free-Agent Predictions: Part 2

3. Jayson Werth: Werth is the top right-fielder in his class, and agent Scott Boras swears he can be a terrific centerfielder as well. While streaky, Werth hits you about 25 home-runs and throws in about 10 steals and some quality defense. My prediction here is the suddenly cash-filled Detroit Tigers will swoop in on Werth. Detroit needs a bat to replace Magglio Ordonez, and Jayson will fit in perfect in right. He can give protection to MVP-candidate Miguel Cabrera as well. 5-years $80M.

4. Adrian Beltre: Beltre is a tremendous defensive third-baseman, and hits you about 25 home-runs and drives in quite a bit as well. He has been known to have down years though, but his contract year was spectacular (.321 28HR 102RBI) and he will get paid for putting up those numbers. Beltre is a tough one because the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are favored for his services, but I doubt they will have enough cash to sign both Crawford and Beltre. I'm going with a darkhorse here, and choosing the Chicago White Sox. 4-years $55M

Ramblings: Moyer, Renteria, Peralta

• The soon to be 48-year old hurler Jamie Moyer, might have to retire after reinjuring his elbow in a Dominican league game. The elbow held Moyer out of action for most of the second half of last year, and Escogido GM Moises Alou (Yes, that Moises Alou) said that he thinks the injury, which occured after two innings, will force Moyer to hang it up for good.
• World Series MVP Edgar Renteria has finally came out and said that he will be returning for the 2011 season. The 34-year old hinted at retiring during the year, but the Giants' title might have changed Edgar's mind. He still believes he has plenty of baseball left and as cliche as that sounds I believe him.
• UPDATE: Peralta signed for 2-years $11.25M...Hours before the free-agency begins, the Detroit Tigers believe that they are tremendously close to a 2-year pact with short-stop Jhonny Peralta. The deal is said to be worth a bit more than $11M, and seems to be the first of many signings the Tigers will make this year. Detroit has more than $60M coming off the books from last year and will be major players this offseason.

Free-Agent Predictions: Part 1

I'm going to be predicting where some of the top free-agents will be going next year. Let's see how close I can get to actuality, eh?

1. Cliff Lee: The prized left-hander, who I consider the second best pitcher in the game today, is not-suprisingly going to test the free-agent waters. Lee has proved to be dominant in the playoffs and will commend a TON of money on the open market. I have to predict the New York Yankees will sign the lefty, as they obviously have the cash and need another top-flight starter to pair with C.C. Sabathia. It will be interesting to see how a 1-2 punch of lefties will work in the postseason though. 5-years $125M

2. Carl Crawford: Was the star left-fielder for the Tampa Bay Rays, will definitely be on a new team next year. Had over 90 RBI in 2010, hitting .300+ and stealing a whopping 47 bases. While it might be bit of a hometown bias, i'm going with my Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim signing Crawford. It won't be cheap though, probably in the 6-year $120M range. He'll slot nicely into the top of the Mike Scioscia line-up.

San Francisco Giants Talking to Huff/Uribe

The 2010 MLB Champion San Francisco Giants have quite a bit of decisions to make this offseason, with most of their championship chips upcoming free-agents. General Manager Brian Sabean talked to the Mercury News and explained that he has talked to the agents of both first-baseman Aubrey Huff and infielder Juan Uribe and is hoping to bring them back into the fold next year. Uribe seems to be in for a two to three year pact, as he has provided some terrific pop for a player that can play every position in the infield. As for Huff, the first-baseman provided a bargain for the Giants this year, and first-basemen who can hit 20+ home-runs are huge assets to clubs.

On another note, Sabean made it clear that Pablo Sandoval, the proclaimed "Kung Fu Panda", will not be having weight issues next year and if he does he will risk being sent back down to the minors despite his quality play. Sandoval seemingly weighed himself out of the third-base job this year, with Uribe slotting over to play throughout the playoffs. This is definitely a good move by San Francisco to force Sandoval's hand.

Phillies Have Interest in Rowand

Sports Illustrated's John Heyman hears that the Philadelphia Phillies have interest in bringing center-fielder Aaron Rowand back into the fold. Rowand just won a world championship with the San Francisco Giants but does not seem to have a starting position with the team. He is still under contract with San Francisco, but if the champs can eat most of his salary the Phillies could definitely be interested.