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Morosi On Fielder, Randy Wells, Guthrie

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A "tense three-week period that will shape [baseball's] landscape for the following year" begins today, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  His latest:

  • Agent Scott Boras has pared down Prince Fielder's sales pitch binder but still has 70 pages worth, he tells Morosi.  Morosi says Fielder's suitors are believed to be the Cubs, Nationals, Rangers, and Mariners.
  • The Cubs are open to moving Randy Wells, indicates Morosi as he lists available starting pitchers.  Wells, 29, is under team control through 2014.  MLBTR projects him to earn $2.2MM in 2012.  
  • The Angels and Orioles discussed the possibility of a Jeremy Guthrie trade in recent days.  Guthrie, 33 in April, projects to earn $8.3MM in 2012 before hitting free agency.
  • Japanese players including righty Hisashi Iwakuma, lefties Tsuyoshi Wada and Wei-Yin Chen, and second baseman Kensuke Tanaka can begotiate with MLB teams after free agency in Japan begins Thursday.  The Yakult Swallows intend to post outfielder Norichika Aoki after the Winter Meetings, adds Morosi.

Central Notes: Pena, Twins, Quade, Rodriguez

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Some items out of the AL and NL Central to round out the evening..

  • Cubs first baseman Carlos Pena is unlikely to accept the club's arbitration offer, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated.   Heyman writes that the Type B free agent should be able to land a multi-year deal after hitting .225/.357/.462 with 28 homers in 2011.
  • Twins insiders believe that the new collective bargaining agreement will make it easier for them to sign the No. 2 pick in next June’s draft, writes Joe Christensen of the Star Tribune.  The slot bonus for that pick has been set at $6.2MM.
  • More from Christensen as he writes that before hiring Gene Glynn as their Triple-A skipper, the Twins spoke to recently dismissed Cubs manager Mike Quade, who was a top minor-league manager before landing the Cubs' job.  Quade wasn’t interested, as he’ll still be drawing a paycheck from the Cubs for 2012.
  • Wandy Rodriguez represents an appealing option for several teams looking to improve their starting pitching, writes Stephen Goff of Examiner.  Earlier today, Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe wrote that the Astros are getting more and more inquiries about the availability of the 32-year-old and the Red Sox are among the interested clubs.
  • MLB.com's Mark Sheldon (video link) doesn't see the Reds moving Yonder Alonso for anything less than a top-end starter.  Sheldon goes on to say that he thinks the Reds should hang on to the 24-year-old slugger.

Minor Moves: Marrugo, Rohlinger, Sutil, Maldonado

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We'll keep track of today's minor moves right here.  News of these moves are courtesy of Matt Eddy of Baseball America unless indicated otherwise..

  • The Orioles signed 17-year-old Colombian right-hander Yeizer Marrugo to a deal with a $120K bonus, according to Ernesto Armenteros D. of El Universal (Spanish link) and passed along by Eddy.  In the El Universal story, O's scout Jorge Franco says that Marrugo's fastball topped out at 91 mph when they recently scouted him and the youngster has the talent to make it to the majors in five years.
  • The Phillies acquired right-hander Adam Worthington from the Diamondbacks as player to be named for left-hander Mike Zagurski.  The Phillies sent Zagurski to Arizona in a September trade.
  • Cubs outfielder Lou Montanez elected free agency after recently being outrighted off of the club's 40-man roster.
  • The Reds re-signed right-hander Chad Reineke after the pitcher elected free agency in October.  Reineke had a 3.84 ERA in 25 games (22 starts) with Triple-A Louisville in 2011.
  • The Rockies released shortstop Ryan Rohlinger.  Rohlinger hit .247/.353/.409 in 103 Triple-A games for Colorado and the Giants.
  • The Royals signed a pair of left-handers in Marlon Arias and Tommy Hottovy.  Arias spent seven years in the Dodgers system, but hasn't pitched domestically since becoming a free agent following the 2009 season.
  • The Marlins signed right-hander Robert Ray, who appeared in a handful of Major League games for the Blue Jays in 2009 and 2010.  They also re-signed catcher Luke Montz.
  • The Dodgers signed shorstop Luis Cruz.
  • The Diamondbacks signed shortstop Wladimir Sutil to a minor league deal, according to El Universal (Spanish link).  Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic confirmed the signing to MLBTR.
  • The Nationals have re-signed catcher Carlos Maldonado, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com (via Twitter).  The move was first reported by El Universal (Spanish link).  Maldonado, 32, hit .234/.361/.342 in 38 games with Triple-A Syracuse this season and spent four games on the Nats' varsity squad in 2011.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/2011/11/minor-league-transactions-nov-15-21/

Olney On Rollins, Fielder, Red Sox

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Between his ESPN.com blog and his Twitter feed, Buster Olney has a few hot stove notes to share this morning. Let's check them out….

  • Jimmy Rollins, who turns 33 today, is seeking a five-year deal this winter, and the Phillies may have to commit that many years if they want to bring their longtime shortstop back. "I'm not sure if Rollins will get five years," said an NL evaluator. "But he's a safer bet for me than any starting pitcher on the free agent market — and some of those (or at least C.J. Wilson) will get five years…. He will get paid. The only question is whether it will be four years or five years."
  • An AL evaluator believes that, "while he's not the force at the plate that he used to be," Rollins is one of the more underrated defensive shortstops in the game.
  • Olney tweets that neither Prince Fielder nor Albert Pujols is an ideal long-term target for the Cubs, noting that Fielder makes the most sense for an AL club that could move him to DH for the back half of a long-term contract.
  • The Red Sox have narrowed their managerial search to two finalists, Bobby Valentine and Gene Lamont. Olney says some of GM Ben Cherington's peers (with other teams) are wondering if Cherington prefers Lamont while his bosses prefer Valentine, and, if so, whether it's worth it for the GM to fight ownership for his choice.

Phillies Interested In Jorge Soler

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Add the Phillies to the list of clubs interested in 19-year-old Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler.  Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Phils scouting director Marti Wolever "was extremely impressed" by Soler during a recent workout in the Dominican Republic.  Yoenis Cespedes also took part in that workout and while Philadelphia is known to be looking at the high-profile Cespedes as well, Soler would come at a much cheaper price than what Cespedes will command.

Soler, of course, is cheaper because he's still just 19 and at least a few years away from being a Major League player.  In addition to the Phillies, the Yankees, Nationals, Cubs, Marlins and Rangers have also shown interest in Soler. 

As Brookover notes, "the Phillies have almost never been a team that gets in bidding wars for international players," though this winter's activity will be limited by the $2.9MM cap on international bonuses under the new collective bargaining agreement.  Given the impressive scouting reports on Soler (including how he "might have more offensive upside" than Cespedes, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan), one would think a team would've spent more than $2.9MM on Soler alone were it not for the new cap.

National League Free Agent Arbitration Offers

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10 National League teams have free agent arbitration offer decisions to make today, and we'll update them in this post in advance of the 11pm central time deadline.  For a fantastic customizable chart with all 57 Type A/B free agents and their teams' decisions in real-time, click here.  

Updated team decisions:

Teams with automatic decisions only:

Quick Hits: Red Sox, Sizemore, Padres, Chen

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Links for Wednesday night as we await arbitration decisions from the National and American Leagues…

  • Rob Bradford of WEEI.com surveyed this offseason's stronger-than-usual relief market with the help of many Major League GMs. The Red Sox aren’t desperate for a closer, because Daniel Bard and Bobby Jenks are already in their ‘pen, but GM Ben Cherington figures to explore the market for closers after losing Jonathan Papelbon to the Phillies.
  • The Phillies, Rockies and Cubs had more interest in Grady Sizemore than any teams except the Indians, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Twitter links). Hoynes has the details on Sizemore’s incentives: the outfielder obtains $1MM if he reaches 500 plate appearances and $500K for every 25 plate appearances until he reaches 650. 
  • The Padres aren’t likely to sign any free agent pitchers to Major League deals this offseason, according to MLB.com’s Corey Brock (on Twitter). Padres GM Josh Byrnes sent starter Wade LeBlanc to Miami yesterday.
  • The Rockies had mild interest in Bruce Chen before he re-signed in Kansas City, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter). 
  • The Twins and Cubs were Chen’s primary suitors other than the Royals, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).

Quick Hits: Street, Garza, Red Sox, Sizemore

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Some links to check out as we await tonight's 11pm central time arbitration deadline…

  • Though teams are interested, there's nothing imminent regarding a trade of Huston Street, tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post.  A source also tells Renck that the Rockies have not spoken with the Cubs about Matt Garza.
  • The Red Sox won’t reach a decision on their new manager before tomorrow, a team source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
  • Indians GM Chris Antonetti doesn't expect Grady Sizemore to play 150-160 games next year, but does think that the center fielder will play the "vast majority of games" in 2012, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer.

Yoenis Cespedes’ Asking Price

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MONDAY, 10:28am: The $35-50MM estimate for Cespedes may be light, a GM tells Gammons.  Cespedes' people told one club they already have an offer with $10MM up front and eight years.

FRIDAY, 3:46pm: Cespedes may be looking to obtain more than $60MM on an eight-year deal, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. The outfielder shoud be declared a free agent soon after he establishes temporary residency in the Dominican Republic in late November, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

12:59pm: The question emerges whenever a star hits the free agent market: ‘how much will he cost?’ Yoenis Cespedes, the 26-year-old Cuban center fielder who is expected to hit free agency this offseason, has already drawn interest from many MLB teams and it sounds as though he expects to be paid like an established star, not a prospect. 

Cespedes' agents are positioning him as an impact MLB player, instead of comparing him to other Cubans who have made the leap to the Major Leagues, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Scouts in the Dominican tell Peter Gammons of MLB Network that Cespedes will cost between $35-50MM (Twitter link).

The Cubs will watch Cespedes and others in the Dominican Republic next week, according to MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat (on Twitter). The Red Sox, Phillies, Indians, Blue Jays, Pirates, Rangers, Tigers, Nationals, Athletics, Marlins, and Yankees also appear to have some interest in Cespedes.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Aramis Ramirez

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Aramis Ramirez's free agency seemingly came at a great time.  2011 was his healthiest season since '08, and he bounced back offensively to win the National League's Silver Slugger award at third base.  Also to his benefit: he's the only free agent third baseman likely to be viewed as a starter at the position.

The occasional trip to the disabled list had never affected Ramirez on the field until perhaps 2010.  That year he dealt with a sore triceps, bruised thumb, and a quad injury.  A .303 hitter over the previous six seasons, Ramirez slipped to .241 last year.  That might have been injury-related, a fluke, or a little of both, but Ramirez preferred a $14.6MM salary for 2011 over free agency.  He probably could have gotten a multiyear deal at a reduced salary.

New Cubs management would have been content with Ramirez on a one-year, $16MM deal, as they exercised their side of a mutual option in late October.  Or, perhaps Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer were certain Ramirez would decline his end, and exercised theirs to avoid paying the $2MM buyout.  At any rate, the longtime Cub will be with a new team in 2012.  

Ramirez is a middle-of-the-order bat in a market bereft of third basemen, yet at least three teams with openings have little interest.  The Marlins and Rockies are unlikely to participate in the bidding, with the Rockies reportedly balking at the number of years Ramirez seeks.  The Marlins would seemingly prefer to commit six years to Jose Reyes and move Hanley Ramirez to third base for three years than pursue Ramirez.  Angels GM Jerry Dipoto said outright he's not interested in Ramirez.

Ramirez is 33 years old, and his agent Paul Kinzer seeks four guaranteed years or three with an option.  Perhaps that early demand has scared off the Marlins, Rockies, and Angels, but Kinzer says he has at least two teams with strong interest.

Ramirez doesn't seem a great fit for the Orioles, who have options at the infield corners and aren't close to contending.  Several other teams with clearer third base openings are not close to contending either.  The Red Sox or Yankees probably aren't ready to use Kevin Youkilis and Alex Rodriguez full-time at DH, so they're unlikely.  The Phillies still have Placido Polanco under contract for one more year and just added Ty Wigginton.  The Diamondbacks only make sense if they consider Ramirez an upgrade over the much cheaper Ryan Roberts.  The Tigers, Twins, and Brewers could work for Ramirez, if they have the money.  I can picture three years and as much as $42MM for Ramirez, but at this point it's unclear which team would be eager to make that commitment.  

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