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Rays Interested In Orlando Hudson

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9:36pm: Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (via Twitter) thinks "it's unlikely anything happens" between Tampa Bay and Hudson, noting that the Rays are happy with Zobrist, Reid Brignac and Sean Rodriguez at second base.  He does say, however, that the Rays "have interest in [a number] of free agents."

8:12pm: ESPN's Buster Olney reports (via Twitter) that Tampa Bay is "in on Orlando Hudson talks."  The plan would be to install Hudson at second base while Ben Zobrist gets moved to right field.  Olney says that the move "all depends on the price," which would presumably have to be significantly lower than Hudson's $9MM asking price.

The Nationals have been considered to be the leaders in the Hudson sweepstakes this winter, and MLB.com's Bill Ladson was told today by a source that the Nats "have a good chance" of signing the free-agent second baseman due to Hudson's close ties to Adam Dunn and Willie Harris. 

Ladson also went straight to the horse's mouth and talked to Hudson himself, who told Ladson that "progress had been made."  The interview also included this interesting passage from Hudson that cited two other teams in the hunt:

"I will sign soon enough. You can put it on the Internet and on TV. I'm going to sign. I can't say exactly when. It will not be long. I can't say if it's with the Nationals, San Diego or Cleveland. I can't say with whom. Something is getting done."

The Padres could be a longshot if, as MLB.com's Corey Brock tweeted earlier today, they've completed their winter shopping following the signing of Jon Garland.  The Tribe also seem like unlikely suitors given Hudson's contract demands.

Odds & Ends: Tatis, Astros, Ludwick, A’s

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Some links for Friday…

  • Buster Olney of ESPN tweets that the Nationals have put Josh Willingham on the market once again.  If they move the soon-to-be 31-year-old, it could clear the way for Adam Dunn to be moved to the outfield.  Willingham recently avoided arbitration with the Nats, agreeing to a one-year, $4.6MM pact.
  • Mike Puma of the New York Post hears that the Mets could bring Fernando Tatis back if they don't re-sign Carlos Delgado. However, the Mets have not contacted Tatis' agent.
  • The Astros appear unwilling to talk multi-year deals with arbitration-eligible players Wandy Rodriguez, Hunter Pence and Tim Byrdak, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse (via Twitter).
  • The Cards and Ryan Ludwick avoided arbitration and agreed on a one-year $5.45MM deal for 2010, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  • A's prospect Grant Desme is retiring from baseball to "pursue the priesthood," according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Baseball America ranked Desme the club's eighth-best prospect this offseason.
  • Craig Brown of Royals Authority doesn't see why the Royals signed Scott Podsednik if they were going to add Rick Ankiel, too.
  • Tyler Hissey ranks the remaining free agents. Check out our comprehensive free agent list right here.
  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that the Mariners have been working on possible deals involving Jose Lopez.
  • Olney says Jim Thome is talking with a few teams.
  • Could the Brewers lock Prince Fielder up to a deal that keeps the first baseman in Milwaukee after the 2011 season? MLB.com's Adam McCalvy asked Brewers GM Doug Melvin if the club might extend Fielder soon and Melvin said: "I don't know the answer to that."
  • Meanwhile, another big left-handed slugger is just looking for a job. Jim Thome remains available, but White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen tells MLB.com's Scott Merkin that he's happy to rotate players in and out of the DH spot this year.
  • The Pirates, who are likely done making major moves this offseason, project to have an Opening Day payroll of $35.65MM, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  • Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog tweets that the Mets are close to making a deal.
  • Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik says he's going to "tweak and add" before the season starts, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.

Odds & Ends: Orioles, Dodgers, Beltre, Pujols

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Let's round up some Thursday evening links….

Cardinals Notes: Boras Meeting, Holliday Alternatives

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Joe Strauss from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch discusses the Cardinals and their current situation with free agent Matt Holliday. Let's dive in:

  • The Cardinals are pushing for a meeting with Scott Boras at the Winter Meetings to discuss whether or not they have a legitimate chance to bring Holliday back to St. Louis.
  • If they were to retain Holliday, the club would be content to give David Freese his shot at third base and spend its leftover money on the rotation rather than infield help.
  • Re-signing Mark DeRosa is one alternative to Holliday in left, although the Cardinals understandably aren't fans of DeRosa's current asking price of three years and roughly $24MM.
  • The Cards had interest in bringing Chone Figgins aboard, prior to his agreement with the Mariners.
  • St. Louis continues to say that they don't have leverage to make trades after parting with a number of top prospects, but Strauss mentions that some teams looking to shed salary could make sense. He names Dan Uggla, Kevin Millwood, and (if he's made available) Brandon Inge as some candidates, though the Marlins are asking a lot in return for Uggla.
  • Strauss also mentions Adam Dunn, who's owed $12MM this season as a good fit, though the Nationals aren't intent on moving him. According to Strauss, several within the Cardinal organization were pushing for Dunn over Holliday last season before the deadline.
  • If the Cards are able to sign Holliday, backloading the contract as they typically do with large deals won't be beneficial as the expensive years will coincide with those of Albert Pujols, if and when he, too, gets a new contract.
  • Strauss names Vicente Padilla and Ben Sheets as possible free agent arms to target.
  • Interesting note on the Cardinals from Strauss; they haven't made a trade at the Winter Meetings since 2003 when they acquired Adam Wainwright, Jason Marquis, and Ray King.

Whatever comes of Holliday, team president Bill DeWitt plans to be active this offseason. Strauss quotes him, "If we don't spend on Holliday, we will spend on other players."

Cardinals: Bay Not A Priority

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Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has some interesting information concerning the Cardinals and their winter moves.

Matt Holliday is still tops on the agenda, of course, but though many observers figured Jason Bay would be Plan 1A, St. Louis GM John Mozeliak said that wasn't the case.

"We'll see how the market develops," Mozeliak told Strauss. "Is (Jason Bay) a possibility? Sure. But right now it's fair to say he's not one of our top priorities."

According to Strauss, a greater reliance on defensive metrics has redefined St. Louis' interest in Bay, who is a far worse defensive player than Holliday by nearly any statistical measure. Therefore, it isn't a surprise that the Cardinals are reluctant to top the four years and $64MM Strauss says is likely a starting point for bidding on Bay.

In addition to free agent options, the Cardinals retain interest in both Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham of the Nationals.

On the pitching side, Mozeliak has stayed in touch with the agent for John Smoltz, but Strauss says there are other options St. Louis will pursue first.

Nationals Targeting Lackey, Not Everett

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Add Washington to the list of clubs vying for the services of free-agent starter John Lackey.  Bill Ladson of MLB.com reports that the Nats are interested in Lackey for the obvious boost he would provide to their National League-worst 5.00 team ERA, but also to serve as a mentor for their young starting corps of Stephen Strasburg, Ross Detwiler and John Lannan.

If nothing else, Washington's pursuit of Lackey is another sign to the rest of baseball (and to other prospective free agents) that the Nats aren't willing to stand pat after posting the worst record in the majors in each of the last two seasons.  The Nationals made a strong push for Mark Teixeira last winter before signing Adam Dunn to a two-year/$20MM deal in February.  Bringing Lackey into the fold might also help sell some tickets in Washington, as attendance at Nationals Park dropped by over 500K from 2008 to 2009.

Ladson also said that, contrary to a previous report, Washington isn't interested in signing Adam Everett.  The defensive specialist's .648 career OPS is apparently the big turn-off for the club, who would prefer to sign someone with more pop if they decide to sign a shortstop at all.

Nats Notes: Guzman, Desmond, Carroll, Dunn

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The Nationals are considering a number of options up the middle. Here's the latest:

  • MLB.com's Bill Ladson expects the Nationals to try trading Cristian Guzman this offseason. It won't be easy, given his $8MM salary.
  • Manager Jim Riggleman likes Ian Desmond, but others within the organization believe the infielder needs more minor league seasoning.
  • Could Ronnie Belliard return to play second base? Ladson doubts it.
  • Jamey Carroll doesn't seem likely to return to Washington, either. At least nine teams have interest in the 35-year-old.
  • The Nats are considering a couple defensive shortstops, too.
  • Since 2007, no fielder has cost his team more runs than Adam Dunn, according to Matthew Carruth of FanGraphs. Dunn will make $12MM in 2010 before becoming a free agent. It's hard to imagine him signing with an NL club again after next season.

Odds & Ends: Lilly, Iwamura, Beckett, Marlins, Dunn, Cubs

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Here's some links to check out while waiting for what might be the final start in the great careers of Andy Pettitte and Pedro Martinez…

  • Ted Lilly had arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder today, and the Cubs expect to have him back in their rotation "within the month of April," according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. Might the Cubbies look for a little extra rotation insurance this offseason?
  • MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch mentions that the Pirates "began to show heavy interest" in Akinori Iwamura back in September. GM Neal Huntington confirmed that they had several scouts watch Aki after he came back from his knee injury.
  • WEEI.com's Rob Bradford mentions that Josh Beckett "isn’t likely to take a hometown discount" to stay with the Red Sox. Yesterday we learned that the two sides plan to meet in the coming weeks to discuss a contract extension.  
  • MLB.com's Joe Frisaro answers some hot stove related questions in his mailbag today. He thinks the Marlins will sign Josh Johnson to an extension this winter, and that they may explore trade possibilites for reliever Renyel Pinto.
  • In response to some weekend speculation that Adam Dunn could be a fit in St. Louis if Matt Holliday leaves as a free agent, ESPN's Keith Law says "just doesn't make a lot of sense for the Cardinals to consider it," noting that they'd be looking at a big drop-off by sticking Dunn in left field.
  • The Cub Reporter looks at what might happen on Chicago's north side in the coming weeks.

Odds & Ends: Schueler, Dunn, Yankees, Strasburg

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Some links for Tuesday…

  • The Nationals hired former White Sox GM Ron Schueler as a special assistant to Mike Rizzo, according to a team press release.
  • Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos must decide in the coming days whether to proceed with a payroll of about $80MM or ask ownership for more money, according to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.
  • Phil Wood of MASN.com doesn't think it makes sense for the Nats to trade Adam Dunn away. 
  • ESPN.com's Rob Neyer says the Yankees will probably want to become younger this offseason, even if it's just a marginal change.
  • Former Rockies assistant GM Chris Rice tells Irv Moss of the Denver Post how "exciting and tense" the expansion draft was before the team's inaugural season.
  • As Danny Knobler of CBSSports points out, the Phillies' decision to go after Cliff Lee instead of Roy Halladay looks smart right now.  
  • Harry Pavlidis of The Hardball Times looks at Stephen Strasburg's performance in the Arizona Fall League and says the top pick "is proving to be everything he was hyped to be."
  • MLB.com's Matthew Leach guesses that Matt Holliday will not return to the Cardinals in 2010. 
  • Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com reports that the Rangers could decide today whether Thad Bosley, Rusty Greer, Clint Hurdle or Gerald Perry will become the team's next hitting coach. 
  • Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the Twins outrighted Brian Buscher to Triple A. He can become a minor league free agent 16 days after the World Series. Aaron Gleeman doesn't expect Buscher to remain in the organization.

Odds & Ends: Lackey, Rangers, Mets

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With about an hour to go before the start of Game Two, here are some items from around the majors….

  • During an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show today, Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said his club will be focused on finding second base help and starting pitching in the offseason, though Colletti played dumb when asked about the possibility of the Dodgers making a play for free agent starter John Lackey.
  • With the number of open managerial jobs quickly dwindling, some of the rumored candidates for the filled positions are looking at other options.  Former Rockies manager Clint Hurdle (who was up for the Cleveland manager's job that went to Manny Acta) is one of four finalists to be the Rangers' next hitting coach, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
  • Along those same lines, Bob Melvin may go from being a candidate to be the next Astros manager to being considered for the Mets bench coaching job, says Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News.  Rubin also reports that the Mets will name Chip Hale as their new third base coach after the World Series is over.
  • According to a team press release, the Pirates have claimed pitcher Justin Thomas off waivers from Seattle.
  • In a chat with MASN's Byron Kerr, Adam Dunn said he feels Washington is an attractive destination for free agents in part because Nationals Park is "a really fair ballpark."
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