Orioles Have Discussed Casey Kotchman
The Orioles have discussed free agent first baseman Casey Kotchman, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. The soon-to-be 29-year-old hit .306/.378/.422 for the Rays in 563 plate appearances last season.
Kotchman has been linked to the Indians and Rays this offseason though Tampa Bay might not be in the mix any longer after re-signing Carlos Pena. By signing Kotchman, the O's could make Chris Davis the primary DH and use Wilson Betemit as more of a utility player and part-time DH.
Cafardo On Dodgers, Ethier, Red Sox, Cubs, Orioles
As demonstrated by the Red Sox last year, "winning" December and January doesn’t necessarily translate into winning when it counts, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. With that said, Cafardo takes a look at where all 30 teams rank after making their moves thus far. Unsurprisingly, the Angels top Cafardo's list, followed by the Yankees and Rangers. The Tigers, after signing Prince Fielder, occupy the fifth spot in the rankings. Cafardo writes that a Fielder-Miguel Cabrera middle of the order could be monstrous, but the club could use more bullpen help. Here's more from today's column..
- The Dodgers will soon decide whether to lock up Andre Ethier with a long-term deal as they did with Matt Kemp. Earlier this month, it was reported that the club had yet to discuss extensions with Ethier and Clayton Kershaw. The right fielder, who will be a free agent at the end of the season, avoided arbitration with the team by agreeing to a one-year, $10.7MM deal.
- Three West Coast teams are kicking the tires on reliever Hong-Chih Kuo and the veteran seems like a good gamble. The Dodgers, who non-tendered him earlier this month, are one of those three clubs. Kuo once had great stuff but has undergone five elbow surgeries, including two Tommy Johns, and has also experienced anxiety issues.
- An AL GM who is not associated with the Red Sox or Cubs believes that Commissioner Bud Selig will give Boston a significant player in the compensation agreement: "I don’t think MLB wants executives leaving their teams before their contracts are up and therefore he will try to deter teams from doing that again."
- Cafardo credited Orioles VP of Baseball Operations Dan Duquette with doing a solid job of building the club thus far. The next step for the club might be to add a DH such as Johnny Damon while hoping for the best when it comes to pitching. By this time next year, Duquette will add a significant piece to the rotation.
- Teams are now looking for "tack-on" guys, the ones who “can really make you look good," according to one AL assistant GM. Raul Ibanez and Hideki Matsui could both be reasonably-priced quality additions and the Yankees could be a fit for either one. Serviceable relievers Mike Gonzalez, Chad Qualls, and Juan Cruz also remain on the open market.
Quick Hits: Indians, Pena, Oswalt, Kinsler, Rangers
Some links as Saturday turns into Sunday…
- The Indians offered Carlos Pena a one-year deal worth $8MM, reports Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer. Pena took less money (one-year, $7.25MM) to return to the Rays, however.
- One of the two sides will have to get creative for Roy Oswalt to land with the Cardinals, says Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. He says the team's motives are unclear as well, noting that St. Louis recently checked in on Edwin Jackson.
- Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler says that he doesn't have anything new to report on a possible long-term extension, writes Richard Durrett of ESPN.com. Kinsler added that there haven't been many discussions with the club in regards to a new deal, but we know that there has been some conversation.
- More from Durrett, as he writes that Rangers pitcher Matt Harrison isn't concerned about hearing Roy Oswalt's name being connected to the club. Harrison would likely be bumped out of the rotation if Texas signs the veteran, but Harrison says that he's okay with moving to the bullpen.
Dodgers Ownership Links: Garvey/Hershiser, Bids
Here's the latest on the sale of the Dodgers…
- Last night we heard that at least eight potential buyers have advanced to the second round of the bidding process, and Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times reported today (on Twitter) that the Garvey/Hershiser group was not selected to advance.
- Bidding for the Dodgers is now north of $1.2 billion, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter links), while Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter) hears there is at least one bid in the range of $1.5 billion. Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter) is convinced the team will sell for $1.7 billion, but wouldn't be surprised if sold for a little bit more.
- There is a lot going on behind the scenes, and as Steve Dilbeck of The Los Angeles Times explains, the process will continue to be shrouded in secrecy.
Latest On Roy Oswalt
SATURDAY, 9:05pm: Gerry Fraley of The Dallas Morning News reports that the Rangers will meet with Oswalt on Monday, assuming he's still a free agent by then. Fraley reiterates that Texas has not made the right-hander an offer.
2:14pm: The Rangers haven't made an offer to Oswalt either, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Texas is interested in the veteran, but like the Cardinals, he's not an obvious fit for the club.
1:39pm: The Cardinals insist that there's no deal in place with Oswalt, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter). General Manager John Mozeliak also denied that the club is near a deal with Oswalt, writes Matthew Leach of MLB.com.
8:03am: Oswalt is likely to sign with the Cardinals "soon," reports Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston. His source cautioned that it's "not yet 100 percent," however. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports that Oswalt turned down a one-year, $10MM offer from the Tigers, and that being close to his Mississippi home is a major factor in his decision.
FRIDAY, 9:30pm: The Cardinals are close to a deal with veteran right-hander Roy Oswalt, reports Jim Duquette of MLB Network Radio (Twitter link). The Red Sox and, surprisingly, the Astros are still contenders for Oswalt's services. Mike Silverman of the Boston Herald (via Twitter) confirms these three teams are in the mix and says it could be "another day or two" before a decision is made.
We heard two days ago that both the Cards and Red Sox had made Oswalt offers, with the St. Louis offer worth roughly $5MM. Oswalt has long expressed a desire to pitch for the Cards, so this could be why he is considering the club's modest offer. The Astros' involvement is totally out of left field since it was presumed they wouldn't be making any significant money this winter, but they could be looking to sign Oswalt and then flip him at the trade deadline. It's hard to imagine Oswalt turning down several contenders to return to Houston but it's possible Oswalt has a sentimental attachment to his original team.
Oswalt would provide quality depth to a St. Louis rotation that includes Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, Jaime Garcia, Kyle Lohse and Jake Westbrook. Wainwright is returning from Tommy John surgery, Garcia's durability could be a concern after a major increase in innings pitched (220 1/3 regular season and postseason innings in 2011, up from 163 1/3 IP in 2010) and Westbrook didn't have much value aside from eating innings.
Mike Axisa and Zach Links contributed to this post.
Extension Candidate: Eric Hosmer
This past week was a rough one for the Royals. Not only did they watch the reigning division champs add Prince Fielder, but they also caught a glimpse of what it could take to keep Eric Hosmer in town long-term should he develop into the type of player they think he can become. After giving him $6MM as the third overall pick in 2008, it's clear Kansas City expects great things.
Hosmer, 22, was called up to the big leagues in early-May and went on to finish third in the AL Rookie of the Year. He hit .293/.334/.465 with 19 homers and 11 steals in 128 games. The Royals likely delayed his free agency by a year with the late call-up, but Hosmer is almost certain to qualify as a Super Two after the 2014 season. That means he'll be arbitration-eligible four times rather than the usual three, which can get expensive in a hurry.
For comparison's sake, Hunter Pence hit .289/.340/.488 during the first three years of his career, and parlayed it into $20.8MM during his first three years of arbitration-eligibility as a Super Two. He earned $3.5MM his first year of eligibility, $6.9MM in the second, and recently agreed to $10.4MM for the third. Barring an unexpected non-tender next winter, Pence will earn north of $32MM during his four years of arbitration-eligibility. Surely the Royals would want to avoid a similar payout for Hosmer.
The largest contract ever given to a player with less than one full year of service time is the eight-year, $45MM pact the Brewers bestowed upon Ryan Braun during the 2008 season. I'm sure the Royals would love to lock up Hosmer's next eight years at that price, but it might be unrealistic since he's a Scott Boras client. If there's one thing Boras is good at, it's breaking contract records. Evan Longoria's six-year, $17.5MM deal is the only other contract ever given to a position player with less than one year of service time worth more than $1.5MM annually.
If Kansas City plans to buy out any of Hosmer's free agent years, they're looking at a minimum contract length of seven years. That would cover his six years of team control and just one free agent year. It would also be the longest deal in franchise history by two years, and anything more than $55MM would make it the richest as well (Gil Meche and Mike Sweeney hold the record with matching five-year, $55MM contracts). I'm not suggesting that a deal of that size would be appropriate for Hosmer after one year in the bigs, but like I said, Boras is fond of breaking records. Those are some benchmarks he can target.
The Royals have more pressing issues than extending Hosmer (like extending Alex Gordon), and there's no real rush to get a deal done now. They will pay their first baseman little more than the league minimum over the next two years, so time is on their side. The Fielder contract serves as a harsh reminder though, a reminder that if Hosmer turns into the franchise cornerstone Kansas City hopes he'll be, he might price himself right out of Kansas City. A long-term contract extension could help prevent, or at least delay that.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Largest Remaining Arbitration Cases
When the offseason started, there were approximately 196 arbitration-eligible players left unsigned. The vast majority of those players have since agreed to contracts for 2012 (and beyond in some cases), but a number of high profile players remain unsigned. With some help from our Arbitration Tracker, here are the unsigned arbitration-eligible players asking their teams for at least $5MM next season…
- David Ortiz filed for $16.5MM, the Red Sox countered with $12.65MM.
- Matt Garza filed for $12.5MM, the Cubs countered with $7.95MM.
- Mike Napoli filed for $11.5MM, the Rangers countered with $8.3MM.
- Jeremy Guthrie filed for $10.25MM, the Orioles countered with $7.25MM.
- Clayton Kershaw filed for $10MM, the Dodgers countered with $6.5MM.
- Shaun Marcum filed for $8.7MM, the Brewers countered with $6.75MM.
- Anibal Sanchez filed for $8MM, the Marlins countered with $6.9MM.
- Nelson Cruz filed for $7.5MM, the Rangers countered with $5.5MM.
- Adam Jones filed for $7.4MM, the Orioles countered with $5MM.
- Miguel Montero filed for $6.8MM, the Diamondbacks countered with $5.4MM.
- John Lannan filed for $5.7MM, the Nationals countered with $5MM.
- Alex Gordon filed for $5.45MM, the Royals countered with $4.15MM.
- Asdrubal Cabrera filed for $5.2MM, the Indians countered with $3.75MM.
Garza, Napoli, Kershaw, Jones, Montero, and Gordon and prime candidates for a multi-year extension that buys out both arbitration and free agent years. Hearings will begin next month, though agreements of any size can be reached at any time.
Rangers Sign Kyle Hudson
The Rangers have signed Kyle Hudson to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training, according to Executive Vice President of Communications John Blake (via Twitter). The Orioles released the outfielder on Monday.
The 25-year-old hit .296/.375/.336 line with 41 stolen bases in 485 minor league plate appearances last season. Hudson also appeared in 14 Major League games for the O’s as a September callup.
AL East Notes: Orioles, Jackson, Uehara, Red Sox
Here's a look at some items out of the American League East..
- Earlier this week, Rangers reliever Koji Uehara rejected a trade that would have sent him to the Blue Jays. It appears that the 36-year-old would instead prefer a return to Baltimore and Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun writes that the O's have had sporadic conversations with Texas.
- Connolly also writes that he is unsure if the Orioles were one of the teams to make a three-year offer to Edwin Jackson, but says that it would make sense if they were. The club may be hesitant to go to four years for the hurler but hasn't completely dismissed the idea.
- Commissioner Bud Selig says that there's no timeframe for working out a compensation agreement between the Red Sox and Cubs over Theo Epstein's move, writes Dave van Dyck of the Chicago Tribune. Selig seemed unhappy with the idea of having to intervene in the talks between the two clubs.
Edwin Jackson Has Multiple Three-Year Offers
12:35pm: It doesn't look like the Orioles will offer Jackson a four-year contract, but three years plus an option is possible according to Eduardo A. Encina of The Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). It's all expected to come down to money.
9:33am: Free agent right-hander Edwin Jackson has multiple three-year offers, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). Rosenthal says he could also take a one-year pillow contract and re-enter the market next offseason, when he'll still be just 29 years old.
We know the Red Sox have made Jackson an offer, and it's believed that he'll take a one-year deal to pitch in Boston. The Orioles also have interest and the Cardinals checked in on him recently. They're reportedly closing in on a deal for Roy Oswalt, however.