The Braves avoided arbitration with outfielder Melky Cabrera by signing him to a $3.1MM deal for 2010, reports ESPN's Enrique Rojas. Cabrera earned $1.4MM in '09, his first arbitration year. He proceeded to hit .274/.336/.416 for the Yankees and was traded to the Braves this winter in the Javier Vazquez deal. Cot's Baseball Contracts notes that the Yankees paid $500K toward Cabrera's 2010 salary.
Melky Cabrera
Odds & Ends: Zambrano, Cabrera, Molina
Links for Monday…
- Matt Klaassen of Fangraphs gave his thoughts on the Orioles' "enviable outfield logjam." In his Offseason Outlook for the club, Tim suggested that Luke Scott could make sense as a trade candidate.
- A week ago, we heard conflicting reports about whether or not the Yankees had talked to the Cubs about acquiring Carlos Zambrano. SI.com's Jon Heyman reports, via Twitter, that the Yankees "definitely" inquired, and speculates that Zambrano is "eminently available."
- In a piece for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, David O'Brien suggested in passing that the Braves could potentially use Melky Cabrera as a trade chip. Heyman tweets that the Cubs would be very interested, if the Braves were to make Cabrera available.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick says Bengie Molina "might be willing to consider" a two-year deal. So far the Mets are at one year with an option.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik must retain at least one of Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez long-term.
- Derek Zumsteg of U.S.S. Mariner gives us a Milton Bradley chronology.
- CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban tweets that he's heard a whisper connecting the Giants to free agent reliever Kiko Calero.
- WEEI's Alex Speier examines the differences between the contracts of John Lackey and A.J. Burnett. In case you missed it, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe revealed on Wednesday that Lackey must play for the league minimum in 2015 "if an old elbow injury forced him to miss significant time with surgery any time during the deal."
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says statheads and scouts are mostly in agreement these days, and Moneyball would be a very different book if Michael Lewis wrote it today.
Braves Rumors: Lowe, Vazquez, Glaus
Only a couple teams were interested in trading for Derek Lowe, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman. The clubs wanted the Braves to eat about half of the $45MM the right-hander will earn over the course of the next three years, so the Braves dealt Javier Vazquez instead. Here are the rest of Bowman's rumors:
- The Yankees were apparently the only team willing to trade for a pitcher making $10MM or more.
- There are no hard feelings between Lowe and Braves GM Frank Wren.
- The Braves don't consider Melky Cabrera the centerpiece of the Vazquez deal and they have yet to determine his role on next year's team.
- Bowman agrees with Jerry Crasnick, saying that the Troy Glaus agreement won't be finalized for at least a few days.
Yankees Acquire Vazquez; Melky To Braves
The Yankees and Braves agreed to a trade that solidifies New York's rotation and gives Atlanta enough payroll flexibility to pursue a bat. The Yankees acquire Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan in exchange for Melky Cabrera, cash (according to ESPN.com) and prospects Mike Dunn and Arodys Vizcaino. We first heard of the trade talks from Buster Olney, Joel Sherman confirmed that the Yanks were after Vazquez and Jon Heyman provided the details. Check out an in-depth chronology of the trade here.
The Yankees re-acquire one of the better, more durable strikeout pitchers in the game. Vazquez has pitched 198 innings or more every year of this decade and he's struck out at least 150 batters in every one of those seasons. You can make the argument that he was one of the best pitchers in the NL last season, whether you like advanced stats (6.6 WAR) or simple ones (2.87 ERA, 238 Ks).
The Yanks also obtain Logan, a 25-year-old lefty who has been hittable so far in his major league career, and the chance for compensation picks after 2010. If Vazquez becomes a Type A free agent (he would have been one this year) and turns down the team's offer of arbitration to sign elsewhere, the Yankees would get two top picks.
As Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says, the Braves obtain a decent outfielder who's getting paid less than what he's worth and a prospect with significant upside (Vizcaino), all while saving $8MM or more (I'm guessing Melky makes $2.5-3MM next season). The Braves dealt from strength and the pitchers they obtained have lots of potential, if you ask MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.
Yankees, Braves Agree To Vazquez Deal
9:50am: Buster Olney of ESPN.com hears that the Yankees will send $500K to the Braves as part of the deal. Olney does not mention Vizcaino in the report, but O'Brien tweets that he is in the deal.
9:43am: Sherman tweets that the deal is done.
9:08am: Not surprisingly, the Yankees will pay Vazquez's entire salary, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter).
8:56am: Sherman tweets that the Braves are acquiring righty Arodys Vizcaino, Melky and Dunn for Logan and Vazquez.
Cubs Rumors: Byrd, Capps, Bradley
After finally trading Milton Bradley, the Cubs are in position to move forward and address the rest of their offseason priorities. Let's round up some Cubs-related links….
- Jon Heyman tweets that before the Cubs traded Bradley, their choices for center fielders were Marlon Byrd, Rick Ankiel, Melky Cabrera, and Scott Podsednik.
- A center fielder and a setup man are two of the Cubs' most pressing needs, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. There is mutual interest between Marlon Byrd and the Cubs, and the team could also be one of two finalists for Matt Capps (the other being the Nationals).
- Wittenmyer also points out that, of the $9MM coming to Chicago in the Bradley-Carlos Silva swap, $5.5MM will be applied this season, giving the team a little more flexibility for 2010 salaries.
- Erik Manning of Fangraphs wonders if moving Bradley is actually addition by subtraction for the Cubs.
- Yesterday we heard via a FOX Sports report that the Cubs might look into acquiring Brett Gardner or Melky Cabrera from the Yankees. LoHud.com's Chad Jennings examines the Yankees' perspective of such a move, arguing that the world champions' center field depth is a necessity, rather than a luxury.
Odds & Ends: Bedard, Phillies, Yankees
Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but these links are so delightful…
- Don't count on Erik Bedard signing anytime soon, says Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. Until teams get a better handle on when he will be healthy enough to pitch again, you won't see money being thrown his way. When he does sign, Baker expects his deal to be heavily loaded with incentives – even more so than the contract given to Rich Harden by the Rangers.
- With Brad Lidge and J.C. Romero recovering from elbow surgeries, the Phillies are turning their attention to the bullpen, writes Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. While common sense dictates that GM Ruben Amaro would sign two relievers to fill the void, he says that the team might just ink one and let their younger pitchers take the remaining jobs. Zolecki floats the names of three potential free agent targets: Bob Howry, Miguel Batista, and Kiko Calero, adding that the club has liked Howry and Batista in the past.
- The Cubs are in need of a center fielder after the trade of Milton Bradley, but they are not leaning towards any particular candidate, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. According to sources, Marlon Byrd and Scott Podsednik are the strongest options on the open market. However, the duo writes that GM Jim Hendry may also look into striking a deal with the Yankees for Brett Gardner or Melky Cabrera if they become available.
- Speaking of Bradley, Steve Henson of Yahoo Sports says that the Mariners will come to regret dealing for the troubled outfielder.
Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Overbay, Nady, Holliday
Some links for your Tuesday morning…
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says there's no guarantee the Dodgers will spend the money they saved in the Juan Pierre deal.
- Newsday's David Lennon says Omar Minaya had plans to speak with John Lackey today and concludes that the pitcher wasn't interested in joining the Mets.
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick says there's speculation that the Jays will deal Lyle Overbay now that they're set to obtain Brett Wallace.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that the Red Sox are looking at righty outfielders such as Xavier Nady to contribute in a utility role.
- Newsday's Ken Davidoff doesn't expect the Yankees to commit to another nine-figure salary and sign Matt Holliday, especially since they need pitching.
- Rob Neyer of ESPN.com says the $130MM or so the Cardinals have apparently offered Holliday is "too much risk for too many years."
- The Marlins signed Clay Hensley to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. The 30-year-old righty didn't pitch in the majors last year.
- Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel says the Marlins, who will watch Aroldis Chapman throw, have "legit" interest in the 21-year-old lefty.
- Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston points out that the Red Sox have tons of cash, even if they like to downplay their wealth.
- Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe likes the Lackey signing for the Red Sox.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Kelvim Escobar will pitch in front of teams this week in Venezuela. We know the Mets recently offered him a minor league deal.
- Lots of people have said the Brewers are a threat to sign Mark Mulder. GM Doug Melvin confirmed on 1250 WSSP in Milwaukee that he thinks the Brewers are the "frontrunners" to sign the lefty (Hat Tip: MLB.com's Adam McCalvy).
- Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner says the Mariners could use a player like Luke Scott.
- Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun wonders how seroiusly the Orioles are interested in Japanese pitcher Hisanori Takahashi. The O's met with his agents at the Winter Meetings.
- Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News says the Yankees are glad to see Roy Halladay leave the AL East. I'm sure Yankees fans agree.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Yanks would be comfortable playing Melky Cabrera in left and using Johnny Damon as the primary DH.
- The A's sent three people to watch Aroldis Chapman throw in Houston, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Cubs Rumors: Bradley, Cameron, Putz
Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times passes on the latest updates he has heard regarding a potential Milton Bradley trade. His source indicates that neither Texas or Tampa Bay is the destination for Bradley in this rumored scenario, and that the Cubs are "ready to pull the trigger" as soon as the other team is. Here are Wittenmyer's other Cubs rumors:
- A Cubs source denies that the team has any interest in Melky Cabrera.
- Mike Cameron is at or near the top of the club's center field wish list.
- The Cubs are interested in J.J. Putz, and were among the teams that watched the righty throw this winter.
- Though Chicago was disappointed to miss out on Curtis Granderson, a club source insists that the Bradley discussions didn't hinder the Cubs' ability to pursue Granderson.
- There is no truth to any Bradley-Carlos Silva trade rumors, according to a Seattle source.
- If the Cubs can eventually move Bradley, they could be on the market for a mid-level starter.
Granderson To Yanks, Edwin Jackson To D’Backs, Scherzer To Tigers
WEDNESDAY, 2:35pm: This deal is official, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
TUESDAY, 1:24pm: As chronicled here, a three-team blockbuster trade has been agreed upon between the Yankees, Diamondbacks, and Tigers. The players:
- The Yankees receive center fielder Curtis Granderson, who turns 29 in March. Granderson is owed $5.5MM in 2010, $8.25MM in '11, and $10MM in '12, with a $13MM club option/$2MM buyout for '13. That's $25.75MM guaranteed over the next three years. Melky Cabrera could now be expendable for the Yankees, and the Cubs are one possible suitor.
- The Diamondbacks receive a pair of starting pitchers: Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy. Jackson, 26, is under team control for '10 and '11 and is owed an arbitration raise on this year's $2.2MM salary. Kennedy, 25 this month, missed most of the '09 season due to surgery to remove an aneurysm near his shoulder. As far as I can tell he is under team control for another six seasons. This is the second year in a row Jackson has been traded at the Winter Meetings.
- The Tigers receive four players: starter Max Scherzer, relievers Daniel Schlereth and Phil Coke, and center fielder Austin Jackson. The Tigers get five years of Scherzer, six of Schlereth, five of Coke, and six of Jackson, potentially 22 years of control in total. Scherzer, 25, and Jackson, 23 in February, are probably considered the prizes of the haul.
