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Quick Hits: Aoki, Cuddyer, Buerhle, Sherrill, Quentin

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Some links to check out as we await tomorrow night's non-tender deadline..

  • As expected, the Yakult Swallows filed posting paperwork on outfielder Norichika Aoki Monday morning in Japan, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com.
  • Free agent Michael Cuddyer's decision will be huge news and could happen soon, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Morosi adds that the decision will have a big impact on the Twins' and Rockies' plans.
  • Chuck Garfien of CSNChicago.com spoke with Mark Buerhle who said that he hopes to return to the White Sox in some capacity after his four-year deal with Miami is through.  The veteran also said that the Sox didn't make him an offer after the Marlins put their deal on the table.
  • Free agent left-hander George Sherrill is drawing interest from the Royals, Phillies, Blue Jays, and Mariners, a source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).  The Rockies were also said to be targeting the veteran last week.
  • Even though the two sides were reportedly talking on Tuesday, the Red Sox aren't discussing a deal for Carlos Quentin with the White Sox, tweets Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald.  Earlier today we learned that Quentin has come up in talks with the Blue Jays, though those discussions have apparently cooled.
  • The Indians are in on all "non-[Prince] Fielder" bats, including Josh Willingham, but don't have much financial flexibility, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  The Tribe is after a right-handed bat and the club has been linked to Derrek Lee, Andruw Jones, and Mike Cameron among others.
  • Troy Renck of The Denver Post (via Twitter) doesn't see catcher Eliezer Alfonzo returning to the Rockies but could see the club going after someone like Jeff Mathis if he is non-tendered.  Mathis, 28, was shipped from the Angels to the Blue Jays on December 3rd for left-hander Brad Mills.
  • Craig Breslow, who was traded to the Diamondbacks along with starter Trevor Cahill on Friday, first heard of the deal via Twitter, not the A's front office, writes Katie Dowd of the San Francisco Chronicle.
  • Former Mets General Manager Steve Phillips likes the Astros' hire of Jeff Luhnow as GM and believes that he understands how to operate a small market team, writes Stephen Goff of Examiner.com.

White Sox, Jays Talked Quentin, Danks, Beckham

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2:42pm: Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star adds (via Twitter) that the two sides also discussed possible matchups for John Danks and Gordon Beckham, but in the end Toronto ended up settling on Santos "for now."

10:46am: The White Sox and Blue Jays have discussed a trade involving Carlos Quentin, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network. However, Heyman adds that talks appear to have cooled, as the White Sox are seeking other suitors.

With the White Sox looking to rebuild, Quentin is one of many veterans that could be had in the right deal this offseason. The Padres, Red Sox, and Orioles are among the teams reported to have had interest in the 29-year-old.

The Blue Jays and White Sox have already worked out one trade this offseason, swapping Sergio Santos and Nestor Molina during this week's Winter Meetings.

Quick Hits: Wilson, Jays, Rule 5, Pudge, Ekstrom

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Let's round up a few Winter Meetings leftovers…

Bidding For Yu Darvish Ends Wednesday

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6:22pm: The Nationals have interest in Darvish, writes Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. GM Mike Rizzo didn't divulge whether the Nats plan to bid, but his refusal to comment suggests to Kilgore that they will.

4:50pm: Now that Darvish has been posted, teams will have until 4:00pm CST on December 14th (four business days) to submit bids, tweets Buster Olney.

12:40pm: The Yankees are unsure about whether they'll bid on Darvish, tweets Buster Olney.  He considers their interest lukewarm.  I think everyone's playing coy at this stage; we'll see where the bids were when the dust settles.  By the way, Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski said this week he will not be bidding on Darvish, according to Jason Beck.

11:07am: The Dodgers won't be bidding on Darvish, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times, but A's assistant GM David Forst wouldn't rule it out in talking to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News hears the Rangers aren't willing to gamble $100MM on Darvish.  The Red Sox will discuss Darvish but feel pretty good about the front end of their rotation already, GM Ben Cherington told reporters.

4:56am: Following the announcement last night that the Nippon-Ham Fighters will post ace Yu Darvish, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports write that the Rangers, Blue Jays, and Yankees are all expected to bid on the Japanese righty. ESPN's Buster Olney also tweets that rival executives are expecting both the Rangers and Blue Jays to bid big Darvish, with the Rangers fueled by the expected loss of C.J. Wilson to the Angels or Marlins.

Rosenthal and Morosi write that the Red Sox could be a wild card for a big Darvish bid, as new manager Bobby Valentine, who saw Darvish first-hand many times as manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines from 2004-2009, is said to "love" the 25-year old. FOX's duo also note that both Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos and Rangers GM Jon Daniels saw Darvish pitch in Japan last season.

The posting period will last four days, and the winning team will have a 30-day exclusive negotation period with Darvish and his representatives Don Nomura and Arn Tellem. If a contract agreement cannot be reached between Darvish and the winning team, that team will be refunded the total of the posting fee.

Tim Dierkes and Luke Adams contributed to this post.

AL East Notes: Eyre, Jeroloman, Golson, Miller, Rays

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The Yankees, Red Sox, and the rest of the AL East have been overshadowed this morning by a big spender out west, but here's what's going on in the division:

  • The Orioles designated reliever Willie Eyre for assignment to make room on the roster for Dana Eveland, announced the team.  The 33-year-old would have been arbitration eligible.  The O's also announced second baseman Greg Miclat will go the Texas as the player to be named later in the Taylor Teagarden deal.
  • The Blue Jays have designated Brian Jeroloman for assignment, tweets MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm. The move clears a roster spot for the returning Kelly Johnson.
  • Greg Golson has been released by the Yankees, tweets MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. Having added two players in this morning's Rule 5 draft, the Yanks needed space on their roster, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
  • The Yankees are close to signing former Indians prospect Adam Miller to a minor league deal, tweets Sherman. Miller ranked among Baseball America's top 100 prospects for five straight years from 2005 to 2009.
  • The Rays are open-minded about listening to trade offers, even for players like James Shields or Jeremy Hellickson, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network. However, they'd need a very large return for their high-end pitchers.
  • Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal looks at a few Red Sox trade chips, as the team searches for pitching help.

Latest On Gio Gonzalez

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A dozen teams are in on Athletics lefty Gio Gonzalez, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.  The latest:

  • There are indications the Blue Jays and A's might add a third team to the discussions to try to find the right match for Gonzalez, writes Slusser.  The A's seek "at least two high-value prospects and a few mid-range prospects."

Ortiz, Kelly Johnson, Francisco Rodriguez Accept Arbitration

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Three free agents accepted arbitration at tonight's deadline: David Ortiz of the Red Sox, Kelly Johnson of the Blue Jays, and Francisco Rodriguez of the Brewers.  The trio is now off the market and under team control for 2012 at a salary to potentially be determined by the arbitration process.  For further details, check out MLBTR's free agent arbitration offer tracker, which allows you to filter by team, type, whether the player was offered, and whether he accepted.  

Ortiz, Johnson, and Rodriguez all probably could have found two-year deals on the open market, but they'll receive raises for 2012 by accepting arbitration.  Of the three, only Ortiz was inhibited by having a draft pick cost attached.

Kelly Johnson Accepts Arbitration

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11:08pm: Johnson has accepted arbitration, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

3:28pm: It sounds very likely Johnson will accept arbitration, tweets MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm.

2:31pm: There's a "good chance" Kelly Johnson returns, Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca.  The second baseman could accept Toronto's arbitration offer, or perhaps sign a multiyear deal.

Mets Listening On Niese, Others In Trade Talks

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The Mets are being aggressive at the Winter Meetings, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post, talking about everyone except David Wright. Among young players, the Mets are talking the most about Jonathon Niese rather than Davis, tweets Sherman. Niese, 25, is under team control through 2015 and could be an alternative for teams that find Oakland's asking price too high for Gio Gonzalez. Here are today's rumors on Niese and other Mets trade candidates, with the newest updates on top:

  • Teams have been inquiring about Mike Pelfrey as well, but the Mets were underwhelmed by the offers, tweets Martino.
  • The Mets would like a placeholder starter for their big league club in addition to a prospect for Niese, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post and Sherman (Twitter links). Sherman points to Jason Hammel as a possible match, though Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter) hears the Rockies haven't had discussions with the Mets.
  • The Red Sox aren't a match for Niese, says Alex Speier of WEEI.
  • The Padres aren't interested in Niese, a source tells Martino (Twitter link).
  • Andy Martino hears the Mets would have to get a lot if they were to trade Niese, and aren't close to anything. Two team officials that spoke to Martino don't expect a trade today (Twitter links). Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger adds, via Twitter, that the asking price for Daniel Murphy is also high.
  • The Blue Jays are also talking to the Mets about Niese, tweets Sherman. The Yankees have also called, but Sherman isn't sure how serious they are (Twitter link).
  • The Mets are hoping to get multiple pieces in return for Niese, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network. They're interested in adding a catcher, an infielder, and prospects.
  • The Red Sox have talked to the Mets and have interest in Niese, says Sherman.
  • The Padres and Rockies are among the teams interested in Niese, tweets Sherman.  The Padres could get in on Niese but have not engaged yet, adds Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

AL East Notes: Orioles, Red Sox, Crawford, Jays, Rays

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AL East updates:

  • Orioles GM Dan Duquette expects to make a deal or two tomorrow, according to Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com. The moves would likely be trades to obtain pitching, Ghiroli adds (Twitter links).
  • The Red Sox have no plans to try to trade Carl Crawford, writes WEEI's Alex Speier.
  • GM Ben Cherington and the Red Sox seem content to wait out the pitching market for bargains, says Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.
  • The Red Sox didn't have "substantive conversations" with Erik Bedard before the lefty signed with the Pirates, tweets Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald.
  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos says there's a "very select group" of players the team will consider in the Rule 5 draft tomorrow, according to Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com. The Jays will only clear a spot on their 40-man roster if they think they have a shot to acquire one of those players (all Twitter links).
  • Anthopoulos also said yesterday that he thinks the Blue Jays' ability to boost payroll has been "grossly exaggerated," writes Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. Team president Paul Beeston said the Jays could increase payroll to around $120MM eventually, but that they'd need to start drawing more fans first.
  • The Rays are still talking to free agents, but nothing is imminent, tweets Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. There may be mutual interest between Johnny Damon and the Rays for a reunion, tweets Newsday's Ken Davidoff.
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