Odds and Ends: Griffey, Springer, Hoffman

Links for Wednesday…

• Common misconception Joe and I keep running into: signing one of the 15 Type A free agents who were offered arbitration will only cost the signing team one draft pick.  The player’s old team also gets a second pick, but it doesn’t come from the new team.  It’s just squeezed into the supplemental round.  Check out a deeper explanation here.
• Nuggets from a Frank Coonelly chat: he expects the Pirates to make room on the 40-man roster for a potential Rule 5 addition, and they’d still like to re-sign Doug Mientkiewicz.
• Pirates pitcher Jason Davis looks like a non-tender candidate.
• Twins manager Ron Gardenhire doesn’t have Delmon Young in his preferred starting outfield.
• The Cubs signed pitcher Chad Fox to a minor league deal.
• Ken Griffey Jr.’s agent Brian Goldberg says he’s fine with DHing but is capable of playing the field.  Goldberg thinks Junior can bounce back and have a 30 home run season.
• Click here to listen to free agent reliever Russ Springer talk to The ITD Morning After radio show on 1380 AM.  He’s gotten calls from teams in both leagues, including "World Series participants."  Springer is known to be on the Phillies’ radar.
• Recently I talked to Sarah Small of the Daily Illini.
• SI.com’s Tom Verducci looks at the supposed shortstop revolution that seems to have petered out.
• Dave Cameron respects the Astros’ signing of Mike Hampton.
• Tony Jackson says the Dodgers offered a minor league deal to Juan Castro.
• Royals GM Dayton Moore did a Q&A with fans at MLB.com.  His priority is adding right-handed relief help after trading Leo Nunez and Ramon Ramirez.  Also, he says Mark Teahen is "more important to our team today then he was in all of 2008 — and he was very important to our team in ’08."
• McCovey Chronicles is skeptical of all the teams blaming the economy.
• Drunk Jays Fans predicts Kevin Mench’s Japan experience.
• Jesse Spector looks at comparable pitchers for C.C. Sabathia.
• Trevor Hoffman may meet with the Mets soon.  Also, Mets COO Jeff Wilpon spoke of "addition by subtraction" yesterday.
• East Windup Chronicle disputes a Richard Griffin column.
• The Phillies are still willing to sign Type A free agents who were offered arbitration, such as Raul Ibanez or Juan Cruz.
• Evan Grant’s latest Rangers mailbag, always a good read.
• Joe Sheehan discusses various poor arbitration decisions by teams.
• Minor league deals for the Mets: Nelson Figueroa, Adam Bostick, and Rene Rivera.  Marty Noble adds Andy Green.
• Rany Jazayerli figures Mark Grudzielanek agreed in advance to reject the Royals’ offer of arbitration.
• As usual, ESPN will be all over the Winter Meetings.  I’m told they’ll be doing daily Baseball Tonight specials and will have a team of seven on the scene in Vegas.
• ESPN’s Peter Gammons says the free agent and trade markets are flooded with corner/DH type bats.  There will be bargains.
• Bruce Miles thinks Milton Bradley would be a nice match for the Cubs.  The biggest issue would be his ability to play right field every day.