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Blue Jays Not Close To Signing A.J. Pierzynski

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9:10pm: The Blue Jays are not close to signing Pierzynski, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The White Sox still appear to be in the mix for the catcher.

6:42pm: The Blue Jays are close to signing A.J. Pierzynski, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Even though John Buck signed with the Marlins and Miguel Olivo declined the team's offer of arbitration, the Blue Jays still have two capable catchers. Jose Molina will return in 2011 and J.P. Arencibia showed power in a late-season call-up and won Pacific Coast League MVP.

Pierzynski, 34 later this month, batted .270/.300/.388 with nine homers in 503 plate appearances this year. He is durable, having caught at least 128 games every season since 2001, but his offense slipped in 2010. He posted his lowest on base and slugging percentages since becoming a full-time player.

The Dodgers, Marlins and White Sox were among the teams interested in Pierzynski, who had a number of other potential suitors. Chicago did not offer the catcher arbitration, so he would not cost the Blue Jays a draft pick.

Mariners Re-Sign Erik Bedard

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The Mariners re-signed Erik Bedard to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract, the team announced. The 31-year-old left-hander did not pitch in the Majors in 2010 and has had season-ending shoulder surgery in each of the last two seasons.

The Mariners parted with Adam Jones to acquire Bedard and, when the lefty's healthy it's not hard to see why it cost so much to acquire him from the Orioles. He has posted a 3.24 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in parts of two seasons in Seattle, but he has yet to make more than 15 starts in a season for the Mariners. The team declined an $8MM option for Bedard's services earlier in the offseason.

Red Sox Notes: Papelbon, Beltre, Scutaro

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The Red Sox locked up a longtime catcher today and seem to be serious suitors for Jayson Werth. Here are the rest of the day's Red Sox rumors:

  • The team will almost certainly tender Jonathan Papelbon a contract, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. The closer is likely to earn close to $11MM in 2011, but the Red Sox decided against putting him on the open market a year early.
  • Adrian Beltre told Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe that his preference is to re-sign with the Red Sox. He's going to explore his options carefully, but could decide to accept an offer soon. The third baseman says "the number of years" on his next contract matters a great deal to him.
  • The Giants, who officially announced their deal with Miguel Tejada tonight, are no longer targeting Marco Scutaro, accoding to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (on Twitter).

Giants Sign Miguel Tejada

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The Giants signed Miguel Tejada to a one-year contract, the team announced today. The deal is worth $6.5MM, including a $500K bonus, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes (on Twitter).

The Giants had been pursuing shortstops aggressively ever since Juan Uribe signed with the Dodgers. They matched Los Angeles' three-year, $21MM offer before moving on to other targets, according to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times. The Giants appeared to have strong interest in Jason Bartlett, and even contacted Derek Jeter's agent. 

It's not clear whether the Giants will use Tejada at shortstop, but ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick hears that is their plan (Twitter link). Third baseman Pablo Sandoval is falling out of favor with the Giants, who have Freddy Sanchez at second base and utilityman Mark DeRosa. Wherever Bruce Bochy puts him, Tejada figures to stay on the field. He has been exceptionally durable this decade, averaging 158 games per season since 1999.

The 36-year-old played third for the Orioles before the Padres acquired him in a summer trade and made him their starting shortstop. Tejada batted .269/.312/.381 with 15 homers and 26 doubles in 681 plate appearances between the two leagues.

The Padres did not offer Tejada arbitration, so the Giants don't have to surrender a top pick to their division rival. SFX represents Tejada. 

Minor Deals: Gotay, Rays, Duckworth, Carlyle

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A number of former big leaguers agreed to minor league deals today. Here are the details:

  • The Marlins signed Ruben Gotay, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). The 27-year-old hasn't appeared in the majors since 2008, but he led the Pacific Coast League in walks and posted an .845 OPS last year.
  • The Rays announced that they signed five players, including righty Cory Wade and lefty R.J. Swindle, to minor league deals. Wade, 27, spent last year in the minors, but he pitched for the Dodgers in 2008-09. He has a 3.18 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 99 big league innings. Swindle is another 27-year-old who spent the 2010 season in the minors. He posted a 2.45 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 in 55 innings for the Rays' Triple-A affiliate. Like Wade, Swindle could prove useful for the 2011 Rays, who are building a bullpen on a budget.
  • The Reds signed outfielder David Cook, according to Eddy (on Twitter). The 29-year-old has a .258/.369/.468 line in eight minor league seasons.
  • The Red Sox signed right-hander Brandon Duckworth, according to Eddy (on Twitter). The 34-year-old spent the 2010 season pitching for the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate, where he posted a 3.32 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9. He has a 5.28 ERA in parts of eight big league seasons.
  • The Yankees signed right-hander Buddy Carlyle to a minor league deal, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Carlyle, 32, spent the 2010 season in Japan after posting a 5.61 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in parts of six big league seasons.
  • The D'Backs signed David Winfree, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. The 25-year-old has a .273/.319/.448 line in his eight-year minor league career.

Braves Re-Sign Eric Hinske

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6:22pm: The deal will pay Hinske $1.35MM in 2011. The Braves will then choose between a $1.5MM club option for 2012 and a $100K buyout, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter).

4:31pm: Hinske will earn $1.45MM, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).

1:42pm: The Braves re-signed utility man Eric Hinske to a one-year deal with an option, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the deal includes lots of plate appearance incentives.  Hinske chose between offers from the Braves and his hometown Brewers, apparently not finding the guaranteed two years he sought.

Hinske, 33, hit .256/.338/.456 with 11 home runs in 320 plate appearances this year.  He logged innings at left field and first base, and has also played right field and third base in his career.  He's a left-handed hitter who has been shielded from southpaws by his managers in recent years.

I'm surprised Hinske's agent couldn't find him a two-year guarantee, with recent comparables Geoff Blum and Ross Gload.  But perhaps he only had interest in playing for the Braves or Brewers, limiting his leverage.

Dodgers Rumors: Padilla, Varitek, Payroll

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The Dodgers are spending aggressively this winter. Here's the latest on the players they are pursuing, the players they were pursuing and how they're doing all this pursuing:

Reds Rumors: Bruce, Votto, Rhodes, Cairo, Arroyo

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The Reds have had preliminary extension talks with the agents for Jay Bruce and Joey Votto, and those aren't the only players GM Walt Jocketty is thinking of extending. Here are the details, from John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer:

  • Jocketty says the extension Troy Tulowitzki signed will probably figure into discussions with Votto "to some extent."
  • Free agent deals have been more lucrative than Jocketty expected so far this offseason. 
  • The Reds continue to talk to Arthur Rhodes, who's a Philadelphia target, and Miguel Cairo. Jocketty says he expects to reach a deal with Cairo.
  • The Reds are also making progress on an extension with Bronson Arroyo. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe hears (on Twitter) that the talks are hovering around three years and $35MM with some deferred money. Arroyo, writes Cafardo, is "not biting yet."

Paul Konerko Rumors: Thursday

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Yesterday we heard that the Orioles offered Paul Konerko a contract. Today, a few more teams have been linked to the slugging first baseman. Here's the latest, as the White Sox agree to sign another slugger:

  • White Sox GM Kenny Williams confirmed to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that the team could re-sign Konerko, even after locking up Adam Dunn (Twitter link). 
  • The Diamondbacks appear to be out of the Konerko sweepstakes, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
  • The White Sox want to keep Konerko, even though they're about to sign Dunn, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter).
  • Jon Heyman of SI.com hears that the Cubs are in on Konerko (Twitter link).
  • Earlier today the D'Backs appeared to be in the early stages of negotiations with Konerko, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
  • Konerko's agent, Craig Landis, told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he expects to speak to the White Sox at next week's Winter Meetings. The D'Backs consider Konerko "out of reach," according to Rosenthal, who notes that the White Sox may be able to afford Konerko and Dunn.
  • Keep in mind that Konerko will cost a draft pick since he turned down an offer of arbitration from the White Sox.

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