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Archives for February 2009

Nationals Have Six Players For Four Spots

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As Chico Harlan of the Washington Post explains, the Nationals now have six players for four spots following the Adam Dunn signing.  Harlan says the Nats prefer Dunn in left field if Nick Johnson is healthy, leaving Josh Willingham’s role in question.  Here’s a look at the six players:

  • Adam Dunn: Agreed to play first base or left field.  Two-year, $20MM deal to become official today.
  • Nick Johnson: Has never played anywhere but first base.  Wants to play every day, but spent most of 2007-08 on the DL for leg and wrist injuries.  He’s fine with a trade.  Set to earn $5.5MM in ’09 in last year before free agency.  OBP machine.
  • Josh Willingham: Acquired along with Scott Olsen in November.  Missed 50 games in ’08 with back issues.  2009 is his first arb year; he submitted $3.6MM vs. $2.55MM from the Nats.  Free agent-eligible after 2011 season.  Has mainly played LF in big league career (68 innings at catcher, 3 at first base).
  • Austin Kearns: Friend of Dunn from Cincinnati days. Owed $9MM for ’09 (includes $1MM buyout for ’10). Has experience as CF and RF.  Dealt with elbow, foot injuries in ’08.
  • Lastings Milledge: Experience at all three OF positions. Turns 24 in April.  Under team control through 2012.  Didn’t hit much outside of August.  Manny Acta committed to him as the center fielder.
  • Elijah Dukes: Experience at all three OF positions.  Turns 25 in June.  Under team control through 2013.  .972 OPS after All-Star break in 29 games (dealt with calf/knee injuries).  Paid back child support; will not face prison time.

Two more, not mentioned by Harlan as those considered potential everyday players:

  • Willie Harris: Signed two-year, $3MM extension in December.  Has played all three OF positions and 2B in his career, plus a small amount of SS and 3B.  FanGraphs valued his ’08 defense so highly that they calculated him to be worth $14.6MM overall.
  • Wily Mo Pena: Exercised $2MM player option in October after Nationals declined $5MM club option.  Shoulder surgery in July.  Recently turned 27; had .472 career SLG prior to ’08.

The Nats also have Corey Patterson in camp on a minor league deal.  Seems like he chose the wrong team.

Dodgers Sign Randy Wolf

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THURSDAY, 8:50am: The Wolf signing is official.  Ramona Shelburne of the L.A. Daily News talked to Wolf, who said:

"I had offers pulled, offers reduced, it was really weird.  I was like, ’Wow, I must’ve had a bad game in the offseason.’"

FRIDAY, 8:06pm: Tony Jackson of the Los Angeles Daily News has heard that the deal is worth $5MM.  Wolf can also earn up to $3MM in incentives if he reaches 200 innings.

5:54pm: FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal writes that the "deal is expected to be in the $5.5MM range and also will include incentives."

5:15pm: Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Dodgers have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with left-hander Randy Wolf.

The exact financial terms are not yet available.  Wolf, 32, went 12-12 for the Padres and Astros last season.  He posted a 4.30 and struck out 162 batters over 190 1/3 innings.  Wolf, a Type B free agent who was denied arbitration by the Astros, is joining a Dodgers rotation that already boasts Chad Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda, Clayton Kershaw and Jason Schmidt.  Shawn Estes, Claudio Vargas or Eric Stults could slide in if Schmidt isn’t able to work through his shoulder issues. 

Ken Rosenthal published a run-down of Wolf’s offseason in late January.  The Astros offered but quickly pulled a three-year, $28.5MM offer in November.

Johnson Wants To Play, Would Accept A Trade

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According to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson, Nick Johnson will not accept a bench role with the Nationals, who will "most likely look to trade" him. Johnson said he "would rather play every day" than accept a role as a reserve. Now that the Nats added Adam Dunn, Johnson doesn’t fit as a starter so he said if the Nationals choose to trade him "that’s fine."

Ladson writes that the A’s, who have had interest in Johnson, aren’t near a deal with the Nats. Oakland doesn’t have a clear spot for him either, though.

Angels, Bobby Abreu Reach Agreement

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9:55pm: According to Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times, incentives could raise the value of the contract above $6MM.

3:42pm: Crasnick says the Angels and Abreu have reached a preliminary agreement.  It’ll be a done deal once he passes his physical and the Angels remove Nick Green from the 40-man to make room.  Also:

The Braves have also expressed serious interest in Abreu, but sources said Atlanta’s budget is so tight that general manager Frank Wren would have to stretch to give him a $5MM salary.

11:44am: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick says the Angels and Abreu moved closer to a deal, but are still negotiating incentives that could be worth a million or two.

8:33am: According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, the Angels and Bobby Abreu reached an agreement on a one-year deal worth a little more than $5MM plus incentives.

Abreu, 35 in March, hit .296/.371/.471 in 684 plate appearances for the Yankees last year while playing poor defense.  He earned $16MM in ’08.  Many questioned Brian Cashman’s decision not to offer arbitration to Abreu, a Type A free agent.  The decision was wise, as Abreu ended up taking a 69% pay cut in base salary.  At the beginning of the offseason, most people expected him to get multiple years and at least $10MM per.  Abreu’s agent Peter Greenberg remarked to Larry Stone on January 30th:

"He might take a one-year deal so that he can — in his words — win the MVP and go out on the market again.  He’s definitely motivated. Not that he’s not usually, but he has extra motivation."

In Abreu, the Angels add some much-needed OBP to a team that ranked 11th in the AL last year in the crucial stat.

Mariners Likely To Add An OF Soon?

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John Hickey of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer suggests the Mariners could soon sign Ken Griffey Jr. or Garret Anderson.

"It’s a good bet that a deal for one or the other will come down in the next few days."

Hickey writes that both would like to play in Seattle, so it’s up to the front office to make a decision. Since the Mariners don’t have a lot of financial flexibility, they’d have to do some "creative accounting" and likely defer money.

Glavine, Braves Have ‘Positive’ Meeting

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8:36pm: MLB.com’s Mark Bowman heard from Glavine, who also described the meeting as "positive." He said he wants to sign with the Braves and sounds hopeful that he will. Frank Wren said he had a "good meeting" with Glavine.

Since Glavine’s willing to accept a contract with deferred money, Bowman suggests this deal could work: $2MM guaranteed with up to $4MM in deferred incentives over the next five years.

7:38pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that the Braves met with Tom Glavine today and offered him a deal that could be worth up to $3MM. Rosenthal’s sources confirm Jerry Crasnick’s earlier report: the deal would guarantee Glavine $1MM, pay him another million for making the team out of Spring Training and pay him the final million if he’s on the Braves’ roster for 60 days.

Glavine’s agent, Gregg Clifton described the meeting as "amicable and positive" and said the two sides are still exchanging ideas. The Nationals are an option for Glavine if he doesn’t reach an agreement with Atlanta.

The Braves have $6-8MM left to spend, but they’d also like to add an outfielder. Rosenthal describes Nick Swisher, who makes $5.3MM this year, as the Braves’ most likely option. If Atlanta expects the Yankees to pick up any of Swisher’s salary, they’d likely have to part with "higher quality prospects."

Rosenthal adds that Glavine could wait until March, when he turns 43, to sign. If injuries occur in Spring Training more teams could need starters.

Blue Jays Sign Shigeki Noguchi

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NPB Tracker’s Patrick Newman passes along an article from Sports Hochi in Japan that reports that the Blue Jays have signed lefty Shigeki Noguchi to a minor league contract. Noguchi won the 1999 MVP as a member of the Chunichi Dragons, but has fallen off considerably since winning 19 games that year.

Noguchi, 35, will attend minor league camp and figures to start the season in AA or AAA.

MLBPA Decides Against Training Camp

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ESPN.com passes along the AP’s report that the players’ association has decided not to run a training camp for unsigned free agents this spring. After the 1994-95 strike, the union opened a training camp for its players. Donald Fehr, the union’s leader, said it’s not necessary this year:

"We don’t think that it’s essential to do that and we still remain hopeful that players will be signed."

Fallout From Abreu And Dunn Deals

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Let’s look at the fallout from today’s big news. The Angels have reached an agreement with Bobby Abreu and the Nats have done the same with Adam Dunn, but, as many of our commenters have noted, other teams and players are affected by these deals. Here’s a breakdown:

  • The Dodgers lose a lot of leverage in their negotiations with Manny Ramirez. Dunn was their preferred alternative to Manny, and Abreu was another possibility. Unless GM Ned Colletti wants to trade for a bat or sign a much lesser hitter, he may have to give in to Manny and offer three years or an enhanced one or two year deal.
  • Manny Ramirez and Scott Boras must be smiling tonight. The two strongest suitors for Manny, the Dodgers and Giants, still need bats, but Manny’s the only top-notch outfielder left.
  • The Braves lose leverage. They’ve considered trading for Xavier Nady or Nick Swisher, but with Dunn and Abreu off the board, and Manny out of reach, the Braves might have to give up more in a trade with the Yankees.
  • The Yankees, in turn, benefit from these two deals because they can demand more from the Braves. Peter Abraham thinks the Yankees should hold onto Swisher and Nady.
  • Garret Anderson and Ken Griffey Jr. are now the best remaining alternatives to Manny, so they could both benefit from today’s deals.

Odds And Ends: Brewers, Roberts, Tejada

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A few links for Wednesday night…

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