4:49pm: Infante and the Royals are closing in on a four-year deal worth roughly $30MM, according to ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter link).
4:44pm: The Royals are "very close" to a deal with free agent second baseman Omar Infante, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
The Royal and Yankees have been said to be the top suitors for the Gene Mato client. New York has reportedly offered a three-year, $24MM contract, but Infante has seeking a four-year, $40MM pact.
The Rays are on the verge of re-signing first baseman James Loney to a multiyear deal, according to ESPN's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
Loney, a client of the Legacy Agency, was said to be seeking a three-year deal in the $27-30MM range as recently as nine days ago. The 29-year-old Loney batted .299/.348/.430 with 13 homers in 2013 and comes with a reputation for sterling defense at first base. He's one of a number of first base options to have been linked to the Rays recently. Tampa Bay was said to have some interest in Logan Morrison prior to his trade to the Mariners. The trade market presents other potentially available options in the form of Ike Davis and Mitch Moreland.
The biggest trade from this week's Winter Meetings in Orlando is now complete. The Diamondbacks officially announced that they have acquired Mark Trumbo and minor league right-hander A.J. Schugel from the Angels and minor league outfielder Brandon Jacobs from the White Sox in a three-team deal. Arizona will send center fielder Adam Eaton to the White Sox and left-hander Tyler Skaggs to the Angels. The White Sox will also send left-hander Hector Santiago to the Angels.
The Diamondbacks were set on acquiring either Trumbo or Shin-Soo Choo at the Winter Meetings, according to earlier reports. Trumbo (pictured) will slot into the outfield for the D-Backs, which isn't a perfect fit for Arizona given his defensive shortcomings there. Arizona will be looking for Trumbo's power to outweigh his shaky defense; he's belted 66 home runs over the past two seasons, posting a .250/.305/.471 batting line.
In 992 innings as an outfielder throughout his career, Trumbo has a -7.0 UZR/150. While his walk rate climbed to a career-best eight percent in 2013, that's still below the league average, and it came along with a career-worst 27.1 percent strikeout rate. Still, he should provide a great deal of power to a D-Backs outfield that finished last in the Majors in home runs in 2013. In fact, Trumbo's mark of 34 homers alone ties the collective mark posted by Arizona outfielders last season. Trumbo projects to earn $4.7MM via arbitration this offseason and can be controlled through the 2016 campain.
The White Sox have stated a desire to get younger and to add left-handed bats to their lineup, and the acquisition of Eaton will do just that. Formerly one of baseball's top prospects, the 25-year-old Eaton missed more than half of the 2013 season after opening the year on the DL with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his left (throwing) elbow.
In 380 career MLB plate apparances, Eaton is a .254/.332/.373 hitter with five homers and seven stolen bases. He's batted .365/.441/.522 with eight homers and 38 steals in 602 career plate appearances at the Triple-A level. Prior to the 2013 season, Baseball America ranked Eaton as Arizona's No. 4 prospect, noting that he'd made enough defensive strides to convince scouts that he is an everyday big league center fielder with double-digit home run pop, plus speed and a strong, accurate throwing arm. Should he pan out, Eaton could provide the White Sox with their center fielder of the future; he's controllable through the 2018 season.
The Angels have been in the market for young, controllable pitchers, and this trade allows them to fill out their rotation with a pair of promising young left-handers. This is the second time that GM Jerry Dipoto has acquired Skaggs. Dipoto acquired Skaggs for the D-Backs from the Angels in a trade for Dan Haren when he was Arizona's interim GM.
Skaggs appeared in the Top 15 of BA's Top 100 list prior to the 2012 and 2013 seasons but has struggled in his brief big league experience to date. Still just 22, he has a 5.43 ERA with 7.5 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and a 40 percent ground-ball rate in 68 Major League innings. He has a 4.02 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 156 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level — all of which have come with him being one of the league's youngest pitchers. Skaggs won't be eligible for arbitration until at least 2016 and can be controlled through the 2019 campaign if he's in the Majors from here on out.
Santiago, who turns 26 next week, has a career 3.41 ERA with 8.7 K/9, 4.5 BB/9 and a 37.5 percent ground-ball rate in 224 2/3 big league innings. He's not arbitration eligible until next winter and can be controlled through the 2017 campaign. An extreme fly-ball pitcher, Santiago should enjoy Mike Trout playing behind him in center field.
Schugel dealt with blisters early in the season and saw a foot injury cut his season short in July after he posted a 7.05 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 89 1/3 innings at Triple-A Salt Lake. However, he posted a 2.89 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 140 innings at Double-A when he was healthy in 2012.
Baseball America ranked Schugel 12th among Angels prospects prior to 2013, noting that a strong fastball/changeup combo should allow him to become a back-of-the-rotation starter despite a questionable breaking pitch. BA also noted that Schugel is an excellent athlete that fields his position well.
Jacobs, 23, came to the White Sox from the Red Sox in the Matt Thornton deal in July. The outfielder hit .244/.320/.407 for three teams at Class-A Advanced and Double-A in 2013. He was eligible for the Rule 5 Draft, as was Schugel, which is why the pair had to technically be included as players to be named later.
ESPN's Keith Law was the first to report the three-team framework (on Twitter), and MLB.com's Steve Gilbert added that the D-Backs would receive two prospects as well (Twitter link). Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweeted that the trade was agreed to (Twitter links). Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Arizona tweeted that the D-Backs would receive Schugel from the Angels, and John Gambadoro of Sports 620 KTAR in Phoenix was first to suggest that Jacobs would be the PTBNL coming from Chicago.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Last week, the Red Sox agreed to terms with Mike Napoli on a fresh two-year deal that will reportedly pay him $16MM per season. Of course, the veteran slugger had plenty of suitors, and one was said to have given him a three-year offer. I asked Napoli if a three-year deal was floated to him by another club and while he declined to give details, he said that the market for him was quite robust.
"There were a lot of teams actually," the 32-year-old said on this afternoon's conference call. "I'm not going to give any specifics but it ultimately came down to, I told my agent, I wanted to come back to Boston and play there and get something worked out."
This year's go-round through free agency went a whole lot smoother for Napoli than it did last year. After initially agreeing to a three-year, $39MM guarantee with the Red Sox, Napoli's physical revealed that he has avascular necrosis (AVN) in both hips. As a result, his contract was renegotiated down to a one-year, $5MM deal with $8MM of incentives (which he reached). I asked Mike if he was glad to have a simpler path to a new contract this offseason, one that has everything tied up neatly in advance of Christmas.
"After going through what I went through last year, it was definitely a relief to just go through this and it was fairly easier than last year and ultimately I'm happy to be back and I wanted to be someplace where its comfortable and somewhere where we can win," Napoli said.
The re-working of Napoli's deal last winter to adjust the terms and add language regarding his hip condition took about two months to get done. This time around, GM Ben Cherington says that there was no need to hash out any conditions regarding the hip issue.
"It's a two year guaranteed deal, I won't get into the specific language and details but there's no special coverage or anything like that related to the hip. Mike is healthy and we're thrilled that he's going to be a big part of our club for the next couple of years and beyond," said Cherington.
While Napoli's deal is official, Red Sox fans are wondering about the long-term future of franchise cornerstone David Ortiz. Cherington opted not to discuss Big Papi at length after he disclosed that he is seeking an extension to take him beyond the 2014 season. Before steering the focus back to Napoli, however, Cherington reiterated his desire to see Ortiz finish his career in Boston.
Adding Robinson Cano to their lineup was the start of many changes in Seattle, and Corey Hart turned out to be the next piece of their puzzle. Seattle today announced the signing of Hart to a one-year contract. Reportedly worth a guaranteed $6MM, Hart will have the opportunity to earn an additional $7MM via incentives. Hart is represented by CAA Sports.
Hart, 32 in March, missed the entire 2013 campaign after undergoing surgery on both knees. In his most recent healthy season, Hart delivered his typical brad of strong pop from the right side of the dish, batting .270/.334/.507 with 30 home runs. In the three seasons prior to his injury, Hart slashed .279/.343/.514 and averaged 29 homers per season, meaning his 2012 campaign was a good representation of his talent level when healthy.
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports noted that, Hart will slot into the Mariners lineup behind Cano, adding some much-needed offense to a club that has struggled to score runs in recent seasons. The Mariners will likely use Hart in right field, notes Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Though he has proven to be a capable first baseman, the Mariners also acquired Logan Morrison from the Marlins at this week's Winter Meetings (in exchange for right-hander Carter Capps). Morrison could see more time at first base, though like Hart, he has experience in the outfield as well.
Hart and Morrison will provide new manager Lloyd McClendon with another pairing of new bats to add to the lineup behind Cano in an effort to bolster a lineup that finished the 2013 season 22nd among all Major League clubs in runs scored despite ranking second with 188 home runs.
USA Today's Bob Nightengale reports (on Twitter) that the Brewers were willing to offer Hart a contract that could reach $8MM after incentives. At one point, Hart had said he would take a discount to remain with Milwaukee, but his ties to Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik (Milwaukee's scouting director when Hart was drafted), the recent addition of Cano and his larger payday all could have factored into Hart's decision to head to the Pacific Northwest.
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports first reported that the agreement was in place (Twitter link). Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reported that Hart would be guaranteed $6MM with enough incentives to take him up to $13MM (also on Twitter).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
The Mariners announced that they have designated outfielder Travis Witherspoon for assignment to clear a roster spot for Corey Hart, whose signing is now official.
Seattle claimed the 24-year-old Witherspoon off waivers from the Angels back in early October. Once thought to be a high upside prospect for the Halos. However, he battled through health issues in 2012 and suffered a down year at the plate in Double-A this past season, hitting .214/.299/.342 in 129 games.
The Cubs announced that they've signed infielder Ryan Roberts to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training. Roberts is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.
The 33-year-old Roberts batted .247/.295/.377 with five homers in 173 plate appearances for the Rays in 2013. Though he hasn't matched a strong 2011 season that saw him post a .249/.341/.427 line with 19 homers and 18 stolen bases, Roberts remains a solid defensive player with some pop in his bat. He has experience at second base, third base and in the outfield corners. Roberts does most of his damage against left-handed pitching, as evidenced by his .261/.341/.444 line against southpaws.
The Indians announced that they have signed right-handers Tyler Cloyd and Travis Banwart and outfielder Matt Carson to minor league deals with invites to Spring Training.
Cloyd, 26, was recently non-tendered along with Carson after being claimed off waivers from the Phillies on October 2. He split the 2013 campaign between Triple-A Lehigh Valley and the Phillies. Cloyd posted a 4.71 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 19 Triple-A starts and a 6.56 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 11 starts and two relief outings for the Phillies. In 2012, Cloyd was named the International League Pitcher of the Year.
Banwart, 27, spent his entire professional career in the Athletics' organization until today. Banwart posted a 4.60 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 23 starts and six relief appearances at the Triple-A level.
Carson had 13 plate appearances for the Indians in 2013 but spent the bulk of the year at the Triple-A level where he hit .252/.322/.394 in 490 plate appearances.
The Diamondbacks have acquired outfielder Todd Glaesmann from the Rays in order to complete the three-team Heath Bell trade that also included the Reds, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter). The trade saw Bell and catcher Ryan Hanigan go to the Rays, left-hander David Holmberg go to the Reds and minor league right-hander Justin Choate and a PTBNL (Glaesmann) go to the D-Backs.
The 23-year-old Glaesmann was a third-round pick in the 2009 draft and, as pointed out by the Tampa Bay Times' Marc Topkin (on Twitter), the Rays' 2012 minor league player of the year. Glaesmann slashed .285/.336/.493 with 21 homers that season between Class-A and Class-A Advanced, but he slumped to a .240/.289/.378 line at Double-A in 2013.
Prior to the 2013 campaign, Baseball America ranked Glaesmann 21st among Rays prospects, noting that he had the strongest throwing arm in the Rays' system and was named the best defensive in the Midwest League in 2012. BA added that his willingness to hit to all fields should allow him to hit for average as well. Glaesmann played the outfield corners almost exclusively in 2013 (he logged one game in center) but has 126 career games in center in the minors as well.
The Cubs have claimed right-hander Liam Hendriks off waivers from the Twins, reports La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (on Twitter). Hendriks had been designated for assignment last week to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Phil Hughes.
Hendriks, still just 24 years old, makes for a nice buy-low option for the Cubs. The 25-year-old ranked sixth and seventh on the Baseball America's Top 10 Twins prospects lists from 2010-11 and has a solid minor league history. The Australian righty has a 3.61 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 254 career innings at Triple-A and a career 2.99 ERA in the minors as a whole.
Hendriks has been unable to put it together in three Major League stints, however, as evidenced by his bloated 6.06 ERA in 156 innings. He's averaged 5.8 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in those 156 frames to go along with a below-average 40.4 percent ground-ball rate. Hendriks barely averages better than 90 mph on his fastball, leading to too much hard contact when it's in the zone, as evidenced by a 23.3 percent line-drive rate from his opponents that has helped bloat his career BABIP to .330.
In their most recent write-up of Hendriks (prior to the 2011 campaign), Baseball America noted that Hendriks had the ceiling of a No. 3 starter if he could continue to keep his fastball down in the zone to pair with a solid slider and above-average changeup.
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