George A. King III of the New York Post is reporting the Yankees are motoring Brandon Webb but are in no hurry to make a move to sign him.
Webb has been linked to several teams this off season with the Rangers rumored to be the front runner.
It goes to show the value of good pitching. Webb has pitched one game in the past two years and is one of the hottest commodities left on the free agent market.
Jon Heyman from SI.com is reporting the Rangers are interested in signing Arthur Rhodes. The 41 year old Rhodes was very effective in a setup role for the Reds in 2010 earning his for All Star selection.
It is surprising that the left-handed Rhodes has not received more attention this off season. Quality left-handed relief pitching is always in demand.
| It is a slow day so far as Christmas approaches. Only a couple of minor updates this morning.
The Adrian Beltre situation is getting more interesting every day. His Agent Scott Boras is reportedly asking for around 90 million over 5 years. The only two offers that have been publicized are a 5 year 64 million dollar offer from the Athletics that has reportedly been pulled. And a 5 year 70 million dollar offer from the Angels which has also reportedly been pulled. Other teams have been mentioned as possible suitors for Beltre including the Rangers. But no other teams appear to have significant interest at the moment. This appears to be a situation of Boras trying to get the Angels to bid against themselves. Angels owner Arte Moreno is a smart businessman and knows the biggest spending teams including the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies are almost assuredly are not interested in signing Beltre. My guess is the Angels will end up signing Beltre. Brandon Webb rumors were rampant on Tuesday including a deal with the Rangers was eminent. These rumors were quickly rebuffed and Webb remains unsigned as of this morning. The teams most linked with Webb at this point are the Ranges, Nationals and Cubs. The were also whispers of a “mystery team” The idea of a mystery team sounds funny until you remember a mystery team ended up signing Cliff Lee. Jeff Francis has been linked with five teams including the Mets, Nationals, Pirates, Rangers and Yankees. Francis has never lived up to his early career hype and battled shoulder problems. At this point in his career he is a low cost pitcher with some upside for a team looking to take a flier on a fifth starter. |
Orioles Turn Attention from Adam LaRoche to Derrek Lee
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/2010/12/currently_at_impasse_with_laro.html
The Yankees Hit with 18 Million Dollars in Luxury Tax Down From 25.7 Million in 2009.
Theo Epstein Reiterates Papelbon is Closer After Finalizing Deal for Bobby Jenks
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2010/12/epstein_papelbo.html
Angels on Again Off Again Interest in Adrian Beltre.
Brandon Webb is in Texas. Wait Brandon Webb is not in Texas.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20101221&content_id=16353822&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb
Athletics Finalize Deal With Rich Harden. Role as Starter or Bullpen to be Determined
| Jane Lee of MLB.com is reporting the Athletics deal with Rich Harden is official.Harden is expected to compete for the 5th spot in the A’s rotation.
Harden’s massive potential and history of injuries has been well documented. He seems like he has been around forever but will be just 29 heading into the 2011 season. At this point in his career he is trying to salvage any hint of the potential he showed earlier in his career. |
| John Morosi of Fox Sports is reporting that Brandon Webb will not make a decision today about signing for 2011.
Webb has been linked to several teams including the Rangers, Cubs and Nationals. |
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| T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com is reporting Brandon Webb is in Texas and deal with the Rangers may be close. Webb reportedly met with Ron Washington and Pitching Coach Mike Maddux.
The Cubs have also reportedly expressed interest in Webb. |
| The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting the A’s will sign Rich Harden to a 1 year 1.5 million deal that could reach 3 million with incentives.
When healthy Harden has had electric stuff in his career. Problem is he has never been healthy for an extended period of time. Like the Yankees with Mark Prior the A’s are taking a flier on the oft injured Harden hoping to get some semblance of production from him out of their bullpen. Good luck. |
With Cliff Lee off the board Adrian Beltre is arguably the biggest name left on the free agent board. The most persistent rumor was the Athletics had offered Beltre a 5 year 64 million dollar deal. But Beltre seemed to show little interest beyond using the offer as leverage against other teams. The A’s finally figured out they were being used as leverage and pulled the offer off the table.
With the A’s as well as the big spending Yankees and Red Sox seemingly out of the question the Beltre situation should be interesting.
Multiple reports state the Angels have money to spend but have been unable to land any of the top free agents thus far this off season. Multiple reports said Carl Crawford turned down a near identical offer from the Angels to sign with the Red Sox. And that was after heavy recruitment from Torii Hunter.
Although recent rumors say the Rangers will make a serious run at Beltre you would have to think the Angels will step up their efforts to sign him. The Angels know they can’t sit back and let the Rangers pull away from them in the AL West. Of course maybe the Rangers are merely feigning serious interest in Beltre to drive the price up for the Angels.
This should be interesting as Beltre is probably going to end up getting in the area of 5 years 75 million. He has a history of playing great in walk years and leveling off after signing new deals. One would have to think there is a great chance Beltre will underachieve on the deal he is sure to get.
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