• Today's chat takes place in half an hour at 2pm CST.
• Justin Duchscherer will begin rehabbing soon and ESPN.com's Buster Olney says he could be a solid alternative to Roy Halladay, if healthy. Olney speculates that Duchscherer, who makes $3.9MM this year, would fit well on the Brewers.
• The Mets released Emil Brown from their Triple A affiliate today, according to Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post.
• Many Marlins players told Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post that they're trying to ignore trade chatter and win ballgames.
• Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says the D'Backs didn't want to offer Felipe Lopez arbiration in the offseason because he might have accepted. He would have been in line for a $5-6MM salary so the Brewers chose two mediocre prospects instead of offering Lopez arbitration.
• ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick says the Cubs could have a big second half, even though they're "muddling along" now.
• George Sherrill told Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun that he wants to be in Baltimore in spite of the rumors swirling about.

Brown was just acquired from the Padres on May 29th for a player to be named later. The 34-year-old journeyman outfielder only saw two plate appearances in his cup of coffee for the Mets, but he had previously put up a line of .260/.345/.432 in 41 Triple-A games for the Pads. He might latch on to another team looking for minor league depth.

• The Cubs’ ownership situation is not close to the finish line, which is one reason the team won’t be acquiring Jake Peavy anytime soon.
• One source of Stark’s suggested Zack Greinke nearly left his current agent John Courtright of SFX for Scott Boras, a whisper I’d heard as well.  But now Greinke is happy with his contract and agent.
• Free agents such as Manny Ramirez and Ivan Rodriguez could reasonably wait until March to sign.  Not a bad thing for this website!
• Adam Dunn would like Manny to sign earlier, as he’s waiting to see what the Dodgers (his preferred team) do.  The Nationals have been Dunn’s most aggressive suitor, the Orioles have mild interest, and the Braves have backed off.
• Stark questions the idea of talks for Manny heating up lately, since the Mets, Yankees, and Angels are out and the Giants are only conditionally interested.
• When Alex Rodriguez was a free agent last winter, Joe Torre advised the Dodgers against signing him.
• The Phillies would like to move Geoff Jenkins for a right-handed hitting outfielder, but Jenkins is paid too much.  Jay Payton and Emil Brown are not on the Phillies’ radar; they still like Nomar Garciaparra.
• The Yankees are apparently "softening to the idea of trading Nick Swisher," with the Braves the top suitor.

• David Chase looks at fantasy baseball’s top strikeout pitchers.
• The third year of Milton Bradley’s contract turns into a club option if he has serious health problems this year.
• Two players expected to attend the Brewers’ open tryout this month: Randall Simon and Mark Bellhorn.
• Dave Cameron looks at the premium teams pay for proven closers.
• Bobby Valentine comments on the Orioles’ Koji Uehara signing in Dan Connolly’s article.  Within that article Connolly suggests the trade market for Brian Roberts may be suffering because of Orlando Hudson’s availability on the free agent market.
• The D’Backs wouldn’t be thrilled, but the Yankees could sign Juan Cruz and only surrender a fourth-round pick.
• Pirates GM Neal Huntington said the team is looking at some comeback-type free agent outfielders.  Dejan Kovacevic guesses that Emil Brown, Craig Monroe, or Jonny Gomes could fit the bill.
• The Red Sox designated knuckleballer Charlie Zink for assignment.
• J.C. Bradbury believes the Braves were misleading with the public regarding their offer to John Smoltz.

• Pending free agents include Mark Ellis, Frank Thomas, Emil Brown, and Keith Foulke.  All except Ellis are certainly goners.
• Huston Street trade talks may resume with the team that claimed him in August.  All we know is that it was a non-contender.  Street is under team control through 2010, and could earn $5MM next year.
• The A’s aren’t planning to trade Justin Duchscherer, and are currently just hoping his hip will be OK for ’09.
• Shortstop Bobby Crosby will earn $5.25MM next year.  He racked up 605 plate appearances this year, the most since his rookie year.  However, he didn’t hit or play acceptable defense.  Interest in him will not be high.
• Lefty reliever Alan Embree spoke of "positive dialogue" between him and Billy Beane regarding his next year.  Embree posted a 4.96 ERA, so maybe the A’s will decline his $3MM option and re-sign him for less.
• Kirk Saarloos is a non-tender candidate.

Mychael Urban’s sources say the Brown signing is linked to Oakland’s likely Mark Kotsay trade, a deal that might be finalized on Monday.

Brown had a dreadful ’07, slumping to .257/.300/.347 in 113 games.  Before that, though, he posted a respectable .800+ OPS in 2005-06.  The KC Star recently summed up Brown’s Royals career, including the pellet gun incident.

These guys are the officials as of now:

• As expected, the Marlins non-tendered catcher Miguel Olivo.  Johnny Estrada was another casualty; these two make up the market for starting catchers.
• The Blue Jays non-tendered Josh Towers, a surprising move.  Some NL team could offer him two years and get league average work out of him.
• Mark Prior has been non-tendered.  Honestly if I were the Cubs, I would’ve tossed the $3.5MM his way just to see.
• Aaron Miles is now a free agent.
• The A’s cut Kiko Calero loose.
• The Padres have non-tendered four: Morgan Ensberg, Jason Lane, and pitchers Jack Cassell and Ryan Ketchner. RotoWorld speculates that the latter two, not arbitration eligible, could be offered minor league deals.
• The Royals cut the cord on Emil Brown.  He turns 33 soon; he hit an ugly .257/.300/.347 in 2007.  Brown earned $3.45MM in ’07.
• The Tigers non-tendered Chad Durbin, toss him into the free agent pool.  Guess those trade talks with the Bucs didn’t work out.
• The Twins have let go Jason Tyner.
• The Nats have cut bait with Nook Logan and LHP Michael O’Connor.
• The Dodgers wave goodbye to Mark Hendrickson.
• The White Sox have non-tendered Andy Gonzalez and LHP Heath Phillips. Joe Crede sticks with the Pale Hose for now.
• Adam Everett has lost his job with the Astros. It’d be kind of funny if the Orioles signed him.
• Per RotoWorld, the Angels have non-tendered Dallas McPherson. He’s full of potential, but he’s never come through. He’s only 27, though, so he could still catch on somewhere. Unless, RotoWorld notes, he has an agreement in place with the Angels.
• The Braves have non-tendered Willie Harris, though he had already been DFA’d.

–Joe and Tim

• The Royals cut the cord on Emil Brown.  He turns 33 soon; he hit an ugly .257/.300/.347 in 2007.  Brown earned $3.45MM in ’07.
• The Tigers non-tendered Chad Durbin, toss him into the free agent pool.  Guess those trade talks with the Bucs didn’t work out.

Now, both the Denver Post and L.A. Times are reporting that the Angels are interested in trading for Atkins.  Troy E. Renck of the Post says Atkins’s name first came up during the Winter Meetings when the two clubs were discussing a Todd Helton deal.  Renck writes that Ervin Santana would be a must in any trade and that the Angels also have interest in Brad Hawpe and Jeff Baker.  He also says Atkins is still considered a core member of the team, so a deal is unlikely.  I wonder if Bill Stoneman is trying to take advantage of a subpar start for Atkins – his defense hasn’t been pretty and his power has been MIA.

From the L.A. side, Mike DiGiovanna adds several players on the Halos’ radar:  Kevin Mench, Jacque Jones, Pat Burrell, Emil Brown, Morgan Ensberg, and Edwin Encarnacion.  DiGiovanna agrees that Santana is the top trading chip.  Santana could really blossom in the National League.  With Freddy Garcia and Adam Eaton struggling and Brett Myers in the pen, the Phillies probably have the strongest need.  Starters Joe Saunders and Dustin Moseley could be used if the Angels want to make a smaller deal.

As long as the Angels are making an all-out blitz for a third baseman, let’s speculate on some other possibilities.  Mike Lowell, Chad Tracy, Hank Blalock have all been rumored in the past; the Rangers clearly have the biggest need for a starter.  Santana, however, could be Brandon McCarthy all over again with his flyball tendencies.

Since the injury-prone guy is often on the DL, that leaves the Jones/Brown type as the one to trade.  The Cubs haven’t had any luck finding the right deal for Jones, though.  And the Royals would probably have to eat most of Brown’s contract to move him.  Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star says a release is possible.

The Royals at least have the DH spot to fill the gaps, if and when Mike Sweeney lands on the DL.  But I still don’t get the Butler call-up.  Unlike the Cubs, the Royals don’t have a shot at the playoffs.  Their outfield doesn’t need Butler’s defense.  Why start his clock early?  It would’ve made more sense to play Brown every day in left and hope for a couple of 3 HR, 15 RBI type months from him.  Then you find a little more desperate team in June or July and get a decent arm in return.  Now that Butler’s up, there’s no chance to build up Brown’s trade value.

It’s a new season, but the results are the same in Kansas City as once again the Royals are struggling to win games in April.  The slow start means trade talk will begin sooner rather than later.  But despite the struggles, the Royals feel they’re headed in the right direction with a solid nucleus of young ballplayers.  The trade options will be limited to the few remaining veterans on the roster.

As the season rolls on, more and more teams will be paying attention to Reggie Sanders.  Sanders, who was linked to a deal with the Orioles in spring training, is off to a good start in a part time role hitting .391/.440/.696.  Although the Baltimore deal fizzled out, there’s still some interest as the Orioles would like to add a right-handed power bat to their thin bench.  Sanders has no problem coming off the bench, but would like to do it for a contender.  Other teams that could be in the market include Toronto, St. Louis or even the Angels.

Other than Sanders, it’s been relatively dry on the rumor front.  But keep an eye on Emil Brown.  Another member of the Royals crowded outfield, Brown will come cheap (he’s due $3.4 million for 2007) and has a consistent track record over the last two seasons.  He’s gained a reputation as a defensive liability, so he could appeal to a contender looking for a right-handed bat for the bench.  If the Royals are asking too much for Sanders, Brown could be Plan B.

One name that seems to come up in trade rumors every year is Mike Sweeney.  Unfortunately, Iron Mike’s bad back and hefty salary have put the kibosh on any prospective deal.  He’s stayed healthy so far (no small feat) but has struggled at the plate, hitting just .162/.238/.162.  At this point, it looks like he’ll play out the season in Kansas City before hitting the free agent market this winter.  If Sweeney gets dealt, it will be to a team in the AL since his back keeps him off the field.

Don’t look for any deals that include the Royals giving up any pitching.  GM Dayton Moore’s first priority since taking the job last summer has been restocking the team and system with arms.  He’s made some progress, but it’s still a thin staff and with pitching at a premium, it wouldn’t make sense for the Royals to let go of any of their pitchers.

By Craig Brown of Royals Authority and Heater Magazine