Mets,Lowe Have Ongoing Discussion

The New York Mets and free-agent starter Derek Lowe continue to have discussion on Lowe's services for the 2009 season. The Mets desperately need a strong number two starter to back the great Johan Santana, and the durable Lowe seems like a perfect fit. Writers in the community believe that if the Mets and Lowe come to terms, it will be a 2-year deal worth $30M and include a third-year option for the same price ($15M per season).

If Derek goes elsewhere, perhaps back to Boston where he had some playoff success, the Mets will need to act quickly and attempt to retain one of their own free-agents, Oliver Perez.

Photo Courtesy: ESPN: Mark Avery/AP Photo

Rays Ink Joe Nelson

The Tampa Bay Rays have strengthened their already amazing bullpen, signing 34-year old Joe Nelson to a 1-year deal worth $1.3M. Nelson pitched for the Florida Marlins last season, compiling a 2.00 ERA in 54 innings. Florida was forced to non-tender him this offseason.

Nelson was a journeyman pitcher until he put together his monsterous 2008 campaign, and hopes to continue his success with the "other" Florida team.

Photo Courtesy: ESPN: Scott Boehm/Getty Images

Quick Hits

• The Mets are in discussion with free-agent starter Derek Lowe. The 35-year starter would be a good, durable fit to the top of their rotation.
• The Washington Nationals have inked two veteran players: outfielder Corey Patterson and reliever Jorge Sosa. Patterson has a track record, but was nothing short of horrific in the 2008 campaign.
• Clay Hensley, formerly of the San Diego Padres, has joined the Houston Astros. The 29-year old posted a 3.94 ERA in the minor leagues but got eaten alive in the majors.
• Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim GM Tony Reagins made it clear that Manny Ramirez will not be a member of the halos' organization. With the Yankees out of the running thanks to their monster signing Teixeira, it seems like the Dodgers are the only organization with a true interest.

Teixeira Signs With Yankees

What an offseason for the New York Yankees. After spending more than $350 million on hurlers CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett, they have reportedly agreed to a 8-year deal worth upwards of $170M with first-baseman Mark Teixeira. Its quite suprising, as the front-runners for Tex's services to begin the day were the Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals.

Mark made it clear he wanted to choose his destination before christmas, and the Yankees allowed him to grant this wish. The move solidifies the middle of the Yankees order and will seemingly push Nick Swisher back onto the bench role.

Photo Courtesy: ESPN: Gary A. Vasquez/US Presswire

Sorry Guys!

My computer crashed on December 8th and I failed to have internet access until today! All the freshest news and rumors will be back to MLB Notes & Tidbits so stay put!

Tigers Acquire Gerald Laird

The Texas Rangers have seemingly decided which of their 3 catchers to move, sending catcher Gerald Laird to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for pitching prospect Guillermo Moscoso as well as a second prospect.

Laird is a top defensive catcher, but is fairly mediocre with the bat. He boasts a .256 career batting average and will give you a few dingers here and there. Gerald made $1.6M in his first year of arbitration, and is now under Detroit's control for another 2 seasons.

Photo Courtesy: MLB.com

Furcal Declines A's Offer

In a completely stunning move, free-agent short stop Rafael Furcal has turned down the Oakland Athletics' contract offer, which was said to be a 4-year deal worth $35-40M. Oakland was known to be Furcal's best suitor, but will now continue on with Bobby Crosby at short.

The economy is really affecting players like Furcal, as even a top-flight short stop like himself can't seem to grab the money that his side commends. The Giants seemed to be in the market for Furcal, but decided that giving Edgar Renteria $9.5M per year was a better decision.

Photo Courtesy: Flickr.com: NJ Baseball

Quick Hits

• The Milwaukee Brewers have signed releiver Jorge Julio to a 1-year deal worth $900k. The deal also includes $900k in incentives. Julio is the typical case of a hard-thrower who surrenders too many walks and long balls.
• It appears that the Detroit Tigers and the Pittsburgh Pirates are coming close to a deal which will bring short-stop Jack Wilson to Detroit.
• The Atlanta Braves have made an offer to free-agent AJ Burnett, hoping to pair him with recently acquired Javier Vazquez.
• Free-agent starter Derek Lowe has received offers from two teams, but it was not made clear which teams this was. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. wouldn't deny speculations, though.

Renteria/Giants Agree to 2-year Pact

As I believed would happen last night, the San Francisco Giants have signed short-stop Edgar Renteria to a 2-year deal worth $18.5M dollars. A 5-time NL All-Star, Renteria has been exceptional when he's been in the Nationa League, but slightly decent in the AL. Last year with the Detroit Tigers, he hit a mere .270 with 10 HR and 55 RBI. He's a career .290 hitter and will give the Giants a considerable boost at the top of their lineup.

Edgar will receive a $2M signing bonus, $7M in 2009 and $9M in 2010. His agreement also includes a $10.5M option for the 2011 season, with a $500k buyout.

I'm a huge fan of Renteria, and truly believe he will have a strong career in San Francisco. His average should slide back up into the upper .280's and he should connect with 15+ HR and drive in around 80 since he will likely be in the top 3 spots of the lineup. San Francisco has been tremendously active this offseason, already inking Renteria as well as reliever Jeremy Affeldt and Bob Howry.

Photo Courtesy: Flickr.com: April A. Taylor

Khalil Greene Headed to St. Louis

The St. Louis Cardinals have acquired short-stop Khalil Greene from the San Diego padres for pitcher Mark Worrell and a player to be named later. This was simply a salary dump, as the Padres can't afford Greene's $6.5M price tag for next season. He will be a free-agent after the 2009 season, finishing off a 2-year/$11M deal he agreed upon spring training of 2008.

The 2007 team-MVP couldn't produce as well in '08, producing a terrible season which ended with him breaking a bone in his left-hand after striking a storage compartment in the dugout. St. Louis still receives an upgrade at short, where Felipe Lopez roamed last season. I appreciate the success Greene has had in the past, especially in 2007 when he connected with 27 home-runs, but he looked so over-matched this year that repeating such success seems like a stretch. He still has above-average power for his position though, and plays adequate defense.

Photo Courtesy: Flickr.com: imalmostboring

Quick Hits

• The Giants and short-stop Edgar Renteria seem to be hammering out the details of a deal, look for an announcement possibly tomorrow.
• Catcher Dave Ross has seemingly agreed to a 2-year/$3.5M deal with the Atlanta Braves. It should be announced as well tomorrow, pending a physical.
• The San Diego Padres are actively shopping short-stop Khalil Greene and his $6.5M salary, and could possibly have a deal done before the winter meetings on Monday.
• The Boston Red Sox have inked second-baseman Dustin Pedroia to a 6-year extension worth $40.5M. The deal will buyout one of Pedroia's non-arbitration years, all three of his arbitration years, as well as two free-agent years. Quite the hometown discount if you ask me.

Giants Sign Howry

The San Francisco Giants continued their remodeling of their 'pen today, signing veteran Bob Howry to a 1-year deal. It'll be worth $2.75M to begin with, but includes $500k based on games and another $1M based on games finished.

Quite the bargain, especially with the price of relievers steadily increasing. San Francisco is betting that Bob was overworked last year, as he posted a 5.35 ERA in a tremendously high 70 2/3 innings. He will assist Jeremy Affeldt and Brian Wilson at the end of games.

Photo Courtesy: ESPN: (Thomas E. Witte/Getty Images)

Cardinals Close To Signing Miller

UPDATE: The deal is a 1-year pact, and was finalized.

The St. Louis Cardinals, noting the fact that left-handed relievers are flying off the market, are close to a 2-year agreement with lefty Trever Miller. The 35-year old Miller posted a 4.15 ERA with the American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays, holding left-handers to a .209/.302/.308 line. He'll be brought in to get key left-handers out, and that's about all he's good at.

Not a big fan of Miller, but if he's signed for less than $2M i'd consider it a nice signing by the Cardinals. The Rays chose his $400K buyout instead of a $2M option for '09, so if St. Louis paid more than that I do not think it is worth it.

Photo Courtesy: (Flickr)

Trade Analysis: Javy Vazquez To Braves

The Atlanta Braves have acquired right-hander Javier Vazquez from the Chicago White Sox for a package of very quality specs. Let's take a look.....

Chicago White Sox receive:

Tyler Flowers (C)

Brent Lillibridge (SS)

Jon Gilmore (3B)

Santos Rodriguez (P)

This is certainly one of the best packages of specs the Braves could of created. Flowers tore up the Arizona Fall League this year and should become a terrific hitting catcher. As long as his defense improves, he'll be a fixture behind the dish in Chi-Town. Lillibridge is a highly-touted prospect who had a minor set-back in 2008. He combines an above-average glove with solid contact and speed. Gilmore is a career .294 hitter in the minors, but lacks power which will probably doom him at third. The last part of the deal, left-handed reliever Santos Rodriguez is by far the most intriguing. He posted 45 strike-outs in a mere 29 innings for the Gulf-Coast League, and surrendered only a .155 BAA.

Atlanta Braves receive:

Javier Vazquez (P)

Boone Logan (P)

The Braves figured that the Padres' asking-price for Jake Peavy was too high, and decided to rather save uber-prospect Tommy Hanson and get ace Javier Vazquez from the Chicago White Sox. Vazquez has 2 more years left on his deal, and is a quality pitcher. Last year he went 12-16 with a 4.67 ERA, but posted 200 K's in 208.1 innings and only allowed a WHIP of 1.32. He will thrive in the National League again, so expect him to slot right into the heart of Atlanta's rotation. As for Logan, the 24-year old Texas native was hit pretty hard in 2008. He allowed 57 hits in 42.1 innings, and posted a 5.93 ERA. He'll need to produce at a much better rate if he wishes to remain in the bigs.

Astros Resign Doug Brocail

Houston has now inked the last two free-agents to go, this time resigning their set-up man Doug Brocail. The 41-year old reliever posted a 3.93 ERA in the hitters' heaven of Minute Maid Park, and provides one of the two decent relievers Houston bolsters (Valverde being the other).

The Astros declined Doug's $3.25M option earlier in the offseason, but agreed upon a 1-year/$2.5M deal with a club option for 2010 worth $2.85M plus incentives. He will likely get most if not all of their set-up work, pending health.

Photo Courtesy: ESPN: (J. Meric/Getty Images)

Astros Sign Often-Injured Hampton

The Houston Astros have reached a tenative agreement with free-agent pitcher Mike Hampton. The 36-year old left hander will sign a 1-year deal worth about $2M, with it also including about $2M in incentives. Houston signs a good low-cost high-reward type deal with a player for only 1 season. Even if Hampton runs into the usual injury bug, he won't become a contract burden at all.

Mike's career has been up and down, posting a 141-105 record in 14 seasons. He signed an 8-year/$121M deal with the Colorado Rockies in 2000, which proved to be one of the worst free-agent signings in history with Mike only playing limited time for the Rox before being shipped to Atlanta. He is notoriously terrible at staying healthy, most recently missing all of the 2006 season and beginning 2007 on the disabled-list. Hampton was only on the market for a 1-year deal, hoping to show that he's healthy again and ready to restart his career.

Photo Courtesy: ESPN: (Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images)