Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for 2011

Offseason Outlook: New York Mets

By | at

The Mets' attempt to re-sign Jose Reyes will dominate their offseason and determine how much they can spend on other areas of need, like the bullpen.

Guaranteed Contracts

Arbitration Eligible Players (estimated salaries)

Free Agents

As expected, 2011 was a year of transition for the Mets.  New GM Sandy Alderson did fine work in escaping Francisco Rodriguez's vesting option and maximizing the return on Carlos Beltran.  Alderson's most debatable decision, though, was not trading Jose Reyes at the July deadline.  Reyes' status is now likely to shape the Mets' offseason.

Reyes missed about six weeks of the season, enduring two separate DL stints due to a hamstring injury.  The Mets must determine whether they see Reyes as a player who can be depended upon for only 130 games a year moving forward, or one capable of returning to the 150-games-played plateau.  Reyes' season was phenomenal even with the time missed, and his strong finish bodes well for him in free agency.  Still, all five to seven year, $100MM+ contracts are very risky.  So far, Alderson's biggest risk as Mets GM was keeping Reyes.  If that July decision doesn't result in an offseason discount, the Mets will have to settle for a couple of draft picks.

Wright had a disappointing season as he missed more than two months with a back injury.  Trading him now would result in a disappointing return.  Wright can void his 2013 club option if traded, meaning Alderson only would be offering one season of the third baseman.  The Beltran formula might be applied here: Alderson could hope Wright rebuilds his value in the first few months of 2012 and becomes the best bat on the trade market.  Players like Pelfrey and Pagan could also become useful trade chips.  I'd tender contracts to both despite their disappointing 2011 seasons.

If the Mets don't re-sign Reyes, another consolidation season might be in order.  Daniel Murphy, Lucas Duda, and Josh Thole had promising seasons, and the rotation has useful pieces.  Still, the team is facing question marks all around the diamond and in the rotation.  I think they can contend if Reyes returns and Wright, Santana, and Bay also contribute star-caliber seasons, but that's unlikely and reason to find Alderson's decision to keep Reyes confusing.  In Alderson's defense, Reyes spent half of July on the disabled list, perhaps cutting down his trade value to the point that two draft picks wasn't much worse.

A $110MM payroll would give the Mets plenty of flexibility, and the bullpen will be one focus.  I expect Alderson to make improvements, yet still exercise caution and avoid a big commitment to any one reliever.  The rotation is a similar issue, with Alderson needing to make a few more Capuano-type signings.  Hopefully if Reyes leaves there won't be an expectation to spend the entire surplus just for the sake of spending.  The team just has too many questions to make 2012 contention likely.

Plenty of questions remain in Irving Picard's lawsuit against Mets owners Saul Katz and Fred Wilpon, but the tide seems to be turning in the owners' favor with a judge capping their potential loss at $386MM.  Should Picard fail to prove the Mets owners were willfully blind to Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme, they might have to pay out less than $100MM.

Perhaps by 2013 the Mets can have the Picard lawsuit settled and the decks mostly cleared of bad contracts.  Alderson can make determinations on the futures of Reyes and Wright, while his other big-money players, Santana and Bay, will be entering their walk years barring vesting options.  The Mets will have more clarity on players such as Ike Davis, Jon Niese, Bobby Parnell, Duda, and Murphy, while Jenrry Mejia should be fully recovered from Tommy John surgery.  If Alderson continues laying a proper foundation, the Mets should be competitive by '13. 

Arbitration Eligibles: Arizona Diamondbacks

By | at

The Diamondbacks are next in our arbitration eligibles series.

Hammock ($900K), Burroughs ($600K), and Owings ($800K) are likely non-tender candidates.  Hammock was barely on the Diamondbacks' 40-man roster, so they probably won't feel the need to keep him there.  Burroughs was outrighted in June and re-added, so he could be expendable.  And while Owings was useful on the surface, he's a pitcher the team could non-tender and try to re-sign to a minor league deal.

Parra, a potential Super Two, projects to earn $1.7MM.  Roberts projects for the same, and we have Ziegler at $1.8MM.  Montero should make a decent buck at around $5.3MM.

We project Saunders for $8.7MM, which might be high for an innings guy who shouldn't be expected to repeat his 3.69 ERA.  D'Backs GM Kevin Towers indicated recently that a non-tender or trade is possible, depending on the team's budget and their confidence in their younger pitchers.  I think Towers would find a team willing to tender Saunders a contract.

If Parra, Roberts, Ziegler, Montero, and Saunders are retained, the total should be around $19.2MM.  If Willie Bloomquist and Henry Blanco return at their mutual option prices, players under contract will earn $30.758MM for a total of about $50MM before accounting for minimum salary players.  A return to the $70MM payroll range would leave around $20MM in flexibility, with the subtraction of Saunders potentially bringing that amount closer to $29MM.

Towers told Nick Piecoro he doesn't see "big, big needs" for his team but wouldn't rule out the right marquee player.  As a team free of eight-figure commitments, the D'Backs have the flexibility to make a major addition this offseason.

Matt Swartz contributed to this post.

GM Candidate: A.J. Preller

By | at

MLBTR’s list of general manager candidates introduced 20 people who were identified by their peers as potential Major League GMs. We’ve been bringing you closer to the candidates with a series of pieces. Today the series continues with A.J. Preller, the Rangers' senior director of player personnel. 

A.J. Preller grew up a Yankees fan in Huntington Station.  He met a fellow New York baseball fanatic named Jon Daniels while pledging Delta Chi at Cornell, but it was Preller who broke into Major League Baseball first, snagging an internship with the Phillies during college.  After graduating Preller worked under Frank Robinson for the Arizona Fall League.  Preller went on to work for MLB and then the Dodgers before landing with the Rangers seven years ago.  He advises Daniels on all player acquisitions, and works in international, amateur, and professional scouting.

I caught up with the well-traveled Preller last Tuesday, before his Rangers suffered a Game 3 ALCS loss to Detroit.  Preller had a lot of interesting stories about the Rangers, though we didn't focus much on him.

On the Colby Lewis signing:

Colby is definitely an interesting story.  We had two scouts, Joe Furukawa and Josh Boyd, who were big proponents of Colby.  They felt like he had gone over Japan and made a few adjustments and his stuff would play back here in the States.  Joe worked for the Hiroshima Carp in the past, so he got a chance to see a lot of Colby's starts in Japan.  Joe did the first bullpen Colby threw, and Colby didn't need a huge adjustment.  What you see right now from Colby is kind of what it looked like first bullpen on day one with the Carp.  The 2 big separators are legitimate fastball command and the out pitch slider that we thought would play over here.

On the Nelson Cruz trade:

He was an interesting guy, a toolsy guy.  You always want to take a chance on a guy that's got huge raw power, a big arm, and he's a tremendous person.  You want to give those guys every opportunity in the world to try to figure it out.  One of the last times Nellie went to Triple-A, [current senior director of player development] Scott Servais asked if he'd want to make an adjustment and go to an open stance. Nellie opened up the stance.  Last year in Tampa after winning the first round of the playoffs, Nellie comes up to Servais in the middle of the celebration and hugs him and says, "Hey, thank you for making my career."  That shows what kind of person Nellie is.

On C.J. Wilson's move to the rotation:

There was a lot of debate within our group whether he could make that adjustment, and J.D. [Jon Daniels] encourages everybody to speak their mind.  Mike Anderson, Nolan Ryan, and Thad Levine felt like he could make that adjustment.  The biggest reason was that C.J. was pushing it to us, he wanted to be a starter.  He really cares about his profession and making himself as good as he can be.   He has three or four pitches that are gonna play and he had the demeanor for it.  He was adamant he could do it.

Do the Rangers do something differently than other teams?

We really focus on getting good people, creative people that are passionate about the game.  It burns them to be the best in their field.  We give them a lot of room to grow in their field and trust what they're saying.  Keith Boeck, one of our pro scouts, has been in our organization the last seven or eight years and he went out during the Mark Teixeira trade discussions and was one person that identified the Braves as an organization that might be a match.  He was one of the first guys to see Neftali Feliz at 17-18 years old, he saw and really believed in Matt Harrison, and Elvis Andrus.  Those are three key pieces of what we've done the last few years.  J.D. finds some matches and gives our scouts the ability to go out and make good evaluations and be creative.  Those were not guys that were knocking on the door necessarily – an A ball shortstop hitting .230 at the time, a power arm  reliever, and Harrison was on the DL at the time.  That's the atmosphere J.D. fosters- if you're good, you work hard, and you're passionate what you do, you have a chance to get players.

On the difficulty of pulling off the Teixeira trade:

The most fun we've had as a group was during that process.  It was challenge – trading a great player like Mark Teixeira, you need to get value back.  The challenge is to identify the teams that have interest in acquiring the player and then identifying the players in those systems who can be impact players to set you up for a long time down the road.  It was a total group effort – from the front office to our pro scouts.  It was all hands on board – amateur scouts, pro scouts, coaches.  We identified three or four clubs that had a chance to acquire Teixeira and we wanted to acquire their players.  

On Don Welke:

Don is one of the best scouts in the game.  He was Pat Gillick's right-hand man for about 20 years with the Blue Jays and Orioles.  He's been with us for the last six years and has a lot to do with setting the philosophy on the scouting side and the player acquisition side.  He was a huge proponent of Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre, Neftali Feliz.  He goes after big-time impact players with plus makeup.  A guy like Don Welke is a separator.

Other unsung members of the front office:

Guys like Mike Daly, Kip Fagg and Josh Boyd help to set the direction and philosophy for all our scouting operations.  Mike Daly oversees our international scouting.  Mike started with the Indians as an area scout.  He's put together a very good group of international scouts and has developed a thorough process.  That market is a true free agent market and he's been able to recruit, develop relationships, and sign some of the better players.  His developed a tremendous relationship Jurickson Profar and his family, and Profar wanted to be a Ranger.  

Offseason Outlook: Toronto Blue Jays

By | at

The Blue Jays will look for a second baseman, relief pitching and rotation help this offseason. They might consider some of the top free agents available.

Guaranteed Contracts

Arbitration Eligible Players (estimated salaries)

Contract Options

  • Edwin Encarnacion, DH: $3.5MM club option with a $500K buyout (no Elias ranking) 
  • Jon Rauch, RP: $3.75MM club option with a $250K buyout (Type B ranking)

Free Agents

Trying to predict Alex Anthopoulos' next move is plain silly. A year ago this time, there seemed to be zero chance of trading Vernon Wells — and he's now an Angel. Before the 2011 season began, the Blue Jays' chances of acquiring Colby Rasmus seemed slim at best — yet he's Toronto's starting center fielder. There is no guessing what will happen next. A team that makes as many phone calls and weighs as many possibilities as the Blue Jays isn't going to be predictable.

We do know the Blue Jays need pitching and second base help. It's also fair to assume they'll consider a variety of trade possibilities throughout the offseason, given Anthopoulos' track record as a dealmaker. 

It's conceivable that the Blue Jays will be tempted by big names this offseason. Elite free agents such as Prince Fielder, Albert Pujols, C.C. Sabathia and C.J. Wilson would make the Blue Jays better, but it doesn't appear that Anthopoulos will offer any six or seven-year deals. Even if the Jays offer mega-contracts, top free agents may hesitate to join a team that hasn't reached the postseason since 1993.

It's no secret Anthopoulos has scouted Yu Darvish. The Blue Jays appear to have some interest in the 25-year-old right-hander and it won't be a surprise if Toronto emerges as a serious bidder. He and Ricky Romero would be terrific at the top of the rotation and signing Darvish wouldn't force the Blue Jays to surrender one of their prized draft picks.

Anthopoulos has acknowledged he'd like to improve the rotation, but he says the Jays won't be in the market for back-of-the-rotation pitchers. The Athletics, Braves and Rays could be willing to trade starting pitching in the right deal this winter, so expect the Blue Jays to keep tabs.

Though Blue Jays fans have long anticipated the arrivals of Fielder and Pujols on the open market, those two probably aren't signing in Toronto and president Paul Beeston knows it. First baseman Adam Lind's breakout 2009 season has become a distant memory after consecutive seasons with OBPs under .300. He has not produced enough, but he did reach the 20-homer plateau again (26) while dealing with back issues. Edwin Encarnacion remains an alternative to Lind at first base. I expect his strong finish will be enough for the Blue Jays to exercise the $3.5MM option they hold for 2012.

The Blue Jays also have an option for Jon Rauch, who missed most of the season's final month and is recovering from a right knee cartilage tear. His basic and peripheral stats dropped off in 2011, so, barring a handshake agreement with Rauch, I expect the Blue Jays to decline their $3.75MM option and let the 33-year-old go without offering arbitration, despite his Type B status.

Three of the Blue Jays' four other Type B free agents have a good chance of obtaining an arbitration offer. There's a case for extending offers to Frank Francisco, Kelly Johnson and Jose Molina. All three could help the Blue Jays in 2012 and none would cost a prohibitive amount on a one-year deal. Shawn Camp, another Type B, gets ground balls and has been durable. While there's no doubt the Jays like the idea of getting a draft pick for Camp, he strikes out less than one batter per two innings and might cost $3MM, which reduces his chances of getting an arbitration offer.

If the Blue Jays offer arbitration to all eligible players except non-tender candidate Jesse Carlson and pick up Encarnacion's option while declining Rauch's, they'll have committed about $52MM to next year's payroll, not including minimum salary players. They've spent at least $70MM every season since 2006 and have publicly hinted at payrolls twice that high, so it's not a stretch to expect the Jays to have $20MM-plus at their disposal this offseason. It's also worth noting that the Blue Jays enjoy a stronger Canadian dollar than in years past.

Anthopoulos said after the season that he expects the Blue Jays to go outside of the organization for bullpen help, either through trades or free agency. This makes sense, though the Jays have some internal options. B.J. Ryan's contract is off the books, but the memory of his contract lives on. I don't expect the Jays to bid aggressively on the top free agent closers, especially those who cost draft picks.

Casey Janssen and Jesse Litsch both excelled out of the bullpen and will be back along with right-hander Carlos Villanueva. Dustin McGowan returned after a three-year absence and should contribute again next year — if healthy. Luis Perez and Brad Mills give the Jays left-handed options, but they're otherwise short on lefties after trading Marc Rzepczynski and will presumably want to add southpaws this offseason.

Second base will be another focal point for the Blue Jays. Kelly Johnson is one of the winter's most appealing free agent second basemen and Anthopoulos expects to discuss a possible deal with the 29-year-old. The free agent market offers few appealing alternatives, so Anthopoulos could turn to the trade market if Johnson declines arbitration and signs elsewhere. Many expect the Blue Jays will make a serious run at John McDonald, the popular defensive specialist Toronto traded to Arizona along with Aaron Hill.

There's also left field, where Travis Snider was the organization's most disappointing position player in 2011 after showing signs of breaking out in 2010. Expect Eric Thames to get a good shot at the starting job after hitting 12 homers and posting a .769 OPS in 2011. Meanwhile, Rajai Davis can be an extra outfielder, so the Blue Jays have sufficient left field depth.

The Jays also have Jose Bautista, arguably the best hitter in the game, so it's no surprise that they ranked fifth in the American League with 743 runs scored last year. They could score even more with a full season from Brett Lawrie, who hit .293/.373/.580 after being called up.

If they add relief pitching and at least one starter this offseason, the Blue Jays will have a more complete team. With the playoffs likely expanding by 2012 or 2013, talented prospects ascending through the system and the possibility of payroll rising, there's hope Toronto can soon contend for a playoff spot in baseball's least forgiving division. 

Quick Hits: Red Sox, Rangers, Yankees

By | at

On this date in 1979, the Pirates beat the Orioles 4-1 to win the World Series in seven games. Willie Stargell, the '79 NL MVP, hit a two-run home run in the victory. Here are links for Monday night as we await the beginning of this year's World Series…

  • Jim Callis of Baseball America envisions Matt Barnes and Anthony Ranaudo in Boston's 2015 rotation.
  • Callis also explains that the Dodgers weren't sure what they had when they drafted right-hander Edwin Jackson in 2001. He was athletic enough to pitch or play in the outfield.
  • Bob Simpson, a co-chairman of the Rangers' board, told reporters, including Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com, that the Rangers are committed to sustaining their current level of play. 
  • Victor Martinez told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that he's prepared to catch in 2012. The switch-hitter didn't catch at all after August 4th because of a knee sprain, but he's willing to don the tools of ignorance again. Martinez's health will affect Detroit's level of interest in backup catchers this offseason.
  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post suggests it will be hard to get the Yankees to offer C.C. Sabathia much more than Cliff Lee obtained from the Phillies ($120MM over five years). Sabathia is expected to opt out of the four years and $92MM remaining on his contract this offseason and though he enjoys playing in New York, it doesn't seem like he's going to give the Yankees a hometown discount. 
  • The Yankees favor Yu Darvish over C.J. Wilson of the Rangers, according to Sherman.
  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that Yankees scouting director Damon Oppenheimer is highly regarded by the Angels. The Orioles hold D'Backs exec Jerry Dipoto in similarly high esteem, according to Olney (on Twitter).

Minor Moves: Brandon Boggs

By | at

Here are the latest minor moves from around MLB…

  • Outfielder Brandon Boggs elected free agency, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Boggs, 28, appeared in 16 games for the Brewers in April and May before returning to Triple-A, where he posted a season line of .241/.381/.419 in 333 plate appearances. He drew 53 walks and collected 29 extra base hits as a corner outfielder in Nashville.

Service Time Breakdown For Mike Trout

By | at

If Kendrys Morales returns from his left ankle injury by Spring Training, Angels manager Mike Scioscia will have seven players competing for five spots. Morales, Mark Trumbo, Peter Bourjos, Bobby Abreu, Torii Hunter, Vernon Wells and Mike Trout would have to share playing time in the outfield and at first and DH. 

Mike Trout Angels

The issue could resolve itself or disappear completely in a number of ways. The Angels' new GM could make an unexpected trade. Trumbo could transition to third base. Someone could get hurt. Or, if all seven players are healthy, the Angels could consider demoting Trout.

The Angels called Trout up from Double-A before he turned 20, which suggests they aren't about to let service time considerations dominate their decision making. Still, it wouldn't be hard to argue that Trout could use more minor league seasoning. He was Baseball America's minor league player of the year, but he struggled to hit MLB pitching, posting a .220/.281/.390 line in 135 plate appearances with the Angels.  

Trout picked up 83 days of service time in 2011, which means he's 89 days short of the 172-days required for a full year. If the Angels allow Trout to pick up 89 days of service time next year, he'll have a full year of service and be on track for free agency after 2017.

If the Angels want to keep Trout under their control for an extra year, they could option him to the minor leagues for the season's first three months. In doing so, they'd ensure that Trout doesn't pick up more than 88 days of service in 2011. Combine 85 or so days next year with the 83 days he picked up in '11 and he'll still fall short of a full year of service next offseason and remain under the Angels' control through 2018.

It's probably academic, as the Angels showed they're willing to call on Trout if they believe he can make their team better, even if it means risking an earlier free agent departure. Trout's development and the team's roster composition will likely outweigh service time considerations for the Angels in 2012.

Photo courtesy Icon SMI.

Latest On Orioles’ GM Search: Dipoto, LaCava

By | at

The Orioles are starting to interview candidates for their GM opening this week. Here's the latest on the search:

  • The Orioles will interview Jerry Dipoto of the Diamondbacks tomorrow and Tony LaCava of the Blue Jays on Wednesday, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (Twitter link). The Orioles haven't yet scheduled interviews with other candidates.
  • The Orioles are still waiting to get permission from the Marlins to interview Dan Jennings, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links).
  • The Orioles haven't yet asked permission to interview Tony Reagins of the Angels or Logan White or De Jon Watson of the Dodgers, according to Connolly.
  • For more on LaCava, Dipoto, White and Watson check out MLBTR's GM Candidate pieces.

Heyman On Crawford, Pujols, Buehrle, Madson

By | at

At least one Molina brother has been in six of the past ten World Series, as Jon Heyman points out at SI.com (that includes Yadier, who will play again this year). Heyman also passes along some hot stove notes; here they are:

  • Red Sox owner John Henry “threw $60MM into the air,'' by making it clear that he views the Carl Crawford signing as a mistake, according to one baseball person. Henry said on the airwaves of 98.5 the Sports Hub that he was not in favor of signing the left fielder for $142MM.
  • One agent says Albert Pujols should look for a six-year, $240MM deal in free agency. It’s hard to imagine anyone, even Pujols, signing for $40MM per year.
  • The White Sox are expected to try to keep Mark Buehrle on a two-year deal, according to Heyman. The left-hander profiles as a Type B free agent, as our rankings show.
  • Jayson Werth, who played with Ryan Madson in Philadelphia, is trying to sell the free agent closer on the Nationals. Keep in mind that the Nationals already have Drew Storen.
  • Zack Greinke told Heyman that he would have accepted a trade to the Rangers last winter, when the Royals were shopping him.

Red Sox Wanted Matt Garza For Epstein

By | at

The Red Sox asked the Cubs to include Matt Garza as compensation for GM Theo Epstein, according to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com. However, the Cubs declined and the sides have moved on to minor leaguers. The Red Sox currently appear to be focused on Cubs pitching prospect Trey McNutt.

White McNutt is a valuable prospect, he's not as desirable as Garza. The 27-year-old right-hander posted a 3.32 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 for the Cubs this year and remains under team control through 2013. It's no surprise that the Red Sox were interested and it's equally unsurprising that the Cubs balked at Boston's request. The Cubs acquired Garza from the Rays in the January deal that sent Chris Archer, Hak-Ju Lee, Robinson Chirinos, Sam Fuld and Brandon Guyer to Tampa Bay.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top