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Mets, Cardinals, Reds, Tigers Inquire On Dotel

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TUESDAY: The Mets are "strong players" for Dotel, according to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. The Mets, who signed Dotel as an amateur in 1993, like that he won't cost a draft pick.

MONDAY: The Cardinals, Reds and Tigers are among the teams that have inquired on free agent right-hander Octavio Dotel, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Teams won’t have to surrender a draft pick to sign Dotel, but the Cardinals will obtain a supplementary first round draft choice in 2012 if he signs elsewhere thanks to a recently-announced status change for certain free agents.

Dotel, 38, posted a 3.50 ERA with 10.3 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 30.1% ground ball rate in 54 innings for the Blue Jays and Cardinals in 2011. He's especially effective against right-handed hitters, as this past season's split stats show (.410 OPS vs. RHB, .845 OPS vs. LHB). The Angels also have some interest in Dotel.

Giants Extend Brian Sabean, Bruce Bochy

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The Giants announced that they extended the contracts of GM Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy through 2013. The deals for Sabean and Bochy include team options for 2014.

"They have effectively built and fostered a winning tradition at all levels of our organization," incoming CEO Larry Baer stated. "I have no doubt that they will achieve continued success for the Giants in the coming years and beyond.”

Every MLB team has changed GMs at least once since the Giants promoted Sabean in 1996. The 55-year-old is in the midst of the longest run by a GM in Giants history. He has led the team to five postseason appearances, two NL pennants and a World Championship in 15 seasons.

Bochy, the winningest manager in Padres history, ranks third among active big league managers in wins and is 27th on the all-time list. He has led the Giants to a 409-401 record in five seasons in San Francisco. The Giants had exercised the 2012 options on Sabean and Bochy before the 2011 season.

Orioles Interested In Renyel Pinto

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The Orioles have expressed interest in left-hander Renyel Pinto, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Orioles director of international operations David Stockstill scouted the 29-year-old in his native Venezuela last week. Stockstill met with Pinto, a five-year veteran of the Major Leagues, and a deal remains possible.

Pinto has a 1.42 ERA with a 42K/16BB ratio in 43 2/3 innings as a starter in the Venezuelan Winter League this year, for what it’s worth. He last pitched in the Major Leagues for the 2010 Marlins. In parts of five seasons with the Marlins, Pinto posted a 3.62 ERA with 8.6 K/9, 5.9 BB/9 and a 42.4% ground ball rate in 231 innings (244 relief appearances).

The Orioles don’t currently have interest in free agents Jason Varitek or Jorge Posada as possible backup catchers, since they prefer someone who could catch every day if necessary. Matt Wieters is the lone catcher on the Orioles’ 40-man roster at the moment.

Mariners Interested In Prince Fielder

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The Mariners are interested in Prince Fielder and will explore a potential deal with the slugging free agent first baseman. GM Jack Zduriencik, who drafted Fielder as the Brewers’ scouting director, told MLB.com’s Greg Johns that the Mariners may be able to afford a major expenditure such as the 27-year-old Scott Boras client.

"There's no question we could use a big bat in the middle of our lineup, but where is your limitation and threshold?,” Zduriencik asked. “We'll go down that road and experiment and see where it ends up, but until things get more definitive, we'll just have to wait and see."

Zduriencik cautioned that the Mariners will have to take the pace of the market into account, as well as Fielder’s asking price. Should the market for Fielder drag, it may become difficult for Seattle to allocate resources to other areas of need. The Nationals, Cubs and Brewers are also known to be interested in Fielder.

Rosenthal On Votto, Alonso, Rangers, Soriano

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The Reds’ owners continue engaging in friendly debate with one another about Joey Votto’s future with the team, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Here are the details on the Reds’ first base situation and more of Rosenthal’s notes from around MLB…

  • Cincinnati CEO Bob Castellini doesn’t want to trade Votto and appears to believe an extension is possible. However, some Reds owners believe the team should explore trades for the 2010 NL MVP. Votto is under contract through 2013.
  • Rival GMs consider Yonder Alonso a one-dimensional player, not someone who could be a centerpiece in a trade for a starting pitcher like James Shields or Gio Gonzalez.
  • The Rangers are considering assistant GM Thad Levine and former Astros GM Tim Purpura for their open farm director position, according to Rosenthal. 
  • Teams are “kicking the tires” on Alfonso Soriano and the Cubs are willing to pick up a substantial chunk of the $54MM remaining on the 35-year-old left fielder's contract. He posted a .244/.289/.469 line with 26 home runs last season and is under contract through 2014.
  • Teams are calling the Rangers about right-hander Koji Uehara, but Texas may hold on to him, since they’re short on left-handed relief and Uehara is effective against left-handed hitters.
  • The A’s won’t attempt to re-sign Josh Willingham, but they’re interested in re-signing another one of their free agent outfielders: Coco Crisp.

Royals To Sign Jonathan Broxton

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The Royals announced that they have agreed to sign Jonathan Broxton to a one-year deal, pending a physical. The deal is worth $4MM and includes $1MM in incentives based on games pitched for the 27-year-old right-hander, who will be Kansas City's setup man in 2012.

“We are delighted to add someone as talented as Jonathan to our bullpen,” Royals GM Dayton Moore said. “He will be used in a setup role to closer Joakim Soria and will help solidify what we feel is a young and talented bullpen.”

Broxton’s 2011 season ended in May after just 12 2/3 innings with a 5.68 ERA and nearly as many walks (9) as strikeouts (10). He had arthroscopic elbow surgery in September and was expected to begin an offseason throwing program this month. A dominant reliever for the Dodgers from 2006 to the early part of 2010, Broxton will look to rebuild value on a one-year contract in Kansas City.  

Other than the Royals, the Mets, Rangers and Rays pursued Broxton most intently, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter links). Overall, at least ten teams expressed interest in Broxton, who's represented by B.B. Abbott of Jet Sports Management.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the agreement (Twitter link) and Jon Heyman of SI.com added the terms of the deal (Twitter links). Dan Mennella explains the fantasy baseball implications of the move at CloserNews.com, the destination for all reliever-related fantasy baseball news and analysis.

White Sox Looking To Trade Matt Thornton

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The White Sox have been looking to trade Matt Thornton since July and are still trying to move him, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). Before the 2011 season, the White Sox signed the left-hander to a two-year, $12MM extension that covers the 2012-13 seasons and includes a club option for 2014.

The 35-year-old posted a 3.32 ERA with 9.5 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 0.45 HR/9 and a 48.8% ground ball rate in 59 2/3 innings this past season. Armed with a fastball that averages 96 mph, Thornton figures to draw interest this offseason, as he did last summer, especially since the free agent market doesn't feature lefty relievers of his caliber. The Yankees, Blue Jays and Rangers are among the teams that may seek left-handed relief this offseason.

Cubs Pursuing Albert Pujols & Prince Fielder

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The Cubs are pursuing both Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Cubs like Pujols’ defense and are more willing to sign him to a long-term deal, even though Fielder’s three years younger. 

The Cubs intend to rebuild, but they’re interested in signing one of the free agent first basemen, partly because they don’t expect many of baseball’s best hitters to hit the open market in upcoming offseasons. The Dodgers just locked up Matt Kemp and extensions for Josh Hamilton, Jacoby Ellsbury and others may follow. Plus, restrictions on amateur spending make it more difficult to build exclusively through the draft.

The Cardinals and Marlins are also interested in Pujols, while Fielder has drawn interest from the Nationals and Brewers. The Rangers could enter the mix for both players and the Mariners may have interest in Fielder.

Quick Hits: Murton, Wilson, Twins, Draft

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Here are some links for Monday night as we anticipate the end of a managerial search in Boston and the beginning of a GM search in Houston… 

  • Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker hears that Matt Murton will return to the Hanshin Tigers for 2012 (Twitter link). Murton could have been an outside-the-box alternative for teams looking for outfield help this offseason. The 30-year-old has a .286/.352/.436 line in parts of five MLB seasons and has hit well in Japan.
  • C.J. Wilson, who visited with the Marlins today, has another free agent visit scheduled this week, but it’s not with the Rangers, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter).
  • Twins people expect former GM Bill Smith to remain in the organization, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Minnesota replaced Smith with longtime GM Terry Ryan earlier this month.
  • Speaking of the Twins, they’re one of many teams in on Yoenis Cespedes, according to Yahoo’s Tim Brown. This appears to be the first time they’ve been linked to the 26-year-old outfielder.
  • The Astros are shopping Wandy Rodriguez all over, according to Brown.
  • Jim Callis of Baseball America hears that the 30 MLB teams will be limited to $180MM in total spending for the first ten rounds of the draft under the new collective bargaining agreement (Twitter link).
  • Teams that fail to sign top draft picks can’t re-allocate the money saved toward deals for other draft picks, according to MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo. For example, a team that fails to sign a top pick who had a recommended bonus of $1.5MM would see its spending ceiling fall by $1.5MM and would not have the option of spending that $1.5MM on other players.

AL East Notes: Yankees, Orioles, Reddick

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Two AL East teams brought in new general managers this offseason and a third club faces the possibility that its GM will leave for another team. Here are some notes from the division, starting in New York City, where Brian Cashman has been running the Yankees since 1998…

  • Though the Yankees would have interest in Matt Garza, they aren’t having high-level trade talks with any team about starting pitchers, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter). The Cubs appear to be willing to listen on Garza, who’s under team control through 2013.
  • Red Sox bench coach DeMarlo Hale is the Orioles' top choice to be their next third base coach, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links). Hale, who is still under contract in Boston, is considering the Orioles' job. 
  • The Red Sox have gotten some play on 24-year-old outfielder Josh Reddick, according to Yahoo’s Tim Brown. Should Boston sign Yoenis Cespedes, Carlos Beltran or Michael Cuddyer, GM Ben Cherington might part with Reddick, who posted a .784 OPS in 278 plate appearances while playing all three outfield positions this past season.
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