Mets Sign Chris Young
The Mets completed their one-year deal with Chris Young, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork, who first reported the deal (Twitter links). The agreement guarantees the right-hander $1.1MM, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). Agent Lon Babby represents Young, who can earn up to $4.5MM if he reaches all the deal's incentives.
Injuries have limited Young to just 36 starts in the past three seasons, but he was durable and effective from 2005-07, when he started 30 or more games per season. He has always been hard to hit (7.4 H/9), but vulnerable to walks (3.5 BB/9). In 135 career starts (751 2/3 innings), the 6'10'' right-hander has a 3.80 ERA. He missed most of last season with a shoulder strain before pitching for the Padres in September.
Young will join Mike Pelfrey, Jon Niese, R.A. Dickey and Chris Capuano in the team's rotation if the pitchers remain healthy this spring. Johan Santana should join the group midway through the season.
The deal reunites Young with two of his former Padres bosses, current Mets execs Sandy Alderson and Paul DePodesta.
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Quick Hits: Duchscherer, Damon, Gorzelanny
Happy birthday to Astros manager Brad Mills, who was born 54 years ago today in Exeter, California. Here are some news items to help the 'Stros skipper celebrate his big day…
- Justin Duchscherer recently held private workout sessions for two American League clubs, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. The Yankees, known to be interested in the right-hander, weren't one of the two teams. The Pirates, Red Sox and Athletics (Duchscherer's former club) have all expressed some degree of interest in the free agent hurler this winter.
- As part of an mailbag piece, MLB.com's Lyle Spencer discusses the Angels' search for a leadoff hitter and notes that "it doesn't appear that the Angels are in play" for Johnny Damon. Spencer also raises the point that if there actually is a rift between the Halos and Scott Boras, signing Damon could be an important olive branch between the club and the agent, esepcially given that Kendry Morales and Jered Weaver are both Boras clients.
- Did the Cubs really need to trade Tom Gorzelanny? ESPN.com's Justin Havens asks this question and points out that Gorzelanny and Matt Garza had surprisingly similar 2010 seasons.
- Sean Marshall's two-year contract is examined by Jack Moore of Fangraphs, who compares it to Grant Balfour and Brian Fuentes' recent deals with the Athletics. While Moore thinks the Cubs should probably have not made a multi-year commitment to Marshall, "if a team is going to go multiple years with a reliever, better to do so with young, arbitration eligibles like Marshall than veterans like Balfour and Fuentes."
- MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez looks at how various teams filled the holes left behind by departing free agents this winter.
Diamondbacks Sign Cody Ransom
The Diamondbacks have signed Cody Ransom, according to MLB.com's transactions page. The veteran utility infielder has a career .702 OPS accumulated over eight Major League seasons with the Giants, Astros, Yankees and, most recently, the Phillies.
Ransom, who turns 35 in February, is a native of Mesa, Arizona. He is the second utilityman the D'Backs have signed in the past week, following their acquisition of Willie Bloomquist. This could be a minor league depth move for the Snakes, since the club already has Bloomquist, Tony Abreu, Ryan Roberts and others battling for a backup infield spot.
East Notes: Jones, Buchholz, Papelbon, Rizzo, Jays
Some news about the various beasts of the eastern baseball world…
- Adam Jones doesn't believe the Orioles discussed a multi-year extension with his CAA representation before the two sides agreed to a 2011 contract, the outfielder tells MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli.
- The Red Sox haven't discussed a long-term extension with Clay Buchholz this offseason, reports Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal. Last September, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith explored what a Buchholz extension might cost Boston.
- Also from MacPherson, he points out that the Red Sox could wind up letting Jonathan Papelbon leave for nothing next winter. Papelbon would have to turn down an arbitration offer from Boston in order for the Sox to receive compensatory draft picks if he signed elsewhere as a free agent. However, by offering arbitration, the Red Sox would be making "a $14-$15MM gamble" that Papelbon wouldn't accept, since he's unlikely to find that much salary elsewhere.
- GM Mike Rizzo discussed several Nationals-related topics during a conference call with reporters today. Mark Zuckerman of the Nats Insider blog has a partial transcript.
- Alex Anthopoulos tells MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm his philosophy about not publicly disclosing whether or not the Jays are negotiating multi-year contracts, be they with Jose Bautista or any player.
- Brett Lawrie tells MinorLeagueBaseball.com's Robert Emrich that he has been working out at third base and believes he will play the position during Spring Training. When Toronto acquired Lawrie in the Shaun Marcum deal, there was speculation to whether Lawrie would stay at second base or be moved to third or even a corner outfield spot. The Jays are, obviously, set at second (at least in the short term) with Aaron Hill.
- In an interview with Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio (Twitter link), Phillies assistant GM Scott Proefrock says his club does not have to deal Joe Blanton or Kyle Kendrick. Proefrock also said the Phillies will look within the organization for right-handed hitting help.
- The Orioles are lacking in Major League third base depth, writes Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.
Mets Negotiating With Tim Byrdak
The Mets and left-hander Tim Byrdak have "mutual interest" in each other and have been discussing a contract, according to Mike Silva of the New York Baseball Digest. Silva thinks a deal could be finalized within "the next couple of days."
We heard earlier today that the Mets were looking for southpaw relief help, and Byrdak fits that bill, holding left-handed batters to a .202/.296/.380 line in his nine Major League seasons. Byrdak, 37, has a 3.46 ERA over the last four seasons but also averaged five walks per nine innings in that stretch; it's actually an upgrade from his career 5.5 BB/9 rate. Byrdak spent the last three seasons with the Astros, who released the southpaw in November.
Yankees Notes: Cashman, Pettitte, Damon
Brian Cashman's admission that he wasn't in favor of the Rafael Soriano signing has generated almost as much buzz as the signing itself. Here's the latest on that controversy and some other Yankee-related items…
- The Soriano negotiations were handled by Hal Steinbrenner and Randy Levine, reports MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. In spite of this split of opinion over the reliever, Levine still called Cashman "the best general manager in the game."
- Cashman's decision to go public with his disagreements "were a sign of larger disputes within the Yankee front office," says CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler. Sources in the Yankee organization tell Knobler that ownership wasn't pleased with recent Cashman acquisitions like Randy Winn, Javier Vazquez and Nick Johnson.
- Cashman deserves respect for sticking to his principles, writes ESPNNewYork.com's Wallace Matthews, but the general manager was wrong in his belief that signing Soriano wasn't worthwhile.
- New York's negotiations with Andruw Jones are being led by Cashman and his baseball operations team, tweets ESPN.com's Buster Olney, so the Soriano signing could just be an "isolated case" of ownership getting involved.
- In another Bryan Hoch piece, Joe Girardi revealed that Andy Pettitte is training to "get into baseball shape" in case the southpaw decides to pitch in 2011. Cashman said the decision is solely up to Pettitte and the club won't try to woo him into a return.
- Johnny Damon is still drawing some interest from the Yankees, in part because the team thinks Damon could help getting A.J. Burnett back in form, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. Heyman notes that the Yankees can't offer Damon the playing time that he could find with the Angels and Rays.
Athletics Notes: Fuentes, Jackson, San Jose
On this day in 1931, the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League traded catcher Ernie Lombardi to the Brooklyn Robins (who later became the Dodgers). Lombardi, an Oakland native, only played one season in Brooklyn, but he went on to enjoy a Hall of Fame career spent mostly with Cincinnati.
Here are some news items about the modern-day Oakland nine…
- Brian Fuentes' now-finalized two-year contract is worth a guaranteed $10.5MM with a $6.5MM club option for 2013, reports The Associated Press. Fuentes will earn $5MM in both 2011 and 2012 and be paid a $500K buyout if the option isn't picked up. The left-hander can also earn escalating six-figure bonuses relating to games finished and will be paid $200K if he's traded at any point during the life of the contract.
- In spite of the games-finished bonuses, Fuentes says he has no problem serving as a set-up man for incumbent A's closer Andrew Bailey, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. "I was told he's the closer," Fuentes said. "There is no competition in my mind."
- Slusser also has details on the plate-appearance bonuses in Conor Jackson's new Oakland contract. The A's avoided arbitration with Jackson on Tuesday.
- Slusser hears from assistant GM David Forst that the club might be in the market for a backup infielder, though the Athletics want to keep Steve Tolleson, who was designated for assignment today.
- Major League Baseball needs to faciliate the Athletics' desired move from Oakland to San Jose for both the sake of the franchise and the league as a whole, argues Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com.
Twins Agree To Terms With Carl Pavano
The Twins have agreed to terms with right-hander Carl Pavano on a two-year, $16.5MM contract, according to a team press release. Pavano will earn $8MM next season and $8.5MM in 2012, plus an extra $500K should he reach certain incentive clauses. A deal between the club and the veteran starter has seemed imminent for the last two weeks, and the two sides were said to be "very close" to a contract just yesterday. Pavano is represented by Tom O'Connell.
Pavano, 35, has pitched well for the Twins since joining the team in August 2009. Pavano has posted a 3.97 ERA and a 3.32 K/BB ratio in 44 starts as a Twin, and his seven complete games last season tied Cliff Lee for most in the American League.
Pavano's deal resembles the contract Joel Pineiro signed almost exactly a year ago, a comparison MLBTR's Tim Dierkes drew in late December. In November, three of five MLBTR writers correctly predicted Pavano would remain with the Twins.
Ken Davidoff of Newsday was the first to report the deal had been finalized, while Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune and USA Today's Bob Nightengale added contract details.
Mets Notes: Reyes, Dickey, Beimel
Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com has the latest on the Amazins…
- Jose Reyes doesn't want to discuss his impending free agent status during the season. It may be a moot point, since Sandy Alderson wasn't planning to pursue extension talks with players before Spring Training, though the Mets GM recently hinted he could be open to negotiating with Reyes during the season. Reyes will earn $11MM in 2011 after the Mets picked up the option year on the four-year, $23.25MM contract signed by the shortstop in 2006.
- R.A. Dickey and the Mets have exchanged arbitration figures, but the knuckleballer still hopes the two sides can work out a multi-year contract. Both Dickey and the club were interested in the prospect of a long-term deal back in October.
- The Mets have had "discussions" with free agent reliever Joe Beimel, but a source tells Rubin that these talks aren't "active." (Twitter link) It's possible the Mets were one of several teams that made Beimel an offer last month, though we haven't heard much news about Beimel since. Rubin reported earlier today that the Mets are still looking to add another left-handed reliever to their bullpen before Spring Training.