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Latest On Roy Oswalt

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Even as pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training, Roy Oswalt remains unsigned. Here’s the latest buzz on the 34-year-old, who’s undeniably the top free agent available…

  • Royals GM Dayton Moore explained to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that he has passed on available starting pitchers this offseason because he wants to see what his young pitchers can do at the Major League level. Moore said he doesn't think the Royals' offseason plan would have changed much if they had known from the start that Oswalt and Edwin Jackson would end up signing one-year deals.
  • Rangers senior director of player development Tim Purpura said adding Oswalt to a pitching staff that already includes six starters wouldn't be easy, according to Bryan Dolgin of ESPNDallas.com.
  • The Reds haven't been in touch with Oswalt's agents in the past week and GM Walt Jocketty thinks the right-hander is waiting for the Rangers to create room for him on their payroll.

NL Central Notes: Snyder, Mejdal, Young

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We've already heard that the Reds don't expect to make any additions before Spring Training. Here are the latest rumors from the rest of the NL Central…

  • Chris Snyder, who signed with the Astros earlier this offseason, says a part of him had always wanted to join his hometown team, according to Zachary Levine and Sam Khan Jr. of the Houston Chronicle. The 31-year-old backstop is a Houston native.
  • Newly-hired director of decision sciences Sig Mejdal explained to Levine how he intends to use data in a way that will allow the Astros to improve their on-field product.
  • Dmitri Young worked out for the Pirates today and manager Clint Hurdle said he got a good read on the first baseman/outfielder, according to Tom Singer of MLB.com. "He met all the criteria we wanted to see," Hurdle said. "He ran the bases, took balls at first base, threw from the outfield and hit from both sides of the plate." The 38-year-old is attempting a comeback after losing 70 pounds.
  • In case you missed it, Brewers reliever Jose Veras had an arbitration hearing today and the Cubs are interested in Ramon Ortiz.

Cubs Interested In Ramon Ortiz

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The Cubs are interested in signing 38-year-old right-hander Ramon Ortiz to a minor league deal, Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com reports. Praver/Shapiro represents Ortiz, who split the 2011 season between the Cubs and their Triple-A affiliate.

Ortiz appeared in 22 games for the Cubs last year, posting a 4.86 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 33 1/3 innings. The 11-year MLB veteran also made 16 starts at Triple-A, completing 99 1/3 innings with the Iowa Cubs. No other teams have been publicly linked to Ortiz this offseason.

Jocketty On Oswalt, Kazmir, Chapman

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Reds GM Walt Jocketty expects to start Spring Training without making further changes to the team's roster, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Fay says the club will review its roster this week, but that it's "pretty well set." Here are some more notes from the GM:

  • The Reds haven't been in touch with Roy Oswalt's agents in the past week. “I think he’s waiting for Texas to clear money,” Jocketty said. ESPN.com's Jayson Stark said on Friday that Oswalt isn't going to sign with the Rangers or Phillies, however. Perhaps the Red Sox or Cardinals will make a late push for the right-hander.
  • The Reds are not interested in watching Scott Kazmir audition in front of scouts, Jocketty said. The free agent left-hander is looking for an opportunity with an MLB club and will pitch in front of an audience this Wednesday.
  • Aroldis Chapman is healthy and the Reds intend to work him out as a starter this spring.

A.J. Burnett Rumors: Monday

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The Yankees and Pirates have been discussing a deal that would send A.J. Burnett and cash to Pittsburgh for two minor league players. Four teams are in on the right-hander, but the Yankees seem to prefer the Pirates. Here are the details from yesterday, and here are Monday's rumors:

  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post hears the Yankees would do the deal if the Pirates took on more than $13MM in salary (Twitter links). So far the Pirates are offering $10MM in salary relief and two "blah" prospects, but there's a feeling the deal will get done.
  • The Yankees and Pirates are still discussing the deal and it'll probably be completed, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. It seems likely that the Pirates will take on $13-15MM of the $33MM remaining on Burnett's contract and give up two non-roster players.

Blue Jays Extend Casey Janssen

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The Blue Jays announced that they have agreed to a two-year, $5.9MM contract extension with right-handed reliever Casey Janssen. The deal, which eliminates the need for an arbitration hearing, includes a 2014 option worth $4MM. Janssen will earn $2MM in 2012 and $3.9MM in 2013, MLBTR has learned. 

The contract buys out Janssen's final year of arbitration eligibility and his first free agent season. Janssen and agent Jim McDowell had asked for $2.2MM in arbitration, with the Blue Jays countering at $1.8MM.

The 30-year-old posted a 2.26 ERA with 8.6 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a 47.3% ground ball rate in 55 2/3 innings last year, when he earned $1.095MM as a second-time arbitration eligible player. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca first reported that the sides were nearing a two-year deal.

As MLBTR's Extension Tracker shows, Alex Anthopoulos has now completed seven extensions since becoming Toronto's GM.

Yoenis Cespedes Signing Reactions

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The Athletics made an unexpected move today, agreeing to terms with Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes on a four-year, $36MM contract. The agreement allows him to hit free agency after the 2015 season and leaves suitors such as the Marlins and Cubs empty-handed. Here are some reactions to the deal…

  • Cespedes told Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com that he's "super happy" and that his first goal is to make the team and stay healthy all season long.
  • Agent Adam Katz told Kevin Kennedy and Jim Duquette on MLB Network Radio that four to seven teams were seriously interested.
  • A's director of player personnel Billy Owens told Jim Bowden and Casey Stern on MLB Network Radio that Oakland's scouts have watched Cespedes play for four or five years and consider him a center fielder.
  • ESPN.com's Keith Law can imagine Cespedes hitting 30 home runs in the Major Leagues, but suggests he'll first need to spend some time in the upper minors.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports weighs in on the deal and explains why Cespedes remains an unknown, even though we've seen his skills on YouTube.
  • One A's person told Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com that the club is "not trying to finish in last place" and explained that free agents are reluctant to take Oakland's money.
  • Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus hears that Katz sought either an eight-to-ten-year deal or a four-year deal and suggests Cespedes' tools are as impressive as any player's.
  • Yahoo's Jeff Passan explains why the Cespedes deal makes more sense for the A's than it would have for the Rangers or Yankees.
  • The Red Sox never made Cespedes a formal offer, Alex Speier of WEEI.com reports. Boston kept in touch with the outfielder over the course of the offseason, but the club wasn't prepared to match the $9MM annual salary he obtained from the A's.
  • The Tigers were interested in Cespedes, but not at $36MM, GM Dave Dombrowski said, according to James Schmehl of MLive.com.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Esmerling Vasquez

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Here's where we'll keep track of the latest outright assignments…

  • Right-hander Esmerling Vasquez cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com tweets. The Twins, who designated the 28-year-old for assignment last week, have invited him to MLB Spring Training. He spent the 2011 season with the Diamondbacks, posting a 4.15 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 30 1/3 innings.

Rangers, Mike Napoli Avoid Arbitration

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The Rangers have avoided arbitration with Mike Napoli, agreeing to a one-year, $9.4MM contract for 2012, MLBTR has learned. Agent Brian Grieper of Paragon Sports International represents Napoli.

Napoli had filed for $11.5MM, while the Rangers countered with $8.3MM, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows.  Napoli, 30, earned $5.8MM in 2011 and obtains the second-highest raise any third or fourth-time eligible position player has obtained (trailing just Prince Fielder). He is the fourth catcher in baseball history to average 20 home runs per year in his first six MLB seasons, joining Roy Campanella, Johnny Bench and Mike Piazza. The Rangers have now agreed to terms with all of their arbitration eligible players.

Yankees, Pirates Talking A.J. Burnett Trade

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9:50pm: Talks were ongoing as of Friday evening, according to Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and do not include Garrett Jones. Brink adds that Bucs are more receptive to taking on salary than moving a player or prospect.

4:14pm: The Yankees are telling the Pirates that absorbing $10MM isn't enough, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets.

3:47pm: The Pirates appear to be willing to absorb $10MM in a trade, Heyman tweets. The Yankees have been pushing for an even split and seek an OK prospect in return. Heyman tweets that the chances of a deal remain "decent." The clubs are talking, but aren't close to a deal, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. The Pirates are also looking at other starters.

12:34pm: There seems to be a fair amount of optimism about a deal, Heyman tweets.

10:28am: The Pirates haven't yet offered to pay $10MM of the $33MM remaining on Burnett's contract, Heyman tweets.

7:57am: The Yankees and Pirates continue discussing a possible A.J. Burnett trade, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. The Yankees are willing to pay a substantial portion of the $33MM remaining on the right-hander’s contract through 2013, but the teams are still a few million apart. The Yankees first asked the Pirates to pay well over $11MM, Heyman writes.

The Yankees want to create payroll room for a designated hitter and appear to be leaning toward Raul Ibanez, perhaps because they prefer his ability to play the outfield. Johnny Damon and Eric Chavez also intrigue the Yankees as possible free agent additions, according to Heyman. The Pirates rejected the Yankees’ request for Garrett Jones, Heyman writes.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Burnett’s no-trade list includes all of the teams on the West Coast (Twitter links). Sherman expects the Yankees to trade Burnett before Spring Training and suggests the team is waiting to see if the Pirates or another club offers to absorb more money.

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