Orlando Hudson’s Contract Details
Tony Jackson of the Los Angeles Daily News has the breakdown of Orlando Hudson’s recent contract with the Dodgers:
- Hudson’s base salary will be $3MM.
- $380K signing bonus that has been deferred, without interest, to an unspecified time.
- $150K for both 150 and 175 plate appearances.
- $200K for 200, 225, 250, 275, and 300 plate appearances.
- $250K for 325, 350, 375, 400, 425, 450, 475, 500, 525, 550, and 575 plate appearances.
- $10K for every single plate appearance from 576-632, totalling 57 plate appearances and $570K.
- Beginning at 550 plate appearances, all incentives are also deferred, without interest, to an unspecified time.
- Hudson is contractually required to donate $25K to the Dodgers Dream Foundation.
Is it any wonder Jackson was ready for some Advil by the end of writing this up?
Odds & Ends: Marte, Dodgers, Hoffman
A few links on a slow Monday afternoon in the baseball world…
- According to MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince, teams will have a chance to claim Andy Marte off waivers over the next few days.
- Baseball America’s Matt Eddy has the latest minor league transactions, including the Pirates’ signing of Ruben Gotay.
- Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes about the A’s move toward high school players.
- Dale Robertson of the Houston Chronicle talked to Ed Wade and Gerry Hunsicker about this year’s free agent market.
- Patrick Newman looks at a couple of amateur Japanese pitchers who are drawing interest from MLB teams.
- Sam Miller of the Orange County Register runs down "The 13 Smartest Baseball Moves" of this offseason, with pictures!
- The Dodgers are hoping to find a gem among their non-roster camp invitees. MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick has the list, which includes Jeff Weaver, Shawn Estes and Eric Milton.
- Trevor Hoffman took out a full-page ad in the San Diego Union-Tribune, thanking fans with a truly heartfelt note.
- ESPN.com’s Rob Neyer likes the Garret Anderson signing.
- Oh, and for you folks that like to Twitter… add MLB Trade Rumors!
Nats Release No-Show Odalis Perez
According to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson, the Nationals have released left-hander Odalis Perez because of his failure to report to spring training.
"He would not return our phone calls and after talking internally with [manager] Manny Acta, [pitching coach] Randy St. Claire and the organization, we all feel it’s important that we want players that want to be here and help us win. We made that decision this morning," GM Jim Bowden said. "We left messages yesterday for his agent, we left messages for Odalis. Again I left messages for him this morning. They made their point pretty clear. We need to turn the page. We have a lot of pitchers in camp that are committed to helping us win."
The mandatory reporting date for all players was Sunday, February 22. Perez, 31, agreed to a minor league contract worth $850K two weeks ago, but later decided he wanted more compensation. Now he won’t see a dime from the Nationals.
He is still expected to pitch for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, which starts on March 3. A strong showing there could lead to a deal with a new club.
Rosenthal On Cabrera, Cruz, Nady, Swisher
Let’s take a look at the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- The A’s are offering more at-bats to Nomar Garciaparra than the Phillies. If the A’s sign Nomar, that wouldn’t stop them from adding Orlando Cabrera. However, Rosenthal’s source says Cabrera and the A’s "are not even close" in terms of his value.
- Nothing is close with the Juan Cruz situation; "New teams entered the mix after the sign-and-trade option became more realistic." Rosenthal says it’s still possible that a team will simply sign Cruz and give up a draft pick. La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says the Twins have made an offer to Cruz, but did not speak to his agent yesterday.
- Even with the Orlando Hudson signing, Blake DeWitt still has a role with the Dodgers pitching in at second base, third base, and even shortstop.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman "didn’t particularly like" any of the offers he’s received for Nick Swisher and Xavier Nady.
- Rosenthal leaves the door slightly ajar for the Astros and Pudge: "the team continues to indicate that it cannot afford free agent Ivan Rodriguez unless his price drops significantly." Astros GM Ed Wade said on Wednesday: "We’re not signing Pudge. Put that one to rest. We have no expectation to sign Pudge."
Mark Mulder May Audition Soon
According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, free agent lefty Mark Mulder is moving closer to holding an open bullpen session for interested teams. Mulder wants to be in perfect health before holding the session and signing. Slusser says the A’s are expected to be in attendance. Mulder is keeping his options open:
"Obviously, Oakland would be fun. I know the people there and all that. But right now I just so badly want to get right and get back to pitching, I’ve honestly thought about all 29 other teams, too."
Mulder, 31, had rotator cuff surgery back in September of ’06.
Deadline Trade Candidates
I wrote an article for the Spring Training ’09 site about players who could be July trade candidates. Check it out.
Odds and Ends: Smoltz, Crede, Burnett
A few links for Sunday evening…
- Chicago Tribune reporters Todd Lighty and Oscar Avila have more info on the David Wilder bonus-skimming scandal.
- Terence Moore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution talked to John Smoltz recently about players leaving or choosing not to sign with the Braves.
- SI.com’s Pablo S. Torre digs into Ken Griffey Jr.‘s decision.
- Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel learned that Marlins third baseman Dallas McPherson (42 home runs at Triple A last year) would like 500 at-bats, but a bench role is more likely. McPherson is out of options.
- Joe Crede talked about the White Sox going young, but Ozzie Guillen did not agree.
- Newsday’s Kat O’Brien talked to A.J. Burnett, who was leaning toward the Yankees well before he signed. He chatted often with Alex Rodriguez and Johnny Damon this winter.
- Speaking of Damon, River Ave. Blues points out a passage in Joe Torre’s book about how the Yankees chose Rondell White over him back in ’02.
- Nationals special assistant Jose Rijo is taking a leave of absence, partially because of the Esmailyn Gonzalez scandal. ESPN’s Jorge Arangure Jr. has much more on the situation, after talking to Gonzalez/Lugo’s trainer.
- South Side Sox takes a stab at fixing free agent compensation.
- Orlando Hudson could’ve had $24MM for 2009-11 if he’d taken an offer the D’Backs made before the ’08 season. Nick Piecoro says Hudson’s counteroffer was "so unrealistic that it actually upset people with the Diamondbacks."
Odalis Perez Not Returning Calls
According to the AP, Odalis Perez is M.I.A. He missed the mandatory Spring Training report date, and isn’t returning calls from the Nationals or his agent. GM Jim Bowden believes he has an agreement on an $850K minor league deal. Bowden ultimately expects Perez to honor the agreement. Perez’s statement from a few days ago:
"I thought it best and I prefer to sit in my house if the Nationals do not show more appreciation for my work. Appreciate my work means to increase the value of the contract and guarantee it. I will not accept any minor league contracts with no safeguards. I instructed my agent to report my position to the Nationals."
Bowden told Chico Harlan of the Washington Post that he dealt with a similar situation with Tony Fernandez in ’95.
Week in Review: 2/15 – 2/21
Spring Training is in the air… let’s cover the last week here on MLBTR!
- The Dodgers landed a bargain this week, when they agreed to terms with Orlando Hudson on a one-year, $3.4MM deal with an additional $4.6MM worth of incentives. The Dodgers complete a very strong middle infield, and still have Blake DeWitt available to fill in any holes that come up from injuries. Very nice value.
- Lots of drama surrounding Ken Griffey Jr. this week, but he wound up returning to Seattle on a one-year, $2MM contract with another $2.5MM in incentives. Griffey’s return to Seattle should be a great story for the 2009 campaign. Can you imagine the crowd on Opening Day?
- The Orioles signed Brian Roberts to a four-year, $40MM extension this week. Roberts said he feels the O’s will be competitive in that span. I think trading Roberts for some young arms would have given the O’s a better shot at competition, but they do have some good young players already. What about everyone else?
- Nate McLouth also agreed to terms on an extension through the 2011 season with a 2012 option, controlling his arbitration years and first year of free agency. He’ll get $2MM in 2009, $4.5MM in 2010, and $6.5MM in 2011 to go along with a $1.5MM signing bonus. Very good value, but I’ve got similar questions as I did with Ryan Doumit’s extension? Is this to lock him up or make him look better in a trade?
- Joe Crede finally found a home this week; he signed with the Twins on a one-year, $2.5MM deal with incentives that could take the deal to $7MM. Bargain signing for the Twins, as Crede was originally looking for a $7MM base salary. Even if his back flares up, they’re only on the hook for $2.5MM. I’m surprised the Giants weren’t more involved, seeing his final base salary.
- Tom Glavine finally signed as well, returning to the Braves on a one-year, $1MM deal that could reach $4.5MM with incentives. It’s a low-risk move, so I can’t really criticize it, but I really question how much Glavine has left…
- Lastly, could Roy Halladay be moved at some point? Blue Jays General Manager J.P. Ricciardi says that "all hell would have to break loose," but you have to imagine teams would be knocking down the door if the Jays were in the AL East cellar around the trade deadline. Ricciardi admitted, "At that point, we’d have to reevaluate."
Nothing Close For Juan Cruz, Twins
4:46pm: Steve Gilbert of MLB.com talked to D’Backs GM Josh Byrnes. Byrnes is in regular contract with Cruz’s agent Barry Praver, but has nothing new to report and is not talking to any teams about Cruz.
3:47pm: MLB.com’s Kelly Theiser reports that the Twins have not even extended a formal offer to Cruz. She agrees with Neal that Twins fans should not expect a Cruz acquisition, though they definitely are interested.
SUNDAY, 1:27pm: Neal is back with another update, though not a pleasant one for Twins fans. Neal writes that the reports saying the Twins are "closing in on a deal" are not true. The trade, may in fact, be very difficult to pull off:
"It’s going to be hard enough to agree to terms with the agent. Getting the Diamondbacks to agree on a trade might be even tougher. Things could always change but, for now, there’s little reason to feel optimistic that the Twins can land Cruz."
SATURDAY: Bob McManaman of The Arizona Republic reports that the Diamondbacks are "closing in on a likely sign-and-trade deal" with the Twins for Juan Cruz. He adds that "various reports expected the deal to be completed by Saturday."
FRIDAY: According to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Twins made an offer to reliever Juan Cruz tonight as part of a possible sign-and-trade with the Diamondbacks. If Cruz accepts the offer, Neal says the teams would then have 48 hours to work out a trade.
Cruz would represent a power arm for the back of Minnesota’s pen; his average heater was 94.3 mph in 2008. Cruz’s big-time strikeout stuff is accompanied by poor control, however.