Diamondbacks Unlikely To Land Porcello
6:16pm: The Diamondbacks are unlikely to acquire Porcello, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (on Twitter).
10:53am: The Tigers would likely ask for a shortstop, a late-inning reliever or a right-handed hitting outfielder in a trade for Porcello, Morosi adds. Detroit doesn't appear to be a finalist for Scott Hairston, who could decide between the Yankees and Mets.
8:14am: The Diamondbacks have talked to the Tigers about trading for starter Rick Porcello, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). Morosi confirms that the Mariners have also had talks with Detroit about Porcello. The Angels, Pirates, Padres, Orioles and Cubs have also been linked to Porcello this offseason.
The 24-year-old posted a 4.59 ERA with 5.5 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a 53.2% ground ball rate in 176 1/3 innings this past season. He earned $3.1MM in 2012 and has a projected salary of $4.7MM for 2013. He’s under team control through 2015.
Arizona has many internal starting pitching options, including Ian Kennedy, Brandon McCarthy, Trevor Cahill, Wade Miley, Tyler Skaggs, Josh Collmenter and Patrick Corbin. Plus, Daniel Hudson could return from Tommy John surgery midseason. However, GM Kevin Towers has shown this offseason that he’s willing to add to apparent areas of depth. Last month Towers signed Cody Ross even though the Diamondbacks' outfield seemed full to most outside observers.
Diamondbacks To Extend J.J. Putz
The Diamondbacks have agreed to sign J.J. Putz to a one-year extension that will keep him in Arizona through 2014, the team announced via Twitter. The LSW Baseball client will reportedly receive a $7MM salary in 2014.
Putz, who turns 36 next month, pitched to a 2.82 ERA, 10.8 K/9, 1.8 BB/9 and 45.7 percent ground-ball rate with 32 saves for the Snakes last season. In 518 2/3 Major League innings between the Mariners, Mets, White Sox and Diamondbacks, Putz has a 3.04 ERA, 9.5 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 with 183 saves.
Putz signed a two-year deal worth $10MM to take over as Arizona's closer following the 2010 season. Diamondbacks general manager Kevin Towers exercised a $6.5MM club option on Putz back in October. He will be joined by flamethrower David Hernandez and one-time shutdown closer Heath Bell — acquired from the Marlins in a three-team trade — at the back-end of Arizona's bullpen in 2013.
Towers sang Putz's praises in a press release:
“J.J. has provided much-needed leadership and stability for our bullpen the last two years. He has been an integral piece and helped set the foundation for our bullpen’s turnaround so we are excited to have him in place the next two seasons.”
The move is just one of many in what's been a busy season for Towers and his staff. As MLBTR's Transaction Tracker shows, the team has traded away Chris Young and Trevor Bauer, acquiring Bell, Cliff Pennington, Didi Gregorius, Tony Sipp and Lars Anderson. On the free agent front, they've signed Brandon McCarthy, Cody Ross, Eric Chavez, Eric Hinske and Wil Nieves to Major League contracts.
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic was the first to report the financial terms of Putz's extension (Twitter link). Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pirates To Sign Jeff Karstens
The Pirates have agreed to sign right-hander Jeff Karstens to a one-year deal, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. The deal with the Moye Sports Associates client is believed to be worth about $2.5MM, Brink adds. The agreement is pending a physical.
The Pirates non-tendered Karstens earlier in the offseason instead of going to arbitration with a projected $3.8MM salary. The 30-year-old drew interest from the Rockies while on the free agent market.
Karstens earned $3.1MM in 2012, but missed time with shoulder, groin and hip injuries. When healthy, he posted a 3.97 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 90 2/3 innings, mostly as a starter. GM Neal Huntington expressed confidence in Karstens soon after the regular season ended. “Jeff gives you everything he has every time he gets the ball,” the GM told Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Reds Sign Cesar Izturis
The Reds signed Cesar Izturis to a minor league contract that includes an invitation to MLB Spring Training, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports. Peter E. Greenberg & Associates represents the infielder.
“He adds competition, mainly defensively and he provides insurance,” Reds GM Walt Jocketty said of Izturis.
Izturis posted a .241/.254/.343 batting line in 173 plate appearances for the Brewers and Nationals in 2012. The 32-year-old played all four infield positions with Milwaukee and appeared at second base, third base and shortstop with Washington.
Quick Hits: Giants, Byrd, Reyes, Jurrjens
As arbitration eligible players around MLB agree to terms with their respective teams, be sure to use MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker. The tool allows users to search in many ways, including by team and by service time. Here are the latest links from around MLB…
- The Giants' multiyear deals with Angel Pagan and Marco Scutaro are among five free agent contracts that could backfire, ESPN.com's Jim Bowden writes.
- The Giants would offer Brian Wilson a big league contract, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (on Twitter). The Mets are also in on Wilson, who was non-tendered by San Francisco at the end of November.
- Doug Lara, Marlon Byrd's personal hitting coach, told Puro Beisbol last week that the outfielder is in discussions with the Marlins. Byrd has been playing for the Tomateros de Culiacán this winter (translation via Nick Collias).
- Dennys Reyes told Puro Beisbol that he has offers from the Dodgers, Orioles, and Blue Jays. Among the three, Reyes said, "I'd like to return to the Dodgers," the team he debuted with as 20-year-old in 1997 (translation via Nick Collias).
- Free agent right-hander Jair Jurrjens told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that he feels good physically and has begun throwing bullpens (Twitter link).
Blue Jays, Colby Rasmus Avoid Arbitration
The Blue Jays avoided arbitration with center fielder Colby Rasmus, agreeing to a one-year, $4.675MM deal, MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm reports (on Twitter). Beverly Hills Sports Council represents Rasmus, who was arbitration eligible for the second time.
Rasmus, 26, remains under team control through 2014. Matt Swartz had projected a $4.5MM salary for Rasmus following a season in which he hit 23 home runs and posted a .223/.289/.400 batting line.
As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, the Blue Jays have three remaining unsigned arb eligible players: Emilio Bonifacio, J.A. Happ and Josh Thole.
Orioles, Brian Matusz Nearing Deal
The Orioles are nearing a deal with arbitration eligible left-hander Brian Matusz, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports (on Twitter). The Orioles have yet to complete a deal with the Excel Sports Management client.
Matusz, 25, is arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason following a year in which he posted a 4.87 ERA in 98 innings as a starter and reliever. The super two player had a projected $1MM salary, Matt Swartz anticipated for MLBTR.
Matusz is one of Baltimore's seven remaining arb eligible players, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows. Chris Davis, Jason Hammel, Jim Johnson, Darren O'Day, Troy Patton and Matt Wieters are the others.
Orioles, Tommy Hunter Avoid Arbitration
The Orioles announced that they've avoided arbitration with right-hander Tommy Hunter (Twitter link). The sides agreed to a one-year contract worth $1.82MM, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter).
Hunter, 26, had been arbitration eligible for the first time. The Moye Sports Associates client posted a 5.45 ERA in 133 2/3 innings as a starter and reliever for Baltimore in 2012. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz correctly ancipated that Hunter's salary would fall in the $1.8MM range.
Baltimore has seven remaining arb eligible players, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows: Chris Davis, Jason Hammel, Jim Johnson, Brian Matusz, Darren O'Day, Troy Patton and Matt Wieters. The Orioles are nearing a deal with Matusz.
Extension Candidates: Milone & Parker
The Oakland Athletics have made a habit of extending pre-arbitration eligible starting pitching in the last decade or so. General manager Billy Beane has negotiated multiyear deals with many players, from Tim Hudson and Barry Zito ten-plus years ago, to Rich Harden and Dan Haren midway through the last decade, to current A's starter Brett Anderson.
Here’s the template Beane has used most often: offer a promising, young starter a four-year contract covering his remaining pre-arbitration years and some arbitration years. The deals, typically valued in the $9-13MM range, tend to include club options for future arbitration and/or free agent seasons. The A’s take on the risk that the starters won’t be able to replicate their early-career successes in exchange for potentially discounted arbitration seasons and extended control of the players. Meanwhile, the players get substantial security in exchange for capping their earning potential for a period of four-plus seasons.
Should the A’s look to replicate past deals again this winter, the agents for Tommy Milone (pictured) and Jarrod Parker could soon be getting calls from Beane. Both starters were acquired in trades last offseason and both spent a full season at the MLB level for the first time in 2012, succeeding in prominent roles for the eventual AL West winners.
Milone, a Praver/Shapiro client, pitched to a 3.74 ERA in 190 innings with Oakland in 2012. The 25-year-old left-hander struck out 6.5 batters per nine innings while walking 1.7 per nine and posting a 38.1% ground ball rate.
Parker, a 24-year-old Reynolds Sports Management client, posted a 3.47 ERA in 181 1/3 innings. A much harder thrower than Milone, Parker generated a few more strikeouts (6.9 K/9) and many more ground balls (44.3% ground ball rate) while allowing more walks (3.1 BB/9).
Opposing hitters would tell you that the right-handed Parker is a different type of pitcher than Milone, and the two took markedly different paths on their way to the Oakland’s rotation. Still, they’re on track to be comparables in arbitration given their service time and basic statistics. In the context of extension talks that matters a great deal. Both pitchers are on track for arbitration eligibility after the 2014 season and free agency after the 2017 season.
As MLBTR's Extension Tracker shows, there's considerable precedent for contract extensions of four years or more for starting pitchers with between one and two years of MLB service. Anderson, Cory Luebke and Wade Davis all obtained $12-12.6MM for four-year deals that included multiple club options. Both A’s starters have more innings pitched than Luebke did at the time of his deal and better ERAs than Davis did at the time of his deal. Furthermore, both Milone and Parker have more innings and a better ERA than Anderson did at the time of his deal. It appears that Milone and Parker could obtain four-year deals worth more than $12.6MM, especially when taking inflation into account. In my view $14MM would be a more reasonable target for four guaranteed years.
To this point in the offseason, there haven’t been any rumors about the pair of A’s starters. But January, February and March tend to be active months for contract extensions, and Beane has shown repeated interest in extending successful young starters on multiyear deals. It won’t be surprising if the club discusses similar contracts with Milone and/or Parker in the coming months.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Athletics Extend Bob Melvin
The Athletics have signed manager Bob Melvin to a two-year contract extension, the team announced. The deal will keep the reigning AL Manager of the Year in Oakland through 2016.
Melvin, 51, replaced Bob Geren as manager back in June 2011. The club has gone 141-120 under his watch, including a surprising 94-68 finish this past season. The rookie-laden Athletics won the AL West, overtaking the Rangers on the final day of the season.
Melvin previously managed the Mariners (2003-04) and Diamondbacks (2005-09), winning the NL Manager of the Year award back in 2007. His lifetime record as a big league skipper is 634-628.