Archives for October 2010

Arbitration Eligibles: Colorado Rockies

By Tim Dierkes | October 18, 2010 at 8:02am CDT

The Rockies are next in our arbitration eligibles series.

First time: Ian Stewart
Second time: Jason Hammel, Manny Delcarmen
Third time: Clint Barmes, Matt Belisle

The Rockies have two non-tender candidates: Delcarmen and Barmes. They have to decide if Delcarmen is worth a $1MM+ gamble for 2011 after his struggles in 2009-10. The righty dealt with a forearm strain prior to his August 31st trade from Boston. Barmes, operating from a $3.325MM salary this year, is almost certain to be cut loose. He'll improve the free agent market for second basemen, though he'd like to return to the Rockies if he can't find an everyday job.

Stewart's playing time was limited this year due to an oblique injury and the occasional benching against a lefty. He won't be too expensive, and will be retained. Hammel had a solid year, better than his 4.81 ERA suggests. He'll still provide value in 2011. The Rockies' decision to tender Belisle a contract last winter paid off, as he led MLB with 92 relief innings. Belisle posted a 2.93 ERA with strong peripherals, and the Rockies will be glad to have him back.

Amateur Signing Bonuses: White Sox

By Mike Axisa | October 17, 2010 at 9:34pm CDT

Time to hit Chicago's south side with our amateur signing bonus series…

Joe Borchard, $5.3MM (2000)
Dayan Viciedo, $4MM (2008)
Gordon Beckham, $2.6MM (2008)
Jason Stumm, $1.75MM (1999)
Chris Sale, $1.656MM (2010)

Borchard's bonus was the largest ever given out as part of a minor league contract at the time, and was the record until Justin Upton showed up in 2005. The White Sox had to buy him away from a potential NFL career after Borchard starred at Stanford as both an outfielder and quarterback, though the team was able to spread the bonus out over five years according to MLB's provisions for two sport athletes. He never lived up to the hype, hitting .191/.254/.342 in 328 plate appearances across four seasons for Chicago before being dealt to the Mariners in March 2006 for a fellow former first round pick by the name of Matt Thornton. It clicked for Thornton after the trade but never did for Borchard, and the vast majority of his career has been spent in Triple-A.

Both Beckham and Sale have paid immediate dividends. Beckham, the eighth overall pick in 2008, reached the big leagues the very next year and is a career .260/.331/.416 career hitter in 928 plate appearances. Sale didn't even have to wait that long; he found himself in Chicago's bullpen less than two months after being the 13th overall pick in this year's draft. Hard to blame them for being so aggressive, Sale posted a 1.93 ERA with 12.3 K/9 in 21 appearances (23.1 innings) while hitting the upper-90's from the left side. As you probably suspect, he's the first player from the 2010 draft to reach the show.

After the success of Alexei Ramirez, the White Sox went hard after another Cuban defector in Viciedo. The 21-year-old has been just okay in the minors (.277/.313/.432), though his 106 plate appearance cameo in the big leagues this season was much more promising (.308/.321/.519). Listed at 5-foot-11 and 240 lbs. on the team's official site, he might not be long for the hot corner. Stumm was a colossal bust as the 15th overall pick in 1999. Injuries sabotaged the righthander's career (four surgeries total), and just eight of his 224.1 career innings came above A-ball. Stumm has been out of the game since 2005.

Odds & Ends: Ross, Hale, Daniels, Mets, Coaches

By Steve Adams | October 17, 2010 at 9:13pm CDT

Some links to check out as Cody Ross attempts to follow up yesterday's two-home run performance and the Phillies look to even the score…

Speaking of Ross, Andrew Baggarly of The Mercury News reports that Giants GM Brian Sabean left a "clear impression" before tonight's game that the outfielder will be tendered a contract this offseason.
Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe tweets that Red Sox bench coach DeMarlo Hale is getting a second interview for the Blue Jays managerial position.
SI.com's Jon Heyman tweets that the Mets have been "asking around" about Rangers GM Jon Daniels, and things could get interesting. Daniels can opt out of his contract after the season since the team was sold.
Steve Popper of The Bergen Record says that the Mets might not be making the popular choices right now, especially with Francisco Rodriguez, Oliver Perez, Carlos Beltran, and Luis Castillo, but they're the right moves.
Popper also reports that the Tigers denied the Mets permission to talk to assistant GM Al Avila about their GM vacancy.
ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that Eric Young will be named the D'Backs first base coach later this week. In a second tweet, he says Eric Wedge's former pitching coach Carl Willis will likely play a big role on his new staff in Seattle.
Despite the expected heavy interest from the Yankees and Rangers, Michael Silverman from the Boston Herald thinks the Red Sox should make a serious run at Cliff Lee.
In the second page of that same article, Silverman quotes an unnamed executive in saying that a package consisting of Jacoby Ellsbury, Jed Lowrie, and prospect Anthony Rizzo wouldn't be enough to pry Adrian Gonzalez away from the Padres. He speculates the names that would be mentioned next would include Casey Kelly and Jose Iglesias.
Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports says it makes more sense for the Orioles to trade for a middle-of-the-lineup hitter and an ace starter than seek one in free agency, and asks readers whether or not the O's should pursue Zack Greinke. In his blog post earlier today, ESPN's Buster Olney didn't see Baltimore as a fit for the Kansas City ace.
Reduced payroll will force the Rays into some tough decisions, writes Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. As Topkin points out, nearly the entire bullpen is entering free agency. Rafael Soriano, Grant Balfour, Randy Choate, Joaquin Benoit, and Chad Qualls are only signed through 2010, while Dan Wheeler's $4MM option will be declined and Lance Cormier could be non-tendered. Balfour and Choate are most likely to return, while Benoit will likely look to capitalize on his monster season.
Richard Griffin from the Toronto Star spoke with Phillies bench coach Pete Mackanin, who could be a candidate for the Jays' managerial opening, about the difficulty of getting a foot in the door as a manager. As Griffin says, part of the reason they continue to interview candidates while other teams are filling their managerial positions could be because they have a high level of interest in someone like Mackanin, whose team is still playing.
The Phillies' worst nightmare isn't losing to the Giants in the NLCS or losing to the Yankees in the World Series, according FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. It's going to the World Series and facing the ace they traded away last offseason, who now sports a Rangers uniform — Cliff Lee.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Derrek Lee

By Mike Axisa | October 17, 2010 at 8:24pm CDT

With his roster losing player after player due to injury, Braves GM Frank Wren swung a deal with the Cubs that brought two-time All Star Derrek Lee to Atlanta in August. Lee was just a rental player however; he's scheduled to hit the free agent market this winter as the five-year, $65MM extension he signed with Chicago in 2006 ends. Let's examine his stock…

The Good

After a subpar performance with the Cubs this season, Lee rebounded to hit .287/.384/.465 in 151 plate appearances with the Braves. Perhaps being on a contender reinvigorated him.
Even as age saps his power, he remains a strong on-base threat, drawing at least 71 walks in each of the last four seasons.
Lee has a reputation as being a tremendous defensive first baseman, and the advanced metrics back it up: his +12.5 UZR over the last three seasons is one of the best marks in the game at the position.
Lee fell just short of qualifying as a Type-A free agent, so a team will not have to forfeit a high draft pick to sign him (assuming Atlanta offers him arbitration and he declines).
At 35-years-old, a long-term commitment will not be required.

The Bad

Lee played through a torn ligament in his thumb at the end of the season according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman, and recently underwent an MRI to determine the extent of the damage and the next step. He also battled back and neck issues during the past two seasons, though neither landed him on the disabled list.
As I said before, age is beginning to steal some of his pop. Looking at isolated power, which measures extra-base power by removing singles from slugging percentage (it's just SLG-AVG), 2010 was Lee's worst power season (.168 ISO) ever, minimum 300 plate appearances. For comparison's sake, the MLB average for first basemen was .146 ISO this season, so he's still above average in that regard. But for how long?
Always known as a lefty masher, Lee dipped to just .257/.356/.421 against southpaws this year, his worst output against pitchers of the opposite hand since 2006.

The Verdict

Adam Dunn and Paul Konerko highlight the free agent first base crop, but Lee is about as good of a stopgap option as you'll find. He's a solid all-around player despite declining some in recent years, and his track record is both better and longer than other free agents like Lyle Overbay and Carlos Pena. Teams looking to solidify the first base position for a year or two while they wait for a prospect (or just want to avoid a long commitment) figure to show the most interest. That includes clubs like the Mariners, Orioles, Nationals (assuming Dunn leaves), Rangers, Rays, and maybe even the Cubs again.

Amateur Signing Bonuses: Cubs

By Mike Axisa | October 17, 2010 at 6:22pm CDT

Time for another post in our series looking at the five largest signing bonuses each team has given to amateur players. The Cubs are up…

Mark Prior, $4MM (2001)
Corey Patterson, $3.7MM (1998)
Josh Vitters, $3.2MM (2007)
Luis Montanez, $2.75MM (2000)
Bobby Brownlie, $2.5MM (2002)

You'd be hard pressed to find a team that pumped more money into high draft picks and received so little in return. Prior was undeniably special, going from USC to a third-place finish in the NL Cy Young voting within two years. His first 56 big league starts (377 innings) featured a 2.60 ERA with 10.6 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 (removing intentional walks), but arm injuries wrecked the rest of his career. Prior last pitched for the Cubs (and in the big leagues) on August 10th of 2006. If his latest comeback attempt is unsuccessful, his career is likely to end with a 3.51 ERA, 10.4 K/9, and 3.1 BB/9 in 106 starts (657 innings).

Patterson and Montanez were the third overall picks in their respective drafts. Neither delivered on their promise, though Patterson at least managed to reach the big leagues for Chicago. He hit just .252/.293/.414 with 70 homers and 86 steals in 589 games for the Cubbies before being traded to the Orioles for a pair of minor leaguers before the 2006 season. Montanez spent six years in the Cubs' farm system before signing with Baltimore as a minor league free agent in 2007. He didn't make it out of A-ball until five years after he was drafted. Vitters, yet another third overall pick, reached Double-A at age 20 this season, but he's just a .275/.317/.435 hitter in the minors, walking only 46 times unintentionally in 1,178 plate appearances.

Brownlie, a Scott Boras client and the 21st overall pick in 2002, pitched very well in Cubs farm system for two years before his elbow started to act up in 2005. He was shifted to the bullpen and pitched terribly in 2006 (6.33 ERA, 6.9 K/9, 4.2 BB/9), leading to his release. Brownlie bounced around a bit after that, including a stint in an independent league, but he now coaches at his alma mater Rutgers. He never reached the big leagues, but did throw 199 innings at the Triple-A level.

Kosuke Fukudome matched Prior's signing bonus at $4MM, but he's not considered an amateur given all of his time in Japan despite having zero MLB experience when he signed.

MLBTR Originals: 10/10/10 – 10/17/10

By Mike Axisa | October 17, 2010 at 5:43pm CDT

As the baseball world focuses on the League Division Series, we here at MLBTR are looking ahead to the offseason. Here's a recap of our original content from the past week…

Ben Nicholson-Smith broke down Jose Bautista's historic arbitration case with some help from an expert.
Tim Dierkes looked at the free agent market for second basemen, shortstops, and third basemen, as well as the trade market for first basemen, second basemen, and shortstops. He also listed the hardest-throwing free agent relievers.
Tim also looked at the arbitration cases facing the Diamondbacks, Cardinals, Pirates, Brewers, and Astros this winter.
Ben continued his series looking at what was said when each of the current general managers were hired. This week he tackled the NL East and NL Central.
Mark Polishuk listed the managers and general managers who are entering the final year of their contracts. Ben re-introduced us to Sandy Alderson, the leading candidate for the Mets GM job.
As usual, we examined the stock of several soon-to-be free agents. This week we tackled Carl Crawford of the Rays, Takashi Saito of the Braves, Jonny Gomes of the Reds, and Rick Ankiel of the Braves. We also looked at two non-tender candidates: Todd Coffey of the Brewers, and James Loney of the Dodgers.
Our series looking at the largest bonuses each team has given to amateurs continued with the Braves, Orioles, and Red Sox.
Among the poll questions this week, we asked who you thought would win the ALCS as well as the NLCS. We also want to know what you think the Reds will do with Orlando Cabrera's option.
I dug up the latest and greatest links in this week's edition of Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
Howard Megdal's latest Jack Of All Trades post highlighted Nelson Cruz.
Here is Tim's chat transcript.
Last, but certainly not least, welcome to all of the new readers that stumbled across the site this week! Here's a handy guide with all the different ways you can use MLBTR, as well as a list of our regular features. Make sure you check out our complete list of 2011 free agents.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Jonny Gomes

By Steve Adams | October 17, 2010 at 5:03pm CDT

The Reds hold a $1.75MM option on Jonny Gomes, and he'd like to return to Cincinnati, but as last year showed us, there's no guarantee that the team retains the 29-year-old left fielder. He was non-tendered following a more productive 2009 season, so it's entirely possible that Gomes hits the market once again. In a recent poll, MLBTR readers were split fairly evenly on whether or not the Reds would retain Gomes (58% said yes). Let's take a closer look at Gomes, now that his season is over:

The Good

Gomes has always crushed left-handed pitching. For his career, he owns a .276/.371/.507 line against southpaws.
Gomes is affordable. He signed for just an $800K base salary in 2010, though he did make an additional $500K in incentives due to exceeding 500 plate appearances. A team seriously interested in Gomes could have him for a couple million dollars at the most, and there's probably no need to commit multiple years.
At age 29 (30 in November), Gomes isn't likely to be in line for a sharp decline.
He's always been prone to strikeouts (career 30.2%), but this season that number dropped to a more respectable 24.1%. He also posted his highest line drive percentage (20.7%) since 2007.

The Bad

For as tough as he is on left-handed pitching, Gomes is rather pedestrian against right-handers. His .233/.309/.438 line isn't going to bring fear to the hearts of same-handed pitchers, but he does homer once every 20 PAs against them.
Defensively, Gomes is no wizard. Primarily a left fielder, he's only posted a positive UZR one time at the position; he rated slightly above average in 2009's small sample, but owns a -19.0 UZR/150 there for his career.
Gomes cut down on his K's this season, but also posted a career-low walk rate. His mark of 6.8% is likely the result of seeing more time against right-handers, which also accounts for his overall drop in slugging.

The Verdict

If the Reds buy out Gomes' option, he has a contractual clause stating that he must be released, making him available to all 30 teams. For all his flaws, Gomes is a useful player if utilized correctly. He punishes left-handed pitching and is respectable enough against right-handers to add reasonable depth to any club's bench. His ideal role is probably as a platoon DH and backup corner outfielder. The overall drop in his numbers should keep his 2011 salary in the $1MM-$2MM range, meaning he can be an affordable source of depth to interested suitors.

Week In Review: 10/10/10 – 10/16/10

By Steve Adams | October 17, 2010 at 3:40pm CDT

As excited as I am to get to use "10/10/10" as a date in the title of this post, I'll contain myself as we take a look back at the past seven days here on MLBTR:

The market for free agent starting pitcher continues to get weaker. Two weeks ago we learned that the Reds will definitely pick up Bronson Arroyo's 2011 option, and this week another name got crossed off the list as Ted Lilly agreed to a three-year deal to stay with the Dodgers. Guys like Hiroki Kuroda and Carl Pavano must be happy to see some competition leaving the board before it begins.
One thing they probably don't like to see is that the Royals will add a potential name to the list by making Zack Greinke available via trade. The 2009 Cy Young winner instantly becomes one of the top two options on the market, alongside 2008 Cy Young winner Cliff Lee.
We hear the Yankees and Rangers mentioned a lot in connection to Lee, but there will be other teams who want to get their hands on the ace lefty, including the Nationals. Washington has said they'll go as high as five years and $125MM for a legit ace. They've also got a decision to make on Chien-Ming Wang this offseason, who's throwing in the instructional league.
Like Lilly, Heath Bell would like to remain in the NL West for three years. He voiced his desire for an extension with the Padres this week, and said he doesn't expect more than three years because of his age. The cost-conscious Padres may be better off dealing Bell, however.
Lots of managerial news this week, so here we go: the Braves named Fredi Gonzalez as Bobby Cox's heir, and the Mariners hired Eric Wedge for three years. We heard Bobby Valentine may have been the frontrunner in Miami, but withdrew from the Marlins' search just days later. In case the Twins' decade of postseason struggles had you curious, Ron Gardenhire isn't going anywhere for a long time.
On the GM side of things, we heard from Jeff Wilpon that the Mets' search for Omar Minaya's replacement may take weeks, though Sandy Alderson seems to be the current frontrunner.
In other Mets news, the team is working toward a settlement with troubled closer Francisco Rodriguez.
The Royals acquired former standout Kevin Pucetas from the Giants this week to complete the Jose Guillen trade. Pucetas, 25, has three minor league All Star selections, an ERA title, and a Futures Game appearance under his belt, but has fallen on hard times at the upper levels. Nice upside considering all they had to give up was Guillen, though.
Several free agents talked about their preferred destinations this week, as Arthur Rhodes and Jonny Gomes said they'd like to remain in Cincinnati, while Magglio Ordonez is optimistic about working out a deal with Detroit, and Johnny Damon would love to return to the Bronx Bombers. Jeff Francis would like to stay put in Colorado as well.
Jim Thome was a bit more vague, but said he's leaning toward playing in 2011 and loved his time in Minnesota. We heard later in the week that his teammates Orlando Hudson and Nick Punto are unlikely to return.
Hiroyuki Nakajima, a 28-year-old Japanese shortstop who could be posted, is drawing a lot of Major League interest already. Probably has something to do with the .314/.385/.511 slash line and 20 homers he produced this year, though that power might not carry over to the Majors.
Some minor transactions from around the league: the Red Sox re-signed Jarrod Saltalamacchia to a split contract that could earn him up to $750K, Jeremy Hermida and Ross Wolf elected free agency after being outrighted to Triple-A, and the Cardinals claimed Bryan Augenstein off waivers from the Diamondbacks.

Cardinals, Westbrook Discussing Extension

By Steve Adams | October 17, 2010 at 3:00pm CDT

We've heard for a while now that the Cardinals would love to retain Jake Westbrook, whom they acquired at the trade deadline in a three-team deal. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that there's more to the situation than just interest now; the Cards are "making a push" to sign Westbrook and discussions are already taking place.

Westbrook, 33, totaled 75 innings over 12 starts with the Redbirds and posted a tidy 3.48 ERA in that span. His strikeouts trended upward and his control improved, while his sinker induced even more groundballs (62% vs. 53.3% with Cleveland) under Dave Duncan. While he would hit free agency for the first time this season, Westbrook has mutual interest in working out a deal with St. Louis and forgoing the process entirely.

Jason Marquis and Joel Pineiro figure to be solid comparisons for Westbrook, meaning he could be in line for a two-year deal in the $16MM range. Locking up Westbrook early would allow the Cardinals to focus on offense this offseason. It would also likely set their 2011 rotation (barring injuries) to feature Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, Jaime Garcia, Westbrook, and Kyle Lohse, giving them potential for one of the better rotations in all of baseball, especially if Lohse can rediscover his 2008 form.

Olney On Greinke, De La Rosa, Alderson, Blue Jays

By Luke Adams 2 | October 17, 2010 at 12:12pm CDT

Yesterday, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reported that the Royals would listen to offers for Zack Greinke. Today, Olney's blog entry (Insider required) focuses on which teams make sense as potential suitors for the Kansas City ace. According to Olney, there are at least ten teams who have a need for Greinke and would have the prospects necessary to acquire him. Here are a few other rumors from Olney, via Twitter:

Negotiations are moving slowly between Jorge de la Rosa and the Rockies. The team would like to re-sign the left-hander before he hits free agency, but it won't be cheap. As Troy Renck of the Denver Post points out (via Twitter), Ted Lilly's three-year deal with the Dodgers should directly influence de la Rosa's contract negotiations.
The Mets will meet this week for a second time with Sandy Alderson, who is regarded as the frontrunner for the team's GM opening. For what it's worth, we can add Tony La Russa to the list of people who think Alderson would be a great choice for the Mets, as Dan Martin of the New York Post writes.
The Blue Jays are interviewing a wide range of candidates for their managerial position, but may end up promoting an internal option: Brian Butterfield.

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