National League Free Agent Arbitration Offers
11 National League teams have free agent arbitration offer decisions to make, and we'll group them in this post. For a fantastic customizable chart with all 65 Type A/B free agents and their decisions in real-time, click here.
- The Padres offered Jon Garland (B), Yorvit Torrealba (B) and Kevin Correia (B) arbitration, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (on Twitter). They did not offer Miguel Tejada (A) and David Eckstein (B) arbitration.
- The Reds declined to offer Orlando Cabrera (B) or Arthur Rhodes (A) arbitration, according to the team (on Twitter).
- The Dodgers declined to offer arbitration to Scott Podsednik (B), Rod Barajas (B) and Vicente Padilla (B), according to the team (on Twitter).
- The Giants offered Juan Uribe (B) arbitration, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
- In a surprising move, the Brewers decided to offer Trevor Hoffman (B) arbitration, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports that Hoffman has agreed to turn the offer down (Twitter link).
- The Diamondbacks announced that they offered arbitration to Adam LaRoche (B) and Aaron Heilman (B).
- The Rockies will offer arbitration to Jorge de la Rosa (A) and Octavio Dotel (B), according to Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post.
- The Braves will not offer arbitration to first baseman Derrek Lee (A), according to GM Frank Wren via David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Twitter.
- The Nationals offered arbitration to first baseman Adam Dunn (A), reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
- The Mets will offer arbitration to lefty Pedro Feliciano (B), tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.
- Yesterday, MLB.com's Todd Zolecki learned that the Phillies will offer arbitration to Jayson Werth (A) but not Chad Durbin (B).
Orioles Notes: Martinez, Randolph, Nishioka
The Orioles declined to offer arbitration to Kevin Millwood or Koji Uehara tonight. Here are the other hot stove-related items about the O's:
- President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail tells Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun that he's "disappointed" to have missed out on Victor Martinez. The Orioles made Martinez a four-year $48MM offer at the general manager meetings in Orlando last week and were not given the chance to raise their offer, according to Zrebiec. MacPhail says the O's are now "looking at other options."
- The Orioles agreed to sign former Mets manager Willie Randolph to be Buck Showalter's bench coach, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.
- The Orioles did not bid on Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka, according to Connolly (on Twitter).
Eight Teams Interested In Lance Berkman
Lance Berkman tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that eight teams have expressed some interest in him this offseason. ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reported earlier in the month that the A's were interested and Rosenthal adds the Cubs and Rockies to the list.
Berkman says Oakland has been the "most aggressive" in terms of contacting him. The 34-year-old isn't ruling the A's out, but he'd prefer not to be a DH and Oakland has first baseman Daric Barton and lots of outfielders.
“I’m not a DH-slash-first baseman," Berkman told Rosenthal. "I’m a first baseman-slash-outfielder.”
Berkman has not played the outfield since 2007, but he says he feels better now that he has recovered from the arthroscopic knee surgery he underwent in March. Berkman has said he'll look for an everyday role and he told Rosenthal that he would like to return to the National League. There will be no reunion with the Astros, however.
Free Agent Arbitration Offer Tracker
By 11pm central time tonight, we'll have arbitration offer decisions on 65 Type A or B free agents. MLB Trade Rumors has created an awesome tool to help you keep track of everything in real-time: our new Free Agent Arbitration Offer Tracker.
You can filter the decisions by team and whether the player was offered arbitration, or both, with the "Filter" button. In the "Offered" column, the word "Yes" or "No" is linked to the source story. We will be updating the tracker constantly throughout the day, so be sure to bookmark and refresh. Enjoy!
Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Boras, Francisco, Dunn
Links for Tuesday night, one year after the White Sox signed Omar Vizquel. One year later, the White Sox have already re-signed the 43-year-old infielder for 2011…
- The Dodgers are open to re-signing Rod Barajas, Vicente Padilla and Scott Podsednik, though they didn’t offer the players arbitration. Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times reports on Twitter that the team remains in contact with all three.
- Scott Boras' company provided families of poor Dominican prospects with tens of thousands of dollars, reports Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times. Boras tells Yahoo's Tim Brown that he was helping prospects out when their careers were on the line, but MLB will investigate the issue.
- The Rangers expect Frank Francisco to accept their offer of arbitration, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter).
- The Nationals are no longer pursuing Adam Dunn aggressively and they appear to be a fringe suitor for him, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
- Brian Moehler tells MLB.com's Brian McTaggart that he intends to play in 2011 and has interest in returning to the Astros. But Moehler has never pitched in the playoffs, so he'd like to sign with a team that has a good chance of making a playoff run.
- The divorce between Frank and Jamie McCourt is now final, according to the AP (on ESPN). The McCourts await a decision that will determine whether Frank has sole ownership of the Dodgers or whether he shares the club with his ex-wife.
- Don Nomura, the agent for Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma, told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he "deeply" hopes to complete a deal between his client and the A's. Oakland, who won the bidding for Iwakuma, broke off talks earlier in the week because the sides were too far apart.
Explaining Ranked Free Agents & Draft Compensation
Teams must offer arbitration to ranked free agents by 11pm central time tonight if they hope to obtain compensation picks in the 2011 draft. Here's an explanation of how the process works.
Teams can choose to offer arbitration to their free agents after each season. If the player accepts, the team will get the player on a one-year deal at a figure determined by the arbitration process. Typically, players who accept arbitration get raises. If a player rejects arbitration, his former team gets nothing but compensation picks.
A player can either be classified as Type A, Type B, or nothing based on his stats from the previous two seasons in certain categories, depending on his position. For example, first basemen, outfielders and DHs are rated based on the following categories: plate appearances, average, on base percentage, homers, and RBI.
If a team signs a Type A free agent, they have to surrender a draft pick to that player’s former team. If the signing team placed in the bottom half of MLB teams, their first round draft pick is protected and they surrender a second round pick instead.
Sometimes, teams sign more than one Type A free agent who declined arbitration from his former team. In that case, one team gets a top compensation pick and other teams lose out. The team losing the highest-ranked free agent obtains the best pick the signing team can offer and other teams fall in line behind the team that loses the top-ranked player. In extreme cases, a team hoping to snag another club's first round pick can be stuck with their third rounder. The Blue Jays might have hoped to get a pick in the #15-20 range from another team for A.J. Burnett after the 2008 season, but since the Yankees had already signed C.C. Sabathia and Mark Teixeira, the Jays received the #104 overall pick from the Yankees.
Regardless of where Type A free agents sign, their teams obtain a supplementary round pick in the following year’s draft (plus the aforementioned pick from the team that signed the player).
A free agent can also be classified as a Type B based on his stats. Teams don’t have to give picks up to sign Type B free agents, but teams that lose Type Bs obtain supplementary round picks in the next year’s draft.
Another rule to consider for Type As and Type Bs: the "losing" team receives draft pick compensation without offering arbitration if their free agent signs before the deadline for teams to offer arbitration to departing free agents (now November 23rd). For example, the Blue Jays didn't have to decide whether to offer John Buck arbitration; he signed early with the Marlins, so Toronto gets a supplementary rounder in 2011.
There’s also a third possibility – the free agent is not classified as Type A or B, and there is no draft pick compensation.
Over the years, many quality players have been drafted as the result of free agent compensation. Recent examples include Huston Street, Phil Hughes, Clay Buchholz and Colby Rasmus.
Last year, Rafael Betancourt, Carl Pavano and Rafael Soriano were the only ranked free agents to accept arbitration out of 23 offers. Today, 21 teams will decide whether to offer a total of 63 players arbitration. Click here to view Tim Dierkes' predictions and here to make a few of your own.
This post is a modified version of one Tim Dierkes wrote in July, 2008.
Minor Deals: Rupe, Mariners, Villarreal
We'll keep track of the day's minor signings, trades and claims right here:
- The Orioles agreed to sign right-handed reliever Josh Rupe to a minor league deal, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. The 28-year-old appeared in 11 games for the Royals in 2010, posting a 5.59 ERA with eight strikeouts and seven walks in 9 2/3 innings. The 2002 third-rounder also posted a 2.92 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 52 1/3 Triple-A innings.
- The Mariners signed right-hander Yusmeiro Petit, left-hander Chris Seddon and outfielder Mike Wilson as minor league free agents, according to the team. All three players receive invitations to big league Spring Training. Petit, who turned 26 yesterday, has a 5.57 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 229 1/3 big league innings over the course of four seasons. He last pitched in the majors for the 2009 D'Backs.
- The Dodgers added right-handed reliever Oscar Villarreal as a non-roster invitee, according to Steve Dilbeck of the LA Times. The 29-year-old hasn't appeared in a major league game since 2008, but he has logged 336 innings in the major leagues. He has a respectable 3.86 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 258 appearances.
Royals Interested In Kevin Millwood
The Royals are interested in Kevin Millwood, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). The right-hander has averaged 31 starts since his first full season in 1998, so GM Dayton Moore likely sees him as a back-of-the-rotation innings eater.
Millwood has an All-Star appearance and an ERA title to his name, but at this point he's likely to post an ERA near 5.00 with about 6.0 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9. In 190 2/3 innings as an Oriole, he posted a 5.10 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9.
The Rockies have also expressed interest in Millwood, who could potentially benefit from a move to the NL. Since the Orioles didn't offer the 35-year-old arbitration, they won't obtain a compensatory draft pick if he signs elsewhere.
Vazquez Seeks One-Year Deal; Marlins In Pursuit
Javier Vazquez wants a one-year deal, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark. The right-hander could be looking to re-establish his value and hit the open market a year from now in search of a bigger payday.
Vazquez has turned down at least one offer worth about $20MM over two years, according to Stark. The Nationals, Cubs and Rockies have expressed interest in Vazquez, but another club appears to be in the lead for his services.
Talks with the Marlins have gotten "hot," according to Stark. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports confirms on Twitter that the sides had extensive discussions about a deal. We heard last week that there's mutual interest between the team and the pitcher, partly since the Marlins play relatively close to Vazquez's native Puerto Rico.
The Yankees offered Vazquez arbitration, but he appears to have agreed to turn it down and, because he is a Type B free agent, no team will have to surrender a pick to sign the 34-year-old.
Yankees Have Offered Jeter Multiple Deals
Brian Cashman told Newsday's Ken Davidoff that the Yankees have offered Derek Jeter multiple deals and received one counter-offer (Twitter link). One of the deals the Yankees proposed was worth $45MM over three years, but Jeter's representatives didn't seem to like it. Agent Casey Close told Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News that he found the Yankees' negotiating strategy "baffling."
Earlier today, Cashman told Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork that Jeter should test the open market if he believes the Yankees aren't offering him fair deals. Now, Cashman tells the Newark Star Ledger that he doubts Jeter truly wants to remain in the Bronx (Twitter link).
"He should be nothing but a New York Yankee," Cashman said. "He chooses not to be."
But the Yankees' tough talk may subside eventually; Jon Heyman of SI.com hears on Twitter that the team is likely to offer more than $45MM. If you ask Joel Sherman of the New York Post, Jeter's position in the negotiations is essentially "I am Derek Jeter, pay me."