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Yankees Links: Hairston, Hughes, Wakamatsu

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Hideki Matsui announced his retirement from baseball after ten years in MLB today, seven of which were spent in New York with the Yankees. Here's the latest from the Bronx…

  • Even after signing Matt Diaz to a minor league contract, the Yankees remain interested in Scott Hairston according to Kevin Kernan of The New York Post. The club is seeking a right-handed bat to complement their all-lefty hitting outfield.
  • Phil Hughes could price himself out of New York with a strong season in 2013, opines Joel Sherman of The New York Post. The right-hander is due to become a free agent next winter and the Yankees are looking to get under the $189MM luxury tax threshold in 2014.
  • Within the same piece, Sherman notes the Yankees will own three of the top 35 and four of the top 65 or so picks in next June's amateur draft. They're slated to receive compensation picks for Nick Swisher and Rafael Soriano.
  • The Yankees have added former Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu to their pro scouting staff, reports Ken Davidoff of The New York Post (on Twitter).

Cubs Agree To Sign Hisanori Takahashi

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The Cubs have agreed to sign Hisanori Takahashi to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). The veteran left-hander is a Wasserman Media Group client.

Takahashi, 37, pitched to a 5.54 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 50 1/3 relief innings for the Angels and Pirates last season. He owns a 3.97 ERA in 240 1/3 MLB innings, making 12 starts and 153 relief appearances. Takahashi has held big league lefties to a .238/.283/.381 batting line with a 4.14 K/BB.

Poll: The Red Sox & Mike Napoli

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It has been 24 days since the Red Sox and Mike Napoli agreed to a three-year contract worth $39MM. The two sides have been unable to finalize the deal due to a hip issue that popped up during the physical, and the team is reportedly trying to put some protective language into the pact. They’ve used similar clauses in contracts for J.D. Drew and John Lackey.

Earlier today we learned the Red Sox have been talking to Adam LaRoche, a free agent first baseman who would be a viable alternative to Napoli. A few hours later we heard that Napoli’s representatives have had talks with at least one other team. Both reports could just be one side trying to gain leverage over the other, or they could be an indication the agreement is falling apart and they’ve both begun to look for alternatives.

With the calendar just about ready to flip over to 2013, unsigned free agents will soon begin to scramble to find jobs for next season. Teams will also start to scramble for solutions to their remaining roster holes since Spring Training will be just six weeks away. Neither Napoli nor the Red Sox want this thing to drag out any longer, so a resolution should come relatively soon one way or the other.

East Links: Phillies, Lee, Orioles, LaRoche, Nationals

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Earlier today the Red Sox finalized the Joel Hanrahan trade and Stephen Drew signing, but assistant GM Brian O'Halloran told reporters (including Tim Britton of The Providence Journal) there is no update on the Mike Napoli situation (Twitter link). Here's the latest from baseball's two East divisions….

Mariners Sign Raul Ibanez

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The Mariners have officially signed Raul Ibanez to a one-year contract, the team announced. The deal is worth $2.75MM guaranteed with another $1.25MM in performance bonuses. The ACES client played in Seattle from 1996-2000 and 2004-2008.

Uspw_6649348Ibanez, 40, hit .240/.308/.453 with 19 homers in 425 plate appearances for the Yankees last season. He was considerably more productive against righties (.248/.319/.492) and at Yankee Stadium (.273/.349/.545), and he wound up starting 76 games in the outfield due to Brett Gardner's injury. The Yankees, Rangers, and Phillies also had interest in signing him.

The Mariners acquired Kendrys Morales last week, who gives the team a logjam at first base and DH along with Jesus Montero, John Jaso, Justin Smoak, and Ibanez. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes did not rate Ibanez as one of this winter's top 50 free agents. The Mariners designated D.J. Mitchell for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the agreement while The Associated Press, WFAN's Sweeny Murti, and MLB.com's Greg Johns added details (Twitter links). Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mariners Designate D.J. Mitchell For Assignment

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The Mariners have designated D.J. Mitchell for assignment, the team announced. The move creates room on the 40-man roster for the recently signed Raul Ibanez.

Mitchell, 25, was acquired from the Yankees in the Ichiro Suzuki trade this summer. The right-hander allowed two runs in 4 2/3 innings for New York this year while pitching to a 4.29 ERA in 134 1/3 innings down in Triple-A.

Jose Lopez Close To Deal With Yomiuri Giants

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Utility man Jose Lopez is getting close to a deal with the Yomiuri Giants, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). He is represented by Martin Arburua.

Lopez, 29, hit .246/.270/.356 with four homers in 248 plate appearances with the Indians and White Sox last season while playing right field in addition to first, second, and third bases. His numbers against left-handers were a bit more respectable (.277/.293/.415).

Heyman notes (on Twitter) that Lopez's recent physical in Houston was for Yomiuri, not the Astros.

Rangers Designate Luis Martinez For Assignment

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The Rangers have designated Luis Martinez for assignment, the team announced. The move creates room on the 40-man roster for A.J. Pierzynski.

Martinez, 27, is a .182/.276/.260 career hitter in 87 big league plate appearances with the Padres and Rangers. Texas acquired the catcher from San Diego last offseason, and he hit .270/.350/.386 in 247 plate appearances for their Triple-A affiliate this summer.

Teams Could Seek Compensation Free Agent Loophole

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WEDNESDAY: MLBTR's Tim Dierkes says (on Twitter) teams would not be permitted to make sign-and-trade deals to avoid the draft pick compensation rules. MLB would view it as collusion.

MONDAY: Some executives are already anticipating that clubs will make an effort to find a loophole for free agents attached to draft pick compensation according to ESPN's Buster Olney (Insider req'd). Forfeiting a draft pick for a free agent also means forfeiting the draft pool money associated with that pick, which is very valuable in this age of restricted draft spending.

Olney says teams have already internally discussed a modified sign-and-trade scenario, and he uses the Indians as an example. Since Cleveland has a protected first round pick and forfeited their second rounder to sign Nick Swisher, the next compensation free agent they sign will cause them to lose just a third rounder. They could sign a compensation free agent, then trade that player to another club in a pre-arranged deal, preumably for something deemed a bit more valuable than a third round pick.

The Yankees explored sign-and-trade scenarios with the Diamondbacks for Carl Pavano and Grant Balfour during the 2010-2011 offseason. Michael Bourn, Kyle Lohse, Rafael Soriano, and Adam LaRoche are the remaining unsigned compensation free agents, and there has been a limited market for all four this winter despite their on-field value. Players signed as free agents can not be traded until after June 15th without their written consent, so they would have to be on board with a sign-and-trade scenario.

Kevin Towers Q&A At FanGraphs

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Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers spoke to David Laurila of FanGraphs just before the holidays, and the interview was published today. The long-time executive discussed his upbringing in the game as well as his team-building philosophies while with the Padres and D'Backs. Here are a few other highlights…

  • Theo Epstein, who was with the Padres early in his career, first introduced Towers to park effects. He says they played a role in acquiring both Chris Young (fly ball pitcher moving to Petco Park) and Trevor Cahill (ground ball pitcher moving to Chase Field).
  • Towers likes a bullpen with different looks, which contributed to the acquisition of Tony Sipp. "Sipp has a little bit of funkiness and deception to his delivery, and historically he’s had very good numbers against left-handed hitters," said the GM.
  • The lack of quality middle infielders, both on the current market and also in the draft and internationally, played an important role in the Didi Gregorius pickup. "Sometimes you have to overpay for [up-the-middle players], because of that lack of inventory," said Towers. Both Sipp and Gregorious were acquired earlier this month in the three-team deal with the Reds and Indians.

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