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New York Rumors: Beltran, Lee, Jeter, Santos

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Rangers officials have told friends that they expect the Yankees to offer Cliff Lee so many years that other teams will have to back off, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. But team president Nolan Ryan is expected to push aggressively for Lee's return, so it's far too early to rule Texas out. Here's the latest on the Yankees and the Mets:

  • Carlos Beltran says he'd prefer to play center field, but is open to playing right, according to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo (on Twitter). Beltran also told reporters he would consider waiving his no-trade clause.
  • Sherman predicts the Yankees will sign Lee to a five-year $125MM deal. The imagined contract would pay Lee $23MM for five seasons with a sixth year option for $25MM ($10MM buyout).
  • The Yankees say they're extremely unlikely to pursue a free agent catcher, since they want to give their young catching a real chance to emerge in 2011 as Jorge Posada transitions to DH.
  • Mark Simon of ESPNNewYork.com looks back at some recent contracts to prove that locking up pitchers to long-term deals is risky.
  • The Yankees don't want to surrender a draft pick to sign a Type A free agent like Scott Downs, according to Newsday's Ken Davidoff (on Twitter).
  • It's unlikely that the Yankees will agree to a deal with Derek Jeter next week, according to Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com.
  • There's been a lot of Moneyball talk about the Mets front office, but Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports believes Sandy Alderson, J.P. Ricciardi and Paul DePodesta are not about ideology. "This is about picking the right players and all of the different ways it can be done."
  • Alderson interviewed Clint Hurdle and Don Wakamatsu at Citi Field yesterday, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.  Next up, the GM will interview Mets Triple-A manager Ken Oberkfell in the Dominican Republic.
  • Omir Santos and Mike Hessman are free agents after refusing minor league assignments, according to Rubin (on Twitter).

Minor League Transactions: Clevlen, Moss, Cash

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The latest minor league transactions include a number of familiar names. Matt Eddy of Baseball America has the details:

  • The Braves
 re-signed Brent Clevlen and signed independent leaguer Beau Torbert, who posted tremendous numbers in the American Association this year. Earlier in the week, Torbert told David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he's excited to be joining the Braves.
  • The Astros signed right-hander Casey Fien. Fien has appeared in 11 games for the Tigers, but the 27-year-old has not proven himself against big league hitters.
  • Former Yankees lefty Royce Ring elected free agency.
  • The Pirates released Chris Jakubauskas and saw Brandon Moss elect free agency. Moss arrived in Pittsburgh in the Jason Bay trade, but he hit just .228/.295/.373 in parts of three seasons for the Pirates.
  • Former Mariners catcher Guillermo Quiroz became a free agent.
  • The Rangers signed Kevin Cash. The 32-year-old backstop posted a .483 OPS for the Astros and Red Sox last year and threw out an uncharacteristically low percentage of would be base stealers.

Stark On Greinke, Jeter, Phillies, Uggla

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It's looking more and more likely that MLB will add a second wild card team to each league, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark. He also has the latest rumblings from around the league; here they are:

  • Clubs that have spoken to the Royals say Kansas City would only accept a bunch of front-line players for Zack Greinke. One of those players must be a pitcher with a Greinke-like ceiling, so GM Dayton Moore expects a lot for his ace.
  • Clubs that have checked in with the Royals believe Greinke would veto a deal to any major market East Coast team. However, one official says the pitcher “would at least think about the L.A. clubs.”
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post recently suggested that the Yankees make Derek Jeter a Yankee for life with a 25-year contract that would keep him involved in the organization once his playing days end, but Stark hears that Jeter’s next deal will be “a baseball contract. Period.”
  • A Phillies source summed up the chances of Jayson Werth returning to Philadelphia concisely: "No chance. None. Zero.
  • "The Phillies are working aggressively to re-sign Jose Contreras, according to Stark.
  • GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told Stark that he has been working the phones this week. "We've made contact with 40 free agents, predominantly bullpen guys." He said. "Left-handed relief is a priority for us."
  • Teams that have contacted the Marlins about Dan Uggla see definite signs that if extension talks don’t go anywhere, the second baseman could soon become trade bait.

Heyman On Cliff Lee, Mets, Penny

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SI's Jon Heyman dishes the latest on the hot stove…

  • Heyman provides reasons why he sees the Yankees as the favorite to sign Cliff Lee: their revenue, rotation question marks, and lack of a backup plan chief among them.  He also talked to Lee's agent Darek Braunecker about the story about Lee's wife being harassed by Yankees fans at a game.  Braunecker said, "That story was blown out of proportion.  It's not like she's hypersensitive. She's been with him in Philadelphia and all over, been with him from the get-go. It really was that one time, just a couple clowns…probably intoxicated. I don't know if that will have any bearing on (the decision)."
  • Heyman predicts destinations for 15 of the top free agents; nothing crazy.
  • Padres GM Jed Hoyer draws praise for being upfront about not being able to sign Adrian Gonzalez.
  • New Mets GM Sandy Alderson will be paid close to $3MM, while Paul DePodesta will get close to $1MM.  With J.P. Ricciardi, Wayne Krivsky, and Omar Minaya also on the ledger, Heyman figures this is baseball's most expensive front office.
  • Heyman feels that the Mets "would likely avoid" allowing Francisco Rodriguez to finish 55 games in 2011, which would trigger his $17.5MM option for '12.  He also notes that the Mets "will wait to see Jose Reyes play a large chunk of this coming season before getting serious about a long-term deal."  That approach might work, but from Reyes' point of view if he's having a great year and is months away from free agency he might as well go to the open market.
  • It's a little early for "best shape of his life" reports, but that's the word on free agent righty Brad Penny.  The 32-year-old was limited to nine starts this year due to a lat muscle injury.

Cashman Meeting With Cliff Lee In Arkansas

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The latest on the Yankees…

Seven To Eight Teams Show Interest In Cliff Lee

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1:55pm: The Astros may make a run at Lee, in the opinion of SI's Jon Heyman (Twitter link).  He names the Cubs, Red Sox, Angels, Dodgers, and Phillies as other surprising suitors.

11:40am: Seven to eight teams have already shown interest in free agent lefty Cliff Lee, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  He says the Yankees and Rangers are still the favorites, but the Phillies, Dodgers, and others have checked in.

As Rosenthal notes, it's questionable as to whether the Phillies or Dodgers could come up with the money for Lee.  He's expected to sign for significantly more than $100MM.  I imagine the Nationals checked in as well; they do have the money and are known to be interested.  While the Red Sox and Angels appear poised to spend their money on position players, we won't count them out until they say so.  At any rate, I'm excited to use the Mystery Team category here at MLBTR for the first time this offseason.

Yankees Likely To Offer Jeter $45-60MM

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The Yankees are likely to offer Derek Jeter a three-year deal worth $45-60MM, according to Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com. One of Matthews’ sources, someone intimately familiar with knowledge of the team’s negotiations with agent Casey Close, says the Yankees are prepared to “overpay” the shortstop.

No team other than the Yankees has shown interest in Jeter, according to Matthews’ sources. That's not a surprise, considering that Jeter seems likely to re-sign in New York. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wrote Friday that "Jeter is still Jeter, the Yankees are still the Yankees and no other team will be a factor" [in the negotiations]. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reported that the Yankees are willing to pay Jeter more than any other team would, even though they aren’t going to invest recklessly in their captain.

MLBTR's Tim Dierkes predicted a four-year $65MM deal between Jeter and the Yankees.

Yankees Contact Cliff Lee’s Agent

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As expected, the Yankees moved quickly to contract the representation for Cliff Lee, according to an AP report (via ESPN). A baseball official says that the Yankees told Lee's agent, Darek Braunecker, that they will be back in touch later with a contract offer for the left-hander.

The Yankees have long coveted Lee, and are considered one of the front-runners to land the 32-year-old. The Rangers and Nationals are among the other clubs hoping to lock up the prize of the pitching market this winter.

New York Notes: Lee, Backman, Garland, Balfour

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Let's check out the latest rumblings out of the Big Apple….

  • Like Bill Madden of the New York Daily News did yesterday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post examines the Yankees' backup plan if they're unable to land Cliff Lee.
  • When Sherman polled eight executives about Lee's destination, six predicted the left-hander would end up in a Yankees uniform – the Rangers got the other two votes. One AL exec's thoughts: "Lee is all about the money. His agent is all about the money. And the Yanks have the most money."
  • ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link) expects the Red Sox to get involved in the Lee sweepstakes, perhaps in an attempt to drive the price up for the Yankees.
  • Wally Backman told Peter Botte of the New York Daily News that his three-hour interview with Sandy Alderson for the Mets' managerial opening "went very well."
  • Dan Martin of the New York Post names Jon Garland and Grant Balfour as a couple possible free agent targets for the Mets.
  • A pair of Star-Ledger writers, Marc Carig and Andy McCullough, preview the offseason for the Yankees and Mets respectively.

Odds & Ends: Werth, A’s, Yankees, Berkman, D’Backs

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A few more Saturday night links….

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