AL West Notes: Gray, Mariners, Luhnow, Ryan
2013/10/al-west-notes-gray-wedge-price-luhnow-ryan.htmlEric Wedge and the Mariners have different accounts of why exactly they parted ways, but CBS Sports' Jon Heyman notes…… The A's obviously want Gray fit for 2014 given how impressive the right-hander looked in his rookie season --- Gray posted a 2.67 ERA, 9.4 K/9 and 3.35 K/BB over 12 regular season games (10 starts) and then posted a 2.08 ERA over 13 innings in two postseason starts.
Offseason Outlook: New York Yankees
2013/10/offseason-outlook-new-york-yankees.htmlSince there is too much money at stake on and off the field for the Bombers to have a true rebuilding year, the departures of Rivera and Pettitte don't exactly signal a fresh start for the franchise given the number of familiar veterans still on the roster. … There is already rumored to be mutual interest between the Yankees and Beltran, who would be a major right field upgrade over the Ichiro Suzuki/Vernon Wells platoon.
Free Agent Profile: Brian Wilson
2013/10/free-agent-profile-brian-wilson.htmlGregg melted down in the season's second half, and Rodney has Wilson bested by exactly one save despite being five years older. … That mark ranks him 11th among potential free agent right-handers with at least 10 innings pitched.
Free Agent Profile: Matt Garza
2013/10/free-agent-profile-matt-garza.htmlIncredibly, advanced metrics FIP, xFIP and SIERA all peg him at exactly 3.96 from 2007-13. … A stress fracture in his right elbow ended his season in late July last year (and also prevented a trade), and a lat strain caused him to miss the first seven weeks of the 2013 regular season.
Rays Exercise Club Option On David DeJesus, Discussing Extension
2013/11/rays-exercise-club-option-on-david-dejesus-discussing-extension.htmlHe was exactly league average at the plate in terms of OPS last year, and he's never posted an OPS+ of under 91 or over 118 in a full season of action. … Looking ahead, the Rays owe $23.6MM to five players in 2014, and could spend right around $30MM on arbitration-eligible players.
Quick Hits: Qualifying Offers, Red Sox, Mets, Pavano
2013/11/quick-hits-qualifying-offers-red-sox-mets-pavano.html"I remember at the time what Theo (Epstein, former general manager) felt strongly about is that if you try to replicate exactly, it's probably not going to work the same," says Cherington. … The right-hander, who will turn 38 in early January, missed all of last season after having his spleen removed.
Angels Sign Chris Volstad To Minor League Deal
2013/11/angels-sign-chris-volstad-to-minor-league-deal.htmlHe was considerably better at the Triple-A level, pitching to a 4.58 ERA in 127 2/3 innings, though his 4.0 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 ratios weren't exactly inspiring. … The Angels have signed right-hander Chris Volstad to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, according to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez.
Rockies Pursuing Wilson, Ruiz, Veras, Smith
2013/11/rockies-pursuing-carlos-ruiz-jose-veras-joe-smith.htmlThe team considers Ruiz to be a clear defensive upgrade over Rosario, although one would imagine that Rosario wouldn't exactly be a swift defender in the outfield should be find playing time out there (then again, neither is incumbent Michael Cuddyer). … 9:10am: With Matt Belisle back in the fold after both he and the Rockies exercised their half of his $4.25MM option, the Rockies are eyeing right-handers Jose Veras and Joe Smith as pieces to help fix what was the worst bullpen in the NL last season, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
Peralta, PED Incentives, And The Next JDA
2013/11/peralta-and-ped-incentives.htmlStarting with the first point, my suggestion is that players receiving PED punishment would nevertheless continue to accrue service time and negotiate salaries exactly as before. … We've all seen the range of responses to the four-year, $53MM deal that Jhonny Peralta inked with the Cardinals right on the heels of serving a fifty game suspension for violating the performance enhancing substances prohibitions contained in the league's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program (JDA).
Kevin Towers On Heath Bell Trade
2013/12/kevin-towers-on-heath-bell-trade.htmlIt's safe to say that Bell's tenure in Arizona didn't work out exactly as Towers & Co. … Without giving exact figures, Towers said that the payroll in 2014 will be "well above where it was last season." Arizona's opening day payroll was roughly $86.3MM, putting them right around the middle of the pack.
AL East Notes: Price, Orioles, Axford, Hinske
2013/12/al-east-notes-price-orioles-axford-hinske.htmlWith only Ryan Webb, Francisco Peguero, Jemile Weeks and a few other low-profile acquisitions on the other side of the docket so far, "fans have every right to wonder what exactly is their plan to compete for the American League East title," Schmuck says. … The Orioles have already lost Scott Feldman (Astros) and Nate McLouth (Nationals) to free agency and Jim Johnson (Athletics) to a trade, and the team seems "unwilling to make even a cursory attempt to compete for quality talent outside the organization," Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun writes.
Red Sox Notes: Drew, Carp, Peavy, Dempster
2013/12/red-sox-notes-drew-carp.htmlAs Bradford notes, given the dearth of quality options on the free agent market for first basemen, that's not exactly a surprise. … If the Red Sox are intent on adding a shortstop or third baseman as well as a right-handed hitting outfielder, they'll need to free up room by moving someone off their bench, tweets Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald.
Grant Balfour Could File Grievance Against Orioles
2013/12/orioles-will-not-sign-grant-balfour.html4:13pm: Balfour spoke with Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle and told her that he is baffled that the Orioles backed off because he is "100 percent fine." He went on to tell Slusser that his MRIs -- including the MRI taken of his right shoulder -- look exactly the same as they did three years ago. … The Orioles agreed to terms with Balfour on a two-year, $15MM contract earlier this week, but problems with the physical placed the contract in jeopardy.
Quick Hits: Downs, Nationals, Papelbon, Reynolds
2013/12/quick-hits-downs-nationals-papelbon-reynolds.htmlThe decline in Jonathan Papelbon's stuff last season could make other teams reluctant to trade for him, and Jason Collette of Fangraphs shows exactly what went wrong. … So I call one of the front office staff from the Tigers, he says, 'Oh, you've just been claimed by the Astros.' I'm like, 'All right, cool.
Dennis Gilbert Reflects On His Career As Top Agent
2014/01/dennis-gilbert.htmlOne might think that he's wistful for his days as one of the very top agents in the game, but that's not exactly the case. … Still, he never left the insurance industry and juggled both by surrounding himself with the right people in both worlds.
Jeff Suppan Retires
2014/01/jeff-suppan-retires.htmlJon Heyman of CBS Sports has the background on the announcement, which was timed for exactly 4pm CT today in honor of Suppan's late mother, who died at that exact time six years ago. … Beyond the counting stats, Suppan was also a durable innings-eater for virtually every rotation he joined; the righty averaged 204 IP per season from 1999-2007, including a career-best 218 1/3 IP with Kansas City in 2001.
Tigers Sign Crowe, Carrera, Sanchez
2014/01/tigers-sign-crowe-carrera-sanchez.htmlCleveland claimed him back from Philadelphia exactly one month after losing the fleet-footed outfielder. … The Tigers announced today that they will invite 16 non-roster players to Major League Spring Training, including outfielders Trevor Crowe and Ezequiel Carrera and right-hander Eduardo Sanchez.
Reactions To The Clayton Kershaw Extension
2014/01/reactions-to-the-clayton-kershaw-extension.htmlIf you're going to give a pitcher $215MM, Kershaw is exactly the kind of pitcher who should get it, Steven Goldman of SB Nation writes. … It appears he sacrificed a bit of upfront money in the contract in order to have the right to opt out of it.
Yankees Sign Masahiro Tanaka
2014/01/yankees-to-sign-masahiro-tanaka.htmlhave been waiting to make sure they know exactly how many suitors are out there for their clients. … The Yankees today officially announced that they've signed the Japanese righty to a seven-year contract that is reportedly worth a massive $155MM.
Royals Re-Sign Bruce Chen
2014/02/royals-to-re-sign-bruce-chen.htmlBy my count, he racked up exactly 100 days of service that year. … Interestingly, throughout his career, Chen has had as much success against right-handed hitters (.774 OPS against) as against lefties (.798).