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Archives for February 2012

Jason Varitek To Retire

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Fifteen seasons and two World Championships later, Jason Varitek is calling it a career. The 39-year-old catcher will announce his retirement in Fort Myers this Thursday, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports. Varitek is expected to remain involved with the Red Sox organization.

Jason Varitek - Red Sox

Varitek, Boston's longtime captain, was a key member of the 2004 and 2007 World Series winners. He caught four no-hitters in his career — one each by Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Hideo Nomo and Derek Lowe. The Red Sox acquired Lowe and Varitek from the Mariners for Heathcliff Slocumb in a fateful 1997 trade. Seattle had selected the switch-hitter with the 14th pick in the 1997 draft.

Varitek made three All-Star teams and picked up MVP votes each year from 2003-05. His career slash line reads .256/.341/.435 and he'll retire with 193 home runs. He earned over $67MM in his career, according to Baseball-Reference.

The Red Sox, who had interest in re-signing Varitek to a minor league deal, will employ Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Kelly Shoppach and Ryan Lavarnway behind the plate this year. Interestingly, Varitek and longtime rival Jorge Posada retired during the same offseason.

Photo courtesy Icon SMI.

Danys Baez To Retire

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After a decade of pitching in the Major Leagues, Danys Baez will retire, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Legacy Sports Group represents the 34-year-old right-hander.

Baez broke in with the 2001 Indians and started 26 games for the Tribe the following season. He was soon converted to a closer and went on to save 25-plus games in three consecutive seasons for the Indians and Devil Rays. He posted a 6.25 ERA in 36 innings for the 2011 Phillies before getting released. The 2005 All-Star earned approximately $43MM in his career, according to Baseball-Reference.

Nationals Links: Zimmerman, Rizzo, Harper

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The Nationals signed franchise cornerstone Ryan Zimmerman to a six-year, $100MM extension over the weekend, and can now turn their full attention to Spring Training. Here are some links from the nation's capitol, starting with notes on baseball's newest $100MM man…

  • ESPN.com's Keith Law argues that Zimmerman should have had to prove his ability to stay healthy before obtaining such a large guarantee from the Nationals, who have promising third base prospect Anthony Rendon in their system.
  • Matt Swartz of FanGraphs compares Zimmerman to players who signed long-term deals at similar stages in their careers and concludes that comparable agreements have been worthwhile for teams in recent years.
  • Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com has the year-by-year breakdown of Zimmerman's extension. The third baseman will earn $12MM in 2012, $14MM each year from 2013-2018, and $18MM in 2019. The $18MM option for 2020 comes with a $2MM buyout. Zuckerman explains how the personal services contract and escalator payments fit into the deal.
  • Amanda Comak of The Washington Times notes (on Twitter) that a $10MM "personal services" provision raises the value of the new extension to exactly $100MM.
  • “It feels good,” said GM Mike Rizzo to Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post in the wake of the signing. “You have payroll certainty. You have control of players … And there’s a lot of comfort to the fact these guys are going to be together for a long time … And now we’re ready to take off.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports predicts that Bryce Harper will be with the Nationals early in the season, but not before April 25th. He notes that the outfielder must spend at least 20 days in the minors to delay his free agency by a year.

Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.

Yankees Sign Eric Chavez

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Eric Chavez is returning to the Yankees for 2012, officially signing a one-year, $900K deal with incentives.  Chavez, 35, will reprise his role as a backup corner infielder and DH for the Yanks. The left-handed hitter posted a .263/.320/.356 line with two homers in 175 plate appearances in the Bronx in 2011, his first season in New York after spending 13 in Oakland.

Though he was once one of the better all-around third basemen in baseball, Chavez has played in no more than 90 games over the past five seasons, so he is strictly a role player at this juncture of his career.

In a corresponding move, the Yankees transferred reliever David Aardsma to the 60-day DL.  Chris Dickerson was outrighted recently, so the team's 40-man roster count now stands at 39.

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports first tweeted the agreement on Tuesday, with Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports adding financial details.

Reds Extend Sean Marshall

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The Reds announced a three-year extension with lefty reliever Sean Marshall, which runs through 2015.  The contract is worth $16.5MM, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Rosenthal notes there's $2MM in performance bonuses each year, $1MM for games started and $1MM for games finished.  The 29-year-old has yet to throw a pitch for his new team, having been acquired from the Cubs in a December trade.  Marshall, a client of Meister Sports Management, was already under control through 2012 due to a previous two-year deal.

Marshall

With the new contract, Reds GM Walt Jocketty prevents one of the game's best relievers from reaching free agency after the season.  Since converting to relief full-time in 2010, the lanky southpaw owns a 2.45 ERA, 10.1 K/9, and 2.5 BB/9 over 150 1/3 innings, allowing just four home runs in that span.  Marshall's $16.5MM contract does not represent a discount, matching the high bar set for non-closing relievers by Joaquin Benoit, who signed as a free agent with the Tigers in November 2010.

As MLBTR's extension tracker shows, in recent times five other non-closer relievers have signed extensions heading into contract years: Ryan Madson of the Phillies, Rafael Soriano of the Braves, Dan Wheeler of the Rays, Matt Belisle of the Rockies, and Casey Janssen of the Blue Jays.  That's not to say Marshall won't end up closing if Madson departs the Reds after the season; we'll be monitoring the situation on Twitter @closernews.

For a look at the remaining relievers in the 2012-13 free agent class, check out our list here. 

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Tigers Haven’t Ruled Out Trading For Pitcher

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The Tigers have a strong rotation, with Doug Fister, Max Scherzer, and Rick Porcello behind reigning AL Cy Young and MVP Justin Verlander. The club does have some concerns about the fifth spot though, and assistant GM Al Avila told James Schmehl of MLive.com that they'll remain on the lookout for pitching help during Spring Training.

“We’ll be looking at other pitchers in other camps throughout spring training to see if there’s anything that makes sense for us,” said Avila.

Avila did emphasize that the Tigers are comfortable with their in-house fifth starter candidates, namely Andy Oliver, Jacob Turner, Duane Below, and Adam Wilk. There aren't many clubs with starting pitching to spare, but John Lannan is said to be on the market and would make sense as a left-handed complement to Detroit's four right-handers. That's just my speculation, however.

Which Starting Pitchers Will Be Traded This Summer?

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Five veteran starting pitchers were traded last summer: Edwin Jackson of the White Sox, Jason Marquis of the Nationals, Erik Bedard and Doug Fister of the Mariners, and Ubaldo Jimenez of the Rockies.  Jackson, Marquis, and Bedard were in contract years, while Fister and Jimenez are under control through 2015 and 2013, respectively.  The White Sox were 3.5 games out in the division, the Nationals 12 out in the wild card, the Mariners 15 out in the division, and the Rockies 10 games out in the division.  

These five deals demonstrate the difficulty of predicting summer trades — we don't know at which point each team considers itself out of contention, and there are always a few surprising non-contenders.  By normal criteria of long-term value, no one thought prior to the season that Jimenez would be dealt, regardless of the Rockies' fortunes.  The new collective bargaining agreement adds another wrinkle, in that players traded midseason are no longer eligible for draft pick compensation.  Even if they're not contending, the Nationals have added incentive to retain Jackson this summer, because they could make him a qualifying offer and potentially receive a draft pick, while another team cannot.

All that said, assessing potential non-contenders is a good starting point in predicting trade candidates.  It can be an offensive exercise, given the optimism spring training brings.  Still, the Orioles, Athletics, Mariners, Royals, Mets, Pirates, Astros, and Padres are unlikely to be popular preseason picks for the postseason.  The Blue Jays, Indians, White Sox, Cubs, Dodgers, and Rockies also have more than their fair share of question marks.

That pool covers half the teams in baseball.  Cross-reference that with starting pitchers who may be eligible for free agency after the 2012 season, and you get Scott Baker, Bedard, Bartolo Colon, Kevin Correia, Jorge De La Rosa, Ryan Dempster, R.A. Dickey, Gavin Floyd, Jeremy Guthrie, Francisco Liriano, Derek Lowe, Paul Maholm, Marquis, Brandon McCarthy, Kevin Millwood, Brett Myers, Carl Pavano, Jonathan Sanchez, and Jake Peavy as names to watch.  The Mariners will continue to receive inquiries on Felix Hernandez, though a deal involving Jason Vargas is more likely.  The Mets' Johan Santana and Mike Pelfrey will generate interest if they're pitching well, though Jonathon Niese is the long-term target.  We'll hear plenty more about the Astros' Wandy Rodriguez and the Cubs' Matt Garza.  The Padres' Tim Stauffer is an interesting under-the-radar target, as someone under control through 2013.  Similarly, the Indians could move Jimenez in the right midseason deal if they're out of contention. With a strong first half, perhaps the Pirates' A.J. Burnett could be flipped.  We haven't gotten much into contenders with rotation depth, but rumors involving Braves righty Jair Jurrjens could resurface.

If Felix remains unavailable, should we expect any true aces to hit the market?  The Giants have a pair in Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, if they dig a huge first-half hole.  The Rays could check the market on James Shields, and David Price is under control only for one year beyond Shields.  The Brewers and Marlins appear primed to contend, but if either team bombs, impending free agents Zack Greinke, Shaun Marcum, and Anibal Sanchez will be popular names.    

Reds, Sean Marshall Nearing Agreement On Extension

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MONDAY, 10:09am: Fay says Marshall will talk about the extension later today.  For now, the lefty commented, "I can't say anything. But I'm very happy."

SUNDAY, 2:11pm: John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets that GM Walt Jocketty also confirmed a deal is close and that the two sides want it done before games start.

MLB.com's Mark Sheldon adds that Jocketty says the deal could be done soon:

“We are talking to him,” Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said on Sunday. “It could be done soon. When we traded for him, it was also looking to sign him for the long term.”

11:49am: Marshall confirmed the report, saying that a deal could be worked out by tomorrow, tweets John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer (via Twitter).

11:16am: The Reds and Sean Marshall are making progress on a multiyear extension and a deal could be announced early this week, sources tell Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).  The left-hander is set to become a free agent after this season.

Marshall, 29, is set to earn $3.1MM in 2012 in the final season of a two-year deal he signed with the Cubs.  MLBTR's Dan Mennella recently looked at what it would take for the Reds to sign him to a new deal and noted that Meister Sports Management will likely use the three-year, $15MM deal lefty Scott Downs signed with the Angels as a starting point.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Top 2014 MLB Free Agents

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Extensions have a way of thinning the free agent herd.  The latest star player off the board is Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who was extended through at least 2019.  Zimmerman had been slated to hit free agency after the 2013 season.  The best players remaining in that far-off free agent class:

Corner Infielders

Middle Infielders

Corner Outfielders

Center Fielders

Catchers

Starting Pitchers

Relievers

Other Players Of Note

In the 2011-12 offseason, we saw five $100MM commitments to free agents, if you include Yu Darvish, who was subject to the posting system.  For the 2013-2014 offseason, Votto, Cano, Pence, Ellsbury, Lincecum, and Haren are good candidates, should they continue to produce and reach free agency.  Given that we're two full seasons away, a half-dozen others could enter the discussion if 2012 and '13 go well.

Quick Hits: Pierre, Garza, Coffey, Crane

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We're less than six weeks away from the first regular season game of 2012, and less than one week away from Spring Training games. Let's take a look at some odds and ends from around the league…

  • Phillies outfielder Juan Pierre can opt out of his minor league contract if he's not on the Major League roster on March 31, writes Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Pierre, however, is a leading candidate for a roster spot, notes Brookover.
  • The Cubs will have to double down on Matt Garza or trade him for a haul of prospects to make the best of his acquisition last offseason, opines Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune.
  • Dodgers reliever Todd Coffey took a circuitous route to the Majors, writes Tony Jackson of ESPNLA.com. Coffey was a 41st-round pick of the Reds under the now defunct draft-and-follow practice, but he instead accepted a nominal contract offer and began his professional career as a 17-year-old.
  • New Astros owner Jim Crane is well on his way to showing that he's a good MLB owner, writes Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.
  • It's time for the KBO to alter some of its policies, writes Allen Wolf of the Korea Times. Although this is an opinion piece, Wolf offers some interesting insights into the machinations of the KBO.

MLBTR's Dan Mennella contributed to this post.

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