2011 Contract Issues: Arizona Diamondbacks
The Diamondbacks face a pair of option decisions after the season:
- First baseman Adam LaRoche has a $7.5MM mutual option with a $1.5MM buyout. It's pretty rare to see both sides pick up a mutual option.
- Reliever Bob Howry has a $3MM club option with a $250K buyout.
Aside from LaRoche and Howry, the D'Backs' impending free agents are Brandon Webb, Chad Qualls, Aaron Heilman, and Rodrigo Lopez. The group is earning about $15.5MM in 2010. The Diamondbacks are also paying Eric Byrnes $10.6MM this year.
The D'Backs must prepare for a sizeable increase to players under contract – just under $20MM total. Dan Haren, Edwin Jackson, Mark Reynolds, and Justin Upton all get bumps in the $4MM range.
More increases will come from arbitration-eligible players. Stephen Drew, Miguel Montero, and Blaine Boyer are second-year guys, with Conor Jackson and Kelly Johnson entering their third year. Augie Ojeda could be a fourth-year player.
Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the information.
Odds & Ends: Hudson, Hechavarria, Benson, Teahen
Tuesday night linkage…
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports weighed in on Orlando Hudson's assertion that racism plays a role in free agency. Earlier today, Tim gave us his take on the matter.
- The Blue Jays hope to see Adeiny Hechavarria reach Double-A by season's end, tweets Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.
- Morgan Campbell of the Toronto Star spoke to Alexei Ramirez, who believes that "it won't be long" before we see Adeiny Hechavarria in the majors. Ramirez watched Hechavarria's meteoric rise through the the ranks of Cuban baseball.
- Kris Benson is a candidate to become the D-Backs' fifth starter, writes MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. Arizona signed the 35-year-old to a minor league deal in mid-March.
- Mark Teahen is still adjusting to his new club, writes Larry Millson of MLB.com.
Diamondbacks To Sign Wagner Mateo?
8:39pm: Then again, maybe they won't. There has been very little recent dialogue between the D-Backs and Mateo, a source tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter). He adds that no indications of a signing are imminent.
8:22pm: The Diamondbacks may sign outfielder Wagner Mateo by the end of April, tweets Melissa Segura of Sports Illustrated. Mateo worked out for Arizona (and other teams) in mid-March, though we heard recently that the club did not expect to sign him.
The Dominican slugger signed with the Cardinals in July of last year, but GM John Mozeliak ripped up the deal over concerns about his vision. Since then, other teams have been linked to the 17-year-old, including the Giants, who were said to be in pursuit of Mateo prior to his accord with St. Louis.
Mateo was set to earn $3.1MM under his old deal with the Cards.
GM Initiation: Josh Byrnes
We're kicking off a new series here at MLBTR called GM Initiation. Each post in the series will look at a general manager's first trade.
Josh Byrnes was hired as Diamondbacks GM on October 28th, 2005. His first deal came on December 7th at the Winter Meetings. Byrnes and Braves GM John Schuerholz agreed on a deal to send catcher Johnny Estrada to Arizona for relievers Oscar Villarreal and Lance Cormier. Estrada went on to have a solid '06 campaign for the D'Backs and was used in a trade to acquire Doug Davis after the season. Both relievers pitched two seasons for Atlanta, with Villarreal posting better numbers.
Byrnes was kind enough to answer a few questions about his first trade.
MLB Trade Rumors: 2005 marked your first Winter Meetings as a general manager. How would you describe the experience?
Josh Byrnes: The 2005 Winter Meetings were busy. We were exploring many trades to reshape the roster. It was our first time together as a larger group in that type of setting.
MLBTR: Did you enter the '05 Meetings intent on acquiring a starting catcher? About how many different catchers were you seriously considering?
Byrnes: We were trying to improve in the middle of the field. Later that month, we acquired Orlando Hudson, Eric Byrnes and Chris Young. Estrada was the catcher who made the most sense at the time.
MLBTR: What kind of relationship did you have with Braves GM John Schuerholz prior to the Estrada deal? How long did it take to put the trade together?
Byrnes: I knew John a little bit. The trade came together fairly quickly. We had a few discussions at the meetings and agreed after a few conversations.
MLBTR: Does the Estrada trade hold significance for you, since it was your first acquisition? Is the significance diminished because you were such an active trader that month?
Byrnes: I said at the time that the deal carried some significance to me because we did it with John. Certainly, he is one the best (if not the best) GM’s of all time. He is also very passionate about the game and the industry, so it is memorable to have made my first trade with John.
Interest In Washburn Heating Up?
9:45pm: Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports tweets that Cleveland and Arizona are possibilities for Washburn but Seattle is becoming a bit of a long shot.
3:27pm: Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse provides a few quotes from Scott Boras on his free agent client Jarrod Washburn:
"As many as five clubs are after him. A lot of teams are interested. The reality has struck."
Of course, Boras has never been known to exaggerate. The superagent says the lefty would need three weeks to be Major League ready.
Washburn reportedly turned down a small offer from the Mariners, his preferred destination. The Royals may also be in the mix. MLBTR's Mike Axisa attempted to help Washburn find work with this March 29th post, in case Boras has his hands full with Joe Crede or his draft advisees. One could name a half-dozen teams that'd make sense in the $2MM range, but it'd have to be a city that works for Washburn and his family.
Top Trade Chips: NL West
Let's take stock of each team's top trade chips, starting today with the NL West…
- Diamondbacks: Arizona moved two of its best trade chips this winter in Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth, and there's obviously no way Justin Upton will be moved. The cupboard is a little bare right now, but Stephen Drew could be available for the right price. He has two more years of team control left after 2010. Conor Jackson, who won't be a free agent until after 2011, could be attractive as well. Top prospect Jarrod Parker is recovering from Tommy John surgery.
- Dodgers: Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw are deal breakers, but Chad Billingsley could be dangled after popping up in rumors during the offseason. The 25-year-old posted a 5.21 ERA in his final 19 appearances last year, though his peripheral stats were in line with what they had been in previous seasons. He won't be eligible for free agency until after the 2012 season.
- Giants: Tim Lincecum and Pablo Sandoval aren't going anywhere and Matt Cain just signed a new extension, so Brian Sabean's best trade chip is lefty Jonathan Sanchez. The 27-year-old owns a career 9.3 K/9 and won't be eligible for arbitration until after the 2012 season. Madison Bumgarner's stock is down while he battles with Missing Velocity Disease, and Buster Posey isn't going anywhere.
- Padres: Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell aren't just San Diego's two best trade chips, they're among the best in the game. Gonzalez is one of the baseball's premier power hitters at age 27, and will make just $4.75MM in 2010 with a $5.5MM club option for 2011. Bell has emerged as one of the league's most dominant closers, and won't be eligible for free agency until after the 2011 season.
- Rockies: Everyone wants to get their hands on Troy Tulowitzki, but it's just not happening. Brad Hawpe is the player most likely to be moved, and there should be interest given his annual .890 OPS's and 25+ homers. He has a $10MM option for the 2011 season with a cheap $500K buyout, and Colorado has a glut of young and productive outfielders to replace him.
Largest Contracts By Service Time
When Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo signed his five year, $30.1MM extension earlier today, it marked the largest contract ever signed by a pitcher with less than three years of service time.
Let's look at the richest contracts by service time, in terms of guaranteed money…
Less Than One Year
Position Player: Ryan Braun. Eight years, $45MM
Pitcher: C.C. Sabathia. Four years, $9.5MM.
One To Two Years
Position Player: Chris Young. Five years, $28MM.
Pitcher: Fausto Carmona. Four years, $15MM.
Two To Three Years
Position Player: Hanley Ramirez. Six years, $70MM.
Pitcher: Yovani Gallardo. Five years, $30.1MM.
Three To Four Years
Position Player: Albert Pujols. Seven years, $100MM.
Pitcher: Scott Kazmir. Three years, $28.5MM.
Four To Five Years
Position Player: Miguel Cabrera. Eight years, $152.3MM.
Pitcher: Justin Verlander. Five years, $80MM.
Five To Six Years
Position Player: Derek Jeter. Ten years, $189MM.
Pitcher: Jake Peavy. Three years, $52MM.
Six-plus Years
Position Player: Alex Rodriguez. Ten years, $275MM.
Pitcher: C.C. Sabathia. Seven years, $171MM.
Some thoughts…
- The most regrettable deals were signed very early in the player's career, Young and Carmona. Might be a lesson in using up those pre-arbitration years before taking the plunge.
- The largest contract signed by a position player with less than one year of service time after Braun's deal is Evan Longoria's, which will pay him just $17.5MM over six years. Is Braun overpaid, or is Longoria underpaid? I think the answer is clear.
- Sabathia's four year, $9.5MM deal nearly tripled Roy Halladay's three year, $3.7MM deal with Toronto, which was the previous record for a pitcher with less an a year of service time.
- One only of the above contracts has expired.
Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.
Discussion: Chris Snyder
In November of last year, the Diamondbacks thought they had found a taker for Chris Snyder when they agreed to ship him to Toronto for Lyle Overbay. However, the Blue Jays got cold feet because of concerns over Snyder's surgically repaired back. So, the deal was called off and Arizona was stuck paying the catcher $11.25MM over the next two seasons.
This season, the D-Backs say that they plan to give Snyder a healthy dose of playing time at catcher alongside Miguel Montero, according to MLB.com's Steve Gilbert. GM Josh Byrnes claimed back in February that the club was not looking to deal the 29-year-old. Recently, however, a report suggested that Byrnes had him on the block – with the Brewers as a potential suitor.
Snyder was linked to the Mets prior to signing Rod Barajas as their primary backstop. Talks reportedly ended because the Mets wanted Arizona to assume almost all of the $4.75MM Snyder is owed in 2010.
If Snyder can demonstrate that he has truly recovered from his back injury, then Arizona might be able to move the right-handed slugger without eating too much of his salary. What teams could you see getting in the mix?
Odds & Ends: Beckett, Lind, Cardinals
Why isn't there more baseball today? Links for Tuesday…
- BoSox manager Terry Francona is glad that the organization hammered out Josh Beckett's extension before it became a media circus, writes Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal.
- I'll be joining Jeff & Jeff on KFNS St. Louis today at 1:25pm CST. Click here to listen live.
- SI's Jon Heyman wonders if the Diamondbacks and Rockies will get in on free agent lefty Jarrod Washburn.
- Josh Beckett initially wanted to top Carlos Zambrano's five-year, $91.5MM deal, reports WEEI's Rob Bradford. The market has changed since that deal was signed in August of '07, and the Red Sox secured Beckett for four years and $68MM.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says rival agents are exasperated by Adam Lind's four-year, $18MM extension, given the three club options. Frustrated agents – always a good sign for the team.
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch analyzes changes in the Cardinals' Opening Day payroll compared to '09.
- Steve Sommer of FanGraphs finds the best one-year deals at $2MM guaranteed or less for 2009, with Carl Pavano's Indians contract leading the way.
- The Twins look at seven factors when considering signing a young player to a long-term extension, learned Kelsie Smith of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
- Baseball America's Will Lingo puts together a list of lesser-known future GM candidates in the latest Ask BA.
Offseason Questions For The NL West
The Offseason In Review series is complete, and now the NL West steps up to the plate for a series of questions.
- Did the Diamondbacks upgrade in going from Max Scherzer to the more expensive Edwin Jackson? Will Brandon Webb supply five strong months and justify his $6.5MM net option price?
- Was it necessary for the Rockies to sign Rafael Betancourt and Huston Street to multiyear deals, since they controlled both for 2009 already? Are the Rockies sending mixed messages at the catcher position, signing Miguel Olivo weeks after extending Chris Iannetta?
- Was the risk of the Dodgers offering Randy Wolf arbitration worth the possible reward of the #36 and #65 picks in the 2010 draft? Can Vicente Padilla fill Wolf's shoes? Did Jamey Carroll's two-year deal represent the best use of $3.85MM?
- Could the Padres have added offense and made a legitimate run at a 2010 pennant? On the flip side, would seriously shopping Adrian Gonzalez during the offseason have maximized the return?
- Did the signings of Mark DeRosa, Freddy Sanchez, Bengie Molina, Juan Uribe, and Aubrey Huff for $34.75MM improve the Giants' offense?