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West Notes: A’s, Stubbs, Peacock, Tanaka

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Though the Athletics averaged just 22,337 fans per game in 2013 (which ranked 23rd in baseball), things could be worse in Oakland, writes Lev Facher of Athletics Nation. Oakland experienced a 10 percent increase in attendance from 2012 to 2013 despite the fact that the cross-town Giants were defending a World Series title. Another 10 percent increase would have Oakland north of 24,000 per game and shouldn't be too difficult to imagine with San Francisco's losing season in 2013 and Oakland's AL West championship. Facher notes that the A's will never top the Giants as long as they play in O.co Coliseum, but it's not hard to imagine them averaging well over 30,000 fans per night should they ever get a new park. More out of baseball's Western divisions…

  • New Rockies outfielder Drew Stubbs told Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post that he knew there was a chance he'd get traded this offseason, and he thought Colorado would be a potential landing spot once Dexter Fowler was traded. Indeed, Stubbs is now a member of the Rockies — a concept that has teammate Troy Tulowitzki excited. Tulo told Saunders: "I have high hopes for Drew. … I know they have talked about [Carlos Gonzalez] being our center fielder, but for me, I think we are a better team if Drew can grab that position and run with it. That way, we can leave Carlos in left." Tulowitzki said he will invite Stubbs to his home to work out with him prior to Spring Training.
  • Jason Collette of Fangraphs examined the transformation that Astros righty Brad Peacock made after being sent down to the minors midway through the 2013 campaign. Peacock adopted a slider that made a world of difference for his repertoire, and as Collette notes, the changes were obvious to GM Jeff Luhnow, manager Bo Porter and catcher Jason Castro.
  • Lookout Landing's Scott Weber looks at the case for the Mariners to push for Masahiro Tanaka and wonders if the lack of serious connection between the two sides to this point is due to Seattle's unwillingness to double down on the greatest risk in franchise history (Robinson Cano). As Weber notes, should those deals crumble, Seattle would be looking at well over $40MM of dead payroll per year. He suggests that an alternative would be to take advantage of the Tanaka buzz by jumping into a surprisingly cool market for Ubaldo Jimenez.

Athletics Avoid Arbitration With Daric Barton

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6:35pm: Barton's deal is worth $1.25M, Scout.com's Kiley McDaniel tweets.

2:18pm: The A's announced that they have avoided arbitration with first baseman Daric Barton by agreeing to a one-year deal. The San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser tweets that the two sides agreed to a non-guaranteed deal. Barton is a client of the MVP Sports Group.

While terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed, MLBTR's Matt Swartz projected the former first-rounder to earn just $1.4MM in arbitration this offseason. Barton's 120 plate appearances in 2013 were the fewest he's totaled at the Major League level since debuting in 2007, but he managed a respectable .269/.350/.375 batting line. Barton has never developed much power, but he's an ultra-patient hitter at the plate, as evidenced by his career .360 OBP and 14.1 percent walk rate.

As can be seen in MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker, the A's still have seven players that are eligible for arbitration: Jim Johnson, Luke Gregerson, Brandon Moss, Josh Reddick, Jed Lowrie, John Jaso and Jesse Chavez.

A’s Claim Chris Gimenez, Release Pedro Figueroa

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3:53pm: To make room on the 40-man roster for Gimenez, the A's released left-hander Pedro Figueroa, the team announced on Twitter.

Figueroa, 28, has a career 4.38 ERA in 24 2/3 innings for the A's, but he's walked more batters (18) than he's struck out (17) at the Major League level. After struggling through the 2011 season as a starter in Double-A, Figueroa converted to the bullpen and has experiences a nice turnaround at Triple-A. In 104 innings at that level, he has a 3.46 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9.

12:48pm: The Athletics have claimed catcher Chris Gimenez off waivers from the Rays, according to MLB.com's Jane Lee (Twitter link).

Gimenez, who will turn 31 a week from today, batted .224/.350/.305 for the Rays' Triple-A affiliate in 2013 and also made a brief appearance with the big league club. In parts of five Major League seasons (380 plate appearances), the right-handed hitter is a .199/.292/.293 hitter. He is a .267/.375/.445 hitter in 10 minor league seasons.

Quick Hits: Santana, Karstens, Mulder, Athletics

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The signing of Omar Infante and Jason Vargas took up the money the Royals had earmarked to re-sign Ervin Santana, ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter links), and thus with the club at its payroll limit, there is only a "remote" chance of K.C. bringing Santana back on even a one-year deal at a bargain price.  The Tigers, Diamondbacks and Mariners are a few of the teams that have been linked to Santana this offseason, though we probably won't know the full extent of his market (and the market for other top free agent starters) until Masahiro Tanaka's situation has been settled.

Here's some more from around baseball…

  • Jeff Karstens' agent Damon Lapa tells MLBTR's Zach Links that he expects at least a dozen clubs to be in attendance for Karstens' upcoming showcase.  Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com first reported that Karstens will throw in January and Lapa indicated to MLBTR that he'll be auditioning in the "mid-to-late" portion of next month.  Lapa won't say what kind of deal he's seeking for his client but he did say that the 31-year-old is "100% healthy."
  • The Giants checked in on Mark Mulder “but the short version is he’s looking for more than we could provide, including a Major League contract,” GM Brian Sabean told reporters, including CSNBayArea.com's Andrew Baggarly.  Mulder is attempting a comeback and threw for three teams last month.
  • Athletics owner Lew Wolff told John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group that the A's ownership group hasn't been approached by any interested buyers and Wolff reiterated that the team isn't for sale.  Wolff also said he didn't have any interest in a new ballpark proposal by the city of Oakland that would see a stadium constructed at the Howard Terminal waterfront site.
  • The Cardinals have finished their major offseason work, GM John Mozeliak told reporters (including MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch).  The team will now look to add minor league depth and are prepared to be "opportunistic" if other ways of improving the roster present themselves, Mozeliak said.
  • Scott Boras will face a challenge in finding a big contract for Kendrys Morales considering the slugger's seemingly limited market, FOX Sports' Jon Morosi writes.
  • The Astros probably aren't done making moves and will look for some bargains in January and February, but GM Jeff Luhnow tells Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle that he would already be satisfied with taking his current roster into Spring Training.  Luhnow also commented on his team's recent acquisitions of Jesus Guzman and Collin McHugh, though he didn't comment on rumors tying Houston to Shin-Soo Choo.
  • "The White Sox have quietly had a terrific offseason," ESPN.com's David Schoenfeld writes, praising GM Rick Hahn for adding the likes of Adam Eaton and Matt Davidson for what Schoenfeld feels were expendable pieces in Addison Reed and Hector Santiago.

Athletics Acquire Corey Brown

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11:32am: The Nationals announced that they've received cash considerations in return for Brown.

11:15am: The Athletics have acquired outfielder Corey Brown from the Nationals, according to ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter link). Brown was designated for assignment last week to make room for Nate McLouth on the Nationals' 40-man roster.

Brown, 28, is a career .175/.250/.400 batter in 45 Major League plate appearances. At the Triple-A level, he's slashed .254/333/.461 in 1602 career plate appearances. Brown and right-hander Henry Rodriguez were acquired by the Nationals in the 2010 trade that sent Josh Willingham to Oakland. The A's took him in the supplemental round of the 2007 draft as compensation for the los of Frank Thomas.

Brown is out of options, meaning he will have to make the Athletics' Major League club out of Spring Training or be designated for assignment or traded again.

NL East Notes: Phillies, Rollins, Marlins

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The Phillies have a contender's payroll, and therefore Ruben Amaro Jr. is still in win-now mode despite an aging and declining core, writes CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury. However, the Phils may be just one bad half away from Amaro finally conceding to a rebuild, says Salisbury, who recalls a quote from Amaro at the Winter Meetings where Amaro acknowledged the possibility.

  • Salisbury's colleague, Corey Seidman, opines that the Phillies are stuck with Jimmy Rollins, much like they are with Jonathan Papelbon. Though there are a few contenders in need of a shortstop upgrade, but Rollins' $11MM salary plus his 10-and-5 rights make it nearly impossible to move him.
  • The Marlins are willing to trade from their wealth of starting pitchers to acquire a third baseman, president of baseball operations Michael Hill told MLB.com's Joe Frisasro. Said Hill: "This is why you build and try to create depth, to allow you to do what you need to do to win games at the Major League level."
  • Since Mike Rizzo took over as Nationals GM in 2009, he’s seven different trades with A's GM Billy Beane of the Athletics.  Chase Hughes of CSNWashington.com looked back on all of the deals that have gone down between Oakland and Washington.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Quick Hits: Yankees, Grilli, Tomko, Rays

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It may be a bit early, but Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) grades everyone's offseason to date in the American League.  The Yankees get a B+ for holding firm in the Robinson Cano negotiations and the A's get an A for their acquisitions of Craig Gentry, Luke Gregerson, and Jim Johnson.  Teams like the Indians, Blue Jays, and Orioles, on the other hand, will need to do more if they want better marks from Bowden.  Here's this afternoon's look around baseball..

AL West Notes: Wilson, Young, Angels, Morrison

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The Rangers made headlines today by selecting Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft.  Before going on to NFL stardom, Wilson was selected by the Rockies as a second baseman in the fourth round of the 2010 draft, and Colorado retained its rights to Wilson until this morning. Wilson will report to Spring Training and talk to the Rangers' minor leaguers in a motivational capacity.  "We decided if he ever wanted to play again, he'd be a guy that we'd want with us," Texas assistant GM A.J. Preller told reporters, including MLB.com's Richard Justice.  The Wilson selection isn't a gimmick,  ESPN's Richard Durrett writes, and Jon Daniels is excited to have Wilson's winning qualities in the organization, though Daniels stressed that the club isn't trying to distract Wilson from his NFL goals.  Here's more out of the AL West…

  • Shin-Soo Choo and Nelson Cruz remain unsigned, which is good news for the Rangers, ESPN Dallas' Richard Durrett writes.  The Rangers like both players and are hoping that their asking prices drop the longer they stay on the market.  Daniels said that his team's pursuit of Choo was "unchanged" from yesterday.
  • There is a chance that Michael Young could rejoin the Rangers if both parties see a fit, MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez tweets.  Texas dealt its longtime franchise staple to the Phillies last offseason and Young was subsequently dealt to the Dodgers in August.
  • Despite recent rumors linking the Angels to Matt Garza and Raul Ibanez, general manager Jerry Dipoto told reporters (including Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times) that his team doesn't have any outstanding offers to free agents.
  • In a special piece for FOX Sports, new Mariners first baseman/outfielder Logan Morrison wrote about the experience of being traded to a new team. Morrison's piece is particularly fascinating in that it was written prior to the trade that sent him to Seattle. LoMo says he doesn't have any ill feelings toward the Marlins organization, adding that contrary to public opinion, owner Jeffrey Loria was "great and generous" to Morrison and his family. Loria allowed Morrison and his family to use his personal plane to get to Kansas City for the funeral of Morrison's father.
  • The Astros spoke to the Marlins about Morrison and also pursued Corey Hart and Mike Morse, MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports.  Jose Veras rejected the Astros' initial contract offer but the two sides still share a mutual interest in a reunion.
  • The Yankees, Indians, Braves, Phillies, Blue Jays, Twins and Indians were all involved in trade talks for Brett Anderson before the Athletics sent the right-hander to the Rockies, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post

Minor Moves: Andrew Werner, Manny Pina

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Here are today's minor moves and outright assignments from around the league…

  • The Athletics have outrighted left-hander Andrew Werner to Triple-A Sacramento after he cleared waivers, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). Werner, 26, was designated for assignment in order to clear a 40-man roster spot for Scott Kazmir last week.
  • The Mariners have signed catcher Manny Pina to a minor league deal, tweets Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune. The 26-year-old batted .228/.274/.359 with seven homers in 325 plate appearances between the Royals' Double-A and Triple-A affiliates last season.

Orioles Acquire David Freitas To Complete Jim Johnson Trade

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The Orioles announced that they have acquired minor league catcher David Freitas from the Athletics as the player to be named later to complete the Jim Johnson trade.

Freitas, 24, was selected by the Nationals in the 15th round of the 2010 draft out of the University of Hawaii. He reached Triple-A for the first time in 2013 and posted a .231/.306/.368 batting line with 10 homers in 356 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A. Freitas was actually much better in Triple-A than in Double-A (in a smaller sample size), batting .268/.355/.381 in 110 plate appearances.

Prior to the 2012 season, Baseball America ranked him 27th among Nationals prospects, noting that he had good power to the pull side and a patient approach at the plate that gave him a chance to be an offensive-minded part-time catcher in the Majors.

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