June 2012 - Baseball Wiretap

Mets May Slash Over $50M From Payroll
The 2012 Mets may have the largest one-year payroll slashing in history.

ESPN.com

Fielder's Salary Will Start At $23M
Prince Fielder will earn $23M in each of his first two years with the Tigers.

ESPN.com

Nationals Sign Brad Lidge
The Nationals signed pitcher Brad Lidge to a one-year, $1M deal on Thursday.

ESPN

Source: Rays, Keppinger Agree On One-Year Deal
The Rays and infielder Jeff Keppinger have reached agreement on a one-year deal.

ESPN.com

Reds Acquire Wilson Valdez, Willie Harris
The Reds have acquired infielder Wilson Valdez from the Phillies for minor league pitcher Jeremy Horst.

ESPN.com

Miguel Cabrera Willing To Move To Third Base
Miguel Cabrera says that he's moving to third base to accommodate first baseman Prince Fielder.

ESPN.com

Bidding For Cespedes Set To Begin
On Tuesday, it was reported that Cespedes had established residency in the Dominican Republic.

Yahoo! Sports

Cecil Fielder 'Shocked' By Prince's Decision
Prince Fielder reportedly agreed to a nine-year, $214 million deal with the Tigers on Tuesday.

Detroit News

Darvish Sets Goal Of Becoming World's Best Pitcher
Yu Darvish decided to leave Japan for Major League Baseball and the Rangers because he wants to become the world's best pitcher.

Associated Press

Orioles, Andino Agree To One-Year Deal
Robert Andino, 27, had his best season in 2011, playing the majority of his career-high 139 games at second base.

Associated Press

Pavano Will Start Opener For Twins
Minnesota will open the 2012 season at Baltimore on April 6.

ESPN.com

Uehara Refuses Trade To Blue Jays
The Rangers attempted to trade Koji Uehara to the Blue Jays on Tuesday, but the reliever rejected the deal.

Yahoo! Sports

Sources: 12 Groups Submit Dodgers Bids
Mark Cuban, Leo Hindery, Stan Kroenke, Magic Johnson, Joe Torre and Peter O'Malley were among the bidders for the Dodgers.

Associated Press

Posada Hints 2012 Will Be It For Rivera
During his retirement announcement on Tuesday, Jorge Posada may have revealed that 2012 will be Mariano Rivera's final season.

MLB.com

Blue Jays May Look To Add Reliever
The Blue Jays are unlikely to make another significant move this offseason, but they may look to add a reliever.

Gregor Chisholm/MLB.com

Red Sox Have Checked On Edwin Jackson
Roy Oswalt also interests Boston, which is looking for a starting pitcher and an infielder.

Jon Heyman/CBS Sports (via Twitter)

Zimmerman May Structure Deal To Help Nationals Acquire Other Talent
The Nationals and Ryan Zimmerman are in talks about a lengthy contract extension.

Washington Post

Cashman Refers To Posada As 'Borderline Hall Of Famer'
From now until 2032, Jorge Posada will be eligible for consideration by the voting members of the BWAA.

Wallace Matthews/ESPN.com

Brewers Never Made An Offer To Fielder
The Brewers never made an offer to re-sign Prince Fielder once they heard his asking price.

Jerry Crasnick/ESPN.com

Yankees, Russell Martin Agree To One-Year Deal
Catcher Russell Martin and the Yankees agreed to a $7.5M, one-year deal on Tuesday.

ESPN.com

Cespedes Establishes Residency In Dominican Republic
The Cuban outfielder is now waiting on approval from Major League Baseball to be declared a free agent.

MLBlogs.com

Extension Between Nationals, Zimmerman 'In Reach'
Ryan Zimmerman is scheduled to make $26 million over the next two seasons.

Yahoo! Sports

Blue Jays, Cordero Agree To $4.5M Deal
Francisco Cordero will likely act as a setup man for closer Sergio Santos.

Ken Rosenthal/FOX Sports (via Twitter)

Indians Are Trying To Get 'Carmona' To United States
"Fausto Carmona" is accused of using a false identity to play baseball in the U.S. and faces a judicial process in the Dominican Republic.

Associated Press

Tony La Russa To Manage NL All-Stars
Tony La Russa will be just the second retired manager to lead an All-Star team.

Associated Press

Posada Bids Farewell To Yankees In Emotional Press Conference
Jorge Posada bid farewell to baseball at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday.

Andrew Marchand/ESPN.com

Orioles Sign Betemit To Two-Year Deal
Wilson Betemit and the Orioles have agreed to a two-year, $3.25M contract.

ESPN.com

Reports: Tigers To Sign Prince Fielder
The Tigers and Prince Fielder are close to an agreement on a nine-year deal worth $214M.

ESPN.com

Report: Giants, Lincecum Agree To Two-Year Deal
The Giants and pitcher Tim Lincecum have reached a verbal agreement Tuesday on a two-year deal worth $40.5M.

ESPN.com

Nationals In Race For Fielder, But Nothing Imminent
The Nationals are still active in the Prince Fielder sweepstakes, but they are not close to finalizing a deal.

MLB.com