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Minor Moves: Repko, Kroeger, Lin

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Keeping track of the latest minor moves from around MLB…

  • The Red Sox signed outfielders Jason Repko and Josh Kroeger to minor league contracts yesterday, according to the transactions page at Yahoo Sports. Repko played all three outfield positions for the Twins last year and contributed a .555 OPS in 144 plate appearances. Kroeger, who appeared in 22 games with the 2004 Diamondbacks, spent the 2011 season with the Marlins' top affiliate, posting an .837 OPS.
  • The Orioles recently signed Taiwanese left-hander Yi-Hsiang Lin, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reported last week. The prospect is 19 years old.

Angels Notes: Abreu, Hunter

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MLBTR readers won't be surprised if the Angels emerge as one of the league's top teams in 2012. More than a quarter of some 19,000 voters said yesterday that the Angels are the likeliest AL team to turn things around in 2012 (2011 playoff teams excluded). Here are today's Angels-related links via Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com…

  • Angels GM Jerry Dipoto said he “absolutely” expects Bobby Abreu to open the season with the Angels. Some baseball people believe there’s a real chance the Angels will work hard to trade the outfielder/DH before Opening Day.
  • Torii Hunter said he hopes to re-sign with the Angels after the season, when his contract expires. But if a new deal doesn’t make sense, the outfielder will look to sign with a championship caliber team. "Right now, I'm focused on winning," Hunter said. "Money? I've made money. I want a ring.”
  • The Angels appear to be seeking a left-handed reliever, just one year after signing Scott Downs and Hisanori Takahashi.

NL East Notes: Alderson, Santana, Jackson

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The Phillies, winners of the National League East for five consecutive seasons, signed Jonathan Papelbon, retained Jimmy Rollins and bolstered their bench this offseason, but it won't necessarily be enough for a sixth straight division title. Here are some links from the increasingly competitive NL East…

  • Mets GM Sandy Alderson may soon face a frustrated fan base if players brought in under Omar Minaya don't show significant progress in 2012, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. Alderson says his goal is for the Mets to make the playoffs, even if it seems unrealistic to outsiders.
  • In response to Scott Boras' suggestion that the Mets might be better off under different ownership, Alderson told SiriusXM’s Evan & Phillips in the Morning that the agent's comments are nonsense. "That’s somebody who is trying to generate a market for players that he represents," the GM said (transcript via MetsBlog).
  • Shoulder injuries have derailed many promising pitching careers, but Johan Santana is attempting to move past shoulder troubles and "do everything the way [he] used to do it,” according to Yahoo's Jeff Passan.
  • Nationals starter Edwin Jackson has bounced around extensively as a Major Leaguer, suiting up for six different teams, but as Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reports, players and executives consider Jackson a good worker and a positive clubhouse presence.

Quick Hits: Fielder, Mets, Harper

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It's only Spring Training, but Jerry Dipoto's new additions looked good in the Angels’ exhibition contest today, as Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times explains. Albert Pujols collected two hits, C.J. Wilson and Brad Mills each pitched two scoreless innings and Chris Iannetta homered. Here are today's links… 

  • Prince Fielder told Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com that joining the Tigers was 'a dream come true' that he didn't even dream about. GM Dave Dombrowski says owner Mike Ilitch's aggressiveness made the $214MM Fielder deal possible. "He is in a situation where he wants to win,'' Dombrowski said. 
  • Mets owner Fred Wilpon will have to pay as much as $83.3MM, a court ruled today, according to ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin. Irving Picard seeks to recover that sum for losers in Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme. All but $1.7MM of that amount is associated with Wilpon's other businesses and charities, so in theory the Mets won't be affected substantially. 
  • Agent Scott Boras suggested the Mets would be better off if their current owners are replaced, Vincent M. Mallozzi of the New York Times writes. "There has to be an equation where there are requirements for ownership to perform at certain levels, and if they don’t, they would lose their right to own a club and be replaced," Boras said.
  • Bryce Harper still has his doubters, but he's clear about his goals for the 2012 season, as Yahoo's Jeff Passan writes. The outfield prospect wants to push his way onto the Nationals’ roster by performing well this Spring Training. Once he gets there, he's "poised to take the mantel from [Alex Rodriguez] as the ballplayer simultaneously most respected and loathed," Passan writes.

NL Central Notes: Molina, Astros, Das

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There's been lots of Pirates buzz today, following Andrew McCutchen's six year, $51.5MM contract extension. Here are some notes on the rest of the division…

  • Yadier Molina's representatives were preparing to aim for a seven-year deal in the $140MM range if the catcher had reached free agency, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Some teams might have been willing to part with that kind of cash for Molina, an elite two-way player. "He's like the Deion Sanders of catchers,'' one executive told Heyman. Molina, who would have been eligible for free agency following the 2012 season, signed a five-year, $75MM extension with the Cardinals last week.
  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow tells Tyler Kepner of the New York Times that he believes discipline is necessary for building an MLB team. “The analogy I use is blackjack,” Luhnow said. “You play perfect strategy over a long haul, that’s going to be your best outcome." Tim Dierkes spoke with Luhnow last week.
  • Arbitrator Shyam Das was recently in the news for ruling in favor of Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, but as Cary Spivak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel explains, the 67-year-old former law professor has ruled on a number of important MLB issues in the past. Das has dealt with trades, player discipline and other disputes between the players' union and MLB. Spivak's piece offers a personal look at the low-profile arbitrator.

Pirates Notes: Walker, McCutchen, Alvarez

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The Pirates put a finishing touch on their offseason yesterday, agreeing to terms with Andrew McCutchen on a six year, $51.5MM contract extension. Here's the latest on the Pirates, starting with some reactions to the McCutchen deal…

  • Neil Walker told Michael Sanserino of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Pittsburgh is lucky to have McCutchen under long-term control (all Twitter links). Walker, an extension candidate himself, told Sanserino that he'd also like to sign a long-term deal with the Pirates. So far extension talks haven’t gone very far, according to Walker.
  • Dave Cameron of FanGraphs agrees with Walker, writing that Pirates fans should "dance in the streets" to celebrate the contract that will keep McCutchen in Pittsburgh for his prime.
  • Nate McLouth and Charlie Morton were also pleased to see the deal completed, MLB.com's Tom Singer writes.
  • Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has the yearly breakdown of McCutchen's contract (Twitter link).
  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney told Joe Giardina of Pittsburgh Sports Report that the Pirates are having trouble luring free agents to Pittsburgh. "They seem to be picking from just a different menu than some of the other teams," Olney said. 
  • Olney added that Pedro Alvarez is the most important player to the 2012 Pirates since he could break out into a star or continue to struggle.

Poll: Which AL Team Will Have Biggest Turnaround?

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The postseason is expanding by a total of just two games, but ten teams will now qualify for playoff berths each year, so pennant races should continue deep into the summer. Though Spring Training camps are generally optimistic, there’s even more reason for hope this year, and many teams are looking to turn things around.

MLBTR readers suggested over the weekend that the Nationals, Marlins and Reds are strong contenders for 2012 turnarounds in the National League. Let's turn our focus to the ten American League teams that missed the playoffs in 2011 and determine which of those clubs might be poised for a significant turnaround this coming season.

Which AL team will have the biggest turnaround?
Angels 26.41% (5,295 votes)
Blue Jays 15.01% (3,009 votes)
Royals 13.96% (2,798 votes)
Red Sox 12.57% (2,520 votes)
Twins 7.83% (1,570 votes)
Mariners 7.09% (1,422 votes)
Orioles 4.94% (991 votes)
White Sox 4.41% (884 votes)
Athletics 4.41% (884 votes)
Indians 3.38% (677 votes)
Total Votes: 20,050

Quick Hits: Yankees, Nationals, Playoffs

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On this date in 1995, MLB owners and players agreed to end the strike that began in August of 1994. There hasn't been an MLB labor stoppage since, despite a close call in 2002. Here are some links for Friday evening…

  • The Yankees intend to lower payroll below $189MM by 2014, but GM Brian Cashman explained that the club will continue spending aggressively, according to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (Twitter link). "We’re still the Yankees,” he said. “We’re still going to outspend everybody else. That’s not going to change."
  • The Nationals announced that they renewed the contracts of right-hander Drew Storen and outfielder Roger Bernadina. The team has the right to unilaterally assign the players a 2012 salary, since they aren’t yet eligible for salary arbitration.
  • ESPN.com's Jayson Stark has a detailed breakdown of the recently-announced postseason schedule. Stark also answers some common questions about the new format and explains why he's in favor of it. "One game — with the entire season riding on it," Stark writes. "It's March Madness with bats and balls."
  • MLB and the MLBPA aren’t considering expanding the postseason beyond ten teams at this point, Stark tweets. Michael Weiner of the MLBPA says the sides "never seriously discussed" that option.

NL Central Notes: Burnett, Cardinals, Astros

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Though two NL Central veterans dominated headlines this offseason, Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder signed with American League teams and Aramis Ramirez's three-year, $36MM deal with the Brewers was the largest free agent contract by any of the division's six teams. Here are the latest links from the NL Central…

  • The Pirates announced that they expect A.J. Burnett’s eye injury to sideline him until two or three months from now. The right-hander underwent surgery today after injuring himself in a bunting drill.
  • Cardinals chairman and CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. told Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com that the Cardinals couldn't take the chance of letting Yadier Molina hit free agency. "We didn't extend Molina because he had a good year offensively last year,” he said. “We extended him because of the bulk of the work since he became a regular in 2005." Molina and the Cardinals finalized a five-year, $75MM extension yesterday.
  • Four of the ten people Astros GM Jeff Luhnow has hired might be described as geeks or nerds, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes reports from the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston (Twitter links). Luhnow said he’s had a clean slate, since the Astros weren't doing much in terms of analytics before hiring him.

Latest On Adonis Garcia

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FRIDAY, 12:56pm: The Yankees haven't made Garcia an offer, Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger tweets.

THURSDAY, 2:36pm: The A's have not made a bid on Garcia, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports on Twitter. She says the report was denied in the strongest possible terms, which makes you wonder whether the Yankees are seriously involved.

12:48pm: Cuban player Adonis Garcia has offers from the Yankees and Athletics, according to Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald. The A's would be willing to offer close to $18MM over six years, while the Yankees would offer $16MM, Ebro writes. Garcia could decide on a team by next week.

Garcia became a free agent in February and drew interest from a number of teams. The 26-year-old spent this winter with the Magellan Navigators of the Venezuelan League. The Yankees are interested in Garcia as an outfielder, but the Athletics view him as an infielder.

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