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Indians, Phillies Discussed Asdrubal Cabrera Deal

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Asdrubal Cabrera, arguably the top shortstop available, has drawn trade interest as a third baseman. Before the Winter Meetings began, the Indians and Phillies discussed a trade that would have sent the shortstop to Philadelphia for Vance Worley and prospects, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. 

The Phillies, who have since sent Worley to the Twins and acquired Michael Young from the Rangers, would have used Cabrera at third base, according to Hoynes. While the Phillies offered Worley and two prospects, the Indians wanted more.

Cabrera, 27, will earn $6.5MM in 2013 and $10MM in 2014 before his contract expires. The switch hitter can block trades to the Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, Nationals, Giants and Mets. In 616 plate appearances this past season, he posted a .270/.338/.423 batting line.

The Indians appear to have closed the books on Kevin Youkilis, though they still have needs in left field and at DH. Nick Swisher remains a target for Cleveland, according to Hoynes. GM Chris Antonetti hopes to add to his rotation and the Indians have been in touch with most free agent starters.

Olney On Davis, Myers, Pierzynski, Hanrahan

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Wade Davis told ESPN.com’s Buster Olney that he’s excited to join the Royals, since he’ll be asked to start in Kansas City. The right-hander said he’s been “champing at the bit” to start again after spending the 2012 season in the bullpen. Here’s the latest from Olney, starting with the recent Rays-Royals trade…

  • One GM said Wil Myers is “not without his flaws,” Olney reports. The prospect struck out 140 times this past season and, as the GM notes, “holes are exposed at the next level."
  • Olney suggests A.J. Pierzynski could be a fit for the Rays, but notes that rival evaluators don’t particularly like his defense. One agent predicts the White Sox will end up re-signing the free agent catcher.
  • The Dodgers have interest in Joel Hanrahan, Olney reports. The Pirates have some interest in Chris Capuano, so perhaps there’s a match for the two NL clubs. Both players have one guaranteed year remaining on their contracts.
  • Friends of Michael Young’s say he feels he was lied to repeatedly with the Rangers, according to Olney. The Phillies acquired the veteran infielder over the weekend after Young approved the proposed trade.

Phillies Notes: Young, Additional Moves

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The Phillies have made a couple of significant trades in the past week, acquiring Ben Revere from the Twins in exchange for Vance Worley and Trevor May, and also landing Michael Young and cash from the Rangers for Josh Lindblom and Lisalverto Bonilla. Here's the latest on the Phils…

  • During a press conference today, Young told the media that the Rangers were only going to give him 300 at-bats this season (Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporting on Twitter).
  • Phillies manager Charlie Manuel is happy with the additions of Young and Revere but would like general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. to make one more big splash, writes Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
  • In a separate piece, Gelb writes that the Phillies figure to sign one of Cody Ross, Nick Swisher and Josh Hamilton to fill a corner vacancy. They've long coveted Ross, but aren't as big on Swisher, perhaps due to his price tag. Gelb notes that the Phillies could offer Hamilton a shorter-term deal with a high annual value if his demands decrease.

Phillies Notes: Young, Roster Needs, Zach Miner

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Earlier today, MLB approved the Michael Young trade making the deal between the Phillies and Rangers official. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. is pleased Young is a Phillie telling reporters, including MLB.com's Paul Hagen, "Clearly, this brings a wonderful package to what we're trying to do here in Philadelphia. He has a tremendous track record. He has all the elements we're looking for." Rangers manager Ron Washington seconded that notion, as quoted by Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News, "This is a very, very tough situation. Michael's been my go-to guy since I've been here. If there was crying in baseball, I guess I'd cry." There is definitely no crying in baseball, especially in Philadelphia, so put away the hankies and enjoy some more news and notes from the City of Brotherly Love. 

  • The Phillies believe Young will benefit from playing the field again and at just one position, tweets FOXSports.com Ken Rosenthal.
  • Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer disagrees with that assessment citing Young's advanced defensive metrics and that his wins above replacement in 2012 was among the worst in modern baseball history.
  • Also in that same piece, Gelb writes the Phillies are $20MM below last season's payroll, so the club has plenty of financial flexibility to add offense to their outfield. 
  • Amaro stills wants to add a veteran presence to the bullpen, do a "little bit more" to improve their outfield, and is open to acquiring a "low-risk, high-reward type of guy" for the back of the rotation, reports ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter links).  
  • The Phillies have signed right-hander Zach Miner to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com. Miner, who pitched for Detroit from 2006-09, spent last season in the Tigers' organization pitching to a 2.79 ERA, 4.9 K/9, and 4.7 BB/9 in 42 innings (including three starts) across three levels.

Phillies Acquire Michael Young

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1:53pm: The Rangers will assume $10MM of Young's $16MM salary and the Phillies will be responsible for the $1.2MM Young will receive for waiving his no-trade clause, reports T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.

SUNDAY, 11:14am: The Phillies announced that the trade is official after receiving approval from MLB.

SATURDAY, 12:49pm: The Phillies have a new third baseman and an era has come to an end for the Rangers. Philadelphia has agreed to acquire infielder Michael Young from Texas in exchange for right-hander Josh Lindblom and minor leaguer Lisalverto Bonilla. Young will receive $1.2MM in benefits in exchange for agreeing to waive his no-trade clause, which accounts for the difference in state tax.

Uspw_6431590Young, 36, was originally drafted by the Blue Jays but has spent his entire big league career in Texas after being acquired as part of a package for Esteban Loaiza back in 2000. He hit just .277/.312/.370 in 651 plate appearances this year, but he's one year removed from a .338/.380/.474 performance in 2011. Young is the Rangers' all-time leader in games played (1,823), plate appearances (8,047), hits (2,230), doubles (415), and triples (55) among many other statistics.

Lindblom, 25, has been traded for the second time in five months. The Phillies acquired him from the Dodgers in the Shane Victorino swap just before the trade deadline. The righty pitched to a 3.55 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 71 total innings this year. Lindblom is a fly ball pitcher and thus very homer-prone (1.6 HR/9), which could be a bad mix for The Ballpark in Arlington. He is under team control through 2017.

Bonilla, 22, pitched to a 1.55 ERA with 12.4 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 46 1/3 relief innings split between Single-A and Double-A this season. Baseball America ranked him as Philadelphia's number 12 prospect before the season in their 2012 Prospect Handbook, saying Bonilla "has a chance to be a mid-rotation starter, but he could also serve as a late-inning reliever."

The Rangers have been targeting free agent Zack Greinke as well as exploring three- and four-team trades for Justin Upton in recent days. They also remain in the hunt for Josh Hamilton. With Young gone, they lack an established DH and a right-handed platoon partner for first baseman Mitch Moreland. Top prospect Mike Olt could step in to fill that role if he isn't traded, however. Texas still needs a utility infielder as well.

Young will plug the third base hole for the Phillies, though the club will need to continue looking for outfield help. Lindblom's departure figures to ramp up their search for bullpen help as well. This is Philadelphia's second significant trade in the last week as they acquired Ben Revere from the Twins a few days ago. The two deals have cost the Phillies a total of four pitchers.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today first reported Young had agreed to waive his no-trade clause (Twitter links) as well as miscellanous financial details (all Twitter links). Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News first reported the inclusion of Lindblom and Bonilla, which MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan confirmed. Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Quick Hits: Liriano, Twins, Dickey, Phillies, Dempster

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Earlier today, the Phillies finalized their trade for Michael Young while the Dodgers agreed to sign Zack Greinke. Here's the latest from around the league as Saturday turns into Sunday…

  • Talks between the Twins and Francisco Liriano have gone "backwards" according to LaVelle E. Neal III of The Star Tribune (on Twitter). The two sides had been discussing a reunion earlier this offseason.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports looked at two trade scenarios for the Mets involving R.A. Dickey. One featured the Rangers while the other featured the Blue Jays.
  • Agent Craig Landis told Peter Gammons of MLB.com (via Twitter) that he figures client Ryan Dempster will get a three-year deal once Greinke signs. Landis added that the pitcher would prefer to pitch in the National League with a team that has spring training in Arizona.
  • Michael Young's relationship with the Rangers' front office wasn't in great shape, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. Young got $1.2MM in benefits from Texas in exchange for waiving his no-trade clause.
  • The first few weeks of the offseason have been really important for the Twins as they are 100% committed to rebuilding their pitching, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.
  • Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reviewed Skip Schumaker's tenure in St. Louis. Strauss writes that the second baseman/outfielder's tenure with the Cardinals is likely through as GM John Mozeliak recently admitted that he is a trade candidate. The Dodgers and Twins are among the teams that are interested in Schumaker.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

East Notes: Phillies, Yankees, Youkilis, Pierzynski

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Links out of the AL and NL East..

  • The Phillies recognize that the newly acquired Michael Young isn't a perfect option at third base but they didn't have any viable alternatives, tweets Jayson Stark of ESPN.com.  The club hopes that 22-year-old Cody Asche will be ready in a year but the jury is still out on him.
  • Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter) says that it would be at least be a mild surprise if Kevin Youkilis turns down the Yankees' offer.  Youkilis is deciding between a two-year, $18MM offer from the Indians and a one-year, $12MM deal from the Bombers.
  • The Yankees are hesitating on A.J. Pierzynski because they only view him as an average defender, Heyman tweets.  The catcher is coming off of a big year but the market for him remains a mystery.  General Manager Brian Cashman confirmed earlier this week that he has checked in with Pierzynski's representatives.
  • Next up for the Phillies will be finding a setup man and more outfield help, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. 

AL West Links: Rangers, Bourn, Angels

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It was on this day in 1988 that Nolan Ryan became a Texas Ranger, signing a one-year free agent contract with the team after spending the previous nine seasons with the Astros.  Though Ryan turned 42 years old in January 1989, he pitched five more seasons that included the final two of his record seven no-hitters.  Ryan, of course, is now the Rangers' president, CEO and principal owner.

Here are some items from Texas and elsewhere in the AL West…

Zack Greinke Rumors: Friday

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Angels GM Jerry Dipoto told reporters yesterday that he's "prepared to move on from Zack Greinke." Even the Dodgers are considering moving on, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported yesterday. The Rangers maintain interest in the free agent right-hander, but there's not much clarity beyond that. Here are the latest rumors surrounding Greinke with the most recent updates up top…

  • The Angels are "very unlikely" to make a last-minute play for Greinke as they did last year with Albert Pujols, a source tells ESPN's Jim Bowden (Twitter link).
  • Also from Bowden's Twitter feed, a Dodgers source says that if the team can't sign Greinke, it will explore a trade for R.A. Dickey or pursue Anibal Sanchez in free agency.  Sanchez is the Dodgers' top choice ahead of Kyle Lohse amongst free agent starters.

Earlier updates:

  • Nolan Ryan and the rest of the Rangers front office blew Greinke away, Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio reports (on Twitter). Greinke apparently loves the team's chances of winning the World Series.
  • The Dodgers are pessimistic about their chances of signing Greinke, Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com reports. GM Ned Colletti had a memorable response when asked if he was on the doorstep of signing the free agent right-hander. "We're not on the front lawn. … We're barely out of the car at the curb. It's better than driving around the neighborhood looking for the house. We know where the house is located. We just can't seem to get out of the car."
  • Many trade and free agent possibilities are on hold as teams wait to see where Greinke will sign, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. Greinke knows the Dodgers and Rangers are serious about signing him, but he now appears to be uncertain about his next step. The Rangers would prefer to sign Greinke, trade Michael Young to Philadelphia and acquire Justin Upton, Nightengale reports.

Phillies Notes: Willingham, Ross, Suzuki, Ellsbury

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Here's the latest on Philadelphia's offseason dealings, courtesy of CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury…

  • Before the Phillies acquired Ben Revere from the Twins, they attempted to also get Josh Willingham in either the same trade package or in a separate deal.
  • The club is still in the market for a corner outfielder.  The Phillies "have seriously considered" signing Ichiro Suzuki and "have long liked" Cody Ross.
  • Any further upgrades may have to come via the free agency market since the Phillies don't have much prospect depth aside from possibly at catcher.  Salisbury notes that Tommy Joseph, the most well-regarded of the team's young catchers, "probably isn't going anywhere."
  • The Red Sox approached the Phillies about a trade of Jacoby Ellsbury for Cliff Lee, but the Phillies said that Lee wasn't available.  I can't blame the Phils for turning that offer down; even if they did want to move Lee, he would fetch far more on the trade market than just one year of Ellsbury, who hits free agency next winter.
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