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Braves To Sign Reed Johnson

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FRIDAY: Johnson obtains a $1.75MM guarantee plus $150K in incentives, Yahoo's Jeff Passan reports (on Twitter).  The deal also includes a club option for 2014 with a $1.6MM salary and a $150K buyout.  Johnson will earn a base salary of $1.6MM in 2013.

THURSDAY: The Braves agreed to a one-year deal with outfielder Reed Johnson, tweets MLB.com's Carrie Muskat.  Johnson is represented by Wasserman Media Group.

Johnson, 36 on Saturday, hit .290/.337/.398 in 288 plate appearances for the Cubs and Braves this year.  He joined the Braves in the July Paul Maholm trade.  A right-handed hitter, Johnson has a .306/.339/.457 line against southpaws over the past three seasons.

Latest On Ben Revere

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Twins outfielder Ben Revere appears to be in play, despite the team trading Denard Span to the Nationals six days ago.  Revere, 24, hit .294/.333/.342 in 553 plate appearances for the Twins this year, stealing 40 bags in 49 tries.  With just one year and 149 days of Major League service, Revere will not be arbitration eligible until 2014 at the earliest, and is under team control through 2017.  The latest:

Rockies Notes: Cuddyer, Francis, Fowler

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Some early-morning Rockies news, courtesy of the Denver Post's Troy Renck (Twitter links)…

  • A trade is still the more likely means for Colorado to acquire starting pitching help, according to Renck. Teams are calling about Dexter Fowler and Michael Cuddyer. Renck notes that the two years and $21MM remaining on Cuddyer's contract may be appealing to teams, given the inflated prices we've seen in this year's free agent market.
  • The one-year deal signed by Jeff Francis last night will pay the southpaw somewhere north of $750K salary that he earned in 2012.
  • Renck also writes that the team included Alex White in this week's Wilton Lopez trade because they no longer viewed White as a starter.
  • Within that same piece, Renck reports that in trade talks prior to the Winter Meetings, the Rockies asked for Mike Minor and one of Julio Teheran or Randall Delgado in exchange for Fowler. Needless to say, the price on Colorado's center fielder remains high.

Latest On Nate Schierholtz

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5:52pm: The Braves have interest in Schierholtz, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

1:00pm: The Orioles made an offer to Schierholtz that was turned down this morning, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.  The O's eventually inked Nate McLouth.

9:27am: Having generated plenty of interest since hitting the free agent market last week, Nate Schierholtz is making "good progress" toward a new deal, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. Olney adds that the Yankees are the early favorites to land the 28-year-old (Twitter links).

Schierholtz was traded by the Giants to the Phillies in the deadline deal that sent Hunter Pence to San Francisco. For the season, the outfielder hit .257/.321/.407 in 269 plate appearances. Despite a potential arbitration cost of around $1.6MM, according to MLBTR's projections, the Phillies elected not to tender Schierholtz a contract for 2013.

Marlins, Rays Interested In Juan Francisco

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The Braves' current depth chart features Martin Prado in left field and Juan Francisco at third base, but that could change if the Braves acquire an outfielder. If Atlanta were to add an outfielder and move Prado to third base, the club may trade Francisco, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). The Marlins and Rays are among the teams that would have interest in Francisco, says Knobler.

Francisco, 25, received a career-high 192 plate appearances in 2012 and hit .234/.278/.432. As a pre-arb player, his salary is likely part of the appeal for cost-conscious teams like the Marlins and Rays.

After locking up B.J. Upton, the Braves are reportedly not overly interested in other free agent outfielders. However, various reports have suggested the club is still perusing trade options.

Braves Pick Up 2014 Option On Fredi Gonzalez

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The Braves have exercised their one-year option for manager Fredi Gonzalez, the team announced today (Twitter link). The move ensures Gonzalez is locked up through the 2014 season.

Gonzalez is entering his third year as the manager in Atlanta. The former Marlins skipper has posted a 183-141 record with the Braves, including a 2012 Wild Card berth.

NL East Notes: Santana, Braves, Reed Johnson

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Here are a few Wednesday morning NL East updates out of Nashville:

  • The Mets would be open to eating a portion of the money remaining on Johan Santana's deal in a trade, but so far the team hasn't received any inquiries, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
  • The Braves are seeking a pair of bench players, one right-handed hitter and one lefty, says David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Reed Johnson appears to be the team's top target as a righty bat, though he's still exploring his options, according to GM Frank Wren: "We’ve expressed an interest in bringing him back. He’s expressed an interest in coming back. But we’re just not there yet."
  • Atlanta also continues to explore trades for impact bats, according to O'Brien, who says the Braves are believed to have inquired on Justin Upton, Alex Gordon, Dexter Fowler, and Shin-Soo Choo, among others.
  • Dan Kolko of MASNSports.com looks into the remaining items on the Nationals' offseason to-do list.

Dodgers, Rangers Battling For Greinke

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Although Dan Haren found a deal this morning, much of the free agent pitching market remains on hold while Zack Greinke seeks a contract, writes Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports. As we wait for the dominos to begin to fall, we'll track today's Greinke updates right here, with the newest additions at the top of the page:

  • In an update on his previous report, Heyman writes that a third team could be involved, but that people most familiar with the situation expect the Dodgers or Rangers to sign Greinke for $160MM+. Some have speculated that number could reach as high as $175MM. The Rangers' talks with Josh Hamilton appear to be on hold while they pursue Greinke.

Earlier updates:

  • The Greinke derby appears to be between the Rangers and Dodgers, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, and the deal is likely to be for $160MM+.  The largest-ever contract signed by a pitcher is $161MM, from the Yankees for C.C. Sabathia four years ago.
  • The Dodgers would be surprised to see a resolution on the Greinke situation before they leave the Winter Meetings, tweets Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times.
  • Dodgers manager Don Mattingly met with Greinke last week in Los Angeles, tweets Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.'
  • Greinke is still "going through the process" with teams, so his situation hasn't gained clarity yet, tweets ESPN.com's Buster Olney.
  • The Dodgers and Rangers appear to be the favorites for Greinke, with the Angels as the dark horse, tweets Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
  • Jim Bowden of ESPN.com and SiriusXM also considers those three teams to be the strongest suitors for Greinke, though he views the Angels as a more likely candidate than the Rangers (Twitter link). With the Nats out and the Braves unlikely, Bowden wonders if a mystery team, such as the Blue Jays, Red Sox, or White Sox, could get involved.

Emilio Bonifacio Could Be Available

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The Braves had interest in Emilio Bonifacio prior to his inclusion in the Marlins-Blue Jays blockbuster, and they've learned this week that he may still be available, according to Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link).

The 27-year-old Bonifacio could see significant time at second base for the Blue Jays, but the presence of Maicer Izturis could also lead them to field offers on Bonifacio. Current Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez coached Bonifacio when he was still with the Marlins.

Bonifacio hit .258/.330/.316 in 2012 and swiped 30 bases in 33 attempts despite appearing in only 64 games due to a combination of thumb and knee injuries. He's logged at least 150 big league innings at all three outfield positions as well as third base, second base and shortstop.

It's worth noting that Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told reporters today, "I'd feel really confident we're not going to do anything," when asked about making a move at the Winter Meetings (Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reporting on Twitter). That obviously doesn't rule something out further down the line, however.

NL East Links: Pagnozzi, Haren, Howell, Phils

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The NL East has been involved in multiple headlines today, with the Nationals signing Dan Haren to a one-year deal and the Marlins trading Yunel Escobar to the Rays. Here's some more news from around the division…

  • The Braves have signed catcher Matt Pagnozzi to a minor league contract, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman (on Twitter). Pagnozzi, who hit .224/.329/.359 for the Indians' Triple-A affiliate last season, will likely serve as the team's big league backup while Brian McCann is out.
  • Haren is the Nationals' 2013 version of Edwin Jackson, writes ESPN's Keith Law (Insider req'd). Haren can provide bulk innings behind the Nats' trio of aces, and carries the same "all-or-nothing" upside that Ben Sheets did when he signed with the Athletics for $10MM in 2010.
  • J.P. Howell has interest in playing for the Nationals, writes MLB.com's Bill Ladson. I can't imagine there are many players who wouldn't want to play for the Nats, given their projected lineup and rotation. The team does have interest in adding another lefty reliever, so Howell could be in luck.
  • The Phillies have made plenty of offers so far, but have nothing to show for it at the Winter Meetings thus far, writes Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly. The team is still pursuing outfield and third base help via free agency and trade. Vance Worley and Trevor May are both on the table in trade talks. Worley is "100 percent" following September elbow surgery, according to GM Ruben Amaro Jr.
  • We learned earlier that the Marlins are looking to add a third baseman after trading Escobar, who told them he wasn't comfortable playing the hot corner.
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