Archives for December 2013

Week In Review: 12/1/13 – 12/7/13

By charliewilmoth | December 8, 2013 at 12:25pm CDT

Here's a look back at this busy week at MLBTR:

The Mariners agreed to sign second baseman Robinson Cano to a ten-year deal. They also signed utilityman Willie Bloomquist for two years.
The Yankees agreed to sign outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury to a seven-year deal with an option. They also agreed to sign outfielder Carlos Beltran to a three-year deal and utilityman Kelly Johnson to a one-year deal, and they also re-signed pitcher Hiroki Kuroda for one year.
The Mets agreed to sign outfielder Curtis Granderson to a four-year deal.
The Marlins signed catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia to a three-year deal and infielder Rafael Furcal to a one-year deal.
The Astros signed pitcher Scott Feldman to a three-year deal. They also signed pitcher Chad Qualls to a two-year deal.
The Tigers signed closer Joe Nathan to a two-year contract with an option.
The Nationals agreed to sign outfielder Nate McLouth to a two-year deal with an option.
The Athletics signed pitcher Scott Kazmir to a two-year deal.
The Red Sox agreed to re-sign first baseman Mike Napoli to a two-year deal. They also agreed to sign reliever Edward Mujica, also to a two-year deal, and they signed catcher A.J. Pierzynski to a one-year deal.
The Rockies agreed to sign first baseman Justin Morneau to a two-year deal.
The Blue Jays signed catcher Dioner Navarro to a two-year deal.
The Orioles agreed to sign reliever Ryan Webb to a two-year deal. They also signed outfielder Francisco Peguero.
The Dodgers agreed to sign reliever Brian Wilson to a one-year deal with a player option.
The White Sox agreed to sign reliever Ronald Belisario to a one-year deal. They also agreed to re-sign first baseman Paul Konerko, also for one year.
The Rangers agreed to sign catcher J.P. Arencibia to a one-year deal.
The Cubs signed reliever Wesley Wright to a one-year deal.
The Phillies signed catcher Wil Nieves to a one-year deal.
The Rays re-signed reliever Juan Carlos Oviedo to a one-year deal.
The Nationals acquired pitcher Doug Fister from the Tigers for pitchers Ian Krol and Robbie Ray and utilityman Steve Lombardozzi.
The Astros acquired outfielder Dexter Fowler and a PTBNL from the Rockies for pitcher Jordan Lyles and outfielder Brandon Barnes.
The Athletics acquired outfielder Craig Gentry and pitcher Josh Lindblom from the Rangers for outfielder Michael Choice and infielder Chris Bostick.
The Athletics acquired reliever Jim Johnson from the Orioles for infielder Jemile Weeks.
The Royals acquired outfielder Norichika Aoki from the Brewers for pitcher Will Smith.
The Padres acquired outfielder Seth Smith from the Athletics for reliever Luke Gregerson.
The Pirates acquired catcher Chris Stewart from the Yankees for a PTBNL.
The Rays signed catcher Ryan Hanigan from the Reds and Heath Bell from the Diamondbacks in a three-way deal. The Rays then signed Hanigan to an extension. The Reds received pitcher David Holmberg from the Diamondbacks, while the Diamondbacks received pitcher Justin Choate and a player to be named or cash from the Rays.
The Phillies acquired pitcher Brad Lincoln from the Blue Jays for catcher Erik Kratz and pitcher Rob Rasmussen.
43 players were non-tendered.
The Pirates designated catcher Michael McKenry for assignment.
The Twins designated pitcher Liam Hendriks for assignment.
The Athletics designated pitcher Andrew Werner for assignment.
The Tigers designated infielder Dixon Machado for assignment.
The White Sox outrighted outfielder Blake Tekotte and infielder Mike McDade.

AL East Notes: Price, Orioles, Axford, Hinske

By charliewilmoth | December 8, 2013 at 11:21am CDT

Since 2008, teams that have traded top-of-the-rotation pitchers usually haven't gotten much in return, ESPN's Mike Petriello argues (Insider-only). The Diamondbacks' trade of Dan Haren for Patrick Corbin, Tyler Skaggs, Rafael Rodriguez and Joe Saunders was unusual, Petriello argues. Instead, what typically happens looks more like the weak returns various teams have received when they dealt Cliff Lee. The Indians' trade of C.C. Sabathia to the Brewers, which produed Michael Brantley and little else. That's worth keeping in mind as we prepare for weeks of rumors involving David Price and the Rays. The Rays did, of course, pull off one very good trade of a high-level starting pitcher when they shipped James Shields (and Wade Davis) to Kansas City in return for Wil Myers, Jake Odorizzi and others. But that doesn't mean they can do it twice. Here are more notes on the AL East.

The Orioles have already lost Scott Feldman (Astros) and Nate McLouth (Nationals) to free agency and Jim Johnson (Athletics) to a trade, and the team seems "unwilling to make even a cursory attempt to compete for quality talent outside the organization," Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun writes. With only Ryan Webb, Francisco Peguero, Jemile Weeks and a few other low-profile acquisitions on the other side of the docket so far, "fans have every right to wonder what exactly is their plan to compete for the American League East title," Schmuck says.
The Orioles, along with the Cubs and Mariners, are all interested in John Axford, who was non-tendered by the Cardinals last week, tweets CBS Sports' Jon Heyman, who also suggests that Axford has a chance of landing a job as a closer.
Eric Hinske only worked in the Yankees' scouting department for a month before leaving to become the Cubs' first base coach, but he helped convince Brian McCann to sign on for five years in New York, Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger writes. Hinske and McCann played together in Atlanta from 2010 through 2013. "[Hinske] was involved. He helped me with Brian McCann," says Yankees GM Brian Cashman. "So I appreciate Eric Hinske giving Brian McCann a lot of good advice about his experience here with the Yankees. He was a great resource for about 30 days."

Yankees Open To Trading Ichiro Suzuki

By charliewilmoth | December 8, 2013 at 10:14am CDT

The Yankees have begun discussing Ichiro Suzuki in trade talks with other clubs, Chad Jennings of the Journal News reports. Jennings notes that this does not mean an Ichiro deal is imminent. The Yankees now have a surplus of outfielders after agreeing to terms with Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran. Since the news of the Beltran acquisition, it's also emerged that the Yankees would be open to trading Brett Gardner, who would make a far more attractive trade candidate than Ichiro would.

Jennings notes that other teams are likely to view Ichiro as a bench player. The 40-year-old outfielder hit just .262/.297/.342 last season, although he was effective defensively. Ichiro will make $6.5MM in 2014 in the second year of a two-year deal.

Central Notes: Pirates, Royals, White Sox

By charliewilmoth | December 8, 2013 at 9:50am CDT

The idea that the Pirates would trade for David Price is "pure nonsense," writes the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ron Cook. The Pirates would have to pay about $30MM for two seasons of Price, and would have to give up lots of value in prospects as well. "There are a lot fewer clubs that can play at the top of the market than clubs that can't," Pirates GM Neal Huntington says. "We just can't afford to do 'X.' Well, we could, but then how would we build a championship-caliber club around that one player?" Huntington also says the single biggest improvement the Bucs can make is re-signing A.J. Burnett, who continues to consider whether to play for one more year or to retire. Here are more notes from the Central divisions.

The Pirates could look for a first baseman, starting pitcher, shortstop and/or right fielder this week, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. Biertempfel notes that the Pirates "checked in on" starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo. If so, that might indicate that they're not hopeful that Burnett will be back next year.
The Royals offered Carlos Beltran three years and over $40MM, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman tweets. Beltran ended up going to the Yankees for three years and $45MM. Heyman also notes that the Royals will also be bidding against the Yankees for infielder Omar Infante.
The White Sox have demonstrated interest in Chase Headley of the Padres, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. As Van Schouwen notes, that's a little odd, unless the White Sox think they can sign Headley to an extension — the White Sox aren't expected to contend in 2014, and Headley is a free agent after the season.

West Notes: Cano, Astros, Padres, Dodgers

By charliewilmoth | December 8, 2013 at 9:19am CDT

Huge long-term deals frequently turn out badly, and yet teams continue to offer them, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. "I thought after [Albert] Pujols [10 years for $240 million] went so wrong, so quickly, turned into such instant garbage, such a horror show, that the industry had finally learned," an NL executive tells Sherman. "I really did think it was the tipping point." That didn't stop the Mariners from giving Robinson Cano ten years and $240MM, however. Here are more notes from the West divisions.

The Astros have already acquired Dexter Fowler, Scott Feldman and Chad Qualls this offseason, but that doesn't mean they won't be busy at the Winter Meetings, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle writes. They'd like to add another reliever, and they also have the first pick in the Rule 5 Draft, which takes place Thursday.
Many Padres fans were disappointed when the team shipped Luke Gregerson to the A's for Seth Smith, but GM Josh Byrnes saw acquiring a left-handed bat as essential, U-T San Diego's Bill Center writes.
The Padres are looking to acquire left-handed relief and could trade a young starter such as Burch Smith, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets, adding that the Twins haven't been in contact yet.
Dodgers GM Ned Colletti says the team is open to trading one of its outfielders, provided "it makes sense and we like what we get back," Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports. Colletti also says he's made "a few offers" to Juan Uribe, who's known to be asking for a three-year contract.

Aaron Steen contributed to this post.

East Notes: Rays, Phillies, Mets

By charliewilmoth | December 8, 2013 at 8:39am CDT

If the Rays do end up trading David Price, it won't be their first trade of a young starter. The Tampa Bay Times' Marc Topkin revisits four trades of relatively high-profile deals — those of James Shields, Matt Garza, Scott Kazmir and Edwin Jackson. The Rays got useful players in all four. The Shields deal, of course, produced AL Rookie of the Year winner Wil Myers, and the Garza deal returned Chris Archer. Kazmir brought back utilityman Sean Rodriguez, while the Rays got Matt Joyce back for Jackson. Fans will likely use the Shields deal (which could continue to pay dividends for the Rays as Jake Odorizzi emerges) as a barometer for a potential Price trade, whether that's fair or not. As FanGraphs' Dave Cameron recently pointed out, the Shields trade shouldn't set the market for deals involving frontline starting pitchers. Here are more notes from the East divisions.

The Phillies are looking for a starting pitcher, and they pursued Scott Feldman and Ryan Vogelsong before those two players signed with other teams, CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury reports. (The Phils extended a two-year offer of about $15MM to Feldman before he ultimately signed with the Astros, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.) Salisbury notes that the Phillies' interest in Feldman and Vogelsong is indicative of the sort of mid-grade starter they'll continue to pursue — don't expect them to make a splash.
In the wake of the signing of Curtis Granderson, the Mets could redouble their efforts to trade Ike Davis or Lucas Duda, writes Newsday's Marc Carig. Since there isn't much besides Stephen Drew (who should be relatively expensive) on the free-agent shortstop market, and since the Mets' budget will only allow them to spend about an extra $13MM, Carig writes that the Mets are likely to try to find a shortstop via trade.

More Than 15 Teams Interested In Andrew Bailey

By Tim Dierkes | December 8, 2013 at 8:23am CDT

More than 15 teams have called to express interest in free agent reliever Andrew Bailey, MLBTR has learned. The 29-year-old had season-ending shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder in July, and the Red Sox declined to tender him a contract earlier this month. Barring setbacks, he is expected to be Major League game ready by mid-May.

Bailey burst onto the scene in 2009, saving 26 games with a 1.84 ERA for the Athletics and winning the Rookie of the Year award. He made the All-Star team in 2009 and '10, though in 2010 he missed nearly a month with an intercostal strain. Bailey also had elbow surgery in late September that year. In 2011 he was injured in a spring training game, making his season debut on May 29th after recovering from a forearm strain. Bailey had thumb surgery in April 2012, making his season debut in mid-August.

Bailey hasn't had a completely healthy season since his rookie year. However, he still averages the same 94 miles per hour on his fastball he did then, and aside from a recent flyball tilt and a slip in control, Bailey has continued to show good skills in his limited mound time.

Report Describes Dysfunction In Mariners’ Front Office

By Aaron Steen | December 8, 2013 at 12:31am CDT

The Seattle Times' Geoff Baker is out with a new article that calls into question the leadership of the Mariners' front office just days after reports that the team inked Robinson Cano to a 10-year, $240MM contract. In the piece, former Manager Eric Wedge and former Special Assistant Tony Blengino allege meddling by ownership, bullying by GM Jack Zduriencik and a unwillingness to support young players.

The article gives a withering depiction of Zduriencik, who Blengino says "never has understood one iota about statistical analysis." It's concerning criticism for the GM, who was hired in 2008 with a reputation for being able to incorporate both scouting- and statistics-based analysis. According to the article, most of the job application Zduriencik submitted to the Mariners in 2008 was actually written by Blengino, who worked with Zduriencik for the Brewers. "Jack portrayed himself as a scouting/stats hybrid because that’s what he needed to get the job," Blengino commented.

In an episode that's perhaps representative of the criticisms in the article, Blengino recounts a presentation he gave to baseball operations officials in 2012 on how the Mariners could make use of computerized hitting data. Sitting in on the presentation, Zduriencik "nitpicked about font sizes and column widths," according to Blengino. "He did what he always does and made fun of something he couldn’t understand."

Meanwhile, Wedge details a troubled relationship with President Chuck Armstrong and CEO Howard Lincoln, saying the executives frequently criticized the club's young players to him in meetings. Wedge described "a ferocious, venom-filled tirade" after the 2012 season about the club's coaches and players in which Armstrong said the club "sickened" him, was "disgusting" and "disturbing."

Given the chance to respond to the charges, Armstrong declined. Lincoln says comments by Wedge "mischaracterized much of what occurred over the past three baseball seasons," while Zduriencik refused to discuss specifics. "I don’t believe the airing of 'dirty laundry' should take place in the public arena," the GM said. Baker says he spoke with more than two dozen people for the article who questioned the direction of the club.

AL East Notes: Rays, Red Sox, Yankees, Orioles

By Aaron Steen | December 7, 2013 at 10:21pm CDT

The Rays will trade David Price, but his two remaining years of team control mean that GM Andrew Friedman can afford to wait for the right return, Marc Topkin writes for the Tampa Bay Times. They're expected to look to improve upon the return they got from the Royals for James Shields, so a package could comprise an elite-level young player such as the Mariners' Taijuan Walker or the Rangers' Jurickson Profar, along with a major league-ready talent and one or two lower-level prospects. Here's the latest out of the AL East:

While the Rays might play the waiting game with Price, first base is "an area we absolutely have to address," Friedman says in a second Topkin article. They'd like to re-up with James Loney, but not at his three-year, $27MM asking price. Topkin adds that the Rays also appear to be interested in a veteran right-handed hitter who can handle second base, citing reported interest in Mark Ellis and Jamey Carroll.
Red Sox GM Ben Cherington says his club may be done with its "heavy lifting" this offseason and is now entering an "opportunistic phase," Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com tweets. The team is "sort of looking at different scenarios, different ideas, and maybe nothing comes of those because we feel pretty good about where we are right now," Ian Browne quotes Cherington as saying in an MLB.com article.
It's easy to overlook just how bad the 2013 Yankees were, SBNation's Rob Neyer writes. The club won 85 games, but its Pythagorean record suggests a 79-win team, and more nuanced analyses indicate the team was even worse. However, this offseason's slew of free agent signings and healthy seasons from players such as Mark Teixeira should give the Yankees a fighting chance in 2014, Neyer says. The Bombers figure to be better at no less than seven positions next year.
MLB sources say the Yankees will listen on Brett Gardner, particularly if they're offered a starting pitcher in exchange, Newsday's Marc Carig reports. The Star-Ledger previously reported major interest in the outfielder. Gardner is projected to earn $4MM in his final year of arbitration by MLBTR's Matt Swartz.
While there's good sense in the Orioles' decision to allow Scott Feldman and Nate McLouth to depart to other teams, the club must secure replacements, Dan Connolly writes for The Baltimore Sun. Connolly says at least one should be replaced by an upgrade via free agency, citing Bronson Arroyo and A.J. Burnett as acceptable substitutes for Feldman.

Reds Notes: Phillips, Choo, Chapman, Bailey

By Zachary Links | December 7, 2013 at 9:00pm CDT

The latest on the Reds..

At a fan event today, Reds GM Walt Jocketty said that he felt the rumor about Brandon Phillips being availble via trade and of interest to the Yankees was a ploy to put pressure on Robinson Cano, according to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com (on Twitter). "It didn't work," the GM said.
Jocketty also admitted that it would be "very difficult" to re-sign Shin-Soo Choo with the dollar figures that are being floated around, Sheldon tweets. Choo now stands as the top available free agent on Tim Dierkes' Top 50 list for the offseason.
Prospect Billy Hamilton is Choo's likely replacement, Sheldon writes in an MLB.com article. While Choo's 116 walks will be difficult to replace, Hamilton should bring more speed to the top of the Reds' lineup, as he stole 88 bases between Triple-A and the majors in 2013.
The Reds have toyed with the idea of moving Aroldis Chapman into the starting rotation and some felt that he might be persuaded to make the move this winter, but he now says that he's not interested in a move, writes C. Trent Rosencrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “I’m tired of every year the same thing about me either starting or closing,” Chapman said. “What I have in mind is closing games and that’s it.”
An AL evaluator tells Andy McCullough of The Star-Ledger (Twitter link) that the Reds should consider dealing Homer Bailey to the Yankees for Brett Gardner and a lower-level prospect. Both players will become free agents following the 2014 season.

Aaron Steen contributed to this post.

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