Rangers Close To Michael Young Extension
According to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com, the Rangers are making progress on a long-term deal with shortstop Michael Young and may have something completed this week. Young is already under contract through ’08; the extension would run through 2013, buying out five years of free agency.
The model for the contract is Chase Utley‘s deal, where each potential year of free agency was worth $15MM. Baseball Prospectus’s valuations only run through 2011, but indicate that the Rangers will come out just fine.
Young will be locked in as the face of the franchise through age 36. Mark Teixeira, on the other hand, will become a free agent after 2008 and is represented by Scott Boras. The Mets could be a suitor, but the Rangers will discuss an extension with him first.
Rangers Sign Bruce Chen
The Rangers hope to add some competition to the fifth starter slot – they signed Bruce Chen today to a minor league non-roster deal.
I like the idea of signing Chen, but not for the Rangers. He’s healthy, left-handed, and not quite 30. He posted a fine 3.83 ERA in the AL East as recently as 2005. However, the marriage of an extreme flyball pitcher and a ballpark that inflates homers by 12% doesn’t seem logical at first glance.
Digging deeper, I found that Ameriquest only inflates right-handed HRs by 2%. However, Chen is much better against righties despite his handedness. Teams can stack their lineups with left-handed sluggers against him. I still don’t get the signing.
Rangers Sign Bruce Chen
The Rangers hope to add some competition to the fifth starter slot – they signed Bruce Chen today to a minor league non-roster deal.
I like the idea of signing Chen, but not for the Rangers. He’s healthy, left-handed, and not quite 30. He posted a fine 3.83 ERA in the AL East as recently as 2005. However, the marriage of an extreme flyball pitcher and a ballpark that inflates homers by 12% doesn’t seem logical at first glance.
Digging deeper, I found that Ameriquest only inflates right-handed HRs by 2%. However, Chen is much better against righties despite his handedness. Teams can stack their lineups with left-handed sluggers against him. I still don’t get the signing.
Sammy!
The Sammy Sosa signing is official in Texas. He’ll make $500,000 if he makes the Opening Day roster, and can reach $2.7MM based on incentives. $200K of that would come from winning Comeback Player of the Year. To quote Sammy:
"My body is in shape, and I’m ready to go."
Ron Washington has this crazy idea that Sammy can play regularly and hit 30 home runs as the Rangers’ fifth place hitter. Fine. Maybe there’s a 10% chance he does that, and it costs very little. However, there is significant risk in this signing. It is that Sammy takes away ABs from better players. The Orioles gave him 380 ABs in ’05. If the Rangers stick with him for 200 ABs, a third of a season, and he’s awful, that could cause them to miss the playoffs. It’d be different if this was the Nationals.
Sosa Agrees To Deal With Rangers
UPDATE: MLB.com reports that the Rangers have agreed in principle to an incentive-laden, $500,000 minor league contract with Sosa.
The amusing experiment continues, as the Rangers have offered Sammy Sosa a minor league contract and invited him to spring training. Plus, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick has a source who says the two parties are "working toward an agreement."
Judging from Jon Daniels’s positive comments towards Sosa, it appears that an incentive-based deal will get done. I don’t know. A part of me wants to see how this turns out. Will he get his 12 homers?
Amusingly, Rafael Palmeiro tried to jump onto the train but was shot down. Somewhere, Juan Gonzalez just shed a tear.
Rangers Give Sammy A Look
Sammy! Sammy Sosa worked out at Ameriquest today in hopes of securing a gig with Texas, where it all began. Sosa had some awesome teammates back when he was on the ’89 Rangers as a 20 year old. Here’s a partial list of his mentors:
Ruben Sierra
Rafael Palmeiro
Julio Franco
Pete Incaviglia
Buddy Bell
Juan Gonzalez
Thad Bosley
Dean Palmer
Wilson Alvarez
Kevin Brown
Charlie Hough
Jamie Moyer
Kenny Rogers
Nolan Ryan
Click here to see what Sammy looked like as a Ranger.
Mulder Signs With Cardinals
UPDATE: It’s confirmed – Mulder will return to the Cardinals for a guaranteed contract of two years and $13MM. Incentives can kick in to make it a three-year, $45MM pact if Mulder makes 30 starts in each of the next two seasons. It’s a longshot but it could be done if he returns right in the beginning of May. He had shoulder surgery in September of 2006.
Adam Wainwright might be able to remain in the bullpen as a result of the signing.
UPDATE: Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has once source saying Mulder has signed with the Cards. He’s trying to confirm it with more sources.
Mark Mulder could decide tonight between the Cardinals, Indians, and Rangers. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Cards have offered two years and potentially $18MM. The lefty probably won’t be ready to pitch until July, but he is looking at two guaranteed years from any of the three clubs.
The Dallas Morning News agrees that a decision is likely today. The three teams have made similar offers. If that’s the case, I don’t know why Mulder would choose to pitch in Texas or even the American League. The Rangers could snag one of Tomo Ohka, Mark Redman, Tony Armas Jr., Steve Trachsel, or Bruce Chen instead. The Rangers could use one more guy so as not to have to go with both Robinson Tejeda and John Koronka.
Rangers Make Offer To Mark Loretta
According to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com, the Rangers have made an offer to free agent infielder Mark Loretta but have been told he’s likely to sign elsewhere. Apparently the Rangers aren’t offering enough playing time. They’re looking for someone to back up Teixeira, Kinsler, Young, and Blalock in the dog days of summer. Mark DeRosa filled the role nicely last year.
Two free agent second basemen are still standing: Loretta and Ron Belliard. The Braves could sign one of the two but are more likely to go the low-cost route and try Kelly Johnson, Martin Prado, or Willy Aybar. There aren’t any other open 2B spots that I can find, though the Mets might want some Jose Valentin insurance.
Rangers To Boras: Call Us Back
The Rangers won’t put up with Scott Boras playing hard to get much longer – they want a response on Barry Zito by this weekend or else they’ll move on. Boras’s leverage with Texas has decreased with their acquisition of Brandon McCarthy.
The implication of the weekend deadline is that Texas’s offer still stands. There had been reports that they were all but out of the Zito sweepstakes. Meanwhile, Boras hopes to pit the Yanks and Mets against each other for Zito. At the least, neither New York team is acting desperate right now.
Back to McCarthy for a second – is there more to this story?
The Barry Zito Market
First, let’s start with the White Sox. Multiple emailers have told me that SNY’s baseball insider Seth Everett reported yesterday that he thinks Chicago might join the Barry Zito chase. I can’t vouch for this report as I didn’t see it myself. Regardless, the rumor is making the rounds. Here’s why I think it would be highly unlikely:
1. While no team loves Scott Boras, the White Sox have a particular distaste for him.
2. Jerry Reinsdorf has a policy: no contracts over three years for pitchers. That came into effect after they signed Jaime Navarro for four years (he was awful).
3. It doesn’t fit in with Kenny Williams’s apparent plan at all.
Meanwhile, Jon Daniels is "not terribly encouraged" of the Rangers’ chances at signing Zito, mentioned on the heels of his Brandon McCarthy acquisition.
The New York Daily News reports that the Mets have not yet made an official offer. It appears that the Mariners and Giants are still involved.