Archives for January 2013

Padres, Gregerson Avoid Arbitration

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 28, 2013 at 2:48pm CDT

The Padres avoided arbitration with reliever Luke Gregerson, according to his agency, O'Connell Sports Management, on Twitter. The sides agreed to a one-year, $3.2MM contract for 2013.

Gregerson had filed for $3.75MM and the Padres had countered with $2.875MM, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows. Gregerson, who remains on track to hit free agency following the 2014 season, settled slightly below the $3.312MM midpoint.

The Padres now have two unsigned arbitration eligible players: Chase Headley and Clayton Richard. The Padres are 'close' to settling with Richard, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). While the team has discussed a multiyear deal with Headley, an extension appears unlikely, Rosenthal writes.

Brewers Interested In Lyle Overbay

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 28, 2013 at 2:12pm CDT

The Brewers are talking to free agent first baseman Lyle Overbay about a minor league deal, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (Twitter links). Overbay, who played for Milwaukee from 2004-05, is talking to other clubs and expected to reach a decision shortly.

Overbay played for the Diamondbacks and Braves in 2012, posting a .259/.331/.397 batting line in 131 plate appearances. The 36-year-old bats from the left side and has a career line of .275/.368/.453 against right-handed pitching. Octagon represents Overbay, who hasn’t been mentioned in any offseason rumors.

Brewers manager Ron Roenicke recently acknowledged that the club has some interest in adding a first baseman. Mat Gamel figures to start at first base while Corey Hart recovers from knee surgery. As MLBTR's Free Agent Tracker shows, Carlos Lee and Aubrey Huff are among the other free agent first basemen available.

Twins Hope To Sign Saunders For One Year

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 28, 2013 at 12:39pm CDT

The Twins would like to sign Joe Saunders to a one-year deal, Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN.com reports. The team is waiting to hear back from agent Greg Genske, who represents the free agent left-hander.

The Twins don’t want to meet Saunders’ asking price of a three-year deal, but could be willing to offer a two-year contract. One Twins source wonders if Saunders prefers to pitch elsewhere, Wolfson reports.

Twins GM Terry Ryan acknowledged that he’s waiting to hear from some free agent starters, saying it's "just a matter of their interest in us." Ryan elaborated, saying "I don't know why somebody wouldn't want to come here who's a legitimate starter." Owner Jim Pohlad told Wolfson "there's definitely payroll flexibility" should Ryan find the right player.

Saunders has also drawn interest from the Mariners and Orioles this offseason. The Padres don’t appear to have interest, however. Saunders entered the offseason as MLBTR's 25th ranked free agent. Among players ranked ahead of Saunders, only Kyle Lohse and Michael Bourn remain unsigned.

Phillies Sign Yuniesky Betancourt

By Zachary Links | January 28, 2013 at 11:12am CDT

The Phillies announced that they have signed infielder Yuniesky Betancourt to a minor league deal with an invite to major league spring training. Betancourt is represented by Alex Esteban of Miami Sports Management.

Betancourt, who turns 31 on Thursday, hit .228/.256/.400 with seven home runs in 57 games with the Royals last season. The veteran also drew interest from the Twins and the Cubs at different points this winter.

Phillies To Sign Chad Durbin

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 28, 2013 at 9:50am CDT

9:50am: Durbin's deal includes a base salary of $1.1MM and $350K in incentives, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports (on Twitter).

9:33am: The Phillies have agreed to sign free agent reliever Chad Durbin to a one-year contract that includes a club option for 2014, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports. All Bases Covered Sports represents the 35-year-old right-hander, who pitched for the Phillies from 2008-10.

Durbin appeared in 76 games for the Braves in 2012, pitching 61 innings. He posted a 3.10 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 and a 47.7% ground ball rate out of the Atlanta bullpen and drew interest from the team earlier in the offseason. In 13 seasons at the MLB level, Durbin has a 4.95 ERA with 6.2 K/9, 3.9 BB/9 and a 41.9% ground ball rate. Those totals include a 3.62 ERA in 194 games with the Phillies from 2008-10. Durbin has pitched at least 60 innings in every one of the last six seasons.

GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said entering the offseason that he intended to add non-closing relievers for 2013. The Phillies signed Mike Adams to a two-year, $12MM contract earlier in the winter.

NL East Notes: Marlins, Mets, Phillies

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 28, 2013 at 9:20am CDT

Two NL East teams, the Nationals and Phillies, have projected payrolls surpassing $100MM for the 2013 season. Meanwhile, the Mets and Braves project to spend $80MM and $83MM on payroll, respectively. The Marlins will round out the division with a payroll in the $30-40MM range. Here are some links from the NL East, starting in Miami

Tension exists between Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria and some MLB players, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald explains. “Players don’t trust him,” one prominent agent told Jackson following the Marlins’ recent trade with Toronto. Players say the owner gets too close for comfort. “He’s always looking in the dugout,” one former Marlin told Jackson. “Mind your business!"
Mets GM Sandy Alderson sounds more optimistic about adding a reliever than acquiring an outfielder, Dan Martin of the New York Post writes. The Mets are hesitant to hand Frank Francisco the closer job again and have expressed interest in Brian Wilson and others.
Alderson discussed his offseason plans in detail on MLB Network Radio yesterday. For the latest on closers around the league follow @closernews throughout the fantasy baseball season.
Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. expects his team will compete in the NL East, even as division rivals make improvements, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports. "Absolutely. It's up to the players to prove me right, I guess," the GM said.

Athletics Interested In Hideki Okajima

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 28, 2013 at 8:01am CDT

The Athletics are considering signing Hideki Okajima, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The left-hander spent the 2012 season pitching with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks after pitching with the Red Sox from 2007-11.

Okajima posted a 0.94 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 1.1 BB/9 over the course of 47 2/3 innings in Japan last year. He was a key contributor in Boston's bullpen from 2007-10, posting a 3.06 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 over the course of 254 appearances during that four-year period. Agent Joe Rosen represents Okajima, who turned 37 last month.

Left-handed relievers Sean Doolittle, Jerry Blevins and Jordan Norberto provide the A's with depth entering the 2013 season. However, bringing in Okajima would presumably be a low-risk move from the team’s perspective.

Week In Review: 1/20/13 – 1/26/13

By Daniel Seco 2 | January 27, 2013 at 10:42pm CDT

Here's the top news and stories that made headlines this past week at MLBTR…

The Braves and Diamondbacks officially agreed to a seven-player trade that will send Justin Upton to Atlanta. The Braves obtain Upton and third baseman Chris Johnson for third baseman Martin Prado, right-hander Randall Delgado, shortstop prospect Nick Ahmed, right-handed pitching prospect Zeke Spruill and minor league first baseman Brandon Drury.
The Cubs reached an agreement with outfielder Scott Hairston for a two-year deal. Hairston could receive up to $6MM over the course of the two years including incentives.
The Rangers and David Murphy avoided arbitration with a one-year contract worth $5.775MM.
The Cubs announced the signing of pitcher Carlos Villanueva to a two-year deal. In order to make room for him, Chicago designated fellow right-hander Lendy Castillo for assignment.
The Cardinals avoided arbitration with closer Jason Motte, agreeing to a two-year deal worth $12MM plus incentive bonuses.
The Red Sox designated right-hander Chris Carpenter for assignment. The move creates roster space for Mike Napoli, whose one-year deal is now official.
The Red Sox reached agreement with Craig Breslow on a two-year deal to avoid arbitration. The Baratta Partners client will earn a guaranteed $6.25MM and could make up to $10.15MM over the course of the contract.
The Phillies signed Delmon Young to a one-year, $750K contract. The deal includes roster and performance bonuses that could bring the value of the contract to the $3.25MM range.
The Rays agreed to sign free agent reliever Kyle Farnsworth to a one-year, Major League contract. The agreement includes a base salary in the $1.25-1.5MM range plus incentives.
Jhoulys Chacin agreed to a two-year, $6.5MM deal with the Rockies. For his career with Colorado spanning four seasons, Chacin owns a 3.68 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9.
The Rangers agreed to terms with infielder/outfielder Jeff Baker while officially announcing the signing of left-handed pitcher Nate Robertson.
The Marlins agreed to a minor league deal with reliever Chad Qualls with an invite to MLB Spring Training.
The Red Sox reached an agreement on a minor league deal with outfielder Ryan Sweeney.
The Royals designated infielder Tony Abreu for assignment. The move creates roster space for George Kottaras, who was claimed off of waivers from the Athletics.
The White Sox agreed to sign Matt Lindstrom to a one-year contract worth $2.3MM with a club option for $4MM.
The Yankees avoided arbitration with David Robertson as the two sides agreed on a one-year, $3.1MM deal for 2013.
The Mets agreed to sign free agent right-hander Shaun Marcum to a one-year deal worth $4MM plus $4MM in incentives.
The Rockies agreed to a minor league deal with catcher Yorvit Torrealba.
The Orioles agreed to sign Jair Jurrjens to a one-year, $1.5MM Major League contract that could be worth as much as $4MM with incentives.
The Diamondbacks announced that they designated first baseman Lars Anderson for assignment.
Nyjer Morgan signed with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars and will earn $1.6MM this season.
The Marlins signed second baseman Matt Downs to a minor league deal with an invitation to MLB Spring Training.
The Diamondbacks and Cliff Pennington reached agreement on a two-year, $5MM deal.
The Brewers signed Bobby Crosby to a minor league contract with an invitation to MLB Spring Training.
The Blue Jays designated right-hander Sam Dyson for assignment. The move creates roster space for Mark DeRosa, who signed with the team this past week.
The Reds signed free agent right-hander Armando Galarraga to a minor league contract.
The Astros announced the signing of left-hander Erik Bedard to a minor league contract with an invitation to MLB Spring Training.
The Indians signed outfielder Ben Francisco to a minor league contract that includes an invitation to MLB Spring Training.
The Mets signed Pedro Feliciano to a minor league deal with an invitation to MLB Spring Training.

East Notes: Rays, Russell Martin, Mets

By Daniel Seco 2 | January 27, 2013 at 8:32pm CDT

On this day in 1937, the city of Cincinnati was devastated by a torrential downpour that left Crosley Field, home of the Reds, completely flooded. Two Reds pitchers took a boat out onto the field and navigated the vessel out toward centerfield as the water reached as deep as 21 feet by home plate. Allegedly, one of the pitchers, Lee Grissom, intended to use the boat to reach the front office to collect his paycheck.

Here's the latest news and headlines out of the AL and NL East…

The Rays may still be in the market for a bat and bullpen help even after what has been a busy offseason thus far, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Tampa will look to find someone to give James Loney days off at first base or another outfielder to provide depth.
The Yankees will miss Russell Martin's presence behind the plate this season as Andrew Marchand of ESPNNewYork.com lists the reasons why. The veteran signed with the Pirates this offseason after New York failed to make Martin a priority.
The moves made this offseason by the Braves and Nationals shouldn't affect the Mets' long-term rebuilding plans by speeding up the process, writes Michael Baron of MetsBlog.com. General Manager Sandy Alderson prefers to let his top prospects to continue to develop rather than trade them for a proven big league entity.

MLBTR Originals

By edcreech | January 27, 2013 at 6:31pm CDT

A look back at the original reporting and analysis found on MLBTR this past week:

Justin Upton and Braves GM Frank Wren shared their thoughts with a group of reporters, including MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith, about the seven-player trade which sent Upton from Arizona to Atlanta.
Ben also participated in the conference call announcing the Red Sox's signing of Mike Napoli and reports Napoli was shocked to learn of his avascular necrosis diagnosis, but feels the condition will not stop him from having a productive 2013 season, as he becomes a full-time first baseman.
MLBTR confirmed Yankees reliever Boone Logan is now represented by CAA.
MLBTR was the first to learn the White Sox claimed right-hander Zach Stewart off waivers from the Pirates.
Ben discussed the fundamentals of the arbitration process with Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos.
Ben listed the ten largest remaining arbitration cases based on figures from MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker.
Ben examined how each of the nine players who received qualifying offers have fared on the free agent market.
Zach Links made his debut this week putting together the best of the baseball blogosphere in Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
Ben hosted this week's chat.
Want the latest rumors for your favorite team? Check out MLBTR's team-by-team links for Facebook, Twitter, and RSS pages and feeds.

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