Valverde May Accept Arbitration
Ken Rosenthal reports that Astros closer Jose Valverde may accept arbitration from the Astros, which could result in $10MM or more for the Type-A free agent.
Valverde was offered arbitration last week with the hopes that he would seek a multi-year deal elsewhere and net the Astros two high draft picks. However, as Rosenthal explains, there are numerous late-inning options on the free agent market and several more available via trade.
Valverde may feel that a one-year deal with Houston is his best bet for 2010. While this would solve the Astros' need for a closer, it could also cripple the team financially — bad news when you've already got limited payroll flexibility in the first place.
After missing over six weeks with a calf injury, Valverde finished the season going a perfect 17 of 17 in save chances after the All-Star Break, with a tidy 1.64 ERA, so it's certainly feasible that other teams will have interest in him. And hey, any guy who's tough enough to finish a game and pick up a save after taking a liner off his face should grab your attention.
Who might Valverde end up with if he rejects arbitration, and at what price?
Minaya: No Pressure To Make Moves
Ben Shpigel of the New York Times writes that Omar Minaya arrived in Indianapolis for the Winter Meetings and has said that he's not under any pressure to make moves, despite having issues to address at catcher, left field, the rotation, and the bullpen.
"I don't feel like I have to do something," Minaya is quoted as saying, and that includes signing Bengie Molina, as many expect the Mets to do. Shpigel backs up his tweet that we linked to earlier, stating that the Mets are more likely to make a trade at the meetings than sign a free agent.
Minaya feels that the Mets had more focused needs than last year, according to Shpigel. He quotes Omar:
“I remember coming here last year and we were trying to get Frankie Rodriguez… We knew that and we focused on that. Coming into the meetings we had meetings with the agent and we felt that we could get things done and address that last year. This year, it’s not as clear as it was last year. Last year we needed a closer and we ended up getting two closers. This year we have more parts that we have to fill in. Are we going to be able to fill all of them in here? I don’t know that."
The Mets would like to unload Luis Castillo in an effort to lure Orlando Hudson to New York, and they're very interested in Nationals outfielder Josh Willingham to fill their need for a slugging left fielder. Shpigel says that the Nats currently have a steep asking price though, as Willingham is in high demand.
If the Mets can't land Willingham, Shpigel suggests Marlon Byrd as a possibility, though he notes that the Mets are wary of the vast disparity between Byrd's home and road splits in 2009. Byrd hit a whopping .282/.336/.538 and clubbed 14 of his 20 home runs at home, but posted a much more pedestrian line of .285/.322/.419 away from Arlington.
Odds & Ends: Pirates, Martinez, Blanton, Putz
A few links the night before all Hot Stove hell breaks loose…
- Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports that team president Frank Coonelly said the Pirates have made less than $11MM profit over the last two years, and all of that was put back into the team.
- Agent Alan Nero says that opening talks about a long-term deal for Victor Martinez "should be on the to-do list in January," according to Daniel Barbarisi and Joe McDonald of The Providence Journal.
- Ed Price of AOL FanHouse says we can add Joe Blanton to the list of pitchers available via trade. He's arbitration eligible after making $5.475MM in 2009, and the Phillies can better use that money elsewhere.
- The Diamondbacks are one of the teams that watched J.J. Putz's recent throwing session, according to FoxSports.com.
- Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times takes a look at five issues facing the Dodgers heading into the Winter Meetings.
- The Mariners are among the teams looking to land a catcher this week, says Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com.
- Adam Rubin of The NY Daily News rounds up Omar Minaya's brief meeting with the press upon arriving in Indianapolis for the Winter Meetings.
- Carl Pavano's agent says his client is undecided about whether to accept arbitration, according to FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal.
- Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe says the Red Sox, Angels, Mariners, and maybe the Mets represent the market for Jason Bay.
- MLB.com's Carrie Muskat spoke to a Rangers' official who said the team would be willing to bring Milton Bradley back, however they're not sure they want to deal with "that headache" again.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that the Angels will compete with the Mariners for John Lackey and Jason Bay, but they won't bid $100MM.
- Omar Minaya suggests that trades are more likely than free agent signings for the Mets, according to Ben Shpigel of The NY Times.
- Free agent Jamey Carroll says the "door hasn't been closed" on a return to Cleveland, according to Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer.
- Roger Mooney of The Tampa Tribune says the Rays will be looking to make more under-the-radar moves this year.
- Andy Martino of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes about a perfect storm scenario that could send Roy Halladay to the Phillies.
- LaVelle E. Neal III of The Star Tribune hears that Joe Mauer's agent might not attend the Winter Meetings because of all the attention that will paid to his client's possible free agency.
- Tyler Hissey previewed the Orioles' offseason.
Betancourt Set To Accept Arbitration
11:38pm: FoxSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi says that the Brewers have interest in Betancourt, "but their offer is unlikely to be big enough to persuade him to refuse salary arbitration with the Rockies." Morosi adds that interest in Betancourt has declined sharply after he was offered arbitration, as teams are unwilling to give up a draft pick to sign him.
6:08pm: Tracy Ringolsby of FoxSports.com reports that free agent reliever Rafael Betancourt is "ready to accept the [Rockies'] offer of arbitration." Betancourt is a Type-A free agent, so a team would have had to forfeit a high draft pick to sign him.
Nolasco Not On The Market
Despite listening to offers for Matt Lindstrom and Renyel Pinto, the Marlins are telling teams that starter Ricky Nolasco is not available, reports Juan C. Rodriguez of The Sun Sentinel.
Nolasco, who earned $2.4MM this year, is arbitration eligible for the second time after an odd 2009 season. His periperhal stats were outstanding (9.49 K/9, 2.14 BB/9, 3.35 FIP), yet he still finished with a 5.06 ERA. Considering his cost and relative production, you'd have to think the Fish could get a pretty nice return if they made him available in a trade.
Rodriguez adds that the team is in the "early stages" of trade discussions involving Dan Uggla.
Braves Intend To Trade A Starter For A Bat
The Braves intend to trade a starting pitcher in order to get the bat they need, according to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com. Derek Lowe and Javy Vazquez appear to be the two most likely candidates to be moved.
After shoring up the back of their bullpen with Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito, GM Frank Wren can turn his attention to the lineup. The Braves have expressed interest in Josh Willingham in the past, and Tim outlined some potential options back in October. Nelson Cruz, who is drawing interest despite not necessarily being on the block, could be a fit as well.
Given the shorter commitment and superior 2009 performance, Vazquez would have more value on the trade market, but stranger things have happened.
Rays, Reds Interested In Nelson Cruz
The Rays and Reds are among the teams that have contacted the Rangers about outfielder Nelson Cruz, according to FoxSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi. We first heard that teams were contacting Texas about Cruz late last month.
Given Cruz's immense production (.260/.332/.524 with 33 homers) at a bargain basement price ($408K in 2009 according to Cot's), the team doesn't have much incentive to move him. Cruz is under team control through 2013. In fact, Texas has reportedly been on the look out for righty hitting middle-of-the-order bat, such as Jermaine Dye.
Morosi adds that the Rangers have considered such free agent options as Dye, Jim Thome, and Vladimir Guerrero, however their spending ability may be limited.
Multiple Teams Interested In Juan Pierre
Steve Henson of Yahoo! Sports says that three or four teams are interested in Juan Pierre, and that a three-team trade is being explored to bring a bad contract starter to the Dodgers in return. Henson says the bad contract starter wouldn't be ex-Dodger Derek Lowe.
The 32-year-old Pierre is still owed $18.5MM over the next two years, however he boosted his value a bit by hitting .308/.365/.392 with 30 steals in 2009. It was his best offensive season since 2004, and the second best of his career. UZR/150 pegged Pierre as excellent in LF (+16.4) but awful in center (-19.4).
Can you think of any "bad contract starter" fits? Maybe one of the Detroit guys (Jeremy Bonderman, Nate Robertson, Dontrelle Willis), or Jeff Suppan?
Lackey Looking To Exceed Burnett’s Deal
Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports says that a club engaged in talks with John Lackey indicate that the free agent righty is looking for a contract longer, and with a greater average annual value than A.J. Burnett's five year, $82.5MM pact.
If true, Lackey could be seeking $17MM+ per year over a period of six or more years, which would put the total value of a potential contract in the nine figures. When Burnett signed his deal, he was coming off two seasons in which he posted a 3.93 ERA with a 2.68 K/BB ratio in 387 total innings. In Lackey's last two seasons, he's thrown 339.2 innings with a 3.79 ERA and a 3.07 K/BB ratio.
What do the readers of MLBTR think, is Lackey worth that kind of cash?
Mariners On Verge Of Signing Chone Figgins
SUNDAY, 6:33pm: Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times says Figgins will take his physical tomorrow, and assuming he passes, the team will announce the signing either later in the day or on Tuesday. Baker says probably the latter.
FRIDAY, 10:03pm: Not sure if this moves the story forward, but the AP says the Mariners and Figgins have a preliminary agreement on a four-year, $36MM deal.
9:21pm: Brown tweets that "Angels officials concede (that) Figgins (is as) good as gone to M's."
9:04pm: Stark says that the two sides are "very close" to finalizing a deal. He adds that Figgins would be guaranteed $36MM over four years, and there are indications that the deal will include a vesting option that could push the value of the contract to $45MM.
Meanwhile, according to Bill Shaikin of The LA Times, Angels' GM Tony Reagins said that Figgins is close to a decision, one way or the other. "We've made an offer," said Reagins. They've had a chance to evaluate it."
6:52pm: Larry LaRue of The News Tribune says the Mariners need to wait until at least Monday to finalize the deal. Why Monday, you ask? Because that's the deadline for free agents to accept arbitration, and they have to make sure Adrian Beltre declines before proceeding with Figgins.
3:48pm: ESPN's Jayson Stark agrees that the Mariners are close to a deal with Figgins, but says financial terms are still being negotiated and the Angels "aren't completely out of the running." Meanwhile Shannon Drayer of ESPN Seattle says the deal is "all but done" but most likely will not be announced today.
2:50pm: Heyman now tweets that the Ms are "very close to getting Figgins." In a subsequent tweet he suggests the deal will be for about $35MM.
2:26pm: SI's Jon Heyman has a more open-ended take on Figgins, via Twitter – he has the player asking for $36MM over four years with the Mariners at $32MM over four or $27MM over three. He says the Angels are at $24MM over three. Similarly, Yahoo's Tim Brown has an Angels source who says, "We're still hanging around."
1:35pm: The Mariners are on the verge of signing Chone Figgins to a four-year deal in the $36MM range, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. His source says the sides are "very close" to a deal. In his original article Rosenthal left the door open for the Angels to make a late push to re-sign Figgins, but that portion has been removed.
If they complete the deal, the Mariners would surrender their #18 pick to the Angels unless they also sign one of the other remaining Type As who was offered arbitration (the Angels could still end up with that pick if the Ms sign John Lackey too).
Rosenthal's price range doesn't sound too crazy given the five-year, $50MM predictions that had been floating about. With Figgins and Jack Wilson on the left side of the infield, the Mariners' defense would be spectacular. Figgins also helps offensively, given his league-leading 101 walks this year.