Archives for January 2011

Waiver Rumors: Brown, Igarashi, Rapada

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 14, 2011 at 2:07pm CDT

The latest on three players who were recently designated for assignment…

The Indians announced that Jordan Brown has cleared waivers. The Indians had designated the 2006 Carolina League MVP for assignment last week, but he will remain in the Cleveland organization and arrive in Spring Training as a non-roster invitee.
Ryota Igarashi cleared waivers as expected and was outrighted to Triple-A, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. The Mets DFA'd Igarashi last week.
The Rangers put left-hander Clay Rapada on release waivers and intend to release him, according to ESPNDallas.com. The Rangers designated Rapada and Max Ramirez for assignment last week.

Twins Work To Sign Pavano; Decision Expected Soon

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 14, 2011 at 1:34pm CDT

The Twins continue to work toward a deal with Carl Pavano and hope to know by next Monday or Tuesday if the right-hander will accept their offer, according to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (Twitter links). Christensen reports that Pavano appears to be taking the weekend to consider the Twins' proposal.

We heard last week that the Twins were closing in on a deal with Pavano, but there's no official agreement so far. The 35-year-old has posted a 3.97 ERA in 294 2/3 innings since arriving in Minnesota midway through the 2009 season. He posted 4.8 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 2010, when he logged 221 frames of 3.75 ERA ball.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Hoffman, Soriano, Price

By Mike Axisa | January 14, 2011 at 1:14pm CDT

On this day seven years ago, the Angels signed Vladimir Guerrero to a five-year contract worth $90MM. The deal also included an option for a sixth year at $15MM, which was eventually picked up. Vlad hit .337/.391/.598 with 39 homers in his first year with the Halos, taking home the AL MVP award. During his six year stint in Anaheim, Guerrero was a .319/.381/.546 hitter with 173 homers, winning that one MVP and finishing in the top three of the voting two other times.

Vlad is still looking for a job this offseason, but then again so are plenty of other DH's. Here is this week's batch of links…

Friarhood remembers Trevor Hoffman's time with the Padres.
RE-Think The Game looks at the pros and cons of the Rafael Soriano signing.
Baseball Time In Arlington looks at the Rangers' payroll levels in the past and going forward.
The Process Report pictures a contract extension for David Price.
Wahoo Blues breaks down Chris Perez's arbitration case.
FanSpeak wonders if the Orioles should sign a DH.
Dock of the Rays looks at how Tampa can spend some of its remaining money on the open market.
The Sports Banter put together some productive free agent platoons.
The Nats Blog wonders if the Nationals should flip Ian Desmond with Danny Espinosa defensively.
Rooftop View explains why the Matt Garza deal is no good for the Cubs.
Meanwhile, the composite believes the Garza deal helps the Yankees.
Cubs Billy Goat Blog tries to predict the Cubs' future.
Todd Van Poppel Rookie Card Retirement Plan is curious to know where the Athletics' infield depth is.
Rays Prospects chatted with Baseball America's Jim Callis about Tampa's minor league system.
Reds Minor Leagues put a dollar value on each team's farm system.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Royals, Alex Gordon Avoid Arbitration

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 14, 2011 at 12:51pm CDT

The Royals and Alex Gordon agreed to a one-year deal for 2011, avoiding arbitration, the team announced. Gordon made $1.15MM last year in his first campaign as an arbitration eligible player.

Gordon, the second overall pick in the 2005 draft, transitioned to the outfield last year after spending his entire career as a corner infielder. The 26-year-old hit .215/.315/.355 with eight homers in 281 plate appearances in 2010, so it seems unlikely that he got more than a token raise from the Royals.

Billy Butler, Kyle Davies and Rob Tejeda are Kansas City's remaining unsigned arbitration-eligible players, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows.

Tigers, Joel Zumaya Avoid Arbitration

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 14, 2011 at 12:15pm CDT

The Tigers agreed to a one-year deal with Joel Zumaya, avoiding arbitration, the team announced. Zumaya will earn $1.4MM in 2011, according to Tom Gage of the Detroit News (via Twitter). Zumaya, eligible for the third and final time, earned $915K last year.

Zumaya has an electrifying fastball and as many strikeouts (210) as innings pitched (209 2/3) in his career. In fact, the hard-throwing right-hander has the highest strikeout rate among all Tigers relievers with at least 100 appearances since the start of the 1953 season.

But Zumaya has had trouble staying healthy. Hand, shoulder and elbow injuries have limited him to 60 appearances in the past two seasons. He was effective when he pitched in 2010, posting a 2.58 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 38 1/3 innings.

As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, Armando Galarraga is the Tigers' lone unsigned arbitration eligible player now that Zumaya and Ryan Raburn have agreed to deals. Raburn and the Tigers agreed to a two-year deal this week.

Cardinals To Sign Batista, Snell

By Zachary Links | January 14, 2011 at 11:49am CDT

The Cardinals have agreed on minor league deals with Miguel Batista and Ian Snell, according to the club (via Twitter). Both right-handers will receive invitations to Spring Training.

Batista, 40 in February, turned in a 3.70 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 for the Nationals last season. In 16 major league seasons with eight different clubs, Batista owns a 4.51 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9.

Snell, 29, was part of a seven-player swap between the Mariners and the Pirates in 2009. The hurler cleared waivers and accepted a Triple-A assignment after being DFA'd by the M's in June. Snell has a career 4.80 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9.

Phillies Sign Matt Anderson

By Zachary Links | January 14, 2011 at 11:35am CDT

The Phillies have signed Matt Anderson to a minor league deal, a source tells Jerry Crasnick of ESPN (via Twitter). Anderson was taken with the top pick in the 1997 draft by the Tigers.

Anderson, 34, appeared in 245 games for the Tigers from 1998 to 2003. The right-hander registered a 4.89 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9 during that span. He last pitched in the majors in 2005 for the Rockies where he was called on in 12 games. Anderson's last stint in affiliated baseball came in 2008 when he saw limited action with the White Sox's Triple-A affiliate.

Twins To Sign Jim Thome

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 14, 2011 at 11:08am CDT

The Twins agreed to a one-year deal with Jim Thome, the team announced. The SFX client gets a $3MM guarantee with incentives based on plate appearances, according to MLB.com's Kelly Thesier (on Twitter). The left-handed slugger turned down overtures from the Rangers to continue his pursuit of 600 homers in Minneapolis.

Thome was a welcome addition to the 2010 Twins. He hit 25 homers and posted a .283/.412/.627 line in 340 plate appearances. The 40-year-old was especially effective against right-handers (1.047 OPS), but he held his own against southpaws, too (.763 OPS).

Thome is 11 home runs away from reaching 600 and 20 away from matching Sammy Sosa for seventh place on the all-time list.

Royals To Sign Jeff Francis

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 14, 2011 at 10:28am CDT

The Royals have agreed to sign Jeff Francis to a one-year deal, the team announced. ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick first reported the deal and adds that it's for $2MM guaranteed plus $2MM in incentives (Twitter link). The agreement with the Frontline client is pending a physical.

Francis drew interest from at least seven teams this offseason before agreeing to sign in Kansas City. The lefty logged 104 1/3 innings and posted a 5.00 ERA with 5.8 K/9, 2.0 BB/9 and a healthy 46.8% ground ball rate last year. He missed the entire 2009 season as he recovered from shoulder surgery.

Once the Royals dealt Zack Greinke, their need for starting pitching became even more apparent. Their internal rotation candidates include Kyle Davies, Luke Hochevar, Sean O'Sullivan, Vin Mazzaro and Zach Miner, but GM Dayton Moore needed more starting pitching depth. Kansas City expressed interest in Kevin Millwood earlier in the winter and the Scott Boras client remains unsigned.

With Francis off the board and Carl Pavano nearing an agreement to return to Minnesota, there are virtually no free agent groundballers remaining.

As MLBTR's Transaction Tracker shows, the Royals have signed Jeff Francoeur and Melky Cabrera, traded David DeJesus and Greinke away and made a number of minor deals since the offseason began.

Previewing The Market For Prince Fielder

By Mike Axisa | January 13, 2011 at 10:44pm CDT

Earlier today we heard from Scott Boras, who is still trying to find a job for three of his highest profile clients this offseason. His biggest client next offseason, both literally and figuratively, will be Prince Fielder of the Brewers. The first baseman is due to earn upwards of $15MM in 2011, his final trip through the arbitration process, and he'll hit the open market after the season at just 27 years old.

Fielder's credentials are undeniable. He's hit .281/.395/.549 with 162 total home runs over the last four seasons, an average of just over 40 per season. Only Ryan Howard has gone deep more times since 2007, and only a handful of players boast better on-base percentages. Fielder's defense is generally below average and there are legitimate long-term concerns about his size and ability to play the field. His father Cecil Fielder had a similar build and had gone from being one of the game's best sluggers to merely above average by age 30.

Boras will have his work cut out for him, because three of baseball's biggest spenders (Yankees, Tigers, Phillies) already have first basemen locked up to nine-figure contracts. The Cardinals and Red Sox figure to join that group once extensions for Albert Pujols and Adrian Gonzalez are in place, respectively. Other clubs like the Reds, White Sox, Twins, and Nationals don't have a desperate need for a first baseman. Here are some of the clubs that could have interest in Fielder next offseason…

Angels – Shut out of all the top free agents this winter, the Halos could be an aggressive player for Prince. They already have Kendry Morales at first however, meaning that they'd be locking one of the two into the DH spot for the foreseeable future. Their relationship with Boras isn't great either.
Blue Jays – If Edwin Encarnacion or Adam Lind can't handle first in 2010, Toronto could try to make a big play for Fielder. It would go against everything Alex Anthopoulos has done to date though. They might also be preoccupied with trying to re-signing Jose Bautista by then as well.
Cubs – The Cubbies added Carlos Pena on a one-year deal, so the position will be open next winter. Kosuke Fukudome's $14.5MM salary will be off the books as well, so the money seems to be there. We know they've been looking for lefty power for quite some time.
Dodgers – Ned Colletti is somewhat limited by the team's ownership situation right now, but things could change in the next 12 months. Perhaps a new owner would like to make a big splash.
Giants – Aubrey Huff just re-signed for two years but he can play other positions if needed, though if he does, it might be in deference of top prospect Brandon Belt. San Francisco will have to start thinking about a long-term extension for Tim Lincecum soon enough, and that is likely to eclipse $100MM.
Mets – Sandy Alderson has limited his free agent spending this winter, but he'll have Carlos Beltran ($20.07MM), Oliver Perez ($12MM), and Luis Castillo ($6.25MM) coming off the payroll after next season. Some of that money might go to an extension for Jose Reyes, but signing Fielder could free them up to trade Ike Davis for help elsewhere.
Orioles – The O's made a run at Mark Teixeira two winters ago, so we know they have the ability to support a $20MM a year player. Derrek Lee is on a one-year deal, and Andy MacPhail could choose to add that big power bat just as his young players start to mature.
Rangers – Texas has still has some Cliff Lee money to spend, but this would still be a long shot. They have several players due sizable arbitration raises in the next two years (most notably Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz), and would probably need to unload Michael Young as well.

We shouldn't rule the Brewers out either, no matter how unlikely it seems. They made a representative offer to CC Sabathia after the 2008 season, so we know they have that kind of money available. Of course that was before they added Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum, and before signing both Corey Hart and Yovani Gallardo long-term. The market for Fielder still has another 11 months to develop, and plenty will change between now and then. At this moment though, there's no clear-cut suitor.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

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