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Minor Moves: James Skelton, Chris Seddon

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Here's where we'll keep track of today's minor moves…

  • The Nationals agreed to sign catcher James Skelton to a minor league deal, MLB.com's Bill Ladson tweets. The 26-year-old spent the 2011 season with Cincinnati's top affiliates, posting a .221/.360/.346 line in 174 plate appearances.
  • The Indians announced that they signed left-hander Chris Seddon to a minor league contract that inlcudes an invitation to Spring Training. The 28-year-old has MLB experience with the 2007 Marlins and the 2010 Mariners, but spent the 2011 season at the Triple-A level, where he posted a 6.27 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 149 1/3 innings of work. He'll enter Spring Training as a starter and at the moment it looks as though he'll provide depth at Triple-A, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.

Gammons On Fielder, Madson, Cook

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The relative inactivity of the Yankees and Red Sox on the market for expensive free agents has rendered this offseason a strange one, writes Peter Gammons of MLB.com. Both clubs are concerned about the luxury tax in both the short and long terms, one GM tells Gammons. Here are some other tidbits of note …

  • Gammons wonders whether there’s a fit for free agent Prince Fielder other than the Nationals: “Where is there a team with local media rights that Fielder could impact? And local media rights is what's driving the cars these days, as Albert Pujols knows.”
  • However, if the Rangers get a deal done with Yu Darvish, the "Fielder watch will come into focus," especially if the Nationals back off and Prince doesn’t want to play for the Mariners.
  • As for Ryan Madson, the race between the Angels and Rangers for supremacy in the AL West could re-shape the market for the free agent closer. Halos GM Jerry Dipoto, in particular, is keeping an eye on the right-hander to see if his price comes down.
  • The Red Sox are looking at lefty Paul Maholm, and they might be interested in Aaron Cook if the righty is amenable to signing a minor league deal with incentives. Cook has a history with new Boston pitching coach Bob McClure.
  • The Red Sox inked right-hander Carlos Silva in hopes of making him 2012’s Freddy Garcia, who was a nice value signing for the Yankees on a one-year, $1.5MM deal last season.

Quick Hits: Mariners, Indians, Strasburg

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Some afternoon links for a slow-moving Sunday…

  • The Mariners currently project as a 75-win team, writes Dave Cameron of the U.S.S. Mariner and Fangraphs. Cameron writes that assuming the team still has $15MM to spend, they could push themselves into the .500 range for the 2012 season. He looks at remaining free agents and presents three speculative offseason scenarios — one of which involves Prince Fielder.
  • Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer answers questions from Indians fans surrounding Matt LaPorta's trade value, potential free agent signings, Shelley Duncan's roster status, the health of Grady Sizemore, and more in this mailbag piece.
  • Pete Kerzel of MASNsports.com writes that Nationals fans should get used to the conservative approach for Stephen Strasburg, speculating an innings limit of 170 (based on how the team handled Jordan Zimmermann last year). He goes on to say that while GM Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Johnson may get creative to allow him to pitch into early September, they're both "big picture guys" who would probably shut Strasburg down before late September even things broke right and Washington reached the playoffs.

Nationals Notes: Ankiel, Rodriguez, Hernandez, Coffey

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Most of the current chatter surrounding the Nationals focuses on a certain free agent first baseman, but as Amanda Comak of the Washington Times explains, the team also seeks bench and bullpen help. Here are the details:

  • The Nationals haven’t ruled out bringing Rick Ankiel back, partly because they like his defense and influence in the clubhouse.
  • We shouldn’t expect the Nationals to re-sign Ivan Rodriguez or Livan Hernandez, Comak writes. The door has been ‘closed’ on Hernandez, as the team no longer has room on its roster or openings in its rotation.
  • There's a 50-50 chance free agent reliever Todd Coffey returns to the Nationals, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Ladson says the Brewers still have interest in Coffey, who has also drawn interest from the Angels and Mets.

Prince Fielder Rumors: Friday

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Nationals GM Mike Rizzo said yesterday that first base is “settled” in Washington, but acknowledged that Prince Fielder will make a major impact on his next team. The Nationals continue to be linked to Fielder, though they say they're content with Adam LaRoche at first base. Here's the latest on Fielder, with the most recent rumors up top:

  • The Rangers have “one eye” on Fielder, but locking up Yu Darvish remains their number one goal, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. If they sign Darvish, as expected, the chances of a deal with Fielder will drop.
  • In some corners of the Nationals organization, there’s “great skepticism” about a very long-term deal for Fielder, tweets ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. Owner Ted Lerner figures to have the final say in the matter.

Nationals, Rays, Padres Interested In Eric Chavez

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The Yankees aren’t the only team interested in free agent infielder Eric Chavez. The Nationals, Rays and Padres are among the other clubs interested in the Scott Leventhal client, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.

Chavez, 34, posted a .263/.320/.356 line in a reserve role for the Yankees last year, backing up at third and even appearing at first base. The Yankees, who failed to reach an agreement with Japanese infielder Hiroyuki Nakajima, have interest in re-signing the six-time Gold Glove winner. This is the first time the Nationals, Rays and Padres have been linked to Chavez this offseason.

Prince Fielder Rumors: Thursday

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Nationals GM Mike Rizzo says his position on Prince Fielder has not changed since the Winter Meetings, according to Amanda Comak of the Washington Times. Washington is committed to Adam LaRoche and first base is “settled,” the GM said. Rizzo acknowledged Fielder’s value, saying he’ll help any club he’s with, but pointed out that the Nationals are often bandied about as a possible suitor for unsigned Scott Boras clients. Here are the details on Fielder:

  • The Nationals appear to be “deep in the mix” for Fielder and as many as eight other teams are showing some level of interest, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
  • Some Marlins executives have said they aren’t going to pursue Fielder, but it appears some front office members are intrigued, according to Heyman.
  • The Cubs and Blue Jays don’t appear to be willing to offer more than five years, according to Heyman.
  • ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick previews what lies ahead for Boras’ many remaining unsigned clients, including the ‘PF Flyer.’ Crasnick says we can’t count out the Cubs, who are lingering on the fringe of the Fielder sweepstakes.
  • One GM called the Mariners a "darkhorse" for Fielder and suggested GM Jack Zduriencik may feel pressure to respond to splashy moves by the Rangers and Angels.

Olney On Fielder, Zambrano, Rays, Garza

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There’s been lots of buzz about a possible deal between Prince Fielder and the Nationals this week, so ESPN.com’s Buster Olney asked some talent evaluators about the impact the free agent first baseman would have in Washington. One evaluator says adding Fielder would make the Nationals “an immediate threat in the NL East” and another guesses Fielder would boost the organization's revenues. Here are the rest of Olney’s rumors, starting in the NL East:

  • Some Marlins people aren’t convinced Carlos Zambrano’s stuff is good enough for him to be a frontline pitcher again, Olney writes. However, the Miami front office believes he’s worth the risk at $2.5MM.
  • Olney wonders if the Rays have interest in Daniel Murphy of the Mets. The Rays need a first baseman and the 26-year-old posted a .320/.362/.448 line in 423 plate appearances last year while playing first, second, third and left field.
  • Many talent evaluators consider Matt Garza a middle-of-the-rotation starter, which may contribute to the gap between the Cubs’ asking price and what rival teams have been offering in trade talks, Olney writes.

Quick Hits: Fielder, Vazquez, Trumbo, Rockies

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Links for Thursday night, starting with a pair of notes on the offseason's top remaining free agent… 

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.
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