Posts Tagged ‘troy percival’

Rays, Percival near 2-year, $8M deal

Thursday, November 29th, 2007

Six months ago, Troy Percival was out of baseball. Now, he is on the verge of signing a two-year, $8 million contract with the Rays, according to major-league sources. The deal will contain a series of escalators that could push the total value of the package to more than $10 million, sources say.

Percival, 38, is joining the Rays for two reasons — the chance to close and the opportunity to reunite with manager Joe Maddon, who was the Angels’ bench coach when Percival was the team’s star closer.

The Yankees were willing to pay Percival a higher salary, sources say, but they wanted him as a set-up man for closer Mariano Rivera.

The Brewers, Giants, A’s and Blue Jays also expressed interest in Percival, who pitched effectively with the Cardinals last season after missing nearly a year and a half with a right-forearm injury.

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Posted in D-Rays | No Comments »

Yankees and Twins talking about Santana

Monday, November 26th, 2007

The New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins have started trade talks involving Johan Santana. Yankees senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner said Monday that discussions are ongoing but it was too early to tell whether they would lead to a deal. He did not detail how far talks had progressed.

Santana is eligible for free agency after the 2008 season, and the Twins have been trying to sign the two-time AL Cy Young Award winner to an extension.

The New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers also are thought to be interested in Santana, who is far better than any of the starting pitchers available on the free-agent market.

Santana’s agent, Peter Greenberg, has not spoken publicly about his talks with the Twins, who last week lost free-agent center fielder Torii Hunter to the Los Angeles Angels.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said he has received repeated inquiries from teams about Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy.

Santana has a no-trade provision in his contract, and a team acquiring him likely would want to discuss an extension. That means if the teams agreed to a trade, there probably would be a 72-hour window to work out a new contract.

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Posted in Twins, Yankees | No Comments »

Cardinals close to signing Percival

Friday, June 8th, 2007

The St. Louis Cardinals are closing in on a deal with free agent reliever Troy Percival.

The bullpen has been one of the Cardinals’ strengths this season, and the team apparently wants to strengthen it further as it attempts to climb back into the NL Central race.

Percival threw 88 to 90 mph in a workout on Tuesday, according to two scouts in attendance, and showed no signs of the right-forearm injury that has kept him out of the majors since July 2005.

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Six teams represented at Percival workout

Tuesday, June 5th, 2007

Add the Braves and A’s to the list of teams interested in free-agent reliever Troy Percival. The Tigers, Phillies, Devil Rays and Giants also were present, according to major-league sources, and the Indians remain in the mix.

Percival, 37, is expected to take the next step in his comeback and sign with a major-league team by the end of this week.

With several contenders trying to replace injured late-inning relievers, the demand for Percival has only increased since he launched his comeback less than three weeks ago.

The Braves recently lost left-hander Mike Gonzalez, who underwent elbow-ligament transplant surgery and is out for the season.

The A’s currently are without both closer Huston Street, who has an irritated nerve in his throwing elbow, and setup man Justin Duchscherer, who has a right hip strain.

The Tigers, Percival’s most recent club, recently released right-hander Jose Mesa and are awaiting the return of right-hander Joel Zumaya, who is out until August after undergoing surgery to repair a ruptured tendon in his right middle finger.

The Giants recently traded their closer, Armando Benitez. The Phillies also need bullpen help — they’ve got two closers, right-handers Tom Gordon and Brett Myers, on the disabled list.
Percival saved Games 2, 6 and 7 of the 2002 World Series to help the Angels win their only Series title. His competitiveness and toughness made him a favorite of teammates.

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Posted in Rumors | No Comments »