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Odds & Ends: Thome, Chapman, Mariners

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Links for Tuesday, as we wait for the hot stove to reignite…

Giants Sign Mark DeRosa

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The Giants signed Mark DeRosa to a two-year, $12MM deal today.  SI's Jon Heyman tweeted news of the offer on December 23rd, and ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted that day that DeRosa was leaning toward accepting.  Yesterday, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports said a two-year deal was close.  Following that, Heyman tweeted that an agreement had been reached.

Rosenthal says DeRosa will fill a third base/super-utility role for the Giants.  He reminds us that the Giants are also close to re-signing Juan Uribe, which would make for a "very versatile roster" and would push Pablo Sandoval to first base. Rosenthal tweeted that DeRosa will give $7.5K per season to charity. He gets $200K if the Giants trade him

$6MM a year is big bucks for DeRosa, as he turns 35 in February and had wrist surgery in November.  The Cardinals will receive a supplemental draft pick for their loss.  The Cards never made a formal offer to DeRosa, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

NL Central Moves

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Next up let's take a look at the offseason moves made by NL Central clubs so far.

Cubs

  • Acquired/Re-signed: John Grabow, Ryne White, Scott Maine, Jeff Gray, Matthew Spencer, Ronny Morla, Mike Parisi, Carlos Silva
  • Lost: Rich Harden, Aaron Heilman, Aaron Miles, Jake Fox, Milton Bradley

Reds

  • Acquired/Re-signed: Justin Lehr, Wilkin Castillo, Laynce Nix, Ramon Hernandez 
  • Lost: Danny Richar, Ramon Ramirez, Craig Tatum, Ben Jukich

Astros

  • Acquired/Re-signed: Jason Bourgeois, Chris Shelton, Alex Romero, Drew Meyer, Oswaldo Navarro, Gary Majewski, Casey Daigle, Roy Corcoran, Matt Lindstrom, Pedro Feliz, Brandon Lyon, Jason Michaels, Gustavo Chacin, Edgar Ferreira, Geoff Blum
  • Lost: Chris Coste, LaTroy Hawkins, Luis Bryan, Robert Bono, Jorge Jimenez, Geoff Geary

Brewers

  • Acquired/Re-signed: Adam Stern, Carlos Gomez, Mark DiFelice, Craig Counsell, Trevor Hoffman, Claudio Vargas, George Kottaras, Chris Capuano, John Halama, Gregg Zaun, Trent Oeltjen, Luis Cruz, Chuck Lofgren, Randy Wolf, A.J. Murray, LaTroy Hawkins, Kameron Loe, Matt Treanor
  • Lost: Jason Bourgeois, Corey Patterson, Mike Cameron, Jason Kendall, J.J. Hardy, Mike Rivera

Pirates

  • Acquired/Re-signed: Justin Thomas, Akinori Iwamura, Chris Jakubauskas, Wilfredo Ledezma, Vinnie Chulk, Bobby Crosby, John Raynor, Javier Lopez
  • Lost: Luis Cruz, Chris Bootcheck, Jesse Chavez, Eric Hacker, Robinzon Diaz, Phil Dumatrait, Matt Capps

Cardinals

  • Acquired/Re-signed: Jason LaRue, Ruben Gotay, Brad Penny, Ben Jukich
  • Lost: Jarrett Hoffpauir, Brad Thompson, Joe Thurston, Mark DeRosa, Troy Glaus, Mike Parisi, Brian Barden

iPhone Application – Help Wanted

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We are looking to design an MLB Trade Rumors iPhone application.  The main request for this app is that it uses push notifications to alert users of new posts involving specified teams and/or players.

If you or your company has experience in designing iPhone apps and you're interested in creating ours, please contact me at mlbtriphone@gmail.com.  Experience creating sports-related apps is a plus.

Also, iPhone users – if you have other ideas for an MLBTR app beyond the push notifications, please let us know in the comments of this post.

Cardinals Eyeing Felipe Lopez

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Mark DeRosa is off the board, and the Cardinals continue to await an answer from Matt Holliday.  Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch sums up the Cards' other free agent targets in an article this morning.

Goold says the Cardinals are "known to have interest" in free agent infielder Felipe Lopez, who finished the '08 season with a bang in St. Louis.  He was used in a super-utility role in his brief time there.  Lopez had a fine 2009 (.310/.383/.427), but he's received little interest so far this winter.  Last time around Lopez was scooped up by the D'Backs for $3.5MM on December 12th.

Goold also reminds us of two other free agent targets for the Cards: Xavier Nady and Jermaine Dye.  It's unclear whether the Braves still have interest in Nady, while the Rangers are the team most often linked to Dye.

NL East Moves

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Today let's take a look at moves made so far this offseason by NL East teams.  Unsigned free agents are not yet considered losses for this post.  Also, Rule 5 losses might end up returning.

Braves

  • Acquired/Re-signed: Tim Hudson, Juan Abreu, Mitch Jones, Scott Proctor, Melky Cabrera, Arodys Vizcaino, Michael Dunn, Brent Clevlen, Joe Thurston, Jesse Chavez, Takashi Saito, Billy Wagner, Troy Glaus
  • Lost: Mike Gonzalez, Rafael Soriano, Boone Logan, Javier Vazquez, Buddy Carlyle, Edgar Osuna, Jorge Campillo

Marlins

  • Acquired/Re-signed:  Hunter Jones, Jose Alvarez, Luis Bryan, Robert Bono, Jorge Jimenez, Clay Hensley, Brian Barden, Donnie Murphy
  • Lost: Alejandro de Aza, Scott Proctor, Ross Gload, Jeremy Hermida, Nick Johnson, Matt Lindstrom, John Raynor

Mets

  • Acquired/Re-signed: Chris Carter, Alex Cora, Elmer Dessens, Chris Coste, Mike Hessman, Henry Blanco, Clint Everts, Ryota Igarashi, Kelvim Escobar
  • Lost: Wilson Valdez, J.J. Putz, Lance Broadway, Brian Schneider 

Phillies

  • Acquired/Re-signed:  Andy Tracy, DeWayne Wise, Wilson Valdez, Paul Hoover, Brian Schneider, Juan Castro, Placido Polanco, David Herndon, Cody Ransom, Chris Duffy, Ross Gload, J.C. Ramirez, Phillippe Aumont, Tyson Gillies, Roy Halladay
  • Lost: Jack Taschner, Eric Bruntlett, Cliff Lee, Kyle Drabek, Michael Taylor, Travis d'Arnaud, Pedro Feliz, Rodrigo Lopez, Carlos Monasterios

Nationals

  • Acquired/Re-signed: Jamie Burke, Doug Slaten, Scott Olsen, Brian Bruney, Jerry Owens, Ryan Speier, Ivan Rodriguez, Logan Kensing, Joel Peralta, Pete Orr, Jason Marquis, Eddie Guardado, Josh Whitesell, Eric Bruntlett, Matt Capps
  • Lost: Josh Bard, Jamie Hoffmann, Zech Zinicola

Yankees Considering Affordable Left Fielders

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After talking to a Yankees official, Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News hammers home some points reported yesterday in our Yankees Search For Left Fielder post.

We're not going to get crazy and underline it, but here's McCarron quoting the official:

"No chance on Matt Holliday, no chance on Jason Bay.  Zero. None. Underline it."

Also, McCarron talked to two Yankees officials who say they have no interest in Jermaine Dye.  Various reports had previously suggested otherwise.

The Yankees have a couple million to play with, though they could free up a few more million by trading Chad Gaudin and/or Sergio Mitre.  McCarron's official named Reed Johnson and Jerry Hairston Jr. as considerations for the left field vacancy. 

Odds & Ends: Bay, Holliday, Bruney

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Monday night linkage..

  • Daniel Barbarisi of The Providence Journal points out that Boston giving Jason Bay a backloaded contract would do nothing to keep them out of luxury tax territory.  Payroll is calculated by totalling the average yearly earnings of a player, not a player's year-to-year salary.  However, Barbarisi offers up a number of other ways the Red Sox could retain Bay without getting hammered by the luxury tax.
  • Chuck Brownson of The Hardball Times writes that the Cardinals can afford to be patient with Matt Holliday as long as alternatives remain on the open market.  Brownson feels that Mark DeRosa signing with the Giants put a little more pressure on St. Louis.
  • Brian Bruney told Bill Ladson of MLB.com that he wants to close for the Nationals in 2010.  Bruney will have to compete with newly acquired Matt Capps for the role.

Diamondbacks Notes: Johnson, Snyder, Bailey

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Some Diamondbacks tidbits courtesy of MLB.com's Steve Gilbert…

  • The Diamondbacks have about $3MM left to spend and are expecting to hear back from Kelly Johnson in the next couple of days regarding their offer, according to Gilbert's MLB.com blog. 
  • The acquisition of Johnson could shift Tony Abreu into an infield utility role, making infielder Augie Ojeda expendable.
  • While inking Johnson would put Arizona at their budget, trading Chris Snyder and the $4.75MM he is owed next season would give the D-Backs some more wiggle room.  You may recall that they nearly dealt Snyder to the Blue Jays for Lyle Overbay, before Toronto's concern over his surgically-repaired back triggered them to call off the swap.
  • Gilbert also reports (via Twitter) that the Diamondbacks have signed outfielder Jeff Bailey to a minor-league deal with an invite to spring training.  The 31-year-old hit .262/.362/.424 with 10 HRs in 63 games for Boston's Triple-A affiliate in 2009.

Cubs Interested In Contreras, Spilborghs?

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8:30pm: A report from ChicagoBreakingSports.com notes that recent acquisition Carlos Silva will likely fill the role of long reliever for the club, making Contreras an unlikely fit in Chicago.  Furthermore, the 38-year-old will likely attract better offers from teams that see him as a starter.

As for Spilborghs, a major league source told Troy Renck of the Denver Post that reports of the Cubs' interest in him are overstated.  Renck's gut feeling tells him that the Rockies' asking price will be too high to get a deal done.

3:27pm: With plenty of holes remaining throughout their roster, the Chicago Cubs are looking at free agents and trade options at a variety of positions, according to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com. Let's check out a few highlights from Levine's latest article….

  • The Cubs have talked to Jose Contreras' agent, Jaime Torres, about possibly signing the right-hander. Contreras would provide some versatility for the club, who could use him out of the bullpen, or as a possible 4th or 5th starter.
  • According to major league sources, the Cubs and Rockies have had discussions about a trade that could send Ryan Spilborghs to Chicago. If such a deal were to occur, Spilborghs would take over as the Cubs' fourth outfielder, a role Reed Johnson held last year.
  • Marlon Byrd and Scott Podsednik remain the top two candidates for the Cubs' center field opening.
  • Kiko Calero is another bullpen arm the team is considering.

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