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Octavio Dotel To Decline Arbitration

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Octavio Dotel will decline the Rockies' offer of arbitration, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). The Rockies will obtain a supplementary first round pick in next year's draft for losing the Type B free agent as long as he signs a major league deal with another team.

The 37-year-old pitched for three clubs in 2010, posting a 4.08 ERA with 10.5 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in 64 total innings. Dotel saved 21 games for the Pirates before being dealt to the Dodgers and Rockies. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes suggested in June that Dotel may pursue a deal like the one he signed with the White Sox: $11MM for two years.

If you're wondering which ranked free agents have accepted or turned down arbitration, check out MLBTR's free agent arbitration offer tracker.

Gregg Drawing Interest, Will Turn Down Arbitration

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Kevin Gregg is drawing interest from the Angels, Orioles, Rays and Blue Jays and will turn down Toronto's offer of arbitration, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). All four of those teams could be in the market for a closer, but they aren't the only ones interested in Gregg.

Since the right-hander is a Type B free agent, teams won't have to surrender a draft choice to sign him. The Blue Jays will obtain a supplementary first rounder if Gregg signs a big league deal elsewhere. If you're wondering which ranked free agents have accepted or turned down arbitration, check out MLBTR's free agent arbitration offer tracker.

When Mike Axisa broke down Gregg's free agent stock yesterday, he explained that closing experience, a history of health and high strikeout rates should play in Gregg's favor. The 32-year-old walks lots of hitters, but he may very well get another chance to close.

Giants Contact Jeter’s Agent

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The Giants have contacted Casey Close, the agent for Derek Jeter, according to Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal. However, the Giants are not seriously pursuing Jeter and there’s no evidence that a team other than the Yankees is bidding on the shortstop.

A rival executive tells Costa that he fully expects Jeter to re-sign in New York, even though his representatives are in contact with other teams. The Giants, who recently lost Juan Uribe to the rival Dodgers, are focusing on finding a shortstop. Though it's highly unlikely that the Giants sign Jeter, they do have a connection to him. When the Yankees drafted Jeter in 1992, current Giants GM Brian Sabean was their vice president of player development.

Jeter and the Yankees are far apart, though the team has made multiple proposals. GM Brian Cashman encouraged Close to talk to other clubs and it appears that the agent has acted accordingly.

Rangers, Torrealba Agree To Two-Year Deal

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The Rangers agreed to sign Yorvit Torrealba to a two-year, $6.25MM deal that will pay the catcher $3MM in 2011 and $3.25MM in 2012. Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram first reported the deal (on Twitter) and Anthony Andro of the Star-Telegram reported the terms of the contract (on Twitter).

Torrealba and his representatives at MDR Sports moved on from the Padres, who offered him arbitration, but not a multi-year deal. San Diego will rely on Nick Hundley to take on a bigger role and obtain a supplementary first round draft pick for losing Torrealba, a Type B free agent.

Torrealba hit .271/.343/.378 in 363 plate appearances last year. He batted more in 2010 than in any year except 2007, the lone season of his career in which he caught 100-plus games. The former Giant and Rockie has a .708 OPS in parts of ten big league seasons.  Tip of the cap to MLBTR's Mark Polishuk, who correctly predicted on November 10th that Torrealba would land with the Rangers.

It seems likely that free agent Bengie Molina will sign elsewhere and that Max Ramirez and Taylor Teagarden will be candidates to back Torrealba up. Rod Barajas, Gerald Laird, Miguel Olivo, A.J. Pierzynski and Jason Varitek are among the catchers still available on the free agent market.

Boras & Angels Have Met Multiple Times

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Scott Boras says he has met with Angels officials to discuss his free agent clients more than once this offseason, according to Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com. The agent represents Adrian Beltre, Jayson Werth and Rafael Soriano, the Boras client the Angels appear to be targeting most pointedly. Though Carl Crawford remains the Angels’ top free agent target, it appears that they can afford both Crawford and Soriano.

Though Boras has presumably been in contact with most or all of baseball's 30 teams since the World Series, the Angels figure to be of particular interest. They have multiple offseason needs and the resources to address them with free agent additions. Boras, meanwhile, has a suite at Angel Stadium, which is relatively near his agency's Newport Beach headquarters.

Astros Talk Extension With Wandy, Not Bourn, Pence

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Astros GM Ed Wade told Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle that the team has discussed a multi-year deal with Wandy Rodriguez, but not with Michael Bourn and Hunter Pence, who are further away from free agency. Rodriguez hits free agency after the 2011 season, Bourn after the 2012 season and Pence after the 2013 season.

Rodriguez’s representatives approached Wade about a deal during the season, but the sides postponed serious talks until the winter. A year ago, the Astros won their arbitration case against the left-hander, limiting him to a $5MM salary in 2010. 

An extension would likely pay Rodriguez $7-8MM in 2011 and $10MM or more for each season of free agency the Astros buy out. Tim Dierkes suggested this summer that Joe Blanton’s three-year $24MM contract could become a model for the Astros and Rodriguez.

The 31-year-old posted a 3.60 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 195 innings last year. It was the third consecutive season he has had an ERA of 3.60 or better and a strikeout rate of 8.0 per nine or better.

Theriot Will Draw Interest If Non-Tendered

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The Dodgers may not tender Ryan Theriot a contract, but the infielder should draw interest from other clubs if he's non-tendered. MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli suggests (on Twitter) that he'll be "very, very attractive to the Orioles" if non-tendered and Troy Renck of the Denver Post writes (on Twitter) that he expects the Rockies to have interest if the Dodgers don't offer Theriot a contract.

The Dodgers agreed to terms with Juan Uribe today, so they're set at second. Rafael Furcal will play short, so there's likely no everyday role for Theriot on the team. He was a non-tender candidate before Uribe agreed to play in L.A., so it wouldn't be surprising to see the Dodgers cut him loose.

Theriot, who turns 31 next week, can play second or short. He batted .270/.321/.312 in 640 plate appearances with the Cubs and Dodgers last year, swiping 20 bases in 29 attempts. Though Theriot has never hit for power, he has some speed and a career .348 on base percentage.

The Giants, Padres, Cardinals, Nationals, Mariners and Twins could also show interest in Theriot if he hits the open market. He earned $2.6MM in 2010 and would likely see his salary jump past $3MM through the arbitration process.

Rockies Reach Agreement With De La Rosa

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10:38pm: The Rockies will pay De La Rosa $32-33MM over three years, according to Rosenthal (on Twitter).  Renck says the Rockies and De La Rosa have an agreement in principle, though there is still some question about whether the lefty prefers two or three years.

9:06pm: It's a big day for the Rockies. Not only are they nearing a mega-deal with their All-Star shortstop, they're close to a three-year contract with Jorge de la Rosa, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). De La Rosa and teammate Troy Tulowitzki are both represented by TWC Sports.

Rosenthal reported earlier tonight that the Nationals also made De La Rosa an offer. The Pirates, Orioles, Rangers, Brewers and Yankees also had some interest in Type A free agent. The Rockies would have obtained two compensation picks had De La Rosa signed elsewhere.

Now that De La Rosa, Ted Lilly, Hiroki Kuroda, Javier Vazquez, Jon Garland and Jake Westbrook have signed deals, there's not much left on the starting pitching market other than Cliff Lee and Carl Pavano. As MLBTR's Tim Dierkes explained earlier today, many teams could be looking to add starters.

Astros Outright Chacin, Byrdak; Sign Corporan

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MONDAY, 10:31am: The Astros have released Byrdak, tweets Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

WEDNESDAY, 1:26pm: The Astros outrighted Tim Byrdak, Gustavo Chacin and Matt Nevarez off of the 40-man roster, according to a team press release. Byrdak and Chacin were both arbitration eligible, but MLBTR had identified them as non-tender candidates earlier in the month. Nevarez will be assigned to the Astros’ Triple-A Oklahoma City roster; Byrdak and Chacin can become free agents.

Byrdak, a 37-year-old lefty, posted a 3.49 ERA in 64 relief appearances (38 2/3 innings) with 6.8 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9. Chacin, also a left-hander, posted a 4.70 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 in 38 1/3 innings of work. It was his first appearance in the major leagues since 2007, when he was still with the Blue Jays.

The team also signed catcher Carlos Corporan to a minor league deal and invited him to Spring Training. The 26-year-old has just one major league plate appearance to his name (he singled), but he has a .251/.306/.377 line in over 2,000 minor league plate appearances.

The Mets’ Asking Price For Jose Reyes

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MONDAY, 9:12am: The Mets' internal discussions about trading Reyes were just "normal due diligence," reports Andy Martino of the New York Daily News, and he's more likely to stay with the team for 2011.

WEDNESDAY, 4:37pm: Jose Reyes is available, but the Mets want three or four players in exchange for their shortstop, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). Reyes, 27, earns $11MM in 2011 before becoming a free agent. He hit .282/.321/.428 with 30 steals and 50 extra base hits in 603 plate appearances last year.

There's no indication that Mets GM Sandy Alderson is actively shopping Reyes, but there would be a market for him. Earlier today, Schulman reported that the Giants are focusing on finding a shortstop. Along with the Cardinals and Padres, they have interest in free agent Miguel Tejada. Tejada, Juan Uribe, Cesar Izturis Jason Bartlett, J.J. Hardy, Marco Scutaro and others are potentially available, but in general the shortstops available via trade or free agency aren't overly appealing.

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