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Royals To Sign Jonathan Broxton

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The Royals announced that they have agreed to sign Jonathan Broxton to a one-year deal, pending a physical. The deal is worth $4MM and includes $1MM in incentives based on games pitched for the 27-year-old right-hander, who will be Kansas City's setup man in 2012.

“We are delighted to add someone as talented as Jonathan to our bullpen,” Royals GM Dayton Moore said. “He will be used in a setup role to closer Joakim Soria and will help solidify what we feel is a young and talented bullpen.”

Broxton’s 2011 season ended in May after just 12 2/3 innings with a 5.68 ERA and nearly as many walks (9) as strikeouts (10). He had arthroscopic elbow surgery in September and was expected to begin an offseason throwing program this month. A dominant reliever for the Dodgers from 2006 to the early part of 2010, Broxton will look to rebuild value on a one-year contract in Kansas City.  

Other than the Royals, the Mets, Rangers and Rays pursued Broxton most intently, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter links). Overall, at least ten teams expressed interest in Broxton, who's represented by B.B. Abbott of Jet Sports Management.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the agreement (Twitter link) and Jon Heyman of SI.com added the terms of the deal (Twitter links). Dan Mennella explains the fantasy baseball implications of the move at CloserNews.com, the destination for all reliever-related fantasy baseball news and analysis.

Blue Jays Notes: Cooper, Drabek, Rasmus, D’Arnaud

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The Blue Jays are looking for a closer this offseason and Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun says the team has checked in on free agents Francisco Cordero and Matt Capps. Heath Bell is another option for the Blue Jays, who had interest in Jonathan Papelbon before he signed with the Phillies. Here are more notes on the Blue Jays, who have yet to make a major move so far this offseason…

  • The Blue Jays would listen to offers on 24-year-old first baseman David Cooper, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Cooper, the Blue Jays' first round draft pick in 2008, debuted with the team in 2011 and posted a .678 OPS in 81 plate appearances. He won the Pacific Coast League batting title with a .364/.439/.535 line this past season, adding nine home runs and 51 doubles.
  • Blue Jays president Paul Beeston isn't a fan of the posting system and Elliott suggests Toronto's interest in Yu Darvish is "lukewarm." 
  • The Yankees are interested in Kyle Drabek, according to Elliott. Drabek started the season in the Blue Jays' rotation before being demoted to the minor leagues. He had a standout season in 2010, but struggled with command in the Majors (6.3 BB/9) and in the minors (4.9 BB/9) in 2011.
  • The Royals have some interest in Colby Rasmus because of concerns that Lorenzo Cain may not be ready for an everyday role, Elliott reports. 
  • The Phillies have discussed ways of re-obtaining Travis d'Arnaud, the Double-A catcher who arrived with Drabek in the 2009 Roy Halladay trade. As Elliott points out, the Blue Jays would need a ton to part with this year's Eastern League MVP.

Minor Moves: Marrugo, Rohlinger, Sutil, Maldonado

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We'll keep track of today's minor moves right here.  News of these moves are courtesy of Matt Eddy of Baseball America unless indicated otherwise..

  • The Orioles signed 17-year-old Colombian right-hander Yeizer Marrugo to a deal with a $120K bonus, according to Ernesto Armenteros D. of El Universal (Spanish link) and passed along by Eddy.  In the El Universal story, O's scout Jorge Franco says that Marrugo's fastball topped out at 91 mph when they recently scouted him and the youngster has the talent to make it to the majors in five years.
  • The Phillies acquired right-hander Adam Worthington from the Diamondbacks as player to be named for left-hander Mike Zagurski.  The Phillies sent Zagurski to Arizona in a September trade.
  • Cubs outfielder Lou Montanez elected free agency after recently being outrighted off of the club's 40-man roster.
  • The Reds re-signed right-hander Chad Reineke after the pitcher elected free agency in October.  Reineke had a 3.84 ERA in 25 games (22 starts) with Triple-A Louisville in 2011.
  • The Rockies released shortstop Ryan Rohlinger.  Rohlinger hit .247/.353/.409 in 103 Triple-A games for Colorado and the Giants.
  • The Royals signed a pair of left-handers in Marlon Arias and Tommy Hottovy.  Arias spent seven years in the Dodgers system, but hasn't pitched domestically since becoming a free agent following the 2009 season.
  • The Marlins signed right-hander Robert Ray, who appeared in a handful of Major League games for the Blue Jays in 2009 and 2010.  They also re-signed catcher Luke Montz.
  • The Dodgers signed shorstop Luis Cruz.
  • The Diamondbacks signed shortstop Wladimir Sutil to a minor league deal, according to El Universal (Spanish link).  Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic confirmed the signing to MLBTR.
  • The Nationals have re-signed catcher Carlos Maldonado, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com (via Twitter).  The move was first reported by El Universal (Spanish link).  Maldonado, 32, hit .234/.361/.342 in 38 games with Triple-A Syracuse this season and spent four games on the Nats' varsity squad in 2011.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/2011/11/minor-league-transactions-nov-15-21/

Quick Hits: Harper, Storen, Mets, Moore

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It was on this day in 1953 that the Dodgers promoted their Triple-A manager to take over the Major League job on a one-year contract.  Walter Alston remained in the Dodgers' dugout for the next 23 years, winning 2,040 games and leading the club to four World Series titles.

Some news from around the Majors as everyone lets the turkey settle…

  • The new Super Two regulations in the new collective bargaining agreement shouldn't have much impact on Nationals uber-prospect Bryce Harper, writes Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
  • Drew Storen will only become more valuable to the Nationals as the price of closers continues to rise, opines Ben Goessling of MASNsports.com, though "there's a logical argument to be made for moving Storen at the height of his value."
  • The Mets are "still in [the] exploratory stage" of their offseason moves and "aren't close on anything," reports Andy Martino of the New York Daily News (via Twitter).
  • Royals general manager Dayton Moore tells Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that he doesn't think his team will be negatively affected by the new CBA.  Dutton notes that the Royals spent much more than usual on draft signings and international prospects in the last year since the club was anticipating both avenues to be limited under baseball's new labor rules.

American League Free Agent Arbitration Offers

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10 American League teams have free agent arbitration offer decisions to make, and we'll update them in this post throughout the day in advance of the 11pm central time deadline.  For a fantastic customizable chart with all 57 Type A/B free agents and their teams' decisions in real-time, click here. 

Updated team decisions:

Teams with decisions still due:

Royals To Sign Bruce Chen

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Piece by piece, the Royals' rotation is taking shape. They have agreed to sign Bruce Chen to a two-year deal worth $9MM. The deal also includes a $1MM roster bonus and up to $1MM in incentives.

Before agreeing to terms with Chen, Royals GM Dayton Moore told Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that he is looking to add one or two more pitchers to compete with their internal candidates. Left-handers Jonathan Sanchez, Danny Duffy and Chen join right-handers Luke Hochevar, Felipe Paulino in the projected 2012 rotation at this point and relievers Aaron Crow and Everett Teaford could also transition to the rotation. Though Moore has already added two arms this offseason, the Royals lack top-of-the-rotation starters and may continue to pursue trades for available pitching.

Chen posted a 3.77 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 155 innings for the Royals this past season. The Royals offered the 34-year-old Scott Boras client arbitration earlier today, which means they would have obtained a compensatory draft pick had he accepted one of his other offers. 

Jon Heyman of SI.com first reported the agreement (Twitter links) after Dutton reported that the sides were nearing a deal.

Royals, Bruce Chen Progressing Toward Deal

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The Royals appear to be progressing toward a new contract with Bruce Chen, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. The Royals have offered Chen, a Type B free agent, arbitration in anticipation of tonight’s deadline for teams to offer deals to ranked free agents.

“I know he wants to be here, and we want him here,” GM Dayton Moore told Dutton. “The feeling is mutual. We’d like to get something done before the Winter Meetings. I think we’re getting closer.”

Chen appears to be asking for a two-year deal worth more than $10MM, according to Dutton. He has already obtained multiyear offers this offseason. The 34-year-old Scott Boras client posted a 3.77 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 155 innings for the Royals this past season. Moore says the Royals are looking to add one or two more pitchers to compete with their internal candidates, even after trading for left-hander Jonathan Sanchez.

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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Minor Moves: Kimball, Corporan, Rottino, Pascucci

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Today's minor moves…

  • The Twins re-signed left-hander Phil Dumatrait, according to the Sosnick Cobbe Twitter page. Dumatrait appeared in 45 games for the Twins last season, posting a 3.92 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9.
  • The Blue Jays claimed right-hander Cole Kimball off of waivers from Washington, according to the Nationals' official Twitter feed.  Meanwhile, the Nats outrighted outfielder Corey Brown to Triple-A Syracuse.
  • Astros catcher Carlos Corporan cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Oklahoma City, tweets Alyson Footer of the Astros.  Corporan has the right to elect free agency due to previously being outrighted.
  • The Mets signed catcher/left fielder/first baseman Vinny Rottino and first baseman/DH Val Pascucci to minor league deals, reports ESPN's Adam Rubin.  Both players saw their first big league action in several years in 2011.
  • Eric Duncan, drafted in the first round by the Yankees in 2003, has signed with the Royals, tweets Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.  The 26-year-old played mostly first base, second base, and left field this year for the Cardinals' Double-A affiliate, hitting .274/.322/.527 in 385 plate appearances.
  • The White Sox re-signed Leyson Septimo, tweets Goldstein.  The Sox claimed the hard-throwing 26-year-old southpaw off waivers from Arizona in June but removed him from their 40-man roster in October.
  • The Giants signed center fielder Gregor Blanco, according to his agency (via Matt Eddy of Baseball America on Twitter).  The 27-year-old spent the year with the Triple-A affiliates of the Nationals and Royals, hitting .201/.350/.327 in 252 plate appearances.
  • The Phillies acquired righty Adam Worthington from the Diamondbacks to complete the September Mike Zagurski trade, tweets Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.  Worthington, 24, posted a 4.48 ERA, 10.0 K/9, 4.6 BB/9, and 0.6 HR/9 in 62 1/3 High-A relief innings this year.
  • The Yankees signed lefty reliever Mike O'Connor, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  The 31-year-old appeared briefly in the Majors for the Mets this year, also posting a 5.22 ERA, 9.8 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, and 1.0 HR/9 in 60 1/3 Triple-A innings.

Bruce Chen Weighing Multiyear Offers

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Lefty Bruce Chen has multiyear offers, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  He says the Royals and Cubs are among the teams talking to Chen, with the Royals perhaps focused on him.

Chen, a 34-year-old Scott Boras client, has never had a multiyear deal in his career.  This year for the Royals he posted a 3.77 ERA, 5.6 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 1.05 HR/9, and 34.6% groundball rate in 155 innings.

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