Luke Scott Rumors
AL East Notes: Rays, Scott, Orioles, Jurrjens
Here's a look at news out of the American League East..
- Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter) hears that Luke Scott can earn up to $750K in performance bonuses through his one-year deal with the Rays. The incentive is tied to plate appearances, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). The designated hitter will make a base salary of $2.75MM in 2013 and will look to stay healthy after a pair of trips to the DL limited him to 96 games last season.
- The Orioles still haven't finalized their deal with Jair Jurrjens as team doctors are still going over the information from his Monday physical, Connolly tweets. The pitcher says that the two sides are close to finalizing the pact and and says there's just some "small stuff" to iron out (Twitter link). Jurrjens agreed to a one-year, $1.5MM Major League contract last month that balloon to as much as $4MM with incentives.
- Britt Ghiroli of MLB.com says it's possible that Orioles Executive Vice President Dan Duquette is stockpiling pitching depth in order to deal for a middle-of-the-order bat. Even if the O's use the surplus to bolster their offense, Ghiroli expects them to still hang on to extra pitching as insurance.
Rays Sign Luke Scott
FEBRUARY 6th: The Rays announced that they have finalized their deal with Scott. The 34-year-old will earn $2.75MM for this season, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter).
JANUARY 24th: The Rays are set to re-sign Luke Scott, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (on Twitter). Topkin reported yesterday that there was mutual interest between the Rays and Scott, a PSI Sports Management client.
Scott made two trips to the disabled list as a result of oblique and back injuries in 2012. When healthy he hit 14 home runs and posted a .229/.285/.439 batting line in 344 plate appearances. However, there was limited buzz surrounding the 34-year-old this offseason.
Rays executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman has added many free agents this offseason. Joel Peralta obtained a two-year deal, and Roberto Hernandez, Kyle Farnsworth and James Loney signed one-year deals. The Rays also added notable players such as Jamey Wright and Juan Carlos Oviedo on minor league deals.
The market for designated hitters still includes Travis Hafner, Carlos Lee, Jim Thome, Juan Rivera and Bobby Abreu, as MLBTR's Free Agent Tracker shows. The Indians, Yankees and Astros are among the teams that could pursue help at DH.
Heyman On Abreu, Blue Jays, Rays
The latest from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter links)...
- The Marlins and Rays are among the possibilities for Bobby Abreu, Heyman reports. Abreu, 38 in March, hopes to extend his career following an unremarkable offensive season in 2012.
- The Blue Jays are still in the bullpen market along with the Mets, Heyman reports. The Marlins, Astros and Dodgers might also be involved in pursuit of relievers, Heyman adds. Here are the details on the Mets’ bullpen targets.
- The Rays will likely officially announce their deals with Kyle Farnsworth, Luke Scott and Kelly Johnson next week, Heyman reports.
Mutual Interest For Rays, Luke Scott
The Rays and Luke Scott continue to express mutual interest in signing a new contract, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Scott has been a free agent since the end of October, when the Rays declined his $6MM option for 2013.
Scott made two trips to the disabled list as a result of oblique and back injuries in 2012. When healthy he hit 14 home runs and posted a .229/.285/.439 batting line in 344 plate appearances. However, there’s been limited buzz surrounding the 34-year-old PSI Sports Management client to this point in the offseason. He indicated in the fall that he hoped to return to Tampa Bay. “It's just a great place to play,” he told Bill Chastain of MLB.com. “I really enjoyed my time here. I hope they'll have me back."
Topkin suggests the Rays could consider alternatives such as free agents Travis Hafner, Aubrey Huff, Dan Johnson, Carlos Lee, Juan Rivera and Jim Thome or trade candidates such as Jason Kubel and Mike Carp.
Astros Links: Berkman, DH, Norris
Here's the latest from the American League's newest team, the Houston Astros...
- Lance Berkman remains atop the team's DH wishlist according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). There are still issues to be resolved before a reunion takes place.
- Crasnick notes that if the Astros can't bring Berkman back, they're likely to seek a late-20s player who's been blocked and needs an opportunity to serve as DH (Twitter links). They don't have interest in players like Luke Scott, Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, Jason Giambi, and Travis Hafner.
- A few teams are considering right-hander Bud Norris as a back-end rotation option, reports Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe (on Twitter). The 27-year-old pitched to a 4.65 ERA in 168 1/3 innings last season and projects to earn $2.9MM through arbitration next winter.
Rays Pick Up Options For Shields, Rodney, Molina; Decline For Scott
The Rays have officially exercised their 2013 club options for James Shields, Fernando Rodney, and Jose Molina, the team announced. They also declined their option for Luke Scott.
Both Molina ($1.8MM) and Shields ($10.25MM) were expected to have their options picked up. The 35-year-old Rodney pitched to a 0.60 ERA with 48 saves this year, so his $2.5MM option was a no-brainer. Scott, 34, hit .229/.285/.439 with 14 homers and will receive a $1MM buyout rather than a $6MM salary.
Scott, Rays Consider 2013 Option
Luke Scott’s 2012 season fell short of expectations, but he’d like to return to Tampa Bay for another year. The 34-year-old designated hitter told Bill Chastain of MLB.com that he hopes the Rays exercise the $6MM club option on his contract instead of paying him a $1MM buyout.
“The environment is awesome,” Scott said. “It's just a great place to play. I really enjoyed my time here. I hope they'll have me back."
Scott made two trips to the disabled list this past season as a result of oblique and back injuries. When healthy he hit 14 home runs and posted a .229/.285/.439 batting line in 344 plate appearances. Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told Chastain it’s too early to say whether Scott will be back for another year.
“He really scuffled in the first half,” Friedman said. “In the second half he had the type of output that we kind of anticipated if things went well and lined up well."
AL East Notes: Damon, Maddon, Scott, Kuroda
On this date in 2009, the Red Sox signed John Smoltz to a one-year contract. He struggled through 40 innings in Boston before moving on to St. Louis, where he pitched to considerably better results in seven starts. Here's the latest on the AL East...
- Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com and Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com wonder if Johnny Damon could be a fit for the Orioles in 2012.
- The Rays and Joe Maddon have made progress in extension talks for the skipper, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Maddon’s contract expires after the 2012 season, but both sides have expressed interest in working an extended agreement out before then.
- Luke Scott told reporters that he won’t be ready to play the outfield until May or June, because his shoulder injury is still healing, Topkin tweets. Scott, whose deal with the Rays became official today, will DH right away and may play some first base.
- Scott says the Orioles never made him a firm offer after non-tendering him, Kubatko tweets.
- The Red Sox are still in talks with the agent for Hiroki Kuroda, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets.
- Former Red Sox GM Theo Epstein addressed his departure from Boston and other related topics on WEEI this morning and we have the details here.
Rays To Sign Luke Scott
THURSDAY: The deal is official, Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (Twitter links). Scott will earn $5MM in 2012, and the club option is worth $6MM with a $1MM buyout. The Tampa Tribune reports (on Twitter) that the contract also includes bonuses placed on plate appearances.
WEDNESDAY: The Rays have reached an agreement with designated hitter Luke Scott on a one-year deal with a 2013 option, reports Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times was first to report the near-agreement, and he notes that it includes incentives. Scott is represented by PSI Sports Management.
Scott, 33, hit .220/.301/.402 in 236 plate appearances in 2011, his season cut short by July shoulder surgery. The Orioles non-tendered him last month rather than pay a salary in the range of 2011's $6.4MM figure. Scott told Topkin he expects to primarily serve as the Rays' DH, with some time at first base. If his shoulder is fully recovered, perhaps he can return to the .500 slugging percentage-type power he's shown in the past. The Rays are closest to Scott's Florida home, notes Connolly.
Scott is a late bloomer, having burst onto the scene with a strong half-season for the Astros at age 28 in '06. After the '07 campaign, he was dealt to the Orioles as part of the Miguel Tejada trade. Scott has drawn plenty of attention off the field, particularly after interviews with David Brown of Yahoo and Amy K. Nelson of ESPN.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Rays Moving Close To Deal With Luke Scott
12:12pm: It sounds like the Rays are moving close to a deal with Scott, tweets Topkin.
8:50am: Luke Scott is among the players the Rays have talked about, reported Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times yesterday. Scott could be a one-year option for the Rays mainly at designated hitter. Reportedly ten teams aside from the Orioles have shown interest in Scott since he was non-tendered a month ago, but none of them had been revealed until now. Shoulder surgery ended Scott's season in July.
As we mentioned yesterday, Topkin talked to agent Scott Boras, who said Carlos Pena and Johnny Damon remain possible for the Rays.
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