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Archives for May 2012

Orioles To Extend Adam Jones

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6:29pm: It's a six-year, $85.5MM contract according to Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun (all four Twitter links). There is no seventh year option but there is a no-trade provision, and escalators could push the total value to $91.5MM. Jones will earn $8.5MM in 2013, $13MM in 2014 and 2015, $16MM in 2016 and 2017, and $17MM in 2018 with a $2MM signing bonus.

In terms of total value, it's the second largest largest contract among active center fielders behind Matt Kemp's eight-year, $160MM deal with the Dodgers.

SATURDAY, 5:27pm: Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports that the deal is done and an announcement could come today with a press conference tomorrow.

FRIDAY, 10:42am: The deal will cover six years and fall in the $85MM range, Rosenthal and Morosi report (on Twitter). This means the deal will buy out Jones' final arbitration year (presumably for $9-10MM) and five free agent seasons at approximately $15MM per year.

7:41am: Adam Jones is the best player on the first-place team in baseball's most competitive division and the Orioles aren't going to let him slip away. They are nearing a long-term contract extension with the center fielder, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports report (plus Twitter links).

Jones completed his physical yesterday and the sides are in the process of completing the final details of the contract. The Orioles are making a commitment "well north" of Miguel Tejada's six-year, $72MM contract and Nick Markakis' six-year, $66MM extension, Rosenthal and Morosi report. This means the CAA Sports client will sign the largest contract in Orioles history. Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun expects the deal to be for five or six years and $80-90MM.

Jones, 26, is earning $6.15MM this year as a second-time arbitration eligible player. The extension will buy out one year of arbitration eligibility and an unknown number of free agent seasons.

Jones is hitting .311/.357/.601 in 196 plate appearances this year. He's on his way to establishing career-highs in home runs (14 so far) and slugging percentage. Though he has a career on-base percentage of .322, his walk rate and on-base percentage are both on the rise.

Earlier this month Dave Cameron of FanGraphs compared Jones' breakout to Matt Kemp's 2011 season and suggested an extension in the $120-140MM range could work for both sides. Check out MLBTR's Extension Tracker for more comparable contracts.

Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Quick Hits: Marquis, Bourn, Nats, Athletics

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Links from around baseball as the Cubs look to snap their ten-game losing streak tonight in Pittsburgh..

  • Twins‬ GM Terry Ryan said Jason Marquis was placed on release waivers, tweets Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com.  Other clubs have 48 hours to claim Marquis, who was DFA'd on Tuesday.
  • Braves centerfielder Michael Bourn could be a possible target for the Nationals and while he wouldn't directly talk about playing for Washington, he told reporters that he likes what the club has to offer, writes MLB.com's Bill Ladson.  "They are good. They have some real good pitching," Bourn said. "They made some key acquisitions, and they have Gio Gonzalez over there now. They bring a good starter every night."
  • The Athletics met with Clorox CEO Don Knauss but the team is definitely not for sale and no offer was made, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Clorox and a handful of other East Bay Companies recently announced that they are working to keep the A's in Oakland with a new stadium.
  • Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com writes that the Athletics knew that they were getting a promising righty when they acquire Ryan Cook along with Jarrod Parker and Collin Cowgill in the Trevor Cahill trade, but they weren't expecting this kind of dominance.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Bill Hall

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The latest outright assignments from around baseball…

  • The Orioles announced that utility man Bill Hall cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk.  Hall, 32, was designated for assignment yesterday.  Hall inked a minor league deal with the Yankees in February but elected free agency in April.

D’Backs Sign Miguel Montero To Extension

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SATURDAY, 3:36pm: Montero will earn $10MM in 2013, $10MM in '14, $12MM in '15, $14MM in '16, and $14MM in '17, according to Keith Law of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

12:30pm: The team has officially announced the five-year extension with a press release.

FRIDAY: The Diamondbacks and catcher Miguel Montero have agreed to a five-year, $60MM contract extension, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). The deal is the richest in Arizona club history and is expected to be announced at a press conference tomorrow.  ESPN's Buster Olney reports (via Twitter) that the contract doesn't afford Montero any no-trade protection.

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The two sides had been discussing an extension over the winter and had seemingly tabled negotiations, though GM Kevin Towers said earlier this month that the D'Backs were open to in-season talks.  Montero was scheduled to hit free agency this winter and would have been one of the more sought-after players on the market.  Montero, an Octagon client, turns 29 in July.

Montero can probably thank Yadier Molina for his five-year, $75MM extension with the Cardinals in March that raised the bar for catcher contracts.  As Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic points out on Twitter, the D'Backs originally offered Montero a four-year, $32MM deal in late February before talks broke off.  Montero's wish for a contract similar to Victor Martinez's four-year, $50MM deal with the Tigers was more than granted in terms of length and dollars, if not in average annual value.  Still, Montero's contract will award him the fifth-highest AAV for any catcher — Martinez is not included in that group since he has mostly been a DH since going to Detroit.

Montero broke out in 2011, hitting .282/.351/.469 in 2011, making his first All-Star Game and leading the league by throwing out 40% of baserunners attempting to steal.  While his hitting has taken a step back (.255/.350/.343) thus far in 2012, his already-strong defense has improved even further, with a caught-stealing percentage of 59% (16 of 27).

Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas/US Presswire

Giants Won’t Rule Out Mid-Season Talks For Cabrera

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Giants General Manager Brian Sabean said that the "stars would have to align" for the club to extend Melky Cabrera during the season, according to Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com (via Twitter). However, the GM wouldn't completely rule out the possibility either.

Cabrera, 27, recently told reporters that he's happy playing in San Francisco and could be open to mid-season contract talks.  The outfielder is enjoying a strong start to the 2012 season, hitting .363/.409/.542 with three homers through 46 games. 

The Giants already have $80MM committed to next year's payroll and with possible extensions for Tim Lincecum and Buster Posey looming, the club may not have a great deal of room to retain Cabrera.  When and if the club sits down with Cabrera to hammer out a new deal, Sabean doesn't expect Adam Jones' impending six-year, $85MM extension to impact talks, Baggarly tweets.

Marlins Acquire Justin Ruggiano From Astros

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The Marlins have acquired outfielder Justin Ruggiano from the Astros in exchange for minor league catcher Jobduan Morales, according to Alyson Footer of the Astros (via Twitter). 

Ruggiano, 30, appeared in 46 big league games for the Rays in 2011 before signing a minor league deal with the Astros in February.  The outfielder was off to a strong start with Triple-A Oklahoma City this year, hitting .325/.409/.581 in 138 plate appearances.

Morales, 20, spent the bulk of the year with Miami's New York-Pennsylvania League affiliate, hitting .272/.385/.450 in 52 games.  The switch-hitter was the Marlins' ninth-round pick in 2009.

Poll: Mike Napoli’s Next Contract

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The catching market has changed substantially over the last several months. Yadier Molina paved the way with his five-year, $75MM contract, and yesterday Miguel Montero reaped the rewards. He agreed to a five-year, $60MM extension with the Diamondbacks, leaving Mike Napoli as the top catcher on the free agent market after the season.

Napoli, 30, is said to be seeking a deal somewhere between Victor Martinez’s (four years, $52MM) and Molina’s. He’s hitting just .233/.325/.436 in 154 plate appearances this season following last year’s breakout .320/.414/.631 campaign. Furthermore, Napoli has only started behind the plate in 25 of his team’s first 46 games.

Quality catching is very hard to find, which is why Molina and now Montero have cashed in so handsomely. Napoli is next in line for a huge contract despite his slow start to the season.

Sveum, Dempster Talk About Potential Moves

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The Cubs have the worst record in baseball (15-30) and they've lost their last ten games, the franchise's longest losing streak in 15 years. Manager Dale Sveum told Gordon Wittenmyer of The Chicago Sun-Times that the next few weeks will be important as they try to shape their roster going forward.

"You get to that point in the year where decisions, roster moves, a lot of things like that [have to be made]," he said. “You get to the point where if you’re not playing well things start changing a lot."

With extension talks between the team and Matt Garza reportedly going "very well," the Cubs' most marketable piece of trade bait is right-hander Ryan Dempster. The 35-year-old owns a 2.14 ERA in 54 2/3 innings spread across eight starts, and his walk (2.5 BB/9), home run (0.5 HR/9), and hit (7.1 H/9) rates are the best they've been in years.

"I’m not an idiot. I know how things go," he said. "I know how it goes with players in contract years and the team not necessarily doing like they’re supposed to be doing, there’s always a possibility of things. There’s a possibility of being traded anytime."

Dempster has full no-trade protection as a five-and-ten player, though he seems open to waiving it under the right circumstances.

"If it’s something they want to approach me with, then I’ll have to cross that bridge when I get to it," he said.

Dempster exercised his $14MM player option this past winter and is still owed approximately $10.1MM the rest of the season. The Cubs would have to offer Dempster a qualifying offer to receive draft pick compensation after the season, but if traded, his new club will not be eligible to receive picks under the new collective bargaining agreement.

Blue Jays Reject Offer From Japan For Jesse Chavez

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The Blue Jays have rejected an offer from the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks for pitcher Jesse Chavez according to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. The Hawks offered Toronto $1MM and would have paid the right-hander $3MM over two years. Chavez's agent Paul Cobbe declined to comment.

Chavez, 28, has pitched to a 3.72 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 58 innings across ten Triple-A starts. He owns a 5.36 ERA in 152 2/3 big league relief innings with the Pirates, Braves, and Royals. He's been involved in trades for Akinori Iwamura, Rafael Soriano, Rick Ankiel and Kyle Farnsworth. Toronto removed Chavez from the 40-man roster this offseason.

The Hawks released Brad Penny a few weeks ago and are presumably looking to replace the pitching depth.

Quick Hits: McLouth, Padres, Oswalt, Hamilton

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It's never a good sign for a team when its catcher has the game's best pitching line.  Jeff Mathis' scoreless inning of mop-up work made him the only Blue Jay hurler to not allow a run in the Rangers' 14-3 drubbing of the Jays.  Nelson Cruz swung the hottest Texas bat, going 4-for-5 with a home run and eight RBIs.

Here's some more news from around the majors…

  • The Angels have "no real interest" in Nate McLouth, reports MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez (Twitter link).  McLouth was designated for assignment by the Pirates earlier today.
  • Major League Baseball has given approval for three ownership groups to review the Padres' financial records as a step towards possibly buying the team, reports MLB.com's Barry M. Bloom.  The groups are respectively headed by Thomas Tull, Peter O'Malley and Steve Cohen.  Tony Gwynn is affiliated with Tull's group, while O'Malley and Cohen also recently bid to buy the Dodgers.
  • Roy Oswalt needs to show some compromise if he really wants to pitch for the Rangers, writes Evan P. Grant for the Dallas Morning News (subscription required).
  • The Rangers should be willing to pay Josh Hamilton $180MM+ to keep him from leaving as a free agent, opines Randy Galloway of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  "You don't let immense talent walk. Immense talent always stays. Even if you overpay, immense talent, the best talent in baseball, stays — warts, demons and all," Galloway says.
  • Juan Carlos Oviedo has received his visa and will arrive at the Marlins' minor league headquarters on Monday, reports Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  Oviedo and his representatives have not decided if they will appeal Oviedo's eight-week suspension for playing under a false identity as Leo Nunez.
  • The week's minor league transactions are recapped by Matt Eddy of Baseball America.

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