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Jeremy Affeldt

Quick Hits: Giants, Affeldt, Hart, Tigers, Soriano

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The 4pm CST deadline for players to accept qualifying offers has come and gone and none of the eight players in play opted to return to their respective clubs for a $13.3MM salary in 2013.  That means that Nick Swisher, Hiroki Kuroda, Rafael Soriano, B.J. Upton, Adam LaRoche, Michael Bourn, Josh Hamilton, and Kyle Lohse will net their teams a compensatory pick if they sign elsewhere.  Here's the latest from around baseball..

  • The Giants are confident that they will be re-signing Jeremy Affeldt and the club believes that they will work out a three-year deal, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.  GM Brian Sabean indicated yesterday that he is optimistic about being about to keep Affeldt, Angel Pagan, and Marco Scutaro.
  • Brewers General Manager Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter) that he has not approached Corey Hart's agent about an extension and doesn't have immediate plans to do so.  A report earlier today suggested that the Brewers and Hart were discussing a deal to keep him beyond 2013.  The first baseman/right fielder is set to earn $10MM next season.
  • The Tigers aren't interested in Soriano and plan to stay in-house to find their closer, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.  Right-hander Bruce Rondon, 21, will get a chance at the job.  

Bay Area Notes: Athletics, Pence, Giants

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Congrats to Athletics GM Billy Beane, who was named the Executive of the Year by the Sporting News following his team's surprising run to the AL West title. Here's the latest out of the Bay Area…

  • "We're not going to do that," said Beane to MLB.com's Lyle Spencer when asked if the Athletics will trade one of their starting pitchers for a shortstop. "In years we've been successful, it's because we've had good young pitchers."
  • Giants GM Brian Sabean confirmed to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick that the team will tender a contract to Hunter Pence prior to the November 30th deadline. With a projected salary of $13.8MM, Pence will be this winter's most expensive arbitration case.
  • Sabean also told Crasnick that the Giants are "actively working" to re-sign Angel Pagan, Jeremy Affeldt, and Marco Scutaro. He said he's "optimistic" about all three but declined to go into detail about the talks.

NL West Links: Giants, Affeldt, Rockies, D’Backs

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The Giants don't plan on making qualifying offers to Marco Scutaro, Jeremy Affeldt or Angel Pagan by tomorrow's deadline, reports Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com.  MLBTR's Tim Dierkes predicted that Pagan would get a qualifying offer (a one-year, $13.3MM contract) that would ultimately be rejected by the outfielder as he will no doubt receive multiyear offers on the open market.  Without a qualifying offer, Pagan can sign elsewhere and the Giants wouldn't receive any draft picks as compensation.

Here's some more news from around the NL West…

  • The Giants want to bring back all three players, though Baggarly reports that team officials "are less confident about their ability to" re-sign Pagan given how much interest the outfielder is likely to get from other teams.
  • Scutaro, Affeldt and Pagan all want to return to the Giants, though Affeldt specified that he's looking for a multiyear contract, writes Ann Killion of the San Francisco Chronicle.
  • The Giants are talking to the agents of the three players to see if a deal can be struck before the end of the team's exclusive negotiating period, tweets Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.  None of the deals are close and Schulman predicts that Pagan will test the market, while Scutaro is the player with the best chance to re-sign quickly.
  • Walt Weiss, Jason Giambi and Matt Williams will all meet with Rockies owner Dick Monfort and GM Dan O'Dowd, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post.  These three and Tom Runnells (who has already met with management) appear to be the final candidates to be the next Rockies manager.  (Both links are to Twitter).
  • The Rockies are unlikely to pick a new manager by the end of the week, writes MLB.com's Thomas Harding, as O'Dowd is currently out of town and will then be attending next week's GM meetings.
  • The Astros have claimed right-hander Sam Demel and infielder Jake Elmore off waivers from the Diamondbacks, according to an Astros media release.  Demel, who came to Arizona in the 2010 trade that sent Conor Jackson to Oakland, has a 4.95 ERA in 72 relief appearances for the Snakes since 2010, with a 1.85 K/BB ratio and 48 strikeouts in 63 2/3 innings.  Elmore, 25, was a 34th-round pick of the D'Backs in 2008 who made his Major League debut this season, posting a .497 OPS in 73 plate appearances.
  • In news from earlier today, the Giants declined their 2013 option on Aubrey Huff and I posted a collection of Diamondbacks notes.

West Links: Haren, Greinke, Hunter, Scutaro, Affeldt

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The Angels traded Ervin Santana to the Royals earlier today, the first of what figures to be many moves out of Anaheim this offseason. Here's the latest on baseball's two West divisions…

  • The Angels are still working to trade Dan Haren and expect to move him by Friday, reports ESPN's Jim Bowden (Twitter links). Haren will bring a much bigger return that what they received for Santana, adds Bowden.
  • Angels GM Jerry Dipoto acknowledged that "in all likelihood we weren't going to exercise (Santana's) option … We got piece we didn't have," reports Mike DiGiovanna of The Los Angeles Times (on Twitter).
  • Re-signing Zack Greinke is a "huge priority" for the Angels, says Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. Part of the club's motivation to move Santana (and Haren) was to free up money for Greinke.
  • The Angels are showing no inclination of making Torii Hunter a $13.3MM qualifying offer by this Friday's deadline, reports USA Today's Bob Nightengale (on Twitter). The Halos will not receive draft pick compensation if Hunter signs elsewhere in that case.
  • Marco Scutaro told Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com that his first choice this offseason is to re-sign with the Giants (Twitter link). When asked what kind of contract he was seeking, the infielder joked "15 years, three thousand million dollars."
  • "There's a market established," said Jeremy Affeldt to Baggarly in reference to Brandon League's new contract (Twitter link). The veteran southpaw said he will cherish his time with the Giants if he doesn't re-sign with them.
  • Oliver Perez pitched to a 2.12 ERA in 29 2/3 relief innings for the Mariners this year, and he told MLB.com's Josh Liebeskind that he enjoyed his new role and would like to remain in the bullpen going forward. Perez will be a free agent this offseason.
  • The Dodgers will hire Bob Engle as their Latin America scouting director, reports Bob Elliott of The Toronto Sun (on Twitter). Engle left the Mariners this month and had previously worked with the Blue Jays as well. He's responsible for signing Roy Halladay and Felix Hernandez as amateurs, among others.

Giants Notes: Huff, Scutaro, Pagan, Affeldt

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Giants general manager Brian Sabean has the makings of a dynasty centered around strong pitching and affordable young position players such as Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Brandon Belt, writes Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. Here are some links surrounding the team that captured its second World Series title in three years last night…

  • The Giants will decline their $10MM club option on Aubrey Huff, tweets Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area. The news isn't much of a surprise given Huff's injuries and struggles at the plate since 2010. Huff's contract contains a $2MM buyout.
  • MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez spoke to several members of the Giants organization about the impact that Marco Scutaro had on the team following his acquisition from the Rockies.
  • Gonzalez's colleague, Chris Haft, writes that the Giants and Scutaro will "likely forge a deal" this offseason, as the 37-year-old is too valuable both on and off the field to let go.
  • Haft also writes that Angel Pagan is expected to receive a multi-year contract with an average annual value perhaps in the $10MM range in a thin free agent market. Sabean will need to determine if Pagan is worth that to his team.
  • Haft goes on to say that Jeremy Affeldt could be in line for a multi-year deal on the free agent market. That, along with the presence of Jose Mijares could mean that Affeldt will find himself wearing a new uniform come 2013.

Giants Trying To Trade Keppinger, Torres, Ramirez

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12:37pm: It'd be a fairly easy call for the Giants to non-tender Keppinger, reports Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News.  Baggarly also notes that the Giants intend to work out a multiyear deal with starter Ryan Vogelsong, who would be eligible for free agency after 2012.  For more on the Giants' huge arbitration class, read up here.

11:34am: The Giants are trying to trade infielder Jeff Keppinger, outfielder Andres Torres, and reliever Ramon Ramirez, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.  They're planning to keep lefty Jeremy Affeldt.  ESPN's Buster Olney says there's a strong feeling by other teams Torres will be non-tendered.  If so, the Giants may not be able to get much for him.  Torres was the second-most valuable center fielder in baseball in 2010, based on FanGraphs' wins above replacement.

Keppinger, Torres, and Ramirez are all arbitration eligible, and MLBTR projects salaries in the $2.3-2.7MM range for each.

Giants Trying To Trade Affeldt Or Ramon Ramirez

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The Giants have a ton of money tied up in the bullpen right now, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, so they're trying to move Jeremy Affeldt or Ramon Ramirez.  Many teams seek bullpen help, including the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Tigers, Twins, Angels, Mariners, Mets, Brewers, Cardinals, and Reds. 

Affeldt, a 32-year-old lefty, had his $5MM club option exercised by the Giants in October.  Ramirez, a 30-year-old righty, projects to earn $2.3MM in his last year before free agency.

Including Affeldt, Ramirez,  Brian Wilson ($8.5MM), Javier Lopez ($4.25MM), Santiago Casilla ($1.9MM estimated), and Sergio Romo ($1.3MM estimated), the Giants project to have a $23.25MM bullpen in 2012.  That doesn't seem too bad against a $130MM payroll, though it increases to over 23% of the team's spending once you remove the dead weight of Barry Zito and Aaron Rowand.

Giants Exercise Affeldt’s 2012 Option

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The Giants have exercised Jeremy Affeldt's $5MM club option for 2012, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link).

As Schulman notes, that's $9.25MM on a pair of left-handed relievers for the 2012 season given today's two-year extension for Javier Lopez. However, Schulman tweeted earlier today that he spoke with Affeldt via text message prior to the Lopez news, and Affeldt told him that he's spoken with the club about the possibility of the team exercising the option and then working out a new contract.

Affeldt put up a very strong season in 2011, posting a 2.63 ERA, 7.9 K/9, and 3.5 BB/9 in 61 2/3 innings for the Giants. Perhaps most impressively, he kept the ball on the ground 62.1% of the time — a mark that ranked seventh among all relievers in 2011 (Lopez ranked sixth at 62.6%).

Giants Notes: Pujols, Cain, Lincecum, Zito

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Giants GM Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy discussed the 2011 season at a year-in-review press conference today and Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle has the details:

  • The Giants are going to focus on the pitching staff before addressing the offense this winter.
  • There are strong indications that the Giants won’t push for free agents Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols, according to Schulman.
  • Sabean won’t rule out a long-term deal for Tim Lincecum, but negotiations with Matt Cain will be a higher priority, since Cain is eligible for free agency one year from now. Lincecum appears to prefer short-term deals anyway.
  • Barry Zito and non-tender candidate Jonathan Sanchez will be in Spring Training competing for the rotation, according to Sabean. This is the strongest indication yet that Sanchez will be tendered a contract this offseason. His salary will likely surpass $6MM in 2012.
  • Sabean and Bochy said Aubrey Huff didn’t do enough to get in shape last offseason and they have told him to do more this winter.
  • The Giants have said they want to upgrade in center field and the leadoff spot. They don’t consider Justin Christian to be the solution, so Schulman wonders if Coco Crisp could be a fit.
  • If the Giants don’t pick up Jeremy Affeldt’s $5MM option, they’ll renegotiate another deal with him. As I explained earlier in the month, Affeldt would be in position to command a multiyear deal in free agency if the Giants allow him to hit the open market.
  • The Giants will look to add second base depth, though they may not be willing to meet Jeff Keppinger’s asking price.
  • Sabean says the Giants will give Cody Ross "due consideration" as a free agent, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News (on Twitter).

Jeremy Affeldt’s Option & Free Agent Prospects

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If the Giants allow Jeremy Affeldt to hit free agency this offseason instead of picking up the veteran left-hander’s $5MM option for 2012, his job prospects will probably be promising. Teams are always looking for southpaws to use out of the bullpen, Affeldt’s numbers are strong and the competition is weak.

Affeldt, whose season ended with a kitchen-related injury to his non-pitching hand, finished the year with a 2.63 ERA, 7.9 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and a 62.1% ground ball rate in 61 2/3 innings this year. Those numbers reminded me of Scott Downs, the Angels left-hander who posted a 2.64 ERA with 7.0 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 57.8% ground ball rate in 61 1/3 innings a year ago with the Blue Jays. The result for Downs: a three-year deal worth $15MM despite the Type A designation that hinders the earning potential of so many free agent relievers.

Even if San Francisco offers Affeldt arbitration, teams won’t have to surrender a draft pick to sign the projected Type B free agent. At 32 years of age, Affeldt remains relatively young – three years younger than Downs and markedly younger than most of the other free agent southpaws.

Peripheral stats such as xFIP (3.37), SIERA (2.88) and average fastball velocity (93.1 mph) all suggest that Affeldt’s impressive 2.63 ERA is no fluke. And while some lefty relievers post eye-catching stats because their managers barely let them face right-handers, Affeldt can hold off right-handed hitters, too (7.4 K/9, 4.7 BB/9, 57.1% ground ball rate).

The competition in terms of free agent left-handed relievers doesn’t figure to be strong. There’s Darren Oliver, a 40-year-old who could very well cost a draft pick. Affeldt’s teammate, Javier Lopez, is a capable pitcher who walks one batter per two innings. Mike Gonzalez of the Rangers will draw interest, though he has had an up and down season. And George Sherrill has impressive stats, but he can’t be trusted against right-handed hitters. In other words, the free agent market is unimpressive.

Affeldt is a veteran of multiyear contracts, having signed one two-year deal with the Giants in 2008 and another one in 2010. If San Francisco turns down its 2012 option, Affeldt’s representatives at Moye Sports Associates will have a strong case for a third multiyear deal in free agency. Affeldt, the Giants' 2011 nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, would enter a market that won’t offer much in terms of free agent left-handers. Don’t be surprised if the Giants decline Affeldt’s option and he goes on to sign a multiyear deal for the third time in his career.

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