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Heyman On Greinke, Red Sox, Wright

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Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com has the latest from a handful of MLB owners…

  • Brewers owner Mark Attanasio told Heyman he wants to sign Zack Greinke to a long-term deal. "Sure, why not? We'd like to keep him,” Attanasio said. Greinke, a free agent this offseason, said he likes playing in Milwaukee. "Good owner. Good guys in management. Good guys in the clubhouse. Really good, really good,'' Greinke said. It’s likely Greinke will ask for a $100MM contract this offseason, and that would be a lot for the small-market Brewers to commit.
  • Red Sox owner Tom Werner told Heyman that manager Bobby Valentine is "absolutely" doing fine (Twitter link).
  • Mets owner Fred Wilpon told Heyman that he hopes to retain David Wright long-term (Twitter links). Wilpon says his third baseman is "a great kid and a great player."

Brewers Sign Claudio Vargas

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The Brewers have signed right-hander Claudio Vargas to a minor league deal, according to his agency, Metis Sports Management. The eight-year MLB veteran will report to Triple-A Nashville, where he'll start. 

Vargas, 33, retired last summer then signed with the Vaqueros Laguna of the Mexican League in time for the 2012 season. He posted a 7.32 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 17 relief appearances for the Brewers in 2010, his most recent campaign in the Major Leagues. He has since pitched in the minor leagues for the Dodgers and Rockies. 

2013 Contract Issues: Houston Astros

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The Astros are next in MLBTR’s 2013 Contract Issues series:

Eligible For Free Agency (2)

  • Carlos Lee – Lee appears to want to stay in Houston and the Astros will need a designated hitter next year when they move to the American League West. If he's willing to re-sign for a tenth of his 2012 salary ($18MM) maybe the Astros will be interested.
  • Brandon Lyon – Lyon's hot start makes him a midseason trade candidate who could be gone before the offseason begins. Neither Lyon nor Lee should expect a qualifying offer from Houston next offseason.

Contract Options (2)

  • Brett Myers: $10MM club option with a $3MM buyout. Option vests with approximately 55 games finished. A $7MM net cost might be a luxury for a rebuilding team, even though Myers could probably help Houston in 2013. He's another midseason trade candidate to keep an eye on.
  • Chris Snyder: $4MM mutual option with a $500K buyout. Mutual options are rarely exercised by both sides. They sometimes exist to defer salary from one season to the next. 

Arbitration Eligible (7)

The Astros will face a relatively affordable class of arbitration eligible players. Happ ($2.35MM in '12), Lowrie ($1.15MM) and Buck ($580K) will obtain raises but will remain affordable. Lopez and Wright, two non-closing relievers, both figure to cost the Astros $1MM or so next year. I think Norris could earn $3.5-4MM via arbitration as a first-time eligible player if his strong season continues. There's a good chance the Astros' eligible players will return for a total of $15MM or less in 2013.

2013 Payroll Obligation

The Astros are spending approximately $61MM on payroll in 2012, their first season under owner Jim Crane and GM Jeff Luhnow. They only have $17MM in commitments for 2013, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts. Expect Luhnow to have more payroll flexibility than he did last offseason when he transitions the team to the American League next winter.

Extension Candidate: Melky Cabrera

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Even though Melky Cabrera enjoyed a surprisingly productive 2011 campaign, it's safe to say that the outfielder has been a surprise this season as well, as few (outside of the Giants front office, that is) expected Cabrera to top himself. 

Melky Cabrera - Giants (PW)

Cabrera broke out with a .305/.339/.470 slash line with the Royals last year, a performance that moved the Giants to acquire him in exchange for a promising young left-hander in Jonathan Sanchez.  It seemed like a risky deal at the time given that Cabrera had just one quality season under his belt, but while Sanchez has struggled in Kansas City, Cabrera has excelled in his return to the National League.  Cabrera carried a .338/.386/.490 line into Tuesday's action and his hot bat has been a blessing for a San Francisco lineup that was struggling to score runs even before Pablo Sandoval's hand injury.

Giants GM Brian Sabean told Gwen Knapp of the San Francisco Chronicle that the team was open to discussing a contract extension with Cabrera.  The club usually prefers to not negotiate during the season but, with Cabrera scheduled to hit free agency after this season, the Giants could get a head start on locking up the outfielder before he reaches the open market.  For his part, Cabrera has said he enjoys playing in San Francisco, so appears to be some interest on both sides to get a deal done.

Cabrera avoided arbitration for the third time by signing a $6MM contract with the Giants in January — a nice step up from the $1.25MM free agent deal he signed with the Royals after being non-tendered by the Braves following the 2010 season.  Cabrera is a unique case when it comes to comparables, as shown by a quick look at the MLBTR Extension Tracker.  The ACES client turns 28 in August, will have over six years of service time once this season is complete and, of course, has just one above-average Major League season to his credit plus what he's done thus far in 2012. 

Cabrera has a .376 BABIP, which is a sign that his numbers are soon due to come down to earth.  It might be a wise move for the Giants to wait out the season to make sure Cabrera can keep hitting, as while waiting might cost the team a few extra dollars to re-sign him in the offseason, they'd have more peace of mind that they're making a solid investment. 

If the Giants were to jump the gun and extend Cabrera now, something like a three-year/$24MM contract would be fair for both sides.  If the Giants wait and Cabrera still has an .876 OPS by season's end, his price tag will rise to the $9-$10MM per season range on the open market.  It seems expensive given Cabrera's spotty career history but, given how big bats are becoming hard to find in free agency, several teams will show interest in a corner outfielder in his prime years who managed big numbers in pitcher-friendly AT&T Park.

As MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith recently pointed out in his look at the Giants' 2013 contract issues, the team has already committed $80MM to next year's payroll.  The Giants are also looking to extend Tim Lincecum and may look into an extension for Buster Posey to cover their franchise catcher's arbitration years, so there might be relatively little money left over to extend Cabrera as well.  This could be an added reason for the team to move now and sign Cabrera at more of a bargain price, but since this is also the team that has spent unwisely on several veterans (i.e. Miguel Tejada, Aubrey Huff, Edgar Renteria, Mark DeRosa), a bit of caution could be prudent.      

Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Quick Hits: Hatcher, Wright, Giants, Duffy, Draft

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The Angels announced that Mickey Hatcher has been removed from his job as the team's hitting coach.  Hatcher will be replaced by Jim Eppard, who had been the hitting coach at Triple-A Salt Lake City.  This was Hatcher's 13th year as the Angels' hitting coach, and his firing is surely a response to the club's overall lack of offense this season, particularly from Albert Pujols.  (Ironically, Pujols hit three singles in today's 4-0 win over the A's.)  Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times thinks this move came from owner Arte Moreno and is another sign that GM Jerry Dipoto is in charge of the team, not Mike Scioscia (both Twitter links).

Here are some items from around the majors…

  • David Wright told Adam Rubin of ESPN New York that he hasn't been approached by the Mets about a contract extension and he hasn't thought about the possibility of in-season negotiations.  We heard on Sunday that the Mets will likely offer Wright a multiyear contract, possibly sometime this summer.
  • Melky Cabrera and Angel Pagan, both free agents after the season, told Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that they'd be open to midseason contract talks with the Giants but are both just focused on baseball for now.
  • Danny Duffy's Tommy John surgery is just the latest blow in what has been a hard-luck season for the Royals, writes Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star.  The Royals will essentially lose a year of control over Duffy (who will accumulate service time while on the DL) and "the pressure on the Royals…to sign a frontline starting pitcher this winter just intensified," said Mellinger.
    Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/05/14/3610785/royals-pain-continues-with-duffys.html#storylink=cpy
  • High school outfielder Byron Buxton holds the top spot in Baseball America's ranking of the top 100 prospects in the June amateur draft.  The Astros hold the #1 overall selection.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney looks at ten starting pitchers who could be trade candidates this summer.
  • The early results of last offseason's trades are evaluated by MLB.com's Joey Nowak.
  • Marlins Park is proving to be very pitcher-friendly, but Marlins president David Samson told reporters (including Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post) that the team wasn't planning to move in the fences after the season.

NL Central Notes: Rizzo, Pirates, Appel, Cardinals

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The Cardinals snapped a four-game losing streak with a 7-6 win over the Cubs this afternoon.  Yadier Molina was the hero for St. Louis, delivering a walkoff RBI single to cinch the victory.  Here's the latest from around the NL Central…

  • Theo Epstein was hesitant to make the trade that brought Anthony Rizzo to the Cubs since Epstein didn't want to give up Andrew Cashner, reports Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago.  It was Cubs GM Jed Hoyer who "aggressively pushed" for the deal.  Levine covers a number of different Cubs (and White Sox) topics in this online chat with readers.
  • The Pirates aren't likely to make a trade to address their hitting problems, GM Neal Huntington told reporters (including Karen Price of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review).  “There are very, very few trades of substance made in May and there are few trades of substance made in June, so our solutions are going to have to come internally unless we’re willing to be less than intelligent and dramatically overpay. That’s just the way it is," Huntington said.  “We’re certainly looking externally, but the extra wild card has made it that much more of a challenge. There are fewer sellers out there, and we’re going to have to be creative.”
  • ESPN's Keith Law (Insider subscription required) has released his first 2012 mock draft and he projects the Astros to take Stanford right-hander Mark Appel with the first overall pick.  "The general feeling is that they'll take the college arm over the higher-upside, higher-risk outfielder, Byron Buxton," Law writes, though he notes that Houston's decision could also be determined by which player is willing to sign for the lowest price beneath the $7.2MM slot figure for the first pick.
  • Carlos Beltran and Rafael Furcal's hot starts have fueled the Cardinals' big offensive numbers, writes Scott Miller for CBS Sports.

Rockies Notes: Coaches, Front Office, Rogers

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With the Rockies off to an underwhelming 13-21 start, there is no shortage of speculation about what the team could do to shake things up.  Let's check the latest news out of Coors Field…

  • GM Dan O'Dowd tells Troy Renck of the Denver Post that he doesn't plan to make any changes to the Rockies' coaching staff.  "It's been frustrating for everyone involved, for our fans, for the players, for everyone. But I don't sense that we are that point (where there would be changes). That's not how we do business," O'Dowd said.  Renck points out that the Rockies "are historically patient with personnel decisions and almost never act during the season."  While Colorado signed manager Jim Tracy to an indefinite contract extension last winter, Renck notes that the club wanted to keep Tracy as part of the overall management team, not necessarily as the on-field manager.
  • "If 2012 turns out to be a disaster, Rockies ownership must take a very hard look at the entire front office," writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post as part of a reader mailbag.  
  • Troy Renck writes that Colorado is keeping Esmil Rogers on the Major League roster since the right-hander is out of options and the Rockies don't want to risk exposing Rogers to waivers.  Rogers has a 9.18 ERA in 16 2/3 innings with the Rockies this season, while the more effective Carlos Torres was just optioned to Triple-A to make room for Jeremy Guthrie's return from the disabled list. 

AL East Notes: Bergesen, Wakefield, Youkilis

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The injury bug continues to bite notable AL East players.  The Yankees put closer David Robertson on the 15-day DL with a strained left oblique, while Rays starter Jeff Niemann will miss the next 4-6 weeks after suffering a broken fibula during last night's game in Toronto.  Rafael Soriano will take over as New York's new closer while the Rays will call up either Alex Cobb or Chris Archer to take Niemann's spot in the rotation.

Here's some other news from around the division…

  • The Orioles haven't put Brad Bergesen on waivers since they're still trying to trade the right-hander, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.  The O's designated Bergesen for assignment on Saturday.
  • "The fire to compete is still there," Tim Wakefield tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link), but while retirement is "difficult," the knuckleballer said he's enjoying spending time with his family.  The Red Sox honored Wakefield with a pregame ceremony before their 5-0 win over the Mariners this afternoon at Fenway Park.
  • David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News speculates about a Kevin Youkilis-for-Joe Blanton trade between the Red Sox and Phillies.  I don't see the Red Sox making that deal, as I'm not sure Blanton could replicate his current good form in the AL East, nor is he necessarily even a clear upgrade over any of Boston's current rotation.

Latest On Orioles, Dontrelle Willis

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May 15th: The Orioles removed Willis from the restricted list and assigned him to Class A, the Orioles' Triple-A affiliate announced (Twitter link).

May 9th: Willis has agreed to drop his grievance, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports. The Orioles will allow him to start in the minor leagues once he builds up arm strength at extended Spring Training.

April 24th: Left-hander Dontrelle Willis will file a grievance against the Orioles following the club's decision to place him on the restricted list, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports. Willis recently left the Orioles' Triple-A team after a disagreement about his role in the organization.

Orioles executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette told CBSSports.com yesterday that Willis left Triple-A Norfolk without permission, but the pitcher's agent, Matt Sosnick, says Willis did obtain permission from the Orioles to leave. Willis can't sign with another club while on the restricted list, so Willis and Sosnick are frustrated.

"We're talking about a minor league player that Baltimore has relatively no financial investment in whatsoever," Sosnick told Crasnick. "It's the dumbest thing ever and a waste of everybody's time. Dan [Duquette] has had a thousand chances to ratchet this down a notch, and all he's done is ratchet it up."

Duquette told Jon Heyman yesterday that he hopes Willis will return and pitch effectively out of the bullpen. However, it sounds as though Willis would prefer to move on.

Rosenthal On Braves, Dempster, Rizzo, Astros

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One scout told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that the work of the Braves’ hitting instructors and the performance of Kris Medlen has made the difference for the team so far in 2012. Atlanta GM Frank Wren agrees with that assessment, according to Rosenthal, who offers notes and rumors from around the league in his latest column:

  • The Cubs are more likely to trade Ryan Dempster if they sign Matt Garza to an extension. However, Dempster’s ten and five rights allow him to veto any trade, so he’ll have leverage if the Cubs look to make a move. It doesn’t seem likely that Dempster will sign a below-market extension to stay in Chicago, Rosenthal writes.
  • The Cubs don’t have immediate plans to call up Anthony Rizzo, who figures to stay in the minor leagues until an opening emerges.
  • Releasing Alfonso Soriano doesn’t appear to be an option; the outfielder has approximately $50MM remaining on his contract with the Cubs.
  • General managers criticize the collective bargaining agreement, Rosenthal reports. Some low-revenue teams dislike spending restrictions on the draft, since they feel the limitations will drive up the price of MLB talent.
  • Chien-Ming Wang, who is now rehabbing at Triple-A, could be valuable insurance for the Nationals, since they’ve decided to cap Stephen Strasburg’s innings.
  • Brett Myers’ 2013 option likely vests with approximately 55 games finished, Rosenthal suggests. The right-hander will obtain a $500K bonus if the Astros trade him.
  • One scout says Blue Jays catching prospect Travis D’Arnaud looks like Russell Martin did with the Dodgers.

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