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Archives for April 2011

Offseason In Review: Boston Red Sox

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The Red Sox are next in our Offseason In Review series.

Major League Signings

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Trades and Claims

Notable Losses

Summary

This offseason the Red Sox lost a couple of key contributors in Beltre and Martinez, compensating by committing to Crawford and Gonzalez through 2017 and '18, respectively.  Otherwise, GM Theo Epstein retained Ortiz, tinkered with the bullpen, and locked up Buchholz to a flexible contract.

Beltre and Martinez were huge losses for the Red Sox, who did not seem aggressive about retaining either player.  The team was able to maintain great corner infield offense, while improved left field production should make up for a downgrade at catcher.  The draft pick results: the Sox lost #24 to sign Crawford, but gained #19, 26, 36, and 40 for Beltre and Martinez.  The Red Sox once again demonstrated that it's better to sign someone else's Type A and let yours leave rather than re-sign your own.

Carl

The Red Sox flexed their financial muscle with the Crawford signing, agreeing to a contract in the range of what most people expected for the left fielder.  His first 58 plate appearances of 2011 notwithstanding, Crawford adds offensive value with his bat and a little more with his basestealing.  Still, Corey Hart and Nick Swisher offer similar offensive production, and they wouldn't have gotten seven-year deals or $20MM salaries as free agents.  Instead, the Crawford signing appears to be the biggest investment in defense we've ever seen.

Only a few teams could afford to pay Crawford over $100MM, but the battle to obtain Gonzalez was a level playing field.  The superstar first baseman earns just $6.3MM this year, about a quarter of his market value.  Acquiring him for the 2011 season meant luxury tax savings and no draft pick cost.  Gonzalez instead cost three significant young players.  Kelly is a consensus top 50 prospect, and Rizzo fits into the top 75.  Fuentes is also highly regarded. 

Even dealing with the GM who knows Boston's farm system best, Jed Hoyer, Epstein made a good win-now move in acquiring Gonzalez.  A trade like this makes more sense for the Red Sox than waiting for the prospects to develop.  Another benefit: Gonzalez was willing to sign a below-market contract and didn't require the 2011 salary to be overwritten.

The Buchholz extension was of a different type; the Red Sox guaranteed him almost $30MM in the name of three free agent years and possible arbitration savings.  This has been an effective strategy for Boston, but as it gains in popularity the prices rise and the deals become less team-friendly.  Though Buchholz's 2.33 ERA earned him a sixth-place Cy Young finish last year, Baseball Prospectus' SIERA put him at 4.29.  The top-notch ERA estimator placed Kevin Slowey and Luke Hochevar in the same ballpark, so Buchholz isn't an ace yet.  Like Jon Lester after '08, the Sox need Buchholz to take another step forward to make this contract a big win.

Epstein's bullpen tinkering brought in Jenks, Wheeler, Okajima, Albers, Aceves, plus several lefties on minor league deals.  The Red Sox could have purchased a more established southpaw, looking at the free agent market. 

I agree with the decision to exercise Ortiz's option, even if $12.5MM seems steep compared to certain DH signings.  Victor Martinez and Adam Dunn required at least that much, plus four-year commitments, to essentially serve as DHs.  The trio is a cut above players like Vladimir Guerrero, Hideki Matsui, and Jack Cust.

Waiting until the Gonzalez extension became official allows me to talk about Boston's slow start; they're 5-10 at the time of this writing.  This is a concern.  If you pegged them as a 95 win team back in March and consider the first 15 games a fluke, they're projected now to win 91 games.  Unless the team balances their start by reeling off a winning streak, I think they'll be aggressive in seeking trade deadline upgrades.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

2012 Contract Issues: San Diego Padres

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The Padres are next in our 2012 Contract Issues series.

Eligible For Free Agency (3)

  • Heath Bell may not finish the season with the Padres, though he hopes for a three-year extension.  If he reaches the open market he'll be joined by several other solid stoppers.
  • The Padres chose to tender a contract to Ryan Ludwick, paying him more than he'd have earned on the open market.  So far, he hasn't done anything in his Padres career.
  • Jorge Cantu took an 86% pay cut this year as he attempts to re-establish himself.

Contract Options (3)

  • Aaron Harang: $5MM mutual option with a $500K buyout.  The mutual option is basically a way to transfer some money to the next fiscal year.  Rarely do both sides pick one up.
  • Brad Hawpe: $6MM mutual option with a $1MM buyout.
  • Chad Qualls: $6MM club option with a $1.05MM buyout.  Though this is a club option, the goal here again appears to be pushing off some money to next year.  Qualls would need a really strong season for the Padres to pick this up.

Arbitration Eligible (14)

Though not all 14 will get to the point of being tendered a contract, the Padres have many raises due.  As a whole, I think the Padres' arbitration eligible players could be paid as much as $25MM in 2012.

2012 Payroll Obligation

The Padres have a 2012 payroll obligation of just $13.55MM, according to Cot's, most of which is for their middle infield.  Add in their arbitration eligible players and payroll could approach $40MM before the minimum salary players are accounted for, which is normal for this club since '09.

Athletics Acquire David Purcey

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The Athletics acquired lefty David Purcey from the Blue Jays for minor league reliever Danny Farquhar, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  The deal is now official.  The A's cleared a space on the 25-man roster by putting Dallas Braden on the DL, and gained a spot on the 40-man by transferring Rich Harden to the 60-day DL, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.

Purcey, 29 in a few days, was designated for assignment by the Jays last week.  He drew "very strong" interest, according to GM Alex Anthopoulos.  The former first-rounder is out of options, so the A's must keep him in the Majors or attempt to pass him through waivers.  Purcey, who switched to the bullpen to start the 2010 season, has battled control problems for much of his career.  He's always posted strong strikeout rates, averaging 92-93 miles per hour on his fastball since converting to the bullpen. 

Though they sandwiched an elbow strain, Purcey's '07 and '08 stints in the minors did include good control.  Purcey seemed to be on to something in '08, finishing the season in the Majors and tossing a couple of eight-inning gems.  MLB.com's Jane Lee has a bit more on Purcey, after talking to A's assistant GM David Forst.

Farquhar, 24, returns to his old organization after a brief stint this year as a Sacramento River Cat.  The A's had acquired him in November as part of the Rajai Davis deal with Toronto.  He posted a 3.52 ERA, 9.3 K/9, 4.9 BB/9, and 0.8 HR/9 in 76 2/3 Double-A relief innings last year.  Baseball America ranked him 22nd among A's prospects, noting that his "defining characteristic is his use of two different arm angles."

Last Players Under Contract

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When signing players to long-term deals, teams are forced to look many years into the future.  Let's take a look at which player is locked up the longest for each club (guaranteed salaries only).

The Rockies have the last player under contract at the moment, with Tulowitzki's deal running through the 2020 season (and there's a club option for 2021).  Meanwhile the future is wide open for the Pirates, who are committed to just $5MM in 2012 salaries and nothing beyond next year.

Blue Jays Acquire Yohan Pino

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The Blue Jays acquired righty Yohan Pino from the Indians for cash considerations, according to the Tribe's Twitter page.

Pino, 27, posted a 5.75 ERA, 7.0 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, and 1.5 HR/9 in 26 Triple-A starts last year, but was working out of the bullpen in Double-A this year.  He'd joined the organization in August of '09 as the player to be named later in the Carl Pavano deal with the Twins.  Pino last cracked a Baseball America handbook four years ago, when his command was said to rank among the best in the Twins' organization.

2012 Contract Issues: Cleveland Indians

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The Indians are next in our 2012 Contract Issues series.

Eligible For Free Agency (4)

  • The signings of free agents Austin Kearns, Orlando Cabrera, Chad Durbin, Adam Everett to one-year deals pretty much represent Chris Antonetti's first offseason as GM.  It's too early to say whether these veterans will have trade value or be worthy of re-signing or an arbitration offer. One thing we can say is that the 2012 Indians aren't faced with any major losses.

Contract Options (2)

  • Grady Sizemore: $9MM club option with a $500K buyout.  Sizemore's option, devised over five years ago, makes him most valuable to the Indians.  He gets a $500K assignment bonus if traded, plus it appears that his 2012 salary might increase to $9.9MM.  More importantly, the club option changes to a player one if he's dealt, so a team can't acquire Sizemore with his 2012 season in mind.  Yesterday was a promising season debut for Sizemore, and if he has a vintage year and the team stays in contention he could remain with the Tribe for 2012.
  • Fausto Carmona: $7MM club option, arbitration eligible if declined.  Though it's technically possible, I can't see the Indians declining the option and tendering Carmona a contract, since he'd make more than $7MM that way.  If he provides 200 credible innings again this will be an easy decision to pick up, and the team also has options for '13 and '14.

Arbitration Eligible (10)

A few players here will fall short of the necessary service time.  Sipp projects to be eight days short of the projected Super Two cutoff, but you never know.  Masterson, Choo, Perez, and Cabrera are the big ones here, as they'll all be much more expensive next year.

2012 Payroll Obligation

The Indians have a payroll obligation of $13MM for 2012, according to Cot's, with Travis Hafner accounting for all of it.  Under a scenario where the Indians aren't selling off pieces in July and both players are reasonably effective, we can add another $16MM for Sizemore and Carmona.  I'll estimate another $20MM for the aforementioned four big arbitration eligible names, putting the team at $49MM.  That's the exact number Cot's has for the 2011 payroll, but of course there are additional arbitration eligible players, and even those making the league minimum account for millions in total.  Though their season is not even 10% done, it'd be exciting to see the Indians contend all year and then make an offseason push for a few significant veteran reinforcements.

Quick Hits: Gonzalez, Padres, Rays, Mariners

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Links for Sunday, as Grady Sizemore homers versus the Orioles in his return to the Indians' lineup….

Rangers Notes: Cano, Martin, Webb, Lewis

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Let's check out some Rangers items as they take on the Yankees in the Bronx..

  • The Rangers will undoubtedly be on the lookout for relief pitching this offseason, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.
  • Evan P. Grant of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter) wonders what the Rangers would look like had they taken Robinson Cano instead of Joaquin Arias in the Alex Rodriguez trade.
  • The Rangers will likely wait to announce the signing of Cuban outfielder Leonys Martin, writes MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  The 23-year-old is still being processed through the customs and immigration, and it could be beyond this week before he is ready to play for the club.
  • As he works to rehabilitate his injured shoulder, Brandon Webb tells Sullivan that he would be willing to work out of the bullpen as a reliever if that's what the Rangers need when he gets back.  Webb's performance bonuses for 2011 are tied to innings pitched and days on the active roster, but not to number of games started.  The right-hander will earn a base of $3MM and could boost the value of the deal to $8-10MM through incentives.
  • Colby Lewis will return from paternity leave on Monday but the Rangers won't have to risk losing anyone to create a roster spot, Sullivan writes.  It seems likely that either Michael Kirkman or Mark Lowe will be optioned to Triple-A.

Yankees Notes: Millwood, Hughes, Martin

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In the interest of equal time, here are some noteworthy items on the Yankees..

  • Kevin Millwood had a strong showing in the minors today, allowing just one hit across seven scoreless innings, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.  The Yanks brought Millwood in on a minor league deal that will balloon if he can hit certain incentive triggers.
  • Earlier today, Yankees skipper Joe Girardi told the press that the club had planned to send Phil Hughes to Triple-A to work through his troubles, tweets Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com.  Hughes ultimately convinced the Yankees that that wouldn't be the best course of action for his "dead arm".
  • Russell Martin is proving GM Brian Cashman's doubters wrong with his strong performance thus far, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated.  Cashman remarked before the season that the $4MM base deal could wind up being a bargain for the club.

MLBTR Originals

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Here's a look back at some of the original analysis and reporting MLBTR's writing team delivered this week..

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

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