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Oscar Taveras Switches Agents

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One of the best prospects in baseball has new representation.  Cardinals outfield prospect Oscar Taveras has dropped agent Melvin Roman for Rob Plummer, MLBTR has learned.  It's a coup for Plummer, who now represents several of the game's best Dominican prospects, such as Miguel Sano of the Twins and Carlos Martinez, also of the Cardinals.

Taveras, 20, ascended to Double-A last year with great success.  Most prospect gurus rank him in their top three, and he's got a good shot at making his Major League debut in 2013.

For agency info on over 1,700 players, check out MLBTR's oft-updated agency database.  Agents: if you've got a 40-man roster player or top prospect whose representation is not correctly noted, we welcome corrections at mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.

Cardinals To Sign Ronny Cedeno

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3:53pm: The deal guarantees Cedeno $1.15MM and includes $850K in performance bonuses, Rosenthal reports (on Twitter).

2:55pm: The Cardinals have agreed to sign Ronny Cedeno to a one-year, Major League contract, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter).

Cedeno played for the Mets last year, appearing in 78 games, mostly as a middle infielder. The 29-year-old posted a .259/.332/.410 batting line in 186 plate appearances with New York. He earned $1.2MM, and has earned between $1-2MM in each of the last three seasons. Multiple teams expressed interest in Cedeno, but the identity of other interested teams remains unknown.

Rafael Furcal projects as St. Louis' starting shortstop, but he could miss the start of the season due to an elbow injury. Pete Kozma provides St. Louis with an internal alternative at the position.

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com first reported the Cardinals' interest and that the sides were nearing a deal.

Cardinals Designate Browning For Assignment

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The Cardinals designated left-hander Barret Browning for assignment, MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch reports (on Twitter). The move creates roster space for Ronny Cedeno, who agreed to sign a one-year deal with St. Louis.

Browning made his MLB debut in 2012, appearing in 22 games out of the bullpen for the Cardinals and posting a 5.12 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9. The 28-year-old spent much of the season at Triple-A, posting a 1.73 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 41 2/3 innings.

Cardinals Interested In Ronny Cedeno

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MONDAY: It appears that Cedeno is headed to the Cardinals, Heyman reports (on Twitter).

FRIDAY: The Cardinals are one of many teams interested in shortstop Ronny Cedeno, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. It's been a quiet offseason for Cedeno, at least based on recent reports.

Cedeno played for the Mets last year, appearing in 78 games, mostly as a middle infielder. The 29-year-old posted a .259/.332/.410 batting line in 186 plate appearances with New York. He earned $1.2MM, and has earned between $1-2MM in each of the last three seasons.

Rafael Furcal projects as St. Louis' starting shortstop, but he could miss the start of the season due to an elbow injury. Pete Kozma provides St. Louis with an internal alternative at the position.

NL Central Links: Kaepernick, Cubs, Rolen, Brewers

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Colin Kaepernick is on the verge of a Super Bowl championship with the 49ers but he could've been a Chicago Cub after being drafted in the 43rd round of the 2009 amateur draft.  ESPN Chicago's Bruce Levine has the story of how the Cubs took a flyer on Kaepernick, who reportedly had a 90-mph fastball as a right-handed pitching prospect. 

Here's the latest from the Cubs and elsewhere around the NL Central…

  • Theo Epstein feels his team has a greater need for young pitching than it does for position player prospects but that doesn't necessarily mean Chicago will choose a young arm with the second overall pick in June's amateur draft, the Cubs president told media (including CSNChicago.com's Patrick Mooney). "It’s interesting because in the history of the draft, the best bets up top are position players because of the uncertainty and the attrition and injury risk of pitchers," Epstein said.  "So those are pretty real trends over time. We’re going to take the best player available." 
  • The Reds hope to hear from Scott Rolen this week about the third baseman's playing future, GM Walt Jocketty told media (including Tom Groeschen of the Cincinnati Enquirer).  Rolen has been mulling retirement but has said that the Reds are his first choice if he does continue playing.
  • The Brewers have an internal budget of around $85MM for 2013, a significant drop from the team's record $101MM payroll from 2012, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes.  The drop has been attributed to management's desire to retain flexibility for future moves and an unwillingness to spend on what the Brewers felt was an overinflated pitching market.  Haudricourt hears from a source that the Brewers "lost several million dollars" in 2012.
  • With so many other NL teams making big moves this winter, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wonders if the Cardinals will be able to stay in contention after a relatively quiet offseason.

NL Central Notes: Ryan Braun, Chris Carpenter, Chat

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Here's the latest news and headlines out of the NL Central…

  • Brewers star outfielder Ryan Braun remains happy with his decision to commit his long-term future to Milwaukee after signing an extension nearly two years ago, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "I wouldn't change a thing," said Braun. "I love it in Milwaukee. It's amazing. I think the more time I've spent there, the more I realize how great a situation it really is."
  • Cardinals right-hander Chris Carpenter enters the 2013 season uncertain of whether this year will mark his final turn as a Major League baseball player, says B.J. Rains of FoxSportsMidwest.com. "If I'm healthy and I feel good at the end of the season and I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity to have a job, I'll sit down and talk to my wife and kids and see what they want to do."
  • MLBTR’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and Jason Martinez of MLB Depth Charts discussed the Delmon Young signing, the latest rumors and potential surprise teams on this week’s edition of the Rosters & Rumblings podcast earlier this evening. You can listen in here.

Quick Hits: Wells, Angels, Phillies, Wainwright

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The Angels' Vernon Wells has been a trade candidate for quite some time but a source tells Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com (on Twitter) that it is now "very likely" that he will start the season with the Halos.  Those odds have increased even more now that Delmon Young landed in Philadelphia.  Here's more from around baseball..

  • Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro told reporters that they plan to use Young as their starting right fielder, tweets Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  Young, who may not be available to start the season as he recovers from ankle surgery, has not played the position in six years.
  • Cardinals GM John Mozeliak says that he hopes to work out a new contract with Adam Wainwright by Opening Day, tweets ESPN.com's Jim Bowden.  For his part, the pitcher says that he isn't setting a deadline for talks.
  • The acquisition of Rafael Soriano caught Nationals reliever Tyler Clippard by surprise, but he isn't in a rut over not getting the chance to close in 2013, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com.

Cardinals, Jason Motte Agree To Two-Year Deal

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4:32pm: The deal is worth $12MM and includes performance bonuses, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter).

4:06pm: The Cardinals avoided arbitration with closer Jason Motte, agreeing to a two-year deal, the team announced (on Twitter). ACES represents Motte.

The agreement buys out Motte's two final years of arbitration, but won't delay his path to free agency. He still projects to hit the open market following the 2014 season. Motte had filed for a $5.5MM salary for 2013 and the Cardinals had countered with $4.5MM, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows. The 30-year-old set himself up for a raise from his 2012 salary of $1.95MM by posting a 2.75 ERA with 10.8 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and an NL-best 42 saves this past season.

The Cardinals have yet to resolve the arbitration cases for David Freese and Marc Rzepczynski.

Quick Hits: Beltran, Yanks, Marlins, Valverde

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MLBTradeRumors readers will be sure to note that longtime MLBTR writer Mike Axisa has become the newest contributor to the Eye on Baseball blog at CBSSports.com. Congrats to Mike, who started things off today with a look at the Yankees’ core pieces. As always, Mike’s latest piece is worth your time. Mike’s by-line won’t be appearing at MLBTR anymore, but Zach Links has become a full-time writer and he’ll be taking over the site’s Baseball Blogs Weigh In feature from now on. You can reach Zach here with your submissions: ZachBBWI@gmail.com.

Here are some links from around MLB…

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Cardinals Notes: Carlos Beltran, David Freese

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Cardinals legend Stan Musial died on the weekend at the age of 92, and the seven-time batting champion will be remembered as one of the best hitters of all-time. Here are some notes about the present-day Cardinals as they prepare for the 2013 season…

  • As Carlos Beltran enters the final season of his two-year contract, he’d like to know if he’s part of the club’s long-term plans, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. However, Beltran won’t try to accelerate talks unless the Cardinals want to do the same. “They don't really have to come to me, explain it to me,” Beltran said. “It depends how this year will go. We'll see what happens. I really love playing here.” Beltran will earn $13MM in 2013 before hitting free agency next offseason.
  • David Freese said he has decided not to discuss his contract talks publicly, Goold reports. The arbitration eligible third baseman asked for $3.75MM with the Cardinals countering at $2.4MM. He acknowledged that he’s aware of talks between the team and his agent, adding that he’d like to reach an agreement if possible. "If you can get it done, the quicker the better." CAA represents Freese, who’s arb eligible for the first time this winter.
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