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Giants Claim Sandy Rosario

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Sandy Rosario's offseason journey continued today, as the Giants claimed the right-hander off of waivers from the Cubs, Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com reports (on Twitter).

Rosario’s offseason began when the Red Sox claimed him from the Marlins on October 17th. Boston then traded him to Oakland for a player to be named later or cash considerations on November 28th. The A's then designated Rosario for assignment at which point the Red Sox claimed him a second time. His stay in Boston didn’t last long, however; the Cubs claimed him on December 12th.

Rosario, 27, pitched in four games for this year's Marlins team, but spent most of the season in the minor leagues. He posted a 1.99 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 in 31 2/3 total innings for three of Miami's affiliates.

Rangers Claim Jeff Beliveau

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The Rangers have claimed Jeff Beliveau off of waivers from the Cubs, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports (on Twitter). The Cubs designated the left-hander for assignment four days ago to create 40-man roster space for Ian Stewart.

Beliveau, 25, made his MLB debut this past season, appearing in 22 games. He posted a 4.58 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 6.1 BB/9 in 17 2/3 innings. The Cubs originally selected Beliveau in the 18th round of the 2008 draft.

Quick Hits: Saunders, Cubs, Soriano, Gonzalez

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The Orioles would like to re-sign Joe Saunders and have continued talks with him, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (on Twitter).  They'll have plenty of competition for the left-hander, however, as he is drawing high interest from three other clubs.  Here's more from around baseball..

  • On today’s edition of the Rosters & Rumblings podcast, MLBTR’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and Jason Martinez of MLB Depth Charts discussed the Mariners–Angels trade, the Cubs’ new-look rotation, and some recent trade rumors.
  • The Dodgers are still kicking the tires on Joel Hanrahan of the Pirates and free agent Brian Wilson as they look to deepen their bullpen, but they aren't in the mix for Rafael Soriano, according to Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • The Nationals continue to talk to Mike Gonzalez about returning and the Reds are also in pursuit, Bowden tweets.
  • Sources tell Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter) that the Rangers were never serious bidders for Edwin Jackson.  The right-hander signed a four-year, $52MM contract with the Cubs earlier today.
  • Mariners General Manager Jack Zduriencik has landed a bigger bat for the middle of his lineup, but that doesn't mean Seattle is done with its roster maneuverings, writes Greg Johns of MLB.com.  The Mariners still have financial flexibility since they should several million dollars in the difference between what Kendrys Morales ($4.8MM) will earn compared to Jason Vargas ($7.4MM) in their final year of arbitration eligibility.  
  • Dexter Fowler told Jim Bowden of SiriusXM (on Twitter) that Rockies General Manager Bill Geivett told him that it would take a lot in return for them to deal him to the Braves.  Atlanta is targeting Fowler along with Emilio Bonifacio and other outfield options.

Phillies Sign Mike Adams

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The Phillies have officially signed veteran reliever Mike Adams, the team announced. It's a two-year contract worth $12MM with a third year club/vesting option worth $6.5MM. The option vests if he appears in 120 games from 2013-2014 with at least 60 appearances in 2014. The right-hander is represented by Josh Yates at ACES.

Uspw_6465088Adams, 34, has been one of the game's very best setup men in recent years. He pitched to a 3.27 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 52 1/3 innings for the Rangers this year, his lone full season in Texas after being acquired from the Padres for two pitching prospects at the 2011 trade deadline. Adams owns a 2.28 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in his eight-year career.

Philadelphia has been seeking bullpen help in front of Jonathan Papelbon this offseason, though they used right-hander Josh Lindblom to acquire Michael Young a few weeks ago. The team was also looking for a low-risk starter after using Vance Worley to acquire Ben Revere, and they have since agreed to sign John Lannan. More outfield help figures to be on the agenda as well.

Adams is returning from October surgery to correct Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, a procedure that involved removing a rib. He is expected to be ready in time for Opening Day. Adams also dealt with numerous shoulder problems earlier in his career, including surgery on his labrum and rotator cuff back in 2008. As our Free Agent Tracker shows, he is the ninth reliever to receive a multiyear contract this offseason.

MLBTR's Tim Dierkes ranked Adams as the 42nd best free agent available in his Top 50 Free Agents List, correctly predicting he would sign with the Phillies. If you signed up for our Free Agent Prediction Contest, check out where you stand with our leaderboard.

Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports first reported the two sides were nearing a deal while Tyler Garrett of KRISTV first reported the agreement. ESPN's Jayson Stark and FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal added details along with Brown (Twitter links). Photo courtesy of USA Sports Images.

Cubs To Sign Carlos Villanueva

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The Cubs have agreed to sign Carlos Villanueva, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). The SFX client obtains a two-year, $10MM deal, Heyman reports.

Uspw_6496000Chicago has sought out rotation depth this offseason, and they've already signed Scott Baker and Scott Feldman as our Free Agent Tracker shows. They also made a run at Anibal Sanchez and are reportedly a final suitor for Edwin Jackson. Villanueva, Baker, and Feldman will join rotation incumbents Jeff Samardzija, Matt Garza, and Travis Wood.

Villanueva, 29, pitched to a 4.16 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 125 1/3 innings spread across 16 starts and 22 relief appearances for the Blue Jays last season. He's made 29 starts and 42 relief appearances over the last two seasons and has proven capable in both roles. Earlier this offseason we heard Villanueva was reportedly seeking the opportunity to make 30 starts next season, an opportunity the Cubs can provide.

MLBTR's Tim Dierkes ranked Villanueva as the 29th best free agent on the market this offseason, predicting he would sign with the Royals. To see where you stand in our Free Agent Prediction Contest, check out our leaderboard.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Strong Progress For Cubs, Edwin Jackson

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The Cubs are the frontrunners for free agent right-hander Edwin Jackson, but as of last night they weren't the only team pursuing the Legacy Sports Group client. The Indians were still talking with Jackson yesterday, and it wasn’t long ago that the Rangers and Padres had serious interest, too. The bidding is up to $50MM for Jackson, who turned 29 in September. Here are the latest Jackson-related rumors, with the most recent updates up top…

  • The Cubs have made "strong progress" on a four-year, $52MM deal with Jackson, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports (Twitter links). Jackson is just about off of the board, Olney adds.

Cubs Front-Runner For Edwin Jackson

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10:03pm: Bowden reports (on Twitter) that the Cubs are now the front-runner for Jackson. He says a four-year deal worth approximately $52MM is in the ballpark.

WEDNESDAY, 7:31pm: The Indians are in talks with Jackson and the right-hander should get at least four years, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com hears the bidding is up to $50MM (Twitter link). Rosenthal adds that while Cleveland also has interest in Nick Swisher, they probably can't afford both players.

TUESDAY: The market for free agent starter Edwin Jackson has narrowed to the Cubs and Rangers, reports ESPN's Jim Bowden (Twitter link). The Padres dropped out of the running for Jackson since the team didn't want to make a four-year commitment to the right-hander. The Angels, Twins, Blue Jays and Brewers have also been rumored to be interested in Jackson at various points this offseason.

Jackson represents a backup plan for both Chicago and Texas, as the two teams were recently outbid for other major free agent starters (Anibal Sanchez and Zack Greinke, respectively). In the Cubs' case, their pursuit of Jackson represents another sign that the team is prepared to spend significant money in on free agent pitching and their willingness to spend $77MM for Sanchez wasn't just a singular offer for a particular player, though Jackson's eventual deal will be much less than $77MM.

While Jackson isn't the ace-level starter that the Rangers were looking for in Greinke, Jackson would still be a very solid innings-eating addition to a rotation that already includes Yu Darvish, Matt Harrison, Derek Holland and Colby Lewis. Acquiring Jackson would mean that Texas could keep Alexi Ogando and Martin Perez in the bullpen or the minors as rotation depth.

We heard last week that the Padres were "strongly pursuing" Jackson but FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reported that San Diego weren't prepared to offer a $12-$13MM average annual salary or a commitment of four or five years. As MLB.com's Corey Brock puts it, Padres GM Josh Byrnes is "unwilling to go [as long as] four years on anyone." The Friars have signed Jason Marquis to a one-year contract this winter and have been connected to such pitchers as Shaun Marcum, Ubaldo Jimenez and Justin Masterson.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

At Least Five Teams Interested In J.P. Howell

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The Nationals, Phillies, Cubs, Mariners and Rangers are all interested in free agent reliever J.P. Howell, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson.  Howell said last month that "a handful" of teams were pursuing him, and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times speculated that the Angels could be one of those suitors.  The Brewers were also known to be looking for left-handed relief help, though Howell was not one of the names recently mentioned as targets by Milwaukee GM Doug Melvin.

Howell posted strong numbers out of the Rays' bullpen in 2008-09 before missing the entire 2010 season due to shoulder surgery and struggling to a 6.16 ERA in 30 2/3 innings in 2011.  The southpaw returned to form in 2012, however, posting a 3.04 ERA, 1.91 K/BB ratio, 7.5 K/9 rate and 48.9% groundball rate, though some advanced metrics (4.78 FIP and a .250 BABIP) indicate that Howell benefited from some good fortune. 

The Legacy Sports Group client has held left-handed batters to a .675 OPS in his career, topping that mark in 2012 when lefty hitters managed only a .200/.306/.306 slash line.

Cubs Notes: Sanchez, Marmol, Samardzija, Garza

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The Cubs are going down to the wire with another top free agent pitcher, as we heard earlier today that Chicago and the Rangers are the final two suitors in the Edwin Jackson sweepstakes.  Here are some more items from Wrigley Field…

  • The Cubs didn't feel they "were on the cusp" of signing Anibal Sanchez, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, but rather just one of the teams in the mix to top the Tigers.  I'd guess that Detroit was Sanchez's ideal destination all along, given how Sanchez apparently gave the Tigers the final chance to top the Cubs' $77MM proposal and left a larger offer from another team on the table at the Winter Meetings.
  • "Carlos Marmol going for a small package of prospects" is the deal that ESPN's Bruce Levine feels is the likeliest trade the Cubs will make before Opening Day.  The Cubs will probably have to include a large chunk of Marmol's remaining $9.8MM salary in such a swap given how Marmol is coming off a tough 2012 season that saw him lose his closer's job.  Chicago nearly dealt Marmol to the Angels for Dan Haren earlier this winter but that trade fell through due to concerns about Haren's health.  Levine also covers a number of other Cubs- and White Sox-related topics in his all-Chicago chat.
  • Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago wonders if the Cubs will look to extend both Jeff Samardzija and Matt Garza this offseason.  We've heard the Cubs have reached out to Samardzija about an extension though Mooney thinks "there's no rush" given how Samardzija is controlled through 2015 and is a local product.  Garza is entering the last year of his current contract and has been the subject of many trade rumors over the last two seasons.

Heyman & Knobler On Oswalt, Norris, Porcello

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The latest from Jon Heyman and Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (links go to Twitter)…

  • There’s no word from Roy Oswalt on whether he’ll pitch in 2013, Heyman reports.
  • The Astros would have to be overwhelmed to trade Jed Lowrie, according to Heyman. However, the Astros have talked to teams such as the Cardinals and Rangers about possible deals involving Bud Norris. Norris, 27, goes to arbitration for the first time this offseason following a 2012 campaign in which he posted a 4.65 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 168 1/3 innings. Even after a mixed platform season, Norris will do reasonably well in arbitration thanks to his career total of 563 2/3 innings. MLBTR projects a salary of $2.9MM.
  • The Tigers had almost a dozen calls about Rick Porcello within a few hours of their agreement with right-hander Anibal Sanchez, Knobler reports. The Tigers are expected to trade Porcello, who’s second time arbitration eligible with a projected salary of $4.7MM. The Cubs called, but there's no match, Knobler adds.
  • The Twins aren't done adding pitching, Heyman reports.
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