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Archives for January 2011

Reds Notes: Cueto, Volquez

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A few notes from the Queen City…

  • John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer has the breakdown of Johnny Cueto's new contract. The right-hander will earn $3.4MM in 2011, $5.4MM in 2012, $7.4MM in 2013, and $10MM in 2014. A $10MM club option for 2015 can be bought out for $800K.
  • GM Walt Jocketty told Fay that the team and Edinson Volquez are still talking about a multi-year contract extension, and that he's confident they'll get at least a one-year deal done before an arbitration hearing (Twitter link). We first heard that the two sides were talking about a deal late last week.

Nationals Interested In Carmona, Sizemore

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WEDNESDAY, 8:59pm: Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer says "there's not much meat" to the rumor about Carmona and Sizemore potentially going to the Nationals. MLB.com's Bill Ladson says he's heard the same (Twitter links).

TUESDAY, 7:52pm: The Nationals have had "conversations" with the Indians about Fausto Carmona and Grady Sizemore, reports Phil Wood of MASNsports.com.  Another source tells Wood the Nats "are working on 'a number' of other trades," as well. 

Nats GM Mike Rizzo has been open about his frustration at not being able to acquire a top-flight starting pitcher this winter, but acquiring Tom Gorzelanny and adding Carmona would certainly ease that disappointment.  Washington could well have been one of the several teams that were interested in Carmona in December, but the Indians are in no hurry to trade the right-hander given that he's on an affordable, option-heavy contract through 2014.

Sizemore is set to earn $7.5MM this season and the Tribe have an $8.5MM option on him for 2012 (with a $500K buyout).  Cleveland would like to unload that contract, but after two injury-plagued years, Sizemore's trade value is at its lowest point.  If the Indians accepted a buy-low offer and then saw Sizemore regain his All-Star form elsewhere, that lack of maximum return for Sizemore would be a damaging move to the rebuilding Tribe.

From the Nationals' perspective, they clearly have money to spend and can afford a $7.5MM risk to see if Sizemore returns to form.  Carmona is obviously the safer and probably preferable option due to his team-friendly contract and the fact that he could post even better numbers in the NL.  The question is whether the Nats have the prospects that Cleveland would want for either player, since Washington's farm system isn't known to be very deep.

In other Nats news, Wood predicts Alberto Gonzalez may be designated for assignment to make room for the newly-signed Alex Cora.  Gonzalez, a utility infielder, posted a .578 OPS in 198 plate appearances with Washington last season.

Rockies Sign Alfredo Amezaga

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7:29pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that Amezaga will earn $750K if he makes the team with another $350K available in incentives. 

4:13pm: The Rockies announced that they signed Alfredo Amezaga to a minor league contract and invited him to Spring Training (Twitter link). 

Amezaga, 33, barely played in 2009 and missed the 2010 season after undergoing microfracture knee surgery. He appeared in 125 games at four positions for the 2008 Marlins, hitting .264/.312/.367. He has big league experience at every position but pitcher and catcher.

The Rockies were reportedly considering Amezaga, Aaron Miles or Cristian Guzman for a bench role. The team can now look to add starting pitching depth and veteran left-handed relief.

Padres Sign Greg Burke To Minor League Deal

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The Padres have signed righty reliever Greg Burke to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training according to a press release. 

The 28-year-old Burke has been with the Padres' organization since signing as an undrafted free agent in 2006, spending the entire 2010 season with their Triple-A affiliate. He posted a 5.68 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 58 2/3 innings last season. Burke got a taste of the big leagues in 2009, when he put up a 4.14 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in 45 2/3 innings for San Diego.

Padres Sign Jorge Cantu

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The Padres have officially signed Jorge Cantu to a one-year deal worth $850K, the team announced. We had previously heard that San Diego preferred to sign him to a minor league pact. Cantu is represented by the Wasserman Media Group.

Cantu, 29 later this week, hit just .256/.304/.392 in 515 plate appearances for the Marlins and Rangers last season, though he performed at a much more respectable .283/.336/.462 clip from 2008-2009. Capable of playing the corner infield spots and filling in at second in an emergency, he offers some versatility and could platoon with the left-swinging Brad Hawpe at first.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports originally reported the agreement (Twitter links), while Marty Caswell of XX 1090 in San Diego added the terms (Twitter link).

Diamondbacks Avoid Arb With Miguel Montero

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The Diamondbacks and Miguel Montero have agreed to a one-year contract to avoid arbitration according to a team press release. Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports that the contract is worth $3.2MM. 

Our Arbitration Tracker shows that Montero filed for $3.4MM in arbitration while the team countered with $2.8MM, so they settled just above the midpoint. The 27-year-old backstop hit .266/.332/.438 with nine homers in 331 plate appearances last season. He missed two months of the summer after having right knee surgery.

Angels, Weaver Begin Talks About Long-Term Deal

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The Angels and Jered Weaver have opened talks about a long-term contract extension according to team owner Arte Moreno, reports Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles. Moreno also commented on the reported bad blood between the team and Weaver's agent, Scott Boras…

"My mother always told me, 'If you don't have something nice to say about somebody, don't say anything,'" said Moreno. "I don't have to deal with anybody I don't have to deal with. That's the way I live my life."

Weaver filed for $8.8MM in salary arbitration last week while the team countered with $7.37MM, as our Arbitration Tracker shows. Ben Nicholson-Smith called his case one of ten arbitration cases to watch just a few days ago. 

The 28-year-old Weaver finished fifth in the Cy Young voting and made his first All-Star Game in 2010, pitching to a 3.01 ERA in 224 1/3 innings. He struck out 9.3 batters per nine innings and walks just 2.2 per nine. The 2010 AL strikeout king is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2012 season. GM Tony Reagins told Saxon that it's too early predict if a deal will be reached, but he did say "Any time you have dialogue, it's positive."

Yankees To Offer Pettitte $12MM

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5:09pm: Marc Carig of The Star Ledger hears from Yankees GM Brian Cashman that nothing has changed regarding Pettitte (Twitter link). He hasn't told the team if he will or will not pitch next season yet.

4:44pm: The Yankees' offer to Andy Pettitte is or will be for $12MM, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter links). That won't necessarily be enough to lure the free agent left-hander away from retirement, but some of Heyman's sources expect him to play. "Why would he be working out if he's not playing?" one asked.

Pettitte signed with the Yankees two years ago today, then re-upped with the club in December of 2009. He has never waited later than January 26th to sign a free agent contract, but doesn't appear to be in a hurry this offseason.

Vernon Wells Notes: Rangers, Blue Jays, Angels

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You know a trade is big when Sports Illustrated, ESPN and the Wall Street Journal are chattering about it nearly a week later. Here are some Vernon Wells-related links from around the Internet…

  • Angels owner Arte Moreno says the Angels and Blue Jays discussed a Wells deal a couple weeks ago, let talks simmer for a while and revived the trade last week, according to Bill Shaikin of the LA Times (Twitter links). Moreno says the flood of criticism directed his team's way has not bothered him.
  • The Blue Jays discussed a potential deal with the Rangers, but would likely have had to pay more money to make the trade happen, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told Heyman that the Blue Jays front office ”never engaged significantly" with clubs other than the Angels. "The other teams just were inquiring and that's how far the conversation went," Anthopoulos said. 
  • A longtime talent evaluator reminded ESPN.com's Buster Olney that Wells is, in fact, a good player. "The Angels should've been able to get the Jays to eat some money in the trade, but what I think is being forgotten is that Anaheim is getting a pretty good player. He makes them better than what they were going to be," the evaluator told Olney. 
  • In a piece for the Wall Street Journal Dave Cameron points out just how expensive the Angels' outfield has become (don't forget about Gary Matthews Jr.).

Orioles, Guerrero Continue Talks

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The Orioles have spoken to Vladimir Guerrero’s agent this week, but the sides aren’t close to a deal, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail acknowledged the team’s interest in the slugger.

"We’ve had some conversations, but there is nothing on the horizon,” MacPhail said.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Guerrero was asking for $16MM earlier in the winter. He's just asking for a one-year deal now, but $8MM is likely more than Baltimore can afford (Twitter link).

Now that the Rangers have acquired Mike Napoli and the Rays have agreed to deals with Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez, the market for Guerrero is diminishing. The Blue Jays are one potential alternative to the Orioles, but GM Alex Anthopoulos declined to comment on his club’s interest yesterday.

 

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