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AL West Notes: Tanaka, Ibanez, Astros

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In today’s press conference to introduce Raul Ibanez, Angels GM Jerry Dipoto declined to comment on whether he’s in on Masahiro Tanaka, tweets Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.  “It’s not fair to the player or the organization to openly discuss free agents,” said Dipoto (link).  Despite that, Fletcher thinks it’s still safe to assume they’re interested in the Japanese hurler. More out of the AL West..

  • Brian McTaggart of MLB.com looked at the Astros’ top storylines from 2013, including owner Jim Crane expanding the payroll and the appointment of Ryan Reid as president of business operations.
  • Ibanez told reporters, including Fletcher (Twitter link) that he wouldn’t still be playing if he didn’t think he could do it at a high level.  The 41-year-old inked a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $2.75MM that can go as high as $5MM with incentives.
  • Ibanez also talks about why he hits well at the Angels’ home park, tweets Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.  The slugger said the background allows him to see ball well, he benefits from the park’s wide open gaps, and he says the ball moves well through the infield.  His value is also helped by the fact that he won’t have to play the outfield in Anaheim.

Cafardo On Tanaka, Jimenez, Cruz, Lackey, Ichiro

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In this week's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that the Orioles owe it to their fans to take a shot at a championship by bolstering the roster.  The O's moved Jim Johnson to save on his expected $10MM salary for 2014 but the nixing of Grant Balfour's deal leaves them without a proven closer.  The Orioles, with a few fixes, could be exciting and fun to watch, but they need more if they want to win it all.  More from this week's column..

  • Cafardo cautions not to sleep on the Red Sox in the Masahiro Tanaka hunt and one AL scout says it’s the perfect time for the Red Sox to strike. “They have veteran pitchers in the final year or two years remaining on their deals,” he said. “They’ll be clearing out a lot of payroll soon. I know they feel they have good young pitching on the horizon, but Tanaka should be a very good No. 2 or No. 3 starter on any staff. I would think with their emphasis on pitching, they would get into it.” The Yankees, Cubs, Rangers, and Dodgers figure to be the most aggressive and the Angels, Phillies, Royals, and Blue Jays are expected to get into it.
  • Will the Red Sox's experience with Daisuke Matsuzaka scare them off of Tanaka?  “I don’t think that can enter their thinking. I’m sure they would have gone after Yu Darvish in retrospect,” said one National League GM.
  • Cafardo recently spoke with a few GMs who feel the Yankees may wind up with Ubaldo Jimenez, even if they land Tanaka.  “He had an excellent second half, has great stuff, and he has the type of personality that would fit New York,” one GM said. “He doesn’t let things get to him. He’s good at shrugging off things and turning the page.”  If the Yankees ink both pitchers, it's pretty difficult to see them staying under the $189MM mark.
  • Nelson Cruz is the best available free agent among position players, but his demand of four years at $75MM has turned off teams.  While other PED guys such as Jhonny Peralta have cashed in, teams are worried that Cruz, who more relies on his power is of greater concern for teams who worry that being off the stuff could hurt his power numbers.
  • John Lackey’s name has come up consistently this winter, but the Red Sox aren’t motivated to deal him.  That could change, but the club is enthused about his $500K option for 2015.
  • It'll be interesting to see if the Yankees can move Ichiro Suzuki given their crowded outfield.  The Giants remain a possibility, Cafardo writes.
  • The Dodgers could still trade from their outfield surplus.  When it comes to Matt Kemp, of course, teams want to see how he rebounds from shoulder and ankle surgeries.
  • With Brian McCann aboard and Francisco Cervelli as backup, Yankees catcher Austin Romine is very much available.  
  • Johan Santana is getting closer to making a decision on a minor league deal with a team. There’s been some speculation about the Twins since Santana still resides in Fort Myers, Fla., where the Twins have spring training.  A small-market team such as the Astros could also have some interest.

West Notes: A’s, Stubbs, Peacock, Tanaka

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Though the Athletics averaged just 22,337 fans per game in 2013 (which ranked 23rd in baseball), things could be worse in Oakland, writes Lev Facher of Athletics Nation. Oakland experienced a 10 percent increase in attendance from 2012 to 2013 despite the fact that the cross-town Giants were defending a World Series title. Another 10 percent increase would have Oakland north of 24,000 per game and shouldn't be too difficult to imagine with San Francisco's losing season in 2013 and Oakland's AL West championship. Facher notes that the A's will never top the Giants as long as they play in O.co Coliseum, but it's not hard to imagine them averaging well over 30,000 fans per night should they ever get a new park. More out of baseball's Western divisions…

  • New Rockies outfielder Drew Stubbs told Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post that he knew there was a chance he'd get traded this offseason, and he thought Colorado would be a potential landing spot once Dexter Fowler was traded. Indeed, Stubbs is now a member of the Rockies — a concept that has teammate Troy Tulowitzki excited. Tulo told Saunders: "I have high hopes for Drew. … I know they have talked about [Carlos Gonzalez] being our center fielder, but for me, I think we are a better team if Drew can grab that position and run with it. That way, we can leave Carlos in left." Tulowitzki said he will invite Stubbs to his home to work out with him prior to Spring Training.
  • Jason Collette of Fangraphs examined the transformation that Astros righty Brad Peacock made after being sent down to the minors midway through the 2013 campaign. Peacock adopted a slider that made a world of difference for his repertoire, and as Collette notes, the changes were obvious to GM Jeff Luhnow, manager Bo Porter and catcher Jason Castro.
  • Lookout Landing's Scott Weber looks at the case for the Mariners to push for Masahiro Tanaka and wonders if the lack of serious connection between the two sides to this point is due to Seattle's unwillingness to double down on the greatest risk in franchise history (Robinson Cano). As Weber notes, should those deals crumble, Seattle would be looking at well over $40MM of dead payroll per year. He suggests that an alternative would be to take advantage of the Tanaka buzz by jumping into a surprisingly cool market for Ubaldo Jimenez.

Minor Moves: Haley, Scarpetta, Mastroianni, Ruffin

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Here are today's minor moves and outright assignments from around the league…

  • Indians right-hander Trey Haley has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Columbus, the team announced. Haley was designated for assignment last week in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for new closer John Axford.
  • Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that the Brewers have released right-hander Cody Scarpetta (Twitter link). Baseball America ranked Scarpetta as Milwaukee's No. 4 prospect at one point and ranked his curveball best among Brewers farmhands from 2008-11. Scarpetta, now 25, underwent Tommy John surgery in 2012 and struggled to a 7.15 ERA in 34 innings upon his return in 2013.
  • The Twins announced that they've outrighted outfielder Darin Mastroianni to Triple-A Rochester. The 28-year-old was a solid fourth outfielder for the Twins in 2012 with outstanding defense and baserunning contributions, but an ankle injury limited him to 73 plate appearances in 2013. Mastroianni followed up a .250/.328/.350 showing in 2012 with a .185/.229/.215 effort in 2013.
  • Right-hander Chance Ruffin has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma, the Mariners announced. Ruffin was designated for assignment last week in order to clear room on the 40-man roster for Franklin Gutierrez, who re-signed with Seattle on a one-year deal.
  • The Brewers have outrighted right-hander Michael Olmsted off their 40-man roster, according to senior director of media relations Mike Vassallo (on Twitter). The 26-year-old whiffed 60 batters in 59 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A in 2013 but also walked 43 hitters en route to a 5.88 ERA.
  • Right-hander Rhiner Cruz has been outrighted from the Astros' 40-man roster, according to Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Houston selected Cruz out of the Mets organization with the first overall pick of the 2011 Rule 5 Draft. The 26-year-old posted a 3.38 ERA in 21 1/3 innings in 2013 but walked more hitters (11) than he struck out (10) in that time. 
  • The Dodgers have signed right-hander Juan Abreu to a minor league contract, according to the team's transactions page. Now 28 years old, Abreu's only Major League experience came with the Astros in 2011 when he allowed two runs with 12 strikeouts against three walks in 6 2/3 innings of relief. The Dominican native has a 4.30 ERA with 11.5 K/9 and 5.9 BB/9 in 106 2/3 career innings at the Triple-A level.

West Notes: Choo, Astros, Kotsay

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The Rangers' seven-year, $130MM agreement with Shin-Soo Choo brings total spending this offseason to around $1.543 billion, according to Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan. With players such as Ervin Santana, Matt Garza and Ubaldo Jimenez still available, the 2006 record of approximately $1.75 billion appears likely to be broken, and spending is certain to eclipse $2 billion if Masahiro Tanaka is posted. There simply isn't anywhere else to put the game's booming revenues now that spending has been capped in the draft and international free agency, Passan writes. Let's look at more late-night links from the AL and NL West:

Quick Hits: Santana, Karstens, Mulder, Athletics

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The signing of Omar Infante and Jason Vargas took up the money the Royals had earmarked to re-sign Ervin Santana, ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter links), and thus with the club at its payroll limit, there is only a "remote" chance of K.C. bringing Santana back on even a one-year deal at a bargain price.  The Tigers, Diamondbacks and Mariners are a few of the teams that have been linked to Santana this offseason, though we probably won't know the full extent of his market (and the market for other top free agent starters) until Masahiro Tanaka's situation has been settled.

Here's some more from around baseball…

  • Jeff Karstens' agent Damon Lapa tells MLBTR's Zach Links that he expects at least a dozen clubs to be in attendance for Karstens' upcoming showcase.  Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com first reported that Karstens will throw in January and Lapa indicated to MLBTR that he'll be auditioning in the "mid-to-late" portion of next month.  Lapa won't say what kind of deal he's seeking for his client but he did say that the 31-year-old is "100% healthy."
  • The Giants checked in on Mark Mulder “but the short version is he’s looking for more than we could provide, including a Major League contract,” GM Brian Sabean told reporters, including CSNBayArea.com's Andrew Baggarly.  Mulder is attempting a comeback and threw for three teams last month.
  • Athletics owner Lew Wolff told John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group that the A's ownership group hasn't been approached by any interested buyers and Wolff reiterated that the team isn't for sale.  Wolff also said he didn't have any interest in a new ballpark proposal by the city of Oakland that would see a stadium constructed at the Howard Terminal waterfront site.
  • The Cardinals have finished their major offseason work, GM John Mozeliak told reporters (including MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch).  The team will now look to add minor league depth and are prepared to be "opportunistic" if other ways of improving the roster present themselves, Mozeliak said.
  • Scott Boras will face a challenge in finding a big contract for Kendrys Morales considering the slugger's seemingly limited market, FOX Sports' Jon Morosi writes.
  • The Astros probably aren't done making moves and will look for some bargains in January and February, but GM Jeff Luhnow tells Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle that he would already be satisfied with taking his current roster into Spring Training.  Luhnow also commented on his team's recent acquisitions of Jesus Guzman and Collin McHugh, though he didn't comment on rumors tying Houston to Shin-Soo Choo.
  • "The White Sox have quietly had a terrific offseason," ESPN.com's David Schoenfeld writes, praising GM Rick Hahn for adding the likes of Adam Eaton and Matt Davidson for what Schoenfeld feels were expendable pieces in Addison Reed and Hector Santiago.

East Notes: Doumit, Blue Jays, Drew, Valle

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Braves GM Frank Wren says he viewed Ryan Doumit as the best player available to fill his bench need because "he's almost two players in one," tweets Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Atlanta acquired Ryan Doumit from the Twins in exchange for left-hander Sean Gilmartin earlier today.  More out of the AL and NL East..

Astros Acquire Jesus Guzman

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The Padres have traded outfielder/first baseman Jesus Guzman to the Astros for infielder Ryan Jackson, according to Corey Brock of MLB.com (on Twitter).  

San Diego got interest in Guzman in late July, but he wound up staying put for the rest of the season.  The 29-year-old took a step back from his previous two seasons with the Padres in 2013, hitting just .226/.297/.378 in 318 plate appearances.  Prior to that, Guzman had a .277/.342/.446 slash line through 592 PAs in 2011 and 2012.

Jackson, 25, saw time in 20 big league games for the Cardinals from 2012-13 before being waived in the fall and picked up by Houston.  Jackson spent the bulk of 2013 with the Cardinals' Triple-A affiliate in Memphis.  Over the last two years in Memphis, Jackson has a .275/.343/.371 slash line with the better results coming in 2012.  The Padres put a claim in on Jackson when he was up for grabs, but the Astros were able to get him instead, Brock tweets.

Astros Claim Collin McHugh

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The Astros have claimed right-hander Collin McHugh off waivers from the Rockies, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter link). The Rockies designated the 26-year-old McHugh for assignment earlier in the week to make room on the 40-man roster for lefty Boone Logan.

Acquired from the Mets over the summer in exchange for Eric Young Jr., McHugh didn't pan out in Colorado any more than he had in his previous auditions in New York. He allowed four homers and 21 earned runs in 19 innings for the Rockies, bringing his ERA on the season to 10.04. McHugh has allowed 47 earned runs in 47 1/3 career innings at the big league level.

However, McHugh has a strong 3.58 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 173 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level. The Astros appear to be betting on that upside with this claim.

Choo Turned Down Seven-Year Offer From Yankees

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While the market for Shin-Soo Choo has been slow to develop, he could have already found a home had accepted a lavish offer from the Yankees. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports that even after signing Jacoby Ellsbury to a seven-year, $153MM contract, the Yankees offered Choo a seven-year, $140MM contract. Agent Scott Boras reportedly countered by asking for Ellsbury money, and the Yankees instead elected to sign Carlos Beltran to a much cheaper three-year, $45MM pact.

With Choo no longer a fit in New York, Boras will have to look elsewhere to try to top that $140MM figure. The Rangers are one team that has been said to be interested in Choo, but reports have indicated that they prefer him on a five-year deal. Beyond that, according to Passan's report, Texas has instead turned its focus to Masahiro Tanaka.

Passan also adds that multiple teams, including the Astros, have offers on the table to Choo at this time. It's not clear how much Houston has offered, but as Passan notes, an outfield of Choo, Dexter Fowler and top prospect George Springer would be an excellent trio. The Astros, however, aren't big fans of the idea of surrendering their second-round pick to sign Choo, writes Passan, especially considering that NC State lefty Carlos Rodon — a Boras advisee — is the favorite to go No. 1 overall to the Astros. Rodon would command a significant chunk of Houston's draft budget, which would shrink were the team to forfeit its second-round selection.

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