Amateur Signing Bonuses: Tigers
Time to take our amateur signing bonus series to Motown…
- Jacob Turner, $4.7MM (2009)
- Rick Porcello, $3.58MM (2007)
- Andrew Miller, $3.55MM (2006)
- Eric Munson, $3.5MM (1999)
- Nick Castellanos, $3.45MM (2010)
Turner, a Scott Boras client and the ninth overall pick in the 2009 draft, received what was then the largest bonus ever given to a high school pitcher. The total value of his big league contract is $5.5MM with the potential to be worth $7MM. He spent his first pro season in Single-A, and is the team's best prospect thanks to a 3.28 ERA, 8.0 K/9, and 1.8 BB/9 in 115.1 innings.
Before there was Turner there was Porcello, who matched Josh Beckett for the most guaranteed money ever given to a high school arm ($7MM). He reached the majors after just one season in the minors, and has a 4.43 ERA with 2.1 BB/9 and 4.7 K/9 in 333.1 innings for the Tigers. Castellanos was the 44th overall pick this year, and his bonus is the largest ever given to a player outside of the first round. He started his career with a .333/.414/.417 performance in 29 rookie ball plate appearances.
Miller was the consensus top talent in the 2006 draft, but lasted until the sixth pick because of bonus demands. The Tigers were happy to pay him, but they rushed him to the big leagues later that year. Miller posted a 5.69 ERA in 74.1 innings for the Tigers before being traded to Marlins in December 2007 as part of the package for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis.
Munson was the third overall pick in the 1999 draft after a monster collegiate career at USC. His bonus was the franchise record for close to a decade before Porcello came along. Munson received 885 plate appearances for the Tigers from 2000-2004, hitting just .215/.287/.414 along the way. He was granted his release after the 2004 season, and has bounced from team to team ever since.
Amazingly, this list doesn't including Kyle Sleeth (third overall in 2003) and Justin Verlander (second overall in 2004), who received $3.35MM and $3.12MM bonuses, respectively. The Tigers aren't shy about spending on young players, that's for sure.
Poll: Mets’ Next General Manager
After a first round of interviews, the Mets have narrowed their general manager search down to two candidates: Sandy Alderson and Josh Byrnes. Both have experience running a team, Alderson with the A's (1983-1997) and Byrnes with the Diamondbacks (2005-2010), and both surely have different strengths and weaknesses. Byrnes gives them a younger exec perhaps more well-versed in today's game, Alderson a veteran front office presence with deep roots in the game.
Both Alderson and Byrnes will interview for the second time this week, and a decision will presumably be made shortly thereafter. Time for the poll…
Who should the Mets hire to be their next GM?
Click here to vote, and here to see the results.
Amateur Signing Bonuses: Rockies
The Rockies are up next in our amateur signing bonus series…
- Tyler Matzek, $3.9MM (2009)
- Greg Reynolds, $3.25MM (2006)
- Jason Young, $2.75MM (2000)
- Troy Tulowitzki, $2.3MM (2005)
- Chin-Hui Tsao. $2.2MM (1999)
Matzek was one of the best prospects available in the 2009 draft, but he fell into the Rockies' lap with the 11th overall pick because of perceived bonus demands. Colorado met those demands, giving him the fourth largest bonus of the entire draft class. Matzek spent 2010 in Single-A, pitching to a 2.92 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 6.2 BB/9 in 89.1 innings as a 19-year-old.
Tulowitzki, the seventh overall pick in 2005, is quite simply the Rockies' franchise cornerstone and one of the five or ten best players in baseball. In four-plus years as Colorado's shortstop, Tulo has hit .290/.362/.495 with top-of-the-line defense. The team has gotten every dollar's worth and then some with this pick and bonus.
Young, the 47th overall pick in 2000, pitched well in the minors before getting his first taste of the big leagues in 2003, and he ultimately put up a 9.71 ERA in 29.2 innings for Colorado before being claimed off waivers by the Indians in August 2005. He was out of baseball by the end of that season. Reynolds was the second overall pick in 2006, and made 13 ugly starts (8.13 ERA, 3.2 K/9, 3.8 BB/9) for Colorado in 2008. He missed basically the entire 2009 season with shoulder surgery and is working his way back.
Tsao's career featured a lot of firsts. He was the first significant international signing in team history, the first player they ever signed out of Asia, and the first Taiwanese-born pitcher in MLB history. His career was riddled with injury, most notably Tommy John surgery in 2001, but he reached the big leagues in 2003. In 63.2 innings for the Rockies from 2003-2005, Tsao pitched to a 5.80 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 before being released in 2006. He pitched in the Chinese Professional Baseball League after his time in MLB was through, but his career came to end earlier this year when he was banned from the league for his role in a game-fixing scandal.
Vazquez Interested In Pitching For The Nationals
Javier Vazquez has thrown the second most innings (2,320.1) and recorded the second most strikeouts (2,122) in all of baseball since the start of the 2000 season, but 2010 was the worst year of his career. His return engagement with the Yankees resulted in 157.1 innings of 5.32 ERA, 6.9 K/9, and 1.8 HR/9 ball, certainly not what they Yanks expected after trading three young players for him last winter.
After a performance like that, it stands to reason that Vazquez would have some trouble finding work for next season, but that hasn't stopped him from expressing interest in pitching for the Nationals according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. The Nats are one team that we know is ready to spend on pitching, and Javy has long preferred the East Coast so he could be close to his family in Puerto Rico.
Vazquez obviously will not approach the $11.5MM he made each year from 2008-2010, and a multi-year deal is unlikely as well. A pitcher with his track record is a nice candidate for one-year, low base salary contract, and the Nats are in the perfect position to gamble on deals like that. It's worth noting that his fastball velocity dropped off considerably this season, so perhaps all those innings are finally catching up to him at age 34.
I examined Vazquez's free agent stock a few weeks ago, and Luke Adams listed him as a pitcher that could benefit from a move to the NL.
Amateur Signing Bonuses: Indians
Next up in our series looking at each team's top amateur signing bonuses, the Indians…
- Danys Baez, $4.5MM (1999)
- Jeremy Guthrie, $3MM (2002)
- Drew Pomeranz, $2.65MM (2010)
- Jeremy Sowers, $2.475MM (2004)
- Alex White, $2.25MM (2009)
Baez's bonus was part of the four-year, $14.5MM contract Cleveland gave him after he defected from Cuba as a 22-year-old. After a year in Triple-A, the Indians gave him a rotation spot in 2002 and watched Baez post a respectable 4.41 ERA, 7.1 K/9, and 4.5 BB/9. Overall, Baez had a 3.92 ERA in 291.1 innings with Cleveland in a variety of roles (starter, setup man, closer) before they cut ties with him after the 2003 season.
Guthrie, the 22nd overall pick in 2002, never hit his stride in Cleveland, appearing in just 16 games (37 IP, 6.08 ERA) for the Tribe before being designated for assignment and subsequently claimed off waivers by the Orioles in January 2007. Sowers' tenure with the Indians was just as forgettable, though he got a much longer look. The sixth overall pick in the 2004 draft started 71 games for Cleveland from 2006-2009, though he pitched to just a 5.18 ERA with a measly 3.9 K/9 in exactly 400 IP. He spent 2010 in their minor league system.
White and Pomeranz are the team's two most recent first round picks. White (15th overall in 2009) split the 2010 season between the Single-A and Double-A levels, posting a 2.45 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 150.2 IP. Pomeranz (5th overall in 2010) signed right at the August 16th deadline and will start his professional career next season.
Yankees Rumors: Girardi, Jeter, Rivera, Pettitte
The Yankees always have interesting offseasons, but this one figures to have a little extra something after the Rangers massively outplayed them in the ALCS. Three of their stalwart players, not to mention the manager, are scheduled to become free agents in a few weeks. Let's round up all the news that came out of Yankeeland following last night's loss, courtesy of Chad Jennings of The Journal News, MLB.com's Bryan Hoch, Mark Feinsand and Anthony McCarron of The Daily News, Marc Carig of The Star-Ledger, and Dom Amore of The Hartford Courant (Twitter link)…
- Re-signing manager Joe Girardi is "the first order of business," said GM Brian Cashman. Cashman also said he has yet to talk to ownership, which gives you an idea of how far along (or not) they are in the process.
- Neither Mariano Rivera nor Derek Jeter would talk about their upcoming free agency after last night's loss. “This is where they belong,” said Cashman, and the general belief is that both will re-sign with the Yankees this winter.
- Andy Pettitte's decision about whether to return for another year or retire will be based solely on his family, adding that he's already accomplished everything he wanted to in his career. Cashman said that they'll give Pettitte as much time as he needs.
- Yankee starting pitchers not named CC Sabathia posted a 5.91 ERA in the second half, so Cashman unsurprisingly said that starting pitching will be a priority in the offseason. They're expected to be major players for Cliff Lee, and will likely check in on Zack Greinke.
Farrell Offered Blue Jays’ Manager’s Job
9:41pm: It would be surprising at this point if Farrell turned down the Blue Jays job, a source familiar with the situation told Alex Speier of WEEI.
The Red Sox will look at both internal and external candidates to fill their pitching coach void if Farrell leaves. However, it is said that the club is underwhelmed with their in-house options.
8:23pm: Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell has been offered the managerial job in Toronto, multiple industry sources told Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com. Now the 48-year-old and the Blue Jays must work to come to an agreement on a contract.
McAdam notes if Farrell ends up taking the position, this would mark the second straight season that the BoSox have lost a key member of their coaching staff to a managerial vacancy. Last winter, former bench coach Brad Mills left Boston to become the manager of the Astros.
It would seem that the Blue Jays have left no stone unturned in their managerial search. By some estimates, McAdam writes, Toronto spoke to upwards of 20 candidates.
Odds & Ends: Duchscherer, Bruce, Nolasco, Votto
Some links as the Rangers look to close out the Yankees at home..
- MLB.com's Jane Lee doesn't expect to see Justin Duchscherer back with the A's in 2011.
- In a piece for RotoAuthority, Tim Dierkes takes a look at the fantasy potential of Jay Bruce.
- Former Mariners skipper Don Wakamatsu is a potential candidate for Buck Showalter's coaching staff in Baltimore, writes Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun. Wakamatsu says that he's still talking to the club about coaching and managerial jobs but declined to name specific teams.
- If the Marlins and Ricky Nolasco can't come to terms on a deal of at least three years, there is a strong chance the Fish will sign him to separate contracts for 2011 and 2012, writes MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. Yesterday, Nolasco's agent said that the two sides are off about 20% on salary.
- Two sources told Paul Daugherty of the Cincinnati Enquirer that Joey Votto can expect to earn close to $7MM in 2011. Our own Ben Nicholson-Smith arrived at a similar conclusion two months ago.
- Jon Heyman of SI tweets that Josh Byrnes would cost the Mets less than Sandy Alderson as Arizona is already paying him through 2015.
- Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com compiled some background info on Byrnes and Alderson.
Padres Seeking Production At The Top Of Lineup
The Padres are seeking top-of-the-order production this offseason, writes Don Norcross of the San Diego Union Tribune. The club went through nine players in the leadoff spot in 2010 and got little offense from David Eckstein who batted second.
As it stands now, Adrian Gonzalez and Chase Headley are set to play the corner infield positions while Will Venable and Ryan Ludwick will be the corner outfielders. Norcross writes that this means that the higher on-base percentage that San Diego is after will have to come from the middle of the field.
While Tony Gwynn turned in another excellent season in center field (32.9 UZR/150), his .204/.304/.287 slash line in 339 plate appearances left much to be desired. Meanwhile, shortstop Everth Cabrera took a major step back in 2010, hitting just .208/.279/.278.
The Padres' combined on-base percentage for the top two spots in their batting order was .310, third worst in the majors.
Randy Winn Wants To Play In 2011
After 13 years and 1,717 regular season games, Randy Winn still hasn’t appeared in the playoffs, but the outfielder tells B.J. Rains of FOXSportsMidwest.com that he’s not worried about signing with a contender this offseason. At this stage in his career, the 36-year-old is simply looking for a job.
“I would like to find a team that would like me to play for them, that’s going to be my first thing,” Winn said. “I don’t know what my options are going to be. I hope some organization thinks I can come in and help. That’s what I’m hoping for.”
The Yankees were hoping Winn could be a useful fourth outfielder when they signed him last winter, but he struggled and they designated him for assignment. The Cardinals picked him up, but the team struggled down the stretch so Winn missed the playoffs yet again.
Winn batted .239/.307/.356 in 233 plate appearances between the Yankees and Cardinals and played all three outfield positions. He signed for $1.1MM last winter, but he’s likely looking at a minor league deal this time. Winn doesn’t expect to sign soon, but he says he’s happy to wait for offers and play with his kids.