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Matt Thornton-Braves Rumor Shot Down

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1:53pm: This rumor is bogus, tweets O'Brien.

1:37pm: A potential trade of White Sox lefty reliever Matt Thornton to the Braves is picking up steam, tweets Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.  However, David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says this one's not happening.

Thornton, 35, posted a 3.32 ERA, 9.5 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 0.45 HR/9, and 48.8% groundball rate in 59 2/3 innings for the White Sox this year.  He's owed $12MM through 2013 on an extension signed in March.  It's unclear whether Sox GM Kenny Williams would further deplete his bullpen depth after trading Sergio Santos to Toronto today, but relievers generally aren't crucial to a rebuilding effort.

Pirates, Mariners, Twins Interested In Jeff Francis

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1:06pm: Francis' agent will also meet with the Pirates and Twins this week, tweets Morosi.

TUESDAY, 11:04am: The Mariners will meet today with Francis' agent, tweets Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.  Francis is represented by Frontline, as our agency database shows.

MONDAY, 12:09pm: The Mariners are also interested in Francis, tweets Morosi.  Additionally, the Ms have interest in old favorite Jamie Moyer.  

11:19am: The Pirates are among the teams with interest in free agent lefty Jeff Francis, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The Bucs were in on Francis a year ago, but with a healthy season in the books he'll certainly require more than a one-year, $2MM guarantee this time.

The Pirates also reportedly have interest in free agent pitchers Wei-Yin Chen, Tsuyoshi Wada, and Aaron Cook.

Red Sox Re-Sign Andrew Miller

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The Red Sox re-signed lefty Andrew Miller, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Miller had been arbitration eligible.  He received a non-guaranteed Major League deal worth $1.04MM, tweets WEEI's Alex Speier.

Miller, 26, posted a 5.54 ERA, 6.9 K/9, 5.7 BB/9, 1.11 HR/9, and 45.4% groundball rate in 65 innings for the Red Sox this year, faring a little better in 65 2/3 Triple-A frames.  The big southpaw might have been a non-tender candidate had he made it to the December 12th deadline unsigned.  Miller is represented by Frontline.

Giants Trying To Trade Keppinger, Torres, Ramirez

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12:37pm: It'd be a fairly easy call for the Giants to non-tender Keppinger, reports Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News.  Baggarly also notes that the Giants intend to work out a multiyear deal with starter Ryan Vogelsong, who would be eligible for free agency after 2012.  For more on the Giants' huge arbitration class, read up here.

11:34am: The Giants are trying to trade infielder Jeff Keppinger, outfielder Andres Torres, and reliever Ramon Ramirez, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.  They're planning to keep lefty Jeremy Affeldt.  ESPN's Buster Olney says there's a strong feeling by other teams Torres will be non-tendered.  If so, the Giants may not be able to get much for him.  Torres was the second-most valuable center fielder in baseball in 2010, based on FanGraphs' wins above replacement.

Keppinger, Torres, and Ramirez are all arbitration eligible, and MLBTR projects salaries in the $2.3-2.7MM range for each.

Lincecum Off-Limits Even If Not Extended

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The Giants will not explore trading ace Tim Lincecum if they're unable to sign him long-term this winter, GM Brian Sabean told reporters including Andrew Baggarly.  Lincecum is under team control through 2013, and is line for a historic arbitration payday for each season.  Yesterday we learned that Lincecum's agent met with the Giants but little progress was made.

Blue Jays Acquire Sergio Santos

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The Blue Jays acquired reliever Sergio Santos from the White Sox for righty prospect Nestor Molina, announced the team.

Santos

In Santos, 28, Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos found his closer on the trade market.  The converted infielder posted a 3.55 ERA, 13.1 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, 0.85 HR/9, and 43% groundball rate in 63 1/3 innings for the White Sox this year, saving 30 games in 36 tries.  He was formerly a shortstop in Toronto's minor league system from 2006-08.  It was surprising to see Santos (pictured) dealt, as there had been no rumors and he signed a three-year, $8.25MM deal with the Sox in September.  The contract includes three club options, so the Blue Jays have cost certainty on Santos potentially through 2017.  For fantasy analysis of Toronto's Santos acquisition, check out Bryan Grosnick's post at CloserNews.    

Molina, 22, posted a 2.21 ERA, 10.2 K/9, 1.1 BB/9, and 0.6 HR/9 in 130 1/3 innings across High and Double-A this year.  Molina is a converted infielder himself, and appears close to MLB-ready.  Though Molina was not among the Blue Jays' top 30 prospects in Baseball America's handbook before the season, his stock presumably rose with his excellent 2011.  Molina is a good prospect who doesn't offer much projection, writes ESPN's Keith Law.  Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus agrees, saying "his stuff falls well below his statistics," and he projects as a #4 starter with a shot at becoming a #3.

"This is the start of a rebuilding," White Sox GM Kenny Williams told reporters today, noting that it is not "the start of falling domino rebuilding."  Santos himself was affordable, but perhaps Williams preferred a future rotation candidate in Molina.  A lot is riding on Molina after this surprising one-for-one swap.  Given Williams' rebuilding comment, look for plenty of rumors regarding John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Carlos Quentin, and others in the coming weeks, although the offers have disappointed Williams to date.  

Anthopoulos and Williams matched up once before, on the July deal that sent Jason Frasor and Zach Stewart to Chicago for Edwin Jackson and Mark Teahen.  

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Tigers, Blue Jays, Padres Inquired On Daniel Murphy

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TUESDAY, 11:19am: In reference to Murphy, a Mets official told ESPNNewYork's Adam Rubin, "Some players are more valuable to us than other clubs."

MONDAY, 2:19pm: The Tigers, Blue Jays, and Padres inquired on Mets infielder Daniel Murphy, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Sherman adds that the Mets like the Tigers' Andy Dirks as a potential center field alternative to Angel Pagan.

Murphy, 26, hit .320/.362/.448 in 423 plate appearances while playing first base, second base, and third base this year.

Royals Rumors: Needs, Guillen, Lowe

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Yesterday the Royals were linked to Oakland's Gio Gonzalez and free agent Carlos Guillen, and it was also suggested they'd listen on relievers Joakim Soria and Greg Holland.  The latest on the team:

  • The Royals seek a right-handed alternative to play third base and give Mike Moustakas an occasional break, GM Dayton Moore told Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.  Casey Blake and Kevin Kouzmanoff are a couple of free agents who could fit the bill, in my opinion.
  • The Royals have a full 40-man roster, so they'd have to free up a spot to make a Rule 5 pick on Thursday.
  • The Royals tried for Derek Lowe before the Braves traded him to the Indians.
  • Manager Ned Yost told Dutton the Royals would like to add a situational lefty to serve as an alternative to Tim Collins.  Check out the free agent lefty relievers here.
  • Moore seemed to acknowledge interest in Guillen, but noted, "I think there are going to be quite a few players like that around in January if we want to supplement our team."  
  • Dutton confirmed the Royals' interest in Gonzalez with a source, though they currently don't like the Athletics' asking price of multiple impact prospects.
  • Regarding unfounded lobby rumors yesterday, Moore commented to reporters including MLB.com's Dick Kaegel, "I'd like to keep Wil Myers' name out of the paper as much as possible.  Wil Myers is a young, talented player. He had a tremendous Arizona Fall League. We live with him every day. We love him and he's a big part of our future. But he's a Double-A player. He's going to produce at his own natural rate. We're not going to put unrealistic expectations on him. What other cliche do you want?"

MLBTR’s Free Agent Tracker

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MLBTR has an excellent free agent tracker that allows you to filter by team, position, signing status, contract years, and contract amount.  We recently added totals when you filter by team, so for example you can quickly see that the Dodgers have spent $37.050MM this offseason.  Also, hyperlinked player names lead you to MLBTR's post on the signing.  Keep up with the Winter Meetings madness with our free agent tracker!

Prince Fielder Rumors: Monday

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The latest on free agent slugger Prince Fielder…

  • Fielder is too pricey to fit into the Dodgers' plans, writes Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times. That point is illustrated by GM Ned Colletti's rhetorical response when asked about the free agent slugger on Monday: "Can we sign Prince for $3 million this year and $30 million the next year?"
  • Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik seemed to suggest today that the Mariners have discussed Fielder with Scott Boras, writes MLB.com's Greg Johns. Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times views the GM's comments as a sign that the M's are in a holding pattern, waiting to see if Fielder's price tag will come down.
  • The Nationals are focused on pitching, and won't be a player for Fielder or Albert Pujols, a Nats source tells Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio (Twitter link).
  • The Brewers are indicating that they're out of the running for Fielder and are moving on, tweets ESPN.com's Buster Olney.
  • The market for Fielder appears to be shrinking, hears Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel from team executives.
  • A person who knows Fielder tells ESPN's Jerry Crasnick comfort is important to the slugger and he's not necessarily going to chase the most money.
  • The Orioles are interested in Fielder, confirmed GM Dan Duquette.  However, Duquette also told Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com that he doesn't want fans to get their hopes up.  The Orioles' interest in Fielder is the secret mandate of owner Peter Angelos, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  I think a team's owner will be involved no matter where Fielder signs.

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