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Red Sox Interested In Anibal Sanchez, Hiroki Kuroda

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2:57pm: Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter) that the Red Sox have reached out to Hiroki Kuroda as well. The veteran right-hander is open to signing a one-year deal.

2:17pm: The Red Sox have interest in Anibal Sanchez, reports Michael Silverman of The Boston Herald. The team is also exploring trades for starting pitchers.

GM Ben Cherington was overseeing Boston's international scouting department when the team originally signed Sanchez out of Venezuela in 2001. The 28-year-old right-hander pitched to a 3.86 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 2.2 BB in 195 2/3 innings split between the Marlins and Tigers this year. Several other clubs have expressed interest in Sanchez as well, according to Silverman.

MLBTR's Tim Dierkes ranked Sanchez as the second best free agent pitcher (behind Zack Greinke) and fourth best free agent overall in his Top 50 Free Agents list.

Nationals Are “Open-Minded” In Search For Pitching

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Edwin Jackson is a free agent and John Lannan may be non-tendered, so the Nationals will be in the market for a starting pitcher this offseason. GM Mike Rizzo told Amanda Comak of The Washington Times that he isn't seeking one specific kind of starter and will instead be open minded.

"We want to get as qualified and impactful a starting pitcher as we can," said the GM. "We want to get as good of a starting pitcher as we possibly can. He may pitch fifth in our rotation but we don't necessarily want a No. 5-quality starter … I'm much more open-minded with it this year. It doesn't necessarily have to be a veteran, it doesn't have to necessarily need to be a fifth starter type of guy."

As our Free Agent Tracker shows, this winter's crop of free agent pitchers includes everything from an ace (Zack Greinke) to workhorses (Jeremy Guthrie, Ryan Dempster) to reclamation projects (Francisco Liriano, Scott Baker). The Nationals will have both Christian Garcia and Ryan Perry work as starters in camp, giving the team some internal options behind Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann, and Ross Detwiler.

Rangers Acquire Tommy Hottovy

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The Rangers have acquired Tommy Hottovy from the Royals for a player to be named later or cash considerations, the team announced (on Twitter). Kansas City designated the left-hander for assignment late last week.

Hottovy, 31, spent most of the season in the Triple-A Omaha bullpen. He posted a 2.52 ERA with 11.0 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 50 innings. Earlier today the Royals dealt Jeremy Jeffress, another Triple-A reliever who was removed from the 40-man roster last week, to the Blue Jays.

Mets Discussing R.A. Dickey In Trades

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1:25pm: Alderson acknowledged the trade talks and said he doesn't expect them to accelerate during the GM Meetings according to Martino, who heard from other executives that talks are just preliminary (Twitter link). Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter) that the Mets seek outfield and catcher help in a deal. They still haven't ruled out an extension either.

11:51am: Andy Martino of The New York Daily News says there is still "healthy internal debate" about Dickey within the organization and that nothing is final (Twitter links). They could look to act quickly if progress towards a contract extension is made, however.

11:34am: The Mets are showing little interest in signing R.A. Dickey to an extension and are discussing the knuckleballer in trades, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Earlier this morning Joel Sherman of The New York Post reported that there is still a significant gap in contract talks, so the team started to gauge trade interest.

Dickey, 38, is a finalist for the Cy Young Award after pitching to a 2.73 ERA this season. He led the NL in starts (33), innings (233 2/3), and strikeouts (230) while winning 20 games. The Mets exercised Dickey's club option after the season, so he'll earn $5MM next season before qualifying for free agency. Zack Greinke is the only ace-caliber pitcher on the free agent market, so GM Sandy Alderson has some leverage in trade talks even though Dickey is only under contract for one more year.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Uptons, Ellsbury, Myers, Garland

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Earlier today, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that the Mets were discussing R.A. Dickey in trades with other teams. He hears that the club has not made a "substantial (extension) offer" yet, and if they get the right trade offer they may just move on. Here are the rest of Rosenthal's rumors from the GM Meetings…

  • The Rays need B.J. Upton to reject his qualifying offer before making a serious run at his brother Justin. The elder Upton is drawing interest and figures to reject the offer by tomorrow's deadline.
  • The Tigers are a darkhorse for Justin since they could offer top third base prospect Nick Castellanos and others, including guys like Avisail Garcia, Rick Porcello, and Drew Smyly.
  • The Braves do not appear to be in serious pursuit of Upton.
  • The Red Sox continue to be disinclined to trade Jacoby Ellsbury and the chances of moving him are slim. GM Ben Cherington is the type to listen on all of his players, however.
  • Brett Myers is telling teams he wants to be a starter first, a closer second, and a setup man third.
  • Jon Garland, who has not pitched since July 2011 due to shoulder surgery, intends to make a comeback. He threw for 10-15 teams in September.

Blue Jays Designate Scott Maine For Assignment

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The Blue Jays have designated Scott Maine for assignment, the team announced. The move clears room on the 40-man roster for the recently-acquired Jeremy Jeffress.

Toronto claimed Maine off waivers from the Indians late last month. The 27-year-old made 30 relief appearances this year, posting a 6.08 ERA with 10.8 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9 in 26 2/3 innings. Cleveland claimed him from the Cubs in August.

Blue Jays Sign Maicer Izturis

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12:49pm: The Blue Jays have announced the signing (on Twitter). It's a three-year, $9MM contract with a $3MM club option for 2016. 

12:05pm: The Blue Jays have agreed to sign Maicer Izturis to a three-year, $10MM contract according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). The deal includes a club option for a fourth year. Izturis is represented by Peter E. Greenberg & Associates.

Uspw_6498750As Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca points out (on Twitter), this is the largest contract GM Alex Anthopoulos has given to a free agent. The one-year deals worth $4.5MM given to Darren Oliver and Francisco Cordero last offseason were the previous record holders. Our Transaction Tracker has the breakdown of Anthopoulos' free agent signings.

Izturis, 32, hit .256/.320/.315 in 319 plate appearances for the Angels this year, his worst full season as a big leaguer. He won't hit for any power, but Izturis makes a lot of contact from both sides of the plate and is a capable defender at all three non-first base infield positions. He's also a threat to steal double digit bases. Izturis has hit .264/.327/.360 in 1,051 plate appearances across the last three years overall.

The Blue Jays figured to target infield depth this winter since Kelly Johnson is a free agent and Yunel Escobar is a trade candidate. They briefly had Mike Aviles after acquiring him from the Red Sox for manager John Farrell, but he's since been flipped to the Indians. Izturis did not rank among Tim Dierkes' Top 50 Free Agents.

Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Blue Jays Acquire Jeremy Jeffress

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The Blue Jays have acquired Jeremy Jeffress from the Royals for cash considerations according to his agent, report Danny Knobler and Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). Jeffress is represented by Double Diamond Sports Management.

Kansas City designated Jeffress for assignment late last week. They originally acquired him from the Brewers in the Zack Greinke deal, but he's spent most of the last two years in Triple-A. The 25-year-old Jeffress owns a 4.89 ERA in 38 2/3 big league innings spread out over the last three years. He owns a 5.60 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 in 82 career Triple-A innings.

Red Sox Have Interest In Choo & Masterson

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The Red Sox have interest in acquiring both Shin-Soo Choo and Justin Masterson from the Indians, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. It's unclear how far along talks are, but Cleveland is getting calls about those two as well as Asdrubal Cabrera and Chris Perez.

Boston is seeking both outfield and rotation help this winter, so the fit is obvious. They originally drafted and developed Masterson before sending him to the Tribe in the Victor Martinez trade, though Morosi notes that new Indians manager Terry Francona could push to keep the right-hander, who had in Boston. Masterson is under team control through 2014 while Choo will be eligible for free agency after next season.

The Red Sox have enough prospects to offer in trades and plenty of payroll space to absorb contracts. Matt Swartz projects Choo to earn $7.9MM and Masterson to earn $5.7MM through arbitration next year. Boston also has both Mike Napoli and Adam LaRoche on their radar this offseason as well.

Sherman’s Latest: Dickey, Wright, Hunter, Upton

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Here's the latest from Joel Sherman of The New York Post…

  • The Mets are making progress, albeit slowly, in contract talks with David Wright and R.A. Dickey. The impression is that there is still a substantial gap in talks with Dickey, and they've been gauging his trade value during the GM Meetings. They are not doing the same with Wright, however.
  • The Yankees would not do a two-year deal worth $20MM or so for Torii Hunter since they want to get under the luxury tax threshold next year. They are fixated on one-year contracts this offseason and could fill their right field hole with a low-cost platoon.
  • "The Yankees are not on him," said a source about Justin Upton, in part because they're unsure if he's a good fit for New York (Twitter link). The Rangers and Rays are strongest early players for Upton, and Sherman gets the sense that the D'Backs want to act quickly (Twitter links).
  • The Diamondbacks want high-end, MLB ready players in return for Upton and would love to get Jurickson Profar or (more likely) Elvis Andrus from the Rangers. They don't love Mike Olt, however (Twitter links). GM Kevin Towers likes Yankees prospect Mason Williams, but he is several years away from the show and unlikely to be enough to headline a trade package (all Twitter links).
  • Next year's crop of free agent starting pitchers is weak, which could benefit Zack Greinke since teams won't be able to find a stopgap and reassess next year. Josh Johnson and Tim Lincecum highlight next winter's pitching crop, and both come with question marks.
  • The Mariners, who have young pitching, are said to be talking to the Royals and Twins, who have young hitting. Seattle would love to pry Wil Myers, Aaron Hicks, and/or Ben Revere loose.
  • Jason Bay didn't produce with the Mets, but he lived up to his billing as a hard worker and good teammate. Sherman expects the outfielder to take a low-salary, change of scenery deal (Twitter link).
  • Mets officials think Scott Hairston will get a two-year deal worth between $8-10MM this winter.

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