Royals Designate Humberto Quintero For Assignment
The Royals announced that they have designated Humberto Quintero for assignment. In a related move, the team is set to recall outfielder Jason Bourgeois from Triple-A Omaha.
Kansas City acquired the catcher from Houston in March along with Bourgeois for left-hander Kevin Chapman and a player to be named later. The trade was completed just over two weeks ago when the PTBNL turned out to be minor league outfielder D'Andre Toney.
Quintero, 32, hit .232/.257/.341 in 144 plate appearances for the Royals this season.
Royals Acquire Jason Bourgeois, Humberto Quintero
5:36pm: Luhnow told reporters (including MLB.com's Brian McTaggart) that the player to be named later will be the "key component" of the trade (Twitter links). Astros Sr. Director of Social Media Alyson Footer says it'll be a while before that player is named, however. It's probably worth noting that any player drafted last year can not officially be traded yet, so they can only be included in a deal as a player to be named right now.
3:38pm: The Royals have acquired outfielder Jason Bourgeois and catcher Humberto Quintero from the Astros for minor league left-hander Kevin Chapman and a player to be named later. Both teams have announced the trade.
Bourgeois posted a .294/.323/.357 line with 31 stolen bases last year, while playing all three outfield positions and appearing at second base. The 30-year-old will be arbitration eligible for the first time after the 2012 season.
Quintero, 32, appeared in 79 games last year, posting a .240/.258/.317 line in 272 plate appearances. He'll earn $1MM in 2012 and hit free agency after the season. He and Brayan Pena will share the Royals' catching duties while Salvador Perez recovers from a knee operation.
“Jason and Humberto were a big part of this team last year and both will be missed,” Astros GM Jeff Luhnow stated. “This deal gives us an opportunity to add prospect depth and we are excited about both players coming our way.”
Chapman, a fourth round selection in 2010, split last season between Class A and Double-A in the Royals' minor league system. The 6'4" 24-year-old posted a 4.94 ERA with 13.1 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 62 total innings of relief in 2011.
The move likely means Jordan Schafer will assume the starting center field role in Houston. The Astros have catchers Chris Snyder and Jason Castro, so they could afford to part with Quintero and his salary. Meanwhile, projected Royals starter Lorenzo Cain could find himself competing with Bourgeois for playing time. The Royals placed Perez and Manny Pina on the 60-day disabled list to create roster space for their new acquisitions.
Jason Bourgeois, Humberto Quintero Traded
Jason Bourgeois and Humberto Quintero of the Astros have been traded, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports (all Twitter links). The Nationals have been linked to Bourgeois while the Royals and Phillies are known to be looking for catching depth. The Royals have been trying to trade for Quintero, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com tweets.
Catching Options For The Royals
The Royals seek catching depth following Salvador Perez’s left knee operation, and GM Dayton Moore could look for replacements in a number of places. Perez remains the Royals’ long-term solution behind the plate, so they’re looking for someone to complement Brayan Pena for a few months. It makes sense for the Royals to pursue a short-term acquisition, since obtaining a prospect would be costly and Perez should return midsummer. Here’s a rundown of the avenues Moore could explore:
Free Agents
At this point there aren’t many free agents who spent considerable time in the Majors last year. Ramon Castro is available and the Royals have been linked to veteran catcher Ivan Rodriguez.
Craig Tatum and Chris Stewart aren’t projected to make their teams’ Opening Day rosters and could be available later in the month. Bobby Wilson and Jose Lobaton don’t have guaranteed MLB jobs either, so the Royals could inquire on them. The Royals have leverage here, since they are well-positioned to claim a catcher on waivers should a club try to slip someone through.
Veteran Trade Targets
Perhaps Rob Johnson of the Mets, Josh Bard of the Dodgers, Dioner Navarro and Corky Miller of the Reds, Humberto Quintero of the Astros or Koyie Hill of the Cardinals would appeal to the Royals as a short-term answer. Those backstops don’t have guaranteed roster spots with their current organizations and would likely be available in the right deal. The Royals had a scout watching Quintero yesterday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reported.
Quick Hits: Astros, Fielder, Red Sox, Bonser
The latest links from around MLB on a big day for the Nationals…
- The Astros may not keep Humberto Quintero and Ivan Rodriguez is a possibility in Houston, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The Astros avoided arbitration with Quintero last week, signing him to a one-year deal worth $1MM.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports suggests agent Scott Boras is “gunning for” an average salary of $25.5MM for Prince Fielder (Twitter link). A contract that generous would surpass Albert Pujols’ average salary of $25.4MM.
- Alex Speier of WEEI.com takes a detailed look ahead to the candidates to make Boston's 2012 rotation. Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz are the only ones who are guaranteed starting jobs for the Red Sox at this point.
- The Giants are talking to Boof Bonser about a possible minor league deal, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). Bonser is recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Players To Avoid Arbitration
Tonight is the deadline for teams to tender contracts to arbitration eligible players. Many teams will agree to terms with players before the deadline and we'll keep track of them here:
- The Orioles have agreed to terms with Dana Eveland on a one-year, $750K deal for 2012, MLBTR has learned.
- The Giants have agreed to terms with Mike Fontenot on a one-year deal for 2012, avoiding arbitration, MLBTR has learned. It's a $1.05MM deal, according to the Associated Press.
- The Red Sox announced that they re-signed Matt Albers. He'll earn $1.075MM, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com.
- The Padres agreed to terms with Chris Denorfia on a one-year deal, according to Dan Hayes of the North County Times (Twitter link). The deal is worth $1.165MM, according to Ronald Blum of the AP
The Pirates agreed to terms with Jason Grilli on a one-year, $1.1MM deal for 2012, MLBTR has learned. - The Rockies agreed to terms with Kevin Slowey on a one-year deal, the team announced (on Twitter). Slowey obtains $2.75MM from the Rockies, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter link). MLBTR had projected a $2.7MM salary.
- The Blue Jays agreed to sign Jeff Mathis to one-year deal that guarantees the backstop $1.5MM in 2012, MLBTR has learned. The Blue Jays have since confirmed the move.
- The Blue Jays have avoided arbitration with Jesse Litsch (one-year, $975K) and Dustin McGowan (one-year, $600K) according to a team press release.
- The Dodgers have signed outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. to a two-year deal.
- The A's announced that they agreed to terms with Landon Powell, Daric Barton and Adam Rosales on one-year deals for 2012. The A's aren't non-tendering any arbitration eligible players this offseason. Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group hears Barton will earn $1.1MM in 2012 (Twitter link). Rosales will earn $600K and Powell will earn $620K, according to Ronald Blum of the AP.
- The Marlins signed Donnie Murphy to a contract for 2012, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post (Twitter link). He'll earn $560K, according to Ronald Blum of the AP.
- The Brewers announced that they signed George Kottaras to a one-year deal, avoiding arbitration. He'll earn $700K, according to Ronald Blum of the AP.
- The Astros avoided arbitration with Humberto Quintero, signing him to a one-year deal worth $1MM, according to the team. MLBTR had projected a $1.2MM salary for Quintero.
- The Angels agreed to terms with right-hander Jerome Williams on a one-year deal, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times (on Twitter). Williams agreed to sign for $820K with $120K in incentives, according to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez (on Twitter).
- Skip Schumaker is nearing a two-year deal with the Cardinals.
Astros Avoid Arbitration With Humberto Quintero
The Astros avoided arbitration with catcher Humberto Quintero, according to a team press release. Eligible for arbitration for the third time, Quintero will earn $1MM in 2011. He gets a $250K raise after hitting .234/.262/.317 in 276 plate appearances and catching 653 2/3 innings.
The Astros have seven remaining arbitration eligible players: Nelson Figueroa, Hunter Pence, Michael Bourn, Matt Lindstrom, Jeff Keppinger, Wandy Rodriguez, and Clint Barmes. I expect they'll all be tendered contracts on Thursday. Among the seven, Rodriguez is an extension candidate according to GM Ed Wade.
Players To Avoid Arbitration: Tuesday
Noon ET today was the deadline for both the team and player to submit their salary figures for arbitration, however the two sides can come to an agreement at any point before the actual hearing. The hearings are scheduled for the first week of February.
We'll keep track of the players who avoid arbitration today by agreeing to deals here. Make sure you check back in for updates, and be sure to click the "Continue Reading" link to see today's full list of settlements. Yesterday's list can be found here.
- Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times reports that the Angels avoided arbitration with Mike Napoli and Reggie Willits by signing the duo to one-year deals. Napoli will earn $3.6MM in 2010 with a $100K bonus if he makes 120 starts. Willits' contract is worth $625K.
- Zach Duke's one-year contract with Pittsburgh is worth $4.3MM with no performance bonuses, tweets Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- The Padres and reliever Mike Adams have agreed to a contract, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock (via Twitter). Brock's follow-up tweet says Adams' deal is worth $1MM, virtually splitting the difference between San Diego's $875K offer and Adams' $1.2MM demands.
- Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune tweets that the Twins have agreements in place with all eight of their arbitration eligible players. In a follow-up tweet, Christensen reports that Francisco Liriano agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.6MM and Jesse Crain agreed to a one-year contract worth $2MM.
- Marc Carig of the New Jersey Star-Ledger reports that the Mets avoided arbitration with reliever Sean Green (via Twitter). The one-year deal was worth $975K, according to the New York Daily News' Anthony McCarron.
- The Tigers avoided arb with Gerald Laird and Zach Miner as well according to James Jahnke of The Detroit Free Press. MLB.com's Jason Beck tweets the details on the one-year contracts: Laird will earn $3.95MM, Miner will earn $950K.
- Christensen tweets that the Twins avoided arb with Brendan Harris, signing him to a two year deal worth $3.2MM with another $650K in possible incentives.
- The Tigers and Bobby Seay avoided arbitration according to MLB.com's Jason Beck (via Twitter), agreeing to a one year deal worth $2.475MM.
- Thesier tweets that Matt Guerrier agreed to a one year deal worth $3.15MM with the Twins, avoiding arb.
- Amalie Benjamin of The Boston Globe tweets that the Red Sox have avoided arbitration with Ramon Ramirez and Manny Delcarmen, with Delcarmen getting $905K plus incentives according to Joe McDonald of The Providence Journal. Boston avoided arb with Jonathan Papelbon as well.