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Archives for January 2014

AL Notes: A-Rod, Moreland, Twins, Figgins

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MLB was ready to pass expanded replay and eliminate home plate collisions at last month's Winter Meetings. However, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, the main hurdle is union approval. In an email to FOX Sports, MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark wrote the union's executive board discussed both issues "at length" during its December meeting, but "a consensus on both matters was not reached." Clark added "what has been contemplated exceeds what was agreed to" in regards to instant replay and "as it relates to home plate collisions, there are several points of view to explore with the players and we continue to do so." In today's news and notes from the American League:

  • The Yankees will not make a final decision about how to handle the possibility of Alex Rodriguez reporting to Spring Training until speaking with the comissioner's office, reports ESPNNewYork.com's Andrew Marchand. One baseball official told Marchand the Yankees could send Rodriguez to their minor league camp and even go as far as instructing coaches not to hit him grounders or throw him batting practice.  
  • The only reason for Rodriguez to attend Spring Training is to give the media even more A-Rod headlines next month, opines Jayson Stark of ESPN. Several industry sources familiar with baseball's Basic Agreement and Joint Drug Agreement tell Stark neither agreement explicitly gives a player suspended for the season the right to attend Spring Training with one official calling the wording "intentionally vague."
  • The Somerset Patriots of the independent Atlantic League have released a statement on their Facebook page saying they will not sign A-Rod and doing so "would be a hurtful precedent." However, the San Rafael Pacifics of the independent Pacific Association are open to the possibility, tweets the San Francisco Chronicle's John Shea, who first wrote about the team's interest last August. In the article, Shea notes the Pacific Association does not adhere to MLB suspensions and has no mandatory drug testing.
  • Mitch Moreland told reporters, including Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com, he still isn't sure whether he will playing for the Rangers or elsewhere in 2014. "They’ve definitely made a lot of moves and have been very active this offseason," Moreland said. "From what I know right now, I’m still here and still a Texas Ranger and happy to be here and looking forward to the season." Earlier today, we learned Texas has been unwilling to discuss Moreland in trade talks. If that remains the case, Moreland says he has been told his role will be changing and he will use Spring Training to prepare himself to play first base, the outfield, and DH. 
  • The Twins are still showing no interest in exploring multi-year pacts with any of their three arbitration eligible players, tweets Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects a total of $4.8MM for the trio of Trevor Plouffe, Brian Duensing, and Anthony Swarzak. In a separate tweet, Berardino reports an arbitration hearing will probably not be needed for Swarzak because the salary gap should be pretty narrow. The filing deadline is Tuesday. 
  • After sitting out 2013, Chone Figgins wants to play this season and will work out for teams in Tampa this week, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. After a .298/.395/.393 line with the Angels in 2009, Figgins signed a four-year, $36MM deal with the Mariners and proceeded to struggle in Seattle with a .227/.302/.283 slash over the life of the contract.

Yankees To Sign Scott Sizemore

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3:50pm: Sizemore has opt-out dates of May 1 and August 1, if he isn't on the Yankees' 25-man roster, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. In a second tweet, Sherman reports Sizemore had two Major League offers, but saw more opportunities with the Yankees. 

10:55am: The Yankees have agreed to a minor league contract with infielder Scott Sizemore, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link).  Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reported earlier today that the two sides were close to an agreement.  Sizemore is represented by ACES.

Sizemore missed the entire 2012 season after tearing his left ACL, and played in just two games in 2013 before suffering the same injury.  The Athletics outrighted Sizemore off their 40-man roster in November and the Marlins were rumored to be interested in his services this offseason.  Sizemore, 29, hit .239/.329/.382 with 14 homers over 592 career PA with the A's and Tigers in 2010-11 and was a contender to be an everyday player for Oakland before his knee injuries.

With his experience at both second and third base, Sizemore is a potential good depth fit for the Yankees' bench as the Bombers look to replace both Robinson Cano and the suspended Alex Rodriguez.  Kelly Johnson is the favorite for the starting job at one of the two infield positions, with Eduardo Nunez also capable of playing both positions and Brian Roberts in the mix at second.

Edward Creech contributed to this post.

Masahiro Tanaka Rumors: Sunday

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Earlier today, we learned the Cubs are prepared to offer Masahiro Tanaka a nine-figure contract and a National League GM expects one team will "come in and blow everyone away." Here's the latest on the top ranked player on MLBTR's 2014 Top 50 Free Agents list still on the market:

  • The level of the Dodgers' aggressiveness in pursuing in Tanaka may be defined by the progress, or lack thereof, in extension talks with Clayton Kershaw, according to ESPN's Buster Olney (Insider subscription required). 
  • The Blue Jays have scouted Tanaka, but their reluctance to offer players seven-year contracts make it unlikely the prized right-hander will sign with Toronto, writes Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun.
  • Also within Elliott's article, a source provides this scouting report on Tanaka: "Plenty of great Japanese hitters say his four-seam fastball and splitter are indistinguishable. His regular season was outstanding: 95-96 mph, four-seam fastball, location was great, velocity was great and an unhittable splitter, along with a hard slider."
  • Elliott's source also outlined what Tanaka will be seeking from potential suitors. "Tanaka wants to go to a World Series, wants a city where his family will feel at home since they don’t speak English. He has a desire to be on a team with potential to win and loves the pressure."

Brewers Notes: Aoki, Melvin, Loney, First Base

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The trade of Norichika Aoki to the Royals for southpaw Will Smith was "was coaxed primarily by Aoki's agent to assure more playing time," Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes.  Khris Davis' impressive rookie season put him in line for a starting job in 2014, and with Ryan Braun and Carlos Gomez locked into the other two starting outfield spots, Aoki was looking at a reduced role with the Brewers next season.

Here's some more Brewers news from Haudricourt's chat with Brewers GM Doug Melvin…

  • Melvin reiterated his stance that the Brewers' lack of major offseason moves is due to the belief that the team will improve simply with the continued development of young players and the returns of suspended or injured stars like Braun or Aramis Ramirez.
  • The Brewers pursued James Loney, who instead re-signed with the Rays for a three-year, $21MM contract.  "We knew if he had the same deal he was probably going to go back to Tampa," Melvin said.  Indeed, Loney said that he chose the Rays' contract over similar offers from not just the Brewers, but also the Pirates and Astros.
  • Melvin cited some interest in Justin Morneau, who signed with the Rockies last month, but the GM sounded as if he wasn't particularly enamored with the free agent options at first base.  "The list wasn't very good. It's one of those years where the position we needed, there were fewer opportunities to get someone," Melvin said.
  • In also noting that the trade market for first baseman was thin, Melvin acknowledged he had at least had discussions with the Rangers and Mariners.  "There just aren't available guys. Texas, at this point, is not willing to talk about [Mitch] Moreland. Seattle is not interested in moving their guys. So, there aren't a lot of choices."
  • The Brewers didn't have much available payroll space this offseason but extra money would've been there if the situation warranted.  "We haven't increased it that much, but if the right player was there I would go to (team owner) Mark (Attanasio) and say it's the right player," Melvin said.  "When it comes to payroll, we're always guarded to make sure that we don't put ourselves in a hole or a bind that we can't get out of two years from now or three years from now. Our payroll will be in a much better position next year in that regard."  The Brewers have only $39.1MM committed for 2015 as Ramirez, Yovani Gallardo and Tom Gorzelanny all come off the books next winter, plus Rickie Weeks seems unlikely to receive the 600 PA he needs this season to trigger his $11.5MM vesting option for 2015.

Yankees Notes: Infield, A-Rod, Payroll

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The fallout over Alex Rodriguez's suspension for the entire 2014 season is still settling over both the Bronx and the entire baseball world.  Here's the latest on both A-Rod and other Yankee-related topics…

  • The Yankees will "most likely" not sign another infielder to a Major League contract, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link).  As Rosenthal notes, that would take the Yankees out of the running for Stephen Drew and Michael Young.  Drew might've been a long shot anyway given Scott Boras' salary demands and the fact that Drew is a natural shortstop, though Young and Mark Reynolds were reportedly both on the Yankees' radar.  Reynolds, however, has already rejected a minor league offer from the club and only wants a Major League deal.
  • The 162-game suspension will reduce Rodriguez's salary to just under $2.87MM for 2014, though Forbes Magazine's Maury Brown notes that the Yankees will pay A-Rod $3MM on Wednesday in the last instalment of his original $10MM signing bonus.  Brown's piece also looks at several other facets of Rodriguez's suspension, including possible implications for the MLBPA and future PED testing rules.
  • Rodriguez's suspension gives the Yankees millions in salary relief, a situation that The Denver Post's Troy Renck and FOX Sports' Gabe Kapler both see as a sign that MLB needs to do more to penalize teams who have players suspended for PED violations.  Renck suggests that wins could be removed from a team's record, while Kapler suggests that a team should pay a suspended player his full salary, but the player would then have to donate his salary while under suspension to an MLB-approved charity.
  • "The hard reality is that no matter what you think of A-Rod, the Yankees brought this situation upon themselves, purely out of greed," ESPN New York's Wallace Matthews writes, noting that Rodriguez's contract was negotiated by Yankees upper management above GM Brian Cashman's objections.  Matthews suggests that the club could just release Rodriguez and pay the remaining $61MM on his contract just to avoid the distractions if A-Rod shows up at Spring Training as planned.
  • From earlier today, the Yankees agreed to sign infielder Scott Sizemore to a minor league deal.

Ohio Notes: Reds, Indians, Carroll, Axford

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Here's the latest from both teams in the Buckeye State…

  • The Reds are lacking in shortstop depth behind Zack Cozart and MLB.com's Mark Sheldon wonders if the club will address this issue before Spring Training.  The pickings are slim on the utility backup shortstop market, and they became even slimmer when Jamey Carroll recently signed with Washington.  The Reds weren't in on Carroll, Sheldon reports.  (The Indians, however, were one of Carroll's suitors.)
  • It's been a quiet offseason for the Reds, and ESPN's Dave Cameron (Insider subscription required) argues that the team has done little to keep pace in the NL Central.  Cameron suggests three moves involving Homer Bailey, the rotation and the backup outfield spot that would help upgrade the Reds' roster for 2014 and beyond.
  • After he was traded to the Cardinals last summer, John Axford was surprised to learn from St. Louis coaches that he was tipping his pitches, the reliever told John Lott of the National Post.  Axford discusses the adjustments that led to turning his season around as a Cardinal, and his subsequent signing with the Indians.
  • The Indians may have a few million dollars in remaining payroll to spend, Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.  The front office plans to wait until right before Spring Training and then use these potential funds if a player they like is still on the market.
  • Also from Pluto, David Cooper also received a Major League contract offer from the Rays before the first baseman chose to re-sign with the Indians in December.
  • Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer covers a number of Indians-related topics in a reader mailbag, including whether or not there's a spot for Michael Young on the Tribe's roster.
  • Roto Authority, MLBTR's fantasy baseball-focused sister site, has relaunched for 2014 with all-new content.  One of the many articles from RA's opening week was Alex Steers McCrum's piece about how the Tribe's plan to give Yan Gomes the bulk of playing time behind the plate makes Gomes a strong fantasy catching option.

Cubs Notes: Samardzija, Tanaka, Santana, Jimenez

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Here's the latest on the Cubs from CSN Chicago's Patrick Mooney…

  • Jeff Samardzija and the Cubs are still far apart on a contract extension, "though there’s mutual respect on both sides and hope they can eventually find common ground."  Samardzija's name has surfaced in several trade rumors this offseason but Mooney reports that the Cubs now plan to keep the righty until closer to the July 31 trade deadline.  This would theoretically improve the quality of trade offers, such as how the Cubs scored a nice package of prospects from the Rangers last summer in exchange for Matt Garza.
  • The Cubs are prepared to give Masahiro Tanaka a nine-figure contract, a source tells Mooney.  The Cubs have long been considered a major suitor for the Japanese right-hander, with one MLB source telling Mooney's CSN colleague David Kaplan last month that the Cubs wouldn't be outbid for Tanaka's services.  That said, Mooney hears from several baseball officials that the bidding will get "silly" and another team will offer Tanaka a longer-term and more expensive deal.
  • If they can't sign Tanaka, the Cubs aren't interested in pursuing Ervin Santana, Ubaldo Jimenez or Garza.  The Cubs would have to surrender their second-round draft pick and corresponding draft pool money as compensation for signing either Santana or Jimenez. 
  • Santana "is the kind of buy-high pitcher the Cubs are trying to avoid now," Mooney writes.  The Cubs did explore trading for Santana last winter when the righty was coming off a tough season with the Angels, and Santana ended up reviving his career with a good 2013 campaign with the Royals.

Cafardo On Arroyo, Overbay, Drew, Boras

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In his latest column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe revealed that he is part of a BBWAA committee that will explore the Hall of Fame voting process and discuss what changes (if any) need to be made.  Some of the issues likely to be addressed by the committee is whether to allow voters to name more than 10 players on their ballots, whether or not long-time broadcasters or statistical analysis-centric writers should be given a say in HOF voting.

Here's the latest hot stove news from Cafardo…

  • Two new teams have joined the hunt for Bronson Arroyo.  At least one of his suitors is moving closer to giving Arroyo the third contract year he's looking for, though that third year could come in the form of a vesting option.  Cafardo isn't sure if the Twins were that mystery team, though they've been interested in Arroyo all winter.  He also cites the Yankees and Phillies as interested parties, as those two clubs join the likes of the Orioles, Mets and Pirates as those linked to the veteran righty this winter.  Cafardo reported last month that Arroyo has received two-year contract offers from four different teams.
  • Free agent Lyle Overbay is an option for both the Astros and Brewers at first base.  Milwaukee is also still considering signing Michael Young for first, or trading for Mitch Moreland of the Rangers.
  • Agent Scott Boras says “there are five or six teams who I have actively talked to concerning Stephen [Drew],” including the Red Sox.  As you might expect, Boras denied that Drew's market is in any way limited, noting that Drew doesn't have a new contract yet since "free agency is a long process.  It just doesn’t end at Christmas. It’s a January, February, and even a March process."
  • Boras "has a tremendous stake in the Red Sox’ present and future," Cafardo writes, noting that the agent represents not just Drew, but also top youngsters Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley and Deven Marrero.
  • "The silence on [Kendrys] Morales is deafening," as teams are reluctant to give up a first round draft pick as compensation for the slugger.  At least one team said they're leery about spending significant money for a DH, though Boras, Morales' agent, counters by noting the impact that David Ortiz has had on the Red Sox and also noting that his client can play first base.
  • Johnny Damon has stayed in shape and would be willing to resume his career.  The 40-year-old hinted at retirement if he couldn't find a contract last offseason and indeed Damon ended up sitting out the 2013.  Damon is also a Boras client, and the agent tells Cafardo that Damon has yet to contact him about officially retiring.
  • Manny Ramirez wants to continue his career, his hitting coach David Segui predicts, though Segui hasn't spoken to Ramirez in over two months.  “Manny will always be able to hit,” Segui said. “He loves to play, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s still looking for something.”  Ramirez's agent, Barry Praver, said in November that his client looking for a return to the Majors.  Ramirez, 41, last played with the bigs with the Rays in 2011 before being suspended for PED use.  Over the last two years, Ramirez spent some time with the Athletics' and Rangers' Triple-A affiliates and also played in Taiwan.
  • A National League GM predicts that one of Masahiro Tanaka's many suitors will "come in and blow everyone away.  There’s going to be a dance where everyone is in the same boat and then there will be a team that breaks the bank for him.”

Yankees Close To Agreement With Scott Sizemore

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The Yankees and infielder Scott Sizemore are close to an agreement on a minor league contract, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post reports (via Twitter).  Sizemore, who just turned 29 years old last week, is represented by ACES.

Sizemore played in 91 games as a third baseman in 2011 and he'd give New York some more depth at the hot corner in the wake of Alex Rodriguez's suspension for the entire 2014 season.  Most of Sizemore's pro experience has some at second base, so he could be an option at that spot as well should Kelly Johnson end up getting the call at third.

Of course, just getting back to the field at all would be an accomplishment for Sizemore, who has missed all but two games of the 2012-13 seasons due to two seperate tears of his left ACL.  Prior to the injuries, Sizemore had hit .239/.329/.382 with 14 homers over 592 career PA with Oakland and Detroit, joining the A's in May 2011 in a swap that sent David Purcey to the Tigers.  The Athletics outrighted Sizemore off their 40-man roster in November and the Marlins were rumored to be interested in his services this offseason.

Reynolds Unlikely To Return To Yankees

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Mark Reynolds is unlikely to return to the Yankees, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News tweets, citing a source who says the Yanks have only offered the infielder a minor-league deal. "He won't take that," Feinsand says.

Reynolds, 30, clubbed six homers for the Yankees in 36 games after they brought him on in August, compiling a .236/.300/.455 line in New York overall. While that OBP is a step down from Reynolds' .329 career average, it's generally a vintage Reynolds line: big power and a low batting average fueled by one of the game's highest strikeout rates. Some have speculated that the Bombers might try to re-up with Reynolds now that they can be certain Alex Rodriguez won't be manning third base for the club in 2014. However, it now appears that they're not interested in anything beyond a minimal commitment.

Stephen Drew is the top left-side infielder remaining on the free agent market, though the Red Sox extended him a qualifying offer. Michael Young is another option, and the Yanks already have Kelly Johnson in the fold.

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