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Who’s Met With Bob Garber?

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1:05pm: Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. is talking with Garber today, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.

11:53am: As the agent for top free agent starters C.J. Wilson and Roy Oswalt, Bob Garber of Select Sports Group has been popular so far at the GM Meetings.  He's met or plans to meet with the Marlins, Yankees, Royals, Angels, Nationals, Rockies, and Rangers, according to reports, and tells me he has at least three more new meetings today.

Brian Schneider Nearing Deal With Phillies

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The Phillies are close to re-signing catcher Brian Schneider, according to Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link).

Schneider, 34, has served as the Phillies' backup catcher since signing a two-year, $2.75MM deal prior to the 2010 season. His production at the plate dropped off significantly in 2011, with his .502 OPS bringing his overall slash line in Philadelphia down to .208/.297/.320 in 286 plate appearances.

Mets Will Tender Contracts To Pagan, Pelfrey

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Their names showed up on our list of non-tender candidates yesterday, but Angel Pagan and Mike Pelfrey will be tendered contracts by the Mets, reports Jon Heyman of SI.com (via Twitter). The pair of Mets could earn more than $10MM between them in 2012, according to our projected arbitration salaries. Here are some other notes from the NL East:

  • The Phillies are indicating Cole Hamels would cost "three small countries and two oceans" in a trade, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter link). Considering what sort of package it would take to land Hamels, the southpaw likely isn't going anywhere.
  • The Mets have a similarly high asking price for David Wright. GM Sandy Alderson says he'll only considering moving Wright "if someone blows us away," tweets Heyman. Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote earlier today that the Mets would definitely listen on Wright, but probably won't get an offer they like.
  • Mark Buehrle's representatives and the Marlins are meeting today at the GM meetings in Milwaukee, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.
  • Yoenis Cespedes isn't the only Cuban outfielder to grab the Nationals' attention – Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post writes of the club's interest in 19-year-old Jorge Soler.
  • Speaking of Cespedes, the Phillies worked out the 26-year-old in the Dominican Republic, with Pat Gillick in attendance, tweets Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.
  • Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com takes a look at which players the Nationals may protect in this year's Rule 5 draft.

Eight Teams Interested In Grady Sizemore

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TUESDAY, 11:27am: The Rockies have examined Sizemore's medical records and believe he's worth the risk on a one-year deal, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.  The Rockies expect to watch Sizemore work out in the coming days.

The A's have no interest in pursuing Sizemore, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

MONDAY, 7:38pm: There's no shortage of interest in Grady Sizemore this offseason. The free agent outfielder has drawn interest from eight teams, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. The Cubs, Rangers, Giants and Yankees are potential suitors for Sizemore, along with the Phillies, Rockies, Red Sox and Indians.

The Giants are interested, even after acquiring Melky Cabrera, and the Cubs view Sizemore as a possible fit in right field. The A's, who saw their entire outfield hit free agency after the season, have also been linked to Sizemore.

Sizemore's knees have limited him to 104 total games in the past two seasons, so the Indians declined their $9MM club option after the season, making the 29-year-old a free agent. He hit 10 homers and posted a .224/.285/.422 line in 2011, but Sizemore combined power, speed and on-base skills as one of baseball's premier center fielders from 2005-08.

Phillies Rumors: Schneider, Hamels, Cuddyer

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The latest on the Phillies…

NL East Notes: Phillies, Hamels, Mets, Reyes, Capuano

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The Phillies made waves with their four-year, $50MM signing of Jonathan Papelbon, but now they must look at how that deal and the rest of their hefty payroll will shape their contract talks with Cole Hamels.  Here's a look at the Phillies and more from the NL East..

  • Four teams showed serious interest in Papelbon prior to the reliever with the Phillies, a major league source told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.  That number is including the Phillies but not the Red Sox, who never made a formal offer to Papelbon.
  • There don't appear to be any conversations between the Phillies and left-hander Cole Hamels, who will be eligible for free agency next fall so the club will have three possible options, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required).  The Phils could sign Hamels to a one-year contract for 2012 and risk him walking away with with little to no return, try and lock him up to a long-term deal, or deal him now for the best possible return.  Some officials believe that the club's best course of action would be to move him this winter if they know now they don't want to pay him $20MM per season. 
  • If the Mets cannot re-sign Jose Reyes, they may look to make Daniel Murphy the full-time second baseman, an organizational source told Mike Puma of the New York Post.
  • Based off of comments from Mets GM Sandy Alderson, it sounds like pitcher Chris Capuano is a goner, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.  On Monday, Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated wrote that the Mets have crossed the veteran off of their list due to his desire for a two-year deal.

Phillies Sign Jonathan Papelbon

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Jonathan Papelbon's desire to set the market for closers was never a secret — it's now a reality. The Phillies have agreed to sign the 30-year-old to a precedent-setting four-year, $50,000,058 deal that establishes the record for guaranteed money for a reliever.  The Phillies announced the deal today, noting that Papelbon will continue to wear #58.

Papelbon

The contract includes a $13MM option for 2016 that vests with 55 games finished in 2015 or 100 in 2014-15, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. The Phillies appeared to have a deal with Ryan Madson earlier this week, but talks fell through and the sides didn't complete the rumored four-year, $44MM deal. Papelbon's agents at ACES stepped in and the Phillies have their closer.

Papelbon posted a 2.94 ERA with 12.2 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 in 64 1/3 innings for the Red Sox in 2011, saving 31 games. He's a Type A free agent who will cost the Phillies their first round draft pick in 2012, assuming the upcoming collective bargaining agreement doesn't change draft pick compensation for this offseason. Boston will obtain the 31st overall pick in next June's draft unless the Phillies sign an additional Type A free agent with a higher ranking than Papelbon. If the Phillies lose Madson to another team after offering him arbitration, they'll surrender one pick and gain two.

Papelbon is the first of MLBTR's top 50 free agents to sign. Check out MLBTR's Free Agent Tracker for the details. Bryan Grosnick examines the fantasy baseball implications of the move at CloserNews.

Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com first reported the deal and its terms. Jayson Stark of ESPN.com, Jon Heyman of SI.com, Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM and others added detail.

Photo courtesy Icon SMI.

Cafardo On Red Sox, Cuddyer, Sizemore, Marlins

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One of Red Sox GM Ben Cherington's toughest tasks this season will be finding fourth and fifth starters, writes Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe.  Cherington could do it by pursuing the top free agent hurlers on the open market or try to bolster the rotation via trade.  It's widely expected that the White Sox will make either Gavin Floyd or John Danks available and Cafardo wonders if the Red Sox could get Anibal Sanchez back from the Marlins.  Free agent Hiroki Kuroda is a likely target but appears to be out of reach.  The veteran declined a chance to be traded to the Sox last season as he didn’t want to play anywhere but Los Angeles.  Here's more from Cafardo..

  • Free agent Michael Cuddyer isn't as high of a priority for the Phillies as portrayed by the media.  A major league source characterized him as "a middle priority" and while Philadelphia would love to have him, the club isn't going to "go crazy" to make it happen.
  • It's widely believed that Grady Sizemore could be had for a bargain price but the center fielder has a few teams pursuing him, including the Red Sox.  However, his talks with Boston are in very preliminary stages, and his injury history and left-handed bat mean that he's an unlikely fit.
  • An agent told Cafardo that the Marlins' offers to Albert Pujols, Mark Buehrle, and Jose Reyes should be taken seriously and are not for show. 
  • If the Marlins land Pujols or Prince Fielder, first baseman Gaby Sanchez will be major trade bait for the club. 
  • If the Red Sox don't make a lot of pitching moves, we could see Alfredo Aceves moved into the rotation.  The right-hander pushed to start in the past but Terry Francona thought Aceves was too valuable to remove from his bullpen role. 
  • A National League scout says that center fielder Yoenis Cespedes is likely to be moved to one of the corner outfield spots in the majors.  Yesterday, we learned that the Cuban defector may not become a free agent for two months.

Relievers Notes: Wood, Madson, Papelbon

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Jonathan Papelbon became the first major free agent to change teams yesterday, agreeing to a four-year contract worth $50MM with the Phillies. Reactions to the contract were generally mixed, though almost everyone agreed that the size of the deal was staggering. Let's round up the latest from the relief pitcher market…

  • Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune reports that Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein has had preliminary talks with Kerry Wood, who is expected to return next season. The 34-year-old righty pitched to a 3.35 ERA in 51 IP after returning to Chicago's north side on a below-market one-year, $1.5MM contract last winter.
  • Despite reports of a four-year, $44MM offer, MASN's Jen Royle hears from a source that the Phillies only offered Ryan Madson a three-year contract. They were unwilling to give him the extra year he wanted (Twitter link).
  • The Red Sox, meanwhile, were not willing to give Papelbon a guaranteed fourth year according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
  • MLB.com's Peter Gammons reports (on Twitter) that the Red Sox offered Papelbon to the Braves in exchange for Javier Vazquez two offseasons ago. Atlanta rejected the offer, then traded Vazquez to the Yankees shortly thereafter.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports wrote about how the rest of the closers' market is shaping up and the impact of Papelbon's contract. Here is our look at the trade and free agent markets for right-handed relievers.

Quick Hits: Astros, Sizemore, A’s, Phillies, CBA

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On a day when Jonathan Papelbon switched teams and the Miami Marlins were officially born, the biggest and best news was unquestionably Wilson Ramos' rescue from kidnappers in his native Venezuela.  Here are a few other items as we head into the weekend…

  • The Astros' potential sale to Jim Crane is on the agenda at next week's owners meetings, reports The Associated Press.  Two sources say Crane, Drayton McLane and Major League Baseball have "reached an understanding" on how the Astros could move to the American League in 2013.
  • Crane could be getting as much as an $80MM discount off his original price for the team by agreeing to move the Astros to the AL, tweets Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman.
  • Grady Sizemore is looking for a one-year contract so he can re-establish his value for a longer-term deal next winter, reports Jon Heyman (Twitter link).  Heyman makes the comparison to the one-year deal Adrian Beltre signed with the Red Sox before the 2010 season, which saw Beltre have a big season and earn a multiyear deal with the Rangers last winter.  Sizemore won't match the $10MM Beltre got from Boston, but a $6-7MM deal with incentives seems reasonable.
  • Heyman says the Athletics are interested in Sizemore but are worried about his health and his asking price.
  • With the Phillies reportedly interested in both Sizemore and Jason Kubel, Fangraphs' Eric Seidman argues that Sizemore is the better choice for the Phils.
  • The Phillies want to sign Michael Cuddyer and re-sign Jimmy Rollins but the club finds both players' asking prices to be too high, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.
  • Major League Baseball and the Players' Association are expected to "continue to negotiate amicably" about the new collective bargaining agreement over the weekend, reports Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
  • Also from Rosenthal, he thinks teams take a major risk by hiring managers with little or no Major League managing or coaching experience.
  • The Pirates' offseason moves will be influenced by the number of players on the roster who are out of options, writes MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch.
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