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Archives for March 2012

Padres, Cameron Maybin “Very Close” To Extension

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10:43am: It's a five-year contract worth $23-25MM with a $7-8MM option for a sixth year, reports Hayes (Twitter links). The deal buys out Maybin's final pre-arbitration season, all three seasons of arbitration-eligibility, and one free agent year with an option for second.

9:54am: The Padres and Cameron Maybin are "very close" to a contract extension, reports Dan Hayes of The North County Times. Maybin is a Brian Goldberg client. Terms are unknown, but the deal is likely to be announced later today. 

Maybin, 24, enjoyed a breakout season in San Diego last summer after being acquired from the Marlins for Ryan Webb and Edward Mujica. He hit .264/.323/.393 with nine homers and 40 steals overall, but like most players he was much more productive away from Petco Park: .294/.349/.457 with seven homers. Maybin is also considered a strong defensive center fielder, ranking third at the position with a +9.5 UZR in 2011.

The two sides have been talking about a long-term extension most of the offseason. Ben Nicholson-Smith suggested that the five-year contract worth $21-22MM could work for both parties back in January. Maybin will be arbitration-eligible for the first time after this season and can not become a free agent until after 2015.

As our Extension Tracker shows, the Padres have not signed a player to an extension longer than three years since Adrian Gonzalez and Chris Young in April 2007. Jake Peavy signed a three-year, $52MM extension in December 2007 and Jason Bartlett signed a two-year, $11MM deal last January.

This post was originally published on March 3rd.

AL East Notes: Ortiz, Rays, Bundy, Blue Jays

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Jason Varitek, Tim Wakefield and Jorge Posada have been fixtures in the AL East for the past 15 years, but they've all retired this offseason. Here are some links for Friday, starting with even more retirement talk…

  • David Ortiz says he wants to keep playing for at least a couple more years, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. "As long as I feel good and I can swing the bat well I want to keep on playing," the 36-year-old said.
  • Manager Joe Maddon told Newsday's Ken Davidoff that he believes the Rays can establish the standard for winning with a small payroll. Executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the club isn't taking success for granted, even after three playoff berths in four seasons. “It's more about pushing forward and being driven by future success," he said. 
  • Jim Callis of Baseball America told Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com that the muscular frame of Orioles prospect Dylan Bundy isn't cause for concern. Callis said Bundy has a loose and fluid delivery despite his bulk.
  • Callis also suggested infield prospects Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop should both play shortstop in 2012 so the Orioles know whether they can handle the position long-term.
  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos joined Greg Brady & Jim Lang on Sportsnet 590 the FAN and said Kyle Drabek is opening up some eyes and starting to make strides. The 24-year-old right-hander walked 55 in 78 2/3 innings last year.
  • Anthopoulos said the trade market is quiet now, though he expects out-of-options players to become available toward the end of the month.

Catcher Extension Notes: Perez, Molina, Ruiz

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The 2013 class of free agent catchers is taking shape. Yadier Molina and the Cardinals signed a five-year, $75MM extension this week, but Miguel Montero and Russell Martin have tabled extension talks for now and Mike Napoli expects to test free agency. Here are the latest notes on catcher extensions in MLB…

  • One agent joked to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com that Royals GM Dayton Moore “must have been wearing a ski mask” to convince Salvador Perez to sign a five-year, $7MM extension (Twitter link). I examined the extension earlier in the week, explaining what Perez will have to do for the Royals to break even.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports suggests the Diamondbacks and Braves might be ticked off by Molina's extension. The deal figures to shift the market for catchers and it may now cost more to retain the likes of Montero and Brian McCann. Rosenthal says the Cardinals' deal with Molina is an overpay, but an understandable one given the value of Molina's defense. 
  • David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News explains that the Molina deal isn't a fair point of reference for Carlos Ruiz. Though Ruiz and Molina have posted similar offensive numbers in recent years, the Phillies’ catcher won't hit free agency until he's entering his age-35 season and allowed stolen bases with much greater frequency than Molina in 2011.

Nationals Continue Monitoring Center Field Market

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The Nationals are set to rely on some combination of Rick Ankiel, Roger Bernadina and Jayson Werth in center field this year, but they’re not ruling out potential acquisitions at the position. Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post explains that any trade would have to provide the team with something more than a stopgap.

“I think if we can answer our long-term question now, we’ll do so,” GM Mike Rizzo told Kilgore. “We won’t make the change for a short-term answer.”

Kilgore reports that the team doesn’t want to block prospects such as Michael Taylor, Brian Goodwin and Eury Perez unless the possibility of a significant upgrade exists. Remarkably, 25 Nationals have started at least one game in center field since the team moved to D.C. 

The Nationals have had internal discussions about making pushes for Peter Bourjos and Adam Jones, Kilgore writes. They've also been linked to Gerardo Parra of the Diamondbacks. B.J. Upton, Michael Bourn and Shane Victorino are set to hit free agency after the 2012 season, when the Nationals could bid for their services if they haven't yet found a center fielder. 

The Indians are also monitoring the center field market after losing Grady Sizemore for two to three months.

Free $400 Fantasy Basketball Contest (Sponsored Post)

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Looking to show off your fantasy basketball genius this week?  Try DraftStreet, where you can put together a new fantasy team each week and compete against other users for real money.

Right now DraftStreet has an NBA freeroll for MLB Trade Rumors readers, meaning you can take a shot at a chunk of the $400 prize pool for free, with no strings attached.  Here's how it works.

The NBA freeroll begins Friday at 7:00pm eastern time, so you have until then to create your team.  You're given a $100K salary cap, and each player is assigned a price by DraftStreet.  For example, I took Kobe Bryant for $16K, as I think he'll come up big even after Dwyane Wade broke his nose during the All-Star game.  Your roster will cover these positions: 2 forwards, 2 guards, 2 centers, and 2 utility players.  You get points based on how your team performs through Friday night's games.  The teams with the most points get the prize money.  Below is a screenshot of a sample roster: 

Draftstreet

If you're interested, sign up and create a roster prior to Friday's games (7:00pm eastern time).  It's quick, easy, fun, and the MLBTR league gives you a free chance to win some of the $400 prize pool.  If you enjoy the competition you can try other leagues for free and earn credits, or deposit real money.

Quick Hits: Axford, Dodgers, Varitek, Drew, Rangers

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On this date in 1993, the Expos signed Vladimir Guerrero as an 18-year-old amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic. He reached the big leagues three years later and went on to hit .318/.379/.553 during his Hall of Fame caliber career. Here's the latest from around the league…

  • John Axford told Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel that he'll have to sign a one-year contract for now, but would very much like to get a multi-year extension done with the Brewers. Ben Nicholson-Smith looked at Axford's extension case earlier today.
  • Dodgers assistant GM De Jon Watson told Anthony Jackson of ESPN Los Angeles that the team is working to sign one player from their tryout camp (all Twitter links). Doug Davis and Minnesota Vikings free safety Jarrad Page were among those at the open tryout today. The player will report to minor league camp once signed.
  • Scott Boras told reporters (including WEEI.com's Rob Bradford) that he "really didn't let" other teams make offers to the now-retired Jason Varitek. "We didn't want to mislead anybody that he wasn't going to play for them," Boras said of the long-time Red Sox.
  • "He's just home," said Boras to reporters (including Bradford) about J.D. Drew. "He hasn't announced anything, but he's there. He hasn't made any decisions. He's home." We heard Drew was "very likely" to retire back in January.
  • The Rangers payroll is approaching $127MM, but president and CEO Nolan Ryan told Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News that they won't be forced to dump any salary before the season.
  • Omar Vizquel understands that he has to win a spot on the Blue Jays roster in Spring Training, but he told Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com that he doesn't understand why more older players don't do try to do the same. "It's weird to see all these guys retire, and I'm still on the field," said the 44-year-old.

Indians Will Keep Eye Out For Sizemore Alternatives

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The Indians lost Grady Sizemore for the next 2-3 months due to his recent back surgery, but GM Chris Antonetti told reporters (including MLB.com's Jordan Bastian) that he likes the team's in-house replacements (Twitter link). Antonetti acknowledged that he'll have scouts watching other clubs in Spring Training for possible alternatives, however.

With Sizemore out, Michael Brantley will step in as the everyday center fielder with Shin-Soo Choo and various left field candidates flanking him. The Indians signed Fred Lewis, Felix Pie, and Ryan Spilborghs to minor league contracts this offseason and already have Ezequiel Carrera, Aaron Cunningham, and Shelley Duncan on the 40-man roster. Scouting other clubs following Sizemore's injury seems to be little more than due diligence.

Mark Teixeira Hires Casey Close

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Mark Teixeira has hired agent Casey Close of Excel Sports Management to represent him, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The first baseman, who is under contract through 2016, parted ways with former agent Scott Boras a year ago this time.

Teixeira, 31, will earn $22.5MM in each of the next five seasons before hitting free agency. As MLBTR's Agency Database shows, Close represents a number of MLB players, including Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.

Quick Hits: Burnett, Sizemore, Posey, Yankees

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Now that the calendar has flipped to March, Opening Day seems that much closer. Here are some links from around MLB, starting with a pair of injury updates…

  • The Pirates announced that A.J. Burnett has an orbital fracture of his right eye and will require surgery. The club didn’t provide a timetable for the right-hander, who was acquired from the Yankees last month.
  • The Indians announced that Grady Sizemore underwent a “minimally invasive low back procedure” and is expected to miss two to three months.
  • Agent Jeff Berry told Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that no discussions about a multiyear deal for Giants catcher Buster Posey are expected to take place before Opening Day. Posey hasn't played since last May 25th, so it's more likely that an extension would become a priority next offseason.
  • Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner confirmed to reporters, including Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger, that he is intent on lowering payroll below $189MM by 2014 for luxury tax purposes (Twitter link).

International Notes: Roy, Beras

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Earlier today we heard 26-year-old Adonis Garcia is drawing interest. Here are more links on the international market:

  • The Mariners signed French left-hander Alexandre Roy, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. The 6’1” 16-year-old is a ‘project’ who can reach 88 mph with his fastball and offers a developing change-up.
  • Senior VP for baseball operations Kim Ng says MLB hopes to resolve the Jairo Beras issue soon, Yahoo’s Tim Brown tweets. The Rangers agreed to terms with the Dominican teenager yesterday, but MLB and competing executives believe he is 16 and therefore too young to sign.

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