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Archives for February 2011

New York Notes: Cano, Jeter, Castillo, Paulino

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We've already heard this morning about one New York club finalizing some minor league deals, while the other had a minor league offer turned down. Let's catch up on the rest of the latest updates on the Yankees and Mets….

  • On the heels of hiring agent Scott Boras, Robinson Cano says he doesn't intend to ask the Yankees for a contract extension before his current deal expires, writes Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger.
  • Derek Jeter spoke to media today at Spring Training, including Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). The longtime Yankee said that, when the time comes, he fully plans to exercise his 2014 player option.
  • Feinsand's Daily News colleague Bill Madden would like to see the Yankees open up the competition for the fourth and fifth rotation spots to some of their top prospects.
  • Luis Castillo arrived later than expected to Mets' camp, due in part to his brother's upcoming surgery, tweets Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork. Newsday's David Lennon adds (via Twitter) that Castillo cleared up the misunderstanding with manager Terry Collins and is ready to compete for the team's second base job.
  • Ronny Paulino's arrival to camp has also been delayed, in his case by visa issues, says Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger. Paulino, who was suspended last year for violating baseball's drug policy, will miss the first eight games of this season as he finishes serving the suspension.

Millwood Rejected Yankees’ Minor League Offer

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One of the few notable names left on the starting pitching market, Kevin Millwood still appears to be seeking a Major League contract. The veteran right-hander recently turned down a minor league offer from the Yankees, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. According to Sherman, the deal was structured similarly to the one Freddy Garcia signed with the club.

Despite their ongoing need for help at the back of the rotation, the Yankees are "adamant" about not guaranteeing Millwood big league money to compete for a starting pitching job. If the righty were to sign a minor league deal, he would have to beat out New York's other in-house options to earn a roster spot.

Considering most teams have figured out their rotations by now, there may not be a Major League offer out there for the 36-year-old. While it's never safe to underestimate Scott Boras, Millwood doesn't seem to have many suitors, with the Yankees and Indians among the few teams linked to him in recent weeks. When we asked you last weekend for predictions on Millwood's landing spot, those two clubs combined to earn about 70% of over 6,800 votes.

Mets Sign Three To Minor League Deals

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After reaching the majors for the first time last season at age 31, Jesus Feliciano was dropped from the Mets' 40-man roster shortly after the season. A few months later, however, Feliciano is returning to New York. The team re-signed the outfielder on a minor league deal, tweets Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork. The Mets also inked Chris Shelton and Kent Tsujimoto to minor league contracts.

Before making his major league debut last June, Feliciano had spent his last four seasons playing for the Mets' Triple-A affiliate. Though he doesn't hit for much power, slugging just 18 homers in more than 5,000 minor league plate appearances, the lefty has hit .317 in AAA for the Mets over the last four years.

Shelton, 30, has seen time in the majors with the Tigers, Rangers, and Mariners. The first baseman is perhaps best remembered for his torrid start in Detroit in 2006, when he homered nine times in his first 13 games. He hasn't played in the bigs since he earned 28 plate appearances for Seattle in 2009.

Tsujimoto, a 22-year-old Japanese right-hander, pitched for Na Koa Ikaika Maui of the Golden Baseball League in 2010, recording a 2.88 ERA and 12.6 K/9 in 32 relief appearances.

Quick Hits: Diamondbacks, LaRoche, Pence, Young

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Some links for Saturday evening as the cold weather makes its way back to the Northeast..

2012 Vesting Options

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Vesting options are always worth keeping track of during the season, especially since they can often have consequences that are less than desirable. Last year Magglio Ordonez ($15MM), Kerry Wood ($11MM), and Brian Fuentes ($9MM) all had big money options that did not vest, though Darren Oliver ($3.25MM) and Trever Miller ($2MM) had some smaller ones that did. 

Here is a list of 2012 vesting options to keep an eye on this summer…

  • Bobby Abreu, Angels: $9MM option vests with 433 plate appearances. Abreu hasn't come to the plate fewer than 589 times in a season since 1997, his rookie year.
  • Adam Wainwright, Cardinals: His $9MM option for 2012 and $12MM option for 2013 will lock in as long as he does not finish 2011 on the disabled list. His second place finish in the 2010 Cy Young voting was step one of the vesting process.
  • Aramis Ramirez, Cubs: $16MM option vests if he is named MVP of either the regular season or League Championship Series, or if he is traded at some point in 2011.
  • Rafael Furcal, Dodgers: $12MM option vests with 600 plate appearances. Furcal has come to the plate 600+ times just once in the last three seasons (2009) due to injuries.
  • Jon Garland, Dodgers: $8MM option vests with 190 innings pitched. Garland hasn't thrown fewer than 191 1/3 innings since becoming a full-time starter in 2002.
  • Francisco Rodriguez, Mets: $17.5MM option vests with 55 games finished and if doctors declare him healthy at the end of the season.
  • Koji Uehara, Orioles: $4MM option vests with either 55 appearances or 25 games finished. Uehara hasn't reached either milestone in his first two big league seasons, though he came close in 2010: 43 appearances and 22 games finished.
  • Arthur Rhodes, Rangers: $4MM option vests with 62 appearances and if he's not on the disabled list at the end of the season.
  • Joakim Soria, Royals: $6MM option vests with 55 appearances, which he's done in three of his four big league seasons. The chances of it coming into play are microscopic, but Soria has a $6.5MM option for 2012 that could vest with 334 1/3 innings pitched (400 IP in 2010 & 2011). That was obviously put into his contract in case the team ever moved him into the rotation.
  • Dan Wheeler, Red Sox: $3MM option vests with 65 games; increases to $3.25MM with 70 games.  Wheeler reached 64 games in 2010, but had at least 69 in each of the previous five seasons.

Mark Buehrle is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2011 season and although he doesn't have a traditional option in his contract, he gets an extra year at $15MM tacked onto his current deal if he's traded at some point this season. 

Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.

Poll: Best Move Of The Offseason

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Pitchers and position players have poured into camps spread across Florida and Arizona this week, officially bringing an end to the 2010-2011 offseason. We saw several monster free agent contracts handed out this winter and quite a few blockbuster trades, perhaps more than we’re accustomed too. Multiyear contracts buying out arbitration and free agent years also increased in popularity.

Our Transaction Tracker shows every move completed this offseason, whether it be a trade, free agent signing, contract extension, or even a waiver claim. Some clubs improved by leaps and bounds, others made small, incremental steps. Everyone is in first place today, and we’re still about five weeks from seeing these moves actually impact the standings. That’s never stopped us from judging them though…

AL East Notes: Yankees, Red Sox, Fenway, Epstein

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Here is the latest from two of baseball's biggest powerhouses…

  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Chad Jennings of The Journal News that there are no player moves on the horizon. "I have nothing I'm involved with right now," he said. "Zero."
  • Red Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino told Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe that his team will have the financial room to add players at the trade deadline, if needed (Twitter link).
  • Lucchino also told Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston and Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe that he was informed by engineers that Fenway Park will be structurally sound for another 40-50 years, so there are no plans for a new ballpark (Twitter links).
  • Red Sox owner John Henry told Alex Speier of WEEI.com that he doesn't even know how long GM Theo Epstein is under contract, and there are no real discussions about his future (Twitter link). Cot's Baseball Contracts doesn't know how long Epstein is under contract either.
  • Boston has paid upwards of $85MM in revenue sharing and approximately $1.5MM in luxury tax, tweets Speier.
  • Anyone dreaming of Mark Teixeira for Albert Pujols trade can stop now. The Yankees first baseman told Joel Sherman of The New York Post (on Twitter) that "I've got that no-trade [clause] for a reason. I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to be buried in these pinstripes."

Michael Young Rumors: Saturday

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This afternoon, Michael Young reported to Surprise, Arizona for Spring Training and addressed the trade talk surrounding him.  Even though he seemed to be in good spirits, the veteran infielder wouldn't say whether or not he'll rescind his trade request, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  Furthermore, the slugger has no plans to talk things over with Jon Daniels.  Here's more of what Young had to say:

  • Young insisted that he will no longer talk about the trade rumors surrounding him so as to not be a distraction to the club, says Anthony Andro of the Star-Telegram (via Twitter).  
  • The decision to ask for a trade a few weeks ago had nothing to do with his role as a DH and a utility infielder, writes Richard Durrett of ESPN.com.  Despite that, the 34-year-old is still unwilling to talk about what prompted his trade request.

Hunter Pence Wins Arbitration

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Outfielder Hunter Pence has won his arbitration case with the Astros for $6.9MM, according to Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated (Twitter links).  The 27-year-old is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.

Houston was offering the 2009 All-Star $5.15MM for this season but came away paying a bit more.  With Pence now taken care of, the Astros have no more arbitration cases to tackle for 2011, according to the MLBTR Arb Tracker.

This marks a big win for BHSC, particularly since this W comes against arbitration guru Tal Smith.  The agency holds a 4-4 record in the last decade of arb cases.

Rangers To Sign Brett Tomko

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The Rangers have agreed to sign Brett Tomko to a minor league deal, a source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com (via Twitter).  Tomko pitched just 62.2 innings last season in Oakland's farm system while rehabbing from a nerve problem in his pitching arm.

In 2009, Tomko posted a 3.77 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 in 57.1 innings for the Yankees and Athletics.  The right-hander worked out of the bullpen for the Bombers but made six starts for the A's.  Tomko, 37, owns a 3.77 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 for his career.

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