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Dodgers Sign Juan Uribe

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Juan Uribe is leaving the Giants for the rival Dodgers on the first multiyear free agent deal of his career.  The infielder officially signed a three-year, $21MM contract with the Dodgers today.

Uribe, 31, hit .248/.310/.440 with 24 home runs in 575 plate appearances for the Giants this year, adding a pair of postseason home runs.  He mainly played shortstop, but also logged time at third base and second base.  Uribe will presumably serve as the Dodgers' second baseman with Rafael Furcal in the fold at short.  The contract may seal Ryan Theriot's fate, with Thursday's non-tender deadline looming.  Another effect may be a heightened sense of urgency for the Giants as they search for a shortstop.  Uribe is a Type B free agent who was offered arbitration by the Giants, so they'll receive a supplemental draft pick for their loss.

Uribe's agents Barry Praver and Scott Shapiro engineered the deal.  They did well in getting three years, though Uribe was a hot commodity in a weak market for middle infielders.  On November 2nd, MLBTR correctly predicted Uribe would sign with the Dodgers.

ESPN's Buster Olney first reported that a three-year deal was close, while Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted the amount and agreement.

Yankees Rumors: Jeter, Chamberlain

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The latest on the Yankees, as GM Brian Cashman prepares to rappel down a building dressed as an elf on Sunday…

  • Eduardo Nunez is the team's Plan B if they are unable to re-sign Derek Jeter, reports ESPN's Buster Olney.  Rather than try to sign a veteran replacement, the Yankees would install Nunez and allocate the money elsewhere.  Of course, Olney feels that the Yankees would remain flexible for potential upgrades if Nunez became their starting shortstop.
  • SI's Tom Verducci looks at how other teams have compensated aging icons in recent years, with Cal Ripken, Barry Larkin, George Brett, Craig Biggio, and Paul Molitor serving as examples.  It may be difficult to reduce Jeter's pay from his previous $18.9MM average annual value.
  • Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues estimates Joba Chamberlain's 2011 salary at a bit less than $2MM.

Astros Avoid Arbitration With Humberto Quintero

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The Astros avoided arbitration with catcher Humberto Quintero, according to a team press release.  Eligible for arbitration for the third time, Quintero will earn $1MM in 2011.  He gets a $250K raise after hitting .234/.262/.317 in 276 plate appearances and catching 653 2/3 innings.

The Astros have seven remaining arbitration eligible players: Nelson Figueroa, Hunter Pence, Michael Bourn, Matt Lindstrom, Jeff Keppinger, Wandy Rodriguez, and Clint Barmes.  I expect they'll all be tendered contracts on Thursday.  Among the seven, Rodriguez is an extension candidate according to GM Ed Wade.

Dodgers Interested In Damon, Multiple Catchers

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The Dodgers have outfielder Johnny Damon on their radar, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  They're also in contact with "virtually every free agent catcher," including Jason Varitek, Rod Barajas, A.J. Pierzynski, and Miguel Olivo.  They're trying to hammer out a deal with Russell Martin prior to Thursday's non-tender deadline; the Dodgers will not risk going to arbitration with him.

Martin is at least a week away from running and maybe six weeks away from baseball activities, says Rosenthal.  Martin is recovering from an August hip fracture; his agent Matt Colleran gave MLBTR an update last week.  Martin would still be at $4MM if the Dodgers cut his salary by the maximum, something Colleran would presumably reject anyway.

As Rosenthal notes, Damon might be an awkward fit for the Dodgers in left field since he logged fewer than 300 outfield innings in 2010.  On the other hand, the Dodgers put up with Manny Ramirez in left field for over 1,100 innings across the 2009-10 seasons. 

The Dodgers have been aggressive this offseason, committing over $71MM to Ted Lilly, Juan Uribe, Hiroki Kuroda, Jon Garland, and Jay Gibbons.

International Links: Marmol, Cano, Jeter, Ruiz

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Baseball was an afterthought on most international sports pages this morning, due to FBC Barcelona's 5-0 humiliation of Real Madrid, but links in Spanish still abound…

  • Carlos Marmol confirmed that he and the Cubs are in discussions about a long-term extension, talking to Hoy's Dionisio Soldevila. "There still isn't anything, but we're talking," Marmol said. "I would like to sign something long and stay with the team."
  • Derek Jeter's double-play partner Robinson Cano thinks the shortstop "would retire before he would go to another team," Cano told Soldevila on his Dominican talk show La Semana Deportiva.
  • The Rays released Cuban first baseman Jose Julio Ruiz in mid-November, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. After a long and complicated courtship, the team signed Ruiz to a minor-league deal last June and had until November 15 to offer him a $4MM major league contract. He showed little of his reputed power over the summer in brief stints with Double-A Montgomery and in the Arizona Fall League. Less than a year ago, Ruiz seemed like the most promising Cuban power hitter since Kendry Morales, drawing interest from numerous teams and being rumored as a possible successor to David Ortiz in Boston.

Rangers Sign Yoshinori Tateyama

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The Rangers signed Japanese free agent righty Yoshinori Tateyama to a one-year Major League deal with two club option years, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Tateyama, 35 next month, posted a 1.80 ERA, 9.7 K/9, 1.8 BB/9, and 0.49 HR/9 in 55 relief innings this year for the Nippon Ham Fighters.  He's primarily a fastball/slider pitcher, wrote NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman in October.  Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein tweets a more detailed scouting report.

Jamie Moyer Hopes To Pitch In 2012

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Free agent lefty Jamie Moyer is having Tommy John surgery Wednesday, according to his foundation's Facebook page last night, and he's "cautiously optimistic" about a comeback.  Moyer would be 49 for the 2012 season, and his left elbow has over 4,000 innings and 57,000 pitches of mileage.  He's got 267 wins and a 4.24 ERA across 24 seasons for the Cubs, Rangers, Cardinals, Orioles, Red Sox, Mariners, and Phillies.

Twins Sign Dominican Prospect Pimentel

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The Twins signed 17-year-old shortstop Javier Pimentel to a $575K deal, according to the Dominican Prospect League.  In his July 2nd prospect rankings, Blake Bentley placed Pimentel in a tenth-place tie, calling him "a wide-shouldered shortstop with a solid bat and plenty of room for improvement."

In other news from the league, the Mets inked 17-year-old shortstop Alfredo Reyes for $200K.

Rockies Reach Agreement With Jorge De La Rosa

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The free agent market for starting pitching continues to thin out quickly, as lefty Jorge de la Rosa has reached an agreement to re-sign with the Rockies.  De La Rosa agreed to a three-year, $32MM deal.  The pitcher maintained flexibility by securing a player option on the third year, while the Rockies added a fourth year club option at $11MM.  Today is a huge day for the Colorado franchise, as they're also nearing a six-year extension with shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.  Both players are represented by TWC Sports.

De La Rosa, 30 in April, posted a 4.22 ERA, 8.4 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, 1.1 HR/9, and 52.3% groundball rate in 121 2/3 innings for the Rockies this year.  He missed ten weeks with a torn tendon in his finger, but pitched acceptably upon his return.  De La Rosa was one of the few starters with upside on this year's free agent market – he throws quite hard for a southpaw and is relatively young.  There have been a few Oliver Perez comparisons, but Perez isn't a groundball pitcher.  De La Rosa's player option gives him the freedom to test the open market or renegotiate after the 2012 season in the event he takes it to the next level and racks up a few 200 inning, 200 strikeout type seasons.  He's yet to reach either of those plateaus in his career.

De La Rosa set out seeking a four or five-year deal in free agency, but ultimately stayed where he's most comfortable.  The Nationals and Pirates were among his other suitors.  Since De La Rosa was a Type A free agent who turned down arbitration, the Rockies would have received two draft picks if he'd signed elsewhere.

Now that De La Rosa, Ted Lilly, Hiroki Kuroda, Javier Vazquez, Jon Garland and Jake Westbrook have signed deals, there's not much left on the starting pitching market other than Cliff Lee and Carl Pavano. As I explained yesterday, many teams could be looking to add starters.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the De La Rosa deal was close, and Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post added details.

Free Agent Arbitration Decisions Due Today

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Today marks the deadline for the 35 free agents offered arbitration to decide whether or not to accept.  All of the decisions will be chronicled on the front page of MLBTR as well as in our handy free agent arbitration offer tracker.  Of the 35 offered, four unsigned players – Trevor Hoffman, Kevin Correia, Octavio Dotel, and Kevin Gregg, have already chosen to decline.  Another eight have new contract agreements: Jorge De La Rosa, Juan Uribe, Joaquin Benoit, John Buck, Jon Garland, Victor Martinez, Yorvit Torrealba, and Javier Vazquez.

That leaves 23 decisions for today:

Type A (12 players)

Grant Balfour
Adrian Beltre – lock to decline
Carl Crawford – lock to decline
Scott Downs – likely to decline
Adam Dunn – likely to decline
Frank Francisco – likely to accept
Jason Frasor
Paul Konerko
Cliff Lee – lock to decline
Carl Pavano – expected to decline
Rafael Soriano – lock to decline
Jayson Werth – lock to decline

Type B (11 players)

Randy Choate
Jesse Crain - expected to decline
Pedro Feliciano
Brad Hawpe
Aaron Heilman – may be leaning toward declining
Orlando Hudson – expected to decline
Adam LaRoche
Felipe Lopez
Miguel Olivo
J.J. Putz – likely to decline
Chad Qualls

As you can see, there about about a dozen decisions in question.  Type A relievers Francisco, Balfour, and Frasor have good cases for accepting, as they'll otherwise be saddled with the draft pick cost.  Konerko accepting would mean a one-year deal at a strong salary, something he may find appealing.

It's possible some of the Type Bs have handshake agreements to decline, as Vazquez and Hoffman did.  The only reason for a Type B to accept would be if they expect no multiyear offers and feel that they'd earn more in 2011 through arbitration than the open market.  Hawpe, LaRoche, and Qualls have to consider that route.

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