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Hiroki Kuroda Landscape “Wide Open”

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4:51pm: A source tells WEEI's Rob Bradford that the Red Sox are interested in Kuroda, but that their ability to sign him would be contingent on gaining financial flexibility through other moves.

2:47pm: Now that the Dodgers have effectively signed Capuano to replace Kuroda in their rotation, the landscape for the righty is "wide open," a source tells FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. According to Rosenthal, Kuroda is now willing to consider all offers, regardless of location.

9:12am: Yesterday we heard that the Rockies are out of the running for Roy Oswalt, but today Troy Renck of The Denver Post reports that they've been quietly pursuing Hiroki Kuroda. The right-hander is unlikely to return to the Dodgers following the Chris Capuano signing.

Kuroda, 37 in February, has pitched to a 3.23 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 398 1/3 innings across 63 starts over the last two seasons. The Angels and Diamondbacks are said to have interest in him, and the Hiroshima Carp also have an offer out to their former hurler. Kuroda prefers the west coast, but it stands to reason that the Yankees, Red Sox, Nationals, and others would have interest if he was willing to move east. The Rockies reportedly have interest in Jeff Francis and Kevin Millwood as well.

Red Sox To Meet With Agent For Wilson And Oswalt

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The Red Sox will meet with the agent for C.J. Wilson and Roy Oswalt at the winter meetings in Dallas next week, reports Michael Silverman of The Boston Herald (on Twitter). Both pitchers are represented by Bob Garber.

Most of the recent reports involving the Red Sox have focused on their now completed managerial search or their still ongoing closer search, but the club is also looking to solidify its starting staff. Clay Buchholz will return from injury to join Josh Beckett and Jon Lester atop the rotation, but both Daisuke Matsuzaka and John Lackey are out following Tommy John surgery. Alfredo Aceves figures to be given a chance to start, but Boston still needs to add depth beyond those four.

The Rangers, Nationals, and Marlins are said to be pursuing Wilson, who is looking for something close to a six-year deal worth $120MM. The Rockies had shown the most interest in Oswalt so far this offseason, but they've recently dropped out of the running.

Red Sox Notes: Ortiz, Cespedes, Madson, Bell

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Now that they have a new manager, the Red Sox can focus on improving their roster at next week's winter meetings. Here's the latest from Boston…

  • Bobby Valentine was introduced as the Red Sox's new manager yesterday, and today he flew down to the Dominican Republic to meet with free agent DH David Ortiz according to Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe. "I've said 1,000 times that I want to come back to the Red Sox," said Ortiz.
  • Valentine's trip to the Dominican Republic will not include any kind of visit with Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes due to a schedule conflict, reports Jim Bowden of MLB Network (on Twitter).
  • The Red Sox continue to maintain dialogue with agent Scott Boras about free agent closer Ryan Madson, tweets Bowden. They also had discussions with Heath Bell's agent before he agreed to join the Marlins, reports WEEI.com's Rob Bradford.
  • Boston's priorities (in order) are Ortiz, a closer, a starting pitcher, and a right-handed hitting outfielder tweets Bowden.
  • Regardless of who they hired to manage, the Red Sox did not intend to lose hitting coach Dave Magadan according to The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo (on Twitter).

Rosenthal On Capuano, Fielder, Marlins, Red Sox

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The Twins offered Chris Capuano a two-year deal before he accepted the Dodgers' offer, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Here are more of Rosenthal's notes from around MLB…

  • The Marlins have discussed Prince Fielder internally and some team officials like the idea of pursuing him, according to Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi. However, they're more focused on Albert Pujols. Agent Scott Boras is telling teams that Fielder is the last available young power bat until Mike Stanton hits free agency.
  • The Pirates were also pursuing Capuano before he signed, Morosi tweets.
  • One GM says other teams backed off from Jose Reyes after the Marlins offered him $90MM over six years.
  • The Cardinals offered Albert Pujols a nine-year deal worth $190-200MM in Spring Training and haven’t changed their proposal since.
  • The Red Sox are exploring every trade possibility and considering every free agent closer, according to Rosenthal. Boston is hoping to find a bargain somewhere in the crowded market for top-tier relievers.

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

Heyman On Buehrle, Garza, Reyes, Posada, Bell

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Heath Bell isn’t close to signing, despite last night’s rumors, but it’s not for lack of interest. Here’s the latest on Bell and a handful of other free agents, via Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter links):

AL Central Notes: Cespedes, Royals, Cuddyer

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The Tigers, who agreed to sign Ramon Santiago to a two-year deal today, have interest in Coco Crisp. Here are the latest updates from their division, starting with a note on another possible outfield target for Detroit:

  • Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski will watch Yoenis Cespedes play in the Dominican Republic, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com, who suggests this is “very unusual” for Dombrowski (Twitter link). Cespedes isn’t yet a free agent, but he’s in the process of establishing temporary residency in the Dominican and may hit the open market soon.
  • Before the Royals signed Jonathan Broxton, outfielder Jeff Francoeur and manager Ned Yost went hunting with the right-hander in Georgia, according to Kevin Kernan of the New York Post. The outing helped convince Broxton to join the Royals.
  • Twins manager Ron Gardenhire says the team is "making a mad effort" to sign Michael Cuddyer, according to Phil Mackey of ESPN 1500 (on Twitter).
  • Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle hears Josh Willingham may be a fit in Minnesota if the Twins don’t re-sign Cuddyer. Similarly, the Red Sox may have interest if they don’t re-sign David Ortiz, Slusser writes.

Bobby Valentine Hiring Reactions

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Bobby Valentine will be the next Red Sox manager and baseball is buzzing about the consequences for the front office, Boston's players and the 61-year-old skipper himself. Here’s the latest reaction to the move:

  • Peter Gammons of MLB.com says GM Ben Cherington and Valentine, two smart baseball people, have what it takes to work well together and turn the 2012 Red Sox into a team worth watching. "They are both so smart and so very different and need to win," Gammons writes.
  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney believes Valentine and the Red Sox players have an opportunity to bury the past and succeed in spite of what has been said about them. Olney reports that some Red Sox players started grumbling to each other as Valentine emerged as a serious candidate for the position.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Red Sox have put in place a formula for greatness or disaster. Valentine is "a combustible manager as likely to throw the organization into further chaos as he is to bring championship glory," Sherman writes. 
  • Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports that the other finalist, Tigers third base coach Gene Lamont, reminded some in the Red Sox organization of Terry Francona. Valentine hadn't agreed to the specifics of a deal as of last night, but the sides are expected to reach one without difficulty, Abraham writes.
  • Yahoo's Jeff Passan isn't sure how the balance of power will shift in Boston, but he knows Valentine, Cherington and CEO Larry Lucchino can't all have the final say on the team.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports points out that Cherington has lots of on-field matters to attend to and hopes that Lucchino lets him conduct the rest of the offseason as he sees fit. 

Quick Hits: Cubs, McCann, Cespedes, Smoak, Broxton

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Some links as Tuesday turns into Wednesday…

  • “Like I’ve always said, there is one person responsible for making those decisions, and one person accountable for those results,” said Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts to reporters (including Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune) when asked about the possibility of signing a player to a mammoth contract. “So if [Theo Epstein] believes strongly that’s what’s in the best interests of the team, then he’s got my support.” Earlier today we heard that the Cubs are pursuing both Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder.
  • Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wonders if the Braves will offer Brian McCann a long-term contract extension soon. The six-time All-Star will make $11.5MM in 2012 and the team holds a $12MM club option for 2013, so there's no urgency to get a deal done at the moment.
  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo is currently in the Dominican Republic scouting Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson. On Monday we heard that Washington views Cespedes as an alternative to Fielder.
  • The Mariners have interest in Fielder, and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says (on Twitter) that they would make Justin Smoak available in a trade if they manage to sign the free agent slugger.
  • Before he agreed to join the Royals, the Red Sox expressed interest in Jonathan Broxton according to Scott Lauber of The Boston Herald. Broxton wanted to sign before the winter meetings, and Lauber's source said that was “a little quicker than [the Sox] were comfortable with."
  • There is no more than a "10 percent" chance that Rays GM Andrew Friedman could be convinced to take the Astros GM job according to one executive that spoke to Friedman and ESPN's Jayson Stark (Twitter link).
  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman offered a “would not say" to George A. King III of The New York Post when asked if he has any interest in Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima. The Seibu Lions posted Nakajima on Monday.
  • Kelvim Escobar hopes to pitch in winter ball next month, agent Peter Greenberg told Mike Puma of The New York Post (Twitter link). The 35-year-old righty hopes to get back to MLB despite having pitched in just one game since 2007.
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