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Pirates Interested In Bartlett, Hardy

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The Pirates would like to upgrade at shortstop and are interested in Jason Bartlett and J.J. Hardy, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Pirates would like to upgrade over Ronny Cedeno before the 2011 season starts and Hardy and Bartlett appear to be available.

Cedeno, 27, batted .256/.293/.382 in 502 plate appearances last year. He has never shown much power in six big league seasons and has a .284 OBP in his career. Though he doesn't provide much offense, few shortstops do. Bartlett posted an identical .675 OPS last year and that was better than the marks Orlando Cabrera, Yunel Escobar, Elvis Andrus, Erick Aybar, Alcides Escobar and Cesar Izturis posted.

Stark On Soriano, Quentin, Phillies, Astros

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As ESPN.com's Jayson Stark points out in this week's Rumblings & Grumblings, there's not much starting pitching available after Cliff Lee and Carl Pavano. Stark examines alternatives for pitching-starved teams and provides some rumors along the way. Here they are:

  • Though it appeared to some baseball people as though the Angels were trying to sign Rafael Soriano before the Winter Meetings, it now appears that their search for relief pitching is secondary to their pursuit of Carl Crawford.
  • Stark sees indications that the Angels are showing "very little" interest in Jayson Werth so far this offseason.
  • The White Sox still say they're not shopping Carlos Quentin, but rival teams say Chicago will listen to offers.
  • The Phillies don't plan on pursuing a trade for Quentin, according to Stark.
  • Arthur Rhodes appears to be one of Philadelphia's top left-handed relief targets, followed by Pedro Feliciano. Neither reliever would cost the Phillies a draft pick, which is their preference.
  • The Astros have quietly been shopping for an affordable outfielder who bats from the left side.

A’s Did Not Meet With Adam Dunn Yesterday

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3:35pm: Slusser now reports that the A's did not meet with Dunn yesterday, though they remain in the mix for his services (Twitter links).

12:13pm: Lance Berkman isn't the only slugger who met with the A's yesterday. They also met with Adam Dunn and are a serious suitor for the slugger, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Both meetings took place in Houston.

Yahoo's Jeff Passan reported yesterday that Dunn's agent expects the bidding to begin at $60MM over four years. Since he's a Type A free agent who declined arbitration, Dunn will cost a top draft pick. Oakland's first round pick is protected, but the A's would have to surrender their second rounder to the Nationals if they sign the 31-year-old.

There should be no shortage of interest in Dunn, though the Tigers are out of the bidding for him. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports examined potential suitors yesterday.

D’Backs To Sign Wily Mo Pena

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The Diamondbacks will sign Wily Mo Pena to a minor league deal with an invitation to major league Spring Training, MLBTR has learned. The outfielder drew interest from multiple major league teams, including the Tigers, White Sox and Orioles. He also drew interest from clubs in Japan before signing in Arizona, where he expects to compete for the starting left field job.

Pena's deal is worth $675K, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com, who notes that the Astros also had interest.

The slugger hit 26 home runs and posted an .843 OPS as a 22-year-old on the 2004 Reds. He followed that up with 19 homers in 2005, but his impressive power hasn’t translated into big league homers since. He did post a .324/.390/.556 line with nine home runs in 159 plate appearances in the Padres minor league system this year, so the 28-year-old still has a potent bat.

Pirates Sign Nieve, Andy Marte, Dusty Brown

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The Pirates signed Fernando Nieve, Andy Marte and Dusty Brown to minor league deals and invited them to Spring Training, the team announced. Nieve, 28, pitched 42 innings in 2010, posting a 6.00 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 before the Mets granted him free agency. The right-hander has allowed 1.6 homers per nine innings over the course of his four-year MLB career.

Marte, a former top prospect, failed to make an impact in parts of five seasons with the Indians. Now 27, the third baseman has a .218/.277/.358 line in 924 career plate appearances. The Indians released him last month.

Brown, 28, appeared in seven games for the 2010 Red Sox, but has spent most of his ten-year career in the minors. He has a .259/.340/.389 line in a decade's worth of minor league plate appearances. The Red Sox dropped him from their 40-man roster in October.

Astros Avoid Arbitration With Nelson Figueroa

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The Astros announced that they avoided arbitration with Nelson Figueroa, signing the 36-year-old righty to a one-year deal worth $900K plus incentives. He posted a 3.22 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 67 innings as a swingman last year.

After avoiding arbitration with Humberto Quintero yesterday, the Astros now have six remaining arbitration eligible players:  Hunter Pence, Michael Bourn, Matt Lindstrom, Jeff Keppinger, Wandy Rodriguez, and Clint Barmes. 

Ian Desmond Drawing Trade Interest

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Ian Desmond is drawing strong trade interest, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Nationals want starters and, other than Cliff Lee and Carl Pavano, the free agent pitching class has thinned out considerably. The free agent shortstop class is similarly weak, so Desmond is in demand. 

Washington isn’t looking to trade Desmond, but they could part with him for a young pitcher with comparable service time, Rosenthal says. The 25-year-old batted .269/.308/.392 in 2010, his first full season. With just over one year of service time to his name, Desmond is still five years away from free agency.

Orioles Have Offered Paul Konerko A Contract

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The Orioles have made Paul Konerko a "significant offer," according to Jim Bowden of Sirius XM Radio (on Twitter). O's President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said last week that the team was disappointed to have missed out on Victor Martinez despite offering a competitive deal. MacPhail said that the Orioles are "looking at other options."

Konerko, who hit 39 homers and posted a .312/.393/.584 line last year, would be a fit in Baltimore, where he could play first and hit in the middle of Buck Showalter's lineup. He'll cost a draft pick since he turned down an offer of arbitration from the White Sox, but Baltimore's first rounder is protected.

Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports that the Orioles have offered contracts to multiple free agents this week.

Odds & Ends: Berkman, Edmonds, De La Rosa

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On this date in 1998, the Orioles signed Albert Belle to a five-year, $65MM deal. He batted .289/.374/.509 with Baltimore, but didn't play at all after the 2000 season. Here are today's links…

  • Stop by at 2pm CDT for this week's chat.
  • Oakland’s immediate goal is to sign Lance Berkman, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The A's met with Berkman and Adam Dunn yesterday.
  • Rosenthal suggests the A’s likely want to hear back from Scott Boras and Adrian Beltre about the five-year, $64MM offer they reportedly made in November.
  • Yahoo's Jeff Passan asks Bud Selig to leave the playoffs alone and suggests the commissioner could improve the game by introducing more instant replay and asking major TV networks to show a more diverse selection of teams.
  • Jim Edmonds is contemplating playing one more season, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
  • The Phillies are more likely to pursue free agent left-handers who don't cost a draft pick, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). In other words, they'd rather not give up a pick to sign Scott Downs.
  • Speaking of relievers, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun explains that the Orioles have interest in any competent veteran reliever and will kick the tires on most.
  • The Mets re-signed former big leaguer Mike O'Connor according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (on Twitter). The 30-year-old left-hander last pitched in the majors for the 2008 Nationals, but he appeared in 51 games at Triple-A Buffalo in 2010, posting 8.9 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 for the top Mets affiliate.
  • The Pirates made a competitive offer for Jorge de la Rosa before he agreed to a deal with the Rockies, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (on Twitter). 
  • De La Rosa's agents approached the Padres about a potential deal, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. San Diego couldn't afford the lefty, though they were interested.

Padres Notes: Denorfia, Gwynn, Hairston

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The Padres have agreed to terms with Chris Denorfia on a one-year deal worth $800K, but two of San Diego's other outfielders may find themselves on the open market before long. MLB.com's Corey Brock hears that the Padres will non-tender Tony Gwynn Jr. and Scott Hairston (Twitter links).

Both Gwynn and Hairston showed up on Tim Dierkes' revised list of non-tender candidates after they were identified as such earlier in the year. Check out our new non-tender tracker here.

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