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Yankees Prefer To Offer Rivera One Year

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The Yankees want to re-sign Mariano Rivera to a one-year deal, but the closer wants a two-year contract worth about $18MM per season, according to Yahoo's Jeff Passan (on Twitter). Jon Heyman of SI.com reported on Friday that Rivera was looking for a two-year deal and it now appears that the 40-year-old wants a raise from his 2010 salary of $15MM.

Like longtime teammate and fellow free agent Derek Jeter, Rivera will likely return to New York, but there's no guarantee that negotiations will go smoothly for either player. With 559 regular season saves, a career 2.23 ERA, strong peripherals and a history of relatively good health, Rivera has considerable bargaining power. The Yankees can point to Rivera's age – he turns 41 in a week – and suggest a one-year deal is fair, but Rivera has posted ERAs below 2.00 and been an All-Star each season from 2008-10.

Dodgers To Sign Dana Eveland

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The Dodgers agreed to sign Dana Eveland to a minor league split contract, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times. Eveland joins his fourth organization in ten months; he went from Oakland to Toronto in a February trade before the Pirates acquired him mid-season.

The 27-year-old left-hander pitched 54 1/3 innings for the Pirates and Blue Jays in 2010. In total, Eveland allowed 11.9 hits and 5.3 walks per nine innings pitched, striking out 4.0 batters per nine. Those peripheral stats aren't pretty, but he generated lots of ground balls as usual, posting a 50% ground ball rate. Eveland's best major league season came in 2008, when he made 29 starts at the back of Oakland's rotation and posted a 4.34 ERA.

The Dodgers will be able to retain Eveland as an arbitration eligible player through 2013, but the move is presumably geared toward 2011.

Phillies To Offer Werth Arbitration, Not Durbin

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The Phillies will offer arbitration to Jayson Werth, but not to Chad Durbin, according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. There's no reason not to offer Werth arbitraiton. The Type A free agent will turn down the Phillies' offer in search of a multi-year deal, so Philadelphia stands to pick up two top picks for losing him.

The Phillies are interested in bringing Durbin, a Type B free agent, back, but they're reluctant to give him a significant raise. The right-hander earned $2.125MM in 2010 and would likely have earned more in 2011 through the arbitration process. If Durbin had turned down an offer of arbitration to sign elsewhere, the Phillies could have obtained a supplementary round pick in next year's draft.

Click here to vote on which Type A free agents will be offered arbitration and here to vote on which Type B free agents will be offered arbitration.

 

Reds Will Discuss Long-Term Deal With Votto

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Joey Votto is not sure about his interest in a long-term deal, but the Reds will approach the newly crowned NL MVP about an extension, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Reds GM Walt Jocketty told Fay that the team was waiting to discuss a deal until the MVP was announced to be fair to Votto (Twitter link). The first baseman was uncertain of his interest in an extension earlier in the offseason and he remains undecided.

“How open am I to that? I don’t know," Votto said. "You’d have to see the figures and talk about the years. Because we haven’t had any conversations about it. It wouldn’t be fair to comment on it. I’m not trying to dodge the question. But I’ve got nothing.”

Ryan Howard and Justin Morneau parlayed MVP seasons into big arbitration raises in recent years. Albert Pujols, who has the same agent as Votto, signed a seven-year $100MM deal with Jocketty back in 2004. It's unclear how long the Reds would like to lock Votto up for, but he has set himself up to earn over $30MM for his three arbitration seasons. Agent Dan Lozano could compare his free agent value to that of Mark Teixeira and Adrian Gonzalez, so Votto will be expensive to sign long-term.

Cardinals, Padres Interested In Bartlett

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The Cardinals and Padres are among the teams showing some interest in Jason Bartlett, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Nationals, Giants and Orioles also reportedly have interest in the Rays shortstop. 

As Morosi notes, we should soon learn which team won the bidding for Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka. Once the Rays know which teams missed out on Nishioka, they’ll be better-positioned to consider offers for Bartlett. 

The 31-year-old earned $4MM in 2010 and will likely earn over $5MM through arbitration in 2011, his final season before hitting free agency. After a 2009 season in which he hit .320/.389/.490, Bartlett slumped to .254/.324/.350 in 2010. His career line (.281/.345/.385) suggests he's capable of bouncing back in 2011.

Reds To Sign Dontrelle Willis

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The Reds have agreed to sign Dontrelle Willis to a minor league deal, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. Still just 28, Willis has gone from rookie phenom to ace to trade chip to bust to reclamation project in his eight-year MLB career. The Reds are presumably willing to overlook the control problems Willis has had in recent years because of the promise he showed when he first appeared in the majors in the early 2000s.

The lefty pitched to a 5.62 ERA in 65 2/3 innings with the Tigers and Diamondbacks last year, walking more batters (56) than he struck out (47). In fact, Willis has walked more batters than he has struck out every season since the Marlins traded him to Detroit in December of 2007.

The Tigers designated Willis for assignment last year before trading him to Arizona. After a brief stint with the D'Backs, Willis signed with the Giants, but did not appear in a big league game for San Francisco.

Multiple Teams Interested In Jarrod Washburn

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At least three teams are interested in Jarrod Washburn and the Brewers are one of them, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown (on Twitter). Washburn, who sat out the 2010 season, is "seriously considering" pitching, according to Brown.

Two weeks ago, it appeared that the left-hander was undecided about his future. At that time, Washburn told Jon Paul Morosi that he would play if a "great opportunity" presented itself. The Brewers could be an appealing team for the Wisconsin native, who worked with manager Ron Roenicke when both were with the Angels.

Washburn, now 36, posted a 3.78 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 176 innings for the Mariners and Tigers in 2009.

Poll: Which Relievers Will Sign Multiyear Deals?

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The free agent market for relievers started with a bang when the Tigers officially signed Joaquin Benoit to a three-year, $16.5MM deal on Thursday.  Benoit's deal could be attributed to the Tigers' aggression and the Levinson brothers' success with their mid-tier free agent clients.  Or, the contract could be a sign that we're back to the crazy free agent days.

In each of the past four offseasons, about ten free agent relievers signed multiyear deals.  This year we've already had two in Benoit and Jose Contreras.  I've got 27 additional candidates; for this poll just select everyone who you think will sign for two or more years.

Click here to take the poll, and here to view the results.

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