Braves Exercise Option On Hinske, Decline On McLouth
The Braves announced today they've exercised their option on first baseman/outfielder Eric Hinske and declined their option on center fielder Nate McLouth.
The Braves chose Hinske's $1.5MM club option over a $100K buyout. The 34-year-old hit .233/.311/.403 in 264 plate appearances this year.
The decision on McLouth was obvious, as the Braves faced a $10.65MM club option and a $1.25MM buyout. The 30-year-old outfielder hit .228/.344/.333 on the season.
Indians Exercise Option On Carmona, Decline On Sizemore
The Indians announced today they've exercised their club option on Fausto Carmona and declined their option on Grady Sizemore.
Carmona would have earned more than the $7MM option price as an arbitration eligible player, and the Indians made the expected choice to retain him.
Sizemore spent his entire career with the Indians, peaking in 2008 with a tenth-place finish in the MVP voting. Due to Sizemore's health concerns, the Indians chose a $500K buyout over a $9MM option for 2012. Sizemore has had several surgeries in recent years but expects to be ready for Spring Training, so he'll be appealing on a one-year deal to many teams.
Pirates Decline Options On Maholm, Snyder, Doumit, Cedeno
The Pirates announced today they've declined club options on Paul Maholm, Chris Snyder, Ryan Doumit, and Ronny Cedeno.
The decision on Cedeno was the Pirates' one unknown. Though a case could be made that the value of Cedeno's ability to play shortstop exceeded the $2.8MM net price of his option, the Pirates will aim higher than his .249/.297/.339 batting line.
For Maholm, the Pirates chose a $750K buyout over his $9.75MM club option. The lefty told Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, "The day I was put on the DL, I realized my time in Pittsburgh was done." Prior to that season-ending stint for a shoulder injury, the 29-year-old posted a 3.66 ERA, 5.4 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 0.61 HR/9, and 49.9% groundball rate in 162 1/3 innings. As one of the ten best starters on the free agent market this winter, he's in line for a multiyear deal.
The Pirates' decisions to pay Snyder a $750K buyout over a $6.75MM option and Doumit a $500K buyout over a $7.25MM option were well-known. Both players have offensive ability, and should be relatively popular on the free agent market. Doumit's defense and durability questions will likely prevent a team from offering a full-time catching job, while Snyder will have to compete for one after missing most of 2011 with a back injury.
Rockies Decline Option On Aaron Cook
The Rockies declined their 2012 option on righty Aaron Cook, tweets Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post. The Rockies will pay Cook a $500K buyout as opposed to the $11MM option. GM Dan O'Dowd says the door is open for Cook to return on a new contract.
With 72 wins, Cook is 14 ahead of Jason Jennings on the team's franchise leaderboard. Cook posted a 6.03 ERA, 4.5 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 0.84 HR/9, and 55.1% groundball rate in 97 innings this year. He signed his extension after the '07 season. Cook battled shoulder, toe, and finger injuries in the following seasons, his innings totals declining each year.
Nationals Exercise Option On Davey Johnson
The Nationals announced today they've exercised Davey Johnson's managerial option for 2012. GM Mike Rizzo said in a statement:
After a series of discussions, it became obvious that the Nationals would be best served if Davey Johnson would continue as manager. Davey’s remarkable connection to the clubhouse and D.C. community during the season’s final three months was well received. His baseball acumen coupled with a proper off-season of planning, including a full regiment of Spring Training, should put our players in a position to succeed in 2012.
Johnson assumed the Nationals' manager job on June 27th, shortly after Jim Riggleman resigned. Johnson, a former infielder, has managed 15 years in the Majors for the Mets, Reds, Orioles, Dodgers, and Nationals. He won the World Series in 1986 and Manager of the Year in '97.
Tony La Russa Retires
Tony La Russa is retiring after 33 seasons as a manager, and he's going out on top. He told reporters his decision today at a press conference, three days after his Cardinals won the World Series. La Russa captured three World Championships in his career and won Manager of the Year four times. He managed the White Sox, Athletics, and Cardinals in a career that began in 1979. Prior to that, La Russa played six seasons in the Majors as a middle infielder.
Aramis Ramirez Voids Option
The Cubs exercised their $16MM option on Aramis Ramirez, but the slugging third baseman exercised a contractual right to void the option and forfeit his $2MM buyout, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (on Twitter).
Ramirez, a projected Type B free agent, will explore the free agent market following a season in which he belted 26 homers and posted a .306/.361/.510 triple slash line. With the exception of 2009, Ramirez has hit 25 or more home runs every year since 2003. Given the thin market for free agent third basemen, Ramirez should have no problem securing a multiyear deal that will guarantee him more than the $16MM he'd have earned in 2012.
Earlier in October, Ramirez made it clear he would need a multiyear commitment to return to the Cubs, so it's not surprising to see him decline the opportunity to return on a one-year deal. Exercising the option was the first transaction for Theo Epstein as president of the Cubs, and Jed Hoyer's first as the team's GM. Assuming the Cubs later offer Ramirez arbitration and he turns it down, they'll get a supplemental draft pick if he signs elsewhere.
MLBTR Originals: 10/23/11 – 10/29/11
Lots of original content from the MLBTR team this week as the offseason approaches. Here's a quick rundown:
- MLBTR unveiled its new Free Agent Tracker to help you keep track of all of the exciting action this offseason.
- Tim Dierkes looked at the free agent and trade markets for first basemen, second basemen and center fielders, while Ben Nicholson-Smith looked ahead to the market at shortstop, third base and left field.
- Tim and Ben provided offseason outlooks for the Yankees, Tigers, Reds, Indians, Red Sox, Giants, and Dodgers.
- Tim polled five agents and a team executive on Yu Darvish's posting fee and contract and came to the conclusion that signing Darvish would mean a $100MM+ commitment.
- Tim provided quotes from new Cubs GM Theo Epstein's press conference, while Ben did the same for Ben Cherington of the Red Sox.
- Tim learned which players became Super Twos — including David Price and Rick Porcello. Ben explained which players just missed the cut.
- Mike Axisa collected and summarized the best of the blogosphere in another edition of Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
- Howard Megdal took a look at some teams that are losing the best player they've ever had at a position, including the Cardinals (Albert Pujols), Mets (Jose Reyes), and Phillies (Jimmy Rollins).
- Brace yourself for Howard's second piece of the week, as he runs down the spookiest transactions in baseball history with Halloween just around the corner.
- MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz covered arbitration salaries in a three-part series that began with an overview of his projection model, followed by his insight on hitters' projected arbitration salaries and pitchers' projected arbitration salaries. Matt's work has been a huge boost to MLBTR and his posts this week make for fantastic, fascinating reads.
- Tim was at the wheel for the weekly MLBTR Chat.
- MLBTR's upgraded iPhone app is now available.
Yankees Made New Offer To Sabathia
The Yankees officially submitted a new contract offer to C.C. Sabathia over the weekend, according to Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com. The terms of the offer were not disclosed, but Matthews writes that Yankees insiders still expect Sabathia to test the free agent market despite the proposal. Sabathia has yet to respond to the offer, says Matthews' source:
"We believe it is a very fair offer,'' the executive said. "But we haven't heard anything back yet.''
That report lines up with a tweet from SI.com's Jon Heyman earlier today, who said that Sabathia is planning on opting out of his contract prior to Monday night. It's been well publicized that Sabathia is likely to opt out of the remaining four years of his contract in search of a bigger, potentially record-setting deal. As Ben Nicholson-Smith pointed out in examining the Yankees' offseason, their success hinges on the ability to construct a strong rotation, and Sabathia is the key to that process.
To track Sabathia's progress, or that of any other free agent, check out MLBTR's Free Agent Tracker.
NL West Notes: Harang, Bloomquist, Blanco, Dodgers
Earlier today the Giants agreed to a new two-year deal with Javier Lopez and exercised Jeremy Affeldt's 2012 option. Here's some links from around the rest of the division:
- Dan Hayes of the North County Times cites a Padres team source who doubts that Aaron Harang will be back with the team in 2012 (Twitter link). Hayes says that right now, it's not clear if Harang's $5MM mutual option was rejected by either side yet.
- The Diamondbacks are expected to exercise their half of the mutual options they hold on Willie Bloomquist and Henry Blanco, tweets Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
- Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Times notes that the Dodgers lead the Majors with 10 pending free agents. Dilbeck says that the club is looking to go young behind the plate next year, and doesn't expect to offer arbitration to Type B free agent Rod Barajas.