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UPDATE: Hold your horses, everyone. When most of us went to bed, it appeared as though Roy Oswalt was St. Louis-bound. That may still be the case, but Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com has backtracked a bit from his previous report. He calls a deal likely to happen “soon” and was told by a source that…
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We’re just a little over two months away from the start of the 2012 season, but we still have no confirmation on when the expanded playoff format will take effect. Commissioner Bud Selig aims to change that real soon. According to Jim Owczarski of CSNChicago.com, Selig was in attendance at SoxFest on Friday night to…
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Mark Cuban out of the running for Dodgers, Joe Torre and Magic Johnson among those still in
Jan 27, 2012, 10:44 PM EST
UPDATE: Well, we can cross two big names off the list. Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times has learned that the groups led by Mark Cuban and former agent Dennis Gilbert didn’t make it to the second round of the bidding process. Meanwhile, Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com hears that Peter O’Malley’s group and the…
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Or how bad can your team really be when your seven, eight and nine hitters all have a chance to reach 25 homers. This is the Orioles lineup as I currently perceive it: 2B Brian Roberts SS J.J. Hardy RF Nick Markakis CF Adam Jones C Matt Wieters DH Wilson Betemit 1B Mark Reynolds 3B…
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Brad Penny is drawing interest from the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Japan
Jan 27, 2012, 7:15 PM EST
UPDATE: My guess was way off. ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports that Penny is “weighing an opportunity” with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Japan’s Pacific League. 7:15 PM: Brad Penny was pretty awful with the Tigers last season. In addition to his 5.33 ERA over 31 starts, his strikeout rate of 3.67 K/9 was the lowest in…
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Counting on Carlos Pena, Matt Joyce and Luke Scott to fill key roles this year, the Rays had set themselves up to have huge problems against lefties in the bottom half of the order. That was alleviated somewhat today with the signing of Jeff Keppinger. Of course, Keppinger doesn’t play the same position as any…
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The last we heard about John Maine was last summer when it was reported that he might retire. And he hasn’t pitched in the bigs since 2010. But Soxprospects.com reports that he’s signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox. Don’t expect much here. Maine had an ERA north of 7 in Colorado Springs…
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Looks like the Giants are looking at a youth movement. Hank Schulman on Twitter: Next name to watch for Giants: Xavier Nady. There’s some mutual interest, but almost certainly on a minor-league deal + invite. He could be a useful bat depending on his health, but coming off a 248/.287/.359 season, he’s not exactly a tonic…
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Rays make room for Jeff Keppinger by dropping Triple-A MVP Russ Canzler
Jan 27, 2012, 4:16 PM EST
This hasn’t been a good couple weeks for Russ Canzler. Last season he won the International League MVP award after hitting .314 with 18 homers, 40 doubles, and a .930 OPS for Durham, made his big-league debut in September with a handful of at-bats, and for a while at least it looked like the 25-year-old…
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Hunter Pence and the Phillies won’t be needing an arbitration hearing, as Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports that the two sides have agreed to a one-year deal worth $10.4 million. Pence submitted an $11.8 million request while Philadelphia countered at $9 million, which is a very big spread relative to other filings and may have…
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The A’s fan base is not exactly a happy one. The best players are being shipped off. Again. Costs are being cut. Division rivals are spending like there’s no tomorrow. The owner has behaved as though the very act of playing baseball in Oakland these past few years and for the next few is some…
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Zach Duke, who spent last season with the Diamondbacks, has agreed to a minor-league contract with the Astros. Duke was once considered a top prospect for the Pirates, but had a 4.54 ERA over six seasons in Pittsburgh before being traded to Arizona last offseason. He posted a 4.93 ERA in 77 innings split between…
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Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along reports from Japan that Kenshin Kawakami has agreed to a deal with the Chunichi Dragons following a disappointing three-year stretch with the Braves. Kawakami inked a $23 million contract with Atlanta in 2009 and had a solid rookie season for the Braves, tossing 156 innings with a 3.86…
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No, I’m not being sarcastic. I have seen the freakin’ light. Read on. Everyone knows that I have a long history of allowing Jeff Francoeur — or, rather, the idea of Jeff Francoeur — drive me crazy. I never liked his game. I mocked the claims of his surrogates in the media that he was…
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Cleveland’s League Park still exists, is getting a $5 million renovation
Jan 27, 2012, 12:50 PM EST
Things I did not know: Cleveland’s League Park, in which Cy Young pitched for the Cleveland Spiders in 1891 and which was home to the Cleveland Indians until 1946, still stands. At least partially. And the city of Cleveland has somehow found some money to help renovate it: City Architecture is wrapping up plans that…
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Ryan Theriot has agreed to a one-year, $1.25 million deal with the Giants that includes $750,000 in potential incentives, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Theriot has been a starter for most of the past five seasons, but his performance ceased warranting regular playing time several years ago. He hit just .271 with a .321…
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The Mets may experience the largest payroll decline in baseball history
Jan 27, 2012, 12:03 PM EST
This is fun. From Adam Rubin of ESPN New York: After general manager Sandy Alderson revealed the organization lost $70 million last year, the Mets appear poised to have the biggest one-year payroll drop in MLB history — roughly $52 million. That would surpass the former record: $48.4 million by the Texas Rangers from 2003 to 2004,…
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Frank White played his entire 18-season career for the Royals, spent years after that coaching and broadcasting their games, and has a statue in front of Kauffman Stadium. Yet last month the team fired White as their part-time television announcer and yesterday he took a new job on the independent league Kansas City T-Bones’ coaching…
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Say what you want, but Miguel Cabrera has the right attitude about playing third base
Jan 27, 2012, 11:00 AM EST
We’ve pretty much beat the whole Prince Fielder-to-Detroit, Miguel Cabrera-to-third base stuff into the ground, but I think there’s room for one more little nugget. From Michael Rosenberg’s story about it all in the Detroit Free Press: Cabrera wants to play the field; when I asked him last week what he wanted to improve most…
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Just about everyone in Detroit seems thrilled about the Prince Fielder signing despite plenty of room for concerns about his massive $214 million contract and how his arrival impacts the Tigers’ defense. One person who definitely isn’t happy? Brandon Inge, who was slated to start at third base until Fielder’s presence pushed Miguel Cabrera across…
