Matt Albers Still In Mix For Red Sox
4:38pm: Red Sox GM Theo Epstein told Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe that the team has not released Albers (Twitter link). He remains in the mix for a job in Boston's bullpen.
4:31pm: The Red Sox released Matt Albers to allow him to play in Japan, according to Maureen Mullen of CSNNE.com. Boston will receive an undisclosed sum of money for letting the right-hander go.
The Red Sox signed Albers in December after the Orioles non-tendered him. The out-of-options 28-year-old competed for a spot in Boston's bullpen this spring, making seven appearances.
Albers spent three seasons in Baltimore after the Orioles acquired him in the Miguel Tejada trade. He posted a 4.52 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 75 2/3 innings last year and has a 5.11 ERA in 317 1/3 career innings with the O's and Astros.
Nationals Claim Lee Hyde
About an hour after agreeing to sign Oliver Perez, the Nationals added another left-hander from another division rival, claiming reliever Lee Hyde from the Braves (Twitter link). To create roster space for their new addition, the Nationals placed Stephen Strasburg on the 60-day DL.
The Braves selected Hyde in the fourth round of the 2006 draft and he underwent Tommy John surgery the following year. The 26-year-old Georgia native pitched 60 2/3 total innings at Double-A and Triple-A last year, posting a 3.41 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9.
Baseball America did not rank Hyde among the top 30 Braves prospects before the 2010 or 2011 season.
Twins Willing To Trade Kevin Slowey For Relief
Now that they have decided on Scott Baker as their No. 5 starter, the Twins are willing to trade Kevin Slowey for a late-inning reliever, according to Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
However, the Twins don’t have many promising trade possibilities, since two of the teams looking for a starter, the Brewers and Mariners, don’t have relievers to spare. The Cardinals, Dodgers, Blue Jays and White Sox seem inclined to replace injured starters with pitchers already in their respective organizations, according to FOX Sports.
Meanwhile, Pirates and Diamondbacks officials say they aren’t actively looking to trade for starting pitchers. As Morosi and Rosenthal point out, the Twins are able to consider moving a quality starter like Slowey because they have promising minor league starter Kyle Gibson.
Slowey didn't seem like a fit for the Blue Jays earlier in the spring, partly because Toronto already had a number of legitimate rotation options. Now that Brandon Morrow will start the season on the DL, the Jays could use the starting depth, but injuries to their relievers limit the likelihood that they can part with a late-inning arm.
Here's a list of other potentially available starters.
Nationals In Talks With Oliver Perez
The Nationals are in talks with free agent left-hander Oliver Perez, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter links). The Mets released Perez earlier in the week, so interested teams would only be responsible for paying the MLB minimum salary if they sign the 29-year-old. If the sides agree to terms, it will be a minor league deal, according to Heyman.
Belt, Britton Face Different Cutoff Dates
A week ago I wrote that a player's free agency could be delayed a year by calling him up on April 11th or later, making it impossible for him to accrue more than 171 days of service time. It turns out that I was only partially correct.
The April 11th date only applies if the player is not on the 40-man roster right now. For example, Brandon Belt could be promoted by the Giants on April 11th or later and his free agency would be delayed until after the 2017 season, because he is not currently on the 40-man. One related note – if he was called up exactly on that date, and thus fell one day short of the 172 needed for a year of service, his agent would probably file a grievance. There's also the possibility of a one-game playoff allowing him to pick up that extra day of service time anyway. So it makes sense to leave a little space.
What about a player who is on the 40-man roster, such as the Orioles' Zach Britton? In that case, the player needs to be optioned to start the season and spend at least 20 days on optional assignment in order to not get the service time back. So a 40-man roster player can earn either 162 or fewer days of service, or a full year. The Orioles will have to wait until April 21st or later with Britton, as Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun indicated today.
Offseason In Review: New York Mets
The Mets are next in our Offseason In Review series.
Major League/International Signings
- Jose Reyes, SS: one year, $11MM. Club option exercised.
- D.J. Carrasco, RP: two years, $2.4MM.
- Chris Capuano, SP: one year, $1.5MM.
- Ronny Paulino, C: one year, $1.35MM.
- Scott Hairston, OF: one year, $1.1MM.
- Chris Young, SP: one year, $1.1MM.
- Taylor Buchholz, RP: one year, $600K.
- Total spend: $19.05MM.
Notable Minor League Signings
- Boof Bonser, Blaine Boyer, Tim Byrdak, Willie Harris, Taylor Tankersley, Mike O'Connor, Russ Adams, Dusty Ryan, Raul Chavez, Casey Fossum, Dale Thayer, Jason Isringhausen, Chris Shelton
Extensions
- R.A. Dickey, SP: two years, $7.8MM. Includes $5MM club option for 2013 with a $300K buyout.
Trades and Claims
- Claimed 2B/3B Brad Emaus from Blue Jays in Rule 5 draft
- Claimed RP Pedro Beato from Orioles in Rule 5 draft
- Acquired SS Chin-lung Hu from Dodgers for SP Mike Antonini
Notable Losses
- Hisanori Takahashi, Pedro Feliciano, Luis Castillo, Oliver Perez, Raul Valdes, Elmer Dessens, Fernando Nieve, John Maine, Sean Green, Chris Carter, Henry Blanco, Fernando Tatis, Mike Antonini
Summary
The biggest move of the Mets' offseason was undoubtedly the hiring of Sandy Alderson as GM in October. Alderson's small-market experience will be an asset with the Mets, as his payroll flexibility may remain limited for part of his four-year contract due to the Wilpons' Madoff-related issues. The new Mets front office has an analytical feel to it, as Alderson hired Paul DePodesta and J.P. Ricciardi. Additionally, Terry Collins is aboard as the new manager. Let's take a look at Alderson's first offseason.
Exercising Reyes' option at $11MM was a no-brainer. If Reyes has a strong first half, Alderson may be tasked with restocking a poorly-rated farm system by trading his shortstop. Releasing Oliver Perez was also a fairly obvious choice, as he simply isn't worth a roster spot despite his $12MM salary. Cutting Castillo might be considered a baseball decision as well as one for the fans. If Emaus has even a little bit of upside, he's the right pick at second base.
Like the Mariners, the Mets are a big-budget team but don't appear to be a player or two away from contention in 2011. Shopping the bargain bin was the right move for Alderson. Capuano and Young in particular have upside for a minimal commitment. The other moves amount to tinkering. Between second base, the rotation, and the bullpen, the Mets have a lot of opportunity for players to step up.
Speaking of the bullpen, it's imperative that the Mets find a way to prevent Francisco Rodriguez from finishing 55 games, as that would trigger a 2012 option adding a net cost of $14MM. I agree with Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal – the Mets could employ a more sabermetric bullpen strategy, using K-Rod in all kinds of high leverage situations. Then when the reliever's agent files a grievance, the Mets can cite legitimate baseball reasons as their motivation. The downside is that future free agent targets may be turned off if the Mets try to sneak around a contract clause to which they agreed. One DL stint for Rodriguez may make the whole issue a moot point.
2011 figures to be a transition year for the Mets, perhaps with the goals of trading Reyes, getting Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran off the books, spending more on amateur talent, and figuring out what the team has for 2012.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Luis Hernandez Drawing Trade Interest
Mets infielder Luis Hernandez is drawing trade interest, according to ESPN's Adam Rubin. The Mets appear poised to give the backup middle infield job to Chin-lung Hu instead. Hernandez is out of options, and Rubin does not think he would clear waivers. The Mets signed Hernandez to a minor league deal back in February of last year.
Hernandez's trade value is limited, as glove-only middle infielders are not hard to come by in most organizations. MLB.com's Corey Brock can envision the Padres having interest (Twitter link). The Padres are known to be eyeing Alberto Gonzalez and Robert Andino, who are both out of options. For our full list of out of options players, click here.
Brewers Acquire Brett Carroll
The Brewers acquired outfielder Brett Carroll from the Royals for cash considerations, the team announced. The Royals signed the 28-year-old as a free agent in November after the Marlins granted him free agency.
In parts of four seasons with Florida, Carroll has a .205/.284/.325 line in 319 plate appearances. Carroll, who broke camp with the Marlins in 2008 and '09, hit his first MLB homer off of Randy Johnson. The right-handed hitter was hitless in 15 at bats this spring before the Royals assigned him to minor league camp.
Though Carroll has struggled against MLB pitching in his short career, he has a more respectable .255/.323/.463 line in seven minor league seasons. The 2004 draft pick has played all three outfield positions in the majors and the minors.
Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star first tweeted news of the deal last night.
Olney On Shortstops, Juan Cruz, Mets
The latest from the blog of ESPN's Buster Olney…
- Olney muses on who the Giants might look at as a midseason acquisition if Miguel Tejada does not work out at shortstop. He comes up with Jose Reyes, Marco Scutaro, and Jack Wilson as possible trade candidates. I can see Stephen Drew, J.J. Hardy, and Ronny Cedeno as other possibilities.
- Evaluators tell Olney Rays reliever Juan Cruz looks excellent. Apparently recovered from shoulder surgery, Cruz has allowed one run in eight spring innings. He's whiffed nine and allowed only two hits, but also walked seven.
- The Mets intend to keep Rule 5 picks Brad Emaus and Pedro Beato, according to Olney. With Justin Turner being cut today, Emaus certainly appears to be the second base starter. Joel Sherman of the New York Post digs into the Mets' logic with Emaus here. The infielder, 25 on Monday, hit .298/.395/.495 at Triple-A last year.
A’s Could Extend Daric Barton
"It's a good bet" that A's pitcher Trevor Cahill "will be signed through at least his arbitration years soon," according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. What's more, first baseman Daric Barton "is a strong possibility" to be signed through at least his arbitration years as well. MLBTR's Luke Adams looked at the Cahill possibility last September, so let's focus on Barton.
Barton, 25, hit .273/.393/.405 in 686 plate appearances last year, leading the American League with 110 walks. The A's also consider Barton's defense and durability to be positives, according to Slusser. The first baseman did deal with a few injuries in 2009, and also spent a good portion of the season in the minors due to Jason Giambi's presence. He'll be arbitration eligible for the first time after the 2011 season.
Barton is a very unique first baseman, and new agent Dan Lozano would have a hard time getting him properly compensated through the arbitration system. Barton's value is tied to his OBP and defense; he only has 26 home runs and 136 RBI in 1,485 career plate appearances. How unique is it for someone to play 150 games at first base and post an OBP of at least .390 with a SLG under .410, as Barton did last year? According to the Baseball-Reference play index, the only other player to do it in the last 30 years was Mike Hargrove for the Indians in 1980.
If my theory that a player like Barton would be a bargain in arbitration is correct, the A's should only extend him if they're getting a big discount or control of free agent years. From Lozano's point of view a great comparable would be Billy Butler, who is a also a little short on power but still signed for $30MM over four years ($19MM for his three arbitration years, $8MM for one free agent season, and a club option for a second). The A's might argue that Barton better resembles a healthier Nick Johnson, though Johnson's three-year extension came at a much different point in his career. Both Butler and Johnson, though, have at least flashed 20 home run power in their careers.