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Rockies Acquire Matt Murton

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According to a press release, the Rockies acquired outfielder Matt Murton from the A’s for infielder Corey Wimberly.

Murton, 27, has a career line of .288/.354/.438 in 1002 plate appearances.  He’s been involved in two big trades – the Nomar Garciaparra deal in ’04 and the Rich Harden trade last year.  Murton spent most of ’08 in the minors and did not show much power.

Wimberly, 25, ranked as the Rockies’ 26th-best prospect in the ’09 Baseball America Handbook.  He went unclaimed in the Rule 5 draft in December after hitting .291/.370/.345 in Double A.  The speedster is said to be in the Bip Roberts mold, according to BA.

A’s Could Take Shot At Orlando Cabrera

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According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, the A’s have saved "a little spending money and could still take a final shot at free agent shortstop Orlando Cabrera — if he’s willing to take a deep discount."

Cabrera is a Type A free agent who declined an offer of arbitration. Unlike Jason Varitek, however, Cabrera does not have the option of re-signing with his former team.  The loss of a draft pick by the signing team is a given, and Cabrera may have to compensate for the Elias curse by taking a low salary for ’09.  Waiting until after the June draft could make sense for Cabrera – he’d wipe out the draft pick problem, probably still get $2MM, and won’t get Type A status again.  UPDATE: Eddie Bajek tested my statement about Cabrera not getting Type A status again if he sits out two months, finding that it might only hold true if he signs with an NL team.

Odds and Ends: Hearings, Anderson, Selig

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Links for Monday…

Athletics Acquire Michael Wuertz

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1:05pm: Bruce Miles notes that Wuertz is out of options, and the Cubs saved over $2MM with their recent roster-cleaning.  Meanwhile, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle talked to an NL advance scout for his opinion on Wuertz.

12:32pm: According to a press release from the Cubs, they’ve sent Wuertz to the A’s for minor leaguers Richie Robnett and Justin Sellers.  Given all the additions to Oakland’s farm system, neither player ranked in their Baseball America top 30 list this year.

In BA’s 2008 Handbook, Robnett, a 25 year-old outfielder, ranked 15th among A’s prospects.  He was said to have "huge raw power," but that hasn’t come through in his minor league numbers.

Sellers, a 23 year-old infielder, ranked 14th in the ’08 Handbook.  He was described as "a solid-average defender who’ll hit at the bottom of a lineup."

12:18pm: According to Bruce Levine of ESPN Radio:

The Cubs continue to get inquiries regarding Michael Wuertz. I expect the team to trade him today or tomorrow, with Oakland the team most likely to send young players back to the Cubs.

Wuertz, 30, posted a 3.63 ERA in 44.6 innings for the Cubs this year with a 6.04 K/9.  He’s signed at $1.1MM for ’09 and will eligible for free agency after the 2011 season.

Perrotto’s Latest: Position Battles, Roberts, Pudge

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John Perrotto’s Every Given Sunday column is up over at Baseball Prospectus. This week, he takes a look at some of the position battles teams will face entering Spring Training. And, as always, there’s some interesting items in his Rumors & Rumblings section. Let’s take a look:

  • Some of the more interesting position battles mentioned: 1B/DH/RF in Oakland (Daric Barton, Jack Cust, Jason Giambi, Aaron Cunningham, and Travis Buck all in the mix), Tampa’s closer if Troy Percival gets hurt or falters (Dan Wheeler, J.P. Howell, Grant Balfour), and the White Sox rotation behind John Danks, Mark Buerhle, and Gavin Floyd (Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Bartolo Colon, Jeff Marquez).
  • Brian Roberts still wants a four-year deal before Spring Training starts up, or he’ll cut off negotiations. Does Roberts make more sense as a cornerstone in Baltimore or as a trade chip?
  • Perrotto feels Tom Glavine will inevitably re-sign with the Braves.
  • The White Sox have minor interest in signing Ivan Rodriguez as a backup for A.J. Pierzynski. I’m sure Pudge would prefer a starting gig, but at this point, it’s tough to be picky.
  • We’ve heard a lot about the Orioles having interest in Rich Hill lately, but Perrotto reminds us that the Mariners are interested in the 28-year-old lefty as well.

A’s Sign Russ Springer

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FRIDAY: Slusser says Springer will earn $3.3MM plus another possible $300K for games pitched.

THURSDAY: Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle says the Springer deal is official and is worth more than $3MM plus incentives.

WEDNESDAY: Springer apparently took his physical today, though his deal with the A’s is not yet official.  The A’s told reliever Andrew Brown they’re releasing him to make room for Springer, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

MONDAY: The AP says the A’s are "close to finalizing" the Springer deal, with the physical the final step remaining.  Not sure why they didn’t say an agreement has been reached, then.

SATURDAY: According to Ken Rosenthal, the A’s are "closing in on" a deal with Russ Springer. Rosenthal’s source says the A’s and Springer are "making progress, but not done." They’re working towards a contract worth about $3MM plus incentives.

Rosenthal adds that the A’s are ready to make a strong attempt to sign Orlando Cabrera if his asing price isn’t too high.

Unlike Cabrera, Springer wasn’t offered arbitration, so the A’s won’t have to surrender a draft pick to the Cardinals if the deal becomes official, despite Springer’s status as a Type A free agent.

Rosenthal On Abreu, Garland, Glavine, Sisco

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The latest from Ken Rosenthal…

  • The Mariners and Giants are interested in Bobby Abreu, if the price is right.  Yesterday Buster Olney suggested that Abreu is willing to take a one-year deal.  The A’s and Nationals have other targets, while the Mets, White Sox, and Braves are seen as long shots.
  • Rosenthal examines the nuances of Jon Garland’s December 7th decision to reject arbitration, saying that it wasn’t an obvious mistake at the time.
  • Tom Glavine’s agent Gregg Clifton did not attend yesterday’s meeting with Frank Wren; it was a health update and not a contract negotiation.  Rosenthal says Glavine figures to seek a Freddy Garcia-like deal.  The Braves need to save money to add an outfielder, with Nick Swisher atop their list.  The Yankees’ goal in moving Swisher or Xavier Nady would be to recoup prospects.
  • The Brewers are not interested in projects such as Kris Benson, Jason Jennings, Mark Redman, and Victor Zambrano.  They’re just lukewarm on Mark Mulder.  Benson is drawing interest from the Dodgers, Rangers, and Cardinals; one exec reviewed his audition as "so-so."
  • Rosenthal doesn’t seem to buy the idea that Jason Varitek and Scott Boras feared the Red Sox could cut him if he accepted arbitration, noting that Boras client Travis Lee was advised to accept years ago.
  • The Braves have reservations about re-signing Andruw Jones, who could be a Spring Training cut.
  • The A’s deal for Russ Springer will be worth more than $3MM plus incentives.  They’re also eyeing Brian Shouse and Andrew Sisco as possible pen additions.  Sisco, recovering from Tommy John, has also auditioned for the Rockies and Giants.

Odds and Ends: Yamarin, Eaton, Atkins, Ohman

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Links for Monday…

Olney On Mulder, Benson, Peavy, David Wells

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A few notes from Buster Olney’s latest blog post…

  • Free agent starter Mark Mulder is likely to throw for scouts during the first week of February. Olney says he figures to be popular if the audition goes well.
  • We already knew the Dodgers, Rangers, Padres, D’Backs, Rockies, Indians, and Cardinals will watch Kris Benson throw this weekend; Olney adds the Brewers and A’s.
  • Olney says "there have been no recent conversations between the Padres and Cubs about Jake Peavy," but he believes talks could be restarted quickly given the Cubs’ selection yesterday of the Thomas Ricketts group as the potential new owner.
  • David Wells never filed retirement papers and would be open to a minor league deal if one was offered.
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