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Quick Hits: Cabrera, Marlins, Dodgers

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The deadline for NHL teams to make trades in preparation for their playoff runs passed this afternoon. Baseball's deadline is five long months away, but we've got these links to keep you going in the meantime…

Mets Notes: Wilpon, Reyes, Wright, Tejada

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The Mets lowered payroll by approximately $50MM this offseason, while division rivals such as the Marlins and Nationals moved aggressively to acquire top talent. However, Mets principal owner Fred Wilpon said his club could surprise some people in 2012. The details…

  • Wilpon said the team's finances are "OK" and that he intends to own the franchise "for a very long time," Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com writes. 
  • Wilpon made it clear that he and GM Sandy Alderson have some misgivings about offering long-term deals. “Are we a little leery of six-year, seven-year, eight-year contracts? Yes. Is Sandy leery of it? You bet. I'm big-time leery of it,” Wilpon said, after suggesting the Mets offered Jose Reyes a deal in the $100MM range.
  • One person familiar with the Mets' financial situation told Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com that a lot of things will have to go right for Wilpon and Saul Katz to remain in place as owners.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post explains that David Wright could become a trade candidate this July or after the season if he rebounds in 2012. Sherman draws a comparison between Wright and Ryan Zimmerman, a childhood teammate of Wright's who just signed a long-term deal with the Nationals. 
  • In a separate piece, Sherman wonders if the Mets would exercise Wright's $16MM option for 2013 if he falters this coming season. 
  • Sherman says it's unfair of Mets manager Terry Collins to criticize Ruben Tejada for not showing up to camp early.

The Oldest $100MM Players

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Kevin Brown signed the first nine-figure deal in baseball history after the 1998 season. 33 at the time, Brown had just logged 257 innings for the NL Champion Padres, striking out 257 and posting a 2.38 ERA (164 ERA+). Brown provided the Dodgers with some elite seasons before moving to New York, where he disappointed in pinstripes. 

In the decade-plus since Brown finalized his record deal, all of the 30-plus players to sign for $100MM or more have been younger than 33. Here's the complete list of $100MM players sorted by age, courtesy of MLBTR’s Transaction Tracker (the list includes free agent signings and extensions, but does not include posting fees for Japanese players):

  • Kevin Brown, 33, signed a seven-year, $105MM deal on 12/12/1998.
  • Alex Rodriguez, 32, signed a ten-year, $275MM deal on 12/13/2007.
  • Cliff Lee, 32, signed a five-year, $120MM deal on 12/13/2010.
  • Jayson Werth, 31, signed a seven-year, $126MM deal on 12/05/2010.
  • Albert Pujols, 31, signed a ten-year, $240MM deal on 12/08/2011.
  • Ken Griffey Jr., 30, signed a nine-year, $116.5MM deal on 2/11/2000.
  • Jason Giambi, 30, signed a seven-year, $120MM deal on 12/18/2001.
  • Alfonso Soriano, 30, signed an eight-year, $136MM deal on 11/20/2006.
  • Carlos Lee, 30, signed a six-year, $100MM deal on 11/24/2006.
  • Ryan Howard, 30, signed a five-year, $125MM extension on 4/26/2010.
  • Matt Holliday, 29, signed a seven-year, $120MM deal on 1/7/2010.
  • Carl Crawford, 29, signed a seven-year, $142MM deal on 12/8/2010.
  • Mike Hampton, 28, signed an eight-year, $121MM deal on 12/12/2000.
  • Manny Ramirez, 28, signed an eight-year, $160MM deal on 12/19/2000.
  • Vernon Wells, 28, signed a seven-year, $126MM deal on 12/20/2006.
  • Barry Zito, 28, signed a seven-year, $126MM deal on 12/29/2006.
  • Johan Santana, 28, signed a six-year, $137.5MM deal on 2/2/2008.
  • C.C. Sabathia, 28, signed a seven-year, $161MM deal on 12/20/2008 (revised as a 31-year-old on 10/31/2011). 
  • Adrian Gonzalez, 28, signed a seven-year, $154MM deal on 4/15/2011.
  • Jose Reyes, 28, signed a six-year, $106MM deal on 12/04/2011.
  • Mark Teixeira, 28, signed an eight-year, $180MM deal on 1/6/2009.
  • Todd Helton, 27, signed a nine-year, $141.5MM deal on 3/1/2001.
  • Carlos Beltran, 27, signed a seven-year, $119MM deal on 1/13/2005.
  • Ryan Braun, 27, signed a five-year, $105MM deal on 4/21/2011.
  • Matt Kemp, 27, signed an eight-year, $160MM deal on 11/14/2011.
  • Prince Fielder, 27, signed a nine-year, $214MM deal on 1/24/2012.
  • Ryan Zimmerman, 27, signed a six-year, $100MM deal on 2/26/2012.
  • Derek Jeter, 26, signed a ten-year, $189MM deal on 2/1/2001.
  • Joe Mauer, 26, signed an eight-year, $184MM deal on 3/21/2010.
  • Troy Tulowitzki, 26, signed a six-year, $119MM deal on 11/30/2010.
  • Alex Rodriguez, 25, signed a ten-year, $252MM deal on 12/1/2000.
  • Albert Pujols, 24, signed a seven-year, $100MM deal on 2/19/2004.
  • Miguel Cabrera, 24, signed an eight-year, $152.3MM deal on 3/24/2008.

AL East Notes: Johnson, Pettitte, Blue Jays

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The big news out of the AL East today is that longtime Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek will announce his retirement later this week. The 15-year veteran will retire with two World Series rings, three All-Star Game selections and 193 home runs. Here are some notes on his former division rivals…

  • Nick Johnson told Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com that the success of his 2012 season will come down to health. The Orioles signed Johnson to a minor league contract, but the first baseman didn't draw much interest this offseason. "There weren't a lot of teams giving me an opportunity," he said. 
  • Andy Pettitte visited Yankees camp and told reporters, including MLB.com's Bryan Hoch, that he doesn't plan on making a comeback. Pettitte said he's "loving life" away from the ballpark and enjoying time with his family.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports asked Joey Votto about his interest in playing for the Blue Jays and didn't sense much enthusiasm from the Etobicoke, Ontario native (Twitter link). Votto, who is under contract with the Reds through 2013, recently said he prefers to keep contract talks private.

Cardinals, Yadier Molina Closing In On Extension

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8:28pm: The deal is in the $70-75MM range, Rosenthal tweets.

6:20pm: The sides are "very close" on a five-year extension worth north of $60MM, reports Rosenthal (Twitter links).

4:29pm: Both sides are "very optimistic" and terms are "all but finalized," Strauss tweets. The deal's average annual value would likely exceed $10MM, Strauss reports. Resolution is expected this week. 

2:47pm: "We are making progress and hopefully we can work something out," Yadier Molina's agent Melvin Roman said to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports today, regarding contract extension talks for the Cardinals catcher.  Rosenthal's sources say the Cards "likely are willing to give him a deal of four and possibly five years."  The FOX writer expects a salary in the $10-12MM range.

On Friday, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweeted, "Movement on Molina is significant enough that a source familiar with the situation believes an agreement could be reached within a week."  Earlier, Roman indicated Molina did not want to negotiate during the season, according to Strauss.  The Cardinals open the season April 4th at the Marlins' new ballpark.

AL West Notes: Sizemore, Ka’aihue, Abreu, Rangers

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This time next year the Houston Astros will be about to join the AL West, but for now it remains baseball's only four-team division. Here's the latest news, starting with a serious injury…

  • The Athletics announced that third baseman Scott Sizemore has a torn ACL in his left knee and will miss the 2012 season.
  • An A's official tells Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that the club is high on Josh Donaldson as a possible replacement for Sizemore (Twitter link). However, today's news makes the A's person "want to vomit." 
  • The Athletics would likely have interest in Angels infielder Alberto Callaspo if they explore the trade market for a third baseman, Slusser wrote Sunday. The A's probably wouldn't part with a significant prospect for him, however.
  • Athletics first baseman Kila Ka'aihue told Jane Lee of MLB.com that he was always looking over his shoulder with the Royals. "They never really wanted me there," he said. "I always did well enough to hang around but was always passed up." Ka'aihue is competing for the first base job in Oakland. 
  • The Angels plan to find Bobby Abreu regular playing time –perhaps 400 plate appearances or so — and the left-handed hitter is ‘fine’ with the arrangement, Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com writes. Earlier this month Abreu told ESPN Deportes that he would like to be traded if the Angels don't find him an everyday role. 
  • Not counting team president Nolan Ryan and special assistant Greg Maddux, do the Rangers have an ace? Jerry Crasnick asks this question at ESPN.com, pointing out that the two-time defending AL Champions have lost Cliff Lee and C.J. Wilson to free agency since 2010. "If we don't have a No. 1, we're stacked with 2s," pitching coach Mike Maddux said. "And that's OK.''

Trade Candidate: Mike Minor

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Braves left-hander Mike Minor made it clear last week that he’d welcome a trade under certain circumstances. While he doesn’t have the power to demand a deal, his comments appear to have irked Braves decision makers. Should Atlanta decide to address other needs by parting with starting pitching depth, Minor could be traded.

At this point, Minor is competing for a rotation spot with prospects Julio Teheran and Randall Delgado, so trade talk is purely speculative. Plus, Minor has options remaining, so he can be sent to the minor leagues whether he likes it or not. Let’s look ahead to how he might be valued on the trade market and to which teams could have interest.

First, what kind of pitcher is Minor? He has a 4.74 ERA with 8.8 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 36.4% ground ball rate in 123 1/3 innings at the Major League level. The 24-year-old's peripheral stats (3.63 FIP, 3.63 SIERA, .359 opponents' BABIP) suggest his ERA is inflated by about a run and can be expected to drop given his skillset. 

Teams covet controllable, MLB ready players and Minor fits that description perfectly. Minor, the Braves’ 2009 first round pick, has less than one year of MLB service time (138 days). His relative inexperience means he's not projected to hit free agency until after the 2017 season. He'll be making close to the MLB minimum through 2013, at which point he projects to qualify for arbitration as a super two player. 

Minor’s arguably someone who could help a big league team win now by providing steady innings at the back of a rotation. Contenders such as the Red Sox, Tigers and Angels have competition in their rotations entering Spring Training and could have interest. Teams like the Blue Jays, Royals, Athletics, Astros and Pirates aren’t necessarily in win-now mode, but many would figure to have interest in a controllable left-hander who induces swings and misses.

Recent trades involving Michael Pineda, Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill and Mat Latos showed that controllable, young starting pitching is a commodity for which teams are willing to surrender multiple top prospects. Though Minor’s accomplishments don’t compare to those of the pitchers above, he has shown enough as a professional that the Braves could demand one top young player or prospect plus a supplementary piece in a possible trade. There’s no reason to believe GM Frank Wren intends to part with Minor, but if the left-hander does become available, expect him to draw significant interest.

NL Central Links: Marshall, McCutchen, Francis

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The Reds finalized a three-year, $16.5MM contract extension with Sean Marshall earlier today, so now let's check in on the latest from the NL Central…

  • Marshall will earn $4.5MM in 2013, $5.5MM in 2014, and $6.5MM in 2015 according to the AP (via John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer on Twitter). The southpaw can earn $1MM more per year if he closes for the Reds.
  • “We’re obviously very excited about it,” said Reds GM Walt Jocketty to reporters (including MLB.com's Mark Sheldon) about Marshall's deal. “When we made the trade for him, we made it intending to extend him. We felt confident we would do that. We wanted to approach it sooner than later.”
  • The Pirates are still willing to work out a long-term extension with Andrew McCutchen, reports Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. McCutchen's camp is looking for something close to the $51MM given to Justin Upton while the club is coming in around $10MM below that.
  • Jeff Francis told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that his final decision came between the Reds and Mets (Twitter link). The southpaw signed a minor league deal with Cincinnati last month.
  • "We saw this coming years ago," said Pirates team president Frank Coonelly to Biertempfel when asked about the new draft spending restrictions. "We pushed money up to make sure we'd be taking advantage of opportunities we had last year and the year before."

Royals To Extend Salvador Perez

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The Royals announced that they signed catcher Salvador Perez to a five-year contract that includes three club options. Perez will earn a guaranteed $7MM over the course of the five-year contract, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports (Twitter links). The Morgan Advisory Group client could earn as much as $26.75MM if he maxes out his incentives and the Royals pick up all three options. Dutton has the yearly breakdown (Twitter links).

The deal buys out Perez's three pre-arbitration seasons and two of his seasons of arbitration eligibility. The Royals have options for his final season of arbitration eligibility and for his first two free agent seasons.

Perez debuted with the Royals last year, appearing in 39 games. The 21-year-old posted a .331/.361/.473 line in 158 plate appearances, adding 13 extra base hits. Before getting called up to Kansas City, Perez posted a .290/.331/.437 line in the upper minors and prevented 46% of stolen base attempts against him.

Perez joins Matt Moore and Evan Longoria, who also signed extensions before notching their first full year of MLB service time. The two Rays players also signed deals that include three club options. There's not much recent precedent for extensions involving pre-arbitration eligible catchers, as MLBTR's Extension Tracker shows. 

GM Dayton Moore locked Joakim Soria up before the closer had two years of service time in a similarly motivated extension. The Royals obtained three club options on that deal as well.

Royals To Make Major Announcement

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The Royals will make a major announcement concerning the contract status of one of their players in 40 minutes, the team announced. GM Dayton Moore and manager Ned Yost will attend the press conference.

Alex Gordon and Eric Hosmer are among the extension candidates on the Royals' roster. Yahoo's Jeff Passan hears the deal isn't for Gordon (Twitter links). Yahoo's Tim Brown hears no Hosmer deal is imminent (Twitter link). Roy Oswalt is not signing with the Royals today, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (Twitter link).

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