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Mike Napoli Talks Reach Critical Stage

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11:24am: Napoli's market is picking up, and the Mariners, Marlins, Rangers and Red Sox are all involved, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Morosi adds that the Mariners have had "recent" talks with Napoli.

10:57am: Mike Napoli's free agent negotiations are at a critical stage, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  He says Napoli wants to remain with the Red Sox, but he has an offer from another club that Boston will need to match or exceed.  Earlier, Rosenthal tweeted that the Rangers and Marlins are in on Napoli, who remains a priority for the Red Sox.  The Rangers are interested even after acquiring Prince Fielder, which is seemingly made possible by the designated hitter spot.

Napoli was one of 13 players to receive a qualifying offer in November, so signing him will require forfeiture of a draft pick for teams other than the Red Sox.  The 32-year-old switched to first base full-time in 2013 for Boston, hitting .259/.360/.482 in 578 plate appearances and playing in the postseason for the sixth time in eight seasons.  Last offseason, Napoli's three-year, $39MM deal with the Red Sox was renegotiated down to a one-year, $5MM guarantee after his physical revealed a degenerative hip condition.  With Curtis Granderson receiving four guaranteed years today from the Mets, I think Napoli has a good case for the same.

Mariners Close To Deal With Robinson Cano

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The Mariners are closing in on a deal with Robinson Cano, acccording to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Heyman adds that Cano's deal with the Mariners would be worth "at least" $225MM.

Cano's negotiations with the Mariners have turned into somewhat of a soap opera. Reports earlier this morning indicated that a last-minute hike in demands from agent Jay-Z enraged Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln and caused talks to fall apart. Recently, reports surfaced that talks were still alive. The Yankees, reportedly, are unwilling to offer more than $200MM.

Mariners Talks With Cano Still Alive After Hitting Snag

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9:18am: Talks between the Mariners and Cano are still alive, according to Ken Rosenthal on FOX Sports (on Twitter).

7:43am: The Mariners talks with Robinson Cano have broken down after Seattle made an offer of nine years and $225MM, two sources told Mark Feinsand, Bill Madden and Teri Thompson of the New York Daily News. The Mariners are no longer in the mix to sign Cano, reports Feinsand.

According to the New York Daily News team, Cano and his representatives from CAA and Roc Nation Sports arrived in Seattle with an eight-year, $200MM offer in hand from the Mariners and eventually received assurances that the Mariners would go to nine years and $225MM. However, a late change by agent Jay-Z in which he once again demanded $252MM over 10 years caused Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln to "explode," prompting the meeting to end.

Seattle's offer of $225MM over nine years topped the Yankees' best offer by two years and $50MM, Feinsand notes. However, the Yankees appear to be Cano's lone serious suitor once again. The Yankees reportedly have never been willing to exceed the $200MM barrier for Cano.

West Notes: Cano, Angels, Rockies, Hudson

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Robinson Cano signing with the Mariners would be "dumb" for both player and team, argues FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. The Mariners need more than just one more player to become a contender, and "store-bought teams often prove to be disasters," as recent iterations of the Blue Jays and Marlins suggest. The Yankees, meanwhile, won't go past $170MM or so, even though they just agreed to sign Jacoby Ellsbury for $153MM. For Cano, signing with Seattle would be an "inexplicable money grab." It wouldn't make sense for Cano, the Mariners, or the Yankees if Cano went west. Speaking of which, here are more notes from the West divisions.

  • Bronson Arroyo and Bartolo Colon currently aren't high priorities for the Angels, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register writes. Masahiro Tanaka, Matt Garza and Scott Feldman remain possibilities (Twitter links). Earlier this week, a report indicated that the Angels were interested in Arroyo.
  • After dealing Dexter Fowler to the Astros and working out a two-year deal with first baseman Justin Morneau, the Rockies aren't through making moves, assistant GM Bill Geivett tells Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. "I think we are still in the marker for a starting pitcher, another bat, and as I’ve said before, our bullpen is not closed," says Geivett, who also says that history will not be remembered as a "salary dump." 
  • Pitcher Daniel Hudson is "optimistic" he'll re-sign with the Diamondbacks, reports Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. Arizona non-tendered him on Monday after he missed most of the last two seasons due to injury. "I don't really want to go anywhere else," Hudson says. "Obviously if something doesn't work out then we'll have to figure something else out, but as long as we're cordial and we're talking and everything, I really want to make sure I stay working out with those guys."

Mariners Could Offer Cano $225MM

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6:45pm: The Mariners are "about to offer" Cano a nine-year, $225MM deal, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reports. Heyman indicates that Seattle is bidding $225MM to stay $50MM ahead of the Yankees, whose don't want to top $175MM.

5:15pm: Cano asked the Mariners for a ten-year, $240MM deal, but the Mariners' offer did not exceed $200MM, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal tweets.

3:21pm: Robinson Cano flew to Seattle to meet with the Mariners in person today, and the team has informed him that they are willing to pay as much as $230-240MM on a ten-year contract, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com (Spanish link).

It was reported yesterday that the Mariners may have topped the Yankees' offer of roughly $170MM, but if true, the reported $230-240MM offer would shatter the Yankees' highest bid. The Mariners met with Cano's representatives on Tuesday, according to multiple reports, but this appears to be the first instance of Cano traveling to Seattle to meet with club officials.

Cano and agents Jay-Z of Roc Nation Sports and Brodie Van Wagenen of CAA are said to be seeking something in the neighborhood of $252MM. The Yankees reportedly will not offer Cano more than $200MM, and in the wake of that news, the offense-starved Mariners appear to have emerged as major players in the Cano sweepstakes. Last month, MLBTR's Steve Adams predicted that Cano would receive a nine-year, $234MM deal.

Mariners Sign Willie Bloomquist

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The Mariners have been connected to a number of the biggest names on the market this offseason, but their first move was a smaller signing that will give new manager Lloyd McClendon some additional versatility off the bench. Seattle officially announced a two-year signing of Willie Bloomquist on Thursday. His deal reportedly guarantees him a total of $5.8MM.

Bloomquist, a client of Scott Boras, batted .317/.360/.367 without a homer or stolen base in 139 plate appearances for the Diamondbacks in 2013. Bloomquist has spent the past three seasons in Arizona, batting a combined .289/.328/.368 with four homers — all of which came back in 2011. The 36-year-old served as a Swiss army knife for manager Kirk Gibson, playing shortstop, second base, third base, left field and right field in his time with the D-Backs.

This contract is a homecoming for Bloomquist in multiple ways. Bloomquist is a Washington native and also spent the first seven seasons of his big league career in Seattle after being selected by the M's in the third round of the 1999 draft.

The signing of Bloomquist figures to be a minor move in what should be a busy offseason for the Mariners. Seattle is reportedly seeking two impact bats, a starter and a closer. They've been linked to big fish like Jacoby Ellsbury, Shin-Soo Choo and Nelson Cruz thus far on the offensive side of things, while names like Grant Balfour and Brian Wilson have drawn the Mariners' interest in their search for a closer.

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports first reported that the two sides were close to a deal (on Twitter), and Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic was the first to report Bloomquist would earn $5-6MM (also via Twitter). Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports was the first to report the agreement and the $5.8MM guarantee (Twitter links).

AL West Notes: Rangers, Arencibia, Kazmir, Hughes, Mariners

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Here's the latest from the American League West:

  • Rangers GM Jon Daniels says the club is still looking for a durable backup catcher, reports T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. Though the recent spate of catcher moves took away some hypothetical options, Daniels said that "nobody has come off the board that we really pursued." Sullivan notes that Kurt Suzuki is one player in whom Texas has interest.
  • In looking to add a backstop, the Rangers were close to adding J.P. Arencibia via trade before he was non-tendered by the Blue Jays, Sullivan reports. But the club did not want to add Arencibia unless it could work out terms on a new deal, and ultimately that did not happen. He joins Suzuki as possible free agent options for Texas.
  • The Athletics' signing of left-handed starter Scott Kazmir to a two-year, $22MM deal kicked off a flurry of big moves for the A's. MLB.com's Jane Lee provides a summation of the considerations that brought him to Oakland, with Kazmir saying he loves the team and fan base and looks forward to throwing in the Coliseum. For GM Billy Beane, the club liked Kazmir's stuff, restored fastball velocity, overall body of work in 2013, and young age (29). Though Kazmir's up-and-down career trajectory might have scared off some clubs, Beane says that he views Kazmir's "character-building experience" of getting back to a high level of performance as a positive.
  • Before Phil Hughes decided to take a three-year deal with the Twins, the Angels made him an offer of a "nice one-year deal," reports Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). As FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal noted in discussing several of MLB's recent moves, baseball sources believe Hughes could have landed up to $9MM or $10MM on a one-year deal, though another source told Rosenthal that no offers of that magnitude had actually been made.
  • Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik declined to comment on whether or not the club is pursuing Robinson Cano, reports Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times, saying that the club is keeping its talks "in house" but has "a lot of dialogue going on a lot of fronts." Talking generally about offering long-term deals, Zduriencik indicated that the club prefers to minimize risk but must "adapt to the market." While saying he would "like to add three" bats to the club, the Mariners GM noted that the club would still also be interested in adding "another starting pitcher" or even another pen piece.
  • Ultimately, Zduriencik confirmed the widespread view that Seattle is looking to add impact to its roster. "It was a clear goal of ours to get us to a point where we would have young and inexpensive players throughout the line-up and I think we've accomplished that goal," said Zduriencik. "I always felt there would be a time where [we] would have to augment this club. I think we are at that time."

Mariners Could Make Move To Acquire David Price

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The Mariners, Dodgers, Angels, Pirates, Rangers, Diamondbacks and Blue Jays all have interest in David Price and believe they could put together a strong enough package to convince the Rays to deal him, Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan writes. The Mariners would be especially interested in Price if they also acquire Robinson Cano, and they might be willing to include Taijuan Walker to make a deal happen, Passan reports. Earlier today, Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik told the Tacoma News Tribune's Bob Dutton, "[A]lways have felt there would be a time where we have to augment this club. I think we’re at that time" (Twitter link).

Price has two years remaining before free agency, and MLBTR projects he'll make $13.1MM in the arbitration process this winter. The Rays aren't in a position where they must trade him, Passan points out, so they won't be desperate in negotiations. They could target a big-league-ready pitcher to step into Price's place in their rotation, Passan reports, and one would think that Walker, one of baseball's top young starters, would fit the bill. Walker, 21, posted a 2.93 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 141 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A in 2013 before making three starts at the big-league level.

Mariners May Have Topped Yankees’ Offer To Cano

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3:07pm: The Mariners may have topped the Yankees' offer to Cano, a source tells Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News. That same source indicated to McCarron that the Mariners are pursuing Cano "guns-a-blazing," and making the pitch to Cano that he can either be a Yankee legend or be a baseball legend by helping the Mariners win their first World Series.

1:39pm: The Mariners met with Robinson Cano's representatives yesterday, according to Kevin Kernan of the New York Post. Kernan's source told him that the meeting "went very well."

Seattle has recently emerged as a major player in the Cano sweepstakes according to recent reports, and Kernan notes the club's long history of finishing as the runner-up to coveted big-name free agents. The Mariners "want to do everything in their power to come up a winner this time around," writes Kernan.

Cano's asking price has reportedly come down into the $250-260MM range, but an enormous gap still remains between that figure and the Yankees' reported offer of $160-175MM. Kernan adds that Cano will likely have to choose between millions of extra dollars to venture to a new team like the Mariners or the familiarity of returning to the Yankees in what should be an elite lineup. The Yankees have already signed Brian McCann and last night agreed to a seven-year pact with Jacoby Ellsbury.

Earlier today, Andy McCullough of the Star Ledger heard that the Yankees are still not interested in going beyond $200MM or seven years to retain Cano (Twitter link).

AL West Notes: Kemp, Mariners, Choo, Astros

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Tonight's look at the AL West..

  • The Mariners have been among the most aggressive suitors for Matt Kemp, sources tell Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, but they are looking at free agents too.
  • The Rangers met with free agent outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, but the odds that Texas will land him are still long, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas News.  One source says that the Rangers are one of four clubs actively engaged in talks with Choo.
  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow told reporters, including MLB.com's Brian McTaggart, that he'll likely have "another deal or two" done with regards to pitching by this time next week.
  • Luhnow also said that it would make sense to evaluate Dexter Fowler as a leadoff hitter, but it would be up to Bo Porter and the staff to decide that, tweets Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle.
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