Poll: MLBTR Posts
We're looking to get a sense of which posts you read, so please take a minute and fill out this poll. You can check multiple boxes and posts are listed alphabetically.
Which of the following posts do you read regularly?
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Baseball Blogs Weigh In 18% (1,918)
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Free Agent Stock Watch 18% (1,884)
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Discussion Posts 13% (1,399)
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Week In Review 12% (1,226)
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Non-Tender Candidate 11% (1,150)
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Polls 11% (1,116)
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This Date In Transactions History 9% (919)
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Jack of All Trades 9% (910)
Total votes: 10,522
Orioles Sign Derrek Lee
The Orioles officially announced their one-year deal with Derrek Lee today. The first baseman signed for $7.25MM and could earn a total of $10MM if he reaches certain performance bonuses, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). The veteran slugger is represented by CAA.
Lee turned down an $8.5MM offer from the Padres, according to Heyman and Dan Hayes of The North County Times tweets that he asked them for $10MM.
Baltimore has been in talks with Lee for a good portion of the winter and recently began zeroing in on him as talks with Adam LaRoche stalled. While LaRoche sought a three-year, $21MM committment, Lee made it known that he was willing to take a one-year deal.
Lee had a down year in 2010 by his standards, hitting .260/.347/.428 with 19 homers for the Cubs and Braves. Although he qualifies as a Type-A free agent, the Braves did not offer Lee arbitration and will not receive compensation draft picks.
Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun first reported the deal.
Rangers Not Pursuing Rafael Soriano
The Rangers are not currently pursuing Rafael Soriano and were not engaged with him at any point this winter, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter links). The team signed Adrian Beltre this week, so there's not enough money remaining in the team's budget for Soriano, another Scott Boras client.
There's a potential fit for Soriano in Anaheim as MLBTR's Mark Polishuk explains here. Jon Heyman of SI.com has suggested that the Yankees are likely to pursue Soriano if Andy Pettitte retires and the White Sox are eyeing the reliever, too. The Cardinals don't appear to have much interest, however.
Soriano is one of three unsigned free agents who will cost a draft pick. The Red Sox, who are in line for the Rangers' 2011 first rounder, would only get Texas' second rounder if Soriano heads to the Lone Star State, so there's reason for them to hope he signs elsewhere.
Cubs, Rays Working On Garza Trade
Cubs GM Jim Hendry is working feverishly to acquire Matt Garza from the Rays, according to Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald. The Cubs are getting set to send Chris Archer, Hak-Ju Lee, Brandon Guyer and Robinson Chirinos to Tampa Bay, according to Miles. There may be additional parts to the deal for each team, Miles reports.
Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago reports that the sides are close to a deal.
Garza, 27, posted a 3.91 ERA with 6.6 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 35.8% ground ball rate in 204 2/3 innings for the Rays last year. He heads to arbitration for the second time this winter and is set to receive a raise from the $3.35MM salary he earned in 2010.
Garza would join Ryan Dempster, Tom Gorzelanny, Randy Wells, Carlos Zambrano and Carlos Silva in a crowded Chicago rotation. If the Rays-Cubs deal goes through, it wouldn't be surprising to see Cubs starters appear in trade rumors before long.
If any team can afford to part with a starting pitcher, it might be the Rays, who still have David Price, James Shields, Jeff Niemann, Wade Davis and Jeremy Hellickson. The return from the Cubs probably won't impact Tampa's Opening Day roster, but it will add depth to the Rays' already impressive farm system.
Baseball America ranked Archer first among Cubs prospects this offseason while Lee placed fourth and Guyer placed tenth. Archer, a 22-year-old right-hander, made it as high as Double-A last year. The starting pitcher posted a 2.34 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9, limiting opponents to 6.4 H/9. The Cubs acquired him from the Indians just over two years ago in the Mark DeRosa trade. Jim Callis of Baseball America notes that Archer is a year away from the majors and could be a closer in the future (Twitter link).
It's not a great time to be an up-and-coming shortstop in the Cubs organization, as Starlin Castro figures to be the team's shortstop for years. Lee, who was born seven months after Castro, is also a highly-regarded shortstop. The native of Korea has a .299/.370/.375 line with 57 stolen bases in two pro seasons. When Baseball America ranked Lee sixth among Cubs prospects before the season, the publication described him as a gifted hitter with the tools to make difficult defensive plays.
Guyer, who turns 25 this month, posted a .344/.398/.588 line in 410 plate apperances at Double-A last year. He has played all three outfield positions in his four-year minor league career.
Chirinos is the oldest of the four prospects, as he turns 27 this month. The infielder hit .326/.416/.583 with 18 home runs in the upper minors last year.
This post was first published January 7th, 2010.
Tigers Continue Pursuit Of Brad Penny
The Tigers are still pursuing Brad Penny as they look to add depth to their starting rotation, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Morosi reported last month that the Tigers were considering Penny, who missed most of the 2010 season with a right shoulder strain. Later that day, GM Dave Dombrowski explained that the Tigers are comfortable with their pitching staff, but open to additions.
Penny posted a 3.23 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 55 2/3 innings for the Cardinals last year before going on the disabled list in May. The 32-year-old has spent nearly his entire career in the National League and his one stint in the American League went poorly. The Red Sox signed him before the 2009 season and he posted a 5.61 ERA in 131 2/3 innings for Boston.
Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello and Phil Coke will likely start for the Tigers, who appear interested in providing Armando Galarraga with some competition for the fifth rotation spot. Dombrowski recently told Tom Gage of the Detroit News that the Tigers are keeping an open mind about free agent starter Jeremy Bonderman.
Cameron Content In Boston; Trade Unlikely
Mike Cameron's agent told Alex Speier of WEEI.com that his client does not hope to leave the Red Sox for a team that can offer more playing time. Cameron wants to win and has not requested a trade, Mike Nicotera says.
The Red Sox have discussed potential deals with other teams, but Nicotera says Boston did not initiate the discussions. The Red Sox will listen to offers for the outfielder, but a team source told Speier that a trade would be surprising since “there isn’t a deal out there that makes sense.”
The Phillies have kicked the tires on Cameron and the Braves could also use a right-handed hitting outfielder who can handle center field.
Cameron missed significant time with kidney stones and an abdominal tear in 2010, as the Red Sox finished third in the AL East. This year, Cameron wants to win and stay healthy. He’ll likely get lots of playing time against left-handed pitching since Carl Crawford, Jacoby Ellsbury, J.D. Drew and David Ortiz all bat from the left side and Cameron, a right-handed hitter, handles southpaws well.
Cameron, who turns 38 this week, earns $7.25MM for 2011, the final year on his contract.
Rays Sign Chris Carter
The Rays signed Chris Carter to a minor league deal, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. The Mets non-tendered the 28-year-old in December after he appeared in a career-high 100 games in 2010. Rubin reports that Carter will earn $12K per month in the minors and $420K in the majors.
Carter, who arrived in New York in the 2009 Billy Wagner trade, has big league experience in left and right field. The left-handed hitter posted a .263/.317/.389 line in 180 plate appearances last year. The Mets shielded him from southpaws in 2010; all but 7 of his plate appearances came against right-handed pitching.
The Rays will be able to retain Carter long after 2011 if they deem him worthy of a roster spot going forward.
Odds & Ends: Thome, Vladdy, Blue Jays, CarGo
As Cooperstown welcomes Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven into the Hall of Fame, some of these news items concern a few of Alomar and Blyleven's former teams and teammates…
- Jim Thome is said to be looking for a one-year deal worth as much as $8MM, reports ESPN.com's Jason A. Churchill. Thome's strong 2010 season notwithstanding, that would represent a whopping increase over the $1.5MM contract he signed with Minnesota last year. The Twins have been considered the favorites to re-sign Thome, but if the team balks at that asking price, Churchill suggests they could instead turn to Vladimir Guerrero as a DH option. Churchill adds that Tampa Bay could also be interested in Guerrero if the price is right.
- Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos "conceded that it's looking more likely that" Jose Bautista will be Toronto's Opening Day third baseman rather than its right fielder, reports Shi Davidi of The Canadian Press. Anthopoulos noted that the club is still looking at other third base/right field options and also may still be in the market for another reliever. The Blue Jays have added Octavio Dotel, Chad Cordero and Wil Ledezma to their bullpen mix over the past two days.
- Carlos Gonzalez had a lengthy meeting with agent Scott Boras in December to discuss a possible extension with the Rockies, so the agreed-upon deal wasn't at all "an impulse decision," tweets The Denver Post's Troy Renck.
- Also from Renck (Twitter link), the Rockies are "not totally out" of the bidding for Joe Beimel, but other clubs "have shown stronger interest." We heard last month that the Rockies weren't one of several teams who had made Beimel a contract offer.
- The Pirates' desire to add left-handed relievers has only grown in the wake of Ledezma going to Toronto, tweets Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- Speaking of the Pirates, Bucs president Frank Coonelly discussed the team's relief options and other topics in his monthly chat with fans on MLB.com.
- With so many intriguing designated hitter possibilities on the market, Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees blog notes that it's an unfortunate time for the Yankees to be shifting Jorge Posada into the full-time DH spot.
Discussion: The Angels’ Offseason
Three months ago, who would've guessed that the Dodgers would have the most active winter of any Los Angeles ballclub? Following a barrage of criticism from fans and media over how the McCourts' divorce and ownership dispute was hurting the franchise, the Dodgers added a bullpen arm in Matt Guerrier, rebuilt their catching corps following Russell Martin's departure, and re-signed all three of their free agent starters (Hiroki Kuroda, Ted Lilly, Vicente Padilla), also adding Jon Garland to the rotation to boot. Not every move has been well-received — the Juan Uribe contract jumps to mind — but overall, it's been a solid offseason for the Dodgers.
Compare their situation to that of L.A.'s other team. The Angels suffered their first sub-.500 season since 2003 and looked primed to add at least one top-tier free agent to their roster. Almost all of the Halos' top targets, however, went elsewhere: Carl Crawford signed with Boston, Adrian Beltre signed with Texas and some longer-shot targets that the Angels at least mildly explored (Cliff Lee, Derrek Lee, an Adrian Gonzalez trade) failed to pan out. The club added left-handers Scott Downs and Hisanori Takahashi to the bullpen, but those have been GM Tony Reagins' only major moves of the winter.
In the wake of Beltre signing with a division rival, the knives have come out in regards to the Angels' underwhelming winter. Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com says "not only have the Angels shown they're not prepared to compete financially with the big boys, but they've shown they can't even compete financially with the big boys in their own division." Fanhouse.com's Tom Krasovic says the club has had "one stinker of an offseason…so far" and quotes an unnamed AL executive who says that missing out on Crawford was a big mistake.
"If [the Angels] are being scared off from premium players in the market, they're in big trouble," said the AL executive. "They don't have a lot of talent coming up. They are known for being difficult to trade with. They are going to have to spend wisely in free agent to make up that difference, but that's getting harder and harder to do with what's out there."
Reagins told MLB.com's Lyle Spencer during the Winter Meetings that the Angels wanted to stay away from "unaffordable bidding wars" over players who were asking for more than the Halos thought they were worth. This policy certainly has merit, and given that L.A. had signed the likes of Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu in recent years, Los Angeles can't be criticized for ignoring the free agent front. As Knobler points out, however, it doesn't make the team look good when owner Arte Moreno promises to spend and then comes up short.
Spencer also notes that the Angels didn't do anything this winter to combat the perception that they aren't "capable of engaging [Scott] Boras in meaningful dialogue," which is an obvious issue given the number of top players Boras represents. Rafael Soriano, for instance, is a Boras client, though even if the Angels went after the top-rated free agent left on the market, a top closer is a much less pressing need for the Halos given the Downs and Takahashi signings and the presence of Fernando Rodney.
MLBTR's Tim Dierkes identified a third baseman, an outfielder/DH type and a leadoff man as the primary "unfinished business" the Angels had to address before Opening Day, mentioning recent rumors tying the club to the likes of Scott Podsednik and Johnny Damon. The Rangers' signing of Beltre also may open the door for Vladimir Guerrero to return to Los Angeles, while Spencer suggests the Angels might consider trying to re-acquire another former Halo in Chone Figgins.
There's still plenty of time for the Angels to make moves that will make their team better next year, but barring something surprising, it will be hard for the team to shake the perception (or perhaps its own feelings) that the 2010-11 offseason was a missed opportunity.
NL East Notes: Uggla, Mets, Nationals, Marrero
Here are a few items from what's been arguably the most newsworthy division of the winter thus far…
- There's no shortage of reaction to Dan Uggla's contract extension with Atlanta. Joe Pawlikowski of Fangraphs likes the deal for the Braves, arguing that Uggla's power might be helped by hitting at Turner Field and saying that Uggla's "bat will still play well" if he has to move to left field or third base a few years down the line.
- Speaking of an Uggla position switch, MLB.com's Mark Bowman reports that Uggla wants to remain playing second base and would've probably not signed the extension had the Braves insisted he move elsewhere on the diamond. Bowman also compares Uggla's contract to Jayson Werth's deal in Washington, and notes that some Braves players and coaches weren't pleased that the Braves didn't do more to keep other big-name acquisitions (i.e. J.D. Drew, Gary Sheffield, Mark Teixeira) in Atlanta.
- If the Mets add a left-handed reliever, it will probably have to be someone willing to take a minor league contract, writes Metsblog.com's Matthew Cerrone.
- The Nationals aren't expected to pursue the "file-and-trial" arbitration strategy this winter, reports The Washington Post's Adam Kilgore. You can keep track of the Nats' three arb-eligible players (John Lannan, Mike Morse and Doug Slaten) and all of the arbitration dealings with MLBTR's Arb Tracker feature.
- With Adam LaRoche locked up for at least two years in Washington, MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling looks at how the Nats' long-term plans at first base are affected by the signing, with a particular focus on prospect Chris Marrero.