MLB Rumors: The Joe Crede Vigil

There are some new rumors floating around the baseball world this week. Here's the latest...

Joe Crede 

The White Sox might be serious about trading Crede. He becomes a free agent after the 2008 season, and is now involved in a few trade rumors.

The San Francisco Giants sent a scout to a White Sox game a few days ago, and Crede didn't disappoint, slugging a home run off Arizona's Max Scherzer.

The White Sox appear to have Crede's replacement waiting in the ranks in Josh Fields. Here is Crede's view on the trade speculation:

"I usually just block it out...I'm here playing with the White Sox, and this is the organization that gave me the opportunity to play in the big leagues."

Jonathan Papelbon 

Time is running out for the Red Sox if they want to re-sign their closer before he is eligible for arbitration on March 11.

Papelbon would prefer a one-year contract saying,

"I would kind of prefer to go year-to-year to be honest, but we'll see what happens."

Papelbon went on to say that he would like a deal similar to that of Ryan Howard, who signed a $900,000 contract. The Red Sox disagree and say a deal like Bobby Jenks' $500,000, is more likely.

Expect a one-year deal between $500,000 and $900,000 to be reached soon.

Ryan Dempster 

According to Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press, Detroit has contacted the Chicago Cubs regarding their bullpen issues.

There is no pressure to add another arm this early in Spring Training, and manager Jim Leyland says that it is "very unlikely" that they will acquire a reliever through trading.

Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors speculates that Ryan Dempster could be a good fit saying,

"In any case, Ryan Dempster could be a possible fit for Detroit. He's set to earn a hefty $5.5M this year and doesn't seem to have a clear place on the Cubs' staff."

New York Mets

Jim Heyman of Sports Illustrated had a quick blurb regarding the Met's outfield in his article today.

"The Mets appear to be looking for a right-handed-hitting outfielder to platoon with Ryan Church."

Drunk Jays Fans suggest Reed Johnson, while MLB Trade Rumors suggest Kevin Miller, Jason Michaels, Matt Murton, or Jay Payton.

Andrew Kneeland is a columnist at Bleacher Report. You can read all his articles here.