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Latest On Yoenis Cespedes

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Yoenis Cespedes is in the U.S. and plans to meet with the Marlins tomorrow. The latest on the Cuban outfielder, who may have a deal by the time Spring Training begins:

  • Marlins president David Samson hinted to Jayson Stark of ESPN.com that Miami might be ready to make its move. “I don’t know how tomorrow will go. But it would not surprise me if it ended with an offer,” Samson said (all Twitter links). Samson said the Marlins will go to lunch with Cespedes tomorrow and show him their new ballpark. The Marlins will "do something spectacular" for Cespedes, Samson said.
  • Cespedes told reporters he'd like to play in Miami, Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald tweets. MLB.com's Joe Frisaro hears the Marlins are the frontrunner at this point (Twitter link).
  • An American League source tells Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel that the Marlins are likely to sign Cespedes.
  • Cespedes is arriving in Miami today to meet with Katz, tweets Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post, and he's expected to meet with the Marlins tomorrow for a ballpark tour.  Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that executives from other teams may visit Cespedes later in Miami as well.  The Orioles are planning a scouting trip to see Cespedes within seven to ten days, tweets Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun.
  • As of Sunday, Cespedes still had not been unblocked by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, even though he's a free agent and can negotiate with MLB teams.  Katz explained, "I think we can come to terms with no execution of contract and no playing."  Katz is "reasonably confident" Cespedes will be signed in time for camp this year.
  • Cespedes awaits face-to-face meetings with his agents and interested teams, writes Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com.  The goal is to have Cespedes in big league camp by the third week of February.  Industry sources tell Levine bidding could reach $60MM over six years.  In January, Cespedes named the Cubs as his most interested suitor.

Roy Oswalt Rumors: Tuesday

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 The latest on free agent righty Roy Oswalt…

Yankees Sign Bill Hall

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3:24pm: Hall will earn a base salary of $600K in the Major Leagues and can earn more incentives based on plate appearances, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets.  Hall can opt out of his deal if he isn't on the Major League roster on April 4th.

2:51pm: The Yankees have signed utility infielder Bill Hall, based on his tweet, "IT'S OFFICIAL IM A YANKEE!!!!!!!! #IwannaRing!!!!"  He signed a minor league deal, tweets Erik Boland of Newsday.  Hall is a client of Gaylord Sports Management.

Hall, 32, posted a .211/.261/.314 line in 199 plate appearances for the Astros and Giants last year, playing mostly second base.  In more of a utility role for the 2010 Red Sox, Hall managed 18 home runs in 382 plate appearances.  Hall works out with Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long during the offseason.

Dodgers Sign Jamey Wright

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The Dodgers signed reliever Jamey Wright to a minor league deal with a spring training invite, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times.  Wright is represented by Excel Sports Management.

Wright, 37, posted a 3.16 ERA, 6.3 K/9, 4.0 BB/9, 0.79 HR/9, and 58.2% groundball rate in 68 1/3 innings for the Mariners last year.  Among those with 60 innings, that groundball rate ranked fourth in the American League.

Wright will battle other Dodgers non-roster right-handed relief invitees such as Jose Ascanio, Angel Guzman, Shane Lindsay, Fernando Nieve, and Ryan Tucker for long relief work.  Here's a look at the remaining free agent right-handed relievers.

Draft Pick Currency

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The Tigers used "draft pick currency" in acquiring Miguel Cabrera from the Marlins in 2007 using '05 first-round pick Cameron Maybin and '06 first rounder Andrew Miller, agent Scott Boras noted in January.  Boras feels that the Tigers were ahead of the curve in that regard.  Let's take a look at other first-round picks who were dealt within approximately three years of being drafted in recent years.

  • November 2007: Twins trade 2005 first-rounder Matt Garza with Eduardo Morlan and Jason Bartlett to Rays for Delmon Young, Brendan Harris and Jason Pridie.  GM: Bill Smith.
  • January 2008: Braves trade 2005 first-rounder Joey Devine with Jamie Richmond to the Athletics for Mark Kotsay.  GM: Frank Wren.
  • July 2008: Red Sox trade 2005 first-rounder Craig Hansen and Brandon Moss to Pirates, Dodgers sent 2006 first-rounder Bryan Morris and Andy LaRoche to Pirates, Red Sox sent Manny Ramirez to Dodgers, Pirates sent Jason Bay to Red Sox.  GMs: Theo Epstein, Ned Colletti.
  • July 2008: Phillies trade 2006 first-rounder Adrian Cardenas, Josh Outman, and Matthew Spencer to Athletics for Joe Blanton.  GM: Pat Gillick.
  • July 2008: Brewers trade 2007 first-rounder Matt LaPorta, Michael Brantley, Rob Bryson, and Zach Jackson to Indians for C.C. Sabathia.  GM: Doug Melvin.
  • June 2009: Cardinals trade 2006 first-rounder Chris Perez and Jess Todd to Indians for Mark DeRosa.  GM: John Mozeliak.
  • July 2009: Giants trade 2007 first-rounder Tim Alderson to Pirates for Freddy Sanchez.  GM: Brian Sabean.
  • July 2009: Red Sox trade 2007 first-rounder Nick Hagadone, 2008 first-rounder Bryan Price, and Justin Masterson to Indians for Victor Martinez.  GM: Theo Epstein.
  • July 2009: Cardinals trade 2008 first-rounder Brett Wallace, Shane Peterson, and Clayton Mortensen to Athletics for Matt Holliday.  The A's traded Wallace several months later, and then the Blue Jays traded him in July 2010.
  • July 2009: White Sox trade 2007 first rounder Aaron Poreda, Clayton Richard, Adam Russell, and Dexter Carter for Jake Peavy.  GM: Kenny Williams.
  • December 2009: Mariners trade 2006 first-rounder Brandon Morrow to Blue Jays for Johermyn Chavez and Brandon League.  GM: Jack Zduriencik.
  • December 2009: Diamondbacks trade 2006 first-rounder Max Scherzer and 2008 first-rounder Daniel Schlereth to Tigers, Tigers sent Curtis Granderson to Yankees, Tigers sent Edwin Jackson to Diamondbacks, Yankees sent Phil Coke and Austin Jackson to Tigers, Yankees sent 2006 first-rounder Ian Kennedy to Diamondbacks.  GMs: Josh Byrnes, Brian Cashman.
  • December 2009: Phillies trade 2006 first-rounder Kyle Drabek, 2007 first-rounder Travis d'Arnaud, and Michael Taylor to Blue Jays for Roy Halladay and cash.  GM: Ruben Amaro, Jr.
  • December 2009: Mariners trade 2007 first-rounder Phillippe Aumont, J.C. Ramirez, and Tyson Gillies to Phillies for Cliff Lee.  GM: Jack Zduriencik.
  • July 2010: Rangers trade 2007 first-rounder Michael Main and Chris Ray to Giants for Bengie Molina.  GM: Jon Daniels.
  • July 2010: Rangers trade 2008 first-rounder Justin Smoak, 2007 first-rounder Blake Beavan, Matthew Lawson, and Josh Lueke to Mariners for Cliff Lee, Mark Lowe, and cash.  GM: Jon Daniels.
  • December 2011: Reds trade 2008 first-rounder Yonder Alonso, 2010 first rounder Yasmani Grandal, Edinson Volquez, and 2009 first-rounder Brad Boxberger to Padres for Mat Latos.  GM: Walt Jocketty.
  • December 2010: Brewers trade 2008 first-rounder Brett Lawrie to Blue Jays for Shaun Marcum.  GM: Doug Melvin.
  • December 2010: Red Sox trade 2008 first-rounder Casey Kelly, 2009 first rounder Reymond Fuentes, Anthony Rizzo, and Eric Patterson to Padres for Adrian Gonzalez.  GM: Theo Epstein.
  • July 2011: Tigers trade 2010 first-rounder Chance Ruffin, Francisco Martinez, Charlie Furbush, and Casper Wells to Mariners for Doug Fister and David Pauley.  GM: Dave Dombrowski.
  • July 2011: Indians trade 2010 first-rounder Drew Pomeranz, Alex White, Joseph Gardner, and Matt McBride to Rockies for Ubaldo Jimenez.  GM: Chris Antonetti.
  • July 2011: Giants trade 2009 first rounder Zack Wheeler to Mets for Carlos Beltran.  GM: Brian Sabean.

Bottom line: if the Cubs reach a point of contending under Epstein, recent first-round picks should keep their bags packed.  Melvin, Sabean, and the Phillies' brass have been aggressive in trading first-round picks.  Zduriencik moved a couple of first-rounders when the Mariners were closer to contention, although they were not his draft picks.

As for literal draft pick currency, 13 teams are eligible for the first competitive balance draft pick lottery this year.  The picks given for this lottery can be traded, but only once by a team, only during the regular season, and not for cash.

Mariners Sign Hong-Chih Kuo

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TUESDAY: Kuo's $500K guarantee increases to $1MM on the active roster, and he can earn another $2.25MM in incentives, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

MONDAY: The Mariners signed lefty reliever Hong-Chih Kuo to a one-year, Major League contract, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times.  Kuo has passed his physical, notes ESPN's Jayson Stark.  The Mariners will have to create a spot on the 40-man roster for Kuo, who is represented by Octagon.

Kuo, 30, allowed an earned run per inning in a difficult 2011 season with the Dodgers.  With a 1.96 ERA, 10.6 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 0.37 HR/9, and 5.8 H/9 in 170 innings, Kuo had been one of the game's most dominant relievers over the three prior seasons when healthy.  He had a DL stint for an anxiety disorder last season, and in October endured his fifth career elbow surgery.  

Kuo, a native of Taiwan, will again team up with Mariners offseason acquisition George Sherrill.  They'll presumably be setting up closer Brandon League.

After Kuo was non-tendered by the Dodgers in December, they continued to show interest, as did a few other unknown West Coast teams.  As our free agent tracker shows, Mike Gonzalez and Arthur Rhodes are now the top available lefty relievers.

Latest At RotoAuthority.com

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Our newly-relaunched fantasy baseball website RotoAuthority is always fresh and free.  The latest:

Cardinals Sign Alex Cora

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4:19pm: Cora would get $800K in the Major Leagues, the Associated Press reports (via ESPN.com).

12:00pm: The Cardinals agreed to a minor league deal with a spring training invite with infielder Alex Cora, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  On Saturday, MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez reported a deal was close.

Cora will compete for a utility infield role, writes Goold.  The 36-year-old Scott Boras client hit .224/.287/.276 in 172 plate appearances for the Nationals last year, spending most of his time in the field on the left side of the infield.

Nationals Sign Mark Teahen

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The Nationals announced today they've signed infielder/outfielder Mark Teahen to a minor league deal.  They also announced their deal with outfielder Rick Ankiel.

Teahen, 30, hit .200/.273/.300 in 177 plate appearances for the White Sox last year, appearing at the infield and outfield corners.  The Blue Jays took Teahen and his contract from the White Sox last summer to facilitate their temporary acquisition of Edwin Jackson.  The Jays ended up releasing Teahen last month.  He's represented by CAA Sports.

The Nationals will also have Andres Blanco, Jarrett Hoffpauir, Chad Tracy, Mike Cameron, Brett Carroll, Jason Michaels, and Xavier Paul in camp competing for part-time roles on the big league club.

Duquette On Guthrie, Bullpen, Manny

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With starter Jeremy Guthrie entering his contract year, Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette felt compelled to send him to the Rockies for pitchers Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom, who can both be controlled for 2013.  Duquette praised the strikeout-to-walk ratios of his new additions.  Other notes from Duquette's conference call today:

  • Duquette feels Hammel essentially replaces Guthrie's innings in the rotation, and Lindstrom represents a power arm at the back of the Orioles' bullpen.  By the way, for the latest bullpen depth charts check out RotoAuthority, and for breaking news about stoppers follow @closernews on Twitter.
  • Duquette didn't care to speculate on whether the Orioles would have retained Guthrie had he settled a month ago on a figure closer to the team's $7.25MM submission.  He did note that he didn't think that salary was possible unless they won a hearing.  Upon the trade Guthrie ended up settling below the midpoint, at $8.2MM.
  • "We didn't have any offers of young prospects for Jeremy," Duquette told reporters.
  • The Orioles top exec wouldn't comment on the Rangers' Koji Uehara, but he did say, "We would still like to strengthen our bullpen between now and Spring Training."
  • Duquette admitted he's had exploratory talks with Manny Ramirez's agent and the Orioles have seen him work out, but added, "We are still considering the composition of this club, and some of the challenges of integrating a player like Manny into our ballclub and market."

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