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Angels Emerging As Front-Runner For Oswalt?

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8:58pm: "I can't qualify for everything you hear," said GM Jerry Dipoto to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez while reiterating that he is looking for overall pitching depth. "You never have enough pitching, so it's tough for me to say that there's not a time in this season where our situation may not change, but right now, we're very happy with where our pitching is."

10:25am: The Angels are "suddenly the front-runner" for free agent right-hander Roy Oswalt, reports ESPN's Jim Bowden (on Twitter). The Red Sox remain in the mix, though the Rangers and Cardinals are fading out of the picture despite Chris Carpenter's neck problems.

Oswalt, 34, is reportedly willing to sign anywhere and is eyeing a midseason return. Earlier in the offseason he was said to only be interested in playing for a team close to his Mississippi home. Andy Pettitte's return to the Yankees for a $2.5MM minor league deal may have set the market for free agent pitchers coming back during the season, though Oswalt isn't coming out of retirement like his former Astros rotation-mate.

The Angels have reportedly been seeking pitching depth behind their strong front four of Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, C.J. Wilson, and Ervin Santana, though they are said to be targeting out of options players and non-roster invitees. Oswalt at a salary similar to Pettitte's could be the bargain of the year.

Quick Hits: Nationals, Blue Jays, Soria, Carpenter

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Two weeks from now, the regular season will be underway. In the meantime, here are some links, including injury updates on a trio of pitchers…

  • "We are pretty comfortable with the team that we have right now," said Nationals GM Mike Rizzo to reporters (including MLB.com's Bill Ladson). "If something comes up to improve ourselves, we'll certainly investigate it. We are not selling anybody or shopping anybody or making a lot of phone calls, because we are comfortable where we are at."
  • The Blue Jays have five roster spots up for grabs – left field, fifth starter, utility infielder, two bullpen spots – but there are clear frontrunners for each job according to MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm. The team doesn't want to delay any official moves, but they also want to make sure everyone gets enough playing time to audition for jobs.
  • Royals closer Joakim Soria will undergo Tommy John surgery on April 3rd, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports (Twitter links).
  • Chris Carpenter is out indefinitely with a nerve issue, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak told reporters, including MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch (Twitter link). Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggests Carpenter will likely miss two months or more (Twitterlink).
  • Joba Chamberlain dislocated his right ankle and lost a life-threatening amount of blood yesterday, Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News reports. The injury will end Chamberlain's season and could threaten his career.
  • One scout says Mark Reynolds isn't appealing, especially given his $7.5MM salary, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com tweets. The Orioles are shopping Reynolds and teammate Kevin Gregg.
  • Padres owner John Moores could earn a substantial profit when he sells his team, partly because bidders who fail to purchase the Dodgers may view Padres as consolation prize, Jon Paul Morosi writes at FOX Sports.
  • Former All-Star reliever Chad Cordero tells Jonathan Hacohen of MLB Reports that he's getting the itch to play again and will attempt to come back to the Major Leagues in 2013. The 30-year-old reliever took time off to deal with the death of his infant daughter, but he's not ready to give up on baseball yet.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Offseason In Review: St. Louis Cardinals

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The defending World Champions lost a pair of franchise icons this offseason, but they appear poised to contend for another title after signing Carlos Beltran and promoting Mike Matheny as manager.

Major League Signings

Notable Minor League Signings

Scott Linebrink, Alex Cora, Koyie Hill, R.J. Swindle, Eugenio Velez.

Trades and Claims

Extensions

Notable Losses

Draft Picks Gained or Lost

  • Obtained 19th overall selection from Angels for Albert Pujols. Also obtain supplementary first round pick, 36th overall.
  • Obtained 52nd overall selection for losing Dotel. 
  • Obtained 59th overall selection for losing Jackson.

No Albert Pujols. No Tony La Russa. The Cardinals team that takes the field on Opening Day will look a whole lot different than the club that won the 2011 World Series. But GM John Mozeliak's offseason moves have the club ready for another run at the postseason.

There's no replacing Albert Pujols, who has been nothing short of baseball's best offensive player for the past decade. The Cardinals appear to have made a substantial bid for the first baseman, but he left for the Angels' $240MM offer. Even at 32, he's one of the best hitters in the game, as his postseason performance showed. The short-term blow to the Cardinals' lineup is undeniable even though they may be applauding themselves for bidding cautiously five or six years from now when Pujols starts declining significantly.

Former Cardinals catcher Mike Matheny took over as the team's new manager following Tony La Russa's retirement. The 41-year-old Matheny inherits a team that's as strong as any rookie manager could hope for. In another significant off-field development, the Astros hired Jeff Luhnow, the Cardinals' longtime VP of scouting and player development, as their new GM.

Carlos Beltran represents the Cardinals' biggest offseason investment and he'll join Jon Jay and Matt Holliday in a strong projected outfield that could include Allen Craig at times. Even at 34, Beltran does a lot of things right and the Cardinals did well to obtain him for two years and $26MM.

The signing shifts Berkman to Pujols' former position, first base. Berkman doesn't come close to matching Pujols' defensive ability, but the 36-year-old is probably better suited for first base than the outfield at this point in his career.

The Cardinals dealt with their middle infield by re-signing Rafael Furcal, locking Skip Schumaker up for two years, non-tendering Ryan Theriot and letting Nick Punto leave via free agency. Furcal, always an injury risk, wasn't much worse than league average at the plate, even during a down season. He has some offensive potential if he can stay healthy and the Cardinals' investment suggests they believe Furcal can stay on the field in 2012-13. However, $14MM seems like an over-aggressive commitment for a 34-year-old who's missed an average of 70 games per season since 2008.

Even though the middle infield doesn't project to add much to the offense, the Cardinals should score enough runs. They led the National League in scoring last year and figure to be among the league leaders again, even after losing Pujols.

The Cardinals' rotation may be better than the group that led last year's team to the World Series, since Adam Wainwright is back from Tommy John surgery (exercising his options was an easy call). They entertained the idea of signing Roy Oswalt, and pursuing the free agent right-hander may become increasingly appealing if the injury currently sidelining Chris Carpenter proves serious. Oswalt's intriguing, especially on a one-year deal, so he figures to be on the Cardinals' radar even as Lance Lynn opens the year in the rotation. Top prospect Shelby Miller will start the season in the minors and could be a mid-summer callup. 

The Cardinals essentially left their bullpen alone this offseason. They've developed and acquired lots of quality relievers over the years and so contented themselves with the signings of J.C. Romero, Scott Linebrink and R.J. Swindle to low-risk deals. The Cardinals' young bullpen looks good on paper, and Mozeliak can add a reliever at the deadline if it falls short of expectations. A major addition to the bullpen wouldn't have made sense for this team.

The Cardinals also locked up Yadier Molina to a five-year, $75MM extension. It's a sizable contract for someone whose knees have been through 1,000 innings per season since 2004, but Molina is emerging as a premium player. Finding an All-Star catcher is difficult, and Molina is just 29, so the deal makes sense for both sides. Back when the Cardinals’ postseason hopes seemed faint, Mozeliak locked up Carpenter and Berkman to deals worth mentioning, even if they technically occurred before the offseason began.

It was an offseason unlike any other in St. Louis. The celebration of a championship, the retirement of a Hall of Fame manager, the departure of one of the greatest hitters in history. But now that the chaos has ended and another season is upon us, the Cardinals are contenders once again.

Latest On Roy Oswalt

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The Cardinals and Rangers — Roy Oswalt’s preferred teams earlier this year — both have questions in their rotations, but it doesn’t sound as though either team is in the mix for the free agent right-hander at this time. The Cardinals aren't sure how much time Chris Carpenter will miss, and Neftali Feliz got his shoulder checked out this week, so both of last year’s World Series contestants may have less pitching than expected. 

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that the Cardinals prefer to rely on internal options and that the Rangers aren’t currently keen on Oswalt (all links go to Twitter). The Cardinals will rely on Lance Lynn, who’s currently being stretched out as a starter. The Rangers can turn to Alexi Ogando or Scott Feldman if Feliz’s injury proves to be more serious than expected. 

As Joel Sherman of the New York Post points out (Twitter links), Andy Pettitte’s $2.5MM salary establishes precedent for Oswalt should he also sign soon. Oswalt prefers the Cardinals, according to Sherman.

Cardinals Notes: Carpenter, Oswalt, Luhnow

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The Cardinals may open the season without their ace starting pitcher. Here are the details along with reactions from around the league…

Yankees Notes: Pettitte, Hughes, Nova, Damon

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The latest on the Yankees…

  • Before Andy Pettitte signed with the Yankees, Lance Berkman tried to recruit the left-hander for the Cardinals, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. Berkman said he was in regular contact with Pettitte and would have approached the front office if he had obtained the go-ahead from his friend and former teammate.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders if the Yankees will look to extend Phil Hughes or Ivan Nova to a Derek Holland-like extension in order to cap costs and avoid MLB's luxury tax. 
  • There was a split between upper management and the field staff over whether to sign Johnny Damon or Raul Ibanez, Tom Verducci of SI.com writes. Damon told the Yankees he would play for whatever they were offering Ibanez, but it wasn't enough.
  • Agent Scott Boras says Damon has received nibbles, but no offers. “We have heard from teams who say 'We have interest in the guy but we want to see what our players are going to do,'" Boras said.

Minor Moves: Jamie Hoffmann, Cardinals

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Let's keep track of the day's minor moves right here…

  • Outfielder Jamie Hoffmann elected free agency after being outrighted by the Rockies, reports Troy Renck of The Denver Post. The 27-year-old was slowed by an illness this spring and struggled in games.
  • Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports (on Twitter) that the Cardinals have released four minor leaguers: RHP Pete Parise, LHP Dan Calhoun, LHP Jean Mijares, and RHP Sean Watson. None of the four were among the team's top 30 prospects according to Baseball America, though Goold notes that Parise was once considered a closer-type.

NL Central Notes: Chapman, Francis, Punto, Heredia

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Let's continue our tour of the divisions with news from the NL Central…

  • "The Reds’ handling of Aroldis Chapman is beginning to resemble Joba Chamberlain 2.0," writes Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan.  Cincinnati is leaning towards using Chapman as a reliever this season but Passan argues that a pitcher with Chapman's potential should be given the chance to start and not worry about being shuttled between the rotation and the bullpen.  Another note from the piece is that Chapman's velocity is down to the 92-95 mph range this spring, but Chapman has been pleased with his improved command and his new pitch, a splitter.
  • Like Chapman, Jeff Francis has pitched well this spring but may not find a spot in the Reds rotation, prompting ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter) to consider Francis an "affordable alternative for teams in the John Lannan hunt."  Francis signed a minor league deal with the Reds that contains an opt-out clause for March 28 that he could exercise if he doesn't think he'll find a job in Cincinnati.  (In regards to Lannan, he could be off the trade market altogether given Chien-Ming Wang's hamstring injury today.)
  • Nick Punto told reporters (including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) that his top two offseason options were the Cardinals and Red Sox, but the Cards never made him a contract offer.
  • Astros minor leaguer Angel Heredia has been suspended for 50 games following a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs, reports The Associated Press.  Heredia, a right-handed pitcher, played for Houston's Dominican Summer League team.

Minor Moves: Ruben Gotay, Francisco Samuel

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The latest minor moves from around MLB…

  • The Blue Jays have signed infielder Ruben Gotay, reports Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (on Twitter). The 29-year-old hasn't played in the big leagues since 2008 and is a .255/.315/.371 career hitter in 811 plate appearances. Gotay is joining his seventh organization and hit .247/.333/.347 in 518 Triple-A plate appearances split between the Braves and Marlins last year.
  • The Cardinals released right-handed reliever Francisco Samuel, B.J. Rains of FOXSportsMidwest.com tweets. In six minor league seasons the former prospect owns a 5.66 ERA with 11.4 K/9 and 8.6 BB/9. Samuel, a hard-throwing 25-year-old, had lat and shoulder troubles in 2011 and it had become apparent that wasn't going to make the Opening Day roster this year.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Olney On Diamondbacks, Ackley, Cardinals

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Some GMs believe the White Sox have set an extraordinarily high asking price for right-hander Gavin Floyd, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reported last night. Olney passes on more rumors in today’s Insider-only column; here they are:

  • Stephen Drew will likely miss Opening Day as he recovers from last summer’s ankle injury, and the Diamondbacks have started evaluating other long-term solutions at short. They’ve scouted Ian Desmond of the Nationals and could have interest in Cliff Pennington of the Athletics. Drew’s contract includes a $10MM mutual option for 2013, so replacing him isn’t a top priority just yet.
  • Scouts say Mariners second baseman Dustin Ackley looks “exceptional” this spring.
  • The Cardinals could pursue free agent right-hander Roy Oswalt aggressively if Chris Carpenter isn’t ready for Opening Day.
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