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Archives for May 2009

A-Rod’s Milestone Bonuses

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ESPN.com's Jayson Stark hears from a variety of baseball officials who believe the Yankees should try to challenge and avoid the clauses in Alex Rodriguez's contract that reward him for hitting historic home runs. The contract calls for five $6MM bonuses to reward Rodriguez for "historic milestone accomplishments." A-Rod, who has 553 home runs, gets $6MM for matching Willie Mays (660), Babe Ruth (714), Hank Aaron (755) and Barry Bonds (762) and another $6MM for passing Bonds. 

Stark reports the Yankees haven't begun questioning the clauses yet, but many officials on other teams argue the Yankees shouldn't have to reward A-Rod because his legacy has been tainted. They say the home runs are no longer as historic. In the words of one official: "I'd be doing everything I could not to pay that money, and let him sue me for it."

Odds & Ends: Draft, Ibanez, Indians

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Links for Thursday…

Rosenthal On Royals, Atkins, Baez, Huff

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has trade speculation in the sidebar of his latest column.

  • Rosenthal sees shortstop Mike Aviles as the Royals' weakest link, given his .523 OPS in 97 plate appearances.  Most projection systems had Aviles in the .720-.750 range.  Rosenthal runs through potential trade targets such as Orlando Cabrera, Jack Wilson, Miguel Tejada, and Marco Scutaro.  The first three have their flaws, and Scutaro doesn't figure to be available.
  • Rosenthal suggests the Rockies could accomplish their goal of more playing time for Ian Stewart by trading Garrett Atkins.  However, Atkins is fairly pricey and is off to a .224/.287/.367 start through 108 plate appearances.
  • Orioles reliever Danys Baez is generating trade buzz with his 2.30 ERA through 15.6 innings.  Baez is still owed $4.55MM of his $5.5MM '09 salary, and he also gets a $500K bonus if traded.  So just moving the contract might be a feat for Andy MacPhail, in my opinion.
  • Aubrey Huff, with $6.62MM left on his contract, could eventually draw interest from teams like the Royals and Mariners, in Rosenthal's opinion.  Huff seems back to his pre-2008 level; he's hitting .270/.331/.423 in 124 plate appearances.

Indians Release Juan Salas

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According to Stacy Long of the Montgomery Advertiser, the Indians released reliever Juan Salas today (hat tip to DRays Bay).  The Indians had acquired Salas from the Rays on February 19th, designating Andy Marte for assignment to make room.  Salas has a colorful history; here's what I wrote back in February:

Salas, 30, posted a 2.62 ERA in 44.6 Triple A innings last year with excellent strikeout and walk numbers.  Salas' history includes a PED suspension, a falsified birth date, and a conversion from third base.  Aside from that he's known for his cutter.  Salas dealt with an epileptic seizure, a sore elbow, and visa problems in '08.

Meanwhile, Marte went unclaimed and remained with the Tribe.  He's off to a .333/.405/.694 start through 11 games.

2010 Options: Seattle Mariners

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The Mariners do not have any 2010 options.  Instead, they're looking at the completion of the Adrian Beltre, Jarrod Washburn, Miguel Batista, and Erik Bedard contracts after '09 (among others).  Those four represent $40MM coming off the books.  However, it's also 40% of the starting rotation and the starting third baseman.

Assuming Jack Zduriencik does not want to tangle with Scott Boras over Beltre, he could consider 23 year-old prospect Matt Tuiasosopo for the hot corner.  Tuiasosopo just began his second Triple A stint, and it's not going well so far.  The Ms could explore the free agent market, which will include Joe Crede, Chone Figgins, Troy Glaus, and perhaps Melvin Mora.

The rotation should be interesting, especially with Brandon Morrow deciding his future is in the bullpen.  If the Ms go outside the organization for a veteran starter or two, I'm guessing they'll sign a bargain free agent or make a trade.

Odds And Ends: Draft, Stark, Selig

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Links for Wednesday night…

  • ESPN.com's Rob Neyer argues that the Nats shouldn't take Stephen Strasburg unless they're sure he'll help their team more than any other player, regardless of the hype surrounding the college righty.
  • Neyer also weighs in on the possibility of Bill James appearing as a cartoon in the upcoming Moneyball movie.
  • Speaking on ESPN radio, Jayson Stark says the Dodgers should win the NL West by 15 or 20 games.
  • He says they're a starter and a bullpen arm away from becoming much stronger and adds that they have the pieces to deal for the pitching they need. 
  • Jenny Vrentas of the New Jersey Star-Ledger reports that Bud Selig says teams are making the necessary adjustments to cope with the struggling economy. Selig was speaking with the commissioners for the NBA, the NFL and the NHL.
  • MLB.com's Ken Gurnick writes that the Dodgers are thrilled to have added Orlando Hudson.
  • MLB.com's Bill Chastain spoke with Carl Crawford about the 100-steal plateau and heard that the speedy left fielder doesn't expect his stolen base tally to reach triple digits. Crawford, who has 20 steals, will likely become a free agent after 2010. How much could he command as baseball's first 100-steal man since Vince Coleman in 1987?

Super Two Players

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You hear about Super Twos, but who are they and what distinguishes them from other players? Here's a quick explanation, along with lists of Super Twos from the last few years. None of these lists could have been assembled without Jeff Euston of Cot's Baseball Contracts. 

  • According to the MLBPA: Super Twos come from the group of players who have between two and three years service time and at least 86 days service time the previous year. The 17% of those players with the most service time become Super Twos.
  • They go to arbitration four times, instead of the usual three. 
  • This means Super Twos make more money than other players who have between two and three years of service time. Going to arbitration four times is much more lucrative than renewing a contract once and going to arb three times.
  • They don't become free agents earlier than other players; six years of service time are still required.
  • No Super Two had less than two years, 130 days service time any of the last three winters. Alex Rios, Randy Flores and Antonio Perez all went to arbitration for the first time with two years, 130 days service time before the 2007 season.
  • The most service time a Super Two player could have is two years, 171 days. Any more than that and the player has three years.
  • Since 2007, the average Super Two has had two years and 148 days of service time. 
  • Players who started the 2009 season with a year and 140 days of service time have a good chance at becoming Super Twos with a full season of baseball, but we won't know who qualifies until the season's over.
  • Service time is written: years.days. So if a player has three years and 145 days of service time, it's noted as 3.145.

2010 Super Twos
Matt Albers, Orioles 2.141
Mike Fontenot, Cubs 2.139
Tom Gorzelanny, Cubs 2.160
Jared Burton, Reds 2.165
Nick Masset, Reds 2.146
Rafael Perez, Indians 2.157
Jason Hammel, Rockies 2.153
Hunter Pence, Astros 2.156
Alex Gordon, Royals 2.162
Carlos Gomez, Brewers 2.141
Rajai Davis, A's 2.167
Joey Devine, A's 2.171
Tim Lincecum, Giants 2.148
Brian Wilson, Giants 2.169
Matt Garza, Rays 2.149
Dustin Nippert, Rangers 2.140
Jesus Flores, Nationals 2.158

2009 Super Twos
Willy Aybar
Brian Bannister
Taylor Buchholz
Melky Cabrera
Chris Duncan
Andre Ethier
Cole Hamels
Shawn Hill
Brandon League
Russell Martin
Mike Napoli
Ricky Nolasco
Angel Pagan
Humberto Quintero
Luke Scott
Jack Taschner

2008 Super Twos
Jose Bautista
Brian Bruney
Tim Byrdak
Robinson Cano
Ryan Church
Matt Diaz
Jonny Gomes
Brad Hennessey
Ryan Howard
Casey Kotchman
Dallas McPherson
Augie Ojeda
George Sherrill
Brian Tallet
Mark Teahen
Chien-Ming Wang

2007 Super Twos
Dave Borkowski
Eric Bruntlett
Daniel Cabrera
Randy Flores
Jason Frasor
Geoff Geary
Jimmy Gobble
Matt Miller
Justin Morneau
Antonio Perez
Alex Rios
Cory Sullivan
Mike Wood

This post was updated on June 25th, 2010.

White Sox To Pass On Bonds, Pedro

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6:22pm: Jon Heyman of SI.com chimes in via Twitter, saying he hears "no dice on Pedro and Chisox." Heyman does suggest some team should be interested in Pedro. 

9:04am: Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times was wondering yesterday whether a couple of free agents might be able to help the White Sox.

DH Jim Thome has been bothered here and there by a heel injury, though he played in the last two games.  Cowley asked GM Ken Williams if Barry Bonds would be Plan B if the heel injury worsened, and Williams emailed back, "No."

Cowley quizzed manager Ozzie Guillen about Pedro Martinez, who would conceivably become the team's fifth starter if Jose Contreras is booted.  Ozzie's answer left the door just barely ajar:

"Pedro Martinez was mentioned in spring training, but just because a couple of his friends called me, and my job is to give Kenny the information.  But that's it, no, Pedro, no, not right now. I don't know if we're going to because that's Kenny's decision, but right now that's not on my mind.''

According to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune, top pitching prospect Aaron Poreda is not an immediate candidate if Contreras falters Thursday.

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