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Archives for February 2012

Red Sox Notes: Oswalt, Wakefield, Varitek, Ortiz

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Last year this time considerable hype surrounded the Red Sox, who had just traded for Adrian Gonzalez and signed Carl Crawford. Gonzalez and Crawford are still around, but the hype has disappeared. Here’s the latest on the Red Sox as they prepare for Spring Training 2012…

Rangers, Elvis Andrus Sign Extension

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The Rangers and shortstop Elvis Andrus have officially signed a three-year extension. The deal, which doesn't include any options, is worth $14.4MM, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports on Twitter. The Boras Corporation represents Andrus, who was arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason and had a hearing scheduled for Thursday. Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports first reported the agreement.

Elvis Andrus - Rangers

Andrus had filed for $3.6MM in arbitration, while the Rangers had countered with a $2.65MM submission, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows. The 23-year-old Venezuela native is under team control through 2014, so the deal buys out all of his arbitration seasons and no free agent years.

Andrus owns a .271/.340/.343 line with 102 stolen bases (135 attempts) as a Major Leaguer. He has appeared in at least 145 regular games in each of the past three seasons and contributed in the postseason in 2010 and 2011. Andrus is an above-average defender at short, according to UZR.

Photo courtesy Icon SMI.

Rangers, Nelson Cruz Nearing Two-Year Deal

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THURSDAY: The deal would likely be worth $15MM-plus, Grant tweets. Cruz appears to have avoided arbitration, though nothing's official at this point.

WEDNESDAY: The Rangers are nearing a two-year deal with Nelson Cruz, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. Cruz filed for $7.5MM in arbitration, while the Rangers countered with a $5.5MM offer. The sides have an arbitration hearing scheduled February 17th.

Cruz hit .263/.312/.509 with 29 home runs in the regular season before clubbing eight postseason homers and being named the 2011 ALCS MVP. The 31-year-old ACES client is arbitration eligible for the second time after earning $3.65MM in 2011. A two-year deal would buy out both of his remaining arbitration seasons, but no free agent years. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes examined the cases for Cruz, Adam Jones and Alex Gordon earlier today.

This post was first published on February 8th, 2012.

Rangers, Nelson Cruz Avoid Arbitration

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The Rangers avoided arbitration with outfielder Nelson Cruz, Andy Slater of 640-AM Sports in South Florida tweets (hat tip Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com via Twitter). Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported last night that the sides were nearing a two-year deal.

Cruz filed for $7.5MM in arbitration, while the Rangers countered with a $5.5MM offer. It's unclear whether they settled on a one-year deal or agreed to a multiyear contract. The sides had an arbitration hearing scheduled February 17th.

Cruz hit .263/.312/.509 with 29 home runs in the regular season before hitting eight postseason homers and being named the 2011 ALCS MVP. The 31-year-old ACES client is arbitration eligible for the second time after earning $3.65MM in 2011. A two-year deal would buy out both of his remaining arbitration seasons, but no free agent years. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes examined the cases for Cruz, Adam Jones and Alex Gordon yesterday.

This post was first published on February 9th, 2012.

Orioles Notes: Johnson, Kim, Ramirez

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Here are some news items on the Orioles, on the day the team and Brad Bergesen argued their cases in front of a panel of arbitrators… 

  • The Orioles are working toward a minor league deal with first baseman/DH Nick Johnson, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. Johnson last played in the Major Leagues with the 2010 Yankees, and though he has had trouble staying on the field, he owns a .401 career on-base percentage.
  • The Korean Baseball Organization suspended Kim Seong-min, the 17-year-old pitcher who signed with the Orioles earlier this offseason, for signing with Baltimore before graduating from high school, Yonhap News reports. Kim is no longer eligible to play or coach in South Korea. 
  • Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun isn't convinced that having Manny Ramirez around in the second half of the season would make the Orioles much better. However, it seems that executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette would like to see the slugger get another chance, according to Connolly.
  • The Orioles also agreed to sign catcher Dane Sardinha to a minor league deal.

Phillies Considered Oswalt; Deal Unlikely

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The Phillies have called around to determine trade interest in Joe Blanton, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports (all Twitter links). Moving Blanton and part of his $8.5MM salary would create payroll room for Roy Oswalt, but GM Ruben Amaro Jr. doesn't expect to be able to free up money to sign the right-hander. Though the Phillies have had dialogue about bringing Oswalt back to Philadelphia, a deal seems unlikely.

We heard yesterday that there's no traction between the Red Sox and Oswalt, that the Reds haven't had serious talks with him, and that he doesn't want to play in Pittsburgh. Oswalt, the top free agent pitcher remaining, is likely to sign a one-year deal for 2012. I doubt teams would commit $8.5MM to Blanton, who pitched just 41 1/3 innings last year.

Alexi Casilla & Jed Lowrie Head To Arbitration

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Only two of the 13 remaining unsigned arbitration eligible players filed for less than $2MM: Alexi Casilla and Jed Lowrie. Though they’re reasonably similar in terms of career stats, Casilla is arbitration eligible for the second time, so the players relevant to his case are different than the players relevant to Lowrie’s.

Casilla, who earned $865K in 2011, posted a .260/.322/.368 line with two home runs in 365 plate appearances while playing second base and shortstop last year. He filed for $1.75MM, while the Twins countered with a $1.065MM submission for a midpoint of $1.407MM. 

Current infielders who put together similar Arb 1 seasons to Casilla’s 2011 campaign include Aaron Miles, whose salary jumped from $1MM to $1.4MM after the 2007 season, Alfredo Amezaga, whose salary jumped from $945K to $1.3MM after the 2008 season, and Jeff Baker, whose salary jumped from $975K to $1.175MM after the 2010 season. All three are among the possible comparables for Casilla's case, in my view, though his representatives may focus on similar players who settled above the midpoint.

Lowrie filed for $1.5MM after a season in which he posted a .252/.303/.382 line with six home runs as a shortstop/third baseman in Boston. The Astros offered their new infielder $900K for a midpoint of $1.2MM.

Mike Aviles, who essentially replaces Lowrie on Boston’s roster, may be his top comp in arbitration. Aviles settled at $1.2MM — Lowrie's midpoint — after a highly similar platform season. Aviles has better career numbers across the board, and that should help the Astros build their case. On either side of Aviles, we have two first-time eligible infielders from the current service class: Robert Andino at $1.3MM and Blake DeWitt at $1.1MM. Andino had a strong platform year, while DeWitt has the career bulk and both will figure in to Lowrie's case.

Padres To Sign Jeff Suppan

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3:05pm: Suppan will earn $950K if he makes the Major League roster, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.  He obtained an invitation to Spring Training.

12:07pm: The Padres will sign righty Jeff Suppan to a minor league deal today, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock.  Suppan is represented by Lapa/Leventhal.

Suppan, 37, posted a 4.78 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 1.25 HR/9, and 10.1 H/9 in 165 2/3 innings for the Royals' Triple-A affiliate last year.  The 16-year MLB veteran has 138 wins and a 4.69 ERA in his career.

Brad Bergesen Had Arbitration Hearing Today

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Orioles right-hander Brad Bergesen had his arbitration hearing today, the Associated Press reports (via ESPN.com). Bergesen asked for $1.2MM, while the Orioles countered with $800K. Arbitrators Robert Herzog, Mark Burstein and Elizabeth Neumeier heard the case and are expected to reach a decision by tomorrow. 

The 26-year-old Bergesen is arbitration eligible for the first time as a super two player this offseason and will remain under team control through 2015. Bergesen will get credit for completing 100 innings in each of the past three seasons and contributing as a starter in the AL East. However, his 2-7 record and 5.70 platform season ERA work against him. He is a client of Paragon Sports International. As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, Bergesen and Adam Jones are the Orioles’ remaining unsigned arbitration eligible players.

Was Elvis Andrus’ Extension Necessary?

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The Rangers recently extended 23-year-old shortstop Elvis Andrus for three years and $14.4MM.  The contract covers Andrus' three arbitration years.  As we'd expect for a Boras Corporation client, the Rangers were not able to secure any free agent seasons.  Does this contract extension offer value to the Rangers as opposed to just going year-to-year?

I talked to a couple of agency employees who estimated Andrus' year-to-year arbitration earnings in the range of $15.3-15.5MM, with salaries around $3MM, $4.8MM, $7.5MM if his offense holds steady.  Andrus brings runs and steals to the table and might win some Gold Gloves, but arbitration doesn't pay this skillset handsomely.  The Rangers didn't get much cost savings here, unless Andrus takes his offensive game to another level.

As with any extension, the Rangers got cost certainty, in that they don't have to haggle with the Boras Corporation three times to determine Andrus' salaries.  There is also the benefit of pleasing Major League Baseball, as the contract might help keep future shortstop salaries down.

The downside for the Rangers is that Andrus' earnings for 2012-14 are now guaranteed, even if his offense suffers a downturn or he endures a significant injury.  Such events would have limited his arbitration salaries.  J.J. Hardy's 2009 season is a good example: his performance and playing time plummeted, so he settled with the Brewers for just a $750K raise.  The Rangers no longer have that protection, and all they received in return was a million or two in savings and some cost certainty. 

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