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Orioles Close To Deal With Cubs For Hill

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9:41pm: Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun has more on the Orioles trading for Cubs pitcher Rich Hill.

The deal would be for a player to be named later, Zrebiec writes, and it could be announced as early as Monday.

Hill will be reunited with pitching coach Rick Kranitz and bullpen coach Alan Dunn, who worked with him in the Cubs’ organization, Zrebiec notes.

Hill is out of options, so he’ll have to make the Orioles’ Opening Day roster or they could lose him. … Hill will be given an opportunity to win a spot in the rotation, which currently has three vacancies behind Jeremy Guthrie and Koji Uehara.

6:12pm: Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun believes the Baltimore Orioles will complete a trade for Cubs left-handed pitcher Rich Hill by Tuesday — if the Orioles will do the deal at all.

Schmuck writes that now other organizations are aware that Hill could be made available, additional teams — including the Royals and Mariners — could make an offer.

Orioles general manager Andy MacPhail might be waiting to see if he can sign free agent right-handed pitcher Braden Looper, Schmuck adds.

They might be willing to acquire both pitchers, but there is the small matter of moving players off the 40-man roster to make room, so maybe Andy is just going to take one or the other.

Hill, 29 in March, is 18-17 in 57 starts with a 4.37 ERA during a short four-season career. He spend much of 2008 in Triple-A.

Looper, 34, went 12-14 in 33 starts with a 4.16 ERA with the St. Louis Cardinals last season.

Looper A Fit For Baltimore?

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3:35pm: Roch Kubatko chimes in on the Looper rumors: "[W]hile I still expect Braden Looper to sign elsewhere, the Orioles retain serious interest in him."

1:18pm: Peter Schmuck at the Baltimore Sun has a guess at the Orioles’ likely 25-man roster for Opening Day 2009. Most of the names are hard to argue, but one jumps out as an interesting pick. Schmuck thinks the Orioles stand a chance at signing free agent starting pitcher Braden Looper.

Says Schmuck, "I think the likelihood of Braden Looper signing here is maybe 40 percent, but that’s probably more likely than Rich Hill coming over and solving his command problems."

While recent reports have made a Rich Hill-to-Baltimore deal sound more likely than 40 percent, Schmuck is comparing a Looper signing to the combined probability of not only acquiring Hill, but also having him pitch effectively.

Fogg Leaning Toward Rockies

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According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, free agent pitcher Josh Fogg is "leaning toward rejoining the Rockies and expects to make a decision this weekend."  Many pitchers are battling for Jeff Francis’ rotation spot while he deals with a shoulder injury.  Fogg would join them on a non-guaranteed minor league deal worth less than a million bucks, and he could also get an out clause.

The Rockies had targeted Braden Looper earlier this winter, but can’t afford him now.

Wolf, Dodgers Resume Talks

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According to MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick, the Dodgers resumed contract talks with Randy Wolf.  He’s thought to be asking for a deal similar to Jon Garland’s ($7-9MM).  While Wolf is the Dodgers’ first choice, he’s expected to wait until the Mets reach a resolution with Oliver Perez.  So once again, we’re waiting on the notoriously patient Scott Boras.

Gurnick says the Dodgers also spoke to Braden Looper’s agent today; he’s their backup plan.

Randy Wolf Rumors: Wednesday

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11:36pm: MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick believes the Dodgers and Wolf "will remain apart until the Mets sign a pitcher," perhaps because the Mets have more money to spend than the Dodgers.  Braden Looper is the Dodgers’ fallback plan.

4:42pm: Ken Rosenthal addresses Randy Wolf’s situation now that Jon Garland is no longer an option for the Mets and Dodgers.

Wolf’s agents are still talking to both teams; the Mets are currently focused on Oliver Perez though.  The Mets are also talking to Ben Sheets’ agent.  One Rosenthal source said the Mets "could sign Wolf quickly if they made him a pre-emptive offer."  That won’t happen unless Perez is ruled out.

Rosenthal says the Dodgers "reassessed their positions with Wolf and Garland after the Yankees re-signed free-agent lefty Andy Pettitte for $5.5 million with the chance to earn $6.5 million in incentives."  We’re left to read between the lines; does it mean the Dodgers are now offering less to Wolf?

Orioles Looking At Braden Looper

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According to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun, industry sources say that the Orioles continue to have talks with the representative of Braden Looper.

Orioles president Andy MacPhail isn’t naming Looper specifically, but has said that the team is taking a close look  at the free-agent pitching market.  The Orioles’ rotation still has holes following the acquisition of Koji Uehara, though they have good young talent on the way.

The 34 year-old Looper went 12-14 with a 4.16 ERA with the Cardinals last year.

Cubs Rumors: Bako, Looper, Wolf, Uribe

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Fresh off scooping the Cubs’ acquisition of Aaron Heilman, ESPN Radio’s Bruce Levine has more info about the team’s plans.

  • Levine says the Cubs will sign backup catcher Paul Bako to a one-year, $750K deal once they clear a spot on the 40-man roster.  The 2-for-1 Heilman trade takes care of that.
  • The Cubs are still looking at Braden Looper and Randy Wolf if they aren’t able to reignite the Jake Peavy talks.
  • The Cubs have Juan Uribe on the radar as a bench bat and backup infielder.

Pirates Interested In Braden Looper

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Let’s gather up assorted pieces of Pirates information from Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from the past few days…

  • We already knew about Pedro Martinez; Kovacevic says the Pirates also have an eye on free agent starter Braden Looper.  The Dodgers and D’Backs are other teams in the market for the 34 year-old hurler.  Team president Frank Coonelly says free agents are "still asking for prices based on yesterday’s market."
  • Kovacevic suggests the Pirates may sign another bench player soon, someone other than fan favorite Doug Mientkiewicz.
  • GM Neal Huntington ruled out free agents Rich Aurilia, Joe Crede, and Kevin Millar.  Still, Coonelly expects the Pirates to sign more players, ones that fans "would fall in love with."
  • Huntington says there are no current trade talks for shortstop Jack Wilson.

Wolf Makes Sense For Dodgers

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Yesterday, we did a write-up on a Gammons post that said Randy Wolf, Jon Garland and Braden Looper were all receiving similar offers in the $5MM-a-year range. A report this evening conflicts with that notion.

Tony Jackson of the L.A. Daily News says Garland does not fit the Dodgers’ budget, but Wolf does. In reference to Wolf, Jackson writes: "Sounds to me like this is the guy the Dodgers are going to end up with."

Astros Pulled Offer To Wolf

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Many people have felt that Randy Wolf grossly misread the market this offseason, by rejecting a three-year, $28.5MM offer from the Astros early on. According to Ken Rosenthal, however, Wolf didn’t even have time to reject that offer before Houston pulled it off the table, citing the economy as a reason:

"Wolf told me Saturday night that he was close to re-signing with the Astros in late November when the team abruptly pulled its offer, citing a changing economic climate.

Astros general manager Ed Wade confirmed Wolf’s account, saying the team was ’fully engaged in negotiations and had to stop. It had nothing to do with a lack of interest on our part or Randy’s part.’"

Rosenthal reiterates that the Dodgers are currently the leading suitor for Wolf’s services, but they’re still talking with Jon Garland and Braden Looper as well. The Mets could be another fit, but are focused on Oliver Perez.

Wolf may have to settle for a one-year deal, and if he does, it will almost certainly be at a lower rate than the $9.5MM the Astros initially offered. Rosenthal points out that would mean the downturn in the economy could cost Wolf upwards of $20MM. That could be ok for Wolf, though, who explicitly states that signing for him isn’t about who offers the most money – his goal is to pitch in October.

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