Blue Jays Sign Shawn Hill
The Blue Jays signed righty Shawn Hill to a minor league deal, according to the team's official Twitter account. The 28-year-old Canadian has pitched for the Expos, Nationals and Padres in his five-year MLB career. He has pitched 218.1 innings in total, allowing 249 hits and 70 walks, striking out 137 for a 4.95 ERA. His best season came in 2007, when he posted a 3.42 ERA in nearly 100 innings for the Nats.
As MLB.com's Jordan Bastian notes (via Twitter) Hill had a second Tommy John surgery last year.
Phillies Sign Victorino To Three-Year Deal
The Phillies have officially signed Shane Victorino to a three-year, $22MM deal. The contract, which buys out Victorino's two remaining arbitration years and one free agent year, will keep Victorino in Philly through 2012. Craig Calcaterra of Circling The Bases first reported the agreement.
Victorino earned $3.125MM in 2009, when he hit .292/.358/.445 with 10 HRs. In the field, the Flyin' Hawaiian posted a slightly below average UZR/150 of -4.2. Calcaterra writes that if Joe Blanton's deal is any indication, Victorino's contract will likely be backloaded.
With Victorino back in the fold, catcher Carlos Ruiz is the only remaining arbitration-eligible Phillie. However, Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com writes that GM Ruben Amaro expressed optimism that a multi-year deal could be reached with him as well. Assistant GM Scott Proefrock believes that the team will come to an agreement on a one-year or multi-year deal with Ruiz within the week.
Odds & Ends: Gagne, Stairs, Dotel
Thursday night linkage..
- Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Radio talked to M's GM Jack Zduriencik, who declined to disclose how much money the club had left to spend this offseason. One baseball source told Drayer that the M's likely have "a little left, but not much."
- Scott Lauber of The News Journal tweets that Phillies GM Ruben Amaro was less than impressed after watching Eric Gagne throw yesterday, saying "He was okay." We first heard about Gagne's comeback back in December, when the 34-year-old said he would be open to pitching in the minors.
- Matt Stairs, who is still hoping to land a job at the age of 41, has dropped 31 pounds in order to get himself in game shape, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. In 129 plate appearances last season, Stairs posted .194/.357/.379 with 5 HRs.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette spoke to recently signed Octavio Dotel who told him that the Pirates were the only team to offer him the role of closer. Dotel says that he's not worried about being rusty after not closing since 2007.
New York Notes: Pineiro, Smoltz, Nady
Some New York news and notes courtesy of Newsday's Ken Davidoff..
- Davidoff's understanding is that the Mets' offer to Joel Pineiro was very similar to the Angels' offer of two-years, $16MM. While it would be natural to assume that the free agent hurler preferred the stability of the Halos franchise to the Metropolitans, he writes that he doesn't know that for certain.
- The Mets would definitely like to sign John Smoltz, though it would cause a logjam of starting pitchers. Davidoff suggests that the team could move John Maine in order to create space for him.
- Speaking of Smoltz, Davidoff hears that the Yankees were interested in the 42-year-old prior to landing Javier Vazquez.
- As we've heard elsewhere, the Bombers are looking for one more outfielder and are considering right-handers Xavier Nady and Rocco Baldelli.
Nationals Interested In Jacobs
In an interview on the MLB Network, GM Mike Rizzo said that the Nationals are interested in free agent first baseman Mike Jacobs, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com. Ladson writes that he is unsure as to how Jacobs would fit in with the club, as the team already has Adam Dunn at the position with Mike Morse as the backup.
With the Royals in 2009, Jacobs posted a slash line of .228/.297/.401 with 19 HRs in 478 plate appearances. The 29-year-old avoided arbitration with Kansas City last February, settling for $3.275MM after seeking $3.8MM. After coming off of the worst season of his career, it seems as though Jacobs' will have to settle for less on this go-round.
Pirates Sign Octavio Dotel
The Pirates officially signed reliever Octavio Dotel to a one-year deal with a club option for 2011. Dotel will earn $3.25MM in 2010, plus bonuses for games finished. The 2011 club option, which becomes mutual if the 36-year-old is traded, is for $4.5MM with a $250K buyout. Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette broke the news of the agreement and added the details via Twitter.
Dotel, 36, will close for the Pirates in 2010. Last year for the White Sox he posted a 10.8 K/9, 5.2 BB/9, and 3.32 ERA in 62.3 innings, so control may be an issue. Dotel had joined the Sox on a two-year, $11MM deal in January of '08.
For a guaranteed payout of roughly $6MM, Pirates GM Neal Huntington has revamped his bullpen by adding Dotel, Brendan Donnelly, D.J. Carrasco, and Javier Lopez. The Bucs subtracted '09 pen members Matt Capps, Jesse Chavez, Steven Jackson, Denny Bautista, Phil Dumatrait, and Chris Bootcheck this winter.
Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.
Dodgers Notes: Padilla, Garland, Sheets
Let's check out a couple of Dodgers-related tidbits..
- Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times tweets that even though the Dodgers signed Vicente Padilla at a bargain price, GM Ned Colletti says that the club probably could not afford another starting pitcher. It sounds as though Jon Garland and Braden Looper just lost a suitor.
- Unsurprisingly, Buster Olney of ESPN (via Twitter) hears that the Dodgers, as well as the Rangers, may not have the money needed to sign Ben Sheets. Olney also tweets that the Mets and the A's might be in the best position to be aggressive, based on the agents' perception of which teams are still spending.
Odds & Ends: Gomes, Coffey, Nolasco, Vazquez
Links for Thursday…
- Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that team sources have told him that the Cubs are looking at Jonny Gomes as a fourth outfielder. Gomes – who proved to be one of the best minor league deals of 2009 – confirms.
- The Brewers signed arbitration-eligible reliever Todd Coffey for $2.025MM, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. That's just short of the midpoint.
- MLB.com's Joe Frisaro writes that a strong 2010 season would lead the Marlins to explore a multiyear deal with Ricky Nolasco. Nolasco is under team control through 2012, and will earn $3.8MM in his second arbitration year.
- Yankees pitcher Javier Vazquez spoke to Puerto Rican newspaper La Perla del Sur. MLBTR's translator Nick Collias supplies this interesting quote: "I don't have much playing time left…I go year by year, and I don’t know if it will be one, two or three years, but I'm definitely not going to play until 40." Vazquez is eligible for free agency after the season.
- Rockies outfielder Dexter Fowler switched to Scott Boras in November, Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post wrote in a Monday blog post. Fowler's been added to our Scott Boras client list, which can always be found on the sidebar.
- MLBTR missed this January 14th signing: the White Sox added Daniel Cabrera on a minor league deal. Cabrera, 29 in May, posted a 0.55 K/BB ratio and 6.00 ERA in 51 big league innings last year.
- The Mets and Diamondbacks haven't had any new discussions for catcher Chris Snyder, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Piecoro examines the debate about whether to trade Snyder.
- Luke Scott wants to play defense, writes Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Scott says he's "taking one for the team" by serving as DH, and it hurts him in contract negotiations.
- Slugger Jim Thome continues to keep the door open for the White Sox, writes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. However, in comments to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, manager Ozzie Guillen indicated a preference to avoid a permanent DH.
No Long-Term Offer Yet For Verlander
Tigers righty Justin Verlander told John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press he's yet to receive a long-term contract offer from the club. Still, interest appears mutual.
Verlander would prefer to work out his 2010 salary before entering long-term discussions. With Joe Blanton locked up, Verlander's $2.6MM gap with the Tigers is second only to Tim Lincecum's $5MM divide among those exchanging arbitration figures. I mentioned yesterday on Twitter that I found Verlander's $9.5MM request to be high. My comparison to Felix Hernandez's second arbitration year salary was flawed, since that wouldn't factor into an arbitration hearing. A better match might be Andy Pettitte. Here's how the two stack up after four seasons, keeping in mind arbitration panels focus on simple stats like wins:
- Verlander: 840 IP, 132 GS, 65 wins, 3.92 ERA, 746 Ks
- Pettitte: 852.6 IP, 127 GS, 67 wins, 3.75 ERA, 588 Ks
Pettitte received a 56.6% raise heading into the 1999 season. Verlander had a better platform year, more strikeouts, and better award finishes, Pettitte the superior ERA. Even a 70% raise would put Verlander at $6.25MM in 2010, though the Tigers would only have to convince the panel he deserves less than $8.2MM to win.
This may all be moot, as the Tigers will probably want to avoid a hearing given their desire to lock Verlander up long-term. If they settle near the midpoint, Verlander's aggressive filing will pay off. As for a multiyear contract, Verlander acknowledged he's "closely mirrored" to Felix, whose five-year, $78MM pact will be made official today. Verlander does not want to negotiate during the season.
Mariners Sign Felix Hernandez To Five-Year Deal
All the teams that had begun salivating over Felix Hernandez's upcoming free agency will have to wait a little longer than expected. Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik officially locked Hernandez up to a five-year $78MM deal that delays the right-hander's entrance onto the open market by three years.
The contract buys out Hernandez's two remaining years of arbitration plus three years of free agency at an average annual salary of $15.6MM. FanGraphs says Felix's performance was worth exactly double that in 2009, and has been worth at least as much every year since 2007. Nearly $80MM isn't bad for a 23-year-old pitcher, and the Mariners are securing one of the game's best arms.
This past season was nothing short of brilliant for Hernandez, who posted a 2.49 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 238.2 IP. That performance led to his first All-Star game selection and a second-place finish in the American League Cy Young balloting.
The incentive-laden deal includes a $3.5MM signing bonus and has a limited no-trade clause. Felix makes $1MM if he wins a Cy Young, $500K if he finishes second, and $250K if he finishes in third.
Earlier in the week we heard that Felix and the Mariners were working towards a five or six-year deal. As expected, Hernandez will earn considerably more than Josh Johnson, whose new deal calls for $13.75MM paydays in each of his first two free agent years.
It has been a busy offseason for Seattle and GM Jack Zduriencik; the club has added stars like Cliff Lee, Milton Bradley, and Chone Figgins.
ESPN.com's Keith Law first reported the agreement and Francisco Blavia of Lider en Deportes tweeted the terms. Jon Heyman of SI.com, Coley Ward and Buster Olney of ESPN.com added details.
Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.