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Padres, Pirates, Rangers Interested In Shaun Marcum

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Shaun Marcum is drawing interest from the Padres, Pirates and Rangers, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports. Turner Gary Sports represents the free agent right-hander.

Marcum pitched for the Brewers this past season, posting a 3.70 ERA with 7.9 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 35.4% ground ball rate in 124 innings over the course of 21 starts. The 31-year-old missed approximately two months due to elbow tightness in 2012 and his average fastball velocity remained well below 90 mph at 86.5 mph. Marcum, who joined the Brewers in a trade with Toronto following the 2010 season, has a career ERA of 3.76 with 7.3 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 38.7% ground ball rate in seven MLB seasons.

Marcum ranked 19th on MLBTR’s list of top 50 free agents entering the offseason. He has also been linked to the Indians, Mets, Twins and Royals at various points this winter. Marcum, who’s not linked to draft pick compensation, probably won’t re-sign with the Brewers.

Cafardo On Napoli, Lohse, Upton, Bourn, Soriano

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It has been six weeks since the Red Sox and Mike Napoli agreed to terms on a three-year, $39MM contract. The holdup in finalizing the deal is concern with one of Napoli's hips and the team's desire to write protective language into the contract. Recently, we learned the Red Sox are continuing negotiations with Napoli, but would like to shorten the deal to just one year and have been in contact with the Nationals about Mike Morse. A major league source told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe this about Napoli's hip, "It’s one of those things where it could go anytime or five years from now. Nobody really knows, which is why the Red Sox want strong language after putting $40 million on the table for him.” Cafardo believes it's starting to make sense for the Red Sox to trade for Justin Morneau or to make Daniel Nava a first baseman/left fielder. More from Cafardo:

  • That Kyle Lohse is still available at this late date is somewhat of a stunner to Cafardo. Lohse's market has been stunted with him being tied to draft pick compensation and that no one seems willing to go beyond two years, although several teams needs starting pitching and his stuff translates to both leagues. 
  • Draft pick compensation has also shrunk the market for Michael Bourn. Another factor, according to a NL GM, has been the Twins trading both Denard Span and Ben Revere and the Braves signing B.J. Upton.
  • Cafardo thought it was strange for Justin Upton to reject his trade to Seattle since it's one of the nicest cities in the country and the fences at Safeco Field have been moved in.
  • Cubs President Theo Epstein has come to realize Alfonso Soriano is an excellent clubhouse presence because of his willingness to help younger players. With that and his excellent 2012 season, Epstein wants a player of note in any deal where the Cubs eat a majority of the $36MM left on Soriano's contract.
  • Discussions to include Garrett Jones in the Joel Hanrahan trade never progressed very far because "the Pirates really valued Jones highly," a major league source told Cafardo.   
  • One NL GM told Cafardo Roy Oswalt may still want to pitch, but on his terms and perhaps for only a half a season. Many teams have given up trying to persuade the 35-year-old to pitch, feeling the vibe is that he just doesn’t want it bad enough. Cafardo also notes Oswalt suffered a forearm strain at the end of his time with the Rangers last season. 
  • Bobby Valentine has turned down some opportunities to serve as an advisor for teams. Valentine has instead decided to focus on expanding his restaurant business, growing his film company, and working for NBC Sports since being fired as manager of the Red Sox.

Pirates Acquire Jeanmar Gomez

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The Pirates have acquired Jeanmar Gomez from the Indians in exchange for Quincy Latimore, reports ESPN's Keith Law (on Twitter). Cleveland had designated the right-hander for assignment last week.

Gomez, 24, pitched to a 5.96 ERA with 4.7 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 90 2/3 innings for Indians last season. He owns a 5.18 ERA in 206 2/3 innings across 38 starts and four relief appearances in his big league career over the last three seasons. Baseball America ranked Gomez as the team's 21st best prospect in their 2010 Prospect Handbook, saying he should be a "serviceable fifth starter or middle reliever in the future."

Latimore, 23, was Pittsburgh's fourth round pick in the 2007 draft. The outfielder hit .252/.321/.433 with 15 homers and ten steals in 462 Double-A plate appearances last season, his second straight year at the level. Baseball America ranked Latimore as the 21st best prospect in the Pirates' system in their 2011 Prospect Handbook, noting he needs to be more patient at the plate.

Quick Hits: Posey, Gonzalez, Giambi, Urbina, Pirates

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Buster Posey is eligible for arbitration for the first time off the heels of his MVP campaign.  The Giants would obviously like to lock the catcher up for the foreseeable future, but the club has yet to begin contract discussions with agent Jeff Berry, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).  For more on Posey's unique case, check out Matt Swartz's arbitration breakdown.  Here's more from around baseball..

  • Michael Gonzalez's one-year, $2.25MM contract with the Brewers could pay him up to an additional $400K in performance bonuses, according to the Associated Press.  Gonzalez will earn $50K for 25 games finished, $75K each for 30 and 35, and $100K apiece for 40 and 50.  The reliever told reporters today that he prefers to be called Michael rather than Mike, according to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com (via Twitter).
  • Jason Giambi is working out and told Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter) that he hopes to play this season.  The 42-year-old will likely have to go to camp with a club on a minor league deal.  Giambi was said to be drawing interest from three or four teams in early December.
  • Ugueth Urbina threw live batting practice in Venezuela yesterday and former Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen was on hand to scout for several teams, writes Luis Carlos Gonzalez of El Nacional.  "I told people from the Marlins, where I left behind some friends, and other teams, that Urbina was going to take the mound, and they told me to go see him," Guillen said (translation courtesy of Nick Collias).  Guillen added that Urbina looked good, though he needs to "keep working".
  • Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) looked at five GMs that could be on the hotseat in 2013, including Neal Huntington of the Pirates and Royals GM Dayton Moore.
  • If the Pirates do not finalize their deal with Francisco Liriano, reliever-turned-starter Chris Leroux is another option for the rotation, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.  Liriano suffered an arm injury in December, leading the Bucs give second thought to the two-year, $12.75MM agreement.

NL Notes: D’backs, Rafael Soriano, Posey, Marlins

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Seven years ago today, the Diamondbacks came to terms with Justin Upton, the first overall selection in the 2005 amateur draft, on a five-year, $6.1MM contract. The deal marked the largest signing bonus given in a minor league contract for a drafted player, who was not a free agent. Today, Upton is the prime trade target of the offseason. Just within the last 24 hours, we learned there is no match with the Padres, the Braves haven't engaged in Upton talks since before Christmas, and speculation that a deal will happen as soon as Arizona is offered the right mix of players. In non-Upton news involving the Diamondbacks and the rest of the Senior Circuit:

Quick Hits: Vazquez, Nationals, Padres, Stanton

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On this date three years ago, the Mets officially signed R.A. Dickey to a minor league contract worth $600K if he made the team. Three seasons and one NL Cy Young Award later, the knuckleballer was traded to the Blue Jays for a package including two top prospects this offseason. Here's the latest from around the league as Saturday turns into Sunday…

  • "I am seriously considering pitching again, but have not made a final decision," said Javier Vazquez to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. "Certainly, If I do come back, [the Nationals are] definitely a place I would consider. I'm feeling really good and throwing the ball well."
  • The Padres have talked to the Marlins about Giancarlo Stanton, but nothing too detailed according to Bill Center of The San Diego Union-Tribune. Center notes Miami had interest in Padres prospect Jedd Gyorko earlier this winter.
  • In his latest Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney ranked the Braves' bullpen as the best in baseball. Atlanta strengthened their relief corps by acquiring Jordan Walden a few weeks ago.
  • Within the same column, Olney says the Yankees probably won't make many more additions prior to Spring Training. New York claimed Russ Canzler off waivers yesterday.
  • The Pirates and Francisco Liriano have not yet finalized their two-year agreement, but there are no hang-ups or deal-breakers according to Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (on Sulia). The holidays delayed things.

Minor Moves: Rick VandenHurk

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Earlier today the Dodgers signed Alfredo Amezaga to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. Here are the rest of Saturday's minor moves…

  • The Pirates have released Rick VandenHurk so he can sign with a foreign club, the team announced (on Twitter). The 27-year-old right-hander pitched to a 3.06 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 129 1/3 innings last season, almost all with Pittsburgh's Triple-A affiliate.  VandenHurk is represented by Beverly Hills Sports Council.

Quick Hits: Upton, Liriano, Orioles, Headley

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Rob Manfred, MLB’s executive VP of labor relations, told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he’s not ready to say baseball’s collective bargaining agreement needs changes. While the CBA appears to have limited the market for certain players who declined qualifying offers, Manfred says it’s still early. “I’m not inclined to get into a discussion about changing an agreement when it hasn’t even operated for a full year.” As Rosenthal points out, draft pick compensation places an artificial burden on free agents. Here are some more links from around MLB…

  • The Rangers aren’t a perfect fit for Justin Upton, because their lineup already includes many right-handed hitters, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney notes (Twitter links). The Braves could be a better fit, and could deal from a surplus of pitching. Olney reported yesterday that the Diamondbacks are open to dealing the right fielder.
  • The Pirates haven’t announced their two-year, $12.75MM agreement with Francisco Liriano, but MLB.com’s Tom Singer still expects the deal to go through (Twitter link). The Pirates have been trying to get the left-hander to Pittsburgh for a physical.
  • The Orioles have not watched free agent right-hander Javier Vazquez work out and they have no current plans to attend any of his scheduled sessions, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports (on Twitter). That said, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun suggested today that the Orioles could have some interest (Twitter link).
  • Within an in-depth piece about third baseman Chase Headley, Padres GM Josh Byrnes revealed to MLB.com's Corey Brock that he pushed for the Red Sox to draft Headley back in 2005 when he was in the Boston front office. Headley, 28, is arbitration eligible for the third time this offseason.

Blue Jays Claim Chad Beck

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The Blue Jays claimed right-hander Chad Beck off of waivers from Pittsburgh, the Pirates announced. The 27-year-old had been designated for assignment on December 26th.

Beck spent the 2012 season in the Blue Jays' organization, appearing in 14 games at the MLB level. The Pirates had claimed him off of waivers from Toronto on October 25th. Beck posted a 6.32 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 15 2/3 innings with Toronto this past season. He spent the majority of the year at Triple-A Las Vegas, where he posted a 1.31 ERA with 4.5 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 48 innings out of the bullpen.

Roberto Clemente: A Remembrance

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MLBTR's Mark Polishuk paid tribute to Roberto Clemente who lost his life 40 years ago today in a plane crash off the coast of Puerto Rico. Clemente was on a mission of mercy delivering emergency supplies to earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua. David Maraniss, in his biography Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball‘s Last Hero, wrote, "The mythic aspects of baseball…usually draw on cliches of the innocent past. (Clemente's myth) arcs the other way, to the future, not the past, to what people hope they can become." (h/t Bob Cohn of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). Here are more remembrances of the first Latin American inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame:

  • David Brown of Yahoo! Sports writes Pirates' second baseman Neil Walker can thank Clemente for being born. Tom Walker, Neil's father, was a pitcher for the Expos and wanted to accompany his friend Clemente on that fateful flight. Clemente told Tom Walker to go enjoy New Year's Eve instead.
  • FOXSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi tweeted a quote from Tom Walker, "If there had been 6 seats on the plane I would have gone. There were 5."
  • Alfredo R. Berrios of ESPNDeportes.com offers his own recollections of that night in 1972 and those of other Latin American sportswriters and sportscasters who covered Clemente.
  • Jorge L. Ortiz of USA Today discusses Clemente's impact throughout Latin America. Ortiz adds Clemente's athletic legacy may have waned in Puerto Rico, but his dignity and devotion to those less fortunate continues to resonate. 
  • Jim Lachimia, in a special to MLB.com, spoke with Roberto Clemente Jr. about his father.
  • MLB Network has posted a video, hosted by Bob Costas, paying respect to Clemente's life and the lives he impacted in baseball and around the world.
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