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Archives for January 2011

Minor Transactions: Madrigal, Lane, Vasquez

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Tobi Stoner and Jason Pridie both cleared waivers and were outrighted to the Mets' Triple-A affiliate today, reports Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger (Twitter link).  The duo were designated for assignment earlier this week.

Here are some other minor moves from around baseball today, courtesy of Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.  All contracts are minor league deals, and all links are to Goldstein's Twitter feed.

  • The Yankees signed right-hander Warner Madrigal, who last pitched in the majors with Texas in 2009.  Madrigal originally broke into pro ball as an outfielder, but converted to pitching in 2006.  He posted a 3.73 ERA in 35 games with the Rangers' Double-A and Triple-A teams last year.
  • The Blue Jays re-signed Jason Lane.  Best known for his 26-homer season with Houston in 2005, Lane hasn't played in the big leagues since 2007 and has played for the Padres, Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays and Marlins organizations since leaving the Astros.
  • The Angels signed Virgil Vasquez.  The right-hander pitched in Tampa Bay's system last year.  A seventh-round pick of the Tigers in the 2003 draft, Vasquez has a 6.60 ERA in 19 career Major League games (10 of them starts) with Detroit and Pittsburgh.
  • The Rangers signed catcher Robinzon Diaz, who is best known for being the player to be named later that Toronto sent to Pittsburgh for Jose Bautista in 2009.  Diaz had 139 plate appearances with the Bucs before being released in the offseason.  He played Triple-A ball for Detroit last year.
  • The Rockies signed Kala Ka'aihue.  Ka'aihue was putting up minor league numbers akin to those of his older brother Kila through the 2008 season, but has struggled the last two years.

AL East Links: Red Sox, Bautista, Wells, Jeter

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Four American League East teams won at least 85 games last year. Here are some notes on AL East clubs, as they prepare to compete in baseball's most challenging division:

  • It's "doubtful" that the Red Sox will sign another pitcher to a Major League contract this offseason, reports WEEI.com's Alex Speier.  One reported Boston target, Joe Beimel, has already been offered a minor league deal by the Orioles and has three other teams interested.
  • The "belief" is that the Blue Jays will go to an arbitration hearing with Jose Bautista, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  There have been rumors that the Jays might avoid a hearing by signing Bautista to a long-term contract, but Bautista's agent told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that the team has yet to offer such a deal to the defending AL home run champion.  Check out our Arb Tracker for the latest.
  • Many of Bautista's current and former teammates believe Vernon Wells will thrive in L.A, Morosi writes.
  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman suggested this morning that Derek Jeter will likely shift to the outfield before his current deal expires, but he tells MLB.com's Bryan Hoch that it's "not an issue we have to deal with right now" (Twitter link).
  • The Orioles have "limited funds" at this stage, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
  • Carl Crawford, who recently left one AL East team for another, plans to meet some of his former Rays teammates for dinner this spring, and B.J. Upton jokes that it will be a good chance for Crawford to put his new contract to good use. "I won’t be the first one to pull out my credit card,’’ Upton told Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (Twitter link).
  • Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com discussed the challenges of developing healthy pitchers with Orioles scouting director Joe Jordan.
  • As Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com writes, the Orioles could sign a utility player to a minor league deal and have him compete for a job with Brendan Harris and Robert Andino.
  • WEEI.com's Rob Bradford explains why Manny Ramirez's $2MM base salary isn't necessarily a bad omen for David Ortiz, who will hit free agency after 2011. Big Papi has continued to produce offensively, so Bradford suggests the slugger could be in line for an $8-9MM salary next offseason.

Astros Notes: Pence, Rodriguez, Figueroa

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Wandy Rodriguez's contract extension is the big news out of Houston today, but here are some other Astros-related items of note…

  • The Astros set a 5pm deadline today to reach agreements with any remaining arbitration-eligible players, according to a team press release.  The club beat the deadline with Rodriguez, but not with Hunter Pence, so the Astros and the 27-year-old outfielder will go to an arbitration hearing.  As MLBTR's ArbTracker shows, Pence is Houston's last unsigned arb-eligible player.  The club offered $5.15MM, while Pence is asking for $6.9MM in his second arbitration year.  Pence is a Super Two player, so he still has two more arb years left after this one.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post has the breakdown of Rodriguez's contract (Twitter link).  The southpaw will earn $7MM next season, $10MM in 2012 and $13MM in 2013.  There is a vesting option worth $13MM in 2014 that has a $2.5MM buyout.  Rodriguez also receives a $1.5MM signing bonus.
  • MLB.com's Brian McTaggart notes that Houston now has its top four starters (Rodriguez, Brett Myers, J.A. Happ and Bud Norris) all under team control through at least 2012.
  • Nelson Figueroa talks to Astros senior director of social media Alyson Footer about how relieved he is to be on a guaranteed contract for the first time in his eight-year Major League career.

Mariners Sign Chris Ray

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The Mariners have signed Chris Ray to a minor league contract with an invitation to their Major League Spring Training camp, reports the team's official Twitter feed.

Ray, 29, had a 3.72 ERA and a 1.24 K/BB ratio in 63 relief appearances with the Rangers and Giants last season.  He came to San Francisco in the Bengie Molina deal last July but didn't make the club's postseason roster and was non-tendered in December.  Ray looked to be one of the more promising young closers in the game after he racked up 33 saves for Baltimore in 2006, but he has been plagued by injuries since.  He underwent Tommy John surgery in August 2007 and missed the entire 2008 season.

Duchscherer “Pretty Much 100 Percent,” Wants To Start

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Five teams have watched Justin Duchscherer throw this winter, and the Orioles will be the sixth when Duchscherer throws a bullpen session for the club on Friday.  The right-hander tells MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli that his choice will likely hinge on whichever team gives him a chance to start games next season.

"I just don't feel like with the injuries I've had, I don't think that would be beneficial for my career to be [a reliever] for a team," said Duchscherer.  "For me it's black and white. I want to start, that's the whole mindset I have. I haven't even thought of being a reliever….I want a team that's going to be honest with me and say, 'If you're healthy, you are going to start.'"

After missing the entire 2009 season due to an elbow injury, Duchscherer pitched just 28 innings for Oakland last year before undergoing hip surgery.  With this injury history and his fairly limited starting experience (just 32 of his 224 career Major League games have been starts), a bullpen stint wouldn't be out of the question, but Duchscherer has drawn interest from enough teams that it appears he'll find a starting spot somewhere.

Duchscherer is two weeks ahead of his usual offseason training schedule due to his abbreviated season last year, and he described his health as "pretty much 100 percent."

"I'm doing [these bullpens] as a precaution, so I know how I feel," the right-hander said.  "And so far everything has gone good."

The Athletics, Pirates, Red Sox and Yankees have all shown some interest in the right-hander this winter.  Duchscherer dismissed the idea that his past issues with depression would keep him from playing in the pressurized New York market.  Over 34% of MLBTR readers polled feel that Duchscherer is the best free agent starter still on the market.

Red Sox Pursued Jose Bautista Trade

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The Red Sox "made multiple offers" for Jose Bautista during the Winter Meetings, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com.  Boston "never got the sense that the Blue Jays were serious about a deal" and Rosenthal reports that several other clubs inquired about Bautista's availability as well.

One would think that the Sox would've had to pay a premium to extract Bautista from their division rivals, but needless to say, that trade would have completely altered the shape of the offseason.  Let's play alternate reality for a moment and explore how a Bautista deal would have affected Boston's two biggest winter moves…

  • The Adrian Gonzalez trade.  Rosenthal notes that the Red Sox were specifically looking for an outfielder (Carlos Beltran and Magglio Ordonez were also options), so a Bautista deal would've kept Kevin Youkilis at third base and left Boston looking for a big bat at first.  It's hard to see Theo Epstein, however, cleaning out his farm system for the sake of two trades, when Boston has the finances to simply sign a big-name free agent.  It's also possible the Jays would've wanted some of the prospects that the Sox sent to the Padres for Gonzalez.  That said, the Red Sox had been interested in Gonzalez for so long that they surely put him at a higher level of importance than acquiring Bautista.
  • The Carl Crawford signing.  Bautista's presence would've made Carl Crawford's signing unnecessary, unless the Red Sox were prepared to move J.D. Drew or just keep a $14MM player in a bench role.  If Crawford doesn't land in Boston, that has a domino effect on several other teams; for instance, if Crawford instead had signed with the Angels, then the club wouldn't have hade a need for Vernon Wells.

Blue Jays Open To Bolstering Bench

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The Blue Jays just traded away Mike Napoli, but they could re-gain some depth before the season starts. Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos says he's considering ways of bolstering his team's depth.

"We're always looking to add to the bench," Anthopoulos told reporters on a conference call this afternoon. "There's still some players out there that we continue to have talks with."

Free agency is just one avenue for teams to consider. Anthopoulos pointed out that players become available later in the spring, when out of options players hit the waiver wire and others get released. The Blue Jays acquired Fred Lewis last April and are open to making a similar addition this spring.

Jose Molina and John McDonald were fixtures on the Blue Jays' bench last year and they'll be back in 2011. The Blue Jays will have either two or three more bench spots to work with, depending on how many relievers they carry. Could one of those bench jobs go to Vladimir Guerrero? The Blue Jays don't comment publicly on free agent negotiations, but Anthopoulos did say that he intends for Adam Lind and Edwin Encarnacion to be everyday players in 2011.

Twins, Slowey Avoid Arbitration

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The Twins avoided arbitration with Kevin Slowey, agreeing to a one-year, $2.7MM deal, according to MLB.com's Kelly Thesier (on Twitter). Slowey had filed at $3.1MM and the Twins had filed at $2.3MM, which puts the agreed-upon deal right at the midpoint of the two submissions.

Slowey posted a 4.45 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 155 2/3 innings last year. The 26-year-old has never posted a walk rate above 1.7 per nine or a strikeout rate above 6.7 per nine in four big league seasons.

As MLBTR's Arb Tracker shows, the Twins have unresolved arbitration cases with Delmon Young and Francisco Liriano. Both made my list of ten unsigned arbitration eligible players to watch.

Orioles, Red Sox In The Mix For Joe Beimel

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The Orioles and Red Sox are two of the five teams in the mix for Joe Beimel, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). The left-hander has received interest from clubs in both leagues and could make a decision this week. The Orioles have made Beimel a minor league offer, according to Connolly.

Beimel, who has a habit of signing late in the offseason, posted a 3.40 ERA with 4.2 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 45 innings for the Rockies last year. The 33-year-old struggled against right-handed hitters, but was especially effective against left-handed hitters, holding them to a .221/.275/.379 line.

Troy Renck of the Denver Post reported yesterday that Beimel had several irons in the fire.

Orioles Sign Clay Rapada

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The Orioles signed Clay Rapada to a minor league deal and invited him to Spring Training, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter).

The 29-year-old appeared in 13 games for the Rangers last year, but hasn't spent considerable time on a big leaugue mound since 2008. The left-hander posted a 4.22 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 5.9 BB/9 in 21 1/3 innings for the Tigers that year.

The Rangers released Rapada earlier in the month after designating him and Max Ramirez for assignment.

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