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Odds & Ends: Gagne, Stairs, Dotel

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Thursday night linkage..

  • Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Radio talked to M's GM Jack Zduriencik, who declined to disclose how much money the club had left to spend this offseason.  One baseball source told Drayer that the M's likely have "a little left, but not much."
  • Scott Lauber of The News Journal tweets that Phillies GM Ruben Amaro was less than impressed after watching Eric Gagne throw yesterday, saying "He was okay."  We first heard about Gagne's comeback back in December, when the 34-year-old said he would be open to pitching in the minors.
  • Matt Stairs, who is still hoping to land a job at the age of 41, has dropped 31 pounds in order to get himself in game shape, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.  In 129 plate appearances last season, Stairs posted .194/.357/.379 with 5 HRs.
  • Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette spoke to recently signed Octavio Dotel who told him that the Pirates were the only team to offer him the role of closer.  Dotel says that he's not worried about being rusty after not closing since 2007.

Gagne To Work Out For Teams

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THURSDAY, 8:23am: Via Twitter, Yahoo's Tim Brown adds the Rockies, Dodgers, and Blue Jays as other clubs that will watch Gagne throw.

WEDNESDAY, 2:43pm: ESPN's Jayson Stark talked to Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr., who downplayed the Gagne tryout: "We don't have any expectations, at all."

8:19am: After being released by the Brewers in March of last year, Eric Gagne hooked on with a Can-Am League team as a starter.  He tallied 102.6 mediocre innings, and now hopes to find his way back to the bigs.

Today David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News passes along a segment from Montreal radio station CKAC in which Gagne indicated he has a throwing session scheduled with the Phillies today.  The 34-year-old hasn't done much since his 33.3-inning stint with Texas in '07.

Odds & Ends: Lackey, Phillies, Mets, Greinke

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Here's another collection of links…

Eric Gagne Will Attempt A Comeback

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Diamond Leung passes along a report which indicates that Eric Gagne told Canadian reporters that he will attempt to get back into the big leagues next year, and wouldn't rule out a return to the Dodgers. Gagne reportedly said that he is willing to sign a minor league contract, and wouldn't mind pitching in Double or Triple-A.

Gagne, 34 in January, last pitched in the majors with the Brewers back in 2008, spending last season with the Quebec Capitales of the independent Can Am League. Working as a starter for the first time since 2001, Gagne threw 102.2 innings (17 starts), striking out 64 and posting a 4.65 ERA for the team with the best record and highest attendance in the league.

Eric Gagne Signs With Can-Am League Team

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WEDNESDAY: Talking to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times, Gagne said he wants to come back to the Majors and would love a Dodgers reunion.

TUESDAY: According to Stephane Cadorette of Canoe.ca, pitcher Eric Gagne signed with the Can-Am independent league Quebec Capitales.  He'll need some time to get his arm game-ready.  Gagne signed a minor league deal this spring with the Brewers, but they released him on March 8th when an MRI showed shoulder damage.  Last we heard, he was going to throw for scouts in April.

Eric Gagne Hopes To Throw For Scouts

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According to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick, free agent reliever Eric Gagne is rehabbing a slight rotator cuff tear and plans to throw for scouts once he's healthy.  He hopes to begin throwing within the next two weeks.  Gagne was released by the Brewers earlier this month.  Gurnick says Gagne made an appearance today at the Dodgers' Arizona camp, but he only came to check out the new complex.    

Twins Still Eyeing Chad Cordero

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According to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Twins offered $3MM guaranteed to Eric Gagne before signing Luis Ayala.  That would’ve been a mess, given the damage found in Gagne’s shoulder.  But perhaps the Twins would’ve balked after giving Gagne a physical.

Christensen adds that the Twins continue to monitor free agent reliever Chad Cordero, who is coming back from shoulder surgery.

Brewers Release Gagne

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Tom Haudricourt writes that the Brewers have released Eric Gagne from the minor-league deal he signed with the club earlier this Spring.

An MRI revealed that Gagne has damage to his rotator cuff and labrum in his right shoulder. He would have made $1.5MM if he had been added to the Major League roster by March 26.

Brewers Assistant General Manager Gord Ash said that there was no animosity between Gagne and the Brewers, and that if his health improved they would consider signing him to a new deal in the future.

Brewers Rumors: Gagne, Roberts

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3:48pm: McCalvy has more on the outfield topic.  The Brewers have heard from Roberts’ agent, but not Edmonds’.

2:15pm: MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy talked to Brewers assistant GM Gord Ash, who said it’d be "impossible" for reliever Eric Gagne to make the big league roster.  Gagne is getting a second opinion on his shoulder; he’s in camp on a minor league invite.  Ash added that the Brewers don’t have interest in Gagne rehabbing in the minor leagues for them.

In other Brewers news, Anthony Witrado of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel says the team is "keeping a casual eye on the market for outfielders since Tony Gwynn Jr. is out until further notice and Ryan Braun is gone at the World Baseball Classic."  Remaining free agents include Luis Gonzalez, Jay Payton, Dave Roberts, and Jim Edmonds.

Odds and Ends: Pirates, Royals, Gagne

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Links for Wednesday…

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