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Marlins, Reyes Agree To Six-Year Deal

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8:54pm: Reyes' deal does not include a no-trade clause, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets.

8:47pm: The Marlins and Reyes have agreed to a six-year, $106MM deal, pending a physical, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

8:35pm: Mets GM Sandy Alderson addressed the media and confirmed that if the Marlins are offering a six-year, $111MM deal, the Mets won't be able to compete, tweets Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.  Furthermore, the Mets have yet to make a concrete offer to the shortstop, tweets Mike Puma of the NY Post.

8:21pm: Reyes to the Marlins appears to be imminent, but Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel (via Twitter) continues to hear that the numbers are less than those being reported.

7:57pm: The Marlins and Reyes are close on a six-year deal, believed to be for $110MM, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

7:49pm: The reported terms of $111MM over six years are definitely not correct, an American League source tells Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel (via Twitter).  Rodriguez stresses that this doesn't mean that the Marlins aren't closing in on Reyes.

6:37pm: The Marlins came to the meetings with the idea of bumping their offer to Reyes and setting a deadline, but now they've upped the offer so much that they may not need to give the shortstop a deadline, tweets Jon Heyman of SI. 

6:29pm: The Mets are now aware of the Marlins $100MM+ offer and are out of the bidding, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets.  Barring a change of heart, it would seem that Reyes is leaving New York.  The Mets were willing to go to a five-year deal for $75-85MM with an option for a sixth year to take the deal over $100MM, but felt that they were stretching for the five-year deal and won't extend to a sixth, Sherman tweets.

6:15pm: The Mets have not been alerted yet by the Reyes camp of the reported six-year, $111MM deal and if the numbers are accurate, it would mark a dramatic increase from what the Mets heard 48 hours ago, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter links).

The Mets and Brewers had planned to offer Reyes something in the range of $75-80MM, says Jon Heyman of SI (via Twitter).

5:53pm: The Marlins have offered Jose Reyes a six-year, $111MM deal, a source tells Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportesLosAngeles.com (Spanish link).  The deal would pay $106MM for six years with a $22MM option for a seventh season with a $5MM buyout.

This marks a significant increase from Miami's offer a few weeks ago, which was reportedly in the neighborhood of $90MM over six years.  It was recently reported that Reyes might be down to just the Marlins and Mets, but the Brewers have also made plans to meet with the shortstop's agents this week.

Rojas' source also says that the Marlins are the favorite to land Albert Pujols if he does not return to St. Louis.

Central Notes: Garza, Cubs, Ryan

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A few items to share from the Central divisions on this quiet Saturday evening …

  • Cubs starter Matt Garza's agent, Nez Balelo of CAA Sports, told the right-hander to brace himself for an "active Winter Meetings," tweets Carrie Muskat of MLB.com. We heard on Monday that the North Siders are "open for business" on the 28-year-old, who is under team control through 2013.
  • Cubs owner Tom Ricketts told ESPN Radio 1000 in Chicago today that he is working on a contract extension for president of business operations Crane Kenney, according to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com. "When I look at the Cubs, we have Crane on one side and Theo on the other. I believe I have the best team in baseball," Ricketts said.
  • Twins GM Terry Ryan is the subject of an interesting piece by Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. Ryan resigned from the same position with the Twins in 2007, citing burnout, but has returned to the post, apparently re-energized, after several years of scouting. Crasnick notes Ryan's biggest chore will be fortifying the pitching staff and adds that there's a "real chance" the Twins could re-sign reliever Matt Capps.

Quick Hits: Damon, Wilson, Wakefield, Dodgers

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A few odds and ends to pass along …

  • Free agent outfielder/DH Johnny Damon prefers to re-sign with the Rays but said he hasn't had discussions with Tampa because EVP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman is a "free agent," according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Friedman isn't under contract and is expected to be courted by the Astros to be their next GM, but Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times reiterates that it's unlikely Friedman will leave the Rays.
  • The Rangers are making "no progress" in talks with free agent starter C.J. Wilson, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com, who suggests Texas may look elsewhere — perhaps at Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols.
  • Tim Wakefield would like to pitch one more year with the Red Sox, according to Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. The free agent knuckleballer, 45, has also mentioned the possibility of pitching in the National League.
  • NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson plans to bid on the Dodgers as part of a potential ownership group with former Braves and Nationals president Stan Kasten and Mark Walter of Guggenheim Partners, a financial services firm, according to Bill Shaikin and Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times. Johnson is a former minority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, selling his 4.5 percent stake in the team in 2010, according to the report.

Hiroki Kuroda Landscape “Wide Open”

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4:51pm: A source tells WEEI's Rob Bradford that the Red Sox are interested in Kuroda, but that their ability to sign him would be contingent on gaining financial flexibility through other moves.

2:47pm: Now that the Dodgers have effectively signed Capuano to replace Kuroda in their rotation, the landscape for the righty is "wide open," a source tells FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. According to Rosenthal, Kuroda is now willing to consider all offers, regardless of location.

9:12am: Yesterday we heard that the Rockies are out of the running for Roy Oswalt, but today Troy Renck of The Denver Post reports that they've been quietly pursuing Hiroki Kuroda. The right-hander is unlikely to return to the Dodgers following the Chris Capuano signing.

Kuroda, 37 in February, has pitched to a 3.23 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 398 1/3 innings across 63 starts over the last two seasons. The Angels and Diamondbacks are said to have interest in him, and the Hiroshima Carp also have an offer out to their former hurler. Kuroda prefers the west coast, but it stands to reason that the Yankees, Red Sox, Nationals, and others would have interest if he was willing to move east. The Rockies reportedly have interest in Jeff Francis and Kevin Millwood as well.

Reds Notes: Votto, Alonso, Trade Targets, Santiago

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Here are a few links to peruse on your Saturday, as Redsfest continues in Cincinnati:

  • Joey Votto and Yonder Alonso aren't bothered by trade rumors and speculation, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon writes in two separate pieces. Votto concedes "it would be disappointing to get traded," but it doesn't appear he'll have to face that possibility this offseason – GM Walt Jocketty said during the GM meetings that the Reds won't move the 2010 MVP this winter.
  • Jocketty says the Reds have identified six starting pitchers as potential trade targets, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter). While the GM didn't name anyone specifically, Fay guesses that James Shields, Gio Gonzalez, and Jair Jurrjens are on the list.
  • The Reds are looking for a veteran infielder who can play shortstop, tweets Sheldon. They were interested in Ramon Santiago before the 32-year-old agreed to return to Detroit.
  • Sheldon also says that manager Dusty Baker hopes the club can give the closer's job to a specific pitcher. Baker's thoughts on the topic: "We're going to look in-house. We're going to look at trades or free agents and try to come up with a guy, a main guy. The one thing we don't want to do is have a closer by committee."

Indians Among Nine Teams Interested In Casey Blake

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The Indians are one of nine teams to have expressed interest in signing Casey Blake, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Cleveland likes Blake as a super-utility type, who could back up at the corner infield and corner outfield positions.

The Dodgers turned down their $6MM option on Blake at season's end, electing instead to pay him a $1.25MM buyout and make him a free agent. The decision was unsurprising after injuries limited Blake's playing time and production in 2011. The 38-year-old hit .252/.342/.371 in 239 plate appearances. Agent Jim McDowell told MLBTR that his client expects to be 100% for 2012.

If the Indians were to sign Blake, it would be his second stint in Cleveland. The first ended in July 2008, after five and a half years, when the Tribe shipped him to Los Angeles in the trade that landed them catching prospect Carlos Santana.

Latest On Yoenis Cespedes

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1:15pm: According to an executive familiar with the international market, the Yankees, Tigers, and Marlins have been the clubs with the strongest interest in Cespedes, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.

8:40am: Teams will be lining up to sign 26-year-old Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes as soon as he is declared a free agent, though we still don't know exactly when that will happen. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports spoke to a source (Twitter link) who indicated that the "time frame difficult to say," but it could happen during the "latter half (of the winter meetings) or after."

In yesterday's feature, ESPN's Jerry Crasnick says industry buzz is that it will take upwards of $50MM to sign Cespedes, if not more. Roughly two-thirds of the teams pursuing him believe he can remain in center field with the others expecting him to move to right. One executive compared Cespedes to Cameron Maybin, albeit with more power and less speed.

Orioles Links: Pitching, Jones, Player Development

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Here's the latest from Baltimore, less than 48 hours before the winter meetings begin…

  • "I don't know that we have the kind of pitching depth that we need," said GM Dan Duquette to Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com. "It would be hard for us to trade pitching unless we got some pitching in return or we had a viable alternative in place." Yesterday we heard that Jeremy Guthrie is being shopped.
  • "I can't really tell you, I haven't looked at the numbers or the contract," said Duquette to Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com when asked about a potential contract extension for Adam Jones. "That is something that if we are going to take a look at, it would be after the first of the year."
  • Duquette also told Melewski that his first order of business over the next few weeks is to put a productive player development system in place and expand the team's international efforts.
  • Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun believes the Orioles will make more than one move during the winter meetings next week, including a trade. He expects the moves to be generally underwhelming, though.
  • Kubatko tweets that the team is expected to announce two front office hires tomorrow. He's heard that Fred Ferreira will be brought in as international scouting director and Gordon Blakeley as a special assistant, though those moves are not confirmed yet.

Federal Probe Will Not Affect Marlins’ Offseason Plans

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The Securities & Exchange Commission subpoenaed information – including financial records and correspondence with commissioner Bud Selig – as part of a probe into the Marlins' new stadium deal according to Charles Rabin, Martha Brannigan, and Patricia Mazzei of The Miami Herald. Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post hears from a team official that the probe will not impact their offseason plans, however.

“It will have no affect whatsoever on our roster plans,” said vice president P.J. Loyello.

The Marlins have been one of the most active teams this offseason. They've already agreed to sign Heath Bell for three years and $27MM, and they remain heavily involved in the bidding for Jose Reyes. C.J. Wilson, Mark Buehrle, and even Albert Pujols are on their radar as well.

The federal probe could take over a year to sort out, with the city and county having until January 6th to turn over correspondence and the club's financial records dating back to 2007.

Hiroyuki Nakajima Posting Period Is Over

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The posting period for 29-year-old Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima is complete, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). MLB and NPB have yet to announce the high bid.

Yesterday we learned that at least one team has placed a bid on Nakajima, though Brewers GM Doug Melvin confirmed that the Brewers will not submit a bit according to Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel (on Twitter). The Seibu Lions are expected to accept the high bid regardless of amount. Nakajima, who was posted on Monday, hit .297/.354/.433 with 16 home runs and 27 doubles in 633 plate appearances for the Lions in 2011. He is represented by Legacy Sports.

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