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Quick Hits: Willingham, Rivera, Royals, Wilson

Links for Wednesday, as the Cardinals, Rays and Angels try to make improbable surges into the playoffs with some late-season magic...

• It appeared that Manny Ramirez was going to play winter ball in the Dominican Republic, but he is ineligible to play there because he has "unresolved drug program violations" with MLB, which is an affiliate of the Dominican League, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter).
• Josh Willingham, a free agent after the season, told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle that manager Bob Melvin's extension helps make Oakland an appealing destination (Twitter link).
• Joel Sherman of the New York Post chronicles the obstacles that Mariano Rivera had to overcome before throwing a single MLB pitch. The Yankees left Rivera unprotected in the 1992 expansion draft and nearly traded him in 1995.
• ESPN.com's Buster Olney predicts that a wide variety of teams including the Marlins and Nationals will be interested in C.J. Wilson this offseason (Twitter link). We heard earlier today that the Nationals are scouting the Rangers left-hander.
• The Royals intend to trade for a starting pitcher this winter, but they don’t intend to trade Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas or Danny Duffy and probably won’t part with Jake Odorizzi or Mike Montgomery, either, Jon Heyman writes at SI.com. They are one of the many teams with interest in Wilson.

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