We know the Dodgers want to add offense. We know, through sources, that they are unlikely to pursue outfielder Carl Crawford, third baseman Adrian Beltre or any other high-priced slugger.

Given all that, one free agent makes particular sense:

Infielder Juan Uribe.

The World Series champion Giants want to retain Uribe, but the interest in Uribe is significant enough that he's almost certain to decline the team’s offer of salary arbitration and remain on the open market.

Uribe, 31, isn’t an elite hitter, as evidenced by his .300 career on-base percentage. But he established career highs with 24 homers and 85 RBI last season and hit big homers in Game 6 of the NLCS and Game 1 of the World Series.

For the Dodgers, he would make sense in a number of ways:

* He could play third base, enabling the team to use Casey Blake as part of a left-field platoon.

* He could play shortstop on days when the oft-injured Rafael Furcal is unavailable.

* He could play second ahead of Ryan Theriot, whose .633 OPS last season was the third lowest in the NL.

The Dodgers need depth in the infield. Shortstop Dee Gordon, who'll likely open next season at Triple-A, is their only top infield prospect.

Furcal, 32, could be entering his final season with the team. His $12 million club option for 2012 becomes guaranteed only if he makes 600 plate appearances, a figure he's reached only once in the past three seasons.

Blake, 37, is also entering the final year of his deal; the Dodgers hold a $6 million option on him for ’12.

A multi-year contract for Uribe would protect the Dodgers at multiple positions this year and beyond.

-Ken Rosenthal

The Chicago Cubs are showing interest in free-agent first baseman Carlos Peña, according to a major league source.

Peña, 32, is coming off a disappointing contract year with the Tampa Bay Rays, batting only .196 with 28 home runs and 84 RBI in 144 games. He also missed time because of an injured heel.

Hitter-friendly Wrigley Field would be a favorable landing spot for Peña, particularly if he plans to reestablish his value over a short-term deal. (The one-year strategy worked well for Adrian Beltre, a fellow Scott Boras client, at Fenway Park in 2010.)

That Peña bats left-handed is another selling point. The Cubs don’t have an experienced left-handed power hitter on their current roster.

Peña's a former Gold Glove winner, and his defensive ability would be an asset for the Cubs. Chicago infielders had grown accustomed to playing with Derrek Lee, a big target at first and a former Gold Glover himself.

Manager Mike Quade doesn’t have an obvious internal candidate to play first base this year, although it’s possible outfielder Tyler Colvin could handle the position in the long term.

The Cubs also have shown interest in free agent Lance Berkman.

-Jon Paul Morosi

In recent years, free-agent relievers who received Type A rankings sometimes had difficulty finding work. Teams were reluctant to forfeit a high draft pick for signing them.

This offseason could be different.

As of Friday, the highest first-round pick that could be lost was the 20th overall selection. What’s more, for teams that sign more than one Type A free agent, the high number of supplemental choices will reduce the impact of losing a second and third pick.

Here’s how it breaks down:

Thirty-five free agents were offered salary arbitration by their respective clubs, an increase of 12 from a year ago. If most decline, virtually an entire round of compensation picks will be created between the first and second rounds when those players sign with other teams.

In addition, the clubs that finished with the 15 worse records cannot lose their first rounder if they sign a Type A free agent, according to the basic agreement.

Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks, Padres and Brewers will receive corresponding picks after failing to sign their first rounders last year, meaning the top 18 selections are protected.

The Tigers already have forfeited the No. 19 pick for signing free-agent catcher Victor Martinez. The highest pick currently in play, No. 20, belongs to the Rockies.

Teams occasionally draft relievers at that part of the draft – the Tigers picked Ryan Perry at No. 21 and the Diamondbacks took Daniel Schlereth at No. 26 in 2008. A free agent at the right price might be a better investment, particularly for a team that already has signed a Type A free agent and lost a pick.

Say, for example, the Yankees sign left-hander Cliff Lee, then want to add the top lefty reliever on the market: Type A free agent Scott Downs. They'd sacrifice the No. 31 pick overall for Lee, but the pick they'd lose for Downs probably would be the equivalent of a third rounder, with all those supplemental picks in between.

Teams still will be reluctant to forfeit picks in what projects to be a very deep 2011 draft, but more free-agent relievers might want to decline arbitration and gamble on getting multi-year deals, even if it means accepting slightly lesser salaries from teams that also are losing picks.

Some teams will be more inclined to sign proven major-league pitchers than risk spending and waiting on, at best, late first-round talent.

-Ken Rosenthal

The Minnesota Twins, who were awarded exclusive negotiating rights to Tsuyoshi Nishioka, envision him playing second base rather than shortstop, according to a major-league source.

The 26-year-old infielder played both positions for the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese Pacific League.

Nishioka is likely to compete with Alexi Casilla for playing time at second base, the source indicated. Orlando Hudson, a Type B free agent, isn’t expected to return.

Minnesota could retain this year’s primary shortstop, J.J. Hardy, through salary arbitration. Other shortstop options are available via trade or free agency.

The 30-day period for the Twins to sign Nishioka began on Friday.

-Jon Paul Morosi

At present, the Philadelphia Phillies’ 40-man roster lacks a left-handed reliever who has made more than 25 appearances in a major-league season.

That’s a big change for a team that deployed two experienced lefties (Scott Eyre and J.C. Romero) out of the bullpen during the 2008 World Series.

So, it’s not surprising that a major-league source says the Phillies are pursuing one of the most experienced lefty relievers on the market: Dennys Reyes, a 14-year veteran.

Reyes, 33, is a free agent after two fairly successful seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, his 10th big-league employer. He went 3-3 with a 3.42 ERA in 79 innings as a Cardinal.

Oddly, he was more effective this year against right-handers (.177) than left-handers (.307).

-Jon Paul Morosi

The Boston Red Sox reportedly had interest in free agent catcher John Buck, but he signed a three-year, $18 million contract with the Florida Marlins.

The Red Sox also made a bid to retain Victor Martinez, but he agreed to a $50 million contract with the Detroit Tigers.

Now Boston is considering a number of catching contingencies. Free agent Rod Barajas is one of them, a major-league source said Wednesday.

Barajas’ career offensive numbers are similar to those of Buck and free agent Miguel Olivo, according to the statistical database at Baseball-Reference.com.

Barajas, 35, has a lifetime OPS just below .700, but he performed well in limited action with the Los Angeles Dodgers at the end of this season.

One cause for concern: Barajas’ caught-stealing percentage dropped from 34 percent in 2009 to 15 percent this year.

The Dodgers did not offer Barajas salary arbitration on Tuesday night.

-Jon Paul Morosi

Dennis Gilbert was among the bidders when the Texas Rangers were up for sale this year, but he's not planning to pursue ownership of the state's other major-league franchise.

Asked Wednesday if he would attempt to buy the Houston Astros, Gilbert told FOXSports.com, “Not at this time.”

Astros chairman Drayton McLane announced earlier this month that he will sell the franchise, ending his 18-year stewardship.

“There’s not a finer gentleman in the game than Drayton McLane,” Gilbert said.

Gilbert was a prominent baseball agent before retiring in 1999. He is currently a special assistant to Chicago White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and the co-founder of an insurance agency in Beverly Hills, Calif.

While pursuing the Rangers, Gilbert submitted a bid of more than $500 million. The group led by Chuck Greenberg and Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan purchased the club for $593 million.

Gilbert is a season ticketholder for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Some in the industry view him as a potential Dodgers owner if that club goes up for sale. The Dodgers’ immediate future hinges on the outcome of the divorce case of Frank and Jamie McCourt. A ruling is expected soon.

-Jon Paul Morosi

The Yankees plan to offer salary arbitration to free-agent right-hander Javier Vazquez, but not because they want to retain him.

Vazquez, a Type B free agent, has agreed to reject the Yankees' offer, enabling the team to collect a supplemental draft pick between the first and second rounds when he signs with another team, major-league sources say.

Teams frequently make such gentleman's agreements with Type B free agents. No harm is done to the signing team, which doesn't lose a pick for signing a Type B player.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman enjoys a strong relationship with Vazquez's agents, Sam and Seth Levinson. Vazquez likely would receive a raise from his $11.5 million salary if he accepted arbitration, but Cashman wouldn't make the offer without receiving assurances from the Levinsons that Vazquez would reject the one-year, non-guaranteed deal and remain on the open market.

The Nationals and Marlins are among the teams pursuing Vazquez.

-Ken Rosenthal

This is a critical week in the market for shortstops, largely because of a player who is unknown to many U.S. fans.

The posting period of Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka is set to expire on Tuesday. By 5 p.m. ET, clubs must submit a bid to Nishioka’s team, the Chiba Lotte Marines, in order to obtain exclusive negotiating rights.

Nishioka, a switch hitter with speed, is coming off a season in which he won the NPB Pacific League batting title. He has experience at shortstop and second base.

While it’s not clear which clubs are serious about bidding on Nishioka, a number of major league teams are looking to upgrade at his positions. If he agrees to come to the U.S., Nishioka could impact the trade market for shortstops – namely Tampa Bay’s Jason Bartlett.

Bartlett is drawing varied levels of interest from the Baltimore Orioles, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants, according to major-league sources. The Rays could wait until after Tuesday’s announcement before aggressively pursuing a deal with one of the clubs that didn’t pair up with Nishioka.

It’s important to note that Nishioka won’t necessarily play next year in the U.S. The Oakland A’s submitted the winning bid for Japanese right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma, but contract talks between the A’s and Iwakuma’s agent have reached an impasse.

Bartlett, 31, is due to earn between $5 million and $5.5 million next year in salary arbitration. He is coming off a down offensive season, but batted .400 in the American League Division Series against Texas. He is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2011 season.

Bartlett is about as expensive as Boston shortstop Marco Scutaro, who also has been mentioned as a trade candidate. Scutaro has a guarantee of $6.5 million remaining on his contract, including the buyout of an option for 2012.

-Jon Paul Morosi

Brandon McCarthy used to be one of the best pitching prospects in baseball. Even now, he’s only 27 years old.

He spent the 2010 season in the minor leagues and/or on the disabled list, so his salary demands aren’t high. But he has thrown very well in the Dominican Winter League: 2-0 with a 1.96 ERA in four starts.

Combine those factors, and you have a buy-low frenzy for teams in need of rotation help.

McCarthy has been scouted heavily in recent weeks, with the Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Oakland A's and Detroit Tigers among the teams having interest, according to a major-league source.

When healthy, McCarthy was effective this season at Triple-A Oklahoma City in the Texas organization (4-2, 3.36 ERA). But a stress fracture in his right shoulder limited him to just 56 1/3 innings. That is the same injury that hampered his throwing arm in the past.

Clubs may view McCarthy as being similar to another recent Rangers discard: right-hander Rich Harden. With both pitchers, the output can be very good, but the quantity of innings is a major question.

One consideration in McCarthy’s favor: He isn’t scheduled to become a free agent until after the 2012 season, so the team that signs him this winter theoretically will have two years of control.

-Jon Paul Morosi