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Archives for August 2010

Braves Have Not Asked Mariners About Figgins

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The Braves, who are considering ways to replace Chipper Jones, have not asked the Mariners about Chone Figgins, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). The clubs considered a Figgins deal before Chipper's injury, leading up to the July 31st trade deadline. Figgins, 32, would likely clear waivers, since he's hitting just .253/.343/.303 and has over $28MM remaining on his salary.

Baker, Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner and MLBTR all considered possible deals that would send Figgins to Atlanta. Click here to predict how the Braves will replace Chipper.

Giants Acquire Jose Guillen

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The Giants acquired outfielder Jose Guillen from the Royals for a player to be named later and $250K. The Royals, who gave Guillen an ill-advised three-year, $36MM deal in December of 2007, designated Guillen for assignment on August 5th. The $250K is about $138K more than the pro-rated portion of the major league minimum salary.

Guillen still has $3.39MM left on his contract, but the Royals are covering some of that, according to a press release. The 34-year-old is hitting .255/.314/.429 on the season with 16 home runs in 437 plate appearances.  He has logged only 169 innings in right field, so playing him regularly in the outfield would be risky.  The Giants probably don't have an everyday role in mind for Guillen anyway – there's no reason he should supplant Pat Burrell, Andres Torres, Aubrey Huff, or Travis Ishikawa.

Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes first reported that a deal was close and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, Ed Price of AOL FanHouse and Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle also broke elements of the story (all Twitter links).

Brewers Release Jody Gerut

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The Brewers released Jody Gerut, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy (Twitter link). Lorenzo Cain's strong play (.933 OPS in ten games) meant the Brewers didn't need Gerut, even though he has recovered from the heel injury that sidelined him.

Gerut, 32, struggled through 74 plate appearances this year. He posted a .197/.230/.366 line with two homers, though he has not played since late May. Like former teammate Jim Edmonds, Gerut has a history of hitting right-handers well. This year, however, Gerut handled lefties well and struggled against righties (.444 OPS).

Poll: The Dodgers And Matt Kemp

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Matt Kemp is in the midst of a disappointing season, but he’s still just 25 and he’s already proven how well he can play. His agent, Dave Stewart, suggested to the LA Times that a trade could benefit Kemp and the Dodgers. After all, other teams in baseball surely appreciate Kemp’s talent, so the Dodgers could address other needs in a potential trade. It would definitely be selling low, however, and GM Ned Colletti says the club has no intention of dealing its center fielder. So what should Colletti do?

Should the Dodgers seriously consider trading Matt Kemp?

Click here to take the survey and here to view the results.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Royals, Rays, Burrell

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On this date 41 years ago, Major League owners unanimously elected Bowie Kuhn to a seven-year term as commissioner. It was under Kuhn that the reserve clause was eliminated, paving the way for free agency as we know it.

We've got a lot of links to get to, so let's dive right in…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Dodgers Do Not Intend To Trade Matt Kemp

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Dave Stewart, the agent for Matt Kemp, suggested to Bill Plaschke of the LA Times that the Dodgers should consider trading his client, but GM Ned Colletti says the organization does not intend to make such a move. Stewart says Kemp faces “a bunch of back-seat crap," particularly from Dodgers coaches Bob Schaefer and Larry Bowa.

"I'm almost to the point — and maybe so are the Dodgers — where I'm thinking that this just isn't going to work," Stewart told Plaschke. "The Dodgers have gaps on this team, and maybe they could fill them by trading Matt. It could be good for the team, and good for the player."

Stewart has not formally demanded a trade, but says it’s “very, very difficult to play under the circumstances that Kemp is playing under." Frustrated with inconsistent play from their center fielder, the Dodgers have benched Kemp, most recently this week. That doesn’t mean they intend to make a deal, though.

"No, I have no plans to trade [Kemp]," Colletti said. "He's got a chance to be one of the best players in the history of the franchise."

Kemp, 25, makes $6.95MM next year and is eligible for free agency after 2012. He has a .263/.319/.458 line in 489 plate appearances this year and UZR data suggests his defense has deteriorated.

Chone Figgins & Kenshin Kawakami

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The Braves lost Chipper Jones to a season-ending injury, so they’ll now give some thought to players outside the organization. Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner believes the Mariners "should be focusing on future wins," so he suggests a Chone Figgins for Kenshin Kawakami trade.

Figgins has more than $28MM remaining on his contract, so the Braves would presumably want salary relief in any deal. Could Atlanta ship Kawakami to Seattle for Figgins? Cameron suggests that would be a good deal for Seattle. Let’s consider the possibility, starting with the two players:

Figgins

  • He earns $2.25MM before the end of the season, $9MM in 2011, $9MM in 2012 and $8MM in 2013. There's a vesting option for 2014.
  • The 32-year-old has hit .253/.343/.303 in 494 plate appearances with 30 steals in 38 attempts.
  • In his last 15 games, Figgins is batting .397/.426/.500.
  • Among qualified hitters, only Cesar Izturis has a lower slugging percentage
  • Figgins has played exclusively at second base this year, but can also play third
  • Recent UZR data suggests Figgins is a strong defender at third, but below average at second.
  • About 17% of 2,000-plus MLBTR readers believe the Braves will acquire Figgins.

Kawakami

  • He earns $1.9MM before the end of this season and $6.7MM in 2011.
  • He has a 4.75 ERA in 83.1 innings with 6.2 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.
  • The Braves, who removed Kawakami from the rotation in June, barely used him as a reliever, so they shipped him to the minors, where he'll build stamina in case the team needs him.

The Braves have Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson, Jair Jurrjens, Mike Minor and Derek Lowe in their rotation and appear to lack faith in Kawakami. He is expendable and the Braves could use an infielder, though Omar Infante, Martin Prado, Brooks Conrad and Eric Hinske give the club enough flexibility to get by without making a move.

The first place Braves want to win now, especially since it's Bobby Cox's final season as manager. Swapping a player they don't rely on at all for Figgins would probably help the team in 2010. Figgins has next to no power and has a substantial amount remaining on his contract, but has been an above-average player for a while and was fantastic as recently as last year.

The Mariners wouldn't necessarily improve their chances of winning now if they sent Figgins to Atlanta for Kawakami, but, as Cameron points out, it probably makes sense for the team to focus on winning in 2012. Shedding most or all of Figgins' contract would allow them to spend on other needs. This hypothetical deal would help the win-now Braves in the short term and the win-later Mariners in the long term, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see the clubs consider this swap.

Will The Yankees Offer Javier Vazquez Arbitration?

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The Yankees haven't offered a single free agent, Type-A or B, arbitration in either of the last two years because they were afraid of getting stuck with an unwanted player at an unwanted price (had they accepted), but it stood to reason that they would make such an offer to righthander Javier Vazquez. As one of the game's few true workhorses with a long track record, he was all but a lock to decline arbitration after 2010 and seek a multi-year deal (perhaps his last) elsewhere. Now four months into the season, suddenly that scenario doesn't seem as likely.

Vazquez's season has been quite the roller coaster. The 34-year-old posted a 9.78 ERA in his first five starts, a 2.75 ERA in his next 11, and then a 6.43 ERA in his last five outings. The team has indicated that he's currently battling through a "dead arm" period, and last night Vazquez himself acknowledged that he's got a lot of miles on his arm and they may be catching up to him. Only Livan Hernandez has thrown more innings since the start of the 2000 season, and Javy's fastball velocity is down noticeably this season.

In the grand scheme of things, Vazquez's strikeout (7.0 K/9) and walk (3.5 BB/9) rates this season are among the worst of his career, and he's on pace to throw slightly more than 176 innings, which would be his lowest total since 1999. Still, he's well on his way to being a Type-A free agent after the season, but given his underwhelming performance and that aforementioned workload, an arbitration offer becomes a much riskier proposition.

With an $11.5MM salary this season, the Yankees would have to consider the possibility of Vazquez accepting arbitration and receiving a salary upwards of $13MM next season. We laugh at the idea of the Yanks having a budget, but that could put a serious dent in the payroll with the team expected to heavily pursue Cliff Lee.

When the Yankees re-acquired Vazquez from the Braves in the offseason, they apparently considered two draft picks part of the package since he comfortably projected to be a Type-A free agent. It's easy to understand why they'd think that following a season in which he placed fourth in the Cy Young voting, but as it tends to do, time may have changed things. 

Odds & Ends: Holt, Lee, Klein, Valentine, Villone

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Links for Thursday, exactly 23 years after the Braves and Tigers swapped Doyle Alexander and John Smoltz…

  • The Indians signed tenth round pick Tyler Holt according to Baseball America's Jim Callis. Holt's $500K bonus is the largest we've seen for a player drafted in a double-digit round this year. 
  • Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News wonders how much the Texas heat will play into Cliff Lee's decision about whether or not to re-sign with the Rangers after the season.
  • MLB.com' Brittany Ghiroli tweets that Orioles' third rounder Dan Klein is expected to report to one of the team's minor league affiliates once he passes his physical, indicating that the two sides have a deal in place.
  • Someone familiar with Bobby Valentine’s thinking tells Larry Stone of the Seattle Times that Valentine considers the Mariners managerial opening one of "the most appealing jobs in baseball.”
  • The Nationals released Ron Villone, according to Syracuse Chiefs broadcasters Jason Benetti and Mike Couzens (on Twitter). The veteran left-hander, who last pitched in the majors in 2009, posted a 6.59 ERA in Triple A this year.
  • The sale of the Rangers is now final, as MLB.com’s Barry Bloom writes.
  • Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker previews some of the players who could soon make the jump from Japan to MLB. Wei-Yin Chen, a 25-year-old lefty represented by Alan Nero may be posted this offseason.
  • Veracruz, the Mexican team that holds the rights to pitching prospect Luis Heredia, will not entertain offers from MLB clubs until next Wednesday, August 18th, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  • Tim Chambers, Bryce Harper's college coach, told Byron Kerr of MASNSports.com that Harper, the first overall pick in this year’s draft, is “begging to play.” Chambers expects the Nationals to work out a deal by Monday night’s deadline.
  • Angels scouting director Eddie Bane told Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times that the Angels are "fairly close" to an agreement with first rounder Kaleb Cowart, though he expects negotiations to last until Monday, the deadline for signing draft picks.
  • Jamey Newberg counts down the ten biggest August trades in recent Rangers history for MLB.com. Rick Helling and Ryan Dempster have prominent roles on the list, which is worth checking out.

Could Type-A Status Hurt Scott Downs?

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As we've seen in recent years, Type-A free agent compensation can be a double-edged sword. The team loses a player but gains two draft picks, though the player's value on the open market may decrease because of that attached compensation, especially if he isn't among the game's elite. 

Perhaps the best example is Juan Cruz two years ago. Despite consecutive seasons with a strikeout rate north of 12 K/9 and no worse than a 3.10 ERA, Cruz was unable to land a job until late in the offseason because teams simply did not want to surrender a high draft pick to sign him as a Type-A free agent. The Royals eventually bit, sacrificing a second round pick since their first rounder was protected. Just last winter we saw Rafael Soriano avoid a similar situation by accepting Atlanta's arbitration offer, leading to the salary dump trade that sent him to the Rays.

Aside from Soriano, the best relief pitcher available on the free agent market this winter will be Scott Downs of the Blue Jays, who (you guessed it) comfortably projects to be a Type-A free agent. Performance is not an issue, as the 34-year-old Downs has posted a 2.23 ERA with a 7.9 K/9 in baseball's toughest division since becoming a full-time reliever in 2007. His $4MM salary this season is more than reasonable given his performance, and a raise is certainly in order when he hits the market.

But again, the problem is free agent compensation. Will a team be willing to sacrifice a high draft pick for a middle reliever? Downs does have some closing experience, mostly coming last season, so perhaps there's a club out there that values him in that capacity and is willing to pay the price. If not, it's not impossible that he could be stuck looking for a job come February since everyone wants to keep their first round pick in this age where young players have become more important than ever*.

The Jays claim that they will offer Downs (and his free agent-to-be teammates) arbitration after the season, which makes sense given Alex Anthopoulos' dedication to building from within. When Soriano accepted arb last winter, he received a $1.4MM raise, so an increase to a $5MM salary next year could be possible for Downs if he chooses to take matters into his own hands. 

Given the dearth of quality relievers in the game, especially lefthanders, I suspect Downs won't have any trouble finding a job this winter even if the signing team has to surrender a first round pick. If a big market team like the Yankees or Red Sox sign another Type-A free agent (someone like, say, Cliff Lee), forfeiting a second or even third round pick to sign Downs becomes much easier to stomach.

* It's worth noting that next year's draft class is considered to be one of the deepest and best ever, which could lead to teams being even more reluctant to surrender draft picks as part of the free agent signing process.

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