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Mariners Seek Starting Pitching

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The Mariners are looking for starting pitchers, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. John Lackey, Doug Davis and Jarrod Washburn are all on Seattle's list, according to Morosi.

Lackey, the top free agent starter, has been linked to the Mariners for a while. One consideration for GM Jack Zduriencik: the Angels already have the Mariners' first round selection in next year's draft, so the M's would only have to give up a 54th overall pick to sign Lackey, even though he's a Type A free agent. That would deprive the Angels of the chance to obtain two first rounders.

Washburn has been linked to the Twins and Brewers, but the Mariners could be a fit, too. He excelled in Seattle this year, pitching to a 2.64 ERA in 20 starts, though his peripherals were not as good as the low ERA suggests. We've seen Davis connected to the Mariners, too, though he hasn't pitched in the AL since 2003.

Odds & Ends: Wolf, Stammen, Lackey

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Post-Winter Meetings links for Thursday…

  • ESPN's Keith Law calls the Astros' signing of Brandon Lyon "hobbling," but likes the Rays impending acquisition of Rafael Soriano.  He says the Soriano situation shows that if a team has a borderline call with a Type A free agent, they should offer arbitration.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney says Randy Wolf would've re-signed with the Dodgers for a two-year deal in the $14-16MM range.
  • Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun says the Blue Jays talked to the Nationals about pitcher Craig Stammen but "he does not appear to be available."
  • The Cardinals touched base with Scott Boras before leaving Indianapolis, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  The Cards still haven't made an offer to Matt Holliday.
  • ESPN's Mike Salk heard that John Lackey is the Mariners' top priority.
  • The Hanshin Tigers signed reliever Randy Messenger for about $600K, says NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman.  Messenger will replace Scott Atchison, who signed with the Red Sox.
  • The Big Lead did a Q&A with new Yankee Curtis Granderson.

John Lackey Rumors: Wednesday

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6:02pm: Newsday's Ken Davidoff reports that the Yankees met with Lackey today and appear unlikely to become bona fide suitors for him.

3:14am: Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times writes that the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are still in negotiations with John Lackey, but that it's "highly doubtful" they'll go as high as six years or $100MM for the right-hander.

GM Tony Reagins didn't specify a limit for the number of years the team could offer Lackey but said "there is a point where it doesn't make sense" to tie up too much long-term money.

News has been slow on the Lackey front this week, but this isn't the first time we've heard that a team is reluctant to offer the 31-year-old a long-term contract: The New York Post's Joel Sherman reported Monday that the Mets would prefer not to exceed four years. As Mike Salk of ESPN Radio in Seattle points out, Lackey's eventual signing could act as a catalyst for the rest of the starting pitching market.

Mets Focused On Five Starting Pitchers

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The New York Mets have targeted five free agent starting pitchers, according to the New York Post's Joel Sherman: John Lackey, Joel Pineiro, Jason Marquis, Jon Garland, and Doug Davis.

The Mets have yet to make any offers to free agent starters, but have met with Lackey's representation and are having an internal debate on whether to "go all-in" for the right-hander. With the club feeling that they're unlikely to invest heavily in a catcher or left fielder, some of the team's brass think they should spend their money on the best pitcher available, rather than saving it for other positions.

Of the five pitchers Sherman mentions, the Mets are only willing to offer more than three years to Lackey, and no more than two years to Marquis, Garland, and Davis.

Odds & Ends: Unit, Rhodes, Crisp, Valverde

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More links for the evening…

Twitter Rumors: Mets, Granderson, Matsui

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More links from Twitter. Be sure to follow MLBTR on Twitter for all your updates.

Sherman’s Latest: Mets, Molina, Damon, Granderson

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Here's a quick look into Joel Sherman's latest column:

  • The Mets need to add a starting pitcher, and given all of the already-volatile options in their rotation, they're likely to pursue someone more "vanilla" as Sherman describes. He names Kevin Millwood, Doug Davis, Jon Garland, and Jason Marquis. We've already seen that the O's may be closing in on Millwood today.
  • While acquiring Roy Halladay is a pipe dream, a full-on pursuit for John Lackey isn't quite as far-fetched, and Lackey would be every bit the No. 2 starter to complement Johan Santana that the previously mentioned options simply are not.
  • Minaya will meet with Lackey's representation but isn't confident; he'd prefer to wait for the price to come down, so as not to spend most of the Mets' available funds on one resource. If that price drops, though, suitors for Lackey will abound.
  • The Mets are confident that they can improve their pitching staff by improving their catching core; they're confident they can land Bengie Molina and believe he and Henry Blanco can help stabilize the staff.
  • If the Yankees acquire Curtis Granderson, they can use him as leverage against Johnny Damon. Adding Granderson will allow the Yanks to pose a "take it or leave it" offer to Damon, and remove some of the leverage Damon and Scott Boras may have. Sherman lists free agent alternatives to bring in should Damon leave in that scenario, including Mike Cameron or re-signing Xavier Nady.

Pettitte Rejects Yanks’ Initial Offer?

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TUESDAY, 7:10am: Sherman calls Pettitte the "linchpin" of the Yankees whole offseason. Sherman feels signing Pettitte removes pressure to pursue Lackey or Halladay, which allows the Yankees to focus on adding an arm such as Harden, Duchscherer, etc. From there, the Yanks can address the Johnny Damon/Hideki Matsui issue, and decide if they'd like to retain one of the two or step up pursuits of Curtis Granderson or sign Mike Cameron.

Sherman suggests an $11MM base salary plus $3MM worth of incentives as a suitable offer.

MONDAY, 12:36pm: Olney expects the offer to Pettitte to be $11MM+.

10:47am: Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News has a source saying no official offer has been made to Pettitte, but a contract north of $10MM will be proposed today.

8:46am: Talks between the Yanks and Pettitte are expected to pick up this week, with Sherman and Jon Heyman both expecting an offer exceeding $10MM.

6:27am: Buster Olney tweets that Pettitte has "for sure decided to pitch again in 2010," and that not surprisingly, his preference is the Yankees.

6:05am: Joel Sherman reports that Andy Pettitte has turned down a one-year deal from the Yankees, believed to be in the $10MM range, which is roughly what Pettitte earned last year through base salary and performance incentives.

Pettitte posted a 4.16 ERA through 194.2 innings, striking out 148 and walking 76. The Yankees have previously stated that Pettitte is their top priority this offseason.

Sherman cites an NL executive who is confident that a deal will still be reached between both sides, saying that Pettitte wants to return to the Bronx. According to Sherman, if Pettitte returns, the Yankees are unlikely to pursue John Lackey, but could be inclined to roll the dice on a high-upside reclamation project such as Ben Sheets, Justin Duchscherer, or Rich Harden.

At that point, says Sherman, the only other potential target would be Roy Halladay. That, however, will depend on the number of prospects desired by Alex Anthopolous, whether or not Halladay will require an extension, whether or not the Yankees really have a budget, and if Brian Cashman is even genuinely interested or just trying to drive up the price for other bidders.

What type of deal will it take to bring Pettitte back to the Bronx, and more importantly, is he worth more than the rejected $10MM that the Yankees reportedly offered?

Orioles Day One Recap

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The Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec takes a look back at Baltimore's first day of the Winter Meetings:

  • The O's targeted pitching heavily, inquiring on Kevin Millwood and attaining the medical record for former Baltimore ace Erik Bedard. The O's would want Texas to eat some of Millwood's $12MM salary. They won't go after Bedard (or any other pitcher) if they're not 100% for Opening Day.
  • Andy MacPhail will meet with Bedard's agent in the next couple of days.
  • The Orioles were interested in Rafael Soriano prior to his decision to accept arbitration from the Braves.
  • Kevin Gregg is an option for relief help, but Baltimore sees him as a 7th or 8th inning guy, not a closer.
  • Felix Pie has drawn a lot of inquiries, but MacPhail points out that none of Pie, Nolan Reimold, and Adam Jones have played a full, healthy season yet, and the depth is probably a good thing for the Orioles when taking that into consideration.
  • Lots of young O's pitching has come up, including Zach Britton and David Hernandez.
  • MacPhail met with Joe Urbon, agent for Mark Hendrickson. Zrebiec says it's only a matter of time before a deal is done.
  • There hasn't been much in the way of talks for Dan Uggla recently.
  • Baltimore won't be bidders for John Lackey, but they like Hank Blalock, Nick Johnson, and Carlos Delgado as options for first base. Luke Scott is not a full-time first base option. Pedro Feliz is their primary third base target.
  • Baltimore isn't in on talks for Edwin Jackson or Matt Lindstrom, but they did meet with the agent for Aroldis Chapman.
  • Baltimore may sign another catcher, but it's not a priority.

Lackey Declines Arbitration

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In an unsurprising move, John Lackey declined the Angels' offer of arbitration, according to Lyle Spencer of MLB.com. The offer was more of a formality anyway, as the former Halo ace and top starting pitcher on the market is expected to seek a deal in excess of the five-year, $82.5MM deal signed by A.J. Burnett last season.

The Angels will net a couple of high draft picks if they fail to retain Lackey and he signs with another club. 

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