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Stark On Greinke, Manny, Dunn, Swisher

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The latest from ESPN’s Jayson Stark…

  • The Cubs’ ownership situation is not close to the finish line, which is one reason the team won’t be acquiring Jake Peavy anytime soon.
  • One source of Stark’s suggested Zack Greinke nearly left his current agent John Courtright of SFX for Scott Boras, a whisper I’d heard as well.  But now Greinke is happy with his contract and agent.
  • Free agents such as Manny Ramirez and Ivan Rodriguez could reasonably wait until March to sign.  Not a bad thing for this website!
  • Adam Dunn would like Manny to sign earlier, as he’s waiting to see what the Dodgers (his preferred team) do.  The Nationals have been Dunn’s most aggressive suitor, the Orioles have mild interest, and the Braves have backed off.
  • Stark questions the idea of talks for Manny heating up lately, since the Mets, Yankees, and Angels are out and the Giants are only conditionally interested.
  • When Alex Rodriguez was a free agent last winter, Joe Torre advised the Dodgers against signing him.
  • The Phillies would like to move Geoff Jenkins for a right-handed hitting outfielder, but Jenkins is paid too much.  Jay Payton and Emil Brown are not on the Phillies’ radar; they still like Nomar Garciaparra.
  • The Yankees are apparently "softening to the idea of trading Nick Swisher," with the Braves the top suitor.

Odds and Ends: Lohse, Reyes, Greinke, Howard

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Links for Tuesday…

  • Chat today, 2pm CST.
  • Rangers president Nolan Ryan called the Winter Meetings "a big waste of money and time."
  • Nationals GM Jim Bowden implied that a Tom Glavine signing is unlikely.
  • Kyle Lohse feels the pain of all the unsigned free agents; he didn’t sign until March 14th last year.  Lohse said he "put a lot of pressure on all parties" to get his four-year, $41MM extension done on September 29th.  Given that it wasn’t on the open market, Scott Boras did well for Lohse.
  • The Dodgers prefer Dennys Reyes over Luis Ayala, says Ken Gurnick.
  • Joe Posnanski loves the Zack Greinke signing.  Sam Mellinger says the Royals and fans are no longer allowed to complain about baseball’s financial structure.
  • Maury Brown leans slightly toward Ryan Howard winning his arbitration case.  I think the Phillies will prevail.
  • Brandon Lyon turned down more lucrative offers for a chance to close in Detroit.  ESPN’s Keith Law likes the Tigers’ signing, in part due to Jim Leyland’s track record with relievers.
  • The Marlins seem to prefer the trade market, if they are to add a catcher.
  • Joe Nathan knows his $47MM extension signed in March of ’08 is looking pretty good right now.

Minor League Transactions

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Always good to check out the recent minor league transactions over at Baseball America.  A few notables: the Dodgers signed knuckleballer Charlie Haeger (with the Charlie Hough seal of approval three years ago), and the Nationals signed reliever Gary Glover.  Another small move: the Pirates claimed pitcher Virgil Vasquez off waivers from the Padres.

Nationals Rumors: Zimmerman, Dunn, Bowden

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Chico Harlan of the Washington Post has all kinds of observations from NatsFest.

  • Nationals president Stan Kasten expressed his distaste for free agent pitching contracts, but might consider it if the team is closer to contention.
  • A quote from Kasten regarding the Ryan Zimmerman extension talks: "I know it’s just a coincidence that [Zimmerman and Ryan Howard] have the same agent who doesn’t seem to like to do long-term contracts before free agency."  That’s a reference to Casey Close.  Currently the two sides have a $1.15MM gap on Zimmerman’s ’09 salary.
  • Zimmerman is friends with Adam Dunn, who would love to play for the Nationals.
  • GM Jim Bowden expects the free agent market to get moving within the next ten days.  Bowden still hopes to add a left-handed middle of the order bat as well as starting pitching.

Glavine Shows Interest In Nationals

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According to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson, Tom Glavine would be interested in signing with the Nationals if he is unable to reach an agreement with the Braves for the 2009 season. A source close to Glavine says that the lefty is close to Washington’s team president Stan Kasten, who was with the Braves from from 1987 to 2002.

Though the Nationals would rather sign young players to long-term deals, the 42-year-old could serve as a mentor to Washington southpaws John Lannan and Scott Olsen.

In just 13 games with the Braves last season, Glavine went 2-4 with a 5.54 ERA.

Padres, Nats Interested In Ohman

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According to ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick the Nationals and Padres are among the teams interested in Will Ohman. Both teams are "bottom fishing," and are considered secondary options for the lefty reliever.

Ohman hoped for a deal similar to the ones signed by Jeremy Affeldt ($8MM, two years) and Damaso Marte ($12MM, three years). He’s generated lots of interest and has a new contract offer from an unnamed team.

Crasnick mentions the Dodgers and Mets as potential suitors for Ohman, and the D’Backs, Orioles, Rangers, Indians, Rays and Braves have all reportedly had interest in him.

Nationals Still Interested In Hudson, Dunn

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According to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson the Nationals still have interest in Orlando Hudson and Adam Dunn. So far both players’ demands have exceeded the Nats’ budget, but GM Jim Bowden said the team still has interest in acquiring free agent hitters.

The rotation, on the other hand, could enter Spring Training as is. The Nationals have no interest in Josh Fogg because they are content with a rotation of Collin Balester, Daniel Cabrera, John Lannan, Scott Olsen and Jordan Zimmermann. MASN reports that Bowden said he’s interested in adding "one or two more starting pitchers" if the circumstances are right.

Nationals Rumors: Zimmerman, Prospects

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Chico Harlan of the Washington Post came up with some Nationals rumors at their season ticket holder luncheon today.

  • Nationals GM Jim Bowden said he’s working on an extension with Ryan Zimmerman and is "optimistic that it will get done at some point." He mentioned Nick Markakis, Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia and Evan Longoria as reference points and said he has a "phenomenal" relationship with Zimmerman.
  • Bowden said prospect Jordan Zimmermann could be MLB ready and is in the running for a rotation spot.
  • Ross Detwiler could also have an impact on the Nats in 2009.
  • Bowden said the Nationals would have had to overpay to sign any major free agents this offseason.

Odds and Ends: Fogg, Jays, Red Sox, White Sox

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Links for Friday…

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