The San Francisco Giants previously inquired about Miami Marlins starter Dan Haren earlier in the offseason, but their interest has perhaps waned. Japanese infielder Takashi Toritani, who was once speculated to land in the MLB, will remain in his home country.
Haren has told the Marlins he doesn't intend on joining the team after being traded to Miami during the MLB Winter Meetings. He wants to be traded to a club on the West Coast, but that request may no longer be possible. According to Jon Morosi of FOX Sports, there is "no active dialogue between the Giants and Marlins now." San Francisco asked about Haren prior to signing Jake Peavy to a two-year deal.
This leaves the Angels, Athletics and Padres, assuming the Giants are no longer interested at all. Haren previously pitched for the Angels and A's, but he wouldn't be much of an upgrade to their rotations and neither team has expressed interest in trading for him. San Diego was considered a potential suitor for a short time, but they signed Brandon Morrow and Josh Johnson to incentive-laden one-year deals as they'll compete for a spot in the back end of the rotation.
However, the Giants can't be ruled out yet because Tim Hudson recently underwent ankle surgery and is supposed to miss two months; Tim Lincecum was demoted to the bullpen in the middle of the season and it's unknown if he'll be a starter in 2015; and Yusmeiro Petit is an option for the rotation, but he's only made 56 starts in seven MLB seasons. San Francisco might come around and look to revisit those trade talks for Haren if they don't feel confident about their personnel.
As for others looking for a new team, Takashi Toritani was expected to make a longer journey from Japan, but it appears he'll be staying with his former club, the Hanshin Tigers, according to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. The Toronto Blue Jays and San Diego Padres were pursuing the 33-year-old infielder, but the Tigers were said to be prepared to move on from him since they wanted to have their roster set before flying to their spring training facility. This likely put pressure on Toritani, who was mulling whether to stay in Japan or make the move to the MLB.
Toronto wanted him to play second base while the Padres were asking him to remain at shortstop, which is where he's played his entire career. In 11 seasons with the Tigers, Toritani has a stat line of .285/.372/.412 with 120 home runs, 677 RBIs and 99 stolen bases. The Blue Jays will likely have Ryan Goins at second base and the Padres will use Alexi Amarista and Clint Barmes at short in the meantime.
