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Quick Hits: Mills, Madson, Twins, Danks, Prado

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On a day when the Blue Jays adopted a familiar-looking "new" logo, here are some news items to carry us into the weekend….

  • If the Astros fire Brad Mills, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports believes Mills could reunite with Terry Francona as the latter's bench coach for a future managing vacancy.  Morosi also lists Rangers executives A.J. Preller and Thad Levine and Rays executives Andrew Friedman and Gerry Hunsicker as wish list candidates for Jim Crane if he removes Ed Wade as Houston's general manager.  It would be the second stint as Astros' GM for Hunsicker, who ran the team from 1996-2004.
  • Ryan Madson could be one of several free agents to lose his Type A status under the rules of the new collective bargaining agreement, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.  Such an adjustment would help Madson, as clubs with unprotected first-round draft picks currently have to give up that pick in order to sign the closer.
  • Twins GM Terry Ryan tells Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that Denard Span and Ben Revere won't be traded this winter.  Minnesota could lose both Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel to free agency this offseason.
  • The White Sox didn't add Jordan Danks to their 40-man roster, and Jim Margalus of the South Side Sox speculates that this could be a hint that Chicago is preparing to part ways with John Danks.  The elder Danks brother has drawn strong interest on the trade market.
  • The Braves "seem to undervalue [Martin Prado's] skills," writes Fangraphs' Jason Roberts, who thinks Atlanta may not get proper market value in exchange for the utilityman in a deal. 
  • Right-hander Darrell Rasner has signed a new contract with the Rakuten Golden Eagles, reports NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman.  Matt Sosnick, Rasner's agent, tells Newman the contract is worth $1.5MM plus performance bonuses.  Rasner last appeared in the majors as a Yankee in 2008 and has pitched for Rakuten ever since.
  • The Blue Jays, Cardinals, Mariners, Red Sox and Twins are all listed as possible suitors for Kelly Shoppach by ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link).

West Notes: Soler, Padres, Arenado, Mariners

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Let's look at some news from both the AL and NL West….

  • The Rangers have scouted 19-year-old Cuban defector Jorge Soler, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  Texas is one of a few teams who have interest in Soler, who Sullivan says "might have more offensive upside" than the heavily-scouted Yoenis Cespedes.
  • Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Adrian Gonzalez has been lobbying the Red Sox to check in on several Padres, including Heath Bell and strength/conditioning coach Jim Malone.  Boston is known to have an interest in Bell as a possible replacement for Jonathan Papelbon in the Red Sox bullpen.  Center also discusses San Diego's own closing situation among other topics as part of his weekly online chat with Padres fans.
  • Rockies third base prospect Nolan Arenado has hired Scott Boras as his agent, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.  Arenado was represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council when Colorado picked him in the second round of the 2009 draft.  Arenado, 20, has enjoyed a strong start to his pro career, compiling an .829 OPS in his first three seasons ranging from rookie league to high-A ball.
  • The Mariners can afford Prince Fielder, writes Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times and "aversion to risk is how mediocre teams stay bad a long, long time."  Baker figures that if the Mariners "eat most of the remaining cash on the Chone Figgins contract" and deal Jason Vargas or Brandon League, the club can afford the slugging first baseman.  MLBTR's Tim Dierkes picked Seattle as Fielder's landing spot in his top 50 free agent predictions.

Giants Notes: Lincecum, Beltran, Ford, Joaquin

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The latest from San Francisco….

  • The Giants haven't engaged in any discussions about a multiyear deal or even a one-year contract to avoid arbitration with Tim Lincecum, the hurler's agent Rick Thurman tells Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Thurman is not too concerned about the lack of talks so far, as teams deal with long-term contracts later in an offseason.  We've heard the Giants want to lock up both Lincecum and Matt Cain to multiyear deals, though Thurman reiterated to Schulman that Lincecum prefers short-term contracts.
  • The Giants' priority is more outfield help, with Carlos Beltran topping their wish list, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter link).  San Francisco has already acquired one outfielder this winter, picking up Melky Cabrera two weeks ago.
  • The club designated outfielder Darren Ford and right-hander Waldis Joaquin for assignment, according to Schulman (Twitter link).  Both players were DFA'd off the 40-man roster to clear room for players the Giants wanted to protect from Rule 5 draft.  Ford has 16 career plate appearances in The Show and has stolen 306 bases (out of 384 attempts) in the minors.  The White Sox picked up Joaquin off waivers last November but was granted free agency and re-signed with the Giants less than two weeks later.  The righty has a 5.40 ERA in 21 2/3 Major League innings.
  • Angel Villalona has been taken off Major League Baseball's restricted list, tweets Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News.  Villalona was charged with murder in the Dominican Republic two years ago but the charges were dropped.  Giants VP Bobby Evans tells Baggarly that he doesn't expect any issues with Villalona attempting to get a new U.S. work visa.  The Giants played Villalona on their 40-man roster earlier today to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.

Added To 40-Man Roster: Giants, Dodgers, Pirates

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Today is the deadline for teams to add players to the 40-man roster to protect them from next month's Rule 5 draft. Here's more on which players need to be protected and here are the details on which players have had their contracts selected to the 40-man roster:

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Yankees Notes: Swisher, DePaula, Cashman

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It was on this day in 1954 that the Yankees and Orioles finalized a huge 17-player deal that took five days to fully process.  The most notable new Yankees were future Cy Young winner "Bullet" Bob Turley and Don Larsen, who achieved baseball immortality two years later when he threw the only perfect game in World Series history. 

Some news from the modern-day Yankees…

  • There are teams interested in dealing for Nick Swisher, reports ESPN's Buster Olney.  The Yankees "will listen on anyone" but they say they aren't shopping Swisher despite "a perception in some corners of the marketplace" that the outfielder is on the market. 
  • A year after signing with the Yankees for a $500K bonus, Dominican right-hander Jose Rafael DePaula still hasn't made the contract official because he's been unable to obtain a visa, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America.  DePaula has been working out at the Yankee's Dominican academy in the interim.
  • "Our club is pretty much set except for trying to shore up the back end of the rotation," Brian Cashman told Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News.  Cashman said he engaged in a few minor discussions at the GM meetings but they "went nowhere. I floated some weather balloons that popped, mostly trade stuff."
  • For the latest on the Yankees, be sure to follow MLBTR's Yankee-specific Twitter feed, RSS feed and Facebook page.

Braves Notes: McCann, Prado, Smith, Jurrjens

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Here's the latest on the Braves from David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution…

  • Brian McCann was set to earn $8.5MM next season but "maxed out" his contract incentives related to Silver Slugger awards and All-Star appearances, so the star catcher will earn a total of $11.5MM in 2012.  O'Brien said the Braves haven't discussed a long-term extension with McCann but the team usually doesn't pursue such negotiations until later in the winter.  McCann is under contract through next year and the Braves have a $12MM club option on McCann for 2013 that looks like a lock to be exercised.
  • In regards to the Martin Prado trade talks between the Braves and Rockies, O'Brien thinks Atlanta would move Prado for Seth Smith and a center field prospect like Tim Wheeler or Charlie Blackmon.  With Michael Bourn only contracted through 2012, the Braves are looking for center field depth in case Bourn's asking price is too high for their liking.
  • Atlanta "made a run at" Jamey Carroll but balked at giving the 37-year-old infielder a multiyear contract. 
  • The Braves are known to desire a trade package for Jair Jurrjens similar to the one the Royals received last winter for Zack Greinke, but O'Brien says this asking price could be too high for most teams.  "Word out of the GM meetings was that the Braves are demanding so much for Jurrjens that a deal might be unlikely unless they come down in their multi-player/prospect asking price or some teams get desperate for starting pitching later in the offseason," O'Brien writes.
  • "It's unclear" if Atlanta is interested in bringing back Alex Gonzalez on a one-year deal.  The Braves are looking for a short-term veteran to play shortstop until Tyler Pastornicky is ready.
  • GM Frank Wren says his team isn't actively shopping Prado and Jurrjens but are willing to listen to offers.  "I think that [Prado and Jurrjens trade possibility] was wrongly characterized from the very beginning,” Wren said. “What we said and what we stand by is that we’re looking to get better, and however we can get better we will. We’re open minded. We’ll listen if somebody calls."

Outrighted To Triple-A: Dodgers, Cubs, Athletics

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Teams will be adding minor leaguers to their 40-man rosters today in anticipation of next month's Rule 5 Draft. In order to create roster space, some teams will outright players off of the 40-man. Here are the latest outright assignments from around MLB…

  • The Dodgers outrighted John Ely and Carlos Monasterios to Triple-A, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).
  • The Cubs announced Esmailin Caridad, Lou Montanez and Kyle Smit have been outrighted off their 40-man roster.  The Cubs currently have six open spots remaining on their 40-man roster.
  • The A's announced that they outrighted right-hander Evan Scribner and outfielder Cedric Hunter to Triple-A.
  • The Rockies outrighted infielder Andrew Brown off of their roster, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter).
  • The Twins announced that they outrighted right-hander David Bromberg off the 40-man roster.
  • The Pirates announced that they outrighted Matt Pagnozzi to Triple-A.
  • The Tigers announced that they outrighted Cale Iorg to Triple-A. The infielder split the 2011 season between Detroit's top two affiliates.
  • The Angels outrighted right-handers Francisco Rodriguez and Loek Van Mil to Triple-A yesterday, according to MLB.com's transactions page. Rodriguez, 28, has appeared in 53 games for the Angels since 2010, posting a 4.43 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 61 innings. Van Mil, a 7'1" native of the Netherlands, posted a 2.04 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 66 1/3 innings at Double-A in 2011. The Angels acquired him from the Twins for Brian Fuentes in 2010.

Marlins Notes: Oviedo, Shields, Gio, Prospects

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You'll be seeing a lot of "Marlins Notes" posts on MLBTR this winter as the Fish look to be major players this offseason.  Here's the latest from Miami….

  • The Marlins are proceeding as if Juan Carlos Oviedo (a.k.a. Leo Nunez) will not be back with the team next season, assistant GM Dan Jennings told Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio (Twitter link).
  • In a departure from their usual strategy, the Marlins will trade top prospects if necessary in order to acquire established Major League talent, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. 
  • Also from Frisaro, the Marlins "covet" James Shields and local product Gio Gonzalez.  We heard about Miami's interest in Shields last month though the Rays appear intent on keeping the star right-hander.  Dealing for either Shields or Gonzalez would require a major trade package, but if the Marlins are truly willing to move their top prospects, Tampa Bay and Oakland could be interested.
  • Former Marlins executives Dave Dombrowski and Frank Wren both think the club's new stadium will turn South Florida into a strong baseball market, reports Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald.

Latest On Boston’s Managerial Search

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Yesterday we learned that the Red Sox have spoken with former MLB manager Bobby Valentine about managing again. It doesn’t appear that the Red Sox are close to announcing a new skipper, but here’s the latest on the subject as we await a decision…

  • With Ben Cherington in the Dominican Republic on a scouting trip, the Red Sox will hold off any further talks with Valentine, reports Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston.
  • "Hiring Valentine would give the appearance of a power play by ownership over" Cherington, writes Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.  Cherington was rumored to prefer new Cubs manager Dale Sveum or "a similar low-volume candidate."
  • There’s at least one unknown yet serious candidate for the job, according to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald.
  • Blue Jays first base coach Torey Lovullo, Indians bench coach Sandy Alomar Jr. and Tigers third base coach Gene Lamont all are expected to interview again, according to Silverman. 
  • The Red Sox have nothing to show for their search, but Joel Sherman can’t remember an offseason “in which a franchise seemed more scattershot and fractured than the Yankees between the 1995-96 seasons.” The Yankees won four of the next five World Series from that point on. More recently, the Red Sox didn’t hire Terry Francona until December of 2003 and won a pair of World Series.
  • Earlier today, Jon Heyman of SI.com explained the dynamics between GM Ben Cherington and his bosses.

Pirates Designate Paul, Fryer For Assignment

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The Pirates have announced that outfielder Xavier Paul and catcher Eric Fryer have been designated for assignment.  As noted by MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch, Paul can't be outrighted to Triple-A, so he'll become a free agent if he clears waivers.  In corresponding moves, the Pirates added six players to their 40-man roster today to protect them from the upcoming Rule 5 draft.

Paul was picked up on waivers from the Dodgers in April and posted a .254/.293/.349 line in 251 plate appeaarances for Pittsburgh last season.  Fryer, 26, has a career .799 OPS in the minors and he recorded his first 29 Major League at-bats with the Bucs last year.

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