Ben Nicholson-Smith | MLB Trade Rumors

Orioles Sign Armando Galarraga

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 17, 2012 at 11:33pm CDT

The Orioles signed Armando Galarraga to a minor league contract, according to the transactions page at CBS Sports. SFX represents the 30-year-old right-hander.

Galarraga struggled through the 2011 season after an eventful 2010 campaign in which he came within one out of throwing a perfect game for the Tigers. Galarraga, who was traded from Detroit to Arizona last January, posted a 5.91 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 42 2/3 innings for the D'Backs in 2011. He also made five Triple-A starts, allowing 24 earned runs in 23 1/3 innings.

Rangers Notes: Darvish, Fielder, Hamilton

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 17, 2012 at 10:55pm CDT

It's been nearly a month since the Rangers won the bidding for Yu Darvish, which means the deadline for a deal is approaching. The Rangers have until 4pm CDT Wednesday to work out a deal with the Japanese right-hander. Here’s the latest from Texas…

Rangers officials continue downplaying the chances of signing both Darvish and Prince Fielder, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports and Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
Morosi hears that extension talks with Josh Hamilton are on hold at the moment, while the club works on the Darvish deal. Hamilton will earn $13.75MM in 2012 and is set to hit free agency once the season ends.
Heyman hears that the Rangers are likely to sign Darvish to a contract worth slightly more than the $52MM Daisuke Matsuzaka obtained from the Red Sox.
The Rangers seem to love the idea of signing Fielder and would become the favorite to land the slugger if the Darvish deal falls through, Heyman writes.
The Rangers have three unsigned arbitration eligible players: Mike Napoli, Nelson Cruz and Elvis Andrus.

Cespedes: Cubs Are Leading Suitors

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 17, 2012 at 9:20pm CDT

Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes says the Cubs are his most serious suitor, according to Dionisio Soldevila of the Associated Press (link via DiarioLibre.com). The free agent outfielder isn’t yet a free agent, but he’s playing Winter Ball in the Dominican Republic and MLB teams continue eyeing him.

"Of all the teams who have come, the Chicago Cubs have been most interested in me," Cespedes said.

Last week Cespedes said the six teams with "more interest" in signing him were the Marlins, Cubs, White Sox, Orioles, Tigers and Indians. The Yankees, Phillies, Blue Jays and Rangers also have some interest in Cespedes, but the Nationals aren’t involved. Marlins president David Samson recently acknowledged that his team intends to make an aggressive run at Cespedes, who is represented by Adam Katz of Wasserman Media Group.

D’Backs To Sign Joe Saunders

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 17, 2012 at 8:12pm CDT

The D'Backs announced that they have agreed to sign free agent Joe Saunders to a one-year deal. Legacy Sports Group represents the left-hander, who was non-tendered by the D'Backs in December. Saunders will obtain $6MM, or $2.7MM less than his projected salary through arbitration. GM Kevin Towers expects Saunders to fit in well on the 2012 club.

“Joe was an integral part of our success last season and will help stabilize the rotation next season,” Towers said in a statement.

Saunders re-joins Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson and Josh Collmenter in a D'Backs rotation that now includes Trevor Cahill. The Red Sox, Orioles, Marlins, Tigers and Rockies were among the teams with some interest in Saunders this offseason.

Saunders, 30, posted a 3.69 ERA with 4.6 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 44.5% ground ball rate in 212 innings this past season. He has averaged 200 innings per season since 2008 without striking out more than five batters per nine innings in any of the past four seasons. The former 12th overall pick had an average fastball velocity of 89.6 mph in 2011.

Steve Henson of Yahoo Sports first tweeted news of the deal and Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweeted the terms of the contract.

Minor Moves: Byung-Hyun Kim, Brian Bass

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 17, 2012 at 8:04pm CDT

We'll keep track of today's minor moves right here…

Byung-Hyun Kim signed with the Nexen Heroes of the KBO for $437K, according to a link from the Yonhap News Agency passed along by Dan of MyKBO.net. Kim, who's still just 32, has a 4.42 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in parts of nine MLB seasons. He famously allowed game-changing home runs to Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius in the 2001 World Series. Kim last appeared in the Major Leagues in 2007.
Former big leaguer Brian Bass signed with the Hanwha Eagles of the KBO for $300K, according to a Naver Sports article passed along by Dan of MyKBO.net. Bass, 30, has a 5.16 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 183 innings over the course of three seasons with the Pirates, Orioles and Twins. The Pirates granted the right-hander free agency after the 2011 season, but he last appeared in the Major Leagues in 2010.

Arbitration Filing Numbers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 17, 2012 at 6:55pm CDT

Many players avoided arbitration today, but dozens of others exchanged figures with their teams in anticipation of hearings. Most cases won't go to arbitration hearings, but teams such as the Rays, Nationals, Marlins, White Sox, Blue Jays and Braves have stuck to 'file and trial' policies in the past.

MLBTR's arbitration tracker will keep you up to date on every one of the filing numbers from around the game, but here are the highlights — players who filed for $4MM or more. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com had most of the info with MLBTR and others also contributing:

Tim Lincecum filed at $21.5MM, while the Giants filed at $17MM, as noted earlier.
David Ortiz filed for $16.5MM, while the Red Sox offered $12.65MM, Heyman tweets.
Hunter Pence filed for $11.8MM, while the Phillies countered at $9MM, Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com tweets.
Mike Napoli filed for $11.5MM while the Rangers countered at $8.3MM, Heyman tweets.
Jeremy Guthrie filed for $10.25MM, while the Orioles filed at $7.25MM Heyman tweets.
Matt Garza filed for $12.5MM, while the Cubs countered at $7.95MM, Heyman tweets.
Clayton Kershaw filed for $10MM, while the Dodgers countered at $6.5MM, Heyman tweets.
Shaun Marcum filed for $8.7MM and the Brewers countered with $6.75MM, according to the Associated Press via MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
Russell Martin filed for $8.2MM, while the Yankees offered $7MM, MLBTR has learned.
Nelson Cruz filed at $7.5MM, while the Rangers countered at $5.5MM, Heyman tweets.
Adam Jones filed for $7.4MM, while the Orioles offered $5MM, Heyman tweets.
Miguel Montero filed at $6.8MM, while the Diamondbacks filed $5.4MM according to Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic (on Twitter).
John Lannan filed for $5.7MM, while the Nationals countered at $5MM, Heyman tweets.
Alex Gordon filed at $5.45MM, while the Royals countered at $4.15MM, Heyman tweets.
Asdrubal Cabrera filed for $5.2MM, while the Indians countered at $3.75MM, Heyman tweets.
Michael Morse filed at $5MM, while the Nationals countered with $3.5MM, Heyman tweets.
Andrew Bailey filed for $4.7MM, while the Red Sox filed for $3.35MM, Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com tweets.
Brandon Morrow filed for $4.2MM, while the Blue Jays countered at $3.9MM, MLBTR has learned.

Giants, Sandoval Agree To Extension

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 17, 2012 at 6:24pm CDT

The Giants and Pablo Sandoval have agreed to a three-year extension, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. The deal is worth $17.15MM plus incentives, Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News tweets. Morgan Advisory Group represents the 25-year-old third baseman.

Sandoval, who was arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason, had a projected $3.2MM salary for 2012 and would have been in line for raises in 2013 and 2014 via the arbitration process. The deal doesn't delay his free agency — he's still on track to hit the open market after the 2014 season.

Sandoval has had two tremendous offensive seasons and one forgettable one since becoming a full-time player in 2009. He posted a .315/.357/.552 line with 23 home runs for the Giants in 2011 and owns a .307/.356/.501 line with 64 home runs in his career. The Venezuela native is easily recognizable because of his stocky physique (he's listed as 5'11" and 240 lbs) and colorful nickname: the Kung Fu Panda.

Photo courtesy Icon SMI.

Braves To Sign Peter Moylan

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 17, 2012 at 6:12pm CDT

The Braves and Australian right-hander Peter Moylan agreed to a one-year, $1MM deal, David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on Twitter. It's a minor league deal, MLB.com's Mark Bowman reports. The Braves had non-tendered the Wasserman Media Group client last month.

Moylan pitched in just 13 games in 2011 due to lower back and rotator cuff injuries. However, he posted a 2.90 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 in 136 2/3 innings of relief from 2009-10.

Padres Avoid Arbitration With Carlos Quentin

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 17, 2012 at 5:37pm CDT

The Padres announced that they avoided arbitration with outfielder Carlos Quentin and Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets that the sides agreed to a $7.025MM salary for 2012. MLBTR had projected a $6.6MM salary for the CAA client.

The Padres have two unsigned arbitration eligible players: Dustin Moseley and Clayton Richard.

Record Filing Numbers For Lincecum, Giants

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 17, 2012 at 4:56pm CDT

Tim Lincecum filed for a $21.5MM salary through arbitration and the Giants countered at $17MM, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets. Both figures set new records for players with less than six years of service time. Derek Jeter ($18.5MM) and the Yankees ($14.25MM) had established the previous marks more than a decade ago, in 2001.

Roger Clemens once filed for a $22MM salary via arbitration, but it was after he had become eligible for free agency.

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