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Tigers Designate Thomas For Assignment

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The Tigers designated outfielder Clete Thomas for assignment, the Detroit Free Press tweets. The Tigers now have ten days to remove the left-handed hitting 28-year-old from their roster.

Thomas has appeared in three games this season, including today's contest against the Rays. He has a .253/.336/.391 line in 443 MLB plate appearances, most of which came during the 2008-09 campaigns. Thomas played for Triple-A Toledo last year, posting a .251/.314/.401 line in 406 plate appearances while playing all three outfield positions.

Rangers Extend Ian Kinsler

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The Rangers and Ian Kinsler have officially agreed to a five-year contract extension that will keep the second baseman in place through 2017. The deal is worth $75MM and includes an option for a sixth year.

Kinsler obtains $70MM in salary plus a $5MM buyout for the club option. The BBI Sports Group client doesn't obtain additional no-trade protection, though his ten and five rights will take effect midway through the deal, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.

The two sides were first said to be discussing an extension earlier in the offseason, but talks appeared to pick up steam over the last few weeks. The 29-year-old said he would prefer not to negotiate during the season, but the sides eventually resumed talks. The Rangers held a $10MM option for Kinsler's services next season, which is when the extension will kick in. The deal will keep him in Texas through 2017 and possibly 2018.

Kinsler is a .276/.356/.470 career hitter, though he put together his second 30-30 season in 2011. He also walked (89) more than he struck out (71) and finished 11th in the MVP voting. Kinsler is a two-time All-Star and has thrice finished in the top 26 of the MVP voting. UZR says his defense at second has been among the best at the position over the last three seasons. It's worth noting that 2011 was the first time Kinsler managed to avoid the disabled list in his six full big league seasons.

The contract easily surpasses Dan Uggla's five-year, $62MM with the Braves and may have impacted extension talks between the Reds and Brandon Phillips. Cincinnati recently locked Phillips up to a six-year, $72.5MM contract. Kinsler's deal could also serve as framework for an extension between the Yankees and Robinson Cano. At $14MM per year, Kinsler's contract is largest ever for a second baseman in terms of average annual value, at least until the Yankees exercise Cano's $15MM option for 2013. Chase Utley's seven-year, $85MM contract is still the richest total deal at the position.

Jeff Wilson of The Fort-Worth Star Telegram first reported the agreement (on Twitter) and Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News added the terms of the deal. Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.

New York Notes: Cano, Murphy, Phelps

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The Mets played their first game in franchise history on this date 50 years ago. The 1962 team was so bad they’ve since become the standard against which other poor teams are measured. To their credit, however, they turned things around before long and won their first World Series seven years later. Here are the latest links from New York…

  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post compares Ian Kinsler to Robinson Cano and wonders if Cano is really worth $5-10MM per year more than his counterpart in Texas. Sherman won’t be surprised if some teams are willing to pay Cano more than $20MM per year on a deal that could approach $200MM. 
  • The second baseman will hit free agency following the 2013 season, assuming the Yankees exercise his option this coming offseason. Sherman gets the sense that Cano would prefer to spend his entire career with the Yankees and GM Brian Cashman has said he views the 29-year-old as a possible Hall of Famer. 
  • Mike Axisa looked ahead to a possible Cano extension last night.
  • The Mets believe Daniel Murphy’s best position is third base, Sherman writes. Since David Wright won’t necessarily be in New York long-term, the Mets may want to see Murphy at the hot corner while Wright’s broken finger heals.
  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney points out that David Phelps may be emerging as an electric reliever for the Yankees.

Pirates Sign Rick VandenHurk

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The Pirates signed right-hander Rick VandenHurk, Matt Eddy of Baseball America tweets. VandenHurk had elected free agency last week after declining an outright assignment by the Indians.

Cleveland had designated the out of options 26-year-old for assignment after claiming him off of waivers from the Blue Jays. Toronto had signed him to a Major League contract in February, soon after the Orioles released him.

VandenHurk spent most of the 2011 season as a starter at Triple-A, where he posted a 4.43 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 154 1/3 innings. The native of the Netherlands has MLB experience in five seasons, but he appeared in just four games for last year's Orioles team.

Minor Moves: Anderson, Stetter, Greer

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We'll track the latest minor moves right here…

  • The Rockies signed right-handed reliever Brian Anderson, Matt Eddy of Baseball America tweets. The converted outfielder had been in camp with the Dodgers earlier this year.
  • The Brewers re-signed Mitch Stetter to a minor league deal and he reported to extended Spring Training, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy (on Twitter). The 31-year-old left-hander has appeared with the Brewers in each of the past five seasons, including 16 games a year ago. The Rangers had signed Stetter to a minor league deal this offseason.
  • The Nationals signed shortstop Brent Greer, according to MLB.com's transactions page. The 24-year-old spent the 2011 season at Class A, where he posted a .247/.306/.359 line in 246 plate appearances. The Diamondbacks selected Greer in the 14th round of the 2009 draft.

Quick Hits: Phillips, Dodgers, Dipoto

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The Athletics announced that right-hander Joey Devine will miss the season due to Tommy John surgery. It's his second time having the procedure, and he will have some other repairs made to his elbow as well. Here's the latest from around the league as Tuesday turns into Wednesday…

Extension Candidate: Robinson Cano

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Two of the game's best second basemen have agreed to contract extensions in the past 24 hours. Ian Kinsler took five years and $75MM from the Rangers while Brandon Phillips took six years and $72.5MM from the Reds, setting the market for elite players at the position. The Yankees and Robinson Cano were surely paying attention.

Uspw_6106016Cano, 29, will become a free agent after the Yankees exercise his no-brainer $15MM option for 2013. Kinsler – who is only five months older than Cano – was in a similar situation before signing his extension, with the Rangers holding a $10MM club option for 2013. The two are very different players – Cano hits for a much higher average while Kinsler offers some more power and speed – but they rate similarly in wins above replacement, or WAR. Since the start of 2009, Cano has compiled 16.3 WAR while Kinsler is at 15.8 WAR according to FanGraphs.

The two players may be similar, but Cano's credentials give him a better shot at a huge contract. He's a three-time All-Star, has twice finished in the top six of the MVP voting, was the Rookie of the Year Award runner-up in 2005, and has played in at least 159 games in each of the last five seasons. Kinsler is a two-time All-Star, has zero top-ten finishes in the MVP voting, and made at least one trip to the DL in five of his six big league seasons. Cano also has gaudier RBI totals, and that stuff pays.

Kinsler's extension contains the largest average annual value ($14MM) ever given a second baseman, though that will change when Cano's option is exercised. I'm sure the Yankees would love to give their second baseman the same five-year, $75MM contract Kinsler received, but that would represent a pay cut for Cano based on his salary for next season. Cano hired Scott Boras last February, and a player usually doesn't hire the super-agent so close to free agency unless he's looking for a monster payday.

Fair or not, the Yankees are going to have to give their second baseman a contract larger than what Kinsler and Phillips received if they intend to keep him beyond next season. Cano is primed for a six or seven-year guarantee with an annual salary somewhere in the $15-20MM range. If he takes a step forward and wins an MVP award this year or next, he could command even more on the open market. The Yankees insist on not negotiating new contracts until the current one expires, but they broke that policy once for Cano and it would not be surprising if they did it again.

Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

White Sox Acquire Jose Castro

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Let's keep track of the day's minor moves right here…

  • The White Sox have acquired infielder Jose Castro from the Reds according to Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune (on Twitter). He was assigned to Triple-A Charlotte. Castro, 25, hit .306/.343/.354 in 318 plate appearances in Cincinnati's minor league system last year. He's a .262/.307/.314 career hitter in the minors and has never played in the big leagues.

Brewers, Zack Greinke Suspend Extension Talks

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The Brewers and Zack Greinke have agreed to suspend contract extension talks, GM Doug Melvin told reporters (including MLB.com's Adam McCalvy) this afternoon. Melvin said the two sides could re-start talks at a later date, but nothing is scheduled at the moment.

Greinke, 28, recently hired agent Casey Close and the two sides were talking as recently as last week. The right-hander is scheduled to become a free agent after the season, and it's been speculated that Matt Cain's new five-year, $112.5MM extension with the Giants could serve as framework for a deal. Greinke will earn $13.5MM this summer and figures to be the best righty on the open market next winter.

Quick Hits: Dodgers, Pujols, Lannan

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Jackie Robinson signed a Major League contract with Dodgers GM Branch Rickey on this date in 1947. Robinson played in his first MLB game five days later and went on to be named Rookie of the Year. Here are some notes from around MLB on the anniversary of that historic day…

  • Things are looking up for the Dodgers now that they've put 2011 behind them and are about to undergo an ownership transition, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports writes.
  • Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com suggests the Cardinals will be fine this season, even with longtime star Albert Pujols playing for the Angels.
  • The Orioles, Cubs, Tigers, Red Sox, Astros and Tigers have expressed interest in John Lannan, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. However, the Nationals are inclined to hold onto the left-hander. "We feel he's a solid major-league starting pitcher," GM Mike Rizzo said. "But we feel we have five guys who are better than him." The Tigers haven't ruled Lannan out, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets.
  • High school center fielder Byron Buxton and college catcher Mike Zunino top Keith Law's list of amateur player eligible for this summer's draft (ESPN Insider link).

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