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Central Notes: Qualls, Luhnow, Indians

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A few items to pass along from the Central divisions as Tuesday becomes Wednesday …

  • The Cubs were interested in Chad Qualls before the right-hander eventually signed with the Phillies, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. As it stands now, the back end of the Cubs' bullpen features setup men Jeff Samardzija and Kerry Wood, and closer Carlos Marmol.
  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow has begun the process of overhauling Houston's identity during a time of transition, writes Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com. Luhnow has already made several key hires toward the goal of shifting the organization's focus to a combination of better scouting and more advanced statistical analysis. A reputed ideas man, Luhnow pitched Astros ownership a 25-page plan for repairing the organization before getting the job, according to Castrovince.
  • With arbitration hearings scheduled with two players – Asdrubal Cabrera and Rafael Perez – the Indians' 20-year streak of avoiding arbitration could come to end, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. However, Indians assistant GM Mike Chernoff told Hoynes that "both parties are clearly trying to get things done." Check out MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker to see where the Tribe stands with their arbitration eligibles. 

AL East Notes: Jones, Red Sox, Yankees

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On this date last year, the Rays signed Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez to one-year deals. Damon put together a successful season in Tampa Bay, but MLB suspended Ramirez for violating its drug policy and he appeared in just five games for the Rays. Here are today's AL East links…

  • Though the Orioles have some interest in extending Adam Jones, they haven’t begun extension talks with the center fielder, the Baltimore Sun reports. Jones is one of Baltimore’s three unsigned arbitration eligible players, along with fellow CAA client Jeremy Guthrie and right-hander Brad Bergesen. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes previewed a possible Jones extension last summer.
  • Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said it seems like compensation for his departure to Chicago should be determined sometime soon, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports. The commissioner’s office will determine what the Red Sox obtain from the Cubs as compensation.
  • Larry Koestler of River Ave. Blues says the Yankees should target Zack Greinke at least as much as they target Cole Hamels next offseason. Both pitchers are set to hit free agency within the year, assuming they don't sign extensions first.

The Latest On Yoenis Cespedes

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Here's the latest on Yoenis Cespedes, who was officially declared a free agent last week…

  • "We are aware of the [Spring Training] dates," said agent Adam Katz to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). "We expect him to be in camp with one of the clubs." Katz also called the market for Cespedes "meaningful and aggressive."
  • The Marlins, Cubs, White Sox, Orioles, and Tigers are five of the six clubs that have been in serious talks with Cespedes, reports ESPN's Jim Bowden (Twitter links). He is expected to travel to the United States in the next 7-10 days for face-to-face meetings.
  • Baseball America's Jim Callis said he would rank Cespedes in the 7-15 range of their top 100 prospects list, and that he would take over as the top prospect of pretty much any team that signs him.

Minor Moves: Delcarmen, Tolbert, Gonzalez

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The latest minor moves from around MLB…

  • The Yankees signed Manny Delcarmen to a minor league contract, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. The right-hander, who last pitched in the Major Leagues in 2010, owns a 3.97 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 292 2/3 innings over the course of six MLB seasons. Delcarmen spent the 2011 season with the Triple-A clubs for the Rangers and Mariners.
  • The Cubs announced that they signed infielders Edgar Gonzalez and Matt Tolbert to minor league deals that include invitations to MLB Spring Training. Tolbert appeared at short, second and third for the 2011 Twins, posting a .518 OPS in 226 plate appearances. The Twins outrighted him off of their roster in October. Gonzalez, 33, picked up MLB experience with the Padres in 2008-09, but spent last year with San Francisco's top affiliate. He posted a .315/.378/.457 line in 564 Triple-A plate appearances last year.
  • The Cubs also confirmed their deals with Rodrigo Lopez, Manny Corpas, Trever Miller, Jason Jaramillo, Alfredo Amezaga, Bobby Scales and Joe Mather.

Cubs Sign Trever Miller

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The Cubs signed lefty reliever Trever Miller to a minor league deal, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark.  The deal includes a spring training invite, and the Praver/Shapiro client will make $800K if he's in the big leagues.

Miller, 38, posted a 3.80 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 5.1 BB/9, 0.84 HR/9, and 38% groundball rate in 21 1/3 innings for the Cardinals, Blue Jays, and Red Sox in 2011.  Miller began 2011 with the Cards and was traded to Toronto as part of the July Colby Rasmus–Edwin Jackson–Marc Rzepczynski–Octavio Dotel eight-player deal.  His inclusion was mostly a salary dump, as the Jays designated him for assignment less than a month later.  After Miller was released, then-Red Sox GM Theo Epstein signed him to a minor league deal.  Epstein is now the Cubs' president of baseball operations. 

The Cubs' trade of Sean Marshall to the Reds created an opportunity in their bullpen for lefty relievers, especially if Travis Wood makes the Opening Day rotation.  The Cubs also have lefties Jeff Beliveau, John Gaub, Scott Maine, and James Russell on their 40-man roster.  Aside from Miller, the Cubs' non-roster invitees include Justin Berg, Manny Corpas, Rodrigo Lopez, Jason Jaramillo, and Bobby Scales.

After the Miller signing, the free agent market for left-handed relievers still includes Mike Gonzalez, Arthur Rhodes, and Hong-Chih Kuo, among others.     

Cafardo On Dodgers, Ethier, Red Sox, Cubs, Orioles

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As demonstrated by the Red Sox last year, "winning" December and January doesn’t necessarily translate into winning when it counts, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  With that said, Cafardo takes a look at where all 30 teams rank after making their moves thus far.  Unsurprisingly, the Angels top Cafardo's list, followed by the Yankees and Rangers.  The Tigers, after signing Prince Fielder, occupy the fifth spot in the rankings.  Cafardo writes that a Fielder-Miguel Cabrera middle of the order could be monstrous, but the club could use more bullpen help.  Here's more from today's column..

  • The Dodgers will soon decide whether to lock up Andre Ethier with a long-term deal as they did with Matt Kemp.  Earlier this month, it was reported that the club had yet to discuss extensions with Ethier and Clayton Kershaw.  The right fielder, who will be a free agent at the end of the season, avoided arbitration with the team by agreeing to a one-year, $10.7MM deal.
  • Three West Coast teams are kicking the tires on reliever Hong-Chih Kuo and the veteran seems like a good gamble.  The Dodgers, who non-tendered him earlier this month, are one of those three clubs.  Kuo once had great stuff but has undergone five elbow surgeries, including two Tommy Johns, and has also experienced anxiety issues.  
  • An AL GM who is not associated with the Red Sox or Cubs believes that Commissioner Bud Selig will give Boston a significant player in the compensation agreement:  "I don’t think MLB wants executives leaving their teams before their contracts are up and therefore he will try to deter teams from doing that again."
  • Cafardo credited Orioles VP of Baseball Operations Dan Duquette with doing a solid job of building the club thus far.  The next step for the club might be to add a DH such as Johnny Damon while hoping for the best when it comes to pitching.  By this time next year, Duquette will add a significant piece to the rotation.
  • Teams are now looking for "tack-on" guys, the ones who “can really make you look good," according to one AL assistant GM.  Raul Ibanez and Hideki Matsui could both be reasonably-priced  quality additions and the Yankees could be a fit for either one.  Serviceable relievers Mike Gonzalez, Chad Qualls, and Juan Cruz also remain on the open market.

AL East Notes: Orioles, Jackson, Uehara, Red Sox

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Here's a look at some items out of the American League East..

  • Earlier this week, Rangers reliever Koji Uehara rejected a trade that would have sent him to the Blue Jays.  It appears that the 36-year-old would instead prefer a return to Baltimore and Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun writes that the O's have had sporadic conversations with Texas.  
  • Connolly also writes that he is unsure if the Orioles were one of the teams to make a three-year offer to Edwin Jackson, but says that it would make sense if they were.  The club may be hesitant to go to four years for the hurler but hasn't completely dismissed the idea.
  • Commissioner Bud Selig says that there's no timeframe for working out a compensation agreement between the Red Sox and Cubs over Theo Epstein's move, writes Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune.  Selig seemed unhappy with the idea of having to intervene in the talks between the two clubs.

AL East Notes: Kuroda, Blue Jays, Camp, Selig

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Some news from the AL East…

  • Hiroki Kuroda's one-year, $10MM deal with the Yankees includes a full no-trade clause, reports FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link).
  • Kuroda said he received offers from five or six Major League clubs and he eventually narrowed his choices down to the Yankees and the Hiroshima Carp, his former Japanese team, reports Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times.  Kuroda's desire to play for a contender led to his Yankee contract, as he turned down some more expensive offers to sign with New York.
  • MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm doesn't think Manny Ramirez is a fit with the Blue Jays, as the Jays weren't interested in Ramirez last year since they want flexibility with the DH spot.  Toronto did send scouts to see Ramirez hit in an indoor cage earlier this month.  
  • Also as part of Chisholm's fan mailbag, he thinks the Jays' bullpen additions spell the end of Shawn Camp's days with the club, though Camp should find Major League work elsewhere.
  • Commissioner Bud Selig told reporters at the Chicago SoxFest event (including CSNChicago.com's Jim Owczarski) that he would like to get the issue of the Theo Epstein compensation package between the Red Sox and Cubs solved "as expeditiously as possible."  Since the two teams weren't able to settle on compensation, it's now up to Selig.  "It’s in my lap and I have information from both clubs and we’ll take it from there," the commissioner said. 
  • The Red Sox would use any extra payroll space on a player later in the season, rather than spend it now in "a bidding war" for Roy Oswalt or Edwin Jackson, a source tells WEEI.com's Rob Bradford.
  • In case you missed it earlier today, the Rays signed Jeff Keppinger and designated Russ Canzler for assignment to create 40-man roster space.

Minor Moves: Sweeney, Tuiasosopo, Redding, Cabrera

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The latest minor league deals…

  • The Mariners signed former MLB reliever Brian Sweeney to a minor league contract, MLB.com's Greg Johns reports. Sweeney spent the 2011 season with the Mets' top affiliate and last appeared in the Majors with the 2010 Mariners.
  • The Twins signed left-hander Luke French, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports (Twitter links). French owns a 4.99 ERA with 4.6 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 155 Major League innings.
  • The Mets signed infielder Matt Tuiasosopo, who picked up MLB experience with the Mariners from 2008-10, Eddy reports.
  • The Blue Jays signed right-hander Tim Redding and left-hander Bill Murphy, according to Eddy. Redding has substantial MLB experience as a starter for the Astros, Nationals and Mets.
  • Eddy reports that four catchers signed minor league deals: Mitch Canham joined the Rockies, Orlando Mercado agreed to terms with the Marlins, Kyle Phillips caught on with the Blue Jays and Max St. Pierre signed with the Red Sox. Phillips appeared in 36 games for the 2011 Padres and St. Pierre made his debut with the 2010 Tigers after 14 minor league seasons.
  • Former MLB starter Daniel Cabrera signed a minor league deal with the Pirates, Mario Rojas of CandelaDeportiva reports. Cabrera, 30, was a fixture in Baltimore's rotation from 2004-08, but hasn't pitched in MLB since 2009.
  • The Cubs re-signed infielder Bobby Scales, who started the 2011 season in Chicago before going to Japan, Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus tweets.
  • The Phillies re-signed former Tigers outfielder Brent Clevlen, Goldstein tweets.
  • The Orioles signed 18-year-old outfielder Andres Aguilar, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. The speedy Guatemala native has a strong throwing arm.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Manny Corpas

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Here's today's list of outrighted players:

  • The Cubs outrighted Manny Corpas off of their 40-man roster, Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald tweets. The right-hander will attend Spring Training as a non-roster player. Corpas, 29, last pitched in the Major Leagues in 2010, when he posted a 4.62 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 62 1/3 innings for the Rockies. He underwent Tommy John surgery in September 2010 and spent the entire 2011 season recovering.
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