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Archives for January 2010

Angels Sign Joel Pineiro To Two-Year Deal

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Joel Pineiro officially signed a two-year deal with the Angels worth about $16MM today.  The Cardinals will receive a supplemental first round pick as compensation for losing the Type-B free agent.  The 31-year-old Pineiro probably won't match the departed John Lackey, but he was the best available free agent starter.

Pineiro will apparently receive just $1MM more than Jason Marquis despite having a much better 2009 season.  Pineiro pitched like an ace, with a 3.49 ERA in 214 innings for the Cardinals.  His 60.5% groundball rate and 1.1 walks per nine innings were both MLB bests.  Cards pitching coach Dave Duncan deserves credit for the former, as Duncan convinced Pineiro in February to try a sinker.  The walk rate may be more difficult to repeat.

The Mets and Dodgers were also known to be pursuing Pineiro.  They'll now have to turn to Jon Garland, Jarrod Washburn, and Braden Looper for bulk innings.  Ben Sheets, Erik Bedard, John Smoltz, and Chien-Ming Wang provide the post-injury upside.  Pedro Martinez sits somewhere in-between.

Ken Davidoff of Newsday first tweeted Pineiro's Angels preference, while SI's Jon Heyman and ESPN's Buster Olney followed with tweets of the agreement.

Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.

Odds & Ends: Brewers, Molina, Zduriencik, White Sox

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Friday Night Lights Links…

  • Brewers' GM Doug Melvin said that they're finished signing "impact" free agents according to a tweet from MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. He did not, however, rule out a trade with payroll implications.
  • Ed Price of AOL FanHouse says (via Twitter) that Bengie Molina passed up an extra $1MM in salary for 2010 from the Mets for a familiarity of San Francisco.
  • David Laurila of Baseball Prospectus sat down for a must read interview with Mariners' GM Jack Zduriencik. Best of all, it's not behind their subscriber wall.
  • An interesting quote by White Sox GM Kenny Williams at SoxFest today, courtesy of a tweet from Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune: "There's always one more move to be made."

Nationals Interested In Orlando Cabrera

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The Nationals have interest in free agent Orlando Cabrera, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson. They view him as a possible second baseman if they're unable to land the other Orlando, as in Orlando Hudson.

We really haven't heard too much about the 35-year-old Cabrera at all this offseason. He hit .281/.316/.389 last year for the A's and Twins, though his defense at short was among the worst in the game according to UZR. Considering the deals that players like Alex Gonzalez and Jerry Hairston Jr. have gotten this winter, Cabrera seems to be in line to pull down about $3MM in 2010.

Noah Lowry Might Be Close To Picking A Team

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6:43pm: MLB.com's Corey Brock says (via Twitter) that he's "nearly certain" the Padres aren't in on Lowry. They need a dependable starter, and with only $5MM or so left to spend, the Friars can't afford to miss on a player.

5:42pm: Free agent southpaw Noah Lowry may be close to picking his next team, tweets Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle. He says that it won't be the Giants, unsurprisingly.

Plenty of teams have expressed interest in the lefty, including the Padres, Reds, Dodgers, and several others. Lowry lasted pitched in the big leagues back in 2007 because of thoracic outlet syndrome.    

Giants Designate Jesus Guzman For Assignment

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The Giants have designated infielder Jesus Guzman for assignment, tweets Andrew Baggarly of The San Jose Mercury News. The move frees up a 40-man roster spot for Bengie Molina.

The 25-year-old Guzman hit a clean .250/.250/.250 in 20 big league plate appearances last season, his first taste of the show. He's a career .299/.368/.470 hitter in the minors (.344/.368/.491 in 565 Triple-A plate appearances), and has spent considerable time at first, second, and third base while dabbling in the corner outfield spots. Sounds like a pretty decent player.

Brewers Sign Doug Davis

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The Brewers officially signed lefty Doug Davis to a one-year deal today worth $5.25MM guaranteed. The contract pays $4.25MM in ’10 and has a $6.5MM mutual option for ’11 with a $1MM buyout. Davis can also earn another another $1MM in incentives each season, broken down into payments of $125K each for 180, 185, 190, and 195 innings pitched and 28, 29, 30, and 32 starts.

This marks Davis’ second stint with Milwaukee, his first being the best stretch of his career. He signed with the Brewers as a free agent in July of ’03, and stayed until a November ’06 trade with Arizona. The 34-year-old posted a 4.12 ERA in ’09, but that didn’t match up with his 1.42 K/BB ratio.

Davis joins Randy Wolf as the second addition to the Brewers’ rotation this winter. Yovani Gallardo will lead the group, with Dave Bush and Jeff Suppan/Manny Parra rounding out the back end.

MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy first reported the agreement.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Reds Sign Jose Arredondo To Minor League Deal

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The Reds have signed righthander Jose Arredondo to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, tweets MLB.com's Matthew Leach. The invite to camp is nothing more than a formality, because Arredondo is due to have Tommy John surgery soon and won't be able to pitch at all in 2010.

Arredondo, 26 in March, has a 3.48 ERA with an impressive 8.7 K/9 in 106 big league relief innings. The Angels non-tendered him back in December after we learned that he would need surgery. Because he's going to miss the entire season, Cincinnati made the move with an eye towards 2011 and beyond.

Odds & Ends: Tatis, Astros, Ludwick, A’s

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Some links for Friday…

  • Buster Olney of ESPN tweets that the Nationals have put Josh Willingham on the market once again.  If they move the soon-to-be 31-year-old, it could clear the way for Adam Dunn to be moved to the outfield.  Willingham recently avoided arbitration with the Nats, agreeing to a one-year, $4.6MM pact.
  • Mike Puma of the New York Post hears that the Mets could bring Fernando Tatis back if they don't re-sign Carlos Delgado. However, the Mets have not contacted Tatis' agent.
  • The Astros appear unwilling to talk multi-year deals with arbitration-eligible players Wandy Rodriguez, Hunter Pence and Tim Byrdak, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse (via Twitter).
  • The Cards and Ryan Ludwick avoided arbitration and agreed on a one-year $5.45MM deal for 2010, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  • A's prospect Grant Desme is retiring from baseball to "pursue the priesthood," according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Baseball America ranked Desme the club's eighth-best prospect this offseason.
  • Craig Brown of Royals Authority doesn't see why the Royals signed Scott Podsednik if they were going to add Rick Ankiel, too.
  • Tyler Hissey ranks the remaining free agents. Check out our comprehensive free agent list right here.
  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that the Mariners have been working on possible deals involving Jose Lopez.
  • Olney says Jim Thome is talking with a few teams.
  • Could the Brewers lock Prince Fielder up to a deal that keeps the first baseman in Milwaukee after the 2011 season? MLB.com's Adam McCalvy asked Brewers GM Doug Melvin if the club might extend Fielder soon and Melvin said: "I don't know the answer to that."
  • Meanwhile, another big left-handed slugger is just looking for a job. Jim Thome remains available, but White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen tells MLB.com's Scott Merkin that he's happy to rotate players in and out of the DH spot this year.
  • The Pirates, who are likely done making major moves this offseason, project to have an Opening Day payroll of $35.65MM, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  • Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog tweets that the Mets are close to making a deal.
  • Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik says he's going to "tweak and add" before the season starts, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.

Rangers Sign Toby Hall

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The Rangers have signed catcher Toby Hall to a minor league contract with an invite to Spring Training, according to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.  Sullivan writes that the move gives Texas some depth at catcher.

Hall has played in 686 major league games, mostly for the Rays and White Sox with a short Dodgers stint in between.  His last season in the big show was in 2008, when he played in 41 games for the White Sox, posting an OPS of .634.

Hall elected to undergo shoulder surgery roughly eleven months ago, which resulted in the Astros voiding his minor league deal.

Can Phillies Afford To Re-Sign Jayson Werth?

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Phillies GM Ruben Amaro told reporters today that the club may not be able to retain Jayson Werth as they already have $130MM committed to just 14 players for 2011, writes Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  His comments came after the press conference to announce the re-signing of Shane Victorino and were unsolicited by the media in attendance.

Amaro wondered aloud if the contracts given to Jason Bay and Matt Holliday would affect Werth's asking price.  Recently, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com wrote that he isn't sure if the Phils could retain Werth for Bay-type money.  Werth had his strongest offensive showing to date in 2009, hitting .268/.373./.506 with a career high 36 homers.

While his .879 OPS in '09 doesn't quite match Bay's walk year OPS of .921, Werth's solid defensive play (6.1 UZR/150) certainly trumps Bay's notoriously weak fielding (-11.2 UZR/150).

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