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Quick Hits: Dobbs, Indians, Zumaya, Mariners

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MLB announced that baseball’s 30 owners unanimously approved the five-year collective bargaining agreement with the MLB Players Association today. Here are some other notes from around MLB…

  • The Marlins remain in the mix to sign Greg Dobbs, according to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. The Nationals are also interested in the free agent utility player.
  • The Mets remain in regular contact with free agent shortstop Jack Wilson, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
  • Though the Indians never made Josh Willingham a former proposal, they indicated that they were willing to offer a two-year deal in the $15MM range, according to MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian (Twitter links). Willingham has agreed to terms with the Twins, but GM Chris Antonetti says the Indians are still considering external options.
  • A scout tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that just about every team in baseball saw free agent right-hander Joel Zumaya throw in Houston yesterday (Twitter link).
  • Japanese shortstop Munenori Kawasaki is in Seattle and may sign a minor league deal with the Mariners in the relatively near future, according to Larry Stone of the Seattle Times (Twitter links). The deal may not be finalized until after the holidays, but he will sign with Seattle, Stone reports.

Minor Moves: Rangers, Lindsay, Texeira, James

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Here's where we'll track today's minor moves, most of which were reported by Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus on Twitter…

Phillies Sign Dontrelle Willis

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The Phillies announced that they have signed left-hander Dontrelle Willis to pitch out of the bullpen. The contract is worth approximately $1MM and includes performance bonuses for the Sosnick Cobbe client, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports. 

“Dontrelle, I believe, is at a point in his career where he is ready to make the transition to being an effective reliever,” GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said in a statement.

Willis pitched 75 2/3 innings as a starter for the Reds in 2011 — his highest total since 2007. The left-hander posted a 5.00 ERA with 6.8 K/9, 4.4 BB/9 and a 54.5% ground ball rate in 13 second half starts with Cincinnati this past season. However, stats such as xFIP (4.08) and SIERA (4.29) suggest Willis' ERA may have been inflated. Willis, who turns 30 next month, signed a minor league contract last offseason.

Crasnick first reported that the sides were nearing a deal and Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly first reported that they had reached an agreement (Twitter link). The Mariners, Blue Jays, Red Sox and Reds also had interest in Willis as a reliever, Crasnick reports.

Michael Cuddyer Rumors: Wednesday

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We learned yesterday that the Rockies' offer to Michael Cuddyer is greater than the Twins' three-year proposal in the $25MM range. However, Cuddyer appears to be seeking a three-year, $30MM deal. Here's the latest on the free agent outfielder with the most recent updates up top:

  • GM Terry Ryan says the Twins have not ended contract talks with Cuddyer, according to ESPN.com.
  • The Mariners are in on Cuddyer and the Phillies may be involved as well, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown (on Twitter).
  • The Rockies continue discussing a deal with Cuddyer, according to MLB.com's Thomas Harding (on Twitter). If the sides agree to terms, the Rockies will start pursuing free agent right-hander Hiroki Kuroda less intensely.
  • There's no official word that Cuddyer isn't returning to the Twins, according to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (on Twitter). Minnesota seems to be nearing a deal with Josh Willingham.
  • The Reds have some interest in Cuddyer.

Mariners Re-Sign Chris Gimenez

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The Mariners have re-signed catcher Chris Gimenez to a Major League contract, reports MLB.com's Greg Johns. Seattle non-tendered Gimenez just two days ago.

“We had every intention of re-signing Chris,” said GM Jack Zduriencik. “There was just some procedural stuff that required us to non-tender him before we negotiated a new deal for 2012.”

Gimenez, 29 later this month, hit .203/.314/.271 in 70 plate appearances this year while seeing time at first base and left field as well as behind the plate. He's a .264/.343/.415 career hitter in 661 Triple-A plate appearances.

Minor Moves: Mariners, Royals, Jonathan Albaladejo

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We'll keep track of the day's minor moves right here…

  • The Mariners have signed right-hander Josh Kinney to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training, reports MLB.com's Greg Johns (on Twitter). The 32-year-old allowed 13 runs in 17 2/3 innings for the White Sox last season, though he did strike out 20 and get a ground ball nearly 60% of the time. It was Kinney's first big league action since 2009.  The Mariners also announced ten other minor league signings: infielder Luis Rodriguez, righties Jeff Marquez, Matt Fox, Jarrett Grube, and Scott Patterson, lefties Steve Garrison, Sean Henn, and Philippe Valiquette, outfielder Darren Ford, and catcher Guillermo Quiroz.  Rodriguez, Marquez, Garrison, and Ford logged time in the Majors this year.
  • The Royals announced that they signed right-hander Juan Gutierrez, left-hander Francisley Bueno, catcher Max Ramirez and outfielder Greg Golson to minor league deals. Golson appeared in nine games with the Yankees in 2011, but they released him last week. Ramirez didn't play in the Major Leagues in 2011, but he has MLB experience with the Rangers.
  • The Diamondbacks have signed Jonathan Albaladejo, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter links). The 29-year-old right-hander spent the 2011 season in Japan after posting a 4.15 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in four seasons with the Nationals and Yankees. The Mets were a finalist for Albaladejo.

Michael Cuddyer Rumors: Tuesday

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Michael Cuddyer is drawing lots of interest and with Josh Willingham agreeing to sign with the Twins, it won't be long before the market for Cuddyer becomes easier to read. Here are the latest details on Cuddyer:

  • Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com say (on Twitter) that the Mariners are talking to Cuddyer as well.
  • The Rockies offer to Cuddyer was larger than the three years and $25MM the Twins offered him, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). Cuddyer is seeking $30MM+ and has been mulling Colorado's offer for days.
  • The Twins maintain that their deal with Willingham is not yet finished, and that they are still talking with Cuddyer according to Joe Christensen of The Star Tribune (on Twitter).
  • There has been no immediate movement between the Rockies and Cuddyer following the news of Willingham's agreement with the Twins, reports MLB.com's Thomas Harding (on Twitter). 
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that there is at least one team besides the Rockies pursuing Cuddyer, and it's hardly a given that he heads to Colorado (Twitter links). The Giants and Red Sox are not the teams interested in Cuddyer, according to Morosi (Twitter links).
  • Cuddyer's original asking price was $36MM over three years and he continues to seek $30MM for three years, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
  • A person close to Cuddyer told Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he'll likely decide on his next team within three or four days. It appears that the Twins' most recent offer to Cuddyer — $24MM over three years, according to Christensen — is essentially a final offer. Jason Kubel remains high on the Twins' list as well, but the team will sign just one of Willingham, Cuddyer and Kubel.
  • The Twins are feeling some confidence that they'll end up with either Cuddyer or Willingham, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
  • Earlier today, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported that the Rockies are pushing for Cuddyer or Carlos Beltran.

Marlins Notes: Hanley, Buehrle, Badenhop

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The Marlins non-tendered Clay Hensley and traded Burke Badenhop last night, eliminating any doubt that their bullpen will look considerably different in 2012. Here are some more notes on the Marlins, one of the most aggressive spenders in baseball so far this offseason…

  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports suggests the Marlins should trade Hanley Ramirez and considers possible suitors such as the Mariners, Tigers and Giants.
  • Rosenthal also notes that the Mariners are having trouble luring free agents to Seattle and that the Tigers have shown a willingness to move Jacob Turner in the right deal.
  • Mark Buehrle's backloaded deal with the Marlins will act as a no-trade clause of sorts, according to Rosenthal (Twitter links). The left-hander will earn $6MM in 2012, $11MM in 2013, $18MM in 2014 and $19MM in 2015. The deal also includes a $4MM signing bonus that's deferred without interest.
  • Badenhop told Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post that the deal was “kind of nuts. I really wasn’t expecting that to say the least.” Badenhop was the last player remaining in Miami from the 2007 deal that sent Miguel Cabrera to Detroit.

American League Non-Tenders

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Today's American League non-tenders are below, but you can keep track of all teams in our non-tender tracker.

  • The Mariners announced that they non-tendered Dan Cortes and Chris Gimenez.
  • The Orioles announced that they non-tendered Willie Eyre, the right-handed reliever who was designated for assignment last week. They non-tendered Jo-Jo Reyes, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). The Orioles also non-tendered Luke Scott, tweets Connolly. Scott, who battled a shoulder injury in 2011 and underwent surgery this summer, projected to earn $6MM through arbitration. 
  • The Rays non-tendered Andy Sonnanstine, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (Twitter link).
  • The Rangers non-tendered right-hander Fabio Castillo, according to Anthony Andro of FOXSportsSouthwest.com (Twitter link).
  • The Red Sox announced that they non-tendered Rich Hill.
  • The Royals announced that they will non-tender left-hander Aaron Laffey.
  • The Twins announced that they've non-tendered left-hander Jose Mijares (Twitter link).
  • The Tigers non-tendered second baseman Will Rhymes, announced the team.  Rhymes is not yet close to being arbitration eligible, as he has less than one year of big league service time.  Rhymes, 28, hit .306/.377/.390 at Triple-A this year.

Brewers Will Not Bid On Prince Fielder

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Albert Pujols is off the board with a $254MM contract from the Angels, but Scott Boras is going to let the Prince Fielder market simmer this month.  The latest:

  • GM Doug Melvin confirmed to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the Brewers are out on Fielder (Twitter link). "I think Scott [Boras] understands that," Melvin told Haudricourt.
  • The Cubs are definitely in the mix for Fielder, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.  He adds that the Mariners are trying and the Blue Jays and Rangers are "among teams showing interest and thinking hard about it."  At the Winter Meetings, Rangers president Nolan Ryan told reporters his team is not in on Fielder.
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