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Rays Looking For Big Bat

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Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times says the Rays are still in the market for an impact bat, likely to be their designated hitter. While it appears the Cubs are confident they’ll land Milton Bradley, that still leaves Jason Giambi, Pat Burrell, Garrett Anderson, and Bobby Abreu. The Rays have already added to their outfield by acquiring Matt Joyce, so whoever they sign will most likely need to be onboard with playing DH.

Smith also notes that 25 year old Fernando Perez "is playing well in the Venezuelan winter league, hitting .301 with two homers and seven RBIs" possibly giving the Rays even further depth at outfield.

Olney’s Latest: Lowe, Castillo, Hudson

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Buster Olney focuses his new column on reluctant-to-spend teams and how they’ve changed the market. He turns up some interesting rumors…

  • The Rays and A’s are in a "bidding war" of sorts over the likes of Jason Giambi, Pat Burrell, Garret Anderson and Bobby Abreu. Both teams are willing to spend, but neither wants to go first since prices are higher now with both teams interested than they will be once the first team signs a player.
  • The Mets are in a great position since the Cards and Brewers aren’t likely to compete for Oliver Perez, Derek Lowe and Randy Wolf. This means they can wait, knowing that bargains will likely surface.
  • The Mets have "quietly continued to gauge" the Luis Castillo market and are interested in moving him and some of his salary.
  • If they find a taker, they could pursue Orlando Hudson.
  • As Joel Sherman predicted, the Nationals are now courting O-Dog.
  • Olney asks whether aging stars like Ken Griffey Jr. and Pedro Martinez will choose to play for the offers they’re likely to get.
  • Brad Penny may soon decide where he wants to pitch next year. He’s weighing "an overture from the Cardinals" against other options.

Rays Sign Joe Nelson

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4:18pm: Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times has a post up about the signing. He writes that Nelson gives the Rays another closer option, just in case Troy Percival isn’t ready to go following his back surgery.

Topkin, who states about 20 teams had interest in Nelson, adds the deal is pending a physical.

2:36pm: Right-handed reliever Joe Nelson has signed with the Tampa Bay Rays, Clark Spencer of The Miami Herald is reporting. It’s a one-year deal worth $1.3MM.

Nelson, 34, was with the Marlins last season.

Trading Partners For The Yankees

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Reports are all over the place about the Yankees being too stocked with corner outfielders. The four names that continue to surface are Xavier Nady, Hideki Matsui, Nick Swisher and Johnny Damon. Here’s a list of stories about potential trading partners:

Rosenthal’s Latest: Bradley, Burrell, Dunn

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Ken Rosenthal filed a new column earlier today.

  • The Angels are lukewarm on Manny Ramirez, and for now are talking about filling their lineup with internal candidates.
  • Kevin Towers says that if the Jake Peavy sweepstakes heats back up, "nobody is going to know it."  Rosenthal discusses the chances of the Angels or Cubs.
  • Mark Teixeira is "almost certain" to get an escape clause in his deal.
  • The Cubs are confident about signing Milton Bradley, but the Rays, Yankees, and Nationals are interested too.
  • Rosenthal looks at possibilities for Pat Burrell, discussing the Rays, Mariners, Rangers, and Reds.
  • The Brewers expressed interest in Adam Dunn as they were mulling a Mike Cameron trade (Corey Hart would’ve played center).
  • Bobby Abreu "remains in touch with the Yankees."  Surprisingly to hear, as the two sides reportedly had not spoken for quite a while.
  • The Rangers would like to move some salary, with Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, and Hank Blalock the candidates.
  • The Royals like Jerry Hairston Jr., but don’t have the money to sign him.

Rays In Joe Nelson’s Top Five

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According to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, the Rays are among the top five choices of free agent reliever Joe Nelson.

Since being non-tendered by the Marlins, 19 teams inquired on Nelson.  Among them: the Rays, Indians, Royals, Cardinals, Red Sox, Braves, and Mets.  Nelson hopes to sign before Christmas.  The Indians are known to be in Nelson’s "fave four" and have made an offer.

Brewers Not Close To Looper Deal

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5:41pm: Brewers GM Doug Melvin confirmed interest in Looper but denied that they’re close to a deal.  Melvin would not say whether the Brewers made an offer, but suggested Looper and the Brewers’ other targets want multiyear deals.

10:28am: In the "Etc." section of his Sunday update, Nick Cafardo has some updated information on a few free agents, as well as some potential trades.

  • Updating a key part of the back-of-the-rotation market, Cafardo says Braden Looper is "close to signing with the Brewers."
  • The Diamondbacks and Red Sox may soon revisit the possibility of an Eric Byrnes trade. Such a deal would likely be made more enticing for the Sox if Miguel Montero were somehow included.
  • The Red Sox would really rather not move Clay Buchholz for a catcher, even if that catcher were Jarrod Saltalamacchia or Taylor Teagarden of the Texas Rangers. However, Daniel Bard may be in play for a potential deal with Texas.
  • The Reds, Indians, Pirates and Giants are all in the mix for Ty Wigginton. Back on Dec. 18, we had a Wigginton update in an Odds and Ends post that said the player was not interested in returning to Pittsburgh.

Other topics of note (found on page 5 of Cafardo’s article) include the Tampa Bay Rays’ plan for a DH upgrade, as well as some notes on Derek Lowe and Manny Ramirez.

Alex Walsh can be reached at alexander.walsh@gmail.com.

Heyman: Burrell A Fit For Tampa Bay

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Jon Heyman calls a potential Pat Burrell signing by the Tampa Bay Rays a "real possibility," in his latest blog post. Heyman says Burrell would be signed as a designated hitter.

Other free agents on the Rays’ short list include Bobby Abreu, Jason Giambi, Milton Bradley, Garrett Anderson and Ken Griffey Jr., according to the update. The Rays are focused on upgrading their offense this offseason.

Alex Walsh can be reached at alexander.walsh@gmail.com.

Odds and Ends: Redding, Turnbow, Looper

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Links for Saturday…

  • RotoAuthority looks at projections for Chris Davis.  35 home runs next year?
  • Bill Madden suggests Paul Kinzer screwed up in both the Rafael Furcal and Francisco Rodriguez negotiations.
  • More details on Dan Johnson – the Rays are selling him to a Japanese team for $100,000-500,000.
  • Tim Redding’s agent says "the Mets are very much in the mix" for the righty.
  • Juan C. Rodriguez confirms the Marlins’ interest in Derrick Turnbow, but says they aren’t going after Ray King.
  • The Rockies could pursue Braden Looper.
  • The Orioles have expressed interest in Phillies catcher Chris Coste.
  • New National Josh Willingham likes the Marlins’ young talent.
  • New Phillie Raul Ibanez likes the chances that the Mariners will have a better offense in 2009.
  • The AP has details on the perks in the C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett deals.
  • Ken Davidoff looks at the impact Mark Teixeira’s decision will have on six teams. Amazing how one deal will shape so many teams’ plans.
  • Buster Olney writes that many players are going to make much less than expected in 2009, including Manny Ramirez.  In that same blog post, Olney notes that his colleague Jerry Crasnick says the Angels’ signing of Juan Rivera takes them out of the market for Manny.
  • The D’Backs’ discussions for Tony Clark are progressing.
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