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Quick Hits: Duchscherer, Ohlendorf, Tolleson

By Mike Axisa | January 28, 2011 at 8:36pm CDT

Links for Friday…

Justin Duchscherer threw 50-55 pitches in front of two teams today, including the Orioles according to Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun. Duchscherer has invited every team except the Athletics to a public workout next Tuesday. Connolly says it's possible he'll sign before then. (Twitter links)
"Both sides of the table are hopeful of finding a solution without going to a hearing," said Pirates GM Neal Huntington to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch when asked about Ross Ohlendorf's arbitration case. "But both sides are fully prepared to go to a hearing if that's the only way to find a resolution. That's not an ideal ending, and I think both sides are fully aware of the ramifications if we had to go there." Pittsburgh hasn't gone to a hearing with a player since Jack Wilson in 2004. Our Arbitration Tracker shows that Ohlendorf filed for $2.02MM, the team $1.4MM.
MLB.com's Corey Brock says we shouldn't expect the Padres to move any starting pitchers in Spring Training this year.
The Athletics announced that infielder Steven Tolleson has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A. He was designated for assignment last week when Oakland announced the Brian Fuentes signing.

Blue Jays Avoid Arbitration With Jason Frasor

By Mike Axisa | January 28, 2011 at 7:56pm CDT

The Blue Jays and Jason Frasor have agreed to a one-year contract worth $3.5MM according to a press release. The deal also includes a club option for 2012 worth $3.75MM. Frasor accepted arbitration back in November rather than hit the open market as a Type-A free agent reliever.

The 33-year-old right-hander posted a 3.68 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 63 2/3 innings last season, and over the last two years he owns a 3.12 ERA, 9.0 K/9, and 3.2 BB/9. Frasor is the incumbent in a rebuilt Toronto bullpen that lost Scott Downs and Kevin Gregg but added Carlos Villanueva, Octavio Dotel, Jon Rauch, and Frank Francisco.

Our Arbitration Tracker shows that Frasor filed for $3.73MM while the team countered with $3.25MM. The new deal essentially splits the two figures.

Choo Will Not Discuss Extension During The Season

By Mike Axisa | January 28, 2011 at 7:26pm CDT

The Indians and Shin-Soo Choo avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract worth $3.975MM earlier this month, but the two sides continue to discuss a multiyear contract even with that deal in place. Choo told MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince that he’s open to talking about a long-term deal during Spring Training, but not once the season begins (Twitter links).

Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer reports that Choo will be exempt from mandatory military service in South Korea after helping his home country win gold at the Asia Games earlier this winter, though he will still have to take part in four weeks of training in November (Twitter link). Choo praised his agent, telling Castrovince “I really trust my agent, Scott Boras. My arbitration year, I didn’t call him at all. I just trust him and he takes care of me.”

Ben Nicholson-Smith looked at the 28-year-old Choo as a potential extension candidate back in September, saying that Nick Markakis’ six-year, $66MM contract could be used as a basis for comparison. Since coming back from Tommy John surgery in 2008, the one they call Big League Choo has hit .302/.397/.500 with 56 homers and 47 steals in 1,701 plate appearances. Albert Pujols set a similar deadline for his extension, though Choo will not be eligible for free agency until after the 2013 season.

Orioles Not Making Progress With Vladimir Guerrero

By Mike Axisa | January 28, 2011 at 6:05pm CDT

6:05pm: Olney says the O's are being told that Guerrero has an $8MM offer in hand, which is about $3.5MM more than they are willing to spend, including incentives (Twitter link). Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reported that Baltimore's offer falls in the $3MM to $5MM range.

MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli hears that the two sides are not close to a contract, while SI.com's Jon Heyman hasn't heard of any recent progress. (Twitter links)

5:21pm: The Orioles and Vladimir Guerrero are making progress in their talks, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (on Twitter). If a deal does get worked out, Guerrero would assume DH duties and push Luke Scott to left field according to Buster.

Yesterday we heard that the O's offered Vlad a one-year deal worth about $2MM, but the former AL MVP wasn't terribly enthusiastic about it. As Ben Nicholson-Smith explained, Guerrero's market is limited, so it's tough to see him signing for much more than what was offered. He hit .300/.345/.496 with 29 homers for the Rangers last season, earning $6.5MM in the process.

Dodgers Sign Mike MacDougal

By Mike Axisa | January 28, 2011 at 5:22pm CDT

The Dodgers have signed Mike MacDougal to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training according to the team (on Twitter).

MacDougal, 34 in March, appeared in 17 games for the Cardinals last season, striking out 14 and walking 12 in 18 2/3 innings of work. He saved 20 games for the Nationals in 2009, though he walked (38) more batters than he struck out (34) in 54 1/3 innings that year. MacDougal still throws extremely hard, but he's always been held back by command issues.

The former All-Star has signed minor league contracts in each of the last three offseasons.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Wells, Butler, Weeks, Cubs

By Mike Axisa | January 28, 2011 at 12:02pm CDT

The Brewers signed Jim Edmonds to a minor-league contract one year ago today, even though the outfielder did not play at all during the 2009 season. He hit a more than respectable .286/.350/.493 with eight homers in 240 plate appearances before being traded to the Reds for Chris Dickerson. All told, the 40-year-old Edmonds hit .276/.342/.504 last season, though he battled oblique and achilles strains.

Here is this week's collection of links…

Pine Tar And Pocket Protectors calls the Vernon Wells trade an "act of desperation."
Lookout Landing doesn't get the trade for the Angels.
LA Angels Insider says everyone knew the team would eventually cut ties with Mike Napoli.
Baseball Time In Arlington looks at the ripple effect of the Rangers acquiring Napoli.
Rooftop View compares Wells to another high-priced outfielder, Alfonso Soriano.
Royals Review believes that Billy Butler's contract extension is ridiculously good for the team.
Disciplies of Uecker thinks a three-year contract extension for Rickie Weeks is ideal.
Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness says Scott Podsednik's poor decision has benefitted the Dodgers.
Red Sox Beacon explores Boston's starting pitching depth.
Bay City Ball remembers what Chris Ray brought to the Giants.
The Nats Blog attempts to put together the best lineup for Washington.
Cubs Billy Goat Blog wonders if next year's Cubs will be better than last year's.
M.C. Antil says that Gil Meche did the right thing by retiring.
More Hardball puts together a list of useful players still on the free agent market.
Beyond The Box Score reviews the multiyear contracts given to position players last offseason.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here. Only one email per week, please.

Multiple Teams Interested In Aaron Miles

By Mike Axisa | January 26, 2011 at 11:04pm CDT

11:04pm: Renck confirmed that the Rockies are out on Miles after signing Amezaga (Twitter link). Yesterday's workout sold them on his ability to help the club.

8:16pm: Utility infielder Aaron Miles is drawing interest from multiple AL and NL teams according to Troy Renck of The Denver Post (on Twitter). The Rockies were rumored to be one such team, but they signed Alfredo Amezaga to a minor-league contract earlier today. The Nationals had interest in Miles earlier this offseason as well.

The 34-year-old hit .281/.311/.317 in 151 plate appearances for the Cardinals last season, not all that far off from his .282/.321/.354 career batting line. He has plenty of experience at both middle infield spots and has dabbled at third base and in left field in his career. Miles also has five career pitching appearances (3.60 ERA) to his credit, so he can always do that in an emergency as well.

Reds Notes: Cueto, Volquez

By Mike Axisa | January 26, 2011 at 9:47pm CDT

A few notes from the Queen City…

John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer has the breakdown of Johnny Cueto's new contract. The right-hander will earn $3.4MM in 2011, $5.4MM in 2012, $7.4MM in 2013, and $10MM in 2014. A $10MM club option for 2015 can be bought out for $800K.
GM Walt Jocketty told Fay that the team and Edinson Volquez are still talking about a multi-year contract extension, and that he's confident they'll get at least a one-year deal done before an arbitration hearing (Twitter link). We first heard that the two sides were talking about a deal late last week.

Padres Sign Greg Burke To Minor League Deal

By Mike Axisa | January 26, 2011 at 6:41pm CDT

The Padres have signed righty reliever Greg Burke to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training according to a press release.

The 28-year-old Burke has been with the Padres' organization since signing as an undrafted free agent in 2006, spending the entire 2010 season with their Triple-A affiliate. He posted a 5.68 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 58 2/3 innings last season. Burke got a taste of the big leagues in 2009, when he put up a 4.14 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in 45 2/3 innings for San Diego.

Padres Sign Jorge Cantu

By Mike Axisa | January 26, 2011 at 6:33pm CDT

The Padres have officially signed Jorge Cantu to a one-year deal worth $850K, the team announced. We had previously heard that San Diego preferred to sign him to a minor league pact. Cantu is represented by the Wasserman Media Group.

Cantu, 29 later this week, hit just .256/.304/.392 in 515 plate appearances for the Marlins and Rangers last season, though he performed at a much more respectable .283/.336/.462 clip from 2008-2009. Capable of playing the corner infield spots and filling in at second in an emergency, he offers some versatility and could platoon with the left-swinging Brad Hawpe at first.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports originally reported the agreement (Twitter links), while Marty Caswell of XX 1090 in San Diego added the terms (Twitter link).

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