Archives for January 2011

Reaction To The Vernon Wells Trade

By Mark Polishuk | January 21, 2011 at 9:39pm CDT

Pundits are already chiming in on the huge Vernon Wells-for Mike Napoli/Juan Rivera trade between the Angels and Blue Jays this evening. A sampling…

Lyle Spencer of MLB.com likes the trade for both teams, noting that the addition of Wells gives the Angels "the makings of a dream outfield."
The trade "had the air of desperation" to it, says Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Saxon counts this trade along with the Scott Kazmir deal as cases of the Angels taking "other teams' financial problems off their hands." On the plus side, Saxon points out that Wells and Torii Hunter are ideal candidates to mentor Mike Trout, the Halos' center fielder of the future.
Wells is "absolutely the wrong player right now for the Angels, who have made one the worst desperation moves I can remember," writes Keith Law of ESPN.com. Law points out that with all of the money Toronto is saving with Wells' contract off the books, the Jays "could become very good, very fast."
Acquiring Wells for Rivera and Napoli added roughly $75MM to the Angels' payroll over the next four years, and Fangraphs' Dave Cameron looks at what else the Halos could've bought with that money this winter.
"It's hard to get away from the thought that [the Angels] were better off when they were doing nothing," writes Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. Knobler thinks the Angels are taking a big risk in acquiring Wells, who does nothing to "change an Angels offense that has gotten older and less athletic as the years have gone on."
Ken Fidlin of the Toronto Sun looks at how the trade alters the Jays' lineup and thinks Alex Anthopoulos may have to make another deal to fill a few holes.
Anthopoulos has only been the Blue Jays' GM since October 2009, but Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star tweets that this deal might already be Anthopoulos' "best deal…ever." Griffin also tweets that the trade could "be the first step to signing [Jose] Bautista long-term."
The Jays and Rays weren't the only AL East team with an interest in Napoli. The Red Sox looked at Napoli earlier this winter but their interest waned after acquiring Adrian Gonzalez, reports WEEI.com's Rob Bradford. Boston didn't feel Napoli was a legitimate starting catching option; the club wanted him as a first baseman and emergency catcher. The Sox put in a waiver claim for Napoli last summer.
ESPN.com's Mark Simon looks at some Wells statistics that will trouble Angels fans — the center fielder's odd decline against left-handed pitching and his home/road splits away from the Rogers Centre.

Jays, Angels Swap Vernon Wells For Napoli, Rivera

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 21, 2011 at 8:27pm CDT

So much for the Angels' quiet offseason. The Angels and Blue Jays have announced a blockbuster trade that sends center fielder Vernon Wells to Los Angeles in exchange for catcher/first baseman Mike Napoli and outfielder Juan Rivera. Wells waived his no-trade clause to make the deal happen.

Wells, 32, hit .273/.331/.515 with 31 homers for Toronto in 2010, rebounding from an injury-plagued and disappointing stretch from 2007-09 when he managed just a .743 OPS. The number most associated with Wells, however, is his contract. The center fielder signed a seven-year, $126MM extension with Toronto in 2006 that runs through 2014. Wells is slated to earn $23MM next season and $21MM in each of the following three years, though he has the option of opting out of his deal after 2011.

The Halos took a lot of local and national criticism for failing to sign Carl Crawford, Adrian Beltre and other major targets this winter, especially since owner Arte Moreno said he was prepared to spend to get his team back into contention in the AL West. Acquiring Wells will quiet some of those critics, but now the Angels are paying Wells a higher average annual value ($21.5MM) over the next four years than Texas is paying Beltre ($16MM) over five years or Boston is paying Crawford (roughly $20.28MM) over seven years.

Wells presumably takes over in center field for L.A. now that Torii Hunter has been shifted to right, though Hunter (-6.2 UZR/150) was a bit better than Wells (-7.0 UZR/150) in center last season. Wells' defense did improve last year, however, and the former three-time Gold Glover could approach his old form playing on natural grass at Angel Stadium. The Angels could also explore putting Wells in left and give Peter Bourjos for the bulk of playing time in center.

The Angels dealt from a position of strength; along with Napoli, the Halos have backstops Jeff Mathis, Hank Conger and Bobby Wilson on their 40-man roster.

Getting Wells' $86MM salary off the books (especially without sending L.A. any money in return) is a major achievement for Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos, given that the contract was considered perhaps the most untradeable in all of baseball. The Jays also succeeded in keeping Napoli away from a division rival; the Rays appeared to be targeting the catcher/first baseman earlier this evening.

Napoli hit 26 home runs last year, reaching the 20-homer plateau for the third consecutive season. He hit .238/.316/.468 overall, with a career-high 137 strikeouts. The right-handed hitter has a .931 OPS against southpaws in his career, so he is a potential complement to the lefty-hitting Adam Lind at first base. The Jays could combine Napoli with Lind and Edwin Encarnacion at first, or with Jose Molina and J.P. Arencibia behind the plate. Would-be base stealers were successful 73% of the time they tried stealing off of Napoli in 2010; they've been successful 76% of the time in his career.

Napoli, 29, is arbitration eligible this year and eligible for free agency after 2012. He asked for $6.1MM in 2011 and the Angels countered with a $5.3MM offer, as MLBTR's Arb Tracker shows. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes used Napoli as an example of the arbitration process in this October post, predicting his agent could ask for $6-7MM.

Rivera, 32, is set to earn $5.25MM next season, the last year of a three-year, $12.75MM pact he signed with the Halos following the 2008 campaign. The veteran outfielder has a .272/.323/.448 line over the last two seasons, and has a career .832 OPS against left-handed pitching (though that OPS against lefties dropped to .746 last year). Rivera could play right field and allow Jose Bautista to move to third base. Rivera is also a candidate for DH time in Toronto, and could spell Travis Snider against southpaws.

Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports were the first to report on a Napoli-to-Toronto move this afternoon, and then added the news of Wells' involvement, plus details about the outfielder's physical and waiving of his no-trade clause. Mike Wilner of Sportsnet Radio The FAN 590 confirmed the Wells-for-Rivera/Napoli trade package in an e-mail to MLBTR and Shi Davidi of the Canadian Press tweeted the news that no money was being exchanged in the deal.

MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post

Blue Jays Designate Rommie Lewis For Assignment

By Mark Polishuk | January 21, 2011 at 8:08pm CDT

The Blue Jays have designated left-hander Rommie Lewis for assignment, the team announced. The move was made to free up a 40-man roster spot in the wake of Toronto's trade for Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera in exchange for Vernon Wells.

Lewis, a fourth-round pick of the Orioles in the 2001 draft, made his Major League debut last year after spending nine seasons in Baltimore and Toronto's minor league systems. The 28-year-old southpaw appeared in 14 games for the Jays, posting a 6.75 ERA and a 7.2 K/9 rate in 18 2/3 relief innings.

Brewers Agree To Terms With Kameron Loe

By Mark Polishuk | January 21, 2011 at 6:58pm CDT

The Brewers have avoided arbitration with Kameron Loe, agreeing to a one-year contract worth $1.25MM, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Loe can earn $115K in bonuses based on appearances. This was Loe's second time in the arbitration process, and he is represented by Page Odle.

Loe submitted a $1.65MM figure on Tuesday, which "somewhat surprised" the Brewers, McCalvy said. The club offered $1.055MM, so the settled total fell $100K under the midpoint of the two proposals.

Loe, 29, was one of Milwaukee's better relief arms last season. The right-hander posted a 2.78 ERA, a 3.07 K/BB ratio and a 7.1 K/9 rate in 53 games in 2010, all of which were career bests. Loe joined the Brewers on a minor league deal after pitching in Japan in 2009. He posted a 4.77 ERA in 107 games (47 of them starts) for Texas between 2004-08.

Shaun Marcum and Rickie Weeks are the only two arb-eligible Brewers yet to agree to contracts for next season. You can keep track of their progress on MLBTR ArbTracker.

White Sox Exercise Ozzie Guillen’s 2012 Option

By Mark Polishuk | January 21, 2011 at 5:07pm CDT

The White Sox have picked up the option year on Ozzie Guillen's contract, keeping the manager in the fold through the 2012 season, tweets Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Guillen's current three-year contract (covering 2009-11) was signed in 2007, and included the option year for 2012 that would've also become guaranteed if Chicago wins the AL Central next season. Guillen just celebrated his 47th birthday yesterday.

Guillen's seven-year tenure as Chicago's manager has had its share of controversy and some notable ups-and-downs with GM Kenny Williams, but Guillen has delievered results on the field. He has a 600-535 record as manager, and ended the club's 88-year World Series drought by bringing home the championship in 2005. The White Sox also won the AL Central in 2008.

Mets Sign Blaine Boyer

By Mark Polishuk | January 21, 2011 at 4:57pm CDT

The Mets have signed right-hander Blaine Boyer to a minor league contract, reports ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin. The deal includes an invitation to New York's Major League Spring Training camp.

Boyer was selected as a non-tender candidate by MLBTR's Tim Dierkes in November, and indeed, the 29-year-old reliever was non-tendered by Arizona last month. Boyer posted a 4.26 ERA in 54 appearances with the D'Backs in 2010, and had a perfectly matched K/BB ratio (29 strikeouts, 29 walks). On the plus side, he's a hard-thrower with one of the best groundball rates in the game.

Quick Hits: Helton, Hamilton, Danks, Giants

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 21, 2011 at 4:23pm CDT

Some links to read as the Rays eye Johnny Damon, Manny Ramirez, Vladimir Guerrero and even Mike Napoli…

Todd Helton told Troy Renck of the Denver Post that he plans to play for three more seasons. He's under contract through 2013.
Josh Hamilton isn't under contract for 2011 yet, but he tells Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com that he's bracing himself for an arbitration hearing with the Rangers. The club could look to extend the reigning MVP instead.
Starlin Castro and Andrew McCutchen are among the players on Jayson Stark's list of the most underrated players in baseball (link at ESPN.com).
Meanwhile, ESPN.com's Buster Olney includes Jose Reyes and Nate McLouth on his list of players at a career crossroads.
Rays executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told Peter Gammons of MLB Network that he's looking forward to the coming draft, when the Rays will select ten times before the second round. I previewed the Rays' 2011 draft yesterday.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports argues that John Danks would be better off not signing an extension at this point.
The Giants' 2011 payroll will likely be in the $115MM range, writes Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News.

Brewers Sign Jeremy Reed

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 21, 2011 at 4:10pm CDT

The Brewers announced that they signed Jeremy Reed to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training.

The 29-year-old appeared in 14 games for the Blue Jays last year, but spent most of the season at Triple-A. He hit .279/.342/.412 in 358 plate appearances for Blue Jays and White Sox affiliates last year. The center fielder is no stranger to the major leagues, though. He has appeared in at least 13 games every season since 2004, when he broke in with the Mariners.

Reed will compete with outfielders Chris Dickerson, Brandon Boggs, Caleb Gindl and Logan Schafer for a backup outfielder's job this spring.

Rays Targeting Mike Napoli

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 21, 2011 at 2:53pm CDT

The Rays are targeting Angels catcher Mike Napoli as they look to add thump to their lineup, according to Stan McNeal of the Sporting News.

The arbitration eligible 29-year-old could play first base and catch for the Rays, who are also interested in Johnny Damon, Manny Ramirez and Vladimir Guerrero. Napoli asked for $6.1MM in 2011 and the Angels countered with a $5.3MM offer, as MLBTR's Arb Tracker shows. That means he'll likely cost at least as much as any of the DH options the Rays are considering.

The Rays currently have John Jaso, Kelly Shoppach and Robinson Chirinos as catching options, while the Angels have similar depth. Along with Napoli, the Halos have backstops Jeff Mathis, Hank Conger and Bobby Wilson on their 40-man roster.

Reds, Volquez Discussing Extension

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 21, 2011 at 2:28pm CDT

The Reds have locked up Bronson Arroyo, Jay Bruce, Joey Votto and Johnny Cueto this offseason, but they may not be done yet. They are discussing the possibility of extending Edinson Volquez, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

“We’re looking at both — one-year and multi-year,” GM Walt Jocketty told Fay. “We’re hopeful that we’ll get something done.”

Volquez, 27, posted a 4.31 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 in 62 2/3 innings last year. He has made just 21 starts since his breakout 2008 season because he underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in 2009.

Volquez filed at $2MM and the Reds countered with a $1.3MM proposal earlier in the week. The right-hander is the team's lone remaining unsigned arbitration eligible player. Volquez is arbitration eligible for the first time and on track to hit free agency after the 2013 season if the Reds don't extend him.

Click here to read Howard Megdal's examination of the trade that sent Josh Hamilton to Texas for Volquez.

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