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Mariners Sign Chris Woodward

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The Mariners have signed utility player Chris Woodward to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training according to a team press release. 

Woodward, 33, played in 20 games for Seattle last season before being claimed off waivers by the Red Sox in August. Overall, Woodward is a .242/.298/.369 career hitter in the big leagues, and has played every position except pitcher and catcher with varying degrees of success. 

Heyman On Damon, Tejada, Pineiro, Molina

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The latest from SI's Jon Heyman…

  • Heyman believes the Yankees would not go beyond one year and $6MM to re-sign Johnny Damon.  On MLB Home Plate Boras said Damon "would just have to move forward," while not faulting the Yankees for sticking to a budget.  Heyman suggests four alternatives for Damon: the Giants, Mariners, Braves, and Angels.  The Angels would be a tough fit barring a Juan Rivera trade, as their outfield and DH spots are full.  The problem with the Braves is that they're approaching their payroll limit.
  • Despite a report that the Cardinals probably can't afford Miguel Tejada, Heyman sees them as the best fit.  Heyman's $8MM idea seems too pricey though.
  • The Mets debated offering Joel Pineiro a two-year, $15MM Jason Marquis special, but at this point Pineiro seems to be seeking Randy Wolf's three-year, $29.75MM deal.  MetsBlog's Matthew Cerrone sees the team landing Jon Garland instead.
  • Heymans says the Mets "seem serious about sticking with an offer of one year and a vesting option" for Bengie Molina.  However, Cerrone "gets the feeling the Mets might have a two-year deal on the table."

Odds & Ends: Tigers, Pineiro, Padres, Giambi

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Here's a round-up of a few news items floating around the baseball world tonight….

  •  MLB.com's Jason Beck reports that Detroit might sit out the bidding for the few remaining closers on the market and instead hope that youngsters Ryan Perry, Daniel Schlereth or a healthy Joel Zumaya are able to pick up some saves.
  • Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated reports (via Twitter) that the Mets "have debated" the merits of offering Joel Pineiro a two-year contract, but Pineiro wants a deal akin to the three-year, $29.75MM contract that Randy Wolf signed with Milwaukee.
  • Corey Brock of MLB.com reports that the Padres will sign an experienced backup catcher "within a few weeks."
  • Dave Cameron of the U.S.S. Mariner blog isn't a big fan of Seattle's trade for Casey Kotchman.
  • The apparent lack of interest in free agent Jason Giambi means that there's a greater chance he ends up back in Colorado, reports MLB.com's Thomas Harding. 
  • With Boston's signing of Adrian Beltre, Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas thinks that the Rangers might have leverage to get a more favorable trade for Mike Lowell, should Texas still be interested.

Odds & Ends: Lowe, Tigers, Halladay, Capps

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Links for Monday…

  • MLB.com's Mark Bowman says the Braves made it known they were willing to eat $9MM of the $45MM owed to Derek Lowe over the next three years, but found no takers.
  • MLB.com's Jason Beck talked to Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski, who said nothing has changed in terms of using Scott Sizemore as the second baseman.  Beck points out that if the Tigers wanted a veteran at the position they probably would've offered Placido Polanco arbitration.
  • Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik told Murray Chass they he expressed interest in Roy Halladay a couple of times, before the trade deadline and at the Winter Meetings.  It sounds like Halladay's no-trade clause was an obstacle.
  • Chico Harlan of the Washington Post has a Q&A with new Nationals reliever Matt Capps, who agreed to a one-year, $3.5MM deal on Christmas Eve.  MLB.com's Bill Ladson tweets that Capps' physical is scheduled for Tuesday.
  • Baseball America's Jim Callis gives us a couple of prospect "All-Bust" teams for the 2000s.
  • MLB.com's Todd Zolecki notes that the Phillies have a minor league offer out to Scott Eyre.
  • MLB.com's Mark Sheldon talked to Reds GM Walt Jocketty, who will be looking at minor league deal possibilities.  Sheldon indicated that the Reds' interest in Noah Lowry is now less than minimal.
  • MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan fills us in on the Rangers' offseason plans and potential targets in his mailbag.
  • Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues would like to see the Yankees buy low on Oakland's Travis Buck.  Buck made our list of right field trade candidates back in November.

Odds & Ends: Bay, Byrd, Liriano, Duchscherer

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Some links on the last day of a year we'll remember for Joe Mauer, Albert Pujols and the World Series Champion New York Yankees…

  • Tigers catcher Gerald Laird and his younger brother Brandon Laird, a prospect in the Yankees farm system, were arrested following a brawl at the Celtics-Suns NBA game in Phoenix, Arizona, according to the Associated Press.  Gerald lives in Arizona during the offseason while Brandon played in the Arizona Fall League this past year.
  • Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (via his newly minted Twitter account) that Chan Ho Park's name has come up in the Giants' front office.
  • Alex Speier of WEEI.com hears that Jason Bay was indeed interested in joining the Mets. The two sides didn't go longer than a day without talking once negotiations got started. An interesting note: Speier hears that the Mets never offered Bay a guaranteed five-year deal.
  • Dave Cameron of FanGraphs considers Marlon Byrd an average player, but likes the Cubs' decision to sign him.
  • Cameron tweets that the Mariners are "kicking the tires" on Francisco Liriano.
  • Mike Lowell's thumb surgery was a success, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Lowell appears to be available, but health concerns may prevent the Red Sox from dealing the third baseman and some of his $12MM salary (the D'Backs face a similar challenge with Chris Snyder). 
  • Just because Lowell's still in Boston doesn't mean the Red Sox won't consider other third basemen. Adrian Beltre is one option and R.J. Anderson of FanGraphs doesn't think $10-15MM is an unfair asking price for the Scott Boras client. 
  • Justin Duchscherer tells Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he returned to the A's because he's comfortable in Oakland and appreciates the club's support through his struggles with depression. Slusser also has details on the incentives in the righty's contract. 
  • Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues wants the Yankees to stay away from free agent outfielder Marlon Byrd. 
  • Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Pirates' failure to sign Dominican prospect Miguel Angel Sano was one of the club's low points this year. As Kovacevic says, "not every signing can be an absolute steal."  

Olney On Gonzalez, Holliday, Dodgers

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney offers some storylines to look for in 2010 and turns up some rumors along the way. Here they are:

  • The Padres will, "in all likelihood," gauge the market for Adrian Gonzalez this summer and deal him before the July 31st trade deadline. The Mets, Mariners and Red Sox could all bid for the slugger, but the list of suitors could change drastically by mid-summer.
  • One GM expects the Mariners to consider offers for Felix Hernandez if they don't lock him up long-term. "They may seriously have to think about trading him," the GM said. Locking Felix up won't be cheap, either. As Olney notes, Hernandez could command C.C. Sabathia-type money ($161MM) if he were a free agent. Luckily for Mariners fans, Felix won't hit the open market until after the 2011 season at the earliest.
  • Olney says the Orioles offered Matt Holliday $70MM or so at one point before moving on. Here's a look at some other offers Holliday has received.
  • Executives tell Olney that the Dodgers' quiet offseason is giving other teams confidence and emboldening them to make more moves. 

Odds & Ends: Hudson, Wallace, Chapman

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A few notes as we head into the final day of 2009….

  • ESPN.com's Insider news page passes on some Orlando Hudson-related speculation from Buster Olney on the Mike And Mike In The Morning radio show.  Olney "wouldn't be surprised" if the Mariners got into the bidding for the veteran second baseman, adding that Hudson would "be a perfect fit in what they're doing" in Seattle.
  • Andrew Stoeten of the Drunk Jays Fans blog runs down some of the highlights of Keith Law's appearance on Toronto's FAN 590 station this afternoon.  Law opined on the type of free agents the Blue Jays should sign, said the Jays should focus on scouting and noted that if Brett Wallace wasn't going to be used at third base, "you can probably play him opening day." 
  • Chad Jennings of the LoHud.com Yankees blog says Aroldis Chapman "might be this winter’s most intriguing available player, period."  He brought up Chapman with Yankees senior vice-president of baseball operations Mark Newman, who said the Cuban left-hander would start the year in Single-A or Double-A if he signed with New York.  Newman was impressed by Chapman's workout session two weeks ago, but noted that Chapman is "not where (Stephen) Strasburg was."
  • Mike Lowell underwent surgery today to repair the injured right thumb that prevented him from being dealt to Texas.  Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports that Lowell had a 95-percent tear in his thumb's radial collateral ligament but is expected to be ready for spring training.  This latest surgery will almost surely, as Newsday's Ken Davidoff surmised last week, put an end to the Lowell trade rumors unless Lowell proves himself to be healthy in Grapefruit League action.

Odds & Ends: Mariners, Gomes, Holliday, Bay

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Links for Wednesday…

Jason Bay Reactions

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With an agreement in place between Jason Bay and the New York Mets, reactions to the deal are already starting to pour in….

  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post feels that the Mets will regret signing Bay within a few years.
  • Yahoo's Jeff Passan feels that Bay's money would've been better spent on John Lackey.
  • ESPN.com's Keith Law says that Bay's defense will dictate whether the contract is a good one or not, and argues that the Mets will need to make a few more moves to contend.
  • It may have taken a while to get done, but "all's well that ends well," writes Rob Neyer of ESPN.com.
  • Newsday's Ken Davidoff is on board with the deal, and hopes the Mets continue to stay financially responsible for the rest of the winter. This means going "nowhere near" Joel Pineiro at his current asking price, and not guaranteeing Bengie Molina two years (Davidoff suggests that reports of an imminent two-year deal for Molina are inaccurate).
  • Scott Lauber of The News Journal looks at what the move means for the Phillies, both as a division rival and as a club that will have their own free agent outfielder (Jayson Werth) next year.
  • Articles from Ian Browne of MLB.com and Ryan Divish of the Tacoma News Tribune examine the signing from Boston's and Seattle's perspectives, respectively.
  • R.J. Anderson of Fangraphs explains why, even if it's heavily backloaded, the Mets' offer was more financially appealing than one the Red Sox made earlier.

Odds & Ends: Thome, Chapman, Mariners

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Links for Tuesday, as we wait for the hot stove to reignite…

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