Only two National League teams last season had lower on-base percentages out of the leadoff spot than the Cincinnati Reds.

A free-agent leadoff man is available. He bats left-handed and could platoon with Jonny Gomes in left field.

His name: Scott Podsednik. And, yes, the Reds are interested in him, according to major league sources.

The extent of the Reds’ pursuit of Podsednik is not known, but the fit seems obvious. The Reds’ leadoff hitters combined for just a .306 OBP last season.

Second baseman Brandon Phillips, shortstop Orlando Cabrera and center fielder Drew Stubbs were the Reds’ primary leadoff men. Cabrera is gone. Phillips is more suited to hit lower in the order. Stubbs, 26, displays the requisite speed, but does not get on base enough.

Podsednik’s .340 career OBP is below average for a leadoff man. His OBP the past two seasons, however, is .347. So, although he turns 35 on March 18, he’s actually trending upward.

The Angels also have shown interest in Podsednik, who could help them offensively and make them more athletic in the outfield.

— Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi

The Rays are losing one free agent after another — outfielder Carl Crawford, first baseman Carlos Pena, relievers Joaquin Benoit, Dan Wheeler and Randy Choate, among others.

Closer Rafael Soriano almost certainly will be the next to depart. Reliever Grant Balfour probably is a goner as well. But there is a chance, however small, that Balfour could return.

Balfour, 32, is a Type A free agent, and teams historically forfeit high draft picks for right-handed setup types only with great reluctance.

Two similar pitchers, the Blue Jays’ Jason Frasor and Rangers’ Frank Francisco, accepted one-year, non-guaranteed contracts through salary arbitration rather than risk a limited demand on the open market.

Balfour, however, rejected the Rays’ offer of arbitration, believing he would land a multi-year contract elsewhere.

Chances are, he will.

Twenty-one of the 30 clubs cannot lose a first-round draft pick for signing Balfour. The worst they could do was forfeit a second rounder.

The Red Sox, Angels, White Sox, Phillies, Tigers and Nationals already have sacrificed first rounders for Type A free agents, and would lose only a second rounder for signing Balfour. The price could even drop to a third rounder if any of those teams added one of the other remaining Type As — Soriano, third baseman Adrian Beltre or right-hander Carl Pavano.

The teams that finished in the bottom 15 of the overall standings last season also cannot lose their first-round selections for a Type A free agent. Those clubs, too, can sign Balfour and sacrifice only a second rounder.

The Rays, then, need 21 teams to determine that Balfour is not worth the price of a second-round pick.

Could it happen? Sure.

Will it happen? Probably not.

— Ken Rosenthal

The Toronto Blue Jays are still in pursuit of free-agent right-hander Octavio Dotel, and the Pittsburgh Pirates and Tampa Bay Rays are also involved, a major league source told FOXSports.com.

Dotel pitched for the Pirates, Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers this year and made 68 relief appearances – his second-highest total since 2004. So, it’s not surprising that Pittsburgh is interested in bringing him back.

Meanwhile, the Rays and Blue Jays have seen their respective bullpens depleted by free agency. Neither team has an established closer. That could explain why Dotel, who recorded 22 saves this year, is appealing to them.

Teams looking for starting pitching could do worse than Phillies right-hander Joe Blanton.

In fact, Blanton isn’t all that dissimilar from free-agent right-hander Carl Pavano - but at 30, he is almost five years younger.

The Phillies want to trade Blanton, who is owed $8.5 million in each of the next two seasons. Pavano likely will command a higher salary in a two- or three-year deal.

Blanton rates a slight edge in career ERA and strikeout ratio, Pavano a slight edge in career WHIP and strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Trade interest in Blanton could intensify once Pavano chooses his next team, most likely the Twins. The Nationals, one of the teams interested in Pavano, could attempt to obtain Blanton, and so might other clubs.

The Phillies likely will not demand much in return for Blanton – their goal is to clear as much of his salary as possible after signing free-agent left-hander Cliff Lee to a five-year, $120 million contract.

It is not out of the question that the Phillies will keep Blanton, whose durability would help protect them against injury to one of their top four starting pitchers.

The team, however, will have almost no flexibility for trade-deadline acquisitions if Blanton remains on the roster, according to a source with knowledge of the club’s thinking.

If the Phillies are going to act, they will need to move quickly. A spring-training deal would be unlikely; most teams’ budgets will be set by then.

-Ken Rosenthal

The Angels have not given up their pursuit of free-agent third baseman Adrian Beltre, major league sources say.

However, the team thus far is unwilling to meet agent Scott Boras' price, as related by baseball executives — five years in the $85 million to $90 million range, or even a six-year deal with a comparable salary.

The Angels have offered Beltre a five-year contract in the $70 million range, one source said. They do not share Boras' opinion of Beltre's value, but they are not angry to the point they were two years ago, when they publicly withdrew from the negotiations for another Boras client, first baseman Mark Teixeira.

The Yankees ended up signing Teixeira to an eight-year, $180 million free-agent contract. Angels owner Arte Moreno recently was critical of the Red Sox's signing of free-agent outfielder Carl Crawford to a seven-year, $142 million deal.

Beltre will not be at that level, and the Angels' competition for the player is not clear. The Rangers are not active in the bidding, sources say. The Athletics reportedly made a five-year, $64 million bid early in the process.

— Ken Rosenthal

Free-agent starter Brandon Webb is drawing interest from the Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers and Washington Nationals, multiple major league sources said Tuesday.

Webb, 31, isn’t expected to decide on a team on Tuesday, one source told FOXSports.com.

Webb won the National League Cy Young Award in 2006 but has pitched four innings over the past two seasons. He never has pitched for an American League club.

— Jon Paul Morosi

Free-agent outfielder Scott Podsednik keeps getting linked to his most recent team, the Dodgers.

Turns out that the other club in greater Los Angeles — the Angels — might be a better fit.

The Angels, in need of a leadoff man, are showing interest in Podsednik, according to major-league sources.

Podsednik, 34, likely would play left field, the position the Angels had reserved for free agent Carl Crawford, who instead signed with the Red Sox.

The Dodgers would prefer a right-handed hitter to go with Jay Gibbons in left field, and might wait until spring training to address that need.

Another option for the Dodgers would be to play Tony Gwynn Jr. in center, Matt Kemp in right and Andre Ethier in left.

Johnny Damon, 37, could be another fit for the Angels, but the level of the team’s interest in him is unclear.

Shortstop Erick Aybar, the Angels’ primary leadoff hitter last season, had only a .306 on-base percentage, though he was better when batting first, posting a .336 OBP.

The Angels, following the free-agent defection of third baseman Chone Figgins, ranked only eighth in the AL with a .325 OBP out of the leadoff spot. The Mariners led the league at .360, followed by the Yankees at .358.

Podsednik seemingly would be well-suited for the Angels' aggressive style under manager Mike Scioscia. He had a .342 OBP last season for the Royals and Dodgers, and stole 35 bases in 50 attempts.

Damon had a .355 OBP for the Tigers, matching his career mark. However, he is challenged defensively in left, and the Angels plan to use Bobby Abreu at DH.

— Ken Rosenthal

Sunday’s trade of Zack Greinke to the Milwaukee Brewers makes it more likely than ever that Carl Pavano will re-sign with the Minnesota Twins.

The Brewers had been in contact recently with Pavano’s agent, Tom O’Connell, but the Greinke trade satisfied their need for a top-of-the-rotation starter.

Meanwhile, sources say the Texas Rangers and Washington Nationals – who had attempted to acquire Greinke – haven’t seriously pursued Pavano. (It’s possible they will change their approach and bid on Pavano now that Greinke is off the board.)

The Twins have a desperate need for rotation help. Their lack of an ace was evident in their first-round playoff exit, and starters Nick Blackburn and Scott Baker underwent off-season elbow surgeries.

Pavano, 34, led the Twins with 17 victories this year, while maintaining a 3.75 ERA over 221 innings.

— Jon Paul Morosi

The Florida Marlins and right-hander Ricky Nolasco have arrived at a stalemate in negotiations for a long-term contract, major league sources told FOXSports.com.

The impasse sets up a number of possibilities for Nolasco, who was 14-9 with a 4.51 ERA in 26 starts this year:

— The Marlins and Nolasco agree on a one-year deal

Nolasco, 28, is still in his salary-arbitration years, so the Marlins could simply allow that process to play out and retain his rights through 2012. He’s due to receive a raise on the $3.8 million he earned this year.

— The sides compromise and sign a long-term pact

There is still plenty of time for the parties to reach agreement. They have been exchanging three-year proposals, sources say.

— The Marlins trade Nolasco

Florida could deal Nolasco and still have a formidable five-man rotation: Josh Johnson, Anibal Sanchez, Javier Vazquez, Chris Volstad and Alex Sanabia, who had a 3.73 ERA in 15 games (12 starts) as a rookie this year.

Clubs have been calling the Marlins in recent days to express interest in Nolasco, sources said. While it’s not clear which teams have contacted the Marlins, it’s well-established that the New York Yankees, Milwaukee Brewers and Washington Nationals have been active in the trade market for starting pitchers.

— Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal

The Yankees, searching for bench help, have spoken with the Astros about infielder Jeff Keppinger, according to major league sources.

A trade does not appear close, but the teams have engaged in recent discussions, one source said.

The Astros increased the possibility of trading Keppinger on Friday by reaching agreement with free agent Bill Hall on a one-year contract to play second base.

The Yankees had shown interest in Hall, but Keppinger, who stands to receive a raise from his $1.15 million in his second year of arbitration, could fill a similar role.

Keppinger, 30, was the Astros’ primary second baseman last season. He can back up at all four infield positions and also has made five career appearances in the outfield.

The Astros likely would ask for no more than a mid-level prospect in return, especially now that Keppinger has lost his everyday job.

Keppinger batted .288 with a .351 on-base percentage and .393 slugging average last season, with six home runs and 59 RBI in 575 plate appearances. He lacks speed and power, but was the most difficult player to strike out in the majors last season.

— Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi