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Archives for February 2012

Horacio Ramirez Signs With KBO’s Kia Tigers

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Left-hander Horacio Ramirez has signed with Kia Tigers of the Korean Baseball Organization, the team announced today.  Dan of the MyKBO.net blog reported yesterday about the signing.

Ramirez, 32, has a 4.65 ERA, a 4.2 K/9 rate and a 3.5 BB/9 rate in 169 games (105 of them starts) over eight seasons with the Braves, Mariners, White Sox, Royals and Angels, making 12 appearances with LAA in 2011.  The southpaw threw for scouts two weeks ago but apparently couldn't find any Major League takers.

AL Central Links: Castellanos, Royals, Sabathia

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Here's a round-up of news from the AL Central…

  • With Miguel Cabrera taking over at the hot corner for the Tigers, John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press looks at how the switch affects the progress of third baseman Nick Castellanos, one of the team's top prospects.  I can't see this being a major long-term issue — Castellanos is just 19 and I can't see Cabrera staying on third for very long, given his defensive limitations.  If anything, Victor Martinez could be the odd man out, with Prince Fielder locked in at first and Cabrera probably requiring a move to DH sooner rather than later. 
  • Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star covered a number of Royals topics as part of a live chat with fans earlier today.
  • The players the Indians acquired for C.C. Sabathia in 2008 have produced -0.6 WAR in the three-plus seasons since the trade, writes Fangraphs' J.P. Breen.  "The Indians still have nine years of control between [Matt] LaPorta and [Michael] Brantley, but neither appear destined for full-time roles at the big league level," Breen writes.
  • Twins starter Francisco Liriano has worked on his mechanics and better locating his fastball this winter in preparation for what could be a make-or-break season for the southpaw, reports Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities Radio.
  • Dick Allen's arrival in 1972 didn't just make the White Sox better on the field, but his presence might have also helped keep the team in Chicago, writes MLB.com's Scott Merkin.

Indians Close To Trading Kelvin De La Cruz

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The Indians are close to trading lefty Kelvin De La Cruz, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  De La Cruz was designated for assignment a week ago to open a 40-man roster spot for Casey Kotchman. 

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 his new team.

Rockies, Tracy Have “Handshake Agreement” On Extension

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6:51pm: Tracy confirmed the extension in an appearance on MLB Roundtrip with Jeff Joyce and Cliff Floyd on MLB Network Radio.  Tracy said the deal will be re-evaluated after every season and he has "an opportunity to manage this club, basically…as the way I understand it, until I don't want to manage it anymore."  Tracy sees this as his final job, saying he has "every intention of finishing my career in a Colorado Rockies uniform."

6:17pm: The Rockies and Jim Tracy have agreed to extend the manager's contract past 2012, according to the club's Twitter feed.  The two sides "have a handshake agreement for Tracy to continue to be a part of the organization's leadership team," and in a follow-up tweet, GM Dan O'Dowd says the team "expects this relationship to continue for a number of years." 

Exact terms of the new agreement weren't announced but Troy Renck of the Denver Post describes it as "kind of like a roll-over deal in many ways."  At the very least it means Tracy won't be a lame-duck manager heading into 2012, while still giving the Rockies room to inexpensively cut ties with Tracy should they want to make a change.

Tracy took over as Colorado's manager partway through the 2009 season and helped turn around a struggling club, eventually leading the Rockies to a playoff berth as the National League's wild card team.  For his efforts, Tracy received the NL Manager Of The Year award and a three-year, $4.4MM contract extension.  Over the last two seasons, however, the Rockies have failed to live up to expectations, posting just a 156-168 record and finishing fourth in the NL West in 2011.

AL East Notes: Crawford, Youkilis, Orioles, Uehara

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Here's the latest from the AL East…

  • Red Sox owner John Henry e-mailed the Boston Globe today to clarify his comments from last October about not wanting to sign Carl Crawford in the 2010-11 offseason.  "At the time I was opposed due to too many lefties in the lineup and particularly in the outfield,” Henry wrote. “My answer was an honest, off-the-cuff response on a radio station to a false assertion that ownership signed him for offseason PR purposes.. This was a baseball decision I ultimately backed.”
  • Crawford, for his part, told media today (including Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com) that he wasn't pleased to hear Henry's comments.  “I was a little surprised to hear the comments but like I said, it’s unfortunate he feels that way. I just wish those words hadn’t come out," Crawford said.
  • Kevin Youkilis isn't worried about his contract situation, he told reporters (including WEEI.com's Alex Speier) today.  The Red Sox hold a $13MM option on Youkilis for 2013 that can be bought out for $1MM.  "For me, it’s not about a contract year. If I stay healthy and play hard, do all the little things to help the team, I know I can play here,” Youkilis said.  “I know if I’m out there starting everyday and we win a World Series….it’s going to be hard for them not to bring me back. I want to make it as hard on them as possible to not bring me back.”
  • Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com looks at how minor league options could impact which pitchers the Orioles keep on their roster this spring.  Baltimore has 10 players on its 40-man roster who are out of options, the highest number of any team.
  • Toronto's climate played a role in Koji Uehara rejecting a trade to the Blue Jays, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  "The weather is an issue," Uehara said. "I also know how hard it is to compete in that division."  Despite the toughness of the AL East, Uehara has reportedly expressed an interest in returning to the Orioles if a trade could be worked out, though he told Sullivan that he would also be happy continuing to pitch for the Rangers.
  • To round out the division's teams, here are some items about the Rays and Yankees from earlier today, plus the news that the Yankees have agreed to a deal with Raul Ibanez.

Athletics To Sign Manny Ramirez

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Manny Ramirez has agreed to terms with the A's on a minor league deal, the team announced today.  The deal is worth about $500K in the Majors, reports ESPN's Pedro Gomez.  The signing has been expected for several weeks.  Though the story is interesting, the A's took an insignificant financial risk and didn't commit a roster spot, and the likely reward is small as well.  Ramirez is represented by Praver/Shapiro.

Manny must first serve a 50-game suspension for violating MLB's performance-enhancing drug policy a second time, making his earliest possible debut June 2nd at Kansas City, according to Gomez.  Ramirez retired when news of the suspension hit in April of last year, but was reinstated in December.

Ramirez, 39, would be a certain Hall of Famer if not for his PED issues.  He owns a .312/.411/.585 line with 555 home runs in 19 seasons for the Indians, Red Sox, Dodgers, White Sox, and Rays.  He's projected to serve as the A's designated hitter for the latter two-thirds of the season.

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports was the first to report that the agreement had been made (both Twitter links).

Rays Notes: Davis, Niemann, Pitching

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With so many teams now in Florida for Spring Training, let's check on one of the teams that calls the Sunshine State home year-round…

  • Wade Davis wasn't pleased about the possibility of pitching out of the bullpen this season, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.  "I don't see any reason for me to be in the bullpen," Davis said.  "I understand they've got to do certain things, but we'll see. … I definitely want to be a starter and stay a starter forever. And that'll be my mentality."  Davis and Jeff Niemann will be battling to be Tampa Bay's fifth starter, with the other becoming a reliever.  As Topkin points out, there's little Davis could do if he is assigned a relief gig, as "he wouldn't have much leverage to force a trade."
  • ESPN's Buster Olney hears from some scouts that Davis is "much better suited" as a relief pitcher and "could actually be pretty good at that job."
  • Between Davis, Niemann and prospects Alex Torres and Alex Cobb, the Rays like their pitching depth and want to hang onto it, executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told media (including Topkin) on Monday.  Friedman did say that the Rays would "be aggressive in trying to improve [the] roster."
  • Niemann didn't seem too upset over losing his arbitration case to the Rays earlier this month.  “I considered it a win-win situation going in,” Niemann told Roger Mooney of TBO.com. “Certain circumstances got us to that point. We did it, went through it, got the experience. Now I’m ready to go out there and play."

Nationals Notes: Zimmerman, Rendon, Strasburg, Harper

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It's time for some Nationals notes, courtesy of Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.

  • "I think I want to play third base until someone is better than me at it," Ryan Zimmerman explained to Kilgore.  The topic comes up because last year's first-round draft pick Anthony Rendon is a third baseman by trade, and if Zimmerman were to be extended, someone would have to change positions if Rendon proceeds to the Majors and is not traded.  On Rendon specifically, Zimmerman said, "If he comes up and plays third and plays second or whatever, then I’m going to be his best friend there. In the end, he’s going to help us win games. That’s the most important thing."
  • Rendon is in big league camp because of his draft contract, but Kilgore thinks he may begin his pro career at Class A Potomac.  The Nationals intend to play Rendon at third base, second base, and shortstop, at least during spring training, but manager Davey Johnson downplayed the extra infield positions, according to Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com.  Rendon was deferential to Zimmerman in his comments.
  • The Nationals intend to use Stephen Strasburg until he hits his innings limit and then shut him down, GM Mike Rizzo told reporters.  There's an expectation of a 160-inning cap, and Rizzo doesn't seem to be considering a six-man rotation or skipping Strasburg's starts.  I imagine skipping Strasburg starts while he's in good health could upset some fans who buy tickets specifically to watch him pitch.
  • Super prospect Bryce Harper says he intends to "keep my mouth shut and play," but certainly aims to make the team out of spring training.  Kilgore mentions Super Two considerations for the team, and it's worth noting that the new collective barganing agreement will result in more players getting that designation than in years past.
  • A potential Mike Cameron replacement will come internally, said Rizzo.  Mark DeRosa could play right field if Jayson Werth is in center, while Jason Michaels and Brett Carroll are in camp in minor league deals.  Roger Bernadina may have a leg up as an out of options player, in my opinion.  Here's MLBTR's full list of players who are out of minor league options.

2012 Arbitration Eligible Spending By Team

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From the Astros at $4.5MM to the Giants at $42.05MM, MLB's 30 teams spent over half a billion dollars on 2012 salaries for 172 arbitration eligible players this offseason.  Our arbitration tracker has the details, and a breakdown by team is below.  Please note that the three free agents who accepted arbitration are excluded, and first-year salaries from 16 extensions are included with prorated signing bonuses.

  1. Giants: $42.05MM for 10 players, including 3 extensions
  2. Dodgers: $37.925MM for 5 players, including 3 extensions
  3. Rangers: $29.95MM for 7 players, including 2 extensions
  4. Phillies: $28.4MM for 3 players, including 1 extension
  5. Padres: $28.27MM for 12 players
  6. Indians: $25.415MM for 8 players
  7. Cubs: $23.872MM for 7 players
  8. Red Sox: $21.1775MM for 10 players
  9. Nationals: $19.615MM for 7 players, including 2 extensions
  10. Braves: $19.585MM for 4 players
  11. Rays: $18.7MM for 6 players
  12. Yankees: $18.65MM for 6 players
  13. Royals: $18.4925MM for 7 players
  14. Marlins: $18.385MM for 5 players
  15. Brewers: $18.1135MM for 7 players
  16. Pirates: $17.2585MM for 8 players
  17. Angels: $16.87MM for 5 players, including 1 extension
  18. Tigers: $15.6MM for 5 players
  19. Blue Jays: $15.59MM for 8 players
  20. Orioles: $12.975MM for 6 players
  21. Rockies: $12.965MM for 3 players
  22. Mets: $11.9MM for 4 players
  23. Diamondbacks: $11.5025MM for 4 players
  24. Athletics: $10.6825MM for 6 players
  25. Mariners: $10.45MM for 3 players
  26. Reds: $8.7725MM for 6 players, including 2 extensions
  27. Twins: $8.4325MM for 3 players
  28. White Sox: $8MM for 1 player, part of an extension
  29. Cardinals: $5.95MM for 3 players, including 1 extension
  30. Astros: $4.5MM for 3 players

The average team spent about $18MM on six players, and the average arbitration eligible player made $3.1MM.

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