• The Rockies are making no secret of their desire to acquire a centerfielder before the start of spring training.
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The club has discussed ways to piece together trades for Toronto's Alex Rios, Boston's Coco Crisp and Houston's Chris Burke, while Dave Roberts, Darin Erstad and Jay Payton rank high on its wish list. Roberts and Erstad filed for free agency Saturday.
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• The Rockies also are looking for help in the pen (who isn't?), and are eyeing free agent Octavio Dotel.
• Former bird-watcher Byung-Hyun Kim has a deadline later this week for a $2.5 million option, which the Rockies are leaning toward picking up. But don't be surprised if the Rockies pick up Kim's option, then flip him in a deal.
• After the Mets found themselves without Pedro Martínez and Orlando Hernández for the playoffs, they could be thinking about kicking the tires on Jeff Suppan, Newsday reports.
• A pair of Stros are heading into free agency with possibility of retirement for both ... but don't rule out more playing time.
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How about Andy Pettitte pitching for the Yankees and Roger Clemens pitching for the Red Sox next season? Bet heavier on the latter at this point, but don't rule out the former.
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• Trey Hillman was offered a one-year, $1-million extention to return as manager of the Nippon Series champion Nippon Ham . However, Hillman appears the favorite to become the Rangers' next manager.
• While all eyes are on Daisuke Matsuzaka you might want to keep another eye on Hiroki Kuroda. The 31-year-old righthander is a free agent, which means teams won't have to pay the posting fee.
• Although the Yankees and Alex Rodríguez have publicly said that the third baseman will be in pinstripes in 2007, the Herald's Michael Silverman reminds us that ARod has been through this before. After the well-publicized trade talks with the Red Sox disintegrated, the Rangers annointed him captain. Three weeks later, he was a Yankee.
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Trading Rodríguez is not a farfetched notion, and there are reliable reports from multiple baseball sources that, according to one, “I don’t think there is any way that that relationship can be recovered” and that a trade is “all but certain.”
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The White Sox, Angels and Cubs are all interested in a potential deal.
• Twelve days. That's how long the Red Sox have to notify Keith Foulke whether they will pick up his $7.5 million option – not likely. Fourteen days. That's how long Foulke will have to notify the team if he will be exercising his $3.75 option.
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“Keith hasn’t made a decision,” agent Dan Horwits said. “It’s a long thought process that involves staying there, [or] moving on back closer to his home [in Arizona], staying close to his family [or] staying with people on the team he knows from the last few years.”
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Foulke is healthy now, but Horwits said that Foulke understood that “because of injuries he may have to work his way back to the [closer’s] role.”
• According to The Boston Globe, the new agreement between baseball and the players will extend the Rule 5 protection from three years to four, and provide a little draft protection for teams.
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As for draft protection, if a team can't sign its pick, it receives the same pick the following year, which eases the pain.
The new Aug. 15 deadline for signing draft picks should also provide a drag on amateur draft salaries, and reduce what are often contentious negotiations.
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• The Tribune Co. is in search of a new CEO after the resignation of Andy MacPhail. Two names rumored to be on the list were Tigers' Dan Dombrowski and the Red Sox' Larry Lucchino.
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"Nothing whatsoever to it," said Lucchino. "I like it right where I am, and this is where I want to be."
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• Seems Theo Epstein's acquisition of catcher George Kottaras from the Padres in the David Wells trade was astute, according to one international scout.
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"There aren't any catchers anywhere. I'm talking about catchers who could be top major league players. You can't find them in the States and you can't find them internationally. The best of them was Kenji Johjima [.291, 18 HRs, 76 RBIs for Seattle this season]."
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Rod Barajas is a free agent and could command big bucks as a result. Then again, Benji Molina thought the same thing last offseason.
• Luis Gonzalez could find a new home in the Bay Area. Word is he's close with Bruce Bochy – the new Giants skipper.
• Don't expect the White Sox to pursue a trade for Manny Ramírez. They could be tempted by Gary Sheffield, but the $13 million price tag might be tough to swallow. The Pale Hose apparently are willing to dish Freddy García orJavíer Vázquez in return for a left fielder.
• It looks like Bill Haselman will turn down the managerial post in Lowell. Now, he's waiting to find out if the Carmines will keep him on as first base coach.
• Back to Sheffield ... the New York Post reports the Bombers are fielding calls for the outfielder.
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Possible landing places for Sheffield in a trade are the Angels and Orioles. The Tigers need a DH, and Sheffield enjoyed playing for Jim Leyland with the Marlins.
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