Red Sox Claim Robert Manuel From Mariners

The Red Sox claimed pitcher Robert Manuel off of waivers from the Mariners, according to a team press release. The 26-year-old righty made his MLB debut with the Reds this year, recording 13 outs without allowing an earned run. His Triple A numbers were good, too; Manuel had a 49K/16BB ratio and an overall   2.88 ERA for the Reds and Mariners.

Pirates Claim Chris Jakubauskas

The Pirates claimed pitcher Chris Jakubauskas off waivers from the Mariners, according to a team press release. The designated Jeff Karstens for assignment to clear roster space. Jakubauskas, 31 next month, allowed 91 hits and 27 walks in 93 innings for the Mariners last year, striking out 47 for a 5.32 ERA.

White Sox Close To Deal With Omar Vizquel

3:10pm: Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago hears that the White Sox are close to a deal with Vizquel's representatives. Levine notes that the White Sox offered Vizquel a long-term deal before the 2005 season only to see him sign with the Giants.

10:59am: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the White Sox are close to a deal with free agent shortstop Omar Vizquel.  He says it'd be a one-year deal and Vizquel would serve as a backup.

Vizquel, 43 in April, hit .266/.316/.345 in 195 plate appearances for the Rangers this year while playing shortstop, second base, and third base.  He earned $1MM.

Rockies Sign Phillips; Interest In Torrealba

The Rockies signed catcher Paul Phillips to a minor league deal today, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Phillips will make $450K if he's on the big league roster. Last year, he posted an .818 OPS in 54 plate appearances in the majors. In nearly 2800 minor league plate appearances, Phillips has a .702 OPS.

This doesn't necessarily mean that the Rockies won't bring back free agent Yorvit Torrealba, however. Two other teams have expressed interest in Torrealba so far, but the Rockies could re-sign him. One of the interested clubs plays in the American League and the other is in the NL West. 

O's Claim Tatum From Reds; Nix A Free Agent

The Orioles claimed catcher Craig Tatum off of waivers from the Cincinnati Reds, according to a team press release. The O's designated lefty Chris Waters for assignment to clear space for Tatum.

The 26-year-old catcher posted a .471 OPS in 77 plate appearances with the Reds this year; a considerable dropoff from his .638 OPS in Triple A. In 2008, Baseball America named Tatum the best defensive catcher in the Reds' organization.

Meanwhile, the Reds lost the rights to another player. Laynce Nix refused an outright assignment and elected free agency, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman.

Cubs To Sign Grabow To Two-Year Deal

FRIDAY, 2:15pm: Wittenmyer hears that the deal is worth $7.5MM. The Cubs have officially announced it.

THURSDAY, 10:53am: Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times says the deal is believed to be worth at least $7MM in total. Dave Cameron of FanGraphs calls it a "waste of cash."

9:47am: Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports that the Cubs have agreed to sign Grabow to a two-year deal. Sullivan's sources say the deal could be announced today.

8:13am: The Cubs are nearing an agreement with lefty John Grabow on a two-year deal, according to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago. It wouldn't be a surprise to see the two sides finalize a deal soon; we heard last week that an agreement wasn't far off.

Levine reports that the deal will be worth nearly $7.5MM over two years. His source says the deal should be completed today. Grabow struck out 7.1 per nine innings and walked 5.0 per nine with the Pirates and Cubs last year for a 3.36 ERA.

Quinlan Drawing Preliminary Interest

Robb Quinlan's representatives say the utility man has drawn interest from two National League teams and one American League team, according to MLB.com's Lyle Spencer. The Phillies are known to be looking for bench help and Spencer suggests the Twins could be a fit, too. We heard earlier in the week that Quinlan will not be back in Anaheim next year.

Latest Milton Bradley Scenario

1:36pm: MLB.com's Carrie Muskat hears from a Cubs official that there's nothing to the rumored three way deal between the Cubs, Rangers and Mets. However, four to six teams are interested in Bradley to varying degrees.

10:58am: The latest Milton Bradley trade scenario comes courtesy of Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune, who considers Bradley going to the Rangers, Kevin Millwood to the Mets, and Luis Castillo to the Cubs.

We talked to a source familiar with the situation who said that this deal is not being discussed.  Backing that up, MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan talked to a Rangers official who said it's "not happening."  So for our purposes it's more of a discussion piece. 

Does this satisfy the needs of all three teams?  The Rangers add a bat and trade from an area of depth, the Mets free up second base for other pursuits and get a veteran for the rotation, and the Cubs unload Bradley while getting a piece they can use.  The money: Bradley is owed $21MM over two years, Millwood $12MM over one, and Castillo $12MM over two.

Odds & Ends: Atkins, Twins, Carlyle

Links for Friday, as the free agent market officially opens...

• As Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports points out, the Angels' lack of interest in Matt Holliday bodes well for the Cardinals, but not for Scott Boras. 
• Scott Boras tells FOX Sports that interest in Adrian Beltre and Mike Gonzalez is strong so far. The agent says he's fielded offers for eight players already.
• The Nippon Ham Fighters signed minor league free agent pitcher Buddy Carlyle, says NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman.  Newman also says the Yokohama BayStars are working to sign Chris Bootcheck, Jose Castillo, and Terrmel Sledge.   
• The Nats hired former Mariners manager John McLaren as a bench coach, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse.  
• Yahoo's Jeff Passan ranks 131 free agents and provides capsules.  We've also got SI's Jon Heyman and AOL FanHouse's Frankie Piliere with Top 50 lists.
• Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch breaks down the market for Mark DeRosa.
• ESPN's Buster Olney notes five arbitration-eligible players who could be traded, including Russell Martin and Kevin Correia.
• SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Mariners and Tigers continue to discuss Edwin Jackson.
• Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets a comment from Brewers GM Doug Melvin: the team will fill current needs before discussing a Prince Fielder extension.
• Garrett Atkins to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post: "I know that I will be on another team next year."
• Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune feels that free agents Carl Pavano, Jarrod Washburn, and Rich Harden are potential fits for the Twins. 
• Christensen's colleague Sid Hartman wonders if catcher Mike Redmond "could wind up with a job in the [Twins] organization."  However, Redmond told MLB.com's Kelly Thesier a month ago that he plans on playing in 2010.
• Paul Hagen's Phillies source shot down a story that Pat Gillick could be heading back to the Blue Jays.
• Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball has a Winter Meetings primer.
• Chico Harlan is moving on from the Washington Post's Nationals beat, once a replacement is found.

Non-Tender Candidates Revised

Remember our October 5th list of non-tender candidates?  Since then, Jeremy Hermida, Mark Teahen, and Aaron Heilman have been traded.  Others have been released, outrighted, or eliminated from consideration.  The non-tender deadline is December 12th.  Here's a revised list.

Jeremy Accardo
Brian Anderson
Garrett Atkins
John Bale
Jose Bautista
Boof Bonser
Brian Bruney
Taylor Buchholz
John Buck
Dave Bush
Ryan Church
Neal Cotts
Jack Cust
Mike Fontenot
Ryan Garko
Chad Gaudin
Jody Gerut
Jonny Gomes
Gabe Gross
Conor Jackson
Mike Jacobs
Bobby Jenks
Kelly Johnson
Logan Kensing
Ryan Langerhans
Matt Lindstrom
John Maine
Andy Marte
Seth McClung
Brandon Medders
Sergio Mitre
Dioner Navarro
Laynce Nix
Scott Olsen
Kelly Shoppach
Tim Redding
Jeremy Reed
Jason Repko
Cory Sullivan
Brian Tallet
Doug Waechter
Chien-Ming Wang

The full list of arbitration-eligible players can be found here; let me know who needs to be added to the non-tender candidates.

Halama Hopes To Sign With Brewers

John Halama hopes to sign a minor league deal with the Brewers by early next week, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.  Halama's agent said his client "would love to reunite with both [Ken] Macha and [Rick] Peterson."  Halama, 37, will take the mound for Aguilas tonight in the Dominican Republic.

Earlier this month, the Blue Jays were named as one team with an eye on Halama.  Halama pitched in the Independent League this year and also tossed 90.3 Triple A innings for the Braves.

Heyman On Gonzalez, Wellemeyer, Rivera

SI's Jon Heyman kicks off his newest column with thoughts on his top 50 free agents.  A few highlights from the list and elsewhere in the column...

• Via Twitter Heyman says Mets GM Omar Minaya likes Luis Castillo more than any of the 29 other teams do.
• Heyman groups the Cubs in as a possible Matt Holliday suitor, which does not seem feasible given the team's payroll situation. 
• Lefty reliever Mike Gonzalez has "drawn interest from as many as 15 teams."
• A new name on the Brewers' radar as a "No. 5-type guy": Todd Wellemeyer.
• Heyman speaks of "indications the Angels might be willing to trade outfielder Juan Rivera."  One such indication popped up earlier this month when Ken Davidoff said the Angels and Tigers discussed a Curtis Granderson deal.  Rivera had a solid year - .287/.332/.478 - and has $9.5MM remaining over two years.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Wood, Sheets, Bradley, Wagner

On this date two years ago, Mike Lowell re-signed with the Red Sox for three-years, $37.5MM. In this first two years of the deal, Lowell has taken in $25.5MM, and according to his WAR has been worth $19.9MM. In '10, Lowell will be 36 as he enters the final year of his deal. Today is the first day of free agency, let's take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere...

• Howard Megdal and Chris Pummer of The Perpetual Post debate the Oliver Perez and Derek Lowe signings of a year ago.
• The Ghost of Moonlight Graham looks which teams might be interested in trading for Kerry Wood.
• Jorge Says No! look at which teams might be a good fit for Ben Sheets, with eight teams that could be in the hunt.
• The Sports Banter ranks the top free agents.
• MetsCitiBlog doesn't see the Mets signing Jason Bay or Matt Holliday, and feels they should set their sights on Adrian Gonzalez.
• UmpBump is running a series on what each team needs this off-season. Here is the Giants.
• Bleacher Nation wonders why the Braves aren't rumored to be in on the Milton Bradley sweepstakes.
• Baseball Time In Arlington thinks there should be plenty of money in the budget to bring back Bradley.
• 10 Scoreless projects the Twins' roster for next season.
• MLB Notebook looks at what it would take for the Mariners to compete next season.
• The Pinstriper makes some free agent predictions, with Billy Wagner ending up with the Rays.
• River Ave Blues breaks down what Hideki Matsui is worth to the Yankees.
• Sox and Pinstripes discusses the ramifications of a salary cap in baseball from the point of view of a Yankees fan.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.

Royals Sign Jorge Campillo

The Royals signed righty Jorge Campillo to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel.  Campillo was limited to 9.3 pro innings in the Braves organization this year due to shoulder issues, and elected free agency a month ago.  In 2008 he logged 158.6 innings with a 3.91 ERA, making 25 starts.

Discussion: Derek Lowe's Value

Braves righty Derek Lowe makes for an interesting discussion topic.  Lowe is owed $45MM over the next three years, and is widely known to be on the trading block.  The Braves seem unwilling to eat significant salary.  There are arguments on both sides of the fence as to Lowe's value.

On one side we've got Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports saying the Braves are finding Lowe difficult to trade.  The financial commitment is significant, and I must note that Lowe's strikeout, walk, and groundball rates moved in the wrong direction this year.  I think the free agent market offers plenty of mid-rotation options at one year and less than $10MM.

How about the other side?  In that same Rosenthal piece, he writes that the Braves feel that if Lowe were a free agent, only John Lackey would be in higher demand among starters.  And maybe Lowe at 3/45 is better than Lackey at 5/80 (or whatever). 

Other pro-Lowe points from MLB.com's Mark Bowman: he took pressure off the other Braves' starters, he's durable, and he had a 3.88 ERA this year if you subtract his worst three starts.  (In fairness, we can play that game with anyone - Jon Garland's ERA drops from 4.01 to 3.24 if we remove his worst three).  Frankie Piliere of AOL FanHouse sides with Bowman, saying, "Don't expect teams to be any less impressed with Lowe than they were when he was free agent last offseason."  And while I pointed out that Lowe's numbers declined this year, it should also be noted that his .333 BABIP and subsequent 232 hits allowed might be a reflection of the Braves' shaky infield defense aside from Yunel Escobar.  Plus, one year isn't a big sample.

The bottom line for me is that Lowe certainly has value as a pitcher, but he's also overpaid in this market.  What's your take?