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Twins Sign Nick Blackburn To Extension

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The Minnesota Twins have signed Nick Blackburn to a four-year, $14MM contract that includes an $8MM club option for 2014, according to a team press release.  Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says Blackburn will earn $750K this year, $3MM in 2011, $4.75MM in '12, and $5.5MM in '13.  The extension is very similar to Scott Baker's. 

Blackburn's first two full seasons in the Twins' rotation have been remarkably similar, with the right-hander posting an 11-11 record over 33 starts in both 2008 and 2009. His peripherals remained consistent as well, including a sparkling 1.8 BB/9 over the two seasons, along with a less impressive 4.4 K/9. The 28-year-old is one of many Twins pitchers who performed markedly better at home than on the road. He had a 3.57 career home ERA in the Metrodome era, and a 4.64 ERA in other stadiums.

The contract buys out all of Blackburn's arbitration-eligible seasons, with the Twins holding the $8MM option for his first potential season of free agency. Based on the righty's numbers to date, $14MM for the next four years looks like a reasonable price for the Twins. Blackburn's performance in those four seasons will dictate whether the Twins would be wise to invest another $8MM on him in 2014, at age 32.

The press release notes that the Twins also renewed the contracts of 20 other players, locking up each of the 40 players on their current roster for the coming season.

Discussion: Jacoby Ellsbury

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Alex Speier of WEEI confirms today what we heard reported last week by CSNNE.com's Joe Haggerty: neither Jacoby Ellsbury or his agent, Scott Boras, have discussed a long-term extension for the outfielder with the Boston Red Sox.

Speier points out that other core Red Sox players, such as Jon Lester and Dustin Pedroia, had about the same amount of Major League service time as Ellsbury when they signed extensions that bought out their arbitration-eligible seasons and their first year of free-agent eligibility. Ellsbury, however, says that there have been no conversations on the subject to date:

“I’m going to play this year. When the Red Sox talk with my agent, I guess that’s when that ball starts rolling…. I think it’s fine [that there have been no long-term talks]. I’d like to get one more year under my belt, but if they come with something tomorrow, then it’s a totally different ballgame."

Ellsbury is still only 26, and it's possible we haven't yet seen his ceiling. If he develops double-digit home run power and increases his 2009 OBP of .355, he could potentially make himself even more valuable in a year than he is right now. On the other hand, he's coming off a season in which he hit .300+ and stole 70 bases, two numbers it will be a challenge to improve upon in 2010.

So with Ellsbury's arbitration years approaching, who should be exercising more patience when it comes to negotiating a possible long-term contract for the speedster: Boras and Ellsbury, or the Red Sox? And if you're a Sox fan, what sort of price would you feel comfortable with?

Cafardo On Hamilton, Beckett, Jackson, Green

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Roy Halladay hopes and expects to pitch in the postseason with the Philadelphia Phillies, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Cafardo also notes that the Red Sox made a fair trade proposal for the ex-Jay, but that Toronto needed to be blown away to deal their ace within the division. Here are some of Cafardo's other hot stove notes:

  • One National League scout had this to say about the possibility of the Rangers trading Josh Hamilton: "Everybody in Texas denies it, and I don’t know what to base it on, but there’s a feeling the Rangers may do something, and teams want to be ready." A handful of scouts are keeping an eye on the slugger, just in case.
  • The Red Sox' extension talks with Josh Beckett have at least been "amicable, if not productive." Like they did with the J.D. Drew and John Lackey contracts, the Sox could attempt to include medical language in their offer to Beckett.
  • After being traded out of New York this winter, Austin Jackson feels more comfortable with Detroit, no longer weighed down by comparisons to legendary Yankee outfielders of the past.
  • The Red Sox offered Nick Green a minor league contract before he signed with the Dodgers, and now he represents the type of player they need: a backup shortstop. The team is hoping that Bill Hall proves capable of handling the role so that Jed Lowrie can play every day in Triple-A.

Odds & Ends: Wedge, Nats, Marlins, Webb, Tejada

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Some links for Saturday..

  • Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer hears that Eric Wedge is taking this year off by choice.  The former Indians skipper, who is still under contract with the club for one more year, was connected to the Mets' bench coach job for a while.
  • The strong play of Nats rookie shortstop Ian Desmond could bump Cristian Guzman from the starting lineup, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com.  However, it  will be difficult for Washington will find a taker for Guzman's $8MM salary.
  • Newly acquired Dodger Garret Anderson knows that he's fighting for a very limited role with club, writes MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.  Anderson played in 135 games for the Braves last season, hitting .268/.303/.401 with 13 HRs.
  • Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that Giants pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim has the right to opt out of his contract on March 15th if he doesn't think he'll make the 25-man roster.  The 31-year-old – who last pitched in the majors in 2007 – signed a minor league deal with San Francisco in February.
  • Bobby Valentine told Marlins beat reporters that he was never spoke with club owner Jeffrey Loria about managing the team, writes Joe Frisaro of MLB.com.  Bobby V said the speculation was unfair to skipper Fredi Gonzalez, who led guided Florida to 87 wins and a second-place finish in the NL East.
  • Arizona GM Josh Byrnes said that the club wants to look at internal candidates first if Brandon Webb is unable to start the regular season, tweets MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.  Byrnes added that the club, as always, will keep an eye on the waiver wire as Spring Training winds down (also via Twitter).
  • Despite the impressive play of Josh Bell, Miguel Tejada will be the Orioles' starting third baseman barring a "dramatic" event, writes Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun.  The O's signed Tejada to a one-year, $6MM deal in late January.
  • Joe Posnanski takes a look at the history of the Rule 5 draft.  Fun Fact: The Rule 5 draft goes back more than 100 years.

State Of The Dodgers

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Dodgers owner Frank McCourt addressed reporters today and said that GM Ned Colletti will have the same financial flexibility at the trade deadline as he did last year, writes Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times (via Twitter).

Before the trade deadline last season, the Dodgers acquired George Sherill from the Orioles for Josh Bell and right-hander Steve Johnson.  Colletti also managed to bring Jim Thome, Ronnie Belliard, and Jon Garland aboard prior to the August 31st waiver deadline.  While those pickups didn't require Los Angeles to break the bank, Dodgers fans should be relieved to know that they will have room to make mid-season moves.

Meanwhile, after listening to McCourt speak, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter) doesn't get the sense that the club is close to adding another starting pitcher.

Mets Never Made A Serious Offer To Marquis?

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The Mets reportedly came into the offseason focused on five starting pitchers, one of whom was Jason Marquis. The Staten Island native reciprocated that interest, however as Adam Rubin of The New York Daily News tweets, Marquis doesn't know what the Mets offered him exactly because he told his agent to only share "serious" offers with him. 

The 31-year-old Marquis opted to a sign a two-year, $15MM deal with the Nationals in December, while the only starters the Mets imported this offseason were Josh Fogg, R.A. Dickey, and Hisanori Takahashi on minor league deals. 

Mark Reynolds On Extension Talks

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SATURDAY, 11:21am: Gilbert spoke to Reynolds, who had this to say about yesterday's meeting: "I guess the meeting was positive … Still a work in progress." (both links go to Twitter)

FRIDAY, 3:47pm: The extension that the D'Backs are discussing with Mark Reynolds would cover the 2011-12 seasons, reports MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. Reynolds isn't aware of exactly what happened during today's discussions, but says he hopes to make progress soon.

"I can't say anything is imminent right now," he said. "But the next couple of days we should know something."

Opening Day remains the ultimate deadline for the two sides to reach an agreement, but GM Josh Byrnes told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that he doesn't feel pressure to get a deal done. Reynolds told Piecoro that he finds the negotiations distracting and wouldn't mind picking them up after the 2010 season.

“I’m certainly hoping that we can come to some kind of agreement," he said. "But I’m 100 percent fine if it doesn’t happen. I’ll play this year and we’ll see what happens next year."

We heard earlier today that the D'Backs, who renewed Reynolds' 2010 contract for $500K today, would be comfortable offering $13MM for the two seasons. Reynolds would like $18MM for the same stretch.

The Doubts About Bryce Harper

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Baseball's amateur draft was shrouded in secrecy for decades, however publications like Baseball America and, of course, the internet have helped make the event more mainstream. If you've just started following the draft, you may have been spoiled by last year's top pick, righty Stephen Strasburg. Arguably the best amateur pitching prospect ever, he was far and away the best talent available, and it's very rare to see one player that far separated from the rest of the pack.

The top prospect for the 2010 draft is Bryce Harper, a catcher from Las Vegas. Harper should be a junior in high school right now, but he famously got his GED last year and is currently attending the College of Southern Nevada, a junior college that will allow him to become draft eligible this year instead of waiting until 2011. Through 16 games with the Coyotes, the 17-year-old Harper is hitting .356/.451/.712 with four homers and 11 doubles in 71 plate appearances. ESPN's Keith Law scouted Harper last month, and had this to say…

Harper brings two plus-plus tools to the table — huge raw power and an outstanding arm behind the plate. He has ridiculous leverage in his swing, even after mechanical changes made by CSN coach Tim Chambers, who has done a good job of quieting Harper's swing down and lessening some bad habits. He's not jumping as early as he used to, although he still gets his front side open a little too early and ends up hitting off his front foot, although his hand and wrist strength make that irrelevant from a power perspective. Behind the plate, he's good enough that few runners are going to try to steal on him at this level, and he's been clocked in the low 90s off the mound. On Thursday, he also received very well, with softer hands than he's shown me in the past and good agility behind the dish.

He also spoke to several people in the game, including one who had concerns about Harper's swing, "particularly the way he can drag his hands through the zone, and whether or not [he] could hit when facing above-average fastballs." In his chat this past Thursday, Law said the only draft eligible player he would consider taking over Harper is Texas high school righthander Jameson Taillon.

In today's blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney compared Harper to former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, perhaps the most polarizing figure in this year's NFL draft. On one hand you have those who praise Tebow's athleticism and leadership, but on the other hand you have those who doubt his ability to succeed as a pro because of poor throwing mechanics. Harper draws the same kind of responses, there are those that love his natural talent and those that doubt his ability to handle professional pitchers.

Whether the Nationals decide to draft Harper with their second consecutive first overall pick or not, they're going to be subject to massive amounts of second guessing. If they draft him and he flops, they'll get criticized for not doing a better job of scouting him. On the other hand, if they pass him up, they'll get criticized for not taking the best talent available.

As good as Harper is, there are certainly more doubts about his game than there were about Strasburg's last year, and possibly more than there were about Justin Upton when he was drafted in 2005. 

Latin Links: Ruiz, Haitian Players, Ramirez

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Links in Spanish, because English is so last season…

  • Jose Julio Ruiz's new agent Mike Maulini tells Jorge Ebro at Nuevo Herald that the Cuban first baseman made the switch from Jorge Luis Toca after realizing that his much-rumored signing with a major league team was "long overdue." Ruiz had a $2MM offer in hand from Tampa Bay in February, but since then, the market has stagnated and the lefty feared he was in danger of missing his opportunity to play stateside.
  • While Haitian baseball prospects exist, don't expect to see any of them signing with Major League teams, writes Juan Mercado in the Dominican newspaper El Dia. He talks with two coaches who complain that the MLB office on the island won't allow promising Haitian players to attend teams' academies because of the difficulty in verifying the players' backgrounds and paperwork. One source tells Mercado that the teams simply "prefer not to waste time" in fruitless investigations, while the two coaches call the policy discriminatory, saying many Cuban and Venezuelan players don't receive the same level of scrutiny. The only current Major Leaguer of Haitian descent is the Orioles' Felix Pie, though he was born in the Dominican.
  • Several veteran players were signed during this offseason under the justification of mentoring developing players. But lost in the circle-of-life storyline is the idea that those veterans are being paid for their blunt critical eye. New White Sox backup shortstop Omar Vizquel brings the point home to Luis Rangel of Nuevo Herald when he says that mentee Alexei Ramirez "needs to move his feet when fielding. He has the tendency to stand still and not move to the ball." Ramirez committed 20 errors in his first full season at short, tying for fourth most among major league shortstops.
  • Who says winter leagues help keep players in shape for the regular season? Yankees reliever Jonathan Albaladejo tells Esteban Pagan Rivera at Primera Hora that he shed 30 pounds this offseason after the team forbade him from playing in his home country of Puerto Rico. At the other end of the scale sits Pablo Sandoval, whose much-ballyhooed "Camp Panda" proved for naught when he came back from the Venezuelan Winter League in January heavier than when he arrived. 
  • The Twins signed one of Sandoval's fellow Navegantes of Magallanes in Venezuela, righty reliever Yoslan Herrera, to a minor league deal, confirms Joe Christensen at the Star Tribune. Herrera, who defected from Cuba in 2005, was a highly touted prospect in the Pirates system but disappointed in his only brief showing with the team in 2008. He showed more promise at the Bucs' Double-A and Triple-A levels in 2009 and will start out at Triple-A Rochester for the Twins. The Cuban blog Terreno de Pelota first reported the signing on Tuesday.

Adeiny Hechevarria Free To Sign

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Cuban shortstop Adeiny Hechevarria is now free to sign with any team, tweets ESPN's Jorge Arangure. His agent, Bart Hernandez, says that he's been "unblocked" by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, giving him the freedom to sign.

Bidding for the 19-year-old could go as high as eight figures, more than the $8.2MM the Red Sox gave Jose Iglesias earlier this winter. The Angels and Blue Jays reportedly have some interest in Hechevarria, but Arangure adds in a second tweet that the Cubs and Yankees have shown heavy interest. However, Hernandez says that his client will not hold any more showcases, and is ready to begin the signing process (link goes to Arangure's Twitter).

Hernandez also says that righthander Reinier Roibal has also been unblocked, according to Arangure (link goes to Twitter).

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