Archives for January 2011

Quick Hits: Rockies, Kouzmanoff, Kennedy

By Zachary Links | January 11, 2011 at 7:18pm CDT

Links for Tuesday night..

Steve Foster of Inside The Rockies takes a look into his crystal ball and predicts what the Rockies might look like in 2017.
Carlos Gonzalez never wanted to leave Colorado, writes Jim Armstrong of The Denver Post.
The talk of Adrian Beltre coming to the Athletics made third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff a little uneasy, writes Jane Lee of MLB.com.
Adam Kennedy is happy to be back in the AL West, writes MLB.com's Greg Johns. Kennedy inked a minor league deal with the Mariners yesterday.

Mets Notes: Dickey, Capuano, Young, Reyes

By Zachary Links | January 11, 2011 at 5:43pm CDT

Mets GM Sandy Alderson spoke with ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin yesterday to address a number of questions concerning the club. Here are some highlights..

The Mets are scheduled to exchange arbitration figures with Angel Pagan, Mike Pelfrey, and R.A. Dickey next Tuesday. Alderson wants to maintain financial flexibility going forward but still won't rule out giving multiyear deals to any of the aforementioned arb-eligible players.
The Chris Capuano signing does not preclude the Mets from getting another starting pitcher. In fact, Alderson says that he would like to sign another starter for a deal similar to Capuano's. The left-hander is set to make a base salary of $1.5MM but could earn more than $4.5MM through incentives in 2011.
Rubin asks about reports in recent weeks that say the Mets have made offers to free agent pitchers Chris Young and Jeff Francis. Alderson says that the club has talked with agents for other pitchers before and after the Capuano signing but wouldn't characterize anything as being "beyond the discussion stage."
Alderson seems open to the idea of talking about an extension with Jose Reyes during the season. The recently-crowned GM says that he doesn't have a firm policy when it comes to in-season negotiations. Earlier this month, Alderson said that he wouldn't talk about a new deal with Reyes during Spring Training.
No surprise here, but the Mets are looking for out-of-house options when it comes to left-handed relief. Alderson summed it all up by saying that the club is looking for starting pitching, a lefty reliever, and fourth and fifth outfielder possibilities, in that order of priority.
There's likely a position available for Omar Minaya if the former GM wants to pursue it.

Trevor Hoffman Retires

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 11, 2011 at 4:03pm CDT

All-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman told MLB.com's Barry Bloom that he is retiring. Hoffman walks away with 601 career saves, a 2.87 ERA and 1133 strikeouts in 1089 1/3 innings for the Marlins, Padres and Brewers. After 18 seasons in the big leagues, he says he's ready to call it a career.

"It's time to retire. It's time to move on," Hoffman told Bloom. "This is more of a self-evaluation. I expect to pitch at a certain level and I had to be honest with myself that I wasn't certain I could maintain that anymore."

It seemed possible that the Padres or D'Backs could sign Hoffman to play and he did draw some interest this offseason, but the 43-year-old is moving to a different side of the game. He will return to the Padres in a front office role.

The seven time All-Star agreed to decline the Brewers' offer of arbitration after the season. If he had signed a major league deal with another team, Milwaukee would have obtained a supplementary first round pick in this year's draft.

Phillies Notes: Blanton, Durbin, Manuel

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 11, 2011 at 3:23pm CDT

Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki that right field, the bullpen and the bench are areas his team could potentially improve upon before the season starts. “I'm looking forward to seeing some competition in all three of those areas," Amaro said. Here are more Phillies-related notes from Zolecki:

The Phillies don’t have to clear payroll, but they could explore deals that create flexibility for later on in the season. The team is still open to moving Joe Blanton, who will earn a total of $17MM in 2011-12. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes recently listed some potential destinations for the right-hander.
Philadelphia hasn’t ruled out a reunion with Chad Durbin. The sides exchanged offers last week.
The Phils would “obviously” like to extend their relationship with manager Charlie Manuel, Amaro said. Manuel is in the final year of his contract, but the sides won’t necessarily reach an agreement before the regular season begins. For a comprehensive look at 'lame duck' managers and GMs, check out this piece by MLBTR's Mark Polishuk.

Fallout From The Brad Penny Deal

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 11, 2011 at 3:06pm CDT

There are still over 100 free agents out there, but the Tigers could pass on all of them now that they've added another arm to their rotation. GM Dave Dombrowski agreed to sign Brad Penny to a one-year deal worth $3MM plus incentives, capping a busy offseason.

Penny's agreement with the Detroit means Jeremy Bonderman loses a suitor. The longtime Tiger won't return to the Motor City, but Bonderman can take solace in the fact that Penny signed a deal worth $3MM plus incentives after missing the final four months of the season. Like Penny, Bonderman, Jeff Francis, Chris Young and Justin Duchscherer have dealt with injuries in the past couple seasons, but they're drawing legitimate interest nonetheless.

The deal also impacts Armando Galarraga, who will now have to overcome serious competition to win the fifth starter's job. Before the Spring Training battle begins, Galarraga and the Tigers will determine the right-hander's 2011 salary; he's arbitration eligible for the first time.

I wonder if Jonathan Sanchez's name could come up as a comparable pitcher. Sanchez, who's one year ahead of Galarraga in terms of service time, had similar career numbers last offseason (4.81 ERA, 429 K, 214 BB in 413 1/3 innings) to the ones Galarraga has now (4.49 ERA, 301 K, 186 BB in 475 1/3 innings). The Giants paid Sanchez $2.1MM for the 2010 season. Interestingly, both pitchers even approached pitching perfection in their final pre-arbitration seasons – Sanchez with a no-hitter and Galarraga with a near-perfect game.

Penny's deal sends the Tigers' offseason spending over the $100MM mark, as MLBTR's Free Agent Tracker shows. The team has now committed $102.25MM to Victor Martinez, Joaquin Benoit, Brandon Inge, Jhonny Peralta, Magglio Ordonez and Penny.

Tigers catchers will have to handle some of the hardest throwers in the game in 2011. Dombrowski has added Penny (94.1 mph fastball in 2010) and Benoit (94 mph) to a staff that already included Justin Verlander (95.4 mph), Ryan Perry (95.4 mph), Jose Valverde (95.2 mph) and Max Scherzer (93.2 mph).

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Rockies Extend Carlos Gonzalez

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 11, 2011 at 3:01pm CDT

The Rockies are officially announcing that they have signed Carlos Gonzalez to a seven-year, $80MM extension. The deal will keep Gonzalez in the Rockies' lineup through 2017 along with Troy Tulowitzki, who is under contract through 2020.

Augusto Cárdenas of Diario Panorama explains that Gonzalez receives a $3MM signing bonus and will earn $1MM in 2011, $5MM in 2012, $7.5MM in 2013, $10.5MM in 2014, $16MM in 2015, $17MM in 2016 and $20MM in 2017.

Quick Hits: Pujols, Jones, Nationals, Ledezma

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 11, 2011 at 2:13pm CDT

One year ago today, the Reds won the bidding for Aroldis Chapman. The Cuban left-hander made 15 relief appearances in the majors last year and figures to have an even bigger impact on the 2011 season. Here are today's links…

The Cardinals' negotiations with Albert Pujols could resemble the Yankees' negotiations with Alex Rodriguez, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Cardinals executives have acknowledged that an extension with their first baseman would take the organization "places it hasn't gone" in terms of contract value and potential incentive clauses, Goold writes.
Benjamin Kabak of River Ave. Blues says he'd lean toward Andruw Jones over Marcus Thames for the Yankees in 2011.
Meanwhile, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports that the Rockies still have some interest in Jones (Twitter link).
The Rangers are concerned that Jim Thome would prefer to return to Minnesota, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports (on Twitter). The Rangers are interested in Thome, though he's not a perfect fit for their needs.
The Nationals need a utility player who can back Danny Espinosa up at second base and potentially play in the outfield, according to Ben Goessling of MASNSports.com. He lists Willie Bloomquist, David Eckstein and Willie Harris as possible fits.
Dan Szymborski explains the challenges the Giants face if they want to repeat as World Champions in a piece for ESPN.
The Blue Jays announced that they outrighted Wil Ledezma to Triple-A Las Vegas.

Angels, Callaspo Avoid Arbitration

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 11, 2011 at 2:00pm CDT

The Angels agreed to a one-year contract with Alberto Callaspo, avoiding arbitration, according to the team. The sides agreed to a $2MM deal, according to the AP (via the Miami Herald). The 27-year-old was arbitration eligible for the first time.

In 601 total plate appearances last year, Callaspo hit .265/.302/.374. He walks nearly as often as he strikes out (31BB, 42K) and can play second, third and, on occasion, the outfield.

As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, the Angels still have a full slate of arbitration eligible players: Erick Aybar, Howie Kendrick, Jeff Mathis, Kendry Morales, Mike Napoli, Jered Weaver and Reggie Willits.

Dave Bush On Mets’ Radar

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 11, 2011 at 12:22pm CDT

Dave Bush is among the starting pitchers on the Mets' radar, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). As Crasnick notes, current Mets exec J.P. Ricciardi was the Blue Jays' GM when Toronto selected Bush in the second round of the 2002 draft.

The Rockies reportedly had interest in Bush earlier in the offseason, but the market for the right-hander has been remarkably quiet this winter.

Bush, 31, is a back-of-the-rotation starter who won't be mistaken for former teammates like C.C. Sabathia and Roy Halladay any time soon. But he notched 18 quality starts in 2010 and has averaged 28 starts and 168 innings per season since cracking the Blue Jays' rotation in 2005. He posted a 4.54 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 174 1/3 innings last year.

The Mets have added Bush's longtime teammate, Chris Capuano, and have also expressed interest in Jeff Francis and Chris Young as GM Sandy Alderson looks to add depth to his rotation.

Olney On Qualls, Balfour, Damon, Pavano, Soriano

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 11, 2011 at 12:01pm CDT

Ivan Nova, Craig Kimbrel and Madison Bumgarner are among the young players who will play major roles in determining their teams’ fates in 2011, as ESPN.com’s Buster Olney points out. Here are the rest of Olney’s rumors, with the latest updates up top:

Olney hears that Chad Qualls is looking to re-establish his value with a one-year deal (Twitter link). With all due respect to Qualls, finding a mutliyear deal might never have been an option, since he posted a 7.32 ERA and allowed 85 hits in 59 innings last year.
Teams believe Grant Balfour's asking price is dropping, according to Olney (Twitter link).
Once Jim Thome signs, other first base/DH types will likely follow. There are lots of them out there, as MLBTR’s Free Agent Tracker shows. Vladimir Guerrero, Jason Giambi, Russell Branyan, Johnny Damon, and Manny Ramirez are still available.
Olney says Damon “probably made a mistake in not following up on the Yankees' overtures last winter about a two-year deal.”
Carl Pavano and the Twins continue to make progress toward a deal and the sides could reach an agreement by the end of the week.
Rafael Soriano is prioritizing money over his 2011 role, Olney writes. Olney suggests that “if some club was willing to pay him to be its bullpen catcher for $45MM over the next three years, Soriano would consider it.”

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