Red Sox Sign Francisco Cordero
TUESDAY: There's no opt-out clause in Cordero's minor league deal, tweets Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.
MONDAY: Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets that Cordero's base salary upon making the team would be $1MM.
SUNDAY: The Red Sox have signed Francisco Cordero to a minor league deal, according to John Tomase of the Boston Herald (on Twitter). The former closer last appeared in the majors in 2012 with the Astros.
Cordero underwent surgery to his non-throwing shoulder early in 2013 and was said to be targeting 2014 for his big league return. The 38-year-old posted a 7.55 ERA, 7.1 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, 2.06 HR/9, and 39.6% groundball rate in 39 1/3 innings for the Blue Jays and Astros in 2012. He lost the Jays' closer job in May of that year, was traded to Houston in July, and was released by the Astros in September after hitting the DL with a toe injury. Cordero owns a 3.38 ERA, 8.7 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 over the course of 824 2/3 career innings.
Reactions To The Ubaldo Jimenez Agreement
After a quiet offseason for the Orioles, the team pounced in mid-February, officially announcing a three-year deal for righty Suk-min Yoon yesterday but more significantly (from a financial standpoint, at least) agreeing to a four-year, $50MM contract with Ubaldo Jimenez. Baltimore surrendered the No. 17 pick in this year's draft to issue the largest contract for a pitcher in franchise history. Some early reactions and fallout in the wake of the Jimenez pact…
- Deep down, the Indians never really wanted Jimenez back in Cleveland, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. While the team admired Jimenez's work ethic and felt he was a positive presence in the clubhouse, they didn't feel his wild performance swings were worth the trouble. Hoynes points out that it's a bonus that Baltimore landed Jimenez, because their forfeiture of the No. 17 pick allows Cleveland to move from No. 22 overall to the No. 21 overall pick in the first round.
- ESPN's Keith Law writes that despite the associated risk, the contract is a win for the Orioles (ESPN Insider required and recommended). He feels the $12.5MM annual value can end up being a bargain for a pitcher that at times shows three pitches which grade as a 60 or better on the 20-80 scale. Additionally, it allows Kevin Gausman to work on the consistency of his slider in the minors, which he will need in order to thrive as a Major League starter.
- Law's colleague Buster Olney reports that the Orioles upped their offer from three to four years under the belief that the Red Sox and Blue Jays were both aggressively pursuing Jimenez. However, his sources indicate that neither club actually made an offer (Insider required). Olney points out some risks, such as Jimenez's struggles in limiting the running game, and he also opines that the O's should be more willing to lose further draft picks by pursuing Nelson Cruz, Kendrys Morales and perhaps even Stephen Drew.
- MLB.com's Britt Ghiroli runs down what the Jimenez signing means for other pitchers in the organization. Chris Tillman, Wei-Yin Chen and Miguel Gonzalez are locks (health-permitting), she writes, but Yoon, Bud Norris and out-of-options Zach Britton will battle for the fifth slot. Gausman is almost certainly ticketed for the minors, she writes. Ghiroli also reports that manager Buck Showalter said he prefers an everyday DH and that the best deals often happen in late spring, suggesting that someone such as Morales could be a fit after all.
- The Jimenez signing should help to discredit the feeling that Orioles owner Peter Angelos is not willing to spend to win, writes the Baltimore Sun's Peter Schmuck.
- The Sun's Eduardo A. Encina writes that the Orioles' recent international signings made it slightly easier for executive vice president Dan Duquette to surrender the No. 17 pick, as he felt the club added some additional high-upside talent with those moves.
- Jimenez turned his career around by relying less on his fastball and more on his offspeed stuff — most notably his splitter, writes Eno Sarris of Fangraphs. Jimenez entered the 2013 season having thrown his split just three percent of the time over his career but threw it 14 percent of the time in 2013 with a 17 percent swing-and-miss rate, which helped offset his diminished velocity. If that trend continues, the $12.5MM annual value can be a bargain, Sarris concludes.
- The Orioles and Jimenez have been working on this deal for a long time, but things came together quickly yesterday when Baltimore conceded and added a fourth year, writes MASNsport.com's Roch Kubatko.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that with Jimenez and Matt Garza each landing four-year, $50MM contracts, Ervin Santana's agents now have a great deal of pressure in trying to match that figure. Sherman also spoke to an executive who called Jimenez the "ultimate crapshoot," noting that Baltimore could be getting a star or a bust. That same exec wondered if Jimenez will struggle facing more patient lineups in the AL East (Twitter links).
Free Agent Notes: Zito, Perez, Gaudin, Colvin, Burnett
In case you missed it from Friday, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark provided an interesting look at the views of 23 MLB executives on the still-concluding off-season. Intervening events already have impacted some of the conclusions (and will continue to do so), but the piece is chock full of interesting observations nonetheless. Among them: whether or not the money was all wisely spent, the voters say that the Yankees are the most improved team in the American League. A comparatively quiet off-season from the National League left the Nationals as the most improved club on that side (largely on the back of the Doug Fister trade), with the Padres a somewhat surprising choice for the second slot. As for least improved, the Orioles and Blue Jays top the list on the AL side, though Baltimore has already made an off-season altering move and Toronto still could. (The Tigers came in third.) The Reds and Pirates pulled up the rear among National League teams. After the Fister deal (an "all-time heist," as Stark summed up the collective viewpoint), voters liked the Rays' trade for Ryan Hanigan and the Athletics' acquisition of Jim Johnson.
Here are notes on some other free agent situations around the game …
- Last we checked in with lefty Barry Zito, it was to learn that his option was being declined by the Giants. The reason, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, is that Zito has apparently not done anything to pursue a contract. Though he is not necessarily hanging up his spikes for good, says Heyman, the 36-year-old will seemingly not pitch in 2014.
- Southpaw Oliver Perez is considering offers from four clubs, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. A decision is expected in short order.
- Swingman Chad Gaudin tweeted today that he is in line for surgery and expects to be at 100% in three months. Gaudin, was recently released by the Phillies when he failed his physical, did not disclose details of his malady.
- Outfielder Tyler Colvin could still end up with the Orioles, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Baltimore somewhat infamously blew up its contract with the 28-year-old after he failed his physical.
- A.J. Burnett was mistaken when he said that the Orioles did not express much interest in him, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). In fact, says Rosenthal, Baltimore made multiple offers but Burnett wanted to pitch in the National League.
Minor Moves: Dana Eveland
Here are the day's minor moves …
- Southpaw Dana Eveland has agreed to a minor league deal with the Mets that does not include a major league Spring Training invite, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com. Eveland, who threw in Korea last year for the Hanwha Eagles, has played in parts of eight MLB seasons. His career ERA stands at 5.46 through 392 2/3 innings, split about evenly between starting and relief.
- Two players remain in DFA limbo, as MLBTR's DFA Tracker shows: Henry Rodriguez (Reds) and Maikel Cleto (Royals).
Extension Notes: Lester, Masterson, Wood
Extension season is unquestionably upon us, with several notable deals going down in recent days. What else might be forthcoming? Last year, between February 17th and April 4th, major league clubs committed a cool $641.4MM to extend nine players over a total of 45 years.
We just took a look at the latest on Chase Headley and the Padres, who seem at a standstill as the third baseman approaches his walk year. Yesterday, we heard that the Reds and Homer Bailey could be approaching a lengthy new deal. Here are some more notes on potential extension situations around the game:
- The Red Sox have yet to initiate extension talks with Jon Lester, the lefty said today. As Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports, however, Lester remains unconcerned. The 30-year-old indicated that he was willing to talk through the season. "If it's something we do get done in Spring Training, great," said Lester. "If it's not, I think you have to take everything as it comes. If that involves going through the season still talking or getting it done early, you have to play it by ear." He also made clear that he stands by earlier statements that he hopes to reach a deal to stay in Boston, but did not promise a breezy negotiation. "I'm not going to go back on what I said," Lester explained. "I said what I said from the heart and I mean it. We'll see where it goes from there. We've still got a long way to go. It's going to be a tough process."
- Justin Masterson and the Indians are making final preparations for their arbitration hearing on Thursday, reports Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. But Masterson — who will become a free agent in 2014 if he does not reach a new deal — indicated that he was still hoping to talk out of the adversarial process. Though apparently aimed at his 2014 salary, rather than long-term possibilities, Masterson's comments were interesting. "We're seeing if it's possible if we can make something happen before we leave [for the arbitration hearing]," said Masterson. "We're trying to see if we're being too stubborn or not. We're trying to be smart and reasonable. We're definitely moving a little bit here and there to see what can happen."
- After posting a breakout year just in time for his first season of arbitration eligiblity, Cubs hurler Travis Wood says that he has had little dialogue about an extension, reports Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (subscription link). After landing a $3.9MM contract to avoid arbitration, it does not sound as if Wood is expecting further discussions before the start of the season. "We'll see what happens," said Wood. "I would love to stay here, but right now we've got to get focused on spring and get ready for the season."
Headley Unlikely To Talk Contract Until After Season
Though there have been several extensions inked of late — including Freddie Freeman, Michael Brantley, Julio Teheran and Craig Kimbrel, with Homer Bailey reportedly nearing a deal — it doesn't sound like the Padres and Chase Headley will be reaching a middle ground on a multi-year pact in the near future. Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune was among the reporters that spoke with Headley regarding his contract today, and the third baseman offered the following:
"It’s not fair to the guys in this clubhouse to have anybody’s attention focused on anything but trying to win and trying to do your best for the team. I don’t want to put my foot down and say nothing’s gonna happen, but at this point it certainly seems that we’ll table these until the end of the season."
Headley, who turns 30 on May 9th, admitted that his own struggles have made it difficult to find a common ground in extension talks. The switch-hitter finished fifth in the NL MVP voting in 2012 after batting .286/.376/.498, but he "slumped" to a .250/.347/.400 batting line in 2013 (still good for a 116 OPS+). "That’s part of what makes this so tricky, is you’ve had such a big variation in the last two seasons," he said.
Clearly, Headley would prefer to be compensated based on his 2012 form, while the Padres have some reservations after last season's decline. However, Headley said that the gap in contractual discussions hasn't strained his relationship with the organization:
"Both sides understand where the other party’s coming from and, frankly, respects where the other side is coming from. … We’re hoping at some point that we can come to common ground."
Last May, Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler told the press that the team was planning on making Headley an offer that would make him the highest-paid player in franchise history. Headley was caught off-guard by the news and said he preferred not to discuss extensions midseason.
Now, it appears that he'll be presented with the opportunity to test an open market in which he will be one of the top names available. Hanley Ramirez, Pablo Sandoval, Colby Rasmus, J.J. Hardy, Jed Lowrie, Asdrubal Cabrera and Brett Gardner are among the top free-agent position players available. Ramirez, who is probably the top name set to hit the market, recently expressed his desire to remain with the Dodgers and is in talks about an extension of his own, however.
Rays Sign Erik Bedard
MONDAY: Bedard would earn $1.15MM if he makes the MLB roster, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He can also earn up to $1.625MM more based on the number of starts he makes (ranging from eight to thirty). Bedard can opt out of his deal on March 23rd.
FRIDAY, 7:58am: The Rays have officially confirmed the signing on Twitter.
7:40am: The Rays have agreed to a minor league contract and an invitation to big league Spring Training with left-hander Erik Bedard, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweeted last night that the two were likely to strike such a deal, and MLB Daily Dish's Chris Cotillo first connected the two sides on Wednesday. Bedard is a client of Relativity Baseball.
The 34-year-old Bedard spent the 2013 campaign with the Astros, posting a 4.59 ERA with 8.2 K/9, 4.5 BB/9 and a 36.4 percent ground-ball rate in 151 innings as both a starter and reliever. Bedard has always been injury prone, but until the past two seasons, he had always been effective when on the active roster. From 2006-11, Bedard posted a 3.44 ERA and whiffed 679 batters against 245 walks in 671 1/3 innings. Since that time, however, he's turned in just a 4.78 ERA in 276 2/3 innings between Pittsburgh and Houston.
Though he was emerging as one of the game's better pitchers before being struck by injuries in the mid-2000s, Bedard is probably most famous for the trade that sent him from Baltimore to Seattle. Former Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail flipped Bedard to the Mariners in a trade that netted Adam Jones, Chris Tillman, George Sherrill, Kameron Mickolio and Tony Butler. Jones and Tillman, of course, are cornerstones in Baltimore now. Sherrill was flipped to the Dodgers in a trade for top prospect Josh Bell and righty Steve Johnson (who is still with the organization), and Mickolio was one of two pitchers used to acquire Mark Reynolds from Arizona.
The Rays have already added some pitching depth in the past 24 hours, landing righty Nate Karns from the Nationals in exchange for Jose Lobaton and a pair of prospects. Signing Bedard would add to that depth — a need that is of increased importance due to the news that Jeremy Hellickson will miss the first six to eight weeks of the season following elbow surgery.
Tampa's rotation figures to be led by former Cy Young winner David Price, with Matt Moore, Alex Cobb, Chris Archer and Jake Odorizzi rounding out the starting five as Hellickson recovers. Should Odorizzi struggle or should a starter get injured in Spring Training, Bedard could work his way into the mix. It's also possible that he begins the season in the bullpen and fills a swingman role for the Rays in the earlygoing.
Orioles Nearing Deal With Ubaldo Jimenez
The Orioles are working to finalize a deal with free agent starter Ubaldo Jimenez, reports MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko. The contract under consideration is believed to be for four years and $48MM.
Jimenez, 30, is one of the premier remaining available free agents. He checked in at 11th on the top fifty free agent list of MLBTR's Tim Dierkes.
If he does land at the four-year, $48MM level, it would represent a nice payday at this late stage of the market. As MLBTR's Steve Adams argued in his breakdown of Jimenez's free agent case, the big righty looked good for a three-year, $39MM deal but could plausibly command another guaranteed year that would bring him into the range of Edwin Jackson's four-year, $52MM contract. In Adams' analysis, in spite of his up-and-down recent track record, Jimenez carries the upside of a top-of-the-rotation starter but also has proven a durable innings-eater.
For the Orioles, the addition of Jimenez would represent a massive shift in the off-season's complexion. Recent signee Suk-min Yoon and reliever Ryan Webb are the only players that the O's have inked to multi-year deals thus far, and both players received guarantees of less than $6MM.
Baltimore has been tied to numberous players to date, and nearly landed reliever Grant Balfour on a two-year, $15MM pact, but has yet to pull the trigger on a major acquisition. Jimenez certainly would represent that, and would be expected to constitute a major upgrade to a rotation that current sports several question marks. According to Kubatko, the Orioles have also participated in recent talks with fellow free agent starter Ervin Santana.
If Jimenez does indeed sign with the Orioles, his new employer would be required to sacrifice the 17th overall choice in the 2014 amateur draft. Meanwhile, the Indians — Jimenez's former club — would add a sandwich-round compensation pick.
Orioles Sign Suk-Min Yoon
The Orioles on Monday officially announced that they have signed South Korean right-hander Suk-min Yoon to a three-year contract. Yoon's deal will reportedly guarantee him $5.575MM and also contains incentives and escalator provisions could significantly increase its total value to $13.075MM over that span. Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette offered the following statement on the signing:
"We are excited to bring Suk-min Yoon to the organization. He has been a top pitcher in the Korea Baseball Organization and has pitched successfully in international competition. We look forward to his contributions to the Orioles."
The contract features a slightly backloaded and rather complicated structure. Yoon will receive a $675K signing bonus, then earn $750K for the coming season, $1.75MM in 2015, and $2.4MM in 2016. On top of that, Yoon can earn $1.25MM in incentives in 2014 based upon games started. Reaching that milestone would also bump his 2015 base by $1.25MM. The same mechanism allows Yoon to earn $1.25MM in incentives for 2015 and add as much as $2.5MM to his 2016 base salary (and, once more, earn a $1.25MM incentive payday in that final year of the deal).
Notably, Yoon also receives other protection in the contract. He will be eligible to qualify for free agency after the deal is up, and the deal includes a mechanism to protect him from a minor league demotion.
Yoon is said to be "in good shape to pass" the physical, but the club is reportedly remaining quiet about the deal until he does. Obviously, Baltimore is hopeful of avoiding any bad press that might come from issues relating to the medical exam, given its heavily-scrutinized decisions to shelve deals with Grant Balfour and Tyler Colvin due to problems with their physicals.
As MLBTR's Tim Dierkes explained in his detailed profile of Yoon before the off-season, the Korean hurler was widely regarded as the KBO's second-best pitcher after Hyun-jin Ryu, who went on to success with the Dodgers last year. But that does not necessarily mean he approaches Ryu's upside, as the stark differences in their contracts would suggest. (Ryu was promised $36MM, after Los Angeles bid over $25MM for negotiating rights. Unlike Ryu, Yoon was a free agent and did not require a posting or release fee.)
That is not to say that Yoon lacks appeal, of course. He had two outstanding seasons in the KBO as a starter, winning the league's MVP award in 2011. Though he is said not to have dominant stuff, Yoon is by all accounts a solid arm with the talent to add value in the bigs. The major issue with Yoon, Dierkes noted, was a shoulder injury that hampered his 2013 campaign. He battled through the injury, but split time between a starting and relief role and failed to match his prior production.
Though Dierkes put Yoon's value at two years and $10MM, he noted that prediction was based on very limited information. A recent report indicated that Yoon was seeing wide interest, but that apparently did not allow him to generate much of a bidding war.
From the Orioles' perspective, Yoon is set to receive the first MLB deal given by the club to a starter this off-season. (Of course, the team added Bud Norris via trade at last year's deadline, a fact which is often overlooked.) Indeed, Yoon would represent the largest free agent splash thus far for the O's, beating the two-year, $4.5MM guarantee made to reliever Ryan Webb.
Given that his contract includes incentives based upon games started, it would seem he stands at least some chance to crack the rotation. The club's rotation figures to include Norris, Chris Tillman, Wei-Yin Chen, and Miguel Gonzalez. Yoon could potentially battle with a range of other options — including Kevin Gausman, Brian Matusz, Zach Britton, T.J. McFarland, and Alfredo Aceves — for the final slot.
Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com first reported the signing. MLB.com's Britt Ghiroli (via Twitter) first reported its approximate value, and Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter) first reported that it included incentive provisions. Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com reported the contract breakdown, details, and escalators. Special thanks to Cotillo for explaining the complicated structure of the incentive and escalator provisions.
Manny Ramirez Joins Miami Sports Management
Manny Ramirez has changed agents and will now be represented by Alex Esteban of Miami Sports Management, MLBTR's Zach Links reports (on Twitter).
The 41-year-old Ramirez, formerly represented by Praver/Shapiro, still has interest in continuing his playing career, hitting coach David Segui told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe back in January. Ramirez's last big league action came in 2012, though he batted.259.328/.370 in 119 plate appearances with the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate last season after a dominant showing for the EDA Rhinos in Taiwan.
Ramirez, of course, is one of the most accomplished hitters of all-time, having authored a .312/.411/.585 batting line and tallied 555 home runs in 9,774 career plate appearances. However, he's also served a pair of suspensions for performance enhancing drugs and drawn criticism for his eccentric personality.
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