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At Least Three Teams In On Albert Pujols

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11:20pm: Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that the dollar amount on the Marlins' nine-year offer to Pujols is believed to be "well below" what the Cardinals offered prior to the season.

7:56pm: We already know that the Marlins have made Albert Pujols a contract offer and that the Cardinals met with his agent today in Milwaukee, but Yahoo's Tim Brown says those are just two of at least three teams "actively jockeying" for Pujols' services. While Brown is unsure of the identity of the third team, he guesses it could be the Rangers or Cubs.

The list of suitors for Pujols figures to grow before the slugger eventually makes a decision. According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link), the Cards plan to stay under the radar in the bidding, and say that nothing is imminent between the two sides (Twitter link).

Quick Hits: Wood, Red Sox, Angels, Lidge, Astros

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Let's round up some links left over from Day Two of the GM meetings in Milwaukee….

  • David Kaplan of CSNChicago reports that Kerry Wood is likely to return to the Cubs rather than retire, and may even sign a multiyear deal.
  • Echoing Larry Lucchino's sentiment from earlier this evening, GM Ben Cherington told reporters, including ESPNBoston's Gordon Edes (Twitter link), that there's "an expectation" the Red Sox will expand their managerial search. Dale Sveum, the only candidate the Sox have interviewed twice, has reportedly been offered the Cubs' position.
  • The Angels promoted Justin Hollander, previously the player development and scouting assistant, to director of baseball operations, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.
  • Brad Lidge's agent, Rex Gary, declined to comment to Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald about which clubs had contacted him about the right-hander. However, Gary continues to say his client is open to any role: "He's listening. We’ll listen to whatever clubs want to outline. He certainly can close, but he's open to any other circumstances that presents an opportunity for him to succeed."
  • The Angels are among the clubs who seem lukewarm about the idea of the Astros' move to the AL West, writes DiGiovanna.

Cubs Offer Dale Sveum Position As Manager

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10:10pm: The Cubs have offered Sveum the job as manager, tweets Heyman. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports notes (via Twitter) that the Red Sox, who are also considering Sveum, haven't made him an official offer.

10:03pm: Mike Maddux will most likely drop out of the running for the Cubs managerial opening due to family matters, tweets MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. As such, all signs are pointing to Brewers hitting coach Dale Sveum for the job, as Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets.

Sveum is the only candidate the Cubs have interviewed twice in person so far, and Heyman notes (on Twitter) that Larry Lucchino's comments about potentially expanding the Red Sox managerial search could be another indication that Sveum will end up on the Cubs' bench in 2012.

In addition to Sveum and Maddux, the Cubs are also considering Pete Mackanin, DeMarlo Hale, and Sandy Alomar Jr.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Rays, Orioles, Jays

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Dale Sveum interviewed with the Red Sox for a second time today, and the team expects to bring in at least one more managerial finalist for a second interview. However, it's still a mystery who that finalist will be. Pete Mackanin has been told he's no longer in the running, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (on Twitter), and Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com tweets that Sandy Alomar Jr. and Gene Lamont hadn't heard anything from the team about a second interview as of this evening. Torey Lovullo rounded out Boston's original five interviewees, but Larry Lucchino said tonight that the Sox could "absolutely" expand their search, tweets Rob Bradford of WEEI.

While we wait to see where Boston's hunt for Terry Francona's replacement takes them, let's check out a few more AL East links….

NL West Rumors: Dodgers, Oswalt, Rockies, D’Backs

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Evening links from out of the NL West….

  • While the Dodgers are still prioritizing Hiroki Kuroda, they're considering other starting options and met with Aaron Harang's agent today, writes MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.
  • The Rockies are being "quietly aggressive" in their pursuit of trade targets and free agent Roy Oswalt, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Oswalt's agent, Bob Garber, says the Rockies "have a shot" at signing his client, though multiple GMs are expected to meet with Oswalt at his home next week.
  • It sounds like the Diamondbacks only have mild interest in Oswalt, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. In a column, Piecoro adds that GM Kevin Towers is "kicking the tires" on possible trades, but doesn't feel a sense of urgency to get anything done soon.
  • Despite the run on middle infielders to start the offseason, the Rockies won't reach for a second baseman, says Gurnick.
  • The Giants will have a $130MM payroll in 2012, with arbitration raises making up most of the slight increase, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links).

Heath Bell Rumors: Wednesday

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Yesterday, we heard that Heath Bell has become less certain about accepting an arbitration offer from the Padres, and that there were a few East Coast teams interested in the right-hander. Dan Hayes of the North County Times brings us a few more updates on the three-time All-Star today….

  • Bell's decision on an arbitration offer may come down to the final hour. If he doesn't get a contract offer he prefers before the arbitration deadline, he might accept arb.
  • Years are more important to Bell than dollars, and he's hoping to sign a three-year contract.
  • Hayes hears from a source that the Padres are unlikely to commit to more than two years for Bell.
  • If the Padres are unable to retain Bell, they'll look outside the organization for a ninth-inning replacement, according to GM Josh Byrnes.

McLane Confirms Astros Will Move To AL West In 2013

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Drayton McLane confirmed to reporters, including Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link), that the Astros will be moving to the American League West for 2013. McLane added that the Astros' sale is on the agenda for the owners' meetings tomorrow, at which point Jim Crane is expected to be approved as the team's new owner.

More links on the Astros and the rest of the clubs they'll compete with in the NL Central for one more year:

  • McLane said he's "kind of sad" to be moving on, but that the Astros will have a "very good" owner in Crane, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
  • Kristie Rieken of the Associated Press reports that Major League Baseball told Crane it wouldn't approve his purchase of the Astros unless he agreed to move the team to the AL.
  • The Reds "made good progress" with Brandon Phillips' agent today, though no long-term deal is imminent yet, tweets Jon Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
  • MLB.com's Carrie Muskat has the latest details on the Cubs' managerial search.

NL East Notes: Marlins, Mets, Francisco, Nats, Braves

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Manager Ozzie Guillen says the Marlins are "dead serious" about making a splash in free agency this offseason, and he's not alone. According to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post (Twitter link), Marlins president David Samson said that, this winter, "the poachee is becoming the poacher." I think we've found our tagline for the hypothetical Miami Marlins movie. Here are a few more notes on the Marlins' division rivals:

  • The Mets and Frank Francisco's representatives met today, tweets Newsday's Ken Davidoff. GM Sandy Alderson also said that bringing back Jason Isringhausen is possible, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News (on Twitter).
  • The Nationals don't expect to be in on Ryan Madson or any of the other big-name closers on the market, writes Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. "We have a big closer already," said GM Mike Rizzo, referring to Drew Storen. "Anything can happen. But we like where our bullpen is at. Can we improve the bullpen? Certainly, we could improve the bullpen. But we're really satisfied that we have three guys who are very young, very controllable, very talented."
  • Rizzo also told Kilgore (Twitter link) that there's more trade interest in his players this year than at most previous GM meetings.
  • The Braves have added three minor league pitchers to their 40-man roster, protecting them from the upcoming Rule 5 draft, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman.

Latest On Yu Darvish

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Although many are considering it a given that Yu Darvish will join the offseason's free agent class in the coming weeks, there's no guarantee that Darvish will be posted, as Yahoo's Jeff Passan wrote yesterday. Passan wonders if the right-hander might end up subtly protest NPB's posting system by remaining in Japan, and spoke to one general manager who has the same worries:

"I’m concerned we're not going to see him for a few more years," said the GM. "He's not your average Japanese player. I get the impression he wants to stand for something."

Here are the rest of the latest Darvish-related notes:

  • Not all GMs are concerned about Darvish staying in Japan. One who has scouted the 25-year-old for years told Passan, "He's coming. The money is too good. He makes [$7MM] there. He'll be guaranteed $50MM or $60MM here."
  • SI.com's Jon Heyman agrees, tweeting that Darvish is still "more likely than not" to be posted.
  • Hal Steinbrenner said the Yankees won't be affected by Kei Igawa's lack of success when deciding whether to bid on Darvish, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
  • Tom Verducci of SI.com cites Igawa and others when looking at some rocky NPB-to-MLB transitions in the past.

Free Agent Notes: Aramis, Chavez, Counsell, Wakefield

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Let's round up the latest rumors on a few members of this winter's free agent class:

  • Agent Paul Kinzer told Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link) that, while Aramis Ramirez has a limited market, there are at least two teams very interested in the third baseman.
  • Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News reports (via Twitter) that Eric Chavez's agent told Yankees GM Brian Cashman his client wants to play in 2012. Presumably, since the call went to Cashman, Chavez has some interest in rejoining the Yanks.
  • Plenty of teams are interested in Craig Counsell for a coaching or front office position, but Counsell hopes to play one more year, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. We heard yesterday that Counsell was listening to both playing and "non-playing" offers.
  • Barry Meister, Tim Wakefield's agent, told reporters today that he and Wakefield have talked about the possibility of the knuckleballer signing with a National League team. Meister added that a lot of clubs have called, but he thinks "it would be a shame" if Wakefield didn't pitch for the Red Sox. Rob Bradford of WEEI.com has a transcript of the conversation.
  • Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes isn't officially a free agent yet, but that didn't stop agent Adam Katz from talking to reporters, including Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald, about his client. While there have been some questions about whether Cespedes would need to spend time in the minors, Katz said he believes the 26-year-old is ready for the bigs.

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