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Archives for February 2014

Mariners, Justin Smoak Avoid Arbitration

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The Mariners have signed first baseman Justin Smoak to a one-year deal with a 2015 vesting option, Sportsnet.ca's Ben Nicholson-Smith reports (all Twitter links). Smoak will receive $2.6375MM plus a $150K buyout on his $3.65MM option, which becomes a team option if Smoak does not receive at least 525 plate appearances in 2014. Nicholson-Smith also notes that the contract contains escalators, and the option could also vests if Smoak wins certain awards. Smoak had filed for $3.25MM in arbitration, with the Mariners countering at $2.025MM. Smoak is represented by Bledsoe Brothers. 

Smoak hit .234/.338/.412 in 521 plate appearances with the Mariners last season, after which the M's added Corey Hart via free agency and Logan Morrison via trade. Since then, they reportedly made Smoak available in the right deal, although they could also enter the 2014 season rotating Hart, Morrison and Smoak between first base and DH.

Minor Moves: Teahen, Hatcher

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Here are today's minor moves from around baseball.

  • The Giants have agreed to terms on a minor-league deal with 3B/OF Mark Teahen, MLB Daily Dish's Chris Cotillo tweets. The deal does not include an invite to Major-League spring training. Teahen spent most of the 2013 season with the independent York Revolution, but he also played short stints with Triple-A Reno (Diamondbacks) and Round Rock (Rangers). He last appeared in the big leagues in 2011.
  • The Marlins have outrighted pitcher Chris Hatcher to the minors, MLB.com's Joe Frisaro tweets. MLB Daily Dish's Chris Cotillo previously noted that Hatcher had cleared waivers. The righty spend most of last season with Triple-A New Orleans, where he posted a 3.61 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 67 1/3 innings. He also made seven appearances in the big leagues, allowing 13 runs. The Marlins designated Hatcher for assignment when they added Carlos Marmol.

Cubs To Sign Emilio Bonifacio

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2:14pm: Bonifacio will make $2.5MM, plus a possible $425K in incentives, if he makes the Cubs out of spring training, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman tweets. Bonifacio therefore will not make a league-minimum salary, as had previously been reported. Including the $574K Bonifacio will receive in termination pay from the Royals, his Cubs deal could pay him up to the $3.5MM he orginally would have received had he stuck with Kansas City.

10:53am: The Cubs have agreed to terms with infielder Emilio Bonifacio, Grupo Telemicro's Ildefonso Urena tweets. The agreement is for a minor-league deal, ESPN Chicago's Jesse Rogers reports. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets that Bonifacio had Major-League offers from other teams, so it appears likely that he believes he will make the Cubs out of spring training. Bonifacio is represented by Kinzer Management Group.

The Royals had previously avoided arbitration with Bonifacio, signing him to a one-year, $3.5MM deal, but they designated him for assignment when they signed Bruce Chen, meaning they only had to pay a fraction of that $3.5MM salary. Bonifacio subsequently cleared release waivers, and became free to sign wherever he liked.

Bonifacio, 28, hit a relatively .243/.295/.331 in 461 plate appearances with the Blue Jays and Royals last season, but he can play second and third base and any outfield position, and he contributes good value on the bases. He also played shortstop semi-regularly as recently as 2011. Cubs second baseman Darwin Barney struggled last season, so Bonifacio could provide insurance at second if that happens again. He could also serve as a bench player.

Long List Of Teams Interested In Ervin Santana

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Ervin Santana's list of suitors includes not only the Blue Jays, Orioles and Mariners (all of whom have been connected to Santana in the past week), but also the Indians, Rockies, Royals and other teams, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman writes. Heyman cautions that it's possible that some teams may merely be trying to get Santana on a cheap deal, however.

The Royals would like Santana to return, Heyman writes. The Indians may also be a possibility, although they might be more likely to re-sign Ubaldo Jimenez (which itself seems unlikely). The Reds and Phillies could also be possibilities, although those seem more speculative.

The Blue Jays and Mariners would appear to have an edge in pursuit of Santana, since both teams could be competitive, and neither team would lose a first-round draft pick if they signed him. Perhaps the takeaway here, however, is that, with spring training camps opening and with Santana as one of five qualifying-offer players still on the market, there is plenty of uncertainty, and the team that signs him might not end up being one of the obvious contenders.

AL Central Notes: Scherzer, Shields, Indians

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Tigers starting pitcher Max Scherzer reiterates that he won't negotiate an extension once the season starts, George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press writes. "This can be a major distraction," Scherzer says. "I understand I have a chance to secure my future here with the team. I want that to happen. But at the same time, I’m not going to drag negotiations out into the season." Scherzer would not say whether he and his agent, Scott Boras, are currently negotiating a deal with the Tigers. Here are more notes from the AL Central.

  • James Shields of the Royals is heading into his last season before what should be a hefty free-agent payday, Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star reports. "I’d definitely say he’s a $20 million (per season) guy," says one AL executive. Along with Scherzer and Homer Bailey, Shields will headline the 2014-2015 class of starting pitching. The Royals aren't ruling out extending Shields, but it will be tricky for them to retain him. "If they keep him, it’ll be a bit of a revelation over there," says the executive.
  • After a quiet offseason, the Indians seem to be hoping the team can take a step forward with newcomer David Murphy and with better performances from returning players like Asdrubal Cabrera, Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn, Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer writes. Hoynes also notes that the Indians have not had contact with Ubaldo Jimenez's agent since last month.

Orioles Claim Jimmy Paredes

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The Orioles have claimed outfielder Jimmy Paredes off waivers from the Marlins, MLB.com's Joe Frisaro tweets. The Marlins designated Paredes for assignment last week.

Paredes played parts of the 2011 through 2013 seasons for the Astros, where he hit .234/.274/.311 in 396 total plate appearances. He also hit .287/.345/.462 in 358 plate appearances at Triple-A Oklahoma City last year, playing shortstop, third base and second base as well as outfield. The Marlins claimed him from the Astros in November.

Josh Tomlin Loses Arbitration Case

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Indians pitcher Josh Tomlin has lost his arbitration case, Tom Withers of the Associated Press tweets. Tomlin had asked for $975K, but he will make $800K instead. Tomlin is represented by SSG baseball.

Tomlin, 29, appeared in just one game with the Indians in 2013 after returning from Tommy John surgery. He could compete for a job in the back of the Indians' rotation this spring. He has a career 4.92 ERA with 4.9 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 343 2/3 innings.

NL Notes: Aaron, Mets, Colon, Phillies, Brewers

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The Braves have announced (via Twitter) that Hall of Famer Hank Aaron suffered a fall on the ice and underwent partial hip replacement surgery. The surgery was successful, and he should recover and return to his usual activities within two months. Here are a few notes from around the National League.

  • The Mets added Curtis Granderson, Bartolo Colon and Chris Young this offseason, but those moves mostly simply replaced money that had come off their payroll, Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal writes. Notably, Johan Santana (who made $25.5MM last year and had a $5.5MM buyout for 2014) is gone, as are John Buck ($6.5MM), Frank Francisco ($6.5MM) and Shaun Marcum ($4MM).
  • The Mets were the only team to offer Colon a two-year deal this offseason, ESPN New York's Adam Rubin tweets. Colon, 40, signed for two years and $20MM.
  • The Phillies still aren't sure what they have in Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, the Associated Press reports. The Cuban pitcher signed for $12MM in August, an amount that was drastically reduced from $48MM after the Phillies became concerned about Gonzalez's elbow. The Phillies watched Gonzalez pitch as spring training opened on Thursday. "He shows deception with his delivery, so that's something," says manager Ryne Sandberg. "I'll be anxious to see how he continues to look as he continues to build arm strength."
  • Brewers GM Doug Melvin is excited about his team's pitching depth, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel. One benefit of the Matt Garza deal is that it allows other pitchers more time to develop, Melvin notes. 

East Notes: Amaro, Teheran, Miller

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Ryan Howard was "the single most productive player in the game" before he signed his extension in 2010, Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. tells FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal in an extended interview. "Did we expect some dropoff later on? Sure. But can we gauge that the man was going to blow out his Achilles? No. That was a big blow to us. And it was a big blow to us because of the nature of the injury. It was a fluke injury," Amaro says. Amaro also argues that, although his roster might be on the older side, plenty of older players are effective. He hopes the 2014 team to be healthier than last year's team, but also notes that this year's edition is better equipped to deal with injuries. Here are more notes from the East divisions.

  • Julio Teheran's new extension with the Braves is similar to the one Madison Bumgarner signed two years ago, Dave Cameron of FanGraphs writes. While Teheran's deal isn't as surprising as the Freddie Freeman deal was, Cameron argues that it still demonstrates that pre-free-agency extensions are getting more expensive. Bumgarner, for example, had accomplished more at the time of his extension than Teheran has. Teheran also received much more than Martin Perez did in his extension, which he received in November.
  • Red Sox reliever Andrew Miller has an arbitration hearing on Tuesday, and in preparation, Miller and the Sox are working on a one-year deal, not a multiyear contract, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald tweets. Miller has asked for $2.15MM, while the Red Sox have countered with $1.55MM.

Braves, Kimbrel Could Be Nearing Extension

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The Braves and Craig Kimbrel could be on the verge of avoiding arbitration by agreeing to an extension, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com (on Twitter).  The Braves closer submitted a $9MM figure while the Braves countered at $6.55MM.

As MLBTR’s Matt Swartz wrote back in October, there’s truly no precedent for a closer doing what Kimbrel has at this point of his career.  In fact, Kimbrel’s numbers to date have been so impressive that they actually proved to be an exception to Swartz’s carefully crafted model.  Other notable closers going through arbitration for the first time such as Jonathan Papelbon, Bobby Jenks, John Axford, and Brian Wilson, had their stats eclipsed by Kimbrel.

Kimbrel is represented by David Meter of SportsMeter, according to the MLBTR Agency Database.

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