Pujols’ Agent Sets Deadline For Extension Talks
6:24pm: ESPN's Buster Olney says (via Twitter) that if a contract can not be worked out by the deadline, Pujols "is intent on testing the free agent market." SI.com's Jon Heyman spoke to one executive that thinks Pujols would get 20% less than expected on the open market because big spenders like the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, and Tigers don't figure to enter the bidding given their first base situation (Twitter link).
Olney speculates that the Cubs, Angels, Dodgers, and Giants could be interested.
1:41pm: Dan Lozano, the agent for Albert Pujols, notified the Cardinals that Spring Training is the deadline for a new deal to be struck, GM John Mozeliak told Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter). Earlier this week, Cards chariman and CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. said that he was "hopeful" that the club can extend Pujols by Opening Day.
It's difficult to find a dead-on comparison for the stellar slugger, but our own Ben Nicholson-Smith suggested that Pujols could compare himself to Alex Rodriguez who is earning $27.5MM per season over the life of his newest contract. We don't know much about the inner-workings of the talks as it is, but earlier today Mozeliak vowed to keep his lips sealed on the matter.
Royals To Sign Bruce Chen
The Royals and Bruce Chen have agreed to a one-year contract worth $2MM with another $1.5MM in performance bonuses according to SI.com's Jon Heyman (on Twitter). The deal is pending a physical per a team press release. Chen is represented by Scott Boras.
The 33-year-old is the second free agent lefty Kansas City has signed in as many days. Unlike Jeff Francis, Chen spent the 2010 season with the Royals, pitching to a 4.17 ERA in 140 1/3 innings. He struck out 6.3 and walked 3.7 batters per nine innings pitched, respectively. It was the second most innings Chen has pitched in a single big league season since 2001, as he's bounced around from team to team over the last decade.
Chen has extensive experience both starting and relieving, so he'll provide the Royals with quite a bit of flexibility should some of the high-end arms from their top ranking farm system come up during the season. He'll also be a nice piece of trade bait at the deadline should he repeat last season's success.
GM Dayton Moore recently indicated that he was prioritizing pitching depth, and within five days he signed both Chen and Francis for just a $4MM guarantee combined. Those two won't replace Zack Greinke's production, but they'll give the team much needed innings.
Blue Jays Avoid Arbitration With Carlos Villanueva
The Blue Jays and Carlos Villanueva have agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.415MM according to SI.com's Jon Heyman. Villanueva was arbitration-eligible for the second time.
Toronto acquired the 27-year-old right-hander from the Brewers in December for a player to be named later. Villanueva pitched to 4.61 ERA with 11.4 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 52 2/3 relief innings last season, though he's surrendering one long ball for fewer than every seven innings pitched in his relatively young career. Last season was his first as a full-time reliever.
The Blue Jays still have seven players still eligible for arbitration according to our Arb Tracker. The list includes Yunel Escobar, Jesse Litsch, Brandon Morrow, Casey Janssen, Shawn Camp, Rajai Davis, and Jose Bautista.
Athletics Notes: Fuentes, Relievers, Right-Handed Bat
Yesterday the Athletics agreed to sign Grant Balfour to a two-year deal and today we learned that they're making a push for Brian Fuentes. ESPN's Buster Olney brings us a pair of Oakland-related tidbits..
- Location could definitely work in the A's favor as they look to land Fuentes, Olney tweets. Fuentes, a "[California] guy", was raised in Merced – roughly two hours east of Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The left-hander is arguably the best remaining free agent reliever available.
- Oakland's signing of Balfour likely won't be the club's last move of the offseason, Olney writes. The A's are now in search of bullpen depth and a right-handed bat. If Oakland decides not to spend on a lefty reliever like Fuentes they could go with less-expensive options such as Joe Beimel, Tim Byrdak, Dennys Reyes, and Mark Hendrickson. A few notable right-handed relievers remain as well including Chad Durbin and Manny Delcarmen.
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Cardinals To Sign Ramon Vazquez
The Cardinals are set to sign infielder Ramon Vazquez to a minor league deal, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The deal comes with an invite to Spring Training and could be completed and announced this weekend, a source told Goold.
Vazquez, 34, last appeared in the majors in 2009 with Pittsburgh. The veteran, who is represented by MDR Sports, could give the Cards some much needed depth on the left side of the infield. Vazquez spent 2010 with the Triple-A affiliates of the Mariners and Astros, hitting .257/.330/.363 in 202 plate appearances.
Phillies Avoid Arbitration With Ben Francisco
The Phillies have agreed to a one-year, $1.175MM deal with Ben Francisco, tweets Matt Gelb of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The 29-year-old outfielder is represented by John Boggs.
This offseason was Francisco's very first as an arbitration eligible player. In 2010, Francisco turned in a .268/.327/.441 slash line with six homers in 197 plate appearances. Philadelphia acquired the right-handed batter from Cleveland in the deal that brought them Cliff Lee in 2009. To keep up with the status of every arbitration eligible player, bookmark our handy Arb Tracker.
Paul Hagen of The Philadelphia Daily News has the breakdown of the incentives in Francisco's contract.
Cardinals Avoid Arbitration With Kyle McClellan
The Cardinals and reliever Kyle McClellan have agreed to a one-year contract, avoiding arbitration according to the team's Twitter feed. The deal is worth $1.375MM, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. With the right-hander's contract taken care of, the Cardinals have no more arbitration eligible players for 2011.
Last season McClellan, 26, turned in a career-best 2.27 ERA last season with 7.2 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 75.1 innings of work. This winter marked McClellan's first crack at arbitration eligibility. To keep up on all of the 2011 arbitration cases, check out our Arb Tracker.
Cashman Has “Full Backing” Of Steinbrenners
Not long after the Yankees agreed to sign Rafael Soriano, we heard that the deal was driven more by ownership and not by GM Brian Cashman and his baseball operations staff. SI.com's Jon Heyman reports today that Cashman still has the "full backing" of the Steinbrenner family, a report echoed by ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter links). Heyman adds (via Twitter) that while Cashman preferred to keep the team's first round draft choice, he made no attempt to "body block" the deal with Soriano and relented because he's a "team man."
Bill Madden and Roger Rubin of The New York Daily News reported this morning that ownership was "bothered by Cashman's blueprint," specifically with regards to Joba Chamberlain opening the season as Mariano Rivera's primary setup man. Soriano addresses that issue and then some, and the team is said to be willing to move Chamberlain in a package for a "viable starter."
Cashman has been the Yankees' GM since 1998, though he is not under contract beyond the 2011 season. His last three contracts have all been for three guaranteed years according to Cot's.
Athletics Pushing To Sign Brian Fuentes
Despite agreeing to sign Grant Balfour, the Athletics still aren't done trying to upgrade their bullpen. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says that Oakland is "pushing" to sign Brian Fuentes, and he reiterates that the Blue Jays are a serious suitor for his services as well.
A multitude of teams have expressed interest in the free agent lefty this offseason, and with Balfour and Rafael Soriano now off the board, Fuentes has emerged as arguably the best free agent reliever available. Oakland already has two effective left-handers in its bullpen (Craig Breslow and Jerry Blevins), but there's no such thing as too many quality relievers.
We've also seen young, cost-controlled relievers traded quite a bit this offseason, including in deals for J.J. Hardy, Mark Reynolds, Jason Bartlett, and Cameron Maybin. Oakland could turn around and deal Blevins, Joey Devine, or Brad Ziegler for help at another position now or before the deadline. The market is certainly there, and adding Fuentes would help maintain the team's relief depth.