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Heyman On Pettitte, Millwood, Molina, Wandy

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Yankees people seem a bit more optimistic about the potential return of Andy Pettitte, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. They’ll consider alternatives such as Kevin Millwood, but only after hearing from Pettitte. Here are the rest of Heyman’s rumors:

  • The Indians and Royals remain possibilities for Millwood.
  • One rival executive doesn’t think the Bartolo Colon signing means much for the Yankees. "There is no real risk. But there is no real reward, either," the executive said.
  • Bengie Molina might consider returning for “special opportunities,” Heyman writes.
  • The Rangers and GM Jon Daniels have started discussing a contract extension and Rangers people expect a new deal for Daniels, whose current contract expires after the 2011 season.
  • One competing executive believes the Astros overpaid for Wandy Rodriguez. I don’t mind this deal for the Astros, since solid left-handed starters aren’t cheap or easy to find and Rodriguez was about to hit free agency.

Quick Hits: Keppinger, Pettitte, Bell, Molina

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Here are some items of note on this Thursday, a day on which the Reds and Rangers each settled with one of their arbitration-eligible players. Remember to refer to our handy Arbitration Tracker, as those cases will continue to pop up in the coming weeks …

  • The Astros were thought to be mulling the idea of trading Jeff Keppinger this offseason, but the utility infielder is scheduled to undergo left foot surgery next week and will likely miss the start of the regular season, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. This offseason, Houston acquired Bill Hall to play second base and Clint Barmes to man shortstop, so Keppinger has become expendable, but the injury should put a significant dent in the likelihood of him being dealt before the season. Keppinger enjoyed a career year in 2010, hitting .288/.351/.391 in 575 plate appearances. The Astros and Yankees briefly discussed a swap for Keppinger, but those talks went nowhere.
  • The Yankees are willing to offer $12MM or $13MM to Andy Pettitte and are awaiting a decision from the lefty, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com. As Heyman notes, either of those figures would represent a modest raise for Pettitte, who earned $11.75MM in 2010, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts. Pettitte, who has been playing on one-year deals in each of the past four seasons, will probably either re-sign with the Yankees or retire.
  • Padres closer Heath Bell hopes to remain in San Diego with a multiyear contract, writes Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Bell is in his final year of arbitration eligibility, and, having turned 33 in September, wants to garner long-term security, notes Center. Padres GM Jed Hoyer didn't offer much, saying that he and Bell's agent have "touched on it."
  • After splitting 2010 between the Giants and Rangers, free-agent catcher Bengie Molina is seeking the "right fit," and one scenario that interests him is backing up his brother Yadier with the Cardinals, tweets Heyman. However, St. Louis already has a solid backup backstop in Gerald Laird, who signed a one-year deal with the Cards in December, so that seems unlikely.

Odds & Ends: Bartlett, Bengie Molina, Bill Hall

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A year ago today, John Buck signed with the Blue Jays, Bruce Chen with the Royals, and Scott Olsen with the Nationals.  Currently only Chen remains on the market.  Today's links:

Cardinals Rumors: Ryan, Bengie Molina

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The latest out of St. Louis, from Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch….

  • The Cardinals appear to be getting closer to moving Brendan Ryan, who is drawing interest from the Twins.
  • The team has "pressed" to sign Bengie Molina, but a club source believes a Ryan trade is likely to happen before Molina makes a decision one way or the other.
  • Molina has been told by the Cards that he's their preferred choice as a backup catcher, but he'd have to be willing to accept the reduced playing time and salary that come with that role. The club has allotted about $1MM for their backstop opening.
  • Tony La Russa on the possibility of adding Molina: "He's built up a certain value and what his role needs to be. That's one thing that might be a complicating factor. It would be great if it can work for us and work for him."

International Links: Reyes, Molina, Anderson

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Links in three very different-sounding accents of Spanish…

  • Jose Reyes has heard the rumors, and he met with Mets GM Sandy Alderson last week to discuss them, the shortstop told Juan Mercado at the Dominican paper El Dia. "[Alderson] assured me that [a trade] wouldn't happen, however, I recognize that this is a business," Reyes said. He added that the Mets picking up his $11MM option for 2011 was a "good sign," but reiterated his hopes for the future, saying, "I've repeated many times that I don't want to leave the Mets, since I feel very comfortable here."
  • Yadier Molina says the Cardinals have approached his elder brother Bengie about backing him up at catcher next season. "They want to get him, but they're waiting for his decision," Yadier told Lester Jimenez at the Puerto Rican daily Primera Hora. The younger Molina said he was confident Bengie could still handle a starting job at 36, and still might seek a contract as such, "but if he's thinking of retirement and wants to take it easy as a backup catcher, then I want him here with me."
  • The Rays' options to replace Carlos Pena and Carl Crawford could extend beyond in-house options Dan Johnson and Desmond Jennings, or free agents such as Edwin Encarnacion. The agent for Leslie Anderson told El Nuevo Herald's Jorge Ebro that the versatile Cuban prospect will be in the mix for both the Ray's outfield and first base openings this spring. After signing a four-year, $3.75MM deal last March, Anderson put up a combined .302/.359/.442 line in 422 PAs across the Rays system, including a .328/.359/.418 showing at Triple-A Durham.

Cardinals Rumors: Pujols, Backup Catcher, Berkman

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On Wednesday night, we heard that the Cardinals would like to add some pitching depth to supplement their current staff. As we enter the early hours of Thursday morning, let's take a look at some other Cardinals notes:

  • Jayson Stark of ESPN.com discusses Albert Pujols' contract negotiations, wondering if the Cardinals will be able to fit an Alex Rodriguez-esque contract into their budget. Within the piece, Tony La Russa reiterates that Pujols doesn't want negotiations to leak into spring training, leading Stark to conclude that if the two sides don't reach an agreement within the next ten weeks, Pujols will be heading for free agency.
  • Speaking to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, however, Cards chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said he wasn't feeling any urgency about a Pujols extension.
  • Goold writes that the team believed they were close to a deal for a backup catcher before talks faltered late Tuesday night. As of Wednesday, the Cardinals' search for a catcher was in a "holding pattern," according to GM John Mozeliak. St. Louis has been linked to names such as Bengie Molina and Gregg Zaun so far at the Winter Meetings.
  • La Russa told Goold that the Cardinals may go into the year with newly-signed Lance Berkman in right field and Matt Holliday in left, rather than vice versa as initially thought.

Cardinals Have Discussed Bengie Molina

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The Cardinals would like to have a backup catcher signed by the end of the Winter Meetings, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. GM John Mozeliak declined to discuss specific names, though the club has known interest in Gregg Zaun. Goold informs us that St. Louis has discussed another interesting option — current catcher Yadier Molina's older brother, Bengie Molina.

Bengie, 35, had one of his worst seasons, hitting just .249/.297/.326 in 416 plate appearances between the Giants and Rangers. It marked the first season in which he didn't post an OPS of at least .717 since 2002, and his five homers on the season tied for a career low. He did show some life with a huge postseason, in which he hit .293/.341/.488 with two home runs, albeit in a small sample size of 41 plate appearances.

Earlier tonight, we heard that Bengie is on the fence about whether or not to play in 2011. My own speculation, but perhaps the allure of teaming up with his younger brother would be enough to convince him to play, should the Cardinals decide to get serious about the idea. The Rockies expressed interest in Molina over the weekend as well.

Heyman’s Latest: Vlad, Thome, Molina, Mets

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SI.com's Jon Heyman brings us some updates from around the league, via Twitter:

  • Vladimir Guerrero's main suitors appear to be the Rangers, Orioles, and Athletics. Only the Orioles have a set option at designated hitter of that bunch, in Luke Scott. He can man first base, however, and his name has popped up in trade rumors from time to time.
  • Heyman lists the same suitors for another DH candidate — Jim Thome. In a separate tweet, Heyman agrees with this report that the Twins are a possible landing spot as well.
  • Bengie Molina is now "on the fence" about playing in 2011. Heyman says the veteran backstop could sit out for a year and then return in 2012.
  • The Mets prefer Chris Young to Jeff Francis, as Young is said to be willing to accept a guaranteed salary of around $2MM. Francis, according to Heyman, is looking for a guarantee between $4MM and $5MM.

Rockies Interested In Bengie Molina

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The Rockies have expressed interest in free agent catcher Bengie Molina, tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post.  Colorado also has interest in Russell Martin though Renck says that landing the former Dodger is something of a longshot (via Twitter).

Molina's offensive numbers took a dive in 2010 when he hit .249/.297/.326 in 118 games for the Giants and Rangers.  The catcher was Type A free agent, but the Rangers did not offer him arbitration.

After announcing in May that he would be retiring after the 2010 season, Molina has slowly softened his stance.  The 36-year-old said that he was still considering retirement in October before finally deciding in November that he wanted to play one more year.

American League Free Agent Arbitration Offers

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10 American League teams have free agent arbitration offer decisions to make, and we'll group them in this post.  For a fantastic customizable chart with all 65 Type A/B free agents and their decisions in real-time, click here.

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