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Archives for April 2010

Rosenthal’s Latest: Fielder, Wells, Harden

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a new Full Count video up, with a few tidbits to check out:

  • A potentially otherworldly class of free agent first basemen after the 2011 season won't affect Scott Boras' handling of Prince Fielder. It's possible that Fielder could sign a long-term extension with the Brewers before then, but Rosenthal notes that Boras "rarely shows fear" when it comes to testing the open market.
  • Despite a hot start and a possible willingness to waive his no-trade clause, Vernon Wells and his massive contract are unlikely to be moved. It also seems doubtful that he'd exercise his opt-out clause following the 2011 campaign. Even if he'd prefer to play for a contender, seeing him walk away from the final $63MM of his deal would be a huge shock.
  • One scout thinks that Rich Harden, one of the prizes of the Rangers' offseason, looks awful, and would be very surprised if Harden had a strong year in Texas. The Rangers are, of course, more optimistic. They believe the Canadian right-hander will be fine if he throws strikes, given his ability to miss bats.

Lowell Plans To Retire After This Season

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Mike Lowell said today that he will almost certainly retire from baseball when his deal expires at the end of the year, tweets Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe.

The BoSox agreed to deal the 36-year-old to the Rangers for catcher Max Ramirez back in December.  However, the deal was called off when Texas discovered that Lowell had a torn ligament in his right thumb.

For his major league career, Lowell has hit .280/.343/.468 with 218 HRs.

Discussion: Chris Young

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The Padres' trade block was discussed quite a bit this winter, with Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell being talked about as potential trade candidates.  Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports recently tweeted that 6'10 hurler Chris Young is also likely to be dealt this season.

The soon-to-be 31-year-old was extremely limited by shoulder troubles in 2009, pitching just 76 innings across 14 starts.  However, in the three years prior to that, Young posted an ERA of 3.44 with 8.9 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9.

Young is in the final year of a four-year, $14.5MM deal and is set to earn $6.5MM this season.  While his price tag certainly hinders his trade value, if he can demonstrate that he is healthy, he could be an attractive option for a contender at mid-season.  One has to wonder how much a team might be willing to surrender for a rental of Young.

Nationals Need To Make Room For Livan Hernandez

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The Nationals were able to play out the first week of the season with just four starters, but they're going to call up Livan Hernandez tomorrow to take over as the fifth member of the rotation. Hernandez signed a minor league deal this offseason, so the Nats kept him off the roster until they absolutely needed the extra starter.

The team will have to clear a spot on the 25-man roster to call Livan up, but they do have an open spot on the 40-man roster, so that's not that problem. However, as MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling notes, relievers Tyler Walker and Jason Bergmann could be candidates for demotion, and both are out of options. They would have to clear waivers to head to the minors. 

Walker, 33, signed a one year deal worth $650K this offseason, but he's allowed three runs in 3.1 innings on the young season. The 28-year-old Bergmann has appeared in two games so far, allowing a pair of runs in one inning of work. If the team choose to ignore the obviously small sample sizes, they could option 25-year-old Jesse English to Triple-A, who has allowed two runs in 1.2 innings of work on the season. Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post adds Miguel Batista's name to the mix, who's given up six runs in 4.1 innings so far. 

Jack Cust Clears Waivers

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SATURDAY, 11:05am: Cust has accepted his outright assignment to the minors according to the team. Smart move, I'm not sure he would have been able to find another $2.65MM on the free agent market.

12:19pm: Slusser counter–tweets that Cust's camp says a decision has not been made and it may take a few more days.  She explains in an article that Cust is likely to accept the assignment, as he won't receive his $2.65MM if he doesn't.

FRIDAY, 10:42am: Cust has accepted the assignment to Triple A, reports CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban.

THURSDAY, 10:25pm: Cust cleared waivers, tweets Slusser, but it's not yet known whether he'll accept an assignment to Triple A.

SATURDAY, 7:11pm: The Athletics have designated Jack Cust for assignment, according to Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). Slusser mentions that if he clears waivers, he would consider a minor league assignment to remain with the team.

Oakland non-tendered Cust back in December, then re-signed him to a one year, $2.65MM deal in January. The 31-year-old has seen his performance decline each year since his 2007 breakout campaign, bottoming out at .240/.356/.417 with 25 homers last year. He's led the American League in strikeouts each of the last three seasons, though the power and on-base numbers have continued to decline, and he's never had any defensive value.

With both Travis Buck and Jake Fox making the team, there was just no room for Cust and his limited skill set. Any team that were to claim him off waivers would assume the full $2.65MM on his deal, but would still have another year of team control.

Largest Contracts By Position

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We've already looked at the largest contracts by service time, so now let's break it down by position…

Catcher
Joe Mauer: Eight years, $184MM

First Base
Mark Teixeira: Eight years, $180MM

Second Base
Chase Utley: Seven years, $85MM

Shortstop
Alex Rodriguez: Ten years, $252MM

Third Base
Alex Rodriguez: Ten years, $275MM

Outfield
Alfonso Soriano: Eight years, $136MM
Vernon Wells: Seven years, $126MM
Matt Holliday: Seven years, $120MM

Starting Pitcher
CC Sabathia: Seven years, $161MM
Johan Santana: Six years, $137.5MM
Barry Zito: Seven years, $126MM
Mike Hampton: Eight years, $121MM
Kevin Brown: Seven years, $105MM

Relief Pitcher
Joe Nathan: Four years, $47MM
Mariano Rivera: Three years, $45MM

Some thoughts…

  • If you want to count DH as a position, which I guess it technically is, then Travis Hafner's four year, $57MM deal would top the list.
  • Joe Mauer's contract is more than three and a half times larger than Jorge Posada's four year, $52.4MM deal, the second largest among active catchers. Mike Piazza's seven year, $91MM deal is the second largest for a catcher all-time.
  • A-Rod only spent three years of his $252MM at the shortstop position before sliding over to third. The next largest contract ever given to a shortstop belongs to his teammate, Derek Jeter, who signed a ten year, $189MM deal in 2001.
  • The Twins are the only team besides the Yankees to employ two of the largest contracts at their respective positions.
  • The Soriano, Wells, Zito, and Hampton deals are all ones ownership wish they could take back. Brown spent a lot of time on the disabled list, but he did post a 3.23 ERA in close to 1,100 innings during the life of his deal.
  • The Utley and Rivera deals are ones the teams would happily do again, but the jury is still out on the rest.

Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.

Top Trade Chips: NL Central

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Let's continue our series looking at each team's top trade chips with the NL Central…

  • Astros: Teams can ask for Hunter Pence, but it's just not happening. 26-year-old catcher J.R. Towles and his five years of team control could be shopped with top prospect Jason Castro coming up behind him. If Houston falls way out of it, Roy Oswalt could be made available, but it would be a massive PR hit. He's owed $31MM through 2011 with a $16MM option ($2MM buyout) for 2012, and would have to approve any trade. Dealing him would signify the start of a full rebuilding effort. 
  • Brewers: Yovani Gallardo was never going to be moved in the first place, but his new contract extension all but guarantees it. Manny Parra seems to have fallen out of favor, but a lefty who can dial it up to the mid-90's will always have value on the trade market. He still has three years of arbitration eligibility ahead of him. 
  • Cardinals: The Cards dealt away most of their top prospects for Matt Holliday and Mark DeRosa last year, so there's not much left to move. Triple-A catcher Bryan Anderson and Double-A outfielder Daryl Jones could be used in a trade since the big league team is pretty well set at those positions. Jones is more highly regarded of the two. Colby Rasmus is untouchable, obviously.
  • Cubs: Josh Vitters, the third overall pick in 2007, watched his name pop up in trade rumors involving Jake Peavy last year. If Chicago is willing to eat some of the $26.5MM left on his contract, there would be interest in Kosuke Fukudome.
  • Pirates: Neal Huntington has completely turned over the team's roster since taking over in September 2007, dealing away every notable veteran player. He did, however, build up a nice inventory of veteran relievers this offseason. Octavio Dotel, D.J. Carrasco, Brendan Donnelly, and Javier Lopez could all be used as trade fodder this summer.
  • Reds: Cincinnati is clearly a team on the rise, but one young player they could make available is the blocked Yonder Alonso. The power hitting first baseman masquerading as a left fielder in Double-A has all six years of team control left, and is the best trade chip in the division.

Interest In Washburn Heating Up?

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9:45pm: Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports tweets that Cleveland and Arizona are possibilities for Washburn but Seattle is becoming a bit of a long shot.

3:27pm: Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse provides a few quotes from Scott Boras on his free agent client Jarrod Washburn:

"As many as five clubs are after him.  A lot of teams are interested. The reality has struck."

Of course, Boras has never been known to exaggerate.  The superagent says the lefty would need three weeks to be Major League ready.

Washburn reportedly turned down a small offer from the Mariners, his preferred destination.  The Royals may also be in the mix.  MLBTR's Mike Axisa attempted to help Washburn find work with this March 29th post, in case Boras has his hands full with Joe Crede or his draft advisees.  One could name a half-dozen teams that'd make sense in the $2MM range, but it'd have to be a city that works for Washburn and his family. 

Odds & Ends: Britton, Beckett, Crawford, Blue Jays

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Links for Friday…

Could The Brewers Look To Extend Weeks Next?

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Now that ace Yovani Gallardo is locked up for the next five years, Brewers' GM Doug Melvin can begin to focus on getting another one of his good young players signed long-term. MLB.com's Adam McCalvy notes that while Prince Fielder remains the priority, it might also make sense for the team to explore locking up second baseman Rickie Weeks.

"If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't," Weeks said. "You don't want to leave too much on the table, but then there's security."

Weeks wouldn't confirm if his representatives and the team have discussed a deal. The 27-year-old is productive when he's on the field, hitting .272/.340/.517 in 162 plate appearances last year before a torn tendon sheath in his wrist ended his season in May. Weeks will earn $2.75MM this year, and has one more year of arbitration eligibility remaining.

Melvin, meanwhile, wouldn't discuss negotiations with Fielder, if there are any.

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