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2011 Contract Issues: New York Yankees

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The Yankees face one contractual option after the season: designated hitter Nick Johnson has a $5.5MM mutual option with a $250K buyout.  Johnson is currently on the DL with an inflamed tendon in his wrist.  It seems unlikely that both sides will exercise the option.

If Johnson goes, the Yankees will be freeing up a total of $67.7MM for departing free agents.  Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, and Javier Vazquez lead the way.  We'll also tack on another $2.2375 for Alex Rodriguez's salary decrease and money no longer paid to Chad Gaudin and Melky Cabrera.  That's $70MM coming off the books.

Increases to players under contract total $8.5MM, with Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, and Robinson Cano getting raises.  The Yankees also have Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes hitting arbitration for the first time.  Boone Logan would be a second-timer, while Sergio Mitre fits into the fourth-time class.  Even adding in the arbitration raises, the Yankees should have a good $55MM to work with without raising payroll.

Of course, a large chunk of that $55MM or so will be allocated toward new contracts for Jeter, Rivera, and possibly Pettitte.  If all three re-sign near their 2010 salaries, it'll eat up most of the free money.  In that case a payroll increase would be necessary to get into the mix on other big-name free agents.

Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the information.

Boras To Represent 17-Year-Old Korean

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Agent Scott Boras will represent 17-year-old Korean pitcher Sung-hyuk Han, according to Whan-woo Yi of the Korea Times. The high school senior is set to graduate early next year, at which point his father has authorized Boras to enter discussions with big league teams.

The Korea Times labels Han a top local prospect and notes that he throws a 93 mph fastball. Several MLB teams have been keeping tabs on the righty, according to the pitcher's father. Check out our list of Scott Boras clients here.

Odds & Ends: Anderson, Penny, Mariners, Zito

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Links for Tuesday, as J.J. Hardy hits the disabled list…

Possible Areas Of Concern: Nationals, Cubs, D’Backs

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It's still early – probably too early to draw definite conclusions about teams' strengths and weaknesses – but let's take a look at some clubs that could look to improve in certain areas. This is purely speculative, and remember – these weaknesses could become strengths in a matter of weeks.

Melvin: Brewers Expect To Add Minor League Depth

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The Brewers will look outside the organization to replace Adam Stern at Triple A, GM Doug Melvin told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy (Twitter link). The Brewers called on Stern when they placed Carlos Gomez on the disabled list today, so they are looking to add depth in the minor leagues.

Stern, 30, hasn't played in the majors since 2007. He's off to a good start in Triple A Nashville, hitting .349/.429/.442 in 49 trips to the plate. McCalvy wonders if the Brewers could acquire Frank Catalanotto, who the Mets designated for assignment yesterday, to replace Stern at Triple A. Catalanotto was off to a poor start for the Mets, but he did hit .278/.346/.382 in 162 plate appearances for Milwaukee last year.

Gomez isn't the team's only banged up outfielder. Ryan Braun is sitting tonight's game out after being hit by a pitch from Tommy Hanson.

Why The Mariners Don’t Need A Lefty Reliever

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Believe it or not, the Mariners have not used a left-handed reliever all season long. Conventional wisdom would have us believe that every bullpen needs a lefty or two to retire opponents' best left-handed bats in close games. But Mariners pitching coach John Wetteland is willing to challenge conventional wisdom.

"You don't need to have a lefty in the 'pen just because it's obvious that lefties do well against lefty hitters," Wetteland told MLB.com's Doug Miller last week.

Wetteland knows that as well as anyone. The righty allowed a .223/.292/.346 career line against lefty batters – not far from the line Wetteland allowed against righties. But not every reliever is as well-equipped to shut batters on both sides of the plate down.

To find out if Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik needs to add a left-handed reliever, let's see how the bullpen has done against lefties. Five weeks of data isn't much, so let's take a look at the numbers Mariners relievers have posted against lefties in their respective careers.

  • Shawn Kelley – He has done much better against lefties in his career, limiting them to a .219/.268/.314 line.
  • Sean White – His .219/.312/.322 line against lefties is quite good. However, left-handed batters are hitting just .225 on balls in play and homering on 4.5% of their fly balls against White. Both of those figures can be expected to rise and when they do, White's slash line will likely rise, too.
  • David Aardsma – His .248/.363/.331 line is actually better than his line against righties.
  • Kanekoa Texeira – Though Texeira has faced lefties just 26 times in the majors, his .208/.269/.292 line looks promising. Texeira struck out 106 batters in as many innings against lefties in his minor league career.
  • Brandon League – His .284/.343/.453 line against lefties does not inspire much confidence, but League has allowed homers on 18.4% of fly balls against him and allowed a batting average of .321 on balls in play, which suggests he has been unlucky against lefties in his career.
  • Mark Lowe – He has an ugly .298/.382/.514 line against lefties in his career. As Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner noted earlier in the month, Lowe is "something of a glorified right-handed specialist." Lowe is now on the DL with an inflamed disc in his lower back.
  • Jesus Colome – Lefties have hit .275/.382/.449 against Colome, so the Mariners should minimize his exposure to lefties.
  • Ian Snell – Snell has allowed lefties to post a .294/.386/.484 line against him in his career. He should face righties whenever possible.

It turns out that Don Wakamatsu has more than enough weapons to retire opposing left-handers, especially now that Kelley's back on the team. But the Mariners have to use their 'pen carefully. Aardsma, Texeira and Kelley can succeed against lefty batters, but Colome, Snell and eventually Lowe should not face lefties in close games. The Mariners have their share of issues these days and their bullpen could be better, but Zduriencik can ignore conventional wisdom and proceed without acquiring a lefty.

Where Could Alex Gordon Go?

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Let's face it: if the Royals aren't going to give Alex Gordon a chance to play regularly when they are 11-21, 10 games out of first, and weeks shy of Memorial Day, he has fallen out of favor with the club. After just 38 plate appearances, the Royals sent Gordon - the player they once selected him second overall - to Triple-A to make way for… Alberto Callaspo.

But Gordon, still just 26, is a career .320/.433/.577 hitter in the minor leagues. Clearly, some team should take a flier on Gordon as a possible long-term answer at third base. Which teams are best suited to do so, and how much is it likely to cost?

  • The Phillies seem like an interesting landing spot for Gordon, though not at first blush. Placido Polanco, after all, is signed through 2012. But Gordon could be an upgrade from Greg Dobbs at the very least. If Gordon fulfills his promise, the Phils could attempt to deal Polanco. More to the point, Gordon seems to fit the Phillies' template- his acquisition would be akin to the buy-low on Jayson Werth– and Philadelphia has depth in the farm system. A couple of their secondary pitching prospects could get it done.
  • The Orioles have a combined zero homers from Rhyne Hughes and Garrett Atkins, so Gordon could appeal to them as an option at first. Corner infield prospects Brandon Snyder and Josh Bell lurk in the minors, but with Miguel Tejada locked up for just one year, Gordon would provide the O's with depth and upside.
  • The Athletics don't have a ton in the way of a present or future player blocking Gordon. Kevin Kouzmanoff is a decent option, but he hardly has Gordon's upside at this point. With a number of nearly-ready pitching prospects to integrate into a young staff, the Athletics could well deal from pitching depth for Gordon, too.
  • The Padres are another possible landing spot, with Chase Headley unlikely to keep up his batting average-fueled start. San Diego has several third base prospects, including James Darnell, who Baseball America ranked as the organization's third-best prospect heading into the season. Still, none of the Padres prospects have even proven themselves at Double-A, so acquiring Gordon and giving him the chance to win the third base job wouldn't impact any of them in the short-term. It would also echo the acquisition of another buy-low, former top draft pick: Adrian Gonzalez. A package of one of the Padres' third base prospects and a pitcher should be enough to pry Gordon loose.

Chipper Puts Retirement Talk To Rest

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Chipper Jones is no longer thinking about retiring before his contract expires, reports David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Jones, 38, is under contract through 2012 and the Braves have a $7MM club option for 2013. After a disappointing 2009 season (at least by Jones' standards), Chipper said he didn't want to play if he wasn't producing at his usual level. Now, the third baseman is no longer contemplating retirement.

“I’m good,” Jones said. “I feel like I’m doing my job. There hasn’t been a point where I got in bed and couldn’t sleep because I’m worried about what’s going on."

Jones has a .230/.402/.368 line so far this year and while his slugging percentage has dropped for a third consecutive season, Jones points to his league-leading 25 walks. Those free passes have kept his on base percentage near his career average, so Jones is content to keep playing. The 17-year veteran is set to make $28MM in 2011-12.

Who Could Use Adam LaRoche?

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When we spoke to executives in March, Adam LaRoche's name came up as one of the best free agent signings of the offseason.  Power is typically expensive on the free agent market, but the Diamondbacks signed LaRoche in January to a one-year, $6MM deal with a mutual option for 2011.  LaRoche had reportedly turned down a better proposal from the Giants, but the first baseman qualified that offer by explaining "It was two years with three- or four-year options."

LaRoche is off to a .255/.367/.480 start for Arizona in his first 120 plate appearances.  He answered a long-time criticism by hitting well in the season's first month, though he'd done that in '09 too.  LaRoche has also mashed left-handed pitching in a tiny 32 plate appearance sample; that deficiency may also have been overstated.

On April 22nd, ESPN's Jayson Stark named LaRoche as a potential midseason trade candidate.  Stark suggested LaRoche's mutual option could be a complication, as it increases by $2MM if he's traded.  I don't think that will be a concern, though, as mutual options are rarely exercised by both sides.

Which contenders could use a boost at first base?  The Rangers might consider a rental, depending on how Justin Smoak performs over the next few months.  The Mariners could find LaRoche to be an upgrade over Casey Kotchman, which would be interesting since the two were traded for each other last year.  The Marlins could take LaRoche for a few months, as they did with Nick Johnson last year.  LaRoche may join Brandon Webb, Chris Snyder, and Chad Qualls on the trade market if the D'Backs become sellers later this year.

White Sox Sign Alan Embree

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The White Sox signed lefty Alan Embree to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple A Charlotte, tweets MLB.com's Scott Merkin.  Embree was designated for assignment by the Red Sox earlier this month, and elected free agency after he cleared waivers.  Embree has been in the White Sox organization before, tossing 34 innings for them in '01 back when Kenny Williams was basically a rookie GM.

Embree, 40, tossed 7.3 innings for Boston's Triple A club this year.  In 2009, he posted a 5.84 ERA in 24.6 innings for the Rockies before a July line drive from Martin Prado fractured his tibia.  Chicago's pen currently has Matt Thornton and Randy Williams coming from the left side.  It's only a seven-inning sample, but Williams has struggled against left-handed hitters this year.

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