Quick Hits: Red Sox, Twins, Abreu, Boggs
On this date in 2007, the Yankees signed Roger Clemens as a free agent. Clemens would pitch 99 innings for the Yankees with a 4.18 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 before calling it a career. The Yankees made the playoffs that year before losing to the Indians in the Division Series. Here are today's links:
- As Alex Speier of WEEI.com points out, investing heavily in relief pitching is risky. Though it's early, Boston's expensive, revamped bullpen has struggled and Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler are now on the DL.
- Twins GM Bill Smith told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that Joe Mauer, now on the DL with bilateral leg weakness, will “get back to being Joe Mauer.”
- Bobby Abreu told Enrique Rojas of ESPNdeportes.com that he plans to play three or four more years (link in Spanish). Abreu would like to reach 300 homers (he has 277), 400 steals (he has 376) and 600 doubles (he has 532) to boost his Cooperstown credentials.
- Brandon Boggs accepted his Triple-A assignment and was recalled to take the place of Nyjer Morgan, who is on the DL, the team announced.
NL West Notes: Dodgers, Towers, Lincecum
All eyes will turn to Andre Ethier as he looks to extend his 29-game hit streak against the Mets tonight. Here’s the latest from around the NL West, including some off-field news about Ethier’s team…
- Dodgers vice-chairman Steve Soboroff insists that MLB is suffocating the Dodgers, as Yahoo's Tim Brown explains.
- D’Backs GM Kevin Towers tells Chris Jenkins of the San Diego Union-Tribune that improving Arizona’s bullpen was “paramount” when he took over before last offseason. Towers returns to San Diego, where he ran the Padres for 14 years, as an opposing GM tonight.
- Tom Verducci of SI.com argues that it makes sense for the Giants to lock Tim Lincecum up long-term, especially since the two-time Cy Young Award winner is fitter than ever.
- MLBTR's Tim Dierkes broke down Lincecum's historic arbitration case earlier this week.
Yankees Designate Kevin Russo For Assignment
The Yankees designated infielder Kevin Russo for assignment to create roster space for newly-claimed reliever Jess Todd, according to Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger (on Twitter).
Russo, 26, appeared in 31 games for the Yankees last year and posted a .470 OPS as a backup at third base and in left field. He has a .287/.351/.381 line in six minor league seasons and experience all over the infield and outfield. The Yankees explored trades for him in Spring Training.
Yankees Claim Jess Todd
The Yankees claimed right-hander Jess Todd off of waivers from Cleveland, the Indians announced. The Indians had designated Todd for assignment on April 30th.
Todd, 25, arrived in Cleveland two years ago when the Indians acquired him and current closer Chris Perez for Mark DeRosa. In eight appearances at Triple-A in 2011, Todd has allowed 18 hits and 6 walks in 9 innings, striking out 6. However, he has averaged more than one strikeout per inning in his five-year minor league career. Todd has 28 1/3 innings of big league experience and his 7.62 ERA is unimpressive despite a strong 29K/12BB ratio.
Cubs Release Max Ramirez
The Cubs released catcher Max Ramirez, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports (on Twitter). The 26-year-old backstop is a free agent after a turbulent year that has seen him claimed off of waivers twice.
The Red Sox claimed Ramirez in January after coveting him for years. Five days later, they exposed him to waivers and the Cubs claimed him. Once a highly regarded prospect, Ramirez hit just .235/.300/.353 in 40 plate appearances at Triple-A Iowa. It's far from his career minor league line of .297/.394/.474, but the sample is small enough that another organization figures to give him a chance if he's looking for one. The Twins, for example, could sign him to a minor league deal.
Casey Close To Represent Jason Heyward
Jason Heyward has switched agents and is now represented by Casey Close of Excel Sports Management, instead of Career Sports Entertainment, according to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. Bowman suggests that Heyward is following Victor Menocal, a former Career Sports agent.
Heyward, one of the game’s top young stars, is arbitration-eligible after 2012 and eligible for free agency after 2015. The 2007 first rounder has a .269/.383/.458 line with 25 homers in a year and a month as a big leaguer.
Close left CAA Sports in February and recently joined the New York-based agency Excel Sports Management. He continues to represent 12 former CAA clients, including Derek Jeter and Ryan Howard. For the latest on all agencies and players, check out MLBTR’s Agency Database.
From Glory To Goodbye: No-Hitter, Then Traded
Earlier in the week, we showed how no-hit pitchers arrived at their place of immortality. But when Francisco Liriano pitched a no-hitter Tuesday, he did more than just assure himself a permanent spot in baseball's record books. If history is any guide, he gave himself an added measure of job security.
Since 2004, 13 pitchers have thrown 15 total no-hitters (Mark Buehrle and Roy Halladay have two apiece). Only three of them have changed teams since: Edwin Jackson, Matt Garza and Randy Johnson. In each case, financial considerations played a huge part in the deals.
But for the rest, large market or small, the no-hitter has helped cement their places with their teams – from Anibal Sanchez with the Marlins to Carlos Zambrano with the Cubs.
And if you think that's stability, note that of the last 13 catchers to catch the last 16 no-hitters, 11 are still with the same team. They aren't all household names, either – a good number of them, like Drew Butera for Francisco Liriano, were backups. Still, from Robby Hammock (Randy Johnson 2004) to Eli Whiteside (Jonathan Sanchez), Landon Powell (Dallas Braden) to Ramon Castro (Mark Buehrle, Part II), catching a no-hitter has been good for job security.
Not universally, of course: Miguel Olivo caught Sanchez's no-hitter in Florida, then was allowed to leave as a free agent. And just months after catching Ubaldo Jimenez's April 2010 no-hitter in Colorado, the Rockies sent him to Toronto, which promptly declined his 2011 option.
That is not to say that Liriano should buy a house in Minnesota without pause. Bud Smith pitched a no-hitter for St. Louis in September, 2001, only to get dealt in July 2002 for Scott Rolen. Indeed, the Cardinals made a habit of dealing no-hitting pitchers, trading Jose Jimenez in November 1999 as part of a seven-player deal to net Darryl Kile, just months after his June 1999 no-no. Kile, for his part, had thrown a no-hitter for Houston in 1993, then stayed an Astro until 1997. And he left of his own accord, signing a free agent contract with Colorado.
Indeed, going back further, the recent deals involving Garza and Jackson just months after their moments of glory stand out that much more. A number of no-hitter authors signed free agent contracts, but generally, no-hit pitchers like Eric Milton (the last to do it for the Twins before Liriano) and Chris Bosio earned the chance to spend years with their teams.
Exceptions like Kevin Brown and Al Leiter with the Marlins were due to financial reasons. And in the case of David Wells, who got dealt to Toronto for Roger Clemens just months after his 1998 perfect game, the Yankees saw the error of their ways and re-acquired him two years later.
Dave Stieb is probably the finest example of no-hit glory enduring. He managed, incredibly, to get 8 2/3 innings of no-hit ball, and two strikes of the way toward a no-no in consecutive starts back in 1988 for the Toronto Blue Jays. In 1989, he had a perfect game broken up with two outs in the ninth. But finally, on September 2, 1990, he pitched that elusive no-hitter. It appeared back problems had ended his career in 1993, but five years later, he wanted to come back. Who gave him another chance? That magical no-hit place, the Toronto Blue Jays.
Of course, to truly assure himself a permanent place in Minnesota for as long as he wants, Liriano would be best off throwing multiple no-hitters. Of the five pitchers with three or more, Nolan Ryan, Bob Feller and Sandy Koufax weren't traded once from the moment they threw their first (though Ryan moved around a bit, thanks to lucrative free agent contracts). Cy Young and Larry Corcoran got traded and loaned, respectively, but both notched their no-nos in the dead ball era.
And if Liriano can perform the feat back-to-back, he should be even safer. Johnny Vander Meer is the only pitcher to perform such a feat, back in 1938. That kept him in Cincinnati until February, 1950.
The Financial Implications Of Hosmer’s Promotion
Eric Hosmer is hitting like someone who deserves to play in the Major Leagues. You don't put up a .439/.525/.582 line as a 21-year-old at Triple-A unless you're pretty talented, so the Royals are rewarding Hosmer’s ability and performance with a spot on the big league roster.
Not only does the decision make a difference for the current Royals team, it has implications for the future, since Hosmer may now go to arbitration four times, instead of the usual three. An extra year of arbitration could cost the Royals millions, but GM Dayton Moore told ESPN.com's Buster Olney that "right now, he helps us put the best team on the field that we can."
Here’s a detailed breakdown of what Hosmer’s callup means for future Kansas City teams:
The current outlook:
- Service time after 2011 – 0 years, 146 days
- Number of arbitration years – 3 or 4
- Additional earnings through arbitration – four years of arbitration could mean $5-15MM in additional earnings
- Hits free agency – after 2017
What an early June callup would have meant:
- Service time after 2011 – 0 years, 116 days
- Number of arbitration years – 3
- Additional earnings through arbitration – none
- Hits free agency – after 2017
Hosmer will pick up 146 days of service time this year if he’s not optioned back to the minors. Recent history suggests that will be enough for super two status after the 2013 season, assuming he picks up full years of service time in ’12 and ’13.
However, there’s no guarantee that the Royals will be stuck paying the former third overall selection for an extra year of arbitration. Early projections for the upcoming super two cutoff place the minimum at two years and 146 days, a couple of weeks more than usual.
Every year is different and it’s far too early to predict how much service time players will need to qualify as super twos after 2013, but it’s possible that two years and 146 days (Hosmer’s pace) won’t be enough. It’s also possible that the Royals will option Hosmer to the minor leagues, where he wouldn’t collect MLB service time.
Though there’s now a distinct possibility that the Royals will go to arbitration four times with Hosmer and pay him millions extra in the process, too many variables – possible demotions, unknown cutoff dates, the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement – exist for anyone to say with certainty that Moore made a poor financial decision by calling on the top prospect when he did.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Hosmer, Bell, Rizzo, Lowe
On this date in 2004, Mike Piazza hit his 352nd career home run as a catcher, moving him past Carlton Fisk for the most homers hit by a player at the position in baseball history. Right-hander Jerome Williams of the Giants was the victim. Piazza retired after the 2007 season with 427 long balls to his credit, 396 of which came while donning the tools of ignorance. Here are this week's batch of links…
- 1 Blue Jays Way interviewed Blue Jays shortstop prospect Adeiny Hechavarria.
- Phoul Ballz interviewed former big leaguer Mark Parent, manager of the Phillies' Double-A affiliate.
- Amazin' Avenue comes up with a plan to enhance competitive balance by realigning the divisions.
- M.C. Antil, meanwhile, wonders where all the bad teams went.
- Lasorda's Lair muses on some of Frank McCourt's recent comments.
- Cubs Billy Goat Blog thinks it may be time to let balls and strikes be called electronically.
- Royals Review says the decision making behind Eric Hosmer's call-up is flawed.
- Kings of Kauffman looked at the debuts of some other notable Royals throughout the years.
- Harness The Halo wrote about the recent influx of young players into the Angels' roster.
- Through The Fence Baseball feels Heath Bell could be just what the Rangers need.
- Crashburn Alley says the Phillies should sign Jimmy Rollins to a short-term extension right now.
- The Friarhood tackles Anthony Rizzo-mania in San Diego.
- Red Sox Beacon takes a quick look at John Lackey's career with the Red Sox.
- The Flagrant Fan wants to know if it's time to worry about Chris Carpenter.
- Tomahawk Talk explains why the Braves should trade Derek Lowe.
- Ivy Report wonders if the Cubs should look into trading Marlon Byrd.
- Fenway Faithful Report believes the Red Sox should have signed Scott Downs instead of Bobby Jenks.
- Splashing Pumpkins looks at Sergio Romo's hot start.
- Houston Hot Bed wrote about Brett Wallace's interesting path to the majors.
- Nolan Writin' doesn't understand a recent Rangers' roster move.
- MLB Draft Insider posted an updated mock of next month's amateur draft.
- Beer Leaguer says the 1992 White Sox could have beaten the Springfield Power Plant club.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here. Only one email per week, please.
Olney On Trades, Hosmer, Pineda
Here’s some welcome news for those of us who enjoy trades: executives tell ESPN.com’s Buster Olney that trade talk has started between teams. At this point, GMs are checking in with one another about possible needs and real trade talk probably won’t begin for another month. Here’s the latest from Olney:
- Royals GM Dayton Moore says first base prospect Eric Hosmer accelerated his own timetable by hitting .439/.525/.582 at Triple-A. Instead of keeping Hosmer in the minors for another month or so to prevent him from going to arbitration four times, the Royals called him up as soon as he appeared to be ready.
- ”Right now, he helps us put the best team on the field that we can," Moore told Olney.
- The Royals had expected to call Hosmer up after about 250 minor league plate appearances, but he’s in the majors after 118 trips to the plate for Omaha.
- Michael Pineda’s strong pitching is convincing scouts and executives that the Mariners should hold onto Felix Hernandez and look to contend before King Felix’s contract expires after the 2014 season.