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Cardinals Hope To Avoid Arb With Ludwick

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According to MLB.com’s Matthew Leach, the Cardinals hold "some sliver of hope" that an arbitration hearing can be avoided with outfielder Ryan Ludwick.

Ludwick asked for $4.25MM and the Cardinals countered with a $2.8MM bid back when figures were due.  That gap is obviously going to be tough to overcome, but the Red Birds do have some time.  Ludwick’s hearing won’t take place until Tuesday, February 17.

The 30-year-old exploded last season, finising with a line of .299/.375/.591, including 37 home runs and 113 RBI.

Thursday Hearing For Ankiel, Cardinals

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According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals and Rick Ankiel have a Thursday arbitration hearing scheduled.  If the hearing takes place, the arbitrators will decide whether Ankiel earns $3.3MM or $2.35MM in ’09.

Ankiel, a Scott Boras client, is eligible for free agency after the season.  He could be midseason trade bait if Colby Rasmus comes on strong.

Durham Turns Down Offer From Nationals

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According to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, free agent second baseman Ray Durham turned down a minor league offer from the Nationals potentially worth $850K plus incentives.  Durham would require more than that, and is 50-50 on retirement.  The offer from Washington was Durham’s first of the offseason.

A note from Crasnick regarding the Cardinals:

The Cardinals, who expressed interest in Durham earlier this winter, released second baseman Adam Kennedy on Monday. But early indications are that St. Louis plans to fill the void from within. If general manager John Mozeliak does pursue a free agent, Orlando Hudson would probably rank ahead of Durham on the priority list.

Durham, 37, authored a strong .380 OBP in 426 plate appearances last year.

Cardinals Second Baseman: Who’ll It Be?

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St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz doesn’t believe the Cardinals will fill their second base vacancy via free agency, but rather will look for the solution in-house.

[GM John] Mozeliak and management want to do what they can to give MLB opportunities to members of the heralded player-development system, and this was a chance to do so.

Miklasz lists Brendan Ryan, Brian Barden, Joe Thurston, Tyler Greene, Jarrett Hoffpauir and Skip Schumaker as candidates to take the job.  Ryan has the most experience as a Cardinals infielder, but he hit just .244/.307/.289 in 197 at-bats last season.

Schumaker is a solid hitter, but will have to prove this spring that he can play the infield.  As Miklasz writes, "It’s a big leap of faith to assume that Schumaker can convert from the OF to 2B. It would be much easier, the other way around."

Cardinals Release Adam Kennedy

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According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals have released Adam Kennedy. They’ll still be responsible for his $4MM salary. The move was "apparently made at the strong urging of manager Tony La Russa," who didn’t want Kennedy to be his starting second baseman.

Skip Schumaker has been working out at second base, and could play there if the Cards don’t add anyone to replace Kennedy. Strauss mentions Brendan Ryan and a few others as possible competitors for the job.

This is good news for Orlando Hudson, who has another possible bidder for his services.

Cardinals Far Apart With Ankiel, Ludwick

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As reported by MLB.com’s Matthew Leach, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said Wednesday that little progress has been made with arbitration-eligible outfielders Rick Ankiel and Ryan Ludwick.

"There’s not a whole lot to comment on," Mozeliak said. "Right now we’re just preparing. I think if there is a settlement before we enter in, it would be a [last-minute] type of thing."

Both players are pretty far apart in negotiations with the club.  Ludwick asked for $4.25MM and was offered $2.8MM, while Ankiel asked for $3.3MM and the Cardinals countered with $2.35MM.  The Cards haven’t required an arbitration hearing since 1999, but it looks like that’s about to change.

Rosenthal On Peavy, Ohman, Looper

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Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

  • Jeff Moorad’s acquistion of the Padres does not affect the likelihood of a Jake Peavy trade, according to Rosenthal’s source.  There have been no recent conversations with the Cubs about Peavy.
  • The Phillies had been confident of signing Ty Wigginton before the Orioles offered two years.  The Phils are still mulling Nomar Garciaparra and Rich Aurilia, with the Giants also in on Aurilia.  The Phillies are out on Will Ohman.
  • Braden Looper is receiving interest from Baltimore, but he prefers the NL.  The Brewers are not optimistic about signing Looper despite a recent conversation with one of his agents (Tom Haudricourt believes the Brewers are "laying in the weeds" for when the right pitcher comes along).  Looper is Plan B behind Randy Wolf for the Dodgers, and not a candidate to return to the Cardinals (who are apparently out of money).  One other team known to have interest in Looper is the Pirates.

Orioles Close To Deal With Cubs For Hill

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9:41pm: Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun has more on the Orioles trading for Cubs pitcher Rich Hill.

The deal would be for a player to be named later, Zrebiec writes, and it could be announced as early as Monday.

Hill will be reunited with pitching coach Rick Kranitz and bullpen coach Alan Dunn, who worked with him in the Cubs’ organization, Zrebiec notes.

Hill is out of options, so he’ll have to make the Orioles’ Opening Day roster or they could lose him. … Hill will be given an opportunity to win a spot in the rotation, which currently has three vacancies behind Jeremy Guthrie and Koji Uehara.

6:12pm: Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun believes the Baltimore Orioles will complete a trade for Cubs left-handed pitcher Rich Hill by Tuesday — if the Orioles will do the deal at all.

Schmuck writes that now other organizations are aware that Hill could be made available, additional teams — including the Royals and Mariners — could make an offer.

Orioles general manager Andy MacPhail might be waiting to see if he can sign free agent right-handed pitcher Braden Looper, Schmuck adds.

They might be willing to acquire both pitchers, but there is the small matter of moving players off the 40-man roster to make room, so maybe Andy is just going to take one or the other.

Hill, 29 in March, is 18-17 in 57 starts with a 4.37 ERA during a short four-season career. He spend much of 2008 in Triple-A.

Looper, 34, went 12-14 in 33 starts with a 4.16 ERA with the St. Louis Cardinals last season.

Rosenthal On Abreu, Garland, Glavine, Sisco

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The latest from Ken Rosenthal…

  • The Mariners and Giants are interested in Bobby Abreu, if the price is right.  Yesterday Buster Olney suggested that Abreu is willing to take a one-year deal.  The A’s and Nationals have other targets, while the Mets, White Sox, and Braves are seen as long shots.
  • Rosenthal examines the nuances of Jon Garland’s December 7th decision to reject arbitration, saying that it wasn’t an obvious mistake at the time.
  • Tom Glavine’s agent Gregg Clifton did not attend yesterday’s meeting with Frank Wren; it was a health update and not a contract negotiation.  Rosenthal says Glavine figures to seek a Freddy Garcia-like deal.  The Braves need to save money to add an outfielder, with Nick Swisher atop their list.  The Yankees’ goal in moving Swisher or Xavier Nady would be to recoup prospects.
  • The Brewers are not interested in projects such as Kris Benson, Jason Jennings, Mark Redman, and Victor Zambrano.  They’re just lukewarm on Mark Mulder.  Benson is drawing interest from the Dodgers, Rangers, and Cardinals; one exec reviewed his audition as "so-so."
  • Rosenthal doesn’t seem to buy the idea that Jason Varitek and Scott Boras feared the Red Sox could cut him if he accepted arbitration, noting that Boras client Travis Lee was advised to accept years ago.
  • The Braves have reservations about re-signing Andruw Jones, who could be a Spring Training cut.
  • The A’s deal for Russ Springer will be worth more than $3MM plus incentives.  They’re also eyeing Brian Shouse and Andrew Sisco as possible pen additions.  Sisco, recovering from Tommy John, has also auditioned for the Rockies and Giants.
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