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Archives for February 2012

Top 100 Prospects Lists

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With the release of Baseball America's top 100 prospects list today, my three preferred prospect sources have all published their lists.  I believe Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus can be seen without subscriptions:

A few notable differences in the lists:

Yankees Sign Raul Ibanez

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The Yankees have found their new designated hitter, officially announcing an agreement with Raul Ibanez that was first tweeted by ESPN's Buster Olney yesterday.  The framework for a deal was done weeks ago with the ACES client, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post, who pegs the value at $1.1MM.  Plate appearance incentives can bring the total to $4MM, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

Ibanez

Never known for his defense, Ibanez has spent most of his career as a left fielder.  He dabbled at DH with the Mariners and Royals before signing with the Phillies after the '08 season, notably appearing 69 times in that role for the 2001-02 Royals.  Only eight other free agents hit more home runs in 2011 than Ibanez's 20, but he batted just .245/.289/.419 overall in 575 plate appearances.  The Yankees hope the 39-year-old can take advantage of their short right field porch.  Ibanez has a .304 OBP against lefties over the last three seasons, so he could be complemented by Andruw Jones, a right-handed hitter. 

In a February 18th poll, about 32% of MLBTR readers felt Ibanez was the best DH option for the Yankees, which edged out other free agent choices such as Johnny Damon, Vladimir Guerrero, and Hideki Matsui.  Ibanez was linked to the Yankees as early as January, but they preferred to dump some of A.J. Burnett's contract on the Pirates before finishing a DH deal.  That move opened a 40-man roster spot for the Yankees.  The Phillies offered Ibanez arbitration in November, which almost certainly involved a handshake agreement he'd decline.  In June, the Phillies will receive a supplemental draft pick for their loss.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Red Sox Receive Chris Carpenter, PTBNL From Cubs For Epstein, PTBNL

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The Red Sox received 26-year-old righty reliever Chris Carpenter and a player to be named later from the Cubs as compensation for Theo Epstein and a player to be named later, announced the teams today.  The Cubs hired Epstein as their president of baseball operations in October, despite one year remaining on his contract as Boston's GM.  Nearly four months after that announcement, Epstein and new Cubs GM Jed Hoyer reached a compensation agreement with former colleague and new Red Sox GM Ben Cherington.  Epstein said in a statement:

"I am relieved that this process is over and particularly pleased that the teams were able to reach agreement on their own without intervention from MLB.  I truly hope and believe that this resolution will benefit both clubs, as well as Chris, who is an extremely talented reliever joining a great organization at a time when there's some opportunity in the major league bullpen.  More than anything, I'm excited that we can all move forward and focus exclusively on getting ready for the season.  I wish Chris and the Red Sox nothing but the best in 2012 and beyond."

Carpenter, who made his big league debut with the Cubs last year, was recently ranked 13th on their prospect list by Baseball America.  The Cubs converted Carpenter to relief late in 2010, and he averaged 96.5 miles per hour on his fastball in the Majors last year.  His command and control are works in progress, but Baseball America thinks he could develop into a setup man.  The Red Sox placed Bobby Jenks on the 60-day DL to create a 40-man roster spot for Carpenter.

The inclusion of two players to be named later means this saga has not quite reached its conclusion, but an April 15th deadline is already in place and Cherington expects resolution by the end of spring training.  The Cubs also owe compensation to the Padres for Hoyer, which Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune notes will get done very soon and will not involve anyone on the team's 40-man roster.

WEEI's Alex Speier first reported the Red Sox would receive a pitcher from the Cubs' 40-man roster.

The 10 Best Minor League Deals Of The Offseason

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Some quality free agents may yet sign minor league deals, but let's take a look at the ten best of the offseason so far.

  1. Jeff Francis, Reds.  I ranked Francis 32nd on my top 50 free agents list, ahead of Chris Capuano, Freddy Garcia, Aaron Harang, Jason Marquis, Bruce Chen, and Chien-Ming Wang.  Three of those pitchers received two-year deals, yet Francis didn't get a roster spot.  He was a bigger health risk a year ago, when he received $2MM guaranteed from the Royals.  Francis and his wife reside in Denver, so it doesn't appear to be a hometown decision.  The Reds' rotation isn't full of openings, either, making Francis' minor league deal a mystery.
  2. Juan Pierre, Phillies.  It's fair to suggest Pierre isn't a big league regular anymore, but he's a valuable bench player.  Nate McLouth and Mark Kotsay received Major League deals, but don't seem to offer much more.
  3. Joel Pineiro, Phillies.  Pineiro ranked 46th on my list, a few spots ahead of Chen.  Wang didn't even make the list.  Pineiro's second year with the Angels was disappointing, but the groundballer was useful as recently as 2010.  Like Francis, he's attempting to join a pretty full rotation.
  4. Dan Wheeler, Indians.  Wheeler seems to have the same skill set the Red Sox valued at $3MM a year ago: good command and a lot of flyballs.  Does Jon Rauch do something better?
  5. Manny Ramirez, Athletics.  Manny marks the point on this list where I am no longer surprised the player did not receive a big league deal.  Ramirez will only provide two-thirds of a season at most, but he's a year removed from an .870 OPS.
  6. Jon Garland, Indians.  He missed most of 2011 with shoulder surgery, but his ability to soak up innings had been worth at least $5MM a year.
  7. Kevin Millwood, Mariners.  The Red Sox and Yankees were content to let Millwood work in Triple-A last year, but he provided nine decent starts for the Rockies.  He might be able to provide the value of a Marquis or Chen.
  8. Vicente Padilla, Red Sox.  Despite off-the-field concerns and an inability to stay healthy, Padilla can still get hitters out as a starter or reliever.
  9. Juan Cruz, Pirates.  Cruz allows too many walks and flyballs, but the same can be said for Jose Veras, who gave the Pirates a nice 2011 season after signing a minor league deal.
  10. Jamey Wright, Dodgers.  The Dodgers gave Mike MacDougal a roster spot to provide the same skill set with a harder fastball.  At any rate, Wright's a good guy to call when a groundball is needed.

Honorable mentions: Scott Linebrink, Juan Gutierrez, Angel Guzman, Koyie Hill, Ronny Paulino

Epstein Compensation Deal Is Close

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9:15am: The Red Sox will receive a pitcher from the Cubs' 40-man roster, tweets WEEI's Alex Speier.  That'd rule out McNutt.  Rafael Dolis, Chris Carpenter, Jeff Beliveau, and Casey Weathers are on the Cubs' 40-man and cracked Baseball America's top 30 prospects for the team.  The decision is coming down today, confirms Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.

7:36am: A resolution on the Theo Epstein compensation deal is imminent, reports Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.  Edes' MLB source says the Red Sox will receive one quality minor leaguer, a legitimate big-league prospect, from the Cubs.  The decision might come today, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

The Cubs hired Epstein as their president of baseball operations in October.  Epstein resigned from Boston's GM position with one year remaining as part of the process, and the teams have not been able on agree which Cubs players the Red Sox will receive as compensation.  The commissioner's office has gotten involved, with the teams submitting briefs recently.  In January, Epstein explained his stance on WEEI: "There's no precedent for major, major compensation here."

The Cubs are not loaded with top-ranked prospects and young players, but I think it's safe to assume Matt Garza, Starlin Castro, Anthony Rizzo, Brett Jackson, Javier Baez, and probably Matt Szczur will not be involved.  Given MLB's involvement, perhaps a player in the Cubs' next tier of prospects could be included, such as Trey McNutt.  Check out Kevin Goldstein's Cubs prospect rankings for Baseball Prospectus here.

Quick Hits: Draft Pools, Young, Jurrjens, Prado, Pudge

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The city of Montreal will pay tribute to former Expos great Gary Carter by naming a street or other public place in his honor, reports Linda Gyulai of the Montreal Gazette.  City officials will consult with the Carter family to find an "appropriate" location to bear the Hall of Famer catcher's name.  Carter passed away last Thursday after a lengthy battle with brain cancer.

Some news from around the majors….

  • Jim Callis of Baseball America breaks down how much each team will have to spend in the first 10 rounds of the 2012 draft. The Twins top the list, able to spend as much as $12.37MM to sign their 13 picks over the initial 10 rounds, while the Angels ($1.645MM) have the least to spend on their eight picks over the same stretch.
  • The draft pool totals will shift if Derrek Lee — the last free agent with compensation attached to him — signs a Major League deal with a new team.  As Callis notes, however, it's pretty unlikely that Lee will find such a deal at this point.
  • The Pirates and Phillies both passed on signing Dmitri Young after working him out in Florida this months, reports MLB.com's Matthew Leach. Even if Young's baseball comeback falls short, he says the real victory is his improved health, having lost over 70 pounds.
  • Jair Jurrjens and Martin Prado are both pleased to still be Braves after a long winter of trade rumors surrounding both men, reports MLB.com's Mark Bowman.
  • Ivan Rodriguez isn't prepared to retire and is keeping in shape for a possible job this season, he tells the Associated Press. "It has been a tough market for veterans," Rodriguez said. "There are a lot of guys who have won championships and have playoff experience to offer teams with no jobs. It's hard to believe.''

NL Central Links: Reds, Greinke, Marcum, LaHair

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Here's the latest from the NL Central…

Antony On Cuddyer, Kubel, Young, Nathan, Span

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Twins assistant GM Rob Antony discussed the team's offseason moves, players who signed elsewhere over the winter, plans for 2012, and more in an interview with Jesse Lund of the Twinkie Town blog.  Here are some of the highlights…

  • Michael Cuddyer was the Twins' "number one priority all off-season" but moved on once it became clear that the team wouldn't be able to re-sign him.  Antony "always believed he wanted to be a Twin for his entire career" and thinks Cuddyer was "disappointed" to ultimately leave the team for Colorado.
  • Jason Kubel shared his concerns with Antony about how Target Field is a tough stadium for power hitters, and the assistant GM believes this was a factor in Kubel leaving the team.
  • The Twins dealt Delmon Young to the Tigers last season simply because the team put a priority on re-signing Cuddyer and Kubel, so they wanted to get some return for Young rather than possibly non-tender him after the season.
  • Joe Nathan didn't give the Twins a chance to match the $14.75MM contract he received from the Rangers.  Antony said there were no hard feelings about Nathan leaving, since the veteran closer was focused on playing for a contender.  We heard in November that Minnesota's best offer to Nathan was "a bit less" than Texas' offer.
  • The Nationals were "definitely interested" in Denard Span at the trade deadline last summer, but Antony doesn't "think we were ever close to doing anything."
  • Antony said that some internet rumors about players on the trade market often lead to exploratory conversations between GMs about said players.  "There are a lot of names that pop up where we do a lot of that same thing. 'Look, if you're looking to move this guy, he could be a fit over here. I don’t know what’s fact and what’s rumor, but if you are serious in trading a player we’d like to be kept in mind, we have some interest,' " Antony said.  He brought up this point in regards to a question about Martin Prado, which would seem to hint that the Twins and Braves perhaps had such a conversation about the utilityman.
  • Antony thinks Tsuyoshi Nishioka will give Alexi Casilla a strong battle for the starting second base job and that Nishioka "deserves a mulligan" for his tough 2011 season.  Nishioka suffered a broken leg in his first season in the Major Leagues.
  • "We have had more meetings with our training and medical staff this season than in the ten years prior to," Antony said in regards to how the Twins responded to last year's injury-riddled season.  Still, Antony doesn't lay blame on the training staff: "These are the guys who were in place the year before, and the year before, and the year before that, so it’s not like all of a sudden they don’t know how to do their job. And last year, it was a perfect storm of everything that could do wrong, did go wrong."

AL West Notes: Kinsler, Ramirez, Abreu

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We've already looked at the NL West tonight, so let's stay on the left side of the map to check in on the latest from the AL West…

  • Ian Kinsler and the Rangers had "one serious conversation" about a contract extension this offseason but that was "about it," reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  Kinsler expects the club to re-open talks during Spring Training and said he wants to stay in Texas, noting that a possible switch from second base would be "open for discussion."  The Rangers will pay Kinsler $7MM this season and they hold a $10MM option on him for 2013.
  • Manny Ramirez's deal with the A's has led to some "mixed results" in the Athletics' clubhouse, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Ramirez's ex-teammates Coco Crisp and Bartolo Colon are in favor of the move, while one unnamed player "expressed concern" that if Ramirez makes the team, he'll be taking away at-bats from younger players who will be a bigger part of Oakland's future.
  • Angels manager Mike Scioscia talked to Bobby Abreu last month to discuss his role on the team, reports Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles.  "In talking to Bobby, he does want to play every day, but he's tempered that with an understanding of the potential of this team to win and he understands the situation," Scioscia said.  Abreu is expected to split time with Kendrys Morales and/or Mark Trumbo at DH this season and last week the Halos explored a deal that would've sent Abreu to the Yankees in exchange for A.J. Burnett.  I recently looked at the fantasy implications of the Halos' DH situation in a post for MLBTR's sister site Roto Authority.

NL West Notes: Ethier, Giants, Suppan, Saito

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Jim Tracy's indefinite contract extension with the Rockies is the big headline out of the NL West today, but let's see what else is happening around the division.

  • Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said he would like to sign Andre Ethier to an extension and said he's had a few conversation with the outfielder about the topic, including a visit to Ethier's home over the offseason.  Colletti's remarks came during an interview with FOX Sports West during a Los Angeles Kings hockey game (video embedded by Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Times).
  • With Ryan Vogelsong battling a back injury, Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com speculates that the Giants could be "scanning the free-agent ranks to find a last-minute arm or two."  In the meantime, Eric Surkamp and new acquisitions Brian Burres and Ramon Ortiz are being stretched out.
  • Jeff Suppan talks to MLB.com's Corey Brock about why the 37-year-old veteran is still trying to get back to the Major Leagues as a Padres non-roster invitee.
  • The Diamondbacks didn't have Takashi Saito take a physical before signing the reliever since the team thought he would fail it, GM Kevin Towers told reporters (including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic).  "Mark Weidemaier, our advanced scout, was with him in L.A. and I think that they said four or five years ago that one pitch and his arm could go," Towers said.  “We thought that the skill-set and what he could bring to the club far outweighed the risk.”  Manager Kirk Gibson said Saito is being on a separate Spring Training schedule in order to help keep him healthy.
  • Gibson said he hasn't spoken to Gerardo Parra about the Diamondbacks' signing of Jason Kubel earlier this winter as the team's new everyday left fielder.  Piecoro thinks Parra "has a right to be unhappy" about losing his starting job despite winning a Gold Glove and a solid year at the plate in 2011, but as I wrote last month, Parra is still a key part of Arizona's future plans.

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