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Orioles Considering Kyle McClellan

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The Orioles are considering possible trades for Kyle McClellan, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets. It's not clear if the Cardinals are ready to move the right-hander, since Chris Carpenter may not be ready for Opening Day and they may decide to preserve their depth. 

The Cardinals appeared to be shopping McClellan in January, and the Orioles had interest in him at that time. McClellan, 27, opened the 2011 season in the Cardinals' rotation before moving to the bullpen. He completed 141 2/3 innings with a 4.19 ERA, 4.8 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 last year and will earn $2.5MM in 2012. The Orioles pitching staff already features more than its share of new additions after a busy offseason under Dan Duquette.

Quick Hits: Dodgers, Buxton, Cohen

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It was on this day in 1921 that Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis imposed lifetime bans from baseball on eight members of the 1919 White Sox for their alleged role in throwing that year's World Series.  The most famous of the eight "Black Sox" is one of the game's all-time greats, Shoeless Joe Jackson, whose participation in the game-fixing scandal has been disputed for years (he hit .375/.394/.563 in the eight Series games).

Some news as we wrap up a busy Monday in the majors…

  • Major League Baseball did not invite real estate developer Alan Casden to a meeting of competing groups bidding to buy the Dodgers, effectively removing Casden from the process, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.  Casden's rejection means that the list of potential new Dodgers ownership groups has been narrowed to six.
  • The Orioles held a workout for high school outfielder Byron Buxton, reports Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun.  Buxton is projected to be one of the top picks in this summer's amateur draft and could be taken by the O's with the fourth overall pick, though Schmuck says "there's a lot of buzz" that the Mariners could draft Buxton third overall.  According to Baseball America's Conor Glassey, Buxton's "explosive athleticism and five-tool potential has already led some scouts to compare [him] to a hybrid of the Upton brothers."
  • Steve Cohen is "the most important man in Major League Baseball right now," writes Mike Ozanian of Forbes Magazine, for offering to buy partial ownership of the financially-struggling Mets and for his ability to present a "simple" bid to buy the Dodgers.

Quick Hits: Dodgers, Rangers, Nats, Gregg, Ordonez

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On this day in 2002, the Yankees released outfielder Ruben Rivera, who allegedly stole teammate Derek Jeter’s glove from his locker at the club’s Spring Training complex and proceeded to sell it. On with some links …

  • Veteran Mark Ellis is excited to be with a big market club such as the Dodgers and sounds excited about the team spending competitively in the future, writes John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Ellis also wants to see his former club, the A’s, get the new stadium that they’re pushing for.
  • Mike Bauman of MLB.com believes that the Rangers’ rotation will be just as solid as it was last year even following the departure of C.J. Wilson.
  • It wouldn’t surprise MLB.com’s Bill Ladson if Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo traded for a center fielder for the long term before the season started.  Ladson also sees John Lannan being dealt before Opening Day.
  • Orioles reliever Kevin Gregg would like to remain with Baltimore despite rumors of a possible trade, writes Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com: “I wasn’t blind to the fact that this team was a work in progress, and that’s part of what drew me here. [I wanted] to be a part of it,” Gregg said. Gregg signed a two-year deal with the O’s prior to 2011 that includes a $6MM vesting option for 2013 based on appearances.
  • Free agent outfielder/DH Magglio Ordonez would like to play in 2012 but isn’t close to signing and is currently in his native Venezuela, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com. Maggs, 38, batted just .255/.303/.331 in 357 plate appearances last season, though he posted respectable offensive numbers as recently as 2010.
  • The Mariners could boast a terrific rotation right now had they retained the likes of Cliff Lee, Brandon Morrow, Doug Fister and Michael Pineda, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, but GM Jack Zduriencik instead opted to trade off those arms in an attempt to replenish a thin farm system. Now, the M’s are pinning their hopes on young, cost-controlled hurlers Taijuan Walker, Danny Hultzen and James Paxton, as well as a few other prospects.

AL East Notes: Wieters, Yankees, Rodriguez, Red Sox

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News and notes out of the American League East..

  • Orioles catcher Matt Wieters told reporters today that he doesn't hold a grudge against the club for renewing his contract, writes Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun.  The Scott Boras client will be eligible for arbitration after this season and can hit the open market after the 2015 season.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post offers up two ideas for how the Yankees can stay below the $189MM threshold while keeping their core in tact.  His first idea is to extend and rework Alex Rodriguez's after the 2013 season in order to lower the average value of his contract.  Rodriguez is currently slated to make $86MM over four years starting in 2014 but Sherman suggests that the Bombers could turn $24MM in uncertain bonuses into a $14MM add-on for '18.  The Bombers could also suppress the average salary of Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson by extending them under their current deals rather than after 2014.
  • As he waited for the Yankees' call this offseason, Eric Chavez wasn't sure if he'd be playing this year, writes Jeff Bradley of the Star-Ledger.  Chavez, 34, also had conversations with the White Sox but ultimately chose to return to New York.
  • Bobby Valentine & Co. are working to solve the Red Sox bullpen puzzle, which involves several relievers who are out-of-options, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.com.
  • Red Sox closer Andrew Bailey took a long and strange path to wind up where he is today, writes Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe. 

Quick Hits: Yankees, Orioles, Ramirez, Red Sox

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Friday night linkage..

Duquette: Damon Deal Unlikely

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FRIDAY: Duquette told Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com "maybe" when asked if Damon was a possibility. Another Orioles person said "not yet" (Twitter link).

THURSDAY: Orioles executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette told reporters, including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, that he doesn't expect to sign Johnny Damon (Twitter link). Even though the free agent continues to be linked to the Orioles, Duquette doesn't anticipate a deal.

"I don't think so. I already signed Johnny Damon when he was 28," Duquette said in reference to Damon's deal with the Red Sox.

Damon hit .261/.326/.418 with 16 homers and 29 doubles in 582 plate appearances for the Rays in 2011. He was Tampa Bay's primary DH last year, but maintains he could still play the field if necessary. Agent Scott Boras recently suggested the market for his client will pick up within a few weeks.

I'm sure there's a lot of clubs that are looking at youth, and by the time spring training ends they may be looking at it differently," Boras told MLBTR's Tim Dierkes last week.

AL East Notes: Rivera, Roberts, Moore, Cherington

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It was on this day in 1985 that the Blue Jays and Dave Stieb finalized one of the more unique contracts in baseball history — an 11-year deal worth a guaranteed $16.6MM and (with incentives) possibly worth as much as $25MM.  Larry Stone of the Seattle Times looked back at the contract in 2010, noting that while the Jays absorbed some criticism for the deal at the time, they got a bargain in the long run when Stieb developed into one of the best pitchers of his era.  In 1991, the Jays reworked three years of the contract to pay Stieb an extra $4.35MM as a gesture of gratitude for his performance.

Here's some news from all around the AL East…

  • Yankees closer Mariano Rivera denied a New York Post report from yesterday that claimed he would announce his possible retirement plans before the All-Star Break.  Rivera told Wallace Matthews of ESPN New York that "nothing's changed" about his future plans and that he will "tell everybody what my plans are at the same time after the season."
  • Brian Roberts isn't sure when, or even if, he'll be able to return to the Orioles following a series of concussions, he tells Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.  Roberts says he has stopped trying to guess when he may be able to resume his career, though he notes that his recovery is "progressing" and he "has more good days than bad days."
  • Rays southpaw Matt Moore tops Baseball America's preseason list of the top 20 rookies in the game.  Moore is the only AL East representative on the list, though former Yankee prospect Jesus Montero (now with the Mariners) clocks in at the #3 position.
  • "We need some guys to step up on our pitching staff," Red Sox GM Ben Cherington tells MLB.com's Ian Browne.  The Sox will be looking at pitching or outfield depth as they conduct their usual scouting of other teams' Spring Training camps.  Also in this in-depth interview, Cherington discusses his first winter as a general manager, the difficulty in parting with long-time Red Sox stars Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield, and what he learned from Theo Epstein.
  • The Blue Jays may be the only team that could be a fit for Derrek Lee, writes Fangraphs' Chris Cwik.  Lee could be an alternative to Adam Lind at first if Lind struggles, or Lee could at least platoon if Lind again struggles to hit left-handed pitching.  Though Cwik was pretty hesitant about Lee's chances of playing anywhere in the Majors in 2012, I'm not sure Toronto works as a landing spot either; the Jays have Edwin Encarnacion backing up at first, Travis Snider or Eric Thames as DH candidates, plus Ben Francisco and Rajai Davis as right-handed bench bats.   

AL East Notes: Duquette, Damon, Martin

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Wei-Ying Chen, Hiroki Kuroda and Carlos Pena obtained the biggest free agent contracts handed out by AL East teams this offseason, not counting the Yankees’ extended agreement with C.C. Sabathia. Here’s the latest on the division… 

  • Orioles executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette told Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe that he’s operating differently in Baltimore than he did as Boston’s GM. “I have a fresh start in Baltimore,’’ he said. “I believe I could do a better job in one-on-one communication in a couple of different areas of the job. 
  • Ian Browne of MLB.com checks in with Ben Cherington, who’s now wrapping up his first offseason as Boston’s GM. Though Cherington says he’s far from unflappable, his boss, Red Sox president/CEO Larry Lucchino, says he’s off to a “flying start.”
  • The Orioles haven’t ruled out Johnny Damon, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The Orioles have switch-hitting DH Wilson Betemit in place, but they could shift him to third at times or play Damon in left if their interest in the free agent is serious. 
  • Yankees catcher Russell Martin told Heyman that he was pleased to see the Cardinals recognize the value of Yadier Molina’s all-around game with a $75MM deal (Twitter link). "He kind of set the bar," Martin said.

Dennys Reyes Still Plans To Pitch For Orioles

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The Orioles released reliever Dennys Reyes over the weekend when he didn't report to camp, but the lefty still plans to pitch for the team this season, he told Fernando Ballesteros at Puro Beisbol yesterday (link in Spanish). Reyes says he has a torn tendon in the middle finger of his pitching hand, which he suffered in the final game of the Mexican winter league. The 34-year-old is seeing a specialist in Los Angeles today to determine if it will require surgery.

"They had to release me because they couldn't pay my contract with me being here (in Mexico)," Reyes said of the Orioles, adding that he talked with the team's front office to ask permission to continue his rehabilitation in Mexico. "If they hadn't released me, I could have complained to the Player's Union in order to get them to pay me. Unofficially, I still belong to them."

Reyes made just four appearances in 2011 after signing a minor league deal with the Red Sox, and he was placed on the restricted list in May when he needed time at home in Mexico. He told Ballesteros that he still has "important things to do at home with my family," but he's not done with baseball. "I still don't know if I'm going to play this season," he said. "But I'm not going to retire yet, because I feel good and my arm is healthy. I believe I have two or three more years in my career."

2013 Vesting Options

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Which players can lock in 2013 contract options based on their 2012 performance?  Let's take a look.

  • Jason Bartlett, Padres: $5.5MM option vests with 432 plate appearances.
  • Alex Gonzalez, Brewers: $4MM option vests with 525 plate appearances.
  • Chipper Jones, Braves: $9MM+ option vests with 123 games.
  • Kevin Gregg, Orioles: $6MM option vests with 50 games finished.
  • Brett Myers, Astros: $10MM option vests based on unknown starting or relieving milestones.
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