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Four Teams Checked In On Mark DeRosa

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MONDAY: The Giants have expressed interest in re-signing DeRosa, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark.

FRIDAY: Mark DeRosa doesn't expect any team to guarantee him an everyday job, but he does want the chance to prove that his left wrist is healthy. The free agent utility player told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that the Nationals, Rangers, Indians and Pirates have all spoken with his surgeon and that the Giants have some interest in re-signing him despite his recent injury.

“I definitely understand the concerns," DeRosa told Rosenthal. "If it wasn’t for my wrist getting banged up two years ago, I wouldn’t be in this position.”

DeRosa played in just 47 games in 2011 because of a strained left wrist. The versatile 36-year-old was productive in 2009, posting a .250/.319/.433 line and appearing at five different positions for the Indians and Cardinals. However, he has struggled to stay on the field since signing a two-year deal with the Giants two Decembers ago. When he did play for the Giants, DeRosa posted a forgettable .235/.313/.279 line. 

DeRosa, who would like to be closer to his Atlanta home, may have to sign a minor league deal and play his way onto a roster next spring.

Indians Considering Casey Kotchman

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Free agent first baseman Casey Kotchman is on the Indians' radar, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  Heyman says the Tribe is looking at every everyday first baseman aside from Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols.  Earlier today, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweeted that the Indians are "focused on either a first baseman or complementary outfielder."

Kotchman was one of the year's best minor league signings, as he hit .306/.378/.422 for the Rays in 563 plate appearances.  He ranked 36th on my top 50 free agents list.

Indians Among Nine Teams Interested In Casey Blake

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The Indians are one of nine teams to have expressed interest in signing Casey Blake, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Cleveland likes Blake as a super-utility type, who could back up at the corner infield and corner outfield positions.

The Dodgers turned down their $6MM option on Blake at season's end, electing instead to pay him a $1.25MM buyout and make him a free agent. The decision was unsurprising after injuries limited Blake's playing time and production in 2011. The 38-year-old hit .252/.342/.371 in 239 plate appearances. Agent Jim McDowell told MLBTR that his client expects to be 100% for 2012.

If the Indians were to sign Blake, it would be his second stint in Cleveland. The first ended in July 2008, after five and a half years, when the Tribe shipped him to Los Angeles in the trade that landed them catching prospect Carlos Santana.

Quick Hits: Nakajima, Wilson, Pena, Mariners, A’s

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Some late night links from around the league…

Central Links: Danks, Twins, Indians, Royals, Cubs

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Here are some links from baseball's two central divisions…

  • The White Sox have been shopping left-hander John Danks in advance of the winter meetings, reports Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. He won't come cheap though, with one of Cowley's sources saying: "[ChiSox GM Kenny Williams] asked for everyone on our roster in return."
  • Yesterday we heard about the Twins' interest in retaining Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel, and today Joe Mauer told MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger that he's willing to help recruit free agents to Minnesota. "I told [GM Terry Ryan] and everybody here that I'm here to do everything I can to help out," said Mauer. "I want to be part of the solution that gets us back to where we need to get to."
  • The Indians are not expected to bid on any Japanese players going through the posting process, reports Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer (on Twitter). That would include Hiroyuki Nakajima (who was posted on Monday) and possibly Yu Darvish.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney says (on Twitter) that the Royals are looking to a utilityman, preferably someone that hits left-handed. As our Free Agent Tracker shows, players like Andres Blanco, Craig Counsell, and Willie Harris are available.
  • Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune reports that the Cubs have hired Chris Bosio to be their new pitching coach. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein confirmed that the rest of the coaching staff would be announced at the winter meetings next week.

Minor Moves: Ford, Hernandez, Pagnozzi, Brown

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The most recent minor moves from around MLB…

  • The Mariners signed Darren Ford to a minor league deal, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times (on Twitter). The Giants had designated him for assignment last month.
  • The Astros announced that they signed infielder Diory Hernandez to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training. The 27-year-old, who has spent parts of the last three seasons with the Braves, posted a .201/.229/.308 line in 289 Triple-A plate appearances this past season.
  • The Rangers signed catcher Dusty Brown, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America, who has details on the week's minor moves. Brown, 29, has big league experience with the Red Sox and Pirates. He posted a .285/.367/.506 line in 199 Triple-A plate appearances in 2011.
  • The Indians announced that they signed catcher Matt Pagnozzi to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training. Pagnozzi, who has appeared in the big leagues in each of the past three seasons, posted a .275/.337/.421 line for the Rockies' top affiliate in 2011.

13 Teams Eligible For First Competitive Balance Lottery

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The new collective bargaining agreement calls for a competitive balance draft pick lottery beginning in 2013, and MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo has details.  13 teams will be eligible for the first lottery based on their market size and revenue: the Diamondbacks, Orioles, Indians, Royals, Athletics, Pirates, Padres, Rays, Reds, Rockies, Marlins, Brewers, and Cardinals.  The lottery gives each of these teams the chance to win one of six extra picks in the 2013 draft, which will come after the compensation picks for free agents.  The odds of winning a pick will be based on each team's winning percentage in the previous season.

There will be another group of six picks after the draft's second round.  The teams in the mix for these will be the ones that did not win a pick in the first lottery, as well as any other team that receives revenue sharing.

Mayo says lottery picks can be traded, but only once by a team and only during the regular season.  The picks cannot be sold for cash.

A third lottery will be held for picks forfeited by teams that exceeded their bonus pools.  Teams that did not exceed their pools will be eligible, with odds based on a formula of revenue and winning percentage.  Got all that?  There will be a quiz tomorrow.

Quick Hits: Dodgers, Feliz, Nathan, Rangers, Indians

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On this day fifteen years ago, the Angels traded first baseman J.T. Snow to the Giants for Fausto Macey and Allen Watson.  Snow would go on to play nine seasons with San Francisco with a slash line of .273/.369/.438.  Here are some links for Saturday night..

  • Dodgers GM Ned Colletti has a thing for acquiring journeyman relievers in the offseason and will probably do the same this winter, but he does have a proven arm in Blake Hawksworth, writes Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times.  The 29-year-old is entering his final year under team control.
  • Peter Gammons of MLB.com writes that the Rangers' signing of Joe Nathan puts Neftali Feliz in his rightful place, the starting rotation.  Texas might have overpaid for Nathan, but waiting to get the veteran at a bargain could have resulted in having to turn to a different free agent closer who would require a longer deal.
  • Teams are still trying to digest all the details of the new collective bargaining agreement, writes Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer.  The CBA will change the way the Indians do business as they have spent a good amount on the draft and on international free agents in recent years.
  • With the owners and players coming to terms on a five-year labor agreement, it's apparent that the two sides learned some important lessons from the 1994 work stoppage, writes Tracy Ringolsby of FOXSports.com.  Ringolsby also weighs in on the changes to the amateur draft and points out that the new agreement takes leverage away from agents and provides a boost for college baseball.

Blue Jays Acquire Luis Valbuena From Indians

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The Indians have traded Luis Valbuena to the Blue Jays in exchange for cash considerations, according to the team's officlal Twitter account.  The infielder was designated for assignment on November 18th.

Valbuena spent the majority of 2011 with Cleveland's Triple-A affiliate where he hit .302/.372/.476 with 17 homers in 472 plate appearances.  The infielder, who turns 26 on November 30, played 194 games for the Indians' varsity squad in 2009 and 2010 and saw a good deal of time at second base.

Reds Shopping Yonder Alonso For Pitching

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The Reds are offering Yonder Alonso as trade bait in their search for a closer or a No. 2 starter, reports Yahoo Sports' Tim Brown.  Reds GM Walt Jocketty has spoken to several teams — including the A's, Blue Jays, Indians and Rays — about Alonso, though we heard earlier this week that the Reds thought Alonso was too much to give up for Oakland closer Andrew Bailey.

Alonso is regarded as Cincinnati's top hitting prospect, if one without a Major League position since Joey Votto is cemented at first base.  The 24-year-old has an OPS of .837 in four minor league seasons and hit .330/.398/.545 in 98 plate appearances with the Reds last year. 

If the Reds were willing to move him, you would think Alonso would be too much to deal for any closer, not just Bailey.  Jocketty has said his club's top priority is finding a starting pitcher this offseason, so while the Jays and Indians have some good young arms, they wouldn't be willing to deal a top-of-the-rotation caliber of starter for which the Reds are looking.  The Jays and Tribe also have other options at first base, though Adam Lind, Edwin Encarnacion and Matt LaPorta wouldn't be major obstacles if Toronto or Cleveland had a legitimate shot at Alonso.  The A's and Reds might not be a match on Bailey, but Jocketty might deem possibly-available pitchers like Gio Gonzalez or Trevor Cahill worthy of moving Alonso. 

The most logical match would appear to be Tampa Bay, who has a big hole at first base, lots of pitching and a need for a controllable young talent like Alonso.  The Rays could offer Wade Davis or Jeff Niemann, though the Reds are more likely looking for a pitcher like James Shields.  (Obviously David Price and Jeremy Hellickson are staying put.)

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