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Adrian Gonzalez Rumors: Wednesday

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8:00pm: Edes tweets that the Orioles "made a pretty good run" at Gonzalez during the Winter Meetings.  It seems clear that Gonzalez has the potential to spark quite a bidding war.

1:36pm: ESPN's Gordon Edes tweets that there's "nothing going on" on the Gonzalez front.  Edes doesn't expect the Red Sox to land Adrian Beltre or Matt Holliday either.  Larry Stone of the Seattle Times believes that if the Padres do make Gonzalez available, the Mariners "won't let the Red Sox get him without a fight."

11:36am: Interesting tweet from ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. – he has a source close to Gonzalez who believes the player will be traded to Boston within the next ten days.

9:13am: The Red Sox are "working hard" to obtain Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, write Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The writers caution that a deal is "not close, and might not happen at all."  Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote late last night that the two teams are not talking, but wondered if they'd re-engage.

Rosenthal and Morosi suggest the signings of John Lackey and Mike Cameron give the Red Sox flexibility to trade Clay Buchholz and Jacoby Ellsbury, and the Padres would be tempted by the chance to acquire both for Gonzalez.  The Sox are reluctant to make that deal.  Still, getting Gonzalez at $10.25MM over two years would free up resources for other pursuits during that time.

Odds & Ends: Wang, Yankees, White Sox

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Some Sunday links…

  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) says that three AL teams and three NL teams have shown interest in Chien-Ming Wang.  However, the Dodgers are not one of those teams "yet."  Rosenthal notes that Wang is a favorite of Joe Torre and his staff.
  • In his running blog, Rosenthal says that Kevin Youkilis' versatility gives the Red Sox a number of options this winter.  Boston could sign Adrian Beltre to play third or, for a much lower price, Nick Johnson to play first.
  • Regardless of where Wang signs, we can safely assume that it will not be for a split contract.  The Yankees made the 29-year-old a minor-league offer that would become a major-league deal once his shoulder was healthy.  Wang's agent demanded guaranteed money, according to Bill Madden of the New York Daily News.
  • Earlier today, Buster Olney mentioned the Yanks as a possible destination for free agent outfielder Brian Giles.  Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger hears that the club is just doing its "due diligence" by checking in on the soon-to-be 39-year-old.
  • The White Sox have signed Freddie Bynum and T.J. Bohn to minor league deals, according to the FutureSox twitter page.
  • Kevin Correia's agent Barry Axelrod told Dan Hayes of the North County Times that the Brewers and Rays both showed interested in trading for his client.  While GM Jed Hoyer gave him no guarantees that the one-year deal won't be a sign-and-trade, Axelrod is confident that the 29-year-old will pitch for San Diego in 2010.
  • Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel spoke to Mike Rivera, who was non-tendered by the Brewers yesterday.  Rivera says he was caught off guard by the decision but was told by GM Doug Melvin that the organization might reach out to him again at some point.

Gammons On Bay, Beltre, Red Sox

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Peter Gammons' departure from ESPN has become a story in itself during this busy off-season, and Gammons' media rounds continued today as a guest on the WEEI Sports Radio Network's Big Show.  A full transcript is available here, but here are some of the hot stove items that Gammons had to share….

  • Gammons said that Jason Bay "does not want to play in San Francisco, pure and simple," in spite of the fact that the Giants would be willing to offer Bay the five-year contract that he is apparently seeking.
  • The Angels won't be players in the Bay sweepstakes, as Gammons predicted they will instead spend their money to re-sign John Lackey.
  • Gammons thinks the Mariners might still make an offer to retain Adrian Beltre, though such a move might create some issues with the newly-signed Chone Figgins, who came to Seattle under the impression that he would be the new third baseman.  Gammons reported that Beltre "hates" Safeco Field.
  • Given Roy Halladay's injury history, Gammons said "it would be a disaster" for Boston to trade Casey Kelly and Clay Buchholz for Halladay and sign the Toronto ace to a long-term contract.
  • If the Red Sox don't end up with either Bay or Matt Holliday, Gammons opined that Boston could pursue a defense-first strategy for a season by signing Mike Cameron and Xavier Nady.  Or, Boston could just save their money now and stand pat until mid-season before making any trades.
  • Even if the Red Sox add another big-money starter, the team would like to keep Josh Beckett because of the leadership he provides to the younger pitchers.
  • Speaking of clubhouse leadership, Gammons said that Marco Scutaro's ability to mentor Jose Iglesias was a factor in Boston signing the former Blue Jays shortstop.  Another reason was that Scutaro had a clean bill of health, unlike Mark DeRosa, who Gammons said the Red Sox were "a little bit cautious" on signing due to his wrist problems last season.

Odds & Ends: Beltre, Lyon, Nats, Rangers

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Some more links for your Thursday night…

Stark On Halladay, Bradley, Lackey, Gonzalez

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The Blue Jays are still demanding nearly as much for Roy Halladay as they were this summer, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark. The Angels, Phillies and Yankees appear to be "the only realistic destinations" for Halladay at this point. The Angels would apparently want Halladay to sign an extension if they traded for him, but the Jays don't appear to be close to dealing their ace away. Here are the rest of Stark's rumors:

  • One GM would be shocked if the Angels don't sign Jason Bay or John Lackey. The Angels haven't shown any indications that they're ready to offer Lackey A.J. Burnett money ($82.5MM).
  • The Yankees are focused on adding a free agent starter and determining whether Johnny Damon will return.
  • If the Cubs and Rays can figure out the money, Milton Bradley could still end up in Tampa Bay.
  • The Red Sox will have a hole at first or third if and when the Mike Lowell deal goes through, but you can count out Adrian Gonzalez. Stark says the Padres just have no motivation to move the hometown slugger.
  • The Red Sox are "clearly infatuated with" Adrian Beltre.
  • Dan Uggla, Francisco Cordero, Luis Castillo, Lyle Overbay, Kerry Wood, Kyle Farnsworth, Gary Matthews Jr., Juan Pierre, Jose Guillen and Eric Byrnes were all being shopped this week.
  • Stark notes that the market for starting pitchers hasn't been bad so far, pointing to Randy Wolf and Andy Pettitte as examples.

Giants Make Offer To DeRosa?

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3:30pm: Baggarly believes DeRosa is one of multiple offers the Giants have out to free agents.  He's less certain that Johnson and Scott Podsednik received offers.

1:15am: Steve Henson of Yahoo! Sports says that DeRosa is the team's top third base target because he's cheaper then Beltre, and versatile enough to move if Pablo Sandoval can stick at third.

THURSDAY, 12:22am: Baggarly writes that the Giants "might be making a subtle misdirection play to get the Florida Marlins to take a lesser return" for Uggla.

1:07pm: MLB.com's Joe Frisaro tweets that we should not rule out the Giants on Uggla – "there is still smoke."  He notes that the Marlins never asked for Madison Bumgarner in return.

WEDNESDAY, 12:59am: According to Baggarly, the Giants are hoping to sign one infielder from a group that includes DeRosa, Nick Johnson, and Adrian Beltre. Hudson is also a possiblity, while Adam LaRoche is a "back-burner option." Baggarly also notes that Sabean doesn't sound too enthusiastic about pursuing Jermaine Dye, despite previous reports of the Giants' interest in the veteran: "We want to stay young," Sabean said. "That's a blanket statement, not a comment against Dye."

TUESDAY, 7:50pm: Baggarly reports that the Giants are not a serious bidder for Dan Uggla. His salary (which could be $7MM or so) and his weak glove limit the team's interest. 

6:50pm: Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News has the latest on the Giants:

  • Johnny Damon is not a fit for the Giants.
  • Bengie Molina will not return: in the words of Giants GM Brian Sabean, "that ship has sailed."
  • It's possible that Juan Uribe will reconsider the Giants' contract offer (for one year, plus an option).

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has more:

  • The Giants will move Freddy Sanchez to third base if they sign Orlando Hudson.
  • Mark DeRosa , however, would fit in at the hot corner if the Giants sign him.
  • Rosenthal confirms that the Giants and Padres have discussed a Kevin Kouzmanoff trade, but says the Padres aren't enticed by the Giants' youngsters.
  • Rosenthal hears that Sabean has at least considered signing Jason Bay.

Giants Aren’t Interested In Beltre

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8:10pm: The Giants have Scott Podsednik on their radar, Baggarly reports. He's apparently one of the center fielders the club is considering.

7:11pm: The Giants don't have interest in Adrian Beltre, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. Giants GM Brian Sabean told Shea that his club isn't interested in the free agent "at this time." In fact, Sabean says the Giants have "no need" to talk to Boras right now, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News.

Instead, the Giants are focused on adding a first baseman on a short-term deal. Sabean didn't name names, but acknowledged that his list doesn't include any surprise candidates. That probably means the Giants would consider Nick Johnson, Adam LaRoche and Mark DeRosa, though DeRosa probably wouldn't man first. Baggarly hears that the Giants might consider offering DeRosa a third year; they'd offer Johnson a two-year deal.

On another note, Sabean said it's possible the Giants could sign a center fielder and move Aaron Rowand to one of the corners.

Red Sox Have “Significant” Interest In Beltre

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Multiple industry sources tell John Tomase of the Boston Herald that the Red Sox have "significant" interest in free agent third baseman Adrian Beltre. Mike Lowell is the incumbent at third base, but the Red Sox are talking about moving him perhaps to the Rangers. Scott Boras, who represents Beltre, said today that some teams would consider moving their current third baseman for Beltre.

Beltre is a Type B free agent, so the team that signs him won't have to surrender a draft pick. The Mariners will obtain a supplementary rounder if Beltre leaves the Pacific Northwest.

Beltre figures to demand a hefty contract. Tomase says "it's believed that" Beltre wants a four or five year deal worth $13MM or so per season. Ed Price of AOL FanHouse says Beltre's asking for $10-11MM per season.

The 30-year-old hasn't come close to matching the 48 homers he hit in 2004, but he still has 25-homer power and he's been a consistently strong defender, according to UZR/150.

Boras Speaks

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We'll add some links from Scott Boras' lobby chat in this post, though from what I can tell he didn't say anything interesting.  We'll keep this a tweet-free post.

  • Boras busted out his famous books, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com.
  • Boras thinks Matt Holliday is a "different" kind of player than Jason Bay, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Of course it's Boras' job to distinguish between Holliday and Bay, so we should expect comments like this.
  • EPSN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports that Boras compared Holliday's production to Mark Teixeira's.
  • The Rays haven't discussed a contract extension for Carlos Pena, who's entering the last year of his contract, according to MLB.com's Bill Chastain.
  • WEEI's Rob Bradford has Boras talking about Matt Holliday and Adrian Beltre, where Boras compares Beltre's offensive ability to Jason Bay's.
  • Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News has Boras saying five or six teams are interested in Beltre, including the Mariners.  Boras said some teams (many have speculated the Red Sox) would move their third baseman for Beltre. 
  • Baggarly quotes Boras as saying "There are teams that have interest [in Holliday] and don’t want to let anyone to truly know."  Boras assumes the Giants are interested in Holliday.
  • Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News has Boras explaining why the Mets can afford Holliday.
  • Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has Boras saying that the Cardinals retaining Holliday is like keeping two players, since it will help them sign Albert Pujols.
  • Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun has Boras saying the Kevin Millwood trade is not done, but they're having discussions.

Twins Rumors: Third Base, Harden

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2:34pm: Kelsie Smith of the St. Paul Pioneer Press spoke to DeRosa's agent Keith Grunewald, who said talks with the Twins have been nothing more than preliminary.

10:49am: Neal has more, questioning the Feliz and Uribe links.  Also, Neal spoke to someone from Rich Harden's agency and came away thinking the Mariners are the favorite (the Twins have not been in contact recently).

9:28am: Let's take a look at the Twins' third base situation.  Yesterday afternoon, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports said they're considering free agents Adrian Beltre, Pedro Feliz, Mark DeRosa, and Juan Uribe, though Beltre and DeRosa might be too pricey.  He did not see Boston's Mike Lowell as a target.  ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. has the Astros and Orioles in on Feliz, in addition to the Twins.

La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune wrote early this morning that the Twins are "very interested in DeRosa."  A trade for Kevin Kouzmanoff is another possibility, while re-signing Joe Crede hasn't been ruled out.

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