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A’s Will Continue Negotiating With Drew

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The A's declined their half of Stephen Drew's mutual $10MM option earlier today, but assistant general manager David Forst told Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group that the team will continue to negotiate with the shortstop. Forst feels that the team has reason to be optimistic, but $10MM wasn't a number they were comfortable with (All Twitter links).

Drew was injured for much of the 2012 season and was acquired by the A's in an August trade. Drew hit .250/.326/.382 with five homers in 39 games for the AL West Champions. Overall on the year, however, Drew's triple-slash line was a meager .223/.309/.348.

The A's traded 2012 Opening Day starter Cliff Pennington to Drew's former team, the Diamondbacks, earlier this month, so there's a clear need at shortstop. Drew represents one of the better shortstop options on this season's free agent market in spite of his diminished production, meaning GM Billy Beane will have some competition.

Drew, who is represented by Scott Boras, received a $1.35MM buyout when the A's bought out their half of his option.

Blue Jays Notes: Bullpen, Romero, Johnson, Villanueva

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MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm provides a look at the Blue Jays upcoming offseason and tackles a host of free agent issues in the process:

  • Of the team's four free agents — Kelly Johnson, Brandon Lyon, Jason Frasor and Carlos Villanueva — the most likely to return is Frasor or Lyon. The bullpen has become a position of depth, however, with the acquisitions of Steve Delabar and Brad Lincoln. Sergio Santos should return in 2013 as well. That could mean all four free agents will find new homes.
  • The team has no interest in shopping Ricky Romero and selling on the left-hander when his value is at an all-time low.
  • There doesn't appear to be much interest in retaining Johnson, according to Chisholm. The team once had eyes on bringing Marco Scutaro back to Toronto, but his torrid run with the Giants has likely made him too spendy. Instead, Adeiny Hechavarria or Mike Aviles could take the role.
  • The Blue Jays aren't willing to give Villanueva a multi-year deal and an opportunity to pitch out of the rotation — two things that the free agent is seeking. He'll likely pitch elsewhere in 2013.
  • Anibal Sanchez will probably get an "extended look," according to Chisholm, but it's more likely that GM Alex Anthopoulos will upgrade the rotation via trade.

Minor Moves: Gomez, Ekstrom, Walters

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Here's a look at some of the Minor League signings that have come in tonight…

  • The Brewers have re-signed infielder Hector Gomez to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training, the team informed MLBTR via email. Other non-roster invitees for the Brewers currently include right-hander Darren Byrd and catcher Dayton Buller. The 24-year-old Gomez once cracked Baseball America's Top 100 Prospect list (No. 95 in 2008) but hit just .131 in 95 minor league plate appearances last season.
  • The Athletics have signed right-hander Mike Ekstrom to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, according to MLB.com's Jane Lee. Ekstrom pitched 15 2/3 innings out of the Rockies' bullpen this season, allowing 11 earned runs but posting a solid 9:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
  • The Twins have re-signed right-hander P.J. Walters to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training, tweets MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger. Walters' free agency didn't last long; he refused an outright assignment from the Twins just hours ago and elected free agency. The 27-year-old made a dozen starts for the Twinkies in 2012.

Angels Could Trade Haren, Santana

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8:33pm: Dipoto tells Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times that the team could exercise one or both options, trade one or both, or decline both options. All scenarios are still in play (Twitter link).

5:50pm: The Angels have explored the possibility of trading Dan Haren and Ervin Santana before Wednesday, the date on which option decisions are due, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. The Angels are not expected to exercise Haren’s $15.5MM option or Santana’s $13MM option.

A rival executive suggested to Heyman that it could be difficult to trade the pitchers given their disappointing performances in 2012. GM Jerry Dipoto wanted to trade Santana last winter, but owner Arte Moreno wanted to keep him, according to Heyman.

Here's my take: many teams are in need of starting pitching, so it’s possible that a club would look at the options and determine that they’re reasonable. They would be especially appealing to teams that are often spurned by free agents.

Also, a team that acquired Haren or Santana and exercised the option could make the hurler a qualifying offer following the 2013 season, assuming a rebound. That could net any acquiring organization a first-round pick in the 2014 draft.

MLBTR's Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Twins, Baker Working On New Contract

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The Twins declined their $9.25MM option on Scott Baker earlier today, but the right-hander tells Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the two sides have made progress on a new contract:

"We’re talking, and obviously I think there’s a mutual feeling that I want to be back, and they want me back," Baker said. "But it has to make sense for both parties, and we’re just not there yet. There’s a lot to consider. I’ll just say, we’re not close, but we’re definitely closer than when it started."

Baker also told Christensen that he isn't discouraged by the fact that the team elected not to exercise his option. The 31-year-old is recovering from Tommy John surgery that he underwent this past spring.

A second-round selection of the Twins in 2003, Baker has spent his whole career in Minnesota. In that time, he's pitched to a 4.15 ERA, 7.2 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 958 innings. He broke out in 2011 with a 3.14 ERA and upped his strikeouts to a strong 8.2 per nine innings.

In my view, an incentive-laden one-year deal with a lower base salary and perhaps a vesting option would seem to make sense for both sides. If Baker decides to talk with other teams, this will be his first time exploring the free agent market. Back in March 2009, Baker and the Twins agreed to a four-year extension that guaranteed the Oklahoma State University product $15.25MM.

Jonny Gomes To Be Represented By MVP Sports

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Jonny Gomes is leaving ACES and will now be represented by Dan Lozano's MVP Sports Group, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).

Gomes isn't the first player to depart from ACES in recent months. The agency, headed by brothers Sam and Seth Levinson, has come under scrutiny following an alleged cover-up Melky Cabrera's web site scandal. Shane Victorino, Nyjer Morgan and Everth Cabrera have all left ACES this month, and many around baseball have wondered if others will follow.

The 32-year-old Gomes had arguably the best season of his career with the A's in 2012, batting .262/.377/.491 with 18 homers in 99 games (333 plate appearances). Of those 99 games, 53 came as the team's DH. As is usually the case, Gomes absolutely clobbered left-handed pitching (.299/.413/.561) and floundered against right-handers (.209/.324/.391).

A free agent this winter, Gomes' big numbers should make it easy for his new representatives to secure a deal considerably larger than the one-year, $1MM he signed with Oakland last offseason. Presumably, he met the requirements to trigger some or all of his $200K worth of incentives, though the terms of those incentives were never disclosed.

Phillies Decline Placido Polanco’s Option

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The Phillies have declined their half of Placido Polanco's $5.5MM mutual option, the team has announced. Polanco will instead receive a $1MM buyout and become a free agent.

Polanco, who turned 37 shortly after the regular season ended, earned $6.25MM in 2012 — the final guaranteed season of a three-year, $18MM contract he signed back in December 2009.

The veteran struggled to the tune of a .257/.302/.327 batting line with a mere two home runs. A pair of back injuries led to two stints on the disabled list, limiting Polanco to 90 games. That total was his lowest since playing a partial season for the Cardinals at age 23 in 1999.

His defense remained a plus according to both UZR (+8.1 runs per 150 games) and the Fielding Bible (+2 runs). Polanco shifted to third base after signing with Philadelphia to accommodate Chase Utley, but he has extensive experience at second base as well.

For his career, the ACES client is a .299/.344/.403 hitter. He's split his Major League service time between the Cardinals, Phillies and Tigers. Earlier today, the Phils picked up their option on Carlos Ruiz and declined their options on Ty Wigginton and Jose Contreras.

Dodgers Decline Options For Coffey, Rivera, Treanor

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The Dodgers have declined the 2013 contract options for Todd Coffey, Juan Rivera and Matt Treanor, Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times reports (on Twitter). The players are now free agents.

Coffey's contract included a $2.5MM club option with a $300K buyout, Rivera's contract included a $4MM club option with a $500K buyout, and Treanor's contract included a $950K option with a $150K buyout. The team has confirmed the moves (Twitter link). For more on the Dodgers' winter plans, check out my recent Offseason Outlook post.

Leyland Expected Back In Detroit

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There are indications that manager Jim Leyland will sign a new deal with the Tigers, Tom Gage of the Detroit News reports. The decision “has been made” and an announcement could take place as soon as today, Gage writes.

Leyland, who has not confirmed the news, recently said “it will all play out soon enough.” A Tigers player went a bit further, saying “he’s coming back.” GM Dave Dombrowski recently said Leyland would be welcomed back for an eighth season in Detroit. However, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com suggested yesterday that Leyland could choose to retire now that his contract's up. The 67-year-old has said he won’t manage another MLB team.

Though Leyland's Tigers were swept in the World Series, they won their division and the American League pennant. In seven years since Leyland became the Tigers' manager, the team has a 607-528 record.

This post was originally published on October 30th, 2012.

Non-Tender Candidates

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By my count, 213 players are currently arbitration eligible.  More than 70 of those can be considered non-tender candidates.  The deadline for teams to decide is November 30th.  Non-tendering a player makes him a free agent.  Below is my subjective list of non-tender candidates.  Please note that not all of them will actually be non-tendered.  Click here for MLBTR's projected salaries for these players, if they are tendered contracts.

Position Players

Robert Andino
John Baker
Daric Barton
Kyle Blanks
Brennan Boesch
Emmanuel Burriss
Drew Butera
Alexi Casilla
Jesus Flores
Lew Ford
Ben Francisco
Sam Fuld
Jack Hannahan
Brett Hayes
Jonathan Herrera
Travis Ishikawa
Paul Janish
Dan Johnson
Don Kelly
George Kottaras
Brent Lillibridge
Casey McGehee
Nyjer Morgan
Wil Nieves
Jayson Nix
Steve Pearce
Brayan Pena
Omar Quintanilla
Ryan Raburn
Mark Reynolds
Ryan Roberts
Sean Rodriguez
Adam Rosales
Brendan Ryan
Gaby Sanchez
Nate Schierholtz
Geovany Soto
Ian Stewart
Drew Stubbs
Ryan Sweeney
Taylor Teagarden
Andres Torres
Luis Valbuena
Wilson Valdez
Eli Whiteside
Bobby Wilson

Pitchers

Alfredo Aceves
Manny Acosta
Scott Atchison
Brad Bergesen
Dallas Braden
Bill Bray
Joey Devine
Edgar Gonzalez
Clay Hensley
David Herndon
Rich Hill
Philip Humber
Tommy Hunter
Jair Jurrjens
John Lannan
Kameron Loe
Kyle McClellan
Charlie Morton
Peter Moylan
Logan Ondrusek
Josh Outman
Manny Parra
Mike Pelfrey
Rafael Perez
Kevin Slowey
Jose Veras
Chris Volstad
Cory Wade
Jerome Williams
Brian Wilson
Mike Zagurski

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