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Archives for September 2012

Wright Optimistic About Extension Talks

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David Wright said he’s “extremely optimistic” about the chances of signing a long-term contract with the Mets, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. Wright said he doesn’t have a single complaint about the organization, which drafted him 11 years ago. He added that he’s a loyal person who’d like to follow the path of one of his childhood heroes.

“My favorite player was Cal Ripken,'' Wright told Heyman. “The biggest reason for that was I like that he stayed.''

Wright’s current contract includes a $16MM option for 2013 with a $1MM buyout. At the very least the Mets will exercise the option, but GM Sandy Alderson has said the team has interest in keeping Wright in place long-term. The 29-year-old ACES client told the Mets he wasn’t interested in discussing an extension during the 2012 regular season and the same guidelines would apply in 2013, which means the Mets’ best chance at agreeing to an extension will be this offseason.

Rival executives suggest Wright is worth $20MM per season, according to Heyman. However, Mets ownership seems undeterred by Wright’s leverage and doesn’t have anything negative to say about him, Heyman reports ($160MM over eight years could work for both sides in Heyman’s view). Wright declined to discuss a potential extension in detail, saying only “you'd like it to take you to the end of your career.''

September Trades

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It's officially September, but the trading season isn't necessarily over. Here's what you need to know about dealmaking after August.

Trading in September is a lot like trading in August. Players who have cleared waivers can be traded to any team. However, to be eligible for postseason play a player must be on the active roster, disabled list, bereavement list, or suspended list of that club as of midnight EDT on August 31st, as Keith Law explained in this article. Because of that rule, most deals occur before September. 

Trades do happen in September, since acquisitions can help teams reach the playoffs. For example, the Phillies famously traded for Sparky Lyle in September of 1980. Lyle was a major contributor for the '80 Phillies team, even though he wasn't able to play in the postseason en route to the team's first World Series title.

More recently, players such as Kila Ka'aihue, Octavio Dotel and Willie Bloomquist have been dealt in the final full month of regular season play, as MLBTR's Mike Axisa explained three days ago. PTBNLs are often determined in September, too.

A version of this post was first published in 2009.

2013 Payroll Commitments

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While teams like the Dodgers and Yankees have already committed to nine-figure payrolls in 2013, others have less than $15MM committed to the '13 roster. Cot’s Baseball Contracts has compiled each team’s payroll obligations for 2013. Here's the list, starting with the largest commitments:

  • Dodgers, $193.8MM
  • Phillies, $133.1MM
  • Yankees, $119.1MM
  • Cardinals, $92.8MM
  • Angels, $92.3MM
  • Tigers, $90.2MM
  • Rangers, $84.4MM
  • White Sox, $83.3MM
  • Giants, $81.0MM
  • Reds, $74.1MM
  • Twins, $68.3MM
  • Marlins, $67.5MM
  • Blue Jays, $61.3MM
  • Nationals, $58.6MM
  • Diamondbacks, $55.0MM
  • Mets, $54.5MM
  • Orioles, $53.2MM
  • Brewers, $52.4MM
  • Rockies, $46.5MM
  • Red Sox, $45.6MM
  • Cubs, $41.8MM
  • Mariners, $40.5MM
  • Royals, $34.9MM
  • Pirates, $27.9MM
  • Padres, $26.0MM
  • Athletics, $23.0MM
  • Rays, $18.6MM
  • Braves, $15.2MM
  • Indians, $11MM
  • Astros, $5.5MM

Please note that these figures don't include club or vesting options or figures for players whose salaries will be determined via the arbitration process. The totals include commitments to players no longer in the organization.

The Best Waiver Claims Of The Past Year

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Earlier today, it was reported that Will Rhymes cleared waivers and will remain in the Rays organization. It's not uncommon on MLBTR to see lists of players who have cleared waivers en route to Triple-A, where they'll wait for another crack at the Major Leagues. Teams are constantly shuffling their 40-man rosters, and while oftentimes waiver claims don't produce much value, there are occasions in which teams strike gold.

MLBTR's Transaction Tracker shows 92 waiver claims dating back to one year ago today. A handful of these reclamation projects have yielded legitimate Major League value, and it's possible that several more will when it's all said and done. Here's a look at some of the best so far, according to FanGraphs' WAR:

  • Darin Mastroianni, OF, Twins (Terry Ryan) – Claimed from the Blue Jays on February 9 this year, Mastroianni didn't debut until May 10. The 26-year-old arrived in Minneapolis with just one Major League game and three plate appearances to his credit, but he's turned in a .266/.338/.378 batting line with three homers, 17 steals (in 19 attempts) and elite defense at each outfield position. The end result is 1.6 wins above replacement in 163 plate appearances and a strong fourth outfielder who the Twins can control for the next five seasons.
  • Justin Maxwell, OF, Astros (Jeff Luhnow) — Maxwell was claimed on waivers from the Yankees by Houston's new GM on April 8. Maxwell isn't getting on base much, but he's hitting for plenty of power, as evidenced by his .221 ISO and .230/.303/.451 batting line. He's also played solid defense, as he has throughout his career in limited playing time. The Astros can control Maxwell, who's been worth 1.5 wins above replacement, through 2016 if he continues to put up useful numbers.
  • Travis Blackley, LHP, Athletics (Billy Beane) — Beane snatched the Australian southpaw off waivers from his Bay Area neighbors (Giants) on May 15. He's since fired 90 innings in 19 games (12 starts) for the surging A's, totaling a 3.50 ERA, 6.1 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9. Blackley has been worth 1.4 wins above replacement for an Oakland team that currently holds a 1.5 game lead in the Wild Card race.

An honorable mention should go to Lucas Harrell, who falls just outside the "one year" criteria I used for this post but has totaled 2.6 WAR for the Astros in 165 1/3 innings of work this season. Harrell was claimed from the White Sox last July and figures to have earned himself a spot in Houston's 2013 rotation with his solid performance in 2012.

It's common to see skeptical reactions from fans following waiver claims of relative unknowns, but these claims can often yield affordable long-term role players or surprising lifts that can push a team into contention.

Quick Hits: Cubs, Miller, Felix, Joseph

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In the same game that Jamey Carroll hit his first home run since August 2009, Adam Dunn struck out tonight to become the sixth player in MLB history with 2,000 punchouts. Dunn joins Reggie Jackson, Jim Thome, Sammy Sosa, Andres Galarraga and Alex Rodriguez as members of the 2,000K club. Here are tonight's links:

  • Cubs manager Dale Sveum is pleased with the job that interim hitting coach James Rowson has done since taking over for Rudy Jaramillo in June, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. Rowson could figure into next season's plans, as Sveum plans to address the 2013 coaching staff in the season's final weeks.
  • MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch has quotes from Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak and manager Mike Matheny about the club's decision to promote Shelby Miller. A start is possible down the stretch for Miller, according to Mozeliak.
  • Many wonder when Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik will change his stance on listening to offers for Felix Hernandez, but that day doesn't appear to be here. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe asked the Seattle GM if it was a possibility and received a simple "No," as an answer (Twitter link).
  • While he's struggled at the plate, Tommy Joseph has still impressed the Phillies since being acquired in the Hunter Pence trade, writes Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Joseph's defense has impressed the Phils, and they still project plus power from the promising catcher.

Red Sox Notes: Valentine, Henry, Cherington

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Yesterday, Alex Speier of WEEI.com wrote that the Red Sox should act quickly on Bobby Valentine, a manager who no longer seems to be emotionally invested in his team.  Here's today's news on the situation in Boston..

  • Valentine's recent attitude change is a result of the fact that he and Cherington are now evaluating the team differently, writes the Boston Herald's Scott Lauber. Following the team's blockbuster trade, Cherington is focused on the long-term while Valentine's success as a manager is tied to the current on-field product. Lauber quotes Cherington: “When the manager is in the middle of it every day and he’s the one who has to answer the questions after the game every day, it’s hard … I don’t know how I’d react if I was in that position. I’ve never done it. I can imagine it’s tough.”
  • Owner John Henry and General Manager Ben Cherington are set to meet the club in Seattle as they get set to take on the Mariners this afternoon, writes Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald.  Silverman wonders if this could be the end of Valentine's tenure with the club as the team continues to struggle and the skipper appears to have grown tired of the drama.
  • Meanwhile, in an email to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com, Henry insisted that he is not in Seattle to fire Valentine.  A team source also said that Valentine's future would not be addressed until the season is through.  Edes notes that when Henry fired Terry Francona and Grady Little, both were dismissed after the season.
  • The Red Sox have been hearing from player representatives in the last week who are upset with how their clients have been utilized, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.
  • Valentine can't be blamed for all of the Red Sox's troubles this season, but it's hard to argue that he has put them in a better position to win, writes Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal.  MacPherson writes that Valentine hasn't been communicating with half of his coaching staff and hasn't had a great deal of dialogue with most of his players lately.

Cleared Waivers: Rhymes, Suarez

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We'll keep track of the players that clear waivers today in this post..

  • Infielder Will Rhymes and right-hander Albert Suarez have both cleared waivers and remain in the organization after being designated for assignment last week, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.  Rhymes hit .228/.299/.285 in 137 plate appearances for the Rays this season while playing second and third base.  Suarez spent the year with Advanced-A Charlotte, posting a 4.08 ERA with 4.4 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 25 starts.

Non-Tender Candidate: Andres Torres

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The Mets have kept mum on their payroll situation heading into 2013 but several reports have indicated that the club won't ratchet it far beyond the neighborhood of $90MM.  There are a number of multi-million dollar contracts coming off of the books including $5.69MM for the very likely non-tendering of Mike Pelfrey, Jon Rauch's $3.5MM deal, and Ramon Ramirez's $2.65MM pact.  However, much of those savings will be eaten up by 2014 buyouts for Johan Santana and Jason Bay and pay raises to David Wright, Frank Francisco, Jonathon Niese, and others.  On top of that, Daniel Murphy, Ike Davis, Bobby Parnell, and Josh Thole will all be headed to arbitration this winter.  General Manager Sandy Alderson will be working with an extremely tight budget, which will make it difficult for the club to justify also going to arbitration with outfielder Andres Torres.

Torres has started 79 games for the Mets in centerfield this year but has not been able to return to 2010 form when he hit .268/.343/.479 with 16 in 570 plate appearances with the Giants.  Instead, Torres owns a .227/.330/.320 batting line across 105 games with a career low -2.6 UZR/150.  Torres avoided arbitration with the Mets last season for $2.7MM after coming over from the Giants and would probably net something near $3MM for 2013. 

Looking ahead to next season, the club could install Kirk Nieuwenhuis as the full-time starting centerfielder.  That would position Torres as the club's fourth outfielder and at ~$3MM they would likely prefer to put that money into their bullpen and other areas of need.  Even if Torres can no longer deliver the kind of offensive production that he did in San Francisco in 2009 and '10, he can still be an attractive option to clubs looking for a veteran with experience at all three outfield positions.  However, he's not likely to see something in the range of $3MM and it would seem to be even less likely to be with the Mets.

Yankees Release Kosuke Fukudome

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The Yankees have released outfielder Kosuke Fukudome, according to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Director of Media Relations Mike Vander Woude (via Twitter).  Fukudome's stint in the Yankees organization was short-lived after signing a minor league deal back in mid-July.

The White Sox cut Fukudome loose in June after signing him to a one-year, $1MM contract in over the winter.  The 35-year-old would play in just in 24 games for Chicago while posting a .171/.294/.195 slash line in 51 plate appearances.  In five big league seasons, Fukudome owns a .258/.359/.395 batting line for the Cubs, Indians, and White Sox.

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