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Tigers Interested In Martin Prado

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TUESDAY, 10:55am: "There is a trade brewing between the Braves and Tigers centering around Prado for Young," reports ESPN's Jim Bowden.  However, MLB.com's Mark Bowman says there won't be a Young-Prado deal, as the majority of the Braves' front office isn't interested in Young (Twitter link).

MONDAY, 2:37pm: The Tigers are interested in Braves infielder/left fielder Martin Prado, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The free agent market for potential second basemen has moved quickly, with Aaron Hill and Jamey Carroll off the board and Mark Ellis close to a deal with the Dodgers.  Morosi adds that the Tigers are willing to trade left fielder Delmon Young for the right second baseman, but it's not known whether the Braves are interested.

Prado has also drawn interest from the Rockies and other teams.  The 28-year-old had a disappointing offensive year in 2011, spending most of his time in left field for the Braves after they acquired second baseman Dan Uggla.  MLBTR projects Prado to earn about $4.4MM in arbitration in 2012, and freeing up that salary would add to the Braves' flexibility.  Prado will continue to be under team control for the 2013 season. 

Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski said Friday on MLB Network Radio to host Jim Bowden, "We're not going to non-tender Delmon Young.  I mean, that's just not going to happen."  Young, 26, hit .274/.298/.458 in 178 plate appearances for the Tigers after coming over in an August trade, adding five postseason home runs.  With a projected $6.3MM salary, Young was thought to be a non-tender candidate for the Twins but is currently penciled in as the Tigers' left fielder for 2012.  I think Prado would be generally regarded as more valuable than Young.

How Much Will Jose Reyes Get?

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In September, I named Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, C.C. Sabathia as locks for $100MM+, and Jose Reyes, C.J. Wilson, and Yu Darvish as candidates.  The majority of MLBTR readers polled (44%) thought only those three locks would receive $100MM+.  Less than 5% of you thought all six would.

With word today that the Marlins' opening bid for Reyes was $90MM over six years, $100MM+ seems more plausible for the shortstop.  Let's see what the MLBTR electorate is thinking.

Phillies Rumors: Schneider, Hamels, Cuddyer

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The latest on the Phillies…

Mets Rumors: Reyes, Closer, Murphy, Duda

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The Mets were far from the favorite for Jose Reyes entering the offseason.  But if the Marlins offered Reyes six years and $90MM as a starting bid, Mets fans can forget about him coming back in the opinion of ESPN New York's Adam Rubin.  For months now, the impression has been that the Mets don't want to exceed four years for the shortstop.  They'll have to hope for a couple of decent draft picks, depending on what happens with the new collective bargaining agreement.

  • Two executives tell Joel Sherman of the New York Post that the Mets have been assured of Type A draft pick compensation for Reyes this offseason, even if the new CBA eliminates it going forward.  GM Sandy Alderson presumes as much, tweets Rubin.  Sherman says the expectation is that Type B compensation will be eliminated, and maybe a few non-star Type As will have that status removed.  This is the first I've heard of eliminating Type B compensation.  All links go to Twitter.
  • Alderson described his talks with Reyes' agent Peter Greenberg to Ken Davidoff of Newsday: "I wouldn't classify them as substantive.  More than phone tag."
  • Mets officials refer to Mike Pelfrey and Angel Pagan as "bridge pieces," reports Sherman, in that they feel no long-term allegiance to either player.  Pelfrey and Pagan are arbitration eligible this winter.
  • Mets executives tell Sherman closer is the only position at which the team is willing to exceed a one-year contract, and Sherman feels they may top out at two years with an option.  The Mets consider themselves two years away from contention, writes Sherman, so Alderson intends to avoid big multiyear commitments.  Sherman guesses the Mets will spend $8-10MM for two relievers with late inning experience, letting them battle for the ninth inning.    
  • The Mets won't trade Ike Davis, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, but maybe Daniel Murphy or Lucas Duda.

Marlins Offered Jose Reyes Six Years, $90MM

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The Marlins offered $90MM over six years to Jose Reyes, a source told Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  They say Reyes is intrigued by playing in warm weather and for Ozzie Guillen.  Reyes wants a contract worth a minimum of $100MM, however, tweeted Joel Sherman of the New York Post yesterday.  More from Rosenthal and Morosi…

  • The Marlins have not discussed moving Hanley Ramirez to center field.
  • Many in the industry are skeptical of the sincerity of the Marlins' early offers to Reyes, Albert Pujols, Mark Buehrle, and Ryan Madson, feeling the proposals are competitive but not good enough to accept.  
  • The Rangers and Angels are among the teams that are interested in both C.J. Wilson and Roy Oswalt.  The Nationals prefer Oswalt.  Both pitchers are clients of Bob Garber.
  • Heath Bell could benefit from the new collective bargaining agreement if teams no longer have to surrender a draft pick to sign Type A free agents who turned down arbitration.  Ramon Hernandez too, in my opinion.  I'm surprised to hear that such a change could be instituted for the 2012-13 offseason, after some teams made July trade decisions based on the old free agent compensation system.
  • The Padres want to trade Jason Bartlett or Orlando Hudson.  They are currently the only two players the Padres have under contract.  Bartlett's $5.5MM option for 2013 will vest with 432 plate appearances in 2012.
  • Rafael Furcal has drawn interest from the Rockies, Tigers, and Blue Jays as a second baseman, but he prefers to remain at shortstop.
  • Rosenthal and Morosi say not to rule out the Giants on Carlos Beltran yet.
  • The Angels will know more about Kendrys Morales' condition after January 1st.  Morales is still recovering from a fracture in his leg suffered in May of 2010.

How To Use MLBTR

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An explanation of the many ways to enjoy MLB Trade Rumors:

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Rockies Notes: Prado, Smith, Figgins, Oswalt

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Here's the latest on the Rockies courtesy of The Denver Post's Troy Renck..

  • On Sunday we heard that Martin Prado trade talks between the Rockies and Braves could pick up if the Rockies are willing to include Tim Wheeler or Charlie Blackmon in a deal.  Now it appears that the Rockies aren't willing to do that, but would sign off on a deal to send outfielder Seth Smith and a lower-level prospect.
  • If the Mariners are willing to eat nearly all of Chone Figgins' remaining salary in exchange for a prospect, then the Rockies would be interested.
  • Colorado has expressed interest in Roy Oswalt and even though the Rockies will talk with him, the veteran has enough suitors that the Rockies have to be considered a longshot.

MLBPA Postpones Meetings To Focus On CBA

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Meetings scheduled for the Players Association this week have been postponed in order to focus on the negotiations toward a new collective bargaining agreement, league sources told Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com.  Agents were set to meet Tuesday in Los Angeles and Wednesday in Chicago but instead, the sessions have been put on hold.

The postponement is due in part to a lack of manpower for the MLBPA.  MLBPA leadership also didn’t want to go before player agents without being able to share the terms of the new basic agreement before it's established.

One source with close knowledge of the CBA talks said the two parties remain hopeful that a deal can be struck this week.  In recent days, the players and owners reached near agreement on amateur draft spending which is one of the most significant hurdles to reaching a new deal.

NL East Notes: Phillies, Hamels, Mets, Reyes, Capuano

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The Phillies made waves with their four-year, $50MM signing of Jonathan Papelbon, but now they must look at how that deal and the rest of their hefty payroll will shape their contract talks with Cole Hamels.  Here's a look at the Phillies and more from the NL East..

  • Four teams showed serious interest in Papelbon prior to the reliever with the Phillies, a major league source told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.  That number is including the Phillies but not the Red Sox, who never made a formal offer to Papelbon.
  • There don't appear to be any conversations between the Phillies and left-hander Cole Hamels, who will be eligible for free agency next fall so the club will have three possible options, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required).  The Phils could sign Hamels to a one-year contract for 2012 and risk him walking away with with little to no return, try and lock him up to a long-term deal, or deal him now for the best possible return.  Some officials believe that the club's best course of action would be to move him this winter if they know now they don't want to pay him $20MM per season. 
  • If the Mets cannot re-sign Jose Reyes, they may look to make Daniel Murphy the full-time second baseman, an organizational source told Mike Puma of the New York Post.
  • Based off of comments from Mets GM Sandy Alderson, it sounds like pitcher Chris Capuano is a goner, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.  On Monday, Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated wrote that the Mets have crossed the veteran off of their list due to his desire for a two-year deal.

AL East Notes: Votto, Price, Garcia, Yankees, Red Sox

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Here's a look at some news out of the AL East..

  • The Rays are concentrating on upgrading at first base, DH, and landing two relievers, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  They want to hang on to their pitching depth, but that would change if Joey Votto of the Reds became available. 
  • More from Sherman (via Twitter) on the Rays as he writes that the club is always open to anything, but have it in their budget to keep David Price at $4-$4.5MM as a Super Two.  Price could earn $7-8MM in 2012 through arbitration according to MLBTR's projections.  Sherman adds that it would take a gigantic return for them to move him.
  • As expected, the Yankees intend to follow up with Freddy Garcia’s agents once more, a person with knowledge of the situation, told Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger.  Yankees GM Brian Cashman has already talked with Garcia’s representatives, even before the right-hander was a free agent.
  • Dale Sveum is interviewing again Wednesday with the Red Sox and GM Ben Cherington is unsure if they will bring back anyone else for an interview, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
  • Talks between the Red Sox and Cubs over compensation for Theo Epstein will continue this week but Commissioner Bud Selig is likely to settle matter, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald tweets. Cherington says that Selig hashing things out is probably what's best for both parties.

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