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Archives for April 2012

Free $400 Fantasy Baseball Contest (Sponsored Post)

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Looking to flex your fantasy baseball genius on a single night?  Try DraftStreet, where you can put together a new fantasy team every night and compete against other users for real money.

Right now DraftStreet has a 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 MLBTR freeroll is for Friday night's games (the afternoon Reds-Cubs and Yankees-Red Sox games are not included), so you have until 6:00pm central time to create your team.  You're given a $100K salary cap, and each player is assigned a price by DraftStreet.  For Friday, Cole Hamels is considered the most valuable player since he starts against the Padres, but he'll cost you over $17K.  Your roster will cover these positions: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, 3 OF, 2 utility, 2 SP, 1 RP, 1 P and 2 Reserves (14 starters).  You get points based on how your team performs Friday.  For example, you'll get 0.75 points for each strikeout Hamels racks up and 1.5 points if he gets the win.  The teams with the most points get the prize money.  You can apply all kinds of strategy in building your roster – for example, check out the chance of rain at Comerica Park Friday before you decide to add Rangers and Tigers players.  Below I've taken a screenshot of my roster: 

Draftstreet

If you're interested, sign up and create a roster prior to Friday's night games (6:00pm central 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.

West Notes: Hamilton, Athletics, Giants, Rockies

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The Athletics wrap up a four-game series with the Angels tonight and are looking to take a third straight game from the Halos.  Here’s more on Oakland and other items out of the Western divisions..

  • The Rangers are likely to insist on a clause in any contract with Josh Hamilton that would offer them at some protection against major injury, writes Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com.
  • Commissioner Bud Selig wouldn’t set a timetable for settling the territorial dispute between the A’s and the Giants but insisted that the A’s will need a new ballpark to compete, according to the Associated Press.  Selig added that the last time he attended a game in Oakland, the park reminded him of County Stadium and Shea Stadium, which is “not a compliment.”
  • A’s owner Lew Wolff reiterated that San Jose remains the club’s sole focus for ballpark relocation, tweets Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group.
  • Though A’s skipper Bob Melvin hoped to hang on to Brandon Allen, he’s happy to see the the first baseman find another opportunity with the Rays, writes MLB.com’s Jane Lee.  The 26-year-old has a .205/.291/.375 line in 274 career plate appearances with the Diamondbacks and Athletics.
  • The Rockies’ release of Albert Campos this week surprised Ben Badler of Baseball America as the right-hander was ranked as the club’s No. 13 prospect entering the 2011 season before dropping out of the top 30 this year.  Campos originally signed with the Rockies as a 16-year-old in July of 2007.  According to a source familiar with the pitcher, he was involved in a physical incident off the field.

Angels Notes: Aybar, Dipoto, Haren, Santana

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Earlier this evening we asked MLBTR readers if they thought the Angels made the right move in signing Erick Aybar to a new four-year, $35MM extension.  As of right now, just over half of you are in favor of the move.  Here's more on the fallout from the deal and other Halos notes..

  • With the Aybar deal completed, the Angels will have $121MM committed to ten players for the 2013 season if the options for Dan Haren, Ervin Santana, and Chris Iannetta are exercised, tweets Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.
  • Meanwhile, Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com tweets that GM Jerry Dipoto doesn't sound like he's focused on taking care of the three club options just yet.  Haren's option is for $15.5MM with a $3.5MM buyout, Santana's is $13MM with a $1MM buyout, and Iannetta's is worth $5MM with a meager $250K buyout.
  • Dipoto says that the amount of money committed to players in the coming years puts added pressure on the scouting and player development system to come through with in-house talent, DiGiovanna tweets.

Quick Hits: Marlins, Galarraga, Rays, Rodriguez

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Here's the latest from around the majors as the Rangers and Tigers start a four-game set in Detroit..

Poll: Erick Aybar’s Extension

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Yesterday we learned that the Angels reached agreement with shortstop Erick Aybar on a four-year, $35MM deal.  Today, the particulars of the deal went public: Aybar will earn $8.5MM per year with a $1MM signing bonus and won't have a no-trade clause.  The deal, which is similar to Howie Kendrick's extension, marks a significant pay bump for the 28-year-old who avoided arbitration this winter by agreeing to a one-year, $5.075MM deal.

The dollar figure may strike some as high, particularly with prospect Jean Segura waiting in the wings.  However, the 22-year-old shortstop remains in Double-A Arkansas and missed significant time with hamstring issues throughout 2011.  The lack of a no-trade clause for Aybar also gives the Halos flexibility down the line.  If Segura shows that he is ready to take over the starting job, Aybar should attract a fair amount of interest if he can produce at the plate like he did in 2011.  If Segura doesn't progress as expected, then the Angels will have their shortstop situation covered for the next five seasons.

The Angels certainly aren't afraid to spend and have doled out $68.5MM in new deals to lock up their double play combination in 2012.  All things considered, do you like the extension from the Halos' perspective?

Angels, Erick Aybar Agree To Extension

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Months after signing second baseman Howie Kendrick to an extension, the Angels have agreed to extend shortstop Erick Aybar with a four-year contract beginning in 2013.  The new portion of the deal is worth $35MM and will pay $8.5MM per season with a $1MM signing bonus.

Kendrick’s four-year, $33.5MM extension was apparently used as framework for Aybar’s deal, though the shorstop was reportedly seeking at least five years and $50MM. As our Extension Tracker shows, Aybar joins Troy Tulowitzki and Alexei Ramirez as the only shortstops to sign extensions worth $30MM or more in recent years.

Aybar, 28, has been the Halos’ regular shortstop since the start of the 2008 season. He’s hit .278/.322/.386 during that time, doing his best work in 2009 (.312/.353/.423) and 2011 (.279/.322/.421). Aybar reached both the 30 stolen base and ten home run plateaus for the first time in his career last season. He took home a Gold Glove Award last year and ranks eighth among all shortstops with a +2.6 UZR/150 since the start of 2010.

MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez first reported the agreement while Mike DiGiovanna of The Los Angeles Times and ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link) had the terms of the deal.  Mike Axisa and Zach Links contributed to this post.

Minor Moves: Pelzer, Clevlen

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Keeping track of the day's minor moves…

  • The Orioles released right-hander Wynn Pelzer, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets. The Orioles had acquired Pelzer from the Padres in the 2010 Miguel Tejada trade. The 25-year-old posted a 4.00 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9 in 87 2/3 minor league innings last year, his first full season in Baltimore's system.
  • The Diamondbacks signed outfielder Brent Clevlen to a minor league deal, according to the transactions page at CBSSports.com. The 28-year-old has big league experience with the Tigers and Braves, but split the 2011 season between two minor league teams and an independent league club. He owns a .265/.344/.430 line in 11 minor league seasons.

Rays Claim Brandon Allen

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The Rays claimed first baseman Brandon Allen off of waivers from the Athletics, his agency announced on Twitter. Both teams have confirmed that Allen has been claimed. The SFX client had been designated for assignment by the A's last week.

Allen, 26, has a .205/.291/.375 line in 274 career plate appearances with the Diamondbacks and Athletics. The left-handed hitting 2004 draft pick posted a .200/.277/.377 line in 195 MLB plate appearances last year, but has a .268/.355/.489 line in eight minor league seasons.

Quick Hits: Phillies, Red Sox, Rangers, Vazquez

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The latest links from around MLB…

  • Placido Polanco, John Mayberry Jr. and Jim Thome aren't hitting, and David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News points out that this puts the Phillies in an uncomfortable situation. Murphy looks back at some of the Phillies' offseason decisions and wonders if the team should have prioritized a hitter over a closer.
  • Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald points out that two of Boston's primary offseason additions – Andrew Bailey and Mark Melancon — are no longer contributing on the big league roster just two weeks into the season. Bailey is recovering from thumb surgery and the Red Sox optioned Melancon to Triple-A.
  • Ken Davidoff of the New York Post says the Rangers might have the best 25-man roster in baseball. Davidoff believes Texas can sustain its success even if prominent players leave as free agents.
  • Infielder Ramon Vazquez is looking to make a comeback and some teams are showing interest, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The 35-year-old hasn’t played in the Major Leagues since 2009.

Yankees Sign Nelson Figueroa

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The Yankees have signed right-hander Nelson Figueroa to a minor league deal, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Mike Silva first reported that the Yankees had a deal with ACES client.

The Blue Jays signed the 37-year-old to a minor league deal in January, but appear to have released him since. Figueroa started the 2011 season in Houston's rotation, but the Astros released him in August after he posted an 8.69 ERA with 5.3 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 in 29 innings. He spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he posted a 6.05 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 99 2/3 innings.

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