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Omar Vizquel

AL East Links: Cano, Farrell, Blue Jays, Ibanez

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On this date back in 2000, the Blue Jays gave Carlos Delgado the richest contract in baseball history in terms of average annual value, a four-year pact worth $17MM per year. Delgado hit .282/.405/.555 with 146 homers during the life of the deal. Here's the latest from his former division, the AL East…

East Notes: Red Sox, Aviles, Vizquel, Guillen

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Here's a look at the latest out of the AL and NL East..

  • Red Sox shortstop Mike Aviles isn't thrilled about his reduced role but still hopes to remain in Boston next season, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.  Despite that, Aviles insists that he won't dwell too much on his baseball future as a great deal of his focus will remain on his family at home.
  • Blue Jays shortstop Omar Vizquel made it known earlier this summer that 2012 will be his final major league season and the 45-year-old hasn't had a change of heart.  The veteran reiterated today that he plans on retiring as a player effective Wednesday, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
  • In a session today with Spanish-language reporters, Marlins skipper Ozzie Guillen opined that it would be unfair if he is dismissed after just one season at the helm in Miami, writes Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post.  Earlier this week, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com wrote that Guillen's job appears to be in "serious peril".
  • Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine told ESPN 98.7's Michael Kay that he wished he had listened to a particular piece of advice from former pitcher Al Leiter over the winter, writes Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com.  Leiter later told Kay that his advice was to work to get pitcher Josh Beckett on his side as he can be difficult at times.  Beckett, of course, would later be a part of the club's massive payroll purge in their deal with the Dodgers.

Quick Hits: Vizquel, Chavez, Hafner

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There are currently 52 starting pitchers on the disabled list, and it’s costing teams money as well as production, Yahoo's Jeff Passan reports (Twitter links). Executives estimate teams will spend $500MM on injured players this year, so let’s hope they took out some insurance. Here are today’s links…

  • Blue Jays infielder Omar Vizquel wants to manage at the MLB level next year, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports. The 45-year-old 11-time Gold Glove winner said he'd like to manager close to his Seattle area home or for a team with which he has pre-existing ties. As Morosi points out, Mike Matheny and Robin Ventura are doing just fine this year despite their relative inexperience managing professionally.
  • Orioles outfielder Endy Chavez will report to Triple-A early next week, according to MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli (Twitter links). Chavez decided to stay in the organization instead of electing free agency, and the Orioles expect him to be back with the MLB team by the time rosters expand in September.
  • ESPN.com’s Buster Olney wonders if Travis Hafner’s tenure with the Indians could be over now that he’s on the disabled list and his contract is about to expire.

Omar Vizquel To Retire After Season

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After stating last month that he is "51 percent" sure that he will retire, Blue Jays shortstop Omar Vizquel now seems certain that he will call it a career after the 2012 season.  The 45-year-old told Didier Morais of NESN.com that he hopes to stay connected to the game after his playing days are through.

"This will be my last year," Vizquel said in Spanish. "I've enjoyed this game a lot, but I think it's time to pursue a new career as a coach or manager, and hopefully I'll get that opportunity in the future."

This season will be the finale of Vizquel's 24-year career, during which he earned eleven Gold Gloves and three All-Star nods.  The shortstop spent time with the Mariners, Indians, Giants, Rangers, and White Sox throughout his career, including two World Series appearances with Cleveland.  Baseball-Reference estimates that he has earned roughly $62.5MM dating back to his 1989 rookie season.

Omar Vizquel Hints At Retirement

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Infielder Omar Vizquel openly wondered why more older players don't sign minor league contracts and try to win jobs back in Spring Training, though it appears as though he won't do that himself next year. Vizquel told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that this season is likely to be his last as a player.

“I think this is going to be it for me,” he said. “This is going to be my last year.”

Vizquel, 45, did qualify the statement by saying he's only "51% sure" he will call it a career after 2012. He has one single and one walk in a dozen plate appearances for the Blue Jays this year, who signed him to a minor league deal back in January. This is Vizquel's 24th season in the big leagues and the Jays are his sixth team. He has indicated a desire to coach once he hands up the spikes.

AL East Notes: Martin, Red Sox, Vizquel

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A few odds and ends to pass along from the AL East. For more news out of the division, be sure to check out this afternoon's earlier post.

  • The Yankees and catcher Russell Martin have decided to table extension talks until after the season, writes Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com. Martin, 29, is eligible for free agency after this season, and is apparently seeking more than the three years and $20MM the Yankees were willing to offer, as reported by Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
  • Red Sox GM Ben Cherington addressed his club's shortstop situation today, according to the Associated Press: "[W]e feel good about the mix that we have, and we'll certainly keep our eyes open if there are ways to improve that. But right now we're focused on the guys we have." The current starting candidates are Nick Punto, Mike Aviles and, less likely, Jose Iglesias.
  • Blue Jays infielder Omar Vizquel passed on an offer to manage a winter league team in his native Venezuela so that he could focus on playing in the Majors for what is presumably a final season, writes Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. Davidi adds that Vizquel, signed to a minor league deal this offseason, is the favorite to claim the backup infielder's role with the Jays. Vizquel also says managing is likely in his future.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Rays, Rivera, Vizquel

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Roy Oswalt probably won't be signing in Boston any time soon and the Yankees are discussing a multiyear deal with Russell Martin. Here are some more updates of note from the AL East…

  • Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said he's ready to move on without Oswalt, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald reports. “I think I may have been more comfortable, but I wouldn’t have been totally comfortable,” Valentine said of potentially signing Oswalt. “What did he pitch, 136 innings last year?” Valentine was close — it was 139.
  • Red Sox GM Ben Cherington says he doesn’t anticipate making any more additions in the near future, Alex Speier of WEEI.com tweets.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports discusses the Rays’ impressive rotation depth and explains why it’s a good ‘problem’ to have. Manager Joe Maddon told Rosenthal the club could use a six-man rotation at times this year and said top prospect Matt Moore won’t be relegated to the bullpen.
  • Mariano Rivera seems to be savoring the early days of Spring Training, so Joel Sherman of the New York Post won’t be surprised if the closer chooses to retire after the season.
  • Blue Jays infielder Omar Vizquel said he'll likely become involved in coaching next year, according to MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm (on Twitter). The 44-year-old doesn't anticipate playing after 2012 and would eventually like to manage in the Major Leagues.

NL East Notes: Nationals, Gonzalez, Fielder, Howard

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The Nationals were linked to free agent slugger Prince Fielder for quite some time but yesterday the 27-year-old agreed to a nine-year, $214MM deal with the Tigers.  Here's more on the Nats and other items from around the National League East..

  • The Nats were never close to winning the Fielder bidding, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.  The club only got as far as discussing parameters of a deal, never specifics.
  • Gio Gonzalez doesn't have a no-trade clause in his new deal with the Nationals, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.  Gonzalez agreed to a five-year extension with the club earlier this month.
  • Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said Tuesday that while he believes Domonic Brown would benefit from more sustained playing time in the minor leagues, he'l have a chance to win the leftfield job away from John Mayberry this spring, writes Rich Hofmann of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
  • More from Hofmann as he writes that Amaro is even happier with Ryan Howard's five-year, $125MM deal after seeing the contracts signed by Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder.  
  • The Phillies looked at Omar Vizquel before he signed with Blue Jays, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.  Crasnick notes that the club still has Michael Martinez as a utility infielder.
  • Washington GM Mike Rizzo says that the club was in the talks for Fielder "until the end," tweets Kilgore.

Blue Jays Sign Omar Vizquel

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The Blue Jays have signed 44-year-old infielder Omar Vizquel to a minor league contract that contains an invitation to the Major League Spring Training camp, the team announced.  ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link) had the scoop first, hearing the news from Adam Katz, Vizquel's agent.  The infielder would earn $750K if he makes the Blue Jays, Mike Wilner of Sportsnet Radio FAN 590 tweets.

An 11-time Gold Glove winner at shortstop, Vizquel has played mostly second and third base over the last few seasons and provides the Jays with depth at both positions behind starters Brett Lawrie and Kelly Johnson.  The Blue Jays are Vizquel's sixth different club over his long career, which would reach 24 seasons if he plays in 2012.  Vizquel still has an outside chance at the 3000-hit club (he has 2841 career hits) if he can keep playing through 2013, judging by his recent offensive output.

Quick Hits: La Russa, Cordero, Ayala, Oliver, Vizquel

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Some links as Monday turns into Tuesday…

  • Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says (on Twitter) Tony La Russa is seriously weighing his career options and hopes to have an answer soon, perhaps before Spring Training. It's been speculated that La Russa could join a team in a front office role after retiring from managing.
  • The Angels have talked to Francisco Cordero's representatives recently according to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez. He says it's hard to gauge where the team is in the race for the right-hander given all the money they've already spent this offseason, among other things.
  • The Yankees maintain interest in re-signing reliever Luis Ayala according to MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith (on Twitter). Ayala posted a 2.09 ERA with a 50% ground ball rate in 56 IP for New York last season. Last month we learned that six teams were pursuing the righty.
  • Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter) that the Rangers didn't offer Darren Oliver anything close to the $4.5MM he got from the Blue Jays. He says they remain in the market for left-handed bullpen help, and Mike Gonzalez still fits.
  • Omar Vizquel hinted at retirement on his Twitter account today, saying "[if] there is no contract [offer] there will be no other option but to start a new career, [as a] coach," according to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes (link in Spanish).
  • Troy Renck of The Denver Post reports that Casey Blake will have to come to the plate 550 times this season to max out the $1MM in incentives in his contract with the Rockies. He'll earn the first $350K in bonuses at 350 plate appearances.
  • Within the same piece, Renck says that Aaron Cook's minor league deal with the Red Sox will pay him $20K per month in the minors. He can make an additional $2MM by making 30 starts in the big leagues, and the escalators kick in at 15 starts. Cook can request his release if he's not on the 25-man roster on May 1st and again on June 1st.
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