Heyman On Twins, Torre, Beckett
Let's dig into the latest from SI's Jon Heyman…
- The scenario of the Twins signing a free agent starter like Jarrod Washburn and moving Francisco Liriano into the closer role is "said to be floating around Ft. Myers," possibly depending on whether Joe Nathan's contract is insured. I'd be surprised by that approach, though; I think Liriano is primed for a big year as a starter.
- After talking to Dodgers manager Joe Torre, Heyman isn't sure he'll stop managing after the 2011 season.
- Heyman writes that there has been "at least some progress" between the Red Sox and Josh Beckett on an extension.
Offseason In Review: Philadelphia Phillies
Next in our Offseason In Review series, the Phillies.
Major League Signings
- Placido Polanco, 3B: three years, $18MM.
- Danys Baez, RP: two years, $5.25MM.
- Brian Schneider, C: two years, $2.75MM.
- Ross Gload, 1B: two years, $2.6MM.
- Jose Contreras, P: one year, $1.5MM.
- Juan Castro, IF: one year, $750K. Includes $750K club option for 2011 with a $50K buyout.
- Total spend: $30.85MM.
- Note: Exercised Jimmy Rollins' $8.5MM option for 2011
Notable Minor League Signings
- Dewayne Wise, Brad Wilkerson, Ehren Wassermann, Dane Sardinha, Andy Tracy, Cody Ransom, Wilson Valdez, Chris Duffy
Extensions
- Roy Halladay, SP: three years, $60MM. Includes $20MM vesting option for 2014.
- Joe Blanton, SP: three years, $24MM.
- Shane Victorino, CF: three years, $22MM.
- Carlos Ruiz, C: three years, $8.85MM. Includes $5MM club option for 2013 with a $500K buyout.
Trades and Claims
- Claimed Rule 5 pick P David Herndon from Angels
- Acquired SP Roy Halladay and $6MM from Blue Jays for SP Kyle Drabek, OF Michael Taylor, and C Travis d'Arnaud
- Acquired P Phillippe Aumont, P J.C. Ramirez, and OF Tyson Gillies from Mariners for SP Cliff Lee
- Claimed SS Brian Bocock off waivers from Blue Jays
Notable Losses
- Cliff Lee, Chan Ho Park, Pedro Feliz, Brett Myers, Pedro Martinez, Clay Condrey, Tyler Walker, Scott Eyre, Rodrigo Lopez, Jack Taschner, Carlos Monasterios, Paul Bako, Eric Bruntlett, Matt Stairs, Miguel Cairo
Summary
Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. had a baffling offseason. He pulled off a huge deal for one of the game's best pitchers and signed him to a below-market extension, only to turn around and trade another ace to replenish the farm system. Amaro gave out three other reasonable extensions to his own players, but overpaid for the majority of his free agent signings.
The Polanco signing is a candidate for the worst of the offseason. The Tigers were unwilling to offer arbitration to their Type A free agent second baseman, presumably because they felt the risk of a one-year deal in the $6-7MM range outweighed the prospect of two draft picks. The three-year, $18MM commitment the Phillies gave Polanco in early December was the polar opposite of the one year, $1MM deal the Cardinals gave Felipe Lopez two months later.
Amaro is aggressive in pursuing free agents he likes. The approach made sense with his three-year, $24MM offer to Adrian Beltre, but there was no indication Polanco drew similar strong interest from other clubs. Amaro also handed out two-year pacts to three marginal players who deserved one-year deals in Baez, Schneider, and Gload.
The Halladay trade was a huge win for the Phillies, especially when Doc signed for far less than his market value. They gave up a couple of Top 100 prospects, but that's what win-now teams should do. They also received $6MM, enough to go over slot on a big name or two in the June draft and help make up for the farm system hit.
On the same day as the Halladay deal, Amaro took off his "win-now" hat and decided to think about 2011 and beyond. Lee was shipped to Seattle, costing the Phillies several wins in 2010 no matter how the prospects pan out. Lee is hardly expensive at $9MM, and there is no indication Amaro shopped him around to get the best deal.
The extensions to Blanton, Victorino, and Ruiz seem reasonable enough; Amaro netted cost savings and certainty over the next three years. Extensions have become the Phillies Way in recent years, with few missteps.
Despite my complaints about their offseason, the Phillies are 2010 contenders. They've got two aces even without Lee and an offense that should be among the NL's best.
Rangers Links: Daniels, Harden, Trades
We've got all kinds of Rangers links to dish out…
- ESPN's Richard Durrett has a fantastic article focusing on Rangers GM Jon Daniels. The piece chronicles Daniels' rise, his early mistakes (especially the Josh Beckett non-trade), and the May '07 decision to stockpile young talent.
- Daniels admitted to MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez that the Rangers don't have a lot of catching depth right now, with Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Toby Hall battling ailing shoulders.
- ESPN's Keith Law says his "early look [at Rich Harden] was very discouraging." The Rangers guaranteed $7.5MM to Harden in the December signing.
- Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News wonders if the Rangers and Twins can match up on a trade, with Texas sending bullpen arms to Minnesota for an infielder and/or catcher.
- Randy Galloway of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram polled "several baseball people" on whether Chris Davis or Justin Smoak will be the team's starting first baseman in 2012. Surprisingly, Mitch Moreland's name came up multiple times. The Galloway blurb led Jamey Newberg to ponder whether Davis or Smoak could be traded this summer.
- The Rangers' sale to Chuck Greenberg is on track to be finalized on April 1st, tweets Sanchez.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan sees out of options Rangers pitcher Luis Mendoza as a trade candidate if he doesn't make the team.
- For even more on the Rangers, check out our Offseason In Review from March 4th.
Jay Marshall Returned To Athletics; Released
Lefty reliever Jay Marshall was returned to the Athletics, reported Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News last night. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the A's released Marshall once he was returned.
The Mets had claimed Marshall off waivers from the A's on January 8th, but Rubin says the claim was voided due to a shoulder injury Marshall had at the time of the claim. The A's had designated Marshall in December to make room for Justin Duchscherer. Marshall, 27, posted a 3.20 ERA, 5.3 K/9, and 2.7 BB/9 in 50.6 Triple A innings last year.
Minor League Transactions: Orvella, Hennessey, Sisco
As always, Matt Eddy's minor league transactions post at Baseball America contains a few interesting names.
- The Angels signed reliever Chad Orvella. The 29-year-old spent '09 with the Royals' Double A club and the Rays' Triple A team. Once considered the Rays' closer of the future, Orvella had shoulder surgery in May of '08.
- The Twins signed pitcher Brad Hennessey. Hennessey soaked up 360.6 big league innings for the Giants in his career, but the former first-rounder sat out the '09 season recovering from Tommy John surgery.
- The Giants signed lefty Andy Sisco. The towering 27-year-old southpaw missed the last two seasons due to April '08 Tommy John surgery. The Giants also inked Pablo Sandoval's older brother Michael out of the Atlantic League.
Roberts Injury May Prompt Orioles To Explore Trade Market
Orioles president Andy MacPhail says the Orioles are now considering contingency plans in case second baseman Brian Roberts is not ready for the start of the season, reports Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. Roberts is dealing with a herniated disc in his back, and also had a bad reaction to medication he took for the injury.
According to Zrebiec, "MacPhail said he might start having his scouts look at who is available on the trade market along with exploring internal options." Current Orioles Robert Andino, Ty Wigginton, and Justin Turner have experience at second base.
My own speculation on potential second base trade candidates brings five names: Julio Lugo, Delwyn Young, Ramon Vazquez, Augie Ojeda, and Gregorio Petit.
Twins Interested In Jason Frasor
The Twins are interested in Blue Jays reliever Jason Frasor, tweets Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun. Elliott qualifies the rumor by noting that the Blue Jays had two scouts at a Twins game, "but then they now have a ton of scouts to go to games."
The Twins interest in Frasor stems from Joe Nathan's likely need for season-ending Tommy John surgery. Frasor could step in and handle any late-inning role. The 32-year-old posted a 2.50 ERA, 8.7 K/9, and 2.5 BB/9 in 57.6 innings for the Blue Jays last year. He's earning $2.65MM in his last season before free agency. The Cubs are also known to be interested; the Jays might find it's a seller's market for quality relievers.
Nomar Garciaparra To Announce Retirement
Nomar Garciaparra will announce his retirement at a Red Sox press conference this morning, tweets ESPN's Gordon Edes. WEEI's Lou Merloni reports that Garciaparra is signing a one-day minor league contract with Boston to retire as a member of the club, and then begin work as an ESPN analyst. Merloni says Nomar had asked Red Sox GM Theo Epstein about playing opportunities the last few years. WEEI's Tom Layman has the transcript of Garciaparra's press conference.
Nomar, 36, finishes with a sparkling career line of .313/.361/.521 in 6,116 plate appearances. He spent the majority of his time at shortstop, though also played the infield corners later in his career. Garciaparra was a superstar with the Red Sox, winning Rookie of the Year in '97 and getting MVP votes and All-Star appearances in six different seasons.
Garciaparra was traded to the Cubs before the Sox went on to win the '04 World Series. Nomar struggled with injuries after the Cubs trade, but did have a nice year at first base for the '06 Dodgers. He banked about $78MM in his career, according to Baseball-Reference.
International Links: Ohka, Chen, Gotay, Jamaica
All the best in non-Cuban baseball news…
- Scouts from eight teams recently gathered to watch Taiwanese pitching prospect Min-Tzu Chen, according to Taiwan Baseball. Chen, a converted outfielder, has only been pitching for three months but reportedly already has offers in hand from the Royals and Padres.
- Tomo Ohka has agreed to a deal with the Mexican League Quintana Roo Tigers, reports Japanese Ball Players.
- Ruben Gotay isn't often mentioned in discussions about who will man third base for the Cardinals this season, and his .255/.315/.371 career numbers don't scream "slugging corner infielder." But the 28-year-old Puerto Rican utilityman tells Primera Hora's Esteban Rivera that the Cardinals signed him and invited him to spring training exclusively with the hot corner in mind. Gotay played his first full season at third at Triple A in the Diamondbacks system last season, showing newfound patience with a .272/.429/.450 line including 102 walks in 479 PAs. While he is fourth at best on the depth chart, the first two candidates, David Freese and Tyler Greene, have 150 Major League PAs combined, and Felipe Lopez has played 13 games at third in the last five years, all for the Cardinals in 2008.
- In 11 Major League seasons, Ricardo Rincon managed a 3.59 ERA and logged 565 appearances in the "G" column, but look one column to the right at "GS," and cue the rolling tumbleweeds. That's changing in the Mexican League, where the 39-year-old is trying to crack the starting rotation of the Minatitlan Oilers, according to the league site.
- MLB is partnering with the Jamaican government to build a stadium on the north side of the island in Trelawny, reports the Jamaica Observer. The complex will be the league's first-ever investment in the country, which is looking to expand its presence in international sports following the success of Usain Bolt. One current big league player, Indians pitcher Justin Masterson, was born in Jamaica.
Odds & Ends: Fielder, Young, Pierzynski Dice-K
Links for Tuesday…
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin tells MLB.com's Adam McCalvy that there's "no sense of urgency" to the Prince Fielder extension talks, since Fielder's "not going anywhere" for now.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that Chris Young (the Padres' version) could be a trade candidate this year, but that the right-hander would be better served staying in the National League.
- Morosi also lays out the decision facing the White Sox as A.J. Pierzynski's contract approaches its end. We discussed the catcher's next contract here.
- Daisuke Matsuzaka wants to play in the majors for at least another decade, according to WEEI's Rob Bradford.
- SI's Tom Verducci explains a radical floating realignment concept that was discussed by Bud Selig's "special committee for on-field matters."
- Joe Posnanski describes Aroldis Chapman's spring debut in this SI column.
- Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog reports that the Mets re-signed pitcher Kyle Snyder to a minor league deal. Snyder posted a 4.23 ERA, 6.4 K/9, and 2.8 BB/9 in 104.3 Triple A innings last year.
- Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch explores the recent pattern of the Cardinals acquiring rejected Red Sox players.
- ESPN's Keith Law opines that "if the season started this week, [Kyle Farnsworth would] have to be a candidate for unconditional release."
- MLB.com's Jason Beck caught up with Blue Jays pitcher Casey Fien, who bounced around between three clubs in a short span this winter.
- Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald says the 2007 Marlins-Tigers Miguel Cabrera blockbuster hasn't panned out as planned so far.