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Brewers A Favorite For Aramis Ramirez

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Here are today's Aramis Ramirez rumors, with the newest updates on top:

  • The Angels' early offers to Ramirez have been "on the low side," tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports, who wonders if that signals a lack of money or interest focused elsewhere.
  • Jon Heyman of MLB Network says the Brewers have been the most aggressive suitor for Ramirez. Meanwhile, the Phillies' interest appears to be fading, but the Angels are still involved, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links).
  • Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel spoke to Ramirez's agent, Paul Kinzer, who said he considers the Brewers a "favorite" to sign his client. There are three teams with serious interest, according to Kinzer, so presumably the Brewers and Phillies are two of the three.
  • The Brewers haven't made Ramirez an official offer yet, but the third baseman is definitely interested in Milwaukee, says Kinzer: "He likes that team. He wants to go to a team that has pitching and gives him a chance to win a ring. He thinks the Brewers can do that."

Tigers Attempting Strong Push For Gio Gonzalez

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The Tigers are trying to "make a strong push" to acquire Athletics lefty Gio Gonzalez, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. However, the Tigers aren't sure whether they'll be able to make an offer as strong as a potential Yankees proposal, Slusser says (Twitter link).

It was reported today, by Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record, that the Athletics asked the Yankees for Jesus Montero plus either Dellin Betances or Manny Banuelos in exchange for Gonzalez (Twitter link). With the Yankees highly unlikely to part with such a significant haul, the two teams may not be a match, since the Yanks don't have the high-upside young outfielders the Athletics covet.

Dodgers To Sign Josh Bard?

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11:39pm: The Dodgers are still talking to other catchers and the Bard deal is "not a slam dunk," says Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).

10:43pm: The Dodgers have agreed to sign Josh Bard to a one-year deal worth about $750K, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times hears that it's a minor league contract (Twitter link).

Bard, 33, has a career OPS of .705 in parts of ten big league seasons, but his production has slipped in recent years. Since 2008, he has hit .217/.282/.332 in 711 plate appearances. He spent the last two seasons as the backup catcher in Seattle on one-year deals.

The Dodgers have been very active on the free agent market this offseason, as MLBTR's free agent tracker shows. The team has already signed six big league free agents, including another catcher, Matt Treanor, who inked a one-year deal with a 2013 option.

NL Central Rumors: Astros, Reds, Saito, Bedard

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Tuesday night updates out of the NL Central, as MLBTR's 24-hour coverage of the Winter Meetings continues….

  • Rival executives view Rockies assistant GM Bill Geivett as the favorite for the Astros' GM job, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.
  • Stephen Goff of the Houston Examiner hears (Twitter link) that the Astros may select a reliever with the first pick of Thursday's Rule 5 draft.
  • Reds GM Walt Jocketty talked about the team's search for pitching, and MLB.com's Mark Sheldon has the quotes. Jocketty also said Edgar Renteria's reps had contacted him, but the Reds probably aren't interested in signing him.
  • All signs are pointing to the Brewers bringing back Takashi Saito on a one-year deal, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  • Erik Bedard is drawing interest from the Pirates, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.

Phillies Not Shopping Polanco, Backing Off Ramirez

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The Phillies are no longer shopping Placido Polanco and are "backing off" their pursuit of Aramis Ramirez, a rival executive tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link).

This would seem to indicate optimism about re-signing Jimmy Rollins, as we heard earlier that the Phillies would be interested in trading Polanco and acquiring Ramirez if they were unable to bring back Rollins. However, Rosenthal says this decision is unrelated to the club's negotiations with their longtime shortstop.

The Angels and Brewers are among the teams still in on Ramirez, tweets Rosenthal.

D’Backs Closing In On Deal With Lyle Overbay

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10:24pm: No deal is done yet, but the two sides are thought to be discussing a contract worth about $1MM, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.

9:20pm: The Diamondbacks didn't get a definitive yes or no from Lyle Overbay on their latest contract offer, but the two sides appear to be working toward completing a deal, reports MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. Overbay and the D'Backs are discussing a one-year contract, and GM Kevin Towers is optimistic about their progress.

"I would say it's progressing well, but it's not done," Towers said. "Everything looks good, although it's not a done deal. I'm cautiously optimistic. We still have some things that we have to work through that we're still working through, but nothing's really changed. My gut is he'll still end up coming here."

Red Sox Rumors: Wakefield, Varitek, Trade Talks

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We heard earlier this evening that David Ortiz plans to return to Boston next season, either through arbitration or a multiyear deal. Now let's check in on some other Red Sox news:

Pujols Has Three Offers Of Ten Years, $200MM+

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After a pair of meetings between the Marlins and agent Dan Lozano on Monday, Albert Pujols reportedly has a whopping ten-year offer in hand to join Jose Reyes in Miami. The Cardinals and Cubs met with Lozano yesterday as well.  Here's the latest on Pujols…

  • The Cubs are "definitely in" on Pujols still, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. If nothing else, they want to make things hard on the Cards by increasing the bidding, says Sherman.
  • The Marlins' brass completed their evening meeting with Dan Lozano, but told reporters, including Ken Rosenthal, that they had nothing to report. The Fish aren't sure if a third team is involved in the bidding, tweets Jon Paul Morosi. If there's a mystery team, it's definitely not the Phillies this year, tweets Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.
  • The Mystery Team has entered the mix! USA Today's Bob Nightengale reports that a third team, in addition to the Marlins and Cardinals, has made an offer to Pujols. All three offers are for ten years and at least $200MM, according to Nightengale.
  • The Marlins are pushing "very, very hard" to get closure on Pujols tonight, so they can move one way or the other, according to Scott Miller of CBS Sports. They don't want to be used to jack up the Cardinals' bid, and want to move on to other free agents if they don't land Pujols (all Twitter links).
  • The Cardinals expect resolution "sooner rather than later" and indicated that the ball is in Pujols' court, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Marlins also would like resolution soon, tweets Morosi. Meanwhile, the Marlins met with an official from the commissioner's office tonight, and a possible Pujols contract was the topic of discussion, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
  • A source tells Martino (Twitter link) to be "on red alert" for a Pujols deal tonight.
  • The Marlins' offer to Pujols is believed to be in the neighborhood of $220MM, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News reports (via Twitter). Cardinals GM John Mozeliak confirmed to reporters, including B.J. Rains of FOX Sports Midwest (Twitter link), that his team made another offer to Pujols today.
  • The Marlins also remain hopeful on Pujols, having offered a "creative" contract, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.
  • Talking to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, Cards chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. declined to offer odds on the team re-signing Pujols: "I'm hopeful, but I don't like to use the word 'optimistic.' We're realistic about the fact that it may not happen." (all Twitter links).
  • Marlins president David Samson countered Spencer, saying the team will not sign a free agent to a deal including a no-trade clause.
  • In a break with team policy, the Marlins are willing to give Pujols a no-trade clause, tweets Clark Spencer.  This could be a major development.  The Cardinals are still alive for now, tweets Joe Strauss.
  • Marlins' brass concluded the 75-minute Lozano meeting without public comment.
  • The Marlins are heading up to meet with Lozano and expect a Pujols decision soon, tweets Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald.
  • As you might expect, the Marlins' ten-year offer exceeds $200MM, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.  The Cardinals are expected to counter today.
  • There is optimism that the Marlins and Lozano will work through the no-trade clause hurdle, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, though Ken Rosenthal says the Marlins will not relent completely on the clause.
  • The Cardinals do not expect to get an opportunity to match or beat an offer from another team before Pujols accepts, hears Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch.  The Cardinals have not ruled out a ten-year offer for Pujols, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Morosi's club source says it depends on the average annual value.
  • The Cubs submitted a bid for Pujols, reports Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  However, MLB.com's Carrie Muskat says a Cubs official denied the report.
  • The Marlins' reported ten-year bid includes an average annual value that tests or exceeds $20MM, writes Strauss, but it does not include full no-trade protection.  The Marlins will meet with Lozano again today.  One club executive who spoke to Strauss pegged the team's chances of signing Pujols at 50-50.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney tweets a reminder that the disconnect in last offseason's negotiations between Pujols and the Cardinals wasn't the length, but the proposed annual value of $22MM.
  • Not surprisingly, David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution hears that the Marlins would trade Gaby Sanchez if Pujols lands in Miami (Twitter link).  Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune thinks the Cubs would try for Sanchez in that scenario.

Tim Dierkes and Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Mets Close To Making Trade

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8:46pm: The Giants and Mets are believed to be discussing a deal that would send Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez to New York for Angel Pagan, tweets Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. That would match up with the two-for-one rumors, and Torres and Pagan qualify as "change of scenery" players as well.

8:33pm: Hot on the heels of their agreement with Jon Rauch, the Mets have a multi-player trade in the works, tweets MLB Network's Jon Heyman. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter) describes the deal as a "change of scenery" trade both ways, and says the Mets are going to receive two players in exchange for one. Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link) hears that the move will net the Mets another reliever.

Giants “Far Down The Road” On Two Trades

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8:45pm: One of the proposals is believed to be Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez for Angel Pagan, tweets Baggarly. That would match up with the two-for-one rumors we heard earlier about the Mets.

8:42pm: The Giants are "far down the road" on two trade proposals and GM Brian Sabean thinks the team may make a move tonight, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News (on Twitter). The proposed moves don't involve Jed Lowrie, Carlos Quentin, or Martin Prado, three names that have surfaced in recent trade rumors, adds Baggarly.

With rumors swirling that the Mets are also close to making a deal for a reliever, and the Giants said to be entertaining offers for Ramon Ramirez, it's possible the Mets could be on the other end of one of San Francisco's two proposals. That's my own speculation, however.

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