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Odds & Ends: Standridge, Johnson, Davis, Crede

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Links for Thursday…

  • Josh Johnson's agent Matt Sosnick is now "cautiously optimistic" about a potential long-term deal with the Marlins for his client, according to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez. However, the two sides still have differing thoughts on the proper comparables to use for Johnson's 2010 salary.  I'd say Ben Sheets, Carlos Zambrano, and Zack Greinke might be used in that discussion, but given Johnson's $1.4MM salary in '09 he probably can't expect much more than $4.2MM. 
  • What do Tupac, Sandra Bullock, and MLBTR have in common?  They're all favorites of Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia.
  • Scott Lauber of The News Journal tweets that the Phillies signed righty Jason Standridge to a minor league deal.  The former Rays first-rounder pitched only 12.6 innings for the Marlins' Triple A club this year. 
  • Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports wrote last night that the Twins, Brewers, Mets, and Nationals have interest in free agent lefty Doug Davis.  Davis suggested to MLB.com's Bill Ladson that the Nats are more focused on adding a second baseman.
  • Roch Kubatko of MASN says Joe Crede "appears to top" the Orioles' free agent list.
  • The Mets signed lefty Bobby Livingston to a minor league deal, tweets MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.  The 27-year-old southpaw logged 156 innings of 4.15 ball at various minor league stops in 2009.
  • Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says players of Adam LaRoche's caliber should take note of his new deal, because "the offers aren't going to get any better."
  • Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post runs through Yorvit Torrealba's suitors, while also noting that Miguel Olivo's $2.5MM option for 2011 can become a player option with 110 games in '10.
  • Catcher Mike Rabelo is a new name among the Tigers' 17 minor league deals announced today, writes MLB.com's Jason Beck.

Giants Sign Aubrey Huff

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The Giants officially signed first baseman Aubrey Huff to a one-year, $3MM deal today.  The deal was first reported Sunday by Dennis O'Donnell of CBS5 in San Francisco.

Huff split his time between first base and DH last year.  Though he has played hundreds of major league games at third, he figures to play first for the Giants. Pablo Sandoval, Mark DeRosa and Juan Uribe are all in the mix for time at the corner infield positions, so Bruce Bochy will have lots of options.

Huff, 33, hit .241/.310/.384 in 2009. He will presumably pick up some at bats from Travis Ishikawa, who is seven years younger than Huff and plays better defense. Ishikawa hit .261/.329/.387 last year in 113 games at first base, so he was more productive than Huff at the plate, too.

As MLBTR's Mike Axisa points out on River Ave. Blues, the move appears to lessen the chances that Johnny Damon ends up in San Francisco. The Braves and Yankees could still be fits for Damon, but the Yanks' interest likely depends on Damon's willingness to lower his demands. This also limits the market for Adam LaRoche; the Mets and Orioles have openings at first, but few other teams do.

Heyman On Mauer, Pujols, Damon, Washburn

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3:59pm: David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that the Braves have not made an offer to Damon, contrary to Heyman's suggestion below.

12:49pm: Jon Heyman's latest column for SI.com leads with thoughts on contract talks for two superstars, Joe Mauer and Albert Pujols.  Heyman says Mauer has been slow to engage with the Twins only because he's giving them a chance to put the 2010 team together first.  Heyman believes Mauer is "thinking about a contract for at least seven years and more than $20MM, though he isn't going to press the $30MM issue that could conceivably come into focus if he goes the free-agent route."  On the other hand, Heyman says Pujols is "surely seeking" $30MM a year.  On to Heyman's other rumors…

  • Heyman believes the Braves and Giants made offers to Johnny Damon.  It's not clear if the Giants' offer for Damon is still on the table given their Aubrey Huff agreement.
  • Jarrod Washburn rejected a $5MM offer from the Twins; the Mets and Royals are other suitors.
  • The Mariners have considered Ryan Garko.  An outfielder would make more sense.
  • The Rangers are looking for a "low-cost starting pitcher."
  • The Orioles are "still in play" for first baseman Adam LaRoche.  Currently it's difficult to name another LaRoche suitor.

Orioles Rumors: Delgado, Tejada, Uggla

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The Orioles have added Garrett Atkins, but they're still interested in various corner infielders. Which ones? Roch Kubatko of MASN.com has the details:

  • The O's will scout Carlos Delgado in Puerto Rico next week; they would consider him as a first baseman.
  • They also have interest in first basemen Hank Blalock, Adam LaRoche, Russell Branyan and Chad Tracy, but don't want to offer multi-year deals to any of them. LaRoche is probably the only one of those players with much of a chance at a multi-year contract.
  • Miguel Tejada remains a long shot for the Orioles. Unlike Dan Uggla, Tejada's open to playing third, so he's ahead of Uggla on Baltimore's wish list.

Urban On Athletics, Giants

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CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban checks in with the latest on the A's and Giants.

  • After failing to sign Adrian Beltre, the A's continue to seek a third baseman.  The team has considered attempting to trade for the Pirates' Andy LaRoche or the Padres' Kevin Kouzmanoff.  Neither player hit for much power in 2009, however (Kouz hit 18 home runs, but slugged only .420).  Adam Kennedy is said to be Plan D or E.
  • The A's are still talking to Jack Cust's agent, though they've yet to make an offer.  Regarding the idea of returning to the A's after being non-tendered, Cust told Urban, "Stranger things have happened."  Urban senses Cust would give the A's the opportunity to match any offer.
  • Urban finds Cust a less-than-ideal fit for the Giants.  He likes Adam LaRoche, or perhaps Miguel Tejada if LaRoche's demands remain high.

Giants Seek Left-Handed Bat

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WEDNESDAY, 11:08am: Schulman adds Cust to the list of bats on the Giants' radar.

TUESDAY, 2:16pm: So far this winter the Giants have spent $15.25MM on Mark DeRosa and Juan Uribe.  After a conference call with GM Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy, Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News and Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle offer insight on the Giants' plans for the rest of the offseason.

  • Uribe could play third base regularly, which would push DeRosa to left field.  Uribe will not compete with Edgar Renteria for the shortstop job.
  • The Giants seek a left-handed hitter.  It would be either an outfielder or first baseman, as Travis Ishikawa is not under consideration to start at first.
  • Sabean said no deals are imminent.  At various points this winter the Giants have been linked to Johnny Damon, Scott Podsednik, and Adam LaRoche.  I should point out that other potentially available left-handed bats include Russell Branyan, Lyle Overbay, Luke Scott, David DeJesus, Jack Cust, Mike Jacobs, Rick Ankiel, and Aubrey Huff.
  • Schulman says the Giants are unlikely to spend much on a fifth starter or catcher.

LaRoche Turns Down Giants’ Offer

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ESPN's Buster Olney reports (via Twitter) that Adam LaRoche turned down a two-year, $17MM deal from San Francisco, and now the Giants may have pulled their offer back altogether.  LaRoche has been mentioned as a possible target for the Giants this winter and would certainly fill their need for a left-handed hitter, but as Olney notes in a follow-up tweet, San Francisco is "discussing alternatives" to signing the first baseman. 

The Giants' stance could also be a negotiating tactic to get LaRoche to drop his asking price given that, as Olney pointed out, LaRoche seems to be down to just the Giants and Orioles as potential suitors.  (The Mariners were scratched from the list given their acquisition of Casey Kotchman.)

Odds & Ends: Mariners, Gomes, Holliday, Bay

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Links for Wednesday…

Giants Notes: DeRosa, Free Agent Targets

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Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News has Giants notes after a conference call with Brian Sabean and newly-signed Mark DeRosa.

  • DeRosa explained that he was "tired of being a lot of teams' Plan B."
  • Sabean hopes to add another hitter, and has free agent offers on the table.  One offer is to Juan Uribe, while Baggarly speculates that another might be to Adam LaRoche.  There are plenty of first basemen and corner outfielders still available, if you'd also like to speculate.
  • Sabean reiterated that Matt Holliday is too expensive for the Giants, while Baggarly added that the Giants are not in on Adrian Beltre.
  • Sabean mentioned that he hasn't yet beefed up efforts to acquire a fifth starter or catcher.  We did hear the Giants linked to many catchers earlier this winter, however.

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Beltre, Morrow

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Some Saturday afternoon links..

  • The Dodgers should have offered salary arbitration to Randy Wolf and Orlando Hudsonto allow themselves the opportunity to receive draft picks, writes Jon Weisman of the Los Angeles Times.  Weisman argues that the worst case scenario of being stuck with one or both players at a slightly inflated price for one season wouldn't have been so bad.  It's hard to dispute this point as we have yet to see the Dodgers do much of anything this winter.
  • Not only are the Athletics talking to free agent Adrian Beltre, they may be the only serious bidder at the moment, according to an item on ESPN's MLB rumor page.  The piece also notes that if Beltre's asking price - believed to be north of $10MM per season – drops into Oakland's price range, the Giants, Cardinals, and Tigers could get in the mix.
  • Seattle's poor decisions stunted the development of Brandon Morrow, writes Ryan Divish of The News Tribune.  While he never had the same ceiling as Tim Lincecum, who was drafted five spots later in the 2006 draft, things could have worked out differently for Morrow if he were given adequate time to develop in the minors. 
  • Shi Davidi of the Associated Presspraises new Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos and his plan to rebuild the franchise.  Davidi writes that Anthopoulos has the support of ownership in a way that J.P. Ricciardi never did.
  • A few free agents left on the market might want to consider lowering their asking price, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.  Adam LaRoche seeking $30MM over three years might be the most wishful of the bunch.
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