Nationals Release Ron Villone
The Nationals released lefty reliever Ron Villone, tweets NatsTown News. Villone, 40, was given three spring appearances to show his stuff. He at least got more of a look than Eddie Guardado, who the Nats cut after two games.
Villone posted a 4.25 ERA, 6.1 K/9, and 5.4 BB/9 in 48.6 innings for the Nationals last year. Lefties have hit .293/.379/.414 against him over the past three seasons.
D’Backs, Kris Benson Agree To Minor League Deal
The Diamondbacks reached an agreement with pitcher Kris Benson on a minor league deal, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports that Benson will receive $650K plus $100K of start-based incentives if he's in the big leagues. He also drew interest from the Nationals this winter.
Benson, 35, had rotator cuff surgery in March of '07. He's tallied 163 pro innings since then, most of them unimpressive minor league frames in the Rangers and Phillies organizations.
Benson auditioned for the D'Backs recently, and his agent Gregg Clifton said he was sitting in the 88-89 range. Benson worked at 90 mph with the Mets and Orioles in the two years prior to his injury.
Athletics Return Cassevah To Angels
The Athletics returned Rule 5 pick Bobby Cassevah to the Angels, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The Halos will pay the standard $25K fee in the transaction.
Cassevah, 24, was one of 17 players taken in the Major League phase of December's Rule 5 draft. He posted a 3.68 ERA, 5.5 K/9, and 4.5 BB/9 in 73.3 relief innings for the Angels' Double A club, allowing just two home runs. Baseball America ranked Cassevah 26th among A's prospects, praising his heavy 92-94 mph sinker but suggesting he has middle reliever upside given the control problems.
Given the $21MM spent on one-year deals, the A's fancy themselves contenders in the AL West. As such, it would've been difficult to keep Cassevah in the Majors all year.
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Scott Eyre Not Ruling Out Pitching
In early January, lefty reliever Scott Eyre told MLB.com's Todd Zolecki he was retiring. Eyre, 38 in May, turned down a minor league offer from the Phillies and suggested he still would've retired with a bigger offer.
However, Eyre left the door open when talking to Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Inquirer recently. He said his surgically-repaired elbow feels good, and he could be game-ready in about three weeks. Eyre noted that it'd have to be a good situation to compel him to put his family's planned RV trip on hold.
When the offseason began, Eyre was saying he'd choose the Phillies or retirement. Due to J.C. Romero's October surgery to repair a torn tendon in his elbow, the Phils are currently light on lefties to start the season according to Hagen. Eyre merits consideration, as he handled southpaws well the last few years. The Phillies could also go after free agents such as Joe Beimel, Alan Embree, and Ron Mahay with minor league offers.
Offseason In Review: Chicago Cubs
Next in our Offseason In Review series, the Cubs.
Major League Signings
- Marlon Byrd, CF: three years, $15MM.
- John Grabow, RP: two years, $7.5MM.
- Xavier Nady, OF/1B: one year, $3.3MM.
- Total spend: $25.8MM.
Notable Minor League Signings
Trades and Claims
- Acquired 1B Ryne White and P Scott Maine from Diamondbacks for RP Aaron Heilman
- Acquired RP Jeff Gray, P Ronny Morla, and OF Matt Spencer from Athletics for OF Jake Fox, IF Aaron Miles, and $1MM
- Acquired Rule 5 pick P Mike Parisi from Cardinals
- Acquired P Carlos Silva and $9MM from Mariners for OF Milton Bradley
Notable Losses
- Milton Bradley, Aaron Miles, Jake Fox, Aaron Heilman, Reed Johnson, Rich Harden, Kevin Gregg, Neal Cotts
Summary
The Cubs were handicapped this offseason by their need to unload outfielder Milton Bradley, a deal that went down on December 18th. The Cubs had little leverage with Bradley, as it was well-known they were dead-set on trading him. GM Jim Hendry had to take back a terrible pitcher on one of baseball's worst contracts, but he managed to save $5MM in acquiring Silva and cash from the Mariners. The whole mess reflects poorly on the Cubs, with Hendry making this dubious claim about Bradley: "No one could have really predicted how it turned out." The toxic clubhouse situation with Bradley forced the Cubs to subtract a .378 OBP in exchange for a two-year, $16MM commitment to Silva.
The Cubs then took the often-regrettable route of signing the best available free agent to fit their need, choosing Byrd out of a weak free agent center field market. Will the Cubs be happy paying a 34-year-old Byrd $6.5MM in 2012? They have to hope this is another Mark DeRosa signing: a contract that looked high at the time but paid off because DeRosa kept getting better.
The Grabow signing was painful. If that's the going rate for a southpaw reliever with control problems, find another solution. On the other hand I liked the Nady pickup. He should be one of the game's better reserves, and will be used heavily.
The success of the Cubs' rotation may hinge on Ted Lilly's health and Randy Wells' sophomore campaign. A midseason acquisition may be necessary. Same goes for the bullpen, where the big additions were Grabow and Gray. Angel Guzman's shoulder injury is a major blow, though not an unpredictable one given his injury history.
The Cubs enter their first season under new ownership with an array of bloated contracts and question marks, plus key players unsigned beyond 2010. This might be Hendry's last chance to get it right.
Execs Name Best, Worst Moves Of The Offseason
Recently MLBTR spoke to several MLB executives to gather their nominations for the best and worst moves of the offseason.
Free agent signings that received mention for the best moves: Felipe Lopez, Adrian Beltre, Adam LaRoche, Chone Figgins, Hideki Matsui, and Aroldis Chapman. Said one exec on Chapman: "He might truly live up to the hype." It's hard not to praise the Cards for getting Lopez on a one-year, $1MM deal.
Three trades came up as choices for the best moves of the offseason: the Mariners' acquisition of Cliff Lee, the Royals' trade of Mark Teahen, and the Rangers' trade of Kevin Millwood. One exec noted that the Mariners "didn't trade anyone that can hurt them in the next couple of years" for Lee, while another believed that "trading Lee and Kyle Drabek in the Roy Halladay deal will hurt [the Phillies] in the long run." The Royals received props for "getting some value for Teahen," while the Rangers' increased payroll flexibility from the Millwood deal was noted.
Nominated for the worst moves: free agent deals for Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, Brandon Lyon, Jason Kendall, Aubrey Huff, Jason Marquis, Randy Wolf, and Garrett Atkins. All the execs polled mentioned Holliday's seven year, $120MM deal when choosing their worst deals of the winter. Said one: "The fear that he would sign a one-year deal elsewhere and take his chances a year from now — that just doesn't make sense to me."
Aside from Kendall and Huff, there was a vibe of "like the player, hate the contract" with the panned free agent signings. One exec felt the Royals downgraded behind the plate with Kendall. Huff was nominated as a small-scale misstep, in that the exec felt that "Hank Blalock is better and he couldn't get half that salary on a non-roster deal."
Hechevarria To Sign With Blue Jays
10:54pm: A source confirmed that Hechevarria has agreed to a $10MM contract with Toronto, tweets Melissa Segura of Sports Illustrated. The deal is for four years, a source tells Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald (via Twitter).
3:22pm: Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos would neither confirm or deny the report, tweets Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.
2:34pm: Cuban shortstop Adeiny Hechevarria is close to signing a $10MM deal with the Blue Jays, writes George King III of the New York Post. The 19-year-old is close to choosing Toronto over the Yankees because he was leery of Derek Jeter's impending extension which would keep him at short for the foreseeable future. King infers that the Yankees were willing to spend similar money to land him.
Just over a week ago, Hechevarria was "unblocked" by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, giving him the freedom to sign with any team. If the Toronto deal comes to fruition, Hechevarria's contract will top the $8.2MM given to Jose Iglesias by the Red Sox last July.
Odds & Ends: Nats, Bell, Mahay, Smoltz
Sunday night linkage..
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders if money might be a factor in the Nationals' starting shortstop battle. Ian Desmond is making a compelling case for the starting job but the club might be unwilling to put Cristian Guzman and his $8MM contract on the bench.
- Padres closer Heath Bell told Tom Krasovic of AOL Fanhouse that he would be agreeable to signing an extension that is budget-friendly for the Padres. San Diego avoided arbitration with Bell in January when they agreed to a one-year, $4MM pact.
- It appears that reliever Ron Mahay won't be signing with the Mets, writes Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News. A source tells Rubin that there's no way Mahay would accept a minor league deal. Meanwhile, a separate source says that the Mets won't offer a major league contract.
- In his latest mailbag, a reader suggests to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro that the Marlins should sign John Smoltz. Frisaro says that the Marlins have no interest in the 42-year-old as the 26-year-old Josh Johnson is a good influence on the team's young pitchers.
Week In Review: 3/7/10 – 3/13/10
We're just a few short weeks away from Opening Day! Let's take a look back at the week that was..
- The Twins and Denard Span agreed to a five-year deal worth $16.5MM, including a team option for a sixth year. The deal covers both of his remaining pre-arbitration years, plus all three arbitration years.
- Hernan Iribarren was picked up by the Rangers after he was placed on waivers by the Brewers. Iribarren fills a need for the club as they voided Khalil Greene's deal in late February.
- John Lackey's five-year, $85MM could set the market for Josh Beckett as he discusses an extension, but Jon Heyman of SI.com hears that he is looking for a "longer term deal." However, baseball sources tell Heyman that they believe a deal will still get done.
- The Rockies inked Todd Helton to a two-year extension. The 36-year-old will earn $4.9MM in 2012 and $5MM in 2013.
- Scouts from several teams (including the Rockies, Pirates, and Blue Jays) were said to be watching Minnesota's Glen Perkins pitch on Tuesday night. The presence of representation from Toronto is particularly interesting, as the Twins reportedly like reliever Jason Frasor. The Cubs are also interested as they inquired on the 32-year-old.
- On Wednesday, Nomar Garciaparra officially announced his retirement from baseball. The 36-year-old had a career line of .313/.361/.521 in 6,116 plate appearances.
- In other retirement news, Brian Giles announced that he's calling it quits. The 39-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers in February.
- Hank Blalock and the Rays came to terms on a one-year minor league deal worth $925K plus $350K in incentives. Blalock his .234/.277/.459 last season with Texas.
- The Rangers acquired reliever Edwar Ramirez from the Yankees for cash considerations. Ramirez, who turns 29 this month, notched 10.6 K/9 in 98.3 innings with the Bombers.
- Ben got us brought us up to speed on the remaining free agent starters and relievers.
- And, finally, MLBTR introduced a sharp new site design!