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Quick Hits: Hamilton, Axelrod, Abreu, Pelfrey, Mets

Saturday night linkage..

• Josh Hamilton told Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas that he's open to talking to the Rangers about a contract extension during the season. “If they want to talk to my agent, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” he said after previously indicating an unwillingness to negotiate during the season.
• Agent Barry Axelrod has been discussing employment opportunities with the Diamondbacks, reports Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic (Twitter links). Axelrod and GM Kevin Towers are close friends.
• Unlike agents Jeff Moorad and Arn Tellem, Scott Boras has no desire to own a major league team, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com.
• The Angels' deal to trade Bobby Abreu to the Indians fell apart due to salary concerns, a source familiar with the talks told Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. Cleveland wanted the veteran slugger but the two sides couldn't agree upon how much of his $9MM salary they would assume.
• Mets pitcher Mike Pelfrey was surprised to learn that his job was on the line during spring training, writes David Lennon of Newsday. The front office was kicking around the idea of releasing the 28-year-old before Opening Day to free up roughly $4MM, the non-guaranteed portion of his one-year, $5.7MM deal.
• Scouts covering the Giants say the club is getting nervous about rotation depth, tweets Jayson Stark of ESPN.com.
• The Orioles cut minor league pitcher Josh Banks, tweets Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com. The right-hander spent most of 2011 with the Giants' Triple-A affiliate and posted a 7.27 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in twelve starts and seven relief appearances.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

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