Archives for July 2008

Odds and Ends: Bedard, Hudson, Inoa, Varitek

By Tim Dierkes | July 23, 2008 at 1:28pm CDT

Let’s dig through today’s links.

Cork Gaines takes a look at the Rays most likely to be traded.
According to Ken Davidoff, the Rockies have been scouting Yankees pitching prospect Humberto Sanchez. He’d be a more reasonable return for Brian Fuentes.
Erik Bedard’s MRI came out clean, but it’s still hard to see him in a big league game before August.
Dan Haren used to follow every trade rumor on the Internet, but Justin Duchscherer doesn’t monitor the hot stove buzz.
Shane Victorino is aware of the rumors, but wants to stay in Philly.
With Emilio Bonifacio gone, Scott Bordow thinks the D’Backs should try to sign Orlando Hudson. Bordow would only offer $8MM a year though.
Paul Hoynes looks at the Indians’ areas of need for the offseason.
Peter Abraham doesn’t expect the Yankees to pursue a catcher.
Melissa Segura of SI.com writes about Michael Inoa’s buscon.
Patrick Newman profiles Kenshin Kawakami, who should be quite popular this winter.
Buster Olney expects Jason Varitek to feel a ripple effect from Jorge Posada’s injury. His sources expect the Red Sox to offer Varitek one or two years at $6-8MM per.
MLB.com is looking for a fan to guest host their show The Dish.

Reds Interested In Huston Street?

By Tim Dierkes | July 23, 2008 at 11:50am CDT

Up until today, the list of known Huston Street suitors included the Mets, White Sox, Dodgers, and Brewers (though the Dodgers and Brewers may be out). The San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser tosses a new club into the mix: the Reds.

It’s an interesting development; the Reds are nine games out of the wild card. Of course, that didn’t stop the Astros from making an acquisition. And unlike Randy Wolf, Street is under team control through 2010. On the other hand, Street could earn more than $5MM next year and the Reds are already paying Francisco Cordero $12MM in ’09.

For discussion’s sake…would a Street-Adam Dunn swap make any sense? We know that the A’s are lingering around on Jason Bay discussions. Dunn isn’t under contract for ’09, but he should be good for two draft picks. Walt Jocketty and Billy Beane matched up once before, on the Mark Mulder–Dan Haren deal.

Braves Rumors: Mike Gonzalez, Ohman, Teixeira

By Tim Dierkes | July 23, 2008 at 11:18am CDT

Despite recent speculation about Mike Gonzalez’s availability, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman says the Braves reliever is not going anywhere. Bowman talked to a team official who seemed adamant about keeping Gonzalez. That is no surprise, since Gonzalez is under team control for ’09 and Rafael Soriano is of questionable health.

Bowman adds that interest has picked up in another Braves lefty reliever, Will Ohman. The Braves apparently see Ohman as a Type B free agent and want a return better than the supplemental draft pick they could receive by letting him walk.

Similarly, the Braves will keep Mark Teixeira if they can’t top the two draft picks they’d receive for him. The risk there would be if Baltimore signs Teixeira and their first round pick is protected.

Free Agent Compensation

By Tim Dierkes | July 23, 2008 at 10:30am CDT

Here's an explanation of how free agent compensation works in baseball.

Teams can choose to offer arbitration to their free agents after each season. If the player accepts, the team will get the player on a one-year deal at a figure determined by the arbitration process. Typically, players who accept arbitration get raises. If a player rejects arbitration, his former team gets nothing but compensation picks.

A player can either be classified as Type A, Type B, or nothing based on his stats from the previous two seasons in certain categories, depending on his position. For example, first basemen, outfielders and DHs are rated based on the following categories: plate appearances, average, on base percentage, homers, and RBI.

If a team signs a Type A free agent, they have to surrender a top pick to that player’s former team. If the signing team placed in the bottom half of MLB teams, their draft pick is protected and they surrender a second-round pick instead.

Sometimes, teams sign more than one Type A free agent. In that case, one team gets a top compensation pick and other teams lose out. The team losing the highest-ranked free agent obtains the best pick the signing team can offer and other teams fall in line behind the team that loses the top-ranked player.

Regardless of where Type A free agents sign, their teams obtain a supplementary round pick in the following year’s draft (plus a pick from the team that signed the player).

A free agent can also be classified as a Type B based on his stats. Teams don’t have to give picks up to sign Type B free agents, but teams that lose Type Bs obtain supplementary round picks in the next year’s draft.

Another rule to consider for Type As and Type Bs: the "losing" team can receive draft pick compensation without offering arbitration if their free agent signs before December 1st.

There’s also a third possibility – the free agent is not classified as Type A or B, and there is no draft pick compensation.

Over the years, many quality players have been drafted as the result of free agent compensation. Recent examples include Huston Street, Phil Hughes, Clay Buchholz, Jacoby Ellsbury, Joba Chamberlain, Colby Rasmus, and Ian Kennedy.

I owe most of my understanding of free agent compensation to ESPN's Keith Law. Check out his blog post on the topic from '06 as well as an MLBTR post about the ranking formulas based on info provided by Keith.

Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.

Olney On Ibanez

By Tim Dierkes | July 23, 2008 at 10:05am CDT

ESPN’s Buster Olney had some details on Mariners left fielder Raul Ibanez yesterday:

There is a perception that the Mariners’ asking price on Raul Ibanez is high, but Seattle hasn’t deeply negotiated with anyone yet — though the Mariners will be getting into those talks in the days ahead. While their asking price is going to be affected by the fact that Ibanez will likely be a Type A free agent after the season and would command two compensation draft picks, it figures that they’ll work out a deal with the Mets, Diamondbacks or some other team for Ibanez, who is arguably the best left-handed hitter on the market. It figures, too, that the Mariners will be looking to move Jose Vidro.

There are other quality left-handed hitters on the market – Adam Dunn and Aubrey Huff have both out-hit Ibanez this year. All three are question marks defensively though.

Ibanez and Dunn are both free agents after the season, and are highly likely to earn Type A status.

The Price For Fuentes

By Tim Dierkes | July 23, 2008 at 9:16am CDT

According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the Rockies have asked various teams for the following players for closer Brian Fuentes: Wade Davis, Ian Kennedy, Clay Buchholz, and Jon Niese. Tracy Ringolsby says no concrete offers have been made for Fuentes yet.

Fuentes will provide two months of solid relieving, and possibly two draft picks after that. But alternatives are plentiful, and the Rockies are in danger of overplaying their hand if the price doesn’t come down soon. It doesn’t help the Rockies that the Nationals accepted Emilio Bonifacio for for 2.3 years of Jon Rauch.

Wolf Trade Reactions

By Tim Dierkes | July 23, 2008 at 8:50am CDT

The Padres found an unlikely suitor for lefty starter Randy Wolf in the Houston Astros. Here are the reactions:

Paul DePodesta thinks Chad Reineke might be able to help the Padres soon.
Richard Justice calls it a stubborn move for the Astros, who "threw $3.5MM at a lost season."
MLB.com’s Jim Molony wonders if the Astros could shop Wolf in August if the team falls further out of contention. An Ed Wade quote reveals part of the motivation for the acquisition – the GM says the Astros get their foot in the door in case they want to sign Wolf beyond this season.

Yankees In Trade Talks For Washburn

By Tim Dierkes | July 22, 2008 at 11:41pm CDT

11:38pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman checks in on these talks. He says the Yankees want to ship Kei Igawa to Seattle, but then the Mariners could see that and raise them a Jose Vidro.

It would probably be easier for the Yankees to eat all of Washburn’s contract while just sending the Mariners a marginal prospect.

9:34pm: Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger reports that the Mariners are scouting the Yankees’ Double A club. The Ms aren’t big on Melky Cabrera, but may be willing to take minor leaguers if New York takes on all of Washburn’s contract.

1:36pm: According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Yankees are "taking a serious look at Seattle lefty Jarrod Washburn."

Washburn, 34 in August, has a 4.75 ERA in 110 innings this year. For what it’s worth, he has a 3.03 ERA in 62.3 innings since May 25th. That’s cherry-picking, though – 4.50-4.75 is Washburn’s level. He can chew up 190 innings at the back end of a rotation.

Washburn is owed $10.35MM in ’09, and has limited no-trade protection. Olney believes it would mainly be a salary dump, and the Mariners might consider something like Kei Igawa and a secondary prospect. Yankees GM Brian Cashman hasn’t struck a deal with the Ms since ’03, when he worked with Pat Gillick on an Armando Benitez for Jeff Nelson swap.

Yankees Scouting Dodgers

By Tim Dierkes | July 22, 2008 at 11:20pm CDT

Here’s one I missed from this morning. According to George King of the New York Post:

Yankee scout Rick Williams is following the Dodgers, who will entertain offers for right-hander Derek Lowe if he will bring L.A. a much-needed bat.

Hard to think of a good match there. Plus, why would the Dodgers trade Lowe when they’re a half-game out? Even if Lowe walks after the season he’s good for two draft picks.

Heyman’s Latest: Sabathia, Dunn, Blake

By Tim Dierkes | July 22, 2008 at 11:15pm CDT

Another column from SI.com’s Jon Heyman.

The Yankees "appear primed to make a big push" for CC Sabathia when he hits free agency. While Sabathia may prefer the West Coast, he reportedly will not be offering a discount to those teams. He’ll want Johan money.
Heyman speculates that Adam Dunn could be a nice addition for the Yankees, one that might mostly cost just money. I know he hates playing baseball and all but the lack of interest is perplexing. Brian Cashman and Walt Jocketty have matched up a couple of times for trades, including one that sent Sterling Hitchcock to St. Louis in ’03.
Heyman believes both the Yankees and Mets might consider Cleveland’s Casey Blake.

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