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Reds, Arredondo Avoid Arbitration

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11:02pm: The deal is worth $2MM over two years, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.

6:57pm: The Reds and reliever Jose Arredondo have avoided arbitration by agreeing to terms on a two-year contract, the team announced via Twitter.

Arredondo, a right-hander, was eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason as a Super Two, so he'll have two remaining years of arbitration eligibility after this deal expires. He's slated to hit free agency after the 2015 season.

Arredondo, 28 in March, rebounded with the Reds in 2011, his first season in Cincinnati, after missing the entire 2010 campaign due to Tommy John surgery. He burst onto the Major League scene in 2008 with the Angels, posting a 1.62 ERA in 61 innings for Anaheim.

For his career, the native Dominican has put up a 3.40 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 8.5 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 in 159 innings.

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com first reported the sides were nearing a two-year deal last week.

Quick Hits: Francis, Cespedes, CBA

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A few stray items to pass along as the night winds down …

  • Jeff Francis, who agreed to terms with the Reds on a minor league deal, can earn a base salary of $1.5MM if he makes the big league club, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. The deal could be worth as much as $3.25MM with incentives and includes a March 28 opt-out clause, reports Crasnick (Twitter links).
  • The Orioles remain interested in signing Yoenis Cespedes, according to Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun, and will send a contingent to further scout the Cuban free agent in next week's Carribean Series in the Dominican Republic.
  • Several general managers of small- and mid-market clubs are concerned the new labor agreement has furthered the divide between baseballs haves and have-nots, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com. In particular, the greater the number of teams that continue to shell out massive contracts, the more it encourages players on small-market clubs to refrain from signing extensions prior to free agency.
  • Brad Lidge told the Phillies he wanted to stay in Philly, tweets Jayson Stark of ESPN, but they apparently had no interest in retaining the right-hander. We heard earlier today that the Phils made a "lowball" offer to Lidge, who instead agreed to terms with the Nats.
  • MLBTR's Tim Dierkes appeared on Tuesday's BP Podcast with Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus. You can download the mp3 or listen through iTunes.

AL West Notes: Uehara, Ichiro, Manny, Cardenas

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A few items of note to share from the AL West …

  • There's a "good chance" the Rangers will trade reliever Koji Uehara, sources tell T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. On Tuesday we heard that Uehara vetoed an agreed-upon trade between the Rangers and Blue Jays, so it's not too surprising to hear that Texas is still shopping the right-hander. There are a number of teams interested in Uehara, according to Sullivan, and the Rangers "like what they are hearing" in terms of potential return.
  • The Mariners and Ichiro Suzuki have agreed to table extensions talks, perhaps till after the 2012 season, according to Larry Stone of the Seattle Times, meaning the 11-year veteran, who's spent his entire career to date with the M's, could enter free agency for the first time.
  • Athletics managing partner Lew Wolff said he would be OK with signing Manny Ramirez, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle, although the decision is ultimately up to GM Billy Beane (Twitter links). Said Wolff: "I wouldn't want to not have a player because he made a mistake and paid the price for it …"
  • The A's hope Adrian Cardenas clears waivers so they can retain him, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Cardenas was designated for assignment earlier today.

Minors Moves: De La Torre, Rohlinger

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A couple of minor league transactions to pass along. We'll add to this list if anything else comes in tonight …

  • The Indians announced they've signed right-hander Jose De La Torre and infielder Ryan Rohlinger to minor league contracts. De La Torre, 26, has struck out 277 batters in 265 2/3 career minor league innings. He's spent his career to date in the Mets farm system. Ry-Ro, 28, had cups of coffee with the Giants each of the past four seasons before moving on to the Rockies' organization last year.

Giants Agree To Sign Clay Hensley

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8:02pm: The contract is non-guaranteed, tweets Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, meaning Hensley will have to win a job in Spring Training.

7:34pm: The Giants have agreed to terms with reliever Clay Hensley on a Major League contract, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN, who adds the deal is worth $750K in base salary with an additional $300K at stake in incentives (Twitter links).

Hensley, 32, became a free agent when he was non-tendered by the Marlins in December. He was projected to earn $1.4MM in his second trip through arbitration, a price tag that Miami was apparently uncomfortable with.

In 466 1/3 career innings with the Padres and Marlins, the right-hander has posted a 3.94 ERA and 1.35 WHIP, spending some of that time as a starter. His best season out of the bullpen came in 2010 with the Fish, when he posted a strong 9.24 K/9, 3.48 BB/9 and 53.4% GB rate.

For all you trivia buffs, Hensley served up Barry Bonds' 755th career homer, which tied the slugger with Hank Aaron on the all-time leaderboard.

Mets Monitoring Outfield Market

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The Mets are "diligently monitoring" the market for left-handed-hitting outfielders such as Johnny Damon, Kosuke Fukudome, Rick Ankiel, Raul Ibanez and Juan Pierre, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. Crasnick adds that the surplus of players who fit that bill affords the cash-strapped Mets with some much-needed negotiating leverage (Twitter links).

Andres Torres is the Mets' projected starting center fielder, and he'll be flanked by Jason Bay in left and perhaps a platoon of Scott Hairston and Lucas Duda in right, so it's unclear as to what role one of the above-mentioned players would fill.

As our Transaction Tracker shows, it's been a pretty quiet offseason for the Mets, their most notable moves being the acquisitions of Torres and relievers Frank Francisco, Jon Rauch and Ramon Ramirez.

Tigers Notes: Prince, Cespedes, Pitching

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Here's the latest out of the Motor City regarding Prince Fielder's huge contract and some other items of note …

  • Contrary to many large, backloaded contracts, Fielder's nine-year deal is structured so that he'll earn $23MM in each of the first two years, and $24MM in each of the seven years thereafter, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN).
  • Fielder's deal also includes a limited no-trade clause, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
  • Fielder's agent, Scott Boras, told Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio that he did not receive an offer from the Tigers on Prince until after news broke of Victor Martinez's season-ending knee injury (Twitter link).
  • Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski said Detroit is "most likely" out of the running for free agent outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, although he cautioned that "you never can tell," tweets Jason Beck of MLB.com.
  • The Tigers might still sign another pitcher, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com, although it would likely be on a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training.

Gerardo Concepcion Close To Signing

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Cuban left-hander Gerardo Concepcion, an 18-year-old free agent, is very close to signing with a team, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com (story is in Spanish).

Concepcion's agent, Jaime Torres, tells Rojas that the lefty has offers from as many as 10 teams and could sign as soon as this weekend. Earlier this week, Torres said the Rangers, Yankees, Cubs and White Sox have expressed the most interest in Concepcion so far.

The Cuban defector recently established residency in Mexico and was declared eligible for free agency thereafter.

Red Sox Sign Aaron Cook

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The Red Sox have agreed to terms with right-hander Aaron Cook on a minor league contract. The deal is worth $1.5MM prorated if Cook is called up to the Major Leagues, according to Rob Bradford and Alex Speier of WEEI.com. Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reports that Cook, who has passed his physical, could earn an additional $2MM in incentives based on games started. Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com first reported the deal.

Cook, 33 next month, has spent his entire Major League career to date with the Rockies, posting a 4.53 ERA in 1,312 1/3 innings over parts of 10 seasons. His best work came during a four-year stretch from 2006-09, when he averaged 187 innings per season and recorded a 4.11 ERA. At his peak in 2008, Cook was worth as many as 4.7 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs.

The groundballer (57.4% career rate) battled injuries each of the past three seasons, however, with his 97 innings in 2011 marking his fewest since 2005. With Cook falling short of expecations the past couple seasons, the Rockies unsurprisingly declined his $11MM 2012 option in October, making him a free agent for the first time.

With the Red Sox, Cook will compete for a rotation spot, according to Rosenthal. If he's healthy and inducing wormburners, he could prove to be a valuable, low-cost addition for the Sox. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes included Cook among such candidates in a post last week.

Quick Hits: Rangers, Twins, Gio

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Some odds and ends as Sunday night winds down …

  • The Rangers can afford to sign both Yu Darvish and Prince Fielder, tweets Jim Bowden of ESPN.
  • The Twins had interest in signing relievers Dan Wheeler and Todd Coffey before inking Joel Zumaya, tweets Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities radio. Mackey adds he'd be surprised if the Twins closed the door entirely on signing either righty.
  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo said in a statement that the two club options included in Gio Gonzalez's extension were key to getting the deal done, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
  • The Rockies were not interested in signing Bartolo Colon, now of the A's, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
  • The Red Sox officially announced the signings of right-handers Aaron Cook and Justin Germano to minor league contracts, tweets Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal.

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