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West Notes: Soler, Padres, Arenado, Mariners

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Let's look at some news from both the AL and NL West….

  • The Rangers have scouted 19-year-old Cuban defector Jorge Soler, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  Texas is one of a few teams who have interest in Soler, who Sullivan says "might have more offensive upside" than the heavily-scouted Yoenis Cespedes.
  • Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Adrian Gonzalez has been lobbying the Red Sox to check in on several Padres, including Heath Bell and strength/conditioning coach Jim Malone.  Boston is known to have an interest in Bell as a possible replacement for Jonathan Papelbon in the Red Sox bullpen.  Center also discusses San Diego's own closing situation among other topics as part of his weekly online chat with Padres fans.
  • Rockies third base prospect Nolan Arenado has hired Scott Boras as his agent, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.  Arenado was represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council when Colorado picked him in the second round of the 2009 draft.  Arenado, 20, has enjoyed a strong start to his pro career, compiling an .829 OPS in his first three seasons ranging from rookie league to high-A ball.
  • The Mariners can afford Prince Fielder, writes Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times and "aversion to risk is how mediocre teams stay bad a long, long time."  Baker figures that if the Mariners "eat most of the remaining cash on the Chone Figgins contract" and deal Jason Vargas or Brandon League, the club can afford the slugging first baseman.  MLBTR's Tim Dierkes picked Seattle as Fielder's landing spot in his top 50 free agent predictions.

Added To 40-Man Roster: Giants, Dodgers, Pirates

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Today is the deadline for teams to add players to the 40-man roster to protect them from next month's Rule 5 draft. Here's more on which players need to be protected and here are the details on which players have had their contracts selected to the 40-man roster:

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Braves Notes: McCann, Prado, Smith, Jurrjens

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Here's the latest on the Braves from David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution…

  • Brian McCann was set to earn $8.5MM next season but "maxed out" his contract incentives related to Silver Slugger awards and All-Star appearances, so the star catcher will earn a total of $11.5MM in 2012.  O'Brien said the Braves haven't discussed a long-term extension with McCann but the team usually doesn't pursue such negotiations until later in the winter.  McCann is under contract through next year and the Braves have a $12MM club option on McCann for 2013 that looks like a lock to be exercised.
  • In regards to the Martin Prado trade talks between the Braves and Rockies, O'Brien thinks Atlanta would move Prado for Seth Smith and a center field prospect like Tim Wheeler or Charlie Blackmon.  With Michael Bourn only contracted through 2012, the Braves are looking for center field depth in case Bourn's asking price is too high for their liking.
  • Atlanta "made a run at" Jamey Carroll but balked at giving the 37-year-old infielder a multiyear contract. 
  • The Braves are known to desire a trade package for Jair Jurrjens similar to the one the Royals received last winter for Zack Greinke, but O'Brien says this asking price could be too high for most teams.  "Word out of the GM meetings was that the Braves are demanding so much for Jurrjens that a deal might be unlikely unless they come down in their multi-player/prospect asking price or some teams get desperate for starting pitching later in the offseason," O'Brien writes.
  • "It's unclear" if Atlanta is interested in bringing back Alex Gonzalez on a one-year deal.  The Braves are looking for a short-term veteran to play shortstop until Tyler Pastornicky is ready.
  • GM Frank Wren says his team isn't actively shopping Prado and Jurrjens but are willing to listen to offers.  "I think that [Prado and Jurrjens trade possibility] was wrongly characterized from the very beginning,” Wren said. “What we said and what we stand by is that we’re looking to get better, and however we can get better we will. We’re open minded. We’ll listen if somebody calls."

Outrighted To Triple-A: Dodgers, Cubs, Athletics

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Teams will be adding minor leaguers to their 40-man rosters today in anticipation of next month's Rule 5 Draft. In order to create roster space, some teams will outright players off of the 40-man. Here are the latest outright assignments from around MLB…

  • The Dodgers outrighted John Ely and Carlos Monasterios to Triple-A, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).
  • The Cubs announced Esmailin Caridad, Lou Montanez and Kyle Smit have been outrighted off their 40-man roster.  The Cubs currently have six open spots remaining on their 40-man roster.
  • The A's announced that they outrighted right-hander Evan Scribner and outfielder Cedric Hunter to Triple-A.
  • The Rockies outrighted infielder Andrew Brown off of their roster, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter).
  • The Twins announced that they outrighted right-hander David Bromberg off the 40-man roster.
  • The Pirates announced that they outrighted Matt Pagnozzi to Triple-A.
  • The Tigers announced that they outrighted Cale Iorg to Triple-A. The infielder split the 2011 season between Detroit's top two affiliates.
  • The Angels outrighted right-handers Francisco Rodriguez and Loek Van Mil to Triple-A yesterday, according to MLB.com's transactions page. Rodriguez, 28, has appeared in 53 games for the Angels since 2010, posting a 4.43 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 61 innings. Van Mil, a 7'1" native of the Netherlands, posted a 2.04 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 66 1/3 innings at Double-A in 2011. The Angels acquired him from the Twins for Brian Fuentes in 2010.

Minor Moves: Wood, Burton, Gonzalez, Buchholz

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Moves listed here without specific attribution come from MLB.com's transactions page…

  • The Rockies have signed infielder Brandon Wood, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. Wood will make $100K over the league minimum if he makes the big league roster, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter). Wood, of course, was once a blue-chip prospect with the Angels.
  • The Twins have signed right-handers Brendan Wise, Jared Burton, Samuel Deduno and Luis Perdomo, and outfielders Matt Carson and Wilkin Ramirez to Minor League deals, tweets Joe Christensen of the Star Tribune.
  • The Padres released second baseman Alberto Gonzalez. San Diego appears to be clearing 40-man roster space in anticipation of next month's Rule 5 draft. 
  • Right-hander Taylor Buchholz elected free agency. The Mets removed Buchholz from their 40-man roster earlier in the week. He would have earned roughly $1.2MM in 2012 had the Mets retained him through arbitration. Earlier in the week GM Sandy Alderson was unsure if anxiety and depression would prevent Buchholz from pitching in 2012.
  • The Angels released right-hander Anthony Ortega.

Murphy Available; Mets Considered Street & Chavez

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Mets GM Sandy Alderson says the team isn’t close to completing any deals, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). Here are updates on some potential moves for the team…

  • Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com hears the Mets informed other teams that Daniel Murphy is available. While many players are available in the right move at this time of year, this indicates that the Mets are willing to listen on the versatile 26-year-old.
  • The Mets and Rockies briefly discussed a deal involving Huston Street and Mike Pelfrey, but the Mets don’t seem too excited about the possibility of acquiring Street, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter). Street and current Mets bench coach Bob Geren had trouble getting along when they were both with the Athletics.
  • The Mets are open to bringing Endy Chavez back to New York and they have had preliminary discussions about a deal with agent Peter Greenberg, according to Martino.

NL West Rumors: Dodgers, Oswalt, Rockies, D’Backs

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Evening links from out of the NL West….

  • While the Dodgers are still prioritizing Hiroki Kuroda, they're considering other starting options and met with Aaron Harang's agent today, writes MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.
  • The Rockies are being "quietly aggressive" in their pursuit of trade targets and free agent Roy Oswalt, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Oswalt's agent, Bob Garber, says the Rockies "have a shot" at signing his client, though multiple GMs are expected to meet with Oswalt at his home next week.
  • It sounds like the Diamondbacks only have mild interest in Oswalt, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. In a column, Piecoro adds that GM Kevin Towers is "kicking the tires" on possible trades, but doesn't feel a sense of urgency to get anything done soon.
  • Despite the run on middle infielders to start the offseason, the Rockies won't reach for a second baseman, says Gurnick.
  • The Giants will have a $130MM payroll in 2012, with arbitration raises making up most of the slight increase, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links).

Giants Attempting To Extend Matt Cain

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While we heard earlier today that the Giants are more focused on a long-term extension for Tim Lincecum than fellow starter Matt Cain, team president Larry Baer says the club is trying to lock up Matt Cain as well, tweets SI.com's Jon Heyman. Heyman adds that the Giants may prefer deals of approximately four years.

Here are a few other items of interest from the National League West:

  • The Padres are preparing for the Rule 5 draft with some minor moves. They've requested waivers on Alberto Gonzalez, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (Twitter link), and will remove Jeremy Hermida from the roster later in the week, according to Dan Hayes of the North County Times (via Twitter).
  • Rusty Ryal signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks after having spent a year in Japan, reports Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter).
  • The Rockies met with Milton Bradley's agents today, tweets Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.

NL West Links: Street, Furcal, Prado, Rockies

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The latest out of the National League West..

  • Rockies closer Huston Street is a name to keep in mind for the Red Sox, tweets Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe.
  • Based on multiple conversations with executives and agents, Troy Renck of The Denver Post tweets that the Rockies are not in on free agent Rafael Furcal.  The shortstop is seeking a two-year deal in the $16MM range.
  • The Rockies don't feel as though they have to give up a center fielder to get Martin Prado from the Braves in a trade, so there is still hope for a deal, Renck tweets.  
  • If Prado isn't a possibility for the club, Orlando Hudson might be, says Renck (via Twitter).  However, the club is divided on whether he fits or if they would be better off turning to internal options instead.
  • Rockies General Manager Dan O'Dowd is after a "No. 3 or No. 4" pitcher, writes Troy Renck of The Denver Post.  The team's search has led them to talks with Roy Oswalt, and the team is being aggressive in their pursuit, according to several agents and executives, Renck tweets.  While Oswalt is interested, he's in no rush to sign with anyone.
  • Dodgers owner Frank McCourt will sell 100% of the team but retain the land outside of the Dodger Stadium parking lots in a deal that could be worth upwards of $1.3 billion, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
  • FOX Sports released a statement on the Dodgers' lawsuit against them and termed the action as the "latest chapter in the current owner's ongoing scheme to avoid honoring his contractual obligations," tweets Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.

Quick Hits: Sizemore, Ponson, Braves

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Wednesday afternoon linkage as the news continues to fly in from the Milwaukee meetings..

  • A number of teams remain in play for Grady Sizemore including the Giants, Rockies, Cubs, Red Sox, Rangers, Mariners, and Nationals, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
  • The Athletics met with Sidney Ponson's agent today, a source tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter).
  • Braves GM Frank Wren and agent Adam Katz are now meeting in Milwaukee, tweets MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith.  Katz is a part of Wasserman Media Group and represents a number of players, including Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes.  To view WMG's client list, check out MLBTR's Agency Database.
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