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Ryan Madson, Reds In Serious Talks?

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6:42pm: A source with the Reds downplayed the team's interest in Madson, according to John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer (on Twitter). MLB.com's Mark Sheldon hears that Cincinnati is unlikely to get serious about the righty unless he drops his asking price.

5:16pm: Ryan Madson and the Reds are in serious talks about a new contract, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. Cincinnati GM Walt Jocketty maintains interest in Francisco Cordero and is eyeing Kerry Wood as a possible alternative.

The Marlins and Rangers have ‘thought’ about Madson and the Phillies recently checked back in on him, Heyman tweets. However, a deal with Philadelphia seems unlikely at this point, since the Phillies already signed closer Jonathan Papelbon. The Yankees aren’t interested, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.

Angels GM Jerry Dipoto said last week that the Angels are "very, very unlikely" to sign Madson or another free agent closer. Dipoto said today that the Angels are “looking to create depth” in the bullpen, MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez reports.

Mariners Sign Aaron Heilman

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The Mariners have signed Aaron Heilman to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training, the team announced. Frontline represents the 33-year-old right-hander. ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick first reported the move on Twitter.

Heilman spent the first half of the 2011 campaign with the Diamondbacks, who released him in July after he posted a 6.88 ERA with 8.4 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 28.5% ground ball rate in 35 1/3 innings. He later signed minor league deals with the Phillies and Pirates, but didn't pitch at the Major League level after July 15th.

Though Heilman has never suited up for the Mariners in his nine-year career, he was involved in the three-way trade between the Mets, Mariners and Indians that took place three offseasons ago. The Mariners acquired him from the Mets in December of 2008 and flipped him to the Cubs for Ronny Cedeno and Garrett Olson the next month.

Safeco Field should limit the number of home runs Heilman surrenders in 2012. One fifth of fly balls against him left the yard in 2011, a major reason for his unsightly ERA. It's hard to argue with Jack Zduriencik's low-risk gamble on a durable pitcher who could see his numbers improve in Seattle.

Orioles Notes: Johnson, Jones, Scott

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The Orioles announced a three-year deal with left-hander Wei-Yin Chen today, but that’s far from the only news to trickle out of Baltimore today. Here’s the latest on the club…

  • Now that they’ve signed Chen, the Orioles are going forward with Jim Johnson in the bullpen, MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli tweets. Johnson, 28, posted a 2.67 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 91 innings of relief for Baltimore in 2011 and there's been talk of moving him to the rotation.
  • The Orioles haven’t discussed a possible contract extension with Adam Jones, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. Jones projects to earn $5.8MM or so in 2012 as a second time arbitration eligible player
  • GM Dan Duquette has had contact with free agent Luke Scott, Ghiroli tweets. However, no deal appears to be brewing between the Orioles and Scott, who got non-tendered in December.
  • Kubatko suggests Chen, Jeremy Guthrie and Tommy Hunter will be in next year's rotation and that hopefuls such as Zach Britton and Brian Matusz will have to earn their rotation spots by pitching well in Spring Training.

Minor Moves: McClung, Bootcheck, Romero

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Here's where we'll keep track of today's minor moves…

  • The Brewers signed Seth McClung to a minor league deal, MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports. The 30-year-old right-hander hasn't appeared in the Major Leagues since 2009, but he spent three seasons with the Brewers, posting a 4.32 ERA, 6.9 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 in 92 appearances from 2007-09. McClung signed a minor league deal with the Rangers last offseason and they released him in July.
  • The Tigers announced that they signed right-hander Chris Bootcheck to a minor league deal and invited him to Spring Training. Bootcheck, 33, signed a minor league deal with Tampa Bay last February and they granted him his release in July. He hasn't appeared in the Major Leagues since he suited up for the 2009 Pirates, but he owns a 6.54 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in six MLB seasons.
  • The Tigers also signed Niuman Romero to a minor league deal, MLB.com's Jason Beck reports. The 26-year-old has MLB experience with the Indians and Red Sox, but spent the 2011 season playing for four minor league clubs. He posted a .231/.294/.261 line in 273 total plate appearances.

Cardinals Sign Koyie Hill

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The Cardinals have signed catcher Koyie Hill to a minor league deal, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets. Turner Gary Sports represents the longtime Cubs backstop.

Hill, 32, figures to compete with Bryan Anderson and Tony Cruz for playing time behind Yadier Molina. He posted a .194/.268/.276 line in 153 plate appearances for the Cubs last year, stopping 24% of stolen base attempts. The eight-year veteran has a career batting line of .211/.275/.298 and has stopped 28% of the stolen base attempts against him.

Brewers, Carlos Gomez Avoid Arbitration

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The Brewers avoided arbitration with center fielder Carlos Gomez, agreeing to a one-year deal, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The deal is for $1.9625MM, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The Boras Corporation represents Gomez, who had a projected salary of $1.8MM, according to MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, the Brewers have six remaining arbitration eligible players: Kameron Loe, Shaun Marcum, Nyjer Morgan, Manny Parra, Francisco Rodriguez and Jose Veras.

Gomez is arbitration eligible for the third time. The 26-year-old super two player earned $1.5MM in 2011, when he posted a .225/.276/.403 line with eight homers and 16 stolen bases in 258 plate appearances. Gomez projects to hit free agency after the 2013 season.

Reds Interested In Wood; Cordero May Return

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Reds GM Walt Jocketty says he’s hopeful to have resolved things with Francisco Cordero "one way or another" this week and that the free agent closer is up against a "soft deadline," according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. If Cordero doesn’t re-sign with Cincinnati, the Reds could turn to Kerry Wood, depending on his asking price. The club would probably not sign both Cordero and Wood, according to Jocketty.

The Cubs maintain interest in re-signing Wood, who pitched for $1.5MM last year. They’ve offered the 34-year-old a substantial raise, GM Jed Hoyer said today. Wood posted a 3.35 ERA with 10.1 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a 35.8% ground ball rate in 51 innings for the Cubs in 2011 and has also drawn interest from the Phillies.

The Reds have maintained interest in re-signing Cordero throughout the offseason. The 36-year-old posted a 2.45 ERA with 5.4 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 50% ground ball rate in 69 2/3 innings for Cincinnati this past season and has drawn interest from other clubs, including the Angels.

Cubs, Tigers Talking Matt Garza

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7:41pm: On Twitter, Kaplan clarifies that "down the road" means trade talks between the two teams have progressed "far beyond" the initial stages. Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus hears that the Tigers are willing to talk about Turner, but they are far more reticent when it comes to third base prospect Nick Castellanos (Twitter link).

5:52pm: The Cubs and Tigers are “down the road” in talks about a deal that would sent Matt Garza to Detroit for a package of prospects, according to David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com. The Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays have also expressed serious interest in Garza, Kaplan writes. However, the Yankees aren’t comfortable with the Cubs’ asking price despite their “tremendous” interest in the right-hander. 

The Tigers appear to be willing to meet the Cubs’ asking price of multiple highly-regarded prospects, according to Kaplan. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported last week that the Tigers could move right-handed pitching prospect Jacob Turner in the right deal.

The Cubs are nearing a deal with free agent left-hander Paul Maholm. Ryan Dempster, Chris Volstad, Travis Wood and Randy Wells could fill the team’s rotation out and make Garza available. He’s under team control through 2013 and figures to earn $9MM or so in 2012 through arbitration.

Rangers, Holland Put Extension Talks On Hold

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The Rangers and left-handed starter Derek Holland have stopped discussing a possible contract extension for the time being, Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com reports. The Rangers and Holland’s representatives at Martini Sports Management started discussing a long-term deal in December, but aren’t likely to resume negotiations this offseason.

Holland, who missed this year's super two cutoff and is not yet arbitration eligible, will remain under team control through 2015. A five-year deal would buy out one pre-arbitration season, his three years of arbitration eligibility and his first season of free agency.

The 25-year-old posted a 3.95 ERA with 7.4 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 46.4% ground ball rate in 198 innings this past season. He set career highs in everything from ERA to innings to strikeouts (162) to wins above replacement (3.6).

Yovani Gallardo, Ricky Romero, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Trevor Cahill are unavoidable points of reference for the Rangers and Holland’s representatives. All five starters signed five-year deals in the $30MM range at similar stages in their respective careers. Holland has more career innings than any of those pitchers did at the time of their extensions, but none of them had a career ERA above 3.94 at the time of their deals, while Holland has a career mark of 4.73. Options are often a point of contention in extension talks, so it's worth noting that the deals for Cahill and Buchholz include two club options, while the other deals include just one.

Contract Details: Tejeda, Blue Jays, Phillies, Pirates

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MLB.com's beat reporters have been digging up details on some recent minor league deals. Here are the latest updates:

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