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Archives for October 2008

Indians Exercise Carroll’s Option

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THURSDAY: According to MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince, the Indians exercised Carroll’s $2.5MM option for ’09.

MONDAY: ESPN’s Buster Olney says it’s looking more and more likely the Indians pick up Carroll’s option.

SUNDAY: According to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Indians will re-sign infielder Jamey Carroll this week.  They have a $2.5MM club option on him, but it seems that they may be hammering out a deal for less.

Carroll, 35 in February, hit .277/.355/.346 in 402 plate appearances.  He spent time at second and third base this year.

Free Agent Quotas

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Readers often ask whether teams will face quotas if they want to sign multiple Type A or B free agents.  So tonight I busted out the Basic Agreement and tried to translate it into English.  The relevant section:

Quota

(a) Clubs shall be limited in the number of Type A and B Players, as defined below, they may subsequently sign to contracts. The number of signings permitted shall be related to the number of Players electing free agency under this Section B. If there are 14 or less such Players, no Club may sign more than one Type A or B Player. If there are from 15 to 38 such Players, no Club may sign more than two Type A or B Players. If there are from 39 to 62 such Players, no Club may sign more than three Type A or B Players. If there are more than 62 such Players, the Club quotas shall be increased accordingly. There shall be no restrictions on the number of unranked Players that a Club may sign to contracts.

(b) Irrespective of the provisions of subparagraph (a) above, a Club shall be eligible to sign at least as many Type A and B Players as it may have lost through Players having become free agents under this Section at the close of the season just concluded.

Got all that?  There will be many more than 62 players electing free agency, so the exact number of Type A/Bs allowed per team is unknown.  It is certain that each team will be allowed to sign at least three.  191 players are potentially eligible for free agency.  It seems that if 131+ players file, each club could be allotted up to six Type A/B signings (more than enough for most).

The above-quoted section b lets certain teams sign even more than the normal allotment.  Say every team is allowed to sign six.  Two teams, the Dodgers (8) and Angels (7), could potentially lose more than six Type A/Bs.  So if the Dodgers somehow lost all eight of their A/B free agents (Kent, Furcal Blake, Ramirez, Lowe, Maddux, Penny, Beimel), they would be allowed to sign eight to make up for it.

To sum it up, I don’t see any team running up against the Type A/B quota.  Comments and questions are welcome – I am not certain my interpretation of the Basic Agreement is correct.

Heyman’s Latest: K-Rod, Furcal, Blalock

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Non-Manny notes from Jon Heyman’s latest…

  • The Angels and Mets "appear hesitant" to give Francisco Rodriguez five years.  There’s not an obvious suitor to overpay K-Rod, but the Mets are the closest.
  • Heyman sees Brian Fuentes getting about $11MM per year.  Ken Rosenthal recently suggested even more money.
  • Doug Melvin could become a candidate for the Mariners job if the Brewers aren’t able to extend him.  Doesn’t seem to make sense since Melvin is signed through 2009.
  • Heyman believes Chris Antonetti in Cleveland is contractually guaranteed the GM job in the future.
  • The Dodgers will try to re-sign Rafael Furcal, no surprise there.
  • A scout sang the praises of Hank Blalock’s second-half hitting (.281/.324/.532 after the break).  Blalock may be on the trading block.

Six Years For Manny?

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5:45pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman also talked to Boras, and the word "iconic" was used.  Uh-oh.  Six years, $150MM?  Heyman sees the Yankees, Mets, and Blue Jays as suitors aside from the Dodgers.

4:36pm: When the idea of a six-year contract for slugger Manny Ramirez first surfaced (from Manny himself), it was not considered a serious possibility.  However, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman had a long conversation with Scott Boras, who strongly hinted that Manny legitimately deserves six years.

Boras points to Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez, two iconic players paid to age 42.  Boras brushed off the messy Boston exit, referring only to "internal issues that were a concern."

Here’s the thing about Boras: he says or strongly implies a lot of questionable things.  Recent examples:  12 years for A-Rod, the Cardinals failing to win the division in ’07 because they didn’t sign Jeff Weaver, and Oliver Perez not being erratic.  It’ll be a winter full of amusing Boras rhetoric, with Perez, Joe Crede, Eric Gagne, Felipe Lopez, Derek Lowe, Ivan Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, and Jason Varitek also eligible for free agency.

Offseason Outlook: Los Angeles Angels

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Next up in our Offseason Outlook series, the Angels.  Here’s how their 25-man roster might look using only internal candidates:

C – Mike Napoli – $425K
C – Jeff Mathis – $415K
1B – Kendry Morales – $600K
2B – Howie Kendrick – $433K
SS – Erick Aybar – $415K
3B – Brandon Wood – $400K
IF – Maicer Izturis – $1.2MM+
IF/OF – Robb Quinlan – $1.05MM+
LF – Chone Figgins – $4.75MM+
CF – Torii Hunter – $17.5MM
RF – Gary Matthews Jr. – $10MM
OF – Reggie Willits – $433K
DH/OF – Vladimir Guerrero – $15MM (club option)

SP – John Lackey – $9MM (club option)
SP – Ervin Santana – $420K+
SP – Jered Weaver – $435K
SP – Joe Saunders – $425K
SP – Dustin Moseley – $420K

RP – Scot Shields – $5MM
RP – Jose Arredondo – $400K
RP – Justin Speier – $4.75MM
RP – Jason Bulger – $400K
RP – Kevin Jepsen – $400K
RP – Darren O’Day – $400K
RP –

Other commitments: Garret Anderson – $3MM, Kelvim Escobar – $9.5MM (ready by All-Star break?)

That’s about $87MM committed, plus arbitration raises to Izturis, Quinlan, Figgins, and Santana.  So that’ll put them in the low $90MM range.  The Angels were at $124MM this year.  Owner Arte Moreno wants to keep payroll there, but could make exceptions for the right players.  We’ll say they have at least $30MM to spend, maybe more.

Three star players/free agents should be under consideration: Mark Teixeira, Francisco Rodriguez, and C.C. Sabathia.  Teixeira makes the most sense, especially since Morales’ ’08 minor league line translates to a .740 OPS in the bigs.  Given their .330 team OBP, the Angels could really use Tex’s .400.

Losing both K-Rod and Darren Oliver would hurt the pen; the Angels will probably bring in some kind of veteran help.  With Escobar slated to miss a good chunk of ’09, one more starter is also needed.  It’d be tough to cram Tex and Sabathia into the budget, but the free agent market offers plenty of other starters.

I know the Angels have their own run-scoring style, but it’s hard to argue against getting on base more often.  With that in mind I’d make Tex top priority.  With the DH spot semi-open, I’d also consider Milton Bradley.  Brian Giles, Adam Dunn, Magglio Ordonez, Jason Giambi, Prince Fielder, Bobby Abreu, and Pat Burrell are other big names who get on base.  (Manny Ramirez fits as well, though it’d have to be him instead of Teixeira rather than both).

$30-40MM is a lot of spending money, though $20MM+ (’09 salary) could go toward Teixeira or Sabathia.  I might take my chances with the fifth starter job and bring in Teixeira and another high-OBP player.

Cards Cut Phelps, Claim Manning

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According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals designated first baseman Josh Phelps for assignment today and claimed lefty reliever Charlie Manning off waivers from the Nationals.

Phelps, 30, has been with seven organizations.  Things looked promising when he came up in 2002 and snagged some ROY votes with .924 OPS in a half-season.  He hit 31 home runs in Triple A this year, but it was his fourth extended stint at the level.

Manning, 29, is also a minor league veteran.  The Cards are his fourth organization; he debuted as a 29 year-old rookie with the Nationals this year.  He did a pretty good job against lefties.  With Ron Villone eligible for free agency, the Cards figured to add a few lefty relievers.

Clemens Quotes

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KRIV-TV in Houston talked to Roger Clemens recently.  Clemens seems caught in some kind of limbo between pitching and retiring:

"Right now I don’t have the desire to do so.  I’m enjoying what I’m doing, the number of things I’m doing around town, just enjoying that.  I don’t know if I will ever say no. I would have to know that I could perform at a high level and that my body would be able to hold up."

Not sure exactly what to make of that meandering quote – is the 46 year-old leaving the door open to playing again?  What will he not say no to?

Rosenthal’s Latest: Manny, Mussina, Cano, Lowe

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Ken Rosenthal’s latest column at FOX Sports is jam-packed with rumors.

  • Manny Ramirez will generate plenty of interest on the free agent market; he wants at least four years.  There was a report earlier this month that Scott Boras expected to get five years.  The term will be a crucial factor.  Rosenthal names the Phillies, Mets, and Yankees as three teams that may pursue Manny.
  • The Mariners’ rebuilding effort will likely be spearheaded by a first-time GM, not an ideal scenario in the opinion of some baseball people.
  • The Dodgers lost Shane Victorino twice in the Rule 5 draft.  Tony Jackson had more details on that history a few days ago.
  • Rosenthal talked to friends of Mike Mussina who remain convinced he will retire.  Buster Olney got a different vibe recently.
  • Rosenthal notes that the Dodgers’ interest in Robinson Cano is "sincere," but it’s unknown what they’d give up for him.
  • Derek Lowe’s teammates say he has little interest in playing for the Mets or Yankees.
  • Back in ’07, Blake DeWitt was considered a possible throw-in in a proposed Joe Blanton to the Dodgers deal.  Rumor was the A’s wanted three frontline prospects from the Dodgers, DeWitt not among them.

Odds and Ends: Castillo, Avila, Young

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Links for Wednesday…

Latest Peavy Chatter

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10:39am: More from Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune.  Peavy has a strong preference for the NL, and wants to play for a winner.  Axelrod mentioned Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and St. Louis as cities that fit for Peavy and his family.  Because of Peavy’s willingness to pitch in L.A., the Angels were named as a possibility by Axelrod.

8:27am: Let’s catch up on recent Jake Peavy articles.  Dan Hayes of the North County Times wrote about Peavy Monday, quoting Padres GM Kevin Towers saying nothing is imminent.  Hayes talked to several sources who say Peavy prefers to stay in the National League.  The Padres have already approached him with hypothetical trade scenarios (Peavy has to approve any trade).

Regarding that no-trade clause – Peavy’s agent Barry Axelrod is on record saying three AL teams could entice his client.  But at the end of the season, Peavy said he wouldn’t accept a deal to the AL.  David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution spoke to someone claiming to be an old friend of Peavy’s.  The friend agrees that Peavy wouldn’t waive his no-trade clause for an AL team, despite his agent’s statement.

The friend gave O’Brien all kinds of info, making the Braves sound like Peavy’s top choice.  O’Brien adds that the Braves let Towers know they’re interested.  Even if Peavy is picky about his destination, though, there is no reason for Towers to accept a package that does not begin with Jason Heyward or Tommy Hanson.  He has plenty of time to explore possible Peavy trades.

The Cardinals may also be in the mix, according to Buster Olney.  Olney says that one team, "perhaps the Cardinals," is discussing the idea of adding Khalil Greene to a Peavy deal.

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