White Sox Sign 22
10:28pm: Quentin gets $550K, while Floyd and John Danks get $520K according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.
11:42am: The AP reports today that the White Sox signed 22 players, including Carlos Quentin and Gavin Floyd. Par for the course with prearb players, and we don’t always mention these signings on MLBTR. I am curious, though, to see if the Sox threw Quentin and Floyd a few extra hundred thousand bucks over the minimum as teams sometimes do.
Lefties May Be Lowering Contract Expectations
FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal reports that the agents for left-handers Joe Beimel and Will Ohman are prepared to offer more flexibility in contract negotiations with clubs.
"I would suggest any team holding back on some last-minute interest step forward and express it," Beimel’s agent, Jeff Sroba said Wednesday. "Not that anything is imminent, but we are offering flexibility." Beimel, who turns 32 in April, has drawn interest primarily from the Dodgers this offseason. He went 5-1 with a 2.02 ERA for Los Angeles last season.
Ohman, 31, has deals on the table from the Pirates, Marlins and Padres, but is reportedly hoping the Phillies, Dodgers or Mets will come calling. He finished 4-1 with a 3.68 ERA last year for the Braves. "We’re offering flexibility, too," said Ohman’s agent, Page Odle. "We’re hoping one of the playoff teams will want that shutdown lefty."
Dennys Reyes is another left-handed reliever without a job. He went 3-0 with a 2.33 ERA for the Twins last season.
Unsigned Pedro Still Working Hard
MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez writes that free agent pitcher Pedro Martinez looked great Tuesday during a simulated game in the Dominican Republic.
He’s currently gearing up to represent his country during the World Baseball Classic. "Pedro was working really well, he threw the ball like normal and he showed good physical condition," said Dominican team staff member Rafael Mateo.
Pedro is hoping that a strong showing during the WBC will lead to a major league contract. According to a Dominican-based newspaper, the Dodgers, Pirates and Indians have expressed interest in the 37-year-old right-hander, but no offers have been extended.
Odds and Ends: Mahon, Rijo, Bowden
A few bits of information from around the baseball world. More to come…
- The Diamondbacks made their first roster move of the spring Wednesday, when they demoted right-hander Reid Mahon to minor league camp. He was having major command issues during bullpen sessions.
- According to ESPN’s Jorge Arangure Jr., the Nationals have decided to fire special assistant Jose Rijo in the wake of the Esmailyn Gonzalez age-changing scandal. Rob Neyer wonders if GM Jim Bowden is next?
- Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune has compiled a list of the top 2010 free agents. John Lackey is his numero uno. You can also check out MLBTR’s constantly-updated list of the entire 2010 class right here.
- If you haven’t already joined the fun, add MLB Trade Rumors to your Twitter following. And if you’re feeling really adventurous, why not add your good friend Drew Silva?
Phillies Still Eyeing Free Agents
Contrary to some previous reports, the Phillies are still keeping an eye on several free agents. Todd Zolecki has the news over at MLB.com.
GM Ruben Amaro Jr. was asked if his club is still interested in Nomar Garciaparra. "If I were to handicap this thing," Amaro responded, "I would say less than 50 percent." It probably depends on the A’s interest. Phillies officials said last week that they have no desire to enter a bidding war with another team.
Amaro also said talks are "still open" with the representatives for left-handers Joe Beimel and Will Ohman. "But nothing has changed there," added the general manager. Both relievers are holding out for bigger and better offers. As Zolecki writes,
Amaro said a few days ago that those relievers would have to accept a very modest salary to join the Phillies. That likely means a contract worth less than $1 million.
Angels Surviving Tough Economic Times
Angels owner Arte Moreno told reporters Wednesday that the poor state of the economy won’t hurt his organization in its effort to remain competitive. Mike DiGiovanna filed the story for the Los Angeles Times.
"I have a lot of money invested, and I don’t want to be in a position where every three years I have to sell off players because we’re losing too much money," Moreno said. "A couple of these owners are moving players. We’re not in that position, and I don’t want to be. Our plan is to be successful and to manage it that way."
The Angels’ 2009 payroll currently sits at $117MM, down from the $125MM mark they set in ’08. Moreno isn’t anticipating a serious drop in attendance this season, so the club would seem to have some room in the budget for an in-season acquisition.
Then again, Chone Figgins and John Lackey are eligible for free agency at the end of the year and will be seeking lucrative long-term contracts.
Rays Ink 17 Pre-Arb Players
According to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, the Rays agreed to contracts with 17 pre-arbitration players Wednesday.
B.J. Upton, Matt Garza and Andy Sonnanstine had their contracts renewed. As Tim has noted several times in the past, before players are eligible for arbitration, the team basically gets to decide their salaries.
Rangers Sign Hamilton, Eight Others
According to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, the Rangers signed all nine of their pre-arbitration players Wednesday.
Josh Hamilton, who will become eligible for arbitration after the 2009 season, is the most notable name on the list. He inked a one-year deal worth $555K. The club is still expected to explore a long-term deal with the 27-year-old slugger later this spring.
Offseason In Review: San Francisco Giants
The offseason is not quite over, but things are obviously winding down. Let’s kick off a new series called Offseason In Review. We’ll go team-by-team through March. First up is the San Francisco Giants; take a look at what we had to say on September 1st.
Additions: Randy Johnson (one year, $8MM), Edgar Renteria (two years, $18.5MM), Bob Howry (one year, $2.75MM), Jeremy Affeldt (two years, $8MM), Ramon Ortiz, Rich Aurilia, Juan Uribe, Brandon Medders, Francis Beltran, Luis Perdomo, Josh Phelps, Justin Miller
Subtractions: Jose Castillo (August), Omar Vizquel, Ray Durham (July), Kevin Correia, Tyler Walker, Brad Hennessey, Vinnie Chulk, Erick Threets
In September I figured the Giants had $12-13MM to spend, but they spent more than $20MM in guaranteed ’09 salaries. The fans have to appreciate that.
The Giants’ biggest need was offense, especially in the infield. The no-risk moves to bring in Aurilia and Phelps could help a bit. But the big addition, Renteria, wasn’t money well-spent. The Giants signed him on December 4th, and it’s fair to say that no one was predicting Orlando Hudson would sign for 20.5% of the guaranteed money Renteria did. Brian Sabean is not alone, but he did not read the market well here. It’s true that the best free agent hitters were outfielders and the Giants are flush with those, but you can’t argue that the offense hasn’t improved much over the winter.
The Giants spent $13.75MM for ’09 on Johnson, Affeldt, and Howry, and I liked all three additions. Despite the presence of Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, the Giants’ pitching needed help. If Johnson stays healthy and Jonathan Sanchez replicates his first-half performance, they’ll have one of the best rotations in the league.
Bottom line: thumbs up on the pitching additions, but that Renteria money would’ve been better spent on a bat or two.
Nationals Considering GM Change
According to John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus:
The Nationals, according to multiple industry sources, are strongly considering firing general manager Jim Bowden and replacing him with Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava.
This rumor first surfaced on Ed Chigliak’s Federal Baseball blog yesterday. Fire Jim Bowden rounded up a bunch of info on LaCava. I’ve heard the Nationals may also consider in-house candidates such as Deric Ladnier and Mike Rizzo.