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NL Central Notes: Pujols, Beltran, Cubs, Aoki

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The Reds signed a catcher today and the Pirates avoided arbitration with a pair of pitchers. Here are some more notes from the NL Central…

  • Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said this weekend that his team must stay within certain financial limitations to put a competitive team on the field year after year, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. The Cardinals would have liked to retain Albert Pujols, but keeping him wasn’t necessarily realistic. “It's how much can I afford to pay one player and put together a team that's going to be competitive? That's the whole jigsaw puzzle that all teams have,” DeWitt said.
  • Carlos Beltran said the Indians, Rays and Giants were among the finalists for his services this offseason, MLB.com's Matthew Leach reports. Beltran said another team offered a three-year deal worth less money, B.J. Rains of FOXSportsMidwest.com tweets.
  • Cubs director of scouting and player development Jason McLeod said he's looking forward to meeting with his scouts this week to find ways of drafting more effectively under the new collective bargaining agreement, according to Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.
  • Tom Haudricourt on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets that there's an expectation that the Brewers will sign outfielder Norichika Aoki. They have until 4pm CDT tomorrow to sign Aoki, or else he’ll be returned to the Yakult Swallows and the Brewers will get their $2.5MM posting fee back.

Brewers Sign Cesar Izturis

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JAN. 14: MLB.com's Adam McCalvy has a breakdown of the contract, reporting that Izturis can earn $875K in the big leagues with another $375K in incentives. He'll get $25K for appearing in 90 games, $50K for appearing in 100 and 115 games, $50K for 75 starts, and $100K for 90 and 115 starts. The contract also allows Izturis to request his release if he's not added to the 40-man roster by March 30th.

DEC. 21: The Brewers have signed Cesar Izturis to a minor league contract, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. In a team release, the Brewers announced they've also signed left-hander Juan Perez to a minor league deal. Both players will receive invitations to Spring Training.

Izturis spent the last three seasons in Baltimore, hitting .240/.283/.292 in 958 plate appearances for the Orioles. Although the 31-year-old didn't provide much pop at the plate, his defense continues to be rated favorably by advanced metrics — Fangraphs puts his career UZR/150 at +7.6 or better at shortstop, third base, and second base. If he makes the Brewers' big league club, Izturis figures to provide depth behind Rickie Weeks, Alex Gonzalez, and Aramis Ramirez.

The 33-year-old Perez, meanwhile, has seen limited Major League action with the Pirates and Phillies. With the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate at Lehigh Valley in 2011, Perez recorded a 5.70 ERA with 13.1 K/9 and 6.2 BB/9 in 36 1/3 innings.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Brewers Exchange Proposals With Aoki’s Agent

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Brewers GM Doug Melvin says that he has exchanged proposals with Norichika Aoki's agent but isn't sure how it will go, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  Melvin added that the club is looking at other outfield options.

Aoki worked out for the Brewers on Sunday for a little over an hour with Melvin, manager Ron Roenicke, and owner Mark Attanasio present.  The Brewers have until 4pm central time on Tuesday to sign Aoki.  If they do not reach agreement with the outfielder, the Yakult Swallows must refund the $2.5MM posting fee.  The 30-year-old hit .292/.358/.360 for the Swallows in 2011.

Brewers, Parra Avoid Arbitration

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The Brewers announced that they avoided arbitration with left-hander Manny Parra. The sides agreed to a $1.2MM salary for 2012, MLBTR has learned. The CAA sports client had a projected salary of $1.2MM, according to MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, the Brewers have five remaining arbitration eligible players: Kameron Loe, Shaun Marcum, Nyjer Morgan, Francisco Rodriguez and Jose Veras. They've already locked up Carlos Gomez and George Kottaras.

Parra, 29, missed the 2011 season with back and elbow injuries, but he has a 5.13 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in four seasons with the Brewers. He earned $1.2MM in 2011 and was arbitration eligible for the second time this offseason.

Prince Fielder Rumors: Thursday

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While there's no guarantee that Prince Fielder will sign soon, he will be off of the market by Spring Training. Agent Scott Boras told Barry Bloom of MLB.com that he intends to complete a deal for the powerful 27-year-old before March.

"Certainly we're going to have him signed well in advance of Spring Training," Boras said. "I can't give you the exact date. These things take some time. That's why we have January and early February. Spring Training doesn't start until late February."

Boras is in Phoenix, where owners have gathered for their quarterly meetings, to discuss Fielder and other clients, such as Edwin Jackson. Here are the latest rumors on Fielder:

  • There are more teams involved than the ones that have been reported and most of the unnamed teams are from the National League, a source close to the situation told Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle.  At present, it appears that the Mariners are lying in the weeds and aren't at the front of the pack.
  • The Blue Jays are not a serious suitor for Fielder, multiple people in the industry told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).   Fielder's price and years would need to come way down for Toronto to get involved.
  • The Brewers invited Fielder back on a one-year contract that would have set him up for a mega-deal with the Dodgers next winter, once the team has a new owner in place, Bill Shaikin of the LA Times tweets. However, Boras showed no interest in the Brewers' proposal. Dodgers owner Frank McCourt says he's "not going to talk about" Fielder, Shaikin tweets.
  • The Dodgers aren’t currently involved in the Fielder sweepstakes, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets.
  • There are strong indications that the Marlins aren’t pursuing Fielder aggressively, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports. Boras touched base with owners including Jeffrey Loria of the Marlins yesterday, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reported.
  • The Nationals are “patiently and aggressively” pursuing Fielder, Kilgore reported.
  • Exchanging information with Fielder’s suitors takes time because “he's going to be there a long time, wherever he's going,” Boras told Bloom.

Minor Moves: Powell, Mattingly, Hu, Phillips, Herrera

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Here’s where we’ll keep track of the latest minor moves…

  • Athletics catcher Landon Powell has accepted his assignment to Triple-A, MLB.com's Jane Lee tweets. Powell cleared waivers about a week ago.
  • The Yankees signed Preston Mattingly to a minor league deal, tweets Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus. The 24-year-old former first rounder posted a .232/.281/.354 line in the lower minors last year. He is the son of current Dodgers manager and former Yankees star Don Mattingly. 
  • The Indians signed former Dodgers and Mets shortstop prospect Chin-lung Hu, Goldstein tweets. The 27-year-old has a .296/.339/.412 line in nine minor league seasons. He appeared in 22 games with the Mets last year and also has MLB experience with the Dodgers.
  • The Brewers announced that they signed catcher Paul Phillips to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to MLB Spring Training. The 34-year-old has MLB experience with the White Sox, Royals and Rockies. He spent the 2011 season with the Indians' top affiliate, posting a .237./281/.305 line.
  • Danny Herrera cleared waivers and will remain in the Mets’ organization as a non-roster player, ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin tweets. The 27-year-old sidearmer joined the Mets in last summer's Francisco Rodriguez trade. He pitched 9 2/3 innings in the Major Leagues in 2011 and spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he posted a 2.20 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9.
  • The Angels signed outfielder Doug Deeds to a minor league deal, Matt Eddy of Baseball America tweets. Deeds posted a .249/.304/.444 line for the Rangers' top affiliate in 2011.
  • The Angels also signed outfielder Drew Macias, Eddy tweets. Macias, 28, has a .249/.363/.376 line in four Triple-A seasons and picked up some MLB experience with the 2007-09 Padres.

Brewers Claim Jeff Bianchi

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The Brewers claimed infielder Jeff Bianchi off waivers from the Cubs, according to a press release.  The addition brings Milwaukee's 40-man roster count to 39 and opens a spot for new Chicago starter Paul Maholm.

Bianchi, 25, was drafted by the Royals in the second round in 2005.  He spent his entire career with their minor league teams, until the Cubs claimed him on waivers in December.  Bianchi hit .259/.320/.333 in 499 Double-A plate appearances last year, playing the middle infield positions.

Minor Moves: McClung, Bootcheck, Romero

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Here's where we'll keep track of today's minor moves…

  • The Brewers signed Seth McClung to a minor league deal, MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports. The 30-year-old right-hander hasn't appeared in the Major Leagues since 2009, but he spent three seasons with the Brewers, posting a 4.32 ERA, 6.9 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 in 92 appearances from 2007-09. McClung signed a minor league deal with the Rangers last offseason and they released him in July.
  • The Tigers announced that they signed right-hander Chris Bootcheck to a minor league deal and invited him to Spring Training. Bootcheck, 33, signed a minor league deal with Tampa Bay last February and they granted him his release in July. He hasn't appeared in the Major Leagues since he suited up for the 2009 Pirates, but he owns a 6.54 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in six MLB seasons.
  • The Tigers also signed Niuman Romero to a minor league deal, MLB.com's Jason Beck reports. The 26-year-old has MLB experience with the Indians and Red Sox, but spent the 2011 season playing for four minor league clubs. He posted a .231/.294/.261 line in 273 total plate appearances.

Brewers, Carlos Gomez Avoid Arbitration

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The Brewers avoided arbitration with center fielder Carlos Gomez, agreeing to a one-year deal, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The deal is for $1.9625MM, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The Boras Corporation represents Gomez, who had a projected salary of $1.8MM, according to MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, the Brewers have six remaining arbitration eligible players: Kameron Loe, Shaun Marcum, Nyjer Morgan, Manny Parra, Francisco Rodriguez and Jose Veras.

Gomez is arbitration eligible for the third time. The 26-year-old super two player earned $1.5MM in 2011, when he posted a .225/.276/.403 line with eight homers and 16 stolen bases in 258 plate appearances. Gomez projects to hit free agency after the 2013 season.

Latest On Norichika Aoki

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Norichika Aoki's workout for the Brewers yesterday in Phoenix lasted 75 minutes, reports Nikkan Sports as translated by NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman.  GM Doug Melvin, manager Ron Roenicke, and owner Mark Attanasio were among those present, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  "It was a good workout. He's probably the kind of player you'd expect, coming from Japan," said Melvin.

The Brewers have until 4pm central time on January 17th to sign Aoki, or else the Yakult Swallows must refund the $2.5MM posting fee.  The Brewers are still deciding whether to make an offer.  The Brewers conducted a physical exam for Aoki this morning to buy themselves some time, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.

Aoki, a 30-year-old outfielder, hit .292/.358/.360 for the Swallows this year and would assume a bench role for Milwaukee.

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