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Eric Chavez

Largest Contracts In Team History

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We've already looked at the largest contracts by service time and position, so let's now dig up the largest contracts ever given out by each of the 30 teams. These are in terms of guaranteed money only, but some could end up being even larger because of incentives and option years.

Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.

Odds & Ends: Stanton, Daigle, Bell, Mariners

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A round-up of some of Wednesday's newsbits….

Odds & Ends: Schumaker, Chapman, Thome

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Sunday linkage…

  • Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reflects on Eric Byrnes' time with the D'Backs.
  • Skip Schumaker tells MLB.com's Matthew Leach that he and the Cardinals are nearing an agreement on a 2010 contract.
  • MLB.com's Joe Frisaro tweets that the Marlins were willing to offer $20MM to Aroldis Chapman.  
  • MLB.com's Scott Merkin writes that a handful of teams have contacted Jim Thome, including the Rays, though nothing is imminent. 
  • Owner Tom Ricketts defended general manager Jim Hendry this Saturday at the Cubs' annual convention, according to Melissa Isaacson of ESPNChicago.com.
  • Shi Davidi from the Canadian Press spoke with both Justin Morneau and Jeff Francis at Baseball Canada's Annual Awards Banquet Saturday. Morneau expects to begin full workouts in a couple of weeks as a season-ending stress fracture in his back appears to have healed without issue. Francis is recovering from shoulder surgery but expects to be ready for Spring Training.
  • Bill Ladson tweets that Ryan Zimmerman thinks the Nationals are having their best offseason since he's been with the organization. Some of the larger moves we've seen the Nats make include signing Jason Marquis, Matt Capps, and Ivan Rodriguez, in addition to trading for Brian Bruney.
  • Eric Chavez told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he is comfortable with shifting to a utility role after the addition of third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff.
  • Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated (via Twitter) "overheard" that the Brewers will sign at least one more pitcher.  Recently, Milwaukee outrighted pitcher Omar Aguilar to Triple-A, though assistant GM Gord Ash claimed it wasn't in anticipation of an acquisition.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney writes that the Marlins didn't give Josh Johnson an extension just to appease the "Powers That Be".  Those within the organization expected the deal to get done well before the joint press release from the commissioner's office and the players' union.
  • Olney also writes that the Marlins are still looking for bullpen help and will sift through the remaining free agent relievers, including Kiko Calero.  Florida declined to offer arbitration to Calero, to avoid giving him a raise on his $500K salary in 2009.

Odds And Ends: Chavez, Arroyo, Thome, Millwood

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More links for the morning…

  • Eric Chavez told Joe Stiglich of the Oakland Tribune that he would consider extending his career as a DH, even though he'd prefer to play defense, too.
  • Does Bronson Arroyo want to go to a contender? No, he'd rather stay in Cincinnati and pitch for the Reds next year, according to Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News.
  • Jim Thome wants to play next year and make a run at 600 career homers, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Thome is just 36 homers away from reaching the milestone.
  • Kevin Millwood's $12MM option for 2010 becomes guaranteed if he pitches 19.0 more innings and reaches 180 for the season, so he's only about three starts away.

Odds And Ends: Harper, Pirates, Hanley

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Some links for Tuesday morning…

A’s Inquired On DeRosa, Didn’t Like Price

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Eric Chavez will have career-jeopardizing back surgery. He could return in time for Spring Training 2010, but Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle says the A's are considering other options at third base in the meantime. They inquired on Mark DeRosa, but believe the Indians are asking for too much in return. The A's could  pursue DeRosa after the season and Slusser adds that Chone Figgins is a likelier free agent target. 

Mark Kotsay has recovered from two back surgeries to play center field in the majors, so he's an inspiring story for his former teammate.

Eric Chavez To Retire?

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Athletics manager Bob Geren informed the San Francisco Chronicle's Henry Schulman this afternoon that Eric Chavez is headed for back surgery.  The Oakland third baseman told the Chronicle's Susan Slusser last month that another procedure "would spell the end to his career," leaving his body "too unstable for baseball."

Chavez, 31, has a career batting line of .268/.345/.482 over 11 major league seasons, but has appeared in just 121 games since the start of the '07 season.

Eric Chavez Explains Situation

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6:22pm: Talking to MLB.com's Mychael Urban, Chavez clarified his injury situation:

"I just want to make sure everyone's clear: I'm not getting surgery. I'm rehabbing. I hope to be back when I'm eligible, and if I hurt my back again after I come back, I'm still not getting surgery. I'll rehab it again."

He explained that a spinal fusion would be something he'll have when he's 45 or 50.

9:44am: Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle has the latest details on the health of A's third baseman Eric Chavez.  While Chavez hopes to join the team soon, his career will be over if the herniated disk in his back goes out.  In that case he'd need a career-ending spinal fusion procedure.  Since the disk can go out with as little as a sneeze, Slusser says "his future in baseball will be operating on a very thin line."

Chavez's six-year, $66MM extension was signed in March of 2004.  He's owed an additional $8.6MM this year plus $12MM in 2010 and a $3MM buyout for 2011, for a total of $23.6MM left on the contract.  Sadly the contract has been a sunk cost for a while now.  As Slusser says, A's GM Billy Beane figures to be on the lookout for third base prospects in trades.

Odds & Ends: Crosby, Vizcaino, Andruw

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Links for Tuesday…

What’s Next For Oakland?

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What’s Billy Beane’s next move?  He’s already traded his team’s best pitcher and one of his better hitters.  Let’s start with a couple of additional moves brought up by Susan Slusser.

Trade Eric Chavez.  Chavez expects to go, and he was refreshingly candid in his comments.  His contract runs through 2010, and he’s willing to waive his no-trade rights.  He’s had three surgeries this winter, so he has to prove his health before anyone acquires him.  A big first half would go a long way.

Sign Barry Bonds.  Such a move wouldn’t surprise Chavez.  Slusser believes a bargain Bonds chasing 3,000 hits and extending his home run record could be a way to get fans in the park despite a noncompetitive 2008 team.  For $8-10MM, I could see it. 

Other possibilities outside of the two mentioned by Slusser:

Trade Mark Kotsay.  He makes $8MM in ’08 and only managed 56 games last year.  Maybe the Braves would take him on in exchange for a nonprospect, if the A’s kick in $3MM.

Trade Mark Ellis.  He’s signed at $5MM for ’08, plays Gold Glove second base defense, and is an above average hitter for his position.  Too bad for the White Sox he didn’t get thrown in as part of the Swisher trade.  Outside of the Rockies I don’t see many fits for Ellis.

Trade Rich Harden.  Since he has a reasonable $7MM option for 2009, Harden is similar to Chavez and Kotsay in that it makes sense to wait to see if he can build a little value before trading him.

Trade Joe Blanton.  I’d be surprised if this doesn’t happen, with Beane adding three or four more of some team’s top ten prospects.

Trade Huston Street.  Why not?  He’s got three years of service time left, so he should draw a better bounty than Jose Valverde did.  Perhaps Beane can focus on acquiring a good young middle infielder here.

Vets like Bobby Crosby, Alan Embree, and Justin Duchscherer probably shouldn’t get too comfortable either.

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