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NL East Notes: Phillies, Ross, Braves, Fowler

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Sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) that the Phillies are intensifying their pursuit of Cody Ross.  Of course there’s other clubs strongly pursuing the outfielder, including the Mariners.  Here’s more out on the Phillies and the rest of the NL East..

  • There were no trade talks brewing this weekend between the Braves or Rangers on Dexter Fowler, a Rockies source told Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter).  The Braves have been in trade talks this week with several clubs and are believed to be targeting Fowler.
  • The Mets may be on the verge of acquiring Travis d’Arnaud from the Blue Jays, which shows how bad they want R.A. Dickey, tweets Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.  Two other execs that asked for d’Arnaud this offseason were told flat-out no.
  • After picking up Mike Adams and John Lannan, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer looks at what is left for the Phillies to spend on an outfield upgrade.  By Gelb’s math, the Phillies could sign an outfielder with an average annual salary of approximately $7MM and be right up against the tax threshold.

Phillies Claim Mauricio Robles

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The Phillies announced that they claimed Mauricio Robles off of waivers from the Mariners. Seattle had designated the left-hander for assignment six days ago.

Robles, 23, posted a 5.78 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 7.9 BB/9 in 43 total games in the upper minors this past season. In parts of seven minor league seasons he has a 4.15 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9. The Phillies already have left-handed relievers such as Antonio Bastardo, Jeremy Horst and Raul Valdes on their 40-man roster.

Phillies Close To Signing Mike Adams

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The Phillies are close to signing Mike Adams to a two-year contract with a vesting option for 2015, reports Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports. The team expects the deal to be finalized as soon as today.

Adams, 34, pitched to a 3.27 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 52 1/3 relief innings for the Rangers last season as Joe Nathan's primary setup man. He had offseason surgery for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and is expected to be ready in time for Opening Day. Adams is represented by Josh Yates at ACES.

This post was originally published on October 15th.

Minor Moves: Slaten, Manzella, Acosta, Gaudin

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Here are the latest minor transactions from around the league…

  • SK Wyverns of the Korean Baseball Organization announced the signing of left-handed reliever Doug Slaten.  Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net (Twitter link) first reported the deal earlier this week.  Slaten has a 3.52 ERA in 216 games for the Diamondbacks, Nationals and Pirates since 2006, including a 2.16 ERA in 10 games with the Bucs in 2012.
  • The Rockies have signed shortstop Tommy Manzella to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invitation, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).  Manzella last appeared in the majors in 2010 with the Astros and has bounced around the minors with four different organizations over the last two seasons.
  • Right-hander Manny Acosta has signed a one-year, $1.65MM contract with the Yomiuri Giants, according to Gene Mato, Acosta's agent (Twitter link).  The deal could be worth another $500K in bonuses.  Acosta, 31, was non-tendered by the Mets following a season that saw him post a 6.46 ERA over relief appearances.
  • The Giants have agreed to a minor league deal with right-hander Chad Gaudin, reports Janie McCauley of the Associated Press (via Twitter).  Gaudin posted a 4.54 ERA in 46 relief appearances for the Marlins last season.
  • The Yankees have signed catcher Bobby Wilson to a minor league deal that contains a Spring Training invite, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter link).  Wilson hit .211/.277/.292 batting line in 201 plate appearances with the Angels last season and was both claimed on waivers and non-tendered by the Blue Jays earlier this offseason.
  • The Yankees have also signed infielder Gil Velazquez to a minor league deal, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter).  The 33-year-old Velazquez received 57 PAs with the Marlins last year and also has Major League exerperience with the Angels and Red Sox.
  • The Cardinals have signed 18-year-old Dominican right-hander Alex Reyes to a contract worth $950K, reports MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter).
  • The Nationals signed 16-year-old Dominican third baseman Neivy Pilier to a $225K deal, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America.
  • The Nationals signed infielder Brian Bocock to a minor league contract, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson (Twitter link).  Bocock last played in the majors in 2010 and has spent the last two seasons playing in the Phillies, Pirates and Blue Jays organizations.
  • The Padres acquired left-hander Chris Rearick from the Rays in exchange for infielder Vince Belnome, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock (via Twitter).
  • The Phillies have announced the signings of Andres Blanco, Josh Fields, Cesar Jimenez, Steven Lerud, Michael Martinez, Zach Miner, Jermaine Mitchell, Pete Orr and Humberto Quintero to minor league contracts with invitations to Spring Training.

Fallout And Impact Of The Josh Hamilton Signing

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Here's the latest on how Josh Hamilton's agreement with the Angels will affect several other players and teams all around the league, including how close some other teams came to signing the free agent slugger themselves…

  • The Rangers have told Geovany Soto he'll be their everyday catcher in 2013, but ESPN's Buster Olney wonders if the Rangers could now pursue free agent backstop A.J. Pierzynski.  Also from Olney, rival evaluators are speculating that the Rangers might now be the best fit for Nick Swisher (both links are to Olney's Twitter account).
  • The Mariners "badly wanted" Hamilton, which means the Angels disappointed two of their AL West rivals today, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter).  MLB.com's Greg Johns hears that the M's were heavily courting Hamilton and "had strong hopes" he would sign with them.
  • The Red Sox had interest in Hamilton but weren't willing to offer a contract longer than three years, reports WEEI.com's Rob Bradford.
  • The Phillies were similarly not interested in Hamilton at such a high price, writes Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  Hamilton's signing could increase interest in other free agent outfielders like Swisher and Cody Ross, thus possibly pricing the Phillies out of the market and forcing them to turn their attention to acquiring pitching instead.
  • The Marlins could reverse their stance on trading Giancarlo Stanton, opines MLB.com's Joe Frisaro, if the Rangers are desperate to add another big bat and were willing to offer Jurickson Profar or Mike Olt in a deal.  Frisaro also thinks Miami could be a trade match with the Angels as Peter Bourjos "has been on the Marlins' radar for a while."
  • Fangraphs' Dave Cameron breaks down the value of Mark Trumbo, Kendrys Morales and Bourjos both to the Angels and on the trade market.
  • Bourjos, for his part, tells MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez that he wants to remain in Anaheim and enjoys being an Angel, though he also wants to be an everyday player.
  • ESPN's Keith Law doesn't see Hamilton providing much value in the last two years of his contract, though his signing "makes more sense" if the Angels trade some roster depth to fill the holes in their rotation.  Law also notes that Michael Bourn appears to be running out of suitors, and speculates that Bourn could look for a one-year deal now and then look for a big multiyear contract next winter.
  • Early today, we looked at rumors concerning the possibility of the Angels and Mets working out a trade involving R.A. Dickey.

MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith also contributed to this post

ESPN On Ichiro, Indians, Adams

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Here are some rumors from ESPN.com's baseball writers, starting with a note from Buster Olney (all links go to Twitter)…

Indians In “Aggressive Pursuit” Of Nick Swisher

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The Indians are in "aggressive pursuit" of Nick Swisher in the wake of the Shin-Soo Choo trade, reports ESPN's Jim Bowden (Twitter links). Mark Feinsand of The New York Daily News says the Red Sox, Phillies, Mariners, Rangers, and Orioles have interest in the free agent switch-hitter as well.

Swisher, 32, hit .272/.364/.473 with 24 homers for the Yankees this season. It was his seventh consecutive season of 145+ games played and 22+ homers, one of only three big leaguers who can make that claim. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes ranked Swisher as the sixth best free agent available this offseason, predicting he would sign with Baltimore.

Mets Remain In The Mix For Scott Hairston

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Scott Hairston is one of the few right-handed power outfield bats left on the free agent market, and he told Adam Rubin of ESPN New York that the Mets remain in the mix to re-sign him. It will take a multiyear contract, however.

"Things are starting to pick up now that the market is settling in," said Hairston. "Still unsure where I'll sign, though. There are a lot of trades happening around the league, so it's possible that interest may rise in the next few days. My agent has been in contact with [Mets GM Sandy Alderson], so he is aware I want a multiyear deal."

Rubin says the Yankees, Phillies, Giants, and Cardinals also have interest in Hairston. The 32-year-old hit .263/.299/.504 with 20 homers in 398 plate appearances for the Mets this season, including a .286/.317/.550 line in 199 plate appearances against left-handers. Jonny Gomes signed a two-year, $10MM contract with the Red Sox last month, setting the market for righty outfield mashers.

NL East Notes: Braves, Nationals, Phillies

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Here are the latest links from the NL East…

  • The Braves made an “aggressive” offer for Shin-Soo Choo before the Reds acquired him, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). The Mariners were also involved, but their offer wasn’t as strong.
  • Nationals manager Davey Johnson said he has received “positive signs” from GM Mike Rizzo that Washington will re-sign free agent first baseman Adam LaRoche before Christmas, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reports (on Twitter).
  • The Phillies and Brewers were in on Sean Burnett before he signed with the Angels, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (all Twitter links). Morosi wonders if this means the Phillies would be willing to move a left-handed reliever. It's possible Antonio Bastardo, Jeremy Horst and Raul Valdes would have become trade candidates if the Phillies had signed Burnett.
  • Here's the latest on the Mets and R.A. Dickey.

Josh Hamilton Rumors: Wednesday

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Josh Hamilton, the top free agent position player of the offseason, remains unsigned. The Rangers and Phillies seem like logical fits for Hamilton, who has also drawn significant interest from the Mariners. Here’s the latest, with the most recent rumors up top…

  • Rangers GM Jon Daniels said today that his feelings regarding Hamilton haven't changed since day one, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports. "We want Josh back and always have," Daniels said. "It has nothing to do with who is still on the market and who is off the market. We've maintained communication and the relationship is good. We'd still like to work something out but I can't handicap it."
  • Jayson Stark of ESPN.com hears from a Phillies source who would be "shocked" if Hamilton signs in Philadelphia (Twitter link).
  • However, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reported this morning that Phillies officials have privately maintained that they’d be prepared to offer Hamilton a three-year deal.
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