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AL West Notes: Morse, Kubel, M’s, Angels, Young

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Yesterday, Mariners General Manager Jack Zduriencik told reporters, including MLBTR's Mark Polishuk, that while he liked what John Jaso brought to the table for the team, it was worth parting with him in order to acquire an impact hitter like Michael Morse.  Morse will now join Kendrys Morales, Jason Bay, and Raul Ibanez in the middle of Seattle's lineup for 2013 but Jack Z says that he isn't done yet.  Seattle would still like to add veteran depth at catcher in support of Jesus Montero.  Here's today's news out of the American League West..

  • Before acquiring Morse and before Justin Upton vetoed the deal that never was, the Mariners had serious talks about getting Jason Kubel, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.  The D'Backs are said to be seeking young pitching in return for the outfielder and recently had talks with the Orioles about him.
  • Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) looked at the five outfielders most likely to be traded this season, including Chris Young and Coco Crisp of the A's and the Angels' Vernon Wells.  If manager Bob Melvin is committed to Crisp, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Young is shipped to the first team that loses its starting center fielder to injury.  And for his part, Crisp has said that he wouldn't mind a trade to a contender.
  • In conversations with several agents and executives about young stars who might agree to contract extensions in the near future, the Angels' Mike Trout and the Mariners' Felix Hernandez came up fairly often, writes MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince.  "If I'm [the Angels]," said one exec of Trout, "I'm already talking about a crazy long deal. I don't think anybody knows what his ceiling is. You could be looking at the greatest modern player in the game."

Jo-Jo Reyes Released; Signs In Korea

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THURSDAY, 10:12am: The SK Wyverns announced they've signed Reyes (via Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net).

WEDNESDAY, 8:49pm: Reyes and his representatives are still negotiating with SK Wyverns and the Angels are still negotiating the compensation they will receive for releasing the southpaw, MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez reports (Twitter link).  The transaction is expected to be finalized by tomorrow.

11:33am: The Angels are giving left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes his unconditional release to allow him to sign with the SK Wyverns of the Korean League, a source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).  The Paragon Sports International client signed a minor league deal with a big league spring training invite in November.

This isn't the first time Reyes has drawn interest from Korea as he fielded interest from the KBO around this time last year before hooking on with the Pirates.  The 28-year-old posted a 2.67 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in nine starts and eight Triple-A relief appearances last season.  Despite strong numbers in the minors over the years, Reyes has a career 6.05 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in the majors.

Angels, Jerome Williams Avoid Arbitration

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The Angels avoided arbitration with right-hander Jerome Williams, reports Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com. The Full Circle Sports Management client agreed to a one-year deal worth $2MM. 

Williams had a projected salary of $1.9MM for 2013 after posting a 4.58 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 over the course of the 2012 season. The 30-year-old veteran has spent the past two seasons with the Angels after struggling to earn a spot on a big league roster since after the 2007 campaign. 

The Angels have four remaining arbitration eligible players, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows: Kevin Jepsen, Jason Vargas, Tommy Hanson and Alberto Callaspo. 

Minor Moves: Dickerson, Cabrera, Hendrickson, Neal

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Earlier today we learned the Phillies signed Rodrigo Lopez to a minor league deal, now here are the rest of Saturday's minor moves…

  • The Yankees have released Chris Dickerson according to the MLB.com transactions page. New York designated the 30-year-old outfielder for assignment after claiming Russ Canzler last week. Dickerson hit .316/.417/.515 in Triple-A last year and received a September call-up.
  • Fernando Cabrera signed a minor league deal with the Angels, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Cabrera, 31, owns a 5.24 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 across parts of seven career big league seasons. The right-handed reliever spent last season with the Mets' Triple-A affiliate.
  • Mark Hendrickson will have a tryout with the Orioles during their mini-camp next week, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com (Twitter links). The 39-year-old left-hander has not appeared in the big leagues since 2011, and Kubatko says he's trying to reinvent himself as a sidearmer.
  • The Indians have released Thomas Neal, the team announced (Twitter links). The 25-year-old outfielder was designated for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster for Nick Swisher earlier this month. The team says they have interest in re-signing Neal, who hit .314/.400/.467 in Double-A last season.

Angels Not Expected To Pursue Kyle Lohse

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The Angels are not expected to pursue free agent Kyle Lohse, reports MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez (on Twitter). Gonzalez says the team has maxed out their payroll ($160MM or so) and are concerned about how the right-hander would perform in the AL.

Lohse, 34, has drawn little interest this offseason, presumably because he's tied to draft pick compensation. The Angels have remade their rotation this winter, replacing Dan Haren and Ervin Santana with Tommy Hanson, Jason Vargas, and Joe Blanton. Jerome Williams and Garrett Richards serve as depth.

Rosenthal On Padres, Orioles, Rockies, Phillies

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The Orioles showed serious interest in Justin Upton before talks with the Diamondbacks sputtered, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported last night. Here are some more of Rosenthal’s notes from around MLB…

  • Rosenthal hears from one executive who expects the Padres to make another significant move. However, the Padres like their group of young starting pitchers and aren’t inclined to make a strong play for one of the remaining free agent starters. San Diego could still trade for a pitcher such as Rick Porcello, Luke Hochevar or Aaron Harang.
  • Talks about a deal involving Upton and Chase Headley didn’t progress, Rosenthal reports.
  • The Orioles continue seeking starting pitching and Joe Saunders remains a target. The Orioles also checked in on Porcello, according to Rosenthal.
  • Though the Orioles spoke with Lance Berkman before he signed with the Rangers, they weren’t interested in spending big for the switch-hitting DH.
  • Jeff Karstens, Derek Lowe, Aaron Cook and Jair Jurrjens are among the possibilities the Rockies are considering. The Rockies wouldn’t offer all of those pitchers Major League deals, however.
  • Rosenthal suggests free agent reliever Rafael Soriano could be a longshot for the Rockies. Colorado would have to surrender its second round draft pick to sign the Scott Boras client.
  • The Phillies continue seeking a right-handed hitting outfielder, Rosenthal reports. They’re still considering free agent Scott Hairston and trade candidates Alfonso Soriano and Vernon Wells. It’s possible the Phillies will go with platoons in both corner outfield positions.

Quick Hits: Saunders, Reds, Yankees, Hamilton

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Congratulations to our own Ben Nicholson-Smith on being named one of the 100 most influential Canadians in baseball by Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun for the second year in a row.  In addition to BN-S, fellow MLBTR writers Luke Adams (also of HoopsRumors) and Mark Polishuk earned honorable mention for their stellar work.  Here’s tonight’s look around baseball..

  • Even though many seem to feel getting a hitter is the bigger priority for the Orioles right now, Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com would like to see the O’s continue their pursuit of Joe Saunders and get involved with Shaun Marcum.
  • Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req’d) looked at the biggest risks taken by MLB teams this offseason.  The Reds made the list for their decision to put the newly-acquired Shin-Soo Choo in center field and so did the Yankees for letting Russell Martin and Nick Swisher go elsewhere while signing Ichiro Suzuki and Kevin Youkilis who are well past their primes.  Bowden also suggests that the Tigers should get a closer with experience like Brian Wilson to support rookie Bruce Rondon.
  • Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com looks at ten questions facing the Angels in 2013, including the issue of whether Josh Hamilton is worth the $125MM contract he received this winter.  It’ll take longer than one year to fully answer that question, but in the short-term the Halos would like to see the slugger stay healthy.
  • The Dodgers are full of promise in 2013 but an awful lot happened in the last year and change to put them in that position, notes Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com.  The ball started rolling in November of 2011 when Frank McCourt finally agreed to sell the team.

Los Angeles Notes: Dodgers, Angels, Federowicz, Wells

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"The Los Angeles Dodgers ushered in 2012 with a divorce settlement," writes Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles in his recap of the busy year at Chavez Ravine, as the team's "year of courting" with its disillusioned fanbase grew to resemble "some obscene Hollywood wedding."

Here's the latest news on both the Dodgers and Angels…

  • Dodgers GM Ned Colletti has always preferred to have a veteran backup catcher, which is why Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Times wouldn't be surprised to see the team add an older backstop to compete with Tim Federowicz for the backup job behind A.J. Ellis.  Federowicz, 25, has a .781 OPS in 2008 minor league plate appearances but just 20 Major League PAs over the last two seasons.
  • The Angels don't have much backup outfield depth beyond Vernon Wells, writes Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.  Since the Halos will have to eat the large majority of Wells' contract in a trade anyway, Fletcher argues that the team should hold onto him to see if he can contribute anything as a reserve.
  • Between adding Josh Hamilton and addressing their biggest problem at the back of the bullpen, MLB.com's Richard Justice wonders if the Angels have done enough to now be considered World Series favorites.

Chicago Notes: Garza, Marcum, Bourjos, D’Backs

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ESPN Chicago's Bruce Levine opened up his latest online chat to reader proposals for trades that would send Justin Upton to the Cubs and Jason Kubel to the White Sox, which led to no shortage of creative ideas from fans.  Amidst these plausible-to-very implausible trade proposals, Levine also shared a few hot stove items about both of Chicago's teams…

  • The Blue Jays and Rangers have been Matt Garza's most ardent trade suitors and could again be interested in acquiring the right-hander if Garza shows he's in good health during Spring Training.  I'd think that Texas might still be in the mix but Toronto's rotation seems set unless the Jays don't think Ricky Romero can return to form.
  • If the Cubs have concerns that Garza won't be ready for Opening Day, Levine thinks the Cubs could try to sign a free agent starter like Shaun Marcum.
  • Before the Cubs and Angels settled on the eventually-abandoned Carlos Marmol-for-Dan Haren trade, L.A. turned down the Cubs' offer of Marmol for Peter Bourjos and an infielder.
  • The Cubs have "genuine concern about holding [their] fan base" given the team's recent struggles and rebuilding process, which Levine feels may have been the impetus for the Cubs' signing of Edwin Jackson and its pursuit of Anibal Sanchez.
  • The Diamondbacks have interest in some White Sox prospects, which could be a hint towards a possible Kubel trade.  We heard earlier this week that the Sox and D'Backs had discussed both Kubel and Upton in potential deals, though Kubel is the likelier of the two outfielders to be moved.
  • While Gavin Floyd has again been the subject of trade rumors, Levine believes the White Sox won't look to deal Floyd until they're sure that John Danks is healthy.

This Date In Transactions History: Mo Vaughn

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On this date in 2001, the Mets acquired first baseman Mo Vaughn from the Angels in exchange for right-hander Kevin Appier.  Vaughn had missed the entire 2001 season with the Angels due to a ruptured tendon in his left arm, but General Manager Steve Phillips & Co. opted to roll the dice on the slugger anyway.  The trade was meant to bring some power to the Mets' lineup, but Vaughn's injuries wound up making the deal one of the worst moves of Phillips' tenure in New York.

The media got wind of the trade almost a week prior to its completion when sources told Tyler Kepner of the New York Times that Phillips, manager Bobby Valentine, and Assistant General Manager Omar Minaya traveled up to Massachusetts to watch Vaughn work out, which was unusual given that Vaughn was under contract with Anaheim.  ''I understand it was very positive.  I heard that they really liked what they saw," said one source.  That would presumably include Vaughn's physical shape, despite the slugger's reported increase from 245 pounds to 275 pounds in his first two seasons with the Halos. 

Less than a week later, the Mets agreed to take on Vaughn and the roughly $50MM owed to him over the next three seasons.  As part of the deal, the Mets got to defer some of the money paid to the first baseman while the Angels covered the $8MM he was still owed as part of his signing bonus.  Meanwhile, they would also part with Appier, who was coming off of an impressive season in his first (and only) campaign in blue and orange.  The right-hander posted a 3.57 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9, his best numbers since his time in Kansas City.

Vaughn wasn't able to mash the ball as well as he had in years past by the time he got to Shea, but the veteran still managed to hit .259/.349/.456 with 26 homers in 139 games in 2002.  The 2003 season was an entirely different story, however, as a knee injury in early May would bring his career to a close.  Meanwhile, Appier pitched to a 3.92 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 32 starts for the Halos in 2002, helping to propel the Halos to their first World Series title.  The Angels wound up releasing Appier the following year as he struggled with a flexor tendon injury, but one has to imagine that they were pretty happy to get out from under the money owed to Vaughn.

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