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Archives for February 2010

Mets Re-Engaged On Chris Snyder; No Deal

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The Mets recently re-engaged the Diamondbacks in trade talks for catcher Chris Snyder, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  However, Sherman says there will be no deal because the Mets wanted the D'Backs to assume almost all of the $4.75MM Snyder will earn in 2010. 

Snyder is also owed $5.75MM in 2011 and a $750K buyout on a 2012 club option.  He'll turn 29 in a few days and is coming off September back surgery.  On January 20th, the Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro did a piece examing the pros and cons of trading Snyder from the D'Backs' point of view.

Sherman takes the re-engagement on Snyder as a sign that the Mets would like to improve upon their current catching options – Omir Santos, Josh Thole, and Henry Blanco.  Sherman recommends the Mets go after free agent Rod Barajas.

Sherman also advises the Mets allocate some of the money earmarked for Joel Pineiro and Bengie Molina toward free agents such as Russell Branyan, Kiko Calero, Felipe Lopez, and Jarrod Washburn.  MetsBlog's Matthew Cerrone would like to see at least some of those players pursued.

Will Jays’ Pitching Depth Lead To Trade?

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The Blue Jays are overflowing with pitchers, five of whom are out of options.  In a recent article, MLB.com's Jordan Bastian named Brian Tallet, Dustin McGowan, Shawn Camp, Merkin Valdez, and Sean Henn as pitchers who would need to clear waivers before being sent to the minors.

Which Jays' hurlers are locks for the Opening Day roster?  In the bullpen, Jason Frasor, Scott Downs, and Kevin Gregg will take three of the seven spots.  Camp and Jesse Carlson seem like good bets as well, perhaps leaving a battle for two bullpen spots.

Regarding the five rotation jobs, Ricky Romero, Shaun Marcum, Brandon Morrow, and Marc Rzepczynski are my frontrunners.  Having been retained on a $2MM contract, Tallet would appear to have a good shot at some role on the 12-man staff.

The Jays will probably buy some time by starting a few pitchers on the DL.  This situation will become clearer during Spring Training, but GM Alex Anthopoulos almost needs to make a couple of trades.  The highest-paid Blue Jays pitchers seem most likely to go: Downs ($4MM), Frasor ($2.65MM), and Tallet ($2MM).  Camp and Accardo will also earn more than a million.

Odds & Ends: Startup, Rays, Reds, Dye, Mauer

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A few links for Monday night…

  • Morosi reports (via Twitter) that the Orioles have signed lefty reliever Will Startup to a minor league contract. The 25-year-old missed all of 2008 and most of 2009 with injuries, though prior to that he had a 2.56 ERA and held lefties to a .206 batting average in 175.2 career minor league innings. He spend last season in the Padres' system.
  • Marc Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times passes along some quotes Rays' vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman made during his appearance on 620-AM this evening. He basically said the team is keeping an eye on the market, though it's difficult to say if they'll be able to act on anything given their current financial situation.
  • After losing out on Erik Bedard, the Orioles are still looking to add an arm according to Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com (via Twitter).
  • MLB.com's Mark Sheldon lists the Reds' players who are out of options. Wladimir Balentien appears to be the biggest question mark.
  • Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal Constitution tweets that the Braves are not interested in Jermaine Dye, but they could still make another addition if Johnny Damon's (or another free agent's) price falls. 
  • Unsurprisingly, Twins' CEO Jim Pohlad declined to talk about contract negotiations with Joe Mauer, though he did say that they try to stay away from deferred compensation.
  • In a mailbag, MLB.com's Matthew Leach says the Cardinals are likely done spending until Spring Training. 

Discussion: Hank Blalock

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Older players are feeling the crunch these days, especially if they're one dimensional. Teams just aren't willing to pay big bucks for declining players, regardless of how notable they are or how good of a fit they may be. However some younger players are feeling it too; if they want a big league contract they better be able to do several things well.

Two-time All Star Hank Blalock sits here on February 8th without a job, despite hitting 25 homers last season and averaging 27 bombs per 162 games played for his career. The problem is that Blalock doesn't get on base well (.277 OBP in 2009, .329 career), isn't very good in the field at either first or third, and has dealt with major shoulder injuries in recent seasons. His value comes from his ability to occasionally make pitchers pay when they make a mistake.

At this point, Blalock's probably looking at a minor league deal, however his significant platoon split might be enough to land him a gig as a the lefty-half of a first base platoon somewhere. All it takes is an injury in Spring Training, after all.

Do you see any possible fits for Blalock, maybe as a platoon player or a bat off the bench for an NL team? The pickin's are slim this far into the offseason…

Players Avoiding Arbitration: Monday

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We'll keep tabs of any players that avoid arbitration here…

  • MLB.com's Matthew Leach tweets that the Cardinals and Skip Schumaker have agreed to a two-year deal, avoiding arbitration. The AP (via SI.com) reports that Schumaker will earn $2MM in 2010 and $2.7MM in 2011, with another $300K in performance bonuses. He had filed for $2.75MM, the team $1.45MM.

Nationals Talk: Guzman, Dye, Hernandez

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MLB.com's Bill Ladson spilled some hot stove goodness in his latest mailbag, so let's round it up with some good old fashioned bullet points…

  • Because he's owed $8MM in 2010, Ladson doesn't see Cristian Guzman getting traded before Opening Day. He'll get another chance to play shortstop because the team realizes his problems last year were due to injuries.
  • Unless he comes in as a fourth outfielder, it's unlikely the Nats will pursue Jermaine Dye. 
  • The only way Ladson sees Livan Hernandez returning to the nation's capital is if they're unable to land a pitcher they really want first. If they do sign him, it would likely occur in Spring Training. 

Odds & Ends: Brewers, Cubs, Looper, Baer, Wigginton

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Links for Monday…

Yankees Sign Randy Winn

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The Yankees officially signed outfielder Randy Winn to a one-year, $1.1MM deal today.  He can earn another $900K in incentives.  Joel Sherman of the New York Post first reported the agreement on January 27th, with SI's Jon Heyman tweeting the contract value.  The Winn signing definitively closed the door on Johnny Damon, tweets Sherman.

Winn, 35, slipped to .262/.318/.353 in 597 plate appearances for the Giants last year (including a brutal 125 PAs against lefties).  His corner outfield defense still rates well; that was probably the draw for Yankees GM Brian Cashman.

Yankees Sign Marcus Thames

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The Yankees signed Marcus Thames, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that it's a minor league deal worth $900K if he makes the team.  Thames originally came up through the Yankees' system but was traded to the Rangers in '03 for Ruben Sierra.

Thames, 33 in March, hit .252/.323/.453 in 294 plate appearances for the Tigers last year, logging 125 innings in left field.  He also has experience in right field and at first base in his career.  He's a right-handed hitter with a .263/.326/.541 line against southpaws over the last three years.

Thames became a free agent in November, as the Tigers were not going to tender him a contract at a salary higher than 2009's $2.275MM.

Did Boras Fail Damon, Washburn, & Lopez?

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Last offseason, the Scott Boras Corporation brokered approximately $341MM worth of free agent deals.  It was a strong showing, with three of the four big-money contracts already looking regrettable (Derek Lowe, Manny Ramirez, and Oliver Perez).

This time around, Boras will not reach even half of last year's total.  That fact doesn't necessarily reflect on Boras' abilities as an agent, and he did find favorable contracts for Matt Holliday, Mike Gonzalez, Adrian Beltre, Ivan Rodriguez, and Alex Cora in a down market.  But we must ask: did Boras clients Johnny Damon, Jarrod Washburn, and Felipe Lopez get screwed?

ESPN's Buster Olney suggested that in November, the Yankees discussed internally the idea of approaching Bobby Abreu's two-year, $19MM extension with Damon.  Boras always aims high in November contract discussions, but the superagent read the market poorly this time.  It appears that, more than once, Damon turned down his best offseason offers from his preferred team.  Most likely, Damon will ultimately accept an offer inferior to the contracts signed by Mike Cameron, Marlon Byrd, Hideki Matsui, and Coco Crisp.

In early January, the Twins reportedly offered Washburn a one-year, $5MM deal.  Though the Twins are on the lefty's short list, he turned it down.  Maybe the Twins or Mariners will still sign him at a lower price.  Perhaps Washburn would've enjoyed playing for the Brewers in his home state, but they signed a similar pitcher in Doug Davis for $5.25MM on January 10th.  According to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, Washburn might even be considering retirement at this point.

Since Damon, Washburn, and Lopez remain unsigned, we can't label Boras a failure with these three clients quite yet.  However, they'll likely illustrate cases where Boras' long-standing strategies of ridiculous initial demands and signing late cost his clients millions.

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