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Quick Hits: Giants, Affeldt, Hart, Tigers, Soriano

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The 4pm CST deadline for players to accept qualifying offers has come and gone and none of the eight players in play opted to return to their respective clubs for a $13.3MM salary in 2013.  That means that Nick Swisher, Hiroki Kuroda, Rafael Soriano, B.J. Upton, Adam LaRoche, Michael Bourn, Josh Hamilton, and Kyle Lohse will net their teams a compensatory pick if they sign elsewhere.  Here's the latest from around baseball..

  • The Giants are confident that they will be re-signing Jeremy Affeldt and the club believes that they will work out a three-year deal, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.  GM Brian Sabean indicated yesterday that he is optimistic about being about to keep Affeldt, Angel Pagan, and Marco Scutaro.
  • Brewers General Manager Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter) that he has not approached Corey Hart's agent about an extension and doesn't have immediate plans to do so.  A report earlier today suggested that the Brewers and Hart were discussing a deal to keep him beyond 2013.  The first baseman/right fielder is set to earn $10MM next season.
  • The Tigers aren't interested in Soriano and plan to stay in-house to find their closer, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.  Right-hander Bruce Rondon, 21, will get a chance at the job.  

AL Central Notes: Tigers, Sanchez, Soria, Bonderman

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The latest out of the AL Central..

  • The price for Tigers pitcher Anibal Sanchez could be going up, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  Sanchez asked one team for $90MM across six years and another for $100MM over seven years, according to Heyman.
  • Joakim Soria has received interest from the Red Sox, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The Royals declined their $8MM option for Soria on Halloween, but the right-hander has said that re-signing with Kansas City would be good for him and his family.
  • More from Morosi (via Twitter), who hears from sources that the Tigers have offered Jeremy Bonderman a contract.  Bonderman hasn't pitched in the majors since 2010 but he says that his arm feels good following reconstructive surgery.
  • The Royals announced that they have signed first baseman Ian Gac and outfielder Luis Durango to minor league contracts.  Durango spent last season with the Braves' Triple-A affiliate, hitting .289/.352/.335 in 565 plate appearances.

AL Central Links: Willingham, Butler, Tigers, Cabrera

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Here's the latest from the home of the American League champion Tigers….

  • The Twins might not receive much more than a No. 4 starter in exchange for Josh Willingham, an AL executive tells Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities Radio.  "There's no doubt Josh has a very good contract, but I really doubt a team would trade a viable starting pitcher for a guy with a strong bat but who is limited defensively," the executive said.  "It's a lot easier to find a left-field or DH-type than to trade a good starting pitcher for one and then have to backfill the rotation spot."  The 33-year-old Willingham is owed $14MM through 2014 and posted an .890 OPS last season, but another AL executive says Denard Span is a better trade chip for Minnesota.
  • The Orioles have asked the Twins and Royals about Willingham and designated hitter Billy Butler, reports MLB.com's Paul Hagen.  Both the Twins and Royals are desperate for pitching and while the O's have some good young arms, I don't think Baltimore has the pitching depth to spare in either the majors or minors.
  • The Tigers want to keep backup catcher Gerald Laird but he will probably leave for a team that will give him more playing time, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.
  • The Tigers are generally active early in the offseason, though FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi (Twitter link) thinks this won't be the case this winter as the club's plans were pushed back by their World Series appearance.
  • Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch sees Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera as a good trade target for the Cardinals, and he suggests a few young Cards prospects who could go to Cleveland in exchange for the All-Star.

Justin Upton Rumors: Thursday

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With the Diamondbacks in "active discussions" about Justin Upton, there has been no shortage of trade buzz about the former No. 1 overall draft pick.  While the Braves and Yankees are reportedly not interested in Upton, teams as the Red Sox, Rangers and Rays are, though the Rays ironically can't make a serious push until Justin's brother B.J. rejects Tampa Bay's qualifying offer, though he is expected to do so by tomorrow.

Here's the latest about Upton from around the league, with the newest items at the top of the page…

  • With input from rival executives, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic lists the Rangers, Rays, Red Sox, Tigers and Braves as the top five possible suitors for Upton, with the Pirates and Royals as darkhorse candidates.
  • D'Backs GM Kevin Towers told reporters (including Nick Piecoro) that despite some rumors to the contrary, he has had "zero issues" with Upton from a character standpoint.  Towers is in "no rush" to make a deal for Upton and said that a potential trade won't prevent him from making other offseason moves.  With starting pitching at such a premium in the game, Towers doubted the Snakes would be able to obtain a top pitcher "even in an Upton deal." (All links are to Piecoro's Twitter account.)
  • The Rangers aren't willing to include either Elvis Andrus or Jurickson Profar in a deal for Upton, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link), which will likely end trade talks between Texas and Arizona.
  • The Red Sox are currently on Upton's four-team no-trade list, though he is willing to waive that protection in Boston's case, reports Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald (Twitter links).
  • The D'Backs would take a "good young starter" as the "centerpiece" of an Upton trade, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  • The Tigers are doing background work on Upton, tweets Nick Piecoro, though the Tigers may not have yet "talked specifics" with the D'Backs.
  • "Don't expect" the Blue Jays to acquire Upton, tweets Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Uptons, Ellsbury, Myers, Garland

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Earlier today, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that the Mets were discussing R.A. Dickey in trades with other teams. He hears that the club has not made a "substantial (extension) offer" yet, and if they get the right trade offer they may just move on. Here are the rest of Rosenthal's rumors from the GM Meetings…

  • The Rays need B.J. Upton to reject his qualifying offer before making a serious run at his brother Justin. The elder Upton is drawing interest and figures to reject the offer by tomorrow's deadline.
  • The Tigers are a darkhorse for Justin since they could offer top third base prospect Nick Castellanos and others, including guys like Avisail Garcia, Rick Porcello, and Drew Smyly.
  • The Braves do not appear to be in serious pursuit of Upton.
  • The Red Sox continue to be disinclined to trade Jacoby Ellsbury and the chances of moving him are slim. GM Ben Cherington is the type to listen on all of his players, however.
  • Brett Myers is telling teams he wants to be a starter first, a closer second, and a setup man third.
  • Jon Garland, who has not pitched since July 2011 due to shoulder surgery, intends to make a comeback. He threw for 10-15 teams in September.

AL Central Notes: White Sox, Kelly, Rondon, Royals

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Here are some notes from around the AL Central…

  • The White Sox won't make any qualifying offers to any of their remaining free agents, GM Rick Hahn told reporters (including Jim Margalus of the South Side Sox blog).  Kevin Youkilis, A.J. Pierzynski and Brett Myers all weren't expected to receive the $13.3MM qualifying offers, though Hahn told all three players he would be interested in bringing them back to Chicago next season.
  • In an interview with The Waddle & Silvy Show on ESPN 1000 radio, Hahn re-stated his interest in Youkilis.  "He knows there is no confusion in his mind about our desire to bring him back. So we're going to stay on that, stay in communication," Hahn said.  "It's not a great time to be a club in the free-agent market looking for a third baseman, the player pool is not real deep, so I expect Kevin will be popular, but we're going to be in on that until the end, I think."
  • Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told Don Kelly that the team was interested in re-signing him to a minor league contract, Kelly tells George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press.  Kelly elected to become a free agent when the Tigers outrighted him off the 40-man roster yesterday.
  • With Jose Valverde on his way out of Detroit, Dombrowski and Jim Leyland hinted that rookie Bruce Rondon could be the Tigers' closer next season, reports MLB.com's Jason Beck.  The Venezuelan right-hander turns 22 in December and has a 2.53 ERA with 213 strikeouts in 196 minor league innings, though Rondon has only eight innings of experience above the Double-A level.
  • The Royals' acquisition of Ervin Santana is "not a great trade," writes Rany Jazayerli of the Rany On The Royals blog, but he ultimately likes the move since it shows Kansas City is willing to make aggressive moves to upgrade their rotation and, even if Santana doesn't pan out, the Royals are only committed to him for one season.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Slowey, Rottino, Kelly

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We'll track the latest outright assignments here…

  • The Indians outrighted Kevin Slowey and Vinny Rottino off of their 40-man roster to Triple-A, MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reports (on Twitter). Slowey had been a non-tender candidate after spending the 2012 season in the minor leagues. Rottino appeared in 36 games for the Mets and Indians this past season, hitting three homers and posting a .560 OPS.
  • The Tigers announced that they outrighted Don Kelly to Triple-A Toledo. The utility player will elect free agency instead of accepting the assignment, according to the team. Detroit GM Dave Dombrowski said yesterday that Kelly would lose his 40-man roster spot. The 32-year-old played all three outfield positions and every infield position except shortstop this past season, posting a .523 OPS in 127 plate appearances. LSW Baseball represents Kelly.

Managerial Notes: Marlins, Indians, Blue Jays

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Option decisions are due today, but we won’t let that overshadow the latest managerial news from around MLB…

  • Tigers hitting coach Lloyd McClendon is a candidate for the Marlins' managerial opening, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports. McClendon interviewed with Miami yesterday. Larry Bowa and Mike Redmond are also candidates for the position, but Bryan Price has withdrawn his name from consideration.
  • The Indians announced their 2013 coaching staff, and it includes Sandy Alomar Jr. as the bench coach, former Astros manager Brad Mills as the third base coach and former MLB catcher Kevin Cash as the bullpen coach.
  • Alomar isn't out of the running for the Blue Jays' managerial opening, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca notes (on Twitter).

Tigers Won’t Pursue Young Or Valverde

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It's been a busy morning for the Tigers, who announced today that they're bringing back Jhonny Peralta, Octavio Dotel and manager Jim Leyland. Detroit GM Dave Dombrowski recently addressed the media, discussing the 2012 team and the Tigers' offseason plans. George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press has the highlights from the briefing (all links go to Twitter):

Tigers Exercise 2013 Options For Dotel, Peralta

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The Tigers announced that they exercised their 2013 options for both Octavio Dotel and Jhonny Peralta. Both players will return to the Tigers for another season instead of hitting free agency.

Peralta will earn $6MM in 2013 instead of a $500K buyout. The 30-year-old posted a .239/.305/.384 batting line in 585 plate appearances with Detroit this past year. While the Tigers would prefer more range at shortstop, they consider the $6MM price tag reasonable, according to Jon Heyman. Back in September I explained that the option would likely appeal to the Tigers given the scarcity of alternatives available.

Dotel appeared in 57 regular season games for the Tigers, posting a 3.57 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 58 innings. The 38-year-old continues to dominate right-handed hitters; they hit just .197/.217/.307 against him with 43 strikeouts and four walks. He'll earn $3.5MM instead of a $500K buyout.

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