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Minor Transactions: Morales, Harvey, Red Sox

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On a busy day of moves around baseball, here are a few lower-profile transactions…

  • The Rockies have acquired catcher Jose Morales from the Twins in exchange for minor league left-hander Paul Bargas, according to a Minnesota team release.  Morales hit .297/.370/.354 in 181 plate appearances over parts of three seasons with the Twins, only seeing significant playing time while filling in for an injured Joe Mauer in April 2009.  Bargas, taken in the 13th round of the 2009 amateur draft, posted a 3.59 ERA in 58 relief appearances for Colorado's Single-A Asheville affiliate last season.
  • Ryan Harvey, picked sixth overall by the Cubs in the 2003 amateur draft, has signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com.  Harvey is trying to convert to pitching after posting a career .749 OPS as an outfielder in eight minor league seasons in the Cubs and Rockies' systems.
  • In addition to Harvey, Boston has also signed left-handers Rich Hill and Randy Williams to minor league deals, as per a team release.  Hill signed a minor league contract with Boston last summer and made six relief appearances for the Red Sox after spending the previous five years as a starter with the Cubs and Orioles.  Williams spent the last two seasons with the White Sox, where he posted a 5.06 ERA in 52 games out of the bullpen.  The two southpaws received invitations to spring training.
  • The Rangers have signed right-hander Yhency Brazoban to a minor league contract, according to the Associated Press.  Brazoban made 116 appearances for the Dodgers between 2004 and 2008, and last year pitched in the Mexican League and for the Mets' Triple-A team.
  • Texas also signed 16-year-old Dominican shortstop Alberto Triunfel to a contract worth $300K, reports Baseball America's Ben Badler.  Trifunel, a Scott Boras client, was ranked eighth on Blake Bentley's list of top prospects heading into the opening of the international signing period.

Nishioka, Twins “Very Close” To Deal

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8:37am: The sides are close to a three-year, $10MM deal plus an option, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter links).

THURSDAY, 7:47am: The Twins are "very close" to a deal with Nishioka, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

WEDNESDAY, 6:51pm: Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka is scheduled to arrive in Minnesota early Thursday morning according to Kelsie Smith and John Shipley of The Pioneer Press, which they say is a good indication that the two sides are moving closer to a deal. GM Bill Smith declined to comment on the matter, however…

"I'm not commenting on any of that," said Smith. "There's very little to report. We're still in discussions and negotiations. As I've been saying, we think he can help us, and I'm very optimistic we can sign him."

The Twins won the bidding for Nishioka a little less than three weeks ago, and they recently offered him a multiyear deal. The two sides still have ten days from tomorrow to get a contract worked out (including physical). Minnesota traded J.J. Hardy to the Orioles last week, which tells us they're confident in getting a deal done with Nishioka. 

Odds & Ends: Lee, Zambrano, Werth, Mets, Uehara

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Baseball lost one of its all-time greats tonight; Bob Feller passed away at 92. Rapid Robert won 266 games in his career, every single one of them with the Cleveland Indians. He probably would have cleared the 300 win plateau if he hadn't served in World War II from ages 23-25. Our condolences go out to the Hall of Famer's family…

Carl Pavano Rumors: Tuesday

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With Cliff Lee off the market, Carl Pavano is the best available free agent starter – putting aside Andy Pettitte and those trying to bounce back from injury.  The Yankees won't be entertaining a reunion, but we can't rule out the Rangers for Pavano now.  The latest on the righty:

Twins Notes: Pavano, Bullpen, Nishioka

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La Velle E. Neal III from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune is having a busy offseason. Here's his latest on the Twins:

Twins Interested In Brendan Ryan

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The Twins are attempting to trade for Cardinals shortstop Brendan Ryan according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Minnesota just sent the incumbent J.J. Hardy to Baltimore, and Ryan became expendable when St. Louis acquired Ryan Theriot. 

The 28-year-old Ryan isn't much with the stick, just a .256/.308/.344 hitter over the last two seasons, but his defensive skills are second to none. His +18.7 UZR since the start of 2009 leads big league shortstops, just about four full runs ahead of the second best defender, the aforementioned Hardy. The Twins are expected to sign Tsuyoshi Nishioka this month and they also have Alexi Casilla in house, though it's hard to fault them for wanting to create some middle infield depth.

Twins Would Consider Trading Slowey

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The Twins would consider trading Kevin Slowey - especially if they re-sign Carl Pavano - reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Sherman says the Twins have actually received inquiries on ace Francisco Liriano from the Yankees and others, but a team official can't imagine moving the lefty.

Slowey, 26, posted a 4.45 ERA, 6.7 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, 1.2 HR/9, and 28.3% groundball rate in 155 2/3 innings this year for the Twins, missing time with elbow and triceps injuries.  He's a control artist who works around 90 mph, and with one of the highest flyball rates in the game Slowey would be best-suited in a big ballpark.  He's arbitration eligible for the first time this winter.

Orioles Acquire J.J. Hardy, Brendan Harris

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The Orioles officially acquired shortstop J.J. Hardy, infielder Brendan Harris, and $500K from the Twins for relievers Brett Jacobson and Jim Hoey, the teams announced.

Hardy, 28, hit .268/.320/.394 in 375 plate appearances this year for the Twins after coming over from Milwaukee for Carlos Gomez.  He missed time with wrist and knee injuries.  Hardy earned $5.1MM this year and is arbitration eligible one last time.  He would have been a free agent already, but fell just short of the service time requirement because the Brewers briefly demoted him to Triple-A late in the '09 season.  Hardy joins Mark Reynolds in a revamped left side infield for Baltimore.  He became expendable for Minnesota with their expected signing of Japanese import Tsuyoshi Nishioka.

Harris, 30, received only 120 plate appearances from the Twins this year after more regular duty in previous seasons.  He was outrighted in June due to poor performance, and a $1.75MM commitment for 2011 likely allowed him to clear waivers.  Harris is capable of playing all around the infield.

Hoey, 28 later this month, hasn't pitched in the Majors since '07.  In a season split between Double and Triple-A, the reliever posted a 3.25 ERA, 12.0 K/9, 5.8 BB/9, and 0.2 HR/9 in 52 2/3 innings in 2010.  Prior to his '08 shoulder surgery, Hoey's average fastball velocity exceeded 95 mph.

Jacobson, a 24-year-old reliever, posted a 2.79 ERA, 8.5 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, and 0.9 HR/9 in 71 High-A innings this year.  Baseball America ranked him 16th among Orioles prospects heading into the season, noting that he came over from the Tigers in the Aubrey Huff deal in August of '09.  He's said to have a power repertoire and a setup man profile.

Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.

Odds & Ends: Young, Francis, Twins, Fielder, Nady

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A handful of links to start the final day of the Winter Meetings….

  • The Mets prefer Chris Young to Jeff Francis, and are still trying to sign one of the two veteran starters, says Mike Puma of the New York Post. However, both pitchers are looking for upwards of $4MM for 2011, which is more than the Mets are willing to pay.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the Twins are seeking front-end rotation help, such as Carl Pavano. They're also considering moving arms from their back-end surplus, such as Kevin Slowey.
  • The amount of money being spent on free agents this offseason might be making it more obvious to the Brewers that they have little chance of retaining Prince Fielder past next year. As Danny Knobler of CBS Sports writes, that could make Milwaukee more inclined to deal Fielder sooner rather than later.
  • The Diamondbacks are talking to Xavier Nady, according to SI.com's Jon Heyman (on Twitter). Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports initially linked the D'Backs to Nady on Tuesday.
  • With Jason Varitek and Jarrod Saltalamacchia under contract, the Red Sox are still pursuing another catcher, according to GordonEdes of ESPNBoston.
  • Astros GM Ed Wade says he doesn't intend to acquire a left fielder, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. If the Astros added an outfielder, it would move Carlos Lee to first base and leave Brett Wallace out of the picture, and the club wants to give Wallace a chance to earn the first base job.

Carl Pavano Rumors: Wednesday

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Carl Pavano met with four teams yesterday; here's the latest…

  • The Brewers are discussing a three-year deal with Pavano, according to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com.
  • Top Brewers executives dined with Pavano and his agent on Tuesday, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). The Twins and a mystery team are also involved.
  • Brewers owner Mark Attanasio would increase payroll to accomodate the right pitcher, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
  • Pavano's agent told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that his meetings with the Brewers were "very productive" (Twitter link).
  • Milwaukee is serious about Pavano, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, who says the Twins are still frontrunners (Twitter link). Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that the Brewers do intend to add another starter, but aren't optimistic about trading for Zack Greinke or Matt Garza (Twitter links).
  • The Brewers were one of the teams that met with Pavano yesterday, GM Doug Melvin told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
  • Pavano's camp is telling people not to expect a deal before the end of the Winter Meetings, tweets Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse.
  • The Twins are making a serious push to get something done with Pavano, reports ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.  Crasnick's colleague Buster Olney tweets that the Twins "continue to have a very good shot" to re-sign the righty.  Pavano was impressed by the presence of Bill Smith, Rob Antony, and Terry Ryan at yesterday's meeting, tweets La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
  • The Nationals are still in the mix for Pavano, his agent Tom O'Connell tells Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
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