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Archives for April 2011

Stark On Edwin Jackson, Royals, Playoffs

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The latest from ESPN's Jayson Stark…

  • Stark writes that Mark Buehrle is "widely expected to re-up with the White Sox," leaving a thin free agent market for starting pitchers next winter if Roy Oswalt and Chris Carpenter have their options picked up and C.J. Wilson re-signs with the Rangers.  As I suggested last month, Scott Boras client Edwin Jackson could move to the head of the non-Sabathia class.  One NL executive said to Stark, "Scott will make him sound like Walter Johnson.  But how many teams has this guy been on?"
  • The Royals' payroll could eventually rise as the Twins' did if all goes according to plan, team officials have been telling people in the game.
  • Regarding the current labor negotiations, Stark hears that owners want a one-game playoff between the two wild card teams, while the players want a best-of-three.  Which would you prefer?

Rafael Furcal Not Retiring

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1:06pm: Furcal's agent Paul Kinzer ended the retirement talk, telling Yahoo's Tim Brown, "He'll be back.  He's just frustrated" (Twitter link).

7:34am: Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal broke his thumb last night, and MLB.com's Ken Gurnick has his postgame reaction:

"I think about retiring if I'm not healthy. I feel so good with my back, now this — what do you think I am thinking?"

The recovery time could be four to six weeks, but Gurnick says Furcal will see a hand specialist today.  Most likely, the 33-year-old shortstop was just emotional in the aftermath of yet another injury.  He'll probably be talked out of the retirement idea by Dodgers teammates and management as well as his agent.

Furcal's contract, signed in December of 2008 amid all kinds of drama, calls for a $12MM salary this year.  He also has a 2012 option for the same salary that vests with 600 plate appearances, which is no longer possible.

Most teams would suffer a major downgrade if they lost their starting shortstop, and the Dodgers are no exception.  Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Times runs through the team's internal options.

Cubs Sign Doug Davis

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12:55pm: Davis will earn a $900K pro-rated salary in the Majors, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, with the chance to earn close to $2MM with incentives.

12:21pm: The Cubs have signed Davis, tweets Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.  The lefty will head to extended Spring Training.  Wittenmyer suggests the signing was done to provide "longer-term depth."

10:39am: The Cubs are close to signing free agent lefty Doug Davis to a minor league deal, MLBTR has learned.  The contract will include some kind of opt-out.  The team is in need of rotation depth given the recent injuries to Randy Wells and Andrew Cashner.  They added Ramon Ortiz on a minor league deal a few days ago.

Davis, 35, made only eight starts with the Brewers last year due to a heart condition and eventual surgery to fix a small tear in the flexor tendon of his elbow.  At his best, Davis can eat up innings and work around the many baserunners he allows.

Michael Young Not Seeking Trade

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Rangers infielder Michael Young appeared on ESPN's Mike & Mike show today, and he's backed off from his February trade request:

"At this point now, my thoughts are completely on the Texas Rangers.  That's the way it should be. I'm not going to sit here and say I want to leave a team that's 9-1, a team that went to the World Series last year. Right now a trade is the furthest thing from my mind. Once the season rolls around, it's time to play baseball. I'm not going to concern myself with things I can't control."

So far this year, Young has played seven games at DH, two at second base, and one at first base for the Rangers.

The Dodgers, who lost shortstop Rafael Furcal to a broken thumb last night, "recently checked back" with the Rangers on Young according to Yahoo's Tim Brown (Twitter link).  However, Brown says the price hasn't dropped and the Dodgers passed.

Rangers Notes: Thad Levine, C.J. Wilson

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At 9-1, the Rangers have the best record in baseball.  They've scored a healthy six runs per game and lead the league with a 2.22 ERA.  The latest on the club:

  • Assistant GM Thad Levine agreed to an extension that runs through 2015, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  Levine told ESPN's Richard Durrett he's honored and thankful for the job security.  Jon Daniels brought Levine aboard in October of 2005, two weeks after he was hired as GM.
  • Durrett has an excerpt from Jayson Stark's upcoming column, in which Stark spoke to Rangers lefty C.J. Wilson.  The 30-year-old can be a free agent after the season.  "The winning thing is more important than anything else," Wilson told Stark.  Wilson agrees with Roy Halladay that free agency is more about picking where you play than about making the most money.  The Rangers made an offer to Wilson in March, which you can read about here.
  • While we're talking Rangers, head here to read MLBTR's Offseason In Review from last week.

2012 Contract Issues: Baltimore Orioles

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The Orioles are next in our 2012 Contract Issues series.

Eligible For Free Agency (6)

  • Vladimir Guerrero and Derrek Lee were signed as free agents to one-year deals totaling $15.25MM plus incentives.  Ideally, Orioles minor league player of the year Joe Mahoney will be ready to take over at first base in 2012.
  • Mike Gonzalez, signed as a closer at the cost of $12MM and a draft pick, seems to be third in the pecking order in an improved Orioles bullpen.  He's in need of a healthy year.
  • J.J. Hardy will be eligible for free agency, probably a year later than he thought he'd be.  Right now he's headed to the DL for a strained oblique; Hardy hasn't had 500 plate appearances in a season since '08.  Though Jose Reyes and Jimmy Rollins may also be on the free agent market, Hardy should be fairly popular.  His backup Cesar Izturis is also eligible for free agency.
  • Justin Duchscherer hopes to make his Orioles debut on April 21st.  He's battling hip and back issues.

Contract Options (1)

  • Koji Uehara: $4MM option vests with either 55 appearances or 25 games finished.  Though his elbow started barking during Spring Training, Uehara still has a good chance of meeting one of the requirements.

Arbitration Eligible (11)

A few of these players will fail to accrue enough service time to be arbitration eligible or will be non-tendered or released.  Jones, Guthrie, and Scott are the three cases that will be worth watching.  Guthrie and Scott could cost $9MM each, and Jones around $6MM.  It's hard to say at this point whether Scott will be a non-tender candidate.

2012 Payroll Obligation

The Orioles have a 2012 payroll obligation of about $36MM for 2012 according to Cot's Baseball Contracts, with Nick Markakis, Brian Roberts, and Mark Reynolds leading the way.  Assuming Uehara, Jones, Guthrie, Scott, Pie, and Johnson are retained, they'll be in the $69MM range – about $18MM short of the 2011 Opening Day payroll.  The Orioles should again have payroll space to work with, especially if one of the more expensive arbitration eligible players is traded.

Offseason In Review: Detroit Tigers

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The Tigers are next in our Offseason In Review series.

Major League Signings

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Trades and Claims

Notable Losses

Summary

The Tigers' offseason was all about being aggressive early, as they locked up Inge, Peralta, Benoit, and Martinez before the end of November.  GM Dave Dombrowski was able to land his top targets, but often had to overpay in the process.

Dombrowski's commitment to Benoit shook the relief market.  The contrast was stark for a reliever whose previous contract was a minor league deal.  Explained the GM, "When you want to get the best players at certain positions, you have to be aggressive and prepared to do things."  The Tigers should be commended for signing the reliever they felt was the best available, going the extra mile to get it done.  Like most eight-figure relief contracts, this one is risky – Benoit is a 33-year-old who had rotator cuff surgery in January of '09.

The early push to sign Inge and Peralta is more difficult to understand.  Despite being known as an offensive-minded infielder, Peralta hasn't hit much since '08.  And while Inge might make up for Peralta's lack of range, he's a negative with the bat as well.  The free agent market typically doesn't reward defense-first players with the kind of contract Inge received.  The Tigers' goal here seemed to be to secure the left side of their infield and have cost certainty before moving on to bigger fish.

VMart

That big fish was Martinez (pictured).  The popularity of Martinez and Adam Dunn on the free agent market showed that teams are willing to make large commitments to players with little defensive value.  Martinez has more than Dunn, in that the former can don the tools of ignorance without embarrassing himself.  I would have liked the V-Mart signing more if it didn't require giving the Red Sox the best unprotected draft pick at #19.  Now, the Tigers won't have a pick in the 2011 draft until #76.  Still, the team got the capable middle of the order bat they sought from the outset of the offseason.

Dombrowski was able to further bolster the offense by signing Ordonez, who chose the popular Scott Boras "pillow contract" as he attempts to rebuild value after a fractured ankle ended his season in July.  Unlike Carlos Pena, Ordonez was at least coming off a strong season.  However, at age 37, Ordonez's durability will be a huge question mark – especially with Martinez claiming the DH spot most of the time.

Converted reliever Phil Coke filled one rotation spot, while Dombrowski took a $3MM flier on Penny for the other.  Sooner or later teams will stop guaranteeing Penny millions of dollars on the hope that he will have another 2007.  To be fair, Penny only needs to provide 100 solid innings to be worth the $3MM guarantee.  The bigger question is where the Tigers will turn when they inevitably need a sixth or seventh starter.  Andy Oliver is big league ready, though top prospect Jacob Turner is only 19 years old.  Lefties Casey Crosby, Duane Below, Charlie Furbush, and Adam Wilk could factor in depending on the magnitude of the Tigers' need.  MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith addressed the Tigers' rotation depth last month in a piece at FanGraphs.

The Tigers had significant money come off the books after the '10 season, and despite their numerous free agent commitments the Opening Day payroll still appears to be down about $27MM.  I wasn't a fan of all of Dombrowski's choices, but I respect his aggressive pursuit of primary targets.  If the 2011 Tigers fail, it won't be because the market got away from them and they had to go to Plan B or C.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Quick Hits: Abreu, Dodgers, Snell

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Links for Monday night, as Sam Fuld comes tantalizingly close to hitting for the cycle and a couple of young left-handers toe the rubber in San Francisco…

Blue Jays Sign Dewayne Wise

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The Blue Jays signed Dewayne Wise to a minor league deal, according to Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star (on Twitter). The Marlins signed Wise in January, but released him before Opening Day, making him a free agent.

Though Wise is dealing with a bunion problem on his foot, the Blue Jays gain some depth by bringing him back to Toronto. Corey Patterson is coming off of the DL, but Rajai Davis is now on the DL with an ankle injury, so the team could use outfield depth, especially in center.

Wise, 33, spent the 2010 campaign with the Blue Jays and hit .250/.282/.393 in 118 plate appearances, backing up at all three outfield positions. The Blue Jays granted him free agency last November.

Upcoming Player Options

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Teams covet options and are reluctant to provide them to players when it's not absolutely necessary, so there are about ten times as many club options as player options coming up after the season. Here's a look at the four upcoming player options and whether they're likely to be exercised:

  • Marco Scutaro, Red Sox – If the Red Sox don't exercise Scutaro's $6MM option, he can remain in Boston for $3MM instead of taking a $1.5MM buyout. Top shortstop prospect Jose Iglesias is now at Triple-A and could position himself to take over the regular shortstop job in 2012. Scutaro, who turns 36 before the offseason, may be choosing between free agency with a $1.5MM buyout or a backup job with a $3MM salary.
  • Ryan Dempster, Cubs - With a typical season (200-plus innings, sub-4.00 ERA, 8.0 K/9, 48% ground ball rate) Dempster would be one of the top pitchers available in a weak free agent class. He'll be 34 after the season, but that's how old Ted Lilly was when he signed his current three-year deal.
  • Rafael Soriano, Yankees – Soriano can opt out and collect $1.5MM or exercise his $11MM player option and stay in the Bronx for another year (or two). Agent Scott Boras did well to bypass GM Brian Cashman and find his client a player-friendly deal last offseason and it's hard to imagine a better opportunity arising for Soriano, even if he reproduces his tremendous 2010 numbers. Soriano's leverage will be reduced with so many quality relievers hitting free agency at once.
  • C.C. Sabathia, Yankees – Sabathia will be the top free agent starter if he opts out and, with respect to Dempster, Mark Buehrle and C.J. Wilson, it's not that close. Sabathia can exercise a four-year, $92MM option if he gets hurt, has an off-year or decides free agency is too much of a hassle, but the early expectation is that he'll opt out. It's a win-win decision for the big left-hander.

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