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The Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs are among the teams expressing interest in reliever Edward Mujica, according to a source. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim also showed serious interest in Mujica, but instead elected to sign Joe Smith, effectively taking them out of the Mujica race.
The source notes that the market for late-inning relievers is evolving, and that it will likely peak during the Winter Meetings in two weeks. Mujica is expected to receive a contract similar to the three-year, $15.75 million deal that Smith signed with the Angels last weekend.
As Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports previously reported, the Phillies are willing to give a three-year contract to a late-inning reliever and have had Mujica near the top of their wish list for most of the offseason. The source notes that there is currently no clear favorite in the Mujica sweepstakes.
Mujica, 29, was excellent in 2013, pitching to a 2-1 record and 2.78 ERA while notching 37 saves as the Cardinals' closer. For his eight-year major league career, the right-hander is 19-19 with a 3.75 ERA in 381 career appearances.
