Archives for February 2011

Phillies Considering Gary Matthews Jr.

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 3, 2011 at 3:32pm CDT

The Phillies are considering signing Gary Matthews Jr. to a minor league deal, according to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. The 36-year-old would only cost the major league minimum, as the Angels and Mets are responsible for most of his $12MM salary.

The Angels traded Matthews to the Mets before the 2010 season and he struggled in New York, hitting just .190/.266/.241 in 65 plate appearances, so the Mets released him. The Reds signed him as a free agent and assigned him to Triple-A, where he hit .317/.361/.495 in 108 plate appearances.

Matthews' father is a former Phillies outfielder who is now one of the Phillies' broadcasters.

Japanese Teams Still Interested In Kawakami

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 3, 2011 at 2:45pm CDT

Two Japanese teams are willing to acquire Kenshin Kawakami and take on more than half of the $6.67MM remaining on his contract, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Braves wouldn’t get a player in exchange for Kawakami if they send him to Japan.

The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, Yomiuri Giants and Nippon Ham Fighters were linked to Kawakami earlier in the offseason and Braves GM Frank Wren acknowledged that he had "a number of discussions" about the right-hander's future.

The 35-year-old lost his rotation spot last year and even spent some time in the minor leagues. His ERA rose from 3.86 to 5.15, though he posted similar strikeout (6.1 K/9) and walk (3.3 BB/9) ratios to the ones he had in his 2009 rookie season.

Rosenthal suggests that the Yankees, who recently heard that Andy Pettitte will retire, could consider Kawakami.

Nationals To Sign Laynce Nix

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 3, 2011 at 2:06pm CDT

The Nationals announced that they have agreed to sign Laynce Nix to a minor league deal (Twitter link). The outfielder receives an invitation to Major League Spring Training.

Nix hit .291/.350/.455 in 182 plate appearances for the Reds last year and hit 15 homers the year before that. Though he hit southpaws well in 2010, he has struggled against them over the course of his career so manager Jim Riggleman could choose to limit the 30-year-old's exposure against left-handers. Nix has lots of experience in center field, but has spent most of his time in left since 2007.

Washington traded outfielder Justin Maxwell to the Yankees so this signing helps the team restore depth. Rick Ankiel, Roger Bernadina, Nyjer Morgan, Michael Morse and Jayson Werth are among the Nationals' other outfield options.

Padres Sign Riley, Kielty, Newhan

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 3, 2011 at 2:03pm CDT

The Padres signed left-hander Matt Riley, outfielder Bobby Kielty and infielder David Newhan to minor league deals, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (on Twitter). The players will provide San Diego with organizational depth, but do not receive invitations to Major League Spring Training.

Riley, 31, last pitched in the majors for the 2005 Rangers. The former top prospect last played affiliated baseball in the Dodgers organization in 2008. He has a 3.97 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 199 minor league games (121 starts).

Kielty, who tried to convert himself to a pitcher last year, will return to the outfield this spring. The 34-year-old hasn't appeared in the majors since 2007, but he has a .254/.348/.408 line in 2084 plate apperances with the A's, Twins, Red Sox and Blue Jays.

Newhan, who broke in with the 1999 Padres, hasn't appeared in the majors since 2008. The 37-year-old has big league experience at first, second and third and at all three outfield positions.

Possible Suitors For Kevin Millwood

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 3, 2011 at 1:45pm CDT

Kevin Millwood is looking for a $4-5MM payday, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). That's significantly more than some teams are willing to consider, though Millwood does have a number of potential suitors. Here's a quick recap of clubs with potential interest:

Even after signing Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia, the Yankees remain in contact with Millwood. Now that Andy Pettitte is set to retire, the Yankees could pursue him.
The Indians, who could use rotation depth, inquired about Millwood. The Tribe is working to sign Jeremy Bonderman and might not have room in the budget for both players. Cleveland had interest in Millwood as recently as this past weekend, so it's too early to rule out a reunion.
Millwood is open to re-signing with the Orioles, who just added Justin Duchscherer and won't have much room in their rotation if their new acquisition is healthy.
The Royals are a possibility for Millwood. They have added Jeff Francis and re-signed Bruce Chen since trading Zack Greinke, but could still use rotation depth.
The Rockies had interest in Millwood earlier in November. Even then, he was one of the team's secondary targets.
Though the Mariners have Felix Hernandez, Jason Vargas, Doug Fister, Luke French, Erik Bedard and Michael Pineda, it wouldn't be a surprise to see them add an innings eater for the right price.

There should be interest in Millwood, who has averaged 31 starts per season since joining the Braves' rotation in 1998. As he works to secure his client a Major League deal worth a few million dollars, agent Scott Boras will likely remind teams of Millwood's durability and point out that the right-hander spent last season in the tough AL East.

On the surface, Millwood's 2010 looked a lot like Rodrigo Lopez's and Atlanta recently signed Lopez to a minor league deal. Lopez, 35, is just a year younger than Millwood and the pitchers posted similar numbers last year. Millwood's ERA was slightly higher than Lopez's (5.10 vs. 5.00) and Lopez walked fewer batters (3.1 BB/9 vs. 2.5 BB/9). Millwood posted a career-low ground ball rate and a career-high fly ball rate in hitter-friendly Camden Yards and allowed 30 homers, while Lopez surrendered a league-leading 37 homers.

Boras has found a number of surprising contracts for his clients this offseason, so there's no reason to assume he can't find $4-5MM for Millwood. I'm guessing Boras' pitch will revolve around dependability, since that stands out more than Millwood's other stats.

Andy Pettitte To Retire

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 3, 2011 at 1:19pm CDT

It's the end of a three-month wait for the Yankees and a 16-year career for Andy Pettitte. The left-hander is set to announce his retirement tomorrow, the team announced.

The Yankees waited all winter for Pettitte and would have welcomed him back for a 14th season in pinstripes. Instead, the 38-year-old will call it a career and the Yankees will turn to the likes of Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, Ivan Nova, Andrew Brackman and Sergio Mitre to fill out their rotation.

Pettitte won five World Championships with the Yankees and made three All-Star teams in a career that began with a relief appearance against the Royals in April of 1995. Pettitte retires with 240 regular season wins, a 3.88 ERA (117 ERA+) and 2251 strikeouts.

His teams made the postseason in all but three of his big league seasons, so Pettitte has lots of experience in October; he has 19 wins and a 3.83 ERA in the playoffs. Pettitte is the all-time winningest pitcher in postseason history, ranks first all-time in postseason starts and innings pitched and is tied for second with 173 strikeouts.

Pettitte becomes the second high-profile left-hander to turn down millions of dollars from the Yankees this offseason. Cliff Lee, the Yankees' top offseason target, turned down more guaranteed money from New York to return to Philadelphia.

Michael Kay of 1050 ESPN radio in New York first reported the news (on Twitter).

White Sox Agree To Extension With Alexei Ramirez

By Mark Polishuk | February 3, 2011 at 12:07pm CDT

The White Sox have agreed to a four-year, $32.5MM extension with Alexei Ramirez, the team announced. The shortstop will receive $5MM in 2012, $7MM in 2013, $9.5MM in 2014 and $10MM in 2015. The club can choose between a $10MM option and a $1MM buyout for 2016. Ramirez still will earn a base salary of $2.75MM in 2011 as per the terms of his previous deal.

Ramirez is represented by Jaime Torres, who said his client would be "very willing to discuss" a multiyear extension in the wake of Chicago exercising Ramirez's 2011 option.

Ramirez, 29, hit .282/.313/.431 with 18 homers in 2010, earning his first Silver Slugger Award. The Cuban has hit 54 home runs in his three Major League seasons and showed some tremendous glovework last season, posting a +10.1 UZR/150 rating.

Jorge Ebro of the Nuevo Herald first reported the deal.

Royals Sign Pedro Feliz

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 3, 2011 at 11:33am CDT

The Royals signed Pedro Feliz to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training, the team announced. Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com reports (on Twitter) that Feliz will earn $800K if he makes the team and will have the chance to earn $200K more in incentives.

The Astros signed Feliz to a $4.5MM deal last winter, then traded him to the Cardinals midseason. He didn't hit for either team, posting a .218/.240/.293 line in 429 plate appearances for the two NL Central clubs. Feliz, 35, has seen his slugging percentage and isolated power drop in each of the past four seasons. He once had 20-homer power, but it seems to have disappeared; his homer totals keep dropping and he hit just five long balls last year.

Feliz has a history of hitting lefties better than righties and a reputation as a strong defender, though he posted a below-average -4.9 UZR/150 last year. He'll join Mike Aviles and the surprising Wilson Betemit at the hot corner this spring.

Ten Well-Paid Arbitration Eligible Players

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 3, 2011 at 10:03am CDT

Free agents are often well-paid and extensions provide arbitration eligible players with security, but going year to year can be lucrative, too. Many players have already doubled or tripled their 2010 salaries through arbitration and some of the 14 unsigned arbitration eligible players are set to do the same this month, as our Arb Tracker shows.

These are the ten arbitration eligible players who will earn the most on one-year deals in 2011 (not counting players like Dan Uggla, Joey Votto and Wandy Rodriguez, who agreed to extensions):

Prince Fielder – $15.5MM
Jonathan Papelbon – $12MM
Heath Bell – $7.5MM
Matt Capps – $7.15MM
C.J. Wilson – $7.05MM
Ryan Ludwick – $6.78MM
Cody Ross – $6.3MM
Chad Billingsley – $6.28MM
Josh Willingham – $6MM
John Danks – $6MM

Three players (Josh Hamilton, Jose Bautista and Jered Weaver) will definitely crack the top ten if they agree to one-year deals and six others (Rickie Weeks, Hunter Pence, Luke Scott, Jeremy Guthrie, Kelly Johnson and Delmon Young) could make the list if they settle for enough money or win their case in a hearing.

Poll: Which Team Offered Guerrero $8MM?

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 3, 2011 at 8:30am CDT

The Orioles have interest in Vladimir Guerrero, but their offer sits in the $4.5-5MM range and the nine-time All-Star is looking for more. ESPN.com's Buster Olney reported over the weekend that the Orioles are being told Guerrero has an $8MM offer in hand from an unknown team.

Guerrero doesn't have that many suitors to begin with, since he's a DH at this point in his career. The 35-year-old can hit – he won his ninth Silver Slugger last year after clubbing 29 homers – but teams with DHs probably don't have room for him. That means the Rays aren't interested and leaves the Blue Jays, Angels and Rangers as the most logical potential suitors outside of Baltimore.

So let's answer the $8MM question…

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