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Poll: First Big Name Free Agent To Sign

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The free agent market officially opens for business at 12:01am ET tonight, so the hot stove is about to kick into full gear. Big name free agents like Cliff Lee and Carl Crawford figure to receive massive contract offers from several teams, and chances are it'll take them a few weeks to decide on their next team. Adrian Beltre and Jayson Werth will enjoy the same experience.

On the eve of free agency, it's only natural to wonder which big domino will be the first to fall. Time for the poll…

Which big name free agent will be the first to sign?

Click here to vote, and here to see the results. 

Astros Will Not Pursue Lance Berkman

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The Astros will not make an attempt to bring Lance Berkman back to Houston this offseason, reports Mark Berman of FOX 26. Here's what GM Ed Wade had to say…

"I heard from (Berkman's agent) Mike Moye and he inquired about whether we had interest in bringing Lance back and I was candid with him and told him it didn't fit for us," said Wade. "As much as we love and respect Lance and what he's done for our organization, We had these internal conversations in July when we made the decision to go ahead and move him."

Berkman, 35 in February, spent parts of 12 seasons in Houston, hitting .296/.410/.549 with five All Star appearances and four top five finishes in the MVP voting. The Astros traded him to the Yankees for a pair of minor leagues at the trade deadline, and they declined his 2011 option a week or so ago.

Five More Potential Free Agents

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SATURDAY, 10:47am: CBSSports.com reports that German, Mathis, and McCarthy all refused the minor league assignments and elected to become free agents. 

FRIDAY, 3:54pm: Two White Sox will soon hit free agency and a trio of Rangers could join them before long. Left-hander Randy Williams and catcher Donny Lucy were outrighted and will soon become free agents, according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin (on Twitter).

Meanwhile, the Rangers outrighted Esteban German, Doug Mathis and Brandon McCarthy off of the 40-man roster and all three can become free agents, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. McCarthy was a non-tender candidate, though he's just 27, made 17 useful starts for the Rangers last year and posted a 3.36 ERA at Triple-A in 2010.

Nationals Outright Two, Olsen Elects Free Agency

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The Nationals have outrighted left-handers Scott Olsen and Jesse English off the 40-man roster, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Olsen elected to become a free agent, and as Ladson says in a second tweet, English will become a minor league free agent this afternoon.

Olsen, 27 in January, has thrown just 143.2 innings over the last two years (5.76 ERA). He had shoulder surgery in 2009, and spent a total of 84 days on the disabled list in 2010 with soreness and inflammation in the same shoulder. Olsen has also had numerous run-ins with teammates and the law off-the-field throughout his career.

English, 26, made seven relief appearances with Washington this year, his first taste of the big leagues. He allowed ten hits in seven innings, but just three runs. He has worked both as a starter and reliever during his minor league career.

Olney’s Latest: Gonzalez, Lee, Crawford, Jeter

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Two days ago we learned that Padres GM Jed Hoyer is willing to listen to trade offers for Adrian Gonzalez (and Heath Bell), unsurprising since the first baseman is reportedly seeking close to $22MM annually when he becomes a free agent next offseason. In today's blog post (Insider req'd), ESPN's Buster Olney lists a few reasons why the Pads are more likely to wait until the trade deadline to move their franchise player…

  • Ticket sales. After surprising success in 2010, the team doesn't want to lose the trust of the fans by dealing their best player before the season.
  • The Padres have a chance to compete in 2011 with Gonzalez in the middle of their lineup, but without him it'll be close to impossible.
  • Other clubs wanting to acquire Gonzalez might be more desperate during the summer, which could result in a better package for San Diego.
  • Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe points out that Hoyer and assistant GM Jason McLeod worked for the Red Sox before joining the Padres, so they have strong first-hand knowledge of Boston's prospects.

Here are the rest of Olney's rumors…

  • Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, and Jayson Werth will dominate the headlines when free agency begins at 12:01am ET Sunday morning, but Olney lists ten more interesting free agents, led by Joaquin Benoit, Pedro Feliciano, and Orlando Hudson.
  • The Yankees could place their first bid on Lee very soon, perhaps within 72 hours. Anthony McCarron of The New York Daily News hears something similar.
  • Crawford is in a unique situation because he's an elite player that could have six or more teams bidding for his services. Usually players of that caliber only have three or so teams after them.
  • The Yankees operate with the knowledge that no matter how popular the individual player is, the team and its fan base will move on. This of course refers to Derek Jeter.

Dodgers & Angels Notes: Payroll, Crawford, Werth

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Kevin Baxter and Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times bring us the latest from Tinseltown…

  • Pitching is the number one item on the Dodgers' shopping list this offseason. "Pitching is a priority — both starters and relievers," said GM Ned Colletti. "We're open-minded to both left-handers and right-handers."
  • Colletti declined to give an exact number, but he promised that payroll would rise from the $95MM or so they spent in 2010.
  • Ted Lilly might end up being the Dodgers' biggest pickup. They aren't likely to pursue Cliff Lee, and could instead turn to Carl Pavano, Javier Vazquez, and Jake Westbrook. Jon Garland, Hiroki Kuroda, and Vicente Padilla might also become options if their prices drop as the offseason progresses.
  • Colletti also wants to add a left fielder, "full time or platoon," plus figure out his bench and catching situation. Russell Martin is a non-tender candidate, but they could look at Miguel Olivo.
  • There is nothing to indicate that the Dodgers will make a run at either Carl Crawford or Jayson Werth. 
  • "We're going to be active. Whether it's via free agency or trades," said Angels GM Tony Reagins. "We're going to look at the opportunities and be aggressive when the opportunity presents itself."
  • Owner Arte Moreno is expected to approve a 10% payroll increase, pushing it to about $135MM. The team already has close to $93MM committed to 2011 contracts, not including the arbitration eligible Jered Weaver, Howie Kendrick, and Erick Aybar.
  • The Times' scribes call Werth and Adrian Beltre "more economical Plan B options" to Crawford, relatively speaking of course. Both Werth and Beltre are Scott Boras clients however, and the Angels still have a bad taste in their mouths from the Mark Teixeira negotiations two winters ago.
  • Rafael Soriano might be an option after Fernando Rodney's terrible finish (6.08 ERA after Sept. 1st).

Odds & Ends: Mets, Webb, Galarraga, Ring, Rasner

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Some links to check out on the 11th anniversary of the Indians signing Danys Baez to the largest amateur signing bonus in team history…

Amateur Signing Bonuses: Padres

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Let's take our amateur signing bonus series to California's second largest city…

  1. Donavan Tate, $6.25MM (2009)
  2. Matt Bush, $3.15MM (2004)
  3. Mark Phillips, $2.2MM (2000)
  4. Sean Burroughs, $2.1MM (1998)
  5. Adys Portillo, $2MM (2008)

The Padres are certainly a small market team, but in recent years they've made an effort to go out and spend the money required to sign premium young talent. They were unable to get 2010 first round pick Karsten Whitson (ninth overall) under contract, but they'll have two top 25 picks next year as a result.

San Diego made a statement in 2009 by taking the supremely talented (and Scott Boras client) Tate with the third overall pick and signing him to what was then the largest bonus ever given to a player as part of a minor league contract. Tate's career has been marred by injuries so far, as he's dealt with a broken jaw (suffered in an ATV accident), a sports hernia, a shoulder sprain, and a concussion (suffered when he was hit in the head by a pitch). In 107 professional plate appearances, he's a .222/.336/.344 hitter.

I think we all know the Matt Bush story. The Padres took him first overall in 2004 because they didn't want to spend the money needed to sign Stephen Drew or Jered Weaver, the top consensus talents in the draft class. Bush signed less than two weeks after the draft, and about a week after signing he was arrested for his role in a fight outside an Arizona nightclub. He never really hit in the minors, putting together a .219/.294/.276 batting line in 812 plate appearances before the team shifted him to the mound in 2007. Bush had Tommy John surgery not long after the conversion, costing him the entire 2008 season, and the Padres eventually designated him for assignment in February 2009 after he was allegedly involved in an assault on a high school campus. Although he's still trying to make it work as a pitcher, Bush is one of just three first overall picks to not reach the big leagues (joining Steve Chilcott and Brien Taylor).

San Diego drafted Phillips with the ninth overall pick in 2000, but his career was over seemingly before it even started. He performed well through 2001, but career started to deteriorate in 2002, when he walked 94 in 148.1 innings. The Padres traded him and Bubba Trammell to the Yankees in March 2003 for Rondell White, and Phillips walked more batters than he struck out (50 K, 51 BB) in his only season in New York's minor league season. Aside from a brief comeback attempt with an independent league team in 2007, he's been out of baseball since 2004.

Burroughs, yet another ninth overall pick, was one of the game's very best prospects around the turn of the century thanks to his absurd hitting ability. He reached Triple-A at just 20 years old, and hit .332/.397/.459 in the minors before starting the 2002 season as the Padres' third baseman. Burroughs was just okay as a rookie (.271/.317/.323) but he improved the next year (.286/.352/.402). Ultimately it never worked out in San Diego, as Burroughs hit .282/.340/.360 in four years with the team before being dealt to Tampa Bay after the 2005 season for Dewon Brazelton, an exchange of high draft picks (Brazelton was selected third overall in 2001) in need of a change of scenery.

Portillo signed for what was then the largest bonus ever given to a Venezuelan born player, and he's currently working his way up the minor league ladder. In 116.2 innings, he's pitched to a 4.94 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9.

Bidding For Iwakuma Closes, Mariners The Favorite?

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NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman passes along a report saying that the bidding has closed for Japanese righty Hisashi Iwakuma (via Twitter), and a report from Sports Hochi (article in Japanese) indicates that the Mariners appear to be the favorite to land him. More than one team submitted a bid, and Seattle reportedly wagered $13MM.

The above reports indicate that Iwakuma prefers the West Coast, but neither the Angels nor Dodgers planned to submit a bid. Both the Yankees and Diamondbacks scouted him during the season, though whether or not they chose to pursue him remains to be seen. The Rakuten Golden Eagles were hoping to land $16MM-17MM in the posting process, though it appears they might fall a little short of that.

The Mariners have a long history with Japanese-born players, none more notable that Ichiro Suzuki. In recent years they've also employed Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Kazuhiro Sasaki, and Kenji Johjima, among others.

Brewers Notes: Bush, Capuano, Counsell, Dillard

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The Brewers introduced new manager Ron Roenicke at a press conference on Thursday, and GM Doug Melvin spoke to the media about the upcoming free agent period afterwards. Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel fills us in on the details…

  • Melvin told right-hander Dave Bush that "he should test the market." Bush didn't take it as a sign that the team will not attempt to re-sign him however, he told Haudricourt that Melvin encouraged him to explore the market since it's his first time as a free agent.
  • Melvin indicated that he had calls into the agents for Chris Capuano and Craig Counsell, and that it's possible he'll make them offers before other teams can jump in.
  • There has been no indication that the team will try to bring Trevor Hoffman, Doug Davis, and/or Gregg Zaun back. The Brewers recently declined the club options for all three players.
  • MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports that Milwaukee has re-signed right-hander Tim Dillard to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training. The 27 year old spent the season in Triple-A working on a new sidearm delivery. 

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