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NL Central Links: Greinke, Hamilton, Brewers, Pirates

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Earlier today we learned that Pirates owner Bob Nutting will not make any changes to the team's front office following the revelations of their military-style prospect training program. Here's the latest from Pittsburgh's division, the NL Central…

  • Brewers GM Doug Melvin recently spoke to Zack Greinke, but said the free agent right-hander "didn't tip hand" according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter). The two just talked baseball.
  • Money is an issue for the Brewers, reports Heyman (on Twitter). Melvin called his team a "very" long shot for Josh Hamilton, saying he'd need the market and bench coach/former Rangers coach Jerry Narron to do some selling.
  • Nutting told Michael Sanserino of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the Pirates' payroll will grow organically. He declined to give either a ceiling or floor for next season's payroll, however.

East Links: Blue Jays, Jackson, Nationals, Pedroia

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Here's the latest from baseball's two East divisions….

  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos acknowledged to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca that his priorities this winter are pitching, second base, and left field. "There’s no question the priority is definitely in the rotation, with the dollars we have available, we have to be creative," he said. "Our payroll is going to be up from what it was last year but it doesn’t mean it’s a bottomless pit, there is a limit and there is an area we can go to."
  • Ken Davidoff and George A. King III of The New York Post write that Yankees GM Brian Cashman is likely to meet with every agent who attends this week's GM Meetings, including Larry Reynolds. He represents both Torii Hunter and B.J. Upton.
  • Edwin Jackson hasn't ruled out returning to the Nationals next season, writes Dan Kolko of MASNSports.com. The right-hander did make it clear that he will listen to offers from any team, however.
  • During a recent radio appearance, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia said that he is not leaving the ACES agency according to WEEI.com's DJ Bean. ACES is currently being investigated by MLB for its role in Melky Cabrera's PED-related suspension.

Pirates Will Not Make Any Front Office Changes

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Despite embarrassing reports of military-style training programs for the team's prospects, Pirates owner Bob Nutting told Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that the team will not make any front office changes. President Frank Coonelly, GM Neal Huntington, and assistant GMs Kyle Stark and Greg Smith will all return.

“What we have been doing and what we’ll continue to do is a comprehensive review,” said Nutting. “But that is not a two-week or a four-week process. That is one that is going to continue as we evaluate every aspect of the organization. Because we need to get better.”

Nutting conducted an internal investigation into the club's developmental practices and stressed that he was not done, but he did acknowledge that this was not the right time to make a change. “I believe that our primary responsibility is to develop baseball players to play baseball and win championships at PNC Park … We are not and we should not be a military organization," he added, while also saying the training methods will stop immediately.

The Pirates came under heavy scrutiny when Kovacevic published a pair of reports in recent weeks detailing the team's training regimens. Top prospects Jameson Taillon and Gregory Polanco reportedly suffered minor injuries during the incidents. The Pirates had their best record since 1997 under Huntington this year, but a second-half collapse prevented the team from breaking the .500 barrier. He was hired as GM following the 2007 season.

Yankees Claim Josh Spence

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The Yankees have claimed Josh Spence off waivers from the Padres, the team announced. Earlier today New York claimed David Herndon from the Blue Jays.

Spence, 24, has pitched to a 3.15 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 in 40 relief innings for San Diego over the last two seasons. The left-hander has held lefty hitters to a .158/.247/.237 batting line as a big leaguer.

Baseball America’s Minor League Free Agents

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A total of 549 minor league players became free agents after the season, and Baseball America's Matt Eddy lists each and every one by team and position. Some are big league veterans (Joel Pineiro, Conor Jackson), some are former top prospects (Andy LaRoche, Brandon Wood), and most fall somewhere in between.

Players who have been in the minor leagues for at least parts of seven seasons are automatically granted free agency, though there are other conditions that allow players to hit the open market earlier in their careers.

AL Links: Ross, Red Sox, Angels, Orioles

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In an Insider-only piece, ESPN's Keith Law broke down the market for corner infielders. He lists Kevin Youkilis as the best value buy and James Loney as the worst. Both players ended the season in the AL, and here are some more links from the so-called Junior Circuit…

  • Cody Ross told WEEI.com's Rob Bradford that he and the Red Sox never got close to a new deal during the exclusive negotiating period this week. "They had a ton of opportunities," said the outfielder. "We talked about this back in July and we couldn't work anything out up until the deadline. Now it only makes sense to listen to other teams."
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Angels have lost leverage against Zack Greinke following the trade of Ervin Santana and the declining of Dan Haren's option. GM Jerry Dipoto still has plenty of time and pitching options available to him at this point of the offseason, however.
  • Rich Dubroff of CSN Baltimore.com listed the five worst contracts in Orioles history, led by the five-year, $65MM pact given to Albert Belle. He hit a superb .297/.400/.541 in the first year of the deal, but he slid to .281/.342/.474 in year two and didn't play at all in years three, four, and five.

NL Links: Padres, Haren, Giambi, Ross, Phillies

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Ken Davidoff of The New York Post ranked the top 30 free agents by value, with Michael Bourn topping the list. Davidoff predicts the outfielder will sign a five-year, $85MM deal with the Nationals. Here's the latest from the only league Bourn has known as a big leaguer, the NL…

  • “Attractive and realistic … Guys we want and think we can get. We went through a list of 40 pitchers to come up with 8-10 we’re really trying to get," said Padres GM Josh Byrnes to Bill Center of The San Diego Union-Tribune. San Diego figures to focus on arms this winter, and Center believes Dan Haren is near the top of that list.
  • Jason Giambi will still deciding whether to play or manage next season, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). The Rockies are only considering him as a manager, however.
  • Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com looked at Cody Ross as a potential free agent target for the Phillies. In our Offseason Outlook, Ben Nicholson-Smith noted that the Fightin's figure to seek outfield help this winter.
  • The Cardinals have had discussions about expanding Jim Edmonds' role in the organization, reports Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter). That could mean more time in Spring Training or something else for the team's long-time center fielder, who currently serves as a special instructor.

Mariners Re-Sign Oliver Perez

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9:26pm: Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter) that Perez received $1.5MM with another $600K in performance bonuses.

9:04pm: The Mariners have re-signed Oliver Perez to a one-year contract, the team announced. Financial terms are unknown at this point. Perez is represented by Scott Boras.

“We are happy to have reached a mutual agreement with Oliver,” said GM Jack Zduriencik in a statement. "He did a very nice job in helping solidify our bullpen after his call up last summer. As a veteran left-hander, and one that had adjusted very nicely to his new role, we are looking forward to his contributions as we go into the 2013 campaign.”

Perez, 31, reinvented himself as a reliever with Seattle this year after not pitching in the big leagues since 2010. He posted a 2.12 ERA in 29 2/3 innings with 7.3 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 while actually faring much better against righties (.204/.279/.296) than lefties (.281/.328/.351). Perez regained some velocity in relief and average 93.7 mph with his fastball in 2012.

Bogusevic, Shuck, De Leon Elect Free Agency

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Earlier today we learned that Travis Ishikawa elected free agency, so now here is the latest round of players to hit the free agent market…

  • Brian Bogusevic, Jorge De Leon, and J.B. Shuck all elected free agency after being outrighted by the Astros, the team announced. Bogusevic, 28, hit .203/.297/.299 in 404 plate appearances this year while neither De Leon nor Shuck saw time in the show.

Brewers Sign Michael Olmsted

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The Brewers have signed minor league free agent Michael Olmsted and placed him on the 40-man roster, reports Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel. The right-hander stands a robust 6-foot-7, 245 lbs.

Olmsted, 25, pitched to a 1.52 ERA with 14.0 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 59 1/3 relief innings between Double-A and Triple-A in the Red Sox's system last year. MLB.com's Peter Gammons wrote about Olmsted's amazing story this past August, which includes Tommy John surgery, the death of his mother, and a stint in the Japanese minor leagues.

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