Brewers, Weeks No Longer Talking Multiyear Deal
TUESDAY, 6:06pm: MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports that the two sides have "mutually agreed to change courses and focus on a one-year deal for 2011." Brewers assistant GM Gord Ash said they'll "try to get something done for this year and then continue to talk longer-term and use this as a placeholder, perhaps."
MONDAY, 10:12pm: The Brewers and Rickie Weeks are scheduled to exchange contract figures tomorrow but the two sides continue to focus on hammering out a multiyear deal, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Assistant GM Gord Ash says that all of the talks that he's had with Weeks' agent, Greg Genske, have been for multiyear deals.
"We've focused exclusively on a multi-year deal," Ash explained. "We've never discussed a one-year deal. I'm not concerned about it. One way or the other, it will get resolved."
The two sides have swapped proposals over the past few weeks but Ash says that he doesn't feel that a deal is near. Last month, the talks were characterized as "productive". This is Weeks' final arbitration eligible year as he will become a free agent after the 2011 season.
Haudricourt writes that one of the difficulties in reaching a deal with Weeks is that its tough to find a comparable for him. The second baseman has missed a great deal of time due to injury but stayed healthy in 2010 and hit .269/.366/.464 with 29 homers. Dan Uggla signed a five-year, $62MM deal in his final year of arbitration but Ash says that he isn't a true comparable due to his years of hitting for power.
While Milwaukee looks to hammer out a multiyear deal with Weeks, GM Doug Melvin has taken the opposite approach with Prince Fielder. Melvin tried to work out a multiyear deal last year with agent Scott Boras but couldn't make any headway. The GM declined to comment when asked if he'll again try to workout a multiyear deal with his star slugger.
Players To Avoid Arbitration: Tuesday
Today is the deadline for players and teams to submit arbitration figures. The sides will then settle on a salary between the team's proposed number and the player's proposed number or go to an arbitration hearing. Arbitration eligible players are under team control, so the clubs don't risk losing them – it's a question of how much the players will earn.
Yesterday, 11 players avoided arbitration. We could see just as many agreements trickle in today and we'll keep you posted on them right here and with our Arb Tracker. The latest updates will be at the top of the post:
- The Angels have agreed to terms with Reggie Willits and Howie Kendrick, tweets Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times. Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register tweets that Kendrick will earn $3.3MM, Willits $775K (on Twitter).
- The Giants agreed to terms with Santiago Casilla on a one-year deal worth $1.3MM with incentives, according to ESPN Deportes' Enrique Rojas (on Twitter). The team also announced that they avoided arb with Jonathan Sanchez and Ramon Ramirez (on Twitter). Sanchez will earn $4.8MM with incentives tweets Hank Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle while Ramirez will earn $1.65MM according to Janie McCauley of The Canadian Press.
- The Braves agreed to terms with Peter Moylan and Eric O'Flaherty, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman (on Twitter). Moylan gets $2MM, O'Flaherty gets $895K according to Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter).
- The Mariners agreed to terms with Brandon League, David Aardsma and Jason Vargas, the team announced. Aardsma will earn $4.5MM with plenty of incentives, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times (plus Twitter link).
- The Rangers agreed to terms with C.J. Wilson and Nelson Cruz, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan (Twitter links). Cruz gets $3.65MM, and Wilson gets $7.05MM with a chance to earn another $100K according to his agent Bob Garber, via email.
Tigers ‘Confident’ In Market For Galarraga
The Tigers believe there’s a market for Armando Galarraga, the right-handed pitcher who agreed to a $2.3MM deal one day before getting designated for assignment. Since few viable free agent starters remain and a number of teams are looking for pitching, Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski says he’s 'confident' the team will be able to move Galarraga.
“It’s not like I have a for sure deal, but I do have enough clubs that have asked me about him,” Dombrowski said on a conference call with reporters.
If the Tigers demote Galarraga to the minor leagues, they’re responsible for his $2.3MM salary. If they release him, they’ll be responsible for part of his contract, depending on the date of his release and whether another club signs him.
The Tigers also announced their one-year deal with Brad Penny, the pitcher who ousted Galarraga from Detroit’s rotation. Penny missed the last four months of the 2010 season with a shoulder strain, but the Tigers have put him through physicals, examined MRIs and determined that the 32-year-old is in 'tremendous shape.'
“When Brad Penny is healthy, we think he’s a good pitcher,” Dombrowski said. “And we think he’s healthy.”
Though Dombrowski acknowledged that there’s always some risk involved when signing pitchers, he said Penny has the upside to be much more than a fifth starter.
“He does not have back of the rotation stuff,” Dombrowski said, before praising the right-hander’s mid-90s fastball, breaking ball and change-up.
Now that the Tigers have added the two-time All-Star to their rotation, Dombrowski says the team’s rotation projects to be better than it was a year ago. Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello are still developing, Justin Verlander is one of the best pitchers in the game and the Tigers believe in Phil Coke’s ability to transition to the rotation.
“We’re happy,” Dombrowski said of his team’s offseason. “I think a lot of clubs say that and I’ll be a lot happier if we’re playing late into October.”
Amaro Not Comfortable Trading Blanton
It's been widely assumed that the Phillies would trade Joe Blanton after signing Cliff Lee, if for no other reason than to shed the $8.5MM he's owed in each of the next two seasons to create some salary relief. GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that might not be the case, however.
"I don’t feel comfortable doing it," said Amaro. "He’s going to pitch for the Phillies, probably for the entire season … We do not need to trade the man."
The number of teams looking for starting pitching is plentiful, but one rival GM told Rosenthal there was "not a chance" that his team would want Blanton unless the Phillies ate a significant portion of his salary.
The 30-year-old right-hander pitched to a 4.82 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 175.2 innings last season. It was the first time he failed to throw at least 194 innings in a full season in his career, but you can blame that on an oblique strain that robbed him of all of April.
D’Backs To Re-Sign Aaron Heilman
4:21pm: Heilman will get a $2MM salary, tweets Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com.
1:07pm: The Diamondbacks agreed to re-sign free agent pitcher Aaron Heilman, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Heilman declined the D'Backs offer of arbitration earlier in the offseason after making $2.15MM last year.
The right-hander will get the chance to join some combination of Joe Saunders, Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, Zach Duke and Barry Enright in the team's rotation. The D'Backs expressed interest in adding rotation depth earlier in the month, though it appeared then that any newcomers would arrive on minor league deals.
Heilman posted a 4.50 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 72 innings out of the bullpen for the D'Backs last year. The 32-year-old last started a game for the 2005 Mets, but he broke in as a starter in 2003.
Nationals Closing In On Todd Coffey
The Nationals are closing in on a deal with reliever Todd Coffey, tweets SI.com's Jon Heyman. The 30-year-old right-hander posted a 4.76 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 62.1 innings with the Brewers last season. They non-tendered him in December after Coffey earned $2.025MM in 2010.
Dodgers Sign Gabe Kapler
The Dodgers have officially signed Gabe Kapler to a minor league deal, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times (on Twitter). The deal includes an invitation to big league Spring Training. The Dodgers were reportedly close to a deal with the TWC Sports client yesterday.
Kapler hit .210/.288/.290 in 140 plate appearances for the Rays last year. The 35-year-old has a .284/.343/.475 line against left-handers in his career, so he has a history of success against southpaws.
Padres Sign Gregg Zaun
The Padres signed Gregg Zaun to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (Twitter links). Zaun and Rob Johnson will compete to back up starter Nick Hundley behind the plate. Padres GM Jed Hoyer also brought in Zaun's former teammate, Guillermo Quiroz, but the 29-year-old Venezuelan isn't expected to make the Opening Day roster.
Zaun missed the second half of the 2010 season after undergoing surgery on his right labrum in June. Zaun, 40 in April, should still be able to reach base if healthy; he has a career .344 on base percentage and posted a .350 OBP before getting hurt last summer. However, he has thrown out just 24% of would-be base stealers in his career.
Bill Center of The San Diego Union-Tribune first reported that the sides were close to a deal. T.R. Lewis represents Zaun.
Tigers Designate Galarraga For Assignment
One day after agreeing to terms with him on a $2.3MM contract for 2011, the Tigers have designated Armando Galarraga for assignment. The team announced the move on Twitter, while making its deal with Brad Penny official.
Galarraga's contract is non-guaranteed, though the Tigers would owe him termination pay if they were to release him.
A’s Sign Grant Balfour
The A's have signed Grant Balfour to a two-year deal, the team announced. The right-hander will earn at least $8.1MM, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). The deal includes a club option for 2013, according to Jayson Stark of ESPN. The A's have also agreed not to offer the reliever arbitration, meaning that a club will not have to surrender a compensation pick to sign Balfour. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports first reported that the sides were close and MLB.com's Jane Lee added details on Twitter. ACES represents Balfour.
Balfour posted a 2.28 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 55 1/3 innings for the Rays last year. The 33-year-old has always been a fly ball pitcher and last year was no exception; he posted a 30.6% ground ball rate and a 49.7% fly ball rate.
Since Oakland's first round pick is protected, the Rays will obtain a second round pick from the A's for losing the Type A free agent. Tampa will also add a supplementary first round pick to its growing collection of draft picks. The Rays have 11 of the first 89 picks in next year's draft, including nine before the start of the second round.
If Balfour and Carl Pavano finalize deals with the A's and Twins, as expected, all Type A free agents tied to draft pick compensation will have signed.
MLBTR's Luke Adams predicted that Balfour would sign a two-year deal in the $10MM range and mentioned the A's as a possible fit when examining potential suitors.