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Morning Rumors: Otani, Braves, Wang, Indians

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The most fun week of baseball's offseason is here, as 2012's Winter Meetings get underway in Nashville. With a ton of activity expected over the next few days, we don't want to let anything fall through the cracks, so let's round up a few Monday morning updates from around MLB:

  • 18-year-old Japanese pitcher Shohei Otani, who announced in October that he intended to sign with an MLB team, may now be leaning toward staying in Japan, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link), who cites reports out of Japan. A decision from Otani is expected this week, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.
  • If the Braves make a move this week, it's more likely to be a trade than a signing, says Mark Bowman of MLB.com, who tweets that Atlanta has "minimal interest" in the outfielders on the free agent market. The team's interest in free agents could increase if asking prices drop, but that's not likely to happen this early in the offseason, tweets Bowman. David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has more details on the Braves' search for a left fielder.
  • The Rays' agreement with James Loney makes them an unlikely fit for Eric Hosmer or Billy Butler now, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. If the Royals were to pursue a Rays pitcher via trade, Kansas City may have to offer Wil Myers, Dutton adds.
  • Given the weak third base market, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports thinks the Padres may be motivated to sell high on Chase Headley and send him to the Yankees (Twitter link).
  • Coming off an injury-shortened 2012 season, Chien-Ming Wang may not sign with an MLB team until midseason, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com (Twitter link).
  • John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer thinks the Reds will make a run at Dexter Fowler, but doesn't expect the team to give up Homer Bailey to make it happen.
  • The Dodgers may have a tricky time targeting an outfielder, since they need a starting-caliber player but can't promise a starting job, writes Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times.
  • If the Indians decide to go all-in on their rebuild, they could extract young pitching talent from a team like the Mariners or Diamondbacks, says ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider link). Cleveland's asking price for Asdrubal Cabrera is "steep in terms of young pitchers," according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  • In an Insider-only story for ESPN.com, Jim Bowden has identified a trade candidate for all 30 MLB teams, along with potential suitors for each player.
  • After a quiet Winter Meetings in 2011, the Red Sox figure to be more active this year, writes Tim Britton of the Providence Journal, as he explores a few of the team's potential targets.

Tigers Notes: Drew, Cabrera, Hairston

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The latest on the Tigers from Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports..

  • There has been a great deal of talk about the Tigers pursuing a shortstop but that may have been overstated.  Detroit has cooled on Stephen Drew due to his desire for a multi-year deal and they have not discussed a trade for the Indians’ Asdrubal Cabrera, according to a source with knowledge of the club’s thinking.  
  • Rosenthal and Morosi note that Drew still could re-emerge as a possibility if his market fails to develop, but Cabrera appears out of the question.  The Tigers are a part of Cabrera's six-team no-trade clause along with the Yankees, Red Sox, Nationals, Giants, and Mets.
  • Instead, the Tigers are looking to add a left-handed reliever and a right-handed platoon partner for Andy Dirks in left field.  One right-handed outfielder with Tigers interest is free agent Scott Hairston, according to a second source.  The Mets and Yankees also have interest in Hairston.
  • The Tigers have an opening for a closer, but club officials are high on rookie right-hander Bruce Rondon.
  • For now, the shortstop job still belongs to Jhonny Peralta.  Peralta was drawing interest from the Diamondbacks recently but that no longer seems like a possibility if the TIgers are unable or unwilling to upgrade at the position. 

Olney: Winter Meetings Preview

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The Winter Meetings begin shortly at the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville. ESPN's Buster Olney, in an Insider-only post, writes past Winter Meetings have been dominated by free agent signings, but some GMs say there is more groundwork laid for possible trades this year than they can remember in the recent past. Here are some of the storylines that could play out this week, according to Olney:

  • If Olney was Rangers' GM Jon Daniels, he would go all out to sign Zack Greinke and then trade some surplus pitching for offense.
  • Some rival officials remain convinced the Diamondbacks will eventually trade Justin Upton, whose contract ($38.5MM due over the next three years) has become more attractive in the wake of his brother's deal with the Braves.
  • The Indians have set the bar high in their demands for Asdrubal Cabrera and Shin-Soo Choo. "Time will tell on whether they've lowered (the asking prices)," said a rival GM.
  • The most likely of the Rays' established starting pitchers to be dealt is Jeremy Hellickson. On paper, the best matchup appears to be the Padres.
  • The Reds are looking to acquire a leadoff hitter and could target Dexter Fowler.
  • The Phillies continue to push on Angel Pagan. If Pagan signs with Philadelphia, the Giants could look to Shane Victorino, who is looking for $9-10MM annually.
  • The Pirates have let other teams know that closer Joel Hanrahan is available and they are looking for starting pitching.
  • In a separate tweet, Olney says the perception among rival executives is the signing of David Wright makes it much easier for the Mets to trade R.A. Dickey without fear of a PR backlash.
  • Nate Schierholtz received calls from nine teams within the first 12 hours of being non-tendered with the Yankees in the mix and the Rays also a good fit (Twitter links).

Quick Hits: Pagan, Giants, Indians, Brewers,

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A roundup of tonight's links as we have our eyes fixed on the Winter Meetings countdown clock..

  • The Phillies continue to go hard on Angel Pagan while Giants look to be short right now on average annual value in a four-year deal, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.  Olney previous reported that the Phillies and Pagan have been talking for weeks.
  • Indians General Manager Chris Antonetti says he has interest in re-signing Jack Hannahan, Rafael Perez, and Chris Seddon, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer.  All three players were non-tendered on Friday.
  • Brewers GM Doug Melvin says that he sees a Kameron Loe-type pitcher in the newly-acquired Burke Badenhop, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel.  "He's a similar pitcher to Loe," said Melvin. "He might have been a non-tender, so we put the deal together late (Friday) night. Instead of letting him go out on the market where you don't know what might happen, we thought it best to make a trade for him."

American League Non-Tenders

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Here are today’s American League non-tenders. All decisions must be in by 11pm CT tonight. Be sure to track all tender decisions using MLBTR's Non-Tender Tracker. Related resources include our list of non-tender candidates, our projected arbitration salaries and our arbitration eligibles series.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Minor Moves: Cory Wade, Fernando Nieve

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We'll keep track of the latest minor moves here…

  • Cory Wade elected free agency, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports (on Twitter). Wade, 29, appeared in 39 games for the Yankees in 2012, posting a 6.46 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9. The Blue Jays had claimed him off of waivers last month.
  • The Indians signed right-hander Fernando Nieve and invited him to big league Spring Training, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (on Twitter). The 30-year-old spent the 2012 season with the Dodgers' Triple-A team, posting a 5.96 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 119 1/3 innings. He has MLB experience with the Mets and Astros, most recently in 2010.

Indians Claim Mike McDade, Designate Seddon

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The Indians claimed infielder Mike McDade off of waivers from the Blue Jays, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (on Twitter). The Indians designated left-hander Chris Seddon for assignment in a related move.

McDade, 23, posted a .285/.360/.445 with 17 home runs in the upper minors of Toronto's system this past season. Toronto designated him for assignment ten days ago.

Indians Avoid Arbitration With Blake Wood

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The Indians have avoided arbitration with Blake Wood, signing the right-hander to a one-year, $560K contract, reports Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  Wood was arbitration-eligible for the first time.

Wood was claimed off waivers from the Royals earlier this month.  The 27-year-old posted a 4.30 ERA, a 1.72 K/BB ratio and a 7.0 K/9 rate in 106 relief appearances for Kansas City in 2010-11, and he underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2012.  Wood's new $560K contract was slightly less than the $600K that MLBTR's Matt Swartz projected he would receive through the arb process.

With Wood's deal out of the way, the Tribe still has nine other arb-eligible players to settle contracts with for the 2013 season.  You can follow all the offseason arbitration dealings for the Indians and every team via MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker.

Indians Designate Rafael Perez For Assignment

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The Indians designated left-handed reliever Rafael Perez for assignment, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (on Twitter). The team added Nick Hagadone to the 40-man roster in a related move.

Perez, 30, had been a non-tender candidate with a projected salary of $2MM. The Indians can still trade Perez, though a release seems more likely. He appeared in just eight games this past season, spending considerable time on the disabled list with a strained lat. In seven years at the MLB level, Perez has a 3.64 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9.

Seven Teams Interested In Victorino

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B.J. Upton's name has dominated the conversation regarding free agent center fielders lately, but Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that the Indians, Rangers, Yankees, Giants, Rays, Red Sox and Reds all have interest in another free agent center fielder — Shane Victorino.

Several teams, according to Heyman, are willing to offer three years to Victorino in spite of his slow finish to the 2012 season. Victorino is willing to move to a corner outfield spot, though he has a track record of solid defense in center field.

Victorino stole a career-high 39 bases in 2012 (with a brilliant 87-percent success rate), but his 11 homers were his lowest total since 2009. He slumped at the plate following a trade to the Dodgers and finished the season with a .255/.321/.383 batting line, which will likely prevent him from securing the five-year contract he sought prior to the 2012 season.

In a recent Free Agent Faceoff, Victorino came up just short to fellow center fielder Angel Pagan when roughly 56 percent of readers voted that they preferred Pagan to Victorino.

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