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Cardinals Sign J.R. Towles

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The Cardinals have signed J.R. Towles to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, reports Ken Davidoff of The New York Post (on Twitter). The catcher is represented by Burton Rocks LTD.

Towles, 28, is a career .187/.267/.315 hitter in 484 big league plate appearances with the Astros. He spent last season with the Triple-A affiliate of the Twins, where he hit .214/.280/.315 in 189 plate appearances. Baseball America ranked Towles as the 53rd best prospect in the game prior to the 2008 season, but he was unable to live up to the promise he showed earlier in this career.

Phillies To Sign John Lannan

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The Phillies have agreed to sign left-hander John Lannan to a one-year, $2.5MM contract, the team announced today. The deal includes another $2.5M in bonuses according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (all Twitter links). Lannan is represented by Brodie Van Wagenen at CAA Sports.

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“Clearly we have a familiarity with John and his past performance and success in this division helps us add depth to our rotation,” GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said.

The pitching-rich Nationals non-tendered the 28-year-old Lannan last month rather than pay a projected $5MM in his third trip through arbitration. He spent most of last season in Triple-A (4.30 ERA in 148 2/3 innings) despite a $5MM salary, though he did make six big league starts for Washington (4.13 ERA in 32 2/3 innings).

Lannan, a four-pitch finesse left-hander, brings reliability to the Phillies rotation. He's thrown at least 180 total innings in each of the last five seasons and has a career 53.0% ground ball rate, which is well-above-average. He won't miss many bats though (career 4.7 K/9). Philadelphia was reportedly seeking a low-risk starter after trading Vance Worley for Ben Revere, and Lannan qualifies.

Because he was non-tendered in November, Lannan did not qualify for Tim Dierkes' Top 50 Free Agents List.

Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com first reported the agreement (on Twitter). Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Mets Acquire Collin Cowgill

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The Athletics have traded outfielder Collin Cowgill to the Mets for minor league infielder Jefry Marte, the team announced. The trade frees up a 40-man roster spot for Oakland, who officially announced the Hiroyuki Nakajima signing as well.

Cowgill, 26, was originally drafted by the Diamondbacks before being sent to the A's in the Trevor Cahill trade. He's a .255/.319/.311 hitter in 219 career big league plate appearances and a .315/.384/.482 hitter in 741 career Triple-A plate appearances. As a right-handed hitter with plenty of experience in all three outfield spots, Cowgill has a strong chance to open the season with New York.

Marte, 21, hit .251/.322/.366 in 513 plate appearances at the Double-A level in 2013, his first season above Single-A ball. Baseball America did not rank him as one of the Mets' top 30 prospects in their Prospect Handbook before the season, though he did rank 26th one year ago. Marte has spent the majority of his career at third base.

Brewers Sign Donnie Murphy

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The Brewers have signed Donnie Murphy to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, the team announced. The infielder is a Lapa/Leventhal client.

Murphy, 29, hit .216/.281/.379 in 129 plate appearances with the Marlins last season while playing the three non-first base infield positions. He's a .205/.270/.373 career hitter in 640 big league plate appearances and a .285/.351/.556 career hitter 738 Triple-A plate appearances.

Astros To Sign Carlos Pena

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The Astros have agreed to sign Carlos Pena to a one-year contract worth $2.9MM, reports Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. The Scott Boras client can earn another $1.4MM in incentives.

Pena, 34, is expected to split first base and DH duties with Brett Wallace according to Knobler. He hit just .197/.330/.354 in 600 plate appearances for the Rays this past season, though he did hit 19 homers as well. Pena has hit .206/.337/.408 over the last three seasons, so the Astros are counting on him to continue drawing walks and hitting the ball over the fence.

MLBTR's Tim Dierkes did not rank Pena among this winter's Top 50 Free Agents. The signing likely eliminates the possibility of a Lance Berkman reunion in Houston.

Quick Hits: Clemens, Tigers, Soriano, Mets, Dodgers

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Agent Randy Hendricks dismissed the possibility of Roger Clemens pitching in the Mexican League, reports ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (all Twitter links). "He is not going to Mexico no matter how many articles they run for publicity,'' said Hendricks, who also said Clemens only signed with the Sugarland Skeeters this summer so he could play with his son Koby close to home. Here's the latest from around the league as Saturday turns into Sunday…

  • People with the Tigers are still "fairly certain" owner Mike Ilitch won't be talked into signing Rafael Soriano, reports Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). He mentions that Ilitch was the driving force behind the Anibal Sanchez deal.
  • The Mets do not figure to get outfield help in a potential R.A. Dickey trade, and Joel Sherman of The New York Post says (on Twitter) the team will just patch things up with cheap free agents or trades.
  • Sherman notes that the impending Dickey trade and the James Shields trade show that the cost for high-end pitching is very steep (Twitter links). The Zack Greinke deal shows how steep the price can be in free agency.
  • Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times has a breakdown of the $2+ billion Guggenheim Baseball Management paid for the Dodgers. Magic Johnson kicked in $50MM while three others contributed $100MM apiece.

Troy Glaus Contacted Yankees About Comeback

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Soon after the announcement of Alex Rodriguez's left hip injury, Troy Glaus contacted the Yankees and expressed an interest in returning to baseball according to WFAN's Sweeny Murti. Cody Ransom, who filled in at third base during A-Rod's first hip surgery in 2009, also contacted the team.

Glaus, 36, has been retired since 2010. He hit .240/.344/.400 with 16 homers in 483 plate appearances for the Braves that year, though he played first base almost exclusively. Glaus was hampered by knee and shoulder injuries late in his career, and he's supposedly 100% healthy after taking the last two years off. The Yankees have since signed Kevin Youkilis to plug their third base hole.

Angels In Contact With Tigers About Rick Porcello

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The Angels have been in contact with the Tigers about Rick Porcello, reports Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. The Pirates, Padres, Rangers, Phillies, Twins, and Royals also have interest in the right-hander, though Knobler says Detroit doesn't have interest in Pittsburgh closer Joel Hanrahan.

Drafted 23rd overall in 2007, the 23-year-old Porcello zoomed to the big leagues after just one season in the minors. He owns a 4.55 ERA with 5.0 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 120 starts and 691 2/3 innings. His 52.3% ground ball rate helps make up for the lack of strikeouts. Porcello earned $3.1MM in 2012 and projects to earn $4.7MM in his second trip through arbitration this winter. He's a Super Two and will be eligible for free agency after 2015.

The Tigers re-signed Anibal Sanchez a few days ago, rounding out a stellar front-four that includes also Justin Verlander, Doug Fister, Max Scherzer. Porcello and Drew Smyly are the front-runners for the fifth starter's spot. The Angels have acquired Tommy Hanson and signed Joe Blanton this winter, but they're still looking for rotation depth behind Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson.

Blue Jays Working On Trade For R.A. Dickey

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After a long day of rumors on Friday, the Blue Jays and Mets are nearing a trade that would send R.A. Dickey to Toronto for top prospect Travis d'Arnaud according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports. Other players involved in the deal are unconfirmed. Here's the latest on the potential trade…

  • It's currently a 3-for-4 trade according to Sherman (all Twitter links). Dickey, Thole, and a prospect will go to Toronto for d'Arnaud, Syndergaard, John Buck, and a prospect. Sherman says the two unnamed prospects would not be elite guys. He adds that the framework could change since the Blue Jays will send the Mets money to help cover Buck's salary.
  • Martino reports (on Twitter) that Blue Jays pitching prospect Aaron Sanchez has also been discussed.
  • Rubin heard from a source that it's unclear if there will be resolution tonight (Twitter links). A Mets official indicated the same to Puma, saying "there is a lot to this."

Earlier Updates:

  • As of this morning, the deal had four players coming to the Mets and three to the Blue Jays, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter links). Toronto also wants a catcher back in the deal, and that could be Josh Thole. The Mets have discussed getting pitching prospect Noah Syndergaard in the deal as well, Puma tweets.
  • The two teams are inching towards the finish line, a source tells Passan (via Twitter). At least some players' medicals have been reviewed and a deal is imminent.
  • Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com says the two sides have agreed that d'Arnaud can be the centerpiece of the trade after the Mets rejected a Gose/J.P. Arencibia package (all Twitter links). Once they finalize the rest of the players involved, it's believed Dickey will talk about an extension with Toronto.
  • Sherman reports (on Twitter) that Gose is not part of the trade talks for Dickey. The Blue Jays are building a package around d'Arnaud.
  • Richard Griffin of The Toronto Star reports (on Twitter) that the Blue Jays need to sign Dickey to an extension and receive a top prospect from the Mets if they're going to include d'Arnaud and Gose in the trade.
  • Joel Sherman of The New York Post says (on Twitter) the two sides are still working through matters are there is confidence the deal will get done.
  • Dickey has not yet engaged the Blue Jays in contract extension talks, reports Adam Rubin of ESPN New York. He also has yet to be asked to take a physical.
  • The Blue Jays are willing to include d'Arnaud and Anthony Gose in the trade according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News (Twitter links). Any other names remain unconfirmed.
  • Martino reports (on Twitter) that the Blue Jays have been reviewing Dickey's medicals since yesterday afternoon.

Yankees, Angels Discussed Vernon Wells

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The Angels have a few too many outfielders after signing Josh Hamilton, though they prefer to trade Kendrys Morales or Vernon Wells rather than Peter Bourjos or Mark Trumbo according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Yankees discussed Wells with Anaheim at the Winter Meetings.

Wells, 34, has hit .222/.258/.409 in 791 plate appearances with the Angels over the last two seasons. He's owed $21MM in each of the next two seasons, and the Halos know they'll have to eat most of that to facilitate a trade. The Yankees are seeking a right-handed bat to complement their all-lefty outfield, though they still have interest in free agent Scott Hairston. Wells has hit .266/.312/.481 against southpaws these last two years.

Rosenthal says the Phillies and Rays are also possible fits for Wells, though the former is ramping up their pursuit of Cody Ross. Wells has a full no-trade clause but would likely waive it for a team offering more playing time.

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