Ramblings: Iwakuma, Putz, Collins

Arizona Interested In Putz

• The Oakland Athletics and Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma are far away in negotiations, and the 30-day window that was granted for the sides to accept a deal does not seem to be long enough to sort out the problems.  Iwakuma has reportedly wanted a deal modeled after Barry Zito's absurd 7-year $126M deal, so there is no way Oakland will get to bring in the imported pitcher at the price.
• The Arizona Diamondbacks are said to be interested in reliever J.J. Putz.  Putz pitched last year for the Chicago White Sox, having a horrific ERA of 5.74.  Still, he was a lockdown closer for Seattle and might be able to bring some of that back with Arizona.
• The Mets have finally chosen a name for their newest manager: Terry Collins.  Collins last managed last for the Angels in 1999, and brings quite a bit of experience to the job.  New York will need it, as their team is in turmoil whether it be Francisco Rodriguez' off-the-field problems or the amazing amount of money owed to players such as Oliver Perez and an injured Carlos Beltran.

Oakland Athletics Sign Iwakuma?

A Japanese reporter, Don Nomura, has seemingly reported that the Oakland Athletics have won the bidding war for pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma. More as this story progresses.....

Ramblings: Cliff Lee, Dunn, Iwakuma

• The Yankees have already contacted top free-agent Cliff Lee, which should come as no surprise since most believe his services will come down to a battle between the Yanks and Texas Rangers.
• MLB.com reports that the Washington Nationals have had a three-year offer to first baseman Adam Dunn for quite some time, and the slugger has insisted that they add a fourth year.  It doesn't seem like they are willing to, and therefore Dunn should be changing locations this offseason.
• Japanese import Hisashi Iwakuma and his former club Rakuten are looking over the offers (which are coming from teams such as Seattle, Oakland and Texas to name a few) and should announce where Iwakuma will be going shortly.  The 28-year old right-hander has good perphirals and has posted a career ERA under 4 in his Japanese career. His top bid is thought to be about $16M.