News and Notes Around MLB

[section18]

Some news around mlb;

The Red Sox and Phillies have checked in on Sizemore, but the Mets are unlikely to get involved. Yesterday we heard that the 29-year-old outfielder is looking for a one-year contract in order to rebuild his value. Is he undergoing a physical in advance and releasing medical records? The Orioles may have an interest and seem to like 1 year deals. LF or CF? $6 - $7 mill with incentives is believed his price tag.

Marlins, who have been connected to most of this offseason's major free agents have already made offers to Albert Pujols, Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle. Would Duquette have interest in Reyes and Buehrle? Will he trade for starters or make an offer to Buehrle. How much will it take? Solid lefthander will turn 33 before 2012 season. NY, Boston and Texas also interested. I've heard 3 yrs $36 mill to 3 yrs $48 mill. Big difference.

Phillies backing off of Cuddyer. Price too high. They overpaid for Papelbon. Cuddyer will land in Baltimore. Does Nick become available?

■The transition to four days' rest from six days' rest between starts will be the biggest transition for Darvish if he comes to the Major Leagues, writes ESPN's Jason Coskrey. Coskrey also provides brief scouting reports of Wei-Yin Chen, Hisashi Iwakuma and Tsuyoshi Wada, three pitchers likely to make the jump from NPB to MLB this winter. Don't see Orioles gambling on him especially with the 6 days rest issue.

■Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (via Twitter) suggests the Indians aren?t likely to pursue Norichika Aoki, the three-time Central League batting champion who will be posted this offseason. As Hoynes reported yesterday, however, the Indians are interested in Japanese right-hander Shinobu Fukuhara. Aoki's name has been mentioned on OH. Not likely.

■The Diamondbacks have a multiyear offer on the table to Aaron Hill and it expires Monday, according to Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com (on Twitter). If the Orioles sign Hill will BROB's days be numbered?

■A pair of veteran scouts who follow the international free agent market predicted that Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes would sign a bigger contract than the one fellow defector Aroldis Chapman signed with the Reds two offseasons ago, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. Chapman signed for six years and $30.5MM. Have the Orioles scouted Cespedes? Does Duquette have Cuban contacts and can he change PA's reluctance to pursue Cuban players?

I think Duquette will start making moves quickly. Teams are not waiting. Would the

Mets, Giants or A's have interest in Reynolds and Scott? I think all three will have interest in both players along with Matusz.

[SteveA]

Could we get anything at all for Scott when it is probably common knowledge that we are not going to tender him?

I agree I think Duquette will not waste much time. He has a reputation for acting pretty quickly. There are a lot of opportunities out there that you can't procrastinate on and wait for hte market to "percolate", and I don't think Duquette is a wait-for-percolation type guy.

[section18]

Detroit and Tampa have had an interest in the past and I think the Giants may have an interest in him. They are looking for a power hitter or two for their lineup. AM should have traded him last winter before the magazine article came out. Let's hope DD moves faster than AM.

[section18]

*The White Sox didn't add Jordan Danks to their 40-man roster, and Jim Margalus of the South Side Sox speculates that this could be a hint that Chicago is preparing to part ways with John Danks. The elder Danks brother has drawn strong interest on the trade market. Danks or Floyd? I am okay with either one possibly coming to the Orioles in a deal..

*There are teams interested in dealing for Nick Swisher, reports ESPN's Buster Olney. The Yankees "will listen on anyone" but they say they aren't shopping Swisher despite "a perception in some corners of the marketplace" that the outfielder is on the market.

*reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.

Also from Frisaro, the Marlins "covet" James Shields and local product Gio Gonzalez. We heard about Miami's interest in Shields last month though the Rays appear intent on keeping the star right-hander. Dealing for either Shields or Gonzalez would require a major trade package, but if the Marlins are truly willing to move their top prospects, Tampa Bay and Oakland could be interested.

*By Mark Polishuk [November 18 at 8:52pm CST]

8:52pm: "The Indians came at us with an aggressive offer,'' Sizemore's agent Joe Urbon tells ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. "Grady has always maintained that he would be interested in returning to Cleveland. We've exchanged proposals, but there's nothing more I can say at this point.'' Crasnick's ESPN colleague Buster Olney hears from a source that the deal "will be done" between the two sides (Twitter link).

*By Mark Polishuk [November 18 at 8:31pm CST]

The Pirates have announced that outfielder Xavier Paul and catcher Eric Fryer have been designated for assignment. As noted by MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch, Paul can't be outrighted to Triple-A, so he'll become a free agent if he clears waivers. In corresponding moves, the Pirates added six players to their 40-man roster today to protect them from the upcoming Rule 5 draft.

Paul was picked up on waivers from the Dodgers in April and posted a .254/.293/.349 line in 251 plate appeaarances for Pittsburgh last season. Fryer, 26, has a career .799 OPS in the minors and he recorded his first 29 Major League at-bats with the Bucs last year. He hit .345 with 5 HR's and 16 RBI's. The Orioles should try to sign him.

*Jerry Dipoto's first offseason as Angels GM is just beginning, writes Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times.

From that same piece, DiGiovanna notes the club will look at "second-tier starters" like Kuroda, Aaron Harang, Jeff Francis, Bruce Chen and Roy Oswalt. Kuroda, Harang and Francis are also known to be on the Dodgers' list of pitching options.

*Sveum told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he hasn't talked to Cubs management about pursuing Prince Fielder this winter. "We haven't gotten that far," said Sveum. "'Influence' is probably not the right word. I've been here 24 hours. I don't know how much influence I have." Sveum did admit that if the Cubs did decide to target Fielder, "I think me being here can only help the process."

As Haudricourt notes in his piece, the close relationship between Sveum and Fielder will ensure some talk between the Cubs and the free agent slugger, since Scott Boras (Fielder's agent) will surely initiate contact if the Cubs don't.