JoeCStrib JoeChristensen

#Twins express interest in Doumit, Willingham:

 

Willingham could be a great pick-up for someone. I think he had like 25+ homers the last few years playing in that cavern in Oakland. If I were him I would stay away from Minnesota and finally go to a hitters park.

SI_JonHeyman Jon Heyman

bruce chen has multiyear offers. #royals, cubs among teams talking to him.

 

SI_JonHeyman Jon Heyman

Jamey carroll twins contract: $2M sign bonuses, $1.75M in '12, $2.75M in '13, $2M mutual option '14, 250G buyout. $6.75M total

 

Willingham could be a great pick-up for someone. I think he had like 25+ homers the last few years playing in that cavern in Oakland. If I were him I would stay away from Minnesota and finally go to a hitters park.

 

I've always liked his game. He won't kill you in the OF and he's a very good hitter. Extremely underrated.

http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2...ve_a_stron.html

 

On the prowl: The Indians have interest in free-agent outfielder Jason Kubel. Bothered by a foot injury last year with the Twins, Kubel, 29, hit .273 (100-for-366) with 21 doubles, 12 homers and 58 RBI.

 

Kubel isn't the right-handed hitter the Indians need to balance the lineup, but he has power and can play left and right field. Kubel won't be as expensive as his former Twins teammate Michael Cuddyer, but he is looking for a two- or three-year contract at probably between $7 million and $8 million a year.

jonmorosi Jon Morosi

Sources: #Tigers on verge of signing Gerald Laird as their backup catcher. #STLCards

 

I still say if the Royals acquired a top flight starter like Buehrle or Oswalt or Greinke they might be in business.

They still can't win anything with that s***ty rotation.

I still say if the Royals acquired a top flight starter like Buehrle or Oswalt or Greinke they might be in business.

They still can't win anything with that s***ty rotation.

 

I still say if the Royals acquired a top flight starter like Buehrle or Oswalt or Greinke they might be in business.

They still can't win anything with that s***ty rotation.

 

Correct. The Royals need pitching. Montgomery regressed and Lamb was a victim of TJ unfortunately. A top of the rotation type, and another middle of the rotation pitcher would set them up nicely. They really don't have any significant holes aside from the rotation. KC actually has some money to spend this offseason, but the free agent SP market isn't all that hot. They could absolutely be in the James Shields conversation with Wil Myers heading a trade package. It will be interesting to see what they do at the winter meetings.

 

Buster_ESPN Buster Olney

Deal between the Indians and Grady Sizemore will be done, source says.

7 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

 

jcrasnick Jerry Crasnick

"During that time we will have no further comment.''

 

From Grady Sizemore's agent, Joe Urbon: "We will continue to work through details with the #Indians over the weekend ...

 

SI_JonHeyman Jon Heyman

Indians wanting sizemore back is indicator he'll be healthy. Thy are the 1 team that knows him and the history.

 

SI_JonHeyman Jon Heyman

#indians and grady sizemore are still tying up loose ends but they will at some point have a deal.

 

http://www.csnchicago.com/blog/cubs-talk/p...tm_medium=email

 

Aramis Ramirez won't be back with the Cubs in 2012. That's not a bold statement to say in anybody's mind anymore.

 

But where will he end up? Ted Keith from SportsIllustrated joined CSN's David Kaplan and Chuck Garfien to discuss the slate of big free agent names this offseason and Ramirez was one of the guys on the agenda.

 

Keith admitted third base is an area a lot of teams have a need for (including the Cubs, but that's a different story for a different day), but has one team in mind who would likely have Ramirez at the top of their list.

 

"The team that jumps out to me here is the Detroit Tigers," Keith said. "Last year, they had Brandon Inge demoted to the minor leagues, their longtime third baseman. They have Wilson Betemit, who is really been nothing more than a stopgap and he did fine for them. This is a team that has great offense at every position on the field except third base. Ramirez would be a perfect fit for them.

 

"Owner Mike Ilitch has never been shy about spending big money on free agents and GM Dave Dombrowski has never been shy about courting free agents...I think Ramirez would fit perfectly into their lineup, perfectly into their plans. He would really fill an area of need for them. And I think that's really what a free agent is really looking for. They want a chance to go to a contending team and not compromise on the money and Ramirez doesn't have to do either of those."

 

That's a great point. If you're curious about where other free agents could wind up -- like Albert Pujols and Jose Reyes -- check out the video on the right. A ton of great information in there.

SI_JonHeyman Jon Heyman

Grady sizemore deal official with indians

 

SI_JonHeyman Jon Heyman

Sizemore gets $5M plus $4 mil in incentives

 

timdierkes timdierkes

Terry Ryan: going to offer arb to Cuddyer, Kubel.

 

JoeCStrib JoeChristensen

Cuddyer and Kubel expected to decline arbitration. Either could re-sign, but this assures #Twins draft-pick compensation if they leave.

 

SI_JonHeyman Jon Heyman

Grady sizemore deal official with indians

 

SI_JonHeyman Jon Heyman

Sizemore gets $5M plus $4 mil in incentives

That's way more than I'd have guaranteed Sizemore with his history.

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

http://www.csnchicago.com/blog/whitesox-ta...&feedID=621

 

The Royals re-signed Bruce Chen to a two-year, $9 million deal Wednesday, meaning the greatest pitching menace of the AL Central will stick around to torment the White Sox through 2013.

 

In five starts against the Sox in 2011, Chen posted a 1.89 ERA and limited Sox hitters to a .519 OPS. He befuddled batters with an 86 mph fastball while mixing in sliders, changeups and curveballs, asserting his dominance with that repertoire by challenging Sox hitters inside.

 

Jim Margalus at South Side Sox looked at the numbers and noticed a disturbing trend: Chen hit the Sox quite a bit, and the Sox never hit the Royals back. Over the 33 innings he pitched against the Sox, Chen hit five batters -- and in his other 122 innings, only one batter was hit.

 

That's not to say the Sox should've started a beanball war with Kansas City, but there was seemingly nothing holding Chen back from dominating the inner half of the plate. Maybe Robin Ventura will give Sox pitchers license to buzz a Royals hitter or two to at least try to keep Chen from hitting so many batters.

Awful lot of money for Bruce Chen.

How many of Chen's HBP were Quentin though? Nobody throws at Quentin, he's just a ball magnet.

How many of Chen's HBP were Quentin though? Nobody throws at Quentin, he's just a ball magnet.

Is it possible that throwing up and in on Quentin is actually a way to get him out?

Sure, that's possible, but my point is that Quentin gets hit so much more than other players that when he gets hit, it's hard to argue that the pitcher is hitting him intentionally.

 

Ken_Rosenthal Ken Rosenthal

Sources: Broxton to #Royals on 1-year deal, pending physical. Creates options with Soria: Start him, trade him, keep him at closer. #MLB

2 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

Ken_Rosenthal Ken Rosenthal

Sources: Broxton to #Royals on 1-year deal, pending physical. Creates options with Soria: Start him, trade him, keep him at closer. #MLB