Rockies, Fowler Agree To Two-Year Deal
The Rockies have avoided arbitration with Dexter Fowler by agreeing to a two-year deal, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter). The contract is worth $11.6MM, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link). The 26-year-old Fowler is represented by Excel Sports Management.
Fowler enjoyed a career year in 2012, posting a robust .300/.389/.474 triple slash line to go along with 13 home runs and 12 stolen bases. As a Super Two player, Fowler was eligible for arbitration for the second time this season. The new contract buys out his second and third years of arbitration eligibility, though he'll be under control for one more season following the completion of this deal.
Fowler had filed for $5.15MM, and the Rockies countered with a $4.25MM offer. The Rockies took a similar approach to Jhoulys Chacin's arbitration situation. The right-hander recently signed a two-year deal that will buy out his first and second arbitration years but does not include his final year of eligibility.
As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, Fowler was the Rockies' final unresolved arbitration case. The team has successfully avoided a hearing with all six of its arbitration-eligible players.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Valdez, De La Rosa
We'll keep track of players who have been outrighted to Triple-A today here…
- Padres infielder Jeudy Valdez cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock (Twitter link). The 23-year-old can handle shortstop and he possesses both power and speed, though he hit just .225/.273/.364 at Double-A last season. Valdez was DFA'ed last week to make room for Fautino De Los Santos. He'll be in camp as a non-roster invite, according to Brock.
- Dane De La Rosa has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A by the Rays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports (on Twitter). He was designated for assignment last week to clear roster space for Luke Scott. The 29-year-old has a career 3.00 ERA, 11.1 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 at the Triple-A level. He has also been invited to Major League camp, according to Topkin.
Mariners Appear To Sign Kameron Loe
Kameron Loe is in the Mariners' clubhouse, though the team hasn't announced a deal with the right-handed reliever Greg Johns of MLB.com reports (on Twitter). PSI Sports Management represents Loe.
Loe elected free agency last November after declining an outright assignment to Triple-A. The 31-year-old would have been arbitration eligible with a projected salary of $2.6MM, so the Brewers were comfortable removing him from their 40-man roster. He appeared in 70 games last year, posting a 4.61 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9. The Orioles had interest in signing Loe earlier this offseason.
This post was first published February 12th, 2013.
Reds, Choo Avoid Arbitration
4:38pm: Choo obtains a $7.375MM salary for 2013, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes has learned (Twitter link). That's the midpoint between the sides' filing numbers.
3:31pm: The Reds announced that they avoided arbitration with outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, agreeing to a one-year deal for 2013 (Twitter link). The Boras Corporation represents Choo, who will hit free agency following the 2013 season.
Choo filed for $8MM in arbitration with the Reds countering at $6.75MM, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows. Two of the five unsigned arbitration eligible players are Reds: Mat Latos and Homer Bailey. MLBTR's look at Arbitration Basics simplifies what can be a complicated process.
Reds Sign Clay Hensley
The Reds announced that they signed right-handed reliever Clay Hensley to a minor league deal (Twitter link). Lapa/Leventhal represents Hensley.
Hensley pitched for the Giants in 2012, making 60 relief appearances. He posted a 4.62 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9 in 50 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. In seven seasons at the MLB level, Hensley has a 4.00 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9.
Hensley provides Reds manager Dusty Baker with bullpen depth as Spring Training begins. Right-handers Jonathan Broxton, Jose Arredondo, Logan Ondrusek, Alfredo Simon and Sam LeCure project as contributors in the Cincinnati bullpen this coming season.
Diamondbacks Notes: Goldschmidt, Hill, Prado
Diamondbacks general manager Kevin Towers revealed this weekend that he approached first baseman Paul Goldschmidt about the possibility of signing a long-term extension. MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert has more on Goldschmidt plus notes on some players who recently signed deals of their own…
- Though the Diamondbacks were interested in locking Goldschmidt up, they will honor his request to wait before engaging in serious contract talks. "We tried, but he was just confident in his ability at the time and said, 'You know, I'm not looking for security right now and need a little bit more time just to kind of have a better idea with another year of play who my peer group looks more like,'" Towers said.
- Earlier on in their history the Diamondbacks signed many players to deals that included deferred salaries. The team has now paid off most of that $250MM commitment, which has led to increased financial flexibility.
- Arizona managing general partner Ken Kendrick explained that the upcoming national television deal should allow teams such as the Diamondbacks to spend more aggressively and retain their top players. "Our view with some of our key players is we can invest in multiple year deals in advance of the wave of money, where all clubs will begin to perhaps spend more on free agents or on their own players,” Kendrick said.
- Kendrick said he’s not concerned that Martin Prado and Aaron Hill might decline over the course of their recently–completed contract extensions. "If these guys continue to play at the level that they have played, which we hope they will, then I think we will look at all these signings, hopefully all these signings, as good investments," Kendrick said.
Regular MLBTR Features
If you're a regular MLBTR reader, you'll be familiar with our chats, our Week In Review posts and Zach Links' Baseball Blogs Weigh In feature. Here's some more detail on when you'll see our weekly features and exactly what to expect from them:
- MLBTR Chats - Join me every Wednesday at 2pm CDT to chat about the latest trades, signings and rumblings around the Major Leagues.
- Baseball Blogs Weigh In - Every Friday morning, Zach Links directs you to some of the best writing on baseball blogs around the web. Whether it's opinion, stats or something else entirely, you can connect to the best of the blogosphere once a week on MLBTR. If you want to send Mike a post of yours, reach him at: mike@riveraveblues.com.
- Week In Review - It's remarkable how much happens in seven days. Every Sunday night, Daniel Seco summarizes the week's biggest stories in our Week In Review posts.
- MLBTR Originals - Edward Creech gathers all our original analysis and reporting in one place every Sunday night.
Athletics To Sign Hideki Okajima
The Athletics have agreed to sign left-hander Hideki Okajima to a minor league deal with an invite to big league spring training, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (Twitter links). The deal with the Joe Rosen client is pending a physical.
The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks recently released Okajima from his contract, allowing him to pursue opportunities at the MLB level. A few teams had interest in Okajima, who spent the 2012 season in Japan 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. The 37-year-old 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. He'll join left-handed relievers Sean Doolittle, Jerry Blevins and Jordan Norberto in the Oakland bullpen.
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle first reported the sides were nearing a deal.
AL East Notes: Blue Jays, Rays, Granderson
We've already checked in on the NL East clubs this morning, but there's also lots of news from the AL East as players arrive in Florida to prepare for the 2013 season. Here are the details…
- Toronto manager John Gibbons told Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun that despite their offseason moves, it’d be premature to consider the Blue Jays AL East favorites. “You’ve got to look at the Yankees, they have earned that respect. You have to expect the Red Sox will bounce back and look what the Orioles and Rays have done,” Gibbons said. “Until we can do something like that, something like what the other teams have done, it’s better just to shut up. But we do like our talent.”
- The Rays will face harsh penalties for exceeding their draft bonus pool, Ben Badler of Baseball America reports. Baseball’s new collective bargaining agreement limited teams to $2.9MM in international bonuses for 2012-13. The Rays spent more than $3.7MM internationally for the '12-13 period, which means they face a 100% tax on the overage and won't be able to sign a player for more than $250K in the coming year.
- Curtis Granderson told reporters he hasn’t been approached by his agent about any extension talks with the Yankees, Andy McCullough of the Star Ledger reports (on Twitter). Granderson, who is open to discussing a long-term deal, also said he’d consider moving to left field if necessary.
- Red Sox principal owner John Henry addressed a variety of topics earlier today and MLBTR has the details.
Nationals Sign Will Ohman
The Nationals signed left-handed reliever Will Ohman to a minor league deal, Bill Ladson of MLB.com reports (on Twitter). The team confirmed its deal with the Beverly Hills Sports Council client (on Twitter).
Ohman pitched for the White Sox in 2012, the second year of a two-year, $4MM contract. The 35-year-old posted a 6.41 ERA with 4.4 K/0 and 1.7 BB/9 in 26 2/3 innings of relief with Chicago before getting released in July. The Reds signed him later that month, but never called him up from Triple-A Louisville.