Quick Hits: Liz, Rangers, Cubs, Nationals, Gonzalez
Links for Saturday evening…
- Curious about how all the recent free agent activity has impacted the 2011 draft order? Check out the updated order here.
- Right-hander Radhames Liz has signed with the LG Twins of the Korean Baseball Organization according to the Yahoo! Sports transactions log. MLBTR has confirmed the signing. The Padres released Liz earlier this week.
- MLB.com's Peter Gammons says the Rangers thought they'd be able to acquire Robinson Chirinos from the Cubs, then package him with Derek Holland, Engel Beltre, and Frank Francisco to get Matt Garza from the Rays. Texas would have kicked in some money to offset Francisco's salary.
- "We're not giving away the farm to try and win in one year," said Cubs GM Jim Hendry when asked about the Garza deal, according to Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). Garza is still under team control through 2013.
- It appears that the Nationals will have a smaller payroll than last year, according to Ben Goessling of MASNSports.com.
- Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports applauds the Rockies for keeping their nucleus together. Earlier this week Colorado agreed to terms with Carlos Gonzalez on a contract extension.
- The Orioles' may have trouble finding an undervalued lefty reliever on a one-year deal, writes Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun.
- Joe Torre is in talks to become the next executive vice president of operations for MLB, according to Teri Thompson and Bill Madden of the New York Daily News. Torre stepped down as Dodgers manager towards the end of 2010 season.
- Matt Murton talked to Anna Katherine Clemmons of ESPN The Magazine about his time in Japan.
Athletics Acquire Guillermo Moscoso, DFA Humber
12:27pm: The A's designated Phil Humber for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Moscoso, according to the team. Humber was claimed off waivers from the Royals last month.
11:44am: The Athletics have acquired Guillermo Moscoso from the Rangers, reports Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (on Twitter). Oscar Prieto Rojas first reported the deal (on Twitter). Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News tweets that Texas will receive minor league right-hander Ryan Kelly.
The 27-year-old Moscoso was designated for assignment just yesterday. He spent the majority of 2010 pitching for Texas' Triple-A affiliate, posting a 5.18 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 123 1/3 innings. He has a 3.46 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in parts of six minor league seasons, and his brief major league career features a 4.30 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 in 11 appearances. The Rangers originally acquired Moscoso from the Tigers in exchange for Gerald Laird.
Oakland acquired Kelly from the Pirates in exchange for Corey Wimberly just last month. The 23-year-old had a 4.20 ERA with 9.0 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 75 innings for Pittsburgh's Single-A affiliate in 2010, almost all in relief.
Olney’s Latest: Garza, Angels, Delgado, Yankees
In today's blog post at ESPN (Insider req'd), Buster Olney solicited the opinions of various talent evaluators about yesterday's Matt Garza trade. The general consensus is that the Cubs made the move with the idea of contending in 2011 while the Rays made the move geared towards reloading for the future, somewhat acknowledging that the upcoming season "will be very difficult."
Here are the rest of Olney's rumors…
- Two sources tell Buster that the Angels' final offer to Adrian Beltre was $77MM guaranteed, or $3MM less than the guarantee he got from Texas.
- Carlos Delgado wants to come back, but it'll be very tough to do so when the free agent market features plenty of healthier DH-types.
- The Yankees are seeking a capable back-of-the-rotation innings-eater, but there are very few pitchers that fit that description available.
Reaction To The Matt Garza Trade
The Cubs and Rays agreed today on an eight-player swap headlined by right-hander Matt Garza. Here's some early reaction and analysis of the big deal, including news of another team that had an offer for Garza on the table…
- ESPN's Keith Law (Insider subscription required) loves the trade for the Rays: "they got more for Garza than Kansas City did for Zack Greinke although their package of players is, collectively, further away than what the Royals got." Law had Hak-Ju Lee ranked as the top prospect in Chicago's system and calls the 20-year-old shortstop "the star of the deal" for Tampa Bay.
- The trade is a "slight overpay" for the Cubs, writes Fangraphs' Joe Pawlikowski, but overall he likes the deal. Pawlikowski also cites concerns about how Garza will fare at Wrigley Field given Garza's propensity for giving up fly balls.
- Kevin Kaduk of Yahoo Sports has no problem with the trade itself, but calls Garza just a "Band-Aid" on the Cubs' problems since he doesn't think Chicago is close to contending.
- Tampa Bay fans won't be pleased to see Garza go, but Erik Hahmann of the DRaysBay blog notes that Andrew Friedman has had success with past unpopular trades.
- Mike Bauman of MLB.com writes that the Rays organization is strong enough to recover from the losses of Garza, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena and Jason Bartlett this winter.
- The Rangers made Tampa Bay an offer for Garza that offered "more 2011 impact," tweets Peter Gammons. The Cubs' prospect package, however, has a "higher longterm ceiling."
- A high-profile trade naturally invites some questions from fans wondering why their clubs didn't make a move for the star player in question. Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that neither the Yankees or Mets contacted the Rays about Garza. Meanwhile, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post hears from Baseball America's Jim Callis that the Nationals simply didn't have the minor league depth to match Chicago's package.
Rangers Designate Guillermo Moscoso For Assignment
The Rangers designated Guillermo Moscoso for assignment, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). The 27-year-old right-hander appeared in one game for the Rangers last year, after appearing in ten contests in 2009. He has a 4.30 ERA with 8.6 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 in his brief major league career.
Moscoso started 22 games for the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate last year, posting a 5.18 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 123 1/3 total innings. He has a 3.46 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in parts of six minor league seasons.
The Rangers acquired Moscoso in the 2008 deal that sent Gerald Laird to Detroit. The year before the trade, the righty threw a perfect game in the minors. Baseball America said before the 2010 season that Moscoso's "best asset is his ability to pound the bottom of the strike zone with a low-90s fastball." He could become a long reliever or swingman in the major leagues and may be able to start if he hones his secondary pitches, according to BA.
Rangers, Murphy Avoid Arbitration
The Rangers signed outfielder David Murphy to a one-year contract worth $2.4MM, avoiding arbitration, according to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com (via Twitter).
Murphy appeared in 138 games with Texas in 2010, primarily in left and right fields. The left-handed hitter posted a solid offensive season (.291/.358/.449 in 467 plate appearances) and was especially tough on right-handed pitchers (.298/.368/.479).
Scanning MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker, the Rangers now have four arbitration-eligible players remaining: Nelson Cruz, Josh Hamilton, C.J. Wilson and Darren O'Day. Reliever Mark Lowe, acquired midseason from the Mariners in the Cliff Lee swap, avoided arbitration in November. As well, free-agent reliever Frank Francisco accepted the Rangers' offer of arbitration.
Details On Beltre’s Other Offers, Vesting Option
Adrian Beltre turned down offers from the A's and Angels before signing with the Rangers. It turns out that one of those offers was larger than initially thought. According to Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com, the A's offered the third baseman a six-year, $76MM deal, not a $64MM deal as we'd heard before. Peter Gammons first reported that the A's had offered $76MM (Twitter link). The Rangers outbid both of their AL West rivals, as the Angels reportedly offered a $70MM deal.
The 2016 option in Beltre's contract is complex, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports explains. Beltre needs 600 plate apperances with the Rangers in 2015 or 1,200 plate appearances in 2014-15 for the $16MM option to vest in 2016. If the option vests and Beltre's on the disabled list at the end of the 2015 season and a mutually agreed upon doctor determines that he's unable to play at a normal level by the spring of 2016, the team can defer $12MM of the third baseman's 2016 salary at 1% interest (Twitter links).
Rangers Not Pursuing Rafael Soriano
The Rangers are not currently pursuing Rafael Soriano and were not engaged with him at any point this winter, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter links). The team signed Adrian Beltre this week, so there's not enough money remaining in the team's budget for Soriano, another Scott Boras client.
There's a potential fit for Soriano in Anaheim as MLBTR's Mark Polishuk explains here. Jon Heyman of SI.com has suggested that the Yankees are likely to pursue Soriano if Andy Pettitte retires and the White Sox are eyeing the reliever, too. The Cardinals don't appear to have much interest, however.
Soriano is one of three unsigned free agents who will cost a draft pick. The Red Sox, who are in line for the Rangers' 2011 first rounder, would only get Texas' second rounder if Soriano heads to the Lone Star State, so there's reason for them to hope he signs elsewhere.
AL West Notes: Beltre, Rangers, A’s, Guerrero
Needless to say, the Adrian Beltre signing is the biggest news of the day in the AL West. Here are some other items from the division with the longest World Series title drought (albeit only since 2002) in baseball…
- There isn't any deferred money in the five guaranteed years of Beltre's contract, reports Evan P. Grant of the Dallas Morning News. (Twitter link) Grant says the Rangers are "trying to do away with deferrals."
- Beltre's signing could push the Rangers' payroll over the $100MM mark for the first time since 2003, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Team president Nolan Ryan says the team is not only prepared for the possibility, but says Beltre's deal won't affect plans to explore extensions with players like Josh Hamilton.
- Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com thinks the Beltre signing "isn’t necessarily a loss for the jilted A’s" since the Rangers didn't solve their main need of pitching, and Beltre's production last year "represents a wash offensively" with the departed Vladimir Guerrero.
- Speaking of Guerrero, Angels manager Mike Scioscia discussed the veteran slugger with Jim Duqette and Kevin Kennedy of MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM. (MLB.com's Lyle Spencer has a fuller recap of Scioscia's appearance.) Scioscia said his team isn't looking for a long-term contract with Guerrero, but admitted that "he's definitely a guy that's very interesting to look at." We've heard mixed reports about the Angels' interest in bringing Guerrero back to Anaheim, but with Texas out of the picture, the Halos probably won't have to offer more than a one-year deal to sign the possible Hall-of-Famer.
Rangers Tell Young He’s Staying Put
Michael Young will be transitioning into a new role this season, but he won't be changing teams before the 2011 campaign begins. Young told Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he has been told he won't be traded before the season starts (Twitter link). Adrian Beltre's arrival in Texas means Young won't be the everyday third baseman, but the Rangers still have room for him.
Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported earlier today that Young will work out at first, second, third and short in preparation for the upcoming season. However, he will not play in the outfield. Young, 34, has not played short since 2008 or second base since 2003. He has never played first base or outfield in the majors and will likely DH regularly this year.
If the Rangers don't trade Young by May, they'll need his approval to finalize a deal. Young now has no-trade protection and his ten and five rights take effect this May. The Rangers would likely have to take on a significant portion of the $48MM remaining on Young's contract through 2013 if they decide to trade him.