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Quick Hits: Madson, Axford, Mets, Indians, Damon

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On this day in 1969, the Braves traded infielder Joe Torre to the Cardinals for Orlando Cepeda.  Here's a look at what's happening today..

  • Reds closer Ryan Madson still believes that the Phillies offered him a $44MM contract in November, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.   Phillies GM Ruben Amaro denies that any sort of proposal was offered while agent Scott Boras has a different story.
  • Brewers closer John Axford expects extension talks to begin soon as his agent, Dan Horwits, is in town to meet with the club, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel.  Axford also says that he won't set a deadline for the talks as he doesn't believe that they would be a distraction to him during the season.
  • Multiple scouts told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter) that the Mets haven't been looking for a backup lefty hitting outfielder as of late.  Right now it looks like the club will turn to Adam Loewen or Mike Baxter rather than add someone from the outside.
  • The Indians are looking for a leftfielder but have no interest in Johnny Damon because of his lackluster defense, a Cleveland front office executive told Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (Twitter link).  In an interview with Bowden on MLB Network Radio this week, the veteran said that he plans to take his time in choosing a team as he looks for an everyday job.
  • The Red Sox's signing of Simon Mercedes marks a change in the club's approach to the international amateur market under new director of international scouting Eddie Romero, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.com.  Speier writes that former VP of International Scouting Craig Shipley would never have signed Mercedes because the right-hander lied about his documentation.

Minor Moves: Oswaldo Navarro

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Let's keep track of the day's minor league moves right here…

  • The Mets have signed infielder Oswaldo Navarro, reports ESPN New York's Adam Rubin. The 27-year-old hit .267/.348/.333 with two homers in 365 plate appearances for the Astros' Triple-A affiliate last year. Navarro has 18 big league plate appearances to his credit with Houston and Seattle (2006 & 2010), and has experience at all four infield spots.

NL East Notes: Phillies, Harper, Mets

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The latest from the NL East…

Quick Hits: Twins, Rangers, Orioles, Mariners, Mitre

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Tuesday night linkage..

  • Free agent reliever Michael Wuertz says his tryout will be early next week with plans to be finalized in the next day, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Minneapolis.  The Twins are expected to attend.
  • Signing closer Joe Nathan allowed the Rangers to move Neftali Feliz into the rotation while keeping skipper Ron Washington comfortable by continuing to have an established closer, writes Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.  Nathan inked a two-year, $14.75MM deal with Texas last November, though the club typically doesn't give multi-year deals to relievers.
  • There were at least 40 scouts on hand to watch the Orioles today, tweets Eduardo A. Encina of The Baltimore Sun.
  • The Mariners reported a financial loss for a fiscal year with a $7.3MM deficit for 2011, writes Greg Johns of MLB.com.  This marks just the second time since the opening of Safeco Field that the M's find themselves in the red.
  • The bidding groups for the Dodgers appear to have been whittled down to five from seven tonight, a person familiar with the meetings tells Mike Ozanian of Forbes.com.  The highest bid was $1.6 billion from Magic Johnson and former baseball exec Stan Kasten, whose purchase would be partially financed by private equity.  The lowest bid from the five groups was $1.3 billion.
  • Looking at at future payroll commitments, major league assets, farm systems, ownership status, and front office strategies, ESPN.com's Keith Law (Insider sub. req'd) tries to hash out when clubs such as the Mets, Cubs, and Astros will be able to contend.
  • The biggest area of uncertainty for the Nationals, outside of their surplus of starting pitchers, seems to be their bench, writes Amanda Comak of The Washington Times. 
  • Free agent Sergio Mitre will work out for teams in March or April and expects to play in the majors this year, according to Tim (via Twitter).

John Lannan Drawing Interest

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The Red Sox, Tigers and Astros are watching John Lannan and a deal involving the left-hander is "likely" Danny Knobler of CBS Sports tweets. The Mets and Padres had interest, but balked at his $5MM salary.

Lannan doesn't have a guaranteed rotation spot in Washington after posting a 3.70 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 184 2/3 innings last year, so he's a potential trade candidate this spring. The Blue Jays, Royals and Tigers are among the teams monitoring the market for starting pitching, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported today.

Minor Moves: John Mincone

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The latest minor moves from around MLB…

  • The Mets signed left-hander John Mincone to a minor league deal, the team announced (via Twitter). The 22-year-old Huntington, New York native has a 4.11 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 46 minor league innings. This includes a stint with the Windy City ThunderBolts of the independent Frontier League. The Cubs originally selected Mincone in the 11th round of the 2009 draft.

Quick Hits: Dodgers, Buxton, Cohen

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It was on this day in 1921 that Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis imposed lifetime bans from baseball on eight members of the 1919 White Sox for their alleged role in throwing that year's World Series.  The most famous of the eight "Black Sox" is one of the game's all-time greats, Shoeless Joe Jackson, whose participation in the game-fixing scandal has been disputed for years (he hit .375/.394/.563 in the eight Series games).

Some news as we wrap up a busy Monday in the majors…

  • Major League Baseball did not invite real estate developer Alan Casden to a meeting of competing groups bidding to buy the Dodgers, effectively removing Casden from the process, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.  Casden's rejection means that the list of potential new Dodgers ownership groups has been narrowed to six.
  • The Orioles held a workout for high school outfielder Byron Buxton, reports Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun.  Buxton is projected to be one of the top picks in this summer's amateur draft and could be taken by the O's with the fourth overall pick, though Schmuck says "there's a lot of buzz" that the Mariners could draft Buxton third overall.  According to Baseball America's Conor Glassey, Buxton's "explosive athleticism and five-tool potential has already led some scouts to compare [him] to a hybrid of the Upton brothers."
  • Steve Cohen is "the most important man in Major League Baseball right now," writes Mike Ozanian of Forbes Magazine, for offering to buy partial ownership of the financially-struggling Mets and for his ability to present a "simple" bid to buy the Dodgers.

Mets Notes: Wright, Byrdak, Santana

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David Wright will get a cortisone shot for his sore ribcage, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News tweets. Here are some more Mets-related updates…

  • Mets left-hander Tim Byrdak will have surgery to repair a torn meniscus, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. This means Byrdak figures to start the season on the disabled list.
  • Rubin wonders if the Mets will open the season with both D.J. Carrasco and Miguel Batista on the 25-man roster or if a non-roster left-hander will make the team (Twitter link). Mike Gonzalez and Arthur Rhodes are free agent possibilities for GM Sandy Alderson to consider.
  • Anthony DiComo of MLB.com runs through some of the lefties in Mets camp who warrant consideration for a spot in the bullpen.
  • Mets officials agree that lack of overall depth is an issue for them, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets.
  • "I truly believe we're going to do this right and that Johan Santana will be on this team Opening Day," Mets manager Terry Collins said, according to the Associated Press (via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Santana aims to return from a shoulder injury this year.

NL East Notes: Nitkowski, Lannan, Nickeas, Harper

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Earlier today, we learned that the Mets may look into dealing righty reliever D.J. Carrasco. Here are a couple more notes on the Amazin's within this batch of NL East links …

  • The Mets like what they saw out of C.J. Nitkowski's audition on Thursday and are working to sign him to a minor league deal, writes Ken Davidoff of Newsday.  An agreement seems likely between the club and the 39-year-old.
  • The Nationals are taking offers on lefty John Lannan, but they're not desperate to trade him, as his $5MM salary for this season is manageable, tweets Jim Bowden of ESPN.com. The Red Sox have made an offer for Lannan, but it wasn't close, Bowden adds.
  • Mets catcher Mike Nickeas may not necessarily be a lock to nab the team's backup catcher role despite already being on the 40-man roster, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. The Mets may instead go with Rob Johnson, in which case Nickeas would be placed on waivers and be expected to clear.
  • Nats prized prospect Byrce Harper will likely begin the season in the minor leagues despite manager Davey Johnson's desire to have the right fielder break camp with the big club, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. However, a midseason callup is possible for Harper, Heyman adds. Harper turned 19 in October and has a full season of minor league experience under his belt after being the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2010.
  • Mets skipper Terry Collins acknowledged to Joel Sherman of the New York Post that he may in fact be only a transitional manager for the club, perhaps being replaced when the team is ready to compete again: “I realize the possibilities,” Collins said. The Mets have already exercised Collins' 2013 option, however.

Mets May Look To Trade D.J. Carrasco

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Bobby Parnell seems likely to earn one of the final spots in the Mets bullpen, leaving the last spot up for grabs between Miguel Batista and D.J. Carrasco.  Batista looks to have an advantage in the race, making Carrasco a candidate to be traded, two Mets officials tell Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.

One official said the team has discussed whether Miami could be a fit for Carrasco, because the pitcher enjoyed success while playing for then-White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen in 2008 and '09.  A third team source mentioned that the Angels could have interest as GM Jerry DiPoto traded for Carrasco while serving as the interim GM of Arizona in 2010.

Carrasco's performance last season could make him a tough sell but the Mets are hoping GMs are willing to look past it.  The 34-year-old, who is set to make $1.2MM on the back end of a two-year deal, turned in a 6.02 ERA with 4.9 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 2011.

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