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Archives for December 2013

Rangers Moving Toward Deal With J.P. Arencibia

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Catcher J.P. Arencibia and the Rangers are moving in the direction of striking a deal, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal writes (on Twitter). The Rangers reportedly were close to trading for Arencibia before the Blue Jays non-tendered him. Earlier this week, MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reported that the Rangers would have been willing to make the trade if Arencibia had agreed to a contract that would have avoided arbitration. MLBTR estimated that Arencibia would have made $2.8MM in the arbitration process, so his deal with the Rangers, assuming it happens, will likely be for less than that.

Arencibia will presumably back up Geovany Soto in Texas. Arencibia hit just .194/.227/.365 in 2013 and is unlikely to ever hit for much of an average, but with his power, he can be effective if he bats above .215 or so, as he did in 2011 and 2012. He has 62 home runs in the past three seasons, and hitting in Arlington should help him add to that total.

West Notes: Cano, Angels, Rockies, Hudson

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Robinson Cano signing with the Mariners would be "dumb" for both player and team, argues FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. The Mariners need more than just one more player to become a contender, and "store-bought teams often prove to be disasters," as recent iterations of the Blue Jays and Marlins suggest. The Yankees, meanwhile, won't go past $170MM or so, even though they just agreed to sign Jacoby Ellsbury for $153MM. For Cano, signing with Seattle would be an "inexplicable money grab." It wouldn't make sense for Cano, the Mariners, or the Yankees if Cano went west. Speaking of which, here are more notes from the West divisions.

  • Bronson Arroyo and Bartolo Colon currently aren't high priorities for the Angels, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register writes. Masahiro Tanaka, Matt Garza and Scott Feldman remain possibilities (Twitter links). Earlier this week, a report indicated that the Angels were interested in Arroyo.
  • After dealing Dexter Fowler to the Astros and working out a two-year deal with first baseman Justin Morneau, the Rockies aren't through making moves, assistant GM Bill Geivett tells Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. "I think we are still in the marker for a starting pitcher, another bat, and as I’ve said before, our bullpen is not closed," says Geivett, who also says that history will not be remembered as a "salary dump." 
  • Pitcher Daniel Hudson is "optimistic" he'll re-sign with the Diamondbacks, reports Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. Arizona non-tendered him on Monday after he missed most of the last two seasons due to injury. "I don't really want to go anywhere else," Hudson says. "Obviously if something doesn't work out then we'll have to figure something else out, but as long as we're cordial and we're talking and everything, I really want to make sure I stay working out with those guys."

Minor Moves: Clay Rapada

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We'll keep track of today's minor moves here.

  • The Angels have signed lefty reliever Clay Rapada to a minor-league deal and invited him to spring training, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports (via Twitter). Rapada, 32, pitched in the Indians and Yankees systems in 2013, pitching two innings in the big leagues with Cleveland. He has also pitched for the Orioles, Rangers and Tigers, and he pitched 38 1/3 innings in the Yankees' bullpen in 2012. In 93 career innings, he has a 4.06 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9.

New York Notes: Granderson, Aoki, Choo

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Free-agent outfielder Curtis Granderson wants four years and $64MM, Newsday's Marc Carig reports. The Mets are interested in Granderson, but they don't want to offer a fourth year. Mike Puma of the New York Post, meanwhile, tweets that Granderson and the Mets probably won't be able to work out a deal tonight. Here are more notes from New York.

  • The Mets were interested in Brewers outfielder Norichika Aoki, reports FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal (on Twitter). The Brewers, however, liked pitcher Will Smith more than a player like Mets first baseman Ike Davis, so they shipped Aoki to the Royals instead.
  • If Robinson Cano goes to the Mariners or some other team, the Yankees could pursue Shin-Soo Choo instead, USA Today's Bob Nightengale tweets. The Yankees, of course, already have plenty of outfielders, with Alfonso Soriano, Brett Gardner and Ichiro Suzuki in addition to newcomer Jacoby Ellsbury, but after Cano, Choo is the next-best position player on the market.
  • Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner says the Yankees are still hoping to keep their luxury-tax figure under $189MM, but they'll also prioritize fielding a strong team, Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger reports. Steinbrenner says that the Yankees' offense was its "Achilles heel" in 2013, and they'll continue to look for hitting, as well as trying to re-sign starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda.

Yankees Optimistic About Hiroki Kuroda’s Return

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Yankees GM Brian Cashman is optimistic that starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda wants to play in 2014, Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger reports. "He wants to come back," Cashman says. "He’s going to pitch here, in Japan, or somewhere else, I don’t know yet. But all indications are, he is definitely interested in coming back to the Yankees. But there’s no guarantee that comes with that."

McCullough writes that the Yankees seem to have offered Kuroda a one-year deal with a raise over his $15MM 2013 salary. Earlier this week, a report indicated that the Yankees had offered around $15MM-$16MM for 2014. That offer has reportedly been on the table for some time. Kuroda, who will be 39 in February, posted a 3.31 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 2013.

White Sox To Sign Ronald Belisario

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The White Sox will sign reliever Ronald Belisario to a one-year, $3MM deal, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports. The Dodgers non-tendered Belisario on Monday. MLBTR projected he would make $2.3MM in arbitration, so a salary of $3MM represents a healthy bump over what Belisario's agency, McNamara Baseball Group, might have expected this time last week. The Cubs and Angels also had interest in Belisario, Gonzales writes.

Belisario posted a 3.97 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 2013. In 265 career innings, he has a 3.29 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9. He's known for his plus fastball, which averaged 94.4 MPH in 2013. The White Sox can now control Belisario's rights through 2016, since he can be eligible for arbitration again prior to the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

Mariners Could Offer Cano $225MM

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6:45pm: The Mariners are "about to offer" Cano a nine-year, $225MM deal, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reports. Heyman indicates that Seattle is bidding $225MM to stay $50MM ahead of the Yankees, whose don't want to top $175MM.

5:15pm: Cano asked the Mariners for a ten-year, $240MM deal, but the Mariners' offer did not exceed $200MM, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal tweets.

3:21pm: Robinson Cano flew to Seattle to meet with the Mariners in person today, and the team has informed him that they are willing to pay as much as $230-240MM on a ten-year contract, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com (Spanish link).

It was reported yesterday that the Mariners may have topped the Yankees' offer of roughly $170MM, but if true, the reported $230-240MM offer would shatter the Yankees' highest bid. The Mariners met with Cano's representatives on Tuesday, according to multiple reports, but this appears to be the first instance of Cano traveling to Seattle to meet with club officials.

Cano and agents Jay-Z of Roc Nation Sports and Brodie Van Wagenen of CAA are said to be seeking something in the neighborhood of $252MM. The Yankees reportedly will not offer Cano more than $200MM, and in the wake of that news, the offense-starved Mariners appear to have emerged as major players in the Cano sweepstakes. Last month, MLBTR's Steve Adams predicted that Cano would receive a nine-year, $234MM deal.

NL Notes: Braves, Cubs, Phillies, Pirates, Mets

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After the departures of Brian McCann and Tim Hudson, the Braves have needs, and may not have much money available to meet them, David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes in a long essay about what to expect from the Braves in the coming weeks. They could try to trade for a pitcher like Jeff Samardzija, John Lackey or Kyle Lohse, or they could sign Bartolo Colon. Colon is an appealing option for the Braves, O'Brien says, because his age makes him unlikely to receive a huge contract. The Braves also hope to trade Dan Uggla to clear salary. Here are more notes from around the National League.

  • Cuban shortstop Erisbel Barbaro Arruebarruena will put on a showcase for clubs this weekend and the Mets will be among the teams in attendance, sources tell Andy Martino of the New York Post.  The 23-year-old, ranked as the tenth-best prospect in the World Baseball Classic not signed to an MLB club by Baseball America, defected from Cuba in November.
  • It appears the Cubs will cede their top pick in the upcoming Rule 5 Draft to resolve a dispute involving former Rule 5 pick Lendy Castillo, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports. The Cubs picked Castillo from the Phillies in 2011, and Castillo missed 91 days of the following season due to injury, then spent the entire 2013 season in the minors. In case of injury, players selected in the Rule 5 Draft must stick on their new teams' active rosters for at least 90 days. The Phillies will receive the Cubs' pick after they filed a grievance regarding Castillo. The Cubs don't plan to select a player this year anyway. The Rule 5 Draft will be held next Thursday.
  • A recent report listed a number of teams as possible landing spots for David Price, but it would be easy to overpay for Price, FanGraphs' Dave Cameron argues. Price is a great pitcher, but he's only under control for two more years, and will cost a total of about $30MM for those two seasons. Cameron's back-of-the-envelope math suggests Pirates top prospect Gregory Polanco, for example, could be worth about $91MM of surplus value over his six cost-controlled seasons, about three times as valuable as Price. The Royals' trade of Wil Myers and other youngsters for James Shields and Wade Davis was an overpay and should not determine the market for Price, Cameron argues.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Central Notes: Aoki, Hughes, Dunn

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Milwaukee's trade of Norichika Aoki to the Royals makes sense for the Brewers and for Aoki himself, MLB.com's Adam McCalvy writes. Khris Davis' emergence late last season means there won't be room for Aoki as a full-time player now that Ryan Braun's suspension is over, as the Brewers will go with an outfield of Davis, Carlos Gomez and Braun. Aoki's path to playing time will be clearer in Kansas City. "Everybody was on board with it," says Aoki's agent, Nez Balelo. "[Kansas City] was the best viable option. He’s going to love it there because he will get an opportunity to lead off and play every day." Here are more notes from the Central divisions.

  • Royals infielder Christian Colon has switched agents from Scott Boras to Excel Sports, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.
  • The Royals and Angels might make good trade partners, with the Angels sending second baseman Howie Kendrick to Kansas City in return for young pitching, the Los Angeles Times' Mike DiGiovanna tweets.
  • Phil Hughes was surprised to receive a three-year, $24MM deal from the Twins, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News reports. "Obviously the season I had was a disaster," says Hughes. "Coming into this thing, I was kind of expecting to just rebuild my value with a good year next year somewhere." The Mariners and Angels were among the other teams who bid for Hughes, but the Twins' offer of three guaranteed years won out. 
  • Now that the White Sox have signed Jose Dariel Abreu and re-signed Paul Konerko, there's less playing time available for Adam Dunn, writes CSNChicago.com's Dan Hayes. It appears Konerko and Dunn will platoon, with Konerko starting at designated hitter against lefties. Dunn hit .226/.327/.459 against righties last year, compared to .197/.296/.385 against lefties.

Twins Sign Phil Hughes

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5:05pm: Berardino reports that Hughes' contract contains a limited no-trade clause that allows Hughes to block trades to three teams (via Twitter). Nolasco received a similar clause.

2:31pm: Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that Hughes will earn $8MM in each year of the contract. Also, in each season of the contract, Hughes will earn $250K for reaching 180 and and 195 innings pitched, as well as an additional $500K for reaching the 210-inning threshold (Twitter links).

2:10pm: The Twins made it clear late in the 2013 season that they planned to spend on free agent pitching this offseason, and they've now done so by issuing the two largest free agent contracts in franchise history. Minnesota announced Ricky Nolasco's four-year, $49MM contract earlier in the week, and on Thursday they announced the signing of Phil Hughes to a three-year, $24MM pact. Hughes, a client of CAA Sports' Nez Balelo, can reportedly earn an additional $1MM worth of incentives in each year of the deal. 

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A still-young 27, Hughes appears to have succeeded in translating the promise of his stuff into a larger contract than many projected. While our own Steve Adams' assessment of an $8MM annual salary for Hughes was correct, he predicted a one-year deal that would allow Hughes to hope for a big season in a spacious ballpark (such as Targe Field in Minneapolis) that would allow him to re-enter the market next winter. The two additional years on the contract are surprising, as few, if any, pegged Hughes for a three-year deal. Hughes came within one year of the four-year, $32MM deal that the Royals gave to Jason Vargas, a pitcher with an inferior fastball who's nevertheless been better, more durable and more consistent.

While he's steadily maintained his low-90s velocity since breaking into the big leagues in 2007, Hughes owns a career 4.54 ERA in more than 780 innings. Home runs have always been a problem for the right-hander, as he's averaged almost 1.2 per nine innings for his career. This year, he posted a 1.48 HR/9 en route to a 5.19 ERA in 145 2/3 innings. The Twins no doubt hope that a transition to Target Field, a much more spacious ballpark than Yankee Stadium, will be a panacea for Hughes' longball issues.

Durability is also a concern for Hughes, as he's never reached the 200-inning mark in his career and has just three times surpassed 100 innings. He struggled down the stretch in 2013, posting a 6.32 ERA in the season's second half. Over his career, Hughes has logged DL time for back and shoulder issues.

Coupled with the recent Ricky Nolasco signing, the deal represents something of a change in tactics for the Twins, who haven't typically been big spenders on the free agent market. In fact, as Neal notes in his article, the Nolasco and Hughes deals represent the two largest contracts the club has ever given to outside free agents. The struggles of the 2013 Twins rotation, which ranked last in the majors in ERA and K/9, apparently prompted the team to commit to major upgrades. Like Nolasco, inking Hughes won't require Minnesota to forfeit a draft pick, as the Yankees didn't extend him a qualifying offer.

LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune was the first to report the signing and the terms. 1500 ESPN's Darren Wolfson was the first to report the additional incentives in Hughes' contract (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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