Odds & Ends: Everidge, Lincecum, Lewis, Manny
Links for Wednesday…
- Tommy Everidge cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. The Mariners designated Everidge for assignment last week to make room on the roster for Eric Byrnes.
- Various agents think the Giants and Tim Lincecum will somehow avoid an arbitration hearing regardless of how poorly talks are going, reports MLB.com's Chris Haft.
- The Astros signed 18-year-old Nicaraguan first baseman Mesac Laguna yesterday, reports Roger Olivas of El Nuevo Diaro.
- Free agent journeyman Nelson Figueroa hopes to return to the Mets but wants to avoid the minors, reports Angel Pinto Vaamonde of the blog BeisbolVenezolano.net. Thanks to Nick Collias for translations on these two bullets.
- Colby Lewis heard from 12 or 13 teams before signing with the Rangers, reports ESPN's Tim Kurkjian. The A's and Twins also offered two-year deals.
- Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball explains how an arbitration hearing works. Hearings are scheduled through February 21st, with Tim Lincecum's case drawing the most attention.
- Manny Ramirez "seriously considered opting out of his contract to return to the American League for a designated-hitter role," reports MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. The idea seems silly now, but in November it wasn't ridiculous to think Manny might've preferred to chase, say, a two-year, $32MM deal elsewhere.
- Bill Shanks of Scout.com talked to Braves assistant GM Bruce Manno, who replied "Never say never" when asked about Johnny Damon. Still, Manno likes the club as it stands. And MLB.com's Mark Bowman believes the Braves are not actively pursuing Damon.
- Rany Jazayerli examines a "delusional" quote from an anonymous Royals official regarding the team's 2008-09 offseason.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says the Blue Jays should have significant payroll flexibility after the 2010 season.
- MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince doesn't see Orlando Hudson as a fit for the Indians.
Cardinals, Pujols Talking Contract Extension?
In a chat with readers today, Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch said that the Cardinals are currently negotiating with Albert Pujols about a contract extension, though the team won't acknowledge the talks.
Pujols is under contract for $16MM in 2010, and the team holds a no-brainer option worth the same amount for 2011. He has previously stated that he wanted to see how the front office was going to build the team around him before beginning talks, though I'm guessing that giving $120MM to Matt Holliday confirms the club's desire to remain competitive for the long haul.
The National League's two-time defending MVP just turned 30-years-old last month, and you can be sure he and his agent will be looking for something similar to the ten-year, $275MM contract Alex Rodriguez received when he was 32. Pujols' career 172 OPS+ is tied for sixth best all-time with Mickey Mantle, and he's still got plenty of time to improve on that mark.
Lincecum Talks Not Going Well
Talks about a two-year contract between the Giants and two-time defending Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum have not been going well according to CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban. In fact, Urban says it would be more accurate to call the negotiations "dismissals" rather than "discussions," because the righty's camp has rejected every one of the team's proposals.
SI.com's Jon Heyman states the obvious and says that the two sides are likely headed to an arbitration hearing later this month, however he adds that this is something that likely never would have happened under Peter Magowan's watch. Magowan stepped down as the team's managing partner after the 2008 season, and had historically taken care of his star players.
Lincecum filed for $13MM in his first year of arbitration eligibility, while the team countered with just $8MM. He's going to set a new salary record for a first year eligible pitcher regardless of the outcome, but it's worth noting that Lincecum's average fastball velocity dropped from 94.1-mph in 2008 to 92.4-mph last season, so perhaps the club has some concerns about his long-term durability.
Slusser On Tomko, Kennedy, Nomar
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle addresses free agents Brett Tomko, Adam Kennedy, and Nomar Garciaparra in a new blog post.
- Tomko suffered a nerve injury on September 14th that caused his biceps to atrophy to the point of resembling lumpy gravy. The biceps is better now, but Tomko trying to pitch through forearm numbness. He hopes to be game-ready by the start of the season and spoke of a preference for the A's or Giants.
- Kennedy is talking to the Nationals and Indians, but continues to wait on Orlando Hudson's decision.
- Nomar is "widely expected" to retire. If he does, he'd bow out at age 36 with a career line of .313/.361/.521.
Players Avoiding Arbitration: Wednesday
With hearings set to begin, expect more arbitration settlements…
- The Mariners reached an agreement with first baseman Casey Kotchman, reports MLB.com's Jim Street. Larry Stone of The Seattle Times tweets that he will be paid just over $3.5MM in 2010, which is exactly the midpoint of the two filing figures.
Moorad Finds Adrian Gonzalez Extension Unlikely
Padres CEO Jeff Moorad stated the obvious yesterday regarding first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. Tim Sullivan of the San Diego Union-Tribune has the quote:
"While I’d be thrilled to have him part of the organization for the long term, the early signals indicate his cost will be greater than our ability to pay."
Gonzalez's agent John Boggs agreed, and explained that he expects a trade:
"The feeling we're getting is more than likely (the Padres) are going to have to trade Adrian because (they) can't afford him."
These quotes are far from groundbreaking, so consider this your official Gonzalez Trade Prediction post. Tell us the acquiring team and players given up. Keep in mind that at $10.25MM over the next two years, any team willing to surrender the right players could acquire Gonzalez. Given their first base incumbents, though, the Cardinals, Brewers, Phillies, Reds, Yankees, and Twins appear unlikely.
Rays Claim Mike Ekstrom
The Rays claimed reliever Mike Ekstrom off waivers from the Padres, reports Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. He'd been designated for assignment a week ago to make room for Jon Garland.
Ekstrom, 26, was done in by hits and home runs allowed in an 18.3-inning big league stint last year. At Triple A, he had a 1.73 ERA, 6.2 K/9, and 2.3 BB/9 in 62.3 innings.
Brewers Claim Marco Estrada
The Brewers claimed pitcher Marco Estrada off waivers from the Nationals, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. In a corresponding move, Milwaukee designated Tim Dillard for assignment.
Estrada, 26, posted a 3.63 ERA, 6.5 K/9, and 2.2 BB/9 in 136.3 Triple A innings last year. In their new Handbook, Baseball America had him ranked as the Nationals' #18 prospect. They praised his change-up, and suggested he could become a back-end starter despite being undersized. The Nats designated him for assignment recently to make room for Tyler Walker.
Dillard, 26, posted a 4.51 ERA, 3.9 K/9, and 3.2 BB/9 in 147.6 Triple A innings last year. He'd spent the previous year as a reliever. He garnered a mention as the Brewers' #30 prospect in the '09 Handbook, when he profiled as a "resilient middle reliever." It seems clear that the Brewers upgraded going from Dillard to Estrada, and Dillard may be retained anyway if he's not claimed off waivers.
D’Backs Notes: Kendrick, Byrnes, Reynolds
The Diamondbacks' main additions this offseason have been Adam LaRoche, Edwin Jackson, Ian Kennedy, Kelly Johnson, Aaron Heilman, and Bob Howry. They also exercised Brandon Webb's option and received Tony Abreu as the player to be named later in the Jon Garland trade. On the flip side, they subtracted Max Scherzer, Doug Davis, Yusmeiro Petit, and Daniel Schlereth from the pitching staff.
MLB.com's Steve Gilbert interviewed D'Backs managing general partner Ken Kendrick, while AZ Snakepit's Jim McLennan talked to GM Josh Byrnes. Hot stove notes:
- Regarding LaRoche, Kendrick said, "There were a couple of other possibilities, and we were going to be able to do one of them."
- Given the losses of Webb and Conor Jackson last year, Kendrick considers them on par with big free agent additions for 2010.
- Kendrick spoke of four or five guys the D'Backs would prefer not to go year-to-year with, third baseman Mark Reynolds among them. Kendrick believes the time for those discussions is before the season begins. Reynolds will be arbitration-eligible for the first time in 2011, as he just missed the cutoff this time around.
- Byrnes spoke of "a pendulum in the game," where some teams chase a new philosophy to the extent that it creates a market inefficiency.
- Byrnes carefully explained why he traded Scherzer, suggesting Jackson has gotten "to that next level" while Scherzer hasn't. He also explained how that three-way deal came together – 90% was done quickly, and then there was "about a month of starting at each other and seeing if there were another deal, improvements or alternatives out there either club liked."
Dodgers Sign Alfredo Amezaga
The Dodgers officially signed Alfredo Amezaga to a minor league deal worth $650K with another $800K in incentives today. The 32-year-old worked out for four teams this week and attracted interest from ten-plus clubs earlier in the winter. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first tweeted the agreement last night.
Amezaga appeared in just 27 games last season, hitting .217/.267/.261 as he struggled with knee problems. Amezaga distinguishes himself from other powerless hitters with his versatility. He has major league experience at all four infield positions and all three outfield positions. Most of his experience comes in center field and at shortstop; he grades well in limited samples at both positions, according to UZR/150.
The Dodgers have been adding steadily to their bench this offseason. They signed Ronnie Belliard and Jamey Carroll before adding Reed Johnson and Amezaga this week.