It's the final day of the month, so let's check the status of the various vesting options around the league…
- Bobby Abreu, Angels: $9MM option vests with 433 plate appearances. Abreu is more than a quarter of the way there already; he has 116 PA after today's game.
- Rafael Furcal, Dodgers: $12MM option vests with 600 plate appearances. Furcal came to the plate 28 times before breaking his thumb. He's going to miss another three to five weeks, so he's unlikely to see the option vest.
- Jon Garland, Dodgers: $8MM option vests with 190 innings pitched. Garland started the year on the disabed list and has thrown just 20 innings so far. He should still get there if he stays healthy.
- Francisco Rodriguez, Mets: $17.5MM option vests with 55 games finished and if doctors declare him healthy at the end of the season. K-Rod has finished eight games so far, but you have to think the club will use him in a way to prevent the option from vesting.
- Koji Uehara, Orioles: $4MM option vests with either 55 appearances or 25 games finished. Uehara has appeared in eight games and finished four, putting him on pace for 54 and 27, respectively.
- Arthur Rhodes, Rangers: $4MM option vests with 62 appearances and if he's not on the disabled list at the end of the season. He's appeared in eight games so far, putting him on pace for 50. Injuries to the some of his bullpen mates could increase Rhodes' workload though.
- Joakim Soria, Royals: $6MM option vests with 55 appearances. He's already appeared in 12 games and is on pace for 75.
- Dan Wheeler, Red Sox: $3MM option vests with 65 games; increases to $3.25MM with 70 games. Wheeler has appeared in just eight games so far, so he'll have to start seeing more time for the option to kick in.
Adam Wainwright's 2012 ($9MM) and 2013 ($12MM) options will not vest because he will finish the season on the disabled list. Aramis Ramirez's option depends on MVP Award finishes and whether or not he's traded, not plate appearances or another counting milestone.
Mark Buehrle is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2011 season and although he doesn't have a traditional option in his contract, he gets an extra year at $15MM tacked onto his current deal if he's traded at some point this season.
Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.
The White Sox really do need to trade Buehrle.
He would be a interesting option for the yankees since he provides a moderate level of insurance if CC leaves after the season, and being on what would essentially be a 1yr/$15mil it would come of the books before what is shaping up to be a SP heavy free agent market after 2012. That being said with his 10-5 rights, and the likelyhood of the White Sox haveing to pay 3-5 mil of the option to recieve any thing of value it seems unlikely a trade will happen especially if he projects as a type A free agent.
Even if he is a Type A the Sox will not offer arbitration. I wish they would just commit to a full rebuild, those are both exciting and profitable. At least the fanbase would know the direction the franchise was going.
Im didnt mean to insist the sox would offer him Arbitration, In all likely hood they will/would decline it which would make Buehrle more attractive free agent. With his ability to decline any trade he could take the risk and ride out the season with a hope of a 4-5 year deal, assuming he is still content with playing and not retiring sooner rather than later.
mark has full not trade and has not been shy about where he wants to pitch and that is for the whitesox or the cards and thats about it
To the Cardinals
Assuming his option vests Abreu is a non-tender candidate after this season.
If his option vests, he’s under contract for next season.
It’s hard to be a non-tender candidate when you’re under contract.
Come to think of it Im not sure you can non tender unless the player is in a arb year, Only case i can think of that i’m not sure on is george sherrill. With 10-12 DH canidates on the market after the season i cant imagine the angels will be willing to pay $9 mil on the basis he can get on base at a good clip, his .371 slugging % this season isnt help either.
That’s correct, unless a player is under team control and not under a contract for next year can they be non-tendered. If they have 6-years of service time and no contract for the next season you are a FA (assuming you file, which every player does), and your team has no reason to non-tender. And if you have a contract for the next season, you either are on the team next year, or they have to release you. If you are arbitration eligible or your team can renew your contract and you have no contract for next year, you are non-tendered if you are not offered a contract for the next season by December 12th(ish, the date isn’t always the same I don’t think). And for those whose contract is renewable, non-tendering doesn’t make much sense unless the player has no upside and is terrible, because it often means you only have to pay them league minimum.
As far as Abreu goes, they’ll probably try to trade him, but if they can’t and the option vests, they probably give him spring training and a month or so to see if he’s worth anything if they can’t trade him, and if not they’ll probably release him. Although I see him putting up good enough stats for them to keep him, as he won’t be worth his contract, but he won’t be hurting his team like Castillo and Perez hurt the Mets.
So barring any trades, and assuming the contract vests, Abreu will probably be an Angel next season.
So Wainwright is gonna be a Free Agent?
It becomes a team option I believe. The Cardinals can choose whether they want to pick it up or not.
My guess would be that if it does become the teams option they would try to negotiate a new contract, probably two years, with a lower base the first year rather than pick up the option. That would give them a little bit more money to offer Pujols and also give Wainwright a bit more security given his injury. The Cards would be taking a bit of a risk signing a TJS guy for two years but they’d also not be paying him $9 million in 2012 considering that he’s likely to struggle some during his comeback. Just a guess but that sounds like a win/win for both. No doubt if they declined the option there would be a ton of interest on the market for him.
“Furcal came to the plate 28 times breaking his thumb.”
Ouch. He should have stopped after the 2nd or 3rd time, but nooooo!
Soria’s option – even if it doesn’t vest, the team will pick it up.
Mark Buehrle will be a Cardinal this season, and he will go 12-0 with 153 SO’s in the National League.
and a few home runs….mark buehrle+cash+center field prospect(even jarred mitchell or jordan danks) and/ or juan pierre and cash for colby…
Agreed. Never been a Buehrle fan, he’s too hittable. His best asset is durability but even that isn’t so great if he’s having a down year. As a Cub fan I can say it wouldn’t bother me in the least if he does end up with the Cardinals.
“he’s too hittable”
I’m not saying you’re wrong, but this is a funny thing to say about a guy with a no hitter AND a perfect game under his belt.
career whip of 1.28….not at all close to “too hittable”
That’s 2 GS out of 340 GS. .006% sample size.
again career whip of 1.28…..pretty darn good!!