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Cubs, Rays Talking Milton Bradley

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FRIDAY: ESPN's Buster Olney says "it's very much a longshot that this deal gets worked out."

THURSDAY: The Cubs are focused on one particular trading partner, as they look to move Milton Bradley. Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times hears that the Cubs are pushing the Rays to make a quick deal.

De Luca suggests the Rays could send Pat Burrell to the Cubs for Bradley. Burrell has $7MM remaining on his contract and Bradley has $21MM remaining on his, so the Rays would likely want the Cubs to cover a considerable amount of Bradley's contract in any deal.

The Blue Jays and Padres are possible destinations for Bradley, but the Blue Jays have a new GM (Alex Anthopoulos) and the Padres haven't yet named a permanent GM. As De Luca points out, it's doubtful that either club would want to acquire Bradley to kick off a new regime given the outfielder's volatility.

Odds & Ends: Nationals’ Catcher, Brewers’ GM, Uggla

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Some food for thought, even though you shouldn't be snacking so close to bed…

  • With Jesus Flores undergoing surgery for a torn labrum, putting his 2010 start date into question, Washington manager Jim Riggleman said the Nationals may have to seek another catcher. According to MLB.com's Bill Ladson, Rod Barajas may be a good fit, "because he is an excellent handler of pitchers." Barajas also has a bit of power, and would be a decent fit. Phil Wood of MASN speculates that Brian Schneider could return to Washington, noting that Schneider is "just 32, and would likely have multiple offers", though anyone who has seen Schneider hit this season would assume those offers won't be to play baseball. A shame, since Schneider is one of the best clubhouse guys in the game, has been a tremendous mentor to the younger Mets' players, and will be a tremendous manager if he pursues it.
  • Brewers' owner Mark Attanasio strongly denied that General Manager Doug Melvin's job is in jeopardy. "It seems like a cop-out to me to blow everything up and start from scratch," Attanasio told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. "We've built this team around a good core of players now for five years and we took a step back [this year]. We'd like to take two steps forward next year."
  • Dan Uggla is sad that the Marlins are likely going to trade him this offseason.
  • Carl Crawford and Pat Burrell "had words" in Tampa Bay clubhouse, and not polite ones like "please" or "thank you."

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Scott Kazmir

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On this date 34 years ago, Rod Barajas was born. Barajas has played 11 seasons with four different franchises, hitting .241/.286/.411. This year, he is in the final year of a two-year deal that pays him $2.5MM this season. With less than a month remaining in the season, many others will see their contracts expire and look forward to free agency. Let's take a look at what is being written in the blogosphere…

  • The Hardball Times says Scott Kazmir may be injury-prone moving forward, but he still has the arm to be an Ace.
  • Rays Revolutionary has no problem with trades that help the Rays budget, but are upset at the timing of the Kazmir deal.
  • The Rays Party looks at what the Kazmir deal means for the Rays now and down the road.
  • Jorge Says No! is not a fan of the timing of the Kazmir trade, but says the Rays got a good package, and in the end, it is Pat Burrell's fault.
  • The Bottom Linewonders why the Red Sox did not claim Kazmir and block his move to the Angels, a potential playoff opponent.
  • UmpBump says the Kazmir deal makes sense, but maybe the Rays should have waited until the off-season.
  • The Baseball Opinion likes the Kazmir deal for the Rays noting they dumped the salary and that there is likely more wrong with his arm than we know.
  • Around the Majors loves the Kazmir deal for the Rays, noting that Kazmir no longer has a fastball to live up to his reputation.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here, and followed on Twitter here.

Odds and Ends: Dunn, Byrd, Epstein

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Links for Thursday…

Chass On Griffey, Burrell, Orlando Cabrera

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The latest from Murray Chass, who seems to be doing just fine without being employed by a newspaper…

  • MLB "negotiated a new line of credit for $125MM, from which clubs can borrow."  I’d like to learn more about the topic – which teams are borrowing, if any?
  • Ken Griffey Jr.’s agent Brian Goldberg does not think the economy is a factor in his client remaining unsigned.  Goldberg said, "Junior’s salary expectations have been modest from the beginning. He’s realistic."  Perhaps Griffey is not seeking $5-6MM after all?  Goldberg says he continues to talk to the same four teams about Griffey.
  • Scott Boras says Pat Burrell "took a bad deal" when he signed for two years and $16MM on January 5th.  Boras says Burrell’s contract froze the market for corner outfielders.
  • One additional possible explanation for Orlando Cabrera remaining unsigned: a baseball person described him as a "very caustic guy in the locker room."  Cabrera’s Type A status is probably the larger issue.

Griffey Jr. Market Remains Quiet

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Hal McCoy at the Dayton Daily News has a story up about Ken Griffey Jr.’s offseason thus far.

Brian Goldberg, Griffey’s agent, is quoted in the article as saying there was some mutual interest between Griffey and the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays’ signing of Pat Burrell ended that interest, however.

Perhaps the most noteworthy thing to take from this article is the lack of any specific teams being mentioned going foward. The market for corner outfielders with declining defense remains quiet, as players like Griffey, Bobby Abreu, Adam Dunn, and Manny Ramirez continue to look for a contract.

Heyman On Manny, Lowe, Crede, Redding, Hinske

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The latest from SI.com’s Jon Heyman…

  • The Giants "look like a major threat" to the Dodgers for Manny Ramirez and are "making a serious run at him."  Former teammate J.T. Snow apparently raved about him.  Nonetheless Heyman says the Dodgers are "probably still considered the favorite."  Heyman lists the Rangers as "intrigued."  He believes Ramirez will get three guaranteed years somewhere.
  • Heyman says Derek Lowe is "quite possibly" in play for the Phillies, though we heard from Ken Rosenthal today that the team denied interest.  Heyman also sticks with the Brewers and Angels as outside possibilities despite reports to the contrary.  He believes Mets GM Omar Minaya prefers Oliver Perez to Lowe.
  • The Giants, Twins, and Rangers are in on Joe Crede.
  • Players said to be in on Freddy Garcia: the Mets, White Sox, and Rangers.  We can probably cross off the Mets with their Tim Redding signing.
  • Heyman believes the Dodgers want to replace Brad Penny with Randy Wolf.
  • Heyman says the Pirates offered more guaranteed money than the Red Sox to Rocco Baldelli.  Dejan Kovacevic had this first in an article published early this morning.
  • The Red Sox were looking at Eric Hinske but with Baldelli and Mark Kotsay in tow it’s unlikely.  A Japanese team has "allegedly shown interest" in Hinske.
  • Before signing with the Rays for two years and $16MM, Pat Burrell was getting offers in the one-year, $5MM range.

Odds and Ends: Crede, Swisher, Astros

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Links for Wednesday…

Odds and Ends: Saito, Teixeira, LaRoche

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More Tuesday links…

  • Over at RotoAuthority, David Chase examines more of the optimistic Spring Training reports of ’08.  Particularly interesting: did pitchers follow up on their intention to use a new pitch?
  • The Marlins’ Scott Proctor signing is official.  Also, Chan Ho Park with the Phillies.
  • Carl Pohlad’s three sons will take over for their father.
  • McCovey Chronicles trade idea: Randy Winn for Xavier Nady.
  • Add Randy Choate to the minor league deals for the Rays.
  • Economist J.C. Bradbury says "the economic downturn cannot explain the magnitude of Pat Burrell’s discount."  He believes teams are exaggerating the recession effect.
  • Keith Law says the risk in giving Milton Bradley a three-year deal "seems excessive" but notes that Bradley is an excellent hitter and above-average defender.
  • Patrick Newman learned that Takashi Saito received almost ten offers last month, including proposals from the Cardinals and Red Sox.  Newman also has new reports of various minor league-level Japanese players who want to join MLB organizations.
  • Tony Massarotti has all kinds of questions about Boston’s failure to sign Mark Teixeira.  Craig Calcaterra offers analysis on the team’s Boras relationship.  Check out stuff from today’s Yankees press conference here and here.
  • Sox Machine on how Jim Thome staying healthy messed up Ken Williams’ plans.
  • Dejan Kovacevic says Adam LaRoche would like to stay in Pittsburgh past ’09, but the team is not considering an extension.

Odds and Ends: Burrell, Bradley, Abreu

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Links for Tuesday…

  • RotoAuthority asks for your #1 fantasy baseball bust for 2009.
  • Keith Law calls the Pat Burrell signing a "major bargain," panning the Raul Ibanez contract by comparison.  River Ave. Blues says the recent Burrell and Milton Bradley deals prove that Brian Cashman was wise not to offer arbitration to Bobby Abreu.
  • Will the Rays have enough money to re-sign Rocco Baldelli now?  Buster Olney still thinks he will land with Boston.
  • Gordon Edes says Jim Hendry had a stealth dinner with Bradley during the November GM Meetings.  Edes adds that the Cubs believe Derek Lowe is too expensive.
  • Cool story about a guy trying to get an autograph on each card in the 1983 Fleer baseball card set.
  • Baseball America’s Jim Callis has the updated ’09 draft order.  Callis also weighs in on the broken free agent compensation system, which is up for discussion after the 2011 season.
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