Hernandez, 34 in February, posted a 6.05 ERA and 3.35 K/9 in 180 innings last year for the Twins and Rockies.  He earned $5MM.  Floyd, 36, hit .268/.349/.455 in 284 plate appearances for the Rays last year; he suffered a slightly torn labrum in the World Series.  He earned $2.75MM and had an ’09 option for the same amount declined in November.

Center adds that the Padres had free agent pitchers Brian Lawrence, Steve Trachsel, and Scott Elarton work out at Petco Park recently but decided not to invite them to Spring Training (Ben mentioned this on Saturday; just a reminder).  Trachsel was designated for assignment by the Orioles in June of last year and was thought to be considering retirement.

• Cameron Smith of the Washington Post thinks the Orioles should pull the trigger on a possible Rich Hill deal immediately.
• MLB.com’s Scott Merkin reports that Jermaine Dye remains "unfazed" by all the trade rumors that have involved him this winter.
• Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times suggests Dye doesn’t expect to return to the White Sox after 2009.
• Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that Eric Hinske attracted lots of interest. Hinske said eight teams showed "good interest" in him.
• Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post likes the Josh Fogg signing because of his clubhouse presence and his price.
• Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune heard that the Padres will not offer a contract to Brian Lawrence, Steve Trachsel or Scott Elarton (hat tip to Buster Olney).
• Olney heard that the Blue Jays are looking for bargains to stock up their minor league system.

The Sun’s Jeff Zrebiec talked with Trachsel this spring and got the impression that he’d retire if the Orioles let him go (unless another team puts him in the rotation).

• John Smoltz will have season-ending shoulder surgery.  Retirement is not out of the question, but right now he’s got his eye on returning in ’09.
• Jeff Zrebiec talked with Steve Trachsel in spring; he’ll probably retire if the Orioles release him.
• Hal McCoy expects Kent Mercker to hang it up.  He’s on the 60-day DL with a sore back.

• The Hardball Times has an interview with Pirates GM Neal Huntington. It’s plenty long. He talks about the dynamics in dealing with his former team, the Cleveland Indians.
• Steve Trachsel might be on his way out with the Orioles. Tough to argue against that move. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the O’s are in the cellar, and might not climb out for the rest of 2008.
• Chris Duncan down, Joe Mather up. Could Mather be the piece that rounds out a powerful outfield? Or could he be trade bait to bring back, say, a second baseman?
• Glendon Rusch is back in the majors, having been recalled by the Rockies.

Posted by Joe Pawlikowski, who writes for River Ave. Blues, a Yankees blog, and can be reached here.

• According to Scott Boras, he and Andy MacPhail have discussed six or seven of his clients.  Among them are Kyle Lohse, Ron Villone, and Corey Patterson.  Lohse would probably not sign for two years, I’m guessing.  Or in the American League.  Who else might they have discussed?  Jeff Weaver?  Anyway, it’s nice to see the Orioles getting along with Boras!
• Zrebiec notes that the O’s have had "preliminary talks" with the agents for Shawn Chacon and Steve Trachsel.  Looks like MacPhail just wants some warm bodies for the back end of the rotation.  Chacon seems to prefer to the Pirates, and a return to Pittsburgh looks "increasingly logical."
• Zbrebiec says Rod Barajas seems to be headed elsewhere despite "significant discussions" with Baltimore.

Trachsel and Redman we know about; they are two among a slew of starters the Rockies are considering.  Capuano is new to the list, however.  They’ll have some competition from the Cardinals on him.

Burke is an option for second base and a player the Rox liked a year ago for the Jason Jennings deal.  Now he’ll come ultra-cheap.  Mark Loretta is considered a long shot.

The Rockies like Ohman, who the Cubs consider expendable.  It’s strange, though, because the Rockies are currently shopping a better southpaw reliever in Brian Fuentes.  Fuentes wants to close, so Dan O’Down will listen to offers.  But it doesn’t make sense that a team would surrender a young, eighth-inning ready reliever for Fuentes.

• How about Bartolo Colon to the Mets?  David Lennon notes that Omar Minaya sold the farm to acquire him in 2002 as the Expos’ GM.
• Scott Lauber says Aaron Rowand is insisting on a five-year deal.  He adds that the Phils have interest in Geoff Jenkins but he might be too expensive. 
• Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller are considered untouchable, so don’t look for the Tigers to make any big trades.
• Patrick Saunders runs down some free agents the Rockies may consider for the back end of their rotation: Tony Armas, Matt Clement, Steve Trachsel, Josh Fogg, Jason Jennings, Jon Lieber, Mark Redman, Brett Tomko, and Kip Wells.
• The Rays may go after Tony Clark, in large part because they’re seeking leadership.  Marc Topkin agrees, and also rattles off Geoff Jenkins, Brad Wilkerson, Cliff Floyd, Mike Lamb, Mark Sweeney, Corey Koskie, and Greg Nortion as other possibilities.
• It’s expected that Eric Gagne will not accept Boston’s offer of arbitration, because he wants to close.  One place he could do so is Texas, who like him if he’ll take one year.
• The Marlins’ new marketing materials exclude Miguel Cabrera.
• The Rangers have interest in Sean Casey and Mike Lamb.

FROM 11-29-07 at 2pm:

According to Tracy Ringolsby, the Rockies already have their 2008 rotation picked out: Aaron Cook, Jeff Francis, Ubaldo Jimenez, Franklin Morales, and Jason Hirsh.  Of course, counting on each to make 30 starts would be folly.  With that in mind, Dan O’Dowd is looking for some veteran filler.  Specifically, he’s trying to sign Mark Redman and Steve Trachsel.  Trachsel in particular would like to become a Rockie.

Trax is 37; he pitched 159 innings over 29 starts in 2007.  He’s always working out of a jam, given the amount of baserunners he puts on.  And he definitely pitches to contact.  Whenever a pitcher walks more than he whiffs, that’s not good.  The Cubs deemed him to be worth less than $4.75MM, declining his ’08 option for that amount.  I’m thinking one year, $3MM.

Redman will be 34 in January.  At one point he could almost be called an innings-eater, but the lefty doesn’t appear to have much left in the tank.

The Rockies have also been linked to Matt Clement, Cliff Lee, Brett Tomko, Jason Jennings, and Ian Snell this winter.

MLBTR: Andy MacPhail has said he doesn’t expect to be in on many free agents, but there was a rumor that the O’s are entertaining Jose Guillen [note: written prior to debunking]. Do you expect them to spend any money on free agents this winter?

Zrebiec: First, the Guillen report was inaccurate. He’s exactly the type of player the Orioles are not interested in at this stage. As for other free agents, I see the Orioles making a couple of small, low price/low risk signings to fill out their roster.

For example, I could see them signing a veteran starter on the cheap, somebody in the Steve Trachsel mold. I wouldn’t rule out them signing a reliever, though it won’t be at anywhere close to the contracts they gave out last year for Bradford, Walker and Baez. And if Tejada is traded and I fully expect him to be, signing a guy like Cesar Izturis could appeal to them. They’ve liked him in the past.

But for the most part, I think you’ll see them try to fill their holes in trades and then patching a couple of spots up with one or two signings. I think it was telling that MacPhail didn’t have one extensive meeting with an agent at the GM meetings.

Let’s start with Kerry Wood, who would garner plenty of interest on the open market.  Despite rumors that Wood might look elsewhere for a chance to start, he’s likely to stay with the Cubs as a starter.

The Cubs are on Curt Schilling’s list, and they’ll be in the mix for him if his price is reasonable.  I take that to mean not much more than $12-13MM.  A cheaper option might be Hiroki Kuroda, though that could take a three-year commitment.  So, perhaps a larger cash outlay. 

The Cubs will probably pass on Alex Rodriguez, though he would’ve been a nice fit at shortstop in my opinion. 

Options: the Cubs exercised Daryle Ward’s for $1.2MM.  They passed on Steve Trachsel’s $4.75MM option, which is a relief since there had been rumors of exercising it.  Cliff Floyd is probably gone as well.

• Rosenthal thinks it’s a sign of desperation that the Angels would entertain signing Barry Bonds, who doesn’t fit in with their club.  His OBP would fit in anywhere, but he would tie up the DH spot at the expense of Juan Rivera and Vladimir Guerrero.
• The Cubs are expected to bring Daryle Ward back at $1.2MM (makes sense) and Steve Trachsel at $4.75MM (questionable).  Cubs fans can only hope Trachsel would be considered a tradeable asset, as Rosenthal opines.  Rosenthal also quashes the idea of trading Aramis Ramirez, both because of his full no-trade clause and the team’s impending sale. 
• David Eckstein is expected to leave the Cardinals, no big surprise.  Rosenthal reiterates recent rumors connecting him to the White Sox, Tigers, and Mets.
• Rosenthal’s idea for Bill Smith and the Twins: keep Johan Santana this winter, and instead trade the $6MM super-closer Joe Nathan.  Teams would line up for him, and Pat Neshek wouldn’t be a bad replacement.
• Do you think Michael Barrett could be a free agent bargain?  Rosenthal talked to one exec who feels this way, and it is a good point if he can bounce back to .280/.350/.480 for five million bucks.

The obvious question – where does Trax fit into the Cubs’ rotation?  It’s hard to picture him outpitching Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Rich Hill, Jason Marquis, or Sean Marshall.  Zambrano, Lilly, and Marquis are locks given their contracts, and Hill has the best ERA on the staff. 

Marshall doesn’t seem to be ailing; his last three starts have been respectable.  He tossed 147.3 innings last year and is on pace for about 157 this year.  That’s a reasonable increase, so limiting his innings doesn’t seem a reasonable reason to yank him.  Maybe we’re looking at a six-man rotation?

For a minute I thought maybe this was a block waiver claim, but then I remembered Trachsel cleared waivers.  The Cubs must consider him an upgrade over Marshall.  Marshall did have two rough outings to start the month; maybe that swayed Jim Hendry’s thinking.  Or maybe he just wanted some insurance and someone to use in the upcoming doubleheader.

• Rosenthal says Torii Hunter rejected a four-year, $56MM offer from the Twins.  However, Hunter said today that he received no such offer.  The Twins approached him about a contract extension, but he’ll wait until the winter to negotiate.  At any rate, Rosenthal believes Hunter will end up in the $18MM per year territory occupied by comparables Ichiro Suzuki and Vernon Wells.
• Mike Piazza could be an option for the Tigers if Gary Sheffield’s shoulder problems linger.  Currently Sheff is looking to return in early September.  Piazza has cleared waivers, so he can be traded to any team.  He hasn’t been hitting this month (.654 OPS).
• The Orioles have a couple of valuable trading chips in Kevin Millar and Steve Trachsel.  Trax has cleared waivers; Millar is an unknown.  Trachsel is back on the radar with a 2.53 August ERA (though he’s whiffed only five in 32 innings).
• Rosenthal says the Marlins will almost certainly explore Dontrelle Willis trades this winter.

• As you know, it doesn’t make sense for the Yankees to keep both Bobby Abreu and Johnny Damon around for 2008.  It’s just not an efficent way to spend $29MM.  Rosenthal says Damon would be open to waiving his no-trade clause, if the Yankees struck a deal with a team that fell under his 12-team protection.  Damon is apparently open to regular playing time on teams not located on the West Coast.  The White Sox, Phillies, Braves, or Astros might make sense, in my opinion.  The Yanks’ ability to pull an exercise-and-trade with Abreu’s 2008 option is hindered by his full no-trade protection.
• Rosenthal believes the Blue Jays might aggressively shop Troy Glaus this winter.  Glaus surprisingly cleared waivers recently.  Glaus is holding all the cards – he has a full no-trade clause and a player option for 2009.
• The Rockies will pass on David Wells, but the Dodgers are still interested.  The Rox might still go for Steve Trachsel if they opt for experience over potential.
• Craig Monroe seems to be an option for second-tier clubs, especially if he becomes a free agent.  The Giants will pass.