Mets Sign D.J. Carrasco
Reliever D.J. Carrasco finally has some job security after being non-tendered two years in a row. The Mets officially signed him to a two-year, $2.5MM deal today. Carrasco will earn $1.2MM in base salary in 2011 and 2012, plus an additional $50K each for 65 relief appearances, 75 relief appearances, and 15 starts.
The Diamondbacks cut Carrasco last week, and he had six to eight suitors as a free agent. He posted a 3.68 ERA, 7.5 K/9, 3.9 BB/9, 0.57 HR/9, and 47.5% groundball rate in 78 1/3 innings this year. He's durable, having led the AL in relief innings last year. Carrasco's agent Terry Bross at Gaylord Sports secured the first multiyear deal of his career. The righty turns 34 in April.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News, and Ed Price of AOL FanHouse reported on the story.
Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.
Mets Sign Ronny Paulino
The Mets officially signed catcher Ronny Paulino to a one-year deal worth $1.3MM plus incentives today. He'll pair up with incumbent backstop Josh Thole. Paulino will can earn an additional $60K each for 85, 95, 105, 115, and 125 starts at catcher.
The Rockies were also negotiating with Paulino's agents at SFX before the catcher reached a deal with the Mets. The Marlins non-tendered the 29-year-old last week after he hit .259/.311/.354 in 316 plate appearances and caught 740 1/3 innings. He has eight games remaining on last year's 50-game PED suspension. Paulino has gunned down 31% of attempted thieves in the last few seasons.
Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com, Jon Heyman of SI, Joel Sherman of the New York Post, and Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork reported on the signing.
Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.
Orioles Acquire J.J. Hardy, Brendan Harris
The Orioles officially acquired shortstop J.J. Hardy, infielder Brendan Harris, and $500K from the Twins for relievers Brett Jacobson and Jim Hoey, the teams announced.
Hardy, 28, hit .268/.320/.394 in 375 plate appearances this year for the Twins after coming over from Milwaukee for Carlos Gomez. He missed time with wrist and knee injuries. Hardy earned $5.1MM this year and is arbitration eligible one last time. He would have been a free agent already, but fell just short of the service time requirement because the Brewers briefly demoted him to Triple-A late in the '09 season. Hardy joins Mark Reynolds in a revamped left side infield for Baltimore. He became expendable for Minnesota with their expected signing of Japanese import Tsuyoshi Nishioka.
Harris, 30, received only 120 plate appearances from the Twins this year after more regular duty in previous seasons. He was outrighted in June due to poor performance, and a $1.75MM commitment for 2011 likely allowed him to clear waivers. Harris is capable of playing all around the infield.
Hoey, 28 later this month, hasn't pitched in the Majors since '07. In a season split between Double and Triple-A, the reliever posted a 3.25 ERA, 12.0 K/9, 5.8 BB/9, and 0.2 HR/9 in 52 2/3 innings in 2010. Prior to his '08 shoulder surgery, Hoey's average fastball velocity exceeded 95 mph.
Jacobson, a 24-year-old reliever, posted a 2.79 ERA, 8.5 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, and 0.9 HR/9 in 71 High-A innings this year. Baseball America ranked him 16th among Orioles prospects heading into the season, noting that he came over from the Tigers in the Aubrey Huff deal in August of '09. He's said to have a power repertoire and a setup man profile.
Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.
Pirates Close To Deal For Kawakami?
THURSDAY, 9:35am: The Pirates seem to be close to a deal for Kawakami, tweets Biertempfel. He says money is one issue, as is the possibility of the Pirates moving Paul Maholm.
1:10pm: The Braves are trying to see whether the Pirates or Orioles will pick up more of Kawakami's salary, tweets Biertempfel.
WEDNESDAY, 11:39am: The Pirates and Braves are still discussing a Kawakami trade, tweets Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
TUESDAY, 2:41pm: A Braves-Orioles Kawakami deal won't happen, tweets Connolly.
12:54pm: The Braves appear destined to unload righty Kenshin Kawakami, picking up much of the $6.67MM tab. The Pirates were linked to Kawakami yesterday, but Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review feels they may have cooled on him given the deals for Kevin Correia and Scott Olsen. Biertempfel says the Orioles are in the mix; Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports that the two teams have talked several times.
Kawakami is not the only available Braves starter; David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that they'd trade Brandon Beachy in the right deal.
Mutual Interest Between Orioles, Adam LaRoche
The Orioles and first baseman Adam LaRoche have mutual interest, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. No formal offer has been made yet.
The Nationals and LaRoche reportedly have mutual interest as well, so he seems likely to land with one of these teams.
Mariners Offer Olivo Multiyear Deal?
THURSDAY, 9:12am: Olivo has told people he expects to get a deal done with somebody today, tweets Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. Baker notes that Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik said he's had "in-depth dialogue" on a catcher.
WEDNESDAY, 8:31pm: The Mariners have not made an official offer, according to Ryan Divish of the Tacoma News Tribune (on Twitter).
8:10pm: The Mariners have offered Miguel Olivo a multiyear deal and are discussing a potential agreement with him, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). In 427 plate appearances for the Rockies last year, the nine-year veteran batted .269/.315/.449 with 14 homers. Olivo spent part of 2004-05 in Seattle.
The catcher declined arbitration from the Blue Jays after earning a $2MM base salary in 2010, so he and agent Martin Arburua presumably believe that there's more than $3MM or so available on the open market. Otherwise, they could have accepted Toronto's offer. If the Mariners complete a major league deal with the 32-year-old, the Blue Jays will obtain a supplementary first round pick.
Pirates Acquire Valdez From D’Backs To Complete Duke Trade
The Pirates acquired righty Cesar Valdez from the Diamondbacks to complete the Zach Duke trade, the team announced on Twitter.
Valdez, 26 in March, tossed 20 innings for Arizona this year as a rookie. He also did his second Triple-A stint, posting a 5.90 ERA, 8.5 K/9, 4.5 BB/9, and 1.1 HR/9 in 97 2/3 innings. Heading into the '09 season, Baseball America ranked Valdez seventh among Diamondbacks prospects. They called his changeup "a legitimate plus pitch" and labeled him a potential back-rotation starter.
The Diamondbacks acquired Duke from the Pirates in November after he'd been designated for assignment. I'm guessing the Pirates' return was contingent on the D'Backs hammering out a deal with the arbitration eligible lefty, which they did for a $4.25MM guarantee.
2010 Rule 5 Draft Results
The results for the Major League phase of this year's Rule 5 draft…
- Pirates take Josh Rodriguez from Indians.
- Mariners take Jose Flores from Indians.
- Diamondbacks take Joe Paterson from Giants.
- Orioles take Adrian Rosario from Brewers.
- Royals take Nathan Adcock from Pirates.
- Nationals take Elvin Ramirez from Mets.
- Cubs take Mason Tobin from Angels; traded to Rangers.
- Astros take Aneury Rodriguez from Rays.
- Brewers take Pat Egan from Orioles.
- Mets take Brad Emaus from Blue Jays.
- Padres take George Kontos from Yankees.
- Twins take Scott Diamond from Braves.
- Yankees take Robert Fish from Angels.
- Rays take Cesar Cabral from Red Sox.
- Phillies take Michael Martinez from Nationals.
- Nationals take Brian Broderick from Cardinals.
- Astros take Lance Pendleton from Yankees.
- Mets take Pedro Beato from Orioles.
- Yankees take Daniel Turpen from Red Sox.
- Results for the Triple-A and Double-A phases can be viewed here.
Brewers Aim To Stop At Two Years For Pavano
Yesterday's Carl Pavano rumors focused mainly on the Brewers' interest. The latest:
- The Brewers do not want to go past a two-year offer for Pavano, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
Day In Review: 12/8/10
Wednesday was another typically busy day in Orlando at the Winter Meetings. Let's run down the most noteworthy news and rumors since yesterday's Day in Review post….
- The Red Sox struck again, agreeing to terms with Carl Crawford on a seven-year, $142MM deal just days after acquiring Adrian Gonzalez. The news came as a surprise to many who viewed the Angels as the favorites to land Crawford, and it figures to create an interesting fallout. Early feedback on the signing has been mostly positive.
- Another ex-Ray, Carlos Pena officially signed with the Cubs.
- The Diamondbacks made a push for Paul Konerko, but the long-time White Sox first baseman ultimately agreed to re-sign with Chicago for three years and $37.5MM.
- The Yankees finally made a formal offer to Cliff Lee, proposing a six-year pact worth $140MM. Meanwhile, the Red Sox, who were attempting to drive up Lee's cost, were identified as one of the mystery teams who had made a seven-year bid on Lee, albeit at a reduced price. Here are the rest of Wednesday's Lee rumblings.
- The Rays and Twins decided to trade their starting shortstops, with Jason Bartlett heading to San Diego and J.J. Hardy on his way to Baltimore.
- There were also plenty of trade talks that didn't result in any deals – at least not yet. The Cubs pursued Matt Garza, the Rangers continued to listen on Michael Young, and the Marlins had a few discussions involving Ricky Nolasco, Leo Nunez, and Zack Greinke. Speaking of Greinke, here are the rest of Wednesday's rumors on him.
- The Royals reached agreements with a pair of former Braves, adding Jeff Francoeur and Melky Cabrera on one-year deals.
- Jack Cust will be the newest Mariner, agreeing to sign a one-year contract with Seattle. Could Miguel Olivo be next? The Mariners appear to have serious interest in the backstop.
- Although the Twins are still considered the front-runners for Carl Pavano's services, the Brewers dominated the day's Pavano rumors.
- Another intriguing free agent, Russell Martin, is fielding offers from multiple teams.
- A pair of NL East rivals agreed to sign left-handed relievers to similar deals: the Braves will pay George Sherrill $1.2MM for 2011, while Dennis Reyes' one-year contract with the Phillies guarantees him $1.25MM.
- Koji Uehara and the Orioles reached an agreement that will keep the right-hander in Baltimore for two years, if he stays healthy enough for the 2012 option to vest.
- Two National League teams added backup catchers, as Dioner Navarro agreed to terms with the Dodgers and Wil Nieves agreed to sign with Milwaukee.
- The Diamondbacks re-signed Mike Hampton and are close to adding Henry Blanco as well.
- On the heels of his best season since 2004, Miguel Cairo received a multiyear guarantee, signing a two-year pact with the Reds.
- The Mets continued their offseason of affordable acquisitions, inking Boof Bonser to a minor league deal.