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Quick Hits: Servais, D’Backs, Cubs, Dodgers, Astros

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Some links as Saturday night turns into Sunday morning…

  • The Angels have hired Rangers director of player development Scott Servais to be their assistant GM, reports Mike DiGiovanna of The Los Angeles Times (on Twitter). MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan first reported that Servais appeared to be leaving Texas. GM Jon Daniels declined to speculate about Servais' replacement, according to Anthony Andro of FOXSportsSouthwest.com (on Twitter).
  • Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers will have more money to work with in 2012, managing partner Ken Kendrick told Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com (Twitter link). The D'Backs won the NL West with payroll of about $55MM this past season.
  • The Cubs have hired Joe Bohringer to be their pro scouting director, reports Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago. Bohringer had been working as a scout for the Diamondbacks since 2006.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports makes a case for the cash-strapped Dodgers to sign Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder.
  • Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle wonders if Jim Crane would take his time making front office changes once his purchase of the Astros is official.
  • The Brewers have hired Rangers pitching instructor Andy Pratt as a pro scout, reports Jeff Wilson of The Star Telegram (on Twitter).

Phillies In Serious Pursuit Of Michael Cuddyer

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The Phillies agreed to bring Jim Thome back earlier today, and now they're after another player that wore a Twins' uniform in 2011. Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports that the Phillies are in serious pursuit of Michael Cuddyer, and his friendship with Thome could work in Philadelphia's favor.

Cuddyer, 33 in March, would help the Phillies in a number of ways. As a right-handed bat, he'd balance out their left-handed heavy lineup. His versatility would also allow him to fill in at first while Ryan Howard is recovering from his ruptured Achillies, platoon with Domonic Brown in the outfield, and even spell Placido Polanco at the hot corner on occasion.

A career .272/.343/.451 hitter, Cuddyer pounded lefties to the tune of .311/.403/.589 in 2011. He's a Type-A free agent and the Twins will certainly offer him arbitration, so the Phillies would have to surrender their first round pick to Minnesota if an agreement is reached.

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Manager Notes: Cardinals, Cubs, Red Sox

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The Cardinals, Cubs and Red Sox are looking for new managers and there’s considerable overlap between the list of candidates in Chicago and Boston. Here’s the latest managerial news from around MLB…

  • The Cubs will interview Dale Sveum on Monday and Mike Maddux in Wednesday, reports Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune and Anthony Andro of FOXSportsSouthwest.com (Twitter links).
  • Mike Matheny interviewed with the Cardinals today, according to Joe Strauss and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The former Cardinals catcher is now one of St. Louis' minor league instructors. The Cardinals didn't speak with former Red Sox manager Terry Francona today.
  • Brewers hitting coach Dale Sveum appears to be the frontrunner for Boston's managerial opening, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Cubs have also received permission to interview Sveum, Rosenthal reports.
  • Though the Cubs and Red Sox are open minded about their candidates, Sveum and Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux appear to be favorites, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter links).
  • The Red Sox will interview Maddux Tuesday and Indians bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr. Wednesday, according to Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com (on Twitter).
  • Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune takes his readers inside the Cubs’ somewhat unconventional interview process. Candidates make simulated decisions from taped games after being presented with relevant information such as lineup cards, stats and bullpen usage reports.

Minor Moves: Tobin, Downs, Rangers, Timmons

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The latest minor moves from around MLB…

  • The Rangers have outrighted Mason Tobin to Triple-A Round Rock, reports Drew Davison of The Star Telegram (all Twitter links). FOXSportsSouthwest.com's Anthony Andro says Texas offered the Rule 5 Draft Pick back to the Angels, but they declined. Tobin threw just 5 1/3 games for the Rangers before needing elbow surgery.
  • The Tigers have signed Darin Downs to a minor league contract according to a tweet from Sosnicke Cobbe Sports. The 26-year-old lefty posted a 4.66 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 112 innings in the Marlins farm system in 2011.
  • Pitchers Eric Hurley, Omar Beltre and Merkin Valdez and infielders Andres Blanco and Esteban German elected free agency, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. The Rangers outrighted all five off of their roster earlier this week. Blanco posted a .605 OPS in 82 plate appearances as a utility player in 2011, but none of the others spent significant time in the Majors this past season.
  • The A's announced that they signed infielder Wes Timmons to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training. The 33-year-old posted a .341/.420/.468 line in 401 plate appearances in the upper minors this past season.
  • MLB granted free agency to 537 minor leaguers this week and Matt Eddy of Baseball America has the complete list.

Latest On Orioles’ GM Search

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The Orioles are interviewing former Expos and Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette for their open GM position today. John Stockstill of the Orioles and Scott Proefrock of the Phillies are still being considered for the position, while De Jon Watson of the Dodgers withdrew his name yesterday. Here's the latest on Baltimore's search:

  • Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun says (on Twitter) that Duquette is a serious candidate for the job. He has experience in the role and wants to get back into MLB.
  • Allard Baird has decided to not interview for the job according to SI.com's Jon Heyman (Twitter links). Connolly says the O's have not yet asked permission to interview any additional candidates.
  • MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli says the team had hoped to make their decision by Monday, but all the rejections will make it tough (Twitter link).
  • The Twins denied the Orioles permission to interview VP of player personnel Mike Radcliff, citing internal reorganization and promotions, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.
  • The Orioles requested and obtained permission to interview Yankees scouting director Damon Oppenheimer, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
  • The Orioles are still waiting to set up meetings with Oppenheimer and Red Sox executive Allard Baird, according to Kubatko (on Twitter).
  • Andrew Friedman of the Rays and Rick Hahn of the White Sox declined the Orioles' interview requests, according to MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli. The Orioles will interview Baird, according to Ghiroli.

Jurrjens Talks Stall Between Royals And Braves

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Yesterday we learned that the Braves are open to moving Jair Jurrjens and Martin Prado, and that they've already had trade talks with the Royals. Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star reports that talks have stalled however, likely because Kansas City does not want to include top prospect Wil Myers in the deal.

Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal Constitution says (on Twitter) that Atlanta is not actively shopping Jurrjens and Prado, but they will listen to offers for any player on their roster without ten-and-five no-trade protection. Dutton says the Braves offered the Royals a two-for-two deal: Jurrjens and Prado for Myers and Lorenzo Cain. Kansas City is open to moving Cain, he added. That deal would add close to $10MM to the Royals' payroll next season, eating up a big chunk of what they have available to spend this offseason according to Dutton. The Braves are trying to unload some salary, which they managed to do earlier in the week by trading Derek Lowe to the Indians.

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports notes (on Twitter) that it shouldn't be tough for Atlanta to find a taker for Prado if they're really motivated to move him. The Blue Jays, Tigers, Twins, Cardinals, and Dodgers could all use an upgrade at second base. Troy Renck of The Denver Post speculates (on Twitter) that the Rockies could get involved, possibly using Dexter Fowler or Charlie Blackmon as trade bait. Both outfielders are from Georgia.

Twins Notes: Doumit, Barmes, Krivsky

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The Twins started their offseason by claiming a pair of pitchers off waivers earlier this week. Let's round up the latest from Minnesota…

  • There has been no early contact between the Twins and free agents Ryan Doumit and Clint Barmes, reports Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (on Twitter). Ben Nicholson-Smith said a major expenditure at shortstop is unlikely in his Offseason Outlook, but he did mention that they need help at backup catcher.
  • The Twins hope to finalize an agreement with Wayne Krivsky that would make him GM Bill Smith's special assistant, according to Joe Christensen of The Star Tribune. His focus would be on pro scouting. Krivsky worked with the organization as Terry Ryan's assistant GM before becoming GM of the Reds in 2005.
  • Earlier today we learned that the Twins denied the Orioles permission to interview VP of player personnel Mike Radcliff for their still vacant GM job.

Phillies Agree To Sign Jim Thome

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5068016 Angels v Phillies

Jim Thome to going back to his old stomping grounds. The Phillies have agreed to a one-year contract with the slugger, reports MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com says the deal is worth $1.25MM (on Twitter). The contract is still pending a physical, which will take place on Saturday.

Thome, 41, let reporters know that he planned to play next season a few weeks ago. He hit .256/.361/.477 with 15 homers in 324 plate appearances for the Twins and Indians last season, though he did not play the field except for one nostalgic pitch spent at third base. The Phillies could be without Ryan Howard for an extended period of time in 2012 because of a ruptured Achillies, but Thome has not played first base regularly since 2005, his last stint with Philadelphia.

If unable to play the field, Thome would still give the team a powerful left-handed bat off the bench and DH option during interleague play. His leadership and clubhouse skills are highly regarded as well. Thome hit .260/.386/.543 with the Phillies from 2003-2006, swatting 96 of his 605 career home runs for the Fightin's.

The free agent market still offers plenty of big bat/DH types, as our Free Agent Tracker shows. If you're participating in our Free Agent Prediction Contest, unfortunately you will not get a freebie for Thome; he did not crack Tim Dierkes' list of the top 50 free agents. All submissions are due by Sunday night.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Lowe, Hanley, Frasor

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On this date last year, the Rockies traded Miguel Olivo to the Blue Jays for cash. Toronto declined Olivo's $2.5MM option later than day, instead paying him a $500K buyout. After offering him arbitration later in the month, they received a supplemental first round pick when the backstop signed with the Mariners. The Jays essentially bought the 57th overall pick in this summer's draft for $500K, which they used on high school right-handed Kevin Comer.

Here are this week's links, the first official week of the offseason…

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