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NL Links: Giants, Diamondbacks, Mets, DeWitt

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The Padres placed Orlando Hudson on release waivers earlier today, and the veteran second baseman figures to draw some interest once he clears and becomes a free agent. Here's the latest from around the so-called Senior Circuit…

  • Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com hears from a source that available infield options are "not great" and the Giants must remain patient with Charlie Culberson (Twitter link). Hudson could make sense for San Francisco, though that is just my speculation.
  • Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers has spent the last few days with his staff looking over ways to improve his club, reports MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. "I can't tell you if there's going to a move or not," said the GM. "Maybe none, but we just kind of want to re-evaluate where we're at, and if there are any other options out there that might make us better and kind of spark the club a little bit."
  • "The bullpen has been a frustration. There's no question about that," said Mets GM Sandy Alderson to reporters (including MLB.com's Spencer Fordin and Ethan Asofsky) after designating D.J. Carrasco for assignment last night. "At some point, you have to start making changes, and [this] was a step in that direction. It's not that we have outstanding candidates in the minor league system at this point. We've got some good candidates, but like a number of our other prospects, perhaps they're not ready to pitch at this level."
  • Blake DeWitt accepted his outright assignment and will head to Triple-A tomorrow, reports Doug Padilla of ESPN Chicago. The Cubs designated DeWitt for assignment then outrighted him off the 40-man roster, but he could have refused the assignment and elected free agency.

Minor Moves: Zavada, DeWitt, Cubs, Diamondbacks

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Today’s minor moves..

Minor Moves: Graham, Tejeda

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The latest minor moves from around MLB…

  • The Diamondbacks signed center fielder Tyler Graham Matt Eddy of Baseball America tweets. The Giants recently released Graham, who has a .297/.353/.376 batting line in four Triple-A seasons.
  • The Indians announced that they released right-hander Robinson Tejeda. Tejeda, 30, appeared in one Triple-A game for Cleveland after signing a minor league deal with the team this offseason. The 6'2" Tejada owns a 4.42 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 in seven MLB seasons.

O’s Acquire Mike Belfiore To Complete Josh Bell Trade

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The Orioles have acquired minor league lefty Mike Belfiore from the Diamondbacks to complete the Josh Bell trade, the team announced. Arizona acquired Bell for a player to be named later last month.

Belfiore, 23, was the 45th overall pick of the 2009 draft but has yet to develop as hoped. He owns a 4.05 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 282 1/3 minor league innings, but has experienced some success after moving to the bullpen full-time last year. Baseball America did not rank him among Arizona's top 30 prospects in their 2012 Prospect Handbook.

Belfiore may be best known for throwing 9 2/3 scoreless innings of relief for Boston College during an NCAA postseason game in 2009, the longest game in college baseball history.

Angels, Nationals Have Discussed Peter Bourjos

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FRIDAY: MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez hears there's no more truth to the Bourjos-Nationals rumor now than there was this offseason (Twitter link).

THURSDAY: The Angels and Nationals have had preliminary discussions about a trade involving Peter Bourjos, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Royals, Diamondbacks, and Blue Jays also checked in on the outfielder's availability.

It's unclear how far along the talks are, but Bourjos would give Washington the long-term center field solution they've been seeking. Anaheim could use their outfield surplus to shore up the bullpen, a priority according to Morosi. The Nationals are currently without Drew Storen (elbow) and Brad Lidge (hernia) but could be more open to a trade involving a reliever once one or both guys get healthy.

The Angels could also be in the market for a catcher following Chris Iannetta's injury, mentions Morosi. Iannetta will miss up to eight weeks following wrist surgery, the team announced today.

2013 Contract Issues: Arizona Diamondbacks

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The Diamondbacks are next in MLBTR’s 2013 Contract Issues series:

Eligible For Free Agency (4)

  • Joe Saunders - Top pitching prospects such as Trevor Bauer and Tyler Skaggs provide the Diamondbacks with more affordable options than Saunders, who earns $6MM in 2012. He's pitching well, but it won't be surprising if the team lets him walk this offseason.
  • Takashi Saito - A strained calf landed Saito on the disabled list at the beginning of the season, and he has yet to appear in a game for the Diamondbacks. There are no guarantees for the 42-year-old going forward.
  • Miguel Montero - The Diamondbacks could reach a deal with Montero before the offseason, but the catcher wants a $50MM commitment.
  • Lyle Overbay - Manager Kirk Gibson has limited Overbay's exposure to left-handed pitching and the early results (a .964 OPS) are excellent. Perhaps Overbay will return on a one-year deal to complement the right-handed Paul Goldschmidt.

Contract Options (3)

  • Stephen Drew: $10MM mutual option with a $1.35MM buyout. Drew has been sidelined with a fractured ankle since last July and at this point it's hard to envision a $10MM commitment from the team.
  • J.J. Putz: $6.5MM club option with a $1.5MM buyout. As MLBTR's Dan Mennella recently explained, it seems likely that the Diamondbacks will exercise this option.
  • Henry Blanco: $1.24MM mutual option. Mutual options are rarely exercised by both sides and Blanco turns 41 this year.

Arbitration Eligible (7)

Kennedy, Parra and Hernandez will be relatively well compensated even as first-time eligible players, but this entire group might not cost much more than $15MM. GM Kevin Towers could consider trade offers for Ziegler and/or Breslow if he needs to clear payroll, since both will earn more than $2MM in 2013.

2013 Payroll Obligation

The Diamondbacks have already committed nearly $45MM toward next year's payroll. They'll spend approximately $75MM on this year's payroll and they've averaged $70MM or so since 2009, so they can be expected to have $10MM or so to work with after retaining their arbitration eligible players, barring another payroll increase from ownership.

D’Backs Open To In-Season Talks With Montero

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Diamondbacks General Manager Kevin Towers confirmed that the club will be open to discussing a long-term deal with catcher Miguel Montero this season, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert and Tyler Emerick.  Previously, the two sides agreed to table extension talks until after the season.

"We agreed with Miggy and his agent that we'd give it until the end of Spring Training, and if nothing happened then, we're certainly open throughout the season if he feels like he's comfortable," the GM said. "But any negotiations that we have, both sides decided to keep it confidential."

Even though Arizona is willing to talk about a contract extension with Montero during the season, Towers stopped short of saying that he would actually make him a proposal.   Earlier today, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported that he heard that talks between the two sides could start up soon.  The 28-year-old is said to be seeking a four-year, $52MM contract. 

Heyman On Montero, Rivera, Rodney, Hamilton

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Though offseason additions such as Albert Pujols and Heath Bell have disappointed so far this year, other free agent signings are playing well for new teams. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com puts together a list of 25 such players, including C.J. Wilson, Bartolo Colon and Edwin Jackson. Here’s more from Heyman:

  • Heyman hears negotiations between the Diamondbacks and Miguel Montero could start up again soon (Twitter link). Montero, a free agent this offseason, has been seeking a four-year, $52MM deal.
  • The Yankees want Mariano Rivera back in 2013, but he'll have to wait until the season ends to discuss a contract, per team policy (Twitter link).
  • The Angels continue seeking relief help, Heyman tweets. However, few teams are looking to sell just yet.
  • Fernando Rodney says he signed with the Rays because they believed in his ability. "With the Angels they tried to change my mechanics to throw more strikes,'' Rodney recalled. "Here they told me, you come here, we're not going to change anything.''
  • Heyman suggests the Mets should extend manager Terry Collins for doing a “terrific job” (Twitter link).
  • One management person suggested a five-year, $100MM deal could work for the Rangers and Josh Hamilton, Heyman reports. One agent says a seven or eight-year deal worth $25-30MM per season seems more appropriate, assuming there’s protection for the Rangers. For more on Hamilton’s next contract, check out this post from earlier today.

Rosenthal On Ethier, Santana, Blue Jays, D’Backs

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Here's the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…

  • Impending free agent Andre Ethier is "the first opportunity for the Dodgers’ new ownership to make a statement in the post-McCourt era," and while Ethier has let it be known that he's willing to negotiate a new deal during the season, Rosenthal thinks Stan Kasten would prefer to see Ethier perform well and stay healthy for the entire 2012 season before offering him a contract extension.  Rosenthal predicts Ethier will look for a deal similar to Jayson Werth's seven-year, $126MM contract with the Nationals, and given the lack of proven power bats on the market, Ethier "probably can name his price" this winter if he keeps producing.
  • Johan Santana's hefty contract and no-trade clause will make it hard for the Mets to move him without eating a lot of money in a deal.  Rosenthal thinks it makes more sense for the Mets to just hang on to Santana, who can be a valuable mentor to the team's young pitchers.
  • The Blue Jays are unlikely to trade either J.P. Arencibia or Travis d'Arnaud before the end of the season, as the Jays like Arencibia's game-calling and d'Arnaud's overall potential.  Rosenthal cites the Diamondbacks as one of several teams interested in Toronto's catchers, which follows up on his report in March that the Snakes were looking at Arencibia.  Arizona's interest would seem to indicate that the D'Backs are preparing a backup plan should they not be able to re-sign Miguel Montero.
  • It "does not appear out of the question" that the Rockies will make changes to the coaching staff given the team's pitching woes, defensive struggles and overall poor start.
  • A scout tells Rosenthal that Andy Pettitte "does not look close to ready" and will need several more minor league starts before he's ready to return to the Yankees.

Closer Options For 2013

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Last offseason's Hot Stove was notable for the hefty contracts signed by the likes of Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder, but the abundance of closers in free agency was an interesting secondary arc. A few stoppers signed for big bucks, and if there were any takeaway, it was that many teams have not necessarily adopted a frugal philosophy with respect to bullpen spending.

The upcoming offseason's class of free-agent closers is pretty interesting, too, and several of its potential members have options for 2013. Here's a list of those pitchers and a very preliminary look at whether their options figure to be picked up:

  • Matt Capps (2013 age: 29), $6MM club option with a $250K buyout: Capps' signing this offseason was maligned after he pitched poorly in 2011, but the Twins' bullpen was pretty barren, so it may have been a devil-you-know situation. He's pitching roughly the same so far this year, but the guess here is that if they were willing to bring him back after last year, they'll be willing to do so again. He could be a trade candidate, but I'm not sure there will be takers.
  • Ryan Madson (32), $11MM mutual option with a $2.5MM buyout: The Reds will be on the hook for at least $2.5MM, so will they want to gamble an extra $8.5MM on a guy coming off Tommy John surgery? With Aroldis Chapman and Sean Marshall in the back of the Reds' bullpen, I think they'll pass.
  • J.J. Putz (36), $6.5MM club option with a $1.5MM buyout: Putz is getting on in years, and his health is always a concern (including a DL stint during his brilliant 2011), but the right-hander is really good when he's on the mound. If he can get through this year relatively unscathed in terms of injury, which is no sure thing, I think the Diamondbacks will roll the dice, seeing as the penalty for snake eyes is relatively low.
  • Joakim Soria (29), $8MM club option with a $750K buyout: Similar to the Reds and Madson, the Royals will have a tough decision to make with Soria coming off (a second) Tommy John surgery. They've been very reluctant to part with him via trade previously, so I'm thinking they'll pick up the option just to save face and see what he can yield — either in terms of on-field contributions or perhaps a trade later in the season if he comes back healthy.
  • Huston Street (29), $9MM mutual option with a $500K buyout if club declines: The Padres will likely look to trade Street before this year's deadline, so his recent injury development must make them a little nervous. He has plenty of time to get healthy before the deadline, though, and I'd expect the Friars to move hard to flip him. If they can't, they could always pick up the option and then look to trade him again next summer.
  • Grant Balfour (35), $4.5MM club option with a $350K buyout: The A's will be shopping Balfour hard before the deadline, as he'll draw plenty of interest, as MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith recently noted. Wherever he is, his option will look pretty attractive, with his durability and effectiveness probably trumping any concerns over his age.
  • Rafael Soriano (33), $14MM player option or a $1.5MM buyout: Soriano is very likely to exercise this option, meaning the Yankees will almost certainly be paying this hefty tab in 2013. The temptation may be there for Soriano to decline and rake in another two- or three-year deal elsewhere on the market, but he can get one of those after 2013, assuming for health.
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