Milton Bradley
Rumors

Jayson Stark from espn.com has a new article up with plenty of off season rumors.

• Milton Bradley appears to have three different suitors: Rays, Rangers and Jays. However, Bradley is owed $21M over the remainder of his contact, so the Cubs will likely have to take on a bad contract in return.
• The Marlins had discussions about trading Dan Uggla with the Giants and Rangers.
• Rather than bid on Jason Bay or Matt Holliday, the Yankees seem content to try and resign Johnny Damon or Hideki Matsui.
• Derek Lowe's contract is becoming burdensome for the Braves, especially as they look to extend Javier Vazquez. They'll try to move Lowe and hope to get a hitter in return for him.
• The Phillies are considering Placido Polanco, Mark DeRosa and Adrian Beltre at third base.

Johnny Damon is an off season priority for the Yankees

Back in October, we posted the 2009 MLB Draft Order. Baseball America has since updated the draft order to include the free agent compensation changes.

1) Nationals (59-102)
2) Mariners (61-101)
3) Padres (63-99)
4) Pirates (67-95)
5) Orioles (68-93)
6) Giants (72-90)
7) Braves (72-90)
8) Reds (74-88)
9) Tigers (74-88)
10) Nationals (compensation for failure to sign 2008 first round selection, Aaron Crow)
11) Rockies (74-88)
12) Royals (75-87)
13) Athletics (75-86)
14) Rangers (79-83)
15) Indians (81-81)
16) Diamondbacks (82-80)
17) Diamondbacks (compensation from Dodgers for Orlando Hudson)
18) Marlins (84-77)
19) Cardinals (86-76)
20) Blue Jays (86-76)
21) Astros (86-75)
22) Twins (88-75)
23) White Sox (89-74)
24) Angels (compensation from Mets for Francisco Rodriguez)
25) Angels (compensation from Yankees for Mark Teixeira).
26) Brewers (90-72)
27) Mariners (compensation from Phillies for Raul Ibanez)
28) Red Sox (95-67)
29) Yankees (compensation for failure to sign 2008 first round selection, Gerrit Cole)
30) Rays (97-65)
31) Cubs (97-64)
32) Rockies (compensation from Angels for Brian Fuentes)

When teams finish with the same record, the tiebreaker (and higher pick) goes to the club with the worst record the previous year.

Supplemental First-Round Picks
33. Mariners (compensation for loss of Raul Ibanez)
34. Rockies (compensation for loss of Brian Fuentes)
35. Diamondbacks (compensation for loss of Orlando Hudson)
36. Dodgers (compensation for loss of Derek Lowe)
37. Blue Jays (compensation for loss of AJ Burnett)
38. White Sox (compensation for loss of Orlando Cabrera)
39. Brewers (compensation for loss of CC Sabathia)
40. Angels (compensation for loss of Mark Teixeira)
41. Diamondbacks (compensation for loss of Juan Cruz)
42. Angels (compensation for loss of Francisco Rodriguez)
43. Reds (compensation for loss of Jeremy Affeldt)
44. Rangers (compensation for loss of Milton Bradley)
45. Diamondbacks (compensation for loss of Brandon Lyon)
46. Twins (compensation for loss of Dennys Reyes)
47. Brewers (compensation for loss of Brian Shouse)
48. Angels (compensation for loss of Jon Garland)
49. Pirates (for failure to sign 2008 second-rounder Tanner Scheppers)

Second-Round Changes
56. Dodgers (compensation from Braves for Derek Lowe)
60. Diamondbacks (compensation from Royals for Juan Cruz)
61. White Sox (compensation from Athletics for Orlando Cabrera)
73. Brewers (compensation from Yankees for CC Sabathia)
76. Yankees (for failure to sign 2008 second-rounder Scott Bittle)

Third-Round Changes
104. Blue Jays (compensation from Yankees for AJ Burnett)

Supplemental Third-Round Picks
111. Astros (for failure to sign 2008 third-rounder Chase Davidson)

Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated has a new column with plenty of rumors:

• There are whispers that Omar Minaya will bring Pedro Martinez back to New York.
• The Phillies still have $3M left to spend for 2009.  It's not a lot of money, even in this economy, but Heyman suggests that Moises Alou could be an option for that amount.
• As mentioned yesterday, Rich Aurilla and Nomar Garciaparra are both on the Phillies radar though Aurilla may return to San Francisco.
• Ivan Rodriguez may make the most sense to play in Florida, but only if the Marlins are willing to open up their checkbook.
• The only thing that seems guaranteed upon inspection of Milton Bradley's contract is that it is for two years and $20M.  It may ultimately work out to $30M over three years, but there are complex incentives to get there.
• Though the Yankees have been shopping Nick Swisher and Xavier Nady, there has been more interest in Swisher.  However, it seems like the Yankees are now likely to take both players into spring training.
• Jeff Moorad is likely to have his bid to buy the Padres accepted.  Moorad is expected to keep Kevin Towers in place if he becomes the owner.

Let's look at the latest Cubs rumors:

• In response to whether trade talks between the Cubs and Padres for Jake Peavy would reopen after the Mark DeRosa trade which has freed up some money for Chicago to spend, Kevin Towers told Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports that it was "doubtful". Similarly, Towers told Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union Tribune that the Cubs recent trades are not likely to impact trade talks between the two teams for Peavy.  Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times agrees with Towers statements.
• The sentiment seems to be that the $8M that the Cubs have freed up for 2009 is to assist with signing Milton Bradley.  Bradley is reportedly looking for three years and $30M.  Wittenmyer notes that the Cubs are still confident that they will sign Bradley and Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune contends that Chicago is Bradley's top choice. Bruce Levine of ESPN Radio takes it another step and says that Bradley landing in Chicago is a "done deal".  Levine also reports on Aaron Miles signing a two year contract with the Cubs.

Let's go to Ken Rosenthal for some non-Mark Teixeira news:

• The Angels do not appear interested in Manny Ramirez.  Angels general manager Tony Reagins made a comment to this effect earlier today anyway.
• Padres general manager Kevin Towers notes that if there is any interest from other teams about acquiring Jake Peavy in the future, there will be no word about it.
• The Cubs like their chances of signing Milton Bradley but the Rays, Nationals, and Yankees are interested as well.  However, it seems safe to assume that the Yankees may no longer be in the market for Bradley. 
• Rosenthal feels that the Rays, Mariners, Rangers and Reds are all possible destinations for Pat Burrell.
• Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla and Hank Blalock are all available to acquire via trade as the Rangers are looking to lower their payroll. 
• The Brewers have inquired about Adam Dunn.
• Bobby Abreu is allegedly still in touch with the Yankees.  Again, another free agent that now seems less likely to play in New York.

Jayson Stark of espn.com took a look at the players who did not sign during this week's winter meetings and what the rest of the off season has in store for them:

• Mark Teixeira: The rumored offers are plentiful: eight years, $160M from the Nationals; seven years, $140M from the Orioles; seven years, $160M from the Angels. Scott Boras clients always take the highest bid, but how will Tex be able to spin taking slightly more money from the lowly Nationals?
• Manny Ramirez: The prevailing wisdom is that Teixeira signs with Boston, a non-starter destination for Ramirez, and the Tex sweepstatkes losers bid on Ramirez. But the Angels haven't expressed interest, the Nationals don't need outfielders and Orioles owner Peter Angelos is unlikely to make a larger offer to Ramirez. What does it all mean? Wherever Ramirez plays, he won't have a home until at least February.
• Rafael Furcal: His agent alleges that the Royals, As, Blue Jays and Dodgers are all interested in Furcal and know that it will take anywhere from $27M to $40M to get a contract signed. However, most people think that the market and interest in Furcal is not quite the picture his agent is painting.
• AJ Burnett: The equation seems pretty simple: either take the money from the Yankees or decide to take a discount and play in Atlanta.
• Derek Lowe: Perhaps the market for Lowe is not as hot as once thought. It appears that neither the Phillies nor the Red Sox have made an offer yet. The Yankees could quickly drop out if Burnett and Andy Pettitte sign. The Mets may be interested, but only at a discount.
• Raul Ibanez: There appears to be serious interest from the Phillies, Angels and Mets.
• Milton Bradley: The Cubs and Rays are rumored to be the bidders for Bradley's bat.
• Adam Dunn: He's alleged to be the back up plan in Washington if Teixeira does not land in DC.
• Brian Fuentes: The market has significantly cooled with the Mets and Indians finding closers, but St. Louis still remains an option.
• Trevor Hoffman: There seems to be even less of a market for Hoffman who's receive nibbles, but nothing serious from the Dodgers, Tigers, Brewers and Rangers.

The deadline to offer a free agent arbitration is tonight at 11pm CST (1pm EST). Here's a list of players who are eligible for arbitration, their team's decisions and any commentary.

• Trevor Hoffman was not offered arbitration by the Padres.
• The Angels have offered arbitration to Francisco Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Jon Garland and Darren Oliver.
• Manny Ramirez, Derek Lowe and Casey Blake were offered arbitration by the Dodgers. Joe Beimel, Brad Penny, Jeff Kent and Greg Maddux were not.
• Brian Fuentes has been offered arbitration by the Rockies.
• The Blue Jays offered arbitration to AJ Burnett but not Greg Zaun.
• The Royals offered arbitration to Mark Grudzielanek.
• Russ Springer, Braden Looper and Jason Isringhausen have not been offered arbitration by the Cardinals.
• The Yankees did not offer arbitration to Andy Pettitte, Bobby Abreu or Mike Mussina.
• Dennys Reyes has been offered arbitration by the Tigers. The Tigers also declined to offer arbitration to Edgar Renteria.
• The Brewers offered arbitration to CC Sabathia, Ben Sheets and Brian Shouse.
• The Mariners have offered arbitration to Raul Ibanez.
• John Smoltz was not offered arbitration by the Braves.
• The Mets have offered arbitration to Oliver Perez, but Luis Ayala and Moises Alou did not receive offers.
• The Red Sox have offered arbitration to Jason Varitek and Paul Byrd.
• Kerry Wood and Bob Howry were not offered arbitration by the Cubs.
• The As have declined to offer arbitration to Alan Embree and Frank Thomas. 
• As Ken Rosenthal suggested yesterday, the Diamondbacks did not offer arbitration to Adam Dunn.  They did, however, offer arbitration to Juan Cruz, Brandon Lyon and Orlando Hudson.
• The Rangers offered arbitration to Milton Bradley.

After the demand for espn.com's Jayson Stark's most recent article, let's not delay and get to his next one:

• The list of available closers is long and can be broken down into tiers. Tier 1: Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, Trevor Hoffman, Kerry Wood. Teir II: Jason Isringhausen, Brandon Lyon, Eric Gagne, Juan Cruz and Chad Cordero. Tier III (not really a tier, but those available via trade): JJ Putz, Bobby Jenks, George Sherrill, Huston Street, Jose Valverde and Matt Capps.
• The list of teams interested in closers, however, is short: Mets, Indians, Brewers, Rangers, Tigers and possibly the Cardinals.
• Many teams have filled their closer rolls already: Rockies: Manny Corpas, Marlins, Matt Lindstrom, Cubs: Carlos Marmol, Padres: Heath Bell.
• Jose Arredondo could wind up the closer to replace K-Rod in Los Angeles.
• Rumors are that the Mets will sign K-Rod to a four year deal around $50-$55M, but Stark doesn't think the years make sense for the Mets.
• However, if the Mariners would part with Putz, the Mets may consider trading for him rather than signing any free agent.
• JP Riccardi continued to quell rumors that the Blue Jays are interested in Manny Ramirez.
• While the Angeles remain an unlikely suitor for Jake Peavy, if the team signs Mark Teixeira, they won't have a lot of money left to sign a free agent pitcher and may wind up pursuing the trade route.
• Because of concerns about Russell Martin's health, the Dodgers inquired about how much it would take to sign Jason Varitek.
• There are at least a dozen teams interested in Raul Ibanez: Mets, Phillies, Cubs, Cardinals, Nationals, Braves, Rays, Blue Jays, Rangers (pending Milton Bradley), Angels (pending Garrett Anderson), and Mariners.

Trying to resign starter AJ Burnett remains Blue Jays general manager JP Riccardi's priority this off season and Jordan Bastian of mlb.com reports that Riccardi doesn't expect to do much else in the free agent market.  Specifically, Riccardi discredited rumors about going after Jason Giambi, Milton Bradley and Rafael Furcal. 

Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star notes that Riccardi's typical route of acquiring players is via a trade.  While Riccardi is not normally keen on trading prospects, he could look to move BJ Ryan, John McDonald and Lyle Overbay.

Peter Gammons examines how many of the larger free agent chips will fall once CC Sabathia lands.  Apparently, in talking to many GM's, if the Dodgers land Sabathia that would allegedly push the Giants into the mix for Manny Ramirez.  Gammons also comments that the As are expected to continue to push for Rafael Furcal while the Blue Jays will maintain their promise to Milton Bradley that he is their priority.