Hot Stove: - Hiroki Kuroda, Jonathan Papelbon, Carlos Zembrano, Yu Darvish, Joe Nathan

Hiroki Kuroda: 13-16, 3.07 ERA, 1.21 WHIP  Kuroda has won 41 games since joining the Dodgers in 2008 and last year was his finest season in terms of wins, innings pitched (202) and strikeouts (161). Kuroda has indicated he would like to stay in Los Angeles even with the team’s ownership situation in flux. He is 37, so it would also be hard to imagine many other teams bending over backwards to give him much more than the $47 million he has been paid the last four years. http://www.metro.us/newyork/sports/article/1019347--mlb-free-agency-fire-up-the-hot-stove

Ryan Madson will not be celebrating his reported eight-figure deal deal alone. [Madson] has to be pretty happy with the reported four-year, $44 million deal he's set to receive from the Phillies, but he's not the only one. Jonathan Papelbon can't be too torn up by the deal, either. If Madson is worth $11 million a year, Papelbon -- slightly younger with better stats and more experience -- should be looking at at least $13 million per season. Of course, there's going to be one less big-money team bidding for his services, but there should due enough out there that allows Papelbon to cash in as the market's top free agent closer. http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/316872-price-for-papelbon-may-reach-13m#ixzz1dEKRTyzN

Theo Epstein and Co. have already started ruling by new math -- addition by subtraction. While adding players is a top priority, subtracting players such as Carlos Zambrano is also extremely important. ... [610 Sports Radio] in Kansas City spoke with Royals GM Dayton Moore who indicated that he would consider taking on Zambrano if the deal made sense for his club. "We would have to be interested. We would have to explore it because that's what you should do. You should explore every opportunity. Carlos Zambrano is a heckuva competitor," said Moore. "Carlos Zambrano has had a lot of success in the major leagues. Carlos Zambrano is actually a very pleasant, easy going, classy person off the field."  http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/316871-theo-unloading-zambrano-on-royals#ixzz1dEMNUkWt

Darvish has avoided the notorious overwork that plagued Matsuzaka’s amateur and early pro careers. Like Matsuzaka’s teenage years, young Darvish pitched at Koshien, Japan’s national high school baseball tournament. Unlike Matsuzaka, he doesn’t quite have a 250-pitch, 17-inning complete game on his resume. Darvish’s longest outing was a 166-pitch game that he lost on a walk-off home run in the 10th inning. Also, unlike Matsuzaka, Darvish was eased into his pro career: he threw 94.1 innings and 149.2 innings in his first two pro years. Matsuzaka, by contrast, threw 180 innings as an 18 year-old rookie — 347.2 in his first two seasons — and set a career high with 240.1 innings in his third. In essence, Darvish has fired fewer bullets http://projectprospect.com/article/2011/11/08/yu-darvish-scouting-report

He’s local guy, who has made it clear he would play for the Mets; and so I could definitely see him with this team next season (though the Twins could still try to re-sign him, despite declining his option), as he also fits the mold of someone looking to re-establish his footing as a closer. Joe Nathan is a sinker/slider pitcher, who would typically live in the mid-to high-90s with his two fastballs. However, he struggled with his velocity in 2011 after missing the entire 2010 season due to Tommy John surgery. He also missed about a month this past season with a right flexor muscle strain; and, along with his diminished stuff, I wonder how much he has left in the tank at this stage of his career  http://www.metsblog.com/2011/11/09/20-experts-say-joe-nathan-over-k-rod