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Archives for February 2009

Royals Interested In Chad Cordero

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Word from a source around the Royals’ mini-camp in Arizona is that the team is taking a long look at free agent reliever Chad Cordero.  Cordero will be conducting a showcase on February 18th.

The Royals join a long list of teams connected to the rehabbing righty this winter.  Teams rumored to have interest at various points: the Brewers, Marlins, Dodgers, Twins, Angels, Mets, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Rangers, Nationals, and Tigers.  A few of those clubs may have since spent their bullpen budgets.  Cordero, 27 in March, had surgery to fix tears in his labrum and biceps tendon in July of 2008.  On Monday, Cordero will throw his first private bullpen session (off a mound).

D-Backs Hope To Avoid Arb With Conor Jackson

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MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert reports that the Diamondbacks are working hard to avoid an arbitration hearing with left fielder Conor Jackson.

The D-Backs haven’t required a hearing since Josh Byrnes took over as general manager in 2005.  Jackson asked for $3.65MM and the club countered with $2.45MM back when figures were filed.  The 26-year-old hit .300/.376/.446 in ’08 with 12 home runs and 75 RBI.  He is Arizona’s last unsigned arbitration-eligible player.

Nats Avoid Arb With Scott Olsen

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7:08pm: The Washington Post’s Chico Harlan gathered a quote from Olsen just moments after he OK’d the deal:

"Well obviously I was happy. I think where we settled at was a very fair number in terms of if you look at where everybody else sort of slotted in. I’ve never been through the arbitration process before, so it came down to two days before we were gonna go to trial. I don’t think a whole lot of people ever do want to go to the hearing, especially player-wise, because the team wins 60-percent of the time."

5:44pm:  According to Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com, the Nationals have agreed to terms with left-hander Scott Olsen on a one-year, $2.8MM contract.

Olsen, acquired from the Marlins back in November, requested $3.5MM when arbitration figures were due.  The Nats countered with a $2.5MM bid.  Olsen, 25, went 8-11 with a 4.20 ERA last season and was one of just 18 National League pitchers to eclipse the 200-inning plateau.

The Nationals still have hearings pending with Ryan Zimmerman and Josh Willingham.

Glavine Weighing His Options

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The AP has an update on Tom Glavine, who is currently mulling over a decision on whether or not to take a sizeable pay cut from his 2008 salary:

"There’s a point where it’s worth going back and going through everything you go through, good and bad, in getting ready and going through a baseball season — and a point where it’s not," Glavine told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "There’s a price for everything. I don’t know how to say that without someone getting offended. In every business, there’s a price that makes it worthwhile."

Atlanta’s offer to Glavine has a base salary of less than $2MM, though he could reportedly earn around $3MM with incentives. Glavine would enter the 2009 season as the active leader in career wins, with 305. He needs just two more to pass Eddie Plank and move into the Top 20 all-time, though he can expect some competition from Randy Johnson this year in that regard.

Does Glavine have another solid season in him?

Week in Review: 2/1 – 2/7

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We’re one week closer to Spring Training, and we saw the pitching market trim down quickly over the past seven days, as the three top starters remaining are now off the market (though not all for the same reason). Let’s recap:

  • I was in the camp that thought Ben Sheets could have a productive 2009 and come as a bargain to a team like the Rangers. And I was wrong. Sheets will undergo elbow surgery that will put him on the shelf until at least July, and possibly for the entire season.
  • The Mets and Oliver Perez agreed to terms on a three-year, $36MM deal. I’m not much of a Perez fan, so I feel they overpaid. Ollie’s got tremendous upside, and is perfectly capable of making a believer out of me, but he’s yet to show enough consistency to warrant that kind of money in my eyes.
  • Perez’s 2008 wasn’t much different than Randy Wolf’s, yet Wolf signed for a fraction of Ollie’s price: one year, $5MM with the Dodgers. Wolf can earn up to $3MM more with incentives. I like this value for LA.
  • The Dodgers tried to have an even bigger week, but their one-year, $25MM offer to Manny Ramirez was rejected. This is the second failed attempt to bring Manny back for the Dodgers. Will they go to three years?
  • There’s been a lot of talk about the status of Joe Crede. The Twins and Giants are both after his services, but the Giants were the first to make an offer. My personal prediction is that he’ll end up in Minnesota, which means there’s about an 85% chance he’ll be in San Fran by the end of the week.
  • Speaking of the Twins, they signed Luis Ayala to a one-year, $1.3MM deal with $575K in incentives. Ayala’s been solid his whole career until 2008. Nice low-risk value. Twins fans also had to be happy to hear Scott Baker say he’d like to stay in Minnesota.
  • The Orioles signed Ty Wigginton to a two-year, $6MM contract. Great signing for the O’s. Wigginton is versatile, a solid bat, and can fill in at either 1B or 3B for them in 2010 once Melvin Mora and Aubrey Huff are gone. Great value and great flexibility in this deal from Baltimore. The Orioles also acquired Rich Hill for a player to be named later.
  • Adam Dunn has an offer from the Nationals, but has been sitting on it for awhile. There’s not much of a market for the corner OF/1B/DH types. Even if Washington isn’t his first choice, the likelihood of him playing there seems to be increasing.
  • The D’Backs signed Tom Gordon to a one-year deal worth $500K guaranteed and $2.5MM with incentives. Nice investment for Arizona.
  • Tim had an interesting post, listing players who are out of options for the 2009 season.
  • Those wondering why the comments section has changed, here’s Tim’s explanation. Also, remember to keep things respectful in the comments section. Insults toward other commenters and making derogatory marks about players, teams, etc. shouldn’t be taking place. Thanks!

Phillies, Ryan Howard Agree To Three-Year Deal

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3:53pm: Jayson Stark chimes in, stating that the Phillies can trade Howard, without penalty, after Nov. 1, 2010. If traded before that date, Howard will receive an extra $1MM. Doesn’t sound like too much of a penalty to any team seriously looking at acquiring him.

2:35pm: Joel Sherman has the numbers: Howard will earn $15MM in 2009, $19MM in 2010, and $20MM in 2011. The base salaries for 2010 and 2011 will increase by $1MM if Howard wins the MVP award in the season prior, and $500K if he finishes second in the voting. He will earn $100K for any Gold Gloves, World Series MVPs, Silver Sluggers, or All-Star Game starts he receives. He’ll get $50K if he’s selected to the All-Star game or wins the LCS MVP.

11:14am: Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports the Phillies have agreed to a 3-year, $54MM deal with Ryan Howard today.

This meets Howard’s record arbitration submission of $18MM. The Phillies had submitted $14MM but apparently are fine paying the extra $4MM for the next three years. The two parties would’ve gone before an arbitration panel sometime in the coming week.

This buys out Howard for the remainder of his arbitration-eligible period, through 2011. As of now, it’s unclear how the contract breaks down.

Perrotto’s Latest: Angels, Mets, Mariners

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John Perrotto’s Sunday column is up, now called On The Beat (like his Wednesday articles) instead of Every Given Sunday.

According to the article, the Angels plan to use Kendry Morales at first base, and a combination of Juan Rivera, Gary Matthews, Jr., and Reggie Willits in left field and designated hitter. Perrotto quotes GM Tony Reagins: "In our situation, you get to the point where you have young players with talent who have been given some chances at the major league level, but have not had the opportunity to play every day. We feel it’s time to allow those players that opportunity."

Perrotto reports the Angels had a fixed dollar figure that included the money they did not wind up spending on Mark Teixeira; however, not signing Teixeira does not mean they feel the need to spend the money without improving the ballclub. They still appear to be a team in the prime position to sign Adam Dunn, Manny Ramirez, or Bobby Abreu.

And a couple notes from around the Majors:

  • The Mariners have "mild" interest in Garrett Anderson to play left-field.
  • The Mets are trying to trade catcher Ramon Castro. They would rather spend less to have Robinson Cancel as Brian Schneider’s backup.

Odds & Ends: Strasburg, Red Sox Non-Roster Invitees

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Some Odds and Ends around the league:

  • In a good piece by Chico Harlan of the Washington Post, Nats GM Jim Bowden says Stephen Strasburg is "as good a pitcher as we’ve seen in the draft in 10 or 15 years." He could be in the rotation as soon as September. Amusingly, Strasburg’s mother described Scott Boras, who is advising the phenom, as a "Rottweiler."
  • WEEI’s Alex Speier lists the Red Sox 19 non-roster invitees. 13 of them have Major League experience. Brad Wilkerson is also expected to be present.
  • David Lennon of Newsday.com reports that Omar Minaya has achieved his offseason goals. "The reality is that we’ve pretty much filled all our priorities," Minaya said. "I’m set to go with this team."
  • Phil Rogers touches on the absence of interest in Frank Thomas who is not working out while he’s out of camp. Rogers notes the Players Association needs to organize a spring training camp for out-of-work players. He suggests the White Sox abandoned Tucson complex.

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