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Nats, O’s, Padres Pursuing Lee & LaRoche

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The Nationals, Orioles and Padres are pursuing both Derrek Lee and Adam LaRoche, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Padres have less money to spend than the Nationals and Orioles, so they seem less likely to sign one of the first basemen.

LaRoche may command a multiyear deal, but Lee is telling teams he’s open to a one-year contract, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Heyman also reports (on Twitter) that the Nationals are very much in on Lee. Six teams reportedly have interest in the longtime Cub.

The Diamondbacks, however, are likely “out” on Lee after agreeing to terms with Xavier Nady, according to Rosenthal and Morosi.

Nishioka, Twins “Very Close” To Deal

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8:37am: The sides are close to a three-year, $10MM deal plus an option, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter links).

THURSDAY, 7:47am: The Twins are "very close" to a deal with Nishioka, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

WEDNESDAY, 6:51pm: Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka is scheduled to arrive in Minnesota early Thursday morning according to Kelsie Smith and John Shipley of The Pioneer Press, which they say is a good indication that the two sides are moving closer to a deal. GM Bill Smith declined to comment on the matter, however…

"I'm not commenting on any of that," said Smith. "There's very little to report. We're still in discussions and negotiations. As I've been saying, we think he can help us, and I'm very optimistic we can sign him."

The Twins won the bidding for Nishioka a little less than three weeks ago, and they recently offered him a multiyear deal. The two sides still have ten days from tomorrow to get a contract worked out (including physical). Minnesota traded J.J. Hardy to the Orioles last week, which tells us they're confident in getting a deal done with Nishioka. 

Mariners Looking To Trade David Aardsma

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The Mariners are trying to trade David Aardsma, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. As Rosenthal points out, the reliever will earn a raise from his 2010 salary of $2.75MM when he and the Mariners determine his upcoming salary through the arbitration process.

The Red Sox have missed out on a number of free agent relievers, so it would not be surprising to see them try to reacquire Aardsma, who turns 29 later this month. Kevin Gregg, who has drawn interest from a number of clubs, such as the Orioles and Red Sox, is among the possible replacements for Aardsma, Rosenthal reports.

Like Gregg, Aardsma generally posts high strikeout, walk and save totals. In 49 2/3 innings last year, he posted a 3.44 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9. Aardsma has likely seen his trade value jump because of the rising cost of free agent relievers, as MLBTR's Mike Axisa explains here.

Red Sox On Verge Of Deal With Bobby Jenks

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The Red Sox are on the verge of a deal with Bobby Jenks, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). Jenks, who is looking for "closer money," appears to be drawing lots of interest.

The White Sox non-tendered the reliever earlier in the month after a season in which Jenks posted a career-high 4.44 ERA with otherwise strong numbers. His 58.3% ground ball rate placed him tenth among relievers with at least 50 innings of work and he posted 10.4 K/9 with 3.1 BB/9 in 52 2/3 innings. He picked up 27 saves, his lowest total since becoming the team's full-time closer in 2006.

Heyman reported earlier this afternoon that the Red Sox are open to trading Jonathan Papelbon, though his trade value is low, since he's likely to earn $11MM or so through arbitration (Twitter link).

Odds & Ends: Lee, Zambrano, Werth, Mets, Uehara

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Baseball lost one of its all-time greats tonight; Bob Feller passed away at 92. Rapid Robert won 266 games in his career, every single one of them with the Cleveland Indians. He probably would have cleared the 300 win plateau if he hadn't served in World War II from ages 23-25. Our condolences go out to the Hall of Famer's family…

Cubs Close To Finalizing A Deal With Kerry Wood

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It appears that Kerry Wood will be going back to where it all started. David Kaplan of Chicago Now reports that the free agent right-hander is "moving towards finalizing a deal" with the Cubs, the team that originally drafted him. Earlier tonight we learned that the White Sox offered Wood a two-year contract, but it's entirely possible that they changed course once they landed Jesse Crain.

No longer the pitcher that once struck out 20 batters in one game or set the then-single season record with 12.5820 K/9 in 1998, Wood has morphed into a high-strikeout late game reliever. His 2010 season featured 9.6 K/9 for the Indians and Yankees, and a few years ago he saved 34 games for the Cubbies while striking out 11.4 batters per nine innings.  

Joe Beimel Has Multiple Offers

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Lefty reliever Joe Beimel is sitting on offers from several teams tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post, but none of them have come from the Rockies. 

The market for Beimel has been very quiet this offseason, but that is nothing new. The 33-year-old lefty hasn't signed a contract before January since the 2005-2006 offseason, and in each of the last two winters he's had to wait until March to find a job. Beimel pitched to a 3.40 ERA in 45 innings for the Rockies in 2010, holding left-handed batters to a .221/.275/.379 batting line. 

Padres Notes: First Base, Bartlett, Cabrera

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Padres GM Jed Hoyer appeared on XX1090 sports radio in San Diego recently, touching on a variety of topics. Let's round it up…

  • XX1090 producer/reporter Marty Caswell tweets that Hoyer said the team's first base solution will likely be a free agent signing, not a trade. It would also be a one-year solution. Hoyer joked that he won't shave until they have a new first baseman.
  • "It’s something I can hope can get resolved quickly," said Hoyer with regards to the Jason Bartlett non-trade (via Caswell's Twitter). "There are several different issues we're working on." SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that the deal is "better than 50-50" to get done.
  • Hoyer said he wouldn't mind having shortstop Everth Cabrera start the season in the minors to build confidence and let him accrue at-bats, tweets MLB.com's Corey Brock. A Bartlett would trade would certainly help make Hoyer's wish come true.

Red Sox Sign Lenny DiNardo

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The Red Sox have brought back a familiar face, signing lefty Lenny DiNardo to a minor league contract according to WEEI.com's Rob Bradford. He originally broke in with Boston back in 2004.

DiNardo, 31, owns a 5.36 ERA in 257 big league innings, most of which came as a member of the Athletics. He spent last season with Oakland's Triple-A affiliate and hasn't appeared in the big leagues since the end of the 2009 season with the Royals. DiNardo has experience both as both a starter and reliever, though he's performed considerably better coming out of the bullpen.

Diamondbacks Agree To Deal With Xavier Nady

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The Diamondbacks have agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.75MM with Xavier Nady. He can earn another $1MM in incentives. The first baseman/outfielder is a Scott Boras client and was in Phoenix for a physical on Wednesday.

Nady, 32, hit .256/.306/.353 with six homers in 347 plate appearances for the Cubs in 2010. He missed almost all of 2009 after having his second Tommy John surgery. D'Backs GM Kevin Towers had Nady with the Padres, continuing a theme that has seen him target (or acquire) many of his former players this winter, including Henry Blanco, Sean Burroughs, and Geoff Blum.

Nady signed a one-year contract worth $3.3MM guaranteed (he did earn another $1.05MM in incentives) coming off his injury, and I predicted that he would have to settle for a similar deal when I previewed his free agent stock back in September.

Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic originally reported that the two sides were close to an agreement. SI.com's Jon Heyman confirmed the agreement and added details, as did Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (all four Twitter links).

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