Kris Benson Retires
Fifteen years after being the first overall pick in the 1996 draft, Kris Benson is calling it a career. The right-hander told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that he has decided to formally retire.
"I’m done," said the 36-year-old right-hander. "I decided pretty much after this past season that I wasn’t going to pursue anything. I’ve been putting way too much into it and not getting enough out of it, as far as the rehab, working out, training, and then not getting the type of results I expect from myself."
"I wanted to make this decision now, rather than go into another season on another minor-league deal. I didn’t want to go through the head games of, ‘Am I going to make the team?’ I don’t mind the pressure. I just don’t want to fall into another situation like I had the last couple years, where I busted my tail getting back and then got hurt again shortly after I made the team."
Benson pitched for five different teams in his 12-year career, most recently for the Diamondbacks. He made just three starts for Arizona in 2010, throwing 14 innings with a 5.14 ERA. Benson spent the majority of his career with the Pirates, where he posted a 4.26 ERA in 782 innings across parts of six seasons. He retires with a 70-75 record and a 4.42 ERA in 1,243 2/3 innings.
Injuries hampered Benson throughout his career. He missed the 2001 season due to Tommy John surgery, and then missed the 2007 and 2008 seasons after having surgery to repair a damaged rotator cuff. All told, Benson hit the disabled list no fewer than eight times in his career, almost all with arm related ailments. Baseball-Reference.com says he earned more than $36MM in his career, the majority of which came from the three-year, $22.5MM contract he signed with the Mets before the 2005 season.
Potential Suitors For Scott Podsednik
The Reds signed Fred Lewis to a one-year deal earlier today, presumably taking them out of the running for Scott Podsednik. The market for the outfielder has been anything but robust after he declined his half of a $2MM mutual option back in November, but let's see if we can find a potential fit for Podsednik with pitchers and catcher due to report in a little less than a month…
- Angels: The Angels showed interest in Scott Pods back in December, but we haven't heard of any dialogue since. Anaheim could use a speedy, lefty hitting leadoff type hitter, something they hoped to secure with Carl Crawford.
- Braves: Atlanta can certainly use a fourth outfielder, but Eric Hinske, Nate McLouth, and Jason Heyward all swing it from the same side as Podsednik. It's not a great fit.
- Dodgers: We know the Dodgers have interest in bringing Podsednik back and they still haven't solved their left field problem since he opted out. Could they get him for less guaranteed money than his original option?
- Mariners: The M's figure to give Michael Saunders a chance to sink or swim with regular playing time in left.
- Marlins: The Fish are counting on Chris Coghlan to transition from left field to center after the trade of Cameron Maybin, a position that he has played exactly zero innings at, majors or minors. Podsednik could give them a cheap fill-in at the position, allowing Coghlan move back to the infield.
- Mets: Carlos Beltran's knees are still a bit of a question mark, though they need a reserve outfielder anyway.
Podsednik has hit .300/.347/.397 with back-to-back 30+ steal seasons in the last two years, a nice rebound from five consecutive seasons with no better than a .700 OPS. His defense isn't what you'd expect from a speedy player, with negative UZR scores at all three outfield spots in recent years. Still a useful player with an albeit limited skill set, Podsednik doesn't have a ton of suitors and could end up settling for a platoon/bench job.
Royals Prioritizing Rotation Depth
It'll be impossible for the Royals to replace Zack Greinke's production, but the team still needs someone to soak up all those innings he leaves behind. Unsurprisingly, GM Dayton Moore told MLB.com's Dick Kaegel that rotation help is "the only area that we're focusing on," and that adding a starter(s) is his top priority before Spring Training begins.
Kansas City has lost not only Greinke this offseason, but also Bryan Bullington and Brian Bannister to Japan. Bruce Chen, who pitched to a 4.17 ERA in 140 1/3 innings last year, remains a free agent as well, though Moore left the door open to re-signing him. "We're still open-minded with that. He performed very well with us last year and he showed us what he had, and we've got a comfort level there," said the GM.
So far the only starting pitching help the team has imported this offseason is Zach Miner (on a minor league deal) and Vin Mazzaro (from the David DeJesus trade), though Moore said he doesn't expect the former to be ready until about June. He's open to improving his starting staff via trade however, and he has the game's best farm system to use as ammo.
On the free agent front, the Royals have been linked to Carl Pavano and Jeff Francis in recent weeks. Pavano looks to be heading back to the Twins, but Francis remains in play. Brad Penny could also be coming off the board. An interesting solution could be to convert Joakim Soria to a starter, something that close to 2,000 MLBTR readers would support, but so far the team has shown no inclination of making such a move.
Rockies Sign Sean White
The Rockies have signed Sean White to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post. He was outrighted by the Mariners earlier this offseason and became a free agent soon thereafter.
The 29-year-old right-handed reliever posted a 5.24 ERA with just 3.9 K/9 in 34 1/3 innings for Seattle in 2010. White made up for the low strikeout rate with an equally low walk rate (2.9 BB/9) and a decent ground ball rate (44.6%). His big league career consists of 134 innings, all with the Mariners, and a 4.16 ERA with 4.0 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, and 48.4% ground balls.
The Rockies can control White for at least three more years as an arbitration-eligible player if they choose.
Indians Notes: Stopgaps, Rotation, Choo
It has not been a fun winter in Cleveland, and it's not just because of the Cavaliers. The Indians have signed just one player to a big league contract (Austin Kearns), doing the rest of their work on the minor league side. ESPN's Jerry Crasnick wrote about the team's plight in a feature article today, which contained some news about the club's present state and what's to come…
- "We've been in a similar situation before, and we've demonstrated the ability to overcome those challenges and put together a championship-caliber team," said new GM Chris Antonetti, referring to the team's rebuilding nature. "We feel equally strong about our talent base now and throughout our farm system. The challenge is to have patience and let those guys play."
- The Tribe has passed on overpaying third base stopgap players like Jorge Cantu and Pedro Feliz, instead opting to sit tight with their in-house options until top prospect Lonnie Chisenhall is ready.
- Antonetti won't rule out the possibility of adding another starting pitcher to a rotation that currently features Fausto Carmona, Justin Masterson, Carlos Carrasco, and Mitch Talbot. Former Indian Bartolo Colon is a possibility.
- "It's something we remain interested in pursuing," said Antonetti, answering a question about a possible extension for Shin-Soo Choo. "Whether or not there's common ground at this point, we'll have to see." Ben Nicholson-Smith looked at Choo as an extension candidate at the end of the 2010 season.
- Unsurprisingly, the team has little payroll flexibility and will continue to shop in the bargain bin.
Reds Sign Edgar Renteria
The Reds have signed Edgar Renteria to a one-year deal, the team announced. The agreement guarantees him $2.1MM and allows him to earn another $900K through incentives. Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com first reported the agreement and Jon Heyman of SI.com added the terms of the deal (Twitter link). Agents Jeffrey Lane and Barry Meister represent the 2010 World Series MVP.
Earlier in the offseason, Renteria expressed interest in returning to the Marlins or Cardinals. A deal with the Reds would be a homecoming of sorts for Renteria, who played under GM Walt Jocketty from 1999-2004 while Jocketty was the St. Louis GM.
Renteria, 34, says he intends to play for two more seasons. He batted .276/.332/.374 in 267 plate appearances last year, missing time with elbow, groin, hamstring and shoulder injuries before returning to form and leading the Giants to their first championship in San Francisco.
Renteria discussed a potential return to San Francisco, even after saying that the Giants' $1MM offer showed a "lack of respect."
Reds Sign Fred Lewis
The Reds announced that they signed Fred Lewis to a one-year deal (Twitter link). It's a $900K major league deal, according to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon (on Twitter). Scott Leventhal and Damon Lapa represent Lewis.
Until last week, Jay Bruce was the lone left-handed hitter in the Reds' outfield. Drew Stubbs, Jonny Gomes and Chris Heisey all bat from the right side, so the team signed Jeremy Hermida and Lewis, two left-handed hitters.
Lewis, 30, hit .262/.332/.414 in 480 plate appearances for the Blue Jays after they acquired him from the Giants early in the season. Though he mostly played left field, Lewis did play some center and right in 2010. He contributed 31 doubles and 17 steals, mostly as Toronto's leadoff hitter, before the Blue Jays cut ties with him at last month's non-tender deadline.
Lewis has less than four years of big league service time, so the Reds can keep him through 2013 by offering arbitration.
The signing presumably eliminates the possibility that the Reds sign Scott Podsednik. The team also officially announced its one-year deal with Edgar Renteria.
White Sox Agree To Sign Will Ohman
The White Sox and Will Ohman have agreed to a two-year contract, the team announced. The deal is worth $4MM total, reports SI.com's Jon Heyman (Twitter links). Ohman is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.
The 33-year-old Ohman spent most of the 2010 season with Baltimore before being traded to the Marlins. The lefty reliever held same-side batters to a .229/.323/.313 last year, but .208/.298/.348 over his entire career. He's strictly a lefty specialist, because righties have tagged him for a .264/.360/.400 batting line in his career. Ohman has a 4.09 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in a big league career that began back in 2000.
Ohman, who earned $1.35MM in 2010, joins Pedro Feliciano, Randy Choate, Scott Downs, and Hisanori Takahashi as lefty relievers who received multiyear deals this offseason. Chicago has already added Jesse Crain to their bullpen this offseason, and the addition of Ohman gives Ozzie Guillen a lefty for the middle innings. Matt Thornton will of course handle late game situations.
We heard that the ChiSox were favored to sign him on Friday, after we learned that three AL teams were the finalists for his services.
Mariners Sign Adam Kennedy
The Mariners signed Adam Kennedy to a minor league deal and invited him to Spring Training, the team announced. Kennedy, who turns 35 today, enters the mix for a utility infield job with Seattle.
I suggested ten days ago that Kennedy would be a good fit for the M's, who also have Josh Wilson and Matt Tuiasosopo in the mix for utility roles. The former first rounder hasn't played shortstop since 2007, but he played everywhere else on the infield for the 2010 Nationals. His .249/.327/.327 batting line wasn't as robust as it was in 2009, when he hit .289/.348/.410 for the A's. To his credit, Kennedy chipped in with 14 steals in 16 attempts and nearly as many walks (37) as strikeouts (44) in 2010.
Seattle GM Jack Zduriencik will likely consider ways of obtaining pitching between now and Spring Training. The Mariners could use relief help, especially now that David Aardsma might not be healthy to open the season. The team could also look to improve its rotation depth.
Padres, Jason Bartlett Agree To Two-Year Deal
The Padres avoided arbitration with Jason Bartlett and agreed to sign him to a two-year deal, the team announced. The sides agreed to an $11MM deal, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock and Bernie Wilson of the AP has the details on the LSW Baseball client (Twitter links). Bartlett earns $4MM in 2011, $5.5MM in 2012 and either $5.5MM or a $1.5MM buyout in 2013.
The agreement buys out Bartlett's final season as an arbitration eligible player and one free agent year. The shortstop, who arrived in San Diego in a December trade, earned $4MM last year and was due for a raise in 2011. Orlando Hudson signed in San Diego as a free agent for comparable money; he and Bartlett will man the middle of the Padres infield for the next two seasons.
After a 2009 season in which he made the All-Star team and batted .320/.389/.490, Bartlett slumped to .254/.324/.350 last year. The 31-year-old has stolen ten bases or more for five consecutive seasons and has a .281/.345/.385 line in parts of seven campaigns with the Twins and Rays. Bartlett was originally selected by the Padres in the 13th round of the 2001 Draft and signed by current Padres amateur scout Lane Decker.
Ryan Ludwick, Heath Bell, Tim Stauffer, Mike Adams and Chase Headley are the Padres' remaining arbitration eligible players, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows.