Odds And Ends: Rolen, Butler, Braves, Yanks
More links for the morning…
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears that Reds will pay Scott Rolen $11MM next year without help from the Blue Jays.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star wonders if the Royals should lock Billy Butler up long-term. The 23-year-old has hit well this year, but he doesn't figure to be a free agent until after 2013, so the team has time to deliberate.
- Bill Rankin of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the Braves reached an agreement with an insurance company for an undisclosed settlement. The Braves sought compensation after paying an injured Mike Hampton last year.
- Tom Verducci of SI.com says the Yankees are the best team in the AL right now.
Twins Acquire Carl Pavano
The Twins deepened their rotation today, acquiring Carl Pavano from the Indians for a player to be named later, according to a team press release. Pavano, 33, has allowed 150 hits in 125.2 innings, posting a respectable 88K/23BB ratio.
His base salary is just $1.5MM, but in addition to the $500k remaining on his contract, Pavano stands to earn a lot through incentives. If he makes 10 more starts and averages 6.0 IP per outing, he'll make another $1.75 in bonuses. We heard yesterday that the Indians expect to lose $16MM this year, but they'll receive some relief if the Twins are paying the rest of Pavano's contract.
A note from Kelsie Smith of the Pioneer Press: The Twins claimed Pavano off waivers before making the deal.
Odds And Ends: Wagner, Red Sox, Scherzer
An assortment of links to get the day started…
- Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News hears that one AL contender has at least some interest in adding Billy Wagner for the stretch run. The lefty makes $10.5MM this year and has a $1MM buyout for 2010, so Wagner seems likely to clear waivers.
- Rubin says the Mets won't likely offer Wagner or Carlos Delgado arbitration after the season.
- As Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports, Max Scherzer uses some pretty advanced stats to judge his performances.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post hears that the Yanks and Padres almost completed the Chad Gaudin trade before the deadline. When Kenny Williams called about the Jake Peavy deal, Towers had to ignore Cashman, but the teams struck a deal in the end.
- Danny Knobler of CBS Sports says one look at John Smoltz's face suggests he may be done.
- Yahoo's Gordon Edes says Smoltz looked like a "pitcher turned pinata" last night.
- Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia Inquirer says Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. looks pretty smart right now.
Draft Updates: Pirates, Royals, Nats
Updates on one pick who signed and a couple who may sign soon…
- ESPN.com's Keith Law reports that the Royals agreed to sign 14th rounder Crawford Simmons for a $450k bonus.
- Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Pirates should sign eighth rounder Colton Cain this morning. He could receive a bonus worth over $350k; like Simmons' deal, that would be above-slot.
- Nats selection Drew Storen was the first pick to sign. He told Chico Harlan of the Washington Post that he's looking forward to playing in the big leagues, possibly as soon as this season.
Yanks Acquire Chad Gaudin
11:27pm: Peter Abraham of the LoHud Journal reminds us that the Cubs released Gaudin in April, so they're on the hook for all but the pro-rated league minimum. Surely the Cubs wish they'd non-tendered Gaudin, but perhaps they needed the spring to decide. – Tim Dierkes
9:31: Kepner tweets that the "plan is for Gaudin to start off in the bullpen."
9:17: Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the Yankees "owe roughly $650K to Gaudin the rest of the year."
9:07: Tyler Kepner of the New York Times is reporting on Twitter that the Yankees have acquired RHP Chad Gaudin from the Padres for a player to be named later.
Gaudin signed a minor league deal with the Padres in April. He is 4-10 this year with a 5.13 ERA, but he is averaging a strikeout per inning and his FIP is at 3.68.
Braves Sign First Rounder Mike Minor
8:36pm: Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com tweets that Mike Minor signed the contract and "is now officially a Brave."
1:25pm: Baseball America's Jim Callis hears that the Braves had agreed to a deal with Minor before the draft, but didn't sign him right away because of "interference from MLB." Apparently the commissioner's office pressured the Braves not to make the deal official because they didn't want it to inflate other bonuses. The $2.42MM bonus Minor will receive tops MLB's recommended bonus by $242k.
12:49pm: MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo hears that the deal is not yet official.
9:02am: The Braves and top draft pick Mike Minor agreed to a contract that includes a $2.42MM signing bonus, according to Maurice Patton of the Tennessean. The Braves have never given out a bigger bonus and it's the biggest bonus ever awarded to a seventh overall pick, besting Prince Fielder's $2.4MM mark from 2002. Minor, a lefty, could pitch in the Arizona Fall League to get work in this year.
Odds & Ends: Sandberg, Indians, Red Sox, Yankees, McCoy
A few links for Thursday evening.
- Ryne Sandberg, the only Hall of Famer currently managing in the minors, wants to make it back to The Show, according to the Associated Press.
- Chris Shelton cleared waivers and reported to AAA Tacoma Rainiers, according to Larry LaRue of the Tacoma News Tribune. The first baseman was designated for assignment by the Mariners to make room for pitcher Luke French.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that the Indians have used 28 different pitchers this year, the most of any team in the majors.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the Red Sox have a thin lead over the Yankees in July trades in the AL from 2000 to 2009. The score stands at 26 to 25.
- And on a sad note, Hall of Fame baseball writer Hal McCoy announced today that he will retire from the Dayton Daily News, which has decided to stop covering the Reds.
Odds And Ends: Colon, Lee, Bedard, Ligtenberg
More links for the afternoon…
- If you don't already know which three major leaguers have weight or fitness-related clauses in their contracts, check out Jorge Says No! to find out.
- Marc Hulet of FanGraphs says the Blue Jays acquired two of the top ten prospects moved this deadline. He ranks Zach Stewart 8th and Josh Roenicke 10th among all prospects dealt.
- The White Sox don't know where Bartolo Colon is, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
- Via Twitter, Ed Price of AOL FanHouse informs us that Phillies' acquisition Cliff Lee has allowed four runners past first base in 16 innings with his new team. Not bad.
- Larry LaRue of the Tacoma News Tribune says there's a good chance Erik Bedard will need another exploratory surgery after he undergoes an MRI tomorrow.
- Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus reports that former MLB reliever Kerry Ligtenberg retired. He had been pitching in an independent league.
Productive Free Agent Pickups
Manny Ramirez, C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira have all produced since headlining last offseason's free agent class, but they're far from the only free agents to make meaningful contributions this season. Here are the five free agents who have been worth most this year according to FanGraphs. I've included the player's worth, as calculated by FanGraphs, his contract info and some more traditional stats:
- Raul Ibanez, Phillies – He's been worth $16.1MM this year, but the Phillies are paying him just $6.5MM (plus incentives) in the first year of a deal worth $31.5MM. Ibanez has 26 homers, 75 RBI and an OPS just shy of 1.000.
- C.C. Sabathia, Yankees - Sabathia has been worth $15.6MM this year, making a $14MM salary in the first year of a deal that could pay him $161MM. Despite a drop in his K-rate, Sabathia has an ERA below 4.00 in the AL East and leads the league in starts.
- Mark Teixeira, Yankees – He's been worth $15.1MM so far, so he's on pace to earn the first $20MM of his $180MM deal. He's added 26 homers, 80 RBI and 56 walks to the Yankees' offense.
- Bobby Abreu, Angels – He's been worth $13.8MM this year and he's making a base salary of just $5MM. What a deal for the Angels, who get an .869 OPS, nearly as many walks as strikeouts and 22 steals.
- Juan Rivera, Angels - Another unheralded signing by the Angels. Rivera and Abreu have both approached Teixeira's production this year and the Yanks pay Tex more in one season than the Angels will pay Abreu and Rivera in total over the course of their current deals. Rivera makes a base salary of $3.25MM this year and will make at least $12.75MM on his new deal. He's batting .311 with 18 homers.
Nats Acquire Ward & Hopper From White Sox
The Nationals acquired former major leaguers Daryle Ward and Norris Hopper from the White Sox today, according to Bill Ladson of MLB.com. The players go from Chicago's Triple A team to Washington's.