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Archives for December 2012

Yankees Links: Hairston, Hughes, Wakamatsu

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Hideki Matsui announced his retirement from baseball after ten years in MLB today, seven of which were spent in New York with the Yankees. Here's the latest from the Bronx…

  • Even after signing Matt Diaz to a minor league contract, the Yankees remain interested in Scott Hairston according to Kevin Kernan of The New York Post. The club is seeking a right-handed bat to complement their all-lefty hitting outfield.
  • Phil Hughes could price himself out of New York with a strong season in 2013, opines Joel Sherman of The New York Post. The right-hander is due to become a free agent next winter and the Yankees are looking to get under the $189MM luxury tax threshold in 2014.
  • Within the same piece, Sherman notes the Yankees will own three of the top 35 and four of the top 65 or so picks in next June's amateur draft. They're slated to receive compensation picks for Nick Swisher and Rafael Soriano.
  • The Yankees have added former Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu to their pro scouting staff, reports Ken Davidoff of The New York Post (on Twitter).

Cubs Agree To Sign Hisanori Takahashi

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The Cubs have agreed to sign Hisanori Takahashi to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). The veteran left-hander is a Wasserman Media Group client.

Takahashi, 37, pitched to a 5.54 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 50 1/3 relief innings for the Angels and Pirates last season. He owns a 3.97 ERA in 240 1/3 MLB innings, making 12 starts and 153 relief appearances. Takahashi has held big league lefties to a .238/.283/.381 batting line with a 4.14 K/BB.

Poll: The Red Sox & Mike Napoli

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It has been 24 days since the Red Sox and Mike Napoli agreed to a three-year contract worth $39MM. The two sides have been unable to finalize the deal due to a hip issue that popped up during the physical, and the team is reportedly trying to put some protective language into the pact. They’ve used similar clauses in contracts for J.D. Drew and John Lackey.

Earlier today we learned the Red Sox have been talking to Adam LaRoche, a free agent first baseman who would be a viable alternative to Napoli. A few hours later we heard that Napoli’s representatives have had talks with at least one other team. Both reports could just be one side trying to gain leverage over the other, or they could be an indication the agreement is falling apart and they’ve both begun to look for alternatives.

With the calendar just about ready to flip over to 2013, unsigned free agents will soon begin to scramble to find jobs for next season. Teams will also start to scramble for solutions to their remaining roster holes since Spring Training will be just six weeks away. Neither Napoli nor the Red Sox want this thing to drag out any longer, so a resolution should come relatively soon one way or the other.

Diamondbacks Notes: Upton, Kubel, Ross

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Just before holidays, Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine told Jim Bowden of SiriusXM that the club has had nothing but great conversations with the Diamondbacks about outfielder Justin Upton.  However, despite talking for the bulk of the winter, the two sides have yet to hammer out a deal.  Could Upton have a new home in the New Year?  Here's more on that and other links on the Diamondbacks..

  • It appears that a possible trade of Upton has become a reality again following the surprise signing of Cody Ross, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  General Manager Kevin Towers will almost certainly be entertaining offers and one person familiar with their thinking says that "someone will go.''
  • Some have speculated that Jason Kubel could be the odd man out in Arizona, but one exec told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter) that he doesn't see the D'Backs getting much for him.  Kubel posted a .910 OPS at home in 2012 but had a .757 OPS elsewhere.  Advanced metrics, such as his career -12.7 UZR/150, also indicate that he plays a below-average left field.
  • The Diamondbacks' offseason cannot truly be judged until we know what the club does to follow up on the Ross signing, writes Nick Piecoro of AZCentral.  

AL West Notes: Mariners, Ibanez, Rangers, Pierzynski

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The latest out of the AL West..

  • Mariners General Manager Jack Zduriencik says that he is "wide open" to making other moves, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  In a perfect world, Seattle would like to obtain a leadoff man and a middle-of-the-order bat.
  • Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times implores Mariners fans not to rush to judgement on an offseason in which they signed Raul Ibanez while missing out on Josh Hamilton, Nick Swisher, and others.  Baker opines that the opportunity to sign Michael Bourn is practically staring them in the face and it's the kind of big splash that the club needs to make.
  • ESPNDallas.com's Richard Durrett checked in with ESPNChicago's Bruce Levine to get the skinny on the newest member of the Rangers, catcher A.J. Pierzynski.  Levine doesn't see the 36-year-old logging 100 games behind the plate in the Texas heat, but believes that he will prove to be a good value with 90 games at catcher and the rest at DH.

Napoli Has Interest From Another Team

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At least one team has been in communication with Mike Napoli's representatives since negotiations with the Red Sox hit a snag, multiple baseball sources tell Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.  However, one source says it is believed that no contract offer has been extended by a team other than the Sox since the two sides reached agreement on a deal earlier this month.

The Red Sox and Napoli have yet to finalize their agreement on a three-year, $39MM deal due to concerns over the 31-year-old's hip.  Earlier today, we learned that Boston has been in talks with free agent Adam LaRoche as a possible alternative.  Signing LaRoche would cost Boston their second-round pick and the veteran says that he is looking for a three-year deal.

Red Sox Notes: Napoli, Upton, LaRoche

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Here's a look at the latest on the Red Sox following their introductory conference call for shortstop Stephen Drew..

  • The Red Sox continue to work on language in Mike Napoli's deal concerning his hip issue, but they haven't gotten to whether they will alter the terms of the agreement, tweets Jim Bowden of ESPN.com.  Meanwhile, the club continues to talk with free agent Adam LaRoche as a possible alternative.
  • Bowden suggested five deals that would change the fortune of contending teams, including a swap for the Red Sox with the Diamondbacks.  In the proposed deal, the Red Sox would acquire Justin Upton in exchange for Xander Bogaerts, Matt Barnes, and Brandon Jacobs.  The deal would give Boston an outfield of Upton, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Shane Victorino and give them adequate reinforcements if Ellsbury goes elsewhere in free agency.
  • The continued interest by the Red Sox in LaRoche puts pressure on the Nationals, writes James Wagner of the Washington Post.  The Nationals have so far refused to go to three years for LaRoche while the Red Sox are exploring multi-year possibilities with the first baseman.

Pedroia Influenced Stephen Drew To Pick Boston

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Stephen Drew stood as the top available shortstop this winter, despite missing the bulk of the last two seasons with a severe ankle injury.  Some speculated that it would take a multi-year deal to sign the 29-year-old, but the Red Sox wound up inking up Drew to a one-year pact worth $9.5MM and $500K in performance bonuses.  Drew says that there were potential opportunities for multi-year deals and contracts with player options, but he ultimately felt that the Red Sox were the best fit for him.

"There were some teams out there that me and [agent Scott Boras] said could have been thinking that.  I think at the end of the day we said that there were teams that needed a shortstop and we looked at who is playing second and the rest of the field and we looked at what would benefit me.  I think Boston was the best fit for us," the shortstop said on a conference call with reporters.

Drew explained that part of Boston's appeal was the chance to form a strong middle infield with second baseman Dustin Pedroia.  The shortstop believes that despite all of the time missed in 2011 and '12, his defensive play in Oakland was some of the best of his career.  Drew will celebrate the new year on January 1st by taking ground balls and ramping up his prep for 2013.

One might think that the shortstop's opinion of Boston would be shaped by his brother J.D. Drew, who played for the Red Sox from 2007-2011.  However, the younger Drew said that his conversations with the former outfielder only center on baseball "here and there".  Drew is aware of the difference between the markets in Arizona and Oakland versus Boston, but isn't overly concerned with having to adjust.

Boras believes that Drew's setbacks over the last couple of years have led to fans forgetting exactly how talented he is.  In the three years prior to his injury-shortened '11 campaign, Drew posted a .277/.335/.465 batting line and provided the kind of power that isn't easy to find at his position.

"The need for shortstops is so great.  And then when you add in Stephen’s swing plane and his metrics, where he hits the ball, in Fenway, we really felt like that was kind of the match made for what strengths Stephen has as a hitter and what the ballpark in Boston provides," the agent explained.

Ultimately, Drew's one-year deal is an opportunity to prove that he can once again produce at a high level while staying on the field.  While the Red Sox are still working on finalizing Mike Napoli's deal amongst questions about his hip, Drew says that he is as healthy as ever.  If Drew can show that his right ankle is back to 100%, Boras knows that he will boost his value even further.

"I think after this year, everyone is going to think a lot differently about what kind of player Stephen is and the impact he can have on a division-contending team." 

Hideki Matsui To Retire

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After ten years in the major leagues and another ten playing for Japan's Yomiuri Giants, outfielder Hideki Matsui is set to announce his retirement in press conference this afternoon, according to a report from Sanspo (Japanese link).  The 38-year-old hooked on with the Rays last season and appeared in 34 games before being released in August.

Matsui made a major splash stateside in December 2002 when he signed a three-year deal worth $21MM with the Yankees.  He would then re-up in 2005 on a four-year, $52MM deal which made him the highest paid Japanese player in baseball at the time, surpassing the Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki.  Matsui stayed with the Bombers through 2009, posting a slash line of .292/.370/.482 with 140 home runs over that span. 

The slugger is fondly remembered by Yankees fans for his MVP award-winning performance in the 2009 World Series, specifically in the decisive Game 6.  Matsui captured the award despite starting only three of the six games, as there was no DH spot in the games played in Philadelphia.  Matsui would parlay that momentum into a one-year, $6.5MM deal with the Angels over the offseason.

Despite his less-than-stellar 2012 stint in Tampa Bay, Matsui still drew some interest this winter from clubs looking for a DH.  Astros General Manager Jeff Luhnow told the Japanese press in November that he the team had internal discussions about signing Matsui.  For his career, Matsui has earned an estimated $83.3MM in the major leagues, not counting his earnings in Japan.

Special thanks to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker for his translation.

Mets Sign Aaron Laffey

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The Mets announced that they have signed left-hander Aaron Laffey to a minor league contract with an invite to major league spring training.  The Kohm/Pasti client elected free agency from the Blue Jays in October.

Laffey, 27, pitched to a 4.56 ERA with 4.3 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 16 starts and six relief appearances for Toronto last season.  The veteran also made eleven starts for Triple-A Las Vegas, posting a 4.52 ERA with 5.4 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9.  Laffey signed a split contract with the Blue Jays right around this time last year that paid him $800K for making the big league roster.

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