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Gerardo Concepcion Close To Free Agency

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18-year-old Cuban lefty Gerardo Concepcion has established residency in Mexico, agent Jaime Torres told Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportesLosAngeles.com.  He should be able to declare free agency and negotiate with Major League teams very soon.  The Yankees, Rangers, Cubs, White Sox, and Phillies are among the interested clubs, Rojas tweets.

Concepcion defected from Cuba during a tournament in the Netherlands last June, as did Aroldis Chapman.

Red Sox Still Interested In Gavin Floyd

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WEDNESDAY, 11:30am: The Red Sox are still showing interest in Floyd, tweets Morosi.

TUESDAY, 9:15am: We haven't heard a ton about righty Gavin Floyd lately, but the White Sox are still listening on the soon-to-be 29-year-old, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  White Sox GM Kenny Williams has traded Carlos Quentin, Sergio Santos, and Jason Frasor this winter, but he's held onto his starting pitching and even extended John Danks.

This winter top young starters Michael Pineda, Mat Latos, Gio Gonzalez, and Trevor Cahill have been traded, but all came with at least four years of team control.  Floyd and crosstown hurler Matt Garza are in the next tier along with Jair Jurrjens, with two years of control at higher prices.  Two years of Floyd will cost $16.5MM in salary plus prospects.  Floyd is capable of 30 starts and a sub-4.00 ERA, so he's still plenty valuable and may represent a more reasonable commitment than a four-year deal for Edwin Jackson.  The Yankees figure to be done rotation shopping, but the Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Pirates are potential fits in my opinion.

Quick Hits: White Sox, Guerrero, Gonzalez, Hart

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By this time tomorrow, we'll know whether the Rangers were able to work out a deal with Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish. In the meantime, here are tonight's links…

Minor Moves: Espino, Rockies, Reyes, Lebron

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The latest minor moves…

  • The White Sox have agreed to sign catcher Damaso Espino to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to MLB Spring Training, MLBTR has learned. The 28-year-old posted a .292/.347/.381 line in 224 plate appearances for the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate in 2011.
  • The Rockies announced that they signed infielder Brendan Harris and catcher Jose Gonzalez to minor league deals (Twitter link). Harris, 31, spent the 2011 season with the Orioles' top affiliate, where he posted a .225/.282/.331 line with ten home runs in 565 plate appearances. The seven-year veteran has MLB experience at all four infield positions.
  • The Indians announced that they signed infielder Argenis Reyes and right-hander Willy Lebron to minor league deals that don't include invitations to big league Spring Training. The club also confirmed the signing of infielder Chin-lung Hu to a minor league deal. Reyes started the 2011 season in indy ball then signed a minor league deal with the Indians in August. The 29-year-old has MLB experience with the Mets. Lebron, 32, posted a 3.02 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 65 2/3 innings in the upper levels of the Royals' system last year.

Yoenis Cespedes Talks Free Agency

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Yoenis Cespedes says the six teams with "more interest" in signing him are the Marlins, Cubs, White Sox, Orioles, Tigers and Indians, tweets Dionisio Soldevila of the Associated Press. The Cuban outfielder, who struck out in each of his three at bats in the Dominican Winter League last night, will likely become a free agent soon. Cespedes said he isn't worried that his performance in the Winter League will reduce his bargaining power, Soldevila tweets.

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears from people in the know that the Yankees, Phillies, Blue Jays, Rangers and Nationals also have some level of interest in Cespedes. Marlins president David Samson recently acknowledged that his team intends to make an aggressive run at Cespedes, who is represented by Adam Katz of Wasserman Media Group. 

International Deals: Silva, Martinez

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The latest international signings…

  • The Twins signed right-hander Mauricio Silva for $370K, Baseball America's Ben Badler reports. The 16-year-old Venezuela native had been considered one of the more promising Latin American pitching prospects to become eligible to sign last summer, Badler writes.
  • The White Sox signed Venezuelan right-hander Luis Martinez for $250K, Badler reported yesterday. Martinez, who turns 17 this month, can reach 92 mph on the radar gun and also throws a curveball and change-up, Badler reports. This marks the first major international signing for the White Sox since they hired Marco Paddy from the Blue Jays to oversee their Latin American scouting efforts.

Quick Hits: Danks, Mariners, Dodgers

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The Giants signed Aubrey Huff to a one-year, $3MM deal on this date in 2010. It turned out to be a tremendous move, as Huff posted a .290/.385/.506 line with 26 homers and the Giants won the World Series. Here are today's links…

  • MLB owners are expected to consider expanding the playoffs in 2012 at their upcoming meetings, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. MLB will "likely" expand the postseason in 2012 since commissioner Bud Selig favors the expanded format. In case you missed it, Selig is set to obtain a two-year extension.
  • John Danks will earn a salary of just $500K in 2012, but the White Sox will pay him a $7.5MM signing bonus between June and October of this year, MLB.com’s Scott Merkin tweets. The entire $8MM sum counts against Chicago’s payroll.
  • Nippon Professional Baseball commissioner Ryozo Kato discussed the possibility of a worldwide draft with Sponichi (via Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker). “Japanese baseball is not an American minor league,” he said. “We have to be tough about things to be tough about.”
  • Two agents say the Mariners claim to have just $3-4MM to spend on remaining offseason needs, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. One of those agents says the speculation linking Prince Fielder to Seattle is "extremely overblown.'' 
  • The court battle over the Dodgers’ TV rights has ended, Bill Shaikin of the LA Times tweets. The Dodgers agreed to honor their existing deal with Fox and Fox will put an end to related litigation.

Minor Moves: Jacobs, Gaudin, Delaney, Fields, Mather

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We'll keep track of today's minor moves right here..

  • The Pirates announced that they signed right-hander Logan Kensing to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training.  The 29-year-old spent the 2011 campaign with the Yankees' top affiliate after recovering from elbow surgery in 2010.
  • The Reds signed catchers Brian Esposito and Brian Peacock to minor league deals, tweets Matt Eddy of Baseball America.
  • The Tigers signed utility player Eric Patterson to a minor league deal, tweets Eddy.
  • The Mets signed right-hander Jeff Stevens and utility player Corey Wimberly to minor league deals, tweets Eddy.
  • The A's signed right-handers Travis Schlichting and Merkin Valdez and left-hander Fabio Castro to minor league deals, Eddy tweets.
  • The Yankees signed right-hander Adam Miller and outfielders Cole Garner and Dewayne Wise to minor league deals, Eddy tweets.
  • The Diamondbacks signed first baseman Mike Jacobs to a minor league deal, tweets Eddy.  Before playing, Jacobs still must serve a 50-game suspension for positive a HGH test in August.  He was cut by the Rockies following the test.
  • The Marlins picked up right-handers Chad Gaudin and Rob Delaney on minor league deals, Eddy tweets.  In nine big league seasons, Gaudin has a 4.63 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9.  Delaney spent most of 2011 with the Rays' Triple-A affiliate, posting a 1.86 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9.
  • The Dodgers signed third baseman Josh Fields, according to Goldstein (via Twitter).
  • The Cubs signed Joe Mather as Triple-A outfield insurance, according to Goldstein (via Twitter).  Mather spent 36 games on the Braves' major league roster in 2011.
  • The Nationals have signed right-hander Dan Cortes, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (via Twitter).
  • Speaking of the Braves, Atlanta released former Rangers draftee Marcus Lemon, Goldstein tweets.  Lemon was acquired in a March trade for a PTBNL.
  • P.J. Phillips, the younger brother of Brandon Phillips, agreed to a deal with the Reds, tweets Goldstein.  The younger Phillips' career never got going due to plate discipline issues.
  • The Blue Jays signed former Angels/Braves relief prospect Stephen Marek, Goldstein tweets.  The right-hander was outrighted by Atlanta in November and underwent Tommy John surgery in May.
  • The White Sox signed 2000 first-round pick Corey Smith, Goldstein tweets.  The 29-year-old has never reached the Majors.

Quick Hits: Blue Jays, Pena, Padres, White Sox, Braun

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Presenting the first edition of Quick Hits for 2012..

  • An interesting fact courtesy of Yahoo's Jeff Passan (via Twitter): Of the 23 teams to have spent money on free agents this offseason, the Red Sox rank 18th and the Yankees are tied for 19th.  Each team has spent $4.35MM and $4MM, respectively.
  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told Jason Frasor shortly after the trade that he's now satisfied with the look of his bullpen, writes Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com.  Frasor will join the recently-signed Darren Oliver and Sergio Santos, who Anthopoulos traded for in December.
  • The Blue Jays now have 40 men on the 40-man roster after acquiring Frasor, which means that the club will need to make another move in the coming days to create space for Oliver, Chisholm tweets.  The veteran agreed to a one-year deal with a club option for 2013 on Friday.
  • It's possible that Carlos Pena could be an option for the Indians, but the market for first baseman won't truly shake loose until Prince Fielder finds his new home, writes Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer.  Yesterday, just over 7% of MLBTR readers polled picked the Tribe as Pena's most likely destination while the Brewers won out with almost 20% of the vote.
  • The Padres shook things up yesterday when they traded for Carlos Quentin, but you can expect them to open the season with Orlando Hudson and Jason Bartlett in the middle infield, tweets Corey Brock of MLB.com.
  • Speaking of the Quentin deal, Dayan Viciedo is now expected to take over in right field for the White Sox, writes MLB.com's Scott Merkin.  The 22-year-old is entering the final season of the four-year, $10MM deal he signed in December of 2008.
  • An official familiar with the appeals process for banned substances told Tom Haudricourt of the Journal-Sentinel that he doesn't anticipate Ryan Braun winning his case against a 50-game suspension.  The source said that Braun's only options are to prove an error in the testing or say that the Brewers signed off on a treatment.  However, there are provisions in place to ensure accurate testing and the club never gave Braun the go-ahead to use any substance.
  • Fielder liked the idea of playing in Chicago because it's a reasonable distance from his Florida home and he has had success at Wrigley Field, writes Ken Davidoff of Newsday.  However, that no longer appears to be a possibility for the slugger as the Cubs are looking to rebuild.
http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/insider-albert-pujols-showed-he-s-human-1.3421208

Blue Jays Acquire Jason Frasor From White Sox

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The Blue Jays have acquired Jason Frasor from the White Sox in exchange for right-handed pitchers Myles Jaye and Daniel Webb, according to a press release.  Frasor, 34, returns to Toronto where he played his entire big league career before being traded to the White Sox mid-season.

The veteran right-hander had his $3.75MM club option exercised on October 31st.  It's possible that the White Sox picked up the option with the intention of dealing him this winter.  Frasor posted a 3.60 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 60 innings for the Blue Jays and White Sox in 2011.  He will join former teammate Sergio Santos, whom Toronto acquired in early December. 12966458

Jaye and Webb were not among the top 25 prospects in the Blue Jays' system, according to John Sickels of Minor League Ball.  Jaye, 20, was Toronto's 17th round pick in 2010 and made nine starts and four relief outings for the club's Appalachian League affiliate in 2011.   Webb, 22, spent the bulk of 2011 with Single-A Lansing where he posted a 5.59 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 12 starts and six relief appearances.

It appears that GM Ken Williams hasn't taken any time off to celebrate the New Year after trading Carlos Quentin to the Padres just over 24 hours ago.  By trading Frasor and the arbitration-eligible Quentin, the club has saved roughly $11.25MM in 2012. 

Frasor and starter Zach Stewart were shipped to Chicago prior to the trade deadline for starter Edwin Jackson and third baseman Mark Teahen.  Of course, the Blue Jays dealt Jackson to the Cardinals that very same day in order to land center fielder Colby Rasmus.

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