Offseason In Review: Oakland Athletics
The Athletics are next in our Offseason In Review series.
Major League Signings
- Brian Fuentes, RP: two years, $10.5MM. Includes $6.5MM club option for 2013 with a $500K buyout.
- Grant Balfour, RP: two years, $8.1MM. Includes $4.5MM club option for 2013 with a $350K buyout.
- Mark Ellis, 2B: one year, $6MM. Club option exercised.
- Coco Crisp, CF: one year, $5.75MM. Club option exercised.
- Hideki Matsui, DH: one year, $4.25MM.
- Renato Nunez, 3B: $2.2MM bonus.
- Rich Harden, P: one year, $1.5MM.
- Brandon McCarthy, P: one year, $1MM.
- Vicmal De La Cruz, CF: $800K bonus.
- Total spend: $40.1MM.
Notable Minor League Signings
Trades and Claims
- Acquired OF David DeJesus from Royals for SP Vin Mazzaro and SP Justin Marks
- Claimed 3B Edwin Encarnacion off waivers from Blue Jays, later non-tendered
- Acquired RP Danny Farquhar and RP Trystan Magnuson from Blue Jays for OF Rajai Davis
- Acquired OF Jose Rivero from Diamondbacks for cash considerations
- Acquired OF Josh Willingham from Nationals for RP Henry Rodriguez and OF Corey Brown
- Claimed SP Philip Humber off waivers from Royals, claimed by White Sox 1-18-11
- Acquired RP Ryan Kelly from Pirates for OF Corey Wimberly
- Acquired SP Guillermo Moscoso from Rangers for RP Ryan Kelly
- Acquired SP Ethan Hollingsworth from Rockies for SP Clayton Mortensen
Notable Losses
- Rajai Davis, Jack Cust, Gabe Gross, Eric Chavez, Jeff Larish, Vin Mazzaro, Ben Sheets, Justin Duchscherer, Henry Rodriguez, Boof Bonser, Ross Wolf, Justin Marks, Corey Brown, Corey Wimberly, Ryan Kelly, Clayton Mortensen
Summary
Once again, the Athletics failed to reach agreements with top free agent targets, falling short on attempts to sign Hisashi Iwakuma, Lance Berkman, and Adrian Beltre. In an earlier post, I explained that Oakland missed on these players for a classic reason: they didn't offer the best contracts. As ESPN's Jerry Crasnick explained, the A's chose to make modest, incremental upgrades to the offense, and did so by taking the decision out of the player's hands. Two winters ago they acquired Matt Holliday, and this offseason they did the same by trading for DeJesus and Willingham.
Replacing Cust with Matsui at DH is not necessarily an upgrade, but Cust only accounted for about half of the plate appearances for the A's at that position last year. The A's come out ahead overall, at about half the price of Berkman.
The A's didn't get much offense from the many players appearing at their outfield corners last year, so DeJesus and Willingham add much-needed production at reasonable salaries. While neither player is a classic slugger, it's not easy to add a couple of .380 OBPs. GM Billy Beane surrendered several interesting players to rent DeJesus and Willingham, though I wouldn't call the price exorbitant.
Even without Iwakuma, the A's had strong starting pitching depth in the first four spots. For a mere $2.5MM they added projects Harden and McCarthy. It's hard to find fault with such low-risk signings. McCarthy in particular was a hot commodity after teams watched him throw in the Dominican Winter League.
Moneyball comes to the silver screen this year, but I don't think Beane signed Balfour and Fuentes with some kind of cutting-edge market inefficiency in mind. In fact, signing free agent middle relievers to multiyear, top-dollar deals has proven to be one of the least efficient strategies out there. After missing out on primary targets, the A's simply felt spending on the bullpen was the best remaining way to improve their team despite the risk involved. "They're too good to be out there, and we had money to afford them," Beane told Crasnick. Why did the GM shift from overstocking the rotation with a $30MM+ commitment to Iwakuma to bulking up the pen with an $18.6MM expenditure on Balfour and Fuentes? Perhaps they simply did not like Carl Pavano and the other remaining starters. I haven't seen any evidence that their Iwakuma bid was insincere.
I like what the A's did at DH and the outfield corners, though moving money to relief extravagances was less than ideal. They were unable to upgrade at third base, but the A's can't be faulted for the weak market at that position. It stands to reason that the Athletics have cash on reserve to spend on a midseason hot corner addition, though they'll be at the mercy of the trade market and dealing from a poorly-rated farm system. The current offense looks better than last year's, though the improvement is mitigated if you don't think their front four starters can post 700 innings of 3.17 ball again.
Photo courtesy Icon SMI.
Machado, Alonso & Valencia Hire Dan Lozano
Not long after landing Nick Swisher, agent Dan Lozano has added Manny Machado, Yonder Alonso, and Danny Valencia to his list of clients according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick and Keith Law (all Twitter links). Machado and Alonso were named the 14th and 73rd best prospects in the game, respectively, by Baseball America just yesterday. Law notes that all three players than Miami roots.
Machado, 18, was the third overall pick in the 2010 draft. In his brief professional debut last summer (39 plate appearances), he hit .306/.359/.472 with a homer and as many walks (three) as strikeouts. In the 2011 edition of their Prospect Handbook, Baseball America said Machado "has the look of a perennial all-star" with a chance to "become a .300 hitter with 20 homers a season as he matures." Machado was previously being represented by Scott Boras.
Alonso, 24 in April, was the Reds' first round pick in 2008, seventh overall. He made his Major League debut last September, hitting just .207/.207/.276 with ten strikeouts and no walks in 29 plate appearances. Alonso is a .298/.368/.458 career hitters in the minors, and he told Crasnick that he left Legacy Sports "about a month ago." His salaries are controlled through 2012 thanks to the five-year, $4.55MM big league contract he signed out of the draft.
As a first baseman in the Reds' system, Alonso is stuck behind NL MVP Joey Votto, which is why the club has had him try third base and left field in the past. So far neither position has stuck, and Alonso could wind up trade bait.
Valencia, 26, emerged as the Twins third baseman last season, hitting .311/.351/.448 with seven homers in 322 plate appearances. He finished third in the AL Rookie of the Year voting.
Carpenter Wouldn’t “Hold Back Or Veto” A Trade
After losing one ace to Tommy John surgery, it seems highly unlikely that the Cardinals would look to move their other ace in a trade, but Chris Carpenter told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he wouldn't stand in the way of a deal…
"It's not up to me," said Carpenter. "If the Cardinals wanted to trade me, obviously I would go. There's no question about that. I'm not going hold back or veto or do anything like that if they're looking to move me.
"I'm not concerned about it, though. I'm concerned about getting myself ready to pitch at the beginning of the season."
Carpenter, 36 in April, is in the final guaranteed year of his contract and will earn $15MM in 2011. The team holds a $15MM club option ($1MM buyout) for his services in 2012, but perhaps they'd prefer to use that money to re-sign Albert Pujols. Carpenter can veto any trade thanks to his ten-and-five rights.
GM John Mozeliak spoke this morning about adding pitching, not subtracting it, and the Cardinals intend to make a run in the NL Central even without Adam Wainwright. Should they fall out of contention, midseason rumors about Carpenter's availability will only grow louder. Rosenthal suspects that the Yankees would be potential suitors, something Joel Sherman of The New York Post mentioned this morning.
2012 Options Notes: Wainwright, K-Rod, Sabathia
Some rumblings about 2012 options from around the league…
- The Cardinals could still pick up the 2012 ($9MM) and 2013 ($12MM) options they hold on Adam Wainwright even though he's having Tommy John surgery, writes Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. A pitcher of Wainwright's caliber is a bargain at that price, even if he doesn't get back to being himself until midway through the 2012 season. The options will not vest now that the right-hander will spend the season on the disabled list.
- When asked about the possibility of the options not being picked up and becoming a free agent, Wainwright simply told Strauss "I think I'd end up doing all right."
- SI.com's Jon Heyman says (on Twitter) there's a zero percent chance the Mets will allow Francisco Rodriguez to finish the 55 games needed to vest his $17.5MM option. The player's union figures to be vigilant, especially if K-Rod is healthy.
- Rival GMs told Heyman (on Twitter) that the chances of Yankees ace CC Sabathia opting out of his contract after the season are "100 percent." Sabathia was non-committal when asked about the clause two weeks ago.
Pitching Notes: Hudson, Buehrle, Carpenter
A few pitching notes from around the league…
- In today's blog post at ESPN (Insider req'd), Buster Olney reports that the Yankees did not inquire about Tim Hudson. Yesterday we heard that the Braves aren't looking to move one of their starters anyway.
- Within the same post, Olney says he finds the timing of the report about White Sox ace Mark Buehrle's willingness to accept a trade interesting. It's been presumed that the Missouri native would embrace a chance to pitch for the Cardinals at some point, and St. Louis now has an opening in its rotation with Adam Wainwright headed for Tommy John surgery.
- Joel Sherman of The New York Post believes Cardinals co-ace Chris Carpenter could potentially be a fit for the Yankees, and the news of Wainwright's injury makes him wonder if Carpenter will "become available in a stronger way." I looked at how Wainwright's injury could have a trickle down effect on the Yankees over at River Ave. Blues.
Cardinals Will Be Open-Minded About Pitching Help
10:48am: Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has some more from Mozeliak…
"We haven't played a game yet, that throws a wrench into a little bit," said the GM. "Internally we don't want to have a knee-jerk response to this. We certainly feel we have some players in camp that can fill this role."
10:14am: Now that Adam Wainwright will officially be out for the entire 2011 season, the Cardinals need to begin thinking about potential replacements. GM John Mozeliak told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that the team will not look outside the organization for help initially, but they "have to be open-minded." (Twitter link)
The Cardinals won't find a pitcher of Wainwright's caliber on the market, but there are plenty of options that could give them innings. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch broke down the internal candidates today, and I took a look at external candidates yesterday.
Wainwright Will Undergo Tommy John Surgery
THURSDAY, 10:01am: GM John Mozeliak confirmed that Wainwright will undergo Tommy John surgery according to the team's official Twitter feed. The injury will keep him on the shelf for all of 2011.
WEDNESDAY, 8:59am: Adam Wainwright is heading back to St. Louis to have his right elbow examined, and right now the team expects the worst. "I can say just based on the initial evaluation from our training staff, things do not look encouraging," said GM John Mozeliak according to Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. ESPN's Buster Olney says (on Twitter) that it appears the team is expecting their ace to have Tommy John surgery, which would keep him out for all of 2011.
Wainwright, 29, has been one of the game's best pitchers in recent years, pitching to a 2.53 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 463 1/3 innings over the last two seasons. He finished second in the NL Cy Young voting last season and third in 2009. Rival executives are speculating that the Cards will pursue Kevin Millwood in the wake of the injury, according to Olney (on Twitter). Over the weekend we heard that Millwood was "waiting for the right widespread panic."
If Wainwright finishes the 2011 season on the disabled list, his $9MM option for 2012 and $12MM option for 2013 will not vest.
Casey Close Leaving CAA Sports
Agent Casey Close is leaving CAA Sports when his five-year contract expires at the end of the month, reports Liz Mullen of The Sports Business Journal (subs. req'd). A hat tip goes out to Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball.
Mullen says that CAA and Close are still trying to work out the details of his departure, "which may involve CAA and Close sharing the representation of some of the clients going forward." Close represents Derek Jeter, Ryan Howard, Michael Cuddyer, and Derrek Lee, among others.
It's unclear if Close will join a new a firm or work independently, though Brown notes that high profile agents (such as Dan Lozano) have been going out on their own recently. Close was one of the first sports agents that CAA hired when it launched its sports division in April 2006. It is primarily a Hollywood talent firm.
Nats Agree To Terms With 14 International Prospects
In addition to the previously reported Randy Novas and Raudy Reed, the Nationals have agreed to terms with 14 international free agents per a team press release. Here is the list of players, per the release…
Left-handed pitchers Joel Barrientos (17, Dominican Republic), Brian Escolastico (18, Dominican Republic) and Hector Silvestre (18, Dominican Republic); right-handed pitchers Anderson Martinez (18, Venezuela), Gilberto Mendez (18, Dominican Republic) and Felix Moscat (20, Dominican Republic); catchers Pedro Severino (17, Dominican Republic) and Jorge Tillero (17, Venezuela); first baseman Arialdi Peguero (18, Dominican Republic); shortstop Yewri Guillen (18, Dominican Republic); third baseman Diomedes Eusebio (18, Dominican Republic); and outfielders Juan De Los Santos (17, Venezuela), Wilman Rodriguez (19, Dominican Republic) and Dioncio Rosario (17, Dominican Republic).
Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post wrote about the team's efforts to improve its presence in Latin America earlier this month.
Kiko Calero To Throw For Cardinals
Kiko Calero originally broke into the big leagues with the Cardinals back in 2003, and now he's trying to see if he can revive his career with them. SI.com's Jon Heyman reports that Calero will throw for the Cardinals as a tryout (on Twitter).
The 36-year-old right-hander signed a minor league contract with the Mets last year, only to be released. He then hooked on with the Dodgers only to be released yet again. In 25 Triple-A appearances last year, Kiko (whose real name is Enrique) posted a 7.03 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in 32 innings.
Prior to last season, we heard that Calero, who pitched to a 1.95 ERA with 10.4 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in 60 innings with the Marlins in 2009, wasn't drawing much interest because his "medicals [were] so bad that everybody [was] wary." He's battled major shoulder injuries in the past.
The Cardinals are faced with the possibility of not having Adam Wainwright in 2011, and reliever Kyle McClellan is a candidate to fill his rotation spot. St. Louis could be looking at Calero as bullpen depth if they do go that route.