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Quick Hits: Upton, Hamilton, Kinsler, Hunter, Choo

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This was a bit before MLB Trade Rumors' time, but it was on this day in 1886 that the first trade in Major League history took place.  The Cincinnati Red Stockings acquired base-stealing outfielder Hugh Nicol and Jamie Moyer from the St. Louis Browns in exchange for rookie catcher Jack Boyle and $400.  Here's some modern-day hot stove action from around the majors…

  • Free agent outfielder B.J. Upton visited Turner Field today, meeting with Braves general manager Frank Wren and manager Fredi Gonzalez, reports MLB.com's Mark Bowman.  The Braves see Upton as their top free agent target this winter, as Upton will come at a lower price than Michael Bourn.
  • While the Red Sox have checked in with Josh Hamilton's agent, reports of Boston's interest in Hamilton are "overblown," a source tells WEEI.com's Rob Bradford.
  • Ian Kinsler is willing to change positions if the Rangers ask, the second baseman tells Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  "Where I play on the field is not my decision. I’m going to do whatever I can to help the team win regardless of where I am on the field or where I’m hitting in the batting order," Kinsler said.  A move from second could open room for both Jurickson Profar and Elvis Andrus in the infield, while Kinsler could replace Hamilton in left or play first base.
  • Both the Angels and the Tigers benefited from Torii Hunter signing with Detroit, opines MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince.
  • MLB.com's Jordan Bastian breaks down Shin-Soo Choo's trade value both in terms of what the Indians could get in return and how Choo compares to free agents currently on the market.
  • The Indians' thin farm system is due to nearly a decade of poor drafts, writes Baseball America's Ben Badler.
  • It seems like the White Sox will look externally to fill their hole at third base, as GM Rick Hahn told reporters (including MLB.com's Scott Merkin) that "we are exploring a lot of options that we rank ahead of moving [Dayan] Viciedo in from the outfield," though he didn't completely rule it out.
  • With five notable Marlins on their way to Toronto, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports looks at how players face large tax increases when they're dealt away from Florida, including a past instance of a player (Carlos Delgado) having tax protection written into his contract in lieu of a no-trade clause from the Marlins.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports examines how the Marlins/Blue Jays trade and Hunter's signing will impact other teams and players around baseball.
    Read more here: http://sportsblogs.star-telegram.com/foul_territory/2012/11/ian-kinsler-would-ok-move-from-second-base.html#storylink=cpy

Red Sox Plan Extension Talks With Dustin Pedroia

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The Red Sox intend to discuss a long-term extension with second baseman Dustin Pedroia during the offseason, reports Joe McDonald of ESPN Boston.  A league source tells McDonald that a Pedroia extension isn't an immediate priority for the Sox but they'll look to open negotiations "at some point this offseason."

Pedroia still has two guaranteed years (worth $10MM each) remaining on the six-year, $40MM contract he signed with Boston in the wake of his MVP season in 2008, plus an $11MM club option for 2015.  Pedroia will turn 32 during the 2015 season but McDonald believes the Sox could be looking to extend Pedroia before Robinson Cano's next contract sets a new market for elite second basemen. 

Pedroia posted a .290/.347/.449 slash line in 2012, a solid performance that was still the lowest full-season OPS of his seven-year career.  A new multiyear deal for Pedroia would surely top the five-year, $75MM extension the Rangers gave to Ian Kinsler in April, thus giving Pedroia the largest contract ever given to a second baseman in terms of highest average annual value.  (Until Cano's new deal, at least.)

McDonald speculates that the Red Sox could also look to sign Will Middlebrooks and Jon Lester to extensions, though Lester would have to bounce back from his mediocre 2012 season first.  Lester's current contract is only guaranteed through 2013 with a $13MM team option for 2014.

Cherington Talks Payroll, Hamilton, Youkilis

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Red Sox GM Ben Cherington appeared on WEEI's Dennis & Callahan Show this morning to discuss a number of topics about his team. WEEI.com's Alex Speier has a transcript, and here are the noteworthy items…

  • "I think we’re going to make moves that are going to improve the team. It’s hard to say whether they’ll be defined as splashy moves or not," said the GM, who acknowledged that the club will have a large payroll next year even if he doesn't know the final number.
  • The Red Sox have talked to Josh Hamilton's agent, but Cherington called it "due diligence." Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com suggests keeping an eye on Boston in the Hamilton chase.
  • Cherington acknowledged talking to the representatives for Kevin Youkilis, but they've "talked about just about every free agent." He wouldn't handicap the chances of bringing Youkilis back next year.
  • First base, starting pitching, and corner outfield help are all on the shopping list, but one doesn't necessarily take priority over the others.
  • Cherington said he wasn't surprised by some of the names involved in the Blue Jays-Marlins blockbuster, but was surprised by the magnitude of the trade. Yesterday we heard that the deal would not impact Boston's offseason plan.

AL Links: Sanchez, Hunter, Yankees, Price, Red Sox

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With Torii Hunter joining the club on a two-year deal, the Tigers will now focus on re-signing Anibal Sanchez according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. They're unlikely to pursue another big name pitcher if they can't bring the right-hander back, however. Here's the latest from the American League, starting with some more on Hunter…

  • Hunter told teams he wasn't interested in talking to them unless things didn't work out with the Tigers, reports Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
  • The Yankees saw Hunter as a good fit but never made him an offer, reports Erik Boland of Newsday (on Twitter). They don't have any offers out to position players at the moment and are focused on re-signing Hiroki Kuroda and Mariano Rivera.
  • Hunter would have taken less than $26MM he received from Detroit to re-sign with the Angels, but a one-year contract was a non-starter at any price according to Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times (on Twitter).
  • Knobler listed the pros and cons of trading David Price just a few hours after the left-hander took home the Cy Young Award. Some people with the Rays even identified the Rangers as the ideal trade partner.
  • The Red Sox won't alter their rebuilding plan in the wake of the Blue Jays-Marlins blockbuster, said GM Ben Cherington to WEEI.com's Rob Bradford. "We know we have a plan this offseason and we're going to see how much we can execute it … We've started that and we'll continue to do that," said Cherington, who mentioned he found out about the blockbuster through MLBTR.

Red Sox Links: Ross, Reyes, Nolasco, Morrison

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Here's the latest out of Boston…

Quick Hits: Scutaro, Stanton, Hunter, Reyes, Tolleson

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The Marlins’ colossal deal with the Blue Jays has some wondering if Giancarlo Stanton will be the next big name shipped out of Miami, but that may not be the case.  Outside executives tell Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter) that of all the players the Marlins floated at the GM meetings, Stanton was not among them.  Here’s more from around baseball..

  • Multiple sources tell Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that the Giants are confident that they’ll be able to re-sign Marco Scutaro.  The veteran would likely return on a two-year deal.
  • Torii Hunter left his meeting with the Tigers today without a deal or a formal offer, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (Twitter link).  Several officials still see Detroit as the frontrunner for him, however.  We kept track of the latest on Hunter in one handy post on Tuesday.
  • The Red Sox made a push for Josh Johnson and Jose Reyes, but the Blue Jays just blew the Marlins away, a source tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (via Twitter).
  • Infielder Steven Tolleson agreed to terms on a minor league deal with the White Sox, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter).  Kubatko adds that the Orioles would have liked to retain him.
  • More than a dozen teams have checked in on free agent pitcher Jeremy Bonderman, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (via Twitter).  Bonderman has an offer in hand from the Tigers and the Nationals are among the dozen teams with interest, Olney tweets.
  • The Red Sox are among the teams in contact with Jason Bay as he considers his options for 2013, tweets Olney.  Bay is looking for a solid opportunity as well as familiarity and Boston would obviously provide the latter.

Yankees, Red Sox Interested In Napoli

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2:38pm: The Yankees are also interested in Napoli, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports (on Twitter). The Yankees have a need at catcher, since Russell Martin has also hit free agency. Both Napoli and Martin have strong career numbers against left-handed pitching.

10:39am: Even with David Ross under contract through 2014 and Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ryan Lavarnway on the roster, the Red Sox are still interested in free agent catcher Mike Napoli, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports. The Red Sox could use Napoli at first base and/or trade a catcher — perhaps Saltalamacchia — to create space on the roster.

The Red Sox are doing extensive background work on Napoli, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reports (on Twitter). The Mariners also have some level of interest in the catcher, a client of Paragon Sports International.

The Red Sox are expected to pursue first basemen this offseason, and Adam LaRoche could appeal to the team's front office executives. Alternatively, the club could rely on a platoon of Mauro Gomez and Jerry Sands at first base, as GM Ben Cherington recently suggested.

Napoli, 31, ranked 14th on MLBTR’s top 50 free agent list. He did not obtain a qualifying offer from the Rangers, which means he won’t be linked to draft pick compensation. In 417 plate appearances as a catcher, first baseman and designated hitter, Napoli posted a .227/.343/.469 line with 24 home runs this past season.

Olney On D’Backs, Rays, Rangers, Drew, Red Sox

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The Mariners have been linked to Josh Hamilton in the past week and Buster Olney of ESPN.com won't rule them out of the hunt.  Olney notes that it only takes one aggressive, desperate team to alter a player's market and the M's could be the team that comes out with the winning bid.  Here's more from Olney..

  • The Diamondbacks believe that the Rays are the second-best possible fit for a trade, behind the Rangers.  The Rangers don't want to give up Elvis Andrus or Jurickson Profar and Justin Upton would give Rays some badly needed offense in the middle of their lineup.  However, Tampa Bay might have pause over the pay bump coming to Upton.  He is set to earn $9.75MM in next season, $14.25MM in 2014, and $14.5 in '15.  The Rays could make that work, but it would mean dedicating roughly 20% of their payroll to one player.
  • The A's can comfortably wait to see if Stephen Drew winds up coming back to them for a deal.  No matter who Oakland gets at the position, it won't be someone so pricey that they couldn't adjust if Drew decides to return.
  • While many expect the Red Sox to deal Jarrod Saltalamacchia and give an increased role to Ryan Lavarnway, some rival evaluators have serious questions about whether he can be a catcher at the major league level.  One remarked that he has never seen a catcher with actions as slow as Lavarnway with another noting that "everything has to be perfect" for him to throw a runner out.

Red Sox Notes: Saltalamacchia, Lavarnway, Napoli

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Here's the latest out of Fenway and the potential fallout from their signing of catcher David Ross to a two-year, $6.2MM deal.. 

  • Many believe that Jarrod Saltalamacchia will be the odd man out in Boston with Ross now in the picture, but one rival exec told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) that the club has actually been shopping Saltalamacchia for weeks.  The catcher turned in a career-high 25 homers last season but saw his average dip (.222/.288/.454) and his strikeout total climb (139) in 448 plate appearances.
  • Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald notes that Ross would be a sensible option to split time with the switch-hitting Saltalamacchia.  However, the Red Sox have long coveted catcher Ryan Lavarnway and have refused to discuss moving him before the trade deadline in each of the past two seasons.
  • The Red Sox are known to have Mike Napoli on their radar and are targeting him as an option at first base.  However, multiple industry sources tell Lauber that the veteran strongly prefers to stay behind the plate.  That doesn't come as a major surprise considering his value is greater as a catcher than a first baseman.
  • The Red Sox could stand to clear some room off of their 40-man roster, so a trade involving Salty would likely include another player or two, writes Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.  Abraham sees the Cubs, Mariners, Mets, Pirates, and White Sox as possible fits for the catcher.

Cafardo On Red Sox, Reynolds, Hamilton, Martin

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Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe isn't sure that everyone appreciates the scope of the situation that Red Sox GM Ben Cherington & Co. are facing.  “I know they’re trying to sell it like they’ll be back quickly, and maybe everything will come together and they will,” said a National League GM, “but it’s just not player acquisition, it’s the transition for all of those new players to a new team and city, it’s getting used to a new manager, coaches, teammates. This is not that simple.”  Here's more from today's column..

  • The Red Sox have often been linked to Indians outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, but it still seems unlikely that Boston would risk dealing for him.  Choo, like Jacoby Ellsbury, is a year away from hitting the open market and has Scott Boras as his agent.  For the Sox to pull the trigger, they'd likely have to know that they could lock him up long-term.
  • If the Orioles bring Mark Reynolds back, it'll have to be for far less than the $11MM option they declined earlier this offseason.  Some see the Red Sox as a fit, but his high strikeout rate may be a turnoff for Boston.
  • Cafardo sees the Yankees, Dodgers (if they trade Andre Ethier), Mariners, Orioles, and Brewers as the teams to watch for Josh Hamilton.  The extra $25MM that teams could earn each year as a result of the new TV deal could lead someone to take the plunge and give the outfielder a five-year deal.  
  • The Red Sox had interest in Russell Martin before signing catcher David Ross. 
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