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NL Central Links: Renteria, Brewers, Molina

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Here's the latest from the NL Central, on the day the Brewers signed Jay Gibbons…

West Links: Giants, Pudge, Abreu, Leach

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Here's the latest from baseball's two West divisions…

  • The Giants are not in the market for outfielders such as Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, and Bobby Abreu according to Hank Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). They feel the lineup is too lefty-heavy as it is, and defense is a concern as well.
  • Ivan Rodriguez has fielded a few inquiries according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter), including one from the Diamondbacks. Pudge seeks a job with "real playing time," however.
  • Angels manager Mike Scioscia told MLB.com that he believes he can find regular playing time for Abreu, and that the veteran hitter won't be a distraction after saying he wanted to be traded.
  • The Dodgers have signed left-hander Brent Leach, reports Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (on Twitter). The 29-year-old reliever appeared in 38 games for the Dodgers in 2009 (5.75 ERA), but spent last season in Japan.

Angels Sign Jason Isringhausen

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The Angels have signed Jason Isringhausen to a minor league contract, reports MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez (on Twitter). Mike DiGiovanna of The Los Angeles Times says (on Twitter) that Izzy can become a free agent if he doesn't make the team since he has no interest in playing in Triple-A. The right-hander is a Beverly Hills Sports Council client.

Isringhausen, 39, appeared in 53 games for the Mets last season, pitching to a 4.05 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 46 2/3 innings. He saved seven games, including the 300th of his career. The Halos have been looking to strengthen their bullpen, and Izzy gives them some veteran, right-handed depth.

Roy Oswalt Could Decide On New Team By Tomorrow

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Pitchers and catchers have reported for Spring Training all across the league, but Roy Oswalt remains unemployed. That could change soon, as ESPN's Jim Bowden reports (on Twitter) that the veteran right-hander could make a decision about his next team as soon as tomorrow.

The market for the 34-year-old Oswalt has faded in recent weeks, as several teams have come out and said they don't have interest in signing him. The Red Sox, Rangers, and Cardinals all showed interest in him at one point, but it's unclear if they have offers on the table at the moment. Oswalt could end up being the bargain of the offseason at this stage of the game.

Red Sox Notes: Hill, Ortiz, Epstein, Valentine

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Eleven years ago today, the Red Sox purchased Jorge De La Rosa from Monterrey of the Mexican League. He spent close to two years in their farm system, then was traded to the Diamondbacks as part of the package for Curt Schilling prior to the 2004 season. Here's the latest from Boston…

Jon Garland No Longer With Indians

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Jon Garland is no longer with the Indians, reports Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer. The right-hander was scheduled for a physical on Monday, but he didn't take it and his minor league contract will not be finalized.

GM Chris Antonetti told ESPN's Jim Bowden that Garland is going to continue to rehab, but he's not currently able to compete for a job (Twitter link). The Tribe agreed to sign the righty shortly after learning that Fausto Carmona – a.k.a. Roberto Hernandez – was unlikely to be in Spring Training on time. The 32-year-old Garland missed most of last season due to shoulder surgery after posting nine consecutive seasons of at least 190 innings.

Quick Hits: Cain, Garland, Guillen, Flores, Chen

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Spring Training complexes in Florida and Arizona are starting to come alive with baseball activity, but there are meaningful games already being played all across the country. Stanford right-hander Mark Appel – the current favorite to go first overall in this year's draft – allowed just two hits and one run in seven innings against Vanderbilt yesterday, kicking off the NCAA baseball season. Here's the latest from around the big leagues…

  • “We’d all like something resolved by the end of spring training,” said Matt Cain to Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com when asked about a contract extension. “I don’t think either side wants that to linger into the season.” Cain has already indicated that he will not give the Giants a hometown discount after already signing one team friendly contract.
  • Jon Garland will take his physical on Monday, reports Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland-Plain Dealer (on Twitter). Garland agreed to a minor league deal with the Indians earlier this week, but the physical is far from routine after shoulder surgery.
  • Carlos Guillen told MLB.com's Greg Johns that he had other opportunities, but chose to return to the Mariners on a minor league contract. "I decided to come here because this is my first house," he said. "I know the city, and I'm happy to be back."
  • Jesus Flores told Amanda Comak of The Washington Times that he hadn't planned on being a backup catcher at this point of his career, but asking the Nationals for a trade is "not on [his] mind." The 27-year-old Flores will backup Wilson Ramos this season.
  • Left-hander Wei-Yin Chen hasn't even thrown a pitch since signing a three-year, sub-$12MM deal with Orioles earlier this offseason, but he's already told Eduardo A. Encina of The Baltimore Sun that he hopes to stay in MLB for the next ten years (Twitter link).
  • Rod Barajas told MLB.com's Tom Singer that he's excited to be reunited with A.J. Burnett. Barajas and Burnett played together with the Blue Jays before both landing with the Pirates this offseason.

Cubs May Start Extension Talks With Garza Soon

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The Cubs spent most of the winter gauging trade interest in Matt Garza, but now it appears they're willing to discuss a long-term commitment. GM Jed Hoyer spoke to reporters (including Gordon Wittenmyer of The Chicago Sun Times) upon arriving at the team's Spring Training facility today, and said the two sides could being extension talks soon.

"We focused really hard on getting the one-year number done a few weeks ago," said Hoyer, referring to the one-year, $9.5MM contract the two sides agreed to a few weeks ago, avoiding arbitration. "We didn’t have any kind of long-term discussions before that, but certainly there was some dialogue about possibly having some long-term discussions at some point maybe this spring … I think we probably will sit down and talk."

Garza, 28, can't become a free agent until after the 2013 season. He made at least 30 starts and threw at least 180 innings for the fourth straight year in 2011, pitching to a 3.32 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 during his first season on Chicago's north side. Garza has said he's open to an extension with the Cubs earlier this offseason.

Johnny Damon No Longer Considering Yankees

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The Yankees are reportedly in "extensive" talks with Raul Ibanez about their DH job, but another option is no longer on the table. Johnny Damon told George A. King III and Joel Sherman of The New York Post that both he and the team are no longer considering a second tour of duty in New York.

"We both are looking at other options now,'' said Damon, adding that it's "unfortunate."

GM Brian Cashman acknowledged that the two sides spoke about a possible reunion, saying: "He called and I told him the truth. He is not the No. 1 option if and when I turn to DH options."

Earlier today we heard that even after the A.J. Burnett trade, the Yankees only have enough money to sign Eric Chavez or a left-handed DH, not both. Team executives will meet next week to reconsider the budget once the trade is made official, however. More than 58% of nearly 12,000 MLBTR readers prefer either Ibanez or Vladimir Guerrero to Damon according to the results of this morning's poll.

Brewers, Marcum Have Yet To Talk Extension

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Last offseason, the Brewers traded Brett Lawrie to the Blue Jays for Shaun Marcum, who helped the club to the NLCS. Now they're faced with his impending free agency. Marcum is scheduled to hit the open market after this season, and he told Todd Rosiak of The Journal Sentinel that the two sides have yet to talk about an extension.

"There hasn't been (talks)," said Marcum. "When we were doing the arbitration thing, we were told they just wanted to do a one-year deal. I'm assuming that's what that means — we're just doing one year and they're going to let me walk."

Marcum and the Brewers avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract worth $7.725MM earlier this month. The soft-tossing changeup specialist told Rosiak that he's made it clear to the team that he hopes to remain in Milwaukee long-term.

"I told my agent, and he's let it be known that we're interested," Marcum said. "But the door's definitely wide open if they want to talk. The organization's been great. It feels like home; it's a lot like where I live back in the off-season (Missouri). My wife loves it there, and we feel like it's a great fit for us. And playing in front of 40,000 fans every night, you can't beat it."

Back in November we heard that the Brewers were expected to explore long-term deals with Marcum and Zack Greinke, who is also open to an extension. The 30-year-old Marcum pitched to a 3.54 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 33 starts last season, though he was bothered by a hip flexor. He was absolutely brutal during his final four starts of the regular season (1.64 WHIP and 6.66 ERA in 24 1/3 innings) and it carried over into the playoffs (2.28 WHIP and 14.90 ERA in 9 2/3 innings), so perhaps the club wants to make sure that's behind him before getting serious about an extension.

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