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Archives for February 2011

Next Winter’s Crop Of Free Agent Second Basemen

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For a long time, talk of the 2011-12 winter revolved around the four first basemen who would hit the market at once. Prince Fielder remains on track to become a free agent after the season, but the class won't be as memorable as it could have been. Albert Pujols could sign an extension within 24 hours, Adrian Gonzalez will probably sign an extension within two months and Ryan Howard is locked up through 2016.

But even though top first basemen are signing long-term deals, next year's free agent class figures to be strong at second base. While Orlando Hudson, and Juan Uribe highlighted the 2010-11 offseason, the upcoming class of free agents figures to feature more stars at second.

Robinson Cano ($14MM club option), Brandon Phillips ($12MM club option) and Aaron Hill (series of club options) could all hit the open market, though it seems likely that their current clubs will retain them, at least through 2012.

Two Bay Area second basemen, Mark Ellis and Freddy Sanchez, are set to hit free agency after the 2011 season. So are Kelly Johnson, who just avoided arbitration, and Rickie Weeks, who is working to do the same. (The Brewers are still discussing a multiyear deal with Weeks, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. I wouldn't be surprised to see the sides reach a deal before long, since they are up against a deadline and Johnson, a top comparable for Weeks, just settled.) Clint Barmes, Omar Infante and Jose Lopez are on track to hit free agency after the season and early non-tender candidate Ryan Theriot could also hit the open market.

Some of the players above will sign extensions or see their options exercised, but teams looking to add proven players should have a deeper than usual class of second basemen to choose from next offseason.

D’Backs, Kelly Johnson Avoid Arbitration

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The Diamondbacks avoided arbitration with Kelly Johnson and agreed to a one-year deal, the team announced. Johnson will earn $5.85MM next year, according to the AP (via the Boston Herald). As our Arb Tracker shows, Johnson asked for $6.5MM and the D'Backs countered with a $4.7MM offer.

The Braves non-tendered Johnson before last season and he responded with career-highs in homers (26) and slugging percentage (.496). He added 36 doubles and a .370 OBP while playing second base. Johnson, 28, earned $2.35MM last year. He is set to hit free agency after the 2011 season.

Only four arbitration eligible players remain unsigned for 2011: Jose Bautista, Hunter Pence, Rickie Weeks and Delmon Young.

How To Use MLBTR

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Yankees Notes: Sabathia, Lee, Posada

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C.C. Sabathia made headlines yesterday when he declined to say definitively that he won't opt out of his contract after the coming season. Here are some updates on Sabathia and his teammates as Spring Training continues…

  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Joel Sherman of the New York Post he won't have regrets about granting Sabathia's opt-out clause even if the left-hander exercises it, since the Yankees won a World Series with him (in 2009).
  • Yahoo's Jeff Passan says Sabathia will opt out after the season, because the market will allow him to earn more than $92MM in guaranteed money (that's how much will remain on his contract after 2011).
  • Sherman says Cliff Lee haunts the Yankees' past, present and future and guesses that it would cost at least seven years and $175MM for the Yankees to re-work Sabathia's contract, partly because of Lee.
  • Jorge Posada told Tyler Kepner of the New York Times that it would be "real tough" to play elsewhere after the coming season, when he hits free agency (Twitter link).

Rockies To Sign Jesus Colome

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The Rockies agreed to sign Jesus Colome to a minor league deal, according to Jack Etkin of Inside the Rockies. The Rockies consider Colome and Chris Sampson depth options who could end up at Triple-A Colorado Springs.

Colome, 33, signed with the Mariners, then the Dodgers, then the Rangers in 2010, a whirlwind season for the right-hander. He posted a 5.29 ERA in 17 innings for Seattle with 8.5 K/9 and 5.8 BB/9. Colome was an reliable contributor for the 2007-08 Nationals, when he posted a 4.07 ERA in 122 relief appearances (137 innings).

Latest On Sabathia Opt-Out Decision

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10:38pm: Barring something unforseen, Sabathia is expected to exercise the opt-out clause in his contract, a source with knowledge of the situation told Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.

9:35am: Not many players would ever think about walking away from $92MM, but C.C. Sabathia is one of the few who could consider it. Sabathia can opt out of his contract with the Yankees after the season, but repeated today that he does not intend to do so. The left-hander told reporters, including Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger, that he will not opt out and that he doesn't intend to address the issue again this season (Twitter link).

However, Sabathia later told Joel Sherman of the New York Post that "anything is possible in a contract," suggesting that he could opt out.

Sabathia, a Legacy Sports client, signed a player-friendly seven-year, $161MM deal after the 2008 season. The contract allows him to choose between $92MM from 2012-15 or another free agent contract. Given the shortage of top available starters Sabathia would have a lot of leverage if he opts out. Sabathia has thrived in the AL East, posting a 3.27 ERA (136 ERA+) in 467 2/3 innings and leading the league in wins in consecutive seasons.

Offseason In Review: Pittsburgh Pirates

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The Pirates are next in our Offseason In Review series.

Major League Signings

Notable Minor League Signings

Trades and Claims

Notable Losses

Summary

The Pirates ramped up their free agent spending this offseason, adding three significant big league contracts and plenty of interesting players on minor league deals for new manager Clint Hurdle.  GM Neal Huntington also cut ties with a trio of disappointing arbitration eligible players in Duke, Milledge, and LaRoche.

CorreiaThough the signing did not generate national headlines, the Correia deal was significant for the Pirates franchise.  It had been 12 years since the Bucs signed a domestic free agent pitcher to a multiyear deal.  Why take this leap for 2011?  Correia is a sleeper, a relatively young righty who can get groundballs and hopefully supply 200 innings.  If he can regain his '09 form, he'll step in as the staff leader as Paul Maholm's Pirates tenure winds down.

The Pirates' 2011 rotation could feature Correia, Olsen, and James McDonald, all recent additions.  Duke is gone, and while Maholm is penciled in he's probably trade bait.  Huntington took over as Pirates GM in September of 2007, and for all his machinations over the last three-plus years he hasn't brought in any decent Major League starting pitching aside from Ross Ohlendorf.  Plus, the Pirates overestimated what they had by giving multiyear deals to Maholm and Ian Snell.  The next two waves of starting pitching must transform the Pirates, with McDonald, Bryan Morris, Rudy Owens, and Jeff Locke in the near-term and Jameson Taillon, Stetson Allie, and Luis Heredia further down the road.

The Pirates had to overpay a bit to secure Overbay and Diaz, though both veterans have limited upside.  In the best case Overbay hits like he did over the season's final four months (.261/.351/.458) and a Diaz/Garrett Jones right field platoon plays to each player's strength.  I can't envision either Overbay or Diaz being flipped for anything significant, so these might be respectability signings.  Those types of acquisitions haven't worked out well for the Pirates, with Akinori Iwamura and Ramon Vazquez coming to mind.

I'm more intrigued by the Pirates' minor deals.  Beimel and Veras should augment the bullpen at minimal commitments, while Marte, Fields, and Atkins were all highly-regarded third basemen in years past.  The Pirates didn't have success trying to upgrade over Ronny Cedeno at shortstop, though they reportedly checked in on J.J. Hardy, Jason Bartlett, and Brendan Ryan.  Rule 5 pick Rodriguez should have a big league future, whether at shortstop or second base.  Anything Valdez provides is a plus, since the Bucs were set to non-tender Duke anyway.

The Pirates have yet to top 67 wins in a season during Huntington's tenure, and have an active streak of 18 consecutive losing seasons.  Milledge and LaRoche were supposed to become solid regulars, but both have already been cut loose.  Formerly extended players Ryan Doumit and Paul Maholm are nearing the end of their Pirates careers as well.  Pirates fans are probably in for two or three more years of stopgap veterans, though position player talent is on the rise with Andrew McCutchen, Jose Tabata, Pedro Alvarez, and Neil Walker.  If Huntington is to last to see Taillon's big league debut, he'll need the aforementioned second wave of starting pitching to break through to some extent in 2011.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Quick Hits: Young, Bautista, Prado, Jorge

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Happy Bobby Valentine day everybody!  Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week.  Try the roast beef and be sure to tip your staff writers.  Here are some links for Monday night..

  • Melissa Segura of SI (via Twitter) reminds us that some of baseball's elite international free agents will be playing in Tuesday's Dominican International League All-Star Game.
  • From all indications, Michael Young isn't a fit for the Marlins, writes MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.
  • Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star (via Twitter) is "99-percent sure" that the postponement of Jose Bautista's arbitration hearing will result in a multiyear deal.  The session, originally scheduled for Monday, has been pushed back until Friday.
  • It's not yet known why Elmer Dessens' deal with the Giants fell through but Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that when a team is tightlipped on such matters, it could mean they did not like something in the physical.
  • Braves infielder Martin Prado was hesitant about changing positions to accommodate the arrival of Dan Uggla but is now comfortable with the move to left field, writes MLB.com's Mark Bowman.
  • The Twins have been impressed by Felix Jorge's development over the last few months, writes Kelly Thesier of MLB.com. 

Albert Pujols Rumors: Monday

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Albert Pujols has given the Cardinals a deadline. If the sides don't agree to an extension by Wednesday, the powerful first baseman will hit free agency after the season. That possibility appears increasingly likely these days; Pujols turned down an extension from the Cardinals about two weeks ago and his agent has since told other teams that the Cardinals have "no chance" of locking Pujols up. Here's the latest, with the most recent updates up top:

  • One competing baseball executive believes that the Cubs will offer Pujols the Alex Rodriguez deal, meaning $27.5MM per year over ten years, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.
  • Cardinals GM John Mozeliak told Goold that he'd  "like to have a term sheet" completed by Wednesday's deadline (Twitter link). Presumably that means the Cardinals would be happy to agree to terms with Pujols, even if the contractual language gets finalized later.
  • Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the precise time of the deadline (on Twitter). The Cardinals asked to shift the deadline to 12pm EDT on Wednesday so as not to interfere with Stan Musial, who will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House tomorrow. Pujols agreed to the new deadline.

NL East Notes: Perez, Manuel, Lee

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Here are some tidbits from the National League East..

  • Today, Oliver Perez notified the Mets that he wants to make the club as a starting pitcher, writes David Waldstein of the New York Times.  Perez met with manager, Terry Collins, and GM Sandy Alderson to inform them of his stance.  However, it is far more likely that he will be a lefty out of the bullpen or be released before the season starts.  Perez is owed $12MM in the final year of his three-year contract.
  • Collins told Perez that he'll have an opportunity to make the Mets' rotation, writes Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal.
  • After more than two months of talks, the Phillies and manager Charlie Manuel still have been unable to reach agreement on a contract extension.  Tonight, Manuel's agent Pat Rooney told Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com that the two sides are not seeing eye-to-eye on dollars.  “Charlie deserves to be paid as one of the top five managers in baseball,” the agent said. “I don’t want to negotiate through the media, but they know our position. Hopefully we’ll have something by Opening Day.”
  • When addressing the media today, Cliff Lee insisted that he chose the Phillies over other clubs, such as the Yankees, because he felt that the Phillies gave him the best chance to win, writes Ken Davidoff of Newsday.

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