The Indians re-signed pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Matt Capps to minor league deals, according to a press release. The pair had been released recently so the team could avoid paying them $100K retention bonuses. It looks like they'll head to Columbus, providing the organization with veteran depth for the rotation and bullpen.
Archives for March 2013
Anthopoulos On Dickey, Marlins, Reyes, Johnson
Recently, Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star sat down with Blue Jays General Manager Alex Anthopoulos and touched on a number of topics. Here are some of the highlights from their chat..
- The Blue Jays wouldn't have made a deal for R.A. Dickey had they not completed the Marlins blockbuster first. In Anthopoulos' view, the club would not have been "one R.A." away from contending without the likes of Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, and Josh Johnson in the fold.
- Anthopoulos feels as though he paid a steep price to land Dickey, but that it was worth it given that he was the final piece in helping to push the club to an elite level. The Blue Jays weren't interested in fortifying the rotation with a No. 3 or 4 starter but instead wanted Dickey at the top of the rotation to push everyone else down a peg.
- From a trade standpoint, Anthopoulos says that he has learned over the years to have less balls in the air and to focus on the one or two deals that have a realistic chance of happening. That narrowed scope, he says, helped make the blockbuster deal with the Marlins a reality.
- Within the organization, opinions were split on the deal with the Marlins, but AA ultimately had the final say and pulled the trigger. Feelings were similar on the five-year, $64MM extension that Jose Bautista signed with the club, but the GM ultimately pushed that through as well.
- Griffin asked Anthopoulous if he believes that changes to the draft and international free agent signing rules were directed at creative GMs such as himself, but he doesn't see it that way. However, AA notes that the new cap for international spending hurts teams like the Blue Jays that have opted to shed big league payroll in order to free up money.
- Anthopoulos is glad that the team has purposely stayed away from giving expensive, overly-lengthy deals to free agents. While Reyes and Buehrle both have "free agent contracts", he's comfortable with them because of their talent level. In the case of Reyes, he's the only player on the team with five years to go on his deal and he's just 29 years old, not 32 or 33.
- Even if the Marlins deal didn't take place, the Blue Jays still would have chosen John Gibbons as manager.
- There has been less change in the Blue Jays' front office lately than in years past and Anthopoulos attributes that to increased stability in the organization rather than his own increased comfort level.
Astros Release Tyler Greene
The Astros released infielder Tyler Greene, tweets MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. McTaggart notes that Greene will become an unrestricted free agent if he clears waivers on Thursday.
Greene, 29, hit .230/.274/.400 in 330 plate appearances for the Cardinals and Astros last year, playing both middle infield positions. Astros GM Jeff Luhnow had acquired Greene in August of last year from his former team. The former first-round pick seemed like the team's projected starter when they traded Jed Lowrie in February, but now they'll go with Ronny Cedeno.
Kyle Lohse Signing Reactions
Kyle Lohse's long winter ended yesterday, as the 34-year-old righty signed a three-year, $33MM deal with the Brewers. According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Lohse will receive $4MM in 2013, with $7MM deferred in 2016-18, and $11MM salaries in '14 and '15. The players' union values the Lohse deal at $31.95MM over three years, factoring in the deferred money, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Brewers also had to surrender the 17th overall pick in the June draft, while the Cardinals gained the 28th for their loss. Lohse has been throwing bullpens and simulated games, and will begin the season on the Brewers' active roster. Let's check out some Lohse reactions and links:
- Olney doesn't think the Lohse signing made sense for the Brewers, as the loss of the draft pick means they are "drifting into more talent debt." The Brewers "pushed forward at a time when it really needed to take a step back," writes Olney.
- Keith Law, also at ESPN, feels the contract is "pretty reasonable relative to market values for starters of his caliber." Law also feels the Brewers are "sliding out of contender status," but notes that the contract seems tradeable later on. Lohse did not receive a no-trade clause, noted Rosenthal.
- Agent Scott Boras "doesn't lose, even if he didn't exactly win" on the Lohse deal, writes Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs. Lohse should have gotten a higher average annual value, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, but he's not convinced the new draft pick compensation system needs an overhaul.
- "When you have a system that does not reward performance, you know we have something corrupt in the major league process," Boras told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Boras says baseball should remove the financial motivation for teams to lose, as the worst teams receive the largest pools of draft dollars. The current system allows bad teams to make up ground on the good ones, which wasn't possible before, Astros GM Jeff Luhnow said on Law's podcast a few weeks ago. Is it fair, though, that the Astros have significantly more draft dollars to spend than the Nationals? It's good for parity, though teams don't necessarily lose because of their market size.
- "Losing the first-round pick is tough, but that's a decision we had to make," GM Doug Melvin told reporters including Haudricourt.
Phillies Release Aaron Cook
The Phillies released righty Aaron Cook, according to a tweet from the team. The team's other choices were to add him to the 25-man roster or pay a $100K retention bonus to send him to the minors.
Cook, 34, posted a 5.65 ERA, 1.9 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 1.44 HR/9, and 58.6% groundball rate in 94 innings for the Red Sox last year. He signed a minor league deal with the Phillies in mid-January. Cook still keeps the ball on the ground, but it's hard to survive with so few strikeouts.
Nationals Release Chris Young
TUESDAY, 10:22am: Young has been granted his release, according to a tweet from the Nationals.
MONDAY, 7:44pm: Chris Young will exercise the opt-out clause in his contract with the Nationals to search for a big league job with another team, according to Dan Kolko of MASNsports (on Twitter).
Mark Zuckerman of CSN Washington adds (also via Twitter) that the Nationals will still have 24 hours to add Young to the roster before the paperwork is officially filed. It is Young's preference to stay with the Nationals, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post (Twitter link). That seems unlikely, as the Nats recently told Young that he wouldn't make the 25-man roster, but he would be their primary choice should a member of their rotation be injured.
Scouts from several teams were on hand today to watch Young's final Spring Training start for the Nationals, during which he allowed just an unearned run on two hits and a walk with two strikeouts through four innings.
Young signed a a minor league deal with the Nationals in late February after a season in which he posted a 4.15 ERA, 6.3 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 115 innings for the Mets.
Red Sox Release Lyle Overbay
The Red Sox released first baseman Lyle Overbay, tweets WEEI's Alex Speier. Boston's other choices were to put Overbay on the 25-man roster or pay him a $100K retention bonus to go to the minors.
Overbay, 36, hit .259/.331/.397 in 131 plate appearances for the Diamondbacks and Braves last year and was signed by the Sox to a minor league deal in February. Overbay became the odd man out when Boston acquired Mike Carp from the Mariners later that month. The Yankees have had internal discussions about Overbay, wrote Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe two days ago. That match is "unlikely, but possible," tweets ESPN's Buster Olney today.
Rockies Likely To Trade Ramon Hernandez; Release Possible
TUESDAY, 9:50am: A release is possible for Hernandez, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, since the Rockies might not find a taker.
MONDAY, 7:30pm: All signs point to Yorvit Torrealba making the Rockies' roster and Ramon Hernandez being traded, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Sulia link). Renck feels that there will be resolution of the situation no later than Thursday — the last game of Spring Training.
Torrealba, 34, batted .227/.293/.330 with four homers over the course of 218 plate appearances between the Rangers, Blue Jays and Brewers in 2012. He caught 22 percent of potential base-stealers, but his career mark of 30 percent is much stronger. Torrealba signed a minor league contract with the Rockies in January.
The 36-year-old Hernandez missed more than two months of action last season due to hamstring and hand injuries and posted a meager .217/.247/.353 batting line with five homers as a result. He's set to earn $3.2MM as he enters the second year of a two-year, $6.5MM contract he signed prior to the 2012 season. Like Torrealba, he's caught 30 perecent of potential base-stealers throughout his career, but had a down-season in that area last year (25 percent).
Regardless of which catcher makes the roster, he will playing second fiddle to sophomore powerhouse Wilin Rosario. The 24-year-old Rosario hit .270/.312/.530 with 28 homers in just 426 plate appearances last season and finished fourth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting.
Why I Chose My Agency: Jake Odorizzi
Though he's made only two Major League starts, 23-year-old Rays righty Jake Odorizzi is no stranger to MLBTR's pages. Currently considered a top 100 prospect in the game, Odorizzi was drafted 32nd overall out of high school in 2008, traded to the Royals in the December 2010 Zack Greinke deal, and traded again this offseason to the Rays in the James Shields deal. Recently I spoke with Jake about his agent, Jason Wood of Arland Sports.
On when he first came into contact with Jason:
I came in contact with him sometime in 2007. I knew there was a possibility that I could be drafted early. He was really the first guy we talked to, I met him through one of my friends I played summer ball with, he represented his older brother. We hit it off on a friendship level more than a professional level, that's kind of our thing. We became friends and it just kind of worked out for the best, really. He's originally from an area where I'm from, next to St. Louis.
On the process leading up to the draft in '08:
It was really easy for me, I didn't really have any focus on it. He was the guy that handled everything, if anybody had questions, like scouts or any teams. I never had to handle any of that stuff, all I had to do was focus on playing ball and that made things a lot easier for me, having him to take care of all that [rather] than having myself or my parents or anybody take care of it and me having to deal with it. So he helped me out tremendously, doing that.
On Jake's involvement in the negotiations after the Brewers drafted him:
He got an update from them, I got the update too. We went at it together. When he would hear something, I would be the very next person to hear it as soon as he could get a hold of me. I was involved in negotiations as well, and I was up-to-date with everything as it was going on.
On Jason's role as an agent after Jake signed:
Lining up endorsement deals, he negotiated all of that for me and takes care of my finances, does tax returns, all that kind of stuff for me. He handles a lot of things that make my life easier. He's very hands on, always keeps up-to-date with what's going on, informs you of anything. If you have any problems or issues or need something, one phone call and it's taken care of. He's very on top of his game.
On whether a small agency offers any advantages over the big ones:
I think it's more person-to-person, and I don't have to go through anybody else. It's really easy to just pick up the phone and you just have to call one person and it's done right then and there. I think it's more personable, really, talking to the same guy about everything. You don't feel like a dollar amount when you're in a smaller firm. [At a big agency] I'm sure some of them get lost in translation a little bit.
Minor League Signees Winning Roster Spots
Each year teams parlay minor league signings into big rewards at the Major League level. In recent years, players like Ryan Vogelsong, Jared Burton and some guy named R.A. Dickey have been brought in on minor league deals and wound up signing extensions with their teams due to strong performance. Here's a look at some of the non-roster invitees from this offseason who have recently secured jobs with their teams:
- Scott Kazmir has won the job as the Indians' fifth starter, Nick Camino of WTAM 1100 tweets. Kazmir's velocity has reported returned and he posted a strong Spring Training (13-to-1 K/BB ratio and a 3.46 ERA in 13 innings).
- Ryan Raburn has won a spot on the Indians, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Twitter link). Raburn has hit .359/.479/.795 with four homers in 48 plate appearances this Spring.
- Erik Bedard is expected to make the Astros' rotation, GM Jeff Luhnow told Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). The Canadian has turned in six scoreless innings in official starts, with nine strikeouts and two walks.
- Outfielder Wilkin Ramirez seems to have forced his way onto the Twins' 25-man roster, per MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger (on Twitter). Ramirez, who played in the minors for the Twins last season, hit .425/.465/.600 in 43 trips to the plate.
- On Monday, it was announced that Rick Ankiel, Kameron Loe, Jason Giambi and LaTroy Hawkins (all Article XX(B) free agents) made their respective rosters. Today, we learned that Jonathan Sanchez and Brandon Inge have roster spots with the Pirates.
