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Cubs, Tigers Talking Matt Garza

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7:41pm: On Twitter, Kaplan clarifies that "down the road" means trade talks between the two teams have progressed "far beyond" the initial stages. Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus hears that the Tigers are willing to talk about Turner, but they are far more reticent when it comes to third base prospect Nick Castellanos (Twitter link).

5:52pm: The Cubs and Tigers are “down the road” in talks about a deal that would sent Matt Garza to Detroit for a package of prospects, according to David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com. The Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays have also expressed serious interest in Garza, Kaplan writes. However, the Yankees aren’t comfortable with the Cubs’ asking price despite their “tremendous” interest in the right-hander. 

The Tigers appear to be willing to meet the Cubs’ asking price of multiple highly-regarded prospects, according to Kaplan. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported last week that the Tigers could move right-handed pitching prospect Jacob Turner in the right deal.

The Cubs are nearing a deal with free agent left-hander Paul Maholm. Ryan Dempster, Chris Volstad, Travis Wood and Randy Wells could fill the team’s rotation out and make Garza available. He’s under team control through 2013 and figures to earn $9MM or so in 2012 through arbitration.

Cubs Close To Deal With Paul Maholm

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11:26am: The Cubs are close on Maholm, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

10:59am: The Cubs and free agent lefty Paul Maholm are trying to work out an agreement, tweets Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.  Maholm has been linked to several other suitors this offseason, but most have since added starters.

The Cubs' current projected rotation has Matt Garza, Ryan Dempster, Chris Volstad, Travis Wood, and Randy Wells, perhaps with Andy Sonnanstine and Casey Coleman in the mix for the fifth starter job.  In theory, signing Maholm could give the Cubs the depth to move Garza, even if Maholm is more of a back-end guy.

Phillies Interested In Kerry Wood

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11:04pm: The Cubs and Wood can't agree on the money or the length of a contract, writes Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.  Wood seeks around $4MM, writes Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.  The big righty told NBC-5 Chicago he'll make a decision by Friday, which also marks the start of the Cubs Convention. 

6:08pm: The Cubs and Phillies have expressed the strongest interest in signing Wood, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com.

1:50pm: Late last week Kerry Wood appeared to be working toward a one-year deal to return to the Cubs, but we soon heard that it was far from done and that Wood is still in talks with several teams about a 2012 contract. The Phillies could be one of those teams based on these two tweets from ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, who reports that Philadelphia has Wood on their radar but their interest could be contingent on the health of Jose Contreras.

The 40-year-old Contreras had season-ending elbow surgery in August after appearing in just 17 games (14 innings of work) for the Phils last season. He compiled a 3.86 ERA and 8.4 K/9 but struggled with his control, walking eight and hitting a batter in those 14 innings. Wood, on the other hand, whiffed 10.1 per nine over 51 innings of 3.35 ERA ball with the Cubs, with a more reasonable 3.7 BB/9.

The Phillies lost Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge both to free agency this winter. They pounced early to replace Madson by signing Jonathan Papelbon. Wood would represent an affordable option to set-up for Papelbon. As Crasnick notes in a final tweet, the allure of playing for a contender may have more appeal than the Cubs' rebuilding philosophy under the new front office headed by Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer.

Cafardo On Red Sox, Soriano, Madson, Mahay

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Within this week's Sunday Baseball Notes, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reported that Kevin Cash has decided to end his playing career. Let's take a look at a few other notes Cafardo shared in his column….

  • Addressing the starting rotation, Red Sox GM Ben Cherington says the team may "buy low on some guys and create a competition in camp." One buy-low candidate the Sox are known to be eyeing is Paul Maholm. Cafardo expects the former Pirate to sign a one-year, incentive-laden deal somewhere.
  • The Red Sox may also have Joe Saunders on their radar. One NL scout weighed in on the southpaw: "You'd be afraid that he'd give up some homers at Fenway. But on the other hand, when you've got a guy who can pitch 200 innings from the No. 4 spot in your rotation, I'm telling you, that is effective because that's one of the bullpen spots in the rotation. I mean, that's where you normally believe you have to use a lot of your pen, and if a guy like that saves you, that's important."
  • The Cubs are willing to absorb most of the $54MM remaining on Alfonso Soriano's contract in order to facilitate a trade.
  • According to Cafardo, many teams, including the Red Sox, Cardinals, and Rays, will become more interested in Ryan Madson if and when his asking price drops. I have my doubts that Madson will become inexpensive enough for the Rays to get too involved.
  • 40-year-old lefty Ron Mahay says he feels great and intends to continue his pitching career. Mahay recorded a 3.44 ERA in 34 innings for the Twins in 2010, but couldn't crack the big league roster for the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, or Cardinals in 2011.

Olney’s Latest: Red Sox, Fielder, Cubs, Mariners

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In today's Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney wrote about how Daniel Bard's potential transition to rotation could turn the Red Sox's staff from a question mark into a strength. He says they will look to add a starter or two via free agency as the asking prices drop, and notes that the Yankees are taking a similar approach. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors…

  • The acquisition of Anthony Rizzo changes nothing for the Cubs and their pursuit of Prince Fielder. Olney calls it an "apples and oranges" situation given the price tag of the two players. The Cubs' brass has been acting with zero urgency in talks with Fielder, and they've always been leery about giving him a long-term deal.
  • The team most interested in Fielder — and most willing to pay big — might be the Mariners. Whether or not he wants to play in Seattle is another matter.
  • Baseball officials as well as some in the union are under the assumption that the playoff field will be increased to ten teams in 2012. Playoff expansion will happen in 2013, but the new collective bargaining agreement gives the league the option of putting it in play this year.

This post has been corrected to say that the Mariners "might be" the club most interested in Fielder, not that they are.

Cubs, Kerry Wood Progressing Toward One-Year Deal

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9:38pm: A potential deal between Wood and the Cubs is "far from done," a source tells ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link).  Wood is in talks with "multiple teams" about a 2012 contract.

12:29pm: The Cubs and free agent reliever Kerry Wood are making progress on a one-year, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe tweets. The Cubs and the SFX client have not completed a deal, however.

President of baseball operations Theo Epstein recently said he'd be greatly disappointed if the Cubs don't re-sign Wood. The right-hander signed a below-market $1.5MM deal last offseason but is said to want a market value deal this winter. Wood posted a 3.35 ERA with 10.1 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a 35.8% ground ball rate in 51 innings for the Cubs in 2011. He's 34, but remains a flamethrower; his average fastball checked in at 94.4 mph last year.

NL Central Notes: Cubs, Rizzo, Cardinals, Lee, Heisey

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Here's the latest from the NL Central…

  • Cubs GM Jed Hoyer wants to add more depth to his pitching staff, reports MLB.com's Carrie Muskat.  "At this point, we're still very much in the process of gathering as many quality arms as we can, and we'll put those pieces in place as we get closer to Spring Training," Hoyer said.  "We have worked hard, and we continue to work hard, and hopefully we'll have even more starting-pitching acquisitions….We want to go seven, eight, nine deep in the rotation and we hope to replenish the bullpen as well."
  • ESPN's Keith Law gives the Cubs the "slight edge" in today's Anthony Rizzo-for-Andrew Cashner trade.  Law says he would rather have Rizzo than Yonder Alonso, who the Padres acquired from the Reds last month as part of the package for Mat Latos.
  • The Cardinals announced Derek Lilliquist will become the team's new pitching coach, with Dyer Miller taking Lilliquist's old job as bullpen coach.  The moves may or may not be permanent as former pitching coach Dave Duncan is on an indefinite leave of absence to be with his wife, who underwent brain surgery last August. 
  • The Pirates have shown some interest in bringing back Derrek Lee but "the first baseman doesn’t seem to have reciprocated that interest," writes MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch.  Of the five remaining Pirate free agents, Langosch thinks only Paul Maholm has a chance of returning, but the Bucs will likely be outbid by one of Maholm's several other suitors.
  • Incumbent Reds left fielder Chris Heisey talks to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, who thinks Heisey has earned "a long trial" at the everyday job.  The Reds have recently been connected to free agent outfielders Rick Ankiel, Ryan Ludwick and Cody Ross.
  • The Reds have announced the signings of catcher Corky Miller and left-hander Jeremy Horst to minor league contracts with invites to the Major League spring training camp.  Miller, a 10-year veteran, was originally drafted by the Reds in 1998 and has spent the last three years in Cincinnati's system.  Horst, 26, made his Major League debut last season with the Reds, posting a 2.93 ERA in 12 relief appearances.  Previously-announced signings Brian Esposito, Sean Gallagher, Daryl Jones, Chad Reineke, Clayton Tanner and Kanekoa Texeira were also confirmed as non-roster invitees.

Red Sox, Mariners Interested In Maholm

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The Red Sox and Mariners are among the teams interested in Paul Maholm, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Cubs and Orioles are still in on the free agent left-hander and the Pirates remain in touch with him. The Padres have also been linked to Maholm, a Bo McKinnis client.

Maholm, 29, posted a 3.66 ERA with 5.4 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and 49.9% ground ball rate in 162 1/3 innings for the Pirates in 2011. He spent the end of the season on the disabled list recovering from a shoulder injury and the Pirates chose a $750K buyout over a $9.75MM club option in October.

The Red Sox could use rotation depth behind Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Daniel Bard. The Mariners, who locked up Hisashi Iwakuma yesterday, are open to the idea of adding another veteran arm if the price is right, according to Rosenthal.

Rosenthal On Garza, Turner, Madson, Lee

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The Cubs have traded Sean Marshall, Carlos Zambrano and Andrew Cashner in recent weeks. Could Matt Garza be next? Ken Rosenthal of FOX breaks down the market for Garza and offers more rumors from around the league:

  • Cubs execs Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer are alarmed by the lack of minor league talent in their own system, so trading Garza might appeal to them. The Yankees, one possible suitor for the right-hander, have had concerns about Garza’s ability to handle New York in the past, Rosenthal reports.
  • Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski has said he’s not looking to trade Jacob Turner, but Rosenthal hears the young right-hander is available in the right deal.
  • A contender like the Cardinals could make a surprise play for Ryan Madson, but the market for the free agent closer currently looks thin. Agent Scott Boras may wait until Spring Training to find a deal, as he has done in the past.
  • Free agent first baseman Derrek Lee expects to land a full-time job, Rosenthal reports. I examined the first base market yesterday.
  • The Mariners, who added Hisashi Iwakuma yesterday, are open to signing a veteran at the right price, Rosenthal tweets.

Cubs Acquire Anthony Rizzo

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The Cubs have acquired first baseman Anthony Rizzo and right-hander Zach Cates from the Padres for right-hander Andrew Cashner and outfielder Kyung-Min Na, the teams announced. The move provides the Cubs with a potential long-term first baseman and makes room for another first baseman in San Diego.

Anthony Rizzo - Padres

“The acquisition of Yonder Alonso provided us the flexibility to make this trade and acquire a quality, young power arm in Andrew Cashner,” Padres GM Josh Byrnes said. “We are happy to add a pitcher with the pedigree of Cashner and an outfielder with the athleticism of Na.”

The Cubs are presumably out of the running for free agent Prince Fielder with the acquisition of Rizzo. Bryan LaHair will open the season as the Cubs' everyday first baseman and Rizzo will play at Triple-A, GM Jed Hoyer said, tweets Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.

Rizzo, 22, debuted with the Padres last year, posting a .141/.281/.242 line in a 153 plate appearance cameo. He spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he posted a .331/.404/.652 line and hit 26 homers in 413 plate appearances. Baseball America ranked him 75 among MLB prospects entering the 2011 season and first among Padres prospects after the campaign ended. Even if Rizzo (pictured) sticks in the Major Leagues from this point on, he'll be under team control through 2017.

Cates, a 2010 third rounder, made his professional debut in 2011. The 22-year-old posted a 4.73 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 118 innings as a starter at Class A.

Cashner, 25, has a 4.29 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 in 65 innings over the course of two seasons with the Cubs. The 2008 first rounder spent much of the 2011 season on the 60-day disabled list with a strained right rotator cuff, but returned to make six appearances in September. He'll be under team control through 2016. The Padres will use Cashner out of the bullpen, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets.

Na, 20, has a .244/.335/.284 line in 519 plate appearances over the course of two seasons in the lower levels of the minor leagues. He has played all three outfield positions professionally and spent most of his time in center.

When the Red Sox drafted Rizzo in the sixth round of the 2007 draft, current Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein was Boston's GM, Hoyer was his assistant GM and Jason McLeod was his scouting director. Hoyer, McLeod, Byrnes and the Padres acquired Rizzo from Epstein and the Red Sox in last offseason's Adrian Gonzalez deal. It's worth noting that Byrnes worked with Hoyer and Epstein in Boston before becoming Arizona's GM in 2005. 

Photo courtesy Icon SMI.

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