Phillies Sign Jonathan Papelbon
Jonathan Papelbon's desire to set the market for closers was never a secret — it's now a reality. The Phillies have agreed to sign the 30-year-old to a precedent-setting four-year, $50,000,058 deal that establishes the record for guaranteed money for a reliever. The Phillies announced the deal today, noting that Papelbon will continue to wear #58.
The contract includes a $13MM option for 2016 that vests with 55 games finished in 2015 or 100 in 2014-15, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. The Phillies appeared to have a deal with Ryan Madson earlier this week, but talks fell through and the sides didn't complete the rumored four-year, $44MM deal. Papelbon's agents at ACES stepped in and the Phillies have their closer.
Papelbon posted a 2.94 ERA with 12.2 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 in 64 1/3 innings for the Red Sox in 2011, saving 31 games. He's a Type A free agent who will cost the Phillies their first round draft pick in 2012, assuming the upcoming collective bargaining agreement doesn't change draft pick compensation for this offseason. Boston will obtain the 31st overall pick in next June's draft unless the Phillies sign an additional Type A free agent with a higher ranking than Papelbon. If the Phillies lose Madson to another team after offering him arbitration, they'll surrender one pick and gain two.
Papelbon is the first of MLBTR's top 50 free agents to sign. Check out MLBTR's Free Agent Tracker for the details. Bryan Grosnick examines the fantasy baseball implications of the move at CloserNews.
Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com first reported the deal and its terms. Jayson Stark of ESPN.com, Jon Heyman of SI.com, Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM and others added detail.
Photo courtesy Icon SMI.
Kimbrel, Hellickson Win Rookie Of The Year Awards
Braves closer Craig Kimbrel and Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson won the 2011 Rookie of the Year awards, announced the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Kimbrel received all 32 first-place votes, becoming the tenth unanimous selection. Freddie Freeman, Vance Worley, Wilson Ramos, Josh Collmenter, Danny Espinosa, Darwin Barney, and Kenley Jansen also received votes in the NL. Kimbrel tied John Axford for the NL saves lead with 46, setting a rookie record in the process.
Mark Trumbo, Eric Hosmer, Ivan Nova, Michael Pineda, Dustin Ackley, Desmond Jennings, and Jordan Walden followed Hellickson in the AL. Hellickson posted a 2.95 ERA in 189 regular season innings for Tampa Bay this year.
Non-Tender Candidates
By my count, 195 players are currently arbitration eligible. More than 50 of those can be considered non-tender candidates. The deadline for teams to decide is December 12th. Non-tendering a player makes him a free agent. Below is my subjective list of non-tender candidates. Please note that not all of them will actually be non-tendered. Click here for MLBTR's projected salaries for these players, if they are tendered contracts.
Position Players
John Baker
Daric Barton
Emmanuel Burriss
Jesus Flores
Mike Fontenot
Chris Getz
Alberto Gonzalez
Tony Gwynn Jr.
Jeremy Hermida
Koyie Hill
Paul Janish
George Kottaras
James Loney
Jeff Mathis
Donnie Murphy
Angel Pagan
Ronny Paulino
Brayan Pena
Landon Powell
Adam Rosales
Skip Schumaker
Luke Scott
Ryan Spilborghs
Ian Stewart
Ryan Theriot
Andres Torres
Wilson Valdez
Eli Whiteside
Pitchers
Matt Albers
Brad Bergesen
Taylor Buchholz
Dana Eveland
Willie Eyre
Tom Gorzelanny
Clay Hensley
Rich Hill
J.P. Howell
Hong-Chih Kuo
Jose Mijares
Andrew Miller
Peter Moylan
Ross Ohlendorf
Juan Carlos Oviedo
Micah Owings
Manny Parra
Mike Pelfrey
Jo-Jo Reyes
Joe Saunders
Doug Slaten
Kevin Slowey
Andy Sonnanstine
Joe Thatcher
Chris Volstad
Jerome Williams
D’Backs Rumors: Saunders, Kuroda, Buehrle
The Diamondbacks continued their aggressive offseason approach over the weekend, agreeing to terms with Aaron Hill on a two-year deal. The club will now search for pitching; here are the details:
- You can add Roy Oswalt to the list of veteran starters that the Diamondbacks have at least some level of interest in, Piecoro tweets.
- Joe Saunders, a non-tender candidate with a projected 2012 salary of $8.7MM, told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that he hopes to return next year. Saunders, who prides himself on his ability to log innings and pitch deep into games, has averaged 200 innings per season since 2008.
- The D'Backs appear to have interest in free agents Hiroki Kuroda and Mark Buehrle, according to Piecoro (on Twitter). Kuroda's name has come up as a possible fit for Arizona, but this is the first time we've seen the D'Backs connected to Buehrle
- The D'Backs announced earlier today that they sold Kameron Mickolio to the Hiroshima Carp.
Heavy Interest In C.J. Wilson
Interest has been heavy in free agent lefty C.J. Wilson, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, despite his disappointing postseason. The Yankees, Angels, Blue Jays, Marlins, Nationals, and Rangers have already expressed interest, reports Morosi. All six clubs had been expected to be in the mix.
An official with an involved club expects at least five years with a sixth-year option for Wilson, while another official believes six years guaranteed is possible. Could a sixth year push Wilson to $100MM? In an August 30th poll, 78% of nearly 7,000 MLBTR readers polled felt Wilson would fall short of nine figures.
Rangers GM Jon Daniels recently commented on Wilson to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan, saying, "We would like to have him back. We know he's in a great position. He'll explore his options. We'll prepare for both possibilities." At the least, the Rangers are expected to offer arbitration to the Type A free agent nine days from now. If Wilson does leave the Rangers, they could end up with a top 20 draft pick as compensation if the Nationals, Jays, or Angels sign him and the current system remains in place for 2012. Out of Morosi's five competing suitors, only the Marlins have a protected first-round pick.
GM Meetings Preview
Though GMs are flying into Milwaukee today, the GM Meetings will take place in earnest on Tuesday and Wednesday. Today MLB's focus is on the Rookie of the Year awards, which will be announced by the BBWAA at 1pm central time. MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith will be reporting from Milwaukee Tuesday and Wednesday. Here are a few potential stories to watch:
- Owners meet on Thursday, at which point the sale of the Astros to Jim Crane is expected to be approved.
- With significant progress last week, a new collective bargaining agreement could be announced at the meetings. The Astros are expected to move to the American League in 2013, creating two 15-team leagues each with three five-team divisions. Two more playoff teams are expected to be added. Changes are also expected in free agent draft pick compensation and perhaps draft spending.
- The Cardinals named Mike Matheny manager yesterday, while the Cubs and Red Sox still have openings. The Cubs are considering Sandy Alomar Jr., Pete Mackanin, Mike Maddux, and Dale Sveum. With a second interview coming this week, Sveum is the frontrunner for Boston's job, though Alomar, Mackanin, Torey Lovullo, and Gene Lamont are also in the mix.
- The Miami Marlins have offers out to Jose Reyes, Albert Pujols, and Mark Buehrle. Will any of them sign on the dotted line this week? The Marlins were active at last year's GM Meetings, trading Dan Uggla and signing John Buck. Assuming they're not bringing him back, the White Sox wouldn't mind Buehrle signing before November 23rd, because that would guarantee them a supplemental draft pick.
- Click here to see the remaining free agents. Aside from the Marlins' targets, big names include Prince Fielder, Aramis Ramirez, Jimmy Rollins, C.J. Wilson, Edwin Jackson, and Carlos Beltran.
- The Chunichi Dragons are up 2-0 in the Nippon Series over the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. If the series concludes this week, will the Nippon Ham Fighters post Yu Darvish shortly thereafter?
- Look for a couple of trades at the GM Meetings. Last year we had trades involving Uggla and Rajai Davis, as well as the Felipe Paulino–Clint Barmes swap. Paulino and Barmes were non-tender candidates. I've got some tentative candidates in this spreadsheet, but my list will be published this week.
- Last year the Joaquin Benoit contract, signed during the GM Meetings, shook up the market for free agent relievers. Jonathan Papelbon's record deal with the Phillies has done that for the high-end of the market already, but will it have a ripple effect for all decent free agent relievers?
- Six teams have new GMs: the Orioles (Dan Duquette), Red Sox (Ben Cherington), Twins (Terry Ryan), Angels (Jerry Dipoto), Cubs (Jed Hoyer), and Padres (Josh Byrnes). Former Red Sox GM Theo Epstein is now president of baseball operations for the Cubs. The Dodgers' Ned Colletti and the Astros' Ed Wade are operating under uncertainty with ownership changes on the horizon.
Minor Moves: Torres, Molleken
A few minor moves for Monday…
- The Yomiuri Giants will not exercise their 2012 option on former White Sox prospect Carlos Torres, MLBTR has learned. The 29-year-old righty is drawing interest from MLB clubs for a split contract, and is also receiving calls from teams in Japan and Korea. He won't be making a decision until later this year. Torres spent most of the season in the minor leagues for Yomiuri.
- 27-year-old righty reliever Dustin Molleken re-signed with the Rockies as a minor league free agent with a Major League invite to spring training, MLBTR has learned. Molleken posted a 4.76 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 1.8 BB/9, and 1.4 HR/9 in 45 1/3 relief innings this year at Double-A.
Jays “Shocked” By Asking Price For Free Agent Closers
Bob Elliot of the Toronto Sun has a host of Blue Jays news including numerous quotes from GM Alex Anthopoulos:
- Elliot hears that the Blue Jays have been "shocked" by the asking prices they've received when contacting the representatives for free agent closers. Anthopoulos sounds wary of signing closers to four- and five-year deals. Noting some research he did on injuries long-term deals for relievers when he was still an assistant GM, Anthopolous said: "…basically if you were giving out a five-year deal you were only going to get a player for four seasons."
- When asked what the club's greatest surplus was, Anthopoulos replied "prospects," which Elliot speculates could hint that the Jays may try to acquire a closer via trade.
- The Blue Jays aren't prepared to trade J.P. Arencibia because of Travis d'Arnaud's minor league success. The 22-year-old d'Arnaud ranked 36th on Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects list prior to a 2011 campaign that saw him hit .311/.371/542 and crush 21 homers at the Double-A level.
- The organization is at least one year away from considering d'Arnaud for the Major Leagues, and the same goes for shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria.
- The Blue Jays are content with Colby Rasmus as their center fielder for 2012, and Anthopolous calls him an upgrade defensively.
- The Jays need an everyday second baseman, which leads Elliot to speculate on Brandon Phillips.
East Links: Ramos, Red Sox, Jones
A late-night snack for those of you with a hunger for news on baseball's two Eastern divisions:
- Even after his kidnapping, Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos plans to begin playing for the Aragua Tigres on Wednesday of this week, tweets Mark Zuckerman of CSNwashington.com.
- FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Red Sox will conduct a second interview with Dale Sveum and least one other candidate in their search for a new manager.
- While the organization doesn't sound like they're considering the idea, CSNbaltimore's Rich Dubroff wonders if the Orioles should entertain the thought of trading Adam Jones. Dubroff quotes one rival scout who thinks they should hang onto the 26-year-old center fielder, saying: "If they're willing to move him, they're stupid."
Dodgers, Mark Ellis On Verge Of Two-Year Deal
The Dodgers are on the verge of a two-year deal with second baseman Mark Ellis, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the deal is worth $8.75MM. Ellis is represented by TWC Sports.
With Dee Gordon penciled in at shortstop and Juan Uribe at third, second base was considered one of the Dodgers' offseason needs. Ellis, 34, hit .248/.288/.346 in 519 plate appearances for the Athletics and Rockies this year. He's best known for his strong second base defense. Assuming the current free agent compensation system remains in place for this offseason, the Rockies will receive a supplemental draft pick for losing the Type B free agent.