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Archives for February 2012

Orioles Links: Manny, Additions, Larish

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Here's the latest from Baltimore…

  • “[Manny Ramirez] is looking for a second chance. I think it is a good story, but that’s about all I can say about it right now," said Orioles GM Dan Duquette to Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun. The O's are one of three teams in the mix for Manny, though Connolly says it's unlikely the two sides are far along in process because there's so much baggage.
  • Duquette also told Connolly that he's not necessarily done adding players to the big league roster. “We’re still talking to teams and there are a couple players we are interested in, but at this time of year people generally want to see what their (rosters) look like,” said the GM. “There are a couple unsigned players that might fit for us.”
  • The Orioles signed utility man Jeff Larish according to his Facebook page. MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli reports (on Twitter) that it's a minor league contract without an invite to Spring Training. Larish, 29, hit .240/.330/.449 for the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate last year before breaking his leg. He's a .224/.308/.380 career hitter in 276 big league plate appearances, though he hasn't appeared in the show since 2010.

Rangers, Hamilton Put Extension Talks On Hold

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The Rangers have been discussing long-term contract extensions with several core players this offseason, but talks with one of them have been put on hold indefinitely. Josh Hamilton and GM Jon Daniels confirmed to reporters today that talks about a new deal have been tabled for the time being.

"We'll put that on the back-burner for now," said the outfielder while Daniels noted there are "more important things to deal with." The quotes come courtesy of CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler and The Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Jeff Wilson (Twitter links).

The "more important things" Daniels referred to would be Hamilton's admitted relapse from his drug and alcohol addiction recovery earlier this week, which Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says could cost him millions. The club was already eyeing a conservative contract while Hamilton's side reportedly had Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder money in mind. Hamilton has said he will not discuss a new contract once Spring Training begins, and he can become a free agent after this coming season.

This is the second time the two sides have tabled extension talks this offseason. Negotiations were put on hold while the club worked out new deals with their arbitation-eligible players and Yu Darvish a few weeks ago.

Dodgers Sign Todd Coffey

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The Dodgers have signed Todd Coffey to a one-year deal with a club option for 2013, the team announced. He'll earn $1MM in 2013, and the club option is worth $2.5MM with a $300K buyout for a total guarantee of $1.3MM. The Beverly Hills Sports Council represents Coffey.

Coffey posted a 3.62 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 43.6% ground ball rate in 59 2/3 innings for the Nationals in 2011. The 31-year-old owns a 4.08 ERA with 6.7 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 51% ground ball rate over the course of seven MLB seasons. He has been considerably more effective against right-handed hitting as a big league pitcher.

Dodgers GM Ned Colletti had already added relievers Mike MacDougal ($1MM deal) and John Grabow (minor league deal) to the bullpen mix this offseason. The Dodgers also signed starters Chris Capuano and Aaron Harang to two-year contracts. Free agents Luis Ayala, Shawn Camp, Scott Linebrink and Michael Wuertz are out there for teams seeking right-handed relievers.

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com first reported news of the agreement while Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports and Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times added details (all Twitter links).

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

Giants Notes: Cain, Lincecum, Payroll, Beltran

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The Giants made their roster available to the media today, on the eve of the club's annual FanFest event. Here's latest on the 2010 World Champs…

  • “We’ve talked … and it’s a process,” said Matt Cain to reporters (including Andrew Baggarly of The Mercury News) when asked about an extension. “We’ll see what’s going to happen. We’re definitely here for this year.”
  • The right-hander did stop short of saying he'll give the team a hometown discount. “That’s tough,” he said. “You definitely love being in San Francisco, and we do. We have a year till free agency. That’s something as a player you think about, having that opportunity. It’s hard to say what will happen in these next several months.”
  • “Budget won’t be a factor," said GM Brian Sabean when asked about signing both Cain and Tim Lincecum long-term. "We’ll have enough wherewithal in the budget that we won’t have to pick. Whether that happens, I can’t predict. But we have it in the budget to sign both players.”
  • Sabean also said that increasing payroll to add players in midseason has "always been possible with our ownership group" according to John Shea of The San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
  • The Giants wanted Carlos Beltran back as a left fielder, says Shea (on Twitter). They were willing to give him two years, but not the $26MM the Cardinals gave him.

Girardi Hopes To Add One More Bat

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Only one MLB team outscored the 2011 Yankees, but manager Joe Girardi wouldn’t object if GM Brian Cashman adds one more bat to the roster before Opening Day. MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reports that Girardi suggested he’d prefer a left-handed hitter and openly discussed free agents Johnny Damon, Raul Ibanez and Hideki Matsui.

 "I think we've had a good offseason; I think Brian has done a really good job this offseason in what he's done,” he said. “But I think it's important to our club that you add that other bat. The American League is going to be tough."

Girardi said he’d prefer to add a left-handed hitter, though the club won't rule out right-handed bats. A lefty hitter would provide Girardi with a complement to Andruw Jones, who has power from the right side. The skipper acknowledged that Damon, Matsui and Ibanez have historically been strong offensive players, but cautioned that it’s too early to say which of those left-handed hitters, if any, are serious targets for the Yankees. Damon and Vladimir Guerrero appear to be seeking $5MM contracts for 2012.

Manny Ramirez Deciding Between A’s, Orioles, Jays

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FRIDAY: Ramirez is deciding between the Orioles, A's and Blue Jays, Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportesLosAngeles.com reports (link in Spanish). Once he decides on a club, his agents will negotiate a possible deal.

THURSDAY: The Athletics and Orioles are the teams who are "most interested" in signing Manny Ramirez, tweets FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal.  The extent of either team's interest is unknown, as Rosenthal notes it's "unclear" if either team has made Ramirez a contract offer.  In a follow-up tweet, Rosenthal says it's possible other teams could also be pursuing Ramirez.

The A's have been linked to Ramirez on a few occasions since the slugger announced he was returning to the Major Leagues.  Both managing partner Lew Wolff and assistant GM David Forst have said the team is open to signing the embattled Ramirez, who will face a 50-game suspension for violating the MLB drug policy should he sign a new contract.  Rosenthal notes that the A's are also still looking for relief help. 

Oakland already has Chris Carter, Jonny Gomes, Seth Smith, Collin Cowgill and others in the mix for DH at-bats, so they could use Spring Training and the 50-game suspended period to evaluate what Ramirez has left in the tank.  The O's, likewise, have Wilson Betemit, Chris Davis and Mark Reynolds as DH candidates, so Ramirez wouldn't be a pressing need for them either.  Baltimore (and Toronto) sent scouts to see Ramirez hit in a batting cage last month. 

One advantage in Ramirez's favor is that his asking price would be little more than $1MM, whereas other DH-types like Johnny Damon and Vladimir Guerrero are said to be looking for $5MM contracts.

The Nationals’ Search For Pitching

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Now that they’ve traded for Gio Gonzalez and signed Edwin Jackson, the Nationals’ projected rotation looks significantly stronger than it did in 2011. Last year, Washington’s rotation included Livan Hernandez and Jason Marquis, along with Jordan Zimmermann, John Lannan, Stephen Strasburg and Chien-Ming Wang. I wasn’t overly impressed with GM Mike Rizzo’s offseason additions at this point last offseason. 

“It's a passable rotation, but the Nationals had hoped for more,” I wrote on January 31st, 2011. “If and when they start winning, luring free agent arms to D.C. will likely be easier, but Rizzo has a challenge before him until then.”

One year later, the Nationals have upgraded their rotation in a meaningful way by adding young, hard-throwing pitchers with upside. Hernandez was 36 last year and Marquis was 32. In their places, the rotation now features Jackson and Gonzalez, who are entering their age-28 and age-26 seasons, respectively. Hernandez’s average fastball was just shy of 84mph in 2011 and Marquis’ average fastball checked in at 89.3 mph. Jackson and Gonzalez are among the game’s hardest-throwing starters, as are Strasburg and Zimmermann (all four had an average fastball of at least 92 mph in '11).

The Nationals’ rotation posted respectable numbers in categories such as ERA (3.80, 11th in MLB) and walk rate (2.6 BB/9, 8th in MLB) last year. But it was below average in other categories, such as strikeout rate (5.7 K/9, 29th in MLB).  

Only two teams obtained fewer innings from their starters than Washington in 2011, and no Nationals starter threw 200 innings. As Rizzo noted yesterday, six of the eight 2011 playoff teams had at least two starters reach the 200 inning plateau. Jackson has averaged 200 innings per season since 2008 and Gonzalez has completed 200 innings in both of the past two seasons, so the Nationals added more than youth and velocity to their starting corps — they added durability without sacrificing upside. 

The Nationals were linked to Mark Buehrle before he signed with the Marlins for $58MM and to C.J. Wilson before he signed with the Angels for $77.5MM, so it’s worth noting that Jackson’s deal is for only $11MM. Considering that MLBTR ranked Jackson just behind Wilson and ahead of Buehrle at the beginning of the offseason, the deal seems like a particularly good one for the Nationals.

Rays Beat Jeff Niemann In Arbitration

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The Rays beat Jeff Niemann in yesterday's arbitration hearing, so the right-hander will earn a salary of $2.75MM in 2012, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. Niemann and his agents at Hendricks Sports had filed for $3.2MM, while the Rays had countered with $2.75MM, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows.

All of the Rays' arbitration eligible players now have 2012 contracts. The team is now 6-0 in arbitration and has a 5-0 mark under executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. Arbitrators James Oldham, Howard Edelman and Mark Irvings heard Niemann's case yesterday. The Nationals beat John Lannan earlier in the week, so teams are 2-0 so far this offseason.

I wouldn't be surprised if Clayton Richard, Matt Harrison and Rick Porcello were some of the comparable pitchers who came up in Niemann's case.

Brewers, Marcum Avoid Arbitration

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The Brewers announced that they avoided arbitration with Shaun Marcum, agreeing to a one-year deal for 2012. The sides settled at the midpoint of $7.725MM, MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports. Turner Gary Sports represents the right-hander.

Marcum had asked for $8.7MM, while the Brewers had countered with $6.75MM, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows. Marcum is set to hit free agency after the 2012 season along with a group of starters that currently seems deep. Right-handed reliever Jose Veras is Milwaukee's lone unsigned arbitration eligible player.

Now that Marcum has agreed to terms, Matt Garza has settled with the Cubs and Anibal Sanchez has had his hearing, discussions between the Orioles and Jeremy Guthrie are set to pick up. The sides have a hearing scheduled Monday, but these new settlements figure to re-shape discussions to an extent.

Anibal Sanchez Had Arbitration Hearing Today

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Marlins right-hander Anibal Sanchez had his arbitration hearing today, the Associated Press reports (via ESPN.com). Sanchez asked for $8MM, while the Marlins countered with $6.9MM. Arbitrators Elizabeth Neumeier, James Oldham and Gil Vernon and are expected to reach a decision by Saturday. 

As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, Sanchez and Emilio Bonifacio are the team's two unsigned arbitration eligible players. Sanchez is entering his final season as an arbitration eligible player after earning $3.7MM in 2011. Earlier in the week I previewed a possible extension between him and the Marlins.

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