For the Reds to make the deal work though, they would have to move some salary with the likely trade candidate being Homer Bailey and his $2.425mm deal.

Oswalt has received interest from the Cardinals, Rangers, Red Sox and Tigers, with the Cardinals and Rangers being viewed as the favorites.

In 2011, Oswalt went 9-10 while posting a 3.69 era in 139 innings with the Phillies. He did average a career low with 6.0 strike outs per 9 innings and is coming off a series of injuries. Oswalt earned $16mm last season and made $1,777,777.78 for every win or $172,043,01 for every strikeout.

Image taken by Matthew Straubmuller and used under the Creative Common License Agreement.

Francis can earn $1.5mm if he makes the big league club and can earn an additional $1.75mm based on unknown incentives. Francis also can opt out of his deal with the Reds on March 28.

In 2011 with the Royals, Francis went 6-16 with a 4.82 era.

Image taken by Keith Allison and used under the Creative Common License Agreement.

Navarro hit .193 in his second stint with the Dodgers last season. He was designated for assignment by the Dodgers on August 23 as a result of his poor work ethic.

Image taken by Keith Allison and used under the Creative Common License Agreement.

Ludwick will earn a base salary of $2.5mm with a possible $500k in incentives.

Ludwick posted a .237 avg while hitting 13 home runs for the Padres and Pirates last season, while he earned $6.775mm.

Image taken by SD Dirk and used under the Creative Common License Agreement.

The 31-year-old right-handed closer has pitched his entire nine-year career with the Philadelphia Phillies .  He had his best year in 2011 when he had 32 saves and a 2.37 ERA in 62 relief appearances.

Image by Shannon Lamond under the Creative Commons License.

We are proud to announce that our PRO Rumors Android app version 1.0 is available on the Android Market.  We spent a lot of time on the app’s design and functionality, and we are sure that you’ll love it.  To download the app for an introductory price of $2.99 you can click here.

Here are a few features:

– Push Notifications to get the latest news and rumors for your favorite MLB team

– Pulse-like view of articles – it’s beautiful

– Real-time scoreboard

– Real-time box scores of in-game action

We’re working hard to add more features, so if you have any questions or feature requests, please send an email to support@prorumors.com.  We promise to write you back.

Allan

Larkin enters the Hall on his third year of eligibility with 495 of 573 possible votes – giving hm 86.4%.   Players must be named on 75% of the ballots submitted to be elected into the Hall of Fame.

Image by ChipMaheney under the Creative Commons License.

Image by ChipMaheney under the Creative Commons License.

The deal was first reported by Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

Image by SD Dirk under the Creative Commons License.

Brackman was the New York Yankees’ first-round pick in the 2007 MLB Draft.

Image by ChipMahaney under the Creative Commons License.

– The Houston Astros have hired Jeff Luhnow as their new general manager. (Brian McTaggart, MLB.com)

– The Pittsburgh Pirates have released Ross Ohlendorf. (Jenifer Langosch, MLB.com)

– John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle says the Giants are out on Carlos Beltran. Jon Heyman adds that Beltran’s market appears thin.

– Jimmy Rollins’ agent, Dan Lozano, and manager Charlie Manuel are saying that a deal between the Phillies and Rollins will get done.  (Jim Bowden, ESPN XM Radio).

– Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post says the Washington Nationals are now targeting Roy Oswalt.

– Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports reports that the Detroit Tigers are considered front runners to land veteran right hander Octavio Dotel. Rosenthal also adds that a NL team is also in the mix.

– The New York Mets are shopping Jonathon Niese according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. He adds that the Padres and Rockies are among the teams interested in him.

– Mark Buehrle has narrowed his choice to three teams and according to Juan Carlos Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel the Marlins are one of them.

– The Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, the Arizona Diamondbacks are among the teams interested in Hiroki Kuroda according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports. He adds that the right hander may go back to Japan.

– According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Athletics will not move left handed pitcher Gio Gonzlaez during the Winter Meetings.

– The Kansas City Royals are looking for an utility infielder, and according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN, they are considering Edgar Renteria and “several others.”

– The Cleveland Indians are interested in first baseman Derek Lee, and according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com, they are waiting until after Lee decides if he’ll accept the arbitration offer from the Pirates.

– The Colorado Rockies are interested in trading for Edinson Volquez or signing free agents Hiroki Kuroda or Kevin Millwood according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. He adds that the teams has the money to make the next move.

– According to Buster Olney of ESPN, the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres are talking about a deal involving Huston Street.

– First baseman Carlos Pena said that he will not accept the Cubs’ arbitration offer according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.

– Sussan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle confirms that the Phillies are indeed interested in Gio Gonzalez, and adds that they are also interested in reliever Craig Breslow.

– According to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports, Gio Gonzalez’s “known suitors” are the Tigers, Diamondbacks, Marlins, Reds and Phillies.

– Veteran short stop, Miguel Tejada, is working out in Fort Lauderdale and is hoping to get a Major League deal according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. He adds the the Orioles have no interest in signing him.

– According to the New York Post (via Guillermo Celis of ESPNDeportes), the New York Yankees are listening to offers for A.J. Burnett. He adds that the Yankees are willing to eat about $8 million of the $33 million owed to Burnett.

– The Detroit Tigers are apparently trying to make a strong push for left handed pitcher Gio Gonzalez according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

– Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports says that the Angels and Brewers are among the teams interested in Aramis Ramirez. He adds that the Phillies are no longer interested in the third baseman.

– Peter Gammons says that the Oakland Athletics are considering Josh Reddick and propects for Andrew Bailey.

Image by Keith Allison under the Creative Commons License.

The A’s are “very willing” to trade him this winter. Yesterday, we learned that the Angels were inquiring about him, and last week, we learned that the Reds, Blue Jays, Mariners, Rangers and Red Sox were among the teams interested in him.

Bailey was 0-4 with a 3.24 ERA and 24 saves in 41.2 innings for the A’s in 2011.

Image by ping ping under the Creative Commons License.

– Five teams (including the Texas Rangers) are in the hunt for C.J. Wilson and one of them has made a six-year offer.  (Jeff Wilson, Star-Telegram)

– The Twins, Nationals, Marlins and Rangers are in on Mark Buehrle. (Ken Rosenthal, FOX Sports)

– The Royals, Marlins, Twins, Athletics and Mariners are interested in Carlos Guillen. (Enrique Rojas, ESPNDeportesLosAngeles)

– According to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post, the Miami Marlins (formerly Florida Marlins), plan to tender Juan Carlos Oviedo (formerly Leo Nunez).

– The Tigers, Blue Jays and Padres have inquired about Daniel Murphy from the Mets. (Joel Sherman, The New York Post)

– The Arizona Diamondbacks are looking for a starter, and according to Steve Henson of Yahoo Sports, they’re targeting right handed pitcher Hiroki Kuroda.

– Josh Willingham have been contacted by nine teams according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN. That list includes the Twins, Red Sox, Indians and Reds adds Crasnick.

– Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post says that the Philadelphia Phillies are “strong players”for third baseman Aramis Ramirez.

– The Los Angeles Angels have been inquiring about Andrew Bailey according to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.

– The St. Louis Cardinals have been talking to Octavio Dotel according to Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated.

– The Pittsburgh Pirates “may add another outfielder” according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports. And according to sources close to him, they are interested in former Pirate Nate McLouth.

Image by raisethejollyroger dot com under the Creative Commons License.

The Rockies will also trade catcher Chris Iannetta to the Angels for right handed pitcher Tyler Chatwood added Renck. Yesterday, we learned that the Rockies might be looking to deal Iannetta.

Hernandez hit .282/.341/.446 with 12 HR’s and 36 RBI’s in 298 AB’s for the Reds in 2011. Iannetta hit .238/.370/.414 with 14 HR’s and 55 RBI’s in 345 AB’s for the Rockies last season. Chatwood went 6-11 with a 4.75 ERA in 142 innings in 27 games, 25 starts for the Angels in 2011.

Image by Keith Allison under the Creative Commons License.

In the book’s preface, the author quotes work done by a Manhattan lawyer named Doug Pappas. Pappas, says that a team with only minimum wage players, both on the Major League roster and the rest of the 40-man, would still probably win 49 out of the 162 games played.

In 2011, the minimum wage for a player on the 25-man roster was $414,500. The minimum wage for a player on the 40-man roster, with at least one day of MLB service time or had been on the 40-man roster for a year was $67,300.

The minimum that a team could spend on their 40-man roster in 2011 was: $11,397,000. That’s $10,387,500 for their 25-man roster and $1,009,500 for the rest of their 40-man roster. If a team could get approximately 49 wins with a $11,397,000 payroll, that means that if you divide the total wins a team got above their 49th win by the total dollars they paid over the minimum, you get the “price” each team paid for each win they got.

After this brief introduction of the “marginal win” formula, I’m going to say what this report is all about. I’m going to analyze the “price” for each win a team got in 2011 so we can determine which teams were the most cost effective. Besides that, I’m going to list the top 5 paid players on each team and give you their performance line, to see how much they actually contributed to their team.

I’ll also list each team’s OBP, runs and SLG totals so we can see for ourselves how related these stats are at the moment of scoring runs and winning games. So get ready to experience a thoughtful analysis of every 2011 Major league team.

The team’s payroll was taken from USA Today and the individuals salaries from About.com.

Image by dherrera_96 Under the Creative Commons License.

Morosi adds that although Dotel is more of a seventh-inning guy at “this stage of his career,” he could handle the eight or ninth inning when needed.

In 2011, Dotel was 5-4 with a 3.50 ERA in 54.0 innings with the Toronto Blue Jays and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Image by sillygwailo under the Creative Commons License.

The Angels catching trio of Bobby Wilson, Jeff Mathis and Hank Conger hit an intimidating .194 combined in 2011. While Conger is considered by many in the organization as the catcher of the future, he may not be ready to handle the everyday catching duties next season.

Hanigan hit .267 in 2011 while making only $450k. He is also signed for two more seasons at $1.2mm and $2.05mm.

Rosenthal notes that if the Reds do decide to trade Hanigan, they may look at resigning Ramon Hernandez who is currently a free agent.

Image taken by Kwong and used under the Creative Commons License Agreement.

Image by dherrera_96 Under the Creative Commons License

– The Houston Astros agreed to a deal with outfielder Travis Buck.

– The Cincinnati Reds signed outfielder Daryl Jones.

– The Florida Marlins signed left handed pitcher Beau Jones.

One of the new features we are proud to debut is our “Mail Time with PRO Rumors.” Twice a month (or maybe more), we will answer emails from our readers about any baseball related topic. We will also take questions in both English and Spanish. If you have a question about Winter Ball in Venezuela make sure you drop us a line, as PRO Rumors’ writer Juan has been scouting most of the games.

Send us your questions to Mailbag@prorumors.com

Earlier today, we learned that the Twins claimed left handed pitcher Matt Maloney of waivers from the Cincinnati Reds. Maloney himself published the news on his official Twitter account.

Gray was 0-1 with a 4.57 ERA in 88.2 innings with the White Sox and Mariners in 2011. Maloney was 0-3 with a 9.16 ERA in 18.2 innings throughout eight games, two starts with the Reds in 2011. In three seasons with the team he was 4-9 with a 5.40 ERA in 80 innings.

Image by Tiger Girl under the Creative Commons License.

Back in September, we learned that the team planned to bring back Phillips in 2012 and that both parties had preliminary talks about a contract extension in February. As late as June, talks between the two had not started up again.

Phillips hit .300/.353/.457 with 18 HR’s and 82 RBI’s in 610 AB’s with the Reds in 2011.

Image by Keith Allison under the Creative Commons License.

– Carlos Beltran: Shea believes that his “tender knees” will keep him away from center field, and believes he could go to the American League so he can be a designated hitter. The chances of him returning to San Francisco are 50/50 according to Shea and he suggests the Indians as another possible destination for him. The Mariners could be a long shot for the switch hitting outfielder.

– Josh Willingham: He had a productive season in Oakland this year, but according to Shea the A’s “might not want to pay what he’ll get elsewhere.” He adds that Willingham could provide a “complementary pop” from the right side of the plate. The chances of him returning to the A’s according to Shea are low, and adds that he could sign with the White Sox. He views the Reds as a long shot.

– Michael Cuddyer: As an utility man, the Giants could pursue him as their next left fielder says Shea. His chances of returning to the Twins are 50/50 and he adds that another good fit for him could be the Rockies. The Red Sox are considered a long shot.

– David Ortiz: He wanted a two-year deal with the Red Sox, but they never talked to him about that possibility and according to Shea his comments about the team’s recent drama won’t help his case to return with the team. He says that the Blue Jays could be a good fit for him and views the Rays as a long shot.

Image by Keith Allison under the Creative Commons License.

I decided to talk about this specific tournament, well because I played in it last year and I’m 22 days away from going to Florida to play in it again.

Now, this specific tournament is played only once a year in Florida. Last year the tournament was held in the Cardinals’ Spring Training Complex, the Mets’ Spring Training Complex, the Marlins’ Spring Training Complex and the old DODGERTOWN.

The tournament is organized in age groups. +18, +25, +35, +45, +52 and some groups have the option to play with wood or aluminum bats. Besides that, the +25 group age has two divisions, one accepts ex-pros and the other one doesn’t.

The fun part of this tournament, besides the obvious part of playing baseball, is the fact that you get to play against teams from different countries. In 2010 we played against our arch-rivals in Venezuela, three teams from the U.S.A and one from the Dominican Republic.

Last year, was not only my first time there, but the first time my team, as a team, played in the tournament. Some of our players played before with other teams. Unfortunately we didn’t do as we expected. We won the first game against our arch-rivals, but the next day we took two huge blows.

First we lost in 12 innings against the Dominican Republic team 3-2, one of the greatest games I’ve had the pleasure of playing in. Then we suffered an 8-5 defeat against a team from Cleveland (I lost that one pitching 5 innings and allowing 4 runs, 3 earned). The next day we had to play against the undefeated team of our group and lost 6-4 eliminating us from contention.

For this edition, we decided to recruit some new weapons to add to our pitching staff. First Victor Prieto, who played with the Marlins and Red Sox from 2002 to 2005 between Rookie and Single-A. His best season was in 2002 when he was 4-2 with a 3.16 ERA in 31.1 innings for the Gulf Coast Marlins.

We also recruited Luis Torres who played with the Nationals from 1999 to 2003 and had a career record of 28-32 with a 4.35 ERA in 457.1 innings throughout 110 games, 68 starts between Rookie, Single-A and Double-A levels. Juan Carlos Ugas who recorded a 5.30 ERA in 100.2 innings for the Dodgers Single-A team between 1999 and 2000.

And last, but not least, Juan Carlos Ovalles who played for the Diamondbacks, Mariners, White Sox and Nationals from 1999 to 2006. He played in an  independent league from 2006 to 2009 there too. His career record, including his years in independent league was 44-44 with a 4.27 ERA in 609.1 innings throughout 340 games, 35 starts between Rookie, Single-A and Double-A levels.

Hopefully these new acquisitions, with the rest of our pitching staff will help us contend in the tournament this year, and hopefully win it all.

Here’s a video of the last out in the 2008 Fall Classic’s Final. The UNDEFEATED champions that year were our Venezuelans arch-rivals “San Luis Venezuela.”

For more information about the tournament go to the MSBL website, and don’t forget to root for my (Juan Dominguez, @JuanchoXIII) team, “Cachicamos de Venezuela.” BTW. “Cachicamos” mean Armadillos.

The picture is our last year’s team. In case you are wondering I’m the fifth from right to left in the standing row.