• Rays executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said he's had interest in Matsui in recent offseasons, according to Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune (Twitter links). Though there's no formal out clause in Matsui's contract, Friedman said the Rays will treat the slugger with the respect he deserves. Presumably this means they'll release him if there's no room on Tampa Bay's roster and he asks to pursue other opportunities.
• Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times suggested earlier today that Evan Longoria could miss six to eight weeks with a hamstring-related injury, but Friedman says it's "premature" to assume he'll even hit the disabled list. Reid Brignac and Will Rhymes are among the team's internal options in case Longoria does require DL time.
• Jorge Cantu, who elected free agency yesterday, won't be a fit for the Rays, Topkin tweets. The Devil Rays signed Cantu as an amateur free agent soon after their inception in 1998, and the infielder played in Tampa Bay until 2007.

• The Rockies are having internal discussions about the possibility of pursuing Jorge Cantu, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports. Cantu, who played for the Rockies' Triple-A team last year, elected free agency yesterday.
• Renck notes that Roy Oswalt never reciprocated the Rockies' interest this past offseason and suggests the right-hander is more likely to sign with a club such as Atlanta, Boston or Texas. No NL team has obtained fewer innings from the rotation than the Rockies (120 innings in 22 games).

The Angels, who signed Cantu to a minor league deal in January, assigned him to Triple-A, where he has a .291/.300/.488 line with four homers in 90 plate appearances. Cantu hit 28 homers in 2005 and 29 homers in 2008, but has struggled to produce at the plate since then. Cantu signed with the Padres last year, but they cut him after he posted a .194/.232/.285 line in 155 plate appearances. Cantu, a right-handed hitter, has hit lefties and righties at a nearly identical clip over the course of his eight-year career.

Here are a few more items from both the Dodgers and the Angels…

• Clayton Kershaw was "less than thrilled" about making just $500K last season, which may be part of the reason the Dodgers signed their ace to a two-year, $19MM deal, writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.  The Dodgers wanted to sign Kershaw to a four-year extension that would have covered the southpaw's first free agent season.
• Heyman also calls Matt Kemp's eight-year contract extension with the team "possibly the best financial move anyone made this winter."
• The Dodgers made an offer to Prince Fielder at the Winter Meetings for a four-year contract worth an average annual value of less than that of Alex Rodriguez, Ned Colletti tells Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (Twitter link).  Rodriguez earns an AAV of $27.5MM on his current Yankees contract but one would think that L.A.'s offer couldn't have been much lower than that, given that they were just offering four years.
• Also from Bowden (via Twitter), Fielder's agent Scott Boras said Colletti's recruiting meeting with Fielder was the best he's seen in 30 years.
• Jorge Cantu hopes to be traded to a team with corner infield needs if he can't make the Angels' roster, reports Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles.  Cantu has the option of opting out of his contract with L.A. if he's in the minors on May 1.  He has also considered taking "a couple of months off this summer" as his girlfriend is due to give birth to their first child in June. 
• If the Angels were to offer one of their backup infielders (Alberto Callaspo or Maicer Izturis) to the Phillies, MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez speculates that the Halos could look for Kyle Kendrick or Joe Blanton back in such a trade.  In Blanton's case, the Phils would have to cover a big chunk of his $8.5MM salary for this season.
• Earlier today we covered the hot-stove highlights of Arte Moreno's recent interview with GQ.

• Michael Young told MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan that he embraces his role as a utility player and wants to remain with the Rangers long-term. Young wanted out of Texas a year ago this time, but he had a big season at the plate in 2011 and appears to have settled into his new role. You’ll find him on MLBTR’s newly-released list of 2014 free agents.
• Ken Griffey Jr. said he told GM Jack Zduriencik that he’d put in a good word for the Mariners if Prince Fielder asked him about Seattle this offseason, according to Larry Stone of the Seattle Times. In the end Fielder didn’t ask and Griffey left him alone. “Prince is his own man,” Griffey said. “You can't jeopardize relationships. If he had asked me about it, I would have talked about it.”
• The Athletics want to take a real look at Josh Donaldson at third base and are unlikely to explore the free agent market for third basemen any time soon, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets. Miguel Tejada has said he’d like the chance to return to Oakland, but a reunion seems unlikely.
• Jorge Cantu’s contract with the Angels includes a May 1st opt-out date, Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com tweets.

Cantu, who turns 30 on January 30, posted a .194/.232/.285 slash line in 155 plate appearances for the Padres last season before being released and finishing the year with the Rockies' Triple-A affiliate in Colorado Springs.  Cantu has played mostly first and third base in his Major League career and is still capable of playing second on a limited basis. 

Cantu isn't far removed from a very productive stint with the Marlins (a .283/.336/.462 line and 45 homers in 2008-09) and gives the Angels a more powerful option at third than incumbent Alberto Callaspo.  Cantu could also provide backup for Albert Pujols at first, given that Mark Trumbo is still recovering from a stress fracture in his foot and Kendrys Morales' health is a question mark after missing the last season and a half.

DiGiovanna also reports that the Angels have signed Doug Deeds to a minor league contract.  Deeds is still looking for his first cup of coffee in the Majors after posting a career .843 OPS in 3722 minor league plate appearances in the Twins, Cubs, D'Backs and Rangers organizations.

Cantu hit 28 homers in 2005 and 29 homers in 2008, but has struggled to produce at the plate since then. Cantu signed with the Padres for $850K about a year ago, but they designated him for assignment and the Rockies picked him up. He posted a .194/.232/.285 line in 155 plate appearances for San Diego, appearing at first, second and third base. Cantu, a right-handed hitter, has hit lefties and righties at a nearly identical clip over the course of his eight-year career.

Cantu, 30, was released by the Padres in June after batting .194/.232/.285 in 155 plate appearances, splitting time mainly between third and first base. He was a legitimate source of power for the Marlins as recently as 2009, but struggled both in Florida and in Texas in 2010. In his career, he has a .261/.286/.391 line at Coors Field, nothing Castilla-like, but a step up from the .221/.273/.368 put up by Rockies third basemen this season. Ty Wigginton has been getting starts most recently at the hot corner for Colorado, after Ian Stewart faltered in his most recent promotion.

To read the latest hot stove news en español, check out MLBTR's sister site Rumores de Béisbol.

Cantu hit .194/.232/285 in 155 plate appearances this year, playing some first, second and third. The 29-year-old signed with the Padres in January, but was unable to reverse the offensive struggles that intensified last year. Cantu had a .788 OPS as recently as 2009, but he has just a .223/.260/.312 line in 382 plate appearances over the course of the last calendar year.

Cantu signed an $850K contract with San Diego in January and he hit just .194/.232/285 in 155 plate appearances for the Friars, making 37 starts (26 at first, 10 at third and one at second).  His versatility may entice another team to give him a look but his numbers have tailed off considerably since his .289/.345/.443 performance with Florida in 2009.

• Rule 5 pick Brad Emaus has the Mets' second base job locked up "no matter whether they pretend there's still a competition ongoing."
• Jarrod Saltalamacchia seems ready to become a starting catcher in the bigs, says one scout. Even so, the Red Sox would like to add a third backstop, if one were available via trade, to start the year in the minors behind Saltalamacchia and Jason Varitek.
• Heyman thinks Austin Romine may be the best bet for the Yankees' backup catcher opening. However, as we heard yesterday, Gustavo Molina continues to look like the favorite for the roster spot, according to Ben Shpigel of the New York Times. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports agrees, and suggests the role will be important, given potential concerns about Russell Martin.
• The Rangers made attempts to acquire a closer, but never came close to landing one, which resulted in Neftali Feliz keeping the job.
• Heyman adds Jorge Cantu's name to the list of possible fits at third base for the Marlins.

• Jane Lee of MLB.com writes that Athletics manager Bob Geren believes that his club has improved by leaps and bounds this winter.
• Recent addition Orlando Cabrera might not hold the Indians' starting second-base job for long, writes Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.
• Yankees captain Derek Jeter is not going to be happy about the comments made by Hank Steinbrenner earlier today, writes Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.
• David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution points out that Braves GM Frank Wren is now under contract for the same period as manager Fredi Gonzalez, whom he hired to replace Bobby Cox.  Earlier today the two sides agreed to a two-year contract extension.
• There may not be a spot in the Blue Jays' bullpen for pitcher Casey Janssen but the veteran says he's not looking for a way out of Toronto, writes Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com.
• New to San Diego, Jorge Cantu says that he's ready to produce even though he'll be asked to move around the diamond, writes MLB.com's Tom Singer.  The Padres offically inked Cantu to a one-year deal worth $850K towards the end of January.
• Speaking of brand new members of the Pads, Kevin Frandsen is delighted to be back in the National League, tweets Dan Hayes of the North County Times.

Cantu, 29 later this week, hit just .256/.304/.392 in 515 plate appearances for the Marlins and Rangers last season, though he performed at a much more respectable .283/.336/.462 clip from 2008-2009. Capable of playing the corner infield spots and filling in at second in an emergency, he offers some versatility and could platoon with the left-swinging Brad Hawpe at first.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports originally reported the agreement (Twitter links), while Marty Caswell of XX 1090 in San Diego added the terms (Twitter link).

• The Padres are in on Jorge Cantu, but would prefer to sign the infielder to a minor league deal, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). San Diego may be a leading suitor for Cantu, as the Braves are not pursuing him.
• Three of the top four Padres prospects on Baseball America's top ten list arrived in the San Diego organization in the Adrian Gonzalez trade. Casey Kelly (1), Anthony Rizzo (2) and Reymond Fuentes (4) figure prominently into the list of promising young Padres.
• Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that Giants GM Brian Sabean enters the season in wait-and-see mode. That approach worked out for San Francisco in 2010, when the Giants made key in-season acquisitions and won the World Series. 
• Steve Foster of Inside the Rockies expects Mike McKenry, Jose Morales and Matt Pagnozzi to compete to back up Chris Iannetta behind the plate.

12:31pm: The Padres and Braves appear to be the front-runners to land Jorge Cantu, writes Stephen Goff of the Houston Astros Examiner. In addition to San Diego and Atlanta, Cleveland remains a potential destination for the infielder.

Cantu, who turns 29 next weekend, expressed some disappointment that he wasn't able to work out a deal with his hometown Astros, but is optimistic about securing a contract with another team:

"We've been talking to Atlanta, Houston, San Diego and Cleveland," Cantu said. "We were really trying with Houston, but talks have just ceased with them, which is unfortunate…. Still, San Diego is talking a lot. I like San Diego. They have a winning ballclub and had a great pitching staff last year. I wouldn't mind going over there."

The Rockies, Mariners, and Diamondbacks have also been linked to Cantu at various times this offseason, though it's unclear if they still have any interest.