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Morosi's Winter Meetings Preview

By Steve Adams [December 5, 2011 at 3:23am CST]

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports covers some of the major headlines that we'll be seeing over the next four days during baseball's Winter Meetings. Here's a late night look at the highlights:

Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder are still the headliners, and Morosi thinks that Pujols will sign first (although not necessarily this week). Once Pujols signs -- Morosi predicts he'll remain in St. Louis -- it's possible that his the increased number of suitors for Fielder will land him more money than Pujols. Fielder, of course, is also four years younger than Pujols.
Fielder prefers teams east of the Mississippi River and teams that can win the World Series in the near future. The list of known interested parties includes the Brewers, Mariners, Cubs, Rangers, Blue Jays, and Nationals. Seattle's rebuilding status and geographic location may remove them from the mix, while the uncertainty around how much Chicago's new front office is willing to spend may remove them as well.
Morosi doesn't think Angels GM Jerry Dipoto would've moved Tyler Chatwood without knowing the acquisition of another starting pitcher was close at hand.
The Twins remain interested in Edwin Jackson, according to Morosi's sources, but the Scott Boras client isn't likely to sign before fellow free agents C.J. Wilson and Mark Buehrle.
The availability of Andrew Bailey, Huston Street, and Brandon League slows down the market for free agent closers, and Morosi speculates that a few wise teams in search of closers will be able to wait out veteran bargains as potential closing gigs dwindle.
The Yankees, Tigers, Marlins, and Nationals have been the most active in scouting Yoenis Cespedes. While he's not a free agent yet, his market will be dictated by whether or not teams like Miami and Washington land their other targets at the Winter Meetings and in the coming weeks. Detroit would be most interested if they decide that Cespedes can bat leadoff for them right away.
Robert Whiting, an expert on Japanese baseball, told Morosi over the weekend that there's still no word on whether or not Yu Darvish will be posted.
Whiting told Morosi that Darvish became disillusioned with the posting process, partly because of the failure of Hisashi Iwakuma and the A's to work out a deal last year. He is also wary of the struggles and ridicule that other NPB stars have incurred in their transition to MLB, Whiting told Morosi.