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Archives for December 2013

Pirates Extend Charlie Morton

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The Pirates have signed right-hander Charlie Morton to a three-year, $21MM extension that could reach $30MM in total value, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.

Morton-Charlie

Morton, who is represented by Jet Sports Management, will earn $4MM in 2014, $8MM in 2015-16 and has a $1MM buyout on a $9.5MM club option (plus $500K of incentives) for the 2017 season. The option would become a mutual option were Morton to be traded at any point throughout the life of the deal.

Had he not signed the extension, Morton would have been eligible for free agency following the 2014 campaign. The extension is similar to the three-year, $20MM figure suggested as a fair price by MLBTR's Tim Dierkes when examining Pittsburgh's arbitration eligible players back in early November.

The 30-year-old Morton returned from 2012 Tommy John surgery this season and turned in a strong campaign. Morton pitched to a 3.26 ERA with 6.6 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and a whopping 62.9 percent ground-ball rate that led all Major League pitchers that threw at least 100 innings.

Originally acquired (along with lefty Jeff Locke and outfielder Gorkys Hernandez) in the 2009 trade that sent Nate McLouth to the Braves, Morton broke out with the Pirates in 2011 when he posted a solid 3.83 ERA in 171 2/3 innings. Over his past three seasons, Morton has pitched to a 3.75 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 — numbers that have been deflated, to an extent, by his elbow issues in 2012.

MLBTR's Matt Swartz projected Morton to earn $3.9MM in 2014, so the contract essentially guarantees Morton $17MM for a pair of free agent seasons. Had he not signed the extension and had a solid season, Morton would have had a chance to earn more on the free agent market. However, players with Morton's type of injury history haven't typically done this well in contract extensions, and Morton opted for the security of guaranteed money. Morton's agent, Andrew Lowenthal, told Passan that his client never had any desire to leave Pittsburgh:

"The most important part of this deal and the reason why this deal got done is Charlie wanted to remain a Pirate and considers himself a Pirate. He loves the city. He loves the fans. The team stuck by him. This is Charlie’s way of being loyal to the organization. The contract is a win-win."

Morton will join Francisco Liriano, Gerrit Cole and Wandy Rodriguez in the 2014 rotation and will now be considered a cornerstone of Pittsburgh's rotation alongside Cole for the foreseeable future.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Eight Teams Showing Interest In Johan Santana

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Eight teams have expressed interest in left-hander Johan Santana, reports Andrew Marchand of ESPN New York. The Yankees, Mets, Twins, Rays, Orioles, Royals, Brewers and Pirates have all expressed varying levels of interest. Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweets that the Pirates have requested his medical records today and plan to meet with agent Peter Greenberg this afternoon.

According to Marchand, Santana and Greenberg are willing to accept an offer in the near future if a team is able to separate itself from the pack, but if not, Santana will throw in January in a showcase for interested teams. Shoulder problems have forced Santana to sit out two of the past three seasons.

Latest On The Brewers’ First Base Search

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The Brewers are waiting for word from Corey Hart's camp, and MLB.com's Adam McCalvy offers an in-depth update on their search for a first baseman.

The Brewers have a one-year offer plus some incentives on the table to Hart, but he's weighing an offer from another team that is said to contain more incentives than the Brewers' offer. Brewers officials were up past 1am ET last night waiting on a response from Hart before hearing that he needs more time to make his decision.

GM Doug Melvin heard from James Loney's agent this morning, but McCalvy indicates that Loney's three-year asking price is too high. Trades for Ike Davis and Logan Morrison present alternatives, but the Mets have asked Milwaukee for Tyler Thornburg in return for Davis — a surprisingly lofty price considering the two seasons each had. Davis batted .205/.326/.334 for the Mets, while Thornburg posted a 2.03 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 66 2/3 innings and finished the season strongly as a member of Milwaukee's rotation.

The Brewers would like resolution on the situation before tomorrow's Rule 5 Draft, McCalvy reports.

NL Central Notes: Bailey, Marmol, Brewers, Tanaka

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Despite the fact that Reds GM Walt Jocketty told reporters the team won't be trading Homer Bailey, some within the organization feel they'll have to overpay to sign him to an extension at this point, which could eventually change Jocketty's stance, says Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal adds that the Reds would only move Bailey if they felt it improved their 2014 club (All Twitter links). More from the NL Central…

  • The Brewers are one of a few teams to have shown interest in Carlos Marmol, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter).
  • The Brewers could get jump back into the Ike Davis market, tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Much like their interest in Logan Morrison, Milwaukee's interest is contingent upon Corey Hart's decision, says Martino.
  • The Cubs will be in on Masahiro Tanaka, tweets Bruce Levine of WSCR. As he notes, the potential ace could greatly accelerate their timeline to compete.

Latest On Max Scherzer

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11:14am: Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports offers a different take (on Twitter), as sources have indicated to him that Scherzer is "definitely in play." While nothing is imminent, says Passan, teams are aware that Scherzer can be had.

7:15am: The Tigers are telling teams they're not optimistic about completing a contract extension with Max Scherzer, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark (Twitter link). However, despite the fact that Scherzer is a year away from free agency, Detroit has no plans to deal him, Stark adds.

The Tigers' plans to keep Scherzer come as no real surprise, given the fact that the team fully expects to contend again this season. Similarly, considering the reigning Cy Young winner is a Scott Boras client, a long-term extension prior to free agency would be a long shot. In the wake of last month's Prince Fielder trade, GM Dave Dombrowski suggested the savings might make an extension for Scherzer more "possible," but stopped short of calling a new deal "probable."

Scherzer is slated to earn about $13.6MM in arbitration for 2014, according to Matt Swartz's projection model.

NL East Links: Maya, Blevins, Nats, Mayberry, Delmon

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The Braves have signed right-hander Yunesky Maya to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training, tweets Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deports. The 32-year-old Cuban hurler never lived up to expectations with the Nationals, posting just a 4.17 ERA in 464 minor league innings and a 5.80 ERA in 59 frames at the big league level. Elsewhere in the NL East…

  • The Nationals have discussed Jerry Blevins with the Athletics, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. However, James Wagner of the Washington Post adds that it was the Nats who reached out to the A's, and Oakland is said to be happy with its bullpen (Twitter link).
  • Former manager Davey Johnson rarely utilized infield shifts, but Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com writes that defensive shifts will be a point of emphasis under new manager Matt Williams. Kolko quotes Williams as saying his club will have defensive meetings every day.
  • Despite tendering John Mayberry a contract, the Phillies are seeking an upgrade over the soon-to-be 30-year-old as they look to add a right-handed bat with better defense in cente field, reports Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
  • The Marlins have checked in on Delmon Young, tweets MLB.com's Joe Frisaro, who notes that Rosenthal has previously reported that Young has worked out at first base (Twitter link).

Pirates Close To Re-Signing Clint Barmes

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The Pirates are nearing a deal to bring shortstop Clint Barmes back to Pittsburgh, according to ESPN's Buster Olney (on Twitter).

Barmes, who turns 35 in March, batted .211/.249/.309 with five homers for the Bucs in 2013. Though his offensive numbers were lackluster, he played stellar defense at shortstop, posting a +14.2 UZR/150 and +12 Defensive Runs Saved in just over 800 innings at the position.

This post was originally published on Dec. 12 at 11:00am.

Brandon Phillips Still In Play

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Reports this offseason have gone back and forth on whether or not the Reds will trade Brandon Phillips. Earlier today it was reported that the Reds' ability or inability to trade their second baseman could impact their chances at retaining Shin-Soo Choo. We'll run down rumors on Phillips right here…

  • Phillips is "definitely" in play, tweets Rosenthal, adding that Cincinnati GM Walt Jocketty will move his second baseman if it improves the club in 2014.

Earlier Updates

  • The Reds aren't ruling out a trade of Phillips, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. They've yet to have any discussion with the Yankees at this point after New York missed out on Robinson Cano, though.

Diamondbacks Could Still Trade For Starter

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WEDNESDAY: The Diamondbacks are getting interest in shortstops Didi Gregorius and Chris Owings and could still swing a trade for a starting pitcher, tweets Rosenthal.

GM Kevin Towers could include a current starter such as Trevor Cahill or Randall Delgado along with one of his shortstops in order to land a more established pitcher, Rosenthal adds. The Snakes have the depth to make that work, with Patrick Corbin, Wade Miley, Brandon McCarthy, Cahill and Delgado projected to fill out their 2014 rotation as it stands right now.

TUESDAY: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports spoke to a source who said the Diamondbacks are out on Shin-Soo Choo after acquiring Mark Trumbo and have now turned their focus to adding a front-line starting pitcher (Twitter link). Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports that the Diamondbacks have been in touch with Matt Garza's agent but notes that he also wouldn't rule out a trade centering around one of Arizona's young shortstops (Twitter links). Arizona is hesitant to sign pitchers to long-term deals, Piecoro adds.

Save for a report that he's willing to return to the Twins, t's been pretty quiet on the Garza front to this point. Many pundits believe that to be a result of the uncertainty surrounding Masahiro Tanaka's availability. The 30-year-old Garza posted his seventh straight season of a sub-4.00 ERA in 2013, posting a 3.82 mark in 155 1/3 innings between the Cubs and Rangers. Though he began the year on the disabled list, Garza made all of his starts upon returning and posted solid rates of 7.9 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9.

The trade market offers David Price and Jeff Samardzija, both of whom have been oft-connected to the Diamondbacks. The Phillies are also said to be willing to move both Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels, although their unwillingness to eat any salary in order to facilitate a deal makes the D-Backs a tough fit for the Philly aces.

Yankees Acquire Kyle Haynes To Complete Chris Stewart Trade

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The Yankees have acquired right-hander Kyle Haynes from the Pirates to complete the Chris Stewart trade, tweets Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Haynes, 22, spent last season in Class-A where he posted a 2.38 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 83 1/3 innings of work. He began the season as a reliever but switched to the rotation for his final eight appearances and posted an impressive 1.93 ERA with 39 strikeouts and 18 walks in 42 innings. Though his numbers are solid, Haynes didn't crack Baseball America's list of Top 30 Pirates prospects or MLB.com's Top 20 Pirates prospects list.

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