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Archives for November 2010

Casey Kotchman Hits Free Agency

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Casey Kotchman refused an outright assignment and is now a free agent, the Mariners announced. The move is essentially an early non-tender. Kotchman had zero trade value and would have been non-tendered in December, so the Mariners are allowing the first baseman to hit the free agent market a month early.

Kotchman, 27, earned $3.5MM last year and even a modest arbitration raise would have guaranteed him an unnecessarily high salary. He batted .217/.280/.336 last year in 457 plate appearances. Kotchman has a reputation as a good defender and he posted an .840 OPS in 2007, but he does not hit enough for a first baseman.

Podsednik Declines Option, Becomes A Free Agent

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Scott Podsednik declined his side of his mutual option with the Dodgers and will hit free agency. The Dodgers exercised their side of the option for $2MM two days ago, but Podsednik topped 525 plate appearances this year, so his contract gave him the choice between a $2MM salary or free agency.

Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times reported (on Twitter) that Podsednik turned down his side of the option and MLB.com's Ken Gurnick reported on Twitter that the Dodgers picked up theirs.

Podsednik, 35 in March, hit .297/.342/.382 in 595 plate appearances for the Royals and Dodgers this year.  He spent most of his time in left field, tallying 1078.6 innings there.  Given the weak free agent market for left fielders after Carl Crawford, it's not surprising that Podsednik chose free agency.

Four Tigers To Become Free Agents

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Eddie Bonine elected free agency and Jay Sborz, Max St. Pierre and Jeff Frazier will follow him to the open market this Saturday, according to the Tigers (on Twitter). Detroit outrighted the four players to Triple-A to create roster space.

Bonine pitched to a 4.63 ERA in 68 innings for the Tigers this year. The 29-year-old right-hander struck out 3.4 batters per nine and walked 2.9 per nine in his third big league season.

Sborz, 25, appeared in one game for the Tigers this year, but has spent most of his pro career in the minors. The right-hander has a 4.31 ERA and more than one strikeout per frame in 296 2/3 minor league innings pitched.

St. Pierre, a 14-year minor league veteran from Quebec, finally made his big league debut this year. He didn't do much in nine big league plate appearances, but the 30-year-old catcher did post a .274/.353/.479 line in the upper minors this year.

Frazier, 28, also made his big league debut in 2010. The 2004 third rounder batted .256/.306/.493 at Triple A with 25 homers while playing first base and both corner outfield positions.

Red Sox Acquire Brent Dlugach

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The Red Sox acquired Brent Dlugach from Detroit for a player to be named later or cash considerations, according to the Tigers (on Twitter). The 27-year-old shortstop batted .258/.303/.360 at Triple-A this year. He had three plate appearances for the Tigers in 2009, but has spent the rest of his seven-year pro career in the minor leagues. Detroit drafted Dlugach in the sixth round of the 2004 draft.

Red Sox Announce Three Option Decisions

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The Red Sox exercised the 2011 option for Scott Atchison and declined the options for Bill Hall and Felipe Lopez, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse (on Twitter). 

The Red Sox will only pay Atchison $40K more than the MLB minimum in 2011. That's a bargain considering the 34-year-old threw 60 innings of 4.50 ERA ball with 6.2 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 last year.

Boston chose to pay Hall a $500K buyout instead of guaranteeing him $9.25MM in 2011. The 30-year-old utility man batted .247/.316/.456 with 18 homers in 2010 and he played every position but first base and catcher (he even pitched). Hall is an unranked free agent, so the Red Sox won't obtain draft pick compensation if he signs elsewhere.

They could obtain a compensation pick if Lopez, a Type B free agent, turns down arbitration to sign elsewhere. That possibility appeared to contribute to the team's interest in the infielder when they signed him in September. Lopez batted .233/.311/.345 in 441 plate appearances for the Cardinals and Red Sox.

Red Sox Exercise David Ortiz’s 2011 Option

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The Red Sox exercised David Ortiz's $12.5MM option for 2011, according to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Big Papi has continually voiced his desire for a multi-year deal, but he's only under contract for 2011 at this point. The sides could renegotiate the deal to cover 2012 and beyond if the Red Sox like the idea of keeping Ortiz in Boston.

The 34-year-old recently told Rob Bradford that he considers himself “one of the best hitters in the game” and he has some impressive numbers on his side. Ortiz was among the American League leaders in slugging (8th, .529), OPS (8th, .899), home runs (5th, 32) and walks (9th, 82) this year.

The Rangers declined their side of the $9MM option for DH Vladimir Guerrero yesterday.

Nationals Aiming To Make A “Splash”

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The Nationals are going to pursue top players aggressively this offseason and they may be a sleeper team in the Cliff Lee sweepstakes, according to ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick. They are looking for an elite starter and Lee will be available to them within a few days.

"They're going to step up and try to get a top free agent,'' a baseball insider told Crasnick. "They'd like to make a splash.'' 

If Lee signs with the Yankees, the Rangers or someone else, the Nationals will consider trading for James Shields, Matt Garza or another potentially available starter. The Nationals have no interest in including Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa in potential trades, according to Crasnick.

The Nationals appear to be interested in Carl Crawford and have expressed interest in adding a top starter since the summer.

The Mets’ Decision To Hire J.P. Ricciardi

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The Mets know J.P. Ricciardi signed Vernon Wells, B.J. Ryan and Frank Thomas to questionable deals, but they still wanted to hire him. So did the Red Sox for that matter. But their interest in Ricciardi probably had little to do with those multi-million dollar contracts. Theo Epstein likely wanted the former Blue Jays GM around because of his shrewd under-the-radar pickups and consistently productive drafts. It was a major reason why Mets GM Sandy Alderson hired Ricciardi.

“I know first hand he’s a superb talent evaluator," Alderson said when the Mets announced the hiring earlier this week. "He’ll be a tremendous resource in a variety of areas.”

Ricciardi, Toronto’s GM from 2001-09, added expensive free agents who didn’t perform as expected so, like former Mets GM Omar Minaya, he got fired. It would be unwise to try to analyze Ricciardi’s tenure in Toronto in a few hundred words, but certain deals will give us insight into what the executive brings to the Mets and why Sandy Alderson wanted to reunite with his former Oakland colleague.

Every one of Ricciardi’s drafts from 2002-07 produced at least one major league regular. Dave Bush (2002), Shaun Marcum (2003), Aaron Hill (2003), Casey Janssen (2004), Adam Lind (2004), Ricky Romero (2005), Travis Snider (2006), Brett Cecil (2007) and J.P. Arencibia (2007) are all Ricciardi draftees. It’s still early to be evaluating the 2008-09 draft classes, but Tyler Pastornicky (2008, no longer with Toronto), Eric Thames (2008), Jacob Marisnick (2009) and Chad Jenkins (2009) are promising. 

Jose Bautista deserves credit for turning his career around, but Ricciardi was the one who traded for him. Ricciardi also bought low on Marco Scutaro, Rod Barajas, Scott Downs, Scott Richmond, Josh Towers and others. They aren’t all MVP candidates like Bautista, but none of those players cost the Jays much and they all contributed. 

Ricciardi overspent on free agents and, at times, on his own players. He signed Frank Thomas and A.J. Burnett to contracts that didn’t work out particularly well. The Blue Jays owe Vernon Wells $86MM through 2014 because of a deal they offered under Ricciardi. And the Blue Jays spent $10MM on B.J. Ryan this year because Ricciardi overpaid for his services after the 2005 season.

But Alderson didn’t hire Ricciardi to overpay for closers or center fielders (the Amazins already have that covered). With decades of experience in big league front offices, Ricciardi has developed an eye for talent that should help the Mets.

Cubs Notes: Nick Johnson, Wood, Payroll

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The Cubs plan to add a starter, a right handed reliever and a first baseman this offseason and the Chicago Sun-Times has the details on which players could be suiting up at Wrigley Field in 2011:

  • There are indications that GM Jim Hendry is focusing on “the likes of” Nick Johnson if the medicals look good enough. Johnson appeared in just 24 games last year, but has a .401 career on base percentage and doubles power. A year ago the Cubs signed another former Yankee coming off an injury-plagued season, but the Xavier Nady deal didn’t work out as well as the Cubs hoped.
  • Hendry is keeping an eye on Kerry Wood, a player who would reportedly interest the Cubs at the right price. The GM says he has a “wonderful relationship” with Wood, but insisted that it would be foolish to get into specifics.
  • The Cubs don’t have a firm payroll, but it still appears that the team will spend less than it did in 2010.

iPhone App Now Available

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Just in time for the offseason, our iPhone app is now available!  It is listed as Baseball Trade Rumors in the app store and costs $2.99.  You can search the store or just click this link.  The app has been described as "beyond belief" by legendary journalist Peter Gammons.

The bread and butter of the app is the customizable push notifications.  By default it sends an alert to your iPhone for all transactions, and you can also add alerts for any combination of players, teams, and leagues you desire.  If you want to be the first to know where Cliff Lee is headed, who the Tigers are looking at, or anything else hot stove-related, this app can accommodate you.

The headlines page of the app shows our 25 latest posts, no ads, easily refreshed.  Individual posts with hyperlinks can be viewed, of course.  You can also leave comments on MLBTradeRumors.com through the app.  Check it out today!

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