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Orioles Acquire Yamaico Navarro, DFA Pomeranz

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The Orioles have acquired Yamaico Navarro from the Pirates for Jhondaniel Medina, the team announced. To make room on the 40-man roster, Stuart Pomeranz was designated for assignment.

Navarro, 25, hit .160/.232/.220 in 56 plate appearances for Pittsburgh and .279/.366/.491 in 257 plate appearances in Triple-A this year. Medina, 19, posted a 4.14 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 50 innings down in Single-A this season. Pomeranz, 27, allowed two runs in six innings for Baltimore this year while pitching to a shiny 0.00 ERA in 23 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A.

Cubs Have Interest In Michael Bourn

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The Cubs have had conversations with Scott Boras about Michael Bourn, reports ESPN Chicago's Bruce Levine. Boras is expected to seek nine figures for the speedy center fielder.

“We do have to address our outfield and we will look to do that,” said GM Jed Hoyer. “We like our prospects, but when they are as far away as some of those guys are you can’t think about those guys. You have to think about your team now … There are a number of players we will be talking to over the next few weeks."

Bourn, 29, is the best remaining center fielder on the market now that B.J. Upton has signed with the Braves and Denard Span has been traded to the Nationals. Top Cubs prospect Brett Jackson reached the big leagues late last season, but the center fielder is expected to open next year in Triple-A after striking out 59 times in 120 at-bats.

Yankees Designate Jayson Nix For Assignment

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The Yankees have designated Jayson Nix for assignment, the team announced. The move creates room on the 40-man roster for the recently re-signed Mariano Rivera.

Nix, 30, hit .243/.306/.384 in 202 plate appearances with New York this year. He signed a new one-year contract to avoid arbitration today, but Chad Jennings of The Journal News says (on Twitter) Nix has agreed to accept the assignment to Triple-A and come to big league Spring Training if he clears waivers.

Jennings notes that Nix's new deal is worth $900K, which is exactly what Matt Swartz projected.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Longoria, Upton, Span

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On this date in 2007, the Rays officially signed Troy Percival to a two-year contract worth $8MM. The veteran right-hander pitched to a 4.89 ERA with 34 saves in 57 innings for Tampa. As our Transaction Tracker shows, Percival was the only free agent pitcher signed to a multiyear contract under Andrew Friedman prior to Joel Peralta's recent two-year pact. Here's the latest from around the web…

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Angels Acquire Tommy Hanson For Jordan Walden

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The Angels have acquired Tommy Hanson from the Braves, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Atlanta will receive Jordan Walden in the one-for-one trade, MLBTR has learned. The teams have confirmed the trade.

Uspw_6630220Hanson, 26, pitched to a 4.48 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 174 2/3 innings this year. The right-hander missed time with shoulder tendinitis last season, and his fastball velocity has been trending in the wrong direction as well. Hanson is arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter, and Matt Swartz projects a $4MM salary. He will remain under team control through 2015.

Walden, 25, pitched to 3.46 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 39 innings this year while missing time with a biceps strain. He was an All-Star as a rookie just last season, when he posted a 2.98 ERA with 34 saves in 60 1/3 innings. Walden is under team control through 2016. Earlier this week we heard he was "very available" after the Angels signed Ryan Madson.

The Angels are in the market for starting pitching this offseason after trading Ervin Santana and declining Dan Haren's option. Zack Greinke is a free agent as well, though he is in very high demand. Hanson gives the club a young arm to fill out the rotation behind Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson. Walden, meanwhile, gives the Braves bullpen depth and a power right-handed setup man in front of closer Craig Kimbrel.

Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Pirates Trying To Retain Grilli, Others Interested

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Only three relievers posted a higher strikeout rate than Jason Grilli this season, so it's no surprise the veteran right-hander is a popular man on the free agent market. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter) that the Pirates are trying to retain Grilli, but a number of teams have interest in him as a closer.

Grilli, 36, pitched to a 2.91 ERA with 13.08 K/8 and 3.4 BB/9 in 58 2/3 innings for Pittsburgh this year. He's revived his career with the Pirates these last two seasons, posting a 2.76 ERA with 12.5 K/9 in 91 1/3 innings since the start of 2011. Tim Dierkes ranked the right-hander 33rd on his Top 50 Free Agents List, predicting he would sign with the Brewers. Grilli is represented by former big leaguer Gary Sheffield.

Quick Hits: Greinke, Brewers, Hanrahan, Hochevar

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The second episode of Rosters and Rumblings, the new podcast featuring MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith and Jason Martinez of MLB Depth Charts, was recorded today. Check out the podcast for analysis of B.J. Upton’s deal with the Braves and the recent contracts for pitchers such as Scott Feldman, Ryan Madson and Andy Pettitte. Here's the latest around the league as Wednesday turns into Thursday…

  • ESPN's Jayson Stark gets the sense that the Zack Greinke bidding won't get serious until the Winter Meetings start in Nashville next week (Twitter link).
  • “We’re making contacts right now … There are a lot of relievers still out there. They sit there and wait until the big guys sign," said Brewers GM Doug Melvin to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy when asked about the team's pursuit of bullpen help.
  • Pirates closer Joel Hanrahan could be on the trade block at the Winter Meetings next week according to Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune Review (on Sulia).
  • After speaking to people within the organization, Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star doesn't expect the Royals to non-tender Luke Hochevar (Twitter link). They are shopping him in trades though.
  • Mike DiGiovanna of The Los Angeles Times hears that Japanese free agent reliever Kyuji Fujikawa prefers to pitch for the Angels or Cubs, though the Diamondbacks are still a possibility as well (Twitter link).
  • Minor league free agents can pay big dividends, writes MLB.com's Andrew Simon. He notes the performances of Gregor Blanco and Quintin Berry, who helped the Giants and Tigers to the World Series this year after signing minor league deals, respectively.

Minor Moves: Volstad, Pena, Balester, Solarte, Buck

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Here are Wednesday's minor moves…

  • Right-hander Chris Volstad and catcher Brayan Pena have rejected their outright assignments and elected free agency, the Royals announced (on Twitter). Both players were designated for assignment last week.
  • The Rangers have signed Collin Balester to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The 26-year-old right-hander allowed 14 runs in 18 innings for the Tigers this year while pitching to a 3.64 ERA in 47 Triple-A innings.
  • The Rangers have also signed Yangervis Solarte to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training according to Morosi. The 25-year-old infielder hit .288/.340/.405 with 11 homers in 568 plate appearances for Texas' Triple-A affiliate this season.
  • The Padres have signed Travis Buck to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, report Baseball America's Matt Eddy (on Twitter). Buck, 29, hit .216/.284/.311 in 81 plate appearances for the Astros this year.
  • The Padres also re-signed catcher Eddy Rodriguez and right-hander Daniel Stange to minor league deals with invites to camp, according to Eddy. The 26-year-old Rodriguez went 1-for-5 with a homer for San Diego this year, his big league debut.

Olney’s Latest: Kershaw, Wright, Porcello, Soriano

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In today's Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney wrote about the character clause on the Hall of Fame ballot as well as Marvin Miller's legacy. Here are his rumors…

  • Olney notes that if the Dodgers do sign Zack Greinke to a record contract, it would have a direct impact on the team's inevitable contract extension negotiations with Clayton Kershaw. The left-hander can become a free agent after 2014.
  • Some evaluators believe David Wright may not be able to find a nine-figure contract as a free agent after next season if he repeats his 2012 effort because he's not an elite power hitter.
  • The Tigers have let other teams know they're willing to discuss Rick Porcello in trades.
  • Olney believes the Tigers should target Rafael Soriano and that Brian Wilson could be a good fit for the Red Sox, whom he grew up rooting for.

Contract Details: Madson, Hunter, Longoria

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Here are some details on three recently-signed contracts…

  • Ryan Madson's one-year contract with Angels will pay him $500k each for 45, 90, 135, and 180 days on the roster as long as he is not on the DL with a right arm injury, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. He will also receive $250K each for 35, 40, 45, and 50 games finished.
  • Torii Hunter's two-year, $26MM contract with the Tigers is slightly backloaded, reports MLB.com's Jason Beck. He'll earn $12MM in 2013 and $14MM in 2014, plus $100K bonuses for each All-Star selection, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, LCS MVP, and World Series MVP he wins.
  • Evan Longoria's salary for 2013 has been reduced from $6MM to $2MM as part of his new contract with the Rays, reports Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times. The remaining $4MM was converted into a signing bonus. Topkin also has information on the deferments and escalator clauses in the deal.
  • The players' union values Longoria's new contract with the Rays at ten years and $131MM according to Rosenthal (on Twitter). The present day value ($136.6MM) has been reduced due to deferred money.

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