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Dioner Navarro

Marlins Interested In Phil Hughes, Dioner Navarro

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The Marlins have called on free agent pitcher Phil Hughes and expressed interest in free agent catcher Dioner Navarro, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

It's not surprising that Miami called on Hughes, Jackson writes, because pursuing a player who had one bad year after a good one fits the club's profile.  Demand for Hughes is a fraction of what it could have been before his slide in the latter part of last season and if he can replicate his 2012, he'd likely prove to be a bargain.  The 27-year-old posted a 4.23 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in '12 but followed it up with a 5.19 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in '13.  Some peripheral stats, including xFIP (4.39) would indicate that Hughes was partially the victim of bad luck.  The Royals, Mets, and Twins are also among the clubs that have expressed interest.

Navarro, 29, hit .300/.365/.492 with a career-high 13 homers in 89 games for the Cubs last season.  The Marlins would like to add an offensively-gifted catcher to complement defensively-skilled backup Jeff Mathis and the switch-hitting backstop offers just that.  The market for Navarro hasn't quite unfolded yet but with top catcher Brian McCann off the board, the dominos could start falling soon.  The Red Sox are said to have some interest in Navarro if Jarrod Saltalamacchia, now the No. 1 available backstop, goes elsewhere.

AL East Notes: Granderson, Ortiz, Navarro, Orioles

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Curtis Granderson is "a serious part" of the Yankees' offseason plans, GM Brian Cashman told George A. King III of the New York Post. Cashman told King that the Yankees remain interested and don't consider Granderson to be a fallback option by any means. Signing Granderson would likely mean the team would look to move Ichiro Suzuki, King adds. Here's more on the American League East.

  • The Red Sox and David Ortiz made an agreement at the time of his last signing that the two sides wouldn't negotiate an extension until the completion of his current deal, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
  • Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald tweets that the Red Sox consider Dioner Navarro to be a fallback option if the free agent market doesn't break their way, but not a primary target.
  • The Yankees are a good fit for Omar Infante, opines MLBTR's Tim Dierkes (Twitter link). Tim wonders if the Yankees, who reportedly don't want to wait for Robinson Cano before pursuing other free agents, should just strike quickly and snatch Infante up.
  • Matt Wieters and Chris Davis of the Orioles are both Scott Boras clients, and they're both two years away from free agency. That means the Orioles need to determine what they plan to do with each player, MASNsports.com's Steve Melewski writes. What to do with Davis might be particularly tricky, since his 2013 season was so dramatically different from his past performances.

Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.

Red Sox Notes: Navarro, Youkilis, Payroll

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Here are a few items about the World Series champs…

Cardinals Made Offer To Kelly Shoppach

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5:55pm: Unable to work out a trade for a catcher, the Cardinals have made an offer to free agent Kelly Shoppach, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter). Shoppach opted out of his minor league deal with the Nationals earlier today.

2:52pm: The two sides have been unable to agree on a price, and the Cardinals' pursuit has slowed, tweets Rosenthal.

1:59pm: The Cardinals are in discussions with the Cubs to acquire Navarro, a source tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

1:33pm: Sources say that a deal sending Dioner Navarro from the Cubs to the Cardinals is "possible" but not close, tweets Jayson Stark of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

12:08pm: The Cardinals are looking for catching with starter Yadier Molina likely to hit the DL with a knee injury, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, contrary to previous info he received.  The Cardinals are concerned that Molina could miss a significant stretch of time to heal up, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The Cardinals are gauging their options and how they can proceed once they know how long Molina will be sidelined for, Goold writes.  The Cardinals have spent the past few weeks exploring deals for starting pitchers, relievers, and shortstops, but they have yet to explore deals for catchers.  The catching market could include the Phillies' Carlos Ruiz and the Cubs' Dioner Navarro and Goold points that Miguel Olivo is a free agent after walking away from the Marlins. 

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Cubs Notes: Garza, Soriano, Russell, Navarro

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Trade rumors continue to swirl around the Cubs' Matt Garza, but his teammates would like to see the Cubs extend him, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports. "It’s hard to find pitchers like that because he’s always there for us," left fielder Alfonso Soriano said. However, an AL GM told CSN Chicago's David Kaplan recently that there's probably not much to recent rumors that the Cubs are exploring an extension for Garza. "I'd be stunned if he is a Cub August 1," the executive told Kaplan.  Some more North Siders notes..

  • Soriano is the subject of a lot of trade talk himself, but he's not thinking about the rumors, according to Sullivan. "If they want me to stay here, I stay here. But if they don’t want me to, the door is open. I’ve had a good time. I just play one day at a time and enjoy my time," the former All-Star said.
  • Soriano's recent surge, in which he's hit .381 with six homers and four doubles in 10 games, has drawn new attention from contending teams that are looking for offense, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. Soriano, who has a full no-trade clause, turned down a potential trade to the Giants last year, but he indicated during the Cubs' recent road trip that he may be more open to more teams this summer. "For sure, if somebody asks for me, they have to be a contender for the playoffs," Soriano said. "A good city, I guess … But I don’t want to think about it. Just see what happens."
  • Cubs manager Dale Sveum's decision to use James Russell for the third consecutive day in Monday's blowout win over the White Sox may have been to showcase the lefty to "the many" scouts in attendance, Sullivan also reports. Sullivan notes that the Red Sox are seeking to fill the void left by recently injured left-hander Andrew Miller. Though the Cubs aren't attempting to trade Russell, they aren't deeming any player untouchable in their summer sale, Sullivan says, citing an anonymous source.
  • The Cubs could also move catcher Dioner Navarro, who's performed well above expectations since signing a one-year deal in the offseason, writes Sullivan. Navarro's already clubbed eight homers this year after never hitting more than nine in any previous season. Together, Garza and Navarro could be "a perfect package deal," Sullivan imagines. Navarro, who serves as a mentor to catcher Welington Castillo and has just 128 plate appearances, concedes that he'd like to return to a full-time role.

Cubs Sign Dioner Navarro

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The Cubs announced that they have signed catcher Dioner Navarro to a one-year contract. Navarro will earn a base salary of $1.75MM, reports CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman (on Twitter). The deal includes $250K in performance bonuses, MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat reports (on Twitter).

Navarro, 28, hit .290/.306/.449 with two homers in 73 plate appearances for the Reds this year. He also hit .319/.382/.449 in 240 Triple-A plate appearances before being recalled. Cincinnati had some interest in re-signing Navarro, who did not crack Tim Dierkes' Top 50 Free Agents List. Navarro's agency, MDR Sports Management, first announced the agreement (on Twitter).

Central Links: Royals, Ludwick, Reds, Hafner

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The Royals improved their rotation earlier today by acquiring Ervin Santana from the Angels in what amounted to a salary dump trade. Here is the latest from baseball's two Central divisions…

  • Royals GM Dayton Moore says the team is "not done" following the Santana pickup, reports Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star (on Twitter). The club figures to continue seeking upgrades for their rotation.
  • The Reds and Ryan Ludwick continue to talk after the outfielder declined his half of a mutual option, reports John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer (on Twitter). GM Walt Jocketty said the club is unlikely to offer more than two years, however.
  • Jocketty also told Fay that the Reds have interest in retaining free agents Ryan Madson, Jonathan Broxton, and Dioner Navarro (Twitter link). "I don't know if we'll sign them all," added Jocketty.
  • "We remain open to it," said Indians GM Chris Antonetti when asked about re-signing Travis Hafner, reports MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. Cleveland declined the slugger's option earlier today but seem poised to go in a different direction at DH.

Reds Notes: Navarro, Young, Ankiel, Arredondo

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The Reds may have made all of their significant offseason moves now that they have agreed to terms with Dioner Navarro and Ryan Ludwick. Here are some details on the team via Tom Groeschen of the Cincinnati Enquirer:

  • GM Walt Jocketty said he signed Navarro “purely for depth” at Triple-A.
  • Jocketty doesn’t expect to sign Dmitri Young, the former Reds outfielder/first baseman who is looking to make a comeback at age 38 after losing 70 pounds. The Reds are looking to see what some of their younger players can do in Spring Training.
  • Before agreeing to terms with Ludwick, Jocketty said Rick Ankiel was in the mix for an outfield job with the club, according to Groeschen.
  • The Reds are “working on” a deal with Jose Arredondo, Jocketty said. The first-time arbitration eligible right-hander appears to be nearing a two-year contract with the club.

Reds Sign Dioner Navarro

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The Reds signed catcher Dioner Navarro to a minor league deal, according to the team's Twitter feed.  He'll earn $800K plus $200K in incentives in the bigs, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.  Navarro, 28 in February, will provide veteran depth after catching tandem Devin Mesoraco and Ryan Hanigan.  He's represented by MDR Sports Management.

Navarro hit .193/.276/.324 in 202 plate appearances for the Dodgers last year, catching 428 innings.  He was designated for assignment in August.  The Reds' other non-roster invitees include Sean Gallagher, Ron Mahay, Kanekoa Texeira, Clay Zavada, and Corky Miller.

Angels Interested In Dioner Navarro

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The Angels have interest in free agent catcher Dioner Navarro, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Chris Iannetta figures to get most of the playing time behind the plate in Anaheim, with former Angels catcher Jeff Mathis on the Blue Jays' roster.

Navarro, 27, signed a one-year, $1MM deal with the Dodgers a year ago. He posted a .193/.276/.324 line in 202 plate appearances for the Dodgers this past season, preventing 14 of 55 stolen base attempts against him. He hasn't posted an OPS over .600 since making the All-Star team as a member of the 2008 Rays.

The Angels' interest in Navarro indicates the team is open to options other than Hank Conger and Bobby Wilson. Both backstops appeared in 50-plus games in 2011, though the offense Conger provided as a minor leaguer has yet to translate to the Major Leagues.

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