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Cafardo’s Latest: Uggla, Pavano, Matsuzaka, Ellsbury

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In today's column, Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe asked ten baseball people to select the ten most significant moves/non-moves of the offseason. Unsurprisingly, Adrian Gonzalez, Zack Greinke, Carl Crawford, and Cliff Lee topped the list. Here are the rest of Cafardo's rumors…

  • Talks between the Braves and Dan Uggla have slowed because he's seeking more money, but an extension should get done during the first week of January. Cafardo reported that the two sides were close to a five-year deal worth $60-61MM about two weeks ago.
  • The Orioles still have interest in Kevin Gregg and the Red Sox still have interest in Brian Fuentes, but other free agent relievers like Rafael Soriano, Grant Balfour, Octavio Dotel, Aaron Heilman, Manny Delcarmen, Hideki Okajima and Jon Rauch remain in limbo.
  • Carl Pavano is holding out for three years, with the Nationals, Twins, and Rangers still showing interest. Cafardo adds the Mariners to the mix, with the caveat that they free up some money first.
  • The teams considering Pavano could also turn to Joe Blanton, who would certainly come cheaper.
  • The Red Sox "haven’t heard anything close to the value they would need in return" for Daisuke Matsuzaka.
  • The Angels and several other teams made a run at Jacoby Ellsbury this offseason, but the Sox "never heard any offer resembling proper value."
  • Cafardo wonders if Adrian Beltre is looking at a much smaller payday than originally anticipated. Last we heard, the Angels pulled their five-year, $70MM offer to the third baseman, but they remain in the mix to sign him.
  • David Aardsma is still trade bait and the Mariners wouldn't mind moving him for starting pitching depth. Earlier this week we heard Seattle wanted an impact bat for its closer.

Mariners Seek Impact Bat For Aardsma

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The Mariners are looking for an "impact bat" in exchange for closer David Aardsma, according to MLB.com's Thomas Harding. As Troy Renck of the Denver Post reported last week, Aardsma doesn't appear to be a fit with the Rockies, who believe the Mariners are asking for too much. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that the Mariners are looking to trade Aardsma, who turns 29 next week.

Aardsma will earn a raise from his 2010 salary of $2.75MM when he and the Mariners determine his upcoming salary through the arbitration process. The reliever has posted high strikeout, walk and save totals since joining the Mariners and 2010 was no exception. In 49 2/3 innings last year, he posted a 3.44 ERA with 8.9 K/9, 4.5 BB/9 and 31 saves. Aardsma may have seen his trade value jump because of the rising cost of free agent relievers, as as MLBTR's Mike Axisa explains here.

The Rockies are considering a number of alternatives, including Grant Balfour, Todd Coffey, Jon Rauch, Chad Qualls and Joe Beimel. GM Dan O'Dowd told Harding that he would sign certain relievers to multiyear deals, but would generally prefer to make short-term commitments.

Teams have handed out 12 multiyear deals to relievers so far this winter, as MLBTR's Transaction Tracker shows.

Padres Acquire Rob Johnson

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The Padres acquired catcher Rob Johnson from the Mariners for a player to be named later or cash considerations, according to the team.  Johnson had been designated for assignment on December 13th to create a spot for Jack Cust.  He'll serve as Nick Hundley's backup in San Diego, presumably.  The Padres now have 38 players on their 40-man roster.

Johnson, 27, has a .200/.282/.302 line in parts of four seasons with the Mariners.  Last offseason, he underwent labrum surgery on both hips and had left wrist surgery. Johnson appeared in 61 games in 2010, batting .191/.293/.281 in 209 plate appearances. He threw out 35% of would-be base stealers, a career high (he has a 30% career mark).  In their 2009 Handbook, Baseball America called Johnson the best defensive catcher in the Mariners' farm system.

Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.

Heyman On Padres, Fuentes, Blanton, Greinke

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The offseason has been full of surprises and, as Jon Heyman of SI.com points out, we know a relatively small amount about the top remaining free agents. It appears that the A’s, Angels and Rangers have some interest in Adrian Beltre, but that's about all we know about him and it's more than we know about Rafael Soriano. Here are the rest of Heyman's rumors:

Rockies Looking At Aardsma, Balfour, Coffey

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The Rockies have spoken to the Mariners about a possible David Aardsma trade, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter link).  Colorado has also shown interest in right-handers Grant Balfour and Todd Coffey, though Renck tweets that Balfour would have to be acquired in a "sign-and-trade" arrangment since the Rockies don't want to lose their first round draft pick as compensation for signing the Type A free agent.

Aardsma, who is known to be on the market, would be used in a set-up role with the Rockies since Huston Street is established as Colorado's closer.  Balfour's Type-A status isn't the only hindrance to a possible signing, as he reportedly wants a three-year contract.  The Rockies may be hesitant to give a middle reliever that kind of long-term commitment, though Joaquin Benoit, Jesse Crain, Scott Downs and Matt Guerrier have all signed three-year deals this winter.

Coffey, non-tendered by the Brewers earlier this month, comes with the smallest price tag but is also coming off the least-accomplished season (4.76 ERA, 9.4 H/9 rate) of the three pitchers.  Renck adds that Colorado's "wish list" also includes Jon Rauch and Chad Qualls (Twitter link).

Odds & Ends: Nady, Rangers, Felix, Gregg

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Eight years ago today, the Twins released David Ortiz. He has since hit 291 regular season homers and 12 more in the playoffs, all for the Red Sox. Here are today's links…

Mariners Looking To Trade David Aardsma

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The Mariners are trying to trade David Aardsma, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. As Rosenthal points out, the reliever will earn a raise from his 2010 salary of $2.75MM when he and the Mariners determine his upcoming salary through the arbitration process.

The Red Sox have missed out on a number of free agent relievers, so it would not be surprising to see them try to reacquire Aardsma, who turns 29 later this month. Kevin Gregg, who has drawn interest from a number of clubs, such as the Orioles and Red Sox, is among the possible replacements for Aardsma, Rosenthal reports.

Like Gregg, Aardsma generally posts high strikeout, walk and save totals. In 49 2/3 innings last year, he posted a 3.44 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9. Aardsma has likely seen his trade value jump because of the rising cost of free agent relievers, as MLBTR's Mike Axisa explains here.

Odds & Ends: Lee, Zambrano, Werth, Mets, Uehara

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Baseball lost one of its all-time greats tonight; Bob Feller passed away at 92. Rapid Robert won 266 games in his career, every single one of them with the Cleveland Indians. He probably would have cleared the 300 win plateau if he hadn't served in World War II from ages 23-25. Our condolences go out to the Hall of Famer's family…

Yankees Rumors: Pettitte, Lefty Relievers, Lee, Martin

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The latest on the Yankees:

  • Andy Pettitte is likely to return because his family supports it, tweets SI.com's Jon Heyman. The lefty will not take a "lowball" offer, however.
  • The Yankees "seem to be looking" at lefty relievers at the moment, says SI.com's Jon Heyman. He lists Arthur Rhodes, Brian Fuentes, and Pedro Feliciano in his tweet.
  • Darek Braunecker, agent for Cliff Lee, told reporters "The fact of the matter is, there's nothing the Yankees could have done differently" at today's introductory press conference according to Marc Carig of The Star Ledger. MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez adds this (via Twitter) from Lee himself: "There wasn't anything that scared me away from playing in New York."
  • Russell Martin's contract guarantees him $4MM and the catcher could earn another $1.4MM in incentives, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times. If Martin catches 120 games, he'll earn the full $1.4MM in incentives.
  • The Yankees expect Andy Pettitte to tell them whether he intends to retire within a few days, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link). They're cautiously optimistic that he'll return.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Yankees will be a deeper, less top-heavy team without Cliff Lee. Expect the Yankees to sign a couple relievers and an outfielder who bats from the right side as they continue to monitor the market for starting pitching.
  • So which starters might the Yankees pursue? In a separate piece, Sherman says the Yankees don't like Brandon Webb all that much. However, they will consider pursuing a veteran with "good stuff but questionable health." 
  • Bill Madden of the New York Daily News says Carlos Zambrano is a "likely target" for GM Brian Cashman. Like new addition Mark Prior, Zambrano knows Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild from their time in Chicago.
  • The Yankees are believed to be on Felix Hernandez's no-trade list, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link).

Relievers On Boston’s Radar

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4:23pm: The Red Sox are having ongoing discussions with Dan Wheeler about a possible deal, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. One of Speier's sources is optimistic about the negotiations.

1:16pm: The Red Sox liked Matt Guerrier well enough to offer him a two-year deal, but the Dodgers offered a third guaranteed year and the right-hander has agreed to play for Los Angeles. The Red Sox will have to move on to other targets as they look to round out their 'pen. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has the details on what he says is the biggest challenge of the offseason for GM Theo Epstein.

Two former Twins, right-hander Jesse Crain and left-hander Brian Fuentes are the team’s priorities now. The Red Sox are also considering trades and would “love” to reacquire Justin Masterson, according to Cafardo. The Indians have been reluctant to part with Masterson, whom they acquired in the 2009 Victor Martinez trade.

There are a number of alternatives for Epstein to pursue, including Indians relievers Joe Smith and Rafael Perez, who “could be on Boston’s radar.” The A’s are likely willing to listen on their relievers and the Mariners would listen on David Aardsma, Cafardo writes.

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