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Mike Napoli Rumors: Tuesday

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It's a good time to be a free agent catcher with power. Interest in Russell Martin remains strong, and the market for Mike Napoli seems similarly active. Here’s the latest on Napoli on a day that he had been scheduled to meet with the Rangers…

  • The Rangers remain focused on Napoli, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). Their interest in Martin will increase only if Texas believes Napoli’s asking price is too high.
  • The Red Sox are in contact with Napoli, Nick Swisher and Cody Ross and all three free agents remain in play for Boston, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. Napoli, Swisher and Ross appear to be the top targets for the Red Sox, who seek help at first base and in the outfield. One executive said he views the Red Sox as the favorite to sign Napoli. Like Swisher, Napoli has the versatility to play multiple positions, a bonus for the Red Sox.

Orioles Acquire Danny Valencia

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The Orioles have acquired infielder Danny Valencia from the Red Sox for cash considerations, the teams announced. Baltimore designated infielder Joe Mahoney for assignment in a related move.

Acquired from Minnesota this past August, Valencia appeared in 44 total games in 2012. He struggled, posting a .188/.199/.299 batting line in 161 plate appearances for the Red Sox and Twins. However, in 2011, he hit 15 home runs and posted a .246/.294/.383 as Minnesota's starting third baseman.

Mahoney debuted with the Orioles this past season, appearing in two games. In 536 plate appearances at Triple-A, the 25-year-old posted a .265/.319/.389 batting line.

A’s Acquire Sandy Rosario; Designate Mitchell

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The A's acquired right-hander Sandy Rosario from the Red Sox for a player to be named later or cash considerations, the teams announced. In a related move, the A's designated outfielder Jermaine Mitchell for assignment.

Rosario, 27, has yet to appear in a game with the Red Sox, who claimed him off of waivers from Miami last month. He pitched in four games for this year's Marlins team, but spent most of the season in the minor leagues. He posted a 1.99 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 in 31 2/3 total innings for three of Miami's affiliates.

Mitchell, Oakland's fifth round selection in 2006, has yet to appear at the MLB level. The 28-year-old posted a .252/.345/.386 batting line in 474 plate appearances at Triple-A this past season.

Pirates Acquire Zach Stewart

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The Pirates acquired right-hander Zach Stewart from the Red Sox for a player to be named later, the teams announced. The Red Sox had designated Stewart for assignment on November 20th.

Stewart, 26, has pitched at the MLB level in both of the past two seasons. This is already the fourth time he has been traded since the Reds selected him in the third round of the 2008 draft. The Blue Jays acquired him in the deal that sent Scott Rolen to Cincinnati; Toronto traded him to the White Sox in the three-team trade that sent Colby Rasmus to the Blue Jays; the Red Sox acquired him in the deal that sent Kevin Youkilis to Chicago. In 103 innings at the MLB level, Stewart has a 6.82 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9.

Quick Hits: Liriano, Napoli, Wright, Royals

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The Twins have had conversations with Francisco Liriano's representatives, a source with knowledge of the talks tells LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune.  The two sides are expected to meet next week during the winter meetings but General Manager Terry Ryan is keeping mum on potential targets for the club.  Here's more Tuesday night linkage..

  • The Rangers did not meet with Mike Napoli today, despite previous reports to the contrary, according to Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram.  However, the club is set to meet with the catcher tomorrow.  Earlier today it was reported that Napoli appears to be the Red Sox's top free agent target.
  • Ken Davidoff of the New York Post (Twitter links) reached out to David Wright after his comments earlier tonight to MLBTradeRumors.  The third baseman indicated that he was displeased with the public nature of his contract negotiations.  "I wish I could elaborate but it was important to me from the very beginning that these negotiations remain confidential and private. I plan on sticking to that. Sorry I can't comment any further," said Wright.
  • The Royals have discussed Wil Myers in trades for Rays right-hander James Shields and Red Sox left-hander Jon Lester, but Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports points out that the two hurlers aren't exactly equal.  The two are owed similar money through 2014 ($24.625MM for Lester and $21MM for Shields) but Shields has been much stronger in recent years.

AL East Notes: Yankees, Red Sox, Mauer, Reynolds

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A look at the latest out of the American League East..

  • We learned earlier today that the Yankees have not had serious talks with Ichiro Suzuki yet about a possible return and Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News adds that the club has yet to make an offer to any position player.
  • The Red Sox inquired on Joe Mauer in September, October, and November and were repeatedly told by the Twins that he would not be traded, tweets Peter Gammons of MLB.com.  If the Twins did have a change of heart, they would still have to work around the catcher’s full no-trade clause.
  • The Orioles have had absolutely zero talks with Mark Reynolds on a new deal for next year, tweets Britt Ghiroli of MLB.com.  Meanwhile, Executive Vice President Dan Duquette says that they’ll be exploring a new deal with him between now and Friday, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter).

Red Sox Notes: Ross, Napoli, Lester, Bailey

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The Red Sox and Royals have had some discussions about a trade centered around Jon Lester and Wil Myers, and that's not the only trade possibility for Ben Cherington to consider in the week leading up to the Winter Meetings. Here are the details from Boston…

  • Friends of Cody Ross believe the Red Sox are in the lead for the outfielder, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports (on Twitter). Ross seeks a three-year deal and hasn't had new talks with the Red Sox in the last few days.
  • Mike Napoli appears to be Boston's top free agent target, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald reports (on Twitter). In the words of Lauber's source, everyone else is "1A" behind Napoli.
  • The Red Sox haven't had discussions with Lester about a possible extension, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports. The left-hander has one guaranteed year remaining on his contract with Boston. He'll earn $11.675MM in 2013 and his contract includes a $13MM option for 2014. Lester has said in the past that he'd be open to discussing an extension if the Red Sox are interested.
  • Rival teams say the Red Sox are open to dealing Andrew Bailey, Olney reports (on Twitter). However, the reliever’s trade value remains low, so it doesn’t appear likely that the Red Sox will move him. Olney reported last month that the Blue Jays considered acquiring Bailey for manager John Farrell.

Minor Moves: Orioles, Clement, Erbe, Quiroz, Red Sox

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Here are the latest minor signings from around the league…

  • The Orioles added independent league pitchers Logan Mahon and Chase Johnson on minor league deals, according to CSNBaltimore's Rich Dubroff and the Baltimore Sun's Eduardo A. Encina, respectively (Twitter links).
  • The Giants also added an independent league arm today, signing Omar Javier to a minor league deal, tweets Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Omar hasn't pitched in affiliated ball since 2009 with the Cardinals.
  • The Twins have signed former No. 3 overall pick Jeff Clement to a minor league deal, tweets Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. Clement, 29, appeared on Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects list from 2006-08 and has a career .280/.359/.493 line at Triple-A. However, he's failed to produce in four separate Major League stints between the Mariners and Pirates.
  • ESPN's Jayson Stark tweets that the Phillies have signed righty Brandon Erbe to a minor league deal. The 24-year-old was a third-round selection by the Orioles back in 2005 and was once a highly regarded prospect. He's battled a series of shoulder injuries and pitched to a 6.82 ERA in 30 1/3 innings for Baltimore's Class-A Advanced affiliate in 2012.
  • Stark also reports that the Giants have signed minor league catcher Guillermo Quiroz to a minor league contract (Twitter link). The former top prospect is now 30 years old and carries with him a .260/.323/.424 batting line over parts of nine Triple-A seasons. He's managed just a .538 OPS in 282 Major League plate appearances.
  • The Red Sox have signed right-handers David Carpenter, Sandy Rosario and Jose De La Torre to minor league deals, according to MLB.com's Evan Drellich. Carpenter appeared in 32 1/3 innings for the Blue Jays and Astros in 2012 but posted an 8.07 ERA. The 27-year-old Rosario has a career 3.48 ERA and 4.4 K/BB ratio in the minors but has barely pitched above the Double-A level. De La Torre was acquired from the Indians for Brent Lillibridge.
  • MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports that the Astros have signed righties Edgar Gonzalez and Jose Valdez to minor league contracts. Gonzalez, 29, has a 5.84 ERA over 350 career innings between the Diamondbacks, Rockies and Astros. Valdez hurled 12 innings for Houston last year after spending the past three seasons in their farm system. He has an impressive 103 strikeouts in 83 2/3 career Triple-A innings. McTaggart has the breakdown of each contract in his piece, including out clauses that allow Valdez to pursue opportunities in Japan.

Royals Interested In Shields, Lester

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8:51pm: A Major League source confirmed to WEEI's Rob Bradford that the two teams have indeed discusseda trade that would center around Lester and Myers. According to Bradford, the talks also included the possibility of Boston sending outfield help to Kansas City with some pitching heading back to the Red Sox. He echoes that nothing is close.

6:55pm: The Royals have already added Ervin Santana to their rotation and brought back Jeremy Guthrie this offseason, but Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star writes that general manager Dayton Moore would like to add one more impact arm to his rotation. According to Dutton, Moore's preference is to acquire that arm by dealing prospects rather than Major League talent, and there have been discussions about using top prospect Wil Myers to acquire James Shields or Jon Lester.

Dutton writes that the Royals are currently weighing whether or not six years of Myers is worth two years of either Lester or Shields. One Royals source told Dutton that it's easy to project Myers as a 30-homer bat at the Major League level within the next two-to-three seasons. At the moment, the Royals, Red Sox and Rays are all said to be hesitant, and no deal is close.

Beyond the debate of which commodity is worth more, the Royals also need to consider their 2013 payroll. Barring a significant increase, the team would have to clear money in order to acquire either contract for next season. That, writes Dutton, could mean moving Bruce Chen's contract and/or taking a "hard look" at Luke Hochevar and Felipe Paulino. Both are due significant raises in arbitration, as Matt Swartz recently projected for MLBTR.

Myers ranks as the Royals' top prospect according to Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus and MLB.com. The 22-year-old batted .314/.387/.600 with 37 homers between Double-A and Triple-A last season, cementing himself as one of the game's most coveted minor leaguers.

Jeff Francoeur currently projects as Kansas City's right fielder but is coming off a dreadful season in which he hit just .235/.287/.378. The Royals would need to be confident that Francoeur could return to his 2011 numbers if they were to trade Myers, and even still would have a hole in right field beyond 2013.

Seven Teams Interested In Victorino

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B.J. Upton's name has dominated the conversation regarding free agent center fielders lately, but Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that the Indians, Rangers, Yankees, Giants, Rays, Red Sox and Reds all have interest in another free agent center fielder — Shane Victorino.

Several teams, according to Heyman, are willing to offer three years to Victorino in spite of his slow finish to the 2012 season. Victorino is willing to move to a corner outfield spot, though he has a track record of solid defense in center field.

Victorino stole a career-high 39 bases in 2012 (with a brilliant 87-percent success rate), but his 11 homers were his lowest total since 2009. He slumped at the plate following a trade to the Dodgers and finished the season with a .255/.321/.383 batting line, which will likely prevent him from securing the five-year contract he sought prior to the 2012 season.

In a recent Free Agent Faceoff, Victorino came up just short to fellow center fielder Angel Pagan when roughly 56 percent of readers voted that they preferred Pagan to Victorino.

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