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White Sox Interested In Extending Danks

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The White Sox are trying to create room in their budget to sign John Danks to a multiyear extension, according to Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com. Danks, who will be eligible for free agency after the 2012 season, earned $3.45MM this year in his first season as an arbitration eligible player. The White Sox would like to lock him up through 2013 or, preferably, 2014, according to Padilla’s source.

The 25-year-old logged over 200 innings for the second consecutive season in 2010, pitching to a 3.72 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9. He’s coming off of a strong season and a relatively large salary for a player in his first season of arbitration. Danks would probably earn roughly $5.5MM through arbitration next year, so a three-year extension could fall in the $23MM range and a four-year extension could cost $10MM or so more.

Click here for an in-depth explanation of why teams have interest in locking up young starters like Danks.

Red Sox Not Exploring Ortiz Extension

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It doesn't look like David Ortiz will get the extension he was looking for. Red Sox GM Theo Epstein says the club explored an extension with Ortiz before picking up his 2011 option and determined to go one year at a time, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com (on Twitter). Epstein says the one-year, $12.5MM option made the most sense for the Red Sox, according to Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald (on Twitter).

Ortiz has repeatedly said he'd like the security of a multiyear deal and though the Red Sox aren't ruling it out completely, the chances seem remote at this point. The 34-year-old batted .270/.370/.529 with 32 homers last year.

Rangers Agree To Extend Ron Washington

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THURSDAY: The Rangers agreed to a two-year extension with Washington, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

WEDNESDAY: Ron Washington will meet with Rangers president Nolan Ryan and GM Jon Daniels tomorrow to work out the terms of a contract extension, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  The deal could be finalized as soon as tomorrow and Sullivan guesses the extension will cover two or three seasons.

Washington has a 331-317 record in four years as the Texas manager, and will forever hold a place in Rangers history as the first manager to lead the team to an AL pennant.  Washington originally signed a two-year contract to manage the club in November 2006, with options for 2009 and 2010 that were both picked up.  The next step for Texas may be to explore an extension for Daniels — the GM is under contract only through next season.  

Dodgers Sign Jay Gibbons

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The Dodgers signed Jay Gibbons to a one-year major league deal worth $650K plus incentives, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times (all Twitter links). $400K of that money is guaranteed, while Gibbons could earn up to $800K if he makes 500 plate appearances (Twitter links).

The 33-year-old earned a call up to the majors after hitting .347/.375/.594 in Triple-A this year. He followed that performance up with a .280/.313/.507 line in 80 big league plate appearances, so the Dodgers were expected to bring him back.

L.A. signed Gibbons to a minor league deal in January, though he hadn't appeared in the majors since 2007. The eight-year veteran has had success in the majors, as his 126 career homers indicate. Gibbons, a left-handed batter, has a career .783 OPS against right-handed pitching.

Royals Claim Joaquin Arias

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The Royals claimed Joaquin Arias off of waivers from the Mets. New York acquired Arias from the Rangers in the Jeff Francoeur trade after the Rangers designated the infielder for assignment in August.

The Rangers acquired Arias in the 2004 Alfonso Soriano–Alex Rodriguez trade. He did have a solid 2008 campaign as a reserve for the Rangers, but this year he hit just .258/.280/.320 between the Rangers and Mets. The 26-year-old is not yet arbitration eligible.

Casey Kotchman Hits Free Agency

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Casey Kotchman refused an outright assignment and is now a free agent, the Mariners announced. The move is essentially an early non-tender. Kotchman had zero trade value and would have been non-tendered in December, so the Mariners are allowing the first baseman to hit the free agent market a month early.

Kotchman, 27, earned $3.5MM last year and even a modest arbitration raise would have guaranteed him an unnecessarily high salary. He batted .217/.280/.336 last year in 457 plate appearances. Kotchman has a reputation as a good defender and he posted an .840 OPS in 2007, but he does not hit enough for a first baseman.

Podsednik Declines Option, Becomes A Free Agent

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Scott Podsednik declined his side of his mutual option with the Dodgers and will hit free agency. The Dodgers exercised their side of the option for $2MM two days ago, but Podsednik topped 525 plate appearances this year, so his contract gave him the choice between a $2MM salary or free agency.

Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times reported (on Twitter) that Podsednik turned down his side of the option and MLB.com's Ken Gurnick reported on Twitter that the Dodgers picked up theirs.

Podsednik, 35 in March, hit .297/.342/.382 in 595 plate appearances for the Royals and Dodgers this year.  He spent most of his time in left field, tallying 1078.6 innings there.  Given the weak free agent market for left fielders after Carl Crawford, it's not surprising that Podsednik chose free agency.

Four Tigers To Become Free Agents

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Eddie Bonine elected free agency and Jay Sborz, Max St. Pierre and Jeff Frazier will follow him to the open market this Saturday, according to the Tigers (on Twitter). Detroit outrighted the four players to Triple-A to create roster space.

Bonine pitched to a 4.63 ERA in 68 innings for the Tigers this year. The 29-year-old right-hander struck out 3.4 batters per nine and walked 2.9 per nine in his third big league season.

Sborz, 25, appeared in one game for the Tigers this year, but has spent most of his pro career in the minors. The right-hander has a 4.31 ERA and more than one strikeout per frame in 296 2/3 minor league innings pitched.

St. Pierre, a 14-year minor league veteran from Quebec, finally made his big league debut this year. He didn't do much in nine big league plate appearances, but the 30-year-old catcher did post a .274/.353/.479 line in the upper minors this year.

Frazier, 28, also made his big league debut in 2010. The 2004 third rounder batted .256/.306/.493 at Triple A with 25 homers while playing first base and both corner outfield positions.

Red Sox Acquire Brent Dlugach

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The Red Sox acquired Brent Dlugach from Detroit for a player to be named later or cash considerations, according to the Tigers (on Twitter). The 27-year-old shortstop batted .258/.303/.360 at Triple-A this year. He had three plate appearances for the Tigers in 2009, but has spent the rest of his seven-year pro career in the minor leagues. Detroit drafted Dlugach in the sixth round of the 2004 draft.

Red Sox Announce Three Option Decisions

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The Red Sox exercised the 2011 option for Scott Atchison and declined the options for Bill Hall and Felipe Lopez, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse (on Twitter). 

The Red Sox will only pay Atchison $40K more than the MLB minimum in 2011. That's a bargain considering the 34-year-old threw 60 innings of 4.50 ERA ball with 6.2 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 last year.

Boston chose to pay Hall a $500K buyout instead of guaranteeing him $9.25MM in 2011. The 30-year-old utility man batted .247/.316/.456 with 18 homers in 2010 and he played every position but first base and catcher (he even pitched). Hall is an unranked free agent, so the Red Sox won't obtain draft pick compensation if he signs elsewhere.

They could obtain a compensation pick if Lopez, a Type B free agent, turns down arbitration to sign elsewhere. That possibility appeared to contribute to the team's interest in the infielder when they signed him in September. Lopez batted .233/.311/.345 in 441 plate appearances for the Cardinals and Red Sox.

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