Holliday & Pineiro Turn Down Arbitration
Matt Holliday and Joel Pineiro turned down arbitration offers from the Cardinals, as expected, according to the team's Twitter account. Mark DeRosa did the same earlier tonight.
Holliday will net the Cards a pair of top picks if he signs elsewhere; DeRosa and Pineiro could each net the Cards a sandwich round selection.
Mike Gonzalez Turns Down Arbitration
Mike Gonzalez has turned down arbitration to explore the market, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown. Rafael Soriano accepted the Braves' offer earlier tonight, so the Braves have a deep bullpen even without Gonzalez.
Gonzalez is a Type A free agent, so they stand to gain a pair of top picks if he signs elsewhere.
Adrian Beltre Turns Down Arbitration
Adrian Beltre turned down the Mariners' offer of arbitration, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown. Beltre is a Type B free agent, so it won't cost a draft pick to sign him, but the Mariners will obtain a supplementary pick if the third baseman signs elsewhere.
Jose Valverde Turns Down Arbitration
Jose Valverde turned down the Astros' offer of arbitration, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Valverde, a Type A free agent, remains on the open market. If the Astros don't sign him, they'll receive two high draft picks – one from the team that signs Valverde and one supplementary rounder.
Carl Pavano Accepts Arbitration
As expected, Carl Pavano accepted the Twins' offer of arbitration, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Rafael Soriano Accepts Arbitration
Rafael Soriano accepted arbitration, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Braves, who recently signed Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito, will have lots of relatively expensive relievers under contract now. Imagine if Mike Gonzalez accepts, too.
As ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick points out, the Braves need Soriano's permission to trade him before June 15th. Apparently Soriano prefers the security of a one-year deal to the uncertainty of a market that would have been dulled by his Type A status.
Braves Notes: Lowe, Johnson, Church
The Braves are "really pushing" for a Derek Lowe trade, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The righty has three years and $45MM remaining on his contract, so the club would prefer to part with him than Javier Vazquez, who's more affordable ($11.5MM salary in 2010) and more effective.
The Braves are also getting "nibbles" on Kelly Johnson and Ryan Church. There's more interest in Johnson than Church.
Rafael Betancourt Accepts Arbitration
Rafael Betancourt accepted the Rockies' offer of arbitration, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. The reliever was a Type A free agent, so he would have cost other teams a pair of top draft picks. Accepting arbitration is safer than testing a market that's saturated with trade chips and free agents. Had Betancourt rejected the Rockies' offer, he would have risked becoming this year's Juan Cruz – a player good enough to gain Type A status, but not good enough to give up top picks for.
The Rockies declined their $5.4MMM option for Betancourt earlier in the offseason. The righty should still be in line for a raise from the $3.35MM base salary he earned this year.
Mariners Interested In Darren Oliver
The Mariners are doing their best to make the Angels feel uneasy. They're interested in free agent lefty Darren Oliver, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The M's are expected to finalize a deal with longtime Angel Chone Figgins soon and they're in the mix for John Lackey. The Angels didn't offer Oliver arbitration, so, unlike Figgins and Lackey, he won't cost a draft pick.
In the words of one unnamed FOX source, "there's some gamesmanship going on."
Rays Shopping Dioner Navarro
The Rays, who recently acquired Kelly Shoppach, are shopping catcher Dioner Navarro, according to Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports. Navarro is a non-tender candidate, especially since the Rays have Shoppach around. It makes sense for the Rays to explore trade options if they expect to non-tender him this weekend.
The Giants, Mariners, Rockies, Mets and Blue Jays are among the teams with interest in adding a catcher, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Rays work out a deal with one of those clubs.