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NL Central Links: Dempster, Hamilton, Brewers, Cards

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It was on this day in 1962 that Joe Morgan signed his first pro contract, joining the Houston Colt .45s as an amateur free agent.  Morgan spent his first nine seasons in Houston before being traded to the Reds and establishing himself as arguably the best second baseman in baseball history.

Here's the latest from the NL Central…

  • Cubs GM Jed Hoyer confirmed to ESPN Chicago's Doug Padilla that the team had made "contact and it was preliminary" with Ryan Dempster, though Hoyer was quick to minimize the importance of the meeting, saying "it was sort of a bump-into thing."  It was reported earlier today by MLB.com's Carrie Muskat that the Cubs had been in touch with Dempster's agent.
  • "We’ve got the connection with (hitting coach) Johnny Narron but we don’t have the connection with U.S. Bank,” Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about the chances of the Brewers splurging on Josh Hamilton this winter.  Melvin noted that he would like to acquire relief pitching this offseason but was wary given the rising prices of quality bullpen arms.
  • Also from Haudricourt, he hears from Brewers assistant GM Gord Ash that the club has no plans to re-sign either right-hander Jose Veras or outfielder Nyjer Morgan, both of whom were outrighted off Milwaukee's 40-man roster over the last two days.
  • The Cardinals have signed 16-year-old Dominican outfielder Henry Alvarado to a $150K contract, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America.  Alvarado is described as being best suited to left field or possibly first base, and he "stands out for his righthanded bat, sound approach and occasional power."

Outrighted To Triple-A: Astros, Morgan, Veras, Braves

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The latest outright assignments…

  • The Astros announced that Fernando Abad, Sergio Escalona, Edgar Gonzalez, Jose Valdez, Kyle Weiland and the recently-DFA'ed Matt Downs have been outrighted to Triple-A.  All will become free agents except Weiland, who has been placed on the Triple-A roster.
  • The Brewers have outrighted Nyjer Morgan to Triple-A, the team announced.  Morgan was a key part of the Brewers' NL Central-winning team in 2011 but struggled last season, hitting .239/.302/.308 and getting less playing time in the Milwaukee outfield.  MLBTR's Tim Dierkes recently projected Morgan as a non-tender candidate.
  • The Brewers also confirmed that Jose Veras has elected to become a free agent after being outrighted off the 40-man roster yesterday.
  • The Braves outrighted right-hander Erik Cordier to Triple-A, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports (Twitter link). The 26-year-old pitched at three levels this past season, posting a 5.85 ERA with 7.5 K/9 in 32 1/3 total innings. He walked 32 of the 155 batters he faced, however. The Braves announced that they also outrighted catcher J.C. Boscan and left-hander Robert Fish off of the 40-man roster. Boscan elected free agency, according to the team.

Brewers Place Jose Veras On Waivers

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7:41pm: McCalvy hears that Veras is still going through the waivers process, so he is not a free agent just yet (Twitter link).

7:10pm: Right-hander Jose Veras has elected free agency after being outrighted off the Brewers' 40-man roster, agent Bryce Dixon told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. The right-hander would have remained under team control in 2013 as an arbitration-eligible player.

Veras, 32, pitched to a 3.63 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 in 67 innings for Milwaukee this season. They acquired him from the Pirates last winter for Casey McGehee, who, coincidentally enough, also elected free agency today.

Minor Moves: Gomez, Ekstrom, Walters

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Here's a look at some of the Minor League signings that have come in tonight…

  • The Brewers have re-signed infielder Hector Gomez to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training, the team informed MLBTR via email. Other non-roster invitees for the Brewers currently include right-hander Darren Byrd and catcher Dayton Buller. The 24-year-old Gomez once cracked Baseball America's Top 100 Prospect list (No. 95 in 2008) but hit just .131 in 95 minor league plate appearances last season.
  • The Athletics have signed right-hander Mike Ekstrom to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, according to MLB.com's Jane Lee. Ekstrom pitched 15 2/3 innings out of the Rockies' bullpen this season, allowing 11 earned runs but posting a solid 9:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
  • The Twins have re-signed right-hander P.J. Walters to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training, tweets MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger. Walters' free agency didn't last long; he refused an outright assignment from the Twins just hours ago and elected free agency. The 27-year-old made a dozen starts for the Twinkies in 2012.

NL Central Notes: Astros, Cardinals, Braun, Cubs

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Earlier today, MLBTR gave you the latest news and notes from the AL East and the NL West. Now, let's visit the NL Central, which could be in its final hours as the only six-team division in baseball. 
  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow's vision to rebuild the franchise is a club that grows and develops its players but can spend when it needs to thanks to increased revenue from a new local cable partnership with Comcast, according to Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle.
  • There will be competition for at least one spot in the Cardinals' starting rotation, reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold. Goold theorizes that competition will pit incumbent Lance Lynn against Joe Kelly, Trevor Rosenthal, and Shelby Miller.
  • In a separate piece, Goold named the seven best starting pitching prospects in the Cardinals' system that have yet to exhaust their rookie eligibility, including the aforementioned Rosenthal and Miller.
  • Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch lists five reasons for optimism and five reasons for concern for the 2013 Cardinals.
  • After speaking with members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has the distinct impression that Ryan Braun will be penalized in the voting for NL MVP because of his failed drug test last year and subsequent successful appeal. Haudricourt also believes the failed drug test played a role in Buster Posey being named the NL winner of the Hank Aaron Award instead of Braun. 
  • The Cubs have hired Derek Johnson to become their new minor league pitching coordinator, tweets Baseball America's Aaron Fitt. Johnson was Associate Head Coach/pitching coach at Vanderbilt where he tutored six pitchers who were drafted in the first round including David Price and Sonny Gray.

Cafardo On Dodgers, Hamilton, Brewers, Otani

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For most of his eight-year tenure with the Dodgers, General Manager Ned Colletti had to mindful of the budget and the bottom line.  Now, Colletti has the financial freedom to make bold moves, such as the trade with the Red Sox which brought Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Nick Punto, and Carl Crawford aboard.  Colletti has no doubt that Crawford is ready to regain his old form.  "He’s still a dynamic player," Colletti said. "A couple of years ago, he was one of the most sought-after free agents in the game for good reason. People in Tampa saw it a lot. People in the AL East saw it a lot — a combination of abilities not many players have. In this league, the ability to hit and steal, doubles and triples — this is a tough park for home runs sometimes — his ability to create things offensively with speed and ability to hit."  Here's more from today's column..

  • There’s mounting evidence that the Brewers could be one of the teams that emerges in the market for Josh Hamilton.  Milwaukee is at least looking into the possibility, though their top priorities are still finding a starting pitcher and revamping their bullpen.
  • The Cubs appear to be players for 18-year-old pitcher Shohei Otani, but Theo Epstein recently expressed trepidation about plunging back into the Japanese market.  Otani was recently taken with the first-overall pick in the NPB draft and the Nippon Ham Fighters have until March to try and sign him.  A major league club can still sign him at any time, but it would likely irritate Japanese baseball officials.
  • Bobby Valentine declined to say whether he'd like to be considered for the managerial openings with the Rockies, Marlins, and Blue Jays.  The manager also clarified some of his recent remarks on the Red Sox and noted that his line about leaving a note for incoming manager John Farrell was merely an old-time baseball joke.
  • After removing himself from the interview process with the Astros and declining to meet with the Marlins, it's possible that Brad Ausmus only had his eye on the Red Sox job.  However, teams will still try to lure the former catcher who quickly found himself in high demand.
  • Terry Francona did speak with the Marlins earlier this year, but he wanted to be with the Indians all along.

Quick Hits: Marlins, Brewers, Maddux, Iwakuma

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News from around the majors as we head into the very last weekend of the 2012 season…

  • Former Diamondbacks star Luis Gonzalez is believed to be on the Marlins' short list of managerial candidates, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.  Gonzalez is currently a special assistant with the D'Backs and he spent his final season with Miami in 2008.
  • Candidates for the Marlins job are being interviewed separately by front office personnel and by owner Jeffrey Loria, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Loria and his staff will convene after the World Series and then make a decision.
  • Brewers owner Mark Attanasio tells Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that his team will be focused on upgrading the bullpen and adding an experienced starter this winter, though the latter won't be at a large price.  “We’re just not adding any veteran. It has to be the right move for us. I know Doug [Melvin] and his staff would like to add another veteran starter. I don’t know how or where that’s going to come from," said Attanasio.  “We’ve got a lot of good young pitchers coming up from the minor leagues, so we may find our answers there.”
  • Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux hasn't yet been contacted about any managerial openings, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  Maddux was interviewed for the Cubs job last winter turned down an interview with the Red Sox.  
  • The Mariners "will make a strong push" to re-sign Hisashi Iwakuma, writes MLB.com's Greg Johns, who also notes that Iwakuma expressed in returning to Seattle earlier this year.  Iwakuma signed a one-year, $1.5MM deal with the M's last winter and performed well in his first season in North America, posting a 3.16 ERA and a 7.3 K/9 rate in 30 games (16 of them starts).  Those numbers included significant home-road splits, so it's no surprise that Iwakuma would want to continue pitching at Safeco Field. 
  • Tim Bogar turned down an offer to be the Astros' bench coach due to a contract clause that would've prohibited Bogar from interviewing for managerial jobs, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.  Bogar has been connected to manager jobs over the last few years, including the Astros job itself that eventually went to Bo Porter.  Bogar served as the Red Sox bench coach last season, though he won't be returning to Boston, as Torey Lovullo will serve as bench coach under new manager John Farrell.

Quick Hits: Verlander, Hamilton, Rangers, Lincecum

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It’s not a huge surprise, but Tigers president and General Manager Dave Dombrowski said that he would like to make Justin Verlander a Tiger for life, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  The right-hander still has two years remaining on his five-year, $80MM deal and extending him won’t be cheap.  However, the Tigers made a similar move when they inked Miguel Cabrera to his eight-year, $152.3MM deal two years before he was set to hit the open market.  Here’s more from around baseball as the Giants celebrate their Game 2 victory..

  • People familiar with the Brewers’ thinking told Heyman that the club is seriously considering a run at Josh Hamilton this winter.  Owner Mark Attanasio declined comment on the possibility, but the team is said to believe that Milwaukee is a viable market for the slugger.  The Brewers would obviously have a hard time competing with major market teams for Hamilton, but it helps that the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers likely won’t be in the mix.
  • Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels said that he sees some similarities between what his club did in 2007 and the Red Sox’s blockbuster deal this year, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.com.  Texas traded star first baseman Mark Teixeira to the Braves in the summer of 2007, netting the club Elvis Andrus and freedom to build the roster.  Daniels, who was a guest on WEEI’s Red Sox Hot Stove show, also said that he doesn’t expect to trade Andrus or Kinsler despite having Jurickson Profar close to being major league-ready.
  • Despite his struggles in 2012, General Manager Brian Sabean ruled out the possibility of Tim Lincecum moving to the bullpen next season, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Lincecum is entering his walk year in the 2013 season and will earn $22MM.
  • One person connected to the Giants told Heyman that there’s no way that Lincecum will be traded, in part because of how the fans in San Francisco respond to him.
  • Commissioner Bud Selig told reporters before tonight’s game that he has spoken with Blue Jays president Paul Beeston and has yet to hear a complaint from the organization regarding possible tampering with manager John Farrell, tweets Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.

Super Two Cutoff To Be 2.139

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Players with at least two years and 139 days of service time will be eligible for the potentially lucrative arbitration process this offseason, according to the Associated Press (via FOXNews.com). The top 22% of players with between two and three years of MLB service qualify for arbitration under baseball’s new collective bargaining agreement.

Nationals reliever Drew Storen, Padres shortstop Everth Cabrera, Mets catcher Josh Thole, Rays outfielder Sam Fuld, Rockies outfielder Tyler Colvin and Diamondbacks third baseman Chris Johnson are all eligible. 

Mariners outfielder Michael Saunders missed the cutoff by one day. Others, including Justin Smoak, Danny Valencia, Michael Brantley, Jordan Schafer, Giancarlo Stanton, Stephen Strasburg, Daniel Hudson, Dan Runzler, Andrew Cashner, Alex Burnett, Esmil Rogers and Alexi Ogando, came close to super two status without reaching the threshold.

Jonathan Lucroy, whose contract includes escalators related to super two status, will fall three days short of arbitration eligibility. The difference will cost him $2MM, as I explained last month.

Super two status entitles certain players to four years of arbitration eligibility, rather than the usual three. As a result, players who earn the super two designation generally earn more than their peers. The cutoff would have been two years and 144 days under baseball’s previous collective bargaining agreement, according to the AP. In previous years the top 17% of players with between two and three years of MLB service qualified. The players and owners agreed to a new system last fall.

NL Central Notes: Hamilton, Reds, Brewers, Astros

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Here's a look at the latest out of the NL Central..

  • There are several reasons why the Reds won't look to orchestrate a reunion with Josh Hamilton this winter, writes John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.  For starters, it has been projected that the outfielder can net upwards of $20MM to possibly $30MM annually in his next contract.  Fay classifies $20MM as a pipe dream for the Reds while $30MM would be downright impossible.
  • The Brewers outrighted infielder Hector Gomez to Triple-A, tweets Media Relations Director Mike Vassallo.  The 24-year-old, who was ranked as a top 100 prospect in 2008 by Baseball America, has yet to advance beyond Double-A.
  • The Astros announced that they have added hitting coach John Mallee and Dave Trembley to their staff for 2013.  The club will retain pitching coach Doug Brocail and third base coach Dave Clark while adding two more to the staff in the coming weeks.
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