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According to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, the Rockies have signed Josh Fogg to a minor league contract.
Fogg, 32, went 2-7 with a 7.58 ERA in 14 starts for the Reds last season. The Rox will hope he can get back to his ’07 form, when he finished 10-9 with a 4.94 ERA for Colorado. He’ll first have to win his way onto the roster. Greg Smith, Jorge De La Rosa, Franklin Morales, Jason Hirsh, Greg Reynolds and Matt Belisle are all vying for spots in the starting rotation.
By Tim Dierkes | at
The latest from John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, who spoke to Reds GM Walt Jocketty recently…
By Tim Dierkes | at
Links for Friday…
By Cork Gaines | at
On this day 22 years ago the Cubs traded Ron Cey to the A’s. Cey, a six-time All-Star, would only play 45 games for Oakland. "The Penguin" would retire following the 1987 season. With two weeks to go until pitchers and catchers report, teams are still finalizing their 2009 rosters. Let’s take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.
By Tim Dierkes | at
According to Peter Abraham, the Yankees avoided arbitration with reliever Brian Bruney by signing him for ’09. Troy Renck says he’ll get $1.25MM. Bruney was at $1.55MM and the Yanks at $1.1MM, for a midpoint of $1.325MM.
The Yankees are now done with arbitration cases, and the payroll is nearing $200MM says Buster Olney.
By Tim Dierkes | at
According to a press release, the Mariners re-signed reliever Randy Messenger to a minor league deal. They’d placed him on waivers to clear 40-man roster space for the recent acquisitions from the Cubs. Messenger, 27, pitched 12.6 innings for the Mariners last year and spent the rest of the time at Triple A.
By Tim Dierkes | at
1:28pm: Contract details from Massarotti:
Varitek will earn $5MM in 2009, with the club holding a $5MM option for 2010. If the Red Sox do not pick up that option, Varitek has the choice of remaining with the club on a $3MM deal. In ’10, he can earn another $2MM in incentives based on playing time, beginning at 80 games started. The incentives apply to the player option only.
The Boston Herald breaks down the 2010 bonuses. ESPN’s Jayson Stark and Jerry Crasnick add:
Had he declined or not responded, the team was gearing up to trade for another catcher.
1:01pm: From Jon Heyman: the Red Sox reached an agreement on a two-year deal with Varitek.
12:38pm: Nothing too huge here, but check out Massarotti’s latest. He says a resolution is expected by day’s end.
8:57am: Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal says there’s no morning deadline, though "a decision is likely to be made by this afternoon." WEEI’s Alex Speier and ESPN’s Jayson Stark heard something similar.
8:35am: So that deadline on Boston’s contract offer to Jason Varitek…what time zone is it in? Tony Massarotti believes it’s 11:30 EST. As Massarotti has said, Varitek is "seriously considering sitting out the 2009 season or retiring rather than accepting the offer."
By Tim Dierkes | at
According to a press release, the Cubs agreed to terms with catcher Paul Bako for 2009. Bako, 36, played for the Cubs for 2003-04. According to the AP, Bako gets $725K plus $300K in possible incentives.
By Tim Dierkes | at
FRIDAY: Dejan Kovacevic has the contract details – Maholm gets $14.5MM guaranteed. $13.75MM for his three arb years, plus a $750K buyout for his $9.75MM 2012 club option.
THURSDAY, 9:15am: Maholm gets three years plus a club option for a fourth, says Kovacevic. That option covers Maholm’s first free agent year.
Maholm, 26, posted a 3.71 ERA in 31 starts in 2008.
8:08am: According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates reached an agreement on a multiyear deal with starter Paul Maholm. The deal is expected to cover his three arbitration years. I imagine Maholm will earn something in the $12-13MM range for those three years.
This was Maholm’s first arb year; he submitted $3.8MM while the Pirates countered at $2.65MM ($3.225MM midpoint).
By Ben Jones | at
12:30pm: In an email, Bloom told me it is a combination of eight Type A and Bs (not eight of each) and whether or not the team offered arbitration has nothing to do with the quota.
11:37am: Bloom says that a unilateral exception was granted this offseason allowing any team to sign as many as eight Type A or B free agents. A total of 216 free agents filed, an exceptionally high number. Another note: Bloom learned from Manfred that while draft pick compensation would be eliminated if the player waits until after the June draft to sign, it has yet to occur.
10:44am: Brian Cashman told Peter Abraham the Yankees could sign up to eight Type A free agents if they wanted to. Cashman’s exact quote shows less certainty:
"I’m not sure of the exact number, but it’s one we won’t worry about either way."
10:05am: One reader asks a question I can’t answer: if the quota is three Type A/Bs, how were the Giants able to sign Jeremy Affeldt (B), Bob Howry (A), Randy Johnson (B), Edgar Renteria (A), and Juan Uribe (B)? Does it only apply to Type A/Bs who were offered arbitration? Is the quota three of each type?
7:45am: Just wanted to add the info from a January 6th Nick Cafardo article, where he stated that this year’s quota is nine Type A or B free agents. Everyone I’d spoken previously to believed the Yankees have not approached any quota. I know the CBA allows for more Type A/Bs to be signed if you lose them, and the Yankees lost Bobby Abreu and Mike Mussina. We attempted to tackle this in October and came away confused.
Still, Bloom talked to MLB’s executive VP of labor relations Rob Manfred for his article and it seems highly unlikely that Manfred would be wrong. – Tim Dierkes
1:28am: Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com is reporting that the New York Yankees cannot sign any more Type A or Type B free agents this offseason.
According to the Basic Agreement, and confirmed by a top Major League Baseball official, once the Yankees signed C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira, they had signed their quota of Type A or Type B free agents under the collectively bargained rules established by management and the Players Association, Bloom wrote.
All three were Type A free agents who played for other teams last season aside from the Yankees. The Yankees could re-sign their own Type A or Type B free agents without it affecting the quota.
Under the rules, "if there are from 39 to 62 [Type A and B] players [during a given offseason], no team can sign more than three."
Re-signing Type A pitchers Andy Pettitte and Damaso Marte did not affect the Yankees’ limit.
Offseason speculation has put the Yankees on the peripheral of interest for outfielder Manny Ramirez and pitcher Ben Sheets. This finding curbs those chances.
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