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Archives for October 2012

Tigers Won’t Pursue Young Or Valverde

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It's been a busy morning for the Tigers, who announced today that they're bringing back Jhonny Peralta, Octavio Dotel and manager Jim Leyland. Detroit GM Dave Dombrowski recently addressed the media, discussing the 2012 team and the Tigers' offseason plans. George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press has the highlights from the briefing (all links go to Twitter):

Rays To Exercise 2013 Option For James Shields

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As expected, the Rays will exercise James Shields' 2013 contract option. The club has informed Shields that they'll pick up his $10.25MM option, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. 

Shields, 30, posted a 3.52 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 227 2/3 innings this past season. His name will no doubt surface in offseason trade rumors in the coming months.

The Rays have three remaining contract options. They'll exercise Fernando Rodney's option at $2.5MM and Luke Scott will probably obtain a $1MM buyout instead of a $6MM salary. The Rays also have an option for Jose Molina valued at $1.8MM.

Managerial Notes: Butterfield, Blue Jays

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The Tigers signed manager Jim Leyland to a one-year contract extension today, which means there are still just three teams looking for managers. Here are the latest managerial notes, starting in the AL East…

  • The Red Sox announced that they've hired longtime Blue Jays coach Brian Butterfield to coach third base in Boston. Butterfield joins manager John Farrell and bench coach Torey Lovullo as former Blue Jays personnel in Boston. 
  • Multiple teams were actively courting Butterfield before he signed in Boston, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter).
  • The Dodgers have granted the Blue Jays permission to interview third base coach Tim Wallach for their managerial opening, Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times reports. The Blue Jays wanted to interview Wallach the last time they had a managerial opening, in 2010. However, Wallach wasn't allowed to interview because of a clause in his contract. Sandy Alomar Jr., DeMarlo Hale and Don Wakamatsu also appear to be in the mix for the Toronto job. Butterfield had been a candidate before accepting his new position in Boston.

Tigers Exercise 2013 Options For Dotel, Peralta

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The Tigers announced that they exercised their 2013 options for both Octavio Dotel and Jhonny Peralta. Both players will return to the Tigers for another season instead of hitting free agency.

Peralta will earn $6MM in 2013 instead of a $500K buyout. The 30-year-old posted a .239/.305/.384 batting line in 585 plate appearances with Detroit this past year. While the Tigers would prefer more range at shortstop, they consider the $6MM price tag reasonable, according to Jon Heyman. Back in September I explained that the option would likely appeal to the Tigers given the scarcity of alternatives available.

Dotel appeared in 57 regular season games for the Tigers, posting a 3.57 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 58 innings. The 38-year-old continues to dominate right-handed hitters; they hit just .197/.217/.307 against him with 43 strikeouts and four walks. He'll earn $3.5MM instead of a $500K buyout.

Astros Will Seek DH, Pitching In Free Agency

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The Astros will find themselves in a new division and new league come 2013, and this will be the first full offseason for new general manager Jeff Luhnow. Needless to say, the organization is in a transitional period, but as MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports, Luhnow has a plan.

The Astros aren't going to be players for any of the game's top free agents, but Luhnow would like to add a designated hitter — potentially one who could see some time at the corner infield spots — and will also seek pitching help. Lucas Harrell, Jordan Lyles and Bud Norris are all looked at as locks for the 2013 rotation in Luhnow's eyes. He'd like to add a pitcher who can slot into the rotation above that trio, or at the very least in the middle of the group.

The team is in search of a backup catcher, as it's likely to decline the $4MM club option in Chris Snyder's contract. A veteran arm to join Wilton Lopez in the late innings will also be targeted.

Luhnow shied away from giving a concrete number for the team's offseason budget, but with less than $10MM in guaranteed 2013 contracts currently on the books, it's likely that Luhnow will have some spending money at his disposal. The team entered last season with a $61MM payroll.

It's a lengthy shopping list, but that's to be expected for a last place team with some money to spend. A look at the 2013 free agent market suggests that names like Luke Scott, Ty Wigginton and Jeff Keppinger could be reasonable targets for the Astros on offense (all my speculation). Each is actually a former Astro who could provide some offense and handle at least one of the corner infield position.

Keep in mind that in addition to that list, there are a number of non-tender candidates that the Astros could pursue. Someone like Mark Reynolds might appeal to Luhnow if the Orioles elect not to give him a raise via arbitration.

Tigers, Jim Leyland Agree To Extension

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The Tigers announced that they have agreed to extend manager Jim Leyland through the 2013 season. Leyland's contract expired once the Tigers lost the World Series this past weekend. After seven seasons in Detroit, Leyland remains the right person for the job, according to GM Dave Dombrowski.

“Jim is as fine a manager as there is in baseball, he has done a fantastic job for the organization and we are thrilled to have him back managing the Tigers in 2013,” Dombrowski said in a statement issued by the team. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for Jim and his ability to lead our club on the field.” 

Though the Tigers were swept in the World Series, they won their division and the American League pennant. In seven years since Leyland became the Tigers' manager, the team has a 607-528 record. Leyland, who turns 68 in December, has also managed the Pirates, Marlins and Rockies. He has said Detroit will be the final stop of his MLB managerial career. All of Leyland's coaches have also been invited back for 2013.

Three managerial openings still exist around MLB. The Marlins, Rockies and Blue Jays continue searching for new managers.

Tom Gage of the Detroit News reported this morning that the decision had "been made" and Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reported the sides had agreed to a deal.

Braves Would Like To Re-Sign Ross

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The Braves have contacted David Ross' agents at Sports One Athlete Management and made it known that they'd like to re-sign him, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. O'Brien adds that Ross has made it known he'd like to return to Atlanta.

With Brian McCann now a possibility to miss the beginning of the 2013 season, re-signing Ross likely becomes more of a priority for general manager Frank Wren. Ross, who will turn 36 during Spring Training next season, hit .256/.321/.449 with nine homers in 196 plate appearances for the Braves in 2012.

Ross initially signed a two-year, $3MM contract with the Braves prior to the 2009 season. He elected to sign a two-year extension worth $3.25MM prior to the 2011 season rather than testing free agency. The veteran will likely require a larger annual commitment given his strong play over his tenure in Atlanta. He'll represent one of the more desireable options on the free agent market for catchers.

Indians Sign Takuya Tsuchida

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The Indians have signed 18-year-old Japanese outfielder Takuya Tsuchida, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Sulia link).

The speedy left-handed hitter's best positions are second base and center field, according to Hoynes. Tsuchida is expected to report to Spring Training with the team's minor leaguers and will likely begin 2013 in extended Spring Training. As Hoynes notes, general manager Chris Antonetti had roughly $700K of the team's $2.9MM international spending cap to work with prior to signing Tsuchida.

On the international front the Indians have already signed prospects Grofy Cruz, Francisco Mejia, Yoiber Marquina, and Naoki Hashimoto.

Giants Notes: Huff, Scutaro, Pagan, Affeldt

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Giants general manager Brian Sabean has the makings of a dynasty centered around strong pitching and affordable young position players such as Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Brandon Belt, writes Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. Here are some links surrounding the team that captured its second World Series title in three years last night…

  • The Giants will decline their $10MM club option on Aubrey Huff, tweets Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area. The news isn't much of a surprise given Huff's injuries and struggles at the plate since 2010. Huff's contract contains a $2MM buyout.
  • MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez spoke to several members of the Giants organization about the impact that Marco Scutaro had on the team following his acquisition from the Rockies.
  • Gonzalez's colleague, Chris Haft, writes that the Giants and Scutaro will "likely forge a deal" this offseason, as the 37-year-old is too valuable both on and off the field to let go.
  • Haft also writes that Angel Pagan is expected to receive a multi-year contract with an average annual value perhaps in the $10MM range in a thin free agent market. Sabean will need to determine if Pagan is worth that to his team.
  • Haft goes on to say that Jeremy Affeldt could be in line for a multi-year deal on the free agent market. That, along with the presence of Jose Mijares could mean that Affeldt will find himself wearing a new uniform come 2013.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Clement, Fryer, McCutchen

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The latest outright assignments from around MLB…

  • The Pirates outrighted Jeff Clement, Eric Fryer and Daniel McCutchen to Triple-A, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (on Twitter). Fryer, who appeared in six games with the Pirates this past season, elected to become a minor league free agent. Clement appeared in 23 games for the 2012 Pirates, collecting two singles, two walks and one double in 24 plate appearances. McCutchen faced two batters this past season, walking one and allowing a hit to the other. The right-hander spent most of the season pitching in relief at Triple-A.

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