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Odds & Ends: Bartlett, Bengie Molina, Bill Hall

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A year ago today, John Buck signed with the Blue Jays, Bruce Chen with the Royals, and Scott Olsen with the Nationals.  Currently only Chen remains on the market.  Today's links:

White Sox Sign Brian Bruney

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The White Sox signed reliever Brian Bruney to a minor league deal, reports Baseball America's Matt Eddy.  Bruney, 29 in February, struggled mightily in 17 2/3 innings for the Nationals this year after coming over from the Yankees in a trade.  After a May release he hooked on with the Brewers and Mets, but did not return to the Majors.  The Sox also re-signed 28-year-old minor league catcher Donny Lucy, according to Eddy.

Rangers Re-Sign Matt Treanor

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The Rangers re-signed catcher Matt Treanor to a one-year, $850K contract, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  He adds that they also outrighted pitcher Ryan Tucker, who cleared waivers and was assigned to Triple-A Round Rock.

Treanor, 35 in March, hit .211/.287/.308 in 272 plate appearances for the Rangers this year, leading the team with 614 2/3 innings caught.  Treanor signed a minor league contract with the Brewers a year ago and was dealt to the Rangers in March.  He missed time in July and August with a knee sprain.  The Rangers signed Yorvit Torrealba in November, so their catching tandem is in place.

Tucker, a 24-year-old righty, was claimed off waivers from the Marlins in October when Rich Harden was designated for assignment.

Dodgers Sign Eugenio Velez

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The Dodgers signed Eugenio Velez, the team announced today.  They also confirmed minor league signings of Juan Castro and J.D. Closser.

Velez, 28, was non-tendered by the Giants earlier this month even though he wasn't arbitration eligible yet.  He owns a .256/.300/.388 line in 678 career plate appearances.  He's logged time at all three outfield positions as well as second base.  This year the speedy utility man hit .302/.353/.439 at Triple-A.  Velez comes much cheaper than the other infielder the Dodgers signed away from the rival Giants, Juan Uribe.

Cliff Lee Rumors: Monday

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Yesterday we learned that the Nationals are out of the Cliff Lee sweepstakes and that the Yankees will not increase their offer again.  Multiple reporters have suggested Lee will decide this week.  If you believe in the mystery team, the lefty may have three legitimate suitors.  Otherwise, it's just the Yankees and Rangers.  The top bullets have the latest:

  • It's hard to find executives who expect Lee to re-sign in Texas, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter).
  • One member of the Phillies organization has said to Jack Curry of the YES Network that Lee isn't in the same class as C.C. Sabathia and Roy Halladay and would be a riskier signing (Twitter link).
  • A decision is unlikely tonight, but could come tomorrow, according to Heyman (on Twitter).
  • The Yankees are now "extremely negative" about landing Lee and they believe he is leaning toward the Phillies' offer, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter).
  • There is a belief Lee is heading to the Phillies, according to Jack Curry of the YES Network (on Twitter). Meanwhile, Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Phils "look like a very strong candidate to win Lee's services" (Twitter link).
  • Lee moved closer to a decision tonight, according to ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick. The Phillies entered the bidding for Lee after the winter meetings and have presented the lefty with “a spirited late bid,” Crasnick writes.
  • The Phillies, Yankees and Rangers are finalists for Lee, who appears to be close to deciding on a team, according to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com (on Twitter).
  • The Phillies are looking to unload Joe Blanton and the $17MM that remains on his contract through 2012, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link).
  • The Phillies are still bidding on Lee, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. GM Ruben Amaro Jr. declined to comment, but a source told Rosenthal that the team is "not out."
  • Lee has yet to make a decision, Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Tyler Kepner of the New York Times (on Twitter). "He'll make [a decision] someday," Cashman said.
  • There are still rumblings about a third team, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). The mystery team's offer appears to be significantly lower than the Yankees' proposal, but it's from a place Lee "loves."
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes, "You would be surprised at how many folks [in the game] think there is a legitimate third team bidding on Lee beyond the Yankees and Rangers."  Sherman speculates on who that team might be.  Less than a third of you believe such a club exists.
  • Lee's agent Darek Braunecker has been in touch with the Yankees today, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, and he said the process is ongoing.
  • The unidentified third team is only willing to go four or five years, writes George A. King III of the New York Post.

Introducing MLBTR’s Transaction Tracker

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I'm proud to introduce another great new MLBTR feature: the Transaction Tracker.  This is a robust database unlike anything else on the web – it sorts and filters transactions by player, date, team, transaction type, GM, agency and more.

Want to see all the trades Billy Beane made with Kenny Williams? The recent deals the Red Sox made with Scott Boras? All Rockies extensions worth at least $2 million?  Which Brian Cashman signings cost a draft pick?  The possibilities are endless.  Click here to access the free database, and here to read the user guide.

Many thanks to Ben Nicholson-Smith, Mike Melusky, Cale Cox, Daniel Lowenstein, and Tony Bennett – their hard work made this new feature possible.

Yankees Being Aggressive On Russell Martin

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The Yankees have continued to be aggressive on free agent catcher Russell Martin, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.  Olney would not be surprised if we hear of an agreement at any time.

Martin is reportedly weighing offers from the Yankees, Red Sox, and Blue Jays, with the Yankees' proposal being for one year.  Since Martin has less than five years of service time, he'd be under team control for 2012 as an arbitration eligible player.

Rangers Moving Aggressively On Adrian Beltre?

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The Rangers "have made [an] aggressive play" for free agent third baseman Adrian Beltre, reports ESPN's Karl Ravech (Twitter link).  Ravech wonders if they're setting up for the possibility of Cliff Lee signing with the Yankees.

An aggressive Beltre pursuit would represent a change of course for Texas.  On Friday night, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted that the Rangers were "not at all optimistic about getting Beltre, backing off for now."  Today Rosenthal tweets that nothing has changed, but there's no denying the Rangers' interest. 

The Rangers still have Michael Young under contract for three more seasons, so if they acquire Beltre they'd either need to trade Young or use him as a designated hitter.

Athletics Close To Deal With Brandon McCarthy

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The Athletics are close to a deal with righty Brandon McCarthy, reports ESPN's Buster Olney.  On Tuesday, Olney reported that McCarthy was considering a serious offer from Oakland.  Olney also notes that the A's are close with Hideki Matsui, which we've read previously.

McCarthy, 27, posted a 3.36 ERA, 7.0 K/9, 1.8 BB/9, and 1.3 HR/9 in 56 1/3 Triple-A innings this year.  He tossed 119 innings between the Majors and minors in 2009.  He has a history of shoulder injuries, but the A's, Astros, Diamondbacks, Brewers, Padres, Mariners, and Tigers showed interest after he became a free agent.  McCarthy was reportedly scouted heavily in the Dominican Winter League.

 

Rosenthal On Werth, Bill Hall, Cliff Lee

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports leads his latest column by contrasting the value of Zack Greinke and Matt Garza.  Though Greinke is widely viewed as the superior pitcher, Garza comes with an extra year of control at similar overall money.  Either righty would require a huge trade bounty.  On to Rosenthal's other rumors…

  • Jayson Werth's contract includes decent-sized bonuses for strong finishes in the MVP voting.
  • The Dodgers are in discussions with Bill Hall to be their primary left fielder.  Rosenthal feels that such a signing would be the team's last significant move.  Hall's last strong season as a regular was 2006, the 35 home run campaign for the Brewers that earned him a $24MM contract.
  • Rosenthal tweets that the lack of state income tax in Texas has minimal impact in the Cliff Lee talks, since Lee would reside in Arkansas instead.  Rosenthal feels that the income tax-related savings the Rangers could promote would be balanced by a higher salary from the Yankees plus endorsements.  George A. King III of the New York Post offers a similar take.

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