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Is Lowry Trade Bait?

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Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports from Spring Training about the fifth starter in San Francisco–and potential moves surrounding the competition.

Baggarly cites GM Brian Sabean as having said that the fifth starter job belongs to Jonathan Sanchez. That leaves Noah Lowry without a spot in the San Francisco rotation. Will he be traded soon?

While that is an option, Baggarly also notes that Lowry has an option remaining, meaning he could pitch at AAA Fresno for a time. Lowry could begin asking for a trade from there, but with the way his contract is set up, such a move seems unlikely at this time.

Nationals Sign 23 To 2009 Contracts

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Bill Ladson of MLB.com has a bit of Nationals news for this afternoon.

The team has agreed to terms with 23 of its players, including names like Elijah Dukes and John Lannan.

As for a review of the Nationals’ arbitration-eligible players, Ladson has the list: Jason Bergmann, Mike O’Connor, Alberto Gonzalez, Lastings Milledge, Josh Willingham and Ryan Zimmerman.

Hart, Ethier Likely Headed To Arb Hearing

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2:19pm: Adam McCalvy at MLB.com mentions an interesting parallel to the arbitration situation with Corey Hart.

Andre Ethier is expected to go to an arbitration hearing on Tuesday, the day before Hart’s hearing is scheduled. The numbers in Ethier’s case are very similar, the outfielder having asked for $3.75 million while the Dodgers offered $2.65 million.

The outcome of the Ethier case may be indicative of what to expect for Hart.

11:15am: Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes the Brewers and Corey Hart will likely be headed to an arbitration hearing. Says assistant general manager Gord Ash, "We’re still where we were, with a case on Wednesday."

Haudricourt’s got the numbers, too: "In his first year of salary arbitration eligibility, Hart filed for $3.8 million. The club offered him $2.7 million. Hart made $444,000 last season."

Rangers Considering Andruw Jones

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8:58pm: Jeff Wilson writes in the Dallas Morning News that Andruw Jones worked out at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington Jan. 26. Rangers GM Jon Daniels confirmed that Jones worked out with Rudy Jaramillo, the Rangers hitting coach.

Wilson writes that Jones would probably be offered a minor-league contract with an invite to Spring Training.

3:32pm: T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com chimes in on the Andruw Jones rumor.

The article suggests we downgrade from "close to agreement" status, as we reported earlier,  to "strongly considering," to quote Sullivan.

1:57pm: Andruw Jones is close to signing a minor-league contract with the Texas Rangers, Yahoo! Sports’ Tim Brown reports.

Brown also states that Jones had earlier declined a non-roster invitation to Spring Training from the New York Yankees.

The signing could potentially help the team move Josh Hamilton to right field, which would likely keep him healthier over the course of an entire season. Of course, Jones’ most recent major league showings have indicated a need for drastic improvement before he can contribute at a big league level.

Giants Have Minor League Offer Out To Aurilia

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5:19 pm: Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Aurilia is thinking over the Giants’ offer.

In a phone interview, Aurilia acknowledged that many players are settling for minor league offers. "It’s something we’re mulling over," he said. "We’re trying to counter-proposal them a little bit and see what we can come up with."

Aurilia thinks he would be a valuable addition to a young infield like the Giants’ and said that he was "hoping to nail this down."

4:39 In an update to his blog, the San Jose Mercury News’ Andrew Baggarly reports that the San Francisco Giants have made an offer to Rich Aurilia.

The offer is a non-guaranteed, minor-league contract that would pay Aurilia $1MM if he were to make the major league team, with some additional incentives as well.

Baggarly says the Phillies are in on Aurilia as well, but Baggarly says Brian Sabean isn’t sure of the extent of the Phillies’ interest.

Baggarly also writes that Aurilia is interested in a return to the Giants.

Rays, Shouse Agree To Deal

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SUNDAY: Marc Lancaster has a conflicting report on the Shouse deal. He says it’s a one-year deal with an option, not a two-year deal. Says Lancaster, "ESPN.com first reported the deal, calling it a two-year contract, but our information is that only 2009 is guaranteed, with a team option for 2010." Shouse’s agent, Slade Mead, was quoted saying, "He will get a two-year deal."

SATURDAY 3:37pm: The Tampa Bay Rays have agreed to a two-year deal with Brian Shouse, reports Buster Olney.

The deal is pending a physical, which is reportedly scheduled for Thursday.

The 40-year-old lefty went 5-1 with a 2.81 ERA in 51.3 innings with the Brewers in 2008.  He held lefties to a .180/.196/.290 line in 104 plate appearances.  Since Shouse declined the Brewers’ offer of arbitration in December, Milwaukee will receive a supplemental pick.

Ken Rosenthal believes that the deal would likely be for somewhere between $1-2MM per season.

Looper A Fit For Baltimore?

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3:35pm: Roch Kubatko chimes in on the Looper rumors: "[W]hile I still expect Braden Looper to sign elsewhere, the Orioles retain serious interest in him."

1:18pm: Peter Schmuck at the Baltimore Sun has a guess at the Orioles’ likely 25-man roster for Opening Day 2009. Most of the names are hard to argue, but one jumps out as an interesting pick. Schmuck thinks the Orioles stand a chance at signing free agent starting pitcher Braden Looper.

Says Schmuck, "I think the likelihood of Braden Looper signing here is maybe 40 percent, but that’s probably more likely than Rich Hill coming over and solving his command problems."

While recent reports have made a Rich Hill-to-Baltimore deal sound more likely than 40 percent, Schmuck is comparing a Looper signing to the combined probability of not only acquiring Hill, but also having him pitch effectively.

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