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Orioles, D’Backs Agree On Mark Reynolds Trade

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10:32am: The O's and D'Backs are closing in on a deal that would send Reynolds to Baltimore for Hernandez and Mickolio, reports MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.  The trade is pending physicals, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.

10:08am: The Orioles and Diamondbacks are "making progress" on a Mark Reynolds trade, O's president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail told reporters including MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli (Twitter link).  The deal is getting close, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  Ghiroli hears the same (Twitter link). 

Chris Tillman is not in the deal as it's presently constructed, tweets Heyman.  David Hernandez is expected to be part of the trade, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Righty Kam Mickolio is a strong possibility, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.

Orioles Notes: Pena, Pitchers, Reimold, Gregg, Crain

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Let's round up the latest from Charm City, courtesy of The Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec…

  • Scott Boras' asking price for Carlos Pena remains "really high." The first baseman does have interest in Baltimore.
  • Zrebiec hears that Andy MacPhail has made several calls to teams with starting pitching depth. Both he and manager Buck Showalter would feel more comfortable with another veteran arm behind Jeremy Guthrie.
  • The Orioles aren't shopping Nolan Reimold, but they have at least gauged his value around the league. Reimold hit just .207/.282/.328 in 131 plate appearances last season before being demoted to the minors, and Zrebiec notes that they'd be selling low.
  • The Orioles are "pretty interested" in Kevin Gregg, and they have an offer out to at least one free agent reliever besides Koji Uehara. 
  • The team is hoping to meet with the representatives for former Oriole George Sherrill during the winter meetings. "I had a horrendous year. I couldn’t get my mechanics right now matter what I tried," said Sherrill, who had a 6.69 ERA in 2010. "I’m ready to bounce back and help somebody no matter my role."
  • Jesse Crain is said to be seeking a two or three-year deal similar to Joaquin Benoit's.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wants to know what the Orioles are going to do this offseason.

Olney’s Latest: Gonzalez, Red Sox, Reynolds, Reyes

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Rival executives have been expecting Adrian Gonzalez to land with the Red Sox at some point, and right now it's on the verge of happening. ESPN's Buster Olney writes (Insider req'd) that once the Gonzalez deal is complete, Boston will still have enough financial flexibility and the leverage to pursue a high-priced player like Carl Crawford or Jayson Werth.

The Padres, meanwhile, will be left to explain to the fan base that trading the team's best player is a good thing. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors…

  • The Orioles are the "clear front-runner" for Mark Reynolds. Last night we heard that Chris Tillman's name has come up in trade talks.
  • The Mets will listen to offers for Jose Reyes, and unless the two sides agree to a contract extension, they will move the shortstop before the trade deadline next July.

Orioles Notes: Tillman, Hernandez, Reynolds, Uehara

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The Orioles missed out on Victor Martinez and Adam Dunn, but they're still in the hunt for Paul Konerko.  Here's a look at some of their other offseason targets…

  • Chris Tillman's name has been mentioned in connection with the Mark Reynolds trade rumors, tweets Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman.  Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic thinks the D'Backs "seem to like" David Hernandez more, but Hernandez would be just one piece of what's likely to be a pitcher-centric package (Twitter links).   
  • The O's are one of three teams known to be exploring a Reynolds deal, but they're the ones with "the heaviest interest" in the third baseman according to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com.  The Blue Jays and Padres, in fact, "strongly deny" that they're even pursuing Reynolds.
  • "Some progress has been made" between the Orioles and Koji Uehara, reports Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.  The club has been keeping in touch with Uehara's agent and Zrebiec says team officials "feel pretty good" about their ability to re-sign the reliever.
  • Zrebiec also notes that Baltimore has been in discussions about a number of free agent relievers and have contacted the representatives of Grant Balfour, Jesse Crain, Scott Downs, Brian Fuentes, Matt Guerrier and Kerry Wood.  The O's "have at least one offer out" to one of these pitchers, Zrebiec says.
  • Baltimore has contacted Bobby Jenks' agent, reports Zrebiec in another piece.
  • From that same article, Zrebiec writes "the next person I speak to in the organization who feels the O’s have a shot at Konerko would be the first."  The Orioles' interest in Konerko is "largely overblown" and most insiders feel Konerko will re-sign with the White Sox.

Execs Think Konerko Will Stay With White Sox

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"Competing execs" think Paul Konerko will ultimately re-sign with the White Sox for around $13MM per season, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated.  Konerko's close relationship with owner Jerry Reinsdorf is cited as a main factor.

The Cubs, Orioles and Rangers have all been mentioned as suitors for Konerko this winter, and the Orioles have made Konerko an offer.  Still, moving elsewhere could be a tough call for Konerko given his ties to the White Sox and the fact that the team seems to be doing all it can to find payroll space for him.  Adam Dunn and A.J. Pierzynski deferred money from their contracts just so the Sox could have more cash available in 2011 to re-sign Konerko.  "They literally put their money where their mouth is so we can put a better offer on the table for Paulie," GM Kenny Williams told MLB.com's Scott Merkin.

Cubs, Other Teams Also Pursuing Adrian Gonzalez

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The Red Sox aren't the only team in the hunt for Adrian Gonzalez.  "Multiple teams besides [the] Red Sox," including the Cubs, are interested in the Padres slugger, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com.  This isn't the first time we've heard about Chicago's interest in Gonzalez, and the Cubs' search for a big-hitting first baseman may have intensified now that Adam Dunn has signed with the crosstown rival White Sox. 

Two big obstacles stand in the way of a Cubs/Padres deal: the Cubs' ability to provide the blue-chip prospects that San Diego desires in any Gonzalez trade, and whether the Cubs can afford the long-term extension that Gonzalez wants after 2011.  One obviously impacts the other, since it would be foolish for the Cubs to move several prospects for just one season of Gonzalez.  With the Carlos Silva and Kosuke Fukudome contracts coming off the books after this year, Chicago has about $63MM committed to their 2012 payroll.

Besides the Cubs, Rosenthal lists the Angels, Blue Jays, Orioles, Nationals, Rangers and Rays as having a "possible interest" in a Gonzalez trade.  All of the teams could potentially afford a Gonzalez extension except Tampa Bay, and all of the clubs have intriguing minor league prospects to interest the Padres (though it might be hard for L.A. to acquire Gonzalez without giving up star prospect Mike Trout).  Dan Hayes of the North County Times tweets that it's the Cubs and Red Sox, however, who are the "main focus" of San Diego's trade talks.

Odds & Ends: Dunn, Pirates, Correia, Lee

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Ron Santo, the longtime Cubs star and broadcaster, died overnight. Condolences to his family, friends and many fans. Here are today's links…

  • ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick profiles Brewers manager Ron Roenicke, who expects to be a players' manager, partly because his experience as a player allows him to relate to those who are struggling to produce.
  • The Orioles offered Adam Dunn a four-year deal worth about $40MM before he agreed to sign with the White Sox, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter).
  • The Pirates have had "ongoing discussions with multiple free-agent starters, and would be pleased to sign more than one starting pitcher to compete for a spot in the rotation," president Frank Coonelly told fans in a chat on MLB.com. The team made Jorge de la Rosa an offer and is also open to upgrading in right field, at first base or at short.
  • The market for Kevin Correia is heating up, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). The right-hander is in "active negotiations" with two or more teams.
  • Ryan Zimmerman tells Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that he wouldn't mind signing a Troy Tulowitzki-like extension (Twitter link).
  • "It's no secret we want Cliff [Lee], and we will do what we can to get him," Hank Steinbrenner told ESPN.com. Lee's agent, Darek Braunecker insists he never said he's looking to match C.C. Sabathia's $161MM deal.
  • MLB.com's Corey Brock suggests Brendan Ryan might be a better trade target for the Padres than Jason Bartlett (Twitter link).

American League Non-Tenders

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This post will list all the American League players non-tendered today, but the best place to track all 200+ arbitration eligible players is our new non-tender tracker.

Paul Konerko Rumors: Thursday

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Yesterday we heard that the Orioles offered Paul Konerko a contract. Today, a few more teams have been linked to the slugging first baseman. Here's the latest, as the White Sox agree to sign another slugger:

  • White Sox GM Kenny Williams confirmed to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that the team could re-sign Konerko, even after locking up Adam Dunn (Twitter link). 
  • The Diamondbacks appear to be out of the Konerko sweepstakes, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
  • The White Sox want to keep Konerko, even though they're about to sign Dunn, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter).
  • Jon Heyman of SI.com hears that the Cubs are in on Konerko (Twitter link).
  • Earlier today the D'Backs appeared to be in the early stages of negotiations with Konerko, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
  • Konerko's agent, Craig Landis, told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he expects to speak to the White Sox at next week's Winter Meetings. The D'Backs consider Konerko "out of reach," according to Rosenthal, who notes that the White Sox may be able to afford Konerko and Dunn.
  • Keep in mind that Konerko will cost a draft pick since he turned down an offer of arbitration from the White Sox.

Orioles, Padres, Blue Jays Interested In Reynolds

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The Diamondbacks are discussing possible Mark Reynolds trades with three teams, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). The Orioles, Padres and Blue Jays are interested in the third baseman, though he can block trades to Toronto. The extent of the Padres' interest is unclear, according to Rosenthal.

Yahoo's Tim Brown reported last month that GM Kevin Towers is "looking for contact hitters and bullpen help" in exchange for Reynolds. The 27-year-old batted .189/.320/.433 last year, leading the league in strikeouts for the third consecutive season. Reynolds, whose homer total dropped from 44 to 32 last year, will earn $5MM in 2011, $7.5MM in 2012 and either $11MM or a $500K buyout in 2013.

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