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Arbitration Eligibles: Cleveland Indians

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A look at the Indians players who will be eligible for arbitration after the season:

Laffey, Marte, Smith, and Reyes have not impressed this year, so they're non-tender candidates.  They wouldn't be too expensive to retain, but the Indians still might prefer to cut them loose or try to re-sign them to minor league deals.  Rafael Perez figures to be tendered a contract, as he's building off a salary of just $795K and has excelled at least in getting groundballs.

Choo, Cabrera, and Chris Perez are the major cases for the Indians.  Choo, a Scott Boras client, should jump up past $3MM.  Josh Hamilton, who earns $3.25MM in his first arbitration year, could be a decent comparable.  If not for Boras, Choo would be a good extension candidate.  The Indians may prefer to wait a year with Cabrera, who missed two months this season with a broken left forearm.  On the other hand, Cabrera has shown no ill effects in 36 games since his return, and perhaps the appeal of multiyear security would enable the Tribe to get a big discount. 

If we're correct about the Super Two cutoff being around 2.125, Chris Perez will qualify.  There's no rush to lock him up, unless the Indians think a full year of racking up saves in 2011 would artificially inflate his future salaries. 

5 Surprises: Arizona Diamondbacks

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Five Diamondbacks surprises that I would not have predicted in the offseason:

  1. Josh Byrnes' firing.  Byrnes' contract ran through 2015 and included an ownership stake, so his July dismissal took me by surprise.  The departure of Jeff Moorad may have been a factor, reported the Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro.  General Managing Partner Ken Kendrick cited the team's weak farm system as a primary reason, in that Piecoro article. 
  2. Brandon Webb a non-factor.  Byrnes and the rest of the team's management saw enough in Webb to exercise his club option in January at an $8MM net cost.  Presumably they expected at least five months out of him.  Instead, his recovery from August 2009 shoulder surgery will delay his 2010 debut until September, when he'll try to make a few relief appearances.
  3. The terrible bullpen.  I wasn't thrilled with the D'Backs' additions of Aaron Heilman and Bob Howry, but I did not expect their pen to post an ERA near 6.00.  Chad Qualls and Juan Gutierrez were much worse than expected, but the D'Backs haven't found much on the scrap heap or in the minors either.
  4. The Dan Haren and Edwin Jackson trades.  Haren is signed through 2012 and Jackson through '11, but once Byrnes was fired these trades became much more realistic.  I also thought Haren would bring a better package in return if dealt.
  5. The performances of Chris Young, Ian Kennedy, and Kelly Johnson.  The bounceback seasons for Young and Johnson were not shocking, as they've had big league success before.  The feeling on Kennedy heading into the season was that he made for a questionable #3 starter who would be decent if healthy.  The 25-year-old righty is having a fine season with 140 strikeouts in 158 innings.

Rockies Seeking Relief Help

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The Rockies are looking for a reliever, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  Colorado has mostly been subtracting lately, letting Brad Hawpe and Randy Flores go for nothing, but at 4.5 games out in the wild card Baseball Prospectus gives them a 10.7% playoff shot.  Heyman believes the Rockies would probably settle for a "change-of-scenery type" reliever, with the good ones blocked.  The team's Rafael Betancourt deal, struck in July of last year, could be the model in my opinion.  At present, Betancourt is battling an abdominal strain.

Which relievers are still available, with the deadline looming tomorrow?  My speculative list includes Brandon League, David Aardsma, Aaron Heilman, Mark Hendrickson, Todd Coffey, Pedro Feliciano, Chan Ho Park, Will Ohman, Brian Tallet, Joel Peralta, George Sherrill, Koji Uehara, Manny Parra, Mike Gonzalez, D.J. Carrasco, and Miguel Batista.  I'm operating under the assumption the Blue Jays' relievers will not be dealt.  The Rockies could also turn to free agents such as Brendan Donnelly or David Riske.

Arbitration Eligibles: Chicago White Sox

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A look at the small group of White Sox players who will be arbitration-eligible after the season…

Look for relievers Jenks and Pena to be non-tendered - Jenks because he's already earning $7.5MM, and Pena because he's had a rough year.  With J.J. Putz eligible for free agency, the Sox may have to revamp their bullpen again.

Danks, as well as Tampa Bay's Matt Garza, may be willing to buck the extension trend and go to arbitration a second time.  Recent compares are scarce, but both could earn $6MM or so.  That'd put Danks about $1.5MM up on teammate Gavin Floyd, who will earn $8.5MM for the same slice of his career after signing a four-year deal in March of last year.  As of November of '09, Danks hoped to sign long-term with the Sox.

Quentin's .251 career batting average will hurt his arbitration argument, but with a likely 100 home runs and 300 RBIs under his belt he'll have a case for beating the $1.65MM raise earned by Josh Willingham and Luke Scott last winter.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Koji Uehara

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As his two-year contract with the Orioles nears its conclusion, righty Koji Uehara is restoring some value.  He sports a 1.91 ERA, 9.8 K/9, and 1.6 BB/9 in 28.3 relief innings and has quietly slipped into the team's closer role.

Uehara, 35, pitched well as a starter in 2009, but his season ended in June due to hamstring and elbow woes.  He began this year with more of the same, but has been healthy for the last two months as a late-inning reliever.

Uehara was signed as the Orioles' first-ever Japanese player in January of 2009.  HIs two-year, $10MM contract included $6MM worth of incentives for innings pitched and games finished that he was not able to reach.  His path with the Orioles was not surprising; in June of 2008 NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman outlined Uehara's injury history and success coming out of the bullpen in '07.  The contract indicates the Orioles were aware of the possibility that Uehara would switch to relief at some point.

Teams are more cautious in free agency now than they were two years ago.  Plus, Uehara is no longer a mysterious figure.  He's an injury-prone right-handed reliever who will be coming off a strong half-season at age 36 – not unlike Brendan Donnelly after the '09 season.  Uehara's agent Mark Pieper would do well to get his client a $2MM guarantee this time around.

Odds & Ends: Crawford, Ramirez, Hernandez, Orioles

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Sunday night linkage..

  • The risk factor in signing Carl Crawford depends on the length of the deal given to him, tweets Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com.
  • In a pinch-hitting appearance, Manny Ramirez was ejected from today's game after the very first pitch for arguing balls and strikes.  Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News wonders (via Twitter) if the slugger intentionally got himself tossed.
  • Nats GM Mike Rizzo says that Livan Hernandez deserved to receive a contract extension before the season's end, writes Gene Wang of the Washington Post.
  • The Orioles will end their 53-season relationship with Bluefield, West Virginia where the club has its Rookie-level affiliate, writes Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun.

Dodgers To Send Ramirez To White Sox

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SUNDAY, 9:03pm: The Dodgers confirmed that Ramirez will be shipped to the White Sox, tweets Peter Gammons of the MLB Network.

8:33pm: Ramirez has indicated that he will waive his no-trade clause even if he isn't compensated, sources tell Hernandez (via Twitter).

8:04pm: The Dodgers are trying to decide whether to take third base prospect Jon Gilmore and assume part of Ramirez's salary or just take the cash, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.  The White Sox acquired the former first-round pick from the Braves as part of a package for Javier Vazquez in December of 2008.

7:30pm: There's still a possibility that a swap could be worked out in which the Dodgers get a player and the White Sox don't have to foot the entire $4.3MM bill for Ramirez, according to Jayson Stark of ESPN (via Twitter).  Meanwhile, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com writes that there will be no players coming back to Los Angeles.

7:08pm: Details of the transaction are still being worked out but Ramirez will be a member of the White Sox on Monday one way or another, according to Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).

7:02pm: The White Sox will receive Ramirez tomorrow, a source tells Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.  Because the White Sox will be getting Ramirez on a waiver claim, they will be on the hook for the remainder of his salary, Hernandez tweets.

1:31pm: USA Today's Bob Nightengale opines (via Twitter) that since the Dodgers aren't playing Manny, they're likely set on trading him. According to Nightengale, Manny is telling friends that he can't wait to join the White Sox.

Meanwhile, Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times quotes Joe Torre as saying that he's not benching Manny to get him to waive his no-trade clause, he's just trying to win games (Twitter link). From what we've heard, it doesn't sound like Manny would need the extra encouragement anyway.

SATURDAY, 8:34pm: The Dodgers have yet to ask Manny to waive his no-trade clause, according to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).

7:20pm: ESPN.com's Buster Olney tweets that the Dodgers don't intend to give Manny up for nothing. If they part with Manny, the Dodgers want a Sox prospect in return to make it "worth their while."

FRIDAY, 7:37pm: The White Sox "swear" they have yet to have trade talks with the Dodgers about Manny, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter).

1:26pm: Multiple teams claimed Manny Ramirez on waivers, but the White Sox won the claim, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark (on Twitter). Stark reports strong indications that the Rays claimed Manny and the Rangers also claimed the 38-year-old, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.

The White Sox and Dodgers, who have already discussed possible trades, have until Tuesday to work out a deal. Ramirez has a no-trade clause, which will give him the power to veto a deal if the Dodgers plan to make one. However, he has told friends that he would approve a trade to the White Sox, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link).

The Dodgers, who are currently 5.0 games out of the Wild Card race, can now hold onto Ramirez, hand him over to the White Sox or work out a trade. They must determine by Tuesday afternoon whether they can contend for the playoffs.

National League teams had waiver priority on Ramirez, but no NL team made a claim. The claim seems to indicate that the White Sox are willing to take on $4.1MM in salary, but the Dodgers and White Sox talked about potential deals earlier in the week, so the teams may have agreed on a trade that would send Ramirez to Chicago along with salary relief. About $3.1MM of Ramirez's remaining salary is deferred.

Jon Heyman of SI.com, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports and Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times also contributed to the story.

MLBTR Originals

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Let's take a look back at some of the original reporting and analysis from MLBTR's writing team this week..

Week In Review: 8/22/10 – 8/28/10

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It's Sunday night and that means it's time to take a look back at the week that was..

Heyman On Ramirez, Yankees, Diamondbacks

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Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated has a new column up this evening.  Let's dive in and see what he has for us..

  • Heyman writes that a deal sending Manny Ramirez to the White Sox would be in the best interests of all parties involved.  Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has lamented the monster deal given to Ramirez ever since he signed off on it, so it wouldn't make sense to hang on to him, particularly when they're not playing him regularly.  Some close to the slugger believe that the Dodgers are simply trying to rankle him enough so that he'll happily leave.  If that is indeed the plan, then it seems to be working.  Earlier today it was reported that Ramirez is telling friends that he can't wait to join the White Sox.
  • Dodgers starter Ted Lilly would be a great get for the Yankees but he likely wouldn't make it down to them.  Even if it were to fall all the way to the Bombers, there's little chance the Dodgers would deal him anyway. With Andy Pettitte sidelined, the Yankees could certainly use a pitcher before the deadline strikes.
  • The Padres' success on the field makes former GM Kevin Towers look good and could boost his candidacy for future openings.  Heyman opines that Yankees' scouting director Damon Oppenheimer would be a fine choice for the job as well.
  • By putting in a claim on Ramirez, the Rays showed that they are serious about winning this season.  Their window may be closing as Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, and Rafael Soriano can all leave via free agency after this season.

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