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West Links: Isringhausen, Giants, D’Backs, Dodgers

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Earlier today we learned that the Padres are still talking about a contract extension with Cameron Maybin and will receive a low-level minor leaguer from the Cubs in exchange for former GM Jed Hoyer. Here's the latest from baseball's two West divisions…

  • Jason Isringhausen's contract with the Angels includes a base salary between $700K and $1MM with incentives, reports Mike DiGiovanna of The Los Angeles Times (on Twitter).
  • The Giants are not interested in Roy Oswalt, reports Hank Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). The right-hander will look to sign at midseason, but would likely want to play closer to his Mississippi home.
  • The Diamondbacks offered Hiroki Kuroda a one-year deal worth $13MM this offseason, Tom Krasovic of West Coast Bias tweeted earlier this month. That's $3MM more than he took from the Yankees
  • Joe Torre and Rick Caruso have withdrawn their joint bid to purchase the Dodgers, reports Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times. Caruso could re-enter the bidding if team owner Frank McCourt agrees to include the Dodger Stadium parking lots in the sale.
  • "There were a lot of nights when I woke up at 3 o'clock in the morning staring at the ceiling," said Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik to Scott Miller of CBSSports.com when talking about the Michael Pineda–Jesus Montero trade negotiations. "In the end, it was pretty simple: [The Yankees] needed a pitcher, and we needed a hitter. I hated to give up a guy like Pineda."

West Links: Giants, Pudge, Abreu, Leach

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Here's the latest from baseball's two West divisions…

  • The Giants are not in the market for outfielders such as Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, and Bobby Abreu according to Hank Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). They feel the lineup is too lefty-heavy as it is, and defense is a concern as well.
  • Ivan Rodriguez has fielded a few inquiries according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter), including one from the Diamondbacks. Pudge seeks a job with "real playing time," however.
  • Angels manager Mike Scioscia told MLB.com that he believes he can find regular playing time for Abreu, and that the veteran hitter won't be a distraction after saying he wanted to be traded.
  • The Dodgers have signed left-hander Brent Leach, reports Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (on Twitter). The 29-year-old reliever appeared in 38 games for the Dodgers in 2009 (5.75 ERA), but spent last season in Japan.

NL West Notes: Ethier, Giants, Suppan, Saito

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Jim Tracy's indefinite contract extension with the Rockies is the big headline out of the NL West today, but let's see what else is happening around the division.

  • Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said he would like to sign Andre Ethier to an extension and said he's had a few conversation with the outfielder about the topic, including a visit to Ethier's home over the offseason.  Colletti's remarks came during an interview with FOX Sports West during a Los Angeles Kings hockey game (video embedded by Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Times).
  • With Ryan Vogelsong battling a back injury, Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com speculates that the Giants could be "scanning the free-agent ranks to find a last-minute arm or two."  In the meantime, Eric Surkamp and new acquisitions Brian Burres and Ramon Ortiz are being stretched out.
  • Jeff Suppan talks to MLB.com's Corey Brock about why the 37-year-old veteran is still trying to get back to the Major Leagues as a Padres non-roster invitee.
  • The Diamondbacks didn't have Takashi Saito take a physical before signing the reliever since the team thought he would fail it, GM Kevin Towers told reporters (including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic).  "Mark Weidemaier, our advanced scout, was with him in L.A. and I think that they said four or five years ago that one pitch and his arm could go," Towers said.  “We thought that the skill-set and what he could bring to the club far outweighed the risk.”  Manager Kirk Gibson said Saito is being on a separate Spring Training schedule in order to help keep him healthy.
  • Gibson said he hasn't spoken to Gerardo Parra about the Diamondbacks' signing of Jason Kubel earlier this winter as the team's new everyday left fielder.  Piecoro thinks Parra "has a right to be unhappy" about losing his starting job despite winning a Gold Glove and a solid year at the plate in 2011, but as I wrote last month, Parra is still a key part of Arizona's future plans.

Quick Hits: Athletics, Phillies, Burnett, Drew, D’Backs

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Here's a look at today's links as players settle in for Spring Training..

  • Athletics skipper Bob Melvin expects to see roster additions on pitching and position player sides before the full camp opens, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter).
  • The Phillies were exploring a three-way trade to land A.J. Burnett, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  A third team would have been brought in to allow the club to unload Joe Blanton.
  • The Diamondbacks might have to find a more permanent solution at shortstop if Stephen Drew doesn't fully recover from his ankle injury, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com.  Arizona holds a $10MM mutual option on Drew for 2013.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter) be surprised to see the Angels make two trades before the end of Spring Training due to the amount of redundancy on their roster.  
  • Manny Ramirez worked out for the Athletics and the club could sign the slugger within the next week, writes Jane Lee of MLB.com.

Quick Hits: Uehara, Burnett, Diamondbacks, Tigers

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Friday Night Links..

  • While one source told Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram that a trade of Koji Uehara could free up enough money for the Rangers to sign free agent Roy Oswalt, another source said that any money saved would be pocketed rather than be used on Oswalt or Mike Gonzalez.
  • The other team involved in the A.J. Burnett talks was the Phillies, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. However, the club would've had to clear Joe Blanton's to make the deal work.
  • The Diamondbacks will be on the lookout for catching depth through Spring Training, Olney tweets.
  • In his blog for the Detroit Free Press, Jamie Samuelsen writes that the Tigers should stay in-house when it comes to their fifth starter position rather than scour the open market for an affordable arm.  The highly-touted Jacob Turner is among the candidates for the backend of the rotation.

Quick Hits: Arbitration, Hamilton, Castillo, Kazmir

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Condolences go out to the family of Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter, who passed away today following a long bout with cancer. He was 57. Carter hit .262/.335/.439 and made eleven All-Star Games in his 19 seasons, 12 of which came with the Expos. He backstopped the Mets to the 1986 World Championship. Here is some news from around the league…

  • The 142 players who filed for arbitration last month averaged a 112% raise reports the AP (via ESPN). That's down from 123% last offseason and the lowest average raise since 106% in 2007. Check out our Arbitration Tracker for the answers to all of your arbitration questions.
  • Rangers GM Jon Daniels reiterated that contract extension talks with Josh Hamilton are on hold, reports Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas. "The priority needs to be his recovery and his family and, secondarily, getting ready for the season," said the GM. "We're not going to get in the way of those things with contract talk.
  • The Diamondbacks have signed 16-year-old Dominican right-hander Luis Castillo for $80K according to a release, which said his fastball sits 84-87 mph. He also throws a curveball and a changeup.
  • The trade market is likely to heat up as the season progresses, writes MLB.com's Richard Justice. As he explains, most GMs feel confident in their team this time of year and prefer to take their time evaluating needs.
  • Scott Kazmir, who had been scheduled to pitch in front of scouts yesterday, won’t audition until Friday, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets. The left-handed free agent is feeling well, Olney writes.
  • Brandon Webb is throwing painlessly off of flat ground, agent Jonathan Maurer told Olney. Webb will throw in front of scouts at some point, Olney tweets.
  • Newsday’s Ken Davidoff adds up teams’ payroll commitments for 2015 and beyond and finds that nine clubs — the Orioles, Cubs, Indians, Astros, Royals, Mets, Padres, Giants and Mariners — haven’t committed a thing for ’15 or beyond.
  • Yahoo’s Jeff Passan examines the market for the top remaining free agents, including Roy Oswalt, Mike Gonzalez and a crowd of designated hitters.
  • Joe Jordan, the Phillies' new director of player development, breaks down a number of the team's top prospects with Joe Berkery of the Philadelphia Daily News.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Diamondbacks Avoid Arbitration With Craig Breslow

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The Diamondbacks and Craig Breslow have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $1.795MM reports Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe (on Twitter). The Baratta Partners client filed for $2.1MM while the team countered with $1.5MM as our Arbitration Tracker shows.

Breslow, 31, came to Arizona in the Trevor Cahill trade. The lefty reliever pitched to a 3.79 ERA in 59 1/3 innings last season with the Athletics, though left-handed hitters tagged him for a .352/.394/.473 batting line in exactly 100 plate appearances. All of the Diamondbacks' arbitration-eligible players are now under contract for 2012.

Quick Hits: Jackson, Fielder, Rollins, Hall, Ortiz

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Here's a wrap-up of news from around the majors on the day that Edwin Jackson and Casey Kotchman both found new teams…

  • The Indians had interest in Jackson but "were not close" to matching the contract Jackson received from the Nationals, reports Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).
  • Jackson turned down a three-year, $30MM offer to sign his one-year deal with Washington, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports looks at how Jackson, Ryan Madson and Francisco Rodriguez (all Scott Boras clients) settled for "pillow contracts" this winter to better position themselves for larger deals next year.
  • Prince Fielder, however, never considered a one-year deal, Boras tells James Schmehl of MLive.com.  Boras also says Fielder could have signed earlier in the offseason but was on vacation with his wife, delaying his meetings with interested teams.
  • Jimmy Rollins' $11MM option for 2015 will vest if he makes 600 plate appearances in 2014, or if he makes a combined 1100 PAs in 2013 and 2014, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter link).
  • Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall says he has been contacted by some potential Dodgers owners about a job in Los Angeles, but Hall tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that he's very happy with the Snakes.  Hall has four years remaining on his contract with Arizona.
  • David Ortiz's arbitration case with the Red Sox is analyzed from both sides by former Astros president Tal Smith, in conversation with Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald.
  • Fangraphs' Wendy Thurm begins a series looking at which players were the best values at each position over the last two decades, starting with catcher, first base and second base.
  • "The Indians’ bullpen has much more flexibility and depth heading into camp this year," writes MLB.com's Jordan Bastian in his breakdown of the Tribe's relief options.

Towers On Montero, Roster, Draft, Int’l Signings

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Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers answered questions from fans during an MLB.com chat today, and here are some of the hot stove-related items…

  • The D'Backs and Miguel Montero are "quite a ways a part in dollars right now" in regards to a multiyear extension but "there's a desire to get something worked out on both ends and that's a real plus."  The two sides avoided arbitration just minutes before their schedule hearing when Montero agreed to a one-year, $5.9MM deal.  Back in September, I suggested that a three-year, $21MM extension (plus an $11MM option for 2015) would be a fair price for a Montero extension.
  • Towers said the team is probably done making Major League roster moves for the offseason.  The D'Backs only remaining needs are minor league catchers and middle infielders to add depth.
  • To that same end, Towers said the D'Backs will look at second basemen, catchers and overall put a larger emphasis on quick, athletic position players in the amateur draft.  Towers admitted that it's hard to predict what players will still be around when Arizona makes the 26th pick of the first round, but "we're hopeful we can continue to pick at the back end of the draft, as that would mean our big league club is playing well."
  • The Snakes will "be much more aggressive than we have in years past" on international signings, Towers said, due to the new collective bargaining agreement's cap on draft signings.  Towers predicts several other clubs will be similarly active with international players.

D’Backs Notes: Hall, Payroll, Montero

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The Diamondbacks avoided arbitration with Miguel Montero and Ryan Roberts earlier today, which makes Craig Breslow their lone unsigned arbitration eligible player. Here’s the latest on the team…

  • Yahoo's Steve Henson offers a behind-the-scenes look at the path Derrick Hall took on his recovery from prostate cancer. The D'Backs president and CEO has a knack for connecting with fans and team employees, as Henson explains in this highly recommended piece.
  • Also within the piece, Henson explains that Hall is on MLB's short list of candidates to replace Bud Selig when he retires. Several bidders for the Dodgers have approached Hall about becoming their CEO, so the 43-year-old is clearly in high demand.
  • Team payroll is up to $80MM, though they had anticipated spending $65-70MM, Henson writes. The D'Backs expect additional revenues to stream in via their advertising partnerships.
  • GM Kevin Towers says the team is “quite a ways apart” in extension talks with Montero, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets. The gap exists in terms of dollars, rather than years. Montero hopes to conclude extension talks by late March, Piecoro tweets.
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