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Quick Hits: Chacin, Orioles, Dodgers, Ramirez

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Sunday night links..

  • No team has been has active as the Rockies over the last five years of locking up young players long term before they reach the arbitration process and Troy Renck of The Denver Post writes that Jhoulys Chacin is the next candidate.  Chacin is eligible for salary arbitration in 2013 and can't become a free agent until 2016.  When asked, GM Dan O'Dowd told Renck that the club isn't ready to do anything at this time.
  • The Orioles are involved in "at least three" active trade talks, a source tells Britt Ghiroli of MLB.com.  Earlier today, we learned that the O's are in talks with the Cardinals regarding Kyle McClellan.
  • There are at least five major groups left in the bidding to buy the Dodgers and all have submitted bids for at least $1.5 billion, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
  • Assistant GM David Forst suggested that the Athletics are open to signing slugger Manny Ramirez but the team is not actively pursuing the free agent, according to the Associated Press.
  • Brewers negotiator Teddy Werner said there has been "good progress" in talks with arbitration-eligible right-hander Shaun Marcum, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  Marcum filed for $8.7MM and the Brewers countered with $6.75MM in arbitration.  
  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo confirmed to Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (via Twitter) that the club has no interest in reacquiring Adam Dunn.
  • The Orioles' top priority is upgrading their bullpen, but if trade talks for Kyle McClellan come to fruition he could be yet another starting option, tweets Britt Ghiroli of MLB.com.
  • While Commissioner Bud Selig looks to expand the postseason from eight to ten teams this year, there remains uncertainty whether it can happen before 2013, writes Bob Nightengale of USA Today.  Despite Selig's aspirations, the Players Association still has doubts whether it's feasible.
  • New Brewers third baseman Aramis Ramirez doesn't expect to replace Prince Fielder's bat in the lineup but says that he is fitting in well with his new team, Haudricourt writes.

Zack Greinke Open To Extension

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Brewers ace Zack Greinke is still operating without an agent, but that does not necessarily scuttle the chances of a contract extension, writes Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.  Greinke is entering the final season of the four-year, $38MM extension he signed in with the Royals in January of 2009.

"I’ll talk to them about it," the 28-year-old said.  "I don’t really want to talk to anyone else about it. But I like the business of baseball. It’s exciting for me. It’s not like I plan on being my agent, but it is exciting being able to know what’s going on behind the scenes."

The 28-year-old left CAA last spring and does not currently have a representative.  Greinke sounded open to signing on with another agency when discussing the matter.

Rosenthal On Fukudome, Uehara, Orioles, Jackson

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A look at the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports..

  • Kosuke Fukudome wants to remain in the majors, according to a source with knowledge of his thinking.  Some executives, however, believe he could end up back in Japan.  The Brewers had interest in Fukudome before signing Japanese outfielder Norichika Aoki.
  • Rangers right-hander Koji Uehara enjoyed his time so much in Baltimore that he recommended the Orioles to the two free-agents the team signed out of the Japanese league, Tsuyoshi Wada and Wei-Yin Chen, according to a major-league source.  A trade back to the O's is possible for Uehara, who rejected a deal to the Blue Jays this week.
  • The Red Sox are talking to Edwin Jackson, who might be open to a one-year pact. However, one executive points out that the AL East isn't an easy landing spot for a starting pitcher. If Jackson signs for one year, he might be better off in the NL, where he could produce better numbers before trying the open market again.
  • The bright side of the Nationals’ failure to sign Prince Fielder is that it allows the club to retain positional flexibility, particularly in center field.  A long-term deal for the slugger eventually might have pushed the Nats to use an outfield of Michael Morse in left, Jayson Werth in center and Bryce Harper in right.  Now, they can move Morse to first after Adam LaRoche plays out his contract this season and go after a center fielder.

Latest On Roy Oswalt

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10:35pm: The Cardinals made a bid approaching $5MM on Oswalt weeks ago but that deal is not likely to happen, tweets Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  Strauss predicts that the Rangers will win the bidding on Oswalt with $2-3MM more and other perks.

9:36pm: Some executives believe that the Rangers are the favorites to land Oswalt, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Other interested clubs include the Cardinals, Red Sox, Nationals, Indians, and Brewers.

Even after acquiring Gio Gonzalez, Rosenthal writes that the Nats value Oswalt's veteran presence and makeup.  The Indians are in the mix as they face the possible loss of the pitcher formerly known as Fausto Carmona.  Milwaukee would only sign Oswalt at the right price.

The big question with the 34-year-old is whether he'll continue playing if neither the Cardinals nor Rangers want him.  One friend of the pitcher says that he again mentioned retirement as an option, though two sources close to Oswalt insist that he will pitch in 2012 and perhaps even sign a two-year deal.  Sources also say that the right-hander turned down a strong offer from the Tigers.

4:35pm: There's mutual interest between the Rangers and Oswalt, but for him to be a fit, it'd have to be on Texas' terms, Heyman tweets.

1:33pm: The Red Sox made Oswalt an offer, but are unsure of his interest level, since he has yet to accept, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.

8:13am: Now that Prince Fielder has agreed to terms with the Tigers, Edwin Jackson and Roy Oswalt are the top unsigned free agents. It wouldn’t surprise many if Oswalt, who now seeks a one-year deal, signs in Boston, but two general managers think he wants to join the Rangers and another says he’d like to sign in St. Louis, tweets Peter Gammons of MLB Network.

Oswalt would like to join Mike Maddux and Nolan Ryan with the Rangers, Gammons reports. However, both of last year’s World Series teams enter the 2012 season will rotations that appear to be full.

Though Oswalt had two back-related stints on the disabled list in 2011, he finished the season with six strong September starts and a season ERA of 3.69 with 6.0 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9. The 34-year-old Bob Garber client made 23 starts and completed 139 innings this past season, posting a 3.69 ERA with 6.0 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 45.1% ground ball rate overall. His average fastball velocity dropped to 91.4 mph, however. Oswalt was a Type A free agent, but the Phillies declined to offer him arbitration and he won't cost a draft pick.

Reactions To The Prince Fielder Signing

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Scott Boras did it again. Just when it looked like the market for Prince Fielder had slowed late in the offseason, Boras got his prized client the fourth richest contract in baseball history. The Tigers agreed to sign the slugger to a nine-year contract worth $214MM today, giving them the most devastating 3-4 lineup tandem in the game. Here's a recap of what's been said about the deal…

  • "In some sense, I'm glad he got a good contract that he's satisfied with. We knew early on that we probably weren't going to be in it. I think Prince probably knew that, too," said Brewers GM Doug Melvin to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Melvin confirmed they hadn't had serious extension talks with Fielder since Spring Training of 2010, and he credited the slugger with helping the team get back to being contenders.
  • Rival executives told Joel Sherman of The New York Post that they think the signing came from ownership, not GM Dave Dombrowski (Twitter link). He says deals for other Boras clients — Johnny Damon, Ivan Rodriguez, and Magglio Ordonez — happened the same way. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports heard that owner Mike Illitch influenced the signing "100%" (Twitter link).
  • The Nationals and a mystery team were strongly in on Fielder, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). The Mariners, meanwhile, told teams they didn't have money to spend on a hitter of Prince's caliber, which is why they traded for Jesus Montero according to Sherman.
  • Andrew Baggarly of The Mercury News says (on Twitter) that the Giants were never really in on Fielder.
  • ESPN's Keith Law, Dave Cameron of FanGraphs, and SI.com's Cliff Corcoran agree that Fielder will improve the Tigers in the short-term, but the last few years of the contract could be messy.

Quick Hits: Garza, Braun, Tigers, Jackson

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The Rangers are set to introduce the recently signed Yu Darvish at a press conference tomorrow night, reports Jeff Wilson of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter). Here's the latest from around the league…

  • Some MLB executives say Matt Garza’s filing number of $12.5MM “greatly complicates” interest in him as a trade target, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets. The right-hander filed for $12.5MM and the Cubs countered at $7.95MM as our Arbitration Tracker shows.
  • Ryan Braun's appeal hearing for his failed drug test was today, reports Bill Madden, Andy Martino, and Teri Thompson of The New York Daily News. The three-person panel consists of union head Michael Wiener, MLB executive Rob Manfred, and independent arbitrator Shyam Dos. A decision is not expected this weekend, and no player has ever successfully appealed a positive test.
  • "Of course we'd consider Prince Fielder," said Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski to Angela Wittrock of MLive.com in the wake of Victor Martinez's torn ACL. "But realistically, it's probably not a good fit … I would just say that the fit is really not there at this point."
  • ESPN's Jerry Crasnick wrote about the abundance of aging hitters still available on the free agent market. "Some of these guys have made so much money in their careers, the $2 million-and-less contracts don't sound very appealing,'' said an AL exec. "It's a supply and demand issue. When you have a lot of guys out there, the prices are going to get driven down.''
  • Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com checks in with top Cubs prospect Brett Jackson and hears that the 2009 first rounder doesn’t get rattled by the possibility of a trade. “All players are tradable at any time,” Jackson said. “That doesn’t put me on edge." People in the Cubs organization have lots of good things to say about Jackson and the Cubs made him untouchable in compensation talks regarding president Theo Epstein, Mooney writes.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Brewers Sign Norichika Aoki

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FRIDAY: Aoki is guaranteed to make $2.5MM in the first two years with Milwaukee, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).  With incentives and bonuses, Aoki can make a a little over $8.6MM over three years.

THURSDAY: Aoki will earn $1MM in 2012 and $1.25MM in 2013, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. The deal includes lots of incentives.

TUESDAY: The Brewers announced that they signed outfielder Norichika Aoki to a two-year deal that includes a club option for 2014. Earlier today, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported that the Brewers and the three-time NPB batting champion were finalizing an agreement.

The Brewers won the rights to negotiate with Aoki with a $2.5MM bid in December. The 30-year-old outfielder hit .292/.358/.360 for the Yakult Swallows last year and would assume a bench role for Milwaukee.

MLBTR's Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.

Melvin: Brewers “Way Over” Projected Budget

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Coming off their first NLCS appearance in 29 years, the Brewers are looking at the first nine-figure payroll in franchise history heading into 2012. Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel spoke to GM Doug Melvin, who confirmed that the team will outspend its projected budget next year.

“We’re way over what we projected our budget to be at this point,” said Melvin. “It’s over $100 million. We hoped to be in the low 90s.”

There's no indication that the Brewers will need to move some players to shed payroll, and Haudricourt notes that the $100MM+ figure includes players who under team control but remain unsigned. That includes the arbitration-eligible Shaun Marcum and Jose Veras, who filed for $8.7MM and $2.375MM earlier this week, respectively. The team countered with $6.75MM and $2MM.

Melvin also said it's unlikely the Brewers would be able to re-sign Prince Fielder even if the slugger was willing to take a one-year deal. Milwaukee agreed to sign Norichika Aoki for two years and $2.25MM yesterday, but their biggest additions came earlier this offseason: Aramis Ramirez (three years, $36MM) and Alex Gonzalez (one-year, $4.25MM).

Quick Hits: White Sox, Guerrero, Gonzalez, Hart

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By this time tomorrow, we'll know whether the Rangers were able to work out a deal with Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish. In the meantime, here are tonight's links…

Players Avoiding Arbitration: Tuesday

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Dozens of arbitration eligible players have agreed to deals with their respective teams today and we've been tracking all of the developments right here.  Several teams, including the Rays, Nationals, Marlins, White Sox, Blue Jays, Braves, and perhaps Astros, are known for committing to going to hearings if they get to the point of filing.  Keep track of all the madness with MLBTR's arbitration tracker, which shows settlement amounts, filing figures, and midpoints.  Today's players to avoid arbitration on deals worth less than $4MM:

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