Circling The Bases tag:bases.nbcsports.com,2009-07-22://20 2009-11-21T20:20:41Z Movable Type Enterprise 4.24-en Quote of the day: Halladay 'not inclined' to sign with Jays tag:bases.nbcsports.com,2009://20.95182 2009-11-21T20:08:05Z 2009-11-21T20:20:41Z "We would like to sign him, he is an original Blue Jay and we have never had a pitcher as good as him. But he is not inclined to sign with us." - Blue Jays president and CEO Paul Beeston,... D.J. Short Contreras considering move to Japan? tag:bases.nbcsports.com,2009://20.95180 2009-11-21T19:47:36Z 2009-11-21T20:07:04Z According to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker, free agent Jose Contreras is considering a move to Japan. Contreras' 16-year-old son is hoping to take part in an exchange program with a Japanese high school. According to a Sanspo.com report, Contreras... D.J. Short Red Sox considering alternatives to Bay? tag:bases.nbcsports.com,2009://20.95175 2009-11-21T18:44:32Z 2009-11-21T19:47:28Z Jon Heyman of SI.com "tweets" that the Red Sox may stay in touch with Jason Bay, however "competing execs believe they're looking at hard at alternatives now." Before hitting free agency, Bay reportedly rejected a four-year contract offer from Boston... D.J. Short Cubs reluctant to give up top prospect for Granderson tag:bases.nbcsports.com,2009://20.95167 2009-11-21T17:24:54Z 2009-11-21T17:28:46Z Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune writes that many in the Cubs' front office feel they would be foolish to give up top prospect Starlin Castro to acquire Curtis Granderson from the Tigers. Castro, a 19-year-old shortstop has drawn weighty... D.J. Short Will Mariners move Ackley to second base? tag:bases.nbcsports.com,2009://20.95161 2009-11-21T15:35:40Z 2009-11-21T15:50:14Z While we're on the subject of top prospects, Dustin Ackley, the No. 2 selection in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft also made news on Friday. Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said Ackley will begin working out at second base in... D.J. Short Strasburg won't need surgery on knee tag:bases.nbcsports.com,2009://20.95160 2009-11-21T15:17:45Z 2009-11-21T15:20:19Z Go ahead and wipe that sweat from your brow, Nats fans. It looks like Stephen Strasburg is going to be just fine. The number one selection of the 2009 First Year Player Draft made a precautionary visit to Dr. Lewis... D.J. Short Blue Jays talking Halladay with Dodgers? tag:bases.nbcsports.com,2009://20.95158 2009-11-21T14:39:10Z 2009-11-21T14:59:51Z Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports "tweets" that the Blue Jays and Dodgers have revisited talks on a potential Roy Halladay trade. While Brown acknowledged that the two sides were talking, he later cited a source close to the two teams... D.J. Short New Padres GM meets with Gonzalez's agent tag:bases.nbcsports.com,2009://20.95155 2009-11-21T14:34:37Z 2009-11-21T14:37:25Z New Padres general manager Jed Hoyer had a two-hour meet-and-greet with Adrian Gonzalez's agent John Boggs on Friday amid speculation of a possible trade or contract extension for the 27-year-old first baseman. "We just really got to know each other... D.J. Short Is Jenks talking his way out of Chicago? tag:bases.nbcsports.com,2009://20.95154 2009-11-21T13:59:13Z 2009-11-21T14:05:06Z He might be. During an interview with Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, Bobby Jenks was critical of the White Sox organization and manager Ozzie Guillen for comments about his weight and conditioning. ''Did I feel I was being picked... D.J. Short Report: Aroldis Chapman fires agent tag:bases.nbcsports.com,2009://20.95152 2009-11-21T13:28:34Z 2009-11-21T17:17:53Z According to the Miami El Nuevo Herald, Cuban left-hander Aroldis Chapman has left Athletes Premier International (API) and agent Edwin Mejia in favor of Hendricks Sports Management. Now, keep in mind that the article is in Spanish, and with my... D.J. Short Still acting cheap, Marlins decline to offer Johnson four-year deal tag:bases.nbcsports.com,2009://20.95134 2009-11-21T00:14:02Z 2009-11-21T00:36:28Z The wheels were set in motion for Josh Johnson to join a sterling class of free agent starters in two years when he and the Marlins reached an impasse in contract talks on Friday. Agent Matt Sosnick told ESPN.com that... Matthew Pouliot BoSox talk Holliday, Beltre with Boras tag:bases.nbcsports.com,2009://20.95128 2009-11-20T23:30:42Z 2009-11-20T23:34:45Z The Red Sox have discussed Matt Holliday, Adrian Beltre, Mike Gonzalez and Rick Ankiel with agent Scott Boras, the Boston Herald's Michael Silverman reports. There are no big surprises in the list. Holliday may well have taken over as Boston's... Matthew Pouliot Report: Jays discuss Halladay with Cubs tag:bases.nbcsports.com,2009://20.95126 2009-11-20T23:01:14Z 2009-11-20T23:02:56Z MLB.com's Carrie Muskat reported Friday that the Blue Jays initiated contact with the Cubs on a potential Roy Halladay deal. Muskat doesn't believe anything will happen with the Cubs in that regard, but, if true, it's still awfully interesting that... Matthew Pouliot Roster-setting day makes minor moves the theme tag:bases.nbcsports.com,2009://20.95123 2009-11-20T22:24:35Z 2009-11-20T22:26:50Z Friday was the last day for teams to add prospects to the 40-man roster in advance of next month's Rule 5 draft. That resulted in plenty of minor moves of interest mostly to geeks like me: *The Red Sox claimed... Matthew Pouliot Rockies wrong to commit to second baseman Barmes tag:bases.nbcsports.com,2009://20.95112 2009-11-20T20:56:06Z 2009-11-20T20:58:30Z From the Denver Post's Troy Renck comes the news that the Rockies are looking to sign starting second baseman Clint Barmes to a two-year deal with an option for 2012 that would buy out his first year of free agency.... Matthew Pouliot