Dodgers Sign Jesus Flores

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The Dodgers signed catcher Jesus Flores to a minor league deal that includes in invitation to Spring Training, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reports (on Twitter). Praver/Shapiro represents Flores, who was non-tendered by the Nationals earlier in the offseason.

Flores appeared in 83 games for the Nationals this past season. The 28-year-old posted a .213/.248/.329 batting line with six home runs and 12 doubles in 296 plate appearances. Flores, who bats and throws right-handed, prevented 27% of stolen base attempts against him in 2012. He'll provide depth behind A.J. Ellis along with Tim Federowicz.

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Interest In Kyle Farnsworth Intensifying

« Dodgers Sign Jesus Flores | Main | Mets Notes: Brian Wilson, Scott Hairston »

Interest in free agent right-hander Kyle Farnsworth is intensifying following Rafael Soriano's agreement with the Nationals, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (Twitter links). Farnsworth has multiple offers and has narrowed his choices from six teams to three, according to Rosenthal.

Farnsworth, a client of Meister Sports Management, spent last year with the Rays. The 36-year-old posted a 4.00 ERA with 8.3 K/9, 4.7 BB/9 and a 55.1% ground ball rate in 27 innings. He earned $3.3MM in 2012, up from $2.6MM in 2011.

It's been a quiet offseason for Farnsworth rumors, but he has been linked to the Rays and Brewers. The Rays, Tigers, Blue Jays, Mariners, Marlins and Mets are among the teams still seeking late-inning relief, according to Rosenthal. I recently examined the market for right-handed relievers.

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Mets Notes: Brian Wilson, Scott Hairston

« Interest In Kyle Farnsworth Intensifying | Main

The Mets completed a nine-figure contract extension and made a blockbuster trade this winter, but they've been quiet in free agency. Mike Puma of the New York Post has the latest on their current pursuits...

• The Mets watched free agent reliever Brian Wilson this weekend, and weren't impressed, Puma reports. The Mets don't consider the rehabbing right-hander to be worthy of a big league deal at this point. Wilson, who's recovering from Tommy John surgery, wasn't interested in a minor league contract, according to Puma. The Mets could watch him pitch later on, but right now he's not physically ready in the view of Mets personnel. 'He's got a ways to go,' one person said. The Mets were known to have interest in Wilson.
• It's believed that the Mets countered Scott Hairston's asking price of two years and $8MM with a one-year, $2MM offer, Puma reports. One source suggested to the Post that the Mets will find a way of adding an outfielder even if they don't re-sign the free agent Hairston.

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West Notes: Upton, Bourn, Hairston, Clemens

« Giants Expected To Discuss Extension With Posey | Main | Diamondbacks Interested In Extending Hill »

The Giants expect to begin discussing a "blockbuster extension" with Buster Posey this spring, but that's not the only news coming out of baseball's Western divisions...

• Grantland's Jonah Keri wonders if the Diamondbacks lost leverage in Justin Upton trade negotiations after their deal with the Mariners fell through. Keri also examines several trades from the past 30 years in which a well-regarded player who had fallen out of favor with the franchise was traded.
• The Rangers are "keeping the lines of communication open" when it comes to free agent Michael Bourn and trade candidate Justin Upton, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. If either's price comes down to the liking of GM Jon Daniels, Texas is prepared to take action.
• Jerry Hairston Jr. is in the final year of a two-year, $6MM contract, and he told Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times that he'll retire if the Dodgers win the World Series this season. Hairston already has one World Series ring, having been a part of the 2009 Yankees and says "you can't get any better" than retiring after a World Series win.
• Roger Clemens sat down with CSN Houston's Steve Bunin to discuss his 2013 role with the Astros and confirmed again that he will not pitch next season. Clemens said he would've had to start training in November to make a serious run at a comeback. Instead, he'll help Houston by mentoring their young arms in Spring Training. For the time being, he's not interested in a full-time role with the organization, however.
• Wendy Thurm of Fangraphs takes a look at a potential Posey extension and notes the risk involved in doling out a massive contract for a player whose career only includes 1255 plate appearances to date.

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Giants Expected To Discuss Extension With Posey

« International Moves: Dodgers, Liberato, Villatoro | Main | West Notes: Upton, Bourn, Hairston, Clemens »

At 25 years of age, Buster Posey already has a Rookie of the Year award, a National League MVP and a National League batting title under his belt. The young phenom has helped propel the Giants to a pair of World Series titles, and according to Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Giants expect to discuss a "blockbuster" extension with Posey at some point this spring (Twitter link).

In 308 Major League games, Posey has a .318/.384/.503 batting line with 46 home runs. A Super Two player, Posey is eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason and won't hit free agency until 2017. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a $5.9MM salary for Posey in his first go-around with arbitration.

Posey currently has two years, 161 days of Major League service time. However, as the reigning NL MVP and a two-time World Series winner, he's in line for considerably more than players like Robinson Cano, Jay Bruce and Joe Mauer received when they signed extensions with two-to-three years of service time.

Given his projected 2013 salary of $5.9MM, Posey's four arbitration years could likely be bought out for somewhere in the $36-40MM range. Marquee players like Evan Longoria and David Wright each recently received roughly $17MM per free agent season in their extensions. If Posey's free agent years command a similar price (which would seem fair for both sides), an extension could approach the $136-138MM range that Longoria and Wright signed for. Of course, that's dependent on how many free agent years GM Brian Sabean would be able to secure for the Giants.

Posey is represented by Jeff Berry of CAA Sports, who has recently worked out significant contracts for clients such as Mark Buehrle, Jake Peavy and John Danks, among others. An extension for Posey, however, figures to be substantially larger.

Thanks to Ben Nicholson-Smith for contributing to this post.

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Diamondbacks Interested In Extending Hill

« West Notes: Upton, Bourn, Hairston, Clemens | Main

The Diamondbacks have had preliminary discussions about a contract extension for second baseman Aaron Hill, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports. CEO Derrick Hall says GM Kevin Towers hopes to begin more substantial talks with Hill's representatives at Legacy Sports Group.

'We're interested in trying to come to an agreement with Aaron before the season starts,' Hall said. 'We know he wants to be here and we obviously feel the same way and would like for him to be here. So Kevin and his agent will begin to speak very soon.'

Piecoro suggests the sides have yet to discuss contract length or value. Hill will earn $5.5MM in 2013 under his current contract, which was signed months after the Diamondbacks traded for him in August of 2011.

Hill posted a .302/.360/.522 batting line with 26 home runs in 668 plate appearances last year, his first full season in Arizona. Among second basemen only Robinson Cano produced more wins above replacement than Hill in 2012, according to FanGraphs' version of the metric (7.8 for Cano, 6.2 for Hill). Hill rebounded from a 2011 season that saw him post a .246/.299/.356 line in 571 plate appearances for Toronto and Arizona.

In case you missed it, the Diamondbacks recently extended closer J.J. Putz through the 2014 season.

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Quick Hits: Blum, Webb, Orioles, Padres

« Week In Review: 1/6/13 - 1/12/13 | Main | Padres, Pirates, Rangers Interested In Shaun Marcum »

Utility infielder Geoff Blum's ready to call it a playing career after 14 seasons in the big leagues, writes Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. After spending five years with the Astros over two different stints, Blum will return to Houston to join the club's television broadcasting team on a part-time basis. Here's the latest news and headlines from around the league...

• The Rockies remain interested in former Cy Young winner Brandon Webb, who plans to set a date to throw in front of teams in the near future, reports the Denver Post's Troy Renck (via Twitter). Webb, 34 this spring, last appeared in the big leagues in April 2009.
• The Orioles have a few free agents for other teams to consider ranging from a sure-fire Hall of Famer to a utility infielder who will most likely use Twitter to announce his next stop, says Rich Dubroff of CSNBaltimore.com.  
• The offseason doesn't always mean vacations or relaxing poolside for younger players in the Padres organization as the salary of a minor leaguer often fails to cover the bills, writes Corey Brock of MLB.com. 

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