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Orioles, Showalter Close To A Contract Extension

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Orioles manager Buck Showalter met several times this past week with owner Peter Angelos and has established parameters for a multi-year contract extension, reports Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Some specifics still need to be worked out, but a deal is expected to be reached in January, a source with knowledge of the situation tells Connolly. Showalter's current contract expires at the end of 2013 season.

"Because of the trust we have in each other, [Angelos] knows I am not going anywhere," said Showalter. "He has expressed interest in doing something and I've expressed interest in staying. And we think that can happen."

Showalter guided the Orioles to a surprising 93-69 record and their first playoff appearance in 15 years last season earning him a second place finish in the AL Manager of the Year voting. Since becoming Baltimore's manager in July 2010, Showalter is 196-185, a .514 winning percentage, which is seventh all-time for modern day Orioles managers.

Cafardo On Smoak, Orioles, Myers, Twins

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A good catcher can take a pitching staff to the next level, and that's why David Ross might be the Red Sox's top addition this year, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  A catcher like Ross can throw out a runner, block a ball at an opportune time, and get a pitcher straightened out if he’s lost his composure.  In that regard, Ross could give Boston what they missed last season following Jason Varitek's retirement.  Here's more from Cafardo..

  • According to a major league source, the Orioles are said to have some interest in Mariners first baseman Justin Smoak.  Seattle can afford to part with Smoak after acquiring Kendrys Morales from the Angels.  The O's also have been linked to Adam LaRoche, but they are hesitant to give up a draft pick to sign him.
  • While the Twins already have acquired Vance Worley in the Ben Revere deal with the Phillies, and have signed Kevin Correia, Mike Pelfrey, and Rich Harden, they could still explore a signing of Brett Myers.  We last heard of Minnesota's interest in Myers roughly three weeks ago.  The right-hander should also garner interest from the Padres. 
  • Lance Berkman would be a nice fit for the Red Sox if his right knee is okay after two knee surgeries last season. The Sox have been looking for a left handed-hitting first baseman/outfielder and the 36-year-old switch-hitter would fit the bill. 

Minor Moves: Gordon, Hoey, Quinowski

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Here are the day's minor moves…

  • The Athletics have signed Brian Gordon to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, reports Ken Davidoff of The New York Post (on Twitter). The 34-year-old made two starts with the Yankees in 2011 before heading to Korea, where he pitched in 2012.
  • The Brewers have signed right-hander Jim Hoey to a minor league deal, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy (Twitter links). The 29-year-old righty owns a 7.02 ERA in 59 career big league innings with the Orioles and Twins. Hoey was part of the trade that sent J.J. Hardy to Baltimore.
  • The Orioles have purchased the contract of David Quinowski from the independent Lincoln Salt Dogs, reports Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com (on Twitter). The 26-year-old left-hander spend six seasons in the Giants' system before spending last year on the indy circuit.
  • Baseball America's Matt Eddy posted a full recap of last week's minor league moves.

AL East Links: Yankees, Baker, Orioles

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Here's the latest from the AL East as the Red Sox move closer to acquiring Joel Hanrahan…

Orioles, Mariners, Padres, Mets Talking To Saunders

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8:57am: Marc Carig of Newsday hears the Mets are also discussing Saunders (Twitter link). He's on their list along with Carl Pavano, Shaun Marcum, and Chris Young.

8:36am: Free agent left-hander Joe Saunders is talking to the Orioles, Mariners, and Padres according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The Pirates also had interest, but the Francisco Liriano signing presumably takes them out of the running.

Saunders, 31, pitched to a 4.07 ERA in 174 2/3 innings for the Diamondbacks and Orioles this season. He posted his typically low strikeout (5.8 K/9) and walk (2.0 BB/9) rates to go along with the lowest full season ground ball rate of his career (43.1%). MLBTR's Tim Dierkes ranked the veteran southpaw as the 25th best free agent available this winter, predicting he would re-sign with Baltimore.

Olney On Saunders, Hairston, Hanrahan, Howell

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In today's column, Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) looks at the best second-tier and third-tier free agents remaining.  Here's a look at the highlights..

  • Joe Saunders is receiving interest from four clubs and the Orioles have ramped up their efforts to retain him.  It seems Saunders would be in position to get more than the two-year, $15MM deal signed by Joe Blanton.
  • Scott Hairston is looking for a significant raise over the $1.1MM he earned last season and he might wind up being too rich for the Mets' blood.  Jonny Gomes is a similar player and got $10MM over two years from the Red Sox.
  • Some teams see the significant increase in walks allowed last season by Joel Hanrahan as a red flag.  After posting a 2.1 BB/9 rate in 2011, Hanrahan jumped to 5.4 in 2012.  There is also some concern among rival evaluators that his diminished control is a sign of an arm issue.  Hanrahan would argue that the control problems may have stemmed from the inconsistent save chances that a Bucs closer gets.
  • Free agent reliever J.P. Howell should sign soon, perhaps with the Nationals.  Other interested clubs include the Phillies, Cubs, Mariners, and Rangers.
  • Travis Hafner would be a classic make-good guy to bring to spring training, but he won't fit all rosters because he can't play a position.
  • Executives have reservations about Lance Berkman, including his health, overall shape, and motivation to play.
  • Some have said that the Cubs overpaid for Edwin Jackson ($52MM over four years), but new financial restraints in the draft and international market have forced clubs to pay more.  In short, the Cubs basically paid the going rate for a 29-year-old healthy pitcher of his caliber.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Miller, Beato, Nunez, Pearce

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The latest outright assignments from around MLB…

  • The Astros outrighted infielder Brandon Laird and outfielder Che-Hsuan Lin to Triple-A after the players cleared waivers, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports (on Twitter).
  • The Yankees announced that they outrighted right-hander Jim Miller to Triple-A. They had designated him for assignment two days ago to create 40-man roster space for Ichiro Suzuki.
  • The Red Sox outrighted Pedro Beato to Triple-A after he cleared waivers, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal reports (on Twitter). The Red Sox designated the right-hander for assignment two days ago to create roster space for Ryan Dempster. 
  • The Diamondbacks outrighted shortstop Gustavo Nunez to Detroit's Triple-A affiliate, the Tigers announced. Nunez, a 2011 Rule 5 Draft selection, spent the 2012 season on the Pirates' disabled list recovering from right ankle surgery. The Diamondbacks claimed him off of waivers from Pittsburgh on October 26th before returning him to Detroit today. 
  • The Orioles announced that they outrighted outfielder Steve Pearce to Triple-A. The club now has one open 40-man roster spot.
  • The Cubs announced that they outrighted Gerardo Concepcion to Class A Kane County after the left-hander cleared waivers. Chicago's 40-man roster now includes 39 players.
  • The Blue Jays announced that they outrighted right-hander Mickey Storey to Triple-A Buffalo. Toronto had claimed Storey off of waivers earlier in the week.

Quick Hits: Saunders, Cubs, Soriano, Gonzalez

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The Orioles would like to re-sign Joe Saunders and have continued talks with him, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (on Twitter).  They'll have plenty of competition for the left-hander, however, as he is drawing high interest from three other clubs.  Here's more from around baseball..

  • On today’s edition of the Rosters & Rumblings podcast, MLBTR’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and Jason Martinez of MLB Depth Charts discussed the Mariners–Angels trade, the Cubs’ new-look rotation, and some recent trade rumors.
  • The Dodgers are still kicking the tires on Joel Hanrahan of the Pirates and free agent Brian Wilson as they look to deepen their bullpen, but they aren't in the mix for Rafael Soriano, according to Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • The Nationals continue to talk to Mike Gonzalez about returning and the Reds are also in pursuit, Bowden tweets.
  • Sources tell Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter) that the Rangers were never serious bidders for Edwin Jackson.  The right-hander signed a four-year, $52MM contract with the Cubs earlier today.
  • Mariners General Manager Jack Zduriencik has landed a bigger bat for the middle of his lineup, but that doesn't mean Seattle is done with its roster maneuverings, writes Greg Johns of MLB.com.  The Mariners still have financial flexibility since they should several million dollars in the difference between what Kendrys Morales ($4.8MM) will earn compared to Jason Vargas ($7.4MM) in their final year of arbitration eligibility.  
  • Dexter Fowler told Jim Bowden of SiriusXM (on Twitter) that Rockies General Manager Bill Geivett told him that it would take a lot in return for them to deal him to the Braves.  Atlanta is targeting Fowler along with Emilio Bonifacio and other outfield options.

Rick Porcello Drawing Trade Interest

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THURSDAY: The Orioles and Mariners are among the teams involved in talks about Porcello, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter).

FRIDAY: The Pirates and Padres are interested in Porcello, Jim Bowden of ESPN.com and MLB Network Radio reports (on Twitter).

TUESDAY: Quite a few National League teams asked about Tigers right-hander Rick Porcello at last week’s Winter Meetings, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports. However, the Tigers need Porcello at this point, so he’s not available.

If the Tigers re-sign Anibal Sanchez, they’d have an abundance of starters and could move Porcello. Detroit’s front office executives hope to sign Sanchez, but they were told that their early offers weren’t close to being enough, according to Knobler. It appears that the free agent right-hander seeks more money than the Tigers are willing to offer. The Tigers pursued a trade for James Shields, but they haven’t pursued free agent starters other than Sanchez, Knobler writes.

Porcello, 23, posted a 4.59 ERA with 5.5 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a 53.2% ground ball rate in 176 1/3 innings this past season. He earned $3.1MM in 2012 and has a projected salary of $4.7MM for 2013. He’s under team control through 2015 and could be a fit for the Rockies, Padres or Pirates in my view.

Minor Moves: Tateyama, Greenberg, Miller

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The latest minor moves from around MLB…

  • The Rangers signed right-hander Yoshinori Tateyama to a minor league deal, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports (on Twitter). The 36-year-old appeared in 14 games for the Rangers this past season, but spent the majority of the year at Triple-A, where he posted a 1.13 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 in 39 2/3 innings.
  • The Orioles agreed to sign Adam Greenberg to a minor league contract, Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com reports (on Twitter). Greenberg's MLB career nearly ended when he was hit on the head with a pitch seven years ago, but the Marlins signed him this past September and he got an official MLB at bat.
  • The Reds re-signed catcher Corky Miller to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to MLB Spring Training, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports (on Twitter). Miller, 36, spent this past season with the Reds' Triple-A team, posting a .235/.386/.354 batting line in 313 plate appearances. He has ten years of MLB experience, but last appeared in the big leagues with the Reds in 2010.
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