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Diamondbacks Interested In Hiroyuki Nakajima

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7:24pm: While Nakajima recently toured the Diamondbacks' facilities in Arizona and the team is interested in him, there haven't yet been any negotiations between the two sides, a source tells MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.

12:29am: Hiroyuki Nakajima is already in the United States and is currently engaged in talks with the Diamondbacks, according to a Nikkan Sports report (translated on Twitter by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker).

Nakajima, 30, enjoyed a strong 2012 season with the Seibu Lions in Japan when he batted .311/.382/.451 with 13 homers and seven stolen bases. Dating back to his age-24 season in 2007, the shortstop is a .310/.381/.474 batter that has averaged 20.5 homers per 162 games. Arizona general manager Kevin Towers is clearly in the market for a shortstop, as names like Elvis Andrus, Jurickson Profar and Andrelton Simmons have come up in trade talk regarding Justin Upton. Nakajima would present an alternative means of filling the shortstop vacancy that has been previously occupied by Stephen Drew.

Nakajima does not require a posting fee this season, as he did in 2011 when the Yankees submitted the winning bid. Obviously, the two sides were unable to reach a deal. Nakajima elected to return to the Lions on a one-year deal worth $3.64MM.

Tigers, Red Sox, Yankees Interested In Stephen Drew

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Shortstop Stephen Drew is drawing interest from such clubs as the Tigers, Red Sox and Yankees, reports CBS Sports' Jon Heyman.  Drew became a free agent after the A's declined their half of a $10MM mutual option in October, though Oakland is still interested in re-signing the Scott Boras client at a lower price.

Drew could start in Boston or at least provide veteran backup behind Jose Iglesias, while Heyman writes that the Yankees saw Drew as a "super sub" who could provide depth around the infield.  New York didn't see Drew as a short-term fill-in for Derek Jeter at short since Brian Cashman is confident that Jeter will be recovered from ankle surgery by Opening Day.

The Tigers already have a shortstop in Jhonny Peralta, though ESPN's Jim Bowden reports (Twitter link) that the Tigers look to sign Drew and then deal Peralta to either the Red Sox or the Diamondbacks.  We heard earlier today that Peralta was drawing interest from Arizona. 

Peralta hit .239/.305/.384 batting line in 585 plate appearances for the Tigers last season and the Tigers picked up his $6MM club option for 2013 last month.  Peralta's 2012 performance wasn't much better than Drew's .223/.309/.348 line in 327 PAs with Arizona and Oakland, though Drew was returning in July after being sidelined for almost a full year with a severe ankle injury.

Rockies, Diamondbacks Swap Reynolds, Wheeler

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The Diamondbacks and Rockies announced that they've agreed to a trade that sends left-handed reliever Matt Reynolds to Arizona for infielder Ryan Wheeler.

Reynolds, 28, appeared in 71 games for the Rockies in 2012. He posted a 4.40 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 57 1.3 innings. He's not yet arbitration eligible. Wheeler, 24, made his MLB debut in 2012. He appeared in 50 games, posting a .239/.294/.339 batting line in 119 plate appearances. He also posted a .351/.388/.572 batting line in 399 plate appearances at Triple-A this past season.

Diamondbacks Interested In Jhonny Peralta

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The Diamondbacks are interested in shortstop Jhonny Peralta, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). However, the Tigers won’t trade Peralta unless they can find a way to upgrade at shortstop.

Peralta will earn $6MM next year since the Tigers exercised his 2013 option following the World Series. The 30-year-old posted a .239/.305/.384 batting line in 585 plate appearances with Detroit this past year. Though he doesn’t have much range, he’s regarded as a steady defender. The Diamondbacks also appear to have some interest in trading for Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera.

Arizona GM Kevin Towers already traded for one shortstop, acquiring Cliff Pennington from the Athletics last month. John McDonald and Willie Bloomquist add depth at the position off of the bench.

Quick Hits: Blue Jays, Cubs, Nishioka, Mariners

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Four years ago today, the Cubs officially announced that they had signed Ryan Dempster to a four-year, $52MM contract. Dempster was worth 12.9 wins above replacement over the life of that contract, according to FanGraphs, who valued his production in those four years at $56.3MM. Now a free agent, Dempster will seek what could be the last major contract of his big league career, and interested suitors are hoping he can once again exceed his contract's value.

Here are tonight's links from around the league…

  • Jose Bautista tells Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca that prior to signing his five-year, $65MM extension, Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos promised him that when the time was right, he'd add the pieces to make a big run. Bautista tells Davidi that he always believed in Anthopoulos, and now his faith has been rewarded: "We had a great club before this, but now we have an elite club."
  • Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago tweets that the Cubs are not currently in talks to trade away any of their young players.
  • Former Twins infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka has signed a two-year deal with the Hanshin Tigers, according to a Sponichi report. Nishioka's deal is worth 600 million yen. That translates to about $7.4MM, meaning he'll earn more money than he forfeited in asking for his release from Minnesota.
  • Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times looks at several Mariners issues in his latest blog post. Baker opines that Josh Hamilton has never been a realistic target for GM Jack Zduriencik and also explains why he feels Billy Butler is a realistic trade target despite the presence of Jesus Montero and John Jaso on the roster. Both Montero and Jaso saw significant time at DH in 2012.
  • Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio examines five potential trading partners the Diamondbacks could talk to about Justin Upton (ESPN Insider required). Bowden looks at players that would interest Arizona GM Kevin Towers on the Rangers, Rays, Tigers, Indians and Braves.

Fujikawa Meets With Five MLB Clubs

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Monday: According to Japanese media reports, Fujikawa met with the Angels, Dodgers and Orioles over the weekend (per Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times). DiGiovanna adds that Angels GM Jerry Dipoto wouldn't comment on contract negotiations, nor would he divulge whether or not he envisions Fujikawa as a setup man or closer.

Not surprisingly, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports that Fujikawa is looking for a multiyear commitment wherever he signs (Twitter link).

Saturday: Right-hander Kyuji Fujikawa started meeting with MLB clubs and touring their facilities this past week, reports Gerry Fraley of The Dallas Morning News. He's already visited the Diamondbacks and Cubs and is expected to meet with both the Dodgers and Angels as well. It's unclear if he'll meet with the Rangers on this trip.

Fujikawa, 32, has been the top closer in Japan for nearly a decade and is a true free agent, meaning he won't have to go through the posting process. The Red Sox have expressed some interest in the right-hander in addition to those five clubs above. Tim Dierkes ranked Fujikawa as the 34th best free agent available on his Top 50 Free Agents List, predicting he would sign with the Angels.

MLBTR's Steve Adams contributed to this post.

“A Very High Likelihood” Justin Upton Won’t Be Traded

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There is a 90% chance Justin Upton, one of the most prized trade targets this offseason, will still be with Arizona when Spring Training opens, a Diamondbacks person tells Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. GM Kevin Towers, however, is still willing to listen to offers for the two-time All-Star.

"Kevin is Kevin. I think there is no one on the roster Kevin wouldn't have a discussion about, if asked,'' said Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick. "I think there's a very high likelihood Justin will be in our starting outfield when we start the new season."

Kendrick refused to quantify the likelihood of Upton returning, but lauded the former first overall draft choice for being "a hard worker, a good person with a good family." Kendrick also sees a "potential superstar" in Upton.

The Diamondbacks are looking for a young shortstop and pitching in any trade for Upton. The Rangers were thought to be front-runners, but have so far refused to part with either Elvis Andrus or Jurickson Profar and have been unsuccessful in involving a third team. Heyman writes there was talk the Rays have also approached the Diamondbacks, but they don't have a young big-league-ready shortstop to deal and couldn't as easily absorb the $38MM remaining on Upton's contract over the next three years. 

Also complicating matters is Upton's no-trade clause. Sources tells Heyman the four-team list, which has changed after every season, now includes the Mariners and Blue Jays, although it is believed Upton could be open to a trade to a team on his no-trade list.

Cafardo’s Latest: Blockbuster, Cabrera, Pavano, Grilli

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In his Sunday Notes column, Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe says Miguel Cabrera was a worthy MVP winner even if the data supported Mike Trout. Here are Cafardo's rumors…

  • Although criticism is warranted, the Blue Jays–Marlins blockbuster was a legitimate baseball trade because Miami received plenty of young, high-end talent in return.
  • Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers was never really in the hunt for Jose Reyes, and he has yet to be overwhelmed with an offer for Justin Upton.
  • The Red Sox are more likely to deal Jarrod Saltalamacchia than Ryan Lavarnway in the wake of the David Ross signing, but only if they get a good offer.
  • Both the Red Sox and Diamondbacks are interested in Asdrubal Cabrera of the Indians while Boston also has some interest in Stephen Drew.
  • Carl Pavano was given a clean bill of health in September after missing most of the season with a shoulder problem. His agent Dave Pepe has received a few preliminary calls, and Pavano could sign a minor league deal.
  • Most executives love Dan Haren but would not be comfortable offering more than two years given concerns about his back. Most prefer a one-year deal with an option.
  • Eight teams, including the Red Sox, have interest in right-hander Jason Grilli according to his agent Gary Sheffield. They have three offers at the moment but are not in a hurry to sign.
  • The Indians are looking at Kevin Youkilis at first base while the Phillies and Dodgers like him at third. He's a back-burner option for Los Angeles and although Towers made a call, the Diamondbacks likely won't be involved.

Marlins Notes: Samson, Nolasco, Boras, D’Backs

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The baseball world is still reacting to Tuesday's stunning trade between the Marlins and Blue Jays, and here's the latest batch of news out of south Florida…

  • Team president David Samson discussed the trade, management's reasoning behind the move and how the Marlins are reacting to the negative publicity in a radio interview with Dan Le Batard on 790 AM Radio (Steven Cuce of SportsRadioInterviews.com has a partial transcript).
  • Also from the interview (passed on by Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post), Samson said that Ricky Nolasco won't be traded this winter and will be a Marlin in 2013 unless "the phone rings and something crazy happens."
  • The Marlins' team policy of not giving no-trade clauses has kept Scott Boras from directing his clients to Miami for the last 16 years, Boras tells Bob Nightengale of USA Today.  "I've never had a franchise player there because it was just not something my client wanted to risk," Boras said. "They (Marlins executives) were always upfront about it. They told me, 'We don't do no-trade clauses.' But it's very difficult to sell an expectancy to a player knowing that it might last for only one year."
  • The Marlins talked to the Diamondbacks about Jose Reyes before eventually including Reyes in the Toronto deal, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.  The D'Backs are known to be looking for help at third base and shortstop, despite acquiring Cliff Pennington earlier this month.  We heard yesterday that Miami had also discussed Reyes with the Red Sox prior to the big trade.

Braves Turned Down Simmons-For-Olt Trade

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It was reported over the weekend that the Rangers attempted to acquire Andrelton Simmons from the Braves in order to flip him to the Diamondbacks as part of a package for Justin Upton. Danny Knobler of CBS Sports takes the story one step further, adding that the Rangers are so interested in Upton that they were willing to flip top prospect Mike Olt for Simmons to facilitate the trade. Knobler reports that the D-backs want Simmons, but the Braves will keep him rather than making a run at Upton to fill their own corner outfield needs (Twitter links).

The attachment to Simmons isn't a surprise. He batted .289/.335/.416 with three homers in 49 games this season, but was far more impressive with his glove. Simmons posted an astounding 31.6 UZR/150, and John Dewan's Fielding Bible pegged him at +19 runs despite totaling only 426 innings.

Arizona would like a young shortstop in a trade for Upton, but the Rangers are reluctant trade either Elvis Andrus or top prospect Jurickson Profar. The 24-year-old Olt ranked 43rd on Baseball America's Top 100 prosspect list prior to 2012, but emerged as one of the game's top prospects with a monstrous season at Double-A. He batted .288/.398/.579 with 28 home runs and made his Major League debut, appearing in 16 games for the Rangers down the stretch.

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