Pirates Reach Agreement With Josh Fields
The Pirates reached an agreement on a minor league deal with third baseman Josh Fields, the team announced on Twitter. A spring training invite is included.
Fields, 28, joined Kansas City a year ago in the Mark Teahen trade. Hip surgery took up most of his Royals career, though he had 104 interesting pro plate appearances before being non-tendered this month. Beyond the hot corner, he's dabbled at first base and left field.
Fields was drafted 18th overall by the White Sox in 2004 and was once considered a top prospect. He crushed 23 home runs in 418 plate appearances with the Sox in '07, nine of which came in August of that year. Earlier this month the Pirates added another former top third base prospect in Andy Marte, cutting a third one loose in Andy LaRoche.
Pirates Sign Kevin Correia
The Pirates officially signed Kevin Correia to a two-year, $8MM deal. He can earn another $1MM in performance bonuses; Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the contract breakdown. The team announced the deal, with this quote from GM Neal Huntington:
"Kevin Correia is a solid major league starting pitcher and a strong addition to our rotation. We feel he is poised for a return to his 2009 form where he gave his club a chance to win nearly every start while carrying a significant innings pitched workload."
ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick broke news of the agreement. Correia will join Paul Maholm, James McDonald, Ross Ohlendorf and possibly Scott Olsen in the Pirates' rotation.
Aside from Yoslan Herrera, it has been 12 years since the Pirates last gave a free agent pitcher a multiyear deal – Cam Bonifay signed Pete Schourek to a two-year, $4MM deal in '98. Back on November 10th, two MLBTR writers predicted Correia would sign with the Pirates.
Correia posted a 5.40 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 145 innings for the Padres in 2010. The 30-year-old missed time in May after his younger brother died in a tragic accident. He lost his rotation spot to Tim Stauffer after a trio of poor starts in late August. Agents Scott Leventhal and Damon Lapa did much better than I expected them to when I looked ahead to Correia's free agency this fall.
Correia’s walk rate jumped from 2.9 BB/9 to 4.0 BB/9 in 2010, but some of his stats reflect more favorably on his performance. Despite the righty's 5.40 ERA, defense-independent pitching stats suggest he was unlucky. Nearly 15% of fly balls hit off of Correia left the yard, so homers inflated his ERA. He induces ground balls and is just one year removed from a season in which he posted a 3.91 ERA in 33 starts, which likely contributed to GM Neal Huntington's willingness to make an $8MM guarantee.
The Padres offered Correia arbitration, so they'll obtain a supplementary first round pick in the 2011 draft for losing the Type B free agent.
Minor Deals: Yankees, Chulk, Van Every, Coats
Let's take a look at today's notable minor league deals, with the most recent updates at the top:
- The Yankees signed Doug Bernier, Buddy Carlyle, Neal Cotts and Gustavo Molina to minor league deals, the team announced. The club officially announced its deals with Andy Sisco and outfielder-turned-pitcher Brian Anderson.
- The Pirates have welcomed back Donald Veal just two weeks after non-tendering him, Eddy tweets. Veal underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this year.
- The Rays picked up right-handed reliever Jonah Bayliss, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (via Twitter). Bayliss turned in a 3.58 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 for Houston's Triple-A club last season.
- The Athletics signed right-handed reliever Vinnie Chulk, tweets Eddy. Chulk appeared in 28 games for Pittsburgh's Triple-A affiliate in 2010 and spent the other half of the year with the Hiroshima Carp. His numbers overseas left much to be desired but the righty carries more than 250 games of big league experience.
- First baseman Andy Tracy has hooked on with the Diamondbacks, tweets Baseball America's Matt Eddy. The left-handed hitter, who turned 37-years-old on Saturday, has spent the last three years with the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate. In 2010 he hit .275/.373/.492, numbers that are slightly better than his career averages.
- The Nationals signed outfielder Jonathan Van Every, according to Eddy (via Twitter). The 31-year-old boasts a career .471 slugging percentage in Triple-A and can play all three outfield positions. Van Every played in 39 games for Boston's varsity squad across the last three years.
- Washington picked up another versatile, left-handed hitting outfielder in Buck Coats, Eddy tweets. Coats, who spent the first seven years of his career with the Cubs, has a lifetime slash line of .294/.352/.407 at the Triple-A level.
- The Cubs invited first baseman Bryan LaHair and outfielder Brad Snyder to Spring Training, according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat (on Twitter).
Olney On Pettitte, Rendon, Blanton, Hoffman
C.C. Sabathia can opt out of his contract with the Yankees after next season, but ESPN.com’s Buster Olney points out that the team could be proactive and ensure that the lefty stays in the Bronx. They could offer to add a couple years to his current deal in exchange for Sabathia’s right to opt out. Here’s the latest on another Yankee lefty and a few more rumblings from around the league:
- For the first time this winter, a Yankees person spoke to Olney optimistically about the chances that Andy Pettitte returns in 2011.
- One talent evaluator says he might take Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon ahead of Bryce Harper if both players were in the same draft. The Pirates select first overall next year and may be tempted by Rendon, the consensus top player available.
- Multiple GMs confirmed to Olney that the Phillies will have to eat some of Joe Blanton’s salary if they decide to move him. The right-hander will earn $17MM over the course of the next two seasons.
- Trevor Hoffman is still telling teams that he wants to be a closer. The all-time saves leader is coming off of a rough season, but he pitched better in the second half.
Pirates Sign Matt Diaz
The Pirates have signed Matt Diaz to a two-year deal, the team announced today. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter) first reported the agreement, which is worth approximately $4.25MM, according to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. The Diamondbacks, Red Sox, Royals, Dodgers, Mariners, Blue Jays, and Yankees also had interest in the outfielder, according to reports earlier this week. Agent Larry Reynolds represents Diaz.
The 32-year-old handles lefties well and could become a complement to Garrett Jones, who handles righties well. Diaz has a .335/.373/.533 line against southpaws in his career, though he bats just .269/.327/.382 against right-handers. The Braves non-tendered Diaz earlier in the month, making him a free agent. Diaz has experience in right field, but he has spent most of his big league career in left.
Pirates Sign Lyle Overbay
The Pirates signed first baseman Lyle Overbay to a one-year, $5MM deal, the team announced. Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review provided the amount. The statement from GM Neal Huntington:
"Lyle Overbay is solid major league player and we expect him to have a positive impact on our club offensively, defensively, and in the clubhouse."
The Pirates primarily used Garrett Jones at first base in 2010, but they expressed a desire to add a right-handed hitting complement. Overbay doesn't fit that description; GM Neal Huntington told MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch the new plan is to have Jones could pair up with new acquisition Matt Diaz in right field. Overbay will be the everyday first baseman.
Overbay, 34 in January, hit .243/.329/.433 in 607 plate appearances for the Blue Jays this year. His performance picked up after a rough start. Overbay is represented by Octagon.
Pirates Moving Close To Agreement With Lyle Overbay
11:44am: The Pirates are moving close to an agreement with Overbay, tweets Morosi.
8:37am: The Pirates have been talking with free agent first baseman Lyle Overbay, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. He says it's not clear whether they're making progress on a deal.
The Pirates primarily used Garrett Jones at first base in 2010, but they've expressed a desire to add a right-handed hitting complement. Overbay doesn't fit that description, though Jones could pair up with Matt Diaz in right field if Ryan Doumit is traded.
Overbay, 34 in January, hit .243/.329/.433 in 607 plate appearances for the Blue Jays this year.
Odds & Ends: Rivera, Mets, Bruce, Orioles, Dodgers
Links for Sunday….
- WEEI.com's Rob Bradford reports that Mariano Rivera's representatives initiated contact with the Red Sox, who eventually offered the closer a contract. Boston was never inclined to non-tender Jonathan Papelbon had they signed Rivera; they valued him at the back of their bullpen in the short-term, and the draft picks that would come their way if he signs elsewhere as a free agent in the long-term.
- SI.com's Jon Heyman has the scoop on the Mets new coaching staff (Twitter link). Dave Hudgens will be the hitting coach, Jon Debus the bullpen coach, Ken Oberkfell the bench coach, and Mookie Wilson the first base coach.
- Hal McCoy of The Dayton Daily News thinks the Jay Bruce extension is an excellent message.
- Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun speculates that the Orioles could still sign two more relievers even after Koji Uehara's deal becomes official, and he wouldn't be against them signing a designated hitter type either.
- Seth Livingstone of USA Today looks at what Cliff Lee would mean to both the Yankees and the Rangers.
- Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter) breaks down the details of Jay Gibbons' contract with the Dodgers. $400K of Gibbons' $650K salary is guaranteed, and he could earn as much as $800K with incentives based on plate appearances (Twitter link).
- Hernandez's colleague at the L.A. Times, T.J. Simers, isn't a fan of the Dodgers' recent moves.
- Trading for Zack Greinke is still a possibility for the Brewers, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- Speaking to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, Andrew Friedman said the Rays are targeting "under-the-radar type guys that we feel fit us well and have a lot of upside."
- The Pirates haven't approached Andrew McCutchen about a long-term extension, but Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review suggests Jay Bruce's deal would be a good comparable if the two sides discuss anything.
- Clint Hurdle tells Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that his preference is for the Pirates to add two left-handed relievers.
- The Rockies agreed to minor league deals with a pair of players, including former Yankee first round pick Eric Duncan, according to MLB.com's Thomas Harding.
Odds & Ends: Guerrier, McCutchen, Blue Jays, Punto
As the baseball world says goodbye to Cubs great Ron Santo, here are some news tidbits heading into the weekend…
- The Red Sox have made an offer to reliever Matt Guerrier, reports WEEI.com's Alex Speier (as passed along in a tweet from WEEI.com's Rob Bradford).
- Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review looks at how Jay Bruce's extension might influence a future extension offer from the Pirates to Andrew McCutchen.
- Lyle Overbay would be a familiar solution to Toronto's search for a first base/DH partner for Adam Lind, but MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm thinks Overbay "does not appear to be a good fit" since Overbay wants an everyday job. Chisholm's piece also contains several quotes from Alex Anthopoulos from the winter meetings and what the Jays might look to do during the rest of the offseason.
- The Indians and Nick Punto had "meaningful negotiations" at the winter meetings, reports MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.
- Manny Ramirez will receive $15MM in deferred payments from the Dodgers over the next three years and $1.94MM for each of the next 16 years from the Red Sox, reports Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com (with a tip of the cap to Cot's Baseball Contracts).
- Larry Stone of the Seattle Times looks back at the 11-year contract Dave Stieb signed with the Blue Jays before the 1985 season.
- Also from Stone, Jack Zduriencik says the Mariners could be in the market for an extra infielder.
Pirates Sign Scott Olsen
The Pirates signed lefty Scott Olsen, the team announced. Olsen will earn about $500K with a chance to make another $3MM in incentives based on starts. The deal includes a $4MM club option for 2012. Olsen is represented by Sosnick Cobbe Sports.
Olsen, 27 in January, posted a 5.56 ERA, 5.9 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 1.1 HR/9, and 46.5% groundball rate in 81 innings for the Nationals this year. He had labrum surgery in July of '09, and shoulder soreness lingered into the 2010 season. He pitched well through his first seven starts, with a 3.15 ERA in those 40 innings. ESPN's Keith Law wrote, "To have value to the Pirates he'll need to locate his fastball better and improve his barely-average changeup."
Olsen joins Kevin Correia as the new members of Pittsburgh's rotation, which lost Zach Duke to a trade and could see Paul Maholm depart as well. Ross Ohlendorf and James McDonald figure to take a couple of spots.
MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch first reported on Monday that a deal was close and ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reported the agreement.