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Padres Looking To Add Catching Depth

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The Padres are looking for catching help according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (Twitter links), specifically seeking a backup for Nick Hundley. The team will not hand the newly acquired Rob Johnson the job, according to Brock.

The free agent catching pool is rather light at the moment, especially now that former Padre Josh Bard is returning to the Mariners. This is just speculation on my part, but the Angels could be a potential trade match. They have Mike Napoli, Jeff Mathis, Bobby Wilson (who's out of options), and top prospect Hank Conger (debuted in 2010) on the 40-man roster, and could look to move one in exchange for help elsewhere. The recently designated for assignment Max Ramirez could also be an option. Again, that's just my speculation.

Hundley, 27, hit .249/.308/.418 in what was essentially a platoon with Yorvit Torrealba last summer. He's never played more than 85 games in any of three big league seasons, but he's also never played fewer than 60. It'll be tough for San Diego to replace Torrealba's .271/.343/.378 batting line, but upgrades at second base, shortstop, and in center field will help mitigate the loss.

NL Notes: Pavano, Young, Cubs, Brewers

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Some notes from the senior circuit…

  • Carl Pavano is still "entertaining interest" from a handful of teams according to MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling. The Nationals remain very much in that mix, and Goessling's source indicates that there is no timetable for Pavano's decision.
  • Meanwhile, Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post gets the sense from team officials that the Nats are "lukewarm" on Pavano (Twitter link). He says not to expect a deal until Pavano's asking price comes down.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Mets' offer to Chris Young "likely includes guaranteed money over $1 million." A team offical said that yesterday's Chris Capuano pickup will not take the team out of the running for other free agent starters.
  • The Cubs are not planning to upgrade at second base, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). That makes it unlikely that they'll pursue Michael Young.
  • The Brewers have signed right-hander Jesus Sanchez to a minor league deal, reports Baseball America's Matt Eddy (on Twitter). The 23-year-old posted a 2.99 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 129 1/3 Single-A innings for the Phillies last season. They originally acquired him from the Yankees in the Bobby Abreu trade, back when Sanchez was a catcher.
  • Eddy tweets that the Brewers also signed outfielder Brandon Jones to a minor league deal. The 27-year-old hit .231/.333/.325 in the minors last year, bouncing from the Braves to the Pirates to the Tigers.

Yankees Interested In Jeremy Bonderman

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The Yankees have been on the lookout for pitching since losing out on Cliff Lee, and that search has led them to Jeremy Bonderman. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that they have interest in the right-hander according to a Major League source.

Bonderman, still just 28, posted a 5.53 ERA with a 5.9 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 171 innings for the Tigers last season. He's battled significant shoulder issues in recent years, derailing a once promising career. The Rockies, Cubs, and Pirates have shown varying levels of interest in Bonderman this offseason. 

MLBTR's Luke Adams identified Bonderman as a pitcher that could benefit from a move to the National League.  He appears in line for a one-year deal.

Reds Notes: Hermida, Nix, Renteria

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The Reds officially added Jeremy Hermida today, and now John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer brings us some more rumors from the Queen City…

  • The Hermida signing does not mean the team is done looking for a lefty hitting outfielder to platoon with Jonny Gomes. "We’re still looking at other guys," said GM Walt Jocketty. "But we’re going to give him a good opportunity. Hopefully, we can bring in some other guys to compete. Competition is a good thing."
  • "Possibly," replied Jocketty when asked about the possibility of bringing Laynce Nix back. "We haven’t talked about it lately. We've been concentrating on other guys." The Mariners offered Nix a contract last month.
  • Jocketty confirmed that there is nothing new with Edgar Renteria. The club spoke to the shortstop's representatives recently, though he is talking with the Giants again.

Mariners Re-Sign Josh Bard

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The Mariners have re-signed catcher Josh Bard, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. MLB.com's Greg Johns says it's a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training, and that Bard will compete with Adam Moore for the backup catcher job (Twitter links).

The 32-year-old hit .214/.276/.357 in 126 plate appearances with Seattle in 2010, though he did throw out six of 18 would-be base stealers. He also missed some time with a calf strain. Bard is a .256/.323/.387 career hitter, but the last three years haven't been pretty: .218/.285/.332 in 625 plate appearances split between the M's, Nationals, and Padres. 

Padres Agree To Sign Brad Hawpe

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JANUARY 3RD: Hawpe's deal is worth $3MM guaranteed, tweets Bernie Wilson of the Associated Press.  The 31-year-old will earn $2MM in '11 with a $6MM mutual option for '12 that can instead be bought out for $1MM.

DECEMBER 24th: The Padres have reached an agreement with Brad Hawpe on a one-year deal according to Bernie Wilson of the AP (via The Miami Herald). The deal is pending a physical. He is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.

Hawpe, 31, will replace the departed Adrian Gonzalez at first base even though he has just 72 innings of experience at the position in the big leagues. He's a .279/.373/.490 career hitter with at least 22 homers per year from 2006 through 2009. In close to 1,600 plate appearances away from Coors Field, Hawpe is a .271/.367/.467 career hitter. The Padres will likely want to bring in a platoon partner for the lefty swinging Hawpe, who is a .245/.322/.438 career hitter against southpaws.

A quad strain cost Hawpe a little more than two weeks early in the 2010 season, and a rib issue cost him a few days in June. The Rockies cut ties with him in August, and the Rays picked him up off the scrap heap. The Padres also had interest in signing him before Tampa swooped in. Hawpe didn't do much for the Rays on the field (.179/.304/.333 in 46 plate appearances), but he will bring them a supplemental first round pick as a Type-B free agent. San Diego will not have to surrender a pick for the signing.

The Twins’ Rebuilt Bullpen

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The Rays have been the center of the free agent defection universe this winter, most notably losing franchise player Carl Crawford to the division rival Red Sox. Tampa has also waved goodbye to key relievers Dan Wheeler, Joaquin Benoit, and Randy Choate, and figure to do the same to Chad Qualls, Grant Balfour, and Rafael Soriano. They'll feature a completely rebuilt bullpen when the 2011 season begins, but they're not alone.

The Twins, owners of one of the game's best bullpens in 2010 (3.49 ERA), have also dealt with a mass bullpen exodus. Setup men Jesse Crain and Matt Guerrier left town for three-year deals while Brian Fuentes is looking for a similar contract as well. Jon Rauch and Ron Mahay are free agents that remaining unsigned. That fivesome combined for 240 1/3 innings with a 3.03 ERA, which will certainly be tough to replace. 

Matt Capps finished the season as the team's closer, and he'll return as an arbitration-eligible player. Lefty Jose Mijares returns as well, joining fellow southpaw and Rule 5 pick Scott Diamond. The latter could end up the rotation, however. Anthony Slama was up briefly in 2010, but he and his impressive minor league track record (1.95 ERA, 12.5 K/9) figure to get a longer look in 2011. Alex Burnett, Glen Perkins, Rob Delaney, and Jeff Manship will also be returning. Hard throwing Triple-A righty Jim Hoey came over in the J.J. Hardy swap.

The Twins also have a rather significant relief ace in the hole. Joe Nathan is returning from Tommy John surgery and is expected to be ready for the start of the season, so he'll presumably step right back into his familiar closer's role. That pushes Capps back into a setup role, mitigating the loss of Crain and Guerrier somewhat. Pat Neshek will also be further away from Tommy John surgery, and he could be a major addition if he returns to his 2006-2007 form (2.68 ERA, 10.6 K/9 in 107 1/3 innings). 

If the current cast of characters doesn't workout, GM Bill Smith has shown the willingness to go out and trade for bullpen help during the season. He acquired both Fuentes and Capps this past summer and Rauch the summer before. Two years ago he swung a move for Eddie Guardado. Next winter's crop of free agent relievers includes Heath Bell, Jonathan Papelbon, Jonathan Broxton, Francisco Cordero, Ryan Franklin, and Mike Gonzalez, some of whom will surely be made available in trades.

Minnesota lost a lot of quality relievers this offseason, but they still have a strong end-game duo in Nathan and Capps. There are enough warm bodies to try in middle relief, but if nothing sticks they can always go outside the organization for help. Fixing a bullpen in-season is standard practice in today's game, and 2011 will be no different for the Twinkies.

Poll: Which Team Will Sign Orlando Cabrera?

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Most of the big time free agents are off the board, leaving just spare parts and stopgap players on the shelves. One such player is Orlando Cabrera, who’s certainly familiar with this role. None of his three career free agent contracts were agreed to before the month of January, and he even had to wait until early March before joining the Athletics in 2009. Once again, he’s waiting for a team looking for a short-term solution to call his name.

The number of teams looking for an upgrade at short is surprisingly small, but the Reds (who employed Cabrera in 2010) are one of them; they recently spoke to Edgar Renteria’s agent. Perhaps the Pirates get involved as well. A number of clubs are looking for infield help off the bench, including the Giants and Yankees, but Cabrera doesn’t exactly qualify as a bench player. He’s played shortstop exclusively for the last ten seasons, with his only other playing time coming at second base (just 241 career innings). That doesn’t mean he can’t play second or third, just that he hasn’t done in a while.

At age 36, Cabrera’s game is slipping noticeably. He was never a great on-base threat, but his OBP fell to just .303 this past season, his lowest since his rookie season. His overall batting line (.263/.303/.354) represents the lowest OPS (.657) he’s ever put up in a full season. Cabrera’s defense has declined but still qualifies as above average at +4.5 UZR over the last three seasons. The baseline for shortstop production is pretty low these days, so Cabrera can still be a viable everyday player.

Which team will sign Orlando Cabrera?
Another team not listed 19.83% (1,178 votes)
Reds 19.20% (1,140 votes)
Pirates 18.62% (1,106 votes)
Giants 18.35% (1,090 votes)
Yankees 14.04% (834 votes)
He'll go unsigned 9.95% (591 votes)
Total Votes: 5,939

MLBTR Originals: 12/26/10 – 1/2/11

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With a relatively small amount of baseball news being made during in the last week, we pumped out plenty of original content to help quench your hot stove thirst. Let's recap all of it…

Odds & Ends: Lee, A’s, Tigers, O’s, Dodgers

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The first batch of links for 2011…

  • MLB.com's Bryan Hoch wonders if waiting on Cliff Lee could come back to bite the Yankees.
  • The A's still have the cash to continue adding offense according to Jane Lee of MLB.com, but the problem is that the free agent market is thinning. Oakland has added David DeJesus, Josh Willingham, and Hideki Matsui this offseason, but their bid for Adrian Beltre looks to have fallen short.
  • MLB.com's Jason Beck reminds us that both Tigers' manager Jim Leyland and GM Dave Dombrowski aren't under contract beyond the 2011 season, and their fates could be a package deal based on the team's performance.
  • Meanwhile, Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com notes that Andy MacPhail of the Orioles is in the same situation as Dombrowksi.
  • MLB.com's Todd Zolecki says that even though GM Ruben Amaro insists that the Phillies don't have enough financial flexibility left to make mid-season moves, we basically have to see it to believe it.
  • Right now, the plan for the Dodgers appears to be to see what the in-house candidates can do in left field platoon before making another move, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.
  • In a series of tweets, ESPN's Buster Olney says the Orioles liked Adam LaRoche, but not enough to give him a three-year contract. Manager Buck Showalter likes having a good defensive first baseman, which is what Derrek Lee is, and his one-year contract also gives them some flexibility going forward. 
  • Olney and Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel (via Twitter) wonder if the O's will make a run at Prince Fielder next offseason, while Haudricourt speculates that the Cubs could be in that mix as well. They signed Carlos Pena to a one-year deal earlier this offseason.
  • MLB.com's Tom Singer wrote about the surprising clubs that are making big moves this offseason, namely the Brewers and Nationals. 
  • In a reader column at the Detroit Free Press, Casey Caid says the Tigers are just one starting pitcher short of serious contention.

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