With a solo shot off of Chris Tillman during tonight’s 4-3 Yankees win over the Orioles, Alex Rodriguez officially passed Willie Mays for fourth place on the all-time home run list. Rodriguez’s 661 career homers put him behind only Babe Ruth (714), Henry Aaron (755) and Barry Bonds (762) in the record books. While A-Rod’s feat is certainly noteworthy in its own right, his homers have drawn even more attention due to the controversy around the so-called “milestone” bonuses in his contract that the Yankees are refusing to pay. Here’s some more news from around the league…
- Cuban right-hander Vladimir Gutierrez is now eligible to sign with teams during the 2015-16 international signing period, Baseball America’s Ben Badler reports. Gutierrez has received residency in Mexico and registered with MLB, though since he still needs to be officially declared a free agent by the league, he may not be able to sign immediately when the signing period opens on July 2. Gutierrez will be subject to the international bonus pool limits, so teams that are facing $300K signing caps in the upcoming signing period (the Angels, Diamondbacks, Rays, Red Sox and Yankees) won’t be able to afford the promising youngster.
- Angels GM Jerry Dipoto was hoping to keep Drew Butera after the catcher was designated for assignment, but as Dipoto told reporters (including MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez), “it became fairly clear that he was going to get claimed on waivers, so putting together a trade made the most sense.” Butera was dealt to the Royals for infielder Ryan Jackson earlier today.
- On the Royals side of that trade, GM Dayton Moore told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan) that Butera won’t supplant Erik Kratz as the primary backup catcher. “We’re just trying to get through this period of time,” Moore said, in reference to Kratz’s stint on the DL with an injured foot. Since Butera is out of options, I’d guess he could be on the move again once Kratz is healthy.
- Commissioner Rob Manfred spoke to reporters before a recent Rangers/Astros game about a number of baseball topics, including the possibility of a shorter schedule. The Associated Press has a partial recap of Manfred’s comments.
- One topic that isn’t a major priority for the league office is adjusting the designated-for-assignment period. As Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle tweets, Manfred said “that rule actually has functioned fairly effectively over a period of time.” Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal and MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth both recently explored how some players, like Alex Hassan, can have their careers essentially put on hold due to constantly being in “DFA limbo.”
- In his latest Insider-only post, ESPN’s Buster Olney cites the Athletics’ Scott Kazmir and the Reds’ Mike Leake as potential trade candidates if their teams continue to struggle. Both hurlers are scheduled for free agency this winter. Olney speculates that the Dodgers could be interested in either pitcher to bolster their rotation, while Kazmir could also be a fit with the Red Sox or Astros.
- While the Marlins bullpen hasn’t pitched very well this year, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro doesn’t think the club needs to turn to Edward Mujica, who was designated for assignment by the Red Sox earlier today. Mujica pitched well for the Marlins in 2011-12 but as Frisaro notes, he’s struggled this year and Miami doesn’t really have any roster space for him.
Can we seriously just stop trying to change baseball… Manfred is getting on my nerves!
Call it semantics if you will, but I can’t accept the term “officially” in reference to A-Rod passing Mays.
agreed. He passed Mays…..just as Bonds passed Aaron and Aaron passed Ruth. The word “officially” is not necessary.
Mr. Armstrong. is that you?
I’ve noticed the same redundant wording in articles. It’s not great journalism, but I’m not nit picky too much. My college journalism professor would say…”passing Mays MADE it official…no need for the extra wording.”
the reds are a mess! Have to trade cueto and leake (very underrated) over paid for votto and homer bailey(big time) Hamilton can’t get on base and chapman is literally the only guy in the bullpen that can get anyone out! their great young catcher can’t squat and needs hip surgery! bruce can’t hit .200 AND Phillips is washed up !
They had a chance on trading Phillips to the Yankees awhile ago but it seemed like the Reds wanted eliete prospects or Brett Gardner which wasn’t going to happen.
nobody wanted phillips contract! gardner for phillips is fair but not phillips contract.
Leake is fairly well paid at this point. He’s not exactly a bargain.
he is going to get a lot more very soon!
Probably, but he’s already making around 10m
PROB get 12-15m per year 4-5 years!
While A-Rod’s feat is certainly noteworthy in its own right, his homers
have drawn even more attention due to the controversy around the
so-called “milestone” bonuses in his contract…… You know what everyone could do here especially since the Yankees clearly have the money to pay and A-Rod probably can afford the financial hit and you all might think I am getting soft because I can come off like Scrooge McDuck! =P Anyway, why don’t the Yankees and A-Rod agree to give all the money that is achieved through milestones to charity like ALS or Cancer or Diabetes. I mean how many former ball players have suffered or died from this. Lou Gehrig would be proud and I would be happy. Then we all can get on with it and start talking baseball again instead of milestones. Remember Happy Faces everyone! =P
The Yankees are probably in a quandary. They obviously don’t want to pay A-Rod (plus luxury tax) for monetary reasons. But they also seem to have contractual reasons that are worth exploring. And this all has to be done in public, which wasn’t exactly what they had in mind when they were thinking about “marketing”. If you assume that the Yankees marketing would have been akin to the marketing with Jeter and Rivera, they obviously thought they could monetize the event (s). It’s pretty clear that they can’t. So, from a business perspective, if that was the intent of the contract, they have to challenge it. A-Rod, and MLBPA, clearly have to push back. Maybe the result in the future is better drafting. Whatever the monetary disposition of this case, the Yankees aren’t going to be getting what they bargained for. That has to be fixed for next time.
Not many people talk about it, but A-Rod has real chance to break Barry Bonds record. He is 100 or so away and with the DH spot he could hang around 4-5 years and make it. He is mashing balls 440 feet so I think there is a good chance that power can carry him to an old age. Only problem is his current deal won’t last long enough and someone would have to sign him up.
Which would be a total shame as his whole reason behind PEDs and his life goal back in the 2000s was to some day break that record.
Sham* not shame.
He will be 42 at the end of this deal. I doubt someone is gonna pay him to hang around. I dont think he will even be that close after this deal is up.
Well we’re about a fifth of the way through the year right now and A-Rod has 7 HR. If he hits another 25 this year, he’s at 686. 25 next year puts him at 711 and to the year after puts him at 731, just over 30 away. I doubt A-Rod makes it but he’s got the most realistic chance out of anyone in the game today at 101 away.
I doubt he keeps up that production rate. He’s never gonna be as rested as he is now. He only has two years left on his contract and it would take him probably 2-3 years after that. What team is gonna want him for that long? He’s not worth it really unless your goal is to get him to hit 763 in your uniform.
I don’t believe ANY team wants that notoriety.
The Reds “continue to struggle,” really? The Reds are .500, 6-4 in their last 10, are tied for the 2nd wild card, and have one of the best starting rotations, statistically in baseball, and they are doing it all without Homer Bailey and Devin Mesoraco.