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Archives for February 2013

Red Sox Notes: Carp, Overbay, Hanrahan

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Earlier this morning the Red Sox acquired Mike Carp from the Mariners for a player to be named later or cash considerations. The move provides the Red Sox with another lefty hitting option while creating some additional pressure for other players competing for playing time. Here’s the latest on the Red Sox…

  • The Red Sox aren’t expected to give up a significant prospect in the deal, Alex Speier of WEEI.com reports. Carp is out of options and takes up a 40-man roster spot, which limited his trade value. The primary cost of acquiring Carp was cash, Speier writes.
  • Lyle Overbay, who joined the Red Sox on a minor league deal earlier this year, could be the odd man out now that the Red Sox have acquired Carp. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders if Overbay could end up returning to the Brewers, who now need a first baseman (Twitter link). Overbay told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he's prepared to compete for a roster spot with the Red Sox.
  • Joel Hanrahan is willing to discuss an extension with the Red Sox if the team is interested, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports. "It has been great here so far," Hanrahan said.
  • Kevin Youkilis said the Red Sox called his agent during the offseason, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports (Twitter link). Discussions didn't intensify and the longtime Red Sox star signed with the Yankees.

Red Sox Acquire Mike Carp

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The Red Sox acquired Mike Carp from the Mariners for a player to be named later or cash considerations, the teams announced. The Red Sox placed outfielder Ryan Kalish on the 60-day disabled list to create 40-man roster space for Carp.

Multiple teams expressed interest in Carp after the Mariners designated him for assignment. The Twins, Astros and Brewers were all linked to the 26-year-old earlier this week.

Carp, a left-handed hitting first baseman/outfielder, has played for the Mariners in parts of four seasons, compiling a .255/.327/.413 batting line with 18 home runs and 28 doubles in 608 plate appearances. Seattle originally acquired him from the Mets in the three-team trade involving Jason Vargas, J.J. Putz and Franklin Gutierrez four offseasons ago.

Carp has a .300/.341/.462 batting line against left-handed pitching for his career and a .241/.323/.398 line against right-handers. I expect his .372 batting average on balls in play against southpaws is driving that discrepancy; Carp won't necessarily hit left-handers better than right-handers going forward.

Price Not Taking Discount From Rays

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David Price says he “would love” to continue pitching for the Rays long-term, even though recent history suggests the organization won’t spend to retain him. However, the defending American League Cy Young winner told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that he’s “not taking a discount” to sign long-term with the Rays.

“I don’t play this game for the money, but I don’t want to be under-appreciated,” Price told FOX Sports. “What I’ve done for this organization so far, I feel like I’ve helped this organization a great deal. So if they want to show me some appreciation, then fine.”

Price acknowledged that 2013 could be his last year — or half-year — in a Rays uniform. He said he tries not to dwell on his future and realizes he has “no say-so in what goes on” between now and the 2015-16 offseason, when he’s scheduled to hit free agency.

The left-handed Bo McKinnis client told Morosi that there’s “nothing new” to report regarding a potential extension.  Price will earn $10.1125MM in 2013 and go to arbitration two more times before becoming a free agent. 

Once he hits free agency, he doesn’t intend to sign with an organization that burdens its players with rules. For example, if the Yankees traded for him, he wouldn’t stay there very long. “I wouldn’t sign a long-term deal there,” he told Morosi. “Those rules, that’s old-school baseball.”

Why I Chose My Agency: Matt Holliday

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In the first of a six-week series at MLB Trade Rumors, B.J. Rains spoke with Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday on his agent Scott Boras and why he picked him and the relationship the two have.

Here is what Holliday had to say about Boras:

"I signed with Scott Boras after my first year in the big leagues in 2004. My brother had him as an agent so I was familiar with him and interviewed him when I interviewed a bunch of agents while trying to decide after the 2004 season.

I went to California to meet with Scott and Mike Fiore (works for Boras) and Steve Odgers (a training guru employed by Boras) and some of their people and saw their facility and I just felt like to me, in doing the research and looking into all of the possible agents, I felt like it was a good fit. I felt like they did a fantastic job. They had research capabilities and staff and they had an institution in California for working out and longevity of careers and it just felt like they had all of their bases covered. Scott had a lot of experience as a player and obviously his resume as an agent spoke for itself and the players he’s had.

You want an agent that you can trust that they know what they are doing. I think for me, he’s somebody that has your best interest in negotiating your contract and he also has people on staff that can help you with your game and not just your contract. They offered a lot of services outside of here. They have a psychologist on staff, people who are doing research for arbitration cases years in advance. They have a research team, a marketing team, a sports nutrition team. I just felt it wasn’t just about negotiating your contract. They offered a lot more.

Also the personal relationship with somebody that you enjoy sitting down and talking to them. Scott is as accessible as you want him to be. I could call him right now. He’s got a lot of clients and people say they don’t hear from Scott but he’ll give you as much or as little attention as you want. I’m not a high maintenance guy, I don’t need to talk to him a lot, but if I need anything, I can call him anytime. I talk to Mike Fiore once a week, but like I said, Scott is as accessible as you want him to be.

I see him from time to time. Whenever we play in L.A. I’ll have lunch or dinner with him. If I wanted him to come to St. Louis he’d come anytime I want. It’s just one of those things where again, I don’t need a lot of maintenance.

Scott has been better than I hoped he would be. I’ve really enjoyed it, not only what he’s offered me as an agent but just getting to know him as a person and the father and husband that he is and all the wisdom that he has that I’ve enjoyed from not just baseball but all walks of life.

I laugh a lot of times when people have opinions of Scott. They couldn’t be further from the truth, the majority of them. I enjoy spending time with him and I think he’s really fun to be around and really good at what he does. I don’t have a negative thing to say about him."

Quick Hits: Profar, Arbitration, Rockies, Epstein

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Jurickson Profar tops Baseball America's newly-released list of the top 100 prospects in the game.  The Cardinals, Marlins and Twins each placed six prospects amongst the top 100, and BA's John Manuel and J.J. Cooper discussed the list in a reader chat.  If there was any doubt that Profar was the cream of the minor league crop, the Rangers shortstop also ranked first on the top 100 prospect lists recently released by MLB.com and ESPN's Keith Law. 

Here's the latest from around the majors…

  • The 133 players who filed for arbitration last month received an average salary increase of 119%, according to a report by The Associated Press.  Buster Posey had the biggest raise, going from $615K in 2012 to $8MM in 2013.  The AP also examines why no arb cases went to hearings this winter, the first time this has ever happened.  You can check out the results of every arbitration case on MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker.
  • The Denver Post's Patrick Saunders looks at a number of Rockies-related topics in a reader mailbag, including how the Rockies largely stood pat with their pitching staff over the winter, instead hoping that improved health from incumbent starters upgrades the rotation.  Saunders also doesn't see Kyle Lohse as a fit with Colorado, as Lohse likely has no interest in pitching at Coors Field and the Rockies aren't keen to spend big money on a free agent starter.
  • Theo Epstein talks to CSN Chicago's David Kaplan about his first 16 months as Cubs president, the progress that the franchise has made and what still has to be done to make the team successful.
  • Right-hander Seth McClung has been throwing for teams, CBS Sports' Danny Knobler reports (Twitter link).  McClung, 32, last pitched in the Majors in 2009 as a reliever and spot starter for the Brewers and has since pitched in the minors for the Brewers, Rangers and Cubs. 
  • Freddy Sanchez is looking to keep playing and has turned down minor league offers in hopes of finding a Major League job as a utility infielder, Sanchez's agent Paul Cobbe tells Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area.  Sanchez, 35, hasn't played in a game since June 2011 due to shoulder and back injuries but around 20 teams reportedly asked to see his medical records this offseason.  Cobbe says Sanchez would love to re-sign with the Giants but they don't want to sign him to a guaranteed contract.

Make Or Break Year: Tim Lincecum

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Critics have long believed that Tim Lincecum's unconventional mechanics wouldn't stand the test of time in the Major Leagues, but the Giants right-hander could retire tomorrow having more than proved his worth.  Lincecum has two NL Cy Young Awards and two World Series titles to go along with his career 3.31 ERA, 9.8 K/9 rate and three NL strikeout crowns over just six seasons in the bigs.

Though Lincecum ended the year with another championship ring, he spent his postseason in the unfamiliar position of relief pitcher.  Lincecum was relegated to the bullpen following a troubling 2012 season that saw him post a 5.18 ERA, 4.4 BB/9 rate and 1.1 HR/9 rate (all career worsts), plus a league-leading 17 wild pitches and 107 earned runs allowed. Uspw_6695582

While Lincecum had a few very rough patches during the 2010 and 2011 campaigns, nobody expected him to completely lose his form.  The advanced metrics paint a less-grim picture of his 2012 performance (Lincecum posted a 4.18 FIP, 3.82 xFIP, 3.97 SIERA) but he also lost almost two miles off his fastball.  Lincecum dropped to career-low average speed of 90.4 mph, down from 92.2 mph in 2011.

Lincecum looked sharp out of the bullpen during the postseason and, combined with those decent advanced metric numbers, there is some reason to believe that he can bounce back and become "the Freak" once again in 2013.  If he doesn't, however, he will leave millions of dollars on the table in free agency, as Lincecum is set to hit the open market next winter. 

Lincecum resisted signing a long-term extension with San Francisco, opting instead to take shorter contracts that he said kept him more focused.  The tactic didn't cost Lincecum in the short term, as he signed a pair of two-year deals with the Giants that covered his four arbitration-eligible years (Lincecum was a Super Two) and earned $63.5MM over the 2010-13 seasons. Lincecum reportedly turned down a five-year, $100MM extension from the Giants last winter, a move that he could regret if he struggles against in 2013 and faces a drastically lowered price tag in free agency.

If nothing else, Lincecum's poor 2012 cost him a chance at a mega-deal akin to the contracts signed by Felix Hernandez ($175MM), Zack Greinke ($147MM) or Cole Hamels ($144MM) within the last year.  Even a vintage Lincecum season wouldn't earn him quite as much as the $112.5MM extension teammate Matt Cain signed with the Giants last April.  Though Lincecum will be just 29 years old by season's end, those persistent whispers about his durability will surface again and keep him from cashing in to his fullest extent, perhaps even keeping him under $100MM in guaranteed money.

Still, a ceiling of "under $100MM" is nothing to sneeze at, so Lincecum can regain a lot of value with another big year.  A repeat of 2012, however, would put Lincecum in line for a short-term deal whether he liked it or not.  His track record would only get him so far, and Lincecum would likely have to settle for an incentive-filled one- or two-year contract (or maybe two years plus an option). 

There's also the chance the Giants could make Lincecum a qualifying offer if he has another poor season.  Such a one-year pact would be worth between $13.5-$14MM and make sense for both sides — Lincecum would get another chance to prove himself in a familiar environment and the Giants would see if they could salvage a final good season from their former ace at a relative bargain price.  Even if Lincecum rebounded and subsequently left after 2014, the Giants would now be in position to reap draft pick compensation for Lincecum if he turned down another qualifying offer and signed elsewhere.  That would get the Giants something for a Lincecum departure, aside from some relief that he passed on that big extension.

The 2013-14 offseason could be something of a transformative one for the Giants, as they'll have around $56MM coming off the books due to the expiring contracts of Lincecum, Barry Zito and Hunter Pence.  Some of that money could be spent on extensions for Buster Posey or Pablo Sandoval, or GM Brian Sabean could look to make a splash in the free agent market.  Lincecum has been a huge part of the Giants' recent past, and his 2013 season will likely determine if he is part of the team's future.

Photo courtesy of Rick Osentoski/USA Today Sports Images

NL East Notes: Gio, Owings, Stanton, Young

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Nationals left-hander Gio Gonzalez was one of several players whose names were found in the records of Biogenesis, a Miami clinic linked to PEDs, as revealed last month by the Miami New Times.  According to a new report from ESPN's Mike Fish and T.J. Quinn, however, none of the substances that Gonzalez allegedly purchased are banned by Major League Baseball.  Gonzalez has denied any personal involvement with Biogenesis, though his father is a client of the clinic. 

Here are some more items from around the NL East…

Latest On Yankees, Robinson Cano

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9:23pm: Hal Steinbrenner told Scott Boras earlier this month that the Yankees "were willing to consider a significant long-term contract" with Cano but talks didn't go beyond that, the Associated Press reports (passed on by Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News).  Steinbrenner also noted that the Yankees hadn't had any extension talks with manager Joe Girardi, who is entering the last year of his current contract.

7:42am: Yankees decision makers now regret signing Alex Rodriguez to a ten-year, $275MM contract, and have become more averse to major long-term commitments, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. The Yankees’ reluctance to spend as aggressively as before will impact their contract talks with Robinson Cano, the 30-year-old second baseman scheduled to hit free agency following the 2013 season.

The Yankees have spoken to Cano’s representatives at the Boras Corporation, but the sides don’t appear to be making much progress. Boras, who also negotiated Rodriguez’s ten-year deal, might expect opening bids for ten years at $20-25MM per season, according to the Post. Sherman suggests that the Yankees would be willing to spend $171MM over seven years to retain the four-time All-Star.

Cano told reporters that “it’s not about the money,” Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger reports. But there’s no doubt that rival teams would be eager to spend on Cano if he reaches free agency. A league official told McCullough that teams would bid more than $200MM for Cano. “He can’t be replaced,” the exec said.

Both Sherman and Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News report that Cano doesn't intend to give the Yankees a hometown discount. He ranked first on MLBTR's Free Agent Power Rankings.

AL East Notes: Granderson, Kuroda, Blue Jays, Carp

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The Yankees and the then-Kansas City Athletics swung a 13-player trade on this day in 1957, a deal that brought future Yankee regulars Clete Boyer, Bobby Shantz and Art Ditmar to the Bronx.  This was one of many lopsided trades between the Yankees and A's during the 50's, as Kansas City owner Arnold Johnson's past business ties to the Yankees seemingly paved the way for several deals that saw the Yankees acquire promising young talents from the A's for virtually nothing of note in return.  Boyer's case was especially controversial since the A's admitted they originally signed him in 1955 on the Yankees' behalf and dealt him to New York as soon as he gained minor league eligibility.

Here's the latest from around the AL East…

  • Curtis Granderson says he wants to stay with the Yankees past 2013 but "all indications are the Yankees are inclined to bid farewell" to the outfielder, ESPN New York's Wallace Matthews writes.  The Yankees aren't impressed by Granderson's declining non-power numbers and defensive value, plus the team wants to put its money towards re-signing Robinson Cano.  MLBTR's Tim Dierkes didn't include Granderson as one of the top 10 available free agents next winter but noted that Granderson's stock could rise with a big season.
  • Hiroki Kuroda said it was a "hard" decision to re-sign with the Yankees but he feels he made the right one since he enjoys the Yankees' veteran clubhouse, MLB.com's Bryan Hoch reports.  Kuroda said he weighed offers from other teams, including the Dodgers, but noted that he didn't consider pitching in Japan.  "Actually, I have never said that I want to play in Japan at this stage of my career," Kuroda said. "I don't know; maybe it's the Japanese media that's talking about it.  What I have said is that if I'm going back, I'm going to play for my former team, the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. I haven't thought about that at this stage. Who knows? I may end my career at the end of this year."
  • The Blue Jays have taken several out of options players on the Opening Day roster in recent years to see what value these players had left, but the team says they won't employ that tactic this year, MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm reports.  The Jays have six out of options players in camp, and Chisholm doubts Toronto would let Brett Cecil hit the waiver wire.
  • Fangraphs' J.D. Sussman breaks down the comparisons between Blue Jays pitching prospect Aaron Sanchez to Mets prospect Noah Syndergaard, who was traded by Toronto to New York as part of the R.A. Dickey deal.
  • The Red Sox could possibly obtain Mike Carp from the Mariners in exchange for Alfredo Aceves, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe opines.  The Sox are one of several teams interested in Carp, though Aceves' trade value may be minimal thanks to his off-the-field behavior.

AL Central Links: Sale, Peavy, Guthrie, Leyland

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Here's the latest from the AL Central…

  • Chris Sale doesn't know of any discussion between his representatives and the White Sox about a possible long-term deal but is happy to take one-year contracts for now, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports.  "I know it [a multiyear deal] happens from time to time," Sale said. "But I'm just doing my stuff. If something happens, we'll see."  Sale will be arbitration-eligible for the first time next winter and is scheduled for free agency after the 2016 season.
  • Jake Peavy and White Sox GM Rick Hahn talked to MLB.com's Scott Merkin about the steps that led to Peavy re-signing with the club, both sides' mutual interest in continuing their relationship and Peavy's agent switch to CAA's Jeff Berry.
  • Jeremy Guthrie talks to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel about why he re-signed with the Royals, despite offers from other teams.  Guthrie signed a three-year, $25MM contract with Kansas City in November.
  • Jim Leyland thinks Andy Dirks has the ability to be an everyday player, but the Tigers manager tells reporters (including MLB.com's Adam Berry) that he would like to have a right-handed hitting outfielder who could occasionally spell Dirks when Detroit faces a tough lefty starter.
  • Some more White Sox and Tigers items can be found in Ben Nicholson-Smith's edition of Quick Hits, published earlier today on MLBTR.

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