Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for April 2010

Edinson Volquez Gets 50-Game PED Suspension

By | at

Reds pitcher Edinson Volquez has been suspended 50 games for using PEDs, reports SI's Jon Heyman.  Volquez is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery; he had the procedure on August 3rd of last year.  Even with the 50 games off, Volquez will be able to serve the suspension while on the DL – it begins tomorrow.  His service time will not be affected, and he'll still be arbitration-eligible after the season.

Volquez released a statement on the matter, saying he received medication in the Dominican Republic prescribed to help with fertility.

If The White Sox Become Sellers

By | at

Over the next few days we'll be taking a look at teams off to rough starts, speculating on who they could make available if they don't right the ship.  We're not writing these teams off; they've played less than 10% of the season.

The White Sox are in a rut, already five games back of the Twins in the AL Central.  Should they go into sell mode in two or three months, they could save millions and add farm system depth while still fielding a competitive 2011 club.  A few trade possibilities:

  • Paul Konerko has been with the Sox since before Kenny Williams was in charge, and Williams is the fifth longest-tenured GM in the game.  Moving Konerko would relieve part of his $12MM salary, though Williams will need his first baseman's approval.  The Sox are unlikely to offer arbitration to Konerko after the season, so the marginal cost of draft picks shouldn't be a consideration.
  • Bobby Jenks is up to $7.5MM this year, with one last arbitration raise coming in 2011.  He could be dealt if the Sox deem Matt Thornton worthy of closing in '11.
  • A.J. Pierzynski should achieve 10-and-5 status in mid-June, at which point the White Sox would need his approval for a trade.  The Sox could potentially hand the keys over to Tyler Flowers if they trade Pierzynski.
  • Scott Linebrink has looked good in his last three appearances, but it'd be tough to find a taker for a contract that pays him $5MM this year and $5.5MM in '11.  Partial salary relief could be possible, given the demand for relievers during the summer.
  • J.J. Putz is on a much more agreeable contract, with a $3MM base salary.  In his first five appearances he's whiffed ten batters and walked none in 5.3 innings.  His velocity is down a tick, but his groundball rate is up.  Putz's incentives include another $250K if he reaches 70 games and big rewards beginning at 40 games finished.  Given his contract and experience, Putz could be one of the summer's most coveted relievers.
  • Five veterans, paid $1.5MM or less, would make good midseason trade bait: Andruw Jones, Freddy Garcia, Mark Kotsay, Omar Vizquel, and Ramon Castro.

First Time Arbitration-Eligibles

By | at

More than 80 players project to be eligible for arbitration for the first time after the 2010 season.  It's a big step in a player's career; for many, it's the first chance at a million-dollar salary.  Let's go around the diamond and look at some notable first-timers:

Catchers

The Athletics' Kurt Suzuki leads the group.  He's yet to discuss a long-term extension with the A's, but it seems possible.  Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Brayan Pena should also be eligible.

First Basemen

This group has three huge names: Kendry Morales, Joey Votto, and Billy Butler.  They're candidates for extensions, but either way they're getting big raises in 2011.

Second Basemen

Martin Prado may be on his way to a breakout season.  Alberto Callaspo fits here as well, unless you consider him a third baseman.

Shortstops

Some impressive youngsters here: Yunel Escobar, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Brendan Ryan.

Third Basemen

Ian Stewart and Andy LaRoche lead the way, with Stewart a potential Super Two.

Outfielders

Shin-Soo Choo, Adam Jones, Nelson Cruz, Ben Zobrist, Jacoby Ellsbury, Ryan Sweeney, Lastings Milledge – it's a talented group.  Choo and Ellsbury are represented by Scott Boras, and thus appear unlikely to sign long-term.

Starting Pitchers

The top names: Jair Jurrjens, Mike Pelfrey, John Lannan, Edinson Volquez, Johnny Cueto, Kevin Slowey, and Phil Hughes.  These days, most of the best young starters are locked up before reaching arbitration.  Brandon Morrow, Ryan Rowland-Smith, Ross Ohlendorf, and Luke Hochevar are more arbitration candidates, with the latter two likely Super Twos.

Relievers

Joba Chamberlain, Jim Johnson, and Chris Perez are the best-known relievers; Perez is a potential Super Two.  The group has more solid members in Eric O'Flaherty, Kyle McClellan, Joe Smith, Aaron Laffey, Burke Badenhop, Edward Mujica, Joel Hanrahan, and Darren O'Day. 

2011 Contract Issues: Florida Marlins

By | at

The Marlins face no contractual options after the season.  They'll have four free agents in Jorge Cantu, Wes Helms, Mike Lamb, and Nate Robertson.  Letting them go would free up nearly $8MM, most of it representing Cantu's salary.

However, that potential savings will be balanced out by raises to two star players under contract: Hanley Ramirez and Josh Johnson.  Each gets a $4MM bump in 2011.

If the Marlins plan to retain their arbitration-eligible players, payroll must continue to increase.  They've got Burke Badenhop and Brett Carroll as first-timers.  Leo Nunez, Anibal Sanchez, Ronny Paulino, and Renyel Pinto will go to arbitration for the second time.  The big names go for a third time: Dan Uggla, Cody Ross, and Ricky Nolasco.  Maybe non-tenders and trades will pare the Marlins' arbitration list, but it includes their closer, setup man, second baseman, right fielder, and two members of the rotation.

Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.

Odds & Ends: Bell, Dye, Ortiz, Davis, Strasburg

By | at

Links for Monday…

  • The MLBTR Forums are rocking with over 3,600 members.  Join the discussion today!  Just added a prospects section; we've also got areas to discuss trade rumors, free agents, the draft, general baseball, fantasy baseball, and every team.
  • Tom Krasovic tweets that the Twins have a scout at tonight's Padres-Giants game, but it's just a routine visit. He adds that Heath Bell remains on Minnesota's radar, but the two sides haven't talked since Spring Training.
  • The Giants have no interest in Jermaine Dye, tweets Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle. The reasons are the same as they've been all winter: defense and asking price.
  • More changes could be coming to the Dodgers' bullpen, says Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times. Russ Ortiz was designated for assignment yesterday, and Hernandez thinks Ramon Ortiz could be next.
  • Talking to MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith, I learned that teams can now safely promote minor leaguers for their MLB debuts with no chance of the player amassing 172 days of service in 2010.  By promoting '08 first-rounder Ike Davis today, the Mets ensured that he will be under team control through 2016 instead of 2015.  In contrast, the Braves have Jason Heyward through '15.
  • On that same topic, agent Scott Boras told MLB.com's Peter Gammons that Stephen Strasburg starting in the minors "had nothing to do with money."
  • Joe Posnanski digs into Forbes' team revenue numbers, noting that the Yankees made $173MM more than any other team.
  • MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch tells us Hayden Penn has accepted the Pirates' Triple A assignment in lieu of electing free agency.
  • In a statement, Cal Ripken said he looks forward to continued talks with the Orioles about a position in the organization.

Nationals Re-Sign Ron Villone

By | at

8:26pm: Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post clears things up. He says Villone was re-signed to a minor league and assigned to Extended Spring Training, presumably for conditioning purposes.

3:06pm: The Nationals have apparently retained lefty reliever Ron Villone, based on this tweet from MLB.com's Bill Ladson.  Ladson says Villone is "back in the Nats organization, working out in Viera, Florida right now."  The Nationals had released Villone in March after three spring appearances.  Ladson notes that Villone had a leg injury prior to the release, which probably explains why they were unable to let him go.

Villone, 40, posted a 6.66 K/9 and 4.81 BB/9 in 24.3 innings against lefties last year.  Control was a problem in '08 as well, through he had a better strikeout rate.  Villone has pitched for a dozen different teams in his 15 seasons.

Should The Padres Try To Sign Headley Long-Term?

By | at

The Padres are off to a somewhat surprising 6-6 start to the season, thanks in no small part to some late inning heroics by third baseman Chase Headley. The 25-year-old is hitting .375/.423/.521 through 12 games, and has established himself as the cleanup hitter behind megastar Adrian Gonzalez.

Headley won't be a free agent until after the 2014 season and he won't qualify as a Super Two next season, so the Padres can enjoy his production for close to the league minimum both this year and next. However, buying out his arbitration years and perhaps a free agent year or two would give the team some cost certainty should his breakout continue, and it would also give Headley some long-term financial security.

There's no obvious historical comparison for a long-term deal. Both Ryan Zimmerman and David Wright had more service time when they signed their deals, and of course their performance is a notch above Headley's right now. Evan Longoria has a similar amount of service time at the moment and will be paid just $13.45MM during what would be his last four years of team control, though he's vastly underpaid. 

Longoria's framework might not be too far off base, so perhaps something along the lines of four years (2011-2014) and $15MM with some options beyond that makes some sense for the Padres and Headley. There's certainly no rush for the team considering he's still in his pre-arb years, but if he keeps hitting, it's only going to get more and more expensive for San Diego to sign what looks like their next great homegrown player long-term. 

Mariners Sign Ramon Vazquez

By | at

The Mariners signed infielder Ramon Vazquez to a minor league deal, according to a team press release.  Vazquez, who originally came up in the organization, will stay in extended spring training before being assigned to a minor league team.  The Pirates are on the hook for Vazquez's $2MM, minus a big league salary if he makes it.  The Bucs released Vazquez eleven days ago.

Vazquez, 33, hit .230/.335/.279 last year in 239 plate appearances last year, playing second base, shortstop, and third base and dealing with a knee injury.  He can be useful against right-handed pitching.

Free Agent Deals By Agency

By | at

MLB teams spent over $850MM on free agent contracts during the 2009-10 offseason.  45 different agencies were involved in those 122 Major League signings.  Here's a look at the 15 agencies that brokered at least $10MM in free agent contracts:

2011 Contract Issues: Seattle Mariners

By | at

The Mariners face three contractual options after the season:

  • Ian Snell has a $6.75MM club option.  If Snell's 2010 work resembles his 2008-09 performance, they'll let him go.
  • Jose Lopez has a $4.5MM club option with a $250K buyout.  If the option is declined, Lopez will still be arbitration-eligible.  Lopez may be traded at some point, but the option appears likely to be exercised.
  • Erik Bedard has an $8MM mutual option that can increase based on performance.  As usual, we find it unlikely for both sides to exercise.

The Mariners free agents after the season include Cliff Lee, Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Sweeney, and Eric Byrnes.  The group is earning over $12MM this year, led by Lee.  About $18MM will be freed up if everyone aside from Lopez departs.

An additional $11.5MM must be allocated toward players under contract, with Felix Hernandez's $3.5MM the biggest bump.  The Mariners will owe raises to Ryan Rowland-Smith, Garrett Olson, Jack Hannahan, Sean White, and Jason Vargas as first-time arbitration players.  David Aardsma and Mark Lowe go for a second time, Brandon League a third, and Casey Kotchman a fourth.  Some of these players figure to be non-tendered.

Despite a busy offseason, the Mariners trimmed payroll by about $8MM this year according to Cot's Baseball Contracts.  Payroll will have to come back up for the Mariners to have spending money in the offseason.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows FOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top