Mets Sign Frank Francisco
December 19th: The Mets officially announced Francisco's two-year deal.
December 6th: The Mets appear determined to fill out their entire bullpen before the night is out. The team has agreed to a two-year deal with Frank Francisco, pending a physical, tweets Ken Davidoff of Newsday. Francisco is the third reliever the Mets have added to the fold tonight, following their signing of Jon Rauch and their trade for Ramon Ramirez. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (via Twitter) that Francisco's two-year contract will earn the right-hander $12MM.
Francisco, 32, will close for the Mets, with Rauch setting up, tweets Davidoff, and Bryan Grosnick provides the fantasy spin at CloserNews.com. The Blue Jays employed a similar setup in their bullpen for much of the season, and will receive compensation picks for Francisco and Rauch, both Type B free agents. In his lone season in Toronto, Francisco posted a 3.55 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 17 saves.
In MLBTR's list of this winter's top 50 free agents, Francisco ranked 44th. MLBTR's writers identified six different destinations for the righty in our prediction contest, but none of us picked the Mets.
Brewers Win Rights To Norichika Aoki
MONDAY: MLB officially announced the Brewers won the bid for Aoki. They now have 30 days to negotiate a contract with him. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Brewers plan to work him out in Arizona before deciding whether to sign him.
SATURDAY: The Yakult Swallows have announced that the Brewers won the negotiating rights to Japanese outfielder Norichika Aoki, reports Yasuko Yanagita of Hochi Shimbun (on Twitter). We heard that Yakult accepted the $2.5MM bid yesterday.
Aoki, 30 in January, is a three-time Central League batting champion and posted a career line of .336/.411/.472 in his first seven seasons in Japan. His numbers fell to 292/.358/.360 in 2011, which explains the modest size of the posting fee. NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman (writing for Fangraphs) said in August 2010 that Aoki was "the best pure hitter Japan has produced since Ichiro" and has good defensive range, though a weak throwing arm will probably limit Aoki to left field in the majors.
The Brewers seem to have plenty of outfield depth with Ryan Braun, Corey Hart, Nyjer Morgan, and Carlos Gomez, but there's a chance they could lose Braun for the first 50 games of the season after his failed drug test. GM Doug Melvin recently said he is proceeding with his offseason under the assumption that Braun will be in the lineup all season, however. As a left-handed hitter, Aoki could serve as a bat off the bench or give the team depth to make a trade.
Padres To Sign Jeremy Hermida
The Padres reached an agreement with outfielder Jeremy Hermida on a minor league deal, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. They had non-tendered him last week. Hermida, a former Marlins top prospect, hit .319/.400/.524 in 450 plate appearances for the Reds' Triple-A affiliate this year. The 27-year-old was claimed off waivers by the Padres in August and designated for assignment in early December upon the team's acquisition of Huston Street. Hermida received some feelers from Japanese teams this offseason, Crasnick notes.
Mariners Sign Dominican Shortstop
The Mariners signed 17-year-old Dominican shortstop Angel Yente for $225K, reports Justin Olsen of The Outfield Grass. The Dominican Prospect League has since confirmed the move. According to the DPL, Yente has "an extra-large frame with an athletic, strong body," and his bat will play at a corner position if he grows out of shortstop.
Poll: Which Team Won The Mat Latos Trade?
On Friday, it was reported that Gio Gonzalez, Mat Latos and Jair Jurrjens were among the pitchers on the Reds’ wish list. Less than 24 hours later, the Reds turned their wish list into reality when they sent Yonder Alonso, Edinson Volquez, Yasmani Grandal, and Brad Boxberger to San Diego for Latos. The Padres have been willing to listen on deals for Latos this winter and according to GM Josh Byrnes, the Reds' offer was selected over three others that were similarly built.
It seems that several baseball executives were quick to declare the Padres the winners of the deal as they received a great mix of young talent in return for their 24-year-old ace. It's also worth noting that while Latos' upside is undeniable, some in the Pads organization had concerns about the hurler's maturity. However, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports pointed out, acquiring a potential No. 1 starter who is four years away from free agency will always cost a great deal.
Now, we want to hear your take on the trade..
Which Team Won The Mat Latos Trade?
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Padres 75% (23,093)
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Reds 25% (7,827)
Total votes: 30,920
Quick Hits: Reds, Dodgers, Hanrahan, Chavez
On this day one year ago, the Brewers recieved Zack Greinke, Yuniesky Betancourt, and cash from the Royals for Jake Odorizzi, Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, and Jeremy Jeffress. Here's are a few links for Sunday evening..
- While there are some Reds fans who are unhappy with the club's recent trade for Padres pitcher Mat Latos, B.J. Bethel of the Dayton Daily News writes that GM Walt Jocketty had to make that type of move.
- With six days until Christmas, the Dodgers are nearly finished with their shopping, writes Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. The club doesn't have much to spend but will look to sign a veteran reliever and remains in talks with Mike MacDougal.
- Pirates closer and regular MLBTR reader Joel Hanrahan told Karen Price of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that he isn't fazed when his name comes up in trade rumors. Hanrahan added that he hopes that the Bucs aren't shopping him at the trade deadline this year and instead wants to see the club looking to add to the roster at mid-season.
- The Mets were genuinely interested in bringing outfielder Endy Chavez back to New York before he reached agreement with the Orioles on a one-year deal, writes Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.
MLBTR Originals
Here's a look back at the original reporting and analysis produced by our writing staff this week..
- MLBTR learned that the Cubs and Dodgers have been in discussions with Coco Crisp to play left field. The 32-year-old hasn't played left regularly since 2005 with the Indians. Crisp hit .264/.314/.379 in 583 plate appearances for the Athletics this year, his healthiest season since '07.
- Free agent Prince Fielder is said to be looking for a ten-year deal. We asked our readers how many years they think Fielder will wind up getting. More than 27,000 of you weighed in on the poll with most readers seeing the slugger getting either six or seven years. Just 4.52% of MLBTR readers believe that the Scott Boras client will land a ten-year pact.
- David Ortiz, Francisco Rodriguez, and Kelly Johnson accepted their teams' offers of arbitration last week, making them signed players for 2012. On Monday, Tim Dierkes talked to a team executive, a former agency employee, and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz about the salaries Ortiz, Rodriguez, and Johnson might receive.
- After the dust from the winter meetings settled, Mike Axisa rounded up the best baseball talk from around the web in this week's edition of Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
- This week, MLB clubs non-tendered 29 players in advance of the deadline and we've updated our Free Agent Tracker to include its newest members.
- Did you miss out on Tim's weekly chat? No worries, you can read over the transcript right here.
- In October, MLB agents told MLBTR that they expect Yu Darvish to require a financial commitment in excess of $100MM, including the posting fee and contract. This week we asked our readers to predict which club will win the bidding for him. 18% of you said Darvish would wind up with Toronto while the Rangers finished in a close second with roughly 15% of the vote. We continue to wait on word of who submitted the winning bid.
Week In Review: 12/11/11 – 12/17/11
Plenty of news to recap from this past week..
- The Reds weren't afraid to part with a great deal of talent in order to get their man in Mat Latos. The Reds acquired Latos from the Padres on Saturday for Yonder Alonso, Edinson Volquez, Yasmani Grandal, and Brad Boxberger. Latos won't be arbitration eligible until after the 2012 season and will team up with Johnny Cueto atop the Reds' rotation.
- The Phillies agreed to terms with Jimmy Rollins on a three-year, $33MM deal with a fourth year vesting option for an additional $11MM. The shorstop was initially seeking a five-year deal this winter but saw his market dwindle down as the offseason progressed.
- The Brewers agreed to a three-year deal with third baseman Aramis Ramirez. The $36MM contract includes a mutual option for 2015. With first baseman Prince Fielder expected to leave via free agency and MVP Ryan Braun facing a potential 50-game suspension for a banned substance, the Brewers were motivated to add a middle-of-the-order hitter.
- The deadline for teams to submit bids to the Nippon Ham Fighters for the exclusive rights to negotiate with Yu Darvish passed at 4pm central time Wednesday and the club has until December 20th to accept or reject the high bid. The Rangers and Blue Jays reportedly made sizable bids for the right-hander and Toronto's bid is said to be more than $40MM and possibly close to $50MM.
- The Twins agreed to sign Josh Willingham to a three-year, $21MM deal with a chance to earn $1MM through incentives. Willingham, is a modified Type-A free agent under the new collective bargaining agreement. The Twins will not have to surrender a draft pick to sign him, but the A's will still get two picks as compensation for the loss.
- Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd continued a busy offseason by signing Michael Cuddyer to a three-year, $31.5MM deal. After 11 seasons in Minnesota, the Excel Sports Management client has a career line of .272/.343/.451.
- The Yakult Swallows announced that the Brewers won the negotiating rights to Japanese outfielder Norichika Aoki with a $2.5MM bid. Aoki, 30 in January, is a three-time Central League batting champion and posted a career line of .336/.411/.472 in his first seven seasons in Japan. However, his numbers dipped to 292/.358/.360 in 2011.
- The Indians acquired outfielder Aaron Cunningham from the Padres for minor leaguer Cory Burns.
- At least one MLB general manager believes Prince Fielder and agent Scott Boras are looking for a ten-year deal that approaches the value of Albert Pujols' $254MM contract.
- The Cardinals did extensive background work on Carlos Beltran this week and they continue to maintain strong interest in the outfielder.
- The Rangers are discussing a five-year extension with left-handed starter Derek Holland and it may include a club option for a sixth year.
- There's good news and bad news regarding Yoenis Cespedes. The bad news is, we'll have to wait until January to see the outfielder become eligible for MLB free agency. The good news is that we have a new training video to enjoy.
- The Tigers are interested in free agent left-hander Joe Saunders. The Reds and Red Sox also have some interest in Saunders, who was non-tendered by the Diamondbacks earlier in the week.
- The Red Sox acquired reliever Mark Melancon from the Astros for shortstop Jed Lowrie and starter Kyle Weiland. It didn't take long for Red Sox GM Ben Cherington to replace Lowrie, as he turned around hours later and inked Nick Punto to a two-year deal.
- MLB teams non-tendered 29 players in total this week. We have a detailed explanation of what it means to non-tender a player and here's a link to our non-tender tracker.
- The Rockies have had discussions with Brad Lidge's representatives. Lidge's agent says that his client would be comfortable pitching in Colorado.
- MLB Player's Association executive director Michael Weiner says that if it were up to the owners, there would be an international draft in place. Weiner says that the players are open to it as well.
- The Orioles signed Japanese starter Tsuyoshi Wada to a two-year deal that includes a club option for 2014. The contract guarantees the free agent left-hander $8.15MM and the option is worth $5MM.
- The Mariners agreed to sign George Sherrill to a one-year pact worth $1.1MM plus incentives.
- The Red Sox had discussions with the Royals about the possibility of dealing for closer Joakim Soria.
- The Red Sox agreed to sign Kelly Shoppach to a one-year, $1.35MM deal with incentives that could raise the deal to $1.75MM.
- The Diamondbacks agreed to sign right-handed reliever Takashi Saito to a one-year, $1.75MM deal.
- The Cubs are in talks with 29-year-old left-hander Paul Maholm.
- Gio Gonzalez is about to get expensive through arbitration, yet the Athletics are drawing strong interest in the left-hander.
- The Rays acquired right-hander Burke Badenhop from the Marlins for minor league catcher Jake Jefferies,
- The Cardinals signed J.C. Romero to a one-year, $750K deal plus incentives.
- The Phillies signed left-hander Dontrelle Willis to pitch out of the bullpen.
- The Cubs and Dodgers have been in discussions with Coco Crisp to play left field, MLBTR learned.
- The Orioles and approximately ten other teams have expressed some level of interest in signing Luke Scott.
- The Blue Jays acquired outfielder Ben Francisco from the Phillies for minor league lefty Frank Gailey.
- The Cardinals agreed to a two-year, $3MM deal with utility infielder Skip Schumaker.
- The Giants agreed to re-sign Guillermo Mota to a deal worth $1MM.
- The Indians reached an agreement on a minor league contract with Felix Pie. He could earn up to $1MM with performance bonuses, and has the option to opt out of the deal before Opening Day.
- The Dodgers signed outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. to a two-year deal.
- The Marlins signed Aaron Rowand to a minor league deal.
NL East Links: Marlins, Phillies, Nationals
Five years ago today, the Nationals traded Jose Vidro to the Mariners for Chris Snelling and Emiliano Fruto. Vidro hit .285/.344/.374 in his two years with Seattle, though neither Snelling or Fruto amounted to much with Washington. Here's the latest from the NL East…
- “It’s very difficult to buy pitching, to trade for pitching, but we’re on it,” said Marlins president Larry Beinfest to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. “Ideally, we would love to add another top-of-the-rotation starter. Whether that’s practical, that remains to be seen.”
- Matt Gelb of The Philadelphia Inquirer broke down the Phillies' payroll following the team's contract agreement with Jimmy Rollins. They're unofficially at $164.3MM for 20 players at the moment.
- Pete Kerzel of MASNSports.com says Nationals GM Mike Rizzo must decide how to act with the price of pitching rising so high, evidenced by yesterday's Mat Latos trade.
Minor Moves: Wil Nieves
Let's keep track of today's minor league signings here…
- The Rockies have signed catcher Wil Nieves to a minor league deal according to the MLB.com transactions page. The 34-year-old hit .140/.189/.180 in 54 plate appearances for the Brewers last season and is a .221/.268/.289 career hitter in 823 career plate appearances in the show.