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J.J. Putz Rumors: Wednesday

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2:04pm: Ken Rosenthal says the Cardinals offered Rick Ankiel and a prospect for Putz.  The Tigers remain interested as well.

9:23am: According to Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press, "the Tigers’ interest in acquiring closer J.J. Putz from Seattle appears stronger than ever."  Morosi says the Mariners insist the Tigers include Jeff Larish and Matt Joyce in a deal.  If the Ms acquire Larish and are convinced he can play third base, they may be motivated to shop Adrian Beltre.  Morosi adds that Brewers and Cardinals have also inquired on Putz.

Brian Fuentes still seems too pricey for Detroit, and Kerry Wood is apparently off the board.  Morosi says the Tigers have "mild interest" in Baltimore’s George Sherrill.  Joe Beimel remains their top choice among lefty relievers, but the Tigers have yet to offer a contract.

Brian Fuentes Rumors: Tuesday

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10:59pm: Rosenthal says the Nationals are also in the mix for Fuentes.  His source says they want to sign Mark Teixeira or Manny Ramirez, plus Fuentes.  Nationals GM Jim Bowden said on November 12th, "We are not pursuing Manny Ramirez."

9:49pm: Rosenthal says the Cardinals, Angels, and Tigers are showing interest in Fuentes.

8:29pm: Doug Melvin said he met with the agents for Fuentes, Trevor Hoffman, and Kerry Wood today.

8:05pm: John Perrotto expects the Brewers to move to the front for Fuentes.  I imagine they might try to sort out the Sabathia situation first.

5:46pm: According to Derrick Goold and Joe Strauss, the Cardinals have engaged in conversation with Brian Fuentes’ agents. With K-Rod setting a lower-than-expected ceiling to the closer market, Fuentes could enter the Cards’ price range.  GM John Mozeliak said on 1380AM today that he’s yet to dig his heels in on Fuentes though.  You have to wonder if the Tigers will take a serious look.

Tigers Bullpen Rumors

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9:15pm: Jon Paul Morosi says Beimel still tops the Tigers’ list among lefties, but they’ve also expressed interest in John Parrish.

2:23pm: MLB.com’s Jason Beck says the Tigers talked to Joe Beimel’s agent at the Meetings.  They intend to sort out their closer situation first though.  The Reds also like Beimel.

2:28am: For roughly $4MM in ’09 salaries, the Tigers filled two needs Monday with defensive-minded pickups Gerald Laird and Adam Everett.  Now Dave Dombrowski will set his sights on a closer.

Jon Paul Morosi maintains that the Tigers are most interested in J.J. Putz and Kerry Wood.  It may come down to how they’d prefer to pay – in prospects or in dollars.  Morosi notes that Marcus Thames, expected to earn $2MM+ in ’09, could be shipped out to save additional cash.

Mets Bullpen Rumors: Monday

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11:56pm: Rodriguez’s agent Paul Kinzer on whether the rumored two-year, $25MM offer with a third-year option is true: "Absolutely not."  It will require three guaranteed years at least to sign K-Rod.

8:43pm: K-Rod gave some quotes to the media, nothing interesting.

7:14pm: Stark says the Mets finished their meet with Fuentes; Hoffman is up next.  Wood is not in Vegas.  Stark adds that the Mets discussed concepts but did not make a formal offer to K-Rod.

6:45pm: Sherman now says the Mets’ offer was for $25MM over two years plus a third year option.

6:03pm: Rodriguez’s agent Paul Kinzer told Sherman he’ll try to be creative with this contract. Sherman asked whether that could mean an opt-out clause, and Kinzer responded in the affirmative.  Sherman says the Mets’ offer is in the range of three years, $33MM; no talk of the vesting option Heyman mentioned.

5:26pm: Jon Heyman says the Mets offered K-Rod a two-year deal worth about $12MM per with a third-year vesting option.  Doesn’t sound like something he’ll jump at.

2:14pm: Joel Sherman rejects Graziano’s report.  Sherman says the Mets have not talked to the Jays about B.J. Ryan.

1:39pm: Gerry Fraley learned from a team official that the Mets made a three-year offer to K-Rod, but they don’t expect him to take it immediately.

12:06pm: Joel Sherman has details on the Mets’ talks for Huston Street.  Omar Minaya called the Rox a few weeks ago suggesting Aaron Heilman and Pedro Feliciano for Street.  The Rockies took the weekend to think about it, but when they called back Minaya had changed his mind.

In another article, Sherman says Omar Minaya’s approach toward free agent closers is Boras-like.  He believes the Mets’ offer to K-Rod last night was three years with an option.

11:16am: Jon Heyman and Ken Davidoff/David Lennon agree that the Mets are meeting with Fuentes and Hoffman shortly.  And Heyman believes the Mets’ offer to K-Rod last night was for three years.

10:33am: Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger says the Mets and Blue Jays had discussions about B.J. Ryan.  However, the Jays want Fernando Martinez and the Mets don’t want to trade the young outfield prospect.

7:50am: According to David Lennon of Newsday, the Omar Minaya and other Mets officials dined at a steakhouse with Francisco Rodriguez for over four hours Sunday night.  Lennon believes the early presence of Mets COO Jeff Wilpon implies that negotiations with K-Rod may have reached a critical stage. 

SI.com’s Jon Heyman wrote earlier yesterday evening that the Mets were expected to make an offer to Rodriguez at the meeting.  Maybe three years with a vesting option.

The Mets also plan to meet with Brian Fuentes and Trevor Hoffman today, with Kerry Wood also on the radar.  Ken Davidoff looks at the options and says, "It’s gotta be K-Rod."  The Rangers like Wood as well, by the way. 

Indians Hope Mets Sign K-Rod

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8:55pm: Rosenthal says the Indians met with Kerry Wood’s agent today and remain interested in Fuentes and Trevor Hoffman.

1:03pm: Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Indians hope the Mets sign Francisco Rodriguez, as they’d like to get a bargain on Brian Fuentes.  The Tribe could also attempt to acquire J.J. Putz from the Mariners.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Burnett, Garland, Aurilia

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8:22pm: John Mozeliak said tonight the Cardinals never engaged with Burnett’s agent.  A commitment of more than two years to a free agent starter is extremely unlikely.

3:40pm: Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says it’s "not true" that the Cardinals are players for Burnett.

8:30am: The latest from Ken Rosenthal:

  • The Cardinals are a serious bidder for A.J. Burnett.  They also pursued him back in 2005.  The Blue Jays would get the Cardinals’ #19 pick next June if they sign him.  However, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently wrote that the Cards "are not expected to pursue the free agent pool’s bigger fish: C.C. Sabathia, Ben Sheets, A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe."
  • The Mets have Jon Garland on the radar.  Jerry Crasnick likes Garland as a fit for the Cards.
  • The Brewers haven’t decided to increase their offer to C.C. Sabathia at this time, and won’t consider it until they meet with the big lefty.  A meeting is scheduled; Sabathia may grill the Brewers about their other offseason plans.  Rosenthal thinks Kerry Wood might make the most sense among free agent closers.
  • The Mets, Indians, and Cardinals are interested in J.J. Putz.
  • The Cubs are eyeing Rich Aurilia, but only if they happen to move Ronny Cedeno or Mike Fontenot.
  • The Nationals "aren’t terribly enamored" of Willy Taveras, contrary to previous reports.  The Nats instead have Carlos Gonzalez in their sights.

Tigers Targeting Wood, Putz

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6:13pm: Yahoo’s Gordon Edes says the Tigers made overtures to Wood, while the Red Sox like the idea of signing him as a setup man.

4:36pm: Geoff Baker says Tigers prospect Jeff Larish has attracted interest from the Mariners in the past.

On the Kerry Wood topic, a thought – now that the Tigers spent only a million bucks on their shortstop, maybe they have more cash to work with for their closer.

1:29pm: According to Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press, the Tigers are targeting Kerry Wood and J.J. Putz for their closer vacancy.  The Mets are also competing for both relievers.

Also, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick notes that the Tigers considered trading for Angels catcher Mike Napoli before they acquired Laird.  The price for Napoli was too high.  WEEI reports that the Tigers also inquired on Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Taylor Teagarden.  The Tigers decided against Jason Varitek after he was offered arbitration, plus they liked Laird more anyway.  According to WEEI’s Lou Merloni, Varitek continues to seek a multiyear deal and a starting gig. 

Mets To Make Offer To K-Rod Tonight

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9:55pm: Ken Rosenthal says the Mets will meet with K-Rod, Fuentes, and Kerry Wood within the next 24 hours.  They won’t be making simultaneous offers to all three.  Instead, they’ll probably start with an offer to Rodriguez as Heyman mentioned.

8:35pm: According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, Mets GM Omar Minaya is meeting with Francisco Rodriguez tonight and is expected to make an offer.  Internally, the Mets have discussed offering a three-year deal, possibly with a fourth year vesting option.

Minaya has face-to-face meetings planned with Trevor Hoffman and Brian Fuentes as well, which could become unnecessary if K-Rod jumps at the first offer.  Seems unlikely he’d do that.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Teixeira, Closers, Castillo, Cantu

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Ken Rosenthal has a new column up, let’s take a look at the highlights:

  • Rosenthal doesn’t see Mark Teixeira signing with the Nationals, even for the rumored ten-year, $200MM contract. He’s got better options in the Angels, Red Sox, and Yankees. Scott Boras managed to get Alex Rodriguez a ten-year deal with a losing team in 2000 when he signed with the Rangers, but Rosenthal doesn’t forsee a repeat.
  • The Indians are waiting on the Mets’ closer decision to make a decision of their own. Once New York signs or trades for a closer, the market will likely collapse. The Mets are preparing simultaneous offers to Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, and Kerry Wood.
  • The Brewers could spend big money on a closer once they hear from Ben Sheets and C.C. Sabathia. If the Brewers can somehow retain both, they won’t have money to spend on a closer and would likely have to trade Prince Fielder.
  • The Mets are desperately trying to unload Luis Castillo so they can make a run at Orlando Hudson. They’re having no luck though, even in trying to swap him for another bad contract. The Rangers rejected a swap of Castillo for Vicente Padilla.
  • Nationals GM Jim Bowden is interested in Willy Taveras. Doesn’t make any sense to me. The Nats already have Lastings Milledge, Josh Willingham, Elijah Dukes, and Austin Kearns.
  • The Rockies prefer to keep Garrett Atkins, but the Twins, Dodgers, Giants, and Phillies are all interested. Chase Utley has been a long-time supporter of bringing his former UCLA teammate to the Phils for a reunion.
  • The Marlins are getting several inquiries on Jorge Cantu and Dan Uggla. They don’t plan to trade either, though if the Giants were to offer Jonathan Sanchez for Cantu, the Marlins would jump at the chance.
  • Jermaine Dye, Mike Cameron, Marcus Thames, and Marlon Byrd are all available via the trade market, for teams needing a right-handed hitting outfielder. Rosenthal still feels Cameron could still end up in pinstripes.
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