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Royals Rumors: Needs, Guillen, Lowe

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Yesterday the Royals were linked to Oakland's Gio Gonzalez and free agent Carlos Guillen, and it was also suggested they'd listen on relievers Joakim Soria and Greg Holland.  The latest on the team:

  • The Royals seek a right-handed alternative to play third base and give Mike Moustakas an occasional break, GM Dayton Moore told Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.  Casey Blake and Kevin Kouzmanoff are a couple of free agents who could fit the bill, in my opinion.
  • The Royals have a full 40-man roster, so they'd have to free up a spot to make a Rule 5 pick on Thursday.
  • The Royals tried for Derek Lowe before the Braves traded him to the Indians.
  • Manager Ned Yost told Dutton the Royals would like to add a situational lefty to serve as an alternative to Tim Collins.  Check out the free agent lefty relievers here.
  • Moore seemed to acknowledge interest in Guillen, but noted, "I think there are going to be quite a few players like that around in January if we want to supplement our team."  
  • Dutton confirmed the Royals' interest in Gonzalez with a source, though they currently don't like the Athletics' asking price of multiple impact prospects.
  • Regarding unfounded lobby rumors yesterday, Moore commented to reporters including MLB.com's Dick Kaegel, "I'd like to keep Wil Myers' name out of the paper as much as possible.  Wil Myers is a young, talented player. He had a tremendous Arizona Fall League. We live with him every day. We love him and he's a big part of our future. But he's a Double-A player. He's going to produce at his own natural rate. We're not going to put unrealistic expectations on him. What other cliche do you want?"

AL Central Rumors: Slowey, Picollo, Choo, Tigers

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The major move in the AL Central today was the Twins' re-signing of Matt Capps, but there may be more action in the division by week's end. Here are the latest rumors from the AL Central:

  • Kevin Slowey, viewed as a non-tender candidate, is being shopped by the Twins, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • Royals assistant GM J.J. Picollo interviewed for the Astros' GM position tonight, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
  • The Indians are still interested in discussing a contract extension with Shin-Soo Choo, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.
  • Bastian also tweets that the Indians checked in on free agent Kevin Kouzmanoff, though their interest is likely minimal.
  • The Tigers aren't ruling out the possibility of one of their young, in-house arms earning the fifth spot in the rotation, writes James Schmehl of MLive.com. If the Tigers turn to the free agent market for a veteran, they prefer one-year deals.

Athletics Rumors: Gonzalez, Trades, Matsui, Nix

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Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, MLB.com's Jane Lee, and Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group bring us some Athletics-related tidbits out of Dallas…

  • The Royals have some interest in Gio Gonzalez, and one scout views them as a good match for the A's, given Kansas City's deep farm system.
  • GM Billy Beane has no reservations about trading with other teams in the AL West.
  • Beane says he's had trade talks in some form with about half the teams in the league so far at the meetings.
  • Hideki Matsui likely won't be back in Oakland, since the team has other in-house options and would like to "stay young."
  • The A's will also be looking to stay young in trades, as they'd be targeting players younger than those they'd be dealing.
  • Beane says the A's may explore short-term free agent signings to fill the club's outfield if he can't work out any trades.
  • There's still no word on an official date for a decision on the team's stadium situation, but Beane remains optimistic that he'll hear soon.
  • The A's discussed a deal with Laynce Nix before he signed with the Phillies.

Five Teams Considering Carlos Guillen

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The Royals, Marlins, Twins, Athletics, and Mariners are interested in Carlos Guillen, agent Wilfredo Polidor told Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportesLosAngeles (link in Spanish).  Guillen, 36, has missed increasing amounts in each of the last three seasons due to injuries.  However, Polidor says his client is working like an animal in Miami and can help at almost any position.

Guillen began his big league career with the Mariners and was traded to the Tigers in January of '04. The M's will meet with Polidor at the Winter Meetings to discuss the possiblity of bringing his client back to Seattle, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times (on Twitter).

Heyman On Royals, Cuddyer, Andruw, Astros

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Congratulations to national baseball writer Jon Heyman, who has a new job with CBSSports.com starting Monday.  As usual, Heyman is tweeting up a storm; here's his latest from the Winter Meetings (all links go to Twitter):

  • The Royals are talking trades for starters and are in on Oakland's Gio Gonzalez.
  • Everyone wants bullpen help but few want it more than the Padres, Brewers, and Red Sox.
  • The Phillies haven't completely ruled out Michael Cuddyer, but the Twins are still trying to bring him back as well. The Giants and Red Sox are other logical destinations, in Heyman's estimation.
  • The Yankees would love to bring back Andruw Jones for his right-handed pop and strong clubhouse presence.
  • Former Reds executive Scott Nethery is in the mix for the Astros GM opening. Andrew Friedman is still their top choice, Bill Geivett and Jeff Luhnow are also in the mix.
  • The Astros will also eat most of Carlos Lee's contract to facilitate a trade. They still expect a good return for Wandy Rodriguez and something decent for Brett Myers in any trade.
  • Heyman also said this morning that the Angels are looking for a closer and the Pirates are talking to Derrek Lee.

Royals Rumors: Soria, Holland

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The Royals are downplaying it, but they would trade closer Joakim Soria for a starting pitcher and would also discuss reliever Greg Holland, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Soria, 27, is potentially under contract through 2014.  Holland is drawing interest from the Blue Jays and others after a breakout season.  Either player would require a significant bounty.

Central Notes: Royals, Tigers, White Sox, Garza

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Here's a look at some items concerning the AL and NL Central..

  • Several Royals officials have told Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter) that any major roster upgrades will come through trades rather than the free agent market.
  • There's nothing serious between the Tigers and Aramis Ramirez at the moment, a source told Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com (via Twitter).
  • In a deal for John Danks, the White Sox told the Yankees that they want Manny Banuelos and Jesus Montero from the Yankees, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.  Heyman writes that the Sox are obviously not serious about dealing Danks just yet.
  • The Tigers looking harder at the market for No. 5 starters than had been anticipated when the offseason began, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The club is after a reliever as well.
  • The Cubs told at least one team that it would take an overwhelming offer to even consider trading Matt Garza, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.
  • The Brewers are interested in hearing what it'll take to sign Jimmy Rollins, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  • There's lots of skepticism over Albert Pujols' claim that he is 31 years old, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.  Heyman writes that the slugger may not be able to top the Cardinals' nine-year, $200MM offer if he cannot produce a birth certificate.  
  • Jim Riggleman will accept the Reds' offer to manage their Double-A affiliate, writes Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post.  Earlier today, Heyman reported that Riggleman was offered the position and was likely to accept.

Central Links: Danks, Twins, Indians, Royals, Cubs

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Here are some links from baseball's two central divisions…

  • The White Sox have been shopping left-hander John Danks in advance of the winter meetings, reports Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. He won't come cheap though, with one of Cowley's sources saying: "[ChiSox GM Kenny Williams] asked for everyone on our roster in return."
  • Yesterday we heard about the Twins' interest in retaining Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel, and today Joe Mauer told MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger that he's willing to help recruit free agents to Minnesota. "I told [GM Terry Ryan] and everybody here that I'm here to do everything I can to help out," said Mauer. "I want to be part of the solution that gets us back to where we need to get to."
  • The Indians are not expected to bid on any Japanese players going through the posting process, reports Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer (on Twitter). That would include Hiroyuki Nakajima (who was posted on Monday) and possibly Yu Darvish.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney says (on Twitter) that the Royals are looking to a utilityman, preferably someone that hits left-handed. As our Free Agent Tracker shows, players like Andres Blanco, Craig Counsell, and Willie Harris are available.
  • Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune reports that the Cubs have hired Chris Bosio to be their new pitching coach. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein confirmed that the rest of the coaching staff would be announced at the winter meetings next week.

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.

Minor Moves: Nunez, Palmer, Moss, Mock

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The latest minor moves from around MLB…

  • The Rays signed righty Jhonny Nunez to a minor league deal, tweets Baseball America's Matt Eddy.
  • The Padres signed right-hander Matt Palmer to a minor league deal, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock (Twitter link).
  • The Brewers signed outfielder Miguel Velazquez to a minor league deal, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (all links go to Twitter).
  • The A’s signed outfielder Brandon Moss to a minor league deal, according to Goldstein.
  • The Padres signed left-hander Alex Hinshaw to a minor league deal, according to Goldstein.
  • The Blue Jays signed former Nationals prospect Garrett Mock to a minor league deal, according to Goldstein.
  • The Royals announced that they signed right-hander Zach Miner, infielders Jamie Romak, Eric Duncan, Sharlon Schoop and Tony Abreu and left-handers Marlon Arias and Tommy Hottovy to minor league contracts. Miner, Abreu and Hottovy have big league experience, though only Hottovy appeared in the Major Leagues this past season. Duncan, once a highly-regarded prospect, posted a .849 OPS at Double-A as a utility player in 2011. Romak posted an .803 OPS for the Royals in 2011 and even pitched on two occasions.
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