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Prince Fielder Rumors: Monday

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It's hard to imagine that anything's holding back the market for Prince Fielder at this point. Albert Pujols signed more than a month ago, Yu Darvish and the Rangers worked out a deal, and agent Scott Boras has taken the time to introduce Fielder to some MLB owners. It doesn't seem likely that a new suitor for the powerful free agent first baseman will emerge if Boras continues waiting, since the sale of the Dodgers won't be completed on time to convince the new ownership group of Fielder's value. We're left with rumors linking Fielder to the Nationals, Rangers, Mariners, Dodgers, Cubs and Orioles, but not much certainty. Here are the latest updates on Fielder, with the most recent notes up top:

  • A Nationals source says he would be "stunned" to see the Nats give Fielder a contract for longer than seven years, reports Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.  Kilgore also looks at some other recent contracts for slugging first basemen and predicts Fielder will receive a seven-year, $170MM deal with whatever team signs him.
  • The Orioles haven't met with Boras and don't have a meeting scheduled, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. There's some interest, depending on Boras' asking price, but Kubatko doesn't expect the Orioles to chase Fielder. "They're nowhere near being in position to sign him," he writes.
  • One GM told Rosenthal that the Rangers are in on Fielder "hard," though others say the Rangers won't go heavy on years (Twitter link).
  • The Orioles are "definitely in on" Fielder and there's plenty of motivation to sign him, Jim Duquette of MLB Network Radio and MLB.com tweets. Duquette is a former Orioles GM who's the cousin of current GM Dan Duquette. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports points out that interest from the Orioles and Nationals gives Boras leverage (Twitter link).
  • The Nationals are a finalist for Fielder, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets. The Rangers and at least one other club are still in the running for him.
  • There's now "something close to a final four" for Fielder, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
  • The Rangers' management team is in the Dominican Republic for the next week, so it's doubtful the team will sign Fielder in the near future, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets.
  • The Nationals continue to work on a deal for Fielder, but there was no agreement as of last night, tweets Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio and ESPN.com. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel repeats (on Twitter) that there's no deal at the moment.

Quick Hits: Pineda, Posada, White Sox, Dodgers

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Today the Yankees and Mariners announced the trade that will send right-handers Michael Pineda and Jose Campos to New York for catcher/DH Jesus Montero and right-hander Hector Noesi. Here are some links for Monday, starting with a couple of notes related to the blockbuster swap…

  • In this week’s edition of Ask BA, Jim Callis of Baseball America explains that he prefers Rangers right-hander Yu Darvish over Pineda in the long term. However, Pineda isn't far behind Darvish in Callis’ estimation.
  • One scout says Noesi could be the "surprise piece" for the Mariners, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
  • Jorge Posada will discuss his retirement at a press conference at Yankee Stadium tomorrow morning, the Yankees announced. News broke a couple of weeks ago that the long time backstop has decided to call it a career.
  • Pita Rona, a 17-year-old New Zealand native, signed with the Orioles, TVNZ reports. Director of international operations David Stockstill and GM Dan Duquette confirmed the move. New Zealand has yet to produce a Major League player.
  •  The White Sox announced that they promoted former player and manager Buddy Bell to the role of VP, player development and special assignments.
  • The first financial proposals to buy the Dodgers arrived over the weekend and the soft deadline for submissions is today, Yahoo’s Tim Brown tweets.

Orioles Release Kyle Hudson

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The Orioles released Kyle Hudson, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports. Baltimore had designated the outfielder for assignment on January 10th to create 40-man roster space for Wei-Ying Chen.

Hudson, 25, posted a .296/.375/.336 line with 41 stolen bases in 485 minor league plate appearances across three levels in 2011. He also appeared in 14 Major League games for the Orioles as a September callup. The 25-year-old has played left and center field since the Orioles selected him in the fourth round of the 2008 draft.

AL East Notes: Ramirez, Rays, Pena, Scutaro, Ibanez

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Here's a look at some items out of the AL East..

  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter) heard from multiple sources today who doubt that the Red Sox will make a play for Hanley Ramirez after trading Marco Scutaro to the Rockies.  However, the club is looking at both pitchers and position players now, according to a source (Twitter link).
  • The Rays budgeted about $6MM for Carlos Pena but upped their bid to $7.25MM out of fear that the Tigers would jump in after losing Victor Martinez for the season, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter).
  • With Pena aboard, the Rays are probably done shopping, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.  While there's some talk of adding a right-handed hitter to the bench, it's not likely to be a major signing.  A trade is still possible, however, as they have a surplus of starting pitchers.
  • Rob Neyer of SB Nation doesn't understand the logic behind the Red Sox trading Scutaro.  While the deal saves the club $6MM, it also means a downgrade at the shortstop position.  The club is reportedly comfortable with a Nick Punto/Mike Aviles platoon.
  • In a perfect world, Boston would add both Roy Oswalt and Cody Ross if GM Ben Cherington can create a little more financial breathing room, writes Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.  The Red Sox, he notes, have kept dialogue open with Oswalt throughout the winter.
  • While it's tough to draw conclusions from the Scutaro trade until the money saved is reallocated, it's safe to say that GM Ben Cherington wasn't as comfortable with his pitching as he claimed, says Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal (Twitter links).
  • Ken Davidoff of Newsday sees the Yankees signing Raul Ibanez to take some of the at-bats that would have gone to Jesus Montero at DH.  The club would prefer a lefty bat and Ibanez isn't terribly concerned about money and plate appearances.
  • While he's been given many opportunities to do so, Orioles Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Dan Duquette has never firmly denied interest in Manny Ramirez, notes Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com.

Orioles Notes: Fielder, Arbitration-Eligibles, Jones

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Orioles GM Dan Duquette spoke to fans and the media at Orioles FanFest today, so let's round up the latest news (all links go to Twitter)…

Luis Ayala Choosing Between Angels, Orioles

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Reliever Luis Ayala is weighing offers from the Angels and the Orioles and could sign with one of the two "at any moment," according to Fernando Ballesteros at the Mexican baseball magazine Puro Béisbol (via Twitter, in Spanish). The Padres, he writes, were also involved but have left negotiations with the 34-year-old. According to Ballesteros, Ayala is seeking a two-year deal.

Ayala earned the privilege of being choosy this winter after a resurgent 2011 with the Yankees. He signed a minor league deal with the team in January after a lost 2010 season, but ended up finishing 20 games and pitching to a 2.09 ERA in 56 innings. His rate of 6.3 K/9 tied previous season highs, and he generated ground balls 50 percent of the time. Last week we learned that the Yankees still had interest in bringing him back, but Ballesteros writes that the team isn't among those currently interested in Ayala.

Orioles To Sign Dennys Reyes

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The Orioles will sign 34-year-old left-hander Dennys Reyes to a minor league deal, a source tells MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith (via Twitter).  Reyes, a Paragon Sports International client, briefly appeared in the Major Leagues with the Red Sox in 2011.

The veteran has spent time with eleven different big league clubs across his 15-year career.  During that span, Reyes has a ERA of 4.21 with 8.0 K/9, 5.0 BB/9 and a ground ball rate of 55.9%.

AL East Links: Montero, Kuroda, Red Sox, Yankees

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Here's the latest from the AL East, starting with an update on two pending moves involving the Yankees…

  • Jesus Montero is dealing with a passport or visa issue at the moment and is unable to travel to Seattle for his physical, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Once that is resolved, the trade sending him and Hector Noesi from the Yankees to the Mariners for Michael Pineda and Jose Campos will be made official.
  • Bob Klapisch of The Bergen Record says (on Twitter) that Hiroki Kuroda is still in Japan, so he has yet to take his physical and finalize his one-year contract with the Yankees. Klapisch adds that like Montero, Campos is stuck in Venezuela at the moment.
  • Red Sox GM Ben Cherington indicated to MLB.com's Ian Browne that the team is unlikely to make any big changes to the roster before Spring Training. "If Spring Training were to start tomorrow, we'd feel good about where we are and [we'd be] ready to put the team together," said the GM.
  • Though the Yankees currently have $1-2MM to spend on a designated hitter, they could free up cash by dealing A.J. Burnett, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets. Burnett has $33MM remaining on his contract, and it would be a surprise if the Yankees free up more than $10MM via trade.
  • Newsday's Ken Davidoff suggests Raul Ibanez might be the best DH option for the Yankees, assuming Johnny Damon signs with a team that can offer more plate appearances.
  • Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com reports that former Oriole Brady Anderson was named special assistant to Orioles GM Dan Duquette today. Melewski also lists some changes in the responsibilities handled by other front office employees.

Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.

Orioles Sign Armando Galarraga

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The Orioles signed Armando Galarraga to a minor league contract, according to the transactions page at CBS Sports. SFX represents the 30-year-old right-hander.

Galarraga struggled through the 2011 season after an eventful 2010 campaign in which he came within one out of throwing a perfect game for the Tigers. Galarraga, who was traded from Detroit to Arizona last January, posted a 5.91 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 42 2/3 innings for the D'Backs in 2011. He also made five Triple-A starts, allowing 24 earned runs in 23 1/3 innings.

Arbitration Filing Numbers

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Many players avoided arbitration today, but dozens of others exchanged figures with their teams in anticipation of hearings. Most cases won't go to arbitration hearings, but teams such as the Rays, Nationals, Marlins, White Sox, Blue Jays and Braves have stuck to 'file and trial' policies in the past. 

MLBTR's arbitration tracker will keep you up to date on every one of the filing numbers from around the game, but here are the highlights — players who filed for $4MM or more. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com had most of the info with MLBTR and others also contributing:

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