Mariners Avoid Arbitration With Brandon League
The Mariners avoided arbitration with closer Brandon League, agreeing to a $5MM deal, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Matt Swartz had projected $4.2MM for the ACES client. League will be eligible for free agency after the 2012 season.
As our arbitration tracker shows, the Mariners have Jason Vargas and Shawn Kelley remaining.
Craig Counsell To Join Brewers’ Front Office
Infielder Craig Counsell will retire as a ballplayer and join the Brewers' front office, tweets Scott Miller of CBS Sports. The Wisconsin native is known for his quirky stance and involvement in the winning scoring plays of the 1997 and 2001 World Series.
Counsell spent most of his 16-year big league career at second base, third base, and shortstop, hitting .255/.342/.344 for the Rockies, Marlins, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Brewers. According to Baseball-Reference, he earned almost $21MM along the way.
Giants Avoid Arbitration With Melky Cabrera
The Giants avoided arbitration with outfielder Melky Cabrera, tweets ESPN's Enrique Rojas, signing him for $6MM. Cabrera, who is represented by ACES, received a healthy $4.75MM raise over last year's free agent base salary. The Giants acquired Cabrera on November 7th from the Royals for another arbitration eligible player, Jonathan Sanchez.
As our arbitration tracker shows, the Giants' remaining arbitration eligible players are Tim Lincecum, Sergio Romo, Pablo Sandoval, and Nate Schierholtz.
Dodgers Avoid Arbitration With Andre Ethier
The Dodgers avoided arbitration with right fielder Andre Ethier on a one-year deal worth $10.95MM plus performance bonuses, tweets his agency CAA. He received a $1.7MM raise. MLBTR had projected a $10.7MM salary for Ethier, who is entering his final season before free agency.
As our arbitration tracker shows, the Dodgers still have Clayton Kershaw and James Loney on the docket.
RotoAuthority.com: Fantasy Baseball Site Relaunched
RotoAuthority was my first website, started in June 2005. The site was brimming with fantasy baseball analysis, often off the beaten path. My posts became sporadic as MLBTR grew, so I've recruited a team to ensure regular, high-quality content for 2012. The group includes familiar names such as Mark Polishuk, Dan Mennella, Steve Adams, and Mike Axisa. We'll be covering everything you need to win your mixed league, including sleepers, busts, rankings, average draft position, projections, and position battles. Our newest posts:
Quick Hits: Orioles, Cespedes, Dodgers
Links for Monday, as teams and players continue avoiding arbitration in advance of tomorrow's deadline for exchanging figures…
- Former A's, Mets and Brewers pitching coach Rick Peterson has accepted a job with the Orioles, MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko reports. The sides have been discussing a pitching-related role since last month.
- ESPN.com’s Buster Olney suggests the Yankees could use their DH spot to see what Jorge Vazquez can do at the big league level or to give Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter partial days off (all Twitter links). The 29-year-old Vazquez posted a .262/.314/.516 line with 32 homers at Triple-A in 2011.
- The Orioles aren’t very high on the idea of having a DH-only player, Olney tweets. Because teams like the Orioles and Yankees are shying away from traditional DHs, veterans such as Vladimir Guerrero, Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui and Manny Ramirez aren't finding a robust market for their services.
- Yoenis Cespedes has two hits with six strikeouts in 19 at bats in the Dominican Winter League, tweets Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America includes Devin Mesoraco, Yonder Alonso, Mike Trout and Matt Moore on his 2012 all-rookie team in this week's edition of Ask BA.
- Many see Steve Cohen, whose net worth likely exceeds $5 billion, as the biggest threat to buy the Dodgers, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.
Players Avoiding Arbitration: Monday
In advance of tomorrow's 11am central time deadline to exchange arbitration figures, settlements will be rolling in today. Follow all of the action with MLBTR's arbitration tracker. The latest for players under $4MM:
- The Braves and Eric O'Flaherty avoided arbitration, Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets. O'Flaherty will earn $2.49MM, just shy of his projected $2.6MM salary.
- The Orioles and Jim Johnson have avoided arbitration, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun tweets. The right-hander will earn $2.625MM in 2012, just north of his projected $2.5MM salary.
- The Red Sox avoided arbitration with Franklin Morales, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe tweets. The left-hander had a projected salary of $1MM and agreed to an $850K deal.
- The Rays avoided arbitration with J.P. Howell, agreeing to a $1.35MM deal for 2012, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith tweets. Matt Swartz had projected a $1.4MM salary for the left-hander.
- The Royals avoided arbitration with Chris Getz, agreeing to a $967,500 deal for 2012, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith tweets. Matt Swartz had projected a $1.2MM salary for the infielder.
- The Nationals announced they've avoided arbitration with catcher Jesus Flores. Flores, who is represented by Praver/Shapiro, received $815K, MLBTR has learned.
- The Brewers avoided arbitration with outfielder Nyjer Morgan, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The ACES client received $2.35MM, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
- The Royals announced they've avoided arbitration with catcher Brayan Pena, a client of Wasserman Media Group. Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star says the deal is worth $875K; Matt Swartz had him at $900K.
- Orioles pitcher Darren O'Day avoided arbitration for a deal worth $1.35MM, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Matt Swartz had projected the same for the Beverly Hills Sports Council client.
- Yankees righty Phil Hughes agreed to a deal worth $3.2MM plus performance bonuses, tweets his agency CAA. The 25-year-old gets a $500K raise after a lost 2011 season.
- The Tigers announced they've avoided arbitration with lefty Phil Coke. Coke, a client of Full Circle Sports Management, gets a $1.1MM base salary with $50K in incentives for appearances or starts, MLBTR has learned.
- The Angels avoided arbitration with infielder Alberto Callaspo, signing him to a one-year deal worth $3.15MM, tweets ESPN's Keith Law. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz nailed this one, projecting a $3.1MM salary. Callaspo, a client of Eric Goldschmidt, received a $1.15MM raise for his second time through arbitration.
Reds Notes: Navarro, Young, Ankiel, Arredondo
The Reds may have made all of their significant offseason moves now that they have agreed to terms with Dioner Navarro and Ryan Ludwick. Here are some details on the team via Tom Groeschen of the Cincinnati Enquirer:
- GM Walt Jocketty said he signed Navarro “purely for depth” at Triple-A.
- Jocketty doesn’t expect to sign Dmitri Young, the former Reds outfielder/first baseman who is looking to make a comeback at age 38 after losing 70 pounds. The Reds are looking to see what some of their younger players can do in Spring Training.
- Before agreeing to terms with Ludwick, Jocketty said Rick Ankiel was in the mix for an outfield job with the club, according to Groeschen.
- The Reds are “working on” a deal with Jose Arredondo, Jocketty said. The first-time arbitration eligible right-hander appears to be nearing a two-year contract with the club.
Reds To Sign Ryan Ludwick
The Reds have agreed to sign free agent outfielder Ryan Ludwick to a one-year deal that includes a mutual option for 2013, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Ludwick gets a $2.5MM guarantee and could earn another $500K in incentives, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Beverly Hills Sports Council represents Ludwick, who played for Cincinnati GM Walt Jocketty in St. Louis.
Ludwick, who can play left and right field, gives the Reds some much-needed outfield depth. Like left fielder Chris Heisey, Ludwick is a right-handed hitter. However, Ludwick has hit right-handers (.804 OPS) better than left-handers (.751 OPS) in his nine-year career.
Ludwick, 33, posted a .237/.310/.363 line with 13 homers for the Padres and Pirates in 2011. His batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage all dropped for the third consecutive season. However, UZR/150 suggests Ludwick has played average defense in the outfield corners in recent years.
Arbitration Resources
By this time tomorrow, all unsigned arbitration eligible players will have exchanged proposals with their respective teams. We'll be keeping track of everything at MLBTR, but in the meantime here are some links to posts and resources that will help make sense of arbitration, a fixture in baseball offseasons for nearly 40 years:
- MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker offers a look at the many unsigned players plus those who have already agreed to terms.
- MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz listed his projected arbitration salaries and they've been on the money so far.
- Swartz also broke down arbitration salaries for hitters and pitchers, explaining the importance of innings pitched, home runs and RBI.
- Last offseason I weighed in on what matters in arbitration and explained what doesn't apply.
- Teams and players make the headlines, but agencies are an integral part of the process, so check out our Agency Database.