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Latest On Carlos Beltran

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Carlos Beltran is one of the top free agents remaining (#4 among unsigned free agents on MLBTR's top 50 list). He hit .300/.385/.525 with 22 homers for the Mets and Giants this past season and won't cost a draft pick, so teams looking for a capable outfield bat have taken note. The 34-year-old switch-hitter won't come cheap, however. Here's the latest on Beltran:

  • The Cardinals, who maintain strong interest, could play Beltran in right field while using him in center on occasion and asking him to DH during interleague play, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). 
  • The Blue Jays, another interested club, could use Beltran as more of a DH, Rosenthal notes. They could also ask him to play left field. 
  • It appears that Beltran will sign for $12-12.5MM per season on a two or three-year deal, Rosenthal notes.
  • Agent Dan Lozano seeks a three-year deal for Beltran, according to Yahoo's Jeff Passan.

Royals Eyeing Young Starters

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Some young starting pitchers appeal to the Royals as possible trade candidates, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). The Royals had interest in Mat Latos before the Padres sent him to Cincinnati and they still like Gio Gonzalez, the highly-coveted A’s left-hander.

However, the Royals don't want to part with outfield prospect Wil Myers or left-hander Mike Montgomery in any deal, Rosenthal reports. The Royals like the potential that young starters like Montgomery provide and believe Myers has the potential to hit in the middle of the order in the Major Leagues.

Royals GM Dayton Moore traded for Jonathan Sanchez and re-signed Bruce Chen earlier this offseason. The two southpaws join right-handers Luke Hochevar and Felipe Paulino in the team's projected 2012 rotation. Danny Duffy, Aaron Crow and Everett Teaford are also candidates to start for manager Ned Yost.

Blue Jays Favored To Win Rights To Yu Darvish

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10:03pm: The Nippon-Ham Fighters are keeping information of the winning bid "very tight," tweets Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan.  A source tells Passan that Darvish himself doesn't know the price of the winning bid.

6:04pm: There are reports from Japan indicating the winning bid for Darvish was around $48MM, tweets MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince.  Castrovince includes a Blue Jays hashtag on his tweet, but notes that nothing is confirmed about either the bid price or the winning team.

12:24pm: The Nationals did not bid on Darvish, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.

7:43am: The Blue Jays bid more than $40MM and possibly close to $50MM for Yu Darvish and are now favorites to win exclusive negotiating rights with him, George A. King III of the New York Post reports. Multiple sources confirm the Post's report to Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio and ESPN.com, who says the Blue Jays "won the bidding" (Twitter link).

The Yankees also posted a bid on Darvish, but it's not expected to top Toronto's bid, according to King. The Rangers made a bid and there's a belief the Cubs made a large bid, the Post reports. Rogers Communications, which owns the Blue Jays, ordered the team to make a "monster" bid, King reports.

The Nippon Ham Fighters have until 4pm CDT on December 20th to accept or reject the high bid for Darvish. The Fighters don't know the identity of the MLB team that won the bidding on Darvish, but they're expected to accept the bid.

Gio Gonzalez Rumors: Friday

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No MLB pitcher has walked more opponents in the past two seasons than Gio Gonzalez and he's about to get expensive through arbitration, yet the Athletics are drawing strong interest in the left-hander. In fairness to Gonzalez, he has reached the 200-inning plateau in each of the past two seasons without posting an ERA above 3.23 and capable pitchers aren't easy to find (though Dave Cameron of FanGraphs has an alternative for teams who don't like the asking price on Gonzalez). Here are the latest rumors on Gonzalez:

  • The Nationals are "all but out" of the Gonzalez sweepstakes, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com. The Athletics' asking price is "way out of line," Ladson hears.
  • The Mets told the A's they won't include Jonathon Niese, Ike Davis, Matt Harvey, Jenrry Mejia or Jeurys Familia in a deal for Gio Gonzalez, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
  • The Tigers are on the "outskirts" of the Gonzalez sweepstakes, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. They aren't upbeat about their chances of trading for him.
  • The A's would love to get a future third baseman in a deal for Gonzalez, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Rangers prospect Mike Olt is one possibility.
  • The A's continue seeking a huge package for Gonzalez, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Though the Yankees "love" him, they aren't eager to surrender prospects such as Jesus Montero, Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances.
  • The Rangers, who are pursuing Gonzalez and Andrew Bailey, can be expected to try to trade for Gonzalez or Matt Garza if they don't win the bidding on Yu Darvish, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney also reports that the Rangers are likely to pursue Gonzalez if they miss out on Darvish. He tweets that 20-year-old left-hander Martin Perez would "almost have to be" in a deal between the A's and Rangers.
  • The market for Gonzalez and John Danks may pick up once the winner in the Darvish bidding is announced and the Rays decide which of their starting pitchers are available, tweets ESPN.com's Jayson Stark.

Minor Moves: Baxter, Blanco, Orioles, Michaels

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We'll track today's minor moves here…

  • The Mets signed outfielder Mike Baxter to a minor league contract, according to the team's official Twitter feed.  The deal includes an invitation to the Major League spring training camp.  Baxter, 27, was born in Queens and appeared in 22 games with the Mets last season.
  • The Nationals signed Andres Blanco to a minor league deal, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson. In 82 plate appearances for the Rangers in 2011, the versatile 27-year-old posted a .224/.263/.342 line and played four positions.
  • The Orioles agreed to sign outfielders Antoan Richardson and Lee Cruz to minor league deals, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. Richardson, who briefly played for the Braves in 2011, is one of six players in MLB history from the Bahamas, Crasnick tweets.
  • The Nationals signed outfielder Jason Michaels to a minor league deal, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). Michaels spent the 2011 season with the Astros and posted a .199/.256/.295 line in 169 plate appearances. The 11-year veteran has a career line of .263/.335/.407 and experience at all three outfield positions.
  • The Rockies signed catcher Wilkin Castillo and right-handed relievers Mike Ekstrom and Zach Simons to minor league deals, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). Castillo spent the 2011 season at Triple-A, where he hit .262/.285/.366 in 291 plate appearances. Ekstrom, who appeared in one game for the Rays in 2011, posted a 4.35 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 for Tampa Bay's top affiliate. The 26-year-old Simons posted a 5.46 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9 in 61 innings in the Tigers' and Marlins' systems in 2011.

Reds Eyeing Gonzalez, Latos, Jurrjens

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Gio Gonzalez, Mat Latos and Jair Jurrjens are among the pitchers on the Reds’ wish list, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). Latos may be available in the right deal, Gonzalez could be had, but Oakland's asking price is high and Jurrjens also appears to be available. GM Walt Jocketty recently told Rosenthal that he’s looking aggressively at ways of improving his team’s pitching staff, despite the high asking prices sellers are setting for available arms.

Matt Garza, who could earn a salary approaching $9MM through arbitration, is too expensive for Jocketty’s liking and John Danks is less appealing than some alternatives, as he’s under team control for just one season, Rosenthal writes. James Shields appears to be out of the reach for every team, including the Reds, and Jocketty is aiming to obtain a better pitcher than Wade Davis.

Indians Acquire Aaron Cunningham

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The Indians have acquired outfielder Aaron Cunningham from the Padres for minor leaguer Cory Burns,  the teams announced. ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick first tweeted news of the deal.

Cunningham, who is out of options, posted a .178/.257/.367 line in 101 plate appearances for the Padres in 2011, playing right and left field. The 25-year-old also posted a .931 OPS in 384 plate appearances for the Padres' top affiliate this past season. He has a .231/.290/.375 career line in four seasons with the Padres and A's as a corner outfielder.

Burns, 24, posted a 2.11 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 59 2/3 innings of relief at Double-A in 2011. He has saved 88 of the 130 minor league games he's appeared in since being selected in the 2009 draft. Sosnick Cobbe Sports represents both Cunningham and Burns.

Indians Sign Jose Lopez

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The Indians announced that they signed infielder Jose Lopez to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training. The team also officially announced the signing of Felix Pie to a minor league deal.

Lopez, 28, spent the 2011 season with the Rockies and Marlins and appeared at first, second and third base. He posted a .216/.245/.372 line for a second consecutive disappointing season at the plate. Lopez, who hit 25 home runs just two seasons ago, is a right-handed bat who could add some balance to a lefty-heavy Indians lineup. He has a career OPS of .713 against left-handed pitchers.

Tigers Interested In Joe Saunders

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The Tigers are interested in free agent left-hander Joe Saunders, according to Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio and ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Reds and Red Sox also have some interest in Saunders, who was non-tendered by the Diamondbacks earlier in the week.

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.

The Tigers’ projected rotation features Justin Verlander, Doug Fister, Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello at this point. Adding Saunders would provide the team with a left-handed presence capable of contributing 200 innings at the back of the rotation.

Twins Increase Efforts To Re-Sign Jason Kubel

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Now that Josh Willingham signed with the Twins and Michael Cuddyer agreed to terms with the Rockies, The Twins’ outfield is taking shape. Terry Ryan’s next target is Jason Kubel, according to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The Twins increased their efforts to re-sign Kubel late this week, according to Christensen.

Kubel, 29, posted a .273/.332/.434 line for the Twins in 2011, adding 12 homers and 21 doubles. He's a Type B free agent who declined Minnesota’s offer of arbitration and won’t cost a draft pick. The Twins would obtain a supplementary first round selection if the left-handed hitter signs elsewhere.

It appears that Kubel’s representatives at Wasserman Media Group are getting lots of calls today, Christensen reports. Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported the Indians’ interest in Kubel a month ago.

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