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Archives for April 2011

Mets Not Yet Ready To Cut Ties With Emaus

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Of the 19 players selected in December's Rule 5 Draft, only a handful made it through Spring Training and remained with their new club when the season began. One such player is Brad Emaus of the Mets (formerly of the Blue Jays), and manager Terry Collins told Newday's David Lennon that the team is going to give him the chance to develop into an everyday second baseman.

"When Brad Emaus made this club, there were some things discussed, and one of them is to give him a legitimate chance," said the skipper, who spoke with GM Sandy Alderson about Emaus on Friday. "Putting him in and out of the lineup — we're not going to get answers out of that, so I got him back in there."

Emaus has appeared in 12 of the team's first 13 games, but he's started just eight of them and only one in the last week as Daniel Murphy gets more playing time. The Mets also acknowledged that Emaus is being given greater leeway given his status as a Rule 5 Draft pick, since he must first clear waivers and be offered back to Toronto before he could be sent to the minors.

In 34 plate appearances, the 25-year-old is hitting just .200/.294/.200 with seven strikeouts and three GIDP's. Emaus did hit .290/.397/.476 with 15 homers and 13 steals between Double and Triple-A last year, so he certainly has offensive potential. Baseball America ranked him as New York's 21st best prospect in their Prospect Handbook.

Poll: Circumventing The Luxury Tax

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Rumors of a long-term contract extension between the Red Sox and Adrian Gonzalez were made a reality yesterday, when the first baseman agreed to a seven-year, $154MM deal. While Gonzalez’s surgically repaired shoulder was a legitimate concern, there’s some belief that Boston waiting until after Opening Day to announce the deal to avoid a competitive balance (a.k.a. luxury) tax penalty. The same was true of Josh Beckett’s extension last year.

The Red Sox aren’t breaking the rules here, in fact they deserve credit for finding a creative way to save money. But as Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports mentioned yesterday, “the spirit of the [luxury tax] isn’t being honored here.” He wonders if the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement will push the deadline back to avoid such shenanigans. Between the Gonzalez and Clay Buchholz extension, the Sox have saved upwards of $10MM against the tax this year by announcing the deals after the season started.

Of course the luxury tax only impacts a handful of teams, so altering a rule that effects only a small number of clubs may be unfair. As Cork Gaines showed at Business Insider recently, the Yankees have been paying the tax every year since it’s been in place, with the Red Sox, Angels, and Tigers all contributing at some point as well. The luxury tax is based on the annual average value of the contract, and the 25% of the money goes to the “industry growth fund” while the remaining 75% is used to fund player benefits.

Quick Hits: Guillen, Royals, Harden, Tribe

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The Nationals have announced the passing of shortstop prospect Yewri Guillen due to bacterial meningitis.  Guillen, 18, was signed by Washington in February and was playing at the club's Dominican Republic academy.  He was honored with a moment of silence before tonight's Brewers/Nationals game.  MLBTR sends our condolences to Guillen's friends and family.

Some news from around the majors…

  • Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star discussed potential call-ups and other roster moves for the Royals in a chat with fans this afternoon.
  • Rich Harden has suffered an injury to his teres major muscle that will likely elongate his stay on the disabled list, reports MLB.com's Eric Gilmore.  Harden, who signed a one-year, $1.5MM deal with the Athletics in December, has been on the DL with an injury to his throwing shoulder.
  • Are the surprising Indians for real?  Probably not, says Fangraphs' Steve Slowinski, but the Tribe has so many young players on the roster that it's hard to calculate if these players will drastically fall off or if some are just developing.  Slowinski also notes that Cleveland is winning despite slow starts from expected stars like Shin-Soo Choo and Carlos Santana.
  • The White Sox closer will be "whoever is there in the ninth inning," Ozzie Guillen tells Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune.  We didn't get a chance to see a save situation tonight as Chicago lost to the Angels, but keep following @CloserNews (MLBTR's sister Twitter feed) for the latest on who will be finishing games for the Pale Hose.

Extension (Or Trade?) Candidate: Jered Weaver

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After allowing two earned runs in seven innings against the White Sox tonight, Jered Weaver's ERA ballooned all the way up to…1.30, in four starts.  After a big 2010 season in which he led the majors in strikeouts, it's safe to designate Weaver as one of baseball's best young aces.  As Weaver's agent Scott Boras no doubt would argue, all that remains is for Weaver to be paid like an ace.

Weaver will make $7.365MM this season after losing an arbitration case last winter and his bid for an $8.8MM salary.  This result apparently caused no hard feelings between the two sides, as Weaver expressed interest in signing a long-term deal with the Angels.  The subject was broached during the offseason but talks apparently went nowhere, though there's plenty of time to continue negotiations since Weaver is under team control through 2012.

Weaver will have over five years of service time after this season, and presuming he at least matches his 2010 performance, Boras will no doubt shoot for an extension matching or surpassing the biggest deals handed out to pitchers with 5+ years of service time.  Jake Peavy is the current holder of this title thanks to the three-year, $52MM extension he signed with the Padres in 2007 that covered the 2010-12 seasons, and also gave Peavy a $22MM option for 2013 (with a $4MM buyout). 

That deal is a bit unusual, though, since it was an extension signed when Peavy still has two more years remaining on a previous extension with San Diego.  Perhaps a better comparison is the five-year, $73MM deal that Roy Oswalt signed with the Astros that locked him up from 2007 through 2011.  This contract (which contains a $16MM club option for 2012 that can be bought out for $2MM) was signed during Oswalt's age-28 season, and a Weaver extension would fall at the same point in his career. 

Since Weaver has yet to hit the five-season mark, let's compare the two right-handers through the first 4+ seasons of their careers.  For good measure, let's throw in another pitcher who signed an extension this winter: Houston's Wandy Rodriguez.

Weaver: 64 wins, 3.55 ERA, 144 starts, 896 IP, 779 strikeouts, 3.09 K/BB rate, 1.20 WHIP, 7.8 K/9

Oswalt: 83 wins, 3.07 ERA, 145 starts (155 games overall), 980 2/3 IP, 850 strikeouts, 3.78 K/BB rate, 1.18 WHIP, 7.8 K/9

Rodriguez: 51 wins, 4.33 ERA, 135 starts (144 games overall), 790 IP, 660 strikeouts, 2.32 K/BB rate, 1.37 WHIP, 7.5 K/9

Oswalt has the edge, and he was also in the midst of a fantastic 2006 when he signed his extension in August of that year.  Weaver, therefore, won't be able to catch Oswalt in overall numbers even if he keeps up his impressive early-season form.  Weaver's numbers, however, are clearly superior to those of Rodriguez through 4+ years.  Rodriguez delivered a very good 2010 campaign that led to a three-year, $34MM deal from the Astros that covered his final arbitration year and his first two free agent years (plus a vesting option that could pay him $10.5MM in 2014).

So, logically, a fair extension for Weaver would be a deal that pays him closer to Oswalt's $14.6MM average annual value than Rodriguez's $11.33MM average annual value, perhaps something in the neighborhood of $13.5MM per season.  In terms of length, probably a three-year contract is the most reasonable given the history of Boras clients testing the free agent market.  Weaver would still be able to hit free agency at age 32 and get another nice contract if he continues to pitch well past his prime years.

But, let's look at the elephant in the room — whether or not Weaver will indeed choose to remain an Angel.  Weaver will turn 30 years old in October 2012, still in his prime and able to command a huge free agent deal if he pitches well over the next two years.  Durability doesn't appear to be an issue for Weaver, so there isn't any unusual risk he'd be taking by not signing an extension, especially since he looks to be in line for an eight-figure salary next season either through arbitration or just a one-year deal from the Halos.

There's also the X-factor of the relationship between Boras and the Angels organization.  Owner Arte Moreno is no fan of the agent, dating back to the Mark Teixeira negotiations during the 2008-09 offseason.  Though Moreno has said that he will leave dealings with Boras to GM Tony Reagins and other club personnel, no Boras client has signed with the Angels since 2008, as MLBTR's Transaction Tracker indicates.

If Los Angeles can't come to a long-term agreement with Weaver by next offseason, the club could consider selling high on its young ace and trying to deal him.  Such a move wouldn't be popular with fans, but the Halos could potentially net a nice package of either short-term Major League help if they feel their current nucleus has another run in them for 2012, or perhaps for prospects to fuel the next great (Mike Trout-led) Angels team. 

There would be no shortage of interest in Weaver on the trade market.  To cite the most obvious candidate, there's a certain pinstriped team from the Big Apple that is in need of starting pitching and has no problems dealing with Scott Boras.  Apart from the Yankees, one could imagine the Nationals, Rangers (though L.A. probably wouldn't move their ace to a division rival) or even the Cubs having both the interest and the resources to acquire Weaver and give him the extension that would probably be required in such a trade.

The numbers are there for a fair extension between Weaver and the Angels, and the right-hander has himself expressed an interest in remaining with the team.  A number of obstacles, however, seem to be standing between Weaver remaining an Angel past (or even though) the 2012 season. 

NL West Notes: D’Backs, Mota, Padres

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Let's check out the latest from the NL West…

  • The Diamondbacks are putting some serious money into upgrading their player development system, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.  "We spend more now on scouting and player development than we ever have," said Jerry Dipoto, Arizona's senior VP of scouting & player development.  "We made that an internal focus, that these are areas where we can create an advantage in the industry. I don't think it's short-term. I think it's something we're going to do over and over for many years."
  • In another piece, Piecoro looks at "the interconnectedness" of the Snakes' coaching and development process throughout the organization, using 2009 third-round draft pick Keon Broxton as an example.
  • Guillermo Mota tells Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that the Giants' World Series victory last year was a major reason he chose to re-sign with San Francisco rather than accept one of the other four offers he received in the winter.
  • In his latest mailbag for CSNBayArea.com, Mychael Urban looks at such Giants-related topics as how the team will shuffle its roster when Cody Ross is healthy.  Urban shot down a reader suggestion that San Francisco could release Mark DeRosa to make room.
  • Anthony Rizzo, Casey Kelly and Reymond Fuentes (the three prospects the Padres acquired from the Red Sox in the Adrian Gonzalez trade) are off to good starts in the minors, reports Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.  Rizzo is at Triple-A, Kelly at Double-A and Fuentes is at Class A Lake Elsinore.   

Cardinals Notes: Ludwick, Eduardo Sanchez, Pujols

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As the Cardinals continue their four-game series in Los Angeles tonight, here are some Redbird-related news items…

Quick Hits: Purcey, Mariners, Cruz, Rays

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Links for Friday, as we celebrate the anniversary of Jackie Robinson's MLB debut. Robinson's Hall of Fame career began 64 years ago today, when he broke baseball's color barrier…

  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos continues to talk to teams about David Purcey and tells Rogers Sportnet's Shi Davidi (Twitter link) that there is "very strong" interest in the left-hander.  Purcey was designated for assignment earlier this week, and Anthopoulos said he expects to use all 10 days of Purcey's DFA period exploring trades.
  • The Mariners are still searching in vain for a cleanup hitter to anchor their lineup, writes Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. 
  • Jonah Keri of Fangraphs looks at some players who parlayed "a small sample of greatness — a stretch-run tear, monster playoff performance, even a single game or play — to big paydays" and how none of these signings worked out for their respective teams.
  • Now that Josh Hamilton is on the disabled list, it's Nelson Cruz's chance to carry the Rangers, Jon Paul Morosi writes at FOX Sports.com.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports points out that the Rays figure to have a tougher climb to the top of the AL East standings than the Red Sox.
  • Is Troy Tulowitzki the best player in baseball? Rob Neyer of SB Nation asks a legitimate question and says it'd be hard to argue that there's a better player to be found right now.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post

Reaction To The Adrian Gonzalez Extension

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The Red Sox finalized a contract extension with Adrian Gonzalez today, and while the deal was long-awaited, its completion still generated discussion about how the contract impacts Gonzalez, the Red Sox and some of the game's other top first basemen.  Some of the more notable items…

  • John Boggs, Gonzalez's agent, talks to WEEI.com's Alex Speier about the history of the negotations between the slugger and the Red Sox, how the deal was almost scuttled in December before Gonzalez was traded from the Padres, and how Boggs "aged a hundred years" when Gonzalez was hit by a C.C. Sabathia pitch last Sunday.
  • In a separate post, Speier looks at Gonzalez's extension in the context of the biggest contracts ever.  Boston officials note that the Sox have been willing to spend big on players before signing Gonzalez and Carl Crawford. The Red Sox were prepared to commit over $20MM per season to Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira.
  • In a video report for FOXSports.com, Jon Paul Morosi said Gonzalez's deal "ratchets up the pressure" on Albert Pujols if the Cardinals slugger hopes to get a milestone free agent deal this winter.  If Gonzalez has a better season than Pujols, then it will harder for Pujols and his agents to justify asking for a larger contract than the deal the Red Sox gave the younger Gonzalez.
  • Morosi also says "it's possible" Boston could still be in the market for Pujols or Prince Fielder as a DH, as the Sox would part ways with David Ortiz.  Pujols and Fielder have both said they want to continue playing first base, but Morosi notes that Victor Martinez and Adam Dunn said the same thing last winter before becoming the primary DH option for the Tigers and White Sox, respectively.   
  • The theory exists that Gonzalez and the Sox had this extension worked out months ago but waited until now to announce it so the club could avoid paying a luxury tax penalty.  Morosi speculates that the new collective bargaining agreement might contain a later deadline than Opening Day for the luxury tax calculations since "the spirit of the law isn't being honored here."

MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith also contributed to this post

Twins Notes: Mauer, Young, Thome

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The Twins' 4-8 start might be easier to handle if their starting second baseman hadn't broken his leg and their MVP catcher wasn't on the disabled list. Here's the latest on the Twins, with a heavy focus on Joe Mauer, who went on the DL yesterday with bilateral leg weakness:

  • Tom Verducci of SI.com runs through the list of ailments Mauer has suffered as a big leaguer and suggests the Twins may have to consider moving Mauer to a new position to keep his bat in the lineup.
  • So when would the position switch occur and where would Mauer go? Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports suggests it could happen next offseason and argues that the outfield is the most logical alternative to catching for Mauer. Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel will become free agents after the season, so the Twins' outfield will likely have a different look next year. Delmon Young could cost $7.5MM or more through arbitration, so the Twins could consider trading him or Denard Span. Alternatively, the Twins could try Mauer in center field, a position scouts believe he could handle, according to Rosenthal. I don't see that happening if the Twins want to reduce the wear and tear on Mauer's body.
  • Dave Cameron of FanGraphs points out that learning a new position midseason won't be easy for Mauer and suggests that he may have to DH when he comes back this year, even if that means Jim Thome gets pushed from the everyday lineup.

Stark On Orioles, Beltran, Reyes, Carpenter

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The Yankees weren’t counting on much from Kevin Millwood when they signed him to a minor league deal and, according to Jayson Stark of ESPN.com, that may be a good thing. Stark hears that Millwood “looks terrible” and isn’t throwing as hard as usual in extended Spring Training. Here’s Stark’s latest from around the league:

  • An AL executive expects the Orioles to be one of the most active sellers in baseball if they fade this summer. With Vladimir Guerrero, Derrek Lee, J.J. Hardy and others on the roster, the O’s have a lot of potential trade chips.
  • The Mets would ‘love’ to see Carlos Beltran play well enough to make himself appealing as a trade candidate. Scouts are already watching Beltran in case he’s available at the deadline.
  • One NL scout says he’d recommend Jose Reyes on a two month rental, but wouldn’t advise committing to the shortstop long-term.
  • Despite speculation that Chris Carpenter could be traded, most clubs expect the Cardinals to hold onto him. St. Louis holds a $15MM option for Carpenter in 2012 ($1MM buyout).

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