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Quick Hits: Astros, Fielder, Red Sox, Bonser

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The latest links from around MLB on a big day for the Nationals…

  • The Astros may not keep Humberto Quintero and Ivan Rodriguez is a possibility in Houston, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The Astros avoided arbitration with Quintero last week, signing him to a one-year deal worth $1MM.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports suggests agent Scott Boras is “gunning for” an average salary of $25.5MM for Prince Fielder (Twitter link). A contract that generous would surpass Albert Pujols’ average salary of $25.4MM.
  • Alex Speier of WEEI.com takes a detailed look ahead to the candidates to make Boston's 2012 rotation. Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz are the only ones who are guaranteed starting jobs for the Red Sox at this point.
  • The Giants are talking to Boof Bonser about a possible minor league deal, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). Bonser is recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Ed Wade Re-Joins Phillies

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TUESDAY: The Phillies have announced that Wade will be a special consultant in the club's baseball operations department.

MONDAY: Longtime MLB GM Ed Wade has returned to the Phillies in a scouting position, Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports (on Twitter). Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle first reported that Wade would end up scouting for his former team (Twitter link).

The Astros dismissed Wade this fall after four years in Houston and a 56-106 showing in 2011. Wade became Philadelphia's GM in 1997 after spending years in the team's baseball operations department. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. was Wade's assistant GM from 1999 until Wade's dismissal in 2005. The Phillies drafted Ryan Howard and Chase Utley while Wade was GM and selected Jimmy Rollins when he was the team's player personnel administrator.

Quick Hits: Astros, Angels, Cespedes

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We wouldn’t want the biggest news of the day — that the Rangers won the bidding for Yu Darvish — to completely overshadow some secondary notes from around MLB. Here are some quick hits from around the league, starting in Texas:

  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow told fans at MLB.com that Wandy Rodriguez, Brett Myers and Carlos Lee are “very good players” who could help the Astros going forward. “We will look for any opportunity to improve our team in the medium and long term,” Luhnow explained, “so if there were a trade that made sense, we would consider it.”
  • Brian Bixler cleared waivers and accepted his assignment to Oklahoma City, according to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. The Astros designated the infielder for assignment last week to create roster space for Jed Lowrie and Kyle Weiland.
  • The Cubs and Red Sox have agreed that former Red Sox GM Theo Epstein won't be able to hire anyone from the Red Sox for three years, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com (on Twitter).
  • Angels GM Jerry Dipoto likes the depth in his team's starting rotation, but doesn't yet know whether his bullpen is a strength or a weakness, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times. Ideally, the Angels would like to add a late-inning reliever and make the lineup a little more left-handed, Dipoto says.
  • There's a consensus among international MLB people that the Yankees are "BIG" on Yoenis Cespedes, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (on Twitter).
  • Cespedes is close to establishing residency in the Dominican Republic, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes. The Cuban outfielder still needs to secure a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control since his residency is not permanent. The process could take two weeks, but he should be cleared to sign sometime in January.

Sitting Out Free Agency

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Four teams have yet to sign a free agent to a Major League deal, according to our free agent tracker: the Braves, Astros, Athletics, and Blue Jays.  A closer look:

  • Braves: So far, the Braves' offseason has consisted of exercising a $1.5MM option on Eric Hinske, ridding themselves of $5MM of Derek Lowe's contract, taking Robert Fish in the Rule 5 draft, and signing players to minor league deals.  The Braves have the starting pitching depth for another trade, perhaps involving Jair Jurrjens.  Martin Prado has also been mentioned in many rumors.  The Braves are looking to add a traditional backup shortstop on a one-year deal, and Ronny Cedeno is a candidate.  The Braves don't seem to have any huge needs, so perhaps their inactivity is justified.
  • Astros:  As you might expect, the rebuilding Astros focused on finding a new GM rather than signing Major League free agents.  Prior to the hiring of Jeff Luhnow, the team added Brian Bixler and Craig Tatum on waiver claims, took Rhiner Cruz in the Rule 5 draft, and signed a slew of minor league free agents.  Luhnow made a splash right out of the gate, acquiring Jed Lowrie and Kyle Weiland in a trade with the Red Sox for Mark Melancon.  I imagine he'll continue to shop Wandy Rodriguez. 
  • Athletics:  This offseason the A's picked up some cash for reliever Trystan Magnuson, but more notably traded Trevor Cahill and Craig Breslow to the Diamondbacks for prospects.  The A's are tearing down the team as they hope for approval to move to San Jose, and Andrew Bailey and Gio Gonzalez could be next to go.
  • Blue Jays:  The Jays have been active in routes other than free agency.  They picked up Edwin Encarnacion's $3.5MM option, made several waiver claims and traded for Magnuson, Sergio Santos, Luis Valbuena, Jeff Mathis, and Ben Francisco.  They were a finalist for Mat Latos, and we'll know soon whether they'll spend the next 30 days negotiating with Yu Darvish.  Additionally, second baseman Kelly Johnson accepted arbitration and is under team control for next year.

Cafardo On Red Sox, Rays, Cubs, Wandy, Zumaya

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In his latest column for the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo writes that the Red Sox have to be wary of an American League where the competition continues to get stiffer. With the Albert Pujols-led Angels and the improving Blue Jays aiming to contend for the postseason, the Red Sox may need to continue making moves to avoid missing the playoffs for a third straight year, says Cafardo. Here are some highlights from his piece:

  • Other GMs say Ben Cherington has been active in discussing potential moves. The Red Sox have looked into a number of pitchers on the trade market, including Gio Gonzalez, Jair Jurrjens, Gavin Floyd, and John Danks. According to Cafardo, the Sox probably don't have the caliber of prospects the Athletics want for Gonzalez.
  • An AL executive on how the Rays might fill their roster holes: "They could just continue to bottom-feed and keep all of their pitching. There's that January market that they've done very well with, and as long as they keep making the right decisions, their pitching is so good it will keep them in that playoff hunt every year."
  • Cafardo is skeptical that the Cubs are legit contenders for Prince Fielder, saying right now the team's mindset is "let’s not spend until we’re ready to spend and right now we're not ready to spend." It makes sense then that Cafardo also hears Chicago's bid for Yu Darvish was low, as detailed in MLBTR's Darvish rumors.
  • The Astros seem willing to take on some salary in a Wandy Rodriguez trade. We heard during the Winter Meetings that Houston didn't want to eat any of Wandy's contract to move him, so perhaps the club modified that stance after Jeff Luhnow took over as GM.
  • One NL scout who watched Joel Zumaya pitch this week said the righty "didn't have much of a breaking ball but threw 93-96 on his fastball. Somebody will bite on him."

NL Central Notes: Reyes, Astros, Molina, Pujols

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The Cardinals not only won the World Series, but they've also been named Baseball America's 2011 Organization Of The Year.  This is the first time the St. Louis organization has taken top honors since Baseball America instituted the award in 1982. 

Here's some other news from around the NL Central….

  • The Pirates are talking to southpaw Jo-Jo Reyes about a minor league contract, reports Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Twitter link).  Reyes posted a 5.57 ERA in 29 games with the Blue Jays and Orioles in 2011 and was non-tendered by the O's earlier this week.
  • The Astros will give several of their young arms a shot at the closer's job in Spring Training, reports MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.  Houston also has Brandon Lyon returning to provide some veteran closing experience.  Stay tuned to Closer News for the latest on the Astros' late-game situation.
  • Yadier Molina's contract is up after 2012 and Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wonders if Molina's friendship with Albert Pujols could make the catcher less inclined to re-sign with the Cardinals.  Molina would be one of the most-sought after members of the 2013 free agent class if he and the Cards don't agree on a new deal.  Miklasz suggests the Angels could target Molina this winter if he hits free agency, but I'd think such a move would only happen if Chris Iannetta is a big disappointment behind the plate in Anaheim.
  • Tony La Russa tells Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Pujols was "conflicted' about leaving the Cardinals to sign with the Angels.  "I know it was a painful decision and it pains him now," La Russa said. "He deserves what he got. He earned it. There's no bad guy here."  La Russa also felt the situation was "unavoidable" and that Pujols "was disappointed there wasn't more enthusiasm from the Cardinals" when the Angels and Marlins made big pushes to sign the superstar at the Winter Meetings.

Astros Notes: Myers, Rodriguez, Sanchez

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Today Jeff Luhnow made his first significant player move since becoming the Astros’ GM last week. Jed Lowrie and Kyle Weiland are now Astros and Mark Melancon is now on the Red Sox. Here are some more notes from Houston, starting with today’s trade…

  • The Red Sox and Astros also discussed some of Houston's high-salaried players, but "there wasn't a lot of appetite for that," Astros GM Jeff Luhnow told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The sides presumably discussed Wandy Rodriguez, Brett Myers and Carlos Lee before agreeing on today's deal.
  • The market for Rodriguez has been surprisingly cool, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. If he's traded, Rodriguez will be set to earn $36MM over the course of the next three seasons (a 2014 option becomes guaranteed if he's dealt).
  • Astros infielder Angel Sanchez has switched representation and is now with Burton Rocks LTD, tweets MLBTR's Tim Dierkes.

Minor Moves: Royals, Stavinoha, Santiago, German

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Today's minor moves…

  • The Royals signed Juan Gutierrez to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert (on Twitter).  The right-hander posted a 5.40 ERA with 11.3 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 18 1/3 innings with Arizona this past season.
  • The Astros released Nick Stavinoha so that he can sign with a Japanese team, according to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.  The 29-year-old spent the 2011 season at Triple-A, where he hit .270/.329/.488 in 586 plate appearances.  The Hiroshima Carp are working toward a deal with Stavinoha, according to a Japanese report passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker.
  • The Nationals signed Jarrett Hoffpauir to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson (on Twitter).  Hoffpauir, 28, posted a .281/.356/.428 for the Padres' top affiliate this past season.
  • The Royals announced that the club has granted the release of minor league pitcher Mario Santiago in order for the right-hander to sign a contract with the SK Wyverns of the Korean Baseball Organization.  Santiago, who turns 27 on Friday, split time between the Royals' Double-A and Triple-A affiliates in 2011.
  • Japan's Seibu Lions signed former Rangers utility man Esteban German for $1MM, tweets Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes.  The 33-year-old was removed from the Rangers' 40-man roster in November.

Removed From 40-Man: Jesse Chavez, Brian Bixler

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We'll keep track of which players are removed from 40-man rosters right here…

  • Right-hander Jesse Chavez cleared waivers and the Blue Jays outrighted him to Triple-A, the team tweeted.
  • The Astros designated Brian Bixler for assignment, according to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). The Astros, who needed roster space because of today's trade, had claimed Bixler from the Nationals last month. The 29-year-old appeared in 79 games for the Nationals in 2011, playing all three outfield positions, shortstop, third base and first base. He posted a .205/.267/.265 line in 94 plate appearances. 

Red Sox Notes: Melancon, Lowrie, Closer Search

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Earlier today, the Red Sox shipped shortstop Jed Lowrie and starter Kyle Weiland to Houston for reliever Mark Melancon.  Here's a look at some items out of Boston with plenty of talk about the trade..

  • Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter) likes the trade for the Red Sox but stresses that Melancon can't be the team's closer.  In his view, Boston still needs to acquire someone for the ninth inning.
  • ESPN's Keith Law thinks the Astros won the deal.
  • Melancon's power arm and mental toughness are definite positives, but Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe tweets that the 26-year-old projects as a set-up man in the AL rather than a closer.
  • Meanwhile, one talent evaluator told Alex Speier of WEEI.com that he loves what Melancon has to offer and believes that he has what it takes to be a closer.  The right-hander finished 47 games for the Astros last season.
  • The Red Sox are still in on multiple starters and closers, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.  It's a good bet that they'll land either the starter or closer that they're after and may get both.
  • More from Speier (via Twitter) who notes that the deal should be a good opportunity for both Weiland and Lowrie.  Lowrie has largely been blocked by Marco Scutaro and now would have had Jose Iglesias in front of him.  Meanwhile, Weiland was set to start the year in Triple-A but will now get to pitch for the Astros' varsity squad.
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