Yankees Not Exploring Trade Market For Pitchers
The Yankees discussed ways of strengthening their pitching staff this offseason, but now that we're just weeks away from Opening Day, the team is no longer exploring potential deals. GM Brian Cashman told Marc Carig of the Star- Ledger that "there's nothing hot. I've got nothing going on. Zero" (Twitter links).
That's not particularly surprising since the challengers for the two jobs at the back of the club's rotation have been progressing well. Cashman declared that no pitchers were available late last month and the market figures to remain barren for months (you can forget about Felix Hernandez and Francisco Liriano for now).
Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon, two of the pitchers in competition for the available rotation spots, have clauses in their contracts that allow them to opt out at the end of the spring. However, Colon is willing to pitch in long relief, according to Carig.
Padres Seek Utility Player
The Padres are looking for utility help - preferably someone who can play shortstop – tweets MLB.com's Corey Brock. New shortstop Jason Bartlett has been held out of a few games with a sore knee, and has never played more than 140 games in a season.
Bobby Crosby is still out of work; he was drawing interest from a few clubs in January. The Indians' Adam Everett could make sense if he doesn't make the team, or the Cubs could part with Augie Ojeda, but overall I don't see many teams with a surplus.
Legacy Sports Group Brokers Over $300MM
Quick, what agency came in second in total dollars brokered this offseason behind the Boras Corporation? The answer is Legacy Sports Group, with $306.375MM. Greg Genske and company keep a relatively low profile, but they had a huge offseason.
Legacy brokered six eight-figure deals this winter: Carl Crawford ($142MM), Adam Dunn ($56MM), Rickie Weeks ($38.5MM), Billy Butler ($30MM), Bobby Jenks ($12MM), and Orlando Hudson ($11.5MM). The agency doesn't have much in the way of April extension candidates, so the $306.375MM figure might be final. Note: that number includes one-year arbitration deals.
As for the 2010-11 offseason, Legacy has one big fish: C.C. Sabathia. Many expect Sabathia to opt out of his contract with the Yankees, which could allow him to top his own record of $161MM for the amount guaranteed to a pitcher. It may otherwise be a quiet offseason for the firm, as their other free agent clients include Brad Penny, Pat Burrell, Danys Baez, and Scott Kazmir. They have Francisco Liriano on the horizon as a potential free agent after the 2012 season.
What They Said When The Mets Signed Oliver Perez
Mets GM Omar Minaya signed Oliver Perez to a three-year, $36MM deal in February of 2009, and he's given the team 112 1/3 innings of 6.81 ball over two seasons. There's a good chance he'll be released this month, with the team eating $12MM. It could have been worse, too - Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that the Mets floated a four-year, $44MM deal, but Perez and Scott Boras wanted the chance to re-enter the free agent market after three years.
It's easy to trash the Perez signing now, but what were reporters and analysts saying at the time of the deal? Don't worry, I am not immune…
Tim Dierkes, MLB Trade Rumors
I think it was about right since he is so young and can be dominant. Maybe a slight overpay but that is OK for a team like the Mets to do.
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Ben Shpigel, New York Times
Perez has agreed in principle to a three-year, $36 million contract to remain with the Mets in a deal that should benefit both parties. Without guaranteeing a fourth year or even including a vesting option, the Mets fortified their rotation Monday with a 27-year-old left-hander who is comfortable pitching in New York; who last season baffled their chief rival, the Philadelphia Phillies; and who has the potential to shine brighter than [Derek] Lowe.
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Matthew Cerrone, MetsBlog
The thing i like most about this is that, even if Perez is a total bust, and regresses, the Mets can move this contract…had he ever signed for five years and $60 million, like he was initially looking for, he’d be a total albatross…but, if the Mets were to eat some of the money, there will always be a taker for a 28–year-old lefty earning, say, $16 million over two years.
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Joel Sherman, New York Post
Now the Mets will hope the lack of focus or lack of maturity or whatever it is exactly that detours Perez from consistent excellence will melt away.
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Buster Olney, ESPN
Personally, I like the signing for the Mets.
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Jayson Stark of ESPN listed Perez under his three most outrageous contracts, writing:
The Mets win a bidding war with themselves to reel in Oliver Perez.
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Jon Heyman, SI.com
The Mets had to get Oliver Perez back. They weren't comfortable with their main fallback option, which was [Randy] Wolf.
Cashman: Never Made Offer To Chapman
WEDNESDAY, 9:45am: The Yankees "never made an offer" to Chapman, GM Brian Cashman tells ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter link).
TUESDAY, 10:01pm: The Yankees really liked Aroldis Chapman. A Florida lawsuit against the left-hander's representatives claims that the Yankees made an “offer to Chapman valued at more than $54MM," according to Melissa Segura of SI.com (on Twitter, hat tip to River Ave. Blues).
Chapman, who accepted a six-year, $30.25MM deal from Cincinnati must have really liked the Reds to accept $24MM less from them. The 23-year-old Cuban struck out 19 of the 51 batters he faced in his cameo for the NL Central Champions last year. He posted a 3.57 ERA with 11.8 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 in 95 2/3 innings at Triple-A before his callup.
The Yankees have a history of bidding on and signing top Cuban pitchers. They signed Orlando Hernandez in 1998 and pried Jose Contreras away from the Red Sox and others in 2003.
Possible Plan Bs For Chase Utley
Phillies team physician Dr. Michael Ciccotti released a statement this morning regarding second baseman Chase Utley; here's an excerpt:
An MRI was obtained that demonstrated his prior tendinitis, chondromalacia, and bone inflammation. His chondromalacia symptoms persisted in spite of focused non-operative care, including a cortisone injection. A subsequent cartilage-specific MRI was obtained confirming the initial diagnosis. Continued non-operative treatment is being carried out and additional opinions will be obtained.
Additionally, here are comments from GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and head trainer Scott Sheridan, passed along by MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. Amaro at least is not considering the idea that Utley could miss the season.
ESPN's Buster Olney presumes the Phillies are at least considering which second base candidates might become available this season. We'll start with his two speculative ideas, and add a few more.
- Chone Figgins, Mariners: Figgins' value is at a low point, he's owed $26MM over the next three years at the least, and switching him to second base again would be questionable.
- Jeff Keppinger, Astros: He's making $2.3MM this year and is under team control for 2012 as an arbitration eligible player. He could be a good fit.
- David Eckstein, free agent: SI's Jon Heyman made this suggestion on Twitter. On a minor league deal, there's no harm in adding Eckstein or a similar free agent. Others include Willy Aybar, Julio Lugo, Bobby Crosby, and Cristian Guzman, although Guzman will miss at least the first half due to family issues.
- Michael Young, Rangers: Between Young's contract and Adrian Beltre's injury, this is difficult to picture. Plus it'd create another uncomfortable situation when Utley is ready to play. Heyman tweets that while the Phillies have not been in contact with the Rangers lately, top scout Charley Kerfeld is following them and Young.
- Felipe Lopez, Rays: Lopez is battling with out of options Elliot Johnson for the Rays' utility infielder job. Johnson is dealing with a quad injury currently. It's possible Lopez has an opt-out if he doesn't make the team.
- Luis Castillo, Mets: If Castillo is released the Phillies could take a look, but they might prefer their internal options. Castillo would only cost the league minimum.
- Ramon Santiago, Tigers: He "could be a possibility" for the Phillies, tweets CBS' Danny Knobler.
Internally, the Phillies have Wilson Valdez and Brian Bocock on the 40-man roster and Josh Barfield and Pete Orr as non-roster invitees.
Six days ago, GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said regarding Utley's injury, "I'm not going to be doing anything else because of this. I mean, we'll watch some of the other guys play, but we expect (Utley) to be our second baseman." Look for the Phillies to make a minor addition at most unless Utley's condition takes a turn for the worse.
The Next Steps For Oliver Perez
9:02am: Perez will not be released today, a source tells Martino (Twitter link). Instead, he'll get two bullpen appearances and will be released if they are not stellar.
8:03am: "The end is drawing closer" for Oliver Perez and the Mets, writes Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Perez's Spring Training starts were "mere theater," writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Now, Mets GM Sandy Alderson, manager Terry Collins, and pitching coach Dan Warthen will meet today to decide between giving Perez a shot at relief or releasing him immediately, according to Martino.
Why are the Mets going through these motions with Perez? Some in the organization really want to see him audition for the bullpen, tweets Martino. Otherwise, Sherman has two theories. One is that the new administration must "put on a show" for ownership before cutting Perez. The other is that ownership is aiming to release Perez and Luis Castillo closer to the season, to "get the most positive bump" with fans before Opening Day.
Releasing Perez and Castillo will require the Mets to eat $18MM. Click here for my list of other candidates to be released this month.
Brendan Donnelly Retires
Brendan Donnelly is hanging up his goggles. The 39-year-old is retiring, unable to find a minor league deal this offseason after being released by the Pirates in July of last year. MLB.com's Doug Miller has the story.
Donnelly, a 30-year-old rookie for the Angels' '02 World Championship team, finishes with a 3.22 ERA and 369 strikeouts over 385 1/3 innings for the Angels, Red Sox, Indians, Marlins, and Pirates. He's best known for his time with the Halos, highlighted by strong pitching in the World Series in '02 and an All-Star game win in '03. Donnelly finishes his career with about $5MM in the bank and is now about to experience the joys of fatherhood for the first time.
Melvin: Greinke Did Not Violate Contract
Brewers GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Zack Greinke did not violate his contract by cracking a rib while playing basketball. Greinke’s contract prevents him from playing competitive basketball, but doesn’t prohibit pickup games, so the Brewers won’t discipline him and he’ll earn his entire $13.5MM salary.
The front office hopes Greinke will miss just two or three starts and is considering rookies such as Wily Peralta, Amaury Rivas and Mark Rogers as possible placeholders for the 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner. As I explained earlier tonight, the Brewers can likely get by with pitchers already in the organization.
The Brewers are eyeing rival pitchers in case a possible fit becomes available. But Melvin says a trade or claim probably doesn’t make sense. "The problem with getting somebody else is what do you do with him when Zack comes back?" Melvin asked.
Two Ways Of Building An Elite Rotation
The Giants wouldn't have won last year's World Series without their formidable rotation, but manager Bruce Bochy said last month that Philadelphia – the team San Francisco defeated in the 2010 NLCS – has "the best staff in baseball." Whether you believe the best starting staff in the game belongs to the Phillies, the Giants or someone else, this much is certain: the last two NL Championship teams have built their rotations in noticeably different ways.
Giants GM Brian Sabean has relied primarily on the draft to build his rotation. He spent big ($126MM over seven years) on Barry Zito, but the rest of the team’s rotation is homegrown. About six months before Sabean signed Zito, he drafted Tim Lincecum tenth overall in the 2006 draft. The next year, the Giants made Madison Bumgarner their first round selection (tenth overall). Lincecum, Bumgarner and Zito join two other Giants draftees, Matt Cain (first round, 2002) and Jonathan Sanchez (27th round, 2004) in Bochy's rotation.
Bochy's counterpart, Charlie Manuel, will trot out an equally impressive rotation in 2011, but his starters arrived in Philadelphia because of GM Ruben Amaro Jr.'s knack for acquiring big-name starters in trades. Pat Gillick traded for Joe Blanton in 2008, before Amaro took over the Phillies and the new GM has picked up where his predecessor left off, acquiring Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt in a series of blockbusters.
The Phillies had to bid for Lee on the open market to lure him back to Philadelphia, but the initial swap was crucial for the Phillies, who signed Lee for less than the Yankees or Rangers were offering. Amaro isn't all about trades, though – Cole Hamels fills out the team's rotation and Kyle Kendrick, another Philadelphia draft pick, provides the club with depth.
I am not suggesting that the Phillies are all about trading or that the Giants are all about drafting. The Phillies used nine of their first 12 draft picks on pitchers last year, so they clearly see the value in drafting arms, even if they often seem to trade them away before long (they have dealt J.A. Happ, Gavin Floyd, Kyle Drabek and others for more established pitchers in recent years). Similarly, the Giants would no doubt consider acquiring starting pitching through trades or free agency. But for one year at least, baseball's two most impressive rotations have wildly different origins.