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Heyman On Greinke, Red Sox, Wright

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Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com has the latest from a handful of MLB owners…

  • Brewers owner Mark Attanasio told Heyman he wants to sign Zack Greinke to a long-term deal. "Sure, why not? We'd like to keep him,” Attanasio said. Greinke, a free agent this offseason, said he likes playing in Milwaukee. "Good owner. Good guys in management. Good guys in the clubhouse. Really good, really good,'' Greinke said. It’s likely Greinke will ask for a $100MM contract this offseason, and that would be a lot for the small-market Brewers to commit.
  • Red Sox owner Tom Werner told Heyman that manager Bobby Valentine is "absolutely" doing fine (Twitter link).
  • Mets owner Fred Wilpon told Heyman that he hopes to retain David Wright long-term (Twitter links). Wilpon says his third baseman is "a great kid and a great player."

Brewers Sign Claudio Vargas

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The Brewers have signed right-hander Claudio Vargas to a minor league deal, according to his agency, Metis Sports Management. The eight-year MLB veteran will report to Triple-A Nashville, where he'll start. 

Vargas, 33, retired last summer then signed with the Vaqueros Laguna of the Mexican League in time for the 2012 season. He posted a 7.32 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 17 relief appearances for the Brewers in 2010, his most recent campaign in the Major Leagues. He has since pitched in the minor leagues for the Dodgers and Rockies. 

2013 Contract Issues: Houston Astros

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

Eligible For Free Agency (2)

  • Carlos Lee – Lee appears to want to stay in Houston and the Astros will need a designated hitter next year when they move to the American League West. If he's willing to re-sign for a tenth of his 2012 salary ($18MM) maybe the Astros will be interested.
  • Brandon Lyon – Lyon's hot start makes him a midseason trade candidate who could be gone before the offseason begins. Neither Lyon nor Lee should expect a qualifying offer from Houston next offseason.

Contract Options (2)

  • Brett Myers: $10MM club option with a $3MM buyout. Option vests with approximately 55 games finished. A $7MM net cost might be a luxury for a rebuilding team, even though Myers could probably help Houston in 2013. He's another midseason trade candidate to keep an eye on.
  • Chris Snyder: $4MM mutual option with a $500K buyout. Mutual options are rarely exercised by both sides. They sometimes exist to defer salary from one season to the next. 

Arbitration Eligible (7)

The Astros will face a relatively affordable class of arbitration eligible players. Happ ($2.35MM in '12), Lowrie ($1.15MM) and Buck ($580K) will obtain raises but will remain affordable. Lopez and Wright, two non-closing relievers, both figure to cost the Astros $1MM or so next year. I think Norris could earn $3.5-4MM via arbitration as a first-time eligible player if his strong season continues. There's a good chance the Astros' eligible players will return for a total of $15MM or less in 2013.

2013 Payroll Obligation

The Astros are spending approximately $61MM on payroll in 2012, their first season under owner Jim Crane and GM Jeff Luhnow. They only have $17MM in commitments for 2013, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts. Expect Luhnow to have more payroll flexibility than he did last offseason when he transitions the team to the American League next winter.

Latest On Orioles, Dontrelle Willis

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May 15th: The Orioles removed Willis from the restricted list and assigned him to Class A, the Orioles' Triple-A affiliate announced (Twitter link).

May 9th: Willis has agreed to drop his grievance, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports. The Orioles will allow him to start in the minor leagues once he builds up arm strength at extended Spring Training.

April 24th: Left-hander Dontrelle Willis will file a grievance against the Orioles following the club's decision to place him on the restricted list, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports. Willis recently left the Orioles' Triple-A team after a disagreement about his role in the organization.

Orioles executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette told CBSSports.com yesterday that Willis left Triple-A Norfolk without permission, but the pitcher's agent, Matt Sosnick, says Willis did obtain permission from the Orioles to leave. Willis can't sign with another club while on the restricted list, so Willis and Sosnick are frustrated.

"We're talking about a minor league player that Baltimore has relatively no financial investment in whatsoever," Sosnick told Crasnick. "It's the dumbest thing ever and a waste of everybody's time. Dan [Duquette] has had a thousand chances to ratchet this down a notch, and all he's done is ratchet it up."

Duquette told Jon Heyman yesterday that he hopes Willis will return and pitch effectively out of the bullpen. However, it sounds as though Willis would prefer to move on.

Rosenthal On Braves, Dempster, Rizzo, Astros

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One scout told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that the work of the Braves’ hitting instructors and the performance of Kris Medlen has made the difference for the team so far in 2012. Atlanta GM Frank Wren agrees with that assessment, according to Rosenthal, who offers notes and rumors from around the league in his latest column:

  • The Cubs are more likely to trade Ryan Dempster if they sign Matt Garza to an extension. However, Dempster’s ten and five rights allow him to veto any trade, so he’ll have leverage if the Cubs look to make a move. It doesn’t seem likely that Dempster will sign a below-market extension to stay in Chicago, Rosenthal writes.
  • The Cubs don’t have immediate plans to call up Anthony Rizzo, who figures to stay in the minor leagues until an opening emerges.
  • Releasing Alfonso Soriano doesn’t appear to be an option; the outfielder has approximately $50MM remaining on his contract with the Cubs.
  • General managers criticize the collective bargaining agreement, Rosenthal reports. Some low-revenue teams dislike spending restrictions on the draft, since they feel the limitations will drive up the price of MLB talent.
  • Chien-Ming Wang, who is now rehabbing at Triple-A, could be valuable insurance for the Nationals, since they’ve decided to cap Stephen Strasburg’s innings.
  • Brett Myers’ 2013 option likely vests with approximately 55 games finished, Rosenthal suggests. The right-hander will obtain a $500K bonus if the Astros trade him.
  • One scout says Blue Jays catching prospect Travis D’Arnaud looks like Russell Martin did with the Dodgers.

Red Sox, Cubs Complete Marlon Byrd Trade

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The Red Sox and Cubs completed the trade that sent Marlon Byrd to Boston, Alex Speier of WEEI.com tweets. The Red Sox are sending left-hander Hunter Cervenka to the Cubs to complete the April 21st trade that sent Byrd and cash to Boston for Michael Bowden and a player to be named.

Cervenka, 22, started the 2012 season with Class A Greenville, where he has an 8.04 ERA with 13.8 K/9 and 6.9 BB/9 in 15 2/3 innings. The 2008 27th round selection has a 5.97 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 7.2 BB/9 in four professional seasons.

Athletics Claim Travis Blackley

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The Athletics announced that they claimed left-hander Travis Blackley off of waivers from the Giants. The A's moved Joey Devine to the 60-day disabled list to free up a 40-man roster spot in a corresponding move. The team will announce a corresponding 25-man roster move once Blackley reports to his new club.

Blackley, 29, allowed seven hits and five earned runs in five innings for the Giants before getting designated for assignment two days ago. He has a 3.98 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in ten minor league seasons.

This marks the third time this year the Athletics have claimed an Australian-born player, as MLBTR's Transaction Tracker shows. They claimed Rich Thompson from the Angels and Luke Hughes from the Twins back in April.

Catching Rumors: Shoppach, Nationals

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MLB catchers have combined for a .244/.316/.388 line this year and they're preventing 30% of stolen base attempts. Here are some catching rumors from around baseball…

  • Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com suggests Kelly Shoppach of the Red Sox is likely popular in trade talks right now (Twitter link). The Angels and Nationals are among the clubs with possible interest in catching depth and Jarrod Saltalamacchia's emergence may make Shoppach expendable. The Red Sox could call Ryan Lavarnway up if necessary.
  • The Nationals don’t sound overly interested in trading for a catcher, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). Sandy Leon and Wilson Ramos are on the disabled list, so the Nats are relying on Jesus Flores and Carlos Maldonado for now.

White Sox Designate Eric Stults For Assignment

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The White Sox announced that they designated left-hander Eric Stults for assignment. They reinstated right-hander Jesse Crain from the disabled list in a corresponding move.

Stults, 32, had appeared in two games for the White Sox, allowing two earned runs in 6 2/3 innings. He signed a minor league deal with the White Sox this past offseason after spending most of the 2011 season as a reliever for the Rockies' Triple-A affiliate. Stults also appeared in six games for last year's Rockies team.

Cubs Sign Mike MacDougal

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The Cubs have signed Mike MacDougal to a minor league deal, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune tweets. The Dodgers released the right-hander after designating him for assignment earlier this month.

MacDougal, 35, struggled through seven appearances with the Dodgers this year, allowing nine hits, six walks and five earned runs in 5 2/3 innings. He had signed a one-year, $1MM deal in January after spending the 2011 season with the Dodgers. He posted a 2.05 ERA with 6.5 K/9, 4.5 BB/9 and a 60.9% ground ball rate in 57 innings last year, when he ranked tenth among MLB pitchers in ground ball rate (minimum 50 innings). 

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