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Central Notes: Tigers, Cain, Cubs, Barmes

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The Tigers signed Jhonny Peralta to a two-year deal on this date in 2010. The shortstop responded with 21 homers and a .299/.345/.478 line in 2011 and the Tigers won their division. Here's the latest from baseball's central divisions, starting in Detroit…

Rockies Interested In Millwood, Harden, Chen

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The Rockies have expressed interest in free agent starters Kevin Millwood, Rich Harden, and Bruce Chen, according to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.  They'll also be exploring the trade market.

Millwood, 37 in December, finished the season with Colorado, making nine starts with a 3.98 ERA.  The Scott Boras client seeks a Major League deal, which Renck says makes this a "slow-developing situation."  Renck notes that the Rockies were among the finalists to sign Harden last year, though they viewed him as a reliever.

As for their second base opening, the Rockies have had internal conversations about free agent Aaron Hill, according to ESPN's Buster Olney.  Hill is also of interest to the Tigers, writes Lynn Henning of the Detroit News.  The Rockies also have interest in Jamey Carroll, Mark Ellis, and others, reported Renck previously.

For more on the Rockies' needs and finances, check out my offseason outlook.

Yoenis Cespedes To Gain Free Agency

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7:15pm: The Red Sox are "sending everyone" to the Dominican to evaluate Cespedes, according to MLB.com's Peter Gammons.  The Rangers are also interested, along with the many teams named below, according to Gammons, who confirms that small-market teams like the A's, Pirates and Indians will be involved.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports names the Marlins, Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers, and Nationals as teams with a significant presence at the Friday workout.

5:49pm: Yankees GM Brian Cashman confirmed that he saw the Cespedes video, but wouldn't say whether the Yankees are interested, according to Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger (link on Twitter; the video has been removed).  Meanwhile, Braves GM Frank Wren told David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he doesn't expect to sign the center fielder, though they're checking in on him (Twitter link).

2:25pm: The Yankees, Phillies, Blue Jays, Giants, Marlins, Nationals, Indians, Athletics, and Pirates have had a presence at Cespedes' workouts, reports Yahoo's Tim Brown.  Giants GM Brian Sabean told reporters today that his team will not be involved on Cespedes, however (via Andrew Baggarly on Twitter).  

Agent Adam Katz tells Brown he'll wait until his client is technically declared a free agent before discussing contract terms with teams.  The Yankees, Phillies, and Marlins will have private workouts with Cespedes within the next few weeks, with a Marlins contingent heading to the Dominican Republic this week.  

8:30am: Cuban center fielder Yoenis Cespedes defected mid-summer and is expected to be cleared for free agency within a matter of weeks, reports Yahoo's Jeff Passan.  The 26-year-old is "arguably the best all-around player to come out of Cuba in a generation," according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus, who describes Cespedes as "a legitimate centerfielder with plus power and speed."  Both Passan and Goldstein expect the 26-year-old to receive a deal in the range of the $30.25MM Aroldis Chapman received in January of 2010.  MLBTR first told you about Cespedes' escape from the Cuban National Team in July.

If you really want to get to know Cespedes, though, you need to watch the 20-minute YouTube video sent by his trainer to MLB teams.  Goldstein's column provides a full breakdown of this bizarre production, but I'll just note that it includes Cespedes making a 45-inch vertical jump, leg-pressing 1,300 pounds (with two friends atop the weights), catching a flyball behind his back while facing the batter (twice), a thank you to Ahman Green, and the player roasting a pig.  Some of the songs used may not be appropriate for your workplace, except for Christopher Cross' 1980 hit "Sailing," which was deemed too tame even for your office's elevator.

Cespedes is represented by Adam Katz of Wasserman Media Group.  Passan says the Yankees are "particularly hot" for the center fielder.  Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post says the Nationals had multiple talent evaluators on hand at Cespedes' workout last week in the Dominican Republic, and a team official said they'd "love to have him."  Ownership has been informed about Cespedes and what it would take to sign him.  The Marlins and Phillies are also in the mix for Cespedes, writes Kilgore.  As with Chapman, this type of player in his prime will draw the interest of almost every club.  

The Marlins have the inside track, one American League source who attended the showcase told Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  A Marlins contingent including owner Jeffrey Loria will visit Cespedes in the Dominican Republic later this week, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  

Quick Hits: Ordonez, Rangers, Myers, Cubs

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Remember – the deadline to make picks for MLBTR's first-ever free agent prediction contest is tonight at midnight central time.  Only ballots with picks made for all of the top 50 free agents will be counted; incomplete ones will not be eligible.  So dot your I's, cross your T's, and give yourself a chance at a piece of $1000 worth of great prizes.  For information about the contest rules and prizes, click here.  When you're done with that, check out these links..

  • MLB.com's Jason Beck chatted with Carlos Guillen, who has been talking with Magglio Ordonez since the season ended and the veteran relayed that Ordonez plans on playing again next year.  That news matches up with what we've been hearing recently.  Reportedly, it's very unlikely that Guillen or Ordonez will return to the Tigers next year.
  • In a piece for MLB.com, Peter Gammons praises Rangers GM Jon Daniels, assistant GM Thad Levine, senior director of player personnel A.J. Preller, and the rest of the club's front office for their work in recent years.  Gammons runs down some of the club's best calls, including their 2010 to trade for Cliff Lee which propelled them to win the pennant and reach the World Series for the first time in franchise history.
  • The Braves had trade talks with the Royals about Jair Jurrjens and Martin Prado but talks have stalled, likely because Kansas City does not want to part with top prospect Wil Myers.  Rustin Dodd of The Kansas City Star believes that Myers is a player with star potential that can be used to net the club a potential impact starting pitcher in a trade.
  • Either Dale Sveum or Mike Maddux would make sense as the Cubs' next manager, writes Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com.  Meanwhile, the club has a huge void in its rotation and pitching figures to be their biggest need this offseason.  In his Offseason Outlook for the Cubs, Tim Dierkes writes the Cubs could easily spread their surplus among four or five veterans rather than go for a big splash.
  • Josh Goldman of Fangraphs brings us three visuals to analyze baseball's previous $100MM contract recipients and how they performed.  Recently, our own Ben Nicholson-Smith checked in on how baseball's newest $100MM players fared in 2011.

Minor Moves: Tobin, Downs, Rangers, Timmons

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The latest minor moves from around MLB…

  • The Rangers have outrighted Mason Tobin to Triple-A Round Rock, reports Drew Davison of The Star Telegram (all Twitter links). FOXSportsSouthwest.com's Anthony Andro says Texas offered the Rule 5 Draft Pick back to the Angels, but they declined. Tobin threw just 5 1/3 games for the Rangers before needing elbow surgery.
  • The Tigers have signed Darin Downs to a minor league contract according to a tweet from Sosnicke Cobbe Sports. The 26-year-old lefty posted a 4.66 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 112 innings in the Marlins farm system in 2011.
  • Pitchers Eric Hurley, Omar Beltre and Merkin Valdez and infielders Andres Blanco and Esteban German elected free agency, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. The Rangers outrighted all five off of their roster earlier this week. Blanco posted a .605 OPS in 82 plate appearances as a utility player in 2011, but none of the others spent significant time in the Majors this past season.
  • The A's announced that they signed infielder Wes Timmons to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training. The 33-year-old posted a .341/.420/.468 line in 401 plate appearances in the upper minors this past season.
  • MLB granted free agency to 537 minor leaguers this week and Matt Eddy of Baseball America has the complete list.

Quick Hits: Tigers, Doumit, Blue Jays, Oliver

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Steve Carlton of the Phillies won his third career Cy Young Award on this day in 1980. The left-hander would go on to win a fourth Cy Young in 1982 en route to 329 career wins and a place in Cooperstown. Here are some links for Friday afternoon…

  • Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe suggests the Red Sox should pursue Jose Reyes and trade Jose Iglesias. However, the Red Sox expect Iglesias to be ready for the Major Leagues within a half-year or so. Cafardo expects the Red Sox to pursue Carlos Beltran this offseason.
  • The Tigers are looking for a leadoff hitter, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter links). Reyes is a dream candidate and David DeJesus and Kelly Johnson could be more affordable alternatives.
  • Agent Matt Sosnick told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that free agent Ryan Doumit is willing to catch, play right field or DH in 2012 (Twitter link).
  • The Blue Jays announced that they hired former Devil Rays GM Chuck LaMar as a special assistant to amateur scouting.
  • Darren Oliver’s wife has given her husband the go-ahead to sign with whichever team has the best shot at a World Series title, according to ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick.

AL Central Notes: Chen, La Russa, Buehrle, Tigers

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Justin Verlander was the big winner as the 2011 Players Choice Awards were announced today.  Verlander's peers selected him as both the 2011 AL Outstanding Pitcher and the 2011 Player Of The Year.  Could this be an omen for the AL MVP result in a few weeks?

Here's some other news from the AL Central…

  • Bruce Chen tells Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that he has already received calls from two teams interested in the veteran southpaw.  Despite this outside interest, Chen says he wishes to remain with the Royals.  "Kansas City has expressed numerous times that they would like to sign me back,” Chen said. “We have a real good relationship, and we’re making progress." 
  • There is "some talk" that Tony La Russa could become a consultant with the White Sox, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).  La Russa, who managed the Sox from 1979-86, would work with rookie manager Robin Ventura.
  • Mark Buehrle is "wide-open" to the possibility of joining a number of different teams, his agent Jeff Berry tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Buehrle has said in the past that he only wished to pitch for the White Sox or his home-state Cardinals, but also said last month that he would be interested in pitching in the National League for the first time in his career.
  • Unlike last winter, the Tigers will take their time in perusing the free agent market this offseason, writes MLB.com's Jason Beck.
  • A few tweaks at third base, backup catcher and the bullpen could be all it takes to push the Tigers to a championship next year, writes Jamie Samuelsen of the Detroit Free Press.
  • MLB.com's Jordan Bastian discusses the Indians' plans for third base next year, the chances of Kosuke Fukudome re-signing in Cleveland and other topics in a reader mailbag.

Quick Hits: Moyer, Darvish, Yankees, Tigers

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Congratulations to the 2011 Gold Glove winners. Here are some notes from around MLB…

  • Brandon Phillips ($250K), Adrian Beltre ($100K) and Adrian Gonzalez ($100K) were among the winners to obtain bonuses for their fielding excellence, according to the AP (via SI.com).
  • Jamie Moyer threw for scouts last Thursday, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Reports on the left-hander, who’s nearly a year removed from Tommy John surgery, are excellent.
  • Patrick Newman of FanGraphs explains what you need to know about Yu Darvish, the Japanese starter who could be posted this offseason.
  • Dave Cameron of FanGraphs makes the case that teams should treat Darvish as a super two player by guaranteeing him two or three years at an average annual value of approximately $10MM.
  • Jim Margalus of South Side Sox isn't thrilled that the White Sox exercised Jason Frasor’s 3.75MM option and explains what the decision means for Chicago. 
  • The Yankees expect to be heavily involved in trade talks this offseason because they have prospects to trade and are willing to deal pitching, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). 
  • Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told reporters, including MLB.com's Jason Beck, that he'd like to re-sign free agent infielder Ramon Santiago. Though the Tigers like Santiago, they don't see him as an everyday solution.
  • Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. says he’d like to re-sign free agents Ryan Madson and Jimmy Rollins if possible, according to Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer. "We've had discussions with the agents of both players," Amaro said.
  • Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest repeated that he can consider major expenditures this offseason, according to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com.

Tigers Notes: Ordonez, Guillen, Catcher, Jose Reyes

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Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski spoke to reporters today; here's the latest from John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press on Twitter.

Outrighted: Thompson, Burton, Pirates, Tigers

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Players outrighted off 40-man rosters today:

  • The Reds announced that they outrighted Daryl Thompson and Jared Burton off of the 40-man roster.  Burton would have been arbitration eligible for the second time and MLBTR projected a salary in the $900K range for the 30-year-old.
  • The Pirates announced that they outrighted Brian Burres, Kevin Hart, Brandon Wood and Steve Pearce to Triple-A to create 40-man roster space.  All four players can now elect free agency.  Wood and Pearce would have been arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason, and though neither player projected to earn even $1MM, the Pirates decided to cut them loose instead of tendering contracts.
  • The Tigers outrighted catcher Omir Santos and lefty Brad Thomas, tweets MLB.com's Jason Beck.  Thomas would have been arbitration eligible, but it was clear he wouldn't make it to the point of being tendered a contract after missing much of the season with an elbow injury.
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