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East Links: Damon, Reyes, Nats, Orioles, Manny

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Some links pertaining to baseball's Eastern division teams as the Winter Meetings draw near…

  • Don't rule out Johnny Damon for the Orioles, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
  • Marlins people are saying it's still possible Hanley Ramirez could move to center field but a source close to Ramirez says he's already agreed to play third base, tweets Jayson Stark of ESPN.com.
  • Ramirez's agent will not comment on the Marlins' signing of Jose Reyes, writes Tim Brown of Yahoo.  The Fish are expected to ask Ramirez to shift from shortstop to third base to accommodate Reyes.
  • The Orioles are looking for a left-handed hitting outfielder who can back up in center field and possibly platoon in left field, tweets Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.
  • The Nationals center field targets include Peter Bourjos, B.J. Upton, and maybe Angel Pagan if he is non-tendered, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman doesn't think he'll have any interest in Manny Ramirez if he makes a comeback, tweets Daniel Barbarisi of the Wall Street Journal.
  • The Nationals are one team that is maintaining interest in Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes despite his increasing price tag, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Their pursuit of the center fielder may hinge on their negotiations with Mark Buehrle, C.J. Wilson, and Prince Fielder though.
  • Former Red Sox first base coach Ron Johnson will manage the Orioles' Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk, according to the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo (on Twitter).
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post points out (via Twitter) that it was new Orioles GM Dan Duquette who signed Manny Ramirez to his eight-year, $160MM contract with the Red Sox and wonders if he might sign Ramirez once more.
  • SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that Duquette called Ramirez's attempted comeback an "interesting development." The Orioles are in the market for a designated hitter.

Cubs, Diamondbacks Interested In Stewart

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SUNDAY: The Orioles, Mariners, Pirates, and Angels have also inquired on Ian Stewart, a source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).

6:13pm: In addition to the Cubs, the Diamondbacks are also interested in Stewart, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.  The 26-year-old is very likely to go somewhere, according to Heyman.

FRIDAY: The Rockies think highly enough of Stewart that they would not consider trading him for DeWitt, according to Renck.

11:39am: The Rockies have already moved Ty Wigginton and Chris Iannetta this offseason, and they're reportedly open to dealing Ian Stewart and Huston Street as well. Troy Renck of The Denver Post reports that Colorado has asked the Cubs for Blake DeWitt in exchange for Stewart, but talks between the two clubs have since cooled.

DeWitt, 26, is a left-handed bat with experience at second, third, and in left field. He's hit .258/.309/.396 with nine homers in 447 plate appearances for the Cubbies after coming over in the deal that sent Ted Lilly to the Dodgers at the 2010 trade deadline. Renck says the Rockies would prefer to get a pitcher in any deal involving Stewart as well.

O’s Add Lee Thomas, Fred Ferreira To Front Office

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The Orioles have added executives Lee Thomas and Fred Ferreira to their front office, according to a team press release.

Thomas, who will serve as Special Assistant to the Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations, last worked as a scout for the Brewers from 2002-2006. Prior to that he spent six seasons as a Special Assistant and Assistant GM to Dan Duquette, the current Orioles GM, when Duquette was GM of the Red Sox. Thomas was named the 1993 Executive of the Year as GM of the Phillies when they went to the World Series.

Ferreira, who will serve as Executive Director of International Recruiting, has worked as VP and Director of International Operations and Scouting for the Marlins and Expos in the past. He's signed 57 international free agents in his tenure, highlighted by names such as Vladimir Guerrero, Bernie Williams, and Javier Vazquez.

AL East Notes: Lucchino, Youkilis, Orioles

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Yesterday, we learned that the landscape for free agent pitcher Hiroki Kuroda is now "wide open".  The Red Sox have long been interested in the right-hander and was involved in trade talks to acquire him over the summer before Kuroda decided that he would rather finish the season with the Dodgers.  The Yankees are also expected to be in the mix for the hurler.  Here's more news out of the American League East..

  • The Orioles will announce more front office hires today, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter).
  • Red Sox CEO/president Larry Lucchino said he would not attend the Winter Meetings, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  This could be a sign that Lucchino is willing to back off or that he is showing full confidence in his new management team of GM Ben Cherington and skipper Bobby Valentine.
  • Cafardo also writes that Boston could use Jed Lowrie and Josh Reddick as trade bait and wonders if the club would part with Kevin Youkilis in a bigger deal.
  • More from Cafardo, as he writes that Red Sox VP of player personnel Allard Baird is likely to come up in connection with the Astros' GM job.  Baird was in the mix for Baltimore's GM vacancy but ultimately opted not to interview for the position.
  • There has been little connection between the Orioles and any starters on the free-agent market which could mean that a trade is their best option, writes Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun.  The O's could also use a middle infielder and a DH but both are considered to be back burner issues.
  • New Orioles scouting director Gary Rajsich says he'd like to hire some new amateur scouts by the end of the year, writes Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com.  Rajsich will look to adding a scout in central Florida and add a scout for the New England area to replace Keith Connolly, who recently left the organization.

AL East Notes: Chong, Blue Jays, Yankees

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A few notes to share from around the AL East, where the soon-to-be officially retired Pedro Martinez spent the prime of his career with the Red Sox.

Orioles Links: Pitching, Jones, Player Development

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Here's the latest from Baltimore, less than 48 hours before the winter meetings begin…

  • "I don't know that we have the kind of pitching depth that we need," said GM Dan Duquette to Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com. "It would be hard for us to trade pitching unless we got some pitching in return or we had a viable alternative in place." Yesterday we heard that Jeremy Guthrie is being shopped.
  • "I can't really tell you, I haven't looked at the numbers or the contract," said Duquette to Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com when asked about a potential contract extension for Adam Jones. "That is something that if we are going to take a look at, it would be after the first of the year."
  • Duquette also told Melewski that his first order of business over the next few weeks is to put a productive player development system in place and expand the team's international efforts.
  • Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun believes the Orioles will make more than one move during the winter meetings next week, including a trade. He expects the moves to be generally underwhelming, though.
  • Kubatko tweets that the team is expected to announce two front office hires tomorrow. He's heard that Fred Ferreira will be brought in as international scouting director and Gordon Blakeley as a special assistant, though those moves are not confirmed yet.

East Links: Guthrie, Jays, Marlins, Braves, Prado

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Some links from baseball's two east divisions…

  • The Orioles are expected to be more active on the trade market than in free agency, writes MLB.com's Britt Ghiroli. Jeremy Guthrie has been their most actively shopped player, and several teams have expressed interest. Baltimore would almost certainly want pitching in return.
  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca that he's likely to exhaust all trade options for pitching help before diving into free agency. A second baseman is also on the agenda, and the team would like to add a frontline starting pitcher if possible.
  • Earlier today we heard that the Marlins' reluctance to include a no-trade clause is an obstacle as they try to sign Mark Buehrle, but president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest told Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post that he isn't worried about the team's policy hurting their ability to sign premium free agents.
  • "I’ve actively shopped players this fall that I haven’t mentioned their names," said Braves GM Frank Wren to Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter links). He was referring to players that are reportedly on the market, but have not actually been discussed with other teams.
  • "Martin Prado is a solid player and a part of our team for almost five years. We’re not out looking to trade good players," added Wren according to O'Brien (on Twitter). Prado has been a popular name on the trade rumor circuit this offseason.

Quick Hits: Pena, Zumaya, Soler, Peterson

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Some news items to wrap up the evening as we inch closer to the Winter Meetings….

  • Carlos Pena would be a fit with the Blue Jays, Brewers, Cubs, Mariners, Nationals, Rangers, Red Sox and Yankees, opines SBNation's Rob Neyer.  The Yankees tried to claim Pena on waivers last August but the Cubs pulled him back.
  • Joel Zumaya said the Red Sox expressed an interest in him as soon as he hit free agency, reports MLB.com's Jason Beck.  Boston will be one of the 10 or more teams present when Zumaya throws a mound session in two weeks.  The right-hander underwent elbow surgery in March and didn't pitch last season.
  • Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (via Twitter) lists, in order, the Yankees, Rangers and Phillies as the top candidates to sign Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler.
  • The Orioles interviewed Rick Peterson for their open minor league pitching coordinator's position, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Peterson (former pitching coach of the Brewers, Mets and Athletics) is also a candidate to be Bobby Valentine's new pitching coach with the Red Sox.
  • Also from Rosenthal, the Royals "backed off" pursuing free agent starters due to their large number of minor league pitching prospects and also because the club wants to remain flexible since they know not every young arm will properly develop.  The Royals re-signed Bruce Chen and their other major starting acquistion this winter (Jonathan Sanchez) came via a trade.
  • The Cardinals could make an acquisition or look internally to fill their middle infield needs, writes MLB.com's Matthew Leach, but the team won't know how much they have to spend until Albert Pujols makes his decision.

AL East Notes: Valentine, Wilson, Howell, Johnson

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Here are some notes from the AL East on the day the Red Sox officially introduced their new manager…

  • The Red Sox and manager Bobby Valentine agreed on a two-year deal, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).  The Red Sox hold team options on Valentine for 2014 and 2015, tweets WEEI.com's Alex Speier.
  • Valentine reached out to David Cone about becoming the new Red Sox pitching coach, reports Jack Curry of the YES Network (Twitter link).  Cone isn't expected to take the job but was "flattered."
  • The Yankees turned down a request by C.J. Wilson's agent for a visit to Yankee Stadium, reports ESPN New York's Andrew Marchand.  That's not a good sign for Wilson's chances of signing with the Bombers, which Marchand believes are "less than five percent."
  • Erik Hahmann of the DRaysBay blog looks at the situation between the Rays and lefty J.P. Howell.  MLBTR's Tim Dierkes listed Howell as one of this winter's non-tender candidates.
  • The Blue Jays are still open to bringing back Kelly Johnson next year, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
  • Also from Morosi, he thinks the Blue Jays could — and should — sign free agent first baseman Prince Fielder.
  • Eric Chavez definitely wants to play in 2012 and a number of teams have strong interest in him, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links). Some West Coast teams are interested in Chavez and the Yankees appear to be in the mix as well.
  • The Rays have some interest in Cuban center fielder Yoenis Cespedes, but probably can’t afford him, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (on Twitter).
  • The Orioles hired former Phillies GM Lee Thomas as a special assistant, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com first mentioned the possibility (on Twitter). It's worth noting that Scott Proefrock and Joe Jordan of the Phillies are former Orioles front office employees.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post

Orioles Designate Pedro Viola For Assignment

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The Orioles designated left-hander Pedro Viola for assignment to create roster space for the newly-acquired Taylor Teagarden, the team announced. Baltimore's 40-man roster remains full.

Viola, 28, has appeared in six games for the Orioles since 2010. The Dominican lefty spent much of the 2011 season at Double-A, where he posted a 2.04 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 39 2/3 innings.

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