The Blue Jays, a team on the fringes of contention, are discussing a trade for Mariners outfielder Raul Ibanez.
The Jays are 9 ½ games back in the AL East, but only 6 ½ games back in the wild-card race.
If the Jays acquire Ibanez, a potential free agent, they likely would offer him salary arbitration at the end of the season.
If Ibanez accepted arbitration, the Jays would retain him for another year. If he signed with another club, they would receive two high draft picks.
It’s no surprise that the Blue Jays are shopping right-hander A.J. Burnett. But what they’re looking for in return certainly is. The Jays are looking to obtain a shortstop in talks with other teams. The Jays have had trade talks with a number of teams regarding Burnett, who is in the third year of a five-year, $55-million US contract. Burnett can opt out at the end of the season and become a free agent. He is owed $12 million in each of the final two years of his contract. Philadelphia Phillies scout Charlie Kerfeld saw Burnett’s start at Miller Park against the Milwaukee Brewers and former Jays scout Ted Lekus, now with the Baltimore Orioles, saw Burnett beat the Atlanta Braves last Sunday at Rogers Centre. — Toronto Star
The Toronto Blue Jays released slumping designated hitter Frank Thomas Sunday, cutting the 19-year veteran loose one day after he was angry for being taken out of the lineup. General manager J.P. Ricciardi said he and Thomas came to “a mutual agreement” after meeting in the clubhouse early Sunday. The move leaves the Blue Jays on the hook for the remainder of the two-year $18-million contract the 39-year-old Thomas signed in November 2006.
Thomas was hitless in his past 13 at-bats and had gone 4-for-35 since homering in three straight games April 5-8. Known as a slow starter, he batted .167 with three homers and 11 RBIs for Toronto this season. Last season, Thomas batted .277, leading the team with 26 home runs and 95 RBIs.
Thomas’ deal included a $10-million option for 2009 that would have kicked in automatically if he made 376 plate appearances this season. On Saturday, Thomas said the Blue Jays had benched him to prevent him from reaching that mark.
Thomas has 516 career homers, placing him 18th on baseball’s career list. In addition, he has hit 264 career home runs as a designated hitter, the most in baseball history.
With a career average of .302, Thomas is one of four players in baseball history to record at least a .300 average, 500 home runs, 1,500 RBIs, 1,000 runs and 1,500 walks. The others are Mel Ott, Babe Ruth and Ted Williams.
Relief pitcher Armando Benitez agreed to Tuesday to a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. The 35-year-old right-hander went 2-8 with a 5.37 ERA and nine saves in 55 games with Florida and San Francisco last season.
Benitez has 289 saves over a 14-year, including a career-high 47 with Florida in 2004. He has struggled with injuries in the past three years, including a torn hamstring and arthritis in both knees. The Blue Jays would be his seventh team.
Toronto lost left-hander B.J. Ryan to season-ending elbow surgery last April. Ryan is expected to make his spring training debut this week and hopes to be ready for opening day.
Outfielder Alex Rios avoided salary arbitration by agreeing Tuesday to a $4,835,000, one-year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. Rios has career highs with 24 home runs and 85 RBIs last season while batting .297. He gets a $3.5 million signing bonus and a salary of $1,335,000. He would make an additional $15,000 if he is selected for the All-Star game. Rios had asked for $5.65 million and the Blue Jays countered at $4,535,000 when the sides exchanged arbitration figures last month. Rios earned $2,535,000 last year.
While the 26-year-old Rios is not eligible for free agency for another three years, Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi has expressed interest in signing him to a multiyear extension. On Jan. 25, Ricciardi said he had held “productive” talks with Rios’ agent about a long-term deal.
A two-time All-Star, Rios was Toronto’s first-round pick in the 1999 amateur draft. He broke into the majors in 2004.
The Blue Jays have not gone to arbitration with any player since Ricciardi became general manager before the 2002 season. The last Blue Jays player to go to arbitration was right-hander Bill Risley in 1997.
The Cardinals and Blue Jays are closing in on an exchange of their third basemen, major-league sources say, but both former All-Stars must pass physicals before a deal is completed.
Those physicals are no small issue since Rolen is coming off surgery on his right shoulder and Glaus surgery on his left foot.
While both players have agreed to waive their no-trade clauses, the differences in their contracts also might need to be resolved, most likely through a cash payment from the Cardinals to the Blue Jays.
Rolen, 32, is owed $33 million over the next three seasons. Glaus, 31, is guaranteed $24 million over the next two, including an $11.25 million player option for 2009.
The commissioner’s office must approve the trade if it involves a cash exchange of more than $1 million.
If the trade is completed, it would provide fresh starts for two players who — for different reasons — grew uncomfortable with their current clubs.
Rolen has feuded with La Russa since at least the 2006 season, when questions about Rolen’s shoulder caused La Russa to bench him during the National League Championship Series.
The rift became untenable after La Russa wrote Rolen a four-page letter at the end of the season and then escalated the feud with comments he made at the Winter Meetings. La Russa said Rolen was the only Cardinal who did not want him to return as manager and that the team would not easily accommodate Rolen’s request to be traded.
Glaus, meanwhile, is happy in Toronto but the change would benefit him physically. His recurring foot problems leave him better suited to play on a natural-grass surface such as the one at St. Louis’ Busch Stadium.
Glaus appeared in only 115 games last season, batting .262 with 20 homers and 62 RBIs. Rolen appeared in only 112 games, batting .265 with eight homers and 58 RBIs.
Outfielder Reed Johnson and the Toronto Blue Jays agreed Wednesday to a one-year contract worth $3,275,000. The 31-year-old hit .236 with two homers and 14 RBIs last season, which was cut short in April because of a herniated disk. Johnson is a .281 hitter with 42 homers and 234 RBIs in five seasons with the Blue Jays.
Toronto also agreed to minor league contracts with right-hander Lance Carter, and left-handers John Parrish and Ryan Ketchner.
Carter was 3-5 with a 4.48 ERA last year with Orix of Japan’s Pacific League, and Parrish went a combined 2-2 with a 5.72 ERA for Baltimore and Seattle. Ketchner was 1-11 with a 5.62 ERA at Triple-A Portland, a San Diego farm team.
The Blue Jays have been mostly quiet this off-season, waiting for the right player to become available at a reasonable price. That player finally has emerged — free-agent shortstop David Eckstein. The Jays have reached a preliminary agreement with Eckstein on a 1-year, $4.5 million contract, according to a major-league source.
Eckstein, a two-time World Series champion, likely will become the team’s everyday shortstop and leadoff man, returning John McDonald to a backup role.
Eckstein, who turns 32 on Jan. 20, struggled to find the right fit in free agency, and the squeeze became tighter after the Cardinals declined to offer him arbitration.
The White Sox and Tigers acquired shortstops through trades early in the off-season. The Mets signed Luis Castillo to play second base after a brief flirtation with Eckstein. The Rockies, too, considered Eckstein at second, but the Jays offered a better opportunity.
Eckstein, a seven-year veteran, batted a career-high .309 for the Cardinals last season with three homers, 31 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. His career on-base percentage is .351.
The proposed trade of outfielder Alex Rios for either San Francisco’s Matt Cain or Tim Lincecum rests with the Giants’ decision-makers, according to major-league sources.
The Jays are not optimistic a deal will occur; the Giants seem highly reluctant to move either pitcher. They turned down Delmon Young for Lincecum before the Rays sent Young to the Twins, one source said, and they could have kept Young for five years, while they would control Rios for only three.
The Jays will not add major-league pitching to their offer, sources say, and they also are unlikely to move right-hander A.J. Burnett in a separate deal.
Burnett, who can opt out of his contract at the end of the season, made 32 starts and pitched 209 innings the last time he was entering a free-agent year, in 2005. The Jays expect him to be similarly motivated next season. He’s coming off a 10-8 season with a 3.75 ERA in 165 2/3 innings.
Cain was 7-16 in 32 starts for the Giants in 2007 and had a 3.65 ERA in 200 innings. Linecum was 7-5 in 24 starts and a 4.00 ERA in 146 1/3 innings.
Rios, three years away from free agency, plays right field for the Jays. The Giants view him as a franchise-type center fielder. He is coming off a season in which he hit .297 with 24 home runs and 85 RBI. He also stole 21 bases and drew 55 walks against 103 strikeouts.
Oakland Athletics super-sub Marco Scutaro was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday for a pair of minor league pitchers, right-handers Kristian Bell and Graham Godfrey. The 32-year-old Scutaro did a fabulous job filling in for both second baseman Mark Ellis and shortstop Bobby Crosby when they were hurt in recent seasons. But the A’s, who missed the playoffs in 2007 after reaching the AL championship series last year, want to give Donnie Murphy a chance to be a utility infielder.
Scutaro, who developed quite the knack for game-winning hits during his four years with the A’s, batted .260 with seven home runs and 41 RBIs in 104 games this past season. He made 86 starts at five different positions, including 38 at shortstop, 33 at third base, 12 at second base, two in right field and one in left field.
Murphy, 24, has played parts of three seasons in the majors, his first two with the Kansas City Royals in 2004 and ‘05. This year for the A’s, he batted .220 with six home runs and 21 RBIs in 42 games. He also had eight doubles and drew 10 walks.
Bell went 3-7 with a 5.33 ERA in 22 appearances and 11 starts for Single-A Dunedin last season. Godfrey had a 6-7 record and 3.98 ERA in 21 starts for Single-A Lansing in his first year of professional ball.