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Rockies Considering Three-Year Offer To Cuddyer

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The Rockies' willingness to consider a three-year offer to free agent right fielder Michael Cuddyer makes them a serious suitor, writes Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.  The Rockies freed up $7MM in yesterday's Huston Street trade.  They have mild interest in Cody Ross as a complementary piece and are not pursuing Josh Willingham, writes Renck.

The Twins reportedly have a three-year offer worth $24-25MM on the table for Cuddyer.  GM Terry Ryan told MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger he still thinks they have a chance.  Ryan would like to get something done sooner than later.  Cuddyer's wife just gave birth to twin girls, however, so Cuddyer may be occupied with diaper duty.

Rockies Acquire Kevin Slowey

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THURSDAY: The Twins acquired righty Daniel Turpen from the Rockies to complete the Slowey deal, they announced today.  Turpen, 25, posted a 4.83 ERA in Double-A this year.  He was taken by the Yankees from the Red Sox in last year's Rule 5 draft, then returned to Boston and later traded to Colorado.

TUESDAY: The Rockies agreed to acquire starter Kevin Slowey from the Twins for a player to be named later, reports MLB.com's Thomas Harding.  The Twins have since announced the trade.

Slowey

Slowey, 27, was widely regarded as a non-tender candidate had he remained with the Twins until next week's deadline.  He projects to earn $2.7MM through arbitration in 2012, and is under team control through 2013.  One of the game's most extreme flyball pitchers, Slowey (pictured) doesn't seem a great fit for Coors Field.  The other concern is that Slowey hasn't compiled big innings totals in the Majors.  Still, he limits free passes as well as anyone and could be a useful back-end rotation addition for Colorado.  The Rockies also added starter Tyler Chatwood last week in a trade with the Angels.

The Rockies may have other irons in the fire, as Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post reported earlier that they've discussed a deal with the Reds involving closer Huston Street for starter Edinson Volquez.  It's unclear whether those talks are still active given the Slowey acquisition.  Renck also wrote that the Rockies have interest in trading for the Phillies' Placido Polanco or the Braves' Martin Prado, and asked the Cubs about D.J. LeMahieu and Scott Maine in Ian Stewart talks that have since lost momentum.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

2011 Rule 5 Draft Results

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Rule 5 players must stay with their new big league club all year or be offered back to the old team. MLB.com has a full recap of both the Major League and minor league portions of the draft. The results of the Major League phase are listed below:

  1. Astros take Rhiner Cruz from Mets.
  2. Twins take Terry Doyle from White Sox.
  3. Mariners take Lucas Luetge from Brewers.
  4. Orioles take Ryan Flaherty from Cubs.
  5. Royals take Cesar Cabral from Red Sox; traded to Yankees for cash.
  6. Cubs take Lendy Castillo from Phillies.
  7. Padres
  8. Pirates take Gustavo Nunez from Tigers.
  9. Marlins
  10. Rockies
  11. Athletics
  12. Mets
  13. White Sox
  14. Reds
  15. Indians
  16. Nationals
  17. Blue Jays
  18. Dodgers
  19. Angels
  20. Giants
  21. Braves take Robert Fish from Angels.
  22. Cardinals take Erik Komatsu from Nationals.
  23. Red Sox take Marwin Gonzalez from Cubs, traded to Astros for Marco Duarte
  24. Rays
  25. Diamondbacks take Brett Lorin from Pirates.
  26. Tigers
  27. Brewers
  28. Rangers
  29. Yankees take Brad Meyers from Nationals.
  30. Phillies

Overnight Links: Wise, Gonzalez, Fielder, Rule 5

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Some links for the bleary-eyed readers still awake at their computers/smartphones/tablets:

  • The Yankees are discussing a minor league deal with outfielder Dewayne Wise, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). A strong defender, Wise is probably best known for preserving former teammate Mark Buehrle's 2009 perfect game in the ninth inning by robbing a home run off the bat of Gabe Kapler.
  • Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets that the Rangers met with Scott Boras to discuss Mike Gonzalez today, and they also checked in on Prince Fielder.
  • Brewers GM Doug Melvin said his team probably won't make a pick in Thursday's Rule 5 Draft, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
  • The Pirates have at least thought about picking Nationals lefty Josh Smoker in the Rule 5 Draft, though it's not a lock according to John Perotto of Baseball Prospectus (on Twitter). Smoker was selected 31st overall by the Nats in 2007.
  • Even with tonight's hiring of Jeff Luhnow as the new Astros GM, it will be interim GM Dave Gottfried and scouting director/assistant GM Bobby Heck calling the shots at the Rule 5 Draft tomorrow, tweets Alyson Footer of the Astros.
  • Baseball America's John Manuel writes that reports of the Twins focusing on pitching led to speculation on Mets righty Rhiner Cruz, but a club source said the team is looking in another direction.
  • The Red Sox compensation from the Cubs for Theo Epstein is expected to be sorted out after the Rule 5 Draft, writes MLB.com's Carrie Muskat.

Twins Sign Matt Capps

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The Twins announced today they've re-signed reliever Matt Capps to a one-year deal with a club option for 2013.  According to an AP report, the deal will pay Capps $4.5MM in 2012 and includes a $6MM option for 2013. With a $250K buyout on the option, Capps is guaranteed $4.75MM.  He's represented by Wasserman Media Group.

Capps was acquired by the Twins in July of 2010 at the high price of Wilson Ramos, and enjoyed a successful final two months of the season, posting a 2.00 ERA and saving 16 games. He was less effective in 2011, with a 4.25 ERA and by far the lowest K/9 mark of his career (4.7).  For fantasy analysis on the signing, check out Bryan Grosnick's latest at CloserNews.

In late November as part of the collective bargaining agreement, Capps was downgraded from a Type A free agent to Type B, and it was decided the Twins would not have to offer him arbitration to receive a supplemental draft pick in return.  So, re-signing him comes at an extra cost, since they would have gotten a free, unexpected draft pick by letting him leave.

Jon Heyman and Steve Popper originally broke news of the agreement Monday.  Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.

Pirates, Mariners, Twins Interested In Jeff Francis

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1:06pm: Francis' agent will also meet with the Pirates and Twins this week, tweets Morosi.

TUESDAY, 11:04am: The Mariners will meet today with Francis' agent, tweets Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.  Francis is represented by Frontline, as our agency database shows.

MONDAY, 12:09pm: The Mariners are also interested in Francis, tweets Morosi.  Additionally, the Ms have interest in old favorite Jamie Moyer.  

11:19am: The Pirates are among the teams with interest in free agent lefty Jeff Francis, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The Bucs were in on Francis a year ago, but with a healthy season in the books he'll certainly require more than a one-year, $2MM guarantee this time.

The Pirates also reportedly have interest in free agent pitchers Wei-Yin Chen, Tsuyoshi Wada, and Aaron Cook.

Seth Smith Among Rockies Drawing Trade Interest

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Seth Smith has drawn trade interest from multiple teams recently, according to Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd. As Thomas Harding of MLB.com writes, Colorado's search for pitching might result in the club dealing the outfielder.

"Seth is very, very well-liked within the game," O'Dowd said. "I'm not sure we're going to do anything, but we've had a lot of calls on Seth."

The Braves and Mariners had previously been linked to Smith, and Harding adds the Twins to the list of clubs who have expressed interest in the 29-year-old. Since the Rockies have "long had interest" in Kevin Slowey, who the Twins may be shopping, Harding suggests the two teams are a potential match.

The Rockies are also fielding offers for Ian Stewart, with the Cubs and Angels the most active suitors, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Huston Street is a trade candidate as well, and Morosi tweets that the Orioles are still talking to the Rockies about acquiring him, while Troy Renck of the Denver Post hears that talks have cooled (Twitter link).

"We've got a lot of things in play," said O'Dowd. "We've stuck a lot of nets in the water. You really don't have any idea if anything's going to come through for you.

AL Central Rumors: Slowey, Picollo, Choo, Tigers

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The major move in the AL Central today was the Twins' re-signing of Matt Capps, but there may be more action in the division by week's end. Here are the latest rumors from the AL Central:

  • Kevin Slowey, viewed as a non-tender candidate, is being shopped by the Twins, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • Royals assistant GM J.J. Picollo interviewed for the Astros' GM position tonight, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
  • The Indians are still interested in discussing a contract extension with Shin-Soo Choo, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.
  • Bastian also tweets that the Indians checked in on free agent Kevin Kouzmanoff, though their interest is likely minimal.
  • The Tigers aren't ruling out the possibility of one of their young, in-house arms earning the fifth spot in the rotation, writes James Schmehl of MLive.com. If the Tigers turn to the free agent market for a veteran, they prefer one-year deals.
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