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Cardinals, Freese Avoid Arbitration

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6:01pm: Freese's deal is worth $3.15MM, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).

2:32pm: The Cardinals have agreed to a one-year deal with David Freese, avoiding arbitration, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports (on Twitter). CAA Sports represents the third baseman.

Freese filed for $3.75MM with the Cardinals offering $2.4MM, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows. The Cardinals don't have any unsigned arbitration eligible players remaining now that they've agreed to terms with Freese. The 29-year-old remains on track to go to arbitration two more times and hit free agency following the 2015 season.

Check out MLBTR's post on Arbitration Basics for an introduction to the process.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Barret Browning

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We’ll track the day’s outright assignments here…

  • The Cardinals outrighted left-hander Barret Browning to Triple-A, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports. The Cardinals had designated Browning for assignment last month to create roster space for Ronny Cedeno. Browning appeared in 22 MLB games last year, but spent much of the season at Triple-A, posting a 1.73 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 41 2/3 innings.

Quick Hits: Prospects, Yankees, Okajima, Carpenter

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Jurickson Profar of the Rangers, Oscar Taveras of the Cardinals and Dylan Bundy of the Orioles top Keith Law's list of the best 100 prospects in baseball at ESPN.com. Five Cardinals occupy spaces on Law's top 100 list, which focuses on high-impact minor leaguers who could develop into MLB stars. Here are some links from around MLB with Spring Training approaching quickly…

  • There’s lots of talent beyond the top 100, so Law looks at some prospects who just missed his primary list.
  • General manager Brian Cashman said the Yankees are content to let MLB lead the investigation into Alex Rodriguez’s involvement with a Miami-based clinic that distributed performance enhancing drugs to prominent athletes. As Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger reports, the GM hasn’t spoken to Rodriguez about the issue, nor have others in the organization. “The only thing required from our end, right now, is patience and smarts,” Cashman said.
  • Athletics GM Billy Beane said the team’s 25-man roster is now complete, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. However, Slusser reports that the A's are still considering free agent left-hander Hideki Okajima.
  • Though Chris Carpenter is expected to miss the 2013 season, the Cardinals won’t be responsible for all of his $12.5MM salary. Insurance will cover some of that sum in 2013, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). That said, the Cardinals aren’t expecting major savings.

Cardinals Have “Negligible” Interest In Lohse

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The Cardinals don't expect Chris Carpenter to pitch for them in 2013, and the right-hander's career could be over. But it doesn't sound as though the team will turn to Kyle Lohse to restore its rotation depth. Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Cardinals' interest in Lohse is "negligible" at this time (Twitter link).

The Cardinals stand to obtain a compensatory draft pick if Lohse signs with another team, as he declined St. Louis' qualifying offer after the season. The Cardinals seem content to let him sign elsewhere, but certain teams are reluctant to surrender a pick to sign Lohse. For example, the Rangers and Angels don't appear to have serious interest at this time. However, the Brewers and Orioles would be interested at the right price.

While Cardinals GM John Mozeliak declined to discuss Lohse in particular today, he acknowledged that the club could consider making an addition under the right circumstances. The Cardinals have their share of internal rotation options in Adam Wainwright, Jaime Garcia, Jake Westbrook, Lance Lynn, Trevor Rosenthal and Shelby Miller.

Chris Carpenter Likely To Miss 2013 Season

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Cardinals GM John Mozeliak announced that Chris Carpenter can't continue to throw and will likely miss the 2013 season (Twitter links via Danny Knobler of CBS Sports and B.J. Rains of FOX Sports Midwest). The 2005 NL Cy Young Award winner continues battling injuries that are preventing him from throwing.

Mozeliak said Carpenter will likely be placed on the disabled list, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). By announcing his retirement, Carpenter would have to forfeit his $12.5MM salary, something he's not likely to do. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported earlier today that Carpenter was said to be considering retirement. 

Carpenter missed most of the 2012 season with a shoulder injury. He had surgery related to nerves in his pitching shoulder after being diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome. The 37-year-old started three regular season games last year and started three more times in the postseason.

Carpenter told the Cardinals that he continued feeling numbness and discomfort in recent bullpen sessions, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports (on Twitter). Last month, Carpenter suggested he would not necessarily rehab through another serious injury.

"If I have more health issues I’m not going to continue to try to battle through," Carpenter said, according to the Post-Dispatch.

Mozeliak said the Cardinals are "comfortable" with their current starting pitching depth, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times (on Twitter). Adam Wainwright, Jaime Garcia, Jake Westbrook and Lance Lynn lead the Cardinals' rotation. Trevor Rosenthal and Shelby Miller figure to compete for the fifth rotation spot, assuming the Cardinals don't bring in an outsider.

Free agent right-hander Kyle Lohse could be an option for the rotation, though a deal with Lohse would prevent the Cardinals from collecting an additional draft pick in the upcoming amateur draft. When asked about Lohse, Mozeliak said in general that the Cardinals could consider making additions (via Rains on Twitter).

Cardinals Notes: Prospects, Free Agents

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The Cardinals have added role players such as Randy Choate, Ty Wigginton and Ronny Cedeno this offseason instead of making more substantial changes to their roster. But most of the players who led the Cardinals to an 88-win season in 2012 will return, so general manager John Mozeliak didn't need to make major moves this winter. Here’s the latest from St. Louis…

  • The Cardinals have the top farm system in baseball, Keith Law writes in his annual rankings at ESPN.com. In Law’s view the Cardinals have "drafted well, fared well in Latin America, traded well and developed well over the past five years." Five of the top 100 prospects in baseball play in the Cardinals’ system, according to Law.
  • Mozeliak explained to Anna McDonald of ESPN.com that advanced metrics encourage teams to pay free agents for what they will do next as opposed to what they have already done. "Now we're able to combine these advanced stats with the ability now to really create a model that gives us sort of recommendations on contracts, salary and length," he said. "When you start thinking about things like the aging curve — that is something I think 20, 30 years ago when players were signing contracts, they were signing contracts for what they accomplished — now people are signing contracts for what you expect them to do." The complete ESPN.com piece provides more insight into Mozeliak’s view on the role of baseball analytics.

Cardinals, Marc Rzepczynski Avoid Arbitration

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We'll track the day's arbitration agreements under $3MM right here. MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker has the details on this year's cases. Be sure to check out MLBTR's guide to Arbiration Basics as well. Now for Friday's deals…

  • The Cardinals avoided arbitration with left-handed reliever Marc Rzepczynski, Jenifer Langosch ‏of MLB.com reports (on Twitter). It's a $1.1MM deal, the AP reports (via ESPN.com). Rzepczynski, a client of John Boggs & Associates, filed for $1.3MM with the Cardinals countering at $900K. David Freese is now St. Louis' lone unsigned arb eligible player, as MLBTR's Arb Tracker shows.

Oscar Taveras Switches Agents

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One of the best prospects in baseball has new representation.  Cardinals outfield prospect Oscar Taveras has dropped agent Melvin Roman for Rob Plummer, MLBTR has learned.  It's a coup for Plummer, who now represents several of the game's best Dominican prospects, such as Miguel Sano of the Twins and Carlos Martinez, also of the Cardinals.

Taveras, 20, ascended to Double-A last year with great success.  Most prospect gurus rank him in their top three, and he's got a good shot at making his Major League debut in 2013.

For agency info on over 1,700 players, check out MLBTR's oft-updated agency database.  Agents: if you've got a 40-man roster player or top prospect whose representation is not correctly noted, we welcome corrections at mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

Cardinals To Sign Ronny Cedeno

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3:53pm: The deal guarantees Cedeno $1.15MM and includes $850K in performance bonuses, Rosenthal reports (on Twitter).

2:55pm: The Cardinals have agreed to sign Ronny Cedeno to a one-year, Major League contract, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter).

Cedeno played for the Mets last year, appearing in 78 games, mostly as a middle infielder. The 29-year-old posted a .259/.332/.410 batting line in 186 plate appearances with New York. He earned $1.2MM, and has earned between $1-2MM in each of the last three seasons. Multiple teams expressed interest in Cedeno, but the identity of other interested teams remains unknown.

Rafael Furcal projects as St. Louis' starting shortstop, but he could miss the start of the season due to an elbow injury. Pete Kozma provides St. Louis with an internal alternative at the position.

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com first reported the Cardinals' interest and that the sides were nearing a deal.

Cardinals Designate Browning For Assignment

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The Cardinals designated left-hander Barret Browning for assignment, MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch reports (on Twitter). The move creates roster space for Ronny Cedeno, who agreed to sign a one-year deal with St. Louis.

Browning made his MLB debut in 2012, appearing in 22 games out of the bullpen for the Cardinals and posting a 5.12 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9. The 28-year-old spent much of the season at Triple-A, posting a 1.73 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 41 2/3 innings.

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