Mark Reynolds Weighing Offers, Expected To Sign Soon
Free agent corner infielder/designated hitter Mark Reynolds has several offers in hand and is likely to take one by the end of the week, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. As Kilgore notes, the Nationals are among the teams to have expressed interest in the slugging 30-year-old.
Last we heard, the Nats were joined by four other teams that were in on Reynolds: the Rangers, Twins, Orioles, and Yankees. Though Reynolds was let go by the Indians after a rough .215/.307/.373 triple-slash over his first 384 plate appearances of 2013, he was better upon joining the Yankees. In 120 plate appearances for New York, Reynolds slashed .236/.300/.455.
Reynolds has prodigious power, having hit at least twenty home runs over the last six seasons. But with that strength comes a tendency to swing and miss; Reynolds has led the league in K's in four of his seven seasons. Reynolds has also graded out poorly as a fielder as well, though his baserunning metrics see him as average in that regard. It is worth noting, also, that Reynolds has a relatively minor career platoon split (.777 OPS and 147 home runs vs. righties; .834 OPS and 55 home runs vs. lefties).
Diamondbacks Extend Josh Collmenter
The Diamondbacks have avoided arbitration and reached an extension with righty Josh Collmenter, reports Ken Rosentha of FOX Sports (Twitter links). The club has also officially announced the extension via press release.
Collmenter will receive a $2.425MM guarantee. The deal also includes a club option and a mutual option, according to Rosenthal, and could reach $6.5MM in value if both options were to be exercised.
Collmenter, soon to be 28 years of age, is represented by The Sparta Group. He began his time in Arizona as a starter, throwing 154 1/3 innings of 3.38 ERA ball back in 2011. But Collmenter struggled to a 5.11 ERA in eleven starts in the 2012 season, leading to a switch to the pen. He has been solid in his new relief role, and last year racked up 8.3 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 in 92 innings, supporting a 3.13 ERA.
Angels’ Moreno On Garza, Stadium Deal, Trout
Angels owner Arte Moreno covered several topics today with Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. (All links to Twitter.) Here are the highlights:
- Explaining that the club is still looking to add arms, Moreno told Morosi that the club has had discussions with free agent starter Matt Garza. The Angels have been rumored to prefer Garza to Ubaldo Jimenez and Ervin Santana, due at least in part to the lack of draft pick compensation required to sign him.
- Meanwhile, Moreno said that he is "very optimistic" that the Angels will reach a deal with the city of Anaheim to keep the club playing at Angel Stadium for the next two decades. The deal under consideration would see the team pay for infrastructure improvements while picking up rights to revenue from redevelopment initiatives in the stadium's vicinity.
- Of course, with Clayton Kershaw's record-setting extension from earlier today, Mike Trout becomes the young superstar whose possible extension becomes most interesting to consider. Moreno, however, said that there was "nothing to speak of" regarding Trout's contract status.
Angels Sign Raul Ibanez
JANUARY 15: Ibanez will make about $250K for every 50th plate appearance, and would max out his $2.25MM incentive plan by making 400 trips to the plate, tweets Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.
DECEMBER 27: The Angels lost a good deal of pop from their lineup when they traded Mark Trumbo to the Diamondbacks, and they're hoping that Raul Ibanez can replace some of those lost round-trippers. The Halos officially announced that they've signed Ibanez to a one-year deal today. The ACES client reportedly receives a $2.75MM guarantee with incentives that can take the deal as high as $5MM.
The 41-year-old Ibanez turned back the clock with a surprising 29-homer campaign with the Mariners last year. Ibanez slashed .242/.306/.487 and hit lefties equally as well as he hit right-handed pitching. However, the Mariners gave Ibanez a surprising 832 innings in the outfield, where his glove was poor enough for Fangraphs to grade him as a replacement-level player and Baseball-Reference to peg him at a mere 0.4 WAR despite his power.
In that sense, Anaheim is a logical fit, as they don't need to play Ibanez in the outfield given the presence of Josh Hamilton, Mike Trout, Kole Calhoun and J.B. Shuck. Ibanez figures to receive the lion's share of at-bats as the Halos' DH. Though Albert Pujols occupied the position a good deal last year, Anaheim will bank on his health in 2014 and beyond as he returns to his role as an everyday first baseman. Ibanez isn't the only new face in the Angels' lineup either, as GM Jerry Dipoto acquired David Freese from the Cardinals this offseason in a trade that sent Peter Bourjos to St. Louis.
As Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register points out (on Twitter), this move places the Angels within roughly $15MM of the $189MM luxury tax threshold, but that doesn't figure to stop the team from pursuing Matt Garza or Masahiro Tanaka (in the event that he is posted).
Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish first reported that the two sides were close (on Twitter), and Fletcher first tweeted the one-year, $2.75MM guarantee. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports first reported the agreement and the incentives (Twitter links).
Dodgers Still Want To Add A Starting Pitcher
Even after signing Dan Haren earlier in the offseason and agreeing to extend Clayton Kershaw today, the Dodgers hope to add another arm to their staff, report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter links). Masahiro Tanaka is a possibility, but would be an ownership call, while Bronson Arroyo is also on the team's "short list" of options.
Club GM Ned Colletti has said that, despite inking Haren, another starter addition remained possible. The rotation presumably will include Kershaw, Zack Greinke, and Hyun-jin Ryu in addition to Haren. For the fifth spot, absent a new signing, the club would be expected to host a Spring Training competition between veterans Josh Beckett and Chad Billingsley.
While Beckett and Billingsley remain question marks due to injury issues, the two are owed a combined $27.75MM by Los Angeles next year. Presumably, either or both could become trade candidates in the event that another starter is brought in.
Brewers Sign Zach Duke
The Brewers have agreed to a minor league deal with lefty Zach Duke, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy (via Twitter). The deal includes a Spring Training invitation.
Duke, 30, struggled early last year with the Nationals, posting a 8.71 ERA in his first 20 2/3 innings. But the southpaw turned things around upon joining the Reds, allowing less than an earned run per nine during his 10 2/3 innings in Cincinnati. Since losing his job as an everyday starter after the 2010 season, Duke has bounced around the league as a middle reliever.
Travis Hafner Agrees To Join College Coaching Staff
Longtime big league slugger Travis Hafner has agreed to join the coaching staff of Division II Notre Dame College, according to reports from Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (via Twitter) and a press release posted on the school's website. As Cotillo notes, however, it is not yet clear what Hafner's agreement means for his playing career.
The left-handed swinging DH is now 36 years of age. He spent last year in pinstripes, putting up a .202/.301/.378 line and 12 home runs in 299 plate appearances for the Yankees. Hafner's best season at the plate came in 2006, when he put up a monster .308/.439/.659 campaign with 42 long balls to lead the league in slugging and OPS.
Hafner has not seen time in the field since way back in 2007, which does limit his usefulness to MLB clubs at this stage of his career. His career triple-slash stands at a robust .273/.376/.498 in 4,782 plate appearances, over which he also hit 213 home runs.
Dodgers Trying To Extend Kershaw This Week
2:07pm: Dodgers president Stan Kasten has confirmed that the club is looking to complete a deal with Kershaw in the near term, according to a tweet from Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. "I am hopeful that, by the [arbitration exchange] deadline Friday morning, we can work something out," Kasten said in reference to Kershaw.
Kasten also left the impression that a Kershaw extension would not preclude the club from pursuing Masahiro Tanaka, Shaikin further tweets. Though he declined to discuss the Japanese hurler, Kasten said that he does not "think any one contract impacts any other."
11:15am: ESPN's Buster Olney says Kershaw and the Dodgers are "at the two- or the one-yard line" in terms of completing a record-setting extension (video link).
8:28am: The Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw are discussing an extension, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, who reports that the team would like to have an agreement in place by Friday. Los Angeles' preference is to have a deal in place by the time the two sides are set to exchange arbitration figures.
Rosenthal reports that the two sides were close on a seven-year, $210MM extension last season before the Dodgers backed off and adds that early in the negotiation process, a 10-year, $250MM contract and a 12-year, $300MM pact were discussed. Rosenthal also reports that the near-agreement last season contained an opt-out after the fifth year that would've allowed Kershaw to hit the open market again at age 30. The Dodgers gave Zack Greinke an opt-out after three years of his deal, and Kershaw has the same agency — Excel Sports Management.
Kershaw is fresh off his third straight National League ERA title and his second Cy Young in three years, having pitched to a 1.83 ERA in 2013. Over the past five seasons, Kershaw has pitched to an incredible 2.43 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9, and his command has improved in each of those seasons. He averaged nearly five walks per nine innings as a 21-year-old in 2009 but averaged just two per nine innings last season. Kershaw's accomplishments make it seem as though he's older than he actually is, but incredibly, he's still entering just his age-26 season.
As MLBTR's Tim Dierkes noted back in April, CC Sabathia's $161MM guarantee is the largest "new money" extension ever signed by a pitcher, though Justin Verlander and Felix Hernandez have had larger guarantees that included the money from previously existing deals. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected an $18.2MM salary for Kershaw next season if the two sides simply work out a one-year deal via arbitration, but a long-term deal would obviously require a significantly larger annual value.
Cubs Sign Chris Coghlan
The Cubs have signed Chris Coghlan to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter). Coghlan, a Scott Boras client, will earn $800K if he makes the Major League roster and has another $250K of incentives built into his contract, Sherman reports. Coghlan can also opt out of his deal on June 15 if he is not in the Major Leagues at that time.
Coghlan, 28, was the National League Rookie of the Year with the Marlins back in 2009 when he batted .321/.390/.460 with nine homers and eight stolen bases in 565 plate appearances. The outfielder has struggled to replicate that success, however, as he's slumped to a .242/.307/.352 line in the four seasons that have followed. He was slightly better than that in 2013, batting .256/.318/.354 in 214 PAs. Though he has 809 innings in center field in his career, defensive metrics aren't kind to Coghlan at any outfield position.
Coghlan will join an outfield mix in Chicago that currently includes Nate Schierholtz, Justin Ruggiano, Junior Lake, Ryan Sweeney and Brett Jackson, with top prospects such as Jorge Soler, Albert Almora and potentially Kris Bryant (if he is unable to stick at third base) looming on the horizon.
Charlie Manuel To Join Phillies’ Front Office
Former manager Charlie Manuel has reached an agreement with the Phillies to accept a position in their front office, according to Brian Startare of ESPN Radio 97.5 (Twitter link). Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reports (also via Twitter) that Manuel will serve as a senior advisor to general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.
The Phillies fired Manuel back in August and named Ryne Sandberg the interim manager (Sandberg would eventually go on to shed the "interim" label by signing a three-year deal). At the time of the managerial change, Amaro told reporters that Manuel had been asked to remain with the organization in a new role. After taking roughly five months off, Manuel looks to have decided that he does indeed wish to return to the organization for which he served as manager for nearly nine years.
Manuel led the Phillies to a 780-636 record in his time as their skipper. From 2007-11, the Phils won five straight division titles under Manuel, and in 2008 they captured a World Series title. The Phillies returned to the Fall Classic in 2009, though they were denied a repeat championship by the Yankees. Manuel has managed for parts of 12 big league seasons and also has experience as a Major League hitting coach. In his illustrious managerial career, Manuel tallied exactly 1,000 victories.