22 Teams Hand Out Multiyear Free Agent Contracts
Nearly three quarters of baseball's 30 teams signed at least one free agent to a multiyear contract this offseason. A year ago 17 clubs signed free agents to multiyear deals and that figure rose by five to 22 this winter. Only the Blue Jays, Rays, Indians, Royals, Braves, Brewers, Astros and Cubs have limited themselves to one-year commitments to this point.
Over the course of the entire 2009-10 offseason, 27 free agents signed multiyear contracts. This offseason, teams handed out 44 multiyear free agent contracts, as MLBTR’s Transaction Tracker shows*.
There's a chance that Vladimir Guerrero, Scott Podsednik or another free agent signs with one of the eight clubs above, but that seems unlikely at this point in the winter. There probably won't be any more multiyear free agent contracts for the 2010-11 offseason.
Most teams spent on free agents this winter, but it's worth noting that small-market clubs weren't the only ones shying away from the winter's robust free agent market. Teams such as the Braves and Cubs also avoided long-term free agent contracts, while small-market clubs including the Pirates and A's signed multiple free agents to multiyear deals.
*I am not counting Tsuyoshi Nishioka's deal, since he was not available on the open market. No extensions for players under team control count, either. I am counting the extensions for Ted Lilly and Brandon Inge, since they were on the brink of hitting the open market, when they signed their respective contracts.
Brewers Seek Veteran Bench Help
The Brewers are looking to add veteran bench help and Mark Kotsay is a possibility, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Brewers showed interest in Willie Harris before he signed with the Mets and could look to sign Kotsay, who could pinch-hit for Carlos Gomez.
Kotsay, 35, hit .239/.306/.376 in 359 plate appearances for the White Sox last year. The left-handed batter hit eight homers while playing first base and right field.
The Brewers already have a number of outfield options. They recently signed Jeremy Reed to a minor league deal and outfielders Chris Dickerson, Brandon Boggs, Caleb Gindl and Logan Schafer will also be in Brewers camp this spring. Gomez, Ryan Braun and Corey Hart are the team's starting outfielders.
Make Or Break Year: Nate McLouth
We tend to hear a lot about "selling high" on a player during the offseason, which means trading a player when his value is at its absolute apex. It's a difficult thing to do for a number of reasons, especially when it involves a young player who might just be on the upswing of his career. Pirates GM Neal Huntington sold high on Nate McLouth two summers ago, dealing his All Star center fielder to the Braves for three young players in June of 2009.
The year before the trade, the then 27-year-old McLouth broke out by hitting .276/.356/.497 with 26 homers, earning a Gold Glove for his defensive effort in center field. At the time of the trade he was hitting a more than respectable .256/.349/.470. Unsurprisingly, reaction to the trade was mostly negative in Pittsburgh, and it didn't go over well in the clubhouse either.
McLouth gave the Braves a respectable .257/.354/.419 performance in the three months after the trade, but the good times ended there. He hit just .118/.217/.196 in Spring Training last year, then followed that up with a .176/.295/.282 performance in his first 205 plate appearances of the season. A collision with Jason Heyward sent McLouth to the disabled list with a concussion in early-June, then Atlanta decided to send him to minors after he returned in late-July. He hit just .234/.338/.383 in 151 trips to the plate in Triple-A before finishing the season with a .263/.358/.509 performance (68 PA) while playing sparingly after coming back up in late-August.
Since the trade, the now-29-year-old McLouth has hit just .229/.330/.379 with 17 homers in 684 plate appearances. His -25.8 UZR since 2008 ranks 48th out of 58 qualified outfielders, just a touch better than Carlos Lee. Was 2010 a fluke season for McLouth, or was it the sign of a bigger problem after the league got a chance to put together a book on him?
The Pirates gave McLouth a three-year contract extension before the 2009 season, and right now it seems pretty unlikely that the Braves will exercise his $10.65MM club option for 2012 after the upcoming season without significant improvement in his performance. His main competition in center field is Jordan Schafer (.201/.268/.255 in 307 minor league PA in 2010), so McLouth will definitely have the opportunity to show what he's got before hitting the open market in a little more than ten months.
Poll: Best Remaining Free Agent Starting Pitcher
Pitchers and catchers are due to report in about three weeks, and by now all of the high-end free agents have come off the board. Heck, even second tier options have signed by now. That leaves just reclamation-type projects and players with considerable flaws, especially when it comes to pitching.
As MLBTR's Free Agent Tracker shows, starters like Kevin Millwood, Jeremy Bonderman, Freddy Garcia, Doug Davis, Rodrigo Lopez, Todd Wellemeyer and Brian Moehler remain unsigned. Andy Pettitte is clearly the best of the unsigned bunch, but it's the Yankees or retirement for him, and right now it looks like the latter is winning out. Neither Pedro Martinez, Braden Looper, or Jarrod Washburn have appeared in a big league game in over a year. John Maine, Justin Duchscherer and Jamie Moyer are coming off injuries, Tommy John surgery in Moyer's case.
There are still a number of teams looking for rotation help, including the Yankees, Orioles, Nationals, Pirates and Indians. Which of those unsigned starters represents the best option?
Who is the best unsigned starting pitcher?
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Justin Duchscherer 34% (6,483)
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Kevin Millwood 20% (3,791)
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Jeremy Bonderman 17% (3,134)
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Freddy Garcia 14% (2,672)
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John Maine 9% (1,684)
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Doug Davis 2% (428)
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Todd Wellemeyer 2% (321)
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Rodrigo Lopez 1% (255)
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Brian Moehler 1% (96)
Total votes: 18,864
Contract Details: Loe & Francis
Here are some details about a pair of recently signed contracts…
- Kameron Loe's new deal with the Brewers contains $115K in incentives tied to pitching appearances according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. The right-hander will earn $25K for 50 games, $30K for 55 games, $35K for 60 games, $10K for 76 games, and $15K for 78 games. Loe appeared in 53 games for the Brew Crew last season despite not being called up from the minors until June 1st.
- Troy Renck of The Denver Post reports that Jeff Francis' contract with the Royals calls for $800K in incentives based on starts, and another $1.2MM in incentives based on innings pitched (Twitter links). The escalators start to kick in at 15 starts and 110 innings, respectively.
Giants Sign Marc Kroon To Minor League Deal
The Giants have agreed to terms with right-hander Marc Kroon on a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training according to Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse. He has spent the last six years pitching in Japan and will compete for a bullpen job.
Kroon, 38 in April, was a star closer for the Yokohama Bay Stars and Yomiuri Giants, striking out 12.3 batters per nine innings. He broke his own record for the fastest pitch in Japanese baseball history when he uncorked a 101 mph fastball three years ago. A former second round pick of the Mets, he pitched sparingly for the Padres, Reds, and Rockies in his career, posting a 7.43 ERA in just 26 2/3 big league innings.
The Bronx-born Kroon earned himself more than $13MM during his time in Japan.
Athletics Sign Andy LaRoche To Minor League Deal
The Athletics have signed Andy LaRoche to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training according to the team's Twitter feed. The 27-year-old elected free agency after being designated for assignment by the Pirates back in November.
Adam's younger brother went to Pittsburgh in the Manny Ramirez trade, and is a .224/.304/.338 hitter in a little over 1,200 big league plate appearances. Oakland tried to upgrade their third base situation by signing Adrian Beltre this offseason, but LaRoche will have to overcome Kevin Kouzmanoff to land the job. In addition to the hot corner, he has also played first and second bases in his young career.
Rockies Acquire Clayton Mortensen
The Rockies have acquired Clayton Mortensen from the Athletics for minor league righty Ethan Hollingsworth according to the team's Twitter feed. Troy Renck of The Denver Post says that Colorado has also designated right-hander Samuel Deduno for assignment (Twitter link).
Mortensen was designated for assignment last week to create room on the 40-man roster for Grant Balfour. The 2007 supplemental first round pick has appeared in eight big league games over the course of the past two campaigns. He has posted a 7.12 ERA with 20 strikeouts and 15 walks in 26 2/3 innings for the A's and Cardinals in his big league career. The 25-year-old has a 4.29 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 as a minor leaguer.
Hollingsworth was Colorado's fourth round pick in 2008. He owns a 4.33 ERA with impressive peripheral stats (8.4 K/9, 2.1 BB/9) in 376 minor league innings. Baseball America did not rank him as one of the team's top 30 prospects in the 2010 edition of their Prospect Handbook. Deduno, however, was ranked as the Rockies' 11th best prospect before last season. The 27-year-old has battled elbow issues in recent years, throwing just 47 innings (3.83 ERA) in 2010.
Beimel Has “Several Irons In The Fire”
It's been a relatively quite winter for Joe Beimel, but the free agent lefty reliever told Troy Renck of The Denver Post that he has "several irons in the fire." The Rockies, however, are not involved.
Last month we heard that Beimel was sitting on several offers, but obviously nothing has materialized. The Marlins were said to have interest, but that was before they signed Randy Choate. Beimel, 34 in April, has held left-handed batters to a .254/.305/.394 batting line with 5.3 K/9 over the last three seasons. He didn't sign until mid-March in each of the last two offseasons, so the wait is nothing new for him.
Renck also notes that Jay Payton wants to still play, but he isn't interested in spending time in the minors. The 38-year-old outfielder hit .343/.361/.514 in 36 plate appearances with Colorado last year, his first big league action since 2008.
Quick Hits: Brewers, Cardinals, Tigers, Rays
On this date in 2003, the White Sox signed Esteban Loaiza as a free agent. He went on to lead the league in strikeouts, post a 2.90 ERA and win 21 games, finishing second in the AL Cy Young Award balloting to youngster Roy Halladay. Here are today's links…
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan says it's hard to call the Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum deals "anything other than a resounding victory" for Brewers GM Doug Melvin.
- Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch explains how the selective shopping of Cardinals GM John Mozeliak might pay off this season. Players like Nick Punto, Brian Tallet and Miguel Batista could contribute in 2011.
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick examines a Tigers pitching staff that's loaded with dynamic young arms.
- At ESPN.com, Kevin Goldstein gives us a sense of what the Rays could do with their many 2011 draft picks. I previewed Tampa Bay's draft last week.