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White Sox Rumors: Fielder, Dunn, Konerko

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Here's the latest on Kenny Williams' search for power bats, as the White Sox announce their deal with Adam Dunn:

  • The White Sox discussed Prince Fielder with the Brewers before completing the Dunn deal, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal explains how the shortage of available pitching could make it difficult for the Brewers to acquire high caliber young arms in a potential Fielder trade.
  • Dunn says he'll DH or play any position, according to Scott Reifert of the White Sox (on Twitter).
  • Williams says A.J. Pierzynski and Dunn will accept deferred payment on their new deals to help the White Sox make Paul Konerko a strong offer, Reifert notes on Twitter.  Konerko is meeting with the White Sox on Monday, tweets USA Today's Bob Nightengale.

Blue Jays Acquire Carlos Villanueva

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The Blue Jays have acquired Carlos Villanueva from the Brewers for a player to be named later, according to the team's Twitter page. The 27-year-old right-hander posted 11.4 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 52 2/3 innings of relief last year. He pitched exclusively out of the bullpen after starting games in each of his first four big league seasons. 

Arbitration eligible for the second time, Villanueva will get a raise from the $950K salary he earned in 2010.

Defense independent pitching stats suggest Villanueva's 4.61 ERA was inflated in 2010. That suggests his ERA could dip with a similar performance in 2011, but moving to the homer-friendly Rogers Centre could be challenging for Villanueva, who allowed more fly balls than ground balls last year. Villanueva has handled both lefties and righties successfully throughout his career.

Cubs, Nationals Step Up Pursuit Of Webb

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The Cubs and Nationals are stepping up their pursuit of Brandon Webb, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). A number of other clubs, including the Dodgers, Pirates, Twins, Rangers and Rockies, are interested in the former Cy Young Award winner.

Webb, 31, has missed virtually all of the past two seasons with shoulder surgery. He finished in the top two in Cy Young voting every year from 2006-08, when he averaged 233 innings and posting a 3.13 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9.

Padres Hire Josh Byrnes

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The Padres hired former Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes as senior VP of baseball operations, the team announced. Padres GM Jed Hoyer knows Byrnes from their time working in Boston's front office.

“I am excited to work with Josh again,” Hoyer said. “He is one of the best baseball minds in the game and will be a terrific addition to our front office.”

Byrnes was Arizona's GM from 2005-10 after working for the Indians, Rockies and Red Sox. The Diamondbacks won the NL West in 2007, Byrnes' second season in Arizona. The D'Backs fired Byrnes along with manager A.J. Hinch this summer and eventually replaced him with Hoyer's predecessor, Kevin Towers. Byrnes will also be reunited with Hinch, who joined the Padres in September.

Rockies Acquire Jose Lopez

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FRIDAY, 12:25pm: Lopez already signed a $3.6MM deal for 2011, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). That's a $1.3MM raise from the $2.3MM salary he earned in 2010.

THURSDAY, 9:35pm: The Rockies acquired Jose Lopez from the Mariners for right-hander Chaz Roe, according to Shannon Drayer of ESPN 710 in Seattle (on Twitter). The Mariners have confirmed the move.

"Chaz is a former first-round pick with a nice arm, a 24-year-old sinker ball pitcher," GM Jack Zduriencik said in a press release. "We look forward to seeing him in a Mariners uniform."

It appeared that the Mariners were going to non-tender Lopez, so they did well to get something for the 27-year-old infielder. He batted .239/.270/.339 in 622 plate appearances last year and saw his homer total drop from 25 to 10. Lopez has always had trouble reaching base, as his career .297 OBP shows. He has experience at second and short, two positions the Rockies could use depth at.

Roe, 24, posted a 5.98 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 158 innings at Triple-A last year. It was his first season at Triple-A and the highest ERA of his pro career.

Braves Acquire Scott Linebrink

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The Braves acquired Scott Linebrink and $3.5MM from the White Sox for minor league pitcher Kyle Cofield. Linebrink, 34, posted a 4.40 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 57 1/3 innings for the White Sox in 2010. He's entering the final year of the four-year, $19MM deal he signed before the 2008 season and will earn $5.5MM in 2011. 

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports broke the story (Twitter links) and MLB.com's Mark Bowman reported the amount of cash changing hands (on Twitter).

The Braves selected Cofield in the eighth round of the 2005 draft. The 23-year-old right-hander spent most of the 2010 season at Double-A, where he posted a 4.39 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 55 1/3 innings. Baseball America ranked Cofield 24th among Braves prospects before the season, noting that he has a low 90s fastball and a plus curveball that he struggles to command. 

Mutual Interest Between Giants, Renteria

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Giants GM Brian Sabean told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle that there's "mutual interest" between the team and Edgar Renteria, even after signing Miguel Tejada and tendering Mike Fontenot a contract (Twitter link). Renteria says he's open to playing second base, which provides the team with some flexibility.

Still, it's hard to imagine a great fit for Renteria on a roster that includes Freddy Sanchez, Pablo Sandoval, Fontenot, Tejada and Mark DeRosa. The Giants don't appear to have a clearly defined role to offer their World Series MVP in 2011.

Renteria batted .276/.332/.374 in 267 plate appearances, missing time with elbow, groin, hamstring and shoulder injuries before returning to form and winning the World Series MVP. Renteria has also expressed interest in re-joining the Cardinals or Marlins.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Votto, Jenks, Lee, Padres

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On this date two years ago, the Red Sox signed then-reigning AL MVP Dustin Pedroia to a six-year contract worth $40.5MM. The deal bought out all of his arbitration eligible years plus two free agent years with a club option for a third. Given the contract just signed by another middle infielder at a similar age (Troy Tulowitzki), it sure looks like Boston saved themselves a boatload of money with Pedroia's deal.

Here are this week's links, which aren't looking for a long-term contract…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Giants Re-Sign Pat Burrell

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The Giants re-signed outfielder Pat Burrell to a one-year, $1MM deal that does not include any incentives. The team announced the deal today. 

Burrell, 34, hit .252/.348/.469 with 20 home runs in 437 plate appearances for the Rays and Giants this year.  He tallied over 600 innings in left field for San Francisco.  The return to the National League, and perhaps the chance to play defense again, resulted in a solid comeback.  Burrell isn't known for his glovework, but on the plus side he was the only free agent left fielder to hit 20 home runs in 2010.  His agents at Legacy Sports seemingly adhered to his wish to remain in San Francisco rather than shop around for the biggest contract.

Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News was the first to report that a deal may have been struck between the two sides and Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reported details on the deal (Twitter links).

Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.

White Sox Sign Adam Dunn

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The White Sox added one of the game's most consistent sluggers today, locking Adam Dunn up to a four-year $56MM deal. The team has officially announced the deal.

Dunn settled for a two-year, $20MM deal when he last hit free agency, but his representation at Legacy Sports was aggressive this time, setting their client up with the biggest contract so far this offseason and nearly tripling the value of Dunn's previous deal.

Dunn has hit 38 or more homers in each of the past seven seasons. He boasts a career .250/.381/.521 line with 354 home runs in ten seasons. Few players are as durable as the 31-year-old, who has appeared in 150 or more games in eight of nine seasons since becoming a regular.

It's not clear how often Dunn will play in the field, but that likely depends on Chicago's pursuit of free agent first baseman Paul Konerko. Dunn appeared reluctant to be a full-time DH despite criticisms of his defensive play.

The Nationals, who discussed extensions with the slugger all season long, will obtain a supplementary first rounder plus Chicago's 23rd overall pick in next year's draft. Adam LaRoche and Carlos Pena are Washington's most likely first base targets, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter).

Crasnick reported that the White Sox had serious interest in Dunn, Jon Heyman of SI.com reported that the sides were closing in on a deal and Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times reported the terms of the contract. Peter Gammons of MLB Network and Bob Nightengale of USA Today also reported elements of the story on Twitter.

Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.

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