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Giants Notes: Wilson, Swisher, Outfielders

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Here's the latest on the World Series champions, courtesy of The San Francisco Chronicle's Hank Schulman…

  • The Giants aren't close (Twitter link) to a deal to bring back former closer Brian Wilson.  The club assumes that Wilson will only consider a return once he's closely looked at his other choices.  Schulman reported earlier this month that Wilson had some hard feelings towards the Giants for non-tendering him and was looking to pitch elsewhere, preferably for the Red Sox or one of the Los Angeles teams.
  • Nick Swisher doesn't appear to be a target (Twitter link) for the Giants.
  • Cody Ross, Scott Hairston and Reed Johnson were all considered by the Giants as right-handed hitting outfield options, but the three players "either were not willing to take a part-timer's salary or not what the Giants wanted defensively."  San Francisco instead reached agreement with Andres Torres to a one-year, $2MM contract earlier today.
  • Giants president Larry Baer said his club feels no pressure to make any big moves to counter the Dodgers.  "Our strategy is just different, developing guys and bringing them through the system and sprinkling in free agents and trades when it makes sense," Baer said. "We've done free agents before, but we're trying to do more of a homegrown thing…You can't let what any other team does alter your strategy. That would be a mistake.  If we're going to look at the Dodgers spending all this money and say we're going to be free-agent-centric, we don't think that would be smart."
  • In news from earlier today, the Giants are believed to have offered Ichiro Suzuki a two-year, $15MM contract, but Ichiro is on his way to taking a slightly smaller contract to re-sign with the Yankees.

Minor Moves: Slaten, Manzella, Acosta, Gaudin

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Here are the latest minor transactions from around the league…

  • SK Wyverns of the Korean Baseball Organization announced the signing of left-handed reliever Doug Slaten.  Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net (Twitter link) first reported the deal earlier this week.  Slaten has a 3.52 ERA in 216 games for the Diamondbacks, Nationals and Pirates since 2006, including a 2.16 ERA in 10 games with the Bucs in 2012.
  • The Rockies have signed shortstop Tommy Manzella to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invitation, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).  Manzella last appeared in the majors in 2010 with the Astros and has bounced around the minors with four different organizations over the last two seasons.
  • Right-hander Manny Acosta has signed a one-year, $1.65MM contract with the Yomiuri Giants, according to Gene Mato, Acosta's agent (Twitter link).  The deal could be worth another $500K in bonuses.  Acosta, 31, was non-tendered by the Mets following a season that saw him post a 6.46 ERA over relief appearances.
  • The Giants have agreed to a minor league deal with right-hander Chad Gaudin, reports Janie McCauley of the Associated Press (via Twitter).  Gaudin posted a 4.54 ERA in 46 relief appearances for the Marlins last season.
  • The Yankees have signed catcher Bobby Wilson to a minor league deal that contains a Spring Training invite, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter link).  Wilson hit .211/.277/.292 batting line in 201 plate appearances with the Angels last season and was both claimed on waivers and non-tendered by the Blue Jays earlier this offseason.
  • The Yankees have also signed infielder Gil Velazquez to a minor league deal, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter).  The 33-year-old Velazquez received 57 PAs with the Marlins last year and also has Major League exerperience with the Angels and Red Sox.
  • The Cardinals have signed 18-year-old Dominican right-hander Alex Reyes to a contract worth $950K, reports MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez (via Twitter).
  • The Nationals signed 16-year-old Dominican third baseman Neivy Pilier to a $225K deal, reports Ben Badler of Baseball America.
  • The Nationals signed infielder Brian Bocock to a minor league contract, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson (Twitter link).  Bocock last played in the majors in 2010 and has spent the last two seasons playing in the Phillies, Pirates and Blue Jays organizations.
  • The Padres acquired left-hander Chris Rearick from the Rays in exchange for infielder Vince Belnome, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock (via Twitter).
  • The Phillies have announced the signings of Andres Blanco, Josh Fields, Cesar Jimenez, Steven Lerud, Michael Martinez, Zach Miner, Jermaine Mitchell, Pete Orr and Humberto Quintero to minor league contracts with invitations to Spring Training.

Giants To Sign Andres Torres

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Andres Torres is heading back to San Francisco, the Giants confirmed on Twitter. The Giants have agreed to sign the free agent outfielder to a one-year, $2MM contract, Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area reports (Twitter links). The deal between the Giants and the ACES client is pending a physical.

Torres played for the Giants from 2009-11 before they traded him to the Mets for Angel Pagan last offseason. Torres posted a .230/.327/.337 batting line in 434 plate appearances as New York's starting center fielder in 2012, but the Mets non-tendered him last month, making him a free agent. The 34-year-old switch hitter has a .241/.320/.388 batting line in eight career seasons at the MLB level.

Torres joins a Giants outfield that includes Pagan, Hunter Pence and Gregor Blanco. He can compete for playing time in left field and spell Pagan in center, Baggarly suggests. This means the Giants are no longer in play for Nick Swisher, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com writes (on Twitter).

Mets Remain In The Mix For Scott Hairston

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Scott Hairston is one of the few right-handed power outfield bats left on the free agent market, and he told Adam Rubin of ESPN New York that the Mets remain in the mix to re-sign him. It will take a multiyear contract, however.

"Things are starting to pick up now that the market is settling in," said Hairston. "Still unsure where I'll sign, though. There are a lot of trades happening around the league, so it's possible that interest may rise in the next few days. My agent has been in contact with [Mets GM Sandy Alderson], so he is aware I want a multiyear deal."

Rubin says the Yankees, Phillies, Giants, and Cardinals also have interest in Hairston. The 32-year-old hit .263/.299/.504 with 20 homers in 398 plate appearances for the Mets this season, including a .286/.317/.550 line in 199 plate appearances against left-handers. Jonny Gomes signed a two-year, $10MM contract with the Red Sox last month, setting the market for righty outfield mashers.

NL West Notes: Greinke, Dodgers, Padres

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The defending World Series champions play in the NL West, but the Giants are not the ones making the biggest headlines. Here’s the latest from the division, starting in Los Angeles…

  • Barring something unexpected, the Dodgers are finished in the starting pitching market according to Olney (on Twitter).
  • Zack Greinke signed for $147MM over six years, and he could earn even more money by opting out three seasons from now, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports explains. The Dodgers awarded Greinke the opt-out as a compromise, as the right-hander initially sought a seven-year deal with a no-trade clause, Rosenthal reports.
  • One evaluator told ESPN.com's Buster Olney that the Giants are still a better team than the Dodgers despite Los Angeles' aggressive spending. The Dodgers have questions on the left side of the infield and might be vulnerable against left-handed pitching, Olney writes.
  • The Dodgers have discussed Kevin Youkilis and Anibal Sanchez, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports. Sanchez may be more of a longshot given the Dodgers' internal rotation options. The team appears to have interest in dealing Aaron Harang, but Chris Capuano has drawn more trade interest, Knobler reports.
  • The Dodgers have talked to the Pirates about Capuano, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports (on Twitter).
  • Rosenthal wonders if the Padres could be a fit for Edwin Jackson, but concludes that San Diego probably won’t sign the free agent right-hander if he’s positioned to command a four or five-year deal (Twitter links). Padres executives Josh Byrnes and A.J. Hinch previously worked with Jackson in Arizona.

Giants Re-Sign Marco Scutaro

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The Giants are bringing back the NLCS MVP, having agreed to re-sign second baseman Marco Scutaro to a three-year, $20MM deal.  The World Champion Giants are keeping their team mostly intact, having signed Angel Pagan yesterday and Jeremy Affeldt in November for a total commitment of $78MM for the trio.  Scutaro is represented by Praver/Shapiro.

Uspw_6669518Three years is a sizeable commitment for Scutaro, who turned 37 in October.  The second baseman was greatly aided by a strong finish, as he hit .362/.385/.473 in 268 regular season plate appearances with the Giants after coming over in a July trade with the Rockies.  Scutaro further helped his cause with a 1.140 OPS during San Francisco's seven-game win over St. Louis in the NLCS.  As Dave Cameron of FanGraphs notes, Scutaro's high contact style looks good when the hits drop in, though his Giants performance is unsustainable.  

The Cardinals had also been in the mix for Scutaro this offseason.  With Scutaro and Jeff Keppinger off the board, the free agent market for second basemen includes Kelly Johnson as a potential starter.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link) was the first to break the news of the signing.  Photo courtesy of U.S. Presswire.

Giants Re-Sign Angel Pagan

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They say timing is everything, and surely Angel Pagan would agree after signing a four-year, $40MM contract to remain with the Giants.  Acquired by San Francisco a year ago in a change of scenery trade, the Legacy Sports Group client parlayed a .288/.338/.440 performance and World Series buzz into the second-largest contract of the offseason so far.  The new contract has a $5MM signing bonus and salaries of $7MM in 2013, $9MM in '14, $9MM in '15, and $10MM in '16, tweets Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com.

Uspw_6189470San Francisco had been one of Pagan's strongest suitors for most of the offseason, with the Phillies also in pursuit.  Former Phils outfielder Michael Bourn is the top center fielder still available with Pagan, Shane Victorino, B.J. Upton, and Denard Span off the board.

Pagan bounced back from a down 2011 season and was valued at nearly five wins above replacement in 2012, providing all-around production. The center fielder ranked 11th on MLBTR's list of this winter's top 50 free agents, with four of MLBTR's writers accurately predicting that he'd return to the Giants.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the two sides were nearing a deal, with Jon Heyman of CBS Sports and Yahoo's Tim Brown adding details.  Photo courtesy of U.S. Presswire.

NL West Notes: Rockies, Ryu, Pagan, Scutaro

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The Diamondbacks' agreement with Brandon McCarthy was the biggest news out of the NL West today, but here are a few more items from around the division…..

Jason Grilli Close To Deal

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10:24am: It will be a two-year deal and the Giants are out, tweets Rosenthal.  Pirates GM Neal Huntington said today that they made a "very fair offer" to Grilli.

THURSDAY, 8:28am: Grilli will decide between the Cubs, Blue Jays, Giants, and Pirates at 10am today, or earlier if one of the teams goes to three years on the 36-year-old, tweets Peter Gammons of MLB Network.  Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says Grilli will stay in Pittsburgh if no one adds the third year.

WEDNESDAY, 4:38pm: Grilli is still wading through all the offers presented to him, Sheffield told MLB.com's Tom Singer.  The Brewers haven't talked with Sheffield this week, GM Doug Melvin told reporters.

12:42pm: If Grilli is close to a deal, it's not with the Brewers, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

10:50am: Jason Grilli's agent, former MLB slugger Gary Sheffield, tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (Twitter link) that he's nearing a deal for his client. However, Sheffield didn't reveal which team was closing in on Grilli.

As Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review notes, Grilli is expected to choose from nearly a dozen suitors today, with the Pirates still in the mix. The right-hander figures to land a multiyear contract.

Overnight Links: Burnett, Phillies, Giants, Rays

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It's the middle of the night, but news rarely stops coming in over the course of baseball's Winter Meetings. Here are some links from around the baseball world for those who are still awake…

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