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Archives for September 2010

Zambrano Repeats Retirement Plans

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Carlos Zambrano repeated that he intends to retire once his current contract expires. He told reporters, including Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, that he will retire after 2012 or 2013 when his contract is up. As Zambrano said last summer, he wants to spend more time with his family.

"Believe me, baseball takes a lot of time from us," Zambrano said. "So I think, depending on what happens in my career, I think this will be the last contract."

Zambrano's contract calls for a $17.875MM salary in 2011 and an $18MM salary in 2012. A 2013 option for $19.25MM can vest depending on health and Cy Young votes. When Zambrano was placed on the restricted list following his dugout tirade earlier in the year, he was pitching poorly, but he has rebounded with a strong second half. The 29-year-old has a 1.81 ERA since his return, despite his usual high walk rate.

Darren Oliver’s 2011 Option Vests

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Darren Oliver will be back with the Rangers in 2011. The left-hander's $3.25MM option vested when he pitched a scoreless inning and struck a batter out in last night's game. That kind of performance has been the norm for Oliver, who turns 40 next month. He has a 2.50 ERA on the season with 9.8 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9. As a result, the Rangers probably would have picked the option up even if it hadn't vested.

Oliver, who is now in his 17th big league season, began his MLB career with the Rangers in 1993 on a team that included current team president Nolan Ryan. Like Ryan, Oliver is enjoying success late into his career. The 2010 season has arguably been his best since moving to the 'pen full-time in 2004.

Odds & Ends: Rollins, Nady, La Russa, Konerko

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Links for Wednesday night, as Kyle Drabek takes a loss in his first major league start….

Non-Tender Candidate: Cody Ross

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When the Giants were awarded Cody Ross on waivers last month, it likely increased Ross' chances of being tendered a contract for 2011. If the Marlins were willing to give Ross up for nothing but salary relief, they may have decided to part ways with Ross this winter rather than going to arbitration with him once more. The Giants, on the other hand, have a crowded outfield now, but Aubrey Huff, Pat Burrell, and Jose Guillen will be free agents after the season, meaning there should be room for Ross if the Giants choose to retain him.

Ross, who will turn 30 this winter, is earning $4.45MM this season and will be entering his final year of arbitration eligibility. He'll receive a raise, but not one as significant as last year's $2.225MM bump. After hitting .266/.319/.477 and averaging 23 homers per season in 2008 and 2009, he has seen his power numbers drop this year (.261/.315/.393, 11 homers). Still, UZR ranks Ross as an above-average defender, and paying him $5-6MM would hardly cripple the Giants' payroll.

Ross' future in San Francisco could be dictated by how the team decides to replace (or retain) its free agent outfielders. The Giants were occasionally linked to free agents like Jason Bay and Matt Holliday last winter, but they elected to eschew the big names in favor of more affordable players. Given the success they've had with that approach, they could easily try it again, perhaps non-tendering Ross in the hopes of striking gold with an even cheaper option, as they did with Huff ($3MM).

Do you expect the Giants to non-tender Ross this winter? Click here to weigh in, and click here to view the results.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Brian Fuentes

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With 18 games remaining in the season, Brian Fuentes' 2011 vesting option is officially out of reach. The 35-year-old's contract included a $9MM option for next season that would vest if he finished 55 games, but an April back strain knocked him off pace early. Having finished only 35 games this year, the left-hander is heading toward free agency.

When Fuentes signed his last contract, he was coming off a career year. In 2008, he saved 30 games and recorded a 2.73 ERA to go along with 11.8 K/9, turning that performance into a two-year, $17.5MM deal with the Angels. Despite saving 72 games over the course of the contract, Fuentes likely won't be fielding the same sort of offers this winter. His ERA (3.67), BB/9 (4.0), and K/9 (8.3) over the last two years have all fallen off slightly since his final seasons in Colorado, and at 35, he's not getting any younger. Teams didn't hand out many multi-year guarantees to last year's crop of free agent relievers, and Fuentes is part of a free agent class that includes other left-handed options like Scott Downs, Pedro Feliciano, Hisanori Takahashi, and Will Ohman.

Fuentes has been used as a closer for the majority of the last few years, and he'll aim to be paid like one. However, with only a handful of teams expected to be in the market for a closer, and many feasible options available, clubs might view Fuentes as a setup man instead. Being able to call on the southpaw in any middle or late inning rather than waiting for the ninth would allow a team to better take advantage of his primary strength: retiring lefties. While Fuentes has always handled left-handed hitters better than righties, his splits are particularly disparate this year – right-handers have a .757 OPS against him, compared to just .350 for left-handers.

A multi-year contract and a chance to close figure to be at or near the top of Fuentes' wish list this winter, and it's possible that a team willing to overpay for saves will provide him both. If not, the lefty could end up inking a short-term deal, perhaps with an option year, to be the primary left-handed setup man for a contender.

Yankees Designate Chad Huffman For Assignment

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The Yankees designated Chad Huffman for assignment to create roster space for Royce Ring, according to Chad Jennings of the Journal News (on Twitter). Huffman, 25, didn't do much in 21 big league plate appearances back in June and July, but he has a solid minor league resume. He hit .274/.353/.410 at Triple A this year, posting an OPS under .800 for the first time in his five-year minor league career. Huffman has mostly played in left, but he can play first base, too.

Ring, 29, last appeared in the majors in 2008. Like Huffman, he spent most of the season at Triple A. The lefty pitched well, posting a 1.93 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 out of the bullpen.

Heyman On Yankees, Dodgers, Beltre

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Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told Jon Heyman of SI.com that you could make the case for Cole Hamels as the team’s 2010 MVP. Roy Halladay might have something to say about that, but more importantly, the Phillies are red-hot. Here are the rest of Heyman’s rumors:

  • The Yankees don’t let executives under multi-year deals interview for jobs in other organizations, which is why scouting director Damon Oppenheimer won't interview for the D’Backs GM job. The policy means Oppenheimer won’t be a candidate for other GM openings this winter.
  • Triple A manager Tim Wallach remains the favorite to become the Dodgers’ next skipper if Joe Torre doesn’t return, as many of Heyman’s sources expect.
  • Some “Red Sox people” say they won’t be surprised if Adrian Beltre looks to match the $64MM deal he signed after the 2004 season. They say the team won’t offer close to $64MM.

Padres Re-Claim Cesar Carrillo

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The Padres re-claimed Cesar Carrillo, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (on Twitter). They designated Craig Italiano for assignment to make room for Carrillo, who was also recently designated for assignment by the Padres. The Phillies claimed the right-hander when he became available but they had to create roster space yesterday, so they designated Carrillo for assignment.

The Padres selected Carrillo in the first round of the 2005 draft, but he isn’t having much success in the minors. In 27 Triple A starts this year (none in the Philadelphia organization), Carrillo has a 5.60 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9. The 26-year-old debuted on last year’s Padres team but has not returned to the majors in 2010.

This mirrors what happened between the Indians and Rockies a month ago. The Rockies claimed Wes Hodges from the Indians and lost him when Cleveland claimed him back two days later.

Non-Tender Candidate: Zach Duke

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Last year, Zach Duke represented the Pirates at the All-Star Game, but after another poor outing, he has become a non-tender candidate. The 27-year-old leads the league in losses for the second consecutive season and while won-loss records don't mean much, Duke has also posted a career-high 5.78 ERA in 141.2 innings.

Duke makes $4.3MM this year, which means he won't be cheap if the Pirates offer arbitration. Even a modest raise would give the lefty a $5MM salary in 2011, which is roughly what Vicente Padilla, Brett Myers and Doug Davis signed for last winter. The Pirates will have to be prepared to pay Duke as well as established starters coming off better seasons if they offer arbitration.

But in spite of the ugly ERA and loss total, there's some hope for Duke. His 5.7 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 are respectable and he appears to be the victim of bad luck. No MLB pitcher who has as many innings as Duke has seen a higher percentage of batted balls fall in behind him for hits. Opponents have a .351 average on balls in play against Duke, which is well above his career mark. With better luck and potentially better defense, he could have a lower ERA.

It's also worth noting that only one MLB pitcher with as many innings as Duke has seen a higher percentage of fly balls leave the yard. Home runs haven't been a massive problem for Duke before, and if his homer levels return to normal, the rest of his numbers would look better, too. At this point, his stats don't look good, and we can't simply write this season off in the name of bad luck. Duke has not pitched well and his manager appears to be losing confidence in him.

The Brewers had interest in Duke last winter, according to FOX Sports. They're one of many teams likely to add starters this winter, so Duke would draw some interest if the Pirates non-tender him. Uncertainty surrounds Pittsburgh's 2011 rotation, partly because of Duke. The Pirates must decide whether to non-tender Duke and risk losing him to a rival team or offer him $5MM or so after a disappointing performance. I'm guessing the Pirates non-tender the left-hander and see if they can bring him back at a discount, but let's see what you think: Click here to take the survey and here to view the results.

Odds & Ends: Marlins, Duke, Red Sox, Lee

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Links for Wednesday, four years after the Padres completed the trade that sent 2010 All-Star Evan Meek to Tampa Bay. A year later, the Pirates shrewdly plucked Meek from the Rays in the Rule 5 draft…

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