Top Trade Chips: NL West
Let's take stock of each team's top trade chips, starting today with the NL West…
- Diamondbacks: Arizona moved two of its best trade chips this winter in Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth, and there's obviously no way Justin Upton will be moved. The cupboard is a little bare right now, but Stephen Drew could be available for the right price. He has two more years of team control left after 2010. Conor Jackson, who won't be a free agent until after 2011, could be attractive as well. Top prospect Jarrod Parker is recovering from Tommy John surgery.
- Dodgers: Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw are deal breakers, but Chad Billingsley could be dangled after popping up in rumors during the offseason. The 25-year-old posted a 5.21 ERA in his final 19 appearances last year, though his peripheral stats were in line with what they had been in previous seasons. He won't be eligible for free agency until after the 2012 season.
- Giants: Tim Lincecum and Pablo Sandoval aren't going anywhere and Matt Cain just signed a new extension, so Brian Sabean's best trade chip is lefty Jonathan Sanchez. The 27-year-old owns a career 9.3 K/9 and won't be eligible for arbitration until after the 2012 season. Madison Bumgarner's stock is down while he battles with Missing Velocity Disease, and Buster Posey isn't going anywhere.
- Padres: Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell aren't just San Diego's two best trade chips, they're among the best in the game. Gonzalez is one of the baseball's premier power hitters at age 27, and will make just $4.75MM in 2010 with a $5.5MM club option for 2011. Bell has emerged as one of the league's most dominant closers, and won't be eligible for free agency until after the 2011 season.
- Rockies: Everyone wants to get their hands on Troy Tulowitzki, but it's just not happening. Brad Hawpe is the player most likely to be moved, and there should be interest given his annual .890 OPS's and 25+ homers. He has a $10MM option for the 2011 season with a cheap $500K buyout, and Colorado has a glut of young and productive outfielders to replace him.
Ryan Freel Signs With Somerset Patriots
Utility man Ryan Freel has signed with the Somerset Patriots of the independent Atlantic League, reports Ryan Dunleavy of The Courier News. Unable to land even a minor league deal this winter, Freel joins Sidney Ponson as former big leaguers who've headed to the indy ranks this offseason.
The 34-year-old Freel played for three teams in 2009, hitting .193/.290/.216 in 101 plate appearances. He's been going downhill ever since hitting .274/.368/.384 for the Reds from 2003-2006, but at least he can play all three outfield spots plus second and third bases.
Rays Sign Logan Kensing
The Rays signed righty Logan Kensing to a minor league deal, reports Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times. Kensing was designated for assignment twice during the '09 season, by the Marlins and Nationals. He re-signed on a minor league deal with Washington in December, but was released in March.
Kensing, 27, posted an 8.92 ERA, 4.8 K/9, and 4.3 BB/9 in 35.3 innings for the Nats and Marlins last year but was impressive in 33.3 minor league frames. Five years ago, Baseball America praised Kensing's makeup and described his repertoire as "a 91-94 mph fastball, solid-average slider, and developing changeup." Last year as a reliever, he averaged 93.4 mph on his fastball.
Discussion: Kurt Suzuki Extension
A month ago, CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban wrote that prelimary talks on an extension for Athletics catcher Kurt Suzuki are underway. However, Susan Slusser and John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle heard differently from the catcher's agent. Suzuki, 26, is eligible for arbitration for the first time after the season. Let's look at possible comparables for an extension. (Arb means arbitration, FA means free agent year).
- Yadier Molina, Cardinals: Four-year, $15.5MM deal covers arb 1-3 and FA 1, with a club option on FA 2. Received $9.25MM for three arb years. Signed in January of '08.
- Chris Snyder, Diamondbacks. Three-year, $14.25MM deal covers arb 2-3 and FA 1, with a club option on FA 2. Though deal did not cover all three arb years, Snyder received $9.6MM for them. Signed in December of '08.
- Ryan Doumit, Pirates. Three-year, $11.5MM deal covers arb 1-3 with club options on FA 1-2. Receives $10.7MM for three arb years. Signed in December of '08.
- Carlos Ruiz, Phillies. Three-year, $8.85MM deal covers arb 1-3 with a club option on FA 1. Received $8.35MM for three arb years. Signed in Janunary of '10.
- Kelly Shoppach, Rays. Two-year, $5.55MM deal covers arb 2-3 with a club option on FA 1. Will receive $7.2MM for three arb years, though arb 1 wasn't covered in the deal. Signed in January of '10.
- Chris Iannetta, Rockies. Three-year, $8.35MM deal covers arb 1-3 with a club option on FA 1. Will receive $7.85MM for three arb years.
- Doumit, Ruiz, and Iannetta are the best comparables, in that they signed before their first arbitration seasons and relatively recently. But unlike these three, Suzuki will have about 500 games under his belt when he reaches arbitration. Even though they're all being compared as 3+ service time players, Suzuki will have a full season's worth of games (and the accompanying counting stats) more than the others.
- Although Doumit was overpaid, Suzuki has a strong case to top his arbitration year salaries. Suzuki's first free agent year could be in the $6-8MM range, whether it's guaranteed or a club option. If Suzuki allows for a club option, he should seek a deal worth at least $12MM. The option would be convenient for the A's, as top catching prospect Max Stassi may be ready by 2014. From Suzuki's point of view, he'd get a buyout if the option is declined and reach free agency as a 30-year-old.
General Manager Start Dates
Here's a list of the start dates of each of the 30 general managers.
- Brian Sabean, Giants: 9/30/96
- Billy Beane, Athletics: 10/17/97
- Brian Cashman, Yankees: 2/3/98
- Dan O'Dowd, Rockies: 9/20/99
- Kenny Williams, White Sox: 10/25/00
- Mark Shapiro, Indians: 11/1/01
- Dave Dombrowski, Tigers: 4/8/02
- Jim Hendry, Cubs: 7/5/02
- Doug Melvin, Brewers: 9/25/02
- Theo Epstein, Red Sox: 11/25/02
- Omar Minaya, Mets: 9/30/04
- Jon Daniels, Rangers: 10/4/05
- Josh Byrnes, Diamondbacks: 10/28/05
- Andrew Friedman, Rays: 11/3/05
- Ned Colletti, Dodgers: 11/16/05
- Dayton Moore, Royals: 5/31/06
- Andy MacPhail, Orioles: 6/20/07
- Ed Wade, Astros: 9/20/07
- Neal Huntington, Pirates: 9/25/07
- Michael Hill, Marlins: 9/29/07
- Bill Smith, Twins: 10/1/07
- Frank Wren, Braves: 10/11/07
- Tony Reagins, Angels: 10/16/07
- John Mozeliak, Cardinals: 10/31/07 (became interim GM 10/3/07)
- Walt Jocketty, Reds: 4/23/08
- Jack Zduriencik, Mariners: 10/22/08
- Ruben Amaro Jr., Phillies: 11/3/08
- Mike Rizzo, Nationals: 8/20/09 (became interim GM 3/4/09)
- Alex Anthopoulos, Blue Jays: 10/3/09
- Jed Hoyer, Padres: 10/26/09
- Baseball America and Cot's Baseball Contracts were of great help in compiling this list.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Norris, Braves, Yankees
One year ago today, 22-year-old Angels' starter Nick Adenhart was killed by a drunk driver just hours after shutting out the A's for six innings. The lone survivor from Adenhart's car, his friend and Cal State Fullerton catcher Jon Wilhite, recovered from his injuries well enough to throw out the first pitch at an A's game in July. The drunk driver, 23-year-old Andrew Thomas Gallo, is still awaiting trial. Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse recently spoke to a few members of the Angels about the Adenhart tragedy.
On a much less somber note, here's a look at what's being written around the web during the season's first week…
- The Dodgerhater sat down for a chat with Astros pitcher Bud Norris.
- Capitol Avenue Club looks at ten players the Braves could attempt to lock up to long-term deals.
- At Home Plate wonders if the Yankees' big money deals will come back to haunt them.
- El Lefty Malo muses about the Giants' poor track record for developing position players.
- Where Have You Gone Andy Van Slyke? is excited for what they call "the first true season of the Neal Huntington era."
- The Cubs Reporter looks at the Cubs' ownership history.
- South Side Sox has some fun with retired numbers.
- Fenway Nation doesn't like the lack of speed on Boston's bench.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Toregas, Anderson Hernandez Clear Waivers
FRIDAY, 9:35am: Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported last night that Hernandez and Toregas both cleared waivers.
SATURDAY, 7:27pm: The Indians have designated catcher Wyatt Toregas and infielder Anderson Hernandez for assignment, according to Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer. The moves free up 40-man roster spots for Austin Kearns and Mark Grudzielanek.
The 27-year-old Toregas hit .176/.267/.196 in 60 plate appearances for Cleveland last year, but owns a .264/.331/.408 career batting line in the minors. Hernandez, 27, hit .252/.315/.370 in 149 plate appearances with the Mets last season, and is a .245/.303/.324 career hitter in close to 600 big league plate appearances. He doesn't grade out too well with the glove either.
2010 Contract Issues: Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers' option situations after the season:
- Jeff Suppan has a $12.75MM club option with a $2MM buyout. This is a lock to be declined.
- Trevor Hoffman has a $7MM mutual option with a $500K buyout, though both numbers increase based on games finished. This might be a rare case where both sides exercise a mutual option.
- David Riske has a $4.75MM club option with a $250K buyout. He's still recovering from Tommy John surgery; this will be declined.
- Doug Davis has a $6.5MM mutual option with a $1MM buyout.
- Gregg Zaun faces a $2.25MM club option with a $250K buyout; this could be exercised.
Eligible for free agency: Dave Bush, Craig Counsell, Jody Gerut, Claudio Vargas, and Jim Edmonds. That's about $10MM more freed up, plus Bill Hall's $7.15MM and a couple of buyouts will be off the books. Increases to players under contract total $7MM. That's not bad, considering Ryan Braun and Yovani Gallardo will enter what would've been their first arbitration years.
Manny Parra and Joe Inglett project to be eligible for arbitration for the first time. Carlos Gomez and Carlos Villanueva are second-year guys. The big names are third-year arbitration players: Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, Corey Hart, and Todd Coffey. Hart stands a good chance of being non-tendered, while Fielder could approach $20MM if he's not signed long-term.
Odds & Ends: Embree, Rizzo, Votto, Rollins, Huffman
Links for Thursday…
- If you're viewing MLBTR on your cell phone, try mlbtraderumors.mobi!
- Alan Embree expects to exercise the opt out clause in his contract if he's not added to the Red Sox's big league roster by April 15th, reports WEEI.com's Ethan Landy.
- MASNSports.com about how a Major League trade comes together. Check it out, very interesting stuff.
- C. Trent Rosecrans of CNATI.com learned from Reds GM Walt Jocketty last night that the team has yet to have contract extension discussions with first baseman Joey Votto. Yesterday we speculated on what it might take to lock Votto up long-term.
- An interesting Rays-centric back-and-forth continues, with Jeff Passan filing a reubttal on Jonah Keri's site.
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy looks at the recent instances of teams signing home-grown pitchers to extensions.
- Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins was on the Dan Patrick Show talking about the surprise he and Jayson Werth felt when Cliff Lee was dealt. Rollins said the Yankees would've kept Lee and Roy Halladay and made a run with the pair of aces.
- Padres exec Paul DePodesta explains that while it was painful to lose Chad Huffman to a waiver claim, there's a silver lining in the organization's improved depth.
- Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe has the details on Josh Beckett's new contract with the Red Sox, which totals $68,520,403.
- Many lesser-known players have been released in recent days; Baseball America's Matt Eddy has the details.
Largest Contracts By Service Time
When Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo signed his five year, $30.1MM extension earlier today, it marked the largest contract ever signed by a pitcher with less than three years of service time.
Let's look at the richest contracts by service time, in terms of guaranteed money…
Less Than One Year
Position Player: Ryan Braun. Eight years, $45MM
Pitcher: C.C. Sabathia. Four years, $9.5MM.
One To Two Years
Position Player: Chris Young. Five years, $28MM.
Pitcher: Fausto Carmona. Four years, $15MM.
Two To Three Years
Position Player: Hanley Ramirez. Six years, $70MM.
Pitcher: Yovani Gallardo. Five years, $30.1MM.
Three To Four Years
Position Player: Albert Pujols. Seven years, $100MM.
Pitcher: Scott Kazmir. Three years, $28.5MM.
Four To Five Years
Position Player: Miguel Cabrera. Eight years, $152.3MM.
Pitcher: Justin Verlander. Five years, $80MM.
Five To Six Years
Position Player: Derek Jeter. Ten years, $189MM.
Pitcher: Jake Peavy. Three years, $52MM.
Six-plus Years
Position Player: Alex Rodriguez. Ten years, $275MM.
Pitcher: C.C. Sabathia. Seven years, $171MM.
Some thoughts…
- The most regrettable deals were signed very early in the player's career, Young and Carmona. Might be a lesson in using up those pre-arbitration years before taking the plunge.
- The largest contract signed by a position player with less than one year of service time after Braun's deal is Evan Longoria's, which will pay him just $17.5MM over six years. Is Braun overpaid, or is Longoria underpaid? I think the answer is clear.
- Sabathia's four year, $9.5MM deal nearly tripled Roy Halladay's three year, $3.7MM deal with Toronto, which was the previous record for a pitcher with less an a year of service time.
- One only of the above contracts has expired.
Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.