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Derrek Lee

Six Teams Interested In Derrek Lee

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The Orioles, Athletics, Blue Jays, Padres, Nationals, and Diamondbacks have all expressed interest in free agent first baseman Derrek Lee according to SI.com's Jon Heyman (via Twitter). We've heard that Lee wouldn't mind playing for Arizona, and the interest from the O's and A's is nothing new. Heyman reiterated the D'Backs interest in Xavier Nady as well.

Lee, 35, had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his thumb after the season. He's expressed a desire to join a playoff club for 2011, but calling any of those six teams a contender would be generous. D'Backs GM Kevin Towers was the Padres GM when Lee broke in with the team in 1997, and the running theme of the offseason has been Towers bringing some of his former players to Arizona. Nady obviously fits the bill as well.

I examined Lee's free agent stock back in October.

D’Backs Notes: Konerko, Heisey, Parra, Lee

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Some news from the desert, courtesy of The Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro…

  • The Diamondbacks' offer of a three-year, $30MM contract to Paul Konerko would have put them over their payroll threshold, but they couldn't pass up the chance to get "a star-caliber hitter at a possible hometown discount."  Arizona CEO Derrick Hall tells Piecoro that the team had a legitimate chance to sign Konerko before he eventually re-signed with Chicago.
  • The Reds were interested in Gerardo Parra and the D'Backs in Chris Heisey, but a potential deal of the two outfielders was scuttled because the Reds want to keep Heisey.
  • Derrek Lee "is said to have interest in" playing in Arizona.  We've heard that the D'Backs have had interest in Lee, but Piecoro thinks the first baseman "might be a longshot financially."
  • The D'Backs won't be going after any pitching in the short term, following the acquisition of Rule 5 draft pick Joe Paterson.

Snag In White Sox, Konerko Talks?

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10:26pm: White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf still wants the deal to happen and will work to resolve things by tomorrow afternoon, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.

10:00pm: White Sox GM Kenny Williams told Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune that he’s prepared to move on without Konerko and address other needs. "There's no deadline, but we're going to make the first best deal we can," Williams said. The White Sox had plans to discuss alternatives this evening.

5:25pm: There's still "pretty decent optimism" for a deal, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). Konerko's agent is pushing for more than the White Sox want to commit.

4:14pm: There have been "big changes" in the talks, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter links). The Konerko ship may be sailing, Cowley writes. Even though talks have hit a snag, it does seem that there's a fit here.

4:10pm: Snag or no snag, the Orioles expect Konerko to re-sign with the White Sox, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). The O's will likely be in on Derrek Lee if that's the case.

12:50pm: The White Sox are not the only team to make a multiyear offer to Konerko, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  No deal is expected today.

10:59am: There could be a snag in the Konerko talks, tweets Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, with the player's agent insisting on $15MM per year.

7:11am: We've heard Paul Konerko's name connected to a few teams over the past several days, including the White Sox, Orioles, Rangers, and Diamondbacks. According to this tweet from SI's Jon Heyman, however, the White Sox are "in the driver's seat" for Konerko.

The Rangers will instead be focusing their efforts on signing Cliff Lee, and Heyman quotes a friend of Konerko who says "no way" on the possibility of him going to the Orioles.  The Diamondbacks don't have enough money to win the bidding, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.

Yesterday, we heard that talks between the White Sox and Konerko were going well, and that he could be in line for a $12.5MM annual salary, possibly over three years. The 34-year-old Konerko enjoyed perhaps the best season of his career, hitting .312/.393/.584 with 39 home runs. He finished fifth in the American League MVP voting.

Athletics Considering Vlad, Willingham, Derrek Lee

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The Athletics are looking for offense with Vladimir Guerrero and Hideki Matsui on their list, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The A's prefer free agents to trades, Morosi notes.  Lance Berkman turned down a two-year offer from the A's; Vlad may require at least that long of a deal to sign.

The A's are also in on Josh Willingham and Derrek Lee, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, but the Nationals' asking price for Willingham is said to be absurd.  Rosenthal feels that the A's could offer Lee more than the Padres or Diamondbacks.

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported yesterday that A's GM Billy Beane met with Matsui's agent Arn Tellem.  Tellem tells her the A's are not the only team in on him.  The Orioles are in, but Matsui prefers a contender.  She considers Nick Johnson and Lee "among the other potential options."  The A's don't find Carlos Beltran a realistic option, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  They don't believe he'd waive his no-trade clause to come to Oakland.    

Athletics Rumors: Iwakuma, Matsui, Duchscherer

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The San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser has some updates regarding Oakland's offseason plans:

  • Oakland increased its offer to Japanese righty Hisashi Iwakuma, but the two sides were still unable to agree on a deal. Iwakuma was looking for around $12MM per season, and the A's were unwilling to spend more than $36MM, including the posting fee. The A's will have interest in Iwakuma again next offseason, when he is a free agent and doesn't require a posting fee.  However, relations may be strained after Iwakuma's agent Don Nomura told the AP the A's "never showed any respect" toward his client.
  • The A's may take the $19.1MM posting fee that will be returned and focus on other areas, including Hideki Matsui. Oakland GM Billy Beane met with Matui's agent, Arn Tellem, Monday at the Winter Meetings. According to Slusser, Matsui has "strong interest" in playing for the A's. Derrek Lee and Nick Johnson are potential alternatives.
  • According to this tweet from Slusser, if the A's look to add a veteran starter, it may be a familiar face, coming in the form of Justin Duchscherer.

Diamondbacks Notes: Hampton, Lee, Crain

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6:04pm: GM Kevin Towers says he has made Mike Hampton an offer, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (on Twitter).

2:59pm: The D'Backs are "pushing hard" to sign Putz to a two-year deal with a club option for 2013, reports MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.

2:36pm: GM Kevin Towers thinks he'll acquire a closer this week, tweets Yahoo's Steve Henson.  ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that "good progress" is being made with Putz on that front.

11:28am: The Diamondbacks have a vacancy at first base, and they're still looking to add a closer despite acquiring David Hernandez.  The latest:

National League Free Agent Arbitration Offers

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11 National League teams have free agent arbitration offer decisions to make, and we'll group them in this post.  For a fantastic customizable chart with all 65 Type A/B free agents and their decisions in real-time, click here.

Odds & Ends: Lee, Blue Jays, Mets, Hampton

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Here are the rest of the day's links on the 11th anniversary of the Shawn Green–Raul Mondesi trade…

  • Darek Braunecker, the agent for Cliff Lee, told the AP (on CBS Sports) that his client is “clearly the best player on the free-agent market.” Hard to argue with that one.
  • If the A's reach a deal with Japanese righty Hisashi Iwakuma, they'll have a surplus of arms and a number of suitors for them, so Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea wouldn't be surprised if Oakland flips a starter for some offense this offseason. 
  • Mets GM Sandy Alderson will interview DeMarlo Hale, Clint Hurdle and Don Wakamatsu for the team's managerial opening according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter).
  • Andy Martino of the New York Daily News hears that the Mets will also consider internal candidates Tim Teufel and Ken Oberkfell.
  • The Blue Jays announced that Wakamatsu will serve as the team's bench coach assuming the Mets don't hire him to be their next manager. Joining Wakamatsu on John Farrell's staff: former AL Cy Young Award winner Pat Hentgen.
  • Derrek Lee, who had surgery on a ligament in his right thumb, told Yahoo's Tim Brown that he'd like to sign with a team that has a good chance of reaching the playoffs.
  • The Pirates agreed to a minor league deal with left-handed reliever Justin Thomas, according to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch.
  • Mike Hampton, who pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings with Arizona last year, wants to pitch again and is drawing interest, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

MacPhail Discusses Orioles’ Offseason Goals

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We heard a few Orioles-related tidbits earlier today, and now MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli provides another handful. Ghiroli discussed the Orioles' offseason with president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail, and MacPhail shared some thoughts on how the O's intend to approach free agency and trades this winter.

  • The team's primary goal will be obtaining a middle-of-the-order hitter, with no specific position in mind. MacPhail suggests that adding an impact bat would benefit the rest of the lineup, by taking some pressure off the Orioles' current hitters.
  • MacPhail sounds skeptical about acquiring pitching through free agency or trades, calling that approach "fragile and expensive" compared to developing young arms. However, he acknowledged that the club could once again look into acquiring a Kevin Millwood-esque veteran: "You want to have an innings eater because you never know what to expect from the youngsters. So someone like that would certainly be attractive to us."
  • When approaching the free agent market for hitters, the Orioles would rather not take a flier on a Garrett Atkins type again. They are hoping to add players who are less risky than Atkins was, though MacPhail concedes that sometimes the way the market develops makes it necessary to take a gamble.
  • Ghiroli speculates that, while the O's may not be able to attract the very best free agents like Cliff Lee and Carl Crawford, they will likely look hard at the group of players in the tier or two below: Victor Martinez, Paul Konerko, Derrek Lee, Jon Garland, and Brandon Webb, to name a few.
  • Ghiroli predicts that the Orioles will stay in contact with most of their impending free agents, especially Ty Wigginton, Cesar Izturis, and Koji Uehara.
  • The O's also made a minor roster move today, adding reliever Jim Hoey to their 40-man roster, reports Ghiroli.
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