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Archives for February 2012

Quick Hits: Lewis, Dodgers, Veteran Free Agents

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Passing along a few odds and ends as we wrap up Feb. 21. On this date in 1986, Rollie Fingers became a champion of mustachioed men everywhere long before Movember was an actual thing, opting to retire and preserve his trademark handlebar rather than accept a contract with the Reds, who at the time still had a no-facial-hair policy. On with the links …

  • The Rangers and Colby Lewis had "very small, limited talks" regarding a contract extension early in the offseason, the right-hander told T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. "They wanted to know how I felt. Nothing came of it this offseason. If something comes up, it will come up, but I'm not too concerned about it." Lewis is a projected free agent after this season.
  • Peter O'Malley, the former owner of the Dodgers, has withdrawn his bid for the franchise, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.  O'Malley's group was one of 11 to advance to the second round of bidding, although O'Malley was apparently concerned that he might not be awarded the franchise even if he placed the highest bid, sources tell Shaikin.
  • Tom Verducci of SI.com has a look at a handful of veteran free agents who are getting the Storage B treatment, i.e. being pushed out of the game because their services are simply no longer in demand. Among the candidates are Ivan Rodriguez and Jason Varitek.

East Notes: Hill, Hanley, Collins

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The Red Sox finally received compensation earlier today for Theo Epstein's defection to the Cubs, adding reliever Chris Carpenter and a player to be named. Here's more on Boston and a couple other stray items of note out of MLB's East divisions:

  • The Red Sox added left-hander Rich Hill to their 40-man roster and placed starter John Lackey on the 60-day DL in a corresponding move, tweets Tim Britton of the Providence Journal. The move is a show of faith in Hill's recovery from 2011 Tommy John surgery, according to Britton, and Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe tweets that Hill had an opt-out clause that he could have exercised early in Spring Training were he not on the 40-man. So, it appears the Sox didn't want to lose the lefty.
  • Marlins slugger Hanley Ramirez said he has no problem moving to third base to accomodate the arrival of newly signed shortstop Jose Reyes, according to Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post. “I never said I’m not going to do it,” he said.
  • Mets manager Terry Collins is under contract through 2013, though Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal wonders whether the skipper will be retained beyond then if the Mets are ready to move past their current transitional phase.

Phillies Links: Victorino, Lidge, Hamels

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A few items to pass along as the Phillies begin their defense of five consecutive NL East crowns …

  • Center fielder Shane Victorino, entering his final season before free agency, said there haven't yet been any negotiations between him and the Phils regarding an extension, but he said wants to remain in Philly, according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. “I don’t plan on going anywhere else,” he said.
  • Brad Lidge, now of the Nationals, said the Phillies reversed course after telling him that they wanted to re-sign him at the conclusion of 2011, according to Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer. GM Ruben Amaro told Brookover that the sides discussed a modest deal early in the offseason but moved on to other options when Lidge passed in favor of seeking closing opportunities elsewhere.
  • Now that Cole Hamels has expressed a willingness to remain with the Phillies — and perhaps even sign at a hometown discount — the onus is on the club to secure the left-hander with a long-term contract, opines Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. Rosenthal adds that even with an already hefty payroll, the Phils can afford Hamels, as they've already sold 3.1MM tickets for 2012.

Molina Sets Deadline For Extension Talks

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Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina's agent, Melvin Roman of MDR Sports Management, said Tuesday that his client will not discuss a potential contract extension once the regular season begins, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Molina, 30 in July, is an extension candidate as he enters his final season before free agency, although extensions talks have recently been put on hold. Roman intends to remain in Florida for several days to potentially resume extension discussions, although nothing is imminent on that front as of now, according to Strauss.

"It could be tomorrow. It could be two days. It could be two weeks," Roman said. "If they want us to come back, we'll come back."

Molina, a right-handed hitter, owns a .271/.331/.377 career line with 55 homers in parts of eight big leagues seasons and is generally considered among the game's best defensive catchers. He's believed to be seeking a five-year deal with an average annual salary of $10MM, Strauss reports.

Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said he and Roman talked on Tuesday but declined to comment on whether those discussions included the parameters for a potential extension.

AL West Notes: Abreu, Uehara, Manny

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The AL West saw no shortage of action this offseason, with notables Albert Pujols, Yu Darvish and Yoenis Cespedes joining the ranks, but the division may yet make a few more transactions headlines before Opening Day. Here's the latest …

  • Angels outfielder/DH Bobby Abreu told Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportesLosAngeles.com that he'd like to be traded if he's not assured of an everyday role this season — this after Halos skipper Mike Scioscia said Sunday that Abreu will split time at DH with Mark Trumbo and/or Kendrys Morales. GM Jerry Dipoto responded by saying Abreu has "no right" to issue an ultimatum, according to Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com.
  • Rangers GM Jon Daniels said Texas has no trades in the works right now, including any involving releiver Koji Uehara, and still has no plans to sign right-hander Roy Oswalt, according to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. Uehara has long been rumored to be on the trade block.
  • Athletics GM Billy Beane said there are no guarantees for DH Manny Ramirez, recently signed to a minor league contract, beyond Day 1, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Beane also told reporters, including Jane Lee of MLB.com, that signing Manny was strictly a baseball decision — not for PR — and that "we couldn't come up with a reason not to sign him" (Twitter links).

Astros Keeping Tabs On Jorge Soler

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The Astros are keeping tabs on powerful Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler as he nears free agency, GM Jeff Luhnow told Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.  Soler, who is represented by Praver/Shapiro, is not yet a free agent, but Luhnow has seen him and is in contact with his camp.

Baseball America ranks the Astros' farm system 17th in the game, but ESPN's Keith Law has them 27th.  With 11 picks in the first ten rounds of the 2012 draft including the first overall, the Astros have MLB's second-largest allowance at $11.1777MM, according to Baseball America.  BA's Jim Callis would rank Soler 43rd on their top 100, better than any Astros prospect aside from Jonathan Singleton.  With the new $2.9MM international spending cap beginning with the 2012 July 2nd class, Soler represents the last chance for any team to bid eight figures for a raw international free agent. 

Yankees Notes: Chavez, Rotation, Damon

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Four Yankees prospects — Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances, Gary Sanchez, and Mason Williams — made Baseball America's top 100 prospects list today.  The quartet also cracked top 100 lists from Keith Law and Kevin Goldstein this month.  The latest on the club:

Rangers Acquire Kelvin De La Cruz

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The Rangers acquired lefty Kelvin De La Cruz from the Indians, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  The Indians received cash considerations, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.  De La Cruz was designated for assignment a week ago to open a 40-man roster spot for Casey Kotchman.  The Rangers currently have an open 40-man spot they can use for De La Cruz.

De La Cruz, 23, posted a 4.19 ERA, 9.9 K/9, 6.0 BB/9, and 0.31 HR/9 in 86 Double-A innings last year, his second stint at the level.  A year ago, Baseball America ranked him 24th among Indians prospects, citing diminished stuff after an '09 elbow strain.  De La Cruz dropped out of BA's Indians top 30 this year and will be a project for the Rangers.

Brewers GM Discusses Greinke

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Zack Greinke doesn't see the need for an agent currently, but Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel not to read into that.  "I think he may end up doing a lot of this himself. Then, if it gets to a serious nature, he might get somebody to help," said Melvin.

Melvin said he first needs to talk to owner Mark Attanasio before he discusses a possible extension with Greinke.  The GM implied he'd prefer not to talk contract during the season.  Melvin cited four signed pitchers who I assume he considers comparable to Greinke; let's look more closely at each situation.

  • Greinke, 28, has a 3.82 ERA over 1279 2/3 career innings, though his 8.0 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9, as well as his 2009 Cy Young award, suggest he's better than his ERA.  A deal for Greinke would entirely cover free agent seasons, a key difference compared to some of the other contracts Melvin mentioned.  Greinke would have been a free agent after the 2010 season had he not signed a four-year, $38MM deal with the Royals in '09.  He's already made big money, unlike the comparables Melvin listed.  We don't know if that will give Greinke the security to seek top dollar or compel him to do the exact opposite.
  • Jered Weaver, a Scott Boras client, signed a five-year, $85MM extension with the Angels in August.  The contract included his final year of arbitration, so it was $70MM over four free agent years, a $17.5MM average annual value.  Weaver was also 28 at the time of the signing, and he had better career numbers than Greinke.  Two factors suppressed Weaver's price and term significantly: he strongly preferred to stay close to home, and he was a year and a month away from free agency.  Cole Hamels' agent has already stated the Weaver contract won't be a comparable, and Greinke might choose to toss it out as well.
  • Justin Verlander, a client of SFX Baseball, signed a five-year, $80MM deal, and Felix Hernandez, an Octagon client, signed a five-year, $78MM deal.  Both contracts covered two arbitration years and three free agent seasons, making them even worse comparables for Greinke.  Verlander received $20MM per free agent year and Hernandez got $19.3MM.  Verlander was coming off a better season than Greinke is, though he still had a 3.92 caree ERA at the time of signing.
  • C.J. Wilson, a client of Select Sports Group, recently signed a five-year, $77.5MM deal with the Angels.  Like Weaver, it appeared Wilson took less money because of his desire to play for the Halos.  Wilson's contract was signed on the open market following two seasons as a starting pitcher.  This seems closest to a legitimate comparable for Greinke, among the contracts Melvin named.

Despite the differences in service time in these comparables, the fact remains that Melvin cited a bunch of five-year deals in the $80MM range.  The Brewers' ceiling probably isn't much higher.  If Greinke is confident he can post a mid-3.00s ERA over 200 innings in 2012, he can land a six-year deal exceeding $100MM on the open market, even with the draft pick cost attached and possible competition from Matt Cain, Cole Hamels, and Anibal Sanchez.  And if Greinke doesn't go for a typical agency relationship, he'll save millions on commission.

Indians To Sign Cristian Guzman

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The Indians will sign infielder Cristian Guzman to a minor league contract with a spring training invite, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.  He took his physical today and the deal will likely become official tomorrow.

Guzman, 33, last played in the Majors in 2010 with the Nationals and Rangers.  He sat out the 2011 season due to a shoulder injury, he told Bastian.  Guzman is a career .271/.307/.383 hitter who has appeared at both middle infield positions.

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