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Willingham Market Hinges On Cuddyer

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1:36pm: The Rockies are focused on Cuddyer, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Should they lose out on the long-time Twinkie, they'll turn that focus to Willingham.

1:24pm: MLB Network's Jon Heyman adds the Rockies to the list of teams still eyeing Willingham, but doesn't go as far as calling them a "finalist" as Camino did with the Indians and Twins (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Willingham market hinges on Michael Cuddyer, because the Twins view Willingham as their top alternative. Rosenthal also mentions the Rockies as a player for Willingham.

SUNDAY, 11:57am: The Mariners are out of the running for Willingham, tweets Nick Camino of WTAM 1100. The outfielder's choice is down to the Indians and Twins, according to Camino.

SATURDAY, 10:32pm: The Mariners and Indians appear to be the front-runners for free agent outfielder Josh Willingham, reports Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio (on Twitter). MLB.com's Jordan Bastian says (on Twitter) that other teams remain in the mix though, including the Indians. Cleveland has not yet made an offer though. The Rockies, Twins, Rays were also in the mix at one point.

Willingham, 32, hit .246/.332/.477 with a career-high 29 home runs in 2011. The right-handed hitter tallied 829 1/3 innings in left field, and also has experience in right field in 2009. First base and designated hitter could be options as well. Willingham's agent Matt Sosnick guessed in October that his client would sign a three-year deal.

Indians To Sign Felix Pie

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The Indians have reached an agreement on a minor league contract with Felix Pie, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Pie could earn up to $1MM with performance bonuses, and has the option to opt out of the deal before Opening Day.

Pie, 26, ranked among Baseball America's Top 100 prospects each year from 2003 to 2007, but has never become a full-time player in the bigs. In parts of five seasons with the Cubs and Orioles, the outfielder hit .249/.298/.374 in 1051 plate appearances.

AL Central Notes: Indians, Rondon, Tigers

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A few Thursday updates out of the AL Central:

  • Indians GM Chris Antonetti left the Winter Meetings feeling as if he was just a couple text messages from making a deal, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "It could happen very quickly," said Antonetti. "There are some things we could be relatively close on. As we've said a bunch of times, the timing may change and it will take weeks for it to happen."
  • Hector Rondon cleared waivers and was outrighted to the Indians' Triple-A affiliate, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.
  • The Detroit Free Press tweets that GM Dave Dombrowski said the Tigers didn't make an offer to free agent Kelly Johnson, who ultimately accepted arbitration from the Blue Jays.

AL Central Rumors: Navarro, Lillibridge, Wheeler

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A few of Wednesday's rumors from the AL Central:

  • The Royals are shopping Yamaico Navarro in an attempt to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for the Rule 5 draft, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. He names the Pirates, Mariners, and Astros as possible fits.
  • In their search for a utility infielder, the Royals are considering Edgar Renteria and several other players, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick.
  • Brent Lillibridge has been the White Sox player drawing the most interest in Dallas, sources tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
  • The Indians talked to free agent reliever Dan Wheeler, but they don't consider the bullpen an area of need, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
  • Indians GM Chris Antonetti won't make any moves in the Rule 5 draft, according to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian (Twitter link).

Indians Looking At Right-Handed Bats

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WEDNESDAY: The Indians are a fit for Houston's Carlos Lee but are wary of the cost, tweets Jon Paul Morosi.  Of course, the Astros would assume a portion of Lee's $18.5MM salary.  

TUESDAY: The Indians are looking at right-handed hitters such as Derrek Lee, Andruw Jones, and Mike Cameron, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Yesterday we heard the Indians have mild interest in Josh Willingham, and on Friday they were linked to Mark DeRosa.

Also, Morosi says the Indians are willing to trade from their bullpen depth to acquire the right bat.

Indians Rumors: Extensions, Asdrubal, Trades, Perez

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A pair of Indians links for you Tribe followers who are still up, courtesy of the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Paul Hoynes and MLB.com's Jordan Bastian:

  • Hoynes examines how the Indians have backed off their philosophy of extending young players in recent years and wonders if the pitfalls of the Travis Hafner and Jake Westbrook contracts have made them wary.
  • Hoynes quotes one agent who thinks that at this point, the Indians think it'd be too expensive to offer Asdrubal Cabrera a multiyear extension.
  • GM Chris Antonetti says there are no black and white rules in the organization for signing pre-arbitration players to extensions; each case is handled on an individual basis.
  • In his piece, Bastian writes that Antonetti told reporters on Tuesday at the Winter Meetings that he was discussing a trade "that would be very surprising if it came to fruition."
  • The Indians are looking to improve their offense, and teams have come calling about Chris Perez. The Tribe isn't actively shopping their closer, but Bastian says they're willing to listen because of the depth they have in their bullpen, though the number of available arms doesn't give them much leverage in any potential deal. Plus, with an eye on contending in 2012, depleting their bullpen depth may not be the best strategy.

Indians Designate Hector Rondon For Assignment

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The Indians designated righty Hector Rondon for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Grady Sizemore, announced the team.  Rondon endured an elbow fracture in November and is facing a five to seven month recovery period.  Baseball America ranked Rondon the Indians' 15th-best prospect prior to the season, even though he had Tommy John surgery in August of 2010.

AL Central Rumors: Slowey, Picollo, Choo, Tigers

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The major move in the AL Central today was the Twins' re-signing of Matt Capps, but there may be more action in the division by week's end. Here are the latest rumors from the AL Central:

  • Kevin Slowey, viewed as a non-tender candidate, is being shopped by the Twins, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • Royals assistant GM J.J. Picollo interviewed for the Astros' GM position tonight, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
  • The Indians are still interested in discussing a contract extension with Shin-Soo Choo, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.
  • Bastian also tweets that the Indians checked in on free agent Kevin Kouzmanoff, though their interest is likely minimal.
  • The Tigers aren't ruling out the possibility of one of their young, in-house arms earning the fifth spot in the rotation, writes James Schmehl of MLive.com. If the Tigers turn to the free agent market for a veteran, they prefer one-year deals.

Rays Making Serious Run At Josh Willingham

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3:04pm: The Rays are making a serious run at Willingham, tweets Crasnick.  Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports adds that while the Rays are not close on Willingham, they're one of three to four finalists.

2:21pm: Nine teams have called on free agent outfielder Josh Willingham, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, including the Twins, Red Sox, Indians, and Reds.  The Pirates have also been linked to him.  Willingham is something of a backup plan for the Red Sox and Twins, suggests Crasnick, as those teams are trying to re-sign David Ortiz and Michael Cuddyer, respectively.  ESPN 1500's Phil Mackey tweets that nothing is currently brewing with the Twins and Willingham.  The Indians' interest has been mild, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.  The Reds' interest in Willingham is "simmering on the back burner, if that," GM Walt Jocketty told reporters including MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.

Willingham, 32, hit a career-best 29 home runs for the Athletics in 2011.  A right-handed hitter, Willingham compiled a .246/.332/.477 batting line in 563 plate appearances.  He tallied 829 1/3 innings in left field, and also has experience in right field in 2009.  First base and designated hitter could be options as well.  Willingham's agent Matt Sosnick guessed in October that his client would sign a three-year deal. 

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