Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for November 2010

The Offseason Calendar

By | at

The offseason can truly begin now that teams no longer have exclusive rights to their own free agents. As the clock struck midnight, players gained the right to start negotiating with all teams. MLB and the MLBPA moved the offseason schedule forward this fall. Here are the dates you need to know:

  • November 7th – Free agents can negotiate with any team
  • November 16th-17th – GM Meetings, Orlando, Florida
  • November 23rd – Deadline for teams to offer arbitration to their own free agents
  • November 30th – Deadline for players to accept or decline arbitration offers from their former teams
  • December 2nd – Deadline for teams to tender contracts to arbitration eligible players
  • December 6th-9th – Winter Meetings, Lake Buena Vista, Florida
  • January 18th – Teams and players exchange salary arbitration figures

 

Amateur Signing Bonuses: Giants

By | at

Next up in our amateur signing bonus series, the World Champion San Francisco Giants…

  1. Buster Posey, $6.2MM (2008)
  2. Zach Wheeler, $3.3MM (2009)
  3. Rafael Rodriguez, $2.55MM (2008)
  4. Angel Villalona, $2.1MM (2006)
  5. Tim Lincecum, $2.025MM (2006)

As we saw during their title run, the Giants have done a great job of drafting and developing the core of their team. Hot shot rookie catcher Buster Posey was at the center of attention, and San Francisco paid the price to bring him into their organization as the fifth overall pick: $6.2MM, at the time a record for a minor league contract. Posey tore through the minors in less than two years (.333/.427/.542) and established himself as the Giants' everyday catcher this summer. He hit .305/.357/.505 with 18 homers in 443 big league plate appearances this season, then topped it off with a strong postseason.

Wheeler was the sixth overall pick in last year's draft, and in his first pro season he pitched to a 3.99 ERA with 10.7 K/9 and 5.8 BB/9 in 58.2 innings. He missed some time with a fingernail injury this summer. The Giants signed Rodriguez out of the Dominican Republic on his 16th birthday, and so far he's hit .280/.343/.355 in his young minor league career.

Villalona was arguably the top talent available out of Latin America back in 2006, and the Giants landed him for what was then the largest bonus in franchise history. He climbed the minor league ladder steadily until the 2009-2010 offseason, when it was announced by police that Villalona was a suspect in the murder of a 25-year-old man back in the DR. He eventually reached a settlement with the victim's family, however the prosecutor still intends to prosecute. Villalona has been free on bond since the settlement, but his United States visa has been revoked and his playing career with the Giants is essentially over. He has not played since the end of the 2009 season, and there have not been any updates on the status of the criminal case since April.

It's hard to believe that Lincecum lasted until the tenth overall pick in 2006, but that's exactly what happened. The Giants signed him and less than a year later he wasn't just in the big leagues, he was dominating. Lincecum won the Cy Young Award in each of his first two full major league seasons, and he made five starts (and one relief appearance, 2.43 ERA overall) this postseason, including winning the World Series clincher in Game Five over the Rangers. Overall, his big league career consists of a 3.04 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 811 innings. He's led the league in strikeouts and strikeout rate in each of the last three seasons.

Since I'm sure everyone is curious, I might as well mention that Matt Cain signed for $1.375MM as the 25th overall pick in 2002, Madison Bumgarner for $2MM as the tenth pick in 2007, and Jonathan Sanchez for just $2,500 as the 820th overall pick (27th round) in 2004. That's textbook development of a championship caliber rotation right there.

Odds & Ends: Werth, A’s, Yankees, Berkman, D’Backs

By | at

A few more Saturday night links….

MacPhail Discusses Orioles’ Offseason Goals

By | at

We heard a few Orioles-related tidbits earlier today, and now MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli provides another handful. Ghiroli discussed the Orioles' offseason with president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail, and MacPhail shared some thoughts on how the O's intend to approach free agency and trades this winter.

  • The team's primary goal will be obtaining a middle-of-the-order hitter, with no specific position in mind. MacPhail suggests that adding an impact bat would benefit the rest of the lineup, by taking some pressure off the Orioles' current hitters.
  • MacPhail sounds skeptical about acquiring pitching through free agency or trades, calling that approach "fragile and expensive" compared to developing young arms. However, he acknowledged that the club could once again look into acquiring a Kevin Millwood-esque veteran: "You want to have an innings eater because you never know what to expect from the youngsters. So someone like that would certainly be attractive to us."
  • When approaching the free agent market for hitters, the Orioles would rather not take a flier on a Garrett Atkins type again. They are hoping to add players who are less risky than Atkins was, though MacPhail concedes that sometimes the way the market develops makes it necessary to take a gamble.
  • Ghiroli speculates that, while the O's may not be able to attract the very best free agents like Cliff Lee and Carl Crawford, they will likely look hard at the group of players in the tier or two below: Victor Martinez, Paul Konerko, Derrek Lee, Jon Garland, and Brandon Webb, to name a few.
  • Ghiroli predicts that the Orioles will stay in contact with most of their impending free agents, especially Ty Wigginton, Cesar Izturis, and Koji Uehara.
  • The O's also made a minor roster move today, adding reliever Jim Hoey to their 40-man roster, reports Ghiroli.

Edgar Renteria Will Play In 2011

By | at

The last couple months have been rather eventful for Edgar Renteria. In September, the 34-year-old was battling injuries and admitted that he was considering retiring at the end of the season. Just over a month later, he was helping lead the Giants to a World Series victory, earning MVP honors in the process. Earlier this week, the Giants declined Renteria's $10.5MM option for 2011, but the two-time Gold Glover tells Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes that he'll continue to play next year after all.

"I'm staying, I feel that I still have a lot of baseball in my body," Renteria said. "[On] Monday I have a very important meeting with my agents to talk about my future, but I have already decided I will keep playing. That's all I can say until I meet with them."

Although Renteria was moderately productive when he was on the field for the Giants this year, hitting .276/.332/.374 in 267 plate appearances, he isn't the offensive threat he once was. Since posting a .332/.390/.470 slash line for the Braves in 2007, the veteran has an OPS of just .676 in three seasons with Detroit and San Francisco. Still, the free agent market for shortstops is thin, so Renteria's postseason heroics should help garner some interest this winter.

Jamie Moyer Facing Retirement After Elbow Injury?

By | at

Jamie Moyer has pitched in the majors since 1986, but it may be an injury sustained outside of MLB that forces him to hang up his cleats. Dionisio Soldevila of Tiempo de Juego reports that Moyer left a game in the Dominican winter league today after two innings with an injury to his throwing elbow. Moises Alou, the general manager of Moyer's Escogido club, tells Soldevila that Moyer "probably" won't pitch again in his career (Twitter links).

As Soldevila notes in a separate tweet, the injured elbow is the same one that forced Moyer to miss most of the second half of the 2010 season. The left-hander, who turns 48 later this month, was pitching in the Dominican league in an attempt to showcase the health of his left arm and earn a major league contract for 2011.

If the injury does derail Moyer's comeback for good, it would be an unfortunate end to an incredibly long and impressive career. The lefty has won 267 games and pitched more than 4000 innings for seven teams over the course of the quarter-century he has spent in the bigs.

Odds & Ends: D’Backs, Red Sox, Simmons, Bush

By | at

We're now less than 12 hours away from the start of free agency. Here are some links to help you pass the time…

  • The Diamondbacks have outrighted pitchers Leo Rosales and Clay Zavada off the 40-man roster according to the team's official Twitter feed. 
  • Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe places odds on each of the Red Sox's four free agents returning the team. 
  • Larry Larue of The Tacoma Tribune reports that the Mariners have hired Ted Simmons as a senior advisor to GM Jack Zduriencik. Simmons was in the mix for various managerial jobs.
  • The Rays have added Matt Bush, the first overall pick in 2004, to their 40-man roster according to The Tampa Tribune (Twitter link). Bush would have been eligible for minor league free agency otherwise. 
  • Joel Sherman of The New York Post hears from a source that Terry Collins is anywhere from "a strong candidate to the front-runner" for the Mets managerial job. Collins will interview with new GM Sandy Alderson this weekend, and has a backer in Fred Wilpon. He's also a favorite of Paul DePodesta, who Alderson is trying to lure to New York.
  • Don Wakamatsu has plenty of job opportunities these days. FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal tweets that he has an offer to become the Blue Jays bench coach, an interview for the Mets manager's job forthcoming, and is also in the mix to be Baltimore's bench coach. 
  • Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik unsurprisingly declined to comment about Hisashi Iwakuma two days ago, according to Larry Stone of The Seattle Times. Last night we heard that the Mariners appear to be the favorites to land the righty.
  • Robert MacLeod of The Globe And Mail passes along a quote from Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos in which he indicates a willingness to bringing Kevin Gregg back. He just wasn't comfortable with the price of the reliever's options, which is why they were declined.
  • Scott Boras told MLB.com's Todd Zolecki that the Phillies "have the ability to do what they need to do to retain their players," referring to Jayson Werth. He compared Philadelphia's financial situation to that of the Yankees 
  • Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News offers some good and bad news about the Rangers' catching situation.
  • Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle speculates that the Giants will keep an eye on Derek Jeter's negotiations with the Yankees. GM Brian Sabean ran New York's farm system when Jeter was drafted, so there's a connection there in the unlikely event that he can't work out a deal with the Yanks.

Chicago Rumors: Dunn, Fukudome, Rasmus, Quentin

By | at

Let's round up the latest from the Windy City in one post. First up, Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune with the latest on the Cubs…

  • The Cubbies will not go overboard with their free agent spending because they vow to decrease payroll, so GM Jim Hendry needs to get creative to placate the fan base.
  • First base is the team's first priority and they'd like to acquire a lefty bat, so Adam Dunn is a popular target. If they can't afford him, they could turn to Aubrey Huff or Victor Martinez.
  • The Cubs might need to trade Kosuke Fukudome before signing any free agents, which won't be easy since he's owed $13.5MM in 2011. Hendry did find a taker for Milton Bradley last offseason though, so you never know.
  • Starting pitching is also on the team's wishlist. Jon Garland could be one option after hinting at being interested in pitching for the Cubs last offseason.
  • They would also like to add a veteran reliever to take some pressure off their young kids, but it's unclear if Kerry Wood will take a pay cut and assume a lesser role to return to the Cubs.

Now we'll head to the south side with Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune…

  • The White Sox already have $80.4MM committed to just 13 players for next season, and that doesn't include what is likely to be a sizable arbitration raise for John Danks. That puts them in a bit of bind when it comes to adding a left-handed bat.
  • They don't match up with the Cardinals for Colby Rasmus, who they're said to be targeting, though a trade is probably the route they'll have to go to add a bat.
  • GM Kenny Williams could try to fill several holes by trading one player, which he did when he sent Javier Vazquez to the Braves and Nick Swisher to the Yankees two years ago. He could use one of excess starters, perhaps Edwin Jackson or Gavin Floyd. That last part is just my speculation though.
  • The ChiSox also need to determine whether Carlos Quentin can return to his 2008 level, or if injuries will continue to take a toll.
  • They could look to make trades soon, then examine the pool of non-tenders for affordable relief help.

Tigers, Peralta Close To Completing New Deal

By | at

SUNDAY, 5:01pm: Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports confirms that Peralta and the Tigers are on the verge of finalizing a deal worth approximately $11MM. A major league source expects the team to announce the signing within the next week.

SATURDAY, 3:12pm: The Tigers and infielder Jhonny Peralta are close to completing a two-year deal worth $11.25MM, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes. Rojas' source says the two sides are just finishing up some minor details.

Detroit acquired the 28-year-old Peralta from the Indians at this year's trade deadline. He performed admirably with his new team, hitting .253/.314/.396 with eight homers in 242 plate appearances while moving back to shortstop. Rojas says the Tigers intend to use Peralta at short, unsurprising given Brandon Inge's new deal.

The Tigers declined their $7.25MM option on Peralta earlier this week, though both sides expressed a desire to keep the relationship going.

Orioles Notes: Free Agents, Expectations, Gonzalez

By | at

Let's round up the latest out of Baltimore…

  • MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli tweets that the Orioles are not expected to negotiate with any of their seven free agents before the exclusive window closes at midnight tonight. 
  • Andy MacPhail is expected to make a run at a starting pitcher and a bat for the middle of their order, but Peter Schmuck of The Baltimore Sun says not to anticipate the O's being first in line for any big name free agents.
  • MacPhail told Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun that he hasn't changed his philosophy of developing homegrown arms and "buying bats." Manager Buck Showalter added that "it's not a very good free-agent class," aside from the obvious exceptions.
  • In a separate piece, Connelly compares the team's 2007 roster to its 2010 roster. He notes that only one of the seven players the team signed as a major league free agent last year is guaranteed a job next year: Mike Gonzalez. 

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top