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Rangers Close To Signing Leon’ys Martin

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12:57pm: However, Peter Gammons hears that the Red Sox offered less than $2MM for Martin (Twitter link).

THURSDAY, 12:44pm: The Red Sox offered Martin over $12MM and the Rangers topped that offer, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. Knobler hears good things about Martin from a scout whose team dropped out of the bidding.

WEDNESDAY: The Rangers are close to signing Cuban center fielder Leon'ys Martin to a Major League deal, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The 23-year-old defected from Cuba last year and hit free agency last month. If the Rangers complete the signing, Martin will start his career in the minor leagues.

Baseball America's John Manuel described Martin as a speedy outfielder who plays strong defense. He was a bench player for Cuba in the 2009 World Baseball Classic and is "considered an elite prospect," according to ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr.

The Brandon Phillips Trade Five Years Later

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Today, Brandon Phillips may be the Reds’ most recognizable player. Five years ago? He was anything but. When then-GM Wayne Krivsky acquired Phillips from the Indians on this date in 2006, he was a 24-year-old unknown who had yet to convert his intriguing potential into Major League production.

Phillips

He’d had his chances. In a season’s worth of plate appearances over the the course of four years in Cleveland, Phillips had just a .556 OPS. The minor league numbers which had once helped solidify his place among the game’s best prospects had fallen off; in his third season at Triple-A, Phillips’ average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage all dropped.

But Krivsky decided to give Phillips a chance and the Indians, unable to find room on their roster for the out-of-options infielder, had had enough. Three and a half seasons after acquiring him in the Bartolo Colon trade, then-GM Mark Shapiro sent Phillips to Ohio’s other team for a player to be named later.

The Indians ultimately acquired reliever Jeff Stevens in the deal and would eventually send the right-hander to the Cubs in a trade for Mark DeRosa. The Indians later acquired current closer Chris Perez in exchange for DeRosa, so, in a roundabout way, they have something to show for Phillips.

It doesn’t compare to what the Reds got. In the five seasons since the trade, Phillips has hit .275/.326/.447, averaging 21 homers, 24 steals and 151 games per season, enough for 16.8 wins above replacement (42nd among MLB position players for that period). He has won two Gold Gloves (deservingly, according to UZR) and has a 30-30 season and two other 20-20 seasons to his name. 

Phillips, the longest-tenured position player on the Reds, outlasted Krivsky, who was fired in 2008. But the former GM deserves recognition for a deal that helped the Reds return to the top of the NL Central standings.

Photo courtesy Icon SMI.

Orioles Notes: Martinez, Wieters, Jones

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The Orioles will attempt to recover from their first loss of the season tonight when they face Brad Penny and the Tigers. In the meantime, here are some links…

  • Victor Martinez tells Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun that he appreciated the Orioles' interest in him this offseason, when they offered $48MM over four years to become their first baseman. "It was a pretty tough decision," Martinez said. Instead, he signed with the Tigers for $50MM.
  • Orioles pitching coach Mark Connor told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that catcher Matt Wieters is "by far the most amazing 'feel' guy at that age" he has ever seen. Wieters' tempo and game-calling are impressing the Orioles. Those skills were a big reason the Orioles weren't interested in Martinez as a catcher.
  • Peter Schmuck of the Sun isn't looking to nitpick, but he says Adam Jones' approach at the plate is one potential area of concern for the Orioles early on.
  • After a surprising 4-1 start thanks to their impressive pitching, the Orioles are 15th on WEEI.com's power rankings.

Completed $100MM+ Contracts

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The nine-figure contract is still a relatively new phenomenon in baseball. There have only been 26 contracts worth $100MM or more given out in baseball history, and we're just now starting to see the first wave of those deals expire. Here are the eight such contracts that have expired…

  • Alex Rodriguez (ten years, $252MM) – A-Rod originally signed this deal with the Rangers, then opted out of the last three years and $81MM while with the Yankees. He hit .304/.400/.591 and won three MVP awards during the seven years of the deal, then landed another ten-year contract worth $275MM.
  • Derek Jeter (ten years, $189MM) – The Yankees' captain hit .310/.380/.445 during this contract, then signed another three-year pact worth $51MM this past offseason.
  • Manny Ramirez (eight years, $160MM) – Manny spend the vast majority of this contract with the Red Sox, hitting .315/.415/.595 in the process. He then signed a two-year deal worth $45MM.
  • Mike Hampton (eight years, $121MM) – This deal didn't go as well as the first three; Hampton pitched to a 4.81 ERA in 147 starts, missing time with numerous injuries. He spent most of the contract with the Braves after originally signing it with the Rockies.
  • Jason Giambi (seven years, $120MM) – Giambi's time with New York was tainted by injury and PED controversy, but he still hit an impressive .260/.404/.521.
  • Ken Griffey Jr. (nine years, $112.5MM) – Another big money deal marred by injury, The Kid hit .269/.361/.510 almost entirely with the Reds during the contract.
  • Kevin Brown (seven years, $105MM) – Brown dealt with some injuries during the life of the contract, but pitched to a 3.23 ERA for the Dodgers and Yankees before retiring.
  • Albert Pujols (seven years, $100MM) – The guaranteed portion of this deal is over,though the Cardinals exercised their $16MM club option to keep him around this season. Pujols hit .334/.443/.635 with three MVP awards during the first seven seasons of the contract.

Carlos Beltran's seven-year, $119MM deal with the Mets will expire after season. Todd Helton's nine-year, $141.5MM deal with the Rockies would have expired as well, but he agreed to a restructured deal last March that tacked on two guaranteed years in exchange for a lower salary in 2011. 

Cot's Baseball Contract was used for this post.

How Teams Obtained Their Current Closers

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The day before the season started, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith looked at how each team acquired their Opening Day starter. Let's fast forward to the end of the game, and do the same for each team's current (not necessarily Opening Day) closer…

Trades (10)

Free Agent Signings (10)

  • Francisco Cordero, Reds – Signed a contract worth $46MM over four years in November 2007.
  • Francisco Rodriguez, Mets – Signed a contract worth $37MM over three years in December 2008.
  • Brandon Lyon, Astros – Signed a contract worth $15MM over three years in December 2009.
  • Jose Valverde, Tigers – Signed a contract worth $14MM over two years in January 2010.
  • Brian Fuentes, Athletics – Signed a contract worth $10.5MM over two years in January 2011.
  • J.J. Putz, Diamondbacks – Signed a contract worth $10MM over two years in December 2010.
  • Kevin Gregg, Orioles – Signed a  contract worth $10MM over two years in January 2011.
  • Jose Contreras, Phillies – Signed a contract worth $5.5MM over two years in November 2010. Originally signed with Philadelphia in January 2010.
  • Ryan Franklin, Cardinals – Signed a contract worth $1MM over one year in January 2007. Franklin has since signed two extensions to remain in St. Louis.
  • John Axford, Brewers – Signed a minor league contract in March 2008. 

Draft Picks (5)

  • Jonathan Broxton, Dodgers – Selected in the second round of the 2002 draft.
  • Craig Kimbrel, Braves – Selected in the third round of the 2008 draft.
  • Jonathan Papelbon, Red Sox – Selected in the fourth round of the 2003 draft.
  • Jordan Walden, Angels – Selected in the 12th round of the 2006 draft.
  • Brian Wilson, Giants – Selected in the 24th round of the 2003 draft.

International Free Agent Signings (2)

  • Carlos Marmol, Cubs – Signed as an amateur free agent in July 1999.
  • Mariano Rivera, Yankees – Signed as an amateur free agent in February 1990.

Rule 5 Draft Picks (1)

  • Joakim Soria, Royals – Selected from the Padres in December 2006. 

A few of these guys are just temporary fill-ins. Andrew Bailey (draft pick), David Aardsma (trade), and Brad Lidge (trade) will take over for Fuentes, League, and Contreras, respectively, once healthy. The Blue Jays haven't had a save opportunity yet, so we don't know for sure who will fill in for the injured Frank Francisco (trade). The Rays haven't had a save opportunity yet either, and we don't know if Joel Peralta (free agent), Kyle Farnsworth (free agent), Jake McGee (draft pick), or someone else will get the call. 

Outrighted To Triple-A: Ekstrom, Wagner, Ishikawa

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The Pacific Coast League's transactions page gives us the update on three recently-designated players.

Offseason In Review: Washington Nationals

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The Nationals are next in our Offseason In Review series.

Major League Signings

International Signings

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Trades and Claims

Notable Losses

Summary

After the 2009-10 offseason, I wrote that I'd have liked Nationals GM Mike Rizzo's offseason if we could eliminate the top two signings, the $21MM given to Jason Marquis and Ivan Rodriguez.  A year later, it's much harder to excuse the $142MM spent on Werth and LaRoche.

With any seven-year free agent contract, the team is really just paying for the first three seasons and hoping the player doesn't become a complete albatross in the final four.  The players can provide value at the tail end of these megadeals, but it's more of a bonus than an expectation.  I can see Werth remaining an elite player through his age 34 season, and as he hasn't missed significant time since '07 I can see him remaining healthy too.  Though Werth's seven-year term shocked the baseball world, I could justify the signing for a team on the cusp of contention. 

Werth

My beef with the Werth signing is the Nationals' timing.  They don't have the rotation to contend in 2011, and while the 2012 team should be better I'm not confident they'll be ready then either.  Assuming the team's top young players will really start to come together after the '12 season, why not make your huge free agent strike then?  The Nationals actually tried to make their free agent splash earlier, with big offers to Mark Teixeira and Torii Hunter in past offseasons.  I don't have a problem with accelerating the timetable, for example if the Nationals signed Werth and went on to add Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum.  But win-now moves have to come as a package deal for a team like the Nats. 

Did the Nationals "have to overpay" to get Werth and make the team more appealing for future free agents?  I agree with ESPN's Keith Law that the concept is nonsense.  Not because players rarely take discounts, but because they don't do so because they liked the team's crazy free agent expenditure.  Were players lured to the Rockies, Astros, Giants, and Cubs because those teams went overboard for Mike Hampton, Carlos Lee, Barry Zito, and Alfonso Soriano?  Many bad teams have turned things around without the luxury of a signature, excessive free agent signing. 

The LaRoche contract pales in comparison to Werth's, but I still don't consider it money well spent.  The Nationals went well beyond LaRoche's previous contract, despite his 2010 decline in walk rate and increase in strikeout rate.  Similar to Marquis, these are not interesting players at ten-figure prices.   

Rizzo's other free agent signings were acceptable purchases for a rebuilding club, with a little bit of upside sprinkled in.

I expected the Nationals to bring in a credible starter for Willingham, but Rodriguez does have the potential to develop into a premium late-inning reliever.  The Morgan trade struck me as selling low, and if the center field alternatives are Ankiel and Hairston, why not give him a chance to rebuild value?  I understand the Gorzelanny trade, as the lefty can chew up big league innings and has mild upside.  However, Morris might have been able to help the Nationals' bullpen this year, and I'm not sure why a rebuilding team gave up on Burgess.

The Nationals would not agree that their window for contention is likely to open in 2013.  I respect that, but if the plan is to win now I expect the team to be aggressive in improving its pitching staff at the trade deadline and during the 2011-12 offseason after failing to do so this winter.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Offseason In Review: Kansas City Royals

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The Royals are next in our Offseason In Review series.

Major League Signings

International Signings

  • Darwin Castillo, Igor Feliz

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Trades and Claims

Notable Losses

Summary

Once again Royals GM Dayton Moore spent the offseason focusing on the long-term health of the organization.  Moore accommodated Greinke's trade demand, moved Royals mainstay DeJesus, locked up Butler, and dabbled with a few stopgap free agents.

There is a sense that Greinke forced the Royals' hand with his trade demand, but as ESPN's Keith Law points out, they weren't obligated to do anything.  Law felt the package received from Milwaukee was more about "bulk and fit, but not impact."  Granted, Law likes Jeffress and Odorizzi less than other prospect gurus, but it was surprising to see the Royals trade two years of an ace starter and not receive one top 50 prospect in return.  Perhaps the Royals felt that Greinke's desire to move on would adversely affect his 2011 performance and reduce his trade value, and that their backs were up against the wall due to the pitcher's no-trade clause.  He'd already rejected a trade to the Nationals that might have been superior.

Law was also down on the DeJesus return, as Mazzaro does not project as even a "medium-impact pitcher" in his mind.  Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein profiled Mazzaro as "a solid fourth starter who can eat up innings," ranking him tenth among the organization's strong group of 25-and-under players.  Ten Royals prospects appeared on a top 100 prospect list compiled by Law, Goldstein, or Baseball America, so the Royals can be forgiven for not shooting for the moon for one year of DeJesus, who was coming off thumb surgery.  Not that a team can ever acquire too much upside, but innings guys are needed too.

Meche made the classy decision to forfeit the $12MM remaining on his contract, preferring not to have the Royals pay him to rehab from shoulder surgery.  Moore did not spend the found money on pointless free agent signings, though on January 18th there wasn't much out there anyway.  Moore's free agent strategy was to commit the paltry sum of $7.75MM to Francoeur, Chen, Francis, and Cabrera.  These four aren't going to take playing time from top prospects, and Francis could even have trade value if he stays healthy.  Moore has been knocked for finally signing his boy Francoeur, but at that price there's little harm in seeing if he has another 2007 in him.

Butler

Unlike many extensions, I don't believe the Butler contract was about arbitration savings.  The deal pays Butler (pictured) $19MM for his three arbitration years, which represents minimal savings over what he might have gotten year-to-year assuming campaigns in the .300, 20 home run, 80 RBI range.  Instead, the contract is about projection: the arbitration years become a bargain if Butler develops more power, which seems possible since he turns 25 this month.  Plus, the Royals have a free agent season for $8MM and a club option for another at $12.5MM.  At worst the contract provides mild savings and a free agent year, but there is potential here for big savings.  And if Kila Ka'aihue and Eric Hosmer both prove big-league capable soon, that's a good problem to have.

The Royals have the consensus top farm system in baseball by a wide margin.  Moore has earned the opportunity to build a competitive club around his top young players as they graduate to the Majors beginning this year.  The Royals have lost consistently since Moore took over in 2006 and while they're a lousy team again this year, their farm system should catalyze a turnaround in the near future. 

Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.  Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Heyman On Orioles, Young, Thome, Red Sox

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Orioles president Andy MacPhail told Jon Heyman of SI.com that Baltimore can contend if their young rotation continues pitching well. "If our starting pitchers pitch the way they did the last two months [of 2010] and the first four games [of 2011], of course we'll be a contender.'' The O’s are eyeing back-of-the-rotation help, just in case. Here are the rest of Heyman’s rumors: 

  • The Rangers may have enough hitting to be able to afford trading Michael Young for a starting pitcher. With three starters on the DL, the Rangers may already have some of the pitching they need. Rangers GM Jon Daniels said this week that the club is not discussing possible deals involving Young or anyone else.
  • The Marlins will likely need a third baseman, as Donnie Murphy has not proven he’s more than a part-time player.
  • Jim Thome does not assume that he’ll retire after 2011. "Why not keep going as long as you can do it?'' Thome asked.
  • The Red Sox say they aren’t concerned about Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Heyman hears that the catcher has until June to prove he belongs in Boston.

Brewers Designate Dan Merklinger For Assignment

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The Brewers have designated left-hander Dan Merklinger for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot for tonight's starting pitcher, Marco Estrada, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.

Merklinger, 25, posted a 3.65 ERA in 143 minor league innings last year, mostly at Class A. Overall, the 2007 sixth rounder struck out more than a batter per inning (9.3 K/9) and limited his walks (2.8 BB/9).

Estrada, 27, will start for the Brewers against the Braves tonight. He has an 8.04 ERA in his 31 1/3 big league innings with an impressive 32 strikeouts. He pitched well enough this spring for manager Ron Roenicke to add him to the rotation, at least for now with Zack Greinke sidelined.

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