Archives › Drew Silva
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Desperate to add a power bat to their light-hitting lineups, the Orioles, Padres and Blue Jays have expressed interest this offseason in trading for Diamondbacks slugger Mark Reynolds. Reynolds tallied 32 home runs in 2010 and a career-high 44 in 2009, but he’s the only player in major league history to amass 200 strikeouts in…
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The Phillies would love to be able to retain Jayson Werth, but the free agent outfielder is represented by Scott Boras and his asking price at this point in the offseason is thought to be sky high. If Werth signs elsewhere, which seems likely, the Phils are probably going to hand right field duties to…
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Mariano Rivera inked a two-year, $30 million contract last week with the Yankees. It may be the last contract of his career. Rivera, 41, posted a stellar 1.80 ERA and 0.83 WHIP over 60 innings this past season, fanning 45 batters and walking only 11. He converted 33 of his 38 save chances and did…
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The Red Sox traded prospects Casey Kelly, Anthony Rizzo, Reymond Fuentes and a PTBNL to the Padres yesterday for first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. They got their man, and are now working toward a contract extension with Gonzalez in an exclusive negotiating window. That window closes Sunday at 2pm ET, but it might not really matter.…
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Well, the Yankees have wrapped up negotiations with one of their veteran free agents. Red Christian of the New York Daily News reports that closer Mariano Rivera has agreed to terms on a two-year contract worth $30 million and that the agreement will be finalized on Friday. Rivera’s talks went smoothly because he wasn’t asking…
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Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik is widely regarded as one of the smartest and most forward-thinking front office executives in all of baseball. Things didn’t work out in 2010, when the M’s finished with a hideous 61-101 record, but the man they call “Jack Z” is again earning his reputation this winter. According to Shannon Drayer…
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A few hours ago, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reported that the Blue Jays were close to a contract with free agent catcher A.J. Pierzynski. That was incorrect. From Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com comes word that the White Sox have agreed to a two-year deal with Pierzynski, possibly worth $8 million. Pierzynski, 33, hit…
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ESPN.com’s Jayon Stark passed along an odd rumor earlier today, stating that the A’s and Adrian Beltre were close to agreement on a contract and that the deal might be finalized by this evening. It’s now past 9:30 PM in the east and nothing has been signed. Beltre is a Scott Boras client and Boras…
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From Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times comes word that the Blue Jays are close to an agreement with free agent catcher A.J. Pierzynski. Cowley buried the news in a story about the White Sox signing Adam Dunn, so it’s possible that he doesn’t fully trust the source that passed along the information. But a…
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The Mets’ new management regime has already committed to using Francisco Rodriguez at closer next season, but that doesn’t mean the right-hander can put the events of August 11 behind him. At least, not yet. According to the New York Daily News, Rodriguez will plead guilty Friday in a New York court to an assault…
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Craving more Derek Jeter news? Of course you are. Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reports that Jeter and his agent, Casey Close, met Tuesday in Tampa, Florida with Yankees officials. The two sides had not spoken in several days, according to Rosenthal, and wanted to touch base. It’s not clear if contract numbers were discussed, but…
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Brian Sabean strikes again. According to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes, the Giants have agreed to a one-year, $6.5 million contract with veteran infielder Miguel Tejada. The contract will also include about $500,000 in pefromance-based bonuses. Tejada no longer has good range at shortstop and batted just .269/.312/.381 over the course of the 2010 season. …
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Tonight is the deadline for potential free agents to either accept or decline arbitration offers. There won’t be many surprises, but we’ll keep tabs on the more shocking decisions. Here’s one. According to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, right-hander Grant Balfour has decided to decline the Rays’ offer of arbitration and will test…
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From T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com comes word that Rangers reliever Frank Francisco has decided that he will accept the club’s offer of salary arbitration. Francisco could have tested the open market in search of a multi-year contract, but he was labeled as a Type A free agent this fall and that probably scared off potential…
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It’s still pretty early in the offseason and most top tier free agents won’t sign for another couple of weeks. Or months. The hot stove, however, is always burning. Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes reported two weeks ago that the A’s made a five-year, $64 million offer to free agent third baseman Adrian Beltre. We’ve…
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The Cubs aren’t the only team with heavy interest in veteran right-hander Brandon Webb. According to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson, the Nationals plan to meet with Webb’s representatives at baseball’s annual Winter Meetings in early December. Webb hasn’t appeared in a major league game since the first week of the 2009 season because of chronic shoulder…
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The Marlins have made a couple of questionable moves this offseason. This won’t be one of them. A source told MLB.com’s Bill Ladson that the Fish are nearing a contract with free agent right-hander Javier Vazquez. The Nationals, Rockies, Cardinals and Cubs all showed interest, but Javy has a home in south Florida and that…
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The Yankees have no real reason to up their three-year, $45 million offer to veteran shortstop Derek Jeter. He’s 36 years old, a poor defender and batted just .270/.340/.370 this year over 663 at-bats. But it sounds like they might sweeten the deal just to put an end to all of the noise. A source…
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A major league source has informed Alex Speier of Boston-based WEEI.com that the Red Sox are showing interest in free agent reliever Matt Guerrier. And why wouldn’t they? Guerrier posted a 3.17 ERA and 1.10 WHIP over 71 innings this past season and a 2.36 ERA and 0.97 WHIP the year before. He has a…
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“When you don’t maintain something, it will fall apart.” From The Press of Atlantic City’s Dan Good comes this fascinating look at a ballpark left to rot on America’s east coast. Abandoned In Atlantic City
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Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News has an update this morning on free agent designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero. The nuts and bolts? The Rangers want Vlad to return, but they can’t commit a multi-million dollar contract to him until they know how they stand in the running for free agent left-hander Cliff Lee. Guerrero…
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Veteran hurler Brandon Webb hasn’t pitched in a major league game since the start of the 2009 season because of chronic shoulder issues. But that hasn’t stopped teams from calling about the right-hander, who is now a free agent. Sources told Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse this weekend that the Cubs are now in the…
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According to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Chiba Lotte Marines announced Friday (Japan time) that an MLB club has won exclusive negotiating rights with shortstop Tsuyoshi Nishioka. Chiba Lotte simply accepted the highest bid. But they won’t announce that highest-bidding team until “a later date.” Nishioka won the batting title in Nippon Professional…
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Southpaw reliever George Sherrill held left-handed hitters to a .192/.286/.288 batting line in 2010, but an overexposure to righties left him with a 6.69 overall ERA and 1.93 overall WHIP in 65 total relief appearances. It should come as no surprise, then, that the Los Angeles Times is reporting that the Dodgers are unlikely to…
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Twins first baseman Justin Morneau suffered a concussion on a slide into second base up in Toronto this past season and never returned to the playing field. He could barely even work out because of headaches related to the concussion and wound up missing a total of 78 regular season games and then the ALCS.…
