More Odds and Ends: Kuroda, Pena, Wolf, Percival, Molina

Tim sent me a couple of items, so let’s create another bullet list:

• Mariners GM Bill Bavasi and manager John McLaren have met with Hiroki Kuroda yesterday. There is no report of an offer, but it’s believed that four years and $45 million are expected. Kuroda hopes to make his decision on the 29th.
• Impacto Deportivo, the same site that had first news of the Mets deal with Luis Castillo, reports that Carlos Pena has rejected a three-year, $30 million deal from the Rays. Pena, however, calls the report "a straight lie."
• Randy Wolf is generating interest from the Padres, Phillies, and Astros. Ken Rosenthal notes that the market for high-risk, moderate-reward pitchers is strong, since the rest of the market isn’t very appealing. This includes Bartolo Colon, Jason Jennings, Freddy Garcia, Jon Lieber, Matt Clement, and Kris Benson.
• The Brewers are in on Troy Percival after losing Francisco Cordero to the Reds. As has been said since the signing, this could also mean that Derrick Turnbow gets another shot in the closer’s role.
• The Mets inquired about Bengie Molina at the GM meetings, and even though they have acquired Johnny Estrada, they could rekindle talks at the Winter Meetings. Rosenthal notes that the Giants might not want to trade Molina, since they lose considerable leverage because of the $12 million owed to him over the next two years.

Joe Pawlikowski is co-author of River Ave. Blues.