Trade Interest In Glen Perkins?

According to La Velle E. Neal III of The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, scouts from a number of clubs (including the Rockies, Pirates and Blue Jays) watched Glen Perkins pitch on Tuesday night.  It should be noted that the scouts could've been there for any number of reasons or to see any number of players, but the presence of the Toronto scouts is notable given the rumors that the Twins are interested in acquiring Jason Frasor to fill the void left by Joe Nathan's injury.  Given the number of left-handed starting options on the Blue Jays roster, however, one wonders why they'd be looking at Perkins.  The Pirates and Rockies also don't have any obvious need for a left-handed starter, but it's possible one of these clubs could be looking at Perkins as a reliever.

Perkins posted a 5.89 ERA in 18 games (17 of them starts) with Minnesota in 2009 before his season was cut short due to a shoulder injury.  After being sent to the minors for injury rehab, Perkins complained that the move cost him major league service time and filed a grievance against the Twins that was settled over the winter.  Neal wrote in December that the Twins were looking to move Perkins in part because of this dispute.

Odds & Ends: Anderson, Smoltz, Red Sox, Dye

Links for Friday...

• Heyman tweets that the Angels and Dodgers could pursue Garret Anderson.
• Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that the Mets are falling behind in their attempts to sign John Smoltz.
• As Rob Bradford of WEEI.com notes, Theo Epstein says the Red Sox do not have a policy against negotiating extensions during the season.
• The Red Sox, Phillies, Diamondbacks and Rockies watched Oscar Villarreal throw today, tweets Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse.
• An MLB executive tells ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that Jermaine Dye turned down $3.3MM from the Cubs before they signed Xavier Nady for the same price (Twitter link).
• MLB.com's Bill Ladson tweets that money may prevent the Nationals from signing Orlando Hudson. Adam Dunn believes Washington is Hudson's first choice.
• The club could go after Adam Kennedy if Hudson signs elsewhere, tweets Ladson. 
• The Blue Jays have money, but aren't going to spend for the sake of spending, according to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. 
• In case you'd like more on the Johnny Damon-Yankees drama, SI's Jon Heyman talked to the player and GM.
• Alex Rodriguez was "staring at retirement right in the face" last March when diagnosed with a torn labrum in his hip, he told Kim Jones of the YES Network Wednesday night.
• Dave Cameron of FanGraphs wonders if aging players are the new market inefficiency.
• Cameron compares Jason Bay to Josh Willingham and concludes that the two outfielders are pretty similar. 
• In an interview with SNY's Kevin Burkhardt last night, Mets GM Omar Minaya insisted he has full autonomy.  Joel Sherman of the New York Post doesn't buy it.
• U.S.S. Mariner's Dave Cameron tweets of rumblings that the Royals and Mariners have discussed Alberto Callaspo. 
• The Red Sox signed catcher Gustavo Molina to a minor league deal, reports WEEI's Rob Bradford.  Molina, 28 in February, hit .209/.233/.308 for the Nationals' Triple A club last year.
• Larry Granillo of Wezen-Ball digs up the true story behind Andre Dawson, the Cubs, and the blank check in '87.
• Twins lefty Glen Perkins explained his grievance to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Padres Discussing Kouzmanoff

618pm: Stark hears that the Padres offered Kouzmanoff up for Lewis and Frandsen. That doesn't match with the reports below, which suggest the Padres wanted more. Stark agrees with Nightengale that the Padres wanted more than Glen Perkins in return from the Twins.

WEDNESDAY, 5:21pm: Jayson Stark of ESPN.com hears that the Padres are aggressively trying to move Kouzmanoff. The Twins and Giants are interested.

TUESDAY, 5:39pm: The Twins offered Perkins for Kouzmanoff, but the Padres want more, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

4:50pm: MLB.com's Corey Brock hears that Kouzmanoff has drawn interest from as many as eight teams. The Padres aren't interested in Lewis or Frandsen.

1:47pm: USA Today's Bob Nightengale tweets about an NL West trade discussion: the Giants are talking to the Padres about third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff, but the Padres want more than Fred Lewis and Kevin Frandsen.  I'm guessing the Padres would prefer not to pay Kouzmanoff the $3-5MM he'll get through arbitration.

Meanwhile La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says the Padres would like to discuss Kouzmanoff with the Twins.  He wonders if they'd be interested in Glen Perkins, who is available.  Neal notes that Pedro Feliz's agents would like to talk to the Twins as well.

Odds & Ends: Mora, Figgins, Tejada, Rangers

Links for Day 2 of the Winter Meetings, which are taking place in Indianapolis...

• Add Robb Quinlan to the list of utility men on the Rockies' radar, according to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.  Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports names Melvin Mora as another target.  MLB.com's Lyle Spencer tweets of interest from the Twins in Quinlan.
• The Mariners' deal for Chone Figgins is official, tweets the Brock & Salk show. The team press release notes it's a four-year deal with an option for 2014.
• Cardinals manager Tony La Russa acknowledged interest in Miguel Tejada, talking to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  By the way, Astros GM Ed Wade is certain he won't re-sign Tejada, tweets Alyson Footer.  Tejada apparently wants multiple years.
• MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan says the Rangers are considering free agent catchers such as Rod Barajas, Jason Kendall, Yorvit Torrealba, and Jose Molina.
• WEEI's Alex Speier passes along Scott Boras' comments from an XM Radio appearance.  Boras discussed Matt Holliday, Johnny Damon, Ivan Rodriguez, and Adrian Beltre. 
• The Brewers are discussing relievers Kevin Gregg and Mike Gonzalez at least internally, writes MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.  The Crew recently lost reliever Mark DiFelice for the 2010 season.  Gonzalez would cost good money and the Brewers' second-round pick (currently #50).
• Yahoo's Kevin Kaduk asks whether Twitter is helping or hurting the Winter Meetings.  My opinion: hurting.  The information crush was tolerable when reporters all got blogs a few years back, but now it's excessive.  Of course, we're not helping.
• Jamey Carroll would love to play for the Reds but hasn't received an offer yet, writes MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
• The D'Backs offered Chris Snyder to the Rangers for C.J. Wilson and were turned down, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  Wilson tweets that he's "borderline offended" by Arizona's offer.
• The Pirates have had further talks with free agent hurler Justin Duchscherer, says Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but don't expect him to sign soon.  We learned yesterday that the Rockies have cooled on Duchscherer.  Kovacevic also reports that despite scouting Aroldis Chapman, the Pirates are not a player for him.  ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. indicates that Chapman will be showcased in Houston later this month.
• The Rays and White Sox discussed a Carlos Quentin-Carl Crawford trade, says Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.  Manager Ozzie Guillen implies that nothing is cooking on that front though.  The two clubs also discussed closer Bobby Jenks, but the Rays did not like the asking price.
• Angels GM Tony Reagins admitted to interest in Hideki Matsui, reports Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times.  Keep in mind, though that the Japanese press is apparently grilling every GM on Matsui.  Reagins also said he hasn't ruled out re-signing Vladimir Guerrero.
• Carl Pavano explained his decision to accept arbitration from the Twins, in an email to Kelsie Smith of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.  La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune suggests retaining Pavano makes Glen Perkins expendable.
• The Rangers are not interested in trading for Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit, reports MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch.

Twins May Target Rich Harden

Free agent starter Rich Harden was a major topic of discussion in MLB.com's Kelly Thesier's mailbag piece today, where it was confirmed that Minnesota has had interest in acquiring the Canadian right-hander in the past and may look to do so again this winter.

Thesier reports that the Twins put in a claim on Harden last August before the Cubs pulled the pitcher back off of waivers.  Minnesota ended up trading for Carl Pavano on August 7 to bolster their pitching staff en route to their successful chase of the AL Central title. 

Though Minnesota has a number of young pitchers both in their rotation and their minor league system, Thesier argues this actually gives the Twins more incentive to sign Harden, given that the team feels they have the depth to fill the void should the injury-plagued Harden again find himself on the disabled list.  Harden posted a 4.09 ERA and 10.9 K/9 rate with Chicago last season and is very used to pitching to the bigger bats of the American League after spending the first five and a half years of his career in Oakland.  It has been speculated that Harden will sign an incentives-laden short-term contract since his injury history will prevent teams from offering longer-term deals, and such a one or two-year contract might appeal to the budget-conscious Twins.

Thesier's mailbag also covers such topics as the possibility of the Twins re-signing Pavano, re-signing Orlando Cabrera to play second or third base, an interest in free agent starter Jarrod Washburn and the status of the dispute between the club and starter Glen Perkins, so it's well worth the read.