Orioles Decline Option On Hendrickson
The Orioles officially declined their $1.2MM club option on lefty Mark Hendrickson, according to a team press release. They'll pay a $200K buyout instead. The move was widely expected.
Hendrickson, a 6'9" southpaw, turned 36 in June. This year he posted a 5.26 ERA, 6.6 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, 1.1 HR/9, and 42.9% groundball rate in 75.3 innings. He deserved an ERA more like 4.18, according to Baseball Prospectus' SIERA stat. Hendrickson's FanGraphs splits show he's been plenty effective against left-handed batters over the past few years.
Porter Joins Nats; Marlins Likely To Hire Rodriguez
The Marlins definitely won't be hiring Bo Porter and Edwin Rodriguez's chances of remaining the team's manager are looking better and better. The Nationals announced that Porter agreed to be Jim Riggleman's third base coach, so he's no longer in the running for Florida's managerial opening. Meanwhile, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports that the Marlins are "expected" to announce that they will retain Rodriguez as manager.
Rodriguez, who appeared in 11 games for the Yankees and Padres from 1982-85, led the Marlins to a 46-46 record this year. He is the first Puerto Rican-born manager in big league history.
Porter spent last season on Arizona’s coaching staff, first as third base coach and then as bench coach. He arrived in Arizona after three seasons in the Florida organization, where he worked with current National Josh Willingham.
Non-Tender Candidates
By our count, there are 225 arbitration eligible players. Of those, about 80 might be considered non-tender candidates. The deadline to decide is December 2nd, ten days earlier than years past. Non-tendering a player makes him a free agent.
How do I define a non-tender candidate? In my mind, it means the player has at least a 25% chance of being cut loose. This is a subjective list, one that I may revise in a few weeks. I've run it by a few people in the game to ensure there's nothing horribly wrong, but the list is mainly my opinion based on trying to predict non-tenders for the past several years. The links go to non-tender candidate posts we've done.
Position players
Willy Aybar
Clint Barmes
Travis Buck
Ryan Church
Jack Cust
Matt Diaz
Edwin Encarnacion
Josh Fields
Mike Fontenot
Jeff Francoeur
Kevin Frandsen
Esteban German
Alberto Gonzalez
Tony Gwynn
Scott Hairston
J.J. Hardy
Joe Inglett
Conor Jackson
Dan Johnson
Casey Kotchman
Kevin Kouzmanoff
Ryan Langerhans
Andy LaRoche
Fred Lewis
James Loney
Jose Lopez
Andy Marte
Russell Martin
Jeff Mathis
Corky Miller
Dioner Navarro
Wil Nieves
Laynce Nix
Augie Ojeda
Ronny Paulino
Brayan Pena
Humberto Quintero
Jason Repko
Ryan Theriot
Reggie Willits
Josh Wilson
Dewayne Wise
Delwyn Young
Pitchers
Jeremy Accardo
Matt Albers
Brian Bannister
Boof Bonser
Blaine Boyer
Jared Burton
Tim Byrdak
D.J. Carrasco
Gustavo Chacin
Todd Coffey
Clay Condrey
Lance Cormier
Kyle Davies
Manny Delcarmen
Zach Duke
Chad Gaudin
Angel Guzman
J.P. Howell
Bobby Jenks
Jeff Karstens
Wil Ledezma
John Maine
Brandon McCarthy
Dustin McGowan
Andrew Miller
Zach Miner
Sergio Mitre
Dustin Moseley
Pat Neshek
Dustin Nippert
Hideki Okajima
Scott Olsen
Tony Pena
Glen Perkins
Chris Ray
George Sherrill
Joe Smith
Brian Tallet
Tyler Walker
Chien-Ming Wang
Sean White
Joel Zumaya
Tigers Decline Option On Jhonny Peralta
The Tigers declined their $7.25MM option on shortstop Jhonny Peralta, according to the team's Twitter feed. They'll pay a $250K buyout instead. Via that same feed comes a quote from Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski: "We remain optimistic that a deal can be worked out between Jhonny and the club." MLB.com's Jason Beck exchanged emails with Peralta's agent Seth Levinson, who shares Dombrowski's optimism.
Peralta, 28, is eligible for free agency for the first time in his career. This year he hit .249/.311/.392 with 15 home runs in 615 plate appearances for the Indians and Tigers, coming to Detroit in a July 28th trade. He played third base exclusively this year for the Indians, but spent most of his time with the Tigers at shortstop. With Brandon Inge already locked in, the Tigers would continue to use Peralta at short. On October 26th, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports wrote that the team is "expected to reach an agreement" with Peralta on a two-year deal, perhaps a touch less than Inge's $11.5MM. It seems unlikely that the Tigers would offer Peralta arbitration on the November 23rd deadline, but he is a Type B free agent.
Free Agent Market For Left-handed Starters
The free agent market for right-handed starters mainly offered innings eaters. Here's a look at the available southpaws.
Baseball's Sixth $100MM Pitcher
He may have taken the loss in two World Series games, but Cliff Lee is still the marquee name among all free agent starting pitchers. The 32-year-old has a 2.98 ERA, 7.2 K/9, 1.3 BB/9, and 0.61 HR/9 in 667.3 regular season innings since 2008. He tossed 248 innings this year including the playoffs despite not making his first start until April 30th. Lee is eligible for free agency for the first time in his career and will finally get to settle down with one team. For more on his market, check out Mike Axisa's October 4th post.
Strong, Abbreviated Seasons
As usual, Andy Pettitte's options appear to be retirement or a return to the Yankees. That leaves Jorge de la Rosa as the second-best lefty available and perhaps the second-best starter overall since the Dodgers locked up Ted Lilly. As a Type A free agent, De La Rosa will cost a draft pick along with his contract. De La Rosa, 30 in April, missed ten weeks this season with a torn tendon in his finger. He throws hard, strikes out plenty, gets groundballs, and walks too many.
Three Semi-Interesting Names
If you dig a bit you'll find Hisanori Takahashi, Chris Capuano, and Bruce Chen as a trio of lefties capable of starting. All three had decent peripherals as starters this year, though only Chen topped 100 innings in the role.
Hoping To Stay Healthy
Jamie Moyer and Jeff Francis managed to top 100 innings despite injuries, while Doug Davis, Erik Bedard, and Mike Hampton didn't pitch much if at all. Francis' shoulder remains a concern, but he'll be 30 in January and may have something left to offer.
Looking For Work
Nate Robertson and Dontrelle Willis will have to prove themselves in the minors, as might Jarrod Washburn after sitting out 2010. Rich Hill and Mark Hendrickson are in a similar boat; all of these guys should be flexible on their roles.
Non-Tender Candidates
Zach Duke, Scott Olsen, Andrew Miller, Brian Tallet, and Glen Perkins are the names to watch here. Duke, 28 in April, has been useful at times but dealt with elbow trouble this year. Olsen's issue was his shoulder. Miller was once among the game's top prospects; Mike Axisa discussed his case on Saturday.
Summary
Many teams in the starting pitching hunt just won't have the cash to seriously bid for Lee. De La Rosa will get plenty of action, but there aren't many other free agent lefties you'd plug into a rotation.
Rangers Notes: Cliff Lee, Vlad, Molina
It was a bittersweet ending for the Rangers last night, but they're still the AL champions. They're planning to raise payroll, and now it's time to focus on Cliff Lee. The Dallas Morning News has a bunch of quotes from the free agent market's top starter. This cover-your-bases excerpt implies he'll at least test the market:
This is the first time I've been a free agent and I'm going to see what that's all about. It's an earned right by a player once you get six-plus years, and I'm going to take advantage of that and see where it leads me. I know I've enjoyed it here and I'm never ruling out the possibility of coming back, but I've got to play things out and see how it goes. I know this was a great group of guys, a lot of fun, and I would love to be a part of it next year, but there's so many things that could happen, you never know. There's a lot of things I've got to weigh into that. There's a lot of variables, what's best for my family, that's going to be a huge part of it. I want to be on a winning team. Obviously, this is one of those. We'll see, there's no telling what's going to happen.
Regarding the Rangers' other free agents:
- Designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero has a $9MM mutual option for 2011. GM Jon Daniels told Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News, "We're not going to evaluate him on two weeks of games when he's had a career of excellent performance."
- Catcher Bengie Molina didn't rule out playing next year, talking to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
- The Rangers' other free agents are Cristian Guzman, Jorge Cantu, Frank Francisco, and Matt Treanor. Their ten arbitration eligible players should eat up a chunk of the payroll increase: Nelson Cruz, David Murphy, Darren O'Day, Josh Hamilton, Mark Lowe, Dustin Nippert, Jeff Francoeur, C.J. Wilson, Brandon McCarthy, and Esteban German. Nippert, Francoeur, McCarthy, and German are non-tender candidates, in my estimation.
Torrealba Declines Mutual Option
Catcher Yorvit Torrealba has declined his side of his mutual option with the Padres, reports Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The option, which was for $3.5MM, still pays a $500K buyout to Torrealba.
Torrealba, 32, hit .271/.343/.378 this year in 363 plate appearances for the Padres. He caught 795.6 innings, with Nick Hundley taking the rest. Torrealba threw out 37% of baserunners, his best mark since '06. He's a solid regular in a free agent market with about eight of them. Torrealba is a Type B free agent, so the Padres could get a draft pick if they offer arbitration and he turns it down and signs elsewhere.
Giants Notes: Sabean, Bochy, Renteria
You just won the World Series. What are you doing next? A few notes from the Giants' celebration…
- Giants president Larry Baer and owner Bill Neukom are expected to have discussions about extending the contracts of manager Bruce Bochy and GM Brian Sabean, writes Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. Both are under contract through 2011 with club options for '12.
- World Series MVP Edgar Renteria remains undecided about playing next year, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Given the free agent market for shortstops, the 34-year-old would be able to find work. He's already filed for free agency; the team buying out his $10.5MM club option for $500K is a formality.
- The Giants' other free agents, all of whom already filed: Jose Guillen, Pat Burrell, Juan Uribe, Aubrey Huff, and Guillermo Mota. They've got eight players eligible for arbitration: Andres Torres, Jonathan Sanchez, Ramon Ramirez, Mike Fontenot, Santiago Casilla, Cody Ross, Chris Ray, and Javier Lopez.
The Offseason Begins
Congratulations to the World Champion San Francisco Giants and their fans! The offseason officially begins today – 142 players immediately filed for free agency. This year the exclusive negotiating period has been shortened to five days, so free agents can talk dollars only with their old teams until Sunday. As always, MLB Trade Rumors will be your one-stop shop for all the signings, trades, and rumors. Click here to see our list of free agents, including Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Adam Dunn, Adrian Beltre, Jayson Werth, Victor Martinez, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, and many more.
Last Year’s Non-Tenders
Every year, non-tendered players provide teams with extra options for upside gambles and role players. This year's non-tender deadline is just over a month away, so let's take a look at last year's non-tenders:
- Of the 38 non-tenders, ten (26%) re-signed with their former club. Ryan Langerhans, Jack Cust, Adam Miller, Anthony Reyes, Raul Chavez, Mark Worrell, Jackson Quezada, Mark DiFelice, Jonny Gomes and Scott Olsen returned to their old organizations.
- Garrett Atkins signed for more than any other non-tender. He got a $4.5MM guarantee from the Orioles and the Orioles got a .214/.276/.286 line from Atkins. The Rockies must be glad they didn't offer arbitration and get stuck paying Atkins $7-8MM for that performance.
- Six players (Atkins, Matt Capps, John Buck, Kelly Johnson, Chien-Ming Wang and Jack Cust) signed for $2MM or more. Only Atkins and Wang were flops.
- Two 2009 non-tenders, Buck and Capps, made the All-Star team.
- These five non-tenders shaped the 2010 pennant race.
- Click here to check out which teams have non-tendered the most players since 2007.