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Red Sox Sign Cuban Catcher Ibarra

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The Red Sox signed Cuban catcher Adalberto Ibarra to a five-year Major League deal, according to Cubanballplayers.com.  Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe confirmed the signing with Ibarra's agent Edwin Mejia.  Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald says the deal guarantees $3MM, "with incentives that could bring the total to $4.3MM."  Silverman says Ibarra will report to the team's minor league complex before they decide where to assign him.

Ibarra, 22, played catcher, first base, second base, and third base in Cuba, but Cubanballplayers.com says the Sox view him as a backstop.  According to Silverman, he hasn't focused on catching until the last few years.

2011 Contract Issues: San Diego Padres

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The Padres face four contractual options after the season:

  • Starting pitcher Chris Young has an $8.5MM club option.  This year he made his April 6th debut start before hitting the disabled list with a strain of his surgically-repaired shoulder.  This DL stint appears minor, but looking at the bigger picture the Padres will likely decline Young's option.
  • Adrian Gonzalez's $5.5MM club option for 2011 is a mere formality.
  • The Padres have a pair of mutual options in Jon Garland and Yorvit Torrealba.  It's rare to see both sides exercise such an option.

Four more players are up for free agency: Kevin Correia, David Eckstein, Jerry Hairston Jr., and Matt Stairs.  The four make a combined $7.425MM in 2010.  Young, Garland, and Torrealba make $11.7MM, bringing the total freed up to $19.125MM (minus a million or so in buyouts).  So, about $18MM will come off the books if everyone but Gonzalez leaves.

Gonzalez will get a $750K bump; that's it for players under contract.  First-time arbitration-eligibles include Tony Gwynn Jr., Edward Mujica, and Tim Stauffer.  Mike Adams will go for a second time, while Heath Bell and Scott Hairston go for a third.  Regarding Bell, we may have overestimated his potential raise in suggesting earlier that he could double his $4MM salary.  Think $6-7MM instead.

Even holding payroll at $38MM and retaining all arbitration-eligible players, the Padres would have over $10MM to spend in the winter of 2010-11.  A few midseason trades, a handful of non-tenders, and a higher payroll would increase the spending money.

Ian Stewart Q&A

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Rockies third baseman Ian Stewart broke out with 25 home runs last year, and he's raking early on in 2010.  The 25-year-old Stewart is Internet-savvy as well – he answered questions for MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith recently and can be followed on Twitter here.

MLB Trade Rumors: You made it to the majors as a 22-year-old. What was the biggest adjustment you've had to make as you've gone from rookie to regular?

Ian Stewart: The biggest adjustment I have had to make is just making sure that I am ready to play every day. Since I got to the big leagues in 2007, I haven't been a starter. I used to come to the field knowing I probably wasn't going to play that day because we had Atkins at third and Helton at first. Todd hurt his back in 2008 so I ended with a lot of playing time toward the end of the year and when Jim Tracy took over last year I played a lot as well. I think those two examples helped me prepare for being the starter during this 2010 season.

MLBTR: It's funny when Dexter Fowler introduces Todd Helton to Twitter in one of the Rockies' new commercials, but seriously – is it distracting to have so much information about you and your teammates online?

Stewart: Personally, I don't think it's that big of a deal. For me, there really hasn't been anything too personal showing up on any website or anything. We have such a good group of guys that I'm not you would find much out about anyone.

MLBTR: What was it like to hear Garrett Atkins come up in trade talks last year, when you would usually be mentioned as the reason for why the Rockies could afford to move on and get younger?

Stewart: Honestly I didn't pay much attention to it. Garrett was a teammate and friend of mine so I hoped he wouldn't have to leave. I realize this is a business though and am grateful for the opportunity the Rockies have given me.

MLBTR: Some people give the Rockies lots of credit for having a homegrown roster. Others doubt that it makes much of a difference in terms of wins and losses. Does the fact that so many players came up through the system together mean the Rockies win more games?

Stewart: This is a tough question to answer because I don't know any different than what the Rockies do here. We have a very special thing going on in Denver. Our whole team has practically all grown up in the minor leagues and big leagues together and I can't begin to explain how awesome that is. Does it give us any kind of an advantage? I don't know. But you definitely won't find a closer-knit group of players anywhere else.

MLBTR: If you were running a major league team, what kind of club would you put together? Lots of pitching? Lots of speed? Lots of power?

Stewart: You forgot defense. I would say a mix of pitching and defense. I feel that pitching and defense wins championships.

GM Initiation: Neal Huntington

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Neal Huntington took over as GM of the Pirates on September 25th, 2007.  He was active on the waiver wire out of the gate, but his first trade didn't come until December 7th.  Huntington struck a deal with the Brewers, sending reliever Salomon Torres to Milwaukee for pitching prospects Marino Salas and Kevin Roberts.

Huntington kindly answered a few questions for MLBTR about his first trade.

MLB Trade Rumors: Torres dropped his grievance before you took over as Pirates GM.  Did his request to be traded still stand?  If so, did it limit your leverage?

Neal Huntington: The reality was that we had very little to no leverage because we had a disgruntled 36-year-old relief pitcher coming off an injury-plagued and disappointing performance season that was due to make over $3MM. Despite acknowledging the lack of leverage and lack of quality market, we made the decision it was time to move beyond the player, work to re-allocate the dollars and get the best return we could for him. Obviously we dealt from weakness and it did not turn out the way we would have preferred.

MLBTR: What kind of relationship did you have with Brewers GM Doug Melvin prior to the deal?

Huntington: I knew Doug through baseball circles but did not have much of a relationship with him beyond a cursory level.

MLBTR: Torres considered retirement after learning he was traded to the Brewers.  Had he retired, would you have considered reversing the trade or compensating the Brewers somehow?

Huntington: Fortunately we did not have to work through an alternative scenario, but ethically we would have been compelled to consider alternatives.

MLBTR: What did you see in Salas and Roberts, the two relief prospects acquired for Torres?  In hindsight, were better players available?

Huntington: The scouting reports indicated both pitchers had good arms with potential major league caliber breaking balls but both were on the small side of ideal and had some command issues. A quick review of the list of players available at the time confirms that despite our efforts to ask for more, it was a limited selection pool due to the issues surrounding the player and our lack of leverage.

MLBTR: In your two full seasons as Pirates' GM, the team's relief ERAs have been at or near the bottom of the NL.  Revamping the pen by bringing in veteran free agents Octavio Dotel, Brendan Donnelly, D.J. Carrasco, Javier Lopez, and others this winter – did that represent a change in bullpen-building philosophy for you?

Huntington: The philosophy remained the basically the same but we had fewer internal options with which to build the 2010 bullpen. We believe building a bullpen is the most unpredictable and the most difficult part of a ball club to put in place. The inconsistency in the year to year performance of the large percentage of major league relievers makes it difficult to for a club with our resources to invest significant dollars or years into relievers. As a result, we look for subjective and objective indicators of potential bounce-back candidates and/or look to provide ourselves with different complimentary attributes (power arm (K’s) / ground ball guys / arm slots / etc.) to provide numerous options for our manager to utilize in the various leverage situations.

In 2008 we had a solid back end with Capps, Grabow, Marte and Yates but our middle relievers really struggled. In 2009 we had a few solid pieces but we had our struggles throughout all portions of the game. As we prepared for 2010 we wanted to add depth and complimentary options. We felt that Dotel could give us similar performance level for similar dollars and contractual control as Capps (despite the age difference). We liked what each of the free agents brought to the table as we constructed our bullpen and we felt that the addition of some veterans in the bullpen would help our young relievers mature into reliable high leverage relievers as well as provide us with much needed depth.

Thanks to Neal Huntington for his time.  Be sure to check out the other entries on the GM Initiation series: Jon Daniels and Josh Byrnes.

Dominican Scouts, MLB At Impasse Over Prospects

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Amidst three hours of meetings with Dominican baseball officials, trainers, and scouts last Thursday, MLB Dominican office boss Sandy Alderson gave a description of his work on the island to Yahoo's Jeff Passan in terms extending beyond talk of steroids, bonus-skimming and age fraud. His goals also included winning over the Dominican baseball community's proverbial hearts and minds.

"It's trying to convince people of what the mission here is and that my goal is really a constructive one," Alderson said. "I'm here to preserve what baseball and the Dominican Republic have while, at the same time, eliminating those problems that cast baseball, and the Dominican Republic itself, in a negative way." By these standards, the results of a busy week of meetings and press conferences were mixed at best, as Alderson won over some former critics to his vision of reform and left others firmer and louder in their opposition.

On the positive side, he met with Dominican journalists on Thursday and insisted that the oft-expressed fears of the Dominican Republic ending up a second-tier MLB talent source such as Puerto Rico were unfounded, due to fundamental differences in the islands' respective politics, baseball culture, and, of course, the immense investments made by MLB franchises in the Dominican Republic. This explanation won over Listin Diario baseball columnist Mario Emilio Guerrero, who had previously labeled Alderson's ideas "a stab to the heart of Dominican baseball" and tied them to anti-Latino racism. In a new column this Sunday, Guerrero said he would now "give Alderson the benefit of the doubt," assured that implementing the draft was not one of his foremost priorities.

On the negative side, protests continued outside of MLB's offices in Santo Domingo, as did calls for increased government presence in the proceedings. More pointedly, the week also saw an escalation in the conflict between MLB and Dominican scouts, and a preview of the form that conflict will likely take in the future. In response to fears that they were being shut out of the reform conversation, scouts and trainers utilized perhaps the only substantive recourse they could take against a billion-dollar sports league with an imperial grip on their national economy. They hid the goods.

More specifically, scouts barred members of the Major League Scouting Bureau from evaluating players at several recent exhibitions on the island. One scout who had been included in Alderson's meetings told Yahoo's Passan that the response reeked of raw panic, but the powerplay took on a more strategic air on Wednesday, when MLB responded in kind, shutting down a Dominican Prospect League game at the San Francisco Giants' complex in Boca Chica.

The DPL is an upstart four-team league launched last November to show off prospects in live games rather than through the ubiquitous Major League tryout. Indians manager Manny Acta and Yankees senior vice president of baseball operations Mark Newman sit on its advisory board, and the league has been praised by teams' scouts and produced a handful of signings. As recently as January, MLB vice president of international baseball operations Lou Melendez told MLB.com, "the league is well-run and organized, and the concept is a good one," and labeled MLB an "interested observer" in the DPL's progress. 

That observation took on a different tone last week, according to an email from DPL president Brian Mejia to MLB Trade Rumors, when Alderson told him that the DPL would not be allowed to use any MLB-affiliated fields unless the scouting bureau was given access as well, and that teams may be directed not to attend DPL showcases in the future. A Friday meeting between DPL officials, Alderson and other MLB executives, Dominican Secretary of Sports Jay Payano, and a handful of independent scouts proved no more fruitful, according to Mejia. "We left the meeting with MLB's plan but no input was allowed by any part," he wrote. "We basically agreed to disagree."

Mejia said he and representatives for Dominican scouts will meet with MLB officials again in the coming week to address the impasse. Alderson told reporters on Thursday, "We value the contributions (buscones) make and we understand they're in a position where they can help," but he also defended the league's action at the Giants' complex to Hoy's Dionisio Soldevila, saying the scouting bureau is a reality, and if Dominican scouts want access to team academies they will have no choice but to adapt.

Odds & Ends: Tigers, Zobrist, Posey, Crisp

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Sunday night linkage..

Discussion: Gil Meche

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It's safe to say that Gil Meche is off to a less-than-stellar start as he has given up 16 runs with a 0.58 K/BB ratio in 12.2 innings of work.  Even though he missed time early on this season with shoulder bursitis, Royals manager Trey Hillman doesn't believe that Meche is having any physical or mechanical issues (Ryan Young of The Kansas City Star reporting).

Meche, who shares the honor of having the largest contract in Royals history with Mike Sweeney, is set to earn $12MM in each of the two remaining years on his deal.  The 31-year-old's contract didn't seem unreasonable at this time last year, as he turned in a 3.82 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 across his first two seasons in Kansas City.  However, in the winter following his injury riddled 2009, the Royals told clubs that they would be open to dealing their former ace.

There were a few suitors for Meche over the offseason, including the Mets and the Cubs.  Could Meche conceivably restore his trade value this season, or will the Royals be stuck with the $24MM bill?

Should Dodgers Look Into Signing Free Agent Starter?

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Roughly one month ago, the Dodgers appeared to have a surplus of starting pitching.  There were more than a handful of hurlers who were making a strong case for the fifth spot in the rotation.  Carlos Monasterios, Charlie Haeger, Josh Lindblom, Ramon Ortiz, Eric Stults, and Russ Ortiz were all impressive during Spring Training.  There were so many candidates to choose from that the Dodgers sold Stults' contract to a Japanese team.  My, how things have changed.

Russ Ortiz was DFA'd after floundering in seven big league innings.  Haeger hasn't found much success in 15.1 IP (three starts and one relief appearance) either.  Now, the Dodgers have another hole to fill as Padilla is headed to the disabled list with a sore elbow.  There are pitchers at the ready in Triple-A Albuquerque, including the aforementioned Lindblom and once-ballyhooed James McDonald, though all have their fair share of question marks.  Padilla's injury aside, the Dodgers' starting five still looks like it could use a lift.

Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times drops the names of three notable starters still available on the open market: Jarrod Washburn, John Smoltz, and Pedro Martinez.  Washburn seems to be holding out for a deal approaching the $5MM he was offered by Minnesota this winter.  Smoltz won't completely rule out a return to baseball, though he's enjoying his television gigs.  Pedro is reportedly maintaining contact with the Phillies, though he is said to still hold a grudge against the Dodgers over things that happened back when jheri curls were still somewhat in vogue.

Should the cash-strapped Dodgers look into signing one of these vets or should they find other ways to improve?

When Should The Reds Call Up Chapman?

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In the past week, we've taken looks at when the Rangers should call up Justin Smoak and when the Indians should call on Carlos Santana to take over behind the dish. In both of these cases, we looked at teams with glaring holes on their major league club and hot prospects in the wings, so let's look at another.

The Reds entered today's contest with a 6.55 ERA from their rotation, second-worst in all of baseball to Pittsburgh. As a group, they're allowing 4.01 walks per nine innings, and opposing hitters are batting .292 against them. It's no secret that they've got a fireballing lefty at Triple-A Louisville in Aroldis Chapman. While control has been an issue through his first three starts (10 BB through 15 innings), he's managed to strike out 18 batters and allowed just nine hits and one earned run.

Unfortunately for Cincinnati, working Chapman into the rotation may be difficult. Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo are making $12.5MM and $11MM, respectively. Homer Bailey is out of options. It's possible to option Johnny Cueto back to Triple-A, but despite his 5.73 ERA on the season, he's actually been their second-best starter. Mike Leake, their fifth starter, is the only one of the bunch who has shown any success this season.

The Reds emerged seemingly from nowhere to sign the 21-year-old Chapman to a six-year, $30.25MM deal this offseason. While some originally thought that he wouldn't be a part of the club's plans early in 2010 (or perhaps even at all), his impressive spring vaulted him into consideration for the rotation. Leake eventually won the battle, but the Reds need an improvement in their starting pitching. They've managed eight wins, but that trend simply can't keep up if the current lack of production from their rotation continues.

It's a slow day, so let's leave it open to discussion. Should the Reds call up Chapman any time soon, and if so, how should they go about it? A trade of Harang or Arroyo could be difficult to facilitate. We've seen both Carlos Zambrano and Jeff Suppan moved to the bullpen this week; could the Reds continue the trend with Harang? Or is Cincinnati better off letting Chapman develop his control more in Louisville, while waiting for their starters to right the ship?

Week In Review: 4/18/10 – 4/24/10

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Let's take a look back at the past week on what's looking like a slow Sunday…

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