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Archives for June 2012

Platform Years For First-Time Eligible Starters

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 7, 2012 at 3:38pm CDT

Clayton Kershaw's salary jumped from $500K to $7.5MM this year, and it wasn't just because of his Cy Young performance. Kershaw qualified for arbitration for the first time in his career over the winter, so he obtained the right to establish his salary by comparing his production to that of his peers.

James McDonald (Pirates) - PW

Though $7MM raises are reserved for elite performers like Kershaw, many first-time eligible starting pitchers will see their salaries rise from $500K or so to $2-4.5MM this coming offseason. A player’s case depends in large part on his career numbers, but his most recent season, or platform year, matters a great deal. 

Advanced statistics like xFIP, wins above replacement and swinging strike rate don't generally figure in to arbitration cases. Instead, traditional stats such as innings, starts, wins and ERA determine players' salaries.

With one third of the season now complete, let’s check in on the prominent starting pitchers on track to be first-time arbitration eligible this coming offseason:

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Arb 1 Pitchers for 2012-13

Injuries have limited Jhoulys Chacin, Doug Fister, Marco Estrada, Chris Narveson and Neftali Feliz. All of these pitchers are on the disabled list, none of them are on pace to complete 150 innings, and three of them — Estrada, Fister and Chacin — remain winless.

Phil Humber and Tommy Hunter have stayed healthy, but they’re off to disappointing starts that include losing records and ERAs above 5.50. The homer-prone Hunter is pitching at Triple-A, and could soon be recalled. The collective bargaining recognizes special accomplishments, and Humber's perfect game definitely qualifies, so his representatives at Moye Sports Associates could play it up should the sides go to a hearing. Yet there's no clear conversion rate in place to help value Humber's perfecto.

Brian Matusz and Ross Detwiler both spent considerable time in the minor leagues last year, but they've responded with solid seasons to date. Both will head to arbitration with losing records, however, and Matusz's career ERA sits at 5.32.

Bud Norris, Ian Kennedy, Tommy Hanson, Mat Latos and, to a lesser extent, Mike Leake all entered the season with the bulk innings totals that often lead to generous salaries in arbitration. All five pitchers continue piling up innings, though Leake, Latos and Norris have ERAs above 4.50. The pitchers in this group figure to be compared against one another over and over this coming winter.

Former top prospects Jeff Samardzija and James McDonald (pictured) are enjoying breakout seasons. Both right-handers have career-best walk rates and are averaging one strikeout per inning. If they can keep this up — or at least come reasonably close to doing so — their paychecks will reflect the improvements in 2013 and beyond. Unfortunately for Samardzija, starters Rick Porcello and David Price didn't seem to be able to use their generous pre-arbitration salaries to boost their arbitration earnings this past offseason, so his current $2.64MM salary probably won't help much.

It's early enough for the fortunes of these pitchers to change dramatically. Feliz could return to the bullpen, Fister could replicate last year's second half success, or Samardzija could regress. But, ten-plus starts into the season, these pitchers' platform seasons have started taking shape.

Photo courtesy of US Presswire. Stats via Baseball-Reference.com. Note that Derek Holland and Jonathon Niese signed extensions covering what would have been their first arb years. Madison Bumgarner, Stephen Strasburg and Daniel Hudson are expected to fall just shy of super two eligibility, though that's not official.

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Uncategorized Brian Matusz Bud Norris Chris Narveson Doug Fister Ian Kennedy James McDonald Jeff Samardzija Jhoulys Chacin Mat Latos Mike Leake Neftali Feliz Phil Humber Ross Detwiler Tommy Hanson Tommy Hunter

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Braves Sign Lucas Sims

By Zachary Links | June 7, 2012 at 2:35pm CDT

THURSDAY: Sims will obtain a bonus of $1.65MM, David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (on Twitter). The Braves announced that they have signed Sims (Twitter link).

WEDNESDAY: Braves scouting director Tony DeMacio revealed that the club agreed to sign first round pick Lucas Sims, according to Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  The right-hander from Georgia's Brookwood High School was tabbed with the 21st overall pick.  Terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed but the pick has a suggested bonus of $1.825MM.

In addition to Sims, the Braves also reached agreement with their other top five selections.  That includes second round pick Alex Wood (left-handed pitcher), third round pick Bryan De La Rosa (catcher), fourth round selection Justin Black (center fielder, already signed), fifth rounder Blake Brown (right fielder), and sixth round pick Josh Elander (catcher).

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2012 Amateur Draft Atlanta Braves Transactions

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Royals Sign Third-Round Pick Colin Rodgers

By Tim Dierkes | June 7, 2012 at 1:37pm CDT

The Royals have signed third-round draft pick Colin Rodgers, MLBTR has learned.  The Louisiana high school southpaw signed for $700K, exceeding MLB's slot of $476,500 for the 100th overall pick.  Rodgers is represented by Tripper Johnson of Sosnick Cobbe Sports.

Rodgers, who had committed to Auburn, told Justin Hokanson of AuburnSports.com he had a tentative agreement with the Royals but had yet to make a final decision.  Baseball America ranked Rodgers 207th on their top 500, grading the lefty's curveball as plus when he's at his best.

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2012 Amateur Draft Kansas City Royals Transactions

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Rangers Designate John Gaub For Assignment

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 7, 2012 at 11:13am CDT

The Rangers designated left-hander John Gaub for assignment, Anthony Andro of FOXSportsSouthwest.com reports (on Twitter). The team is placing Derek Holland on the disabled list and calling up Tanner Scheppers in corresponding moves.

The Rangers recently claimed Gaub off of waivers from the Rays, who had claimed him from the Cubs earlier this year. Gaub, 27, has a 3.43 ERA with 10.7 K/9 and 6.0 BB/9 in 21 innings for the top affiliates of the Rays and Rangers in 2012. He appeared in four games for the Cubs last season and has a 3.69 ERA with 11.7 K/9 and 6.3 BB/9 across parts of four Triple-A seasons. 

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Texas Rangers Transactions

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Regular MLBTR Features

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 7, 2012 at 11:06am CDT

If you're a regular MLBTR reader, you'll be familiar with our chats, our Week In Review posts and Mike Axisa's Baseball Blogs Weigh In feature. Here's some more detail on when you'll see our weekly features and exactly what to expect from them:

  • MLBTR Chats - Come by every Wednesday at 2pm CDT to chat about the latest trades, signings and rumblings around the Major Leagues.
  • Baseball Blogs Weigh In - Every Friday morning, Mike Axisa directs you to some of the best writing on baseball blogs around the web. Whether it's opinion, stats or something else entirely, you can connect to the best of the blogosphere once a week on MLBTR. If you want to send Mike a post of yours, reach him at: mike@riveraveblues.com.
  • Week In Review - It's remarkable how much happens in seven days. Every Sunday night, we summarize the week's biggest stories in our Week In Review posts.
  • MLBTR Originals - We gather all our original analysis and reporting in one place every Sunday night.
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NL East Notes: Galvis, Halladay, Harper

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 7, 2012 at 9:50am CDT

The Phillies announced that they placed infielder Freddy Galvis on the 15-day disabled list and recalled utility player Michael Martinez from Triple-A. Here are some links from the NL East…

  • Roy Halladay intends to win a World Series in Philadelphia, but Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports doesn't consider the Phillies a championship caliber team given their age and declining performances. Halladay said he aims to retire as a Phillie — a more attainable goal in Morosi's view. Because of Halladay's DL stint, he's on track for free agency following the 2013 season unless he completes 225 innings next year and 415 innings total over 2012-13.
  • Bryce Harper's historically hot start has caught his teammates' attention, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. The 19-year-old outfielder is on track to finish the season with a historically high OPS for someone so young. Harper, who knows fellow top prospect Mike Trout personally, says he'd enjoy playing with Trout — as long as it's with the Nationals. “I don’t want to leave here, I can tell you that,” Harper said.
  • The Nationals announced that they recalled Tyler Moore from Triple-A and placed Carlos Maldonado on the 15-day disabled list.
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Philadelphia Phillies Washington Nationals Bryce Harper Roy Halladay

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Diamondbacks Notes: Drew, Upton, Bauer, Trahan

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 7, 2012 at 8:12am CDT

It’s been a busy week for the Diamondbacks, not only because of the draft, but because of the public admission from managing partner Ken Kendrick that he’s disappointed in Stephen Drew and Justin Upton. Here are some notes on the team via Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic…

  • GM Kevin Towers said Kendrick has the right to make bold comments, even if they don’t often occur in Arizona. “That happens in New York City about once a month, and in Boston and other places,” Towers said. “It kind of shocks everybody when it happens out here because you don’t see it happen that often.”
  • Towers said the Diamondbacks aren’t really looking for ways to add top pitching prospect Trevor Bauer to the big league team. The GM noted that Bauer has done basically everything the team has asked of him in the upper minors.
  • Scouting director Ray Montgomery said the Diamondbacks and first round selection Stryker Trahan are “in an area where [the sides] both feel like [they're] going to get something done,” as we heard from Piecoro last night.
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Arizona Diamondbacks Justin Upton Stephen Drew Trevor Bauer

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Quick Hits: Street, Soler, Mets, Prior, Draft

By Zachary Links | June 6, 2012 at 11:04pm CDT

Links from around baseball as Wednesday becomes Thursday..

  • Padres closer Huston Street is excited to return to action but is also aware that he might not stay long with the trade deadline less than two months away, writes Dan Hayes of the North County Times.  Street is earning $7.5MM this season with a $9MM team option for 2013 that can be bought out for just $500K.
  • A number of teams seem to be in on Jorge Soler, but it doesn't appear that the Mets will be one of them.  Despite the recent Bernie Madoff settlement, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (via Twitter) hears that the club still doesn't plan to pursue him.
  • Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal spoke with Mark Prior about his latest effort to get back to the big leagues with the Red Sox.  Boston signed the right-hander to a minor league deal last month.
  • Agent Scott Boras told Bob Nightengale of USA Today that he believes the draft has become a "mockery" after the changes to the rules under the new collective bargaining agreement.
  • Major League Baseball vice president/baseball development Jimmie Lee Solomon has been fired by commissioner Bud Selig, industry sources confirm to Eric Fisher of the Sporting News.  Solomon spent 21 years working with MLB. Josh Leventhal of Baseball America first reported the news on Tuesday.
  • Matthew Leach of MLB.com previews the upcoming trade deadline and the teams that are straddling the fence between buying and selling.
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Boston Red Sox New York Mets San Diego Padres Jorge Soler

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Diamondbacks Unlikely To Trade For Kevin Youkilis

By Zachary Links | June 6, 2012 at 10:54pm CDT

The D'Backs have not spoken to the Red Sox regarding Kevin Youkilis, a source with knowledge of the situation told Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com.  The source also termed Youkilis’ possible acquisition as a “long, long shot” because of financial reasons. 

If the Diamondbacks do decide to pursue Youkilis, left-hander Joe Saunders seems the most likely candidate to be involved, but the source said that it's "unlikely" that the club is looking to trade Saunders.  The 30-year-old has a 3.65 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 through eleven starts.

Arizona stretched their budget to $75MM when they inked free agents Jason Kubel and Joe Saunders last winter and would have to dump salary to make any deal work.  Youkilis, 33, is earning $12MM this season and a $13MM option for 2013 that can be bought out for $1MM.

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Arizona Diamondbacks Boston Red Sox Kevin Youkilis

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Cubs Notes: Garza, Soler

By Zachary Links | June 6, 2012 at 10:33pm CDT

A couple of items on the 19-37 Cubs..

  • The Cubs are saying that they'll try to sign Matt Garza, but rival GMs believe that there is a decent chance of a trade, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  It could come down to an AL East battle for his services, Heyman adds, with the Yankees, Red Sox, and Blue Jays all in the mix.
  • The Cubs were one of several teams that had representatives at Jorge Soler's workout today, writes Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com.  Cubs GM Jed Hoyer admitted that the club has done their fair share of homework on the highly-touted prospect.  “We’ve been following this carefully and we certainly plan to be involved," Hoyer said.
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Boston Red Sox Chicago Cubs New York Yankees Toronto Blue Jays Jorge Soler

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