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Dodgers In Contact With Three For Left Field

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At this time last season, the Dodgers were ready to start the season with a future Hall of Famer roaming left field. Now they're still trying to find someone for the job after Scott Podsednik declined his half of a mutual option. They had some interest in Bill Hall, but he decided to sign with the Astros. The Dodgers have now turned their attention to three other left field candidates according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick, making contact with Marcus Thames and the brothers Hairston: Scott and Jerry Jr.

Thames, 34 in March, hit .288/.350/.491 in 237 plate appearances for the Yankees in 2010, his best offensive season since 2006. He's a disaster defensively, with a -27.4 UZR/150 in left over the last three seasons. Jerry, the older of the two brothers, played primarily shortstop for the Padres last year, hitting .244/.299/.353 in 476 plate appearances. He dealt with a stress fracture in his tibia at the end of the season. His brother hit .210/.295/.346 in 336 plate appearances for San Diego while battling hamstring issues.

Both Thames and Scott excel at punishing left-handers, with .264/.333/.505 and .278/.331/.498 career batting lines against southpaws, respectively. That would be useful in a division that features lefties Barry Zito, Jonathan Sanchez, Joe Saunders, and Clayton Richard, among others.

Nolasco Remains Optimistic About Extension

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2:15pm: In a comment to MLBTR, Nolasco's agent Matt Sosnick said, "Ricky is still hopeful that a deal can be reached for him to stay in Florida.  We remain optimistic that something can be worked out with the team.  We don't see it as an impasse, just the normal course of discussions.  Anyone who says we hit a stalemate is reading too much into it."

12:21pm: The Marlins and arbitration-eligible right-hander Ricky Nolasco have hit a stalemate in their talks about a long-term contract extension, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. We heard that "a significant gulf exists between the two sides" back in September. Morosi says they've been exchanging three-year proposals.

If the Marlins and Nolasco are unable to agree to a long-term deal, they could simply allow the arbitration process to play out, settling on a one-year contract around $6MM (he earned $3.8MM in 2010). Nolasco is arbitration-eligible for the third time as a Super Two, so the Marlins still control him through 2012.

Morosi says that several teams have called in recent days to express interest in the 28-year-old right-hander, and we know Florida is gauging interest around the league. Nolasco was involved in talks about a potential three-team trade earlier this offseason, but those talks fell apart. We know the Yankees, Rangers, Nationals, Brewers, and Twins are looking for pitching help, but there are surely others.

Poll: Which Team Will Trade For Zack Greinke?

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Former AL Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke has been mentioned as a trade candidate all offseason, but yesterday we learned that the right-hander unequivocally asked the team for a trade. He can block a trade to 15 teams, including the Yankees, Red Sox, and Nationals, but not the Tigers, Angels, or Rangers. The Blue Jays have been perhaps the most aggressive team in pursuit of the right-hander.

There are 30 teams out there that would love to have Greinke to their rotation, but it will take a substantial prospect package to land him. Kansas City owns the game’s best farm system, loaded with pitchers (especially left-handed) and players at the corner positions, so they could seek help up-the-middle in a trade. Earlier today we learned that they wanted second baseman/shortstop Danny Espinosa from the Nationals in a package, supporting that theory.

The Yankees are reluctant about pursuing Greinke, but if the price drops far enough they’ll almost surely entertain the idea after losing out on Cliff Lee. The Rangers have already made at least one offer. Greinke has said he’s willing to go anywhere, but the Royals say they won’t trade him within the division. Where do you think he’ll end up?

Which team will trade for Zack Greinke?
Another team not listed 23.23% (6,241 votes)
Rangers 18.18% (4,884 votes)
Yankees 14.23% (3,823 votes)
Blue Jays 8.30% (2,230 votes)
He won't be traded 7.15% (1,920 votes)
Phillies 6.47% (1,739 votes)
Angels 5.97% (1,605 votes)
Red Sox 5.97% (1,603 votes)
Nationals 5.77% (1,549 votes)
Tigers 4.73% (1,271 votes)
Total Votes: 26,865

Red Sox Sign Dan Wheeler

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The Red Sox have signed reliever Dan Wheeler to a one-year contract worth $3MM guaranteed. The deal includes a $3MM option (no buyout) for 2012 that can vest with 65 appearances. Another $250K can be earned with 75 appearances. Wheeler has passed his physical. He is represented by Myles Shoda of Diamond Sports Management, Inc.

Wheeler, 33, spent the last three-and-a-half seasons pitching out of the Rays bullpen, where he posted a 4.32 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 268.2 innings. If we remove intentional walks, his walk rate drops all the way down to 2.4 BB/9. Wheeler has a very pronounced platoon split, holding righties to a .217/.270/.365 batting line in his career while lefties tagged him for a .275/.341/.491. It's worth noting that he held left-handed batters to a .154/.227/.436 line in 2010.

The move is a homecoming of sorts for Wheeler, who was born in Providence and went to high school in Warwick, Rhode Island. He joins Bobby Jenks as the newest members of Boston's rebuilt bullpen. In a winter that has featured many three-year contracts for relievers, the Red Sox managed to land both Jenks and Wheeler for three contract years combined.

Although Wheeler was a Type-A free agent, the Rays did not offer him arbitration and will not receive any draft pick compensation. Tampa declined his $4MM option for 2011, instead choosing to pay him a $1MM buyout.

The agreement was originally reported by ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes (Twitter link). WEEI.com's Alex Speier and AOLFanHouse's Steve Phillips added the contract details.

Olney’s Latest: Greinke, Cabrera, Astros

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In today's blog post at ESPN (Insider req'd), Buster Olney says that the first day of Spring Training acts as an artificial deadline for the Royals to trade Zack Greinke. At that point he will show up to the clubhouse and dominate the team's storyline. Olney likens it to the Johan Santana situation from a few years ago, when the Twins felt pressure to move him before pitchers and catchers reported. He adds that Greinke's performance would then be under intense scrutiny, even during Spring Training, and if he pitches poorly his trade value will plummet.

Here are the rest of Olney's rumors…

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Phillies, Uggla, Carmona

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On this date six years ago, a three-team trade that would have sent Randy Johnson and Kazuhisa Ishii to the Yankees, Shawn Green and Brad Penny to the Diamondbacks, and Javier Vazquez plus prospects to the Dodgers fell apart when Los Angeles backed out. The Big Unit ended up with the Yanks and Green with the D'Backs anyway, but Penny stayed with the Dodgers while Vazquez went to Arizona. Ishii ended up with the Mets in a separate deal.

There's no backing out of these links, here's the best from around the web…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

“Heavy Action” On Bobby Jenks

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THURSDAY, 10:34am: Jenks is looking for "closer money," according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link). Heyman suggests that means Jenks is looking for at least $8MM.

WEDNESDAY, 9:07pm: It's a good time to be a free agent reliever, and one of the biggest on the market (both literally and figuratively) is former White Sox closer Bobby Jenks. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that there is "heavy action" on the right-hander, with both the Rays and Yankees showing interest. Jenks is not close to a decision, however.

Jenks, 30 in March, was non-tendered a few weeks ago after earning $7.5MM in 2010. Although his 4.44 ERA this season was the worst of his career, he struck out 10.4 batters per nine innings while walking just 2.9 unintentionally. Jenks also had a 58.3% ground ball rate, tenth best among relievers with at 50 IP, and his trademark velocity even crept up late in the season. 

Rafael Soriano is the best reliever on the market, but Jenks represents a reasonably priced alternative for teams looking to add a proven closer. The Rays are looking to replace Soriano while the Yankees have some money to spend after losing out in Cliff Lee. They would use Jenks in a setup role, of course.

Nishioka, Twins “Very Close” To Deal

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8:37am: The sides are close to a three-year, $10MM deal plus an option, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter links).

THURSDAY, 7:47am: The Twins are "very close" to a deal with Nishioka, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

WEDNESDAY, 6:51pm: Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka is scheduled to arrive in Minnesota early Thursday morning according to Kelsie Smith and John Shipley of The Pioneer Press, which they say is a good indication that the two sides are moving closer to a deal. GM Bill Smith declined to comment on the matter, however…

"I'm not commenting on any of that," said Smith. "There's very little to report. We're still in discussions and negotiations. As I've been saying, we think he can help us, and I'm very optimistic we can sign him."

The Twins won the bidding for Nishioka a little less than three weeks ago, and they recently offered him a multiyear deal. The two sides still have ten days from tomorrow to get a contract worked out (including physical). Minnesota traded J.J. Hardy to the Orioles last week, which tells us they're confident in getting a deal done with Nishioka. 

Cubs Close To Finalizing A Deal With Kerry Wood

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It appears that Kerry Wood will be going back to where it all started. David Kaplan of Chicago Now reports that the free agent right-hander is "moving towards finalizing a deal" with the Cubs, the team that originally drafted him. Earlier tonight we learned that the White Sox offered Wood a two-year contract, but it's entirely possible that they changed course once they landed Jesse Crain.

No longer the pitcher that once struck out 20 batters in one game or set the then-single season record with 12.5820 K/9 in 1998, Wood has morphed into a high-strikeout late game reliever. His 2010 season featured 9.6 K/9 for the Indians and Yankees, and a few years ago he saved 34 games for the Cubbies while striking out 11.4 batters per nine innings.  

Joe Beimel Has Multiple Offers

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Lefty reliever Joe Beimel is sitting on offers from several teams tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post, but none of them have come from the Rockies. 

The market for Beimel has been very quiet this offseason, but that is nothing new. The 33-year-old lefty hasn't signed a contract before January since the 2005-2006 offseason, and in each of the last two winters he's had to wait until March to find a job. Beimel pitched to a 3.40 ERA in 45 innings for the Rockies in 2010, holding left-handed batters to a .221/.275/.379 batting line. 

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