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Cubs Have Had Talks With Jeff Francis

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The Cubs have talked to Jeff Francis about filling a spot in the back end of their rotation, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. Crasnick says the team has also had discussions with Paul Maholm, which we heard last week from Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.

Multiple reports last night suggested that the Cubs and Reds were close to working out a trade involving Travis Wood and Sean Marshall. If the two sides were to reach an agreement, the Cubs' acquisition of Wood would likely take them out of the running for arms like Francis and Maholm. However, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer hears from a source that no trade is imminent yet.

The Twins, Pirates, Mariners, and Rockies are among the clubs who have been reported to have interest in Francis.

AL East Notes: Upton, Red Sox, Kuroda, Gio, Bard

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The latest news and notes out of the AL East:

  • The Rays have talked about trading B.J. Upton but will likely end up keeping him, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider link). While Upton is becoming more expensive, the Rays would have difficulty replacing his offensive and defensive production on the cheap.
  • The Red Sox are "kicking around their preference" between trying to sign Hiroki Kuroda or trade for Gio Gonzalez, writes Yahoo's Tim Brown.
  • WEEI's Alex Speier takes an in-depth look at the process of converting relievers to starters, with a focus on the Red Sox. Speier notes that even though the Sox are preparing Daniel Bard to start, it doesn't necessarily mean the right-hander will end up in the rotation.
  • Baseball America published their choices for the Rays' top ten prospects today, and though there are some surprises, the name atop the list isn't one of them.
  • For a few Orioles items, check out our post from earlier this morning.

Indians Sign Andy LaRoche

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The Indians have signed Andy LaRoche to a minor league contract, the team announced (via Twitter). The deal includes an invitation to big league camp.

Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported over the weekend that the Indians were in talks with both LaRoche and Mike Cameron. While the Tribe missed out on Cameron, who agreed to sign a contract with the Nationals, they'll bring LaRoche into the fold to provide depth and injury insurance. GM Chris Antonetti said LaRoche will compete for a spot on the Major League roster, according to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian (Twitter link).

LaRoche, 28, has posted a career slash line of just .226/.305/.337 in parts of five Major League seasons, including a .654 OPS in 104 plate appearances for Oakland in 2011. However, he was long considered a top prospect, having ranked among Baseball America's top 20 prior to both the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

Prince Fielder Rumors: Wednesday

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With Carlos Beltran expected to make a decision soon, the gap between Prince Fielder and the second-best hitter on the free agent market could grow even wider by the end of the week. Yesterday's rumors described varying levels of interest in the slugger from the Mariners, Cubs, Orioles, and Rangers. We'll follow today's Fielder items here…

  • The Nationals have Fielder on their radar, though they've been keeping a low profile in the process, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. According to Heyman, the Nats are one of about a half-dozen teams still eyeing the first baseman, and some of those clubs have either made offers or indicated "where they'd be willing to go monetarily."
  • Heyman also hears from people close to Fielder that the 27-year-old may prefer to stay in the East or Central time zones as opposed to playing on the West Coast.

O’s Turned Down Braves’ Offer For Adam Jones?

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The Braves made a run at Orioles outfielder Adam Jones earlier this month, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Connolly reports that Atlanta offered Jair Jurrjens, Martin Prado, and a pitching prospect for Jones, but the O's "didn't bite," indicating how much they value their center fielder.

However, a source familiar with the negotiations tells Mark Bowman of MLB.com that the Braves merely expressed interest in Jones and did not offer any particular package. The O's told the Braves that Jones was unavailable, Bowman adds, then got back to the Braves later and asked for Jurrjens, Prado and "two other premium guys," which the Braves declined.

It was reported earlier in the month that the Orioles and Braves talked about Jurrjens and Prado, though it hadn't been confirmed that Jones was also discussed. Here are the rest of this morning's Orioles notes:

  • Connolly and Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com both address a report indicating the Orioles are in on Prince Fielder, concluding that Fielder coming to Baltimore is an extreme long-shot unless his asking price drops significantly.
  • Although the Orioles are looking for starting pitching and Roy Oswalt is reportedly willing to accept a one-year contract, the righty probably isn't a realistic target for Baltimore. The O's play in the wrong ballpark and wrong division for Oswalt to boost his stock on a make-good deal, says Connolly.
  • Connolly adds that the Orioles continue to discuss Wei-Yin Chen internally and externally.

Carlos Beltran Decision Expected This Week

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As Yahoo's Tim Brown reported yesterday, one club involved in the Carlos Beltran derby should expect a Christmas gift before Sunday, as Beltran is expected to decide on his new team this week. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hears the same thing, noting that Beltran is weighing a variety of two- and three-year contract offers from five different clubs. Based on various reports, including Goold's, the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Rays, Cardinals, and one other NL team are believed to be in on the 34-year-old. Here are the rest of today's Beltran rumors, with the newest additions on top:

  • The Cards view Coco Crisp as a "Plan B or another direction" if Beltran signs elsewhere, a source tells Goold.
  • How quickly Beltran can return to his home in Puerto Rico is something of a factor in his decision, tweets ESPN.com's Buster Olney. While this would seem to favor a team like the Rays, it doesn't rule out the Jays, given the non-stop flights between Toronto and Puerto Rico (Twitter link).
  • The Rays are very unlikely to outbid Beltran's other suitors, Olney adds in one last tweet.

Reds, Cubs Close On Swapping Wood, Marshall

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11:52pm: The deal is close, a source tells Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com, and it includes the Cubs receiving two minor leaguers along with Wood.  Rosenthal and Morosi say the trade discussions are in the advanced stages.    

9:12pm: The Reds and Cubs are discussing a trade that would involve starter Travis Wood going to Chicago in exchange for reliever Sean Marshall, Major League sources tell Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com. It's not known whether other players would be included in the potential swap, according to the report.

After acquiring Mat Latos in a trade with the Padres last week, Reds GM Walt Jocketty suggested he'd like to focus on bolstering his bullpen. Cincinnati is without a nominal closer as of now – incumbent Francisco Cordero remains on the free agent market - so perhaps Marshall, who has settled in as an effective late-inning reliever for the Cubs the past couple seasons, could man that role for the Reds.

Wood, meanwhile, is a player Cubs president Theo Epstein liked last season when Epstein was still with the Red Sox, the sources tell FOXSports. In just about one full season of work – 35 starts, 208 innings over two seasons – at the Major League level, Wood has posted 6.99 K/9, 2.85 BB/9 and a tendency to produce fly balls (31.4% GB rate).

Despite being only 24 and under team control for five more years, Wood has perhaps become expendable with the Reds now having six other starters in Latos, Johnny Cueto, Mike Leake, Homer Bailey, Bronson Arroyo and Aroldis Chapman.

Marshall will earn $3.1MM in 2012 and is slated to become a free agent at season's end. He'll turn 30 in August.

Quick Hits: Oswalt, Andruw, Dobbs, Cuddyer

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A few notes to pass along as Tuesday becomes Wednesday …

  • The Red Sox haven't ruled out signing Roy Oswalt, tweets Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe, although sources say the right-hander is not a priority for them. Earlier today we heard that interest in Oswalt has spiked significantly since he's been telling teams he's willing to sign for a one-year deal.
  • It seemed inevitable that Yankees would re-sign Andruw Jones earlier this offseason, but Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News reports the camps have not made much progress and that the outfielder is garnering interest from other teams, including the Red Sox.
  • The Nationals are among the final three suitors for free agent pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs, a source tells Bill Ladson of MLB.com, who adds that the Marlins are reported to be in the mix, as well.
  • Rockies outfielder Michael Cuddyer told reporters, including Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities radio, that he and the Twins never had discussions about re-signing once they reached agreement with Josh Willingham (Twitter link).
  • The Braves thought they may have been close to trading Jair Jurrjens to the Reds last weekend until Cincinnati instead acquired Mat Latos from the Padres, writes MLB.com's Mark Bowman in a mailbag.
  • In an interesting thinkpiece at Baseball Prospectus, Ben Lindbergh examines why it's becoming increasingly difficult for a GM to stand out from his peers.

MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker

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As usual, most arbitration cases remain unsettled as we approach the new year, including heavyweights such as Tim Lincecum, Cole Hamels, Hunter Pence, and Clayton Kershaw.  MLBTR has created a handy database of all arbitration eligible players, which will include information on submissions from both sides, midpoints, and settlement amounts.  You can also filter by team and whether a hearing occurred.

As a reminder, this year players on MLB rosters with at least two years and 146 days but less than six years of service time are arbitration eligible.  Matt Swartz has projected salaries for all of these players exclusively for MLBTR, and you can find that information here.  We've all added Kelly Johnson, David Ortiz, and Francisco Rodriguez to this database, as they were free agents who accepted arbitration.

Important arbitration dates to keep in mind, according to the Associated Press:

  • January 13th: Deadline for players to file for arbitration.  This is largely procedural.
  • January 17th: Deadline for teams and players to exchange salary arbitration figures.  On this date and the day prior, expect dozens of settlements.  Teams can still negotiate after exchanging figures, although several teams employ a "file and trial" strategy in which they end negotiations on one-year deals once figures are exchanged to ensure a hearing occurs.  These teams have included the Rays, Nationals, Marlins, White Sox, Blue Jays, Braves, and Astros.
  • February 1-21: Hearings occur in St. Petersburg, Florida.  In 2011, Pence, Jered Weaver, and Ross Ohlendorf had hearings.  At a hearing, a each side has an hour to argue for their salary figure, and a three-person panel picks one of the salaries.
  • January is always a big month for multiyear extensions.  Last year we had 17.

Yoenis Cespedes Links: Tuesday

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With the Rangers now officially owning the rights to negotiate with Yu Darvish, another international player, Yoenis Cespedes, takes center stage. The difference, as Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com notes, is that Cespedes will be a free agent in the traditional sense, with every team being allowed to negotiate with the center fielder as they would any other player. Here's the latest on Cespedes:

  • The expectation in baseball is that the bidding for Cespedes could get "crazy." One team official said the outfielder's agent is seeking $25-45MM, but many believe the total value of the contract will exceed that.
  • Some teams regard the Marlins as the early favorite to sign Cespedes.
  • The White Sox, who have a strong track record with Cuban defectors Alexei Ramirez and Dayan Viciedo, reportedly held a private workout for Cespedes.
  • The Yankees are expected to be involved but their interest has been described as "moderate."
  • The Yankees are reluctant to spend big on a player based on video and scouting sessions, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. 
  • Sherman adds that the Tigers like Cespedes, and that owner Mike Ilitch is known to expand his budget for the right player (via Twitter).
  • Knobler, meanwhile, tweets that the Tigers have a pretty limited budget to bid on Cespedes.

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