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Six Teams Interested In Huston Street

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TUESDAY: The Marlins, Red Sox, Reds and Mets are also interested in Street, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).

MONDAY: The Orioles and Blue Jays are among the teams to have expressed trade interest in Rockies reliever Huston Street, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

Jim Johnson replaced Kevin Gregg as the Orioles' closer late last season, but Rosenthal says the O's prefer Johnson in next year's rotation.  There's no harm in inquiring on Street, but in my opinion an $8MM closer is a luxury the Orioles don't need.  We'll see whether the Rockies are willing to cover a decent chunk of his contract.  Rosenthal suggests Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie as a possible fit for Colorado, though I think Baltimore could trade Guthrie for better long-term assets than Street.

With Rafael Betancourt penciled in to close for the Rockies next year, Street seems widely available.  Rosenthal and colleague Jon Paul Morosi first made the Blue Jays connection last week.

Minor Moves: Spoone, Tolleson, Socolovich

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Here is a recap of today's minor league moves…

  • The Red Sox have signed right-hander Chorye Spoone to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training, reports Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com. The deal is pending a physical. The Orioles designated the 26-year-old for assignment in July, and he pitched to a 4.50 ERA in 122 innings this season.
  • The Orioles have signed Steven Tolleson, reports Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). The 28-year-old infielder hit .275/.358/.394 in 557 plate appearances in the Athletics' and Padres' farm systems in 2011.
  • Within the same link, Connolly also reports that the Orioles signed Miguel Socolovich. The 25-year-old righty struck out 11.1 batters per nine innings in the White Sox's system this year, posting a 3.44 ERA in 55 relief innings.

Orioles Talking To Chong Tae-Hyon

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4:40pm: The Orioles are trying to sign Tae-Hyon, according to Knobler (on Twitter).  GM Dan Duquette acknowledged the team's interest, but wouldn't say that the sides have completed a deal, according to MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli (on Twitter).

12:45pm: The Orioles have been talking to Korean free agent reliever Chong Tae-Hyon, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.  According to Korean reports, Tae-Hyon has stopped all talks with his old team, the SK Wyverns, and wants to come to MLB.  Stories of the Orioles' interest first surfaced last week in Korean newspapers, which you can read here and here.  Click here to see a video of Tae-Hyon facing the Dodgers in a pre-World Baseball Classic warmup game in 2009.  

Orioles Sign Matt Antonelli

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The Orioles announced that they have signed Matt Antonelli to a Major League contract.  Antonelli was taken 17th overall by the Padres in the 2006 draft and has 65 Major League plate appearances to his name, all in 2008 with San Diego.  The 26-year-old posted an .847 OPS in the Nationals' system last year, playing almost all his games with Triple-A Syracuse.  Antonelli was originally drafted as a second baseman but spent time at second, third, shortstop and left field last year and is expected to compete for playing time on the infield next season.

“We are pleased to bring Matt to the organization,” GM Dan Duquette said in a statement. “He is a versatile major league player who has a good offensive approach and strong defensive skills at both third and second base.”

MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli was the first to report the signing, with Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun noting that Antonelli had signed a Major League deal (both Twitter links).

Cafardo On Red Sox, Ortiz, Saunders, Oswalt

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The Red Sox need a manager with some backbone, background, and one with plenty of experience, writes Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe.  Because the team lacked discipline last season, he writes, Boston isn't the place for a young manager at this time.  Here's more from Cafardo..

  • Orioles GM Dan Duquette met with Fern Cuza, David Ortiz’s agent, at the GM meetings.  Duquette and Cuza have been close over the years and worked together on deals for Cuza client Pedro Martinez.  Cafardo writes that Ortiz would be an intriguing figure at Camden Yards but in a radio interview over the weekend, Duquette said that he was wary of signing a high-priced DH.
  • Whether the Diamondbacks tender Joe Saunders a contract or not, he becomes an interesting possibility for the Red Sox as a back-of-the-rotation starter.  MLBTR projects that Saunders is in line for $8.7MM in arbitration this year and readers' opinions were split on whether or not the hurler would be tendered.
  • Cubs GM Theo Epstein will listen to offers on Matt Garza and just about anyone on his team in order to replentish his farm system.
  • Roy Oswalt’s agent, Bob Garber, spoke to Red Sox GM Ben Cherington last Wednesday.  The Sox could use his leadership in the rotation but the veteran's price could be prohibitive.
  • One scout who watched Yoenis Cespedes work out last week said that the Cuban outfielder has great power but has concerns that he could be prone to striking out frequently.
  • As the Red Sox look for a pitching coach, Dave Wallace is an interesting name to keep in mind.  Wallace served as Boston’s pitching coach before John Farrell.  Minor league pitching coordinator Bob McClure could also be an option, depending on who the team's next manager is.
  • Cafardo opines that the Cubs should give up outfielder Tyler Colvin to the Red Sox to wrap up their Theo Epstein compensation talks.

East Notes: Ortiz, Braves, Soler, Sizemore, Yankees

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The Red Sox traded Coco Crisp to the Royals for Ramon Ramirez three years ago today, and four years prior to that the Nationals traded Maicer Izturis and Juan Rivera to the Angels for Jose Guillen. Here's the latest from baseball's two East divisions…

  • Infielder Matt Antonelli will undergo a physical on Monday to finalize his major league deal with the Orioles, tweets Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun.
  • Orioles GM Dan Duquette didn't sound terribly interested in signing a high-priced DH such as David Ortiz during an interview on WEEI (audio link, 9:00 mark).
  • If Liberty Media decided to sell the Braves, Mark Cuban wouldn't pursue the franchise, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  A recent AJC poll showed 95% of readers would like Cuban to buy the team but the eccentric owner told O'Brien that he would prefer to buy a team that is in need of a lot of help.  Liberty Media has the right to sell the team after the current CBA expires on December 11th, but there's no evidence that a sale is imminent.
  • The Marlins have already scouted Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. The 19-year-old has been working out for teams in the Dominican Republic, and yesterday we heard that the Rangers have scouted him as well.
  • The Indians and Grady Sizemore are in "serious discussions" about a reunion, but the Phillies had interest in the outfielder according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Current GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and former GM Pat Gillick visited Sizemore in Arizona on the first day of free agency.
  • “The free agent guys haven’t made me any offers,” said Yankees GM Brian Cashman to Dan Martin of The New York Post. “The free agent [market] is moving at a glacial speed. And the category I’m shopping in, I don’t believe guys are jumping off the board this week. The players I’m interested in won’t be coming off the board anytime soon."

Added To 40-Man Roster: Giants, Dodgers, Pirates

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Today is the deadline for teams to add players to the 40-man roster to protect them from next month's Rule 5 draft. Here's more on which players need to be protected and here are the details on which players have had their contracts selected to the 40-man roster:

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AL East Notes: Red Sox, Rays, Orioles, Jays

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Dale Sveum interviewed with the Red Sox for a second time today, and the team expects to bring in at least one more managerial finalist for a second interview. However, it's still a mystery who that finalist will be. Pete Mackanin has been told he's no longer in the running, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (on Twitter), and Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com tweets that Sandy Alomar Jr. and Gene Lamont hadn't heard anything from the team about a second interview as of this evening. Torey Lovullo rounded out Boston's original five interviewees, but Larry Lucchino said tonight that the Sox could "absolutely" expand their search, tweets Rob Bradford of WEEI.

While we wait to see where Boston's hunt for Terry Francona's replacement takes them, let's check out a few more AL East links….

Quick Hits: Phillips, Kuroda, Ortiz, Wood, Counsell

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It's been a busy first day of the GM meetings, but we don't want to let anything fall through the cracks. Here's a collection of assorted links from throughout the day:

Dan Duquette On Pitching, Reynolds, Extensions

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The success of the Orioles' offseason hinges, in large part, on their ability to add to the pitching staff. But at the General Manager Meetings in Milwaukee today, newly-appointed GM Dan Duquette suggested he'll let the market develop before obtaining pitching reinforcements.

"Everybody else is chasing it, too," Duquette told MLBTR. "We have to wait for the sharks to feed and then we'll wait to see what's left over."

In other words, it doesn’t appear that the Orioles will sign highly-coveted free agents such as C.J. Wilson and Mark Buehrle. Baltimore begins the offseason with internal rotation candidates such as Jeremy Guthrie, Tommy Hunter, Zach Britton, Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta, Brad Bergesen, Jo-Jo Reyes.

Duquette also noted that the defensive alignment for Mark Reynolds and Chris Davis remains undetermined, though manager Buck Showalter is leaning toward playing Reynolds at first with Davis at third. Duquette hasn't yet considered extensions for Adam Jones and Matt Wieters, but he wants to keep both players in place, so the topic may come up after December.

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