Wednesday night linkage..
- Braves pitcher Jair Jurrjens is drawing some trade interest, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Jurrjens earned $5.5MM last season and could be a non-tender candidate for next season. While he finished the year healthy, he may not have a spot in Atlanta's deep rotation next year.
- Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey now sounds very optimistic about his future with the Mets, a marked change from his tone just a couple of months ago, tweets Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger.
- Shi Davidi of Sportsnet (via Twitter) hears that the Blue Jays may sign a second baseman in the next few days, though it's not clear who it might be.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti says that he is “probably unlikely” to trade for a starting pitcher this winter and might instead address that need in the free agent market, writes Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. The Dodgers are looking to add a No. 2 or 3 pitcher to put alongside ace Clayton Kershaw.
- Earlier today, the Dodgers formally announced that they have hired Mark McGwire as their hitting coach. McGwire previously served as the Cardinals' hitting coach but hooked on with the Dodgers as he can now work closer to his home in Irvine, California.
- Shortstop Alex Gonzalez has hired Praver Shapiro Sports Management to represent him, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. You can keep track of every player's representation with MLBTR's Agency Database.
- Rays pitcher Jeremy Hellickson interests the Cubs, but they don't have the trade chips to land him, Heyman tweets.
- The Red Sox announced that they have named Juan Nieves as their new pitching coach. Nieves spent the last 14 seasons in the White Sox organization and most recently served as their bullpen coach.
- Agent Joe Urbon told Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer (via Twitter) that outfielder Grady Sizemore plans to play in 2013. Indians GM Chris Antonetti has said that he is open to bringing Sizemore back, but for less than the $5MM he received last year.
- Mets assistant GM John Ricco says that the club won't rush to fill their void in the outfield, tweets Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Instead, the Mets plan to let the market define itself first.
