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Melky Cabrera

Quick Hits: Hatcher, Wright, Giants, Duffy, Draft

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The Angels announced that Mickey Hatcher has been removed from his job as the team's hitting coach.  Hatcher will be replaced by Jim Eppard, who had been the hitting coach at Triple-A Salt Lake City.  This was Hatcher's 13th year as the Angels' hitting coach, and his firing is surely a response to the club's overall lack of offense this season, particularly from Albert Pujols.  (Ironically, Pujols hit three singles in today's 4-0 win over the A's.)  Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times thinks this move came from owner Arte Moreno and is another sign that GM Jerry Dipoto is in charge of the team, not Mike Scioscia (both Twitter links).

Here are some items from around the majors…

  • David Wright told Adam Rubin of ESPN New York that he hasn't been approached by the Mets about a contract extension and he hasn't thought about the possibility of in-season negotiations.  We heard on Sunday that the Mets will likely offer Wright a multiyear contract, possibly sometime this summer.
  • Melky Cabrera and Angel Pagan, both free agents after the season, told Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that they'd be open to midseason contract talks with the Giants but are both just focused on baseball for now.
  • Danny Duffy's Tommy John surgery is just the latest blow in what has been a hard-luck season for the Royals, writes Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star.  The Royals will essentially lose a year of control over Duffy (who will accumulate service time while on the DL) and "the pressure on the Royals…to sign a frontline starting pitcher this winter just intensified," said Mellinger.
    Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/05/14/3610785/royals-pain-continues-with-duffys.html#storylink=cpy
  • High school outfielder Byron Buxton holds the top spot in Baseball America's ranking of the top 100 prospects in the June amateur draft.  The Astros hold the #1 overall selection.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney looks at ten starting pitchers who could be trade candidates this summer.
  • The early results of last offseason's trades are evaluated by MLB.com's Joey Nowak.
  • Marlins Park is proving to be very pitcher-friendly, but Marlins president David Samson told reporters (including Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post) that the team wasn't planning to move in the fences after the season.

Giants Open To In-Season Contract Talks For Cabrera

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Melky Cabrera is on track to hit free agency following the 2012 season, but there’s a chance the Giants will keep him off of the open market altogether. GM Brian Sabean told Gwen Knapp of the San Francisco Chronicle that Cabrera’s play and work ethic have impressed him so far this year. This means the Giants won’t necessarily postpone contract talks until the offseason.

"I think it's different with a transitional player, depending on who the agent is or the appetite of the player,” Sabean said. “So I wouldn't say that's an absolute."

Cabrera, an ACES client, will earn $6MM in 2012. The 27-year-old is hitting .338/.386/.490 in San Francisco, an indication that last year's breakout may be sustainable. So far in 2012 Cabrera has played left and right field, positions which suit his skillset, according to The Fielding Bible Volume III.

Cabrera’s hot start should give him enough leverage to demand a multiyear deal in talks with Sabean and the team's front office. The Giants could lose Cabrera and Angel Pagan to free agency this offseason, as I explained last week.

Giants Avoid Arbitration With Melky Cabrera

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The Giants avoided arbitration with outfielder Melky Cabrera, tweets ESPN's Enrique Rojas, signing him for $6MM.  Cabrera, who is represented by ACES, received a healthy $4.75MM raise over last year's free agent base salary.  The Giants acquired Cabrera on November 7th from the Royals for another arbitration eligible player, Jonathan Sanchez.

As our arbitration tracker shows, the Giants' remaining arbitration eligible players are Tim Lincecum, Sergio Romo, Pablo Sandoval, and Nate Schierholtz.    

Giants Notes: Cabrera, Crawford, Beltran, Sanchez

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The Giants acquired Melky Cabrera from the Royals today, sending Jonathan Sanchez to Kansas City in the process. Here’s the latest on the team, starting with some comments GM Brian Sabean made on a conference call with reporters…

  • Sabean said the Giants have never been close to trading Sanchez in the past, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
  • Though the Giants are comfortable with Cabrera in center field, Sabean didn’t say where he fits into the lineup or outfield, according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News (all Twitter links). It’s unclear how the move affects the future of Andres Torres, a non-tender candidate with a projected salary of $2.5MM. 
  • Sabean said the Giants haven’t decided whether to pursue starting pitching.
  • Baggarly hears that the Giants are strongly considering making Brandon Crawford their shortstop if they can improve their lineup at other positions. Though Crawford doesn’t project to do much at the plate, he’s considered a strong defender.
  • Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports that the Giants are shopping for bargains this winter (Twitter links). He doesn’t expect Sabean to pursue Jimmy Rollins or Jose Reyes and even Carlos Beltran may be a stretch for San Francisco.
  • Grant Brisbee of McCovey Chronicles suggests the Giants would have been better off trading Sanchez for a prospect. This would have kept Torres in center field and pushed the Giants to focus on other needs.
  • Alex Speier of WEEI.com hears that the Red Sox had some interest in Sanchez, though they weren't a match in the end.

Royals Acquire Jonathan Sanchez For Melky Cabrera

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The Royals acquired lefty Jonathan Sanchez and minor league starter Ryan Verdugo from the Giants for outfielder Melky Cabrera, announced the team.

Sanchez, 28, may have been a non-tender candidate for the Giants after a disappointing 2011 season that saw him walk 5.9 per nine innings and miss significant time with biceps tendinitis and a sprained ankle.  The southpaw is tough to hit and has big-time strikeout numbers, but control has always been a problem.  In Sanchez, Felipe Paulino, and Danny Duffy, Royals GM Dayton Moore has strong strikeout potential for three-fifths of his 2012 rotation.  Sanchez projects to earn $5.2MM in 2012, after which he'll be eligible for free agency.  That he was traded for one year of Cabrera shows how much his trade value slipped during the '11 season.  Sanchez was set to battle Barry Zito for the Giants' fifth starter job next year.

Cabrera had the opposite experience in 2011, as he had a resurgence after being non-tendered and signing a $1.25MM free agent deal.  The 27-year-old hit .305/.339/.470 with 18 home runs in 706 plate appearances for the Royals, playing mostly center field.  UZR suggests he is a below-average defender there, though there seems a good chance the Giants continue to use him in center.  If so, Andres Torres could become expendable.  Cabrera is projected to earn $4.4MM in 2012, after which he'll be eligible for free agency.  With the deal, the Royals opened up center field for prospect Lorenzo Cain.  

Verdugo, a 24-year-old Double-A southpaw, went to Kansas City along with Sanchez in the deal.  Baseball America ranked him 25th among Giants prospects prior to the season, describing him as a deceptive lefty who misses bats but has minus command.  Verdugo was a starter in college and returned to that role last year. 

AL Central Notes: Cabrera, Jimenez, Sizemore

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On this date in 2005, the White Sox won their first World Series since 1917, completing a sweep of the Astros behind a strong outing from Freddy Garcia. Here's the latest news from the AL Central…

  • Royals GM Dayton Moore told Dick Kaegel of MLB.com that he expects to work out a one-year deal with Melky Cabrera instead of exploring a multiyear extension with the center fielder. Cabrera, who will be eligible for free agency after the 2012 season, posted a .305/.339/.470 line with 18 homers, 20 stolen bases and 201 hits in 2011. MLBTR projects a 2012 salary of $4.4MM for the 27-year-old.
  • Rany Jazayerli explores the starting pitching trade market from the perspective of the Royals and lists A.J. Burnett, Bronson Arroyo, Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano, Wandy Rodriguez and Ted Lilly as arms Moore could pursue. These possible targets have substantial contracts to go along with experience and some ability.
  • MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian points out that Justin Verlander rebounded from a disappointing 2008 season to become one of baseball’s best pitchers and wonders if Indians right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez could experience a similar renaissance in 2012. 
  • Bastian also points out that Matt LaPorta doesn’t have a guaranteed job heading into Spring Training and notes that acquiring Mike Napoli would be tremendously difficult for the Indians.
  • The Indians have talked to Joe Urbon, Grady Sizemore's agent, about re-negotiating the center fielder's $9MM option into a multiyear deal for similar money, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. It doesn’t look like the sides will re-structure Sizemore’s contract, however.

Royals Notes: Melky, Starters, 2012

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A couple of Royals notes as they put their six-game winning streak on the line tonight against the White Sox at The K:

  • The Royals will have to figure out what to do with outfielder Melky Cabrera, writes Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. The Melk Man has bounced back in a big way from a dismal 2010 and is under team control through next season. The Royals will mull flipping him for pitching help, offering him arbitration and holding onto him for 2012, or signing him to an extension, as they did with Jeff Francoeur. Cabrera, for his part, wants to remain in Kansas City.
  • Rival executives expect the Royals to aggressively pursue one or two established, veteran starters in the offseason, and they could pull it off as they have a prospect-rich farm from which to draw upon, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
  • The 2011 Royals are young and formidable offensively, like their 1999 counterparts, writes Rany Jazayerli. In an interesting analysis, Rany lays out some arguments to believe these Royals will fare better in 2012 and beyond than those ones did in 2000.

Royals Notes: Cabrera, Francoeur, Starling

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The Royals signed Jeff Francoeur to a two-year, $13.5MM extension today and the deal has inspired lots of chatter. Here are the latest Royals-related links…

  • Royals GM Dayton Moore sidestepped a question about Melky Cabrera's future in Kansas City, according to MLB.com's Adam Holt. "That's a fair question, it's a question that should be asked," Moore said. "But right now, I'd just as soon not go down that road right now." The Royals control Cabrera's rights through arbitration in 2012 and don't appear to be nearing an extension with him.
  • C. Trent Rosecrans of CBSSports.com says $13.5MM for two years of Francoeur is "probably a bit of an overpayment, but it's hardly cripling" for the Royals who benefit from the outfielder's production.
  • FanGraphs' Eno Sarris agrees, writing that the extension will not cripple the Royals or suppress any prospects on the brink ot the Major Leagues.
  • Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com says we should expect the Royals to add a veteran starting pitcher this offseason (Twitter link).
  • The Royals say they started following Bubba Starling's athletic pursuits three years ago, according to the Kansas City Star, which re-publishes a Terez A. Paylor story from 2008 detailing the achievements of the eventual Royals draft pick. Kansas City selected the high schooler fourth overall in June and signed him to a $7.5MM bonus Monday.

Quiet Deadline Possible For Royals

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Though Jeff Francis, Bruce Chen and Kyle Davies are drawing interest from several clubs, the Royals may hold onto all three and continue using a six-man rotation, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. The Royals continue to say they’re happy to hold onto the starters, who hit free agency after the season.

“Nothing has changed with our situation,” GM Dayton Moore told Dutton. “The guys we have, I think, are more valuable to us than the potential [return].”

Chen projects as a Type B free agent under our most recent projections, so the Royals could obtain a supplementary draft pick if the left-hander turns down an offer of arbitration to sign elsewhere. Francis and Davies, however, don’t currently project as ranked free agents, so the Royals can’t expect picks for them.

Kansas City appears to be seeking a number three starter (or close to it) for Melky Cabrera or Jeff Francoeur. However, trades involving the two outfielders don’t appear to be brewing at the moment.

Passan On Upton, Nationals, Melky, Francoeur

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The latest on the trade market from Yahoo’s Jeff Passan…

  • A number of MLB officials tell Passan that they consider the Nationals the favorites for B.J. Upton. However, a Rays official says there’s no favorite at this point (click here for the latest on Upton).
  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo has told teams that pitching prospect Brad Peacock is not available.
  • Nationals executives and scouts have told others that Ian Desmond is available (despite reports that that Washington will hold onto its shortstop).
  • The Royals are leaning toward keeping Melky Cabrera in 2012, according to Passan. Cabrera, who is having an excellent season and remains under team control next year, might not fetch enough in a trade for GM Dayton Moore to pull the trigger.
  • The Royals are hoping to work out some kind of contract for next year with Jeff Francoeur. The sides have a 2012 mutual option for $4MM, but the Royals would likely have to offer more to lock Francoeur up for next season. They get the impression that the 27-year-old is interested in staying in Kansas City.
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