MLB Roundup: Cespedes draws big interest, Andrus agrees to new deal
Free agent outfielder Yoenis Cespedes is being pursued by multiple major-league teams, though his preference appears to be the Miami Marlins.
"It would be good (to play here)," Cespedes told reporters at Miami International Airport Tuesday, a day before his scheduled meeting with the team. "There are a lot of Cubans and they would support me a lot. Hopefully I can play for the Marlins."
Team president David Samson told ESPN.com that the Marlins would meet with Cespedes on Wednesday and could make him an offer by the end of the day.
Months of defecting from Cuba, Cespedes established residence in the Dominican Republic and subsequently received a visitor's visa to travel to the United States to negotiate with teams.
Samson described a Cespedes signing as the "cherry on top" of an offseason that landed high-profile free agents Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Heath Bell, but also established a negotiating limit.
"We want him, but we don't need him," Samson told ESPN.com. "The difference is this: When you want a player, you aggressively go out and try to sign him. When you need him, that's when negotiations get very one-sided."
---Shortstop Elvis Andrus and the Texas Rangers avoided arbitration by agreeing to a three-year deal, according to an ESPN.com report.
Citing a source, ESPN.com reported that the deal is worth between $14-15 million.
The deal buys out all three of the 23-year-old's arbitration-eligible seasons. The righty batted .279 with five homers and 37 stolen bases in 2011.
The Rangers acquired Andrus as part of the deal that sent Mark Teixeira to Atlanta in 2007, and the spectacular defensive player earned the starting shortstop job in 2009.
---The Kansas City Royals are close to an arbitration-avoiding, one-year deal with left fielder Alex Gordon, according to a report in the Kansas City Star.
Gordon, who turns 28 Friday, requested $5.45 million, while the Royals offered $4.15 million. The lefty earned $1.4 million last season. Should the sides not reach an agreement, a hearing is set for Feb. 16 in Tampa, Fla.
A compromise would like fall between $4.8 million and $5 million. The Royals the end of the week. The Royals haven't been to an arbitration hearing since Dayton Moore became general manager in June 2006.
Gordon hit .303 and led the team with 23 home runs, a .376 on-base percentage and a .502 slugging percentage.
---Emilio Bonifacio turned a breakout season into a modest salary arbitration win.
Bonifacio was awarded a $2.2 million salary by a three-person panel on Wednesday, rather than the $1.95 million offered by the Marlins.
Bonifacio, who batted a team-high .296 last year with five homers, seven triples, and 40 steals, earned $425,000 last season.
The switch-hitter is the second Marlin to win his case this year. Pitcher Anibal Sanchez received his $8 million request rather than the team's $6.9 million offer.
---The New York Yankees signed first baseman/designated hitter Russell Branyan to a minor-league deal with an invitation to spring training, according to the New York Post. The move doesn't impact the team's reported pursuit of Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui and Raul Ibanez, the paper said.
Branyan, batted .197 in 146 plate appearances for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Angels last season.
---The San Diego Padres signed right-handed pitcher Jeff Suppan to a minor-league deal on Wednesday, according to MLB.com. The 37-year-old posted a 4.78 ERA in 165 2/3 innings for the Kansas City Royals' Triple-A affiliate last year.
A 16-year MLB veteran, Suppan has 138 wins and a 4.69 career ERA.
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