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Quick Hits: Orioles, Angels, Reyes, Cubs

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The latest news from MLB as the countdown to next week’s Winter Meetings continues…  

  • Brian Cashman admitted to John Harper of the New York Daily News that he's often tempted by potential deals, but the Yankees' GM maintains that he's far from desperate this offseason. “We’ve got a really good team, so I don’t feel like I have to do something stupid,” Cashman said. “If I’m going to do something this winter, I have to feel good about it. I don’t care how big the name is.” 
  • The Orioles have been impressed by Cuban center fielder Yoenis Cespedes, Jon Heyman of SI.com reports (on Twitter). 
  • Angels GM Jerry Dipoto says he's still looking for starters and relievers, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times (on Twitter).
  • Phillies officials tell ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark that they have no knowledge of Jose Reyes’ recent presence in Philadelphia. The team isn’t considering a $100MM contract or anything close to it for any free agent, including Reyes, Stark reports. 
  • Cubs GM Jed Hoyer says he doesn’t view the newly-acquired David DeJesus as a platoon player, according to MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat. DeJesus, who agreed to a two-year, $10MM deal today, may get days off against select left-handed starters, however. 
  • MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes discussed the Cubs’ offseason, including a potential Matt Garza trade, at Bleacher Nation. As Tim points out, Hoyer encountered a similar situation last offseason when he was weighing offers for Adrian Gonzalez.

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.

C.J. Wilson Rumors: Tuesday

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C.J. Wilson visited the Marlins in Miami yesterday and appears to have a visit with another team scheduled this week. Here's the latest on the free agent left-hander:

  • Wilson asked the Angels for $100MM, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter links).
  • Though agent Bob Garber requested a meeting with the Yankees, the sides haven't scheduled a visit at this point, according to Heyman.
  • 16.44% of MLBTR readers expect Wilson to be the next big name free agent to sign. He appears to be looking to complete a deal by next week.

AL East Notes: Yankees, Orioles, Reddick

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Two AL East teams brought in new general managers this offseason and a third club faces the possibility that its GM will leave for another team. Here are some notes from the division, starting in New York City, where Brian Cashman has been running the Yankees since 1998…

  • Though the Yankees would have interest in Matt Garza, they aren’t having high-level trade talks with any team about starting pitchers, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter). The Cubs appear to be willing to listen on Garza, who’s under team control through 2013.
  • Red Sox bench coach DeMarlo Hale is the Orioles' top choice to be their next third base coach, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links). Hale, who is still under contract in Boston, is considering the Orioles' job. 
  • The Red Sox have gotten some play on 24-year-old outfielder Josh Reddick, according to Yahoo’s Tim Brown. Should Boston sign Yoenis Cespedes, Carlos Beltran or Michael Cuddyer, GM Ben Cherington might part with Reddick, who posted a .784 OPS in 278 plate appearances while playing all three outfield positions this past season.

Blue Jays Notes: Cooper, Drabek, Rasmus, D’Arnaud

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The Blue Jays are looking for a closer this offseason and Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun says the team has checked in on free agents Francisco Cordero and Matt Capps. Heath Bell is another option for the Blue Jays, who had interest in Jonathan Papelbon before he signed with the Phillies. Here are more notes on the Blue Jays, who have yet to make a major move so far this offseason…

  • The Blue Jays would listen to offers on 24-year-old first baseman David Cooper, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Cooper, the Blue Jays' first round draft pick in 2008, debuted with the team in 2011 and posted a .678 OPS in 81 plate appearances. He won the Pacific Coast League batting title with a .364/.439/.535 line this past season, adding nine home runs and 51 doubles.
  • Blue Jays president Paul Beeston isn't a fan of the posting system and Elliott suggests Toronto's interest in Yu Darvish is "lukewarm." 
  • The Yankees are interested in Kyle Drabek, according to Elliott. Drabek started the season in the Blue Jays' rotation before being demoted to the minor leagues. He had a standout season in 2010, but struggled with command in the Majors (6.3 BB/9) and in the minors (4.9 BB/9) in 2011.
  • The Royals have some interest in Colby Rasmus because of concerns that Lorenzo Cain may not be ready for an everyday role, Elliott reports. 
  • The Phillies have discussed ways of re-obtaining Travis d'Arnaud, the Double-A catcher who arrived with Drabek in the 2009 Roy Halladay trade. As Elliott points out, the Blue Jays would need a ton to part with this year's Eastern League MVP.

Quick Hits: Jaso, Orioles, Byrnes, Rivera

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Sunday evening linkage..

  • Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner takes a look at the newest member of the Mariners, John Jaso.  The M's traded pitcher Josh Lueke to the Rays for Jaso earlier this evening, and Cameron likes the move for Seattle.
  • The Orioles have hired Gary Rajsich of the Blue Jays to be the club's new amateur scouting director, an industry source told Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun.  Rajsich, 57, has been with the Blue Jays since 2009 but spent most of his scouting career with Boston, where he worked with O's GM Dan Duquette.
  • Don Norcross of the San Diego Union-Tribune spent some time with Josh Byrnes and found that the recently-appointed Padres GM is extremely optimistic about the club's future.  When speaking to Norcross in his Petco Park office, Byrnes had one of his computer screens locked to MLBTradeRumors.
  • Yankees skipper Joe Girardi says that he isn't so sure that this will be Mariano Rivera's final season, writes Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com.  The closer will celebrate his 42nd birthday on Tuesday.
  • Bud Selig, the same commissioner who canceled the World Series in 1994 in order to crush the union, deserves props for seeing the error of his ways and dramatically changing them, writes Ken Davidoff of Newsday.  However, Davidoff isn't a fan of the limits on amateur spending and doesn't see the point of HGH testing.
  • On the other hand, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald argues that the newly-implemented HGH testing is a striking example of how far the sport has come in recognizing its issues with performance-enhancing drugs.  
  • Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer likes that MLB will be adding an additional wild card team in each league.  The new system, he writes, puts an emphasis on winning the division, which only brings integrity to the 162-game season.

This Date In Transactions History: Bernie Williams

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Icon_15585003It's tough to imagine Derek Jeter or Mariano Rivera wearing something other than a Yankees' uniform, and for a long time the same was true for Bernie Williams. The former batting champ and five-time All-Star spent his entire career in pinstripes, but he came very close to joining an AL East rival during the 1998-1999 offseason.

Williams, who had just turned 30, hit .339/.422/.575 with 26 homers during the 1998 season, batting cleanup for a 114-win team. He'd hit .323/.406/.551 with 76 homers in 400 games over the previous three seasons, and was a hot commodity on the free agent market. ESPN's Buster Olney, then with The New York Times, reported that Williams rejected a five-year, $60MM contract offer from New York in mid-November, one year after they offered him a five-year, $37.5MM extension.

The Red Sox, looking to make a splash after winning 92 games but finishing 22 back in the AL East, offered Williams a six-year contract worth $90MM according to Olney. The Yankees had turned their attention to Albert Belle, who was coming off a 49-homer, .328/.399/.655 season with the White Sox. He was two years into a five-year, $55MM deal with Chicago, but a clause in his contract ensured that he would remain one of the three highest paid players in baseball. When the White Sox declined to give him a raise to meet the clause, Belle became a free agent and the Yankees' Plan B.

Williams and agent Scott Boras gave the Yankees a chance to match Boston's offer, and 13 years ago today he agreed to return to New York on a seven-year, $87.5MM contract. It was one of the largest contracts in baseball history at the time, right behind Mike Piazza's seven-year, $91MM deal with the Mets. Belle wound up with the Orioles to the tune of $65MM over five years. Williams hit .298/.386/.480 during the life of the contract, helping the Yankees to four pennants and two World Series titles.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

AL East Notes: Orioles, Garcia, Rays, Blue Jays

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The Red Sox won’t be hiring their next manager today, but they made progress on the managerial front this week. Here’s the latest on Boston’s search and here are some updates on their division rivals…

  • Matt Klentak left the Orioles to be the Angels’ assistant GM because the chance to build a winner with Jerry Dipoto was too good to pass up, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. “This is a great opportunity,” Klentak said. “It has nothing to do with the team and the change in regime [in Baltimore].” 
  • Jon Heyman of SI.com says Freddy Garcia’s deal with the Yankees guarantees the right-hander $4MM and includes incentives (Twitter link). Garcia pitched for a $1.5MM base salary this past season but earned a raise with 146 2/3 innings of 3.62 ERA ball.
  • ESPN.com’s Buster Olney highlights some offseason needs for ten MLB teams. For example, the Rays will need to obtain a first baseman and/or a DH and the Blue Jays continue searching for a closer.

Phillies Interested In Jorge Soler

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Add the Phillies to the list of clubs interested in 19-year-old Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler.  Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Phils scouting director Marti Wolever "was extremely impressed" by Soler during a recent workout in the Dominican Republic.  Yoenis Cespedes also took part in that workout and while Philadelphia is known to be looking at the high-profile Cespedes as well, Soler would come at a much cheaper price than what Cespedes will command.

Soler, of course, is cheaper because he's still just 19 and at least a few years away from being a Major League player.  In addition to the Phillies, the Yankees, Nationals, Cubs, Marlins and Rangers have also shown interest in Soler. 

As Brookover notes, "the Phillies have almost never been a team that gets in bidding wars for international players," though this winter's activity will be limited by the $2.9MM cap on international bonuses under the new collective bargaining agreement.  Given the impressive scouting reports on Soler (including how he "might have more offensive upside" than Cespedes, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan), one would think a team would've spent more than $2.9MM on Soler alone were it not for the new cap.

AL East Notes: Gio, Jones, Buchholz, Garcia

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Here's the latest from the AL East…

  • "Gio Gonzalez has been a name widely discussed internally" by the Red Sox, reports Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston.  The Sox are "extremely high" on the Athletics left-hander.  We've also heard the Yankees and Marlins are interested in Gonzalez, though the A's haven't yet begun seriously discussing possible trades.
  • The Orioles don't have to pursue an extension with Adam Jones this winter, opines MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli.  She believes if Baltimore's young pitchers don't show signs of improvement next season, the O's will have to enter yet another rebuilding process, and only then will the team decide if Jones is a long-term answer.  If the Orioles rebuild, Jones would command a heavy price on the trade market.  MLBTR's Tim Dierkes looked at Jones as an extension candidate in August.
  • We recently heard from FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal that the Red Sox asked the Blue Jays about Toronto manager (and former Sox pitching coach) John Farrell.  According to David Waldstein of the New York Times (Twitter link), the Jays asked for Clay Buchholz in return.  As Rosenthal wrote, "the Sox never considered it likely that the Jays would engage in serious discussions about Farrell, and the conversations failed to progress," which isn't at all surprising if Buchholz was the asking price.
  • Freddy Garcia could have found a two-year deal elsewhere but wanted to return to the Yankees, tweets Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.  The Red Sox were the only other team known to have an interest in Garcia, who agreed to terms today on a one-year, $5MM deal with New York.
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