Tony Clark may not return to Arizona

Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports that the Arizona Diamondbacks have pulled their 2-year contract offer, to Tony Clark, off the table.

Clark confirmed that, when he spoke with Arizona GM Josh Byrnes, that they would need Clarks' roster spot to make their pending trades work. Knowing that information, it seems like the DBacks are ready to go in another direction.

As a Padre fan, if I'm Kevin Towers, I'm on the phone with Clark's agent TODAY. He's still a very good hitter and a guy who's a very good defensive replacement when Adrian Gonzalez needs a day off.

Dodgers sign Kuroda

12.15.07 2:00pm

Tony Jackson finally confirms what we all already knew. The Dodgers signed Japanese right-hander Hiroki Kuroda to a 3-year deal reportedly worth $36M - $40M.

12.12.07 8:50pm PST

Reports out of Japan say that Japanese free agent pitcher Hiroki Kuroda will sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, though Dodgers' GM Ned Colletti says he has yet to hear from Kuroda's agent.

Jays, Tigers interested in Olivo

12.15.07 11:46am PST

The Toronto Blue Jays have thrown their hat in the ring for the services for free agent catcher Miguel Olivo.

Olivo makes more more sense for Toronto because he'd definetely get more playing there than in Detroit.

12.14.07 1:09pm PST

According to Jon Paul Morosi, the Detroit Tigers have contacted Martin Arburua, the agent for free agent catcher Miguel Olivo. Arburua said he's received phone calls from 5 or 6 different teams regarding Olivo.

Braves interested in Fuentes

The Atlanta Braves could be interested in the Rockies' left-hander Brian Fuentes, especially since Braves' left-hander Mike Gonzalez will be out until at least June after having Tommy John Surgery.

Cameron, Padres part ways

Prior to the Padres landing Jim Edmonds, the agent for Mike Cameron (Mike Nicotera) called off the negotiations with San Diego. The two sides agreed on 2 years but were far apart on the dollar amount.

“In the end we were just not able to reach agreement with the Padres,” agent Mike Nicotera said. “They are moving in another direction as are we. There was just never a meeting of the minds with him. It was certainly amicable.”

The teams interested in Cameron include the White Sox, Twins, Rangers, Brewers, Phillies, and Braves. Ken Rosenthal checks in on the same subject and adds the Cardinals, Reds, and Yankees as possibilities as well.

Nats interested in Prior, Jennings

The Washington Nationals, still interested in obtaining starting pitching, have made it known that they are interested in both Mark Prior and Jason Jennings.

Both pitchers coming off shoulder injuries would be a risk for any team, but there are teams that think that the reward highly outweighs the risk.

Rockies sign Vizcaino

12.14.07 9:08pm PST

Tracy Ringolsby makes it official, Vizcaino has signed with the Rockies.

12.13.05 9:08pm PST

The Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates both had interest in former Yankee reliever Luis Vizcaino, but according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates have been told that they are out of the running for his services.

Knowing that information, it looks like the Rockies will land the right-handed reliever.

Padres deal for Edmonds

The Padres, needing to fill their vacant center field position, chose former Angel and now former Cardinal Jim Edmonds. The Padres dealt minor league 3rd baseman David Freese to St. Louis for Edmonds, he had no problem waiving his no-trade clause to return to Southern California.

The addition of Edmonds means that Mike Cameron will sign elsewhere. From what I've heard, the Texas Rangers could be where he ends up.

Twins add another former Astro in Mike Lamb

The Minnesota Twins reunited former Astro teammates Adam Everett and Mike Lamb after they signed Lamb to a 2-year deal plus an option for 2010.

Diamondbacks deal for Haren, trade Valverde

The Diamondbacks just strenghthened their starting rotation after they made an 8 player deal. The A's sent Dan Haren and minor-leaguer Connor Robertson to Arizona in return for Carlos Gonzalez, Brett Anderson, Dana Eveland, Greg Smith, Chris Carter, and Aaron Cunningham.

Arizona wasn't done, in a move I found suprising, they sent 2007 NL Save Leader and closer Jose Valverde to Houston for Chris Burke, Chad Qualls, and Juan Gutierrez.

Is Houston tearing their entire farm system apart and they didn't tell anyone? Traded 5 minor leaguers for Miguel Tejada, then 3 more players for Jose Valverde? I guess Kevin Towers isn't the only GM ripping other teams off anymore.

Rangers sign Edgardo Alfonzo to a minor league deal

According to the Dallas Morning News, the Texas Rangers signed a minor league deal with former San Francisco Giant Edgardo Alfonzo.

Padres sign Glendon Rusch

Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports checks in, the San Diego Padres have signed left-hander Glendon Rusch to a minor-league deal with an invite to Spring Training.

Rusch is trying to make a comeback after being diagnosed with a life threatening blood clot in his right lung last year.

Tigers interested in Miguel Olivo

According to Jon Paul Morosi, the Detroit Tigers have contacted Martin Arburua, the agent for free agent catcher Miguel Olivo. Arburua said he's received phone calls from 5 or 6 different teams regarding Olivo.

Jenkins to decide between Phillies, Padres

According to Ken Rosenthal, veteran free agent oufielder Geoff Jenkins has narrowed his choices down to the Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres and should have a decision soon.

The Rays took themselves out of the race after signing Cliff Floyd.

Phillies interested in Otsuka

The Texas Rangers, surprisingly to some, non-tendered 36-year old right-hander Akinori Otsuka a few days ago making him a free agent.

Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union Tribune said a few days ago that the San Diego Padres could look to bring Otsuka back on a 1-year deal, but now the Phillies may have interest in him as well according to Steve King of the Philadelphia Daily News.

Can Arizona afford to bet the farm on Haren?

Over the last few weeks, there have been rumors flying around about Oakland A's ace Dan Haren and where he may end up if he's traded.

In the case of the Arizona Diamondbacks, this seems like a better time than ever to make a deal for Haren and add him to their pitching staff, already with one ace (Brandon Webb) and a hard throwing left-handed veteran (Randy Johnson). Although, Nick Piecoro, who covers the DBacks for the Arizona Republic, says dealing players like outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, pitcher Brett Anderson and 2nd baseman Emilio Bonifacio would take away much needed depth on this roster.

Although I'd be all for dealing for a pitcher like Haren, I would tend to agree with Nick. Arizona went all the way to the NLCS with a team mostly built with players from their farm system. If they break that up now for 1 player, will that push them further behind the rest of the division?

Rockies re-sign Cory Sullivan

The Colorado Rockies came to an agreement on a 1-year $1M contract with outfielder Cory Sullivan right before the non-tender deadline.

The 29-year-old Sullivan hit .286 in 72 games for the Rockies last season after being called up from Triple-A Colorado Springs.

Cubs interested in Joe Nathan?

Apparently, if Twins' closer Joe Nathan becomes available, the Chicago Cubs might try to make a deal for him.

I'm not sure why the Cubs need a closer since they already have a combination of Kerry Wood, Bob Howry and Carlos Marmol to handle the 9th inning.

Rockies expected to sign Vizcaino

The Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates both had interest in former Yankee reliever Luis Vizcaino, but according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates have been told that they are out of the running for his services.

Knowing that information, it looks like the Rockies will land the right-handed reliever.

Yankees announce ARod's 10-year deal

The New York Yankees officially announced Alex Rodriguez' 10-year $275M deal.

Scott Boras wanted $350M, the Yankees told him to "take a hike", then gave ARod $275M. Yeah, they showed him...