Rangers Notes: Cliff Lee, Vlad, Molina
It was a bittersweet ending for the Rangers last night, but they're still the AL champions. They're planning to raise payroll, and now it's time to focus on Cliff Lee. The Dallas Morning News has a bunch of quotes from the free agent market's top starter. This cover-your-bases excerpt implies he'll at least test the market:
This is the first time I've been a free agent and I'm going to see what that's all about. It's an earned right by a player once you get six-plus years, and I'm going to take advantage of that and see where it leads me. I know I've enjoyed it here and I'm never ruling out the possibility of coming back, but I've got to play things out and see how it goes. I know this was a great group of guys, a lot of fun, and I would love to be a part of it next year, but there's so many things that could happen, you never know. There's a lot of things I've got to weigh into that. There's a lot of variables, what's best for my family, that's going to be a huge part of it. I want to be on a winning team. Obviously, this is one of those. We'll see, there's no telling what's going to happen.
Regarding the Rangers' other free agents:
- Designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero has a $9MM mutual option for 2011. GM Jon Daniels told Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News, "We're not going to evaluate him on two weeks of games when he's had a career of excellent performance."
- Catcher Bengie Molina didn't rule out playing next year, talking to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
- The Rangers' other free agents are Cristian Guzman, Jorge Cantu, Frank Francisco, and Matt Treanor. Their ten arbitration eligible players should eat up a chunk of the payroll increase: Nelson Cruz, David Murphy, Darren O'Day, Josh Hamilton, Mark Lowe, Dustin Nippert, Jeff Francoeur, C.J. Wilson, Brandon McCarthy, and Esteban German. Nippert, Francoeur, McCarthy, and German are non-tender candidates, in my estimation.
Torrealba Declines Mutual Option
Catcher Yorvit Torrealba has declined his side of his mutual option with the Padres, reports Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The option, which was for $3.5MM, still pays a $500K buyout to Torrealba.
Torrealba, 32, hit .271/.343/.378 this year in 363 plate appearances for the Padres. He caught 795.6 innings, with Nick Hundley taking the rest. Torrealba threw out 37% of baserunners, his best mark since '06. He's a solid regular in a free agent market with about eight of them. Torrealba is a Type B free agent, so the Padres could get a draft pick if they offer arbitration and he turns it down and signs elsewhere.
Giants Notes: Sabean, Bochy, Renteria
You just won the World Series. What are you doing next? A few notes from the Giants' celebration…
- Giants president Larry Baer and owner Bill Neukom are expected to have discussions about extending the contracts of manager Bruce Bochy and GM Brian Sabean, writes Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. Both are under contract through 2011 with club options for '12.
- World Series MVP Edgar Renteria remains undecided about playing next year, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Given the free agent market for shortstops, the 34-year-old would be able to find work. He's already filed for free agency; the team buying out his $10.5MM club option for $500K is a formality.
- The Giants' other free agents, all of whom already filed: Jose Guillen, Pat Burrell, Juan Uribe, Aubrey Huff, and Guillermo Mota. They've got eight players eligible for arbitration: Andres Torres, Jonathan Sanchez, Ramon Ramirez, Mike Fontenot, Santiago Casilla, Cody Ross, Chris Ray, and Javier Lopez.
The Offseason Begins
Congratulations to the World Champion San Francisco Giants and their fans! The offseason officially begins today – 142 players immediately filed for free agency. This year the exclusive negotiating period has been shortened to five days, so free agents can talk dollars only with their old teams until Sunday. As always, MLB Trade Rumors will be your one-stop shop for all the signings, trades, and rumors. Click here to see our list of free agents, including Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Adam Dunn, Adrian Beltre, Jayson Werth, Victor Martinez, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, and many more.
Last Year’s Non-Tenders
Every year, non-tendered players provide teams with extra options for upside gambles and role players. This year's non-tender deadline is just over a month away, so let's take a look at last year's non-tenders:
- Of the 38 non-tenders, ten (26%) re-signed with their former club. Ryan Langerhans, Jack Cust, Adam Miller, Anthony Reyes, Raul Chavez, Mark Worrell, Jackson Quezada, Mark DiFelice, Jonny Gomes and Scott Olsen returned to their old organizations.
- Garrett Atkins signed for more than any other non-tender. He got a $4.5MM guarantee from the Orioles and the Orioles got a .214/.276/.286 line from Atkins. The Rockies must be glad they didn't offer arbitration and get stuck paying Atkins $7-8MM for that performance.
- Six players (Atkins, Matt Capps, John Buck, Kelly Johnson, Chien-Ming Wang and Jack Cust) signed for $2MM or more. Only Atkins and Wang were flops.
- Two 2009 non-tenders, Buck and Capps, made the All-Star team.
- These five non-tenders shaped the 2010 pennant race.
- Click here to check out which teams have non-tendered the most players since 2007.
Odds & Ends: Mets, Blue Jays, Wood, Jenks
Congratulations to the 2010 World Champion San Francisco Giants! Here are your links as the celebration begins…
- The Mets have not set up interviews for their managerial opening, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter).
- Brewers owner Mark Attanasio told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the team is still gathering information about the four finalists for the job. Bobby Valentine appears to be the favorite and Ron Roenicke, Joey Cora and Bob Melvin are also candidates.
- Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told Chris Toman of The Sports Network that he isn’t opposed to trading prospects for big leaguers.
- Angels GM Tony Reagins told Dan Woike of the Orange County Register that he'll be as patient as possible with Brandon Wood, who has struggled to hit in the majors and is now out of options.
- Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune says it would be "stunning" to see the White Sox offer Bobby Jenks $9MM through arbitration.
D’Backs Rumors: Konerko, LaRoche, Padres
As soon as he took over in Arizona, GM Kevin Towers said he intended to improve the team's bullpen and bench. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic hears that the D’Backs still plan to spend on those areas. Here are the details on the club's offseason plans:
- Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago reported over the weekend that the D’Backs will pursue Paul Konerko, but Piecoro suggests a deal with Konerko “probably won’t happen.” The first baseman is in position to demand a lot of money and D’Backs people aren’t sure he can provide enough defense at first base.
- Piecoro says it sounds like the D’Backs won’t pick up their part of the $7.5MM mutual option for Adam LaRoche this winter. That suggests that Towers is willing to pay a $1.5MM buyout instead.
- Expect the D’Backs to add Padres executive Bill Bryk, who worked with Towers in San Diego.
Giants Don’t Intend To Trade Zito
Giants GM Brian Sabean told Bill Shaikin of the LA Times that he does not intend to trade Barry Zito this offseason. The Giants owe the left-hander $64.5MM over the course of the next three years – a lot of money for someone who hasn’t pitched like a $20MM player. Zito struggled down the stretch and is not on the Giants’ World Series roster, but Sabean says he likes having him on the team.
"We like Barry's contribution as far as the innings he pitches and the starts he makes," Sabean said.
Zito, who is in the fourth year of his seven-year $126MM deal, logged just under 200 innings this season. He posted a 4.25 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 overall, but pitched to a 6.14 ERA in August and September. Zito makes his starts, but it's not as if teams are lining up to acquire the former Cy Young Award winner. The Giants couldn't trade him without taking on $40MM or more.
Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez and last night's hero, Madison Bumgarner, occupy four spots in San Francisco's rotation. Sabean said lefty reliever Dan Runzler may get the chance to start, according to Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse (on Twitter).
Recent Non-Tenders
About a month from now, a new class of non-tenders will hit the free agent market. We've been breaking down the cases for and against tendering players contracts, but let's take a look at the players who were non-tendered from 2007-09.
This list doesn't have tons of predictive value, since some teams (like the one atop the list) now have new GMs and others have simply had bigger arbitration classes than others. That said, the results are still interesting:
- Mets (8) – Cory Sullivan, Tim Redding, Jeremy Reed, Lance Broadway, Johnny Estrada, Ben Johnson, Juan Padilla
- Yankees (7) – Chien-Ming Wang, Chris Britton, Justin Christian, T.J. Beam, Darrell Rasner, Bronson Sardinha, Matt DeSalvo
- Padres (7) – Mark Worrell, Jackson Quezada, Clay Hensley, Charlie Haeger, Jack Cassel, Morgan Ensberg, Jason Lane
- Royals (6) – John Buck, Josh Anderson, John Bale, Joey Gathright, Jason Smith, Emil Brown
- Brewers (6) – Mark DiFelice, Mike Rivera, Seth McClung, Chris Capuano, Kevin Mench, Matt Wise
- Diamondbacks (5) – Josh Whitesell, Chris Burke, Robby Hammock, Wil Ledezma, Jeff Salazar
- Orioles (5) – Brian Bass, Daniel Cabrera, Lance Cormier, Cory Doyne, Roberto Novoa
- Rockies (5) – Garrett Atkins, Willy Taveras, Jonathan Herrera, Sean Barker, Darren Clarke
- Pirates (5) – Matt Capps, Phil Dumatrait, Denny Bautista, Brad Eldred, Brian Rogers
- Nationals (5) – Mike MacDougal, Scott Olsen, Tim Redding, Mike O’Connor, Nook Logan
- Braves (4) – Kelly Johnson, Ryan Church, Chuck James, Willie Harris
- Dodgers (4) – Angel Berroa, Yhency Brazoban, Scott Proctor, Mark Hendrickson
- Cardinals (4) – Randy Flores, Tyler Johnson, Aaron Miles (twice)
- Red Sox (3) – Brian Anderson, Kevin Cash, Brendan Donnelly
- White Sox (3) – D.J. Carrasco, Andy Gonzalez, Heath Phillips
- Reds (3) – Jonny Gomes, Brad Salmon, Jerry Gil
- Indians (3) – Adam Miller, Anthony Reyes, Jose Veras
- Marlins (3) – Alfredo Amezaga, Joe Nelson, Miguel Olivo
- Astros (3) – Ty Wigginton, Reggie Abercrombie, Adam Everett
- Angels (3) - Dustin Moseley, Jose Arredondo, Dallas McPherson
- A’s (3) – Jack Cust, Kiko Calero, Jose Garcia
- Mariners (3) - Ryan Langerhans, Jamie Burke, John Parrish
- Rays (3) – Shawn Riggans, Gabe Gross, Jonny Gomes
- Rangers (3) – Doug Mathis, Nick Gorneault, Akinori Otsuka
- Cubs (2) – Neal Cotts, Mark Prior
- Phillies (2) – Clay Condrey, Scott Mathieson
- Giants (2) – Ryan Garko, Scott Munter
- Blue Jays (2) – Raul Chavez, Josh Towers
- Tigers (1) – Chad Durbin
- Twins (1) – Jason Tyner
Rangers Notes: Payroll, Lee, Washington
The offseason isn't far away, so the Rangers are thinking ahead, even though they can continue their bid for a World Series title with a win against the Giants tonight. Here's the latest on the AL Champs:
- GM Jon Daniels says the Rangers may be able to increase payroll next year, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). The Rangers intend to bid on Cliff Lee, who won't come cheap, so it's not surprising to hear that the club has the flexibility to spend.
- Yankees people are angry that Rangers owner Chuck Greenberg called Yankees fans "an embarrassment," according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). Heyman says the Yankees will return fire after the World Series. The best way of retaliating would probably be to lure Lee to the Bronx if you ask me.
- Daniels left no doubt that the Rangers will sign manager Ron Washington to a multi-year deal after the World Series, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (on Twitter).