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Phillies Notes: Soler, Valdez, Wigginton

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Here's the latest from the City Of Brotherly Love…

  • "Industry insiders" consider the Phillies to be a longshot for Jorge Soler, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.  Though the Phils are known to be one of Soler's top suitors, the team has never been big spenders on the international market and may balk at Soler's price tag.  Salisbury hears from one baseball executive who predicts Soler will end up with the Cubs, who are reportedly ready to offer the 19-year-old Cuban outfielder as much as $27.5MM.
  • The Phillies traded Wilson Valdez to the Reds since GM Ruben Amaro felt his team already had several other utility options in place, reports MLB.com's Todd Zolecki as part of a reader mailbag.  Zolecki says he was personally a little surprised by the Valdez deal.
  • One of those other utility options, Ty Wigginton, is excited to play for a contender, reports Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  In that piece, Amaro mentioned that Wigginton had been highly regarded by several Phillies scouts over the last few years.
  • David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News looks at five key questions surrounding the Phillies as they open Spring Training.

AL East Links: Kazmir, Orioles, Epstein, Wakefield

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The Red Sox announced minor league deals with Ross Ohlendorf and Mauro Gomez earlier today. Here are the rest of the links from their division…

  • The Red Sox will not be one of the teams in attendance for Scott Kazmir's workout tomorrow, reports Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe (on Twitter). The southpaw's audition was supposed to be today, but it was pushed back.
  • Korean pitching prospect Seong-Min Kim originally agreed to a $575K deal with the Orioles, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports.
  • Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun hears that while MLB hasn't approved the contract between the Orioles and the 17-year-old left-hander, MLB didn't technically void it. In any case it seems the deal for Kim will not go through as originally announced.
  • A Red Sox official expects compensation for Theo Epstein to be finalized "very soon," Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe tweets. The Red Sox and Cubs recently sent briefs to the commissioner's office explaining their perspective on the issue of how to compensate Boston for Epstein's departure to Chicago.
  • Agent Barry Meister didn't comment on whether Tim Wakefield will accept a minor league deal from the Red Sox, Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com tweets. It doesn't appear that Wakefield will accept the offer, Edes writes.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Quick Hits: Ordonez, Fukudome, Rizzo

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The latest links from around MLB…

Latest On Jorge Soler

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7:57pm: The Yankees and Phillies are in hardest on Soler now, Yahoo's Jeff Passan tweets.

5:21pm: Marlins president David Samson said on 790 the Ticket that the club doesn't have interest in Soler, MLB.com's Joe Frisaro tweets.

2:51pm: The Marlins are interested, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal hears Soler's power is comparable to that of Miami outfielder Mike Stanton — high praise to say the least.

12:59pm: The Blue Jays watched Soler and others Wednesday at the team's complex in the Dominican Republic, writes MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez.  The Orioles will be in the D.R. to watch him Sunday.  Sanchez lists the Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, Phillies, and Cubs as other interested parties.

WEDNESDAY, 8:26am: The Phillies are also interested in Soler, reports Olney.

TUESDAY, 2:18pm: The Yankees have serious interest in Soler, ESPN.com's Buster Olney tweets.

12:33pm: Many teams remain involved in the bidding for 19-year-old Cuban prospect Jorge Soler, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). The Cubs have been extensively linked to the outfielder, but they’re not the only club involved. 

The Yankees are in on the bidding, tweets David Kaplan of CSN Chicago, and Heyman suggests the Marlins could be involved. Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald hears that “a good number” of teams have interest (Twitter link). Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus explained yesterday that Soler would rank 38th or 39th on his list of top prospects.

Minor Moves: Fisher, Crowe, Rockies

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Keeping track of the latest minor moves from around MLB…

  • The Reds assigned Carlos Fisher to Triple-A after he cleared waivers, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports. The right-hander, who was designated for assignment last week, receives an invitation to Major League Spring Training.
  • Outfielder Trevor Crowe will be in Indians camp as a non-roster player, MLB.com's Jordan Bastian tweets. Cleveland outrighted Crowe off of the 40-man roster back in November.
  • The Cubs released right-hander Robinson Lopez, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (on Twitter). Chicago acquired Lopez from Atlanta in the 2010 Derrek Lee trade.
  • The Rockies signed right-hander Zack Segovia to a minor league deal, Goldstein tweets. Segovia, 28, appeared in the Majors with the 2007 Phillies and the 2009 Nationals.
  • The Rockies signed Jared Wells, a right-hander who pitched briefly with the 2008 Mariners and Padres, according to Goldstein (Twitter link).
  • The Marlins signed 32-year-old infielder Chase Lambin, Goldstein tweets. Though Lambin has 500-plus games of Triple-A experience, he has yet to play in the Major Leagues.

Cubs Interested In Ramon Ortiz

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The Cubs are interested in signing 38-year-old right-hander Ramon Ortiz to a minor league deal, Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com reports. Praver/Shapiro represents Ortiz, who split the 2011 season between the Cubs and their Triple-A affiliate.

Ortiz appeared in 22 games for the Cubs last year, posting a 4.86 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 33 1/3 innings. The 11-year MLB veteran also made 16 starts at Triple-A, completing 99 1/3 innings with the Iowa Cubs. No other teams have been publicly linked to Ortiz this offseason.

AL East Links: Vlad, Theo, Red Sox

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One AL East player has avoided arbitration in designated hitter David Ortiz, and another is close in reliever Casey Janssen.  The latest from the division:

Quick Hits: Payrolls, Orioles, De La Rosa, Red Sox

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On this day in 1988, the Padres traded Rich Gossage and Ray Hayward to the Cubs for Mike Brumley and Keith Moreland.  Here's a look at today's links..

  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes that the Yankees and Red Sox are no longer alone as financial superpowers. Sherman also looks at five offseason market trends that will impact the 2012 season and beyond.
  • In analyzing the Orioles' collection of non-roster invitees and the 40-man roster decisions they'll face this Spring, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes that Baltimore would eat a portion of Kevin Gregg's $5.8MM salary to trade him. Kubatko also speculates that an out of options player like Pedro Strop could be moved during Spring Training.
  • Free agent Scott Kazmir is set to throw for scouts in Houston on Wednesday, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.
  • Jorge De La Rosa will undoubtedly exercise his $11MM player option for 2013 as he rehabs from elbow surgery, writes Troy Renck of The Denver Post.  If he does that, the Rockies receive a $11MM club option for 2014.
  • Red Sox officials seem to think they’ll know what they’ll be getting from the Cubs “before the official start of spring training,’’ but it's not clear if that refers to when pitchers and catchers report or when the full squad arrives, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. 
  • If Magglio Ordoñez doesn't find a big-league job this season, he will have his own professional baseball club waiting for him in his native Venezuela, writes Robert Downs of the Detroit Free Press.  The slugger is set purchase shares in the Caribes de Anzoátegui when he retires.
  • The Indians and Casey Kotchman never talked about anything but a one-year deal, writes Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer.  The first baseman signed with the Tribe for $3MM earlier this month.

Marlins In Lead For Cespedes, Cubs Focused On Soler

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The Marlins are exchanging contract figures with 26-year-old Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, and two National League sources tell MLB.com's Joe Frisaro that the Cubs are no longer seriously in the mix. Chicago has apparently shifted its focus to 19-year-old Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler, though he is not yet eligible for free agency.

Upon his recent visit to Miami, the Marlins made Cespedes an offer that was initially reported to exceed $40MM. That number has since been denied, and Frisaro confirms that the offer was under $40MM, saying the Fish are comfortable with a number in the $30-35MM range.

The Cubs, meanwhile, are willing to spend as much as $27.5MM to land Soler, though Frisaro's sources are unclear on the number of years they'd offer. New Cubs president Theo Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer have already made one significant international splash this offseason, signing 18-year-old Cuban Gerardo Concepcion to a $7MM contract with another million dollars of incentives.

NL Central Links: Molina, Cards, Dempster, Reds

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Congratulations to Brewers GM Doug Melvin for his induction into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.  Joining Melvin in the 2012 CBHOF class are former Major Leaguers Rheal Cormier and Rusty Staub, plus Canada's gold-medal winning baseball team from the 2011 Pan Am Games.  The official induction ceremony takes place on June 23 in St. Marys, Ontario.

Some news from around the NL Central….

  • Yadier Molina's contract negotiations shouldn't impact either his or the Cardinals' performance in 2012, manager Mike Matheny tells Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  Matheny said that Albert Pujols' departure won't influence Molina's own contract situation, though Molina is understandably disappointed that his good friend left St. Louis to sign with the Angels.
  • Also from Strauss, he runs through 11 outstanding questions facing the Cardinals heading into the season.
  • Ryan Dempster expressed an interest in remaining with the Cubs for the rest of career during an interview on MLB Network Radio's First Pitch on Thursday (interview highlights courtesy of CSN Chicago's Patrick Mooney).  Dempster exercised a $14MM player option to stay with the Cubs in 2012 but it's uncertain if the rebuilding Cubs would try to bring him back in free agency.
  • The Reds' current TV contract is believed to run through 2016 and pays the team around $10MM per year, reports John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.  Fay thinks the Reds will need a major upgrade in their next cable contract to compete with teams like the Angels and Padres, who have completed, or are close to competing, much more lucractive TV deals.
  • MLB.com's Tom Singer thinks Edwin Jackson (and agent Scott Boras) made a mistake in turning down one-year and three-year offers from the Pirates to sign a one-year, $11MM deal with the Nationals.  Singer feels Jackson would've re-established his value better pitching in the NL Central on the one-year contract, and the three-year deal would've given Jackson some security against either a drop in form or getting "swallowed up by a market that might include the likes of Matt Cain, Zack Greinke and Cole Hamels."
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