Randy Winn Retires
Randy Winn has retired after 13 season in the big leagues, according to Janie McCauley of the Associated Press (on Twitter). The Orioles signed Winn to a minor league this past offseason then released the 36-year-old this week.
Postseason baseball eluded Winn throughout his career and last year was no exception. The Yankees, who made it to the ALCS in 2010, signed him before the season, but designated him for assignment after he struggled. The Cardinals picked him up last summer, only to miss the postseason. Winn also played for the Giants (between their recent trips to the World Series), the Mariners (after their most recent playoff appearance) and the Rays (before they sniffed the playoffs).
Winn retires with a .284/.343/.416 line, 1759 hits, 110 homers and 215 stolen bases. He earned over $42MM in his career, according to Baseball-Reference.
Heyman On Marlins, Pujols, Sabathia
Buster Posey, Jason Heyward, Colby Rasmus, Gordon Beckham and Matt Kemp make Jon Heyman's list of players who could take another step toward stardom in 2011. Here are the latest rumors from Heyman at SI.com…
- Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez begins the season ‘under the gun,’ according to Heyman. Rodriguez was never the first choice of owner Jeffery Loria, who can make Miami seem like ‘Steinbrenner south.’
- Three GMs predict Albert Pujols will re-sign with the Cardinals after the season, when he hits free agency for the first time in his career. The sides are not negotiating during the season, but earlier in the spring, the Cardinals’ main offer was for over $200MM and nine years.
- A rival GM predicts that C.C. Sabathia is “definitely opting out'' of his contract with the Yankees after the season. It seems likely that the lefty could obtain more than $92MM over four years if he puts together a typical season in 2011.
NL East Notes: Reyes, Werth, Amaro
The latest on the NL East, before the Phillies, Mets and Marlins open their respective seasons…
- Mets shortstop Jose Reyes tells Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger that he isn't worried about the 2011 season – his walk year. I recommend McCullough's piece for an in-depth look at Reyes.
- Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal says the Mets can forget dominance and aim for competence and respectability in 2011.
- Tom Verducci of SI.com praises Nationals manager Jim Riggleman for batting $126MM man Jayson Werth second.
- Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Daily News writes that past and current Phillies GMs Ed Wade and Ruben Amaro Jr. are good friends despite their professional rivalry and different personality types.
Jimenez Extension Going Well For Rockies
There's inherent risk in signing any pitcher long-term, let alone someone who has just one full season of Major League experience to his name. If you're wondering why teams ever commit $10MM-plus to relatively inexperienced pitchers, take a look at the Rockies and Ubaldo Jimenez.
When Jimenez signed his current extension with the Rockies, he had similar numbers to the ones Wade Davis has now. Their ERAs (Davis 4.01 vs. Jimenez 4.06), records (Davis 14-12 vs. Jimenez 16-16) and innings totals (Davis 204 1/3 vs. Jimenez 288 1/3) were comparable after one-plus MLB seasons and those stats led to similar extensions (Davis four years, $12.6MM vs. Jimenez four years, $10MM).
Two years into Jimenez's deal, he has developed from a promising 25-year-old like Davis into a Cy Young candidate and legitimate top-of-the-rotation starter. Jimenez has posted a 3.17 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 since signing his extension, averaging 220 innings and 17 wins per season. If any doubt remained about his status as an ace, he erased it last year, throwing a no-hitter, making the All-Star team and finishing third in NL Cy Young balloting.
Jimenez earned twice as much as pitchers in his service class in 2009-10 thanks to the structure of his extension and he'll earn $2.8MM in 2011, his first season as an arbitration eligible player. It's a substantial raise from his 2010 salary of $1.25MM and not a bad salary for a first-time arbitration eligible pitcher.
But given Jimenez's career accomplishments to date, he could have surpassed the salaries Mike Pelfrey ($3.925MM) and Chad Billingsley ($3.85MM) earned their first time through arbitration and matched Jered Weaver's $4.265MM salary. Not only is that $1.4MM more than Jimenez will actually earn in 2011, a $4.265MM salary would have set him up for future arbitration raises.
As it stands, Jimenez will earn $4.8MM from 2009-11, about the same as he would have obtained by going year to year. The Rockies will start saving big in 2012, when they'll pay Jimenez just $4.2MM and the savings could continue in 2013 and 2014, as the Rockies have a pair of team options. The risk paid off for Colorado, which could save $15MM or more if Jimenez stays healthy and GM Dan O'Dowd exercises both options.
That doesn't make the deal a regrettable one for Jimenez and his representatives at SFX, however. Like Davis, Jimenez took the risk that his performance would justify larger raises than the ones structured into his extension in exchange for the security of guaranteed money. Like Davis, he'll hit free agency in his early 30s, even if the team exercises its options, so there's still time for a substantial free agent payday.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Rays, Crow, Peavy, Boyer
Ten years ago today, Major League Baseball played its first ever game in Puerto Rico. The Blue Jays beat the Rangers by the score of 8-1 in front of a crowd of just under 20,000 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium. Alex Rodriguez had two hits in his first game with Texas after signing his landmark ten-year, $252MM contract, but he also committed an error on his first defensive chance.
With the regular season underway, let's take a look at what's being written around the blogosphere…
- Through The Fence Baseball looks ahead to some historic milestones that could be reached this season.
- Baseball Analysts identifies some breakout players using Spring Training statistics.
- Wahoo Blues compared two Alberts: Pujols and Einstein.
- Camden Depot explores the Orioles' franchise value over the last 20 seasons.
- Pirates Prospects looks at the typical minor league time line.
- The Process Report explains how the Rays have already started building their future bullpens.
- Royals Review isn't sure what Kansas City is doing with Aaron Crow.
- Disciples of Uecker thinks the Brewers paid too high a price for Sergio Mitre.
- Replacement Level Baseball offers up a scouting report and video of Casey Kelly, the centerpiece of the Adrian Gonzalez trade for the Padres.
- Cubs Billy Goat Blog asks what we learned about the Cubs in Spring Training.
- Rooftop View tackles the Cubs' change of plans at second base.
- U.S.S. Mariner tells us what a successful season for the Mariners would look like.
- South Side Sox lists three White Sox players that can tilt the balance of power in the AL Central.
- Beer Leaguer wonders if we can call the Jake Peavy trade a bust for the ChiSox yet.
- The Todd Van Poppel Rookie Card Retirement Plan previews the 2011 Athletics.
- The Nats Blog says the decision to bat Jayson Werth second will benefit Ryan Zimmerman.
- Blogging Mets calls 2011 the season of "ifs" for the Mets.
- The Shea Faithful looks at the Mets' decision to take Blaine Boyer over Jason Isringhausen.
- We Should Be GMs says it's time to get real with the 2011 Phillies.
- FanSpeak offers up some predictions for the 2011 Nationals.
- BD BK's Blog tells us what to expect from the 2011 Angels.
- Tomahawk Talk explains why the Braves will win the World Series this year.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here. Only one email per week, please.
Ichiro Hints At Prolonged Career With Mariners
Ichiro Suzuki hinted to John Hickey of Sportspress Northwest that he wants to re-sign with the Mariners after his current contract expires. Ichiro, whose contract expires after the 2012 season, is now 37, but he says age is more of a distraction than a limitation.
“Take the talk of age. It’s something that I will have to battle," Ichiro said. “When you have to think about something like that, it’s not a positive for you. I mean, it’s something you don’t have to think about, but when you have people around you talking about it, you don’t want the negatives to get in.”
There were lots of positives for Ichiro in 2010. He led the league in hits, reached the 200 hit plateau for the tenth consecutive season and stole 42 bases, hitting .315/.359/.394. As Ichiro points out he can still play though, “there are players who are 25 who play already like they’re 40.”
He has 2,244 hits as a Major Leaguer, so the 3,000 hit plateau is within reach, even though he didn’t make his MLB debut until he was 27. Ichiro admits that his goals were once personal, but says they have become more team-oriented as he has become a fixture in the game and, especially, in Seattle.
“For me, it’s about going to the playoffs with the Mariners,” Ichiro said. “It’s all the time you’ve spent getting there."
Dodgers Designate Link, Lindsey For Assignment
The Dodgers have designated reliever Jon Link and first baseman John Lindsey for assignment, the club has confirmed.
Link, a 27-year-old right-hander, made his Major League debut with Los Angeles in 2010, appearing in nine games, after spending time in the Padres and White Sox organizations. For his minor league career, he has a 3.84 ERA, 9.0 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9.
Lindsey, 34, debuted in the bigs with the Dodgers in 2010 after a lengthy minor league career. He appeared in 11 games with the big club after a 16-year minors career in which he posted a respectable .284/.361/.478 line in 6,342 plate appearances. Lindsey was a 13th-round pick of the Rockies in 1995.
Minor Moves: Braves, Red Sox, White Sox
A few minor league moves of note as organizations continue to shuffle their affiliates' rosters…
- The Braves released left-hander Brett DeVall, a sandwich-round pick in 2008 (40th overall), tweets Matt Eddy of Baseball America. DeVall is still only 21, but elbow troubles limited him to just 160 innings at Class A Rome the past two seasons, according to Eddy. For his career, DeVall has a 3.92 ERA, 6.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9. Atlanta selected DeVall with the pick it received for the loss of Ron Mahay – whom it acquired with Mark Teixeira from Texas – to free agency following the 2007 campaign.
- The Braves have acquired utilityman Marcus Lemon from the Rangers for a player to be named, tweets Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus. Lemon, 23 in June, was a fourth-round pick of Texas in 2006, and has a career .274/.348/.372 line in five minor league campaigns, topping out at Double-A Frisco the past two seasons. He was drafted as a shortstop but began moving around the diamond in 2009.
- The Red Sox released right-handed reliever Bryce Cox, tweets Eddy. Bryce was a third-round pick out of Rice in 2006, and he was ultimately felled by a 5.7 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9 in 96 career outings with Double-A Portland, according to Eddy.
- The Red Sox also released first baseman Aaron Bates, utility man Ryan Khoury and right-hander Adam Mills, writes Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Bates (who had a cup of coffee with Boston in 2009) and Khoury were selected in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, in the third and 12th rounds, respectively, while Mills went in the ninth round in 2007.
- The White Sox released infielder C.J. Retherford, tweets Eddy. Retherford, 25, was a fairly promising prospect at Class A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham in 2008 and '09, respectively, but he struggled at two stops last season, notes Eddy. For his four-year minor league career, he has a .273/.327/.442 line.
Quick Hits: Ethier, Buehrle, 2011 Salaries
A few items of note as Opening Day 2011 winds down …
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti confirmed that he and Andre Ethier's agent, Nez Balelo, have had vague discussions about a contract extension for the outfielder, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. We first learned of the extension talks Wednesday, when Balelo issued a statement in which he said the subject had been broached but no formal offer was made.
- White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle has no idea about whether he factors into the South Siders' long-term plans, writes Scott Merkin of MLB.com. Buehrle is in the final year of a contract extension he signed during the 2007 campaign and said, "if [extension] talks do happen, I'm sure my agent will let me know or the White Sox will let me know."
- USA Today has published its list of the payrolls of the 30 Major League clubs. Not surprisingly, the Yankees pull in at No. 1 at roughly $202MM while the Royals are No. 30 at roughly $36MM. Interestingly, the AL Central has the most top-10 teams between the White Sox, Twins and Tigers, writes Bob Nightengale.
Phillies Sign Ronnie Belliard
The Phillies have signed infielder Ronnie Belliard to a minor league contract, tweets Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.
Belliard, released by the Yankees on Monday, will report to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, according to Zolecki. Presumably, the move was made for injury insurance at the infield positions, where the Phils are thin between second baseman Chase Utley being shelved and third baseman Placido Polanco coming off offseason elbow surgery.
Yesterday, the Phillies released Luis Castillo, eliminating him from contention for the second-base gig. So, it looks like the Phils will go with Wilson Valdez as the starter there for now.
Belliard, 35, hit .216/.295/.327 in 185 plate appearances for the Dodgers last year, playing first, second and third.