Phillies Sign Madson To Three-Year Extension
TUESDAY: The Madson extension is official, says Scott Lauber.
MONDAY: According to Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Phillies signed reliever Ryan Madson to a three-year extension worth $12MM plus incentives. The deal buys out his final arb year and two free agent years. It was previously thought that Madson, a Scott Boras client, might test the free agent market after the '09 season.
Madson, 28, posted a 3.05 ERA in 82.6 innings of relief this year.
Padres Projecting Over Budget
According to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Padres have a meager $40MM budget for players this year. They’re projecting to be about $4-5MM over, and they’ll probably have to trade Jake Peavy and/or Brian Giles at some point to meet the target. Both players have full no-trade rights.
It could be risky to wait on a Peavy trade, since an injury can happen anytime and he might pitch in the WBC. If the new Cubs ownership group will approve Peavy’s addition to the 2010 budget, trade talks could reignite (hasn’t happened yet). I don’t see why Opening Day has to be the arbitrary deadline to trade Peavy – maybe we’ll see a rare April blockbuster if the Padres and Cubs’ ownership situations necessitate it. Regarding the Felix Pie–Garrett Olson trade as a precursor, Padres CEO Sandy Alderson says too much is being made of it.
Mets-Sheets Chatter
MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone transcribes some comments from SI.com’s Tom Verducci, and also provides his own insight into Ben Sheets‘ possible demands. The Mets like him, but they want to do a heavily incentive-based deal similar to Brad Penny‘s. Sheets, having had a much better season than Penny, is apparently seeking two years and $18MM or so with a third-year option.
I’m surprised Sheets would want to lock himself in for multiple years given the down market. If he’s confident in his health, a straight one-year deal could be best. Sheets did already turn down such an offer from the Brewers (their offer of arbitration), but that was back on December 7th.
Rangers Sign Francisco, Close With Vizquel
11:37pm: An agreement has been reached with Francisco, according to the AP. He gets $1.615MM.
9:56pm: According to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com, the Rangers will avoid an arbitration hearing with reliever Frank Francisco. He is expected to sign a one-year contract on Tuesday.
Sullivan is also reporting that free agent shortstop Omar Vizquel is close to signing with the club and that a deal could be done as soon as Tuesday. Vizquel will be invited to spring training as a utility infielder and backup to rookie shortstop Elvis Andrus.
Wolf Rejects D’Backs Offer
According to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, free agent lefty Randy Wolf rejected an offer from the Diamondbacks. Jon Garland did the same last week; Garland’s offer apparently had two option years. Piecoro says the D’Backs have about $4-5MM left to spend this winter. Braden Looper is said to be next on the list.
Piecoro adds that the D’Backs have two arbitration-eligible players, Chad Qualls and Conor Jackson. They’re closer to an agreement with Qualls than Jackson.
Tadahito Iguchi Set To Join Chiba Lotte Marines
11:09pm: Patrick Newman tells us Japanese reports indicate this is a done deal at about $6MM over three years. Iguchi had solid years in three of his four MLB seasons, banking $11.8MM and snagging a World Series ring (two if his month with the Phillies this year counts).
7:47am: According to Kyodo News, second baseman Tadahito Iguchi is set to join the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan. A few weeks ago they reportedly offered three years and over $6MM.
In other Japanese baseball news, Kyodo reports that lefty Koji Mitsui will stay with the Seibu Lions after he was posted twice and no MLB team made a bid.
Arb Hearings For Aybar, Bartlett, Navarro?
According to Marc Topkin, three Rays players appear headed for February arbitration hearings: Willy Aybar, Jason Bartlett, and Dioner Navarro. The Rays have a policy of ending talks when figures are exchanged, and that happens Tuesday.
Manny Update
Not much new on the Manny Ramirez front, but Dylan Hernandez checks in anyway. Ned Colletti and Scott Boras spoke for about 15 minutes. Both sides are holding strong – the Dodgers haven’t moved much from their initial two-year, $45MM offer, and Boras is still talking the four-year talk. Hernandez says the Dodgers do not have an offer on the table currently.
Mets Sign Two Minor Leaguers
Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News reports that the Mets have agreed to minor league deals with infielder Argenis Reyes and left-handed pitcher Tom Martin. The transactions were also listed on Baseball America’s Minor League Transactions page.
Reyes, 26, hit .218/.259/.245 in 110 major-league at-bats last season. Martin, 38, was released by the Dodgers during spring training last year. He pitched just 5 1/3 innings for the Independent Atlantic League in ’08.
Twins Closing In On Gagne?
La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune heard from an insider source that the Twins aren’t far apart in contract negotiations with Eric Gagne.
A second source cautioned that the team is looking at several relievers, and that Gagne is only one of them, but it appears the Twins are finally close to inking some bullpen help. Gagne, 33, posted a 3.52 ERA after the All-Star break last season. He had a 5.44 ERA in 50 appearances overall.