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Heavy Interest In C.J. Wilson

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Interest has been heavy in free agent lefty C.J. Wilson, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, despite his disappointing postseason.  The Yankees, Angels, Blue Jays, Marlins, Nationals, and Rangers have already expressed interest, reports Morosi.  All six clubs had been expected to be in the mix.

An official with an involved club expects at least five years with a sixth-year option for Wilson, while another official believes six years guaranteed is possible.  Could a sixth year push Wilson to $100MM?  In an August 30th poll, 78% of nearly 7,000 MLBTR readers polled felt Wilson would fall short of nine figures.

Rangers GM Jon Daniels recently commented on Wilson to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan, saying, "We would like to have him back.  We know he's in a great position. He'll explore his options. We'll prepare for both possibilities."  At the least, the Rangers are expected to offer arbitration to the Type A free agent nine days from now.  If Wilson does leave the Rangers, they could end up with a top 20 draft pick as compensation if the Nationals, Jays, or Angels sign him and the current system remains in place for 2012.  Out of Morosi's five competing suitors, only the Marlins have a protected first-round pick.

AL East Notes: Yankees, Ortiz, Red Sox, Reynolds

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Here's a look at some items out of the American League East..

  • The Yankees remain unlikely to pursue David Ortiz, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.com.  General Manager Brian Cashman reiterated that the team's focus is on shoring up the starting rotation and also noted that the team has a number of internal candidates for the DH spot.
  • More from Speier as Cashman says that he's intrigued by the possibility of finally being able to have trade talks with Theo Epstein now that he is in charge of the Cubs.
  • The Red Sox will have to address the back of their rotation this winter and Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe outlines the different avenues that GM Ben Cherington can explore.  Abraham writes that even though the Sox will look into lefthanders C.J. Wilson and Mark Buehrle, a major deal is unlikely.
  • Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com wonders if Mark Reynolds' name will come up at this week's GM meetings in Milwaukee.  The Orioles hold an $11MM option on Reynolds' contract for 2013 and he isn't eligible for free agency until the following year.

Quick Hits: Aoki, Cespedes, Pirates, Doumit

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The Royals acquired Vin Mazzaro from the Athletics for David DeJesus on this date last year. A few days ago, Kansas City acquired Jonathan Sanchez from the Bay Area's other team. Here are today's links…

  • The A's, Nationals, Mets and Indians could be interested in Norichika Aoki, the three-time Central League batting champion who will be posted this offseason, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. SI.com's Jon Heyman suggests those same four teams could be interested in Grady Sizemore (Twitter links).
  • ESPN.com's Keith Law previews the market for starting pitching and explains that if there's an available ace it's Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes previewed the market for starting pitching earlier this week.
  • Ben Badler of Baseball America explains that international scouts have known about Yoenis Cespedes for a while. The recent showcase video and the subsequent reaction gave fans the impression that the center fielder appeared out of nowhere, but that’s not the case.
  • Danny Knobler of CBS Sports hears from someone who expects Cespedes to sign for upwards of $30MM (Twitter link).
  • The Yankees and Pirates had preliminary discussions about trades involving catchers, but the Pirates' deal with Rod Barajas makes a trade between the Pirates and Yankees seem unlikely, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post explains (on Twitter).
  • Speaking of Pirates catchers, free agent Ryan Doumit has obtained multiple offers and expects to sign this month, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter links). The versatile 30-year-old is looking for a one-year deal.

Yankees Notes: Sanchez, Catchers, Pitching, Posada

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Yankees GM Brian Cashman spoke to reporters while at a charity function earlier today, and Marc Carig of The Star Ledger provided a recap. Here are the highlights…

  • The Yankees were aware that Jonathan Sanchez was on the trade block, but Cashman said the team did not have discussions about acquiring him. The Giants traded Sanchez to the Royals for former Yankee Melky Cabrera earlier this week.
  • Clubs have already inquired about the Yankees' young catchers, such as Jesus Montero, Austin Romine, and Francisco Cervelli. "I've had a lot of teams express 'Hey, if you're ever going to do something there, mark us down,' that type of things," said Cashman.
  • Cashman said it's too early to know if the best pitching options are available via trade or free agency. "I haven't talked to every team and I haven't talked to every agent yet," said the GM. "And I certainly haven't had any agent tell me what they want financially. So, no one's made any demands to me, no one's made me an offer, so I don't know what these current free agents are looking for yet in terms of years and dollars."
  • The Yankees have requested the medical information for some players, which Cashman said is standard procedure.
  • Cashman has not had any talks with Jorge Posada or Eric Chavez yet, and he doesn't know if either will continue playing or retire. Posada told Carig that he's undecided about playing in 2012, but he's resigned to the fact that it would not be with the Yankees. He believes he can still serve as a backup catcher and DH, and he told Newsday's Erik Boland that he's been contacted by five or six teams (all Twitter links).
  • Posada's wife hinted that the Marlins could be a fit, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (on Twitter). "We live in Miami, so… We love Miami. Nice transition," she said.
  • The Yankees have the flexibility to stretch the budget, if needed. "There's no set number where you can't exceed it that obviously exists in other environments," said Cashman.
  • The team has a ton of scouts in the Dominican Republic this week, and they are there to see more players than just Yoenis Cespedes.

Latest On Yoenis Cespedes

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The market is strong for Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes, who currently resides in the Dominican Republic.  The paperwork required for the center fielder to play baseball in the United States should be done this month, advisor Edgar Mercedes told Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.  Said Mercedes, "I'm confident that he'll be in spring training with a major league club."  

Private workouts are beginning this week, with a large Marlins contingent scheduled to visit Thursday.  The Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, Indians, Blue Jays, and Pirates are among the teams that will visit in the coming weeks, Mercedes told Goldstein.  Mercedes also answered questions about the legendary showcase video he produced for Cespedes.   

On Monday, the Rangers, Tigers, Nationals, and Athletics were named as other clubs interested in Cespedes, who is represented by Adam Katz of Wasserman Media Group.

 

More Potential Cuban Free Agents

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There's been plenty of hype this week on Yoenis Cespedes, a Cuban center fielder who defected this summer and could command Aroldis Chapman money or more.  But yesterday, MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez provided more interesting names.

19-year-old outfielder Jorge Soler and 23-year-old right-hander Armando Rivero participated in a showcase at the Yankees' complex in Boca Chica last week.  Like Cespedes, both players are in the process of becoming eligible to play in the United States.  

One year ago, Baseball America's John Manuel had this to say about Soler:  "Soler has a strapping 6-foot-3, 205-pound body and has five-tool potential.  Soler has bat speed and what one scout called 'explosive power' to go with above-average arm strength."  He's on the Yankees' radar, according to George A. King III of the New York Post.  Sanchez writes that Rivero "features a slider, split-finger fastball, sinker and changeup in his repertoire and reached 98 mph with his fastball in the showcase."  King says he's viewed as a reliever.

Sanchez notes that outfielders Henry Urrutia and Gerald Sanchez and lefty Omar Luis also participated in the showcase.

Quick Hits: Yankees, Rodriguez, Ankiel

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Links for Tuesday night as CBA talks progress and the Phillies work toward a deal for Ryan Madson…

Yankees, Red Sox, Rangers Interested In Buehrle

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6:05pm: It's highly unlikely that the Yankees will make a serious run for Buehrle, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).

1:54pm: The Yankees, Red Sox, and Rangers are interested in free agent lefty Mark Buehrle, report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, and the Marlins are meeting with him today.  Buehrle, 32, posted a 3.59 ERA, 4.8 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 0.92 HR/9, and 44.9% groundball rate in 205 1/3 innings this year.  The long time White Sox starter has pitched 200+ innings in every season since 2001.

The Marlins and Blue Jays are the teams most aggressively pursuing trades for starting pitchers, add Rosenthal and Morosi.  One GM said of the Jays' Alex Anthopoulos, "You can’t pin him down. He has interest in every one of your players."

James Shields, Wade Davis, Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill, Jair Jurrjens, John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Chad Billingsley, and Wandy Rodriguez are the pitchers "known or thought to be available in trades," according to the FOX writers.  Cahill and Billingsley are the new names here, but it's unclear whether they fall under "known" or "thought."  The availability of Rodriguez will depend on whether Jim Crane is approved as new Astros owner next week, as Crane does not share Drayton McLane's reluctance to move the 32-year-old.

Heyman On Posada, Dodgers, Beltran, Morrison

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The latest rumors tweeted from SI's Jon Heyman…

Quick Hits: Maddux, Maine, Jackson, Darvish

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The Orioles officially announced that they’ll name Dan Duquette their executive VP of baseball operations tomorrow. While that front office change was expected, the Twins’ decision to replace Bill Smith with Terry Ryan was most certainly not. Here are some notes from around MLB on yet another busy day for front office movement… 

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