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Dodgers not willing to take risk at Pedro's ask price

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Ken Rosenthal

Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since August 2005. He appears weekly on MLB on FOX. Follow him on Twitter.

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Updated Mar 13, 2009 5:11 AM ET
     
 
The Dodgers' curiosity about free-agent right-hander Pedro Martinez ends with his asking price. The only way the Dodgers will sign Martinez, major-league sources say, is if he agrees to "pitch for pay," accepting a low base salary with incentives.
Martinez's agents have reached out to the Dodgers, one source says, and a friend of Martinez says the team recently contacted the pitcher's personal trainer, Chris Correnti. Dodgers officials, however, deny that any serious conversations about Martinez have taken place. The bottom line is that the Dodgers are not going to meet Martinez's price — a minimum $5 million guarantee plus significant incentives, according to one executive. Their fear, the Mets' fear and every interested team's fear is that Martinez, 37, will again break down. A more realistic way for the Dodgers to get a starter — albeit one of a far lesser caliber — would be to trade outfielder Delwyn Young, who is out of minor-league options.

Rockies' Iannetta: Emerging Star?

Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta, 3-for-4 with a double, home run and six RBIs in the World Baseball Classic, figures to get a huge confidence boost from his performance for Team USA. "It should help a lot," Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd says. "Chris puts a high level of expectations on himself. It has just taken him some time to mature, settle in, slow everything down. "Keep in mind, he hasn't caught at the major-league level from Day 1 until the end of a year. This is an important year for him in taking his game to the next level." Iannetta, who turns 26 on April 8, lost his starting job in 2007 while batting .218, then began last season as the backup to Yorvit Torrealba before producing an .895 OPS in 407 plate appearances. "It's hard to find catching," O'Dowd says. "Not only is he swinging the bat well (in the WBC), he's also caught a lot of different pitchers, and caught them well. And he's throwing well. "Hopefully, he will develop into a middle-of-the-order bat for us. If you have a catcher who can do that, that's a significant competitive advantage."

Wood rotting in Anaheim

Brandon Wood has all but given hope of the Angels clearing third base for him by trading Chone Figgins. Wood understands Figgins' value to the team as a leadoff hitter. Every time he sees Figgins mentioned in a trade rumor, he immediately dismisses the possibility. Wood, 24, has one minor-league option remaining, so the Angels can send him back to Class AAA without risk of losing him on waivers. The problem is, this would be his third season at Class AAA, and he hit 31 homers in 395 at-bats and produced a .970 OPS at that level last season. Figgins, 31, is a free agent after this season. While the Angels have yet to initiate conversations about a contract extension, they will need to find another leadoff man if they fail to re-sign him. Angels middle infielder Sean Rodriguez, 24, is in a similar position to Wood, stuck behind second baseman Howie Kendrick, shortstop Erick Aybar and utility man Maicer Izturis. For both players, something eventually must give.

Around the horn

The Marlins are warming to the idea of signing free-agent catcher Ivan Rodriguez. Playing time remains an issue — Rodriguez told FOXSports.com recently that he wants to play five days a week — but John Baker is not exactly a rock-solid incumbent. The Marlins went to the World Series the last time they signed Rodriguez, 37, to a one-year, free-agent contract. This time, he will cost much less than $10 million ... Several former Mets relievers say the bullpen was in chaos after closer Billy Wagner underwent season-ending elbow surgery in early August. The relievers had no ideas what their roles would be from night to night, and manager Jerry Manuel occasionally warmed up three pitchers at one time. Manuel will have better choices — and no excuses — now that the Mets have added closer Francisco Rodriguez and setup man J.J. Putz ... Angels manager Mike Scioscia loves the idea of Bobby Abreu hitting in front of Vladimir Guerrero. Abreu initially will start off in the No. 2 spot, but he could drop to No. 3 if Howie Kendrick or Erick Aybar eventually proves worthy of hitting second. No player who appeared in more than 80 games for the Angels last season had a higher on-base percentage than Abreu's .371 mark for the Yankees ... Free-agent outfielder Luis Gonzalez is open to rejoining the Diamondbacks, but the possibility could arise only if Eric Byrnes' hamstring troubles lingered. Byrnes could make his Cactus League debut as soon as this weekend. Gonzalez left the Diamondbacks after the team declined to exercise his $10 million option for 2007 ... The Indians considered their bullpen a strength even before right- hander Jensen Lewis arrived at spring training as a "different guy," in the words of one club official. Lewis' velocity was down at the beginning of last season, and he worked hard on his lower body during the offseason to make sure he avoids another slow start.
Tagged: Ivan Rodriguez, Howie Kendrick, Rockies, John Baker, Sean Rodriguez, Marlins, Diamondbacks, Bobby Abreu, Angels, Indians, Vladimir Guerrero, Francisco Rodriguez, J.J. Putz, Chone Figgins, Yorvit Torrealba, Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, Chris Iannetta, Erick Aybar

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