Rich Aurilia

Rich Aurilia Retires

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | April 11, 2010 at 5:48pm CDT

Rich Aurilia officially retired, according to MLB.com's Chris Haft. Aurilia says he misses playing, but told Haft it's time for a "different phase" of his life.

Aurilia had hoped to play again this year with the Yankees or Mets. Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reported earlier in the year that Aurilia had a broadcasting deal in place in case he couldn't find a big league job.

The 38-year-old signed a minor league deal worth $1MM with the Giants last year and went on to hit .213/.256/.279 in 133 plate appearances. That's far from the .275/.328/.433 line Aurilia posted over the course of a 15-year career that began on the Giants in 1995, alongside Dave Burba, Deion Sanders and Rod Beck.

Aurilia hit 186 home runs, made an All Star team and won the 2001 Sliver Slugger when he hit 37 homers as the Giants' shortstop. Aurilia made about $32MM in his career, according to Baseball-Reference.

Odds & Ends: Jeter, Marlins, Fielder, Aurilia, Boras

By Mike Axisa | February 27, 2010 at 7:08pm CDT

If you're in the Northeast, here are some links to check out while you take a break from shoveling…

ESPN's Jayson Stark ranked baseball's ten-year contracts, with Derek Jeter's soon to be completed ten-year, $189MM deal coming in as the best.
The Marlins agreed to one-year contracts with 12 of their pre-arbitration eligible players according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro, including Sean West, Chris Volstad, Emilio Bonifacio, and Dan Meyer.
Brewers owner Mark Attanasio confirmed that he will be involved in long-term contract discussions with Prince Fielder, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter). Haudricourt also tweets that Attanasio and GM Doug Melvin met today to discuss the situation and there will be no deadlines imposed on the 25-year-old.
Rich Aurilia, who stopped by the Giants' camp today, says that while he's still looking for a job, he will retire if he doesn't have one by the end of spring, tweets Jeff Fletcher of AOL Fanhouse. The 38-year-old has a broadcasting deal in place if he is unable to find a job on the field.
Shin-Soo Choo says that he would like to stay in Cleveland long-term, writes MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince. Choo, like Morales, cut ties with his former agent (Alan Nero) in favor of Scott Boras.
Michael Weiner, the executive director of the players' union, confirmed that the union is participating in an investigation into alleged unauthorized withdrawals from Kendry Morales' bank account by a former employee of his former agents, Hendricks Sports Management (Bill Plunkett of the OC Register reporting). Morales recently dropped HSM and hired Scott Boras.
Bernie Miklasz of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch provides a few quotes from Albert Pujols about his contract situation. "Do I want to do this right now and take care of this so we don't need to worry about it? Of course," said Pujols. "If it happens, it happens. But there are some things I am able to control and there are other things that are out of my hands that I can't control. And that's the truth."
The Mariners signed righty Tom Wilhelmsen to a minor league contract, according to Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times. The 27-year-old had been out of baseball since 2005 because of substance abuse issues, though he resurfaced with an independent league team last season.
Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a report indicating the the Orix Buffaloes are moving towards a deal with Freddie Bynum. The White Sox released Bynum last week so he could pursue opportunities in Japan.
Meanwhile, Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says that Felipe Lopez will provide the Cardinals with a great amount of flexibility.
Joel Sherman of The New York Post calls the contracts of Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, C.C. Sabathia and other Yankee players "time-bomb contracts."
John Tomase of The Boston Herald says the Red Sox have a deep bench with Mike Lowell, Bill Hall, Jeremy Hermida, and Jason Varitek.

Odds & Ends: McClung, Aurilia, Lincecum, Brewers

By Tim Dierkes | February 10, 2010 at 9:42pm CDT

Links for Wednesday…

According to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro, Seth McClung's deal with the Marlins would be worth $800K if he makes the team, not $600K as originally reported (link goes to Twitter).
MLB.com's Tom Singer wrote about the hazards of signing pitchers to five-year deals.
Baggarly tweets that even though he isn't retired, Rich Aurilia has a broadcasting deal in place that is contingent on him not finding a job on the field.
Tim Lincecum and the Giants are still no closer to a deal, reports Andrew Baggarly of The San Jose Mercury News. Their arbitration hearing is now less than two days away.
MLB.com's Adam McCalvy takes a look back at the Brewers' arbitration history. The team is scheduled to go to a hearing with Corey Hart tomorrow, which would be their first in 12 years.
Mariners' GM Jack Zduriencik did not rule out the possibility of adding a catcher, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com (via Twitter).
RotoAuthority analyzes the Blue Jays' closer situation from a fantasy baseball angle.
SI's Jon Heyman names his free agent winners and losers. It's a well-done piece; my only gripe is Jason Marquis being in the loser bracket after signing a two-year, $15MM deal.
ESPN's Buster Olney reports that before signing with the Padres, catcher Yorvit Torrealba "offered himself to the Mets for $1.4MM." The Mets "indicated they had no money to spend."
Aaron Schafer of Viva El Birdos grades the Cardinals' offseason moves and non-moves.

Aurilia Hopes To Sign With Yankees Or Mets

By Tim Dierkes | February 2, 2010 at 4:22pm CDT

Rich Aurilia isn't ready to retire, reports Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. The 38-year-old corner infielder is seeking a minor league deal, and he'd like to play for the Yankees or Mets. Baggarly notes that Aurilia and new Yankee Randy Winn are old friends.

Aurilia signed a minor league deal with the Giants in February of last year and proceeded to have a rough 133 plate appearances. He doesn't blame injuries – in fact, Aurilia's trips to the DL were for phantom injuries (at the Giants' request).

Rich Aurilia Hopes To Play In 2010

By Tim Dierkes | November 23, 2009 at 8:01am CDT

Rich Aurilia hopes to play in 2010, according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Said Aurilia:

"As far as next year, I definitely want to play if the situation is right. I understand that I would mainly be a utility, pinch hitter-type player, which I'm alright with."

Crasnick notes that it was a trying year for Aurilia, whose father passed away. Aurilia, 38, hit .213/.256/.279 in 133 plate appearances while missing time with ankle and toe injuries. He'd signed a minor league deal with the Giants in February worth $1MM.

Odds & Ends: Astros, Mateo, Aurilia, Rays

By Zachary Links | September 27, 2009 at 2:48pm CDT

Some more links on this Sunday afternoon…

The Chicago Tribune's Phil Rogers writes that Tim Bogar and Manny Acta are early front-runners for the Astros managerial job. Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio could get called in for interviews by general manager Ed Wade.
Joe Strauss gives us an overview of the dispute the Cardinals are having with recently signed Dominican outfielder Wagner Mateo.
Veteran Rich Aurilia doesn't expect to be a part of the Giants' plans in 2010 according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Mike Hargrove, who last managed the Seattle Mariners, could land a job this winter, says Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com.
Marc Topkin tells us, via Twitter, that Rays' manager Joe Maddon will talk with his coaching staff immediately after the season, but doesn't anticipate any changes. Tampa's playoff hopes plummeted when they dropped 14 of their first 16 games in September.
Even at the age of 42, Omar Vizquel would still like to return for another season, according the AP. Can you think of any teams in need of the veterans services? Omar's only logged 189.2 innings at shortstop, but it's no surprise to see a tremendous 21.6 UZR/150.
Dejan Kovacevic checks in with the latest and greatest from Pirates' GM Neal Huntington, who once again stresses that the Buccos will not be spending money just to spend money this offseason.

Odds And Ends: Webb, Tazawa, Morgan, Aurilia

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 11, 2009 at 10:11am CDT

A few links for the morning…

Today's chat starts at 2pm CST.
Brandon Webb says he'll pitch next year and he hopes it's with the D'Backs, according to Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic. The team has the option of paying Webb $8.5MM or buying him out for $2MM.
MLB.com's Jason Beck says the Tigers, who had interest in Junichi Tazawa last Winter, now have to face the righty as he makes his first MLB start.
How about this stat, from Tracee Hamilton of the Washington Post: The Nats were 21st in the majors in runs before Nyjer Morgan's arrival. Since trading for him, they're third.
MLB.com's Chris Haft wonders if the Giants may be about to release Rich Aurilia.
Jim Callis of Baseball America reports that the Red Sox agreed to sign 10th rounder Brandon Jacobs for $750k, which exceeds the recommended bonus by about $600k.
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle hears that the A's have budgeted first round money for fourth rounder Max Stassi. However, there appears to be a 50% chance he accepts a scholarship at UCLA instead of going pro.

Odds & Ends: Johnson, Redding, Lopez, Giants, Hillman

By Steve Adams | July 19, 2009 at 2:36pm CDT

Hope everyone's Sunday is going well! Here's some links for the afternoon…

Israel Gutierrez of the Miami Herald feels that the face of the Marlins' future is ace Josh Johnson. Gutierrez feels that the most critical move the Marlins need to make it locking up Johnson to a long-term deal. To quote Gutierrez: "If Hanley Ramirez was worth paying for, then Johnson is at least as important, if not more."
David Lennon of Newsday has Tim Redding's take on the possibility of being released: "I'm not an idiot. I've been around the game long enough to know what's going on, with the way I've been used." Redding, however, remains with the Mets despite a 7.22 ERA.
Felipe Lopez isn't thinking about the trade rumors surrounding him, according to Nick Piecoro. He's focused on helping Arizona. Piecoro says that the Brewers have expressed interest in the Arizona second basemen.
It's been a hard weekend for the Giants, as the team's largest shareholder, Sue Burns, died at the age of 58 just a week after learning that she had cancer. Rich Aurilia had some kind words about Burns: "Being here for a while, I've known her family for a long time. They're great people to be around and always treated everyone on the team like a part of their own family, which is nice. You don't get that a lot from a lot of teams and owners. This is a huge loss not only for the Giants but everybody who knew her." Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Burns family, Giants organization, and Giants fans everywhere.
Royals general manager Dayton Moore has given Trey Hillman his vote of confidence, stating that despite the club's struggles, Hillman will remain with the Royals for both this season and next. Says Moore: "We're all in this thing together… You just can't keep reshuffling." The Royals have lost 42 of their last 61 games.

Odds And Ends: Redding, Aurilia, Mariners

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 3, 2009 at 2:12pm CDT

Giants Sign Rich Aurilia

By Tim Dierkes | February 9, 2009 at 8:03pm CDT

8:03pm: Henry Schulman says the deal is done. Aurilia will earn $1MM if he makes the team.

11:54am: According to Ken Rosenthal, "Rich Aurilia will return to the Giants on a minor-league contract. Aurilia, 37, chose the Giants over the Cubs and Phillies. His deal is expected to be finalized on Monday." Henry Schulman learned that the Blue Jays were also in on Aurilia, and the Astros made a Major League offer early in the winter.

Aurilia hit .283/.332/.413 in 440 plate appearances last year, but he does handle lefties well for the most part. Though their deals are not guaranteed, the Giants having both Aurilia and Juan Uribe in camp may be another sign that they’re backing off on Joe Crede. At the least, Crede would have to come down from his $7MMish demand for the Giants to sign him.

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