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NL Central Notes: Lee, Betancourt, Melvin, Darvish

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Tuesday afternoon's NL Central items:

  • Carlos Lee's limited no-trade clause supersedes his ten-and-five rights, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart (on Twitter). The Astros have reportedly been telling teams they'll eat half of Lee's salary in a trade.
  • The Brewers have talked to Yuniesky Betancourt's agent about bringing the shortstop back, but haven't made an offer, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  • In a piece for Baseball America, Haudricourt explains why Brewers GM Doug Melvin was baseball's top executive in 2011.
  • Manager Dale Sveum says the Cubs haven't talked about bidding on Yu Darvish, tweets Yahoo's Steve Henson.

Marlins Offer Ten-Year Deal To Albert Pujols

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The latest on free agent first baseman Albert Pujols, with the newest updates on top…

  • The Marlins' new offer to Pujols is for ten years, tweets MLB Network's Jon Heyman.
  • Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio tweets that the newest Marlins offer is the one Lozano needed to bring to the Cardinals in order to push St. Louis to up their own bid.
  • The Marlins met with Pujols twice on Monday night, writes Scott Miller of CBS Sports, and boosted their nine-year offer to Pujols in the process. No decision was imminent as midnight approached, according to Miller.
  • MLB.com's Joe Frisaro tweets that the Marlins are set to meet with Lozano on Tuesday as well.
  • ESPN.com's Jayson Stark talked to a source who described Pujols' meeting with the Marlins today as "very positive, very upbeat." The club hopes to meet with Pujols again tonight to determine one way or the other if the slugger is seriously considering the Fish.
  • The Cardinals view the Marlins as "a real threat" for Pujols, tweets Newsday's Ken Davidoff. Davidoff says the Cards will meet with Lozano tonight, while Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Marlins may meet with Pujols' reps again tonight as well.
  • The meeting between Pujols' agent Dan Lozano and the Marlins lasted 30 minutes, tweets Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald.  MLB.com's Joe Frisaro says the Marlins have strong interest in Pujols.
  • The Cubs met with Lozano today, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
  • The Cardinals have yet to modify their January proposal to Pujols, writes Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  That was a nine-year offer worth about $22MM per year, so only eight years remain if the offer is still valid.  Strauss believes the offer included significant deferred money, as does the Marlins' current nine-year proposal.  The Cubs' interest in Pujols is viewed skeptically, while the Blue Jays are "believed a potential player."  The Marlins and Cardinals are expected to meet with Lozano today, writes Strauss.

C.J. Wilson Rumors: Monday

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The latest on free agent lefty C.J. Wilson…

  • The Angels talked with Wilson's agent late into Monday night, tweets Scott Miller of CBS Sports.  The Angels and Marlins remain in the thick of the Wilson sweepstakes, according to Jon Paul Morosi. Wilson's agent met with the Angels on Monday and will speak with the Marlins on Tuesday. The Marlins "are as aggressive as anyone" (Twitter links here).
  • The Rangers are set to make their first offer of the offseason to Wilson on Tuesday, writes ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.
  • The Angels are making a "serious push" for Wilson, tweets Morosi.
  • According to Morosi (via Twitter), the Red Sox are still involved in the Wilson sweepstakes. Morosi's fellow FOX scribe Ken Rosenthal adds in a separate tweet that the Cubs have spoken with Garber in an attempt to gauge the market for the southpaw.
  • Wilson has a six-year offer in hand from a team other than the Rangers, reports Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  The Rangers, Angels, Marlins, Nationals, and a mystery team are currently in the mix, and it's known that the Nationals did not offer six years.  Wilson hopes to sign this week, but won't sign with a team just because it offered six years. Agent Bob Garber will meet with the Rangers tonight or Tuesday morning.  Yesterday, it was reported that Wilson had offers from four teams.
  • Wilson and Roy Oswalt are represented by Garber, who said, "I have the two best clients out there. C.J. is comfortable with the process and confident with how things have been going. Roy basically said, 'Take care of C.J. I'll wait in the wings. Once C.J. and [Mark] Buehrle have signed, my market will open up."     

Cubs Rumors: Zambrano, Pena, Lopez

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Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune has several Cubs issues packed into his latest article. Here are the highlights:

  • After meeting with new president Theo Epstein, Carlos Zambrano has told friends he thinks he will remain a Cub in 2012. Sullivan writes that Zambrano will still have to convince both new and pre-existing front office members that he's serious about making amends with his teammates.
  • Epstein praised Carlos Pena and said that the club's arbitration offer by no means shuts the door on Pena's time with the team. Epstein expects Pena to decline arbitration but will continue discussions to bring him back. "He'd be an asset to the Cubs or any team," said Epstein of Pena.
  • The Cubs have interest in bringing back Rodrigo Lopez as rotation depth.
  • Starlin Castro won't be moved from shortstop in the near future for defensive reasons. Epstein feels defense is one area players can "absolutely, 100 percent get better with hard work."
  • New manager Dale Sveum may bring in Dave McKay, a longtime coaching associate of Tony La Russa, as a coach.
  • The Cubs made former big league pitcher John Koronka a regional scout in charge of Florida. Koronka , 31, last pitched for the Marlins in 2009.

Seth Smith Among Rockies Drawing Trade Interest

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Seth Smith has drawn trade interest from multiple teams recently, according to Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd. As Thomas Harding of MLB.com writes, Colorado's search for pitching might result in the club dealing the outfielder.

"Seth is very, very well-liked within the game," O'Dowd said. "I'm not sure we're going to do anything, but we've had a lot of calls on Seth."

The Braves and Mariners had previously been linked to Smith, and Harding adds the Twins to the list of clubs who have expressed interest in the 29-year-old. Since the Rockies have "long had interest" in Kevin Slowey, who the Twins may be shopping, Harding suggests the two teams are a potential match.

The Rockies are also fielding offers for Ian Stewart, with the Cubs and Angels the most active suitors, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Huston Street is a trade candidate as well, and Morosi tweets that the Orioles are still talking to the Rockies about acquiring him, while Troy Renck of the Denver Post hears that talks have cooled (Twitter link).

"We've got a lot of things in play," said O'Dowd. "We've stuck a lot of nets in the water. You really don't have any idea if anything's going to come through for you.

NL Central Rumors: Lee, Soriano, Cardinals, Brewers

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The latest on several NL Central teams…

  • The Reds are talking about a lot of trade possibilities and talking about a whole range of players, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.  It is a possibility the Reds use Yonder Alonso as a trade piece to fix other needs, manager Dusty Baker told Jim Bowden on MLB Netowrk Radio.  Baker indicated the Reds will keep prospects Yasmani Grandal and Devin Mesoraco, as well as star first baseman Joey Votto.
  • The Reds outrighted lefty Jeremy Horst, dropping their 40-man roster count to 39, according toMLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
  • ESPN's Jayson Stark tweets that the Astros are letting teams know Carlos Lee is out there.  Lee, 35, is owed $18.5MM for 2012 and has ten-and-five rights.  A source close to the Astros' ownership tells Stark interim GM David Gottfried has autonomy to make trades this week.
  • Speaking of mistakes from the 2006-07 offseason, the Cubs are getting a bit of interest in left fielder Alfonso Soriano, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  Soriano, 35, is owed $54MM through 2014 and has a full no-trade clause.  I think the Cubs would have to eat over $40MM to move Soriano.
  • World Series revenue is not a game-changer for the Cardinals, owner Bill DeWitt Jr. told Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the team's payroll is expected to remain around $110MM.  The Cardinals have about $80MM committed to eight players under contract for 2012.
  • The Brewers are in on everyone at several positions, including shortstop and third base, but are not down the road at all on any of them, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.  The Brewers are also known to be actively seeking relief help.

Ron Santo Elected To Hall Of Fame

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Longtime Cubs third baseman Ron Santo was elected to the Hall of Fame today, announced the Baseball Writers Association of America.  Santo was elected by the Golden Era Committee, a newly-formed part of the Veterans Committee, which exists for players not elected during their initial 15 years of eligibility.  Unfortunately Santo was not around to witness his election, having passed away a year ago due to complications from diabetes.  His induction will take place July 22nd in Cooperstown.

Santo hit .277/.362/.464 with 342 home runs in his 15-year career, mostly for the Cubs.  He was known as as a strong defender.  In a sabermetric sense, Santo tallied 79.3 wins above replacement according to FanGraphs.  Santo later served as the Cubs' radio color commentator.

Morosi’s Winter Meetings Preview

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Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports covers some of the major headlines that we'll be seeing over the next four days during baseball's Winter Meetings. Here's a late night look at the highlights:

  • Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder are still the headliners, and Morosi thinks that Pujols will sign first (although not necessarily this week). Once Pujols signs — Morosi predicts he'll remain in St. Louis — it's possible that his the increased number of suitors for Fielder will land him more money than Pujols. Fielder, of course, is also four years younger than Pujols.
  • Fielder prefers teams east of the Mississippi River and teams that can win the World Series in the near future. The list of known interested parties includes the Brewers, Mariners, Cubs, Rangers, Blue Jays, and Nationals. Seattle's rebuilding status and geographic location may remove them from the mix, while the uncertainty around how much Chicago's new front office is willing to spend may remove them as well.
  • Morosi doesn't think Angels GM Jerry Dipoto would've moved Tyler Chatwood without knowing the acquisition of another starting pitcher was close at hand.
  • The Twins remain interested in Edwin Jackson, according to Morosi's sources, but the Scott Boras client isn't likely to sign before fellow free agents C.J. Wilson and Mark Buehrle.
  • The availability of Andrew Bailey, Huston Street, and Brandon League slows down the market for free agent closers, and Morosi speculates that a few wise teams in search of closers will be able to wait out veteran bargains as potential closing gigs dwindle.
  • The Yankees, Tigers, Marlins, and Nationals have been the most active in scouting Yoenis Cespedes. While he's not a free agent yet, his market will be dictated by whether or not teams like Miami and Washington land their other targets at the Winter Meetings and in the coming weeks. Detroit would be most interested if they decide that Cespedes can bat leadoff for them right away.
  • Robert Whiting, an expert on Japanese baseball, told Morosi over the weekend that there's still no word on whether or not Yu Darvish will be posted.
  • Whiting told Morosi that Darvish became disillusioned with the posting process, partly because of the failure of Hisashi Iwakuma and the A's to work out a deal last year. He is also wary of the struggles and ridicule that other NPB stars have incurred in their transition to MLB, Whiting told Morosi.

Latest On Albert Pujols

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Here's the latest on Albert Pujols, with the most recent news up top..

  • Though they just committed $106MM to Jose Reyes, the Marlins plan to meet with Pujols' agent, Dan Lozano, Monday or Tuesday at the winter meetings, sources tell Jayson Stark of ESPN.com.  One source said the club plans to make a major push to sign Pujols over the next two days.  Lozano is also tentatively scheduled to meet with the Cardinals about Pujols on Monday, according to sources.
  • Other teams believe that the Cubs will try for Albert Pujols by offering him a deal shorter in length than the Cardinals' offer but with a higher average payout per year, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.  It was recently reported that Chicago planned to pursue both Pujols and Prince Fielder this offseason.

Central Notes: Royals, Tigers, White Sox, Garza

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Here's a look at some items concerning the AL and NL Central..

  • Several Royals officials have told Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter) that any major roster upgrades will come through trades rather than the free agent market.
  • There's nothing serious between the Tigers and Aramis Ramirez at the moment, a source told Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com (via Twitter).
  • In a deal for John Danks, the White Sox told the Yankees that they want Manny Banuelos and Jesus Montero from the Yankees, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.  Heyman writes that the Sox are obviously not serious about dealing Danks just yet.
  • The Tigers looking harder at the market for No. 5 starters than had been anticipated when the offseason began, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The club is after a reliever as well.
  • The Cubs told at least one team that it would take an overwhelming offer to even consider trading Matt Garza, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.
  • The Brewers are interested in hearing what it'll take to sign Jimmy Rollins, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  • There's lots of skepticism over Albert Pujols' claim that he is 31 years old, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.  Heyman writes that the slugger may not be able to top the Cardinals' nine-year, $200MM offer if he cannot produce a birth certificate.  
  • Jim Riggleman will accept the Reds' offer to manage their Double-A affiliate, writes Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post.  Earlier today, Heyman reported that Riggleman was offered the position and was likely to accept.
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