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AL Notes: Lee, Porcello, Red Sox

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The Yankees, who are hunting for a corner infielder to replace the injured Mark Teixeira, have asked Derrek Lee if he would be interested in returning to baseball, David Waldstein of the New York Times reports. Waldstein reports that Lee did show interest, although no deal is in place. Lee last played in 2011 for the Orioles and Pirates, hitting .267/.325/.446. Here are more notes from the American League:

AL Notes: Ryan, Porcello, Happ, Indians

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Rangers CEO Nolan Ryan had dinner with principal owners Ray Davis and Bob Simpson Friday night to discuss his future role with the franchise. Simpson called the meeting "productive" while Ryan remained silent until today when he released a statement through the team. "Over the last week, Ray Davis, Bob Simpson, and I have been in discussion and met in-person. The conversations have been productive, and we have discussed my role as CEO of the organization. We agreed these discussions will continue as we go forward. I am very proud of what the Rangers have accomplished over the last several years, and I believe our preparations for upcoming season are what is important." Sources have told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Ryan could leave after he fulfills his two remaining team obligations: in San Antonio for the Rangers' two exhibition games there March 29-30 and in Houston during the Rangers' season-opening series against the Astros. In other news and notes from the American League:

Central Notes: Tigers, Rondon, Sale, Inge

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Yesterday, Bruce Rondon made his fifth appearance of the spring and delivered his best performance to date.  While the Tigers have reportedly searched high and low for a proven closer, they may not feel the need to make a move if the rookie continues his strong play.  Here's more on that and other notes out of the Central divisions..

  • There has been a great deal of concern about the Tigers' plan to use Rondon as their closer, but Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports isn't buying into the panic.  Detroit could make a trade for a ninth-inning option before Opening Day but the supply of bullpen arms will be more plentiful leading to the trade deadline than it is now.
  • White Sox left-hander Chris Sale is happy to have his contract situation settled and says that he now feels that he can solely concentrate on playing in 2013, writes Scott Merkin of MLB.com.  Sale, who turns 24 at the end of the month, will earn a guaranteed $32.5MM over the next five years.
  • The Pirates believe that they have found a valuable bench piece in the versatile Brandon Inge, writes Tom Singer of MLB.com.  The veteran signed a minor league deal with the Bucs less than a month ago and seems likely to make the big league roster.

AL Central Notes: Tigers, Twins, Hicks, Indians

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Here's a look at tonight's news out of the AL Central..

  • Tigers right-hander Bruce Rondon struck out two and did not issue a walk this afternoon in what was his best outing of the Grapefruit League season so far.  In fact, if the rookie had thrown this well in his previous outings, the Tigers would probably feel more confident about their closer situation, writes Chris Iott of MLive.com.  The Tigers are said to be scouring the trade market in search of a proven ninth-inning option.
  • When asked if whether starting the service time clock will play a role in whether prospect Aaron Hicks makes team, Twins General Manager Terry Ryan responded, "Not here," according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com (on Twitter).  Recently, our own Ben Nicholson-Smith looked at service time considerations for Hicks and other top prospects across baseball.
  • The pain of a 68-94 season was the Indians' motivating factor in going out and getting Michael Bourn, Nick Swisher, Mark Reynolds, and Brett Myers, CEO Paul Dolan told Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer.  "We didn't want to go through something like that again," he said. "In some ways, it was a shock we needed."
Twins GM Terry Ryan on whether service time/arbitration will play role in whether Hicks makes team: "Not here."

Quick Hits: Padres, Marmol, Tigers

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Teams hoping to trade for Chase Headley will have to wait — at least for a few months. Padres general manager Josh Byrnes told Peter Gammons of MLB Network that San Diego executives have worked hard to assemble an improved offensive team. “We're not breaking it up now," Byrnes said (Twitter links). As Gammons notes, it’s possible the Padres will re-consider their stance in July. Here are some notes from around MLB…

  • Carlos Marmol’s name surfaced in trade talk this week, but said today that he expects to be with the Cubs all year despite the rumors. "I don't believe in anything," he said, according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter).
  • Tigers manager Jim Leyland said he intends to keep managing as long as he can, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports (on Twitter). "I'm not retiring, whether we win or we don't win," Leyland said. The 68-year-old obtained a one-year contract from the Tigers after leading the team to the World Series.
  • Many of the teams expected to contend in 2013 are already facing significant questions, Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com writes. The Tigers (closer), Cardinals (shortstop), Yankees (lineup), Rangers (rotation) and Dodgers (outfield) have issues to address this spring.
  • Daisuke Matsuzaka can opt out of his deal with the Indians on March 26th, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter).

Quick Hits: Tanaka, Headley, Stanton, Crawford

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Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka may be the next Japanese pitcher to turn a strong World Baseball Classic performance into a nine-figure Major League contract, ESPN's C.J. Nitkowski writes (Insider subscription required).  Tanaka, 24, has a 2.50 ERA, 8.6 K/9 and 4.34 K/BB ratio in 1103 IP over six seasons with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.  Tanaka has expressed interest in pitching in North America and is three years away from international free agency, though Rakuten could open the posting process before then.

Here's the latest from around the majors…

  • The Padres are starting to listen to offers for Chase Headley, Bill Madden of the New York Daily News reports.  The Padres tabled extension talks with Headley earlier this winter after the two sides were far apart on terms.  The third baseman is under contract through the 2014 season and Madden argues that the Yankees should make a move for a young star like Headley or Giancarlo Stanton in order to bolster the lineup and ensure the team will contend this year.
  • "The fact is, this is the right time to trade Stanton. He’s never going to have more value than this," a Marlins operative tells Madden, arguing that such an unpopular move can't hurt a team that is already at rock bottom in terms of public perception.  “I understand Jeffrey [Loria]’s getting killed in Miami over blowing up the team this winter and why he doesn’t want to trade Stanton. But how much more can we get killed?  He’s already had some injury issues, and we’re never going to sign him to a long-term deal," Madden's source said.
  • Carl Crawford criticized the Boston media and told CBS Sports' Danny Knobler that he erred in signing with the Red Sox in the 2010-11 offseason.  "It just wasn't the right place for me at the end of my day. I didn't do my homework. Maybe they didn't, either," Crawford said.
  • If the Tigers do acquire a reliever, MLB.com's Jason Beck believes such a deal isn't likely until nearer to the end of Spring Training when other teams have their own bullpen situations settled.
  • Chone Figgins feels a lack of playing time exacerbated his struggles with the Mariners and is looking forward to seeing more action playing under NL rules with the Marlins, The Associated Press reports.
  • Rubby De La Rosa and Allen Webster have both looked good in Spring Training and the Red Sox could reap more than financial benefits from last summer's trade with the Dodgers if these two young pitchers develop, John Tomase of the Boston Herald writes.  Tomase also talks to Rays manager Joe Maddon about how the Rays were targeting De La Rosa before L.A. dealt him to Boston.

AL Central Notes: Tigers, Sale, Indians, Morneau

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Here's the latest from around the AL Central…

  • Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski admitted to reporters (including Lynn Henning of the Detroit News) that teams had been calling him about the Tigers' starting pitching depth.  The Rangers reportedly asked about Rick Porcello earlier this week and several teams have shown interest in the right-hander throughout the offseason.
  • Dombrowski and Jim Leyland revealed no new details about the Tigers' closer situation other than saying that rookie Bruce Rondon is still very much a candidate for the job despite struggling in four Spring Training outings.
  • White Sox GM Rick Hahn discussed Chris Sale's extension with reporters (including MLB.com's Scott Merkin) and likes that the team was able to lock up a potential ace at what could end up being a bargain price.  "Obviously this past offseason was a pretty robust one in terms of where the compensation was going. So being able to lock something down before there was further escalation in Chris' market had a lot of appeal to us," Hahn said.
  • Scott Kazmir can opt out of his minor league deal with the Indians if he isn't on their Major League roster by April 2, ESPN's Buster Olney reports (via Twitter).  Daisuke Matsuzaka, another Tribe minor league signing, also has an opt-out date "about the same time."
  • Unless Justin Morneau improves on his 2012 numbers, Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities feels the Twins will struggle to get "anything significant" for the slugger in a possible trade, and could have to settle for a trade package similar to what they received for Francisco Liriano last summer.  Morneau hit .267/.333/.440 with 19 home runs in 570 PA in 2012 and is entering his last season under contract with Minnesota.  Mackey also discusses the Twins payroll, various roster decisions and other topics during this chat with fans.

Quick Hits: Cardinals, Wainwright, Tigers, Porcello

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Links from around baseball as Wednesday turns into Thursday..

  • Cardinals GM John Mozeliak sounded upbeat about the club's contract talks with Adam Wainwright in an interview earlier today with Jim Duquette and Mike Ferrin of SiriusXM's MLB Network Radio.  "Right now, I feel pretty optimistic that we’re going to find a way to get things done, but there are still challenges. But from my end of things, the fact that Steve Hammond and I are speaking is a good thing," said the GM.
  • Tigers manager Jim Leyland recently floated the idea that using Rick Porcello as a closer could be an option, but he walked it back earlier today and said that it would be "highly unlikely", writes Jason Beck of MLB.com.  Porcello is a trade candidate for Detroit due to their strong rotation depth.
  • Jane Lee of MLB.com doesn't see the A's carrying two true first baseman this season, which would mean Daric Barton being left on the outside looking in.  Barton re-signed with the A's this winter on a one-year, non-guaranteed $1.1MM deal.

AL Central Notes: Tigers, Bailey, Valverde, White Sox

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Here's a look at some notes out of the AL Central..

  • Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter) hears that the Tigers aren't just casually shopping for a closer, they have an all points bulletin out for one.  We first heard yesterday that the Tigers are pushing to find a ninth-inning option and they have reportedly inquired on Carlos Marmol of the Cubs.
  • There's no word yet on whether the Tigers called the Red Sox about Andrew Bailey, Heyman tweets.  Heyman suggests that Jose Valverde would make sense on a one-year deal rather than giving something up in a trade, but all indications are that Detroit isn't looking to bring him back.
  • Kenny Williams told Tracy Ringolsby of MLB.com that he misses being a GM but doesn't miss the toll that it took on him.  Williams ceded the title of GM to Rick Hahn and took on the role of executive vice president for the White Sox last year.

Tigers Notes: Marmol, Cubs, Boesch

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The Tigers will consider trading for a closer and Carlos Marmol of the Cubs is drawing interest, so there's a possible matchup on paper. Manager Jim Leyland and GM Dave Dombrowski have publicly downplayed the chances of a trade, but that hasn’t stopped the speculation. Here are some Tigers-related notes…

  • One scout notes that Marmol has issues limiting walks, according to Jason Beck of MLB.com. "Less control than [Al] Alburquerque," the scout said (Twitter link). Marmol has a career walk rate of 6.0 BB/9 in seven MLB seasons.
  • Beck revisits recent trade rumors involving the Cubs and Tigers, pointing out that three of the four best-paid Cubs have been linked to the Tigers in trade rumors in the last 15 months. Alfonso Soriano, Matt Garza and Marmol have all been connected to the Tigers on this site in the last year-plus.
  • John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press argues that the Tigers don't need an experienced closer. Lowe notes that the closers for last year's National League division winners had a total of five career saves entering the 2012 season.
  • Brennan Boesch is now healthy, so speculation about possible trades will resume, Lowe writes. Boesch doesn't have a clear role on the 2013 Tigers and could be dealt this spring.
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