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Padres To Sign Jeff Suppan

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3:05pm: Suppan will earn $950K if he makes the Major League roster, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.  He obtained an invitation to Spring Training.

12:07pm: The Padres will sign righty Jeff Suppan to a minor league deal today, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock.  Suppan is represented by Lapa/Leventhal.

Suppan, 37, posted a 4.78 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 1.25 HR/9, and 10.1 H/9 in 165 2/3 innings for the Royals' Triple-A affiliate last year.  The 16-year MLB veteran has 138 wins and a 4.69 ERA in his career.

Padres Links: Maybin, Quentin, Owings

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Here's the latest out of San Diego…

  • Cameron Maybin has switched agents and is now once again represented by Brian Goldberg, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock (Twitter link).  Maybin was previously represented by Robert Baratta.  Goldberg was Maybin's original agent when he first entered the Major Leagues.
  • Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune thinks the Padres will revisit extension talks with Maybin during Spring Training.  MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith examined Maybin as an extension candidate last month.  Center also thinks the Padres will wait to see how Carlos Quentin performs before exploring a multiyear deal with him.
  • Also as part of Center's weekly chat with fans, he discusses Micah Owings' role with the team and why owner Jeffrey Moorad "forbids" incentive-laden contracts.
  • Owings' contract with the Padres is a split deal that will pay the right-hander a minor league salary if he's optioned down, tweets Dan Hayes of the North County Times.  The contract doesn't include an opt-out clause if Owings is not on the Major League roster by a certain date.

Padres To Sign Micah Owings

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4:29pm: The agreement is for a one-year, $1MM, Major League deal, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets.

2:41pm: The Padres have agreed to sign Micah Owings to a minor league contract that includes an invitation to Spring Training, Dan Hayes of the North County Times tweets. Legacy Sports Group represents the 29-year-old right-hander.

Owings spent the 2011 season with the Diamondbacks, posting a 3.57 ERA with 6.3 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and a 38% ground ball rate in 63 innings. A former starter with the Diamondbacks and Reds, Owings has pitched mostly out of the bullpen since 2010. At the plate, he has nine homers and an impressive .286/.313/.507 batting line in 217 career plate appearances. Kirk Gibson let Owings bat for himself regularly last year and asked him to pinch hit on one other occasion.

Padres, Dustin Moseley Avoid Arbitration

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8:12pm: Moseley will earn $2.0125MM, tweets Corey Brock of MLB.com. The righty asked for $2.55MM, while the club originally offered $1.5MM, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows.

6:09pm: The Padres and right-hander Dustin Moseley have avoided arbitration by agreeing to terms on a one-year contract, the team announced.

Moseley, 30, spent time with the Angels and Yankees before joining the Friars in 2011. The swing man was used exclusively as a starter last season, posting a career-best 3.30 ERA over 120 innings before being lost to season-ending surgery on his non-throwing shoulder in August.

The Yankees non-tendered Moseley after the 2010 campaign, facilitating his move to San Diego, and it was rumored he may get the same treatment from the Padres, but he'll once again call PETCO Park his home ballpark in 2012.

All of the Padres' arbitration eligible players are now under contract for 2012.

Stark On Tigers, Blanton, Bartlett, Kazmir

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As ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark points out, the NL Central will look considerably different in 2012, now that Prince Fielder, Albert Pujols and Tony La Russa have moved on. Ryan Braun could miss 50 games with a suspension that would make the division even less recognizable. Here are Stark’s latest notes and rumors:

  • Scouts and executives doubt Miguel Cabrera will be able to play third base with much skill in 2012.
  • One AL executive suggests the Tigers would have to eat a lot of money to trade Victor Martinez next offseason. Insurance will likely cover approximately half of the switch hitter’s 2012 salary of $13MM, Stark writes.
  • Stark hears that the Phillies have sent signals that they might make Joe Blanton available this spring.
  • Jason Bartlett has been available this winter and the Red Sox could pursue him, Stark writes. However, the shortstop will earn $5.5MM in 2012 and the Red Sox aim to stay below the luxury tax threshold.
  • Scott Kazmir intends to pitch in 2012, but his fastball velocity is in the 84-85 mph range. The 28-year-old appeared in one game for the Angels last year and they released him after a rough stretch at Triple-A.
  • There’s every indication that the commissioner’s office will discipline Juan Carlos Oviedo/Leo Nunez and Roberto (Heredia) Hernandez/Fausto Carmona for using false identities.
  • Though many have told Bud Selig that adding a second Wild Card team to each league this year will create scheduling issues, the commissioner seems intent on expanding the playoffs in 2012, and Stark expects him to get his wish.

Cardinals Shopping McClellan, Talking With Oswalt

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5:14pm: The Orioles are pursuing Koji Uehara of the Rangers as well as McClellan, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Their pursuit of a reunion with Uehara could complicate the Cards' plan to clear money to sign Oswalt.

3:47pm: The Cards appear to be interested in salary relief more than obtaining a high-end prospect for McClellan, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The club could also move Kyle Lohse or Jake Westbrook to the bullpen.

Morosi adds that the club has discussed deals with Oswalt in the range of $7.5MM while the pitcher seeks $10MM. Moving McClellan, who makes $2.5MM, would give the Cards enough room to sign the veteran (Twitter link).

3:16pm: Even though they have interest, the Cardinals' asking price is too high for the Orioles right now, a team source tells Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter)

2:35pm: The Cardinals are actively shopping versatile righthander Kyle McClellan, writes Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  Moving McClellan would allow the club to alleviate a logjam in their bullpen and give them the payroll flexibility to a sign a free agent starting pitcher.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals are looking to clear money in order to sign Roy Oswalt, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  It was rumored this week that St. Louis was near a deal with the veteran but Morosi stresses that there's no deal in place just yet.

General Manager John Mozeliak recently conceded that the club could possibly deal McClellan but believes it more likely that the he will be with the Cardinals when pitchers and catchers report on February 18th.  The Cardinals have attempted to engage a number of clubs in talks for McClellan and the Orioles have emerged as one of the most promising trade partners for him, according to Strauss' industry sources.

The Padres and Diamondbacks are also among the teams that have expressed interest in McClellan.

Quick Hits: Playoffs, Dodgers Owners, Padres, Floyd

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It was on this day in 1982 that the Cubs acquired Ryne Sandberg and Larry Bowa from the Phillies in a trade for Ivan De Jesus.  The Bowa-for-DeJesus component ended up being pretty even, but needless to say, Chicago won that trade — Sandberg went on to a Hall Of Fame career as one of the greatest Cubs of all time.  Sandberg eventually returned to the Phillies organization in 2011, managing the team's Triple-A affiliate to an 80-64 record.

Here are some news items as we enter the last weekend of January…

  • Bud Selig told reporters (including Ronald Blum of the Associated Press) at the Chicago SoxFest event that he believes baseball will add a second wild card team for 2012.  "Clubs really want it. I don't think I've ever seen an issue that the clubs want more than to have the extra wild card this year," Selig said, adding that each league's two wild cards would compete in a one-game playoff to advance to the LDS.  Blum reports that MLB and the Players' Association have agreed that a tie for a division lead would be settled by a one-game playoff, rather than a tiebreaker formula.
  • The biggest obstacle standing in the way of an expanded postseason for 2012 would be finding room in the schedule for the extra wild-card game and potential tiebreaker games, reports FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal.  “It’s going to be hard to do…but it’s still possible,” a source informs Rosenthal.
  • At least eight potential owners looking to buy the Dodgers have advanced to the second round of the bidding process, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.  Among those making the cut were Steven Cohen, Peter O'Malley and Stan Kroenke, as well as the groups fronted by Magic Johnson, Joe Torre and the Stanley Gold/Disney family group.  Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and a group led by White Sox executive Dennis Gilbert were among the bids that didn't make the second round, Shaikin adds. 
  • More than one ownership group has expressed an interest in the Padres if the team's sale to Jeff Moorad can't be finalized, reports Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune.  None of these groups are any of the prospective Dodgers buyers, however, as those would-be owners want to specifically buy the Dodgers, not just any team. 
  • Also as part of Center's online chat with fans, he reports Padres GM Josh Byrnes is looking at signing a starter with big league experience to a minor league contract.
  • Gavin Floyd tells Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times that he's trying to block out trade rumors, but says that he wants to remain with the White Sox.  "I love Chicago, I want to be here,'' Floyd said. "I've been part of this organization for four or five years. I feel like I've grown and gotten better every year and established relationships I'll cherish the rest of my life."
  • The Astros' hiring of Sig Mejdal as the director of decision sciences indicates a new, analytical direction for how Houston scouts and evaluates players, writes Zachary Levine for Baseball America.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a quick rundown of the American League's "super six" teams.

Padres, Clayton Richard Avoid Arbitration

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The Padres have avoided arbitration with left-hander Clayton Richard, as MLB.com's Corey Brock tweets the two sides have agreed to a new one-year contract.  Bernie Wilson of the Associated Press (Twitter link) reports the deal is worth $2.705MM, which was just under the midpoint of two figures submitted by both sides — Brock reported last week that Richard was looking for a $3.1MM contract and the Padres countered with a $2.35MM offer.  Richard is represented by SFX.

Richard, 28, came in San Diego in 2009 as part of the Jake Peavy trade package from the White Sox, and has posted a 3.84 ERA and a 1.69 K/BB ratio in 63 starts with the Padres.  He was limited to 18 starts last season after undergoing season-ending surgery on his throwing shoulder in July.

The Padres entered the offseason with 11 arb-eligible players (second only to the Giants' 13), but have come to terms with all of them except right-hander Dustin Moseley.  Check out MLBTR's Arbtracker for all the latest on arbitration-related signings and negotiations.

Quick Hits: Rizzo, Rangers, Garza, Johnson

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It was one year ago today that the Angels and Blue Jays pulled off the huge trade that sent Vernon Wells to Anaheim in exchange for Juan Rivera and Mike Napoli.  The Jays were considered immediate winners for getting Wells' huge contract off their payroll and the swap looks even better for Toronto given Wells' .218/.248/.412 season in 2011.

Some news from around the majors…

  • New Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo holds the top spot on this list of baseball's top 10 first base prospects from MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.
  • Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine acknowledged that there are "active discussions internally" about improving the team when speaking with Todd Hollandsworth and Jim Memolo on MLB Network Radio (mp3 link), but it's unlikely the Rangers will make another significant move. "It won't be from a lack of creativity," he said.
  • Matt Garza told Hollandsworth and Memolo that he's "definitely open" to signing an extension with the Cubs (mp3 link).
  • Josh Johnson tells Glenn Geffner of the Marlins Insider 790 AM radio show (and passed on by Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post) that he will begin throwing off a mound next week, the first time the Marlins ace has done so since September.  Johnson was limited to nine starts last season due to shoulder injuries.
  • Yoenis Cespedes is still not an established resident of the Dominican Republic, which is holding up his free agency, reports MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez.
  • Kyle Blanks may only realize his potential if he leaves the Padres, opines Fangraphs' Paul Swydan.
  • Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune is back with his weekly online chat about the Padres.
  • The Tigers, Indians and the "sleeper choice" Brewers are all possible fits for Derrek Lee, writes Tony Andracki of CSNChicago.com.

MLBTR's Mike Axisa also contributed to this post

NL West Links: Maybin, Padres, Giants, D’Backs

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One year ago today, the Rockies re-signed Jason Giambi to serve as their backup first baseman and primary pinch-hitter. Here's the latest out of the NL West…

  • The Padres and Cameron Maybin had tabled contract extension talks for now, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock (on Twitter). Maybin recently changed agents and the two sides haven't made any progress.
  • Although they are just about done with their 40-man roster moves, Dan Hayes of the North County Times hears that the Padres have room for one more "protection" starting pitcher (Twitter link).
  • Giants executive Bobby Evans told John Shea of The San Francisco Chronicle that the team's five starters are in place (Twitter link). Evans also mentioned Gregor Blanco as possible outfield depth.
  • The Diamondbacks thought they had a deal in place with Bartolo Colon before he signed with the Athletics, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (Insider req'd). Arizona ended up signing Joe Saunders today.
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