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Quick Hits: Manny, Braves, Oliver, Tejada

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Some links as Thursday turns into Friday…

Nationals, Rays, Padres Interested In Eric Chavez

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The Yankees aren’t the only team interested in free agent infielder Eric Chavez. The Nationals, Rays and Padres are among the other clubs interested in the Scott Leventhal client, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.

Chavez, 34, posted a .263/.320/.356 line in a reserve role for the Yankees last year, backing up at third and even appearing at first base. The Yankees, who failed to reach an agreement with Japanese infielder Hiroyuki Nakajima, have interest in re-signing the six-time Gold Glove winner. This is the first time the Nationals, Rays and Padres have been linked to Chavez this offseason.

Yankees Fail To Reach Deal With Hiroyuki Nakajima

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The Yankees and Hiroyuki Nakajima have failed to reach an agreement on a contract, the team announced. New York won the negotiating rights to the infielder with a bid around $2MM last month.

“We unfortunately could not come to an agreement with Hiroyuki," said GM Brian Cashman in a statement. "We wish him the best of luck during the upcoming 2012 season.”

Earlier this week we heard that the two sides were unlikely to come to an agreement before tomorrow's 4pm CT deadline. The Yankees viewed Nakajima as a bench player and intended to pay him like one, and Jack Curry of the YES Network says (on Twitter) they offered him a one-year deal, nothing more. The 29-year-old hit .297/.354/.433 with 16 home runs and 27 doubles in 633 plate appearances for the Seibu Lions in 2011. Legacy Sports represents him in the U.S.

The Yankees do not have to pay the posting fee since no agreement was reached. Nakajima will return to Japan for another season, then become an international free agent next offseason.

AL East Notes: Crisp, Silva, Soler, Chavez

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Four of the five American League East teams could use starting pitching depth and though the Rays have enviable rotation depth, they need a bat or two. Here are the details on the division, starting with Tampa Bay…

  • Coco Crisp, who agreed to a two-year, $14MM deal with the Athletics yesterday, told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that the Rays were a finalist for him (Twitter links). Tampa Bay was “in heavy on” the outfielder, but Oakland presented the better offer, according to Slusser.
  • Carlos Silva would earn a base salary of $1MM if he makes his way onto Boston’s roster, according to Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. Silva, whose minor league deal with the Red Sox was announced yesterday, “will be part of a competition in Spring Training” GM Ben Cherington said. 
  • The Red Sox have scouted both Yoenis Cespedes and Jorge Soler, but they’re likely to pass on Cespedes and bid for Soler instead, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The Red Sox are intrigued by Soler’s talent and they don’t like Cespedes’ asking price.  
  • Japanese infielder Hiroyuki Nakajima appears to seek a couple of million dollars per season on a multiyear deal, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). Heyman points out that Eric Chavez is an alternative for the Yankees if they don't work out a deal with Nakajima by this Friday's deadline.
  • Click here for details on the Orioles.

Minor Moves: Jacobs, Gaudin, Delaney, Fields, Mather

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We'll keep track of today's minor moves right here..

  • The Pirates announced that they signed right-hander Logan Kensing to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training.  The 29-year-old spent the 2011 campaign with the Yankees' top affiliate after recovering from elbow surgery in 2010.
  • The Reds signed catchers Brian Esposito and Brian Peacock to minor league deals, tweets Matt Eddy of Baseball America.
  • The Tigers signed utility player Eric Patterson to a minor league deal, tweets Eddy.
  • The Mets signed right-hander Jeff Stevens and utility player Corey Wimberly to minor league deals, tweets Eddy.
  • The A's signed right-handers Travis Schlichting and Merkin Valdez and left-hander Fabio Castro to minor league deals, Eddy tweets.
  • The Yankees signed right-hander Adam Miller and outfielders Cole Garner and Dewayne Wise to minor league deals, Eddy tweets.
  • The Diamondbacks signed first baseman Mike Jacobs to a minor league deal, tweets Eddy.  Before playing, Jacobs still must serve a 50-game suspension for positive a HGH test in August.  He was cut by the Rockies following the test.
  • The Marlins picked up right-handers Chad Gaudin and Rob Delaney on minor league deals, Eddy tweets.  In nine big league seasons, Gaudin has a 4.63 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9.  Delaney spent most of 2011 with the Rays' Triple-A affiliate, posting a 1.86 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9.
  • The Dodgers signed third baseman Josh Fields, according to Goldstein (via Twitter).
  • The Cubs signed Joe Mather as Triple-A outfield insurance, according to Goldstein (via Twitter).  Mather spent 36 games on the Braves' major league roster in 2011.
  • The Nationals have signed right-hander Dan Cortes, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (via Twitter).
  • Speaking of the Braves, Atlanta released former Rangers draftee Marcus Lemon, Goldstein tweets.  Lemon was acquired in a March trade for a PTBNL.
  • P.J. Phillips, the younger brother of Brandon Phillips, agreed to a deal with the Reds, tweets Goldstein.  The younger Phillips' career never got going due to plate discipline issues.
  • The Blue Jays signed former Angels/Braves relief prospect Stephen Marek, Goldstein tweets.  The right-hander was outrighted by Atlanta in November and underwent Tommy John surgery in May.
  • The White Sox signed 2000 first-round pick Corey Smith, Goldstein tweets.  The 29-year-old has never reached the Majors.

AL East Notes: Yankees, Kuroda, Laffey

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The Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Orioles could use rotation upgrades and the Rays could use a first baseman and/or designated hitter. Here’s the latest on the American League East as the 2012 portion of the offseason continues and Spring Training draws a little closer…

Boras Seeks Five Years For Edwin Jackson

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8:16pm: At the beginning of the offseason, the asking price for Jackson was in the Lackey/Burnett range ($82.5MM), tweets ESPN.com’s Buster Olney.  The Yankees haven’t had talks with Boras about Jackson, tweets Jack Curry of the YES Network. No talks are expected unless his asking price drops.

TUESDAY, 2:53pm: Jackson seeks $15-17MM per year, writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.  Boras' promotional book on Jackson compares him to C.J. Wilson, Mark Buehrle, John Lackey, A.J. Burnett, and Derek Lowe.  All of those pitchers received at least $14.5MM per year, averaging $15.6MM.  Of course, Wilson and Buehrle just signed and the other three contracts were regrettable.  The Yankees will continue dialogue with Jackson, writes Heyman.  The process is starting to remind Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues of the Yankees' signing of Rafael Soriano last year.

MONDAY, 11:21am: Edwin Jackson's asking price is approximately $60MM over five years, writes ESPNNewYork's Wallace Matthews.  The Yankees like the free agent righty, "but not at that price," writes Matthews.  Matthews' colleague Buster Olney tweeted the same, saying that unless the Yankees' budget grows, there's no room for Jackson.

Ultimately I expect Jackson to settle for something closer to four years and $44MM, which wouldn't be an awful price for a 28-year-old innings eater with a touch of upside.

Additionally, Matthews writes that the Cubs' asking price for Matt Garza is "out of the question" for the Yankees.  He says the Cubs want at least two and possibly all three of Yankees top prospects Jesus Montero, Manny Banuelos, and Dellin Betances.  The Red Sox, Blue Jays, Tigers, and Marlins have also been connected to Garza in recent days.

Latest On Yankees, Nakajima

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The Yankees aren’t likely to sign Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima by Friday’s 4pm CDT deadline, one person with knowledge of the situation told Marc Carig of the Star Ledger. The Yankees see Nakajima as a bench player and intend to pay him like a backup, Carig reports on Twitter.

In theory, the Yankees have until Friday evening to sign Nakajima. However, they’d have to complete a physical by that point, so there’s not much time remaining. The 29-year-old hit .297/.354/.433 with 16 home runs and 27 doubles in 633 plate appearances for the Seibu Lions in 2011. Legacy Sports represents him in the U.S.

The Yankees won the rights to Nakajima with a bid in the $2MM range last month. If the sides don't agree to terms, Nakajima would stay in Japan and the Yankees wouldn't have to part with the posting fee. If the Yankees don’t sign Nakajima, Eduardo Nunez’s role becomes clearer and the chances of a new deal with Eric Chavez would likely increase.

Darvish Visiting Dallas; No Deal Close

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Yu Darvish is currently in the Dallas-Forth Worth Metroplex with his father to see the area and get a first-hand look at the Rangers' operations, reports Jeff Wilson of The Star-Telegram. The two sides are not close to a deal, however. "He isn't [there] for a press conference," said one of Wilson's sources, who notes that Darvish will return to Japan this week to begin his offseason workouts. Here's the latest on the right-hander…

  • The two sides have until January 17th to reach a deal, reports Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball (on Twitter). We're exactly two weeks away.
  • "There's no reason to think this won't get done," said a high-ranking baseball person to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. "There's no reason to think this has to go to the deadline, either." Most contract negotiations through the posting process have gone right down to the wire.
  • Heyman's sources have suggested that Darvish would seek at least $65MM over five years.
  • The Yankees bid just $15MM for Darvish, reports Heyman (on Twitter). 

Matt Garza Rumors: Tuesday

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The Cubs' asking price for Matt Garza is "out of the question" for the Yankees, Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com wrote yesterday. The Cubs want at least two of Jesus Montero, Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances from the Yankees, one of many teams with interest in the right-hander. Here are the latest rumors on Garza:

  • The Yankees weren't willing to meet the Athletics' asking price for Gio Gonzalez, and they preferred Gonzalez to Garza, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Sherman says the Yankees are "essentially not in" on Garza.
  • The Yankees are actively seeking rotation help, but don't like Garza at his current price, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). 
  • David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com hears that the Cubs’ asking price is "tremendously high" and that "interested parties" are seeing how high the bidding will go (Twitter link).
  • Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says Garza would be worth a position player prospect in the #11-50 range or a couple of prospects from the back end of the top 100 in MLB. Jed Hoyer and Theo Epstein are evidently hoping for more.
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