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Archives for September 2009

Josh Johnson Extension Talk

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WEDNESDAY: The Marlins will have to offer a "market deal" to retain Johnson, according to his agent Matt Sosnick (Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reporting).  Sosnick says Johnson is "absolutely unaffected by the economy" and notes that paying full-price isn't typically a Marlins strategy.

MONDAY: Yesterday the Miami Herald's Barry Jackson wrote about "some sentiment inside the Marlins toward making a long-term offer to Josh Johnson this offseason."  The big righty turns 26 in January.  He's having the best year of his career, with a 3.06 ERA and 166 strikeouts in 188.3 innings.

Noting that Johnson is under team control for 2010 and 2011 anyway, ESPN's Keith Law opined today Zack Greinke's four-year, $38MM extension signed in January would serve as a "realistic guideline."  Both have developed into nasty pitchers, but with bumps along the way.  For Johnson, it was Tommy John surgery in August of 2007.

What do you think - will the Marlins make a serious attempt to buy out Johnson's last two arbitration years and first two years of free agency?  Is Greinke the right comparable?  How about Jon Lester, who signed with less service time and gave more concessions to the team?

The D’Backs And Brandon Webb’s Option

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WEDNESDAY: The D'Backs are likely to take their time on the Webb option decision, says Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.  Piecoro adds:

But for now, the organization seems to be operating under the assumption that Webb will be back in the fold next year, whether it's with the club picking up his $8.5MM option or negotiating some other type of deal.

MONDAY: The Diamondbacks "don't plan to pick up Brandon Webb's $8.5MM club option," according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter).  Nightengale says they will instead try to negotiate a one-year deal.  Webb hopes to be ready for Spring Training after a recent shoulder cleanup.  Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic notes that the D'Backs have until five days after the World Series to decide between Webb's $8.5MM option and the $2MM buyout.

Despite the report, I'd be surprised to see the D'Backs decline the option.  After all, it is a one-year deal already, and a net of $6.5MM is quite reasonable for a pitcher of Webb's stature.  For the team to try to reduce the guarantee further would be unreasonable, and the D'Backs aren't high on incentive-based contracts.  Plus, GM Josh Byrnes had this to say a month ago about the option: "If it's close, he'll probably get the benefit of the doubt."

Pedro Feliciano Wants An Extension

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Mets lefty reliever Pedro Feliciano craves a multiyear extension with the Mets, according to Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News (hat tip to MetsBlog).  The reliever is currently aiming to break his own team record for appearances in a season.  He's held lefties to a .232/.259/.377 line this year.  Rubin notes:

Feliciano, 33, is arbitration-eligible and under the Mets' control for the 2010 season. After that, he will be eligible for free agency. But both Mets officials and Feliciano expect to speak about a multi-year deal this winter. Either way, Feliciano is due a raise from the $1.6MM he's earning this season.

Feliciano told Rubin he'd like a two or three-year deal.  I imagine Feliciano will seek $2MM+ for 2010, plus $3MM a year thereafter.  The high-water marks from last year's free agent class: Jeremy Affeldt's two-year, $8MM deal and Damaso Marte's three-year, $12MM pact.  Both were signed in November. 

The lefty reliever market dropped when Trever Miller (one year, $500K in December), Alan Embree (one year, $2.25MM in December), Arthur Rhodes (two years, $4MM in December), Brian Shouse (one year, $1.55MM in February), Eddie Guardado (one year, $1MM minor league deal in February), Dennys Reyes (two years, $3MM in March), Joe Beimel (one year, $2MM in March), and Will Ohman (one year, $1.55MM minor league deal in March) signed.

This year's crop of lefty relievers includes those on one-year deals above, plus Mike Gonzalez, John Grabow, Ron Mahay, Darren Oliver, Scott Schoeneweis, and Ron Villone.  Grabow's already talking extension with the Cubs (or not), while Gonzalez may see himself as a closer.

Joel Pineiro Hopes To Stay With Cardinals

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Starting pitcher Joel Pineiro, a free agent after the season, would like to remain with the Cardinals according to MLB.com's B.J. Rains.  Cardinals GM John Mozeliak prefers to wait until after the season to discuss an extension.  The righty, 31 this month, thrived this year after following pitching coach Dave Duncan's suggestion to throw a sinker.  Among those with 150 innings, Pineiro ranks first with 1.04 walks per nine innings, 0.33 home runs per nine, and a 61.3% groundball rate.  The result: a 3.21 ERA in 190.6 innings.

Pineiro's two-year, $13MM extension seemed reasonable when signed in October of '07.  He struggled last year, battling a groin injury and getting bumped from the rotation in August.

Eddie Bajek's latest Elias ranking projections placed Pineiro as a Type B free agent with 69.071 points.  At the time, the lowest Type A among NL starters had 74.840 points.

Odds & Ends: Rays, Phillies, Indians

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A few more evening links….

  • Bill Chastain of MLB.com writes that the arrival of Reid Brignac in Tampa Bay could lead to the Rays buying out Akinori Iwamura's option this offseason. The $4.25MM 2010 option can be bought out for $250k. Chastain suggests that the emergence of Ben Zobrist and the recent strong play of Brignac could make Iwamura expendable.
  • Todd Zolecki of MLB.com passes on news of Phillies' minor league players of the year Kyle Drabek and Michael Taylor being honored before Tuesday's game against Washington. Given the Phillies' talent and depth on the major league level, Zolecki predicts that both prospects will start 2010 at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Like Ryan Howard before him, Taylor has his path to the major league roster blocked by veterans with bigger contracts. Howard eventually took advantage of a Jim Thome injury and excelled in Philadelphia. It will be interesting to see if Taylor and Drabek, who were so coveted at this year's trade deadline, will earn similar opportunities in 2010.
  • Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer blogs about a few former Phillies prospects, expressing some concern about the Indians' haul in the trade that sent Cliff Lee to Philadelphia.

Magglio Ordonez’s 2010 Option Vests

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Magglio Ordonez has made his third plate appearance of the night in Detroit against the Royals, reaching base on an Alex Gordon error. The at-bat means his 2010 option has vested, as expected. Making his 1080th plate appearance in 2008 and 2009 combined, Ordonez reached the minimum number of PA required to guarantee his $18MM option.

When the Tigers benched and platooned the 35-year-old right fielder earlier in the year, it seemed unlikely that he would play enough to trigger the option, but a torrid second half (.364/.438/.521) has made it impossible for Jim Leyland to keep him out of the lineup.

While Ordonez's hot bat has helped the Tigers in their 2009 playoff push, his overall production has declined significantly. He has only homered seven times, after hitting 20-plus in each of the last three seasons. His age and injury history suggest the odds are against his 2010 numbers rebounding to his career averages of .311/.371/.512.

With $18MM now committed to Maggs next season, the Tigers will have less flexibility for other roster moves, such as re-signing or replacing closer Fernando Rodney and second baseman Placido Polanco.

Branyan Wants To Return To Seattle In 2010

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Russell Branyan would like to return to Seattle next season, according to Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times. Branyan signed a one-year, $1.4MM deal with the Mariners last offseason, and has taken advantage of an increase in playing time in 2009, batting .251/.347/.520 with 31 homers.

"I'd love to come back here," Branyan said. "I enjoy playing in this ballpark, I enjoyed getting to play on an every-day basis this year. I'd be excited to entertain the option to come back here next year."

While the 33-year-old Branyan is currently on the disabled list and has slumped since the All-Star break (.193/.274/.414), his overall performance this season has exceeded expectations. If the Mariners were to re-sign him, they would certainly be giving more years and more money this time around to the career .234 hitter.

Discussion: Miguel Tejada

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Miguel Tejada says he wants to return to Houston next season and that he'll move to third base if that's what the Astros want. Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle raves about Tejada's clubhouse presence and his role as a leader in Houston, but even Justice thinks that cutting ties with him will be a "tough, necessary step."

Tejada makes $13MM in 2009, the final year of a six-year, $72MM deal, but figures to earn significantly less no matter where he plays in 2010. His numbers have declined over the course of the deal, with his 2009 line sitting at .301/.331/.433. Though his offensive production at shortstop is solid, Tejada has struggled defensively, posting a -8.6 UZR/150 this year.

Tejada will turn 36 early next season, and the Astros are expected to spend frugally in the offseason. It seems unlikely that they'll be able to retain the veteran shortstop unless they could sign him at a discount.

How cheap would Tejada's price tag have to be for a multi-year deal to be a good investment for the Astros? Should they instead turn to younger players like shortstop Tommy Manzella and third baseman Chris Johnson, or attempt to lure one of the more affordable free agent shortstops to the NL Central? If Tejada doesn't return to Houston, what team would be the best fit for him?

Odds & Ends: Strasburg, Ranaudo, Fielder

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A few links for the evening….

  • Chico Harlan of the Washington Post notes one name that stands out on the Washington Nationals' roster for the Florida Instructional League: Stephen Strasburg. Strasburg is expected to pitch in the Instructional League that runs from Sept. 24 to Oct. 13.
  • Keith Law of ESPN.com reports that LSU righty Anthony Ranaudo has chosen Scott Boras as his adviser for the 2010 draft. Ranaudo projects to be one of the top college pitchers next year and a potential top-five pick in the June draft, assuming Boras' presence doesn't scare teams away.
  • BP's Eric Seidman at ESPN.com follows up on the Prince Fielder to San Francisco speculation by discussing what the Giants would have to give up to net the slugging first baseman. Seidman is doubtful that Giants GM Brian Sabean would want to part with any blue-chip prospects like Buster Posey or Madison Bumgarner, but suggests that of their major league talent, only the front-line starters (Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Jonathan Sanchez) would interest the Brewers. Seidman writes that to even consider a trade, the Giants would have to be confident they could sign Fielder to a long-term deal.

Cubs Rumors: Soriano, Figgins, Harden

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ESPN.com's Buster Olney considers some of the problems the Cubs encountered this season and turns up some rumors along the way. Here they are:

  • Alfonso Soriano's contract is about as untradeable as they come, so what should the Cubs do about it? One talent evaluator believes the Cubs should make it clear to Soriano and Milton Bradley that Jake Fox and Micah Hoffpauir will play if either veteran falters.
  • Christina Kahrl blames the Cubs for relying on older players to win.
  • Could the speedy, versatile Chone Figgins be a fit for the Cubs? Jayson Stark wouldn't be surprised to see Figgins sign a three or four-year deal for $11-12MM per season. It's not known whether the Cubs can afford to take on another big contract.
  • The Cubs should have the inside track when Rich Harden hits free agency after the season.

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