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Archives for November 2013

Tanaka Likely To Cost More Than Darvish

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While a great deal of uncertainty surrounds Japanese right-hander Masahiro Tanaka, the agents and executives polled by Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports all agreed on one thing — Tanaka will surpass the posting fee and contract of Yu Darvish and become the most expensive Japenese player ever to be posted.

The Rangers won the bidding for Darvish (and subsequently signed him to a six-year deal) by submitting a $51.7MM bid that was more than $20MM more than the second-highest bid, according to Passan. However, one high-ranking NL exec told Passan that he thinks the posting fee alone could reach $100MM, and most of the others to whom Passan spoke predicted something in the vicinity of $75MM.

Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball are still trying to agree on alterations to the posting system, which will delay the process a bit. There have been several rumored changes, including the possibility that the player would get to select one team from the three highest bidders and negotiate solely with that club. Passan reports that one proposed alternative would find a midpoint between the top two bids, and the highest-bidding team would then pay that amount to the NPB team as a posting fee. Such a system would help MLB to achieve its goal of getting more money to the players, though NPB's ultimate goal is to receive more money for losing its best players.

Tanaka does not currently have an agent, and Passan notes that his team has kept him isolated from those who have made efforts to recruit him. Some speculate that he already has an agreement with an agent but doesn't want to make an announcement until the conclusion of the Japan Series. Part of the reason that Tanaka's price tag is expected to soar so high is that he will not cost a draft pick to sign, nor will his posting fee count against the luxury tax threshold of $189MM.

Tanaka's numbers are breathtaking, as he's pitched to a perfect 24-0 record with a 1.27 ERA for the Rakuten Golden Eagles this season between the regular season and the postseason. Tanaka turns 25 today and is set to make his final start of the season tomorrow in a potentially Japan Series-clinching game, Passan points out. Tanaka has a lifetime 2.30 ERA with a 1,238-to-275 K/BB ratio in 1,315 career innings.

Despite those gaudy numbers, many believe that he doesn't have Darvish's ceiling and isn't an MLB-caliber ace, though a report from Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith earlier today cited multiple unnamed executives who believed Tanaka could be an ace at this level.

Indians Sign J.C. Ramirez

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The Indians announced (on Twitter) that they have signed right-hander J.C. Ramirez to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training. Cleveland has also re-signed infielder Ryan Rohlinger to a minor league deal and invited him to Spring Training as well.

Ramirez, 25, allowed 20 runs in 24 innings for the Phillies this season en route to an ugly 7.50 ERA. He walked nearly as many batters as he struck out (15 BB, 16 K) but posted a respectable 4.04 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 49 innings between Double-A and Triple-A.

The 30-year-old Rohlinger hit .266/.353/.367 with five homers in 372 plate appearances at Triple-A Columbus this season, splitting his time between shortstop, third base and second base. Rohlinger also has big league experience, totaling 72 plate appearances with the Giants from 2008-11, though he managed just a .134/.183/.194 batting line.

Diamondbacks Claim Matt Tuiasosopo

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The Tigers announced, via press release, that the D-Backs have claimed infielder/outfielder Matt Tuiasosopo off waivers.

The 27-year-old Tuiasosopo batted .244/.351/.415 with seven homers for the Tigers in 2013, seeing most of his time in left field but also appearing in 13 games at first base and one at the hot corner. Despite being a right-handed swinger, Tuiasosopo hit just .216/.336/.371 against southpaws, and his career numbers against lefties aren't any better: .196/.293/.345.

Wandy Rodriguez Exercises Player Option

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Wandy Rodriguez has informed the Pirates that he has exercised his $13MM player option for the 2014 season, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune.

Rodriguez's decision was an expected one, as the soon-to-be 35-year-old pitched just 62 2/3 innings for the Pirates in 2013 as a result of an injury to his left (throwing) forearm. Rodriguez wouldn't have been able to approach this type of money as a free agent, so he will instead look to bounce back as a member of a Pirates rotation that will also include Francisco Liriano, Gerrit Cole and Charlie Morton. The Pirates want to bring A.J. Burnett back into the fold, but they have Jeff Locke as an internal replacement, should Burnett decide to retire.

Rodriguez was effective in his limited 2013 sample, posting a 3.59 ERA with 6.6 K/9, 1.7 BB/8 and a 42.3 percent ground-ball rate. He was originally acquired by the Pirates in a 2012 trade that sent Robbie Grossman, Rudy Owens and Colton Cain to the Astros.

Astros Claim Darin Downs From Tigers

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The Astros issued a press release to announce that they have claimed left-hander Darin Downs off waivers from the Tigers.

Downs, 29 in December, posted a 4.84 ERA with 9.4 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a 45 percent ground-ball rate. He held opposing lefties to a .624 OPS and posted solid marks in FIP and xFIP, each of which liked him at 3.53.

Rangers Claim Chaz Roe From Diamondbacks

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The Rangers announced, via press release, that they have claimed right-hander Chaz Roe off waivers from the Diamondbacks.

The 27-year-old Roe was selected by the Rockies with the 32nd overall pick in the 2005 draft, but he didn't make his Major League debut until this past season with the D-Backs. The Rockies traded him to the Mariners for Jose Lopez, and Roe signed with Arizona after being released by Seattle.

In 22 1/3 innings for the Snakes this season, Roe posted a 4.03 ERA with 9.7 K/9, 5.2 BB/9 and a robust 57.1 percent ground-ball rate. He averaged 91.4 mph on his fastball and held opposing right-handers to a mere .170/.297/.302 batting line through 66 plate appearances. Dominance over right-handed hitters was nothing new for the Kentucky native, as he held righties to a .184/.274/.330 line 116 minor league plate appearances in 2013 as well.

A’s Exercise Options On Crisp, Anderson; Options On Young, Suzuki Declined

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The Athletics announced that they have exercised their $7.5MM club option on Coco Crisp as well as their $8MM club option on Brett Anderson and declined their $11MM option and Chris Young and $8.5MM option on Kurt Suzuki. Young and Suzuki will receive respective buyouts of $1.5MM and $650K.

The news comes as a $7.5MM birthday gift for Crisp, who turns 34 years old today. The switch-hitting center fielder enjoyed the best offensive season of his 12-year career in 2013, slashing .261/.335/.444 with a career-best 22 homers. He chipped in 21 steals in 26 tries and was six runs above average in center field, per The Fielding Bible's Defensive Runs Saved metric (he was roughly average, per UZR), making the decision a no-brainer.

Anderson, who turns 26 in February, pitched just 44 2/3 innings for the A's this season. He compiled an unsightly 6.04 ERA in that time, though metrics such as FIP (3.85) and xFIP (3.26) suggest he was the recipient of some misfortune. Indeed, his 9.3 K/9 and 69.2 percent ground-ball rate seem to indicate that he should've had better superficial numbers, though his 4.2 BB/9 rate was a drastic departure from his typically excellent control.

Anderson would have been arbitration eligible had the A's declined his option. They could've had him for less than the $8MM he will receive in 2014, but declining his option would have also negated the $12MM club option the team holds on his free agent season. Essentially GM Billy Beane decided to pay Anderson an extra $1-1.5MM with the belief that he will remain healthy and look like a bargain at $12MM in 2015, as his career numbers through 2012 indicate he would.

Young hit just .200/.280/.379 with 12 homers and 10 steals in 2013 after coming over from the D-Backs in the three-team deal that sent Heath Bell and Cliff Pennington to Arizona and prospects to the Marlins.

Suzuki was acquired in an August waiver trade that was necessitated by injuries to John Jaso and Derek Norris. He batted a strong .303/.343/.545 with a pair of homers in 35 plate appearances for the A's but hit just .232/.290/.337 overall between the Nationals and A's. With Jaso and Norris both present in the long-term, Suzuki will look for a new team this offseason, as Oakland likely doesn't have a roster spot for him even on a cheaper one-year deal.

Mets Decline Johan Santana’s Option

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The Mets announced that they have declined their $25MM club option on left-hander Johan Santana. The move is perhaps the least surprising option decision we'll see this season. The two-time American League Cy Young Award winner will be paid a $5.5MM buyout and hit the free agent market.

The 34-year-old Santana recently started throwing again and hopes to pitch in 2014 after missing the entire 2013 season with a shoulder injury, according to a report from earlier this morning by Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith.

Santana, who missed the entire 2011 season with shoulder problems as well, last pitched in 2012, totaling 117 innings of a 4.85 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9. He had cruised through the season up until June 1 of that year, looking like his vintage self. Santana was coming off a complete-game shutout of the Padres entering that June 1 start — a historic day on which Mets fans bore witness to the first no-hitter in franchise history. However, in tossing his masterpiece, Santana threw a whopping 134 pitches — an alarming amount considering he'd only topped 100 pitches on three other occasions that season. He went on to post an 8.27 ERA over his next 10 starts before finishing the season on the disabled list.

Santana, perhaps the greatest pitcher to ever come out of the Rule 5 Draft, won a pair of Cy Young Awards in Minnesota before being traded to the Mets in January, 2008 for a package of Carlos Gomez, Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra. The Twins received little return on that deal (Gomez didn't break out until he'd been traded to Milwaukee), and one would think that the Mets would like to take back the six-year, $137.5MM extension they granted upon Santana's arrival in Queens.

Nicholson-Smith On McCann, Tanaka, Hudson, Johan

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With free agency underway, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reached out to 40 Major League Baseball executives and agents to gauge the markets for both pitchers and hitters. Here are just some of the highlights from each well-crafted analysis constructed by my former MLBTR colleague…

  • Brian McCann hasn't ruled out a return to the Braves, despite the fact that most pundits are projecting him to sign with an American League team on a contract that's far too expensive for Atlanta's liking. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes profiled McCann in September and predicted a five-year, $80MM deal.
  • Many executives and agents that spoke to Nicholson-Smith doubt that Robinson Cano actually has a chance at reaching the $300MM mark that he and agent Brodie Van Wagenen suggested last month.
  • Cuban catcher Yenier Bello is expected to work out for big league teams on Nov. 5 in Tijuana, Mexico. The powerful 28-year-old hasn't yet been cleared by the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), though MLB cleared him a month ago.
  • While we've heard several scouts predict that Masahiro Tanaka won't live up to the ace standards set by Yu Darvish, Nicholson-Smith found that there are several teams that do view Tanaka as a potential ace/top-of-the-rotation starter.
  • Tim Hudson's agent, Paul Cohen of TWC Sports, told Nicholson-Smith that his client wants to play for two or three more seasons and is interested in signing a multiyear contract this winter. I profiled Hudson last month, projecting a one-year, $9MM contract, but noted that some teams may be interested at two years.
  • Johan Santana wants to return to the Majors and recently began throwing. The two-time AL Cy Young winner didn't pitch in 2013, but he should be able to generate interest as a high-upside signing that comes with little risk.
  • Javier Lopez is seeking a multiyear deal this winter after another strong season with the Giants, and Nicholson-Smith gets the sense that there are many non-closing relievers eyeing multiyear deals. He spoke to some executives who feel that left-handed relief is one of the strengths of this year's market.

New York Notes: Yankees, Cano, Ellsbury

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As always, New York will be an interesting market to watch this season, highlighted by the Yankees' attempts to re-sign Robinson Cano and the Mets' desire to aggressively participate in the free agent market. Here's the latest on both teams, courtesy of Jon Heyman of CBS Sports and Andy Martino of the New York Daily News…

  • The Yankees have already been linked to big fish like Masahiro Tanaka, Brian McCann, Shin-Soo Choo and Carlos Beltran, but Heyman adds that they've also had internal discussions about Jacoby Ellsbury, Matt Garza and Stephen Drew. As Heyman points out, Drew would be a peculiar target given Derek Jeter's $9.5MM player option for 2014.
  • According to Heyman, the Yankees are still the favorites for Cano, but there's a sizable gap between his eye-popping $305-310MM asking price and the Yankees' current thinking. Heyman says the Yankees have only shown a willingness to go to $160MM or so to this point.
  • According to Martino, no one from either camp has denied the fact that Cano's camp began negotiations by asking for $300MM+.
  • Martino adds that the Mets aren't likely to pursue Ellsbury on the free agent market, as his sources have indicated that GM Sandy Alderson simply isn't comfortable with the type of contract that Ellsbury will ultimately end up signing. Instead, expect the Mets to pursue trades and free agent signings of corner outfielders, as they're very pleased with Juan Lagares' glove in center field. This marks the second instance in the past six weeks or so in which we've heard specifically that the Mets aren't a likely match for Ellsbury.
  • General manager Brian Cashman worries that Hiroki Kuroda will return to Japan, writes Andy McCullough of the Star Ledger. He adds that one baseball official to whom he spoke would "be blown away" if Curtis Granderson didn't receive a series of lucrative offers on the open market despite his lost season.

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