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Justin Upton Rumors: Friday

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Put an affordable 23-year-old with superstar potential on the trade market and you're going to hear some juicy rumors. We found out yesterday that the Diamondbacks are prepared to deal Justin Upton even if the move isn't popular with the team's fan base. The Blue Jays are showing strong interest in the right fielder and the Mariners, Marlins, Orioles and Red Sox are among the other interested teams. Here are today's rumors, with more to come throughout the day:

  • The Athletics, Indians, Royals and Tigers are the four clubs on Upton's no-trade list, tweets FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal.  Upton can be dealt to any of the other 25 teams without his approval.
  • At least 15 teams approached the D’Backs about Upton at the GM Meetings and five of those clubs wanted to push talks further along, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, who notes that the Yankees were not one of the five clubs in hot pursuit of the outfielder.
  • Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald says the Red Sox need to deal for Upton and Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic says it would be a mistake for the D'Backs to trade him.

Braves Rumors: Uggla, Prado, Hinske, Diaz

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Dan Uggla is now officially a Brave and David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that both Uggla and the club are both interested in giving Uggla the extension he couldn't get from Florida.  Atlanta GM Frank Wren said the Braves are willing to talk about a long-term contract but not immediately: “I don’t see any reason not to do [an extension]. I mean, we knew what we were getting when we made the deal, and he was the top guy on our list. But I just don’t think we need to jump into things right now.” 

O'Brien explains how the Uggla trade talks developed and what's next for the team (links go to Twitter):

  • The Marlins asked for Martin Prado in exchange for Uggla two weeks ago, but Braves GM Frank Wren said no. He offered Omar Infante, whom Larry Beinfest accepted, along with Mike Dunn, for Uggla.
  • Uggla will wear the #26 jersey formerly worn by Brooks Conrad, but this doesn't mean the Braves will be getting rid of Conrad this winter.
  • The Braves have offered free agent Eric Hinske a contract.  MLB.com's Mark Bowman reports the offer is a one-year contract worth $1.5MM.
  • The club has not yet decided whether to tender Matt Diaz a contract. Arbitration eligible for the fourth time, the outfielder is a non-tender candidate.
  • The Braves sent minor league outfielder Cody Johnson to the Yankees for cash considerations, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch (on Twitter). The 2006 first-rounder batted .189/.269/.343 in 260 plate appearances at Double-A this year. Johnson, 22, hit 32 homers in 2009 and 26 homers in 2008, so he has some pop.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post.

McLane Puts Astros Up For Sale

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Drayton McLane, who bought the Astros in 1992, officially announced his decision to put the team up for sale. The Astros have posted the fourth-best record in the National League since McLane bought the team and reached the 2005 World Series under his ownership. The Astros, who played in the Astrodome when McLane purchased the team, moved into Minute Maid Park in 2000.

The Astros don't figure to be big spenders this offseason, so it seems unlikely that the sale will impact the organization's offseason moves. However, uncertain ownership situations can handcuff teams, as fans of Texas' other MLB team know well.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle that he isn't interested in buying the Astros (Twitter link).

Odds & Ends: Rangers, Greinke, Ordonez, Rays

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Links for Friday, exactly one year after the Cubs signed John Grabow and traded Aaron Heilman to Arizona…

  • Vladimir Guerrero is talking to the Rangers and three other AL teams, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
  • Heyman reports that Bengie Molina wants to play another year (Twitter link).
  • Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. suggested that Raul Ibanez and Jayson Werth are comparable hitters, according to David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News. That's probably not the first comparison agent Scott Boras would make about Werth.
  • An AL executive explained to Sherman that he believes the Royals will trade Zack Greinke sooner rather than later for two reasons: the demand for ace-level starters is high and the Royals don’t want to see a personal or physical issue reduce Greinke’s value.
  • Boras tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that Magglio Ordonez has finished rehabilitating his fractured right ankle and "returned to full workout routines"
  • Rays president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman tells Cork Gaines of Rays Index that he's likely to hold onto his starting pitching because it's so hard to come by.

Orioles Have Some Interest In Nishioka, De La Rosa

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The Orioles aren’t as interested in Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Jorge de la Rosa as it may seem. Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun hears that the O’s have not decided whether to bid on Nishioka, since the posting fee and contract could make the infielder prohibitively expensive. Earlier today, a Japanese report suggested the Orioles had decided to place a bid on Nishioka.

The Denver Post reported this week that the Nationals, Pirates and Orioles have pursued De La Rosa most aggressively, but Zrebiec says the O’s have just “tepid” interest in the lefty.

The Orioles have had multiple conversations with Koji Uehara’s representatives and, according to MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli, are active in trade discussions, too (Twitter link). Baltimore appears to be considering potential deals for a shortstop.

New York Notes: Jeter, Minaya, Rivera

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The Yankees are about to offer their captain a three-year deal worth $45MM. Here's the latest on Derek Jeter, the Yankees and the Mets:

  • Bill Madden of the New York Daily News says Jeter is about to learn that more often than not the Yankees are willing to pay more for someone else's free agent than for their own.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post says Jeter and the Yankees "are a married couple that knows the soft spots with which to hurt each other. Yet they know the marriage must go on."
  • The D'Backs have offered a front office job to former Mets GM Omar Minaya, according to Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal (on Twitter).
  • Mariano Rivera has told friends he'd like a two-year deal from the Yankees, but the sides have not yet discussed contract terms, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
  • The Yankees announced the hiring of Larry Rothschild as their new pitching coach today.  Rothschild has been the pitching coach for the Cubs and Marlins, and was also Tampa Bay's first-ever manager.

Yankees To Offer Jeter $45MM For Three Years

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The Yankees are about to offer Derek Jeter a three-year deal worth $45MM, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported yesterday that the Yankees would likely make such an offer to their captain.

Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork reported earlier in the week that Jeter wants at least a four-year deal and would prefer a five or six-year contract. He also reported that the Yankees would be happy to agree to a three-year $63MM deal. Some have suggested that the Yankees could play hardball with Jeter if he doesn't like their offer and tell him to test the open market and see if he does better.

Yankees Interested In J.C. Romero

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The Yankees are interested in left-hander J.C. Romero, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The longtime Phillie has also drawn interest from the Tigers, though they don't necessarily need to add a left-handed reliever.

Romero, 34, kept his ERA under 4.00 for a fourth consecutive season in 2010, pitching to a 3.68 mark in 36 2/3 innings. He gets lots of groundballs and is effective against left-handed hitters, but his free agent value will likely be limited. Romero struggles against right-handed hitters, he walked more batters (29) than he struck out (28) in 2010 and he dealt with elbow and back soreness.

The Yankees are also interested in Pedro Feliciano and, potentially, Scott Downs. Teams will not have to surrender 2011 draft choices to sign Feliciano or Romero, but Downs may cost a pick.

Dombrowski: Tigers Had To Be Aggressive

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The Tigers spent $16.5MM on Joaquin Benoit because they considered him one of the best available relievers. And because a couple other clubs also made three-year offers, anything less would have fallen short. Detroit GM Dave Dombrowski says the Tigers did not like the idea of losing Benoit to one of his other suitors.

"When you want to get the best players at certain positions, you have to be aggressive and prepared to do things," Dombrowski said on a conference call this morning.

The Tigers will use Benoit as a setup man to closer Jose Valverde in 2011. They have considered adding another left-handed reliever to a bullpen that could include southpaws Daniel Schlereth and Brad Thomas, but Dombrowski says it's not a priority because Valverde and Benoit are effective against hitters from both sides of the plate.

The Tigers are not expecting Benoit to post a 1.34 ERA again, but they believe he'll be a top setup man as long as he's healthy. The 33-year-old passed his physical and says his 2010 production shows he's just fine.

"For me last year it was just to see how my arm was going to respond," Benoit said. "Obviously it came back really good."

Dombrowski says the Tigers have been signing players aggressively since they had a number of free agents and were prepared to make offers right away. But they're not done yet.

"We're still in a position where we think we can make a move and solidify the middle of our lineup with someone," Dombrowski said.

Orioles To Bid On Nishioka

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The Orioles' search for a shortstop has led them to Japan and to the trade market. They are going to bid on Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka according to a Sports Hochi report relayed by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. The Mariners and Padres also seem likely to bid, but the Giants will not bid and the D'Backs probably won't either.

The Dodgers and Cardinals have some interest in Nishioka and we should know the high bidder by early next week. The 26-year-old switch hitter batted .346 with 22 steals and 206 hits last year. ESPN.com's Keith Law and Newman recently offered more analysis of his game.

The Orioles have also discussed deals for J.J. Hardy and Jason Bartlett and have dangled David Hernandez. Dan Connolly of the Sun says he's not sure he would give up Hernandez for either shortstop, since he's a big believer in the right-hander's upside, particularly as a reliever.

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