Non-Tender Candidate: Melky Cabrera
Braves outfielder Melky Cabrera will be eligible for arbitration for the third time as a Super Two this winter. He's earning $3.1MM this year; will the Braves tender him a contract and potentially give him a raise for 2011?
Cabrera, 26, started off very slowly this year but has come around of late, and is hitting .260/.319/.370 in 422 plate appearances. Capable of playing all three outfield spots, UZR grades him out as below average in center and basically average in the corners.
Part of the deal that sent Javier Vazquez to the Yankees, Cabrera essentially fits the profile of the fourth outfielder yet has been thrust into full-time duty over the last several seasons. He won a World Series ring with New York last season, but I suspect the Braves won't care too much when making a decision on whether or not to tender Cabrera a contract for 2011 in December. This is Melky's third time through the arbitration process as a Super Two, so whatever salary he receives this season will impact his 2012 compensation as well.
Melky received a rather generous $1.7MM raise last winter, more than doubling his 2010 salary. That, however, was coming off the best season of his career, in which he hit .274/.336/.416 with a career best 13 homers. He and his agent shouldn't expect a similar raise this time around with a sub-.700 OPS and a career low four long balls. Even if he were to take a modest $400K raise to $3.5MM, it's not terribly difficult to find outfielders more productive than him at that cost, especially in today's market. We also have to consider Nate McLouth's $6.5MM salary for next season, since the Braves might not want to spend upwards of $10MM on a pair of below average outfielders.
With all that in mind, it's time for you to weigh in. Click here to vote on whether or not Cabrera will be non-tendered, and here to see the results.
Wagner’s Option Vests, Still Plans To Retire
Last night Billy Wagner picked up his 30th save of the season and finished his 50th game of the season, activating his 2011 option worth $6.5MM. However, the closer reiterated his desire to call it a career to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Wagner made his intentions clear once again this afternoon, writes David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“I’m retiring,” the 38-year-old lefty said to O'Brien. “I don’t know how to say it in a politically correct way, that anybody’s going to believe me.
Wagner's 2010 totals suggest that he still has plenty of baseball left in him. The lefty has a 1.68 ERA with 12.9 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9.
As Tim Dierkes recently pointed out, a guaranteed $6.5MM wouldn't mean a great deal to Wagner as he would make at least that much on the open market anyway. It also doesn't sound like Wagner, who has 415 career saves, is sweating the opportunity to eclipse John Franco's 424 saves to have the fourth most all-time. Back in April, Billy the Kid said that he wasn't concerned with the mark.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Lee, Feliz, Braves, Kershaw
On this date two years ago, umpires agreed to the use of instant replay to help determine boundary calls, such as fair or foul, on home runs. Expanded use of instant replay remains a hot topic in baseball, and even though Commissioner Bud Selig continues to dance around the subject, more replay feels inevitable at this point.
Here are a bunch of links from around the baseball blogosphere…
- Mike Ashmore's Thunder Thoughts interviews players and team personnel about minor league life, touching on everything from salary to housing to food, the whole nine. It's a long, but truly great read.
- Capitol Avenue Club analyzes the Derrek Lee trade.
- Pine Tar and Pocket Protectors says that Pedro Feliz is not the answer for the Cardinals.
- Beyond The Box Score looks at which teams are building the best bullpens on the cheap.
- Amazin' Avenue tries to figure out who should close for the Mets with Francisco Rodriguez out for the season.
- Royals Review questions whether or not Kansas City has something in Bryan Bullington.
- The Few, The Proud, The Brave looks ahead to Atlanta's offseason as well as the 2011 season.
- Pittsburgh Lumber Co. tries to figure out if the Pirates should start spending this offseason.
- The Process Report lists the Rays' farmhands eligible for this year's Rule 5 Draft.
- SD Sports Net wonders if the Padres whiffed by failing to sign first rounder Karsten Whitson.
- Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness uses Ricky Romero's new contract as a basis for a Clayton Kershaw contract extension.
- Baseball Time In Arlington examines the hidden value of Cliff Lee.
- Camden Crazies wonders if Brad Bergesen is back to being an effective pitcher.
- 1 Blue Jays Way introduces us to Toronto's prospects.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Odds & Ends: Chapman, Lee, Inge, Thome
Links for Wednesday night….
- The Reds will wait until September 1st to promote Aroldis Chapman, but he'll still be eligible for the playoffs, writes John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. In a separate blog post, Fay explains Chapman's postseason eligibility.
- Scott Miller of CBS Sports, Fangraphs' Jack Moore, ESPN's Keith Law (Insider-only) and ESPN.com's Rob Neyer share their thoughts on today's Derrek Lee trade.
- Ian Casselberry at MLive.com argues that the Tigers ought to trade Brandon Inge.
- Unsurprisingly, Ozzie Guillen had a response for those who criticized the White Sox for parting ways with Jim Thome. Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune has the story.
- Scrambling for a source of saves for the last month and a half of your fantasy league? Follow @closernews on Twitter to stay up-to-date on the latest injuries, blown saves, and everything else closer-related.
Braves Acquire Derrek Lee For Three Prospects
When Derrek Lee takes the field at Wrigley this weekend, he won't be wearing a Cubs uniform. The Braves have acquired Lee from Chicago in exchange for right-hander Robinson Lopez, right-hander Tyrelle Harris and left-hander Jeffrey Lorick.
The Cubs will pay the Braves $1.7MM, half of the $3.4MM owed to Lee between now and the end of the season. The 34-year-old, who hits free agency at season's end, has a .251/.335/.416 line in 475 plate appearances and projects to be a Type B free agent this offseason. Lee has a .939 OPS since the All-Star break, but is currently dealing with back soreness.
Lee isn't an obvious platoon partner for Troy Glaus, since both players have a history of hitting left-handers a bit better than they hit right-handers. So Glaus, a longtime third baseman, will be placed on the DL and receive some time at the hot corner during his rehab assignment. He has been slumping (.575 OPS in the last two months), but the Braves hope he can provide some pop at both first and third base in September.
As for the minor leaguers heading to Chicago, Baseball America ranked Lopez 16th among Braves prospects before the season and suggested that he "may be the biggest sleeper in the [Atlanta] system." He's still just 19, but his numbers in A ball haven't been as impressive as the ones he posted in his Rookie ball debut last year. Lopez has a 4.37 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 so far in 2010.
Harris, 23, has played at three levels this season and has now reached AA. Overall, the reliever has a 2.90 ERA with 10.9 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9. Lorick, also a reliever, has yet to reach AA, but the 22-year-old has solid numbers so far in 2010: a 2.24 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9.
David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com first reported that the Braves and Cubs were working toward a deal and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) broke news of the trade. Mark Bowman, Mark Bradley. David O'Brien, Jon Heyman, Bob Nightengale, Jerry Crasnick, Bruce Levine and Gordon Wittenmyer also provided updates to the story.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Pirates Remain Favorites To Sign Heredia
The Pirates are the “strong favorite” to sign Mexican pitching prospect Luis Heredia, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Pirates have been scouting the 16-year-old right-hander more aggressively than any other MLB club and have close ties to Veracruz, Heredia’s team. Not only do the Pirates have connections to Veracruz, which controls Heredia’s rights, Pittsburgh’s Mexican scouting suprevisor, Jesus Valdez, has known Heredia since the pitcher was five.
Veracruz cannot entertain formal offers until Thursday, but many teams other than the Pirates appear to have interest. The Yankees, Blue Jays, Rangers, A’s, Giants and Braves all scouted Heredia in Mexico last week, according to Kovacevic.
Odds & Ends: Aramis, Kemp, K-Rod
August 17th was a busy transaction day one year ago, as the Tigers acquired Aubrey Huff and the Rangers and Red Sox released Vicente Padilla and John Smoltz, respectively. Both pitchers performed well for their new teams; who will follow that script this year? While you ponder the question, here are today's links…
- Baseball fans are mourning the passing of Bobby Thomson, famous for his "shot heard 'round the world" with the New York Giants.
- MLB.com's Mark Bowman and the AJC's David O'Brien have contrasting reports on whether the Braves explored acquiring Aramis Ramirez from the Cubs. Both seem to agree that it's not happening.
- RotoAuthority looks at five catchers who were undervalued in fantasy baseball drafts before the season.
- Agent Dave Stewart nearly lost Matt Kemp to Scott Boras during the offseason, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. In January, Kemp signed a two-year deal covering his first two arbitration years.
- Neither Rosenthal nor Joel Sherman of the New York Post think the Mets can get Francisco Rodriguez's entire contract voided, but Sherman thinks they might win a case aiming to get out of the salary he has coming for the rest of the season.
- Agent Gregg Clifton left Gaylord Sports, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Clifton represented players such as Kris Benson and Mark Mulder and the now-retired Tom Glavine, Luis Gonzalez, and David Wells. In another tweet Crasnick says Clifton joined Jackson Lewis LLP as a partner and will be part of their Sports Industry Practice Group.
Market For Craig Counsell
Brewers infielder Craig Counsell recently cleared waivers, suggesting no team was willing to take on the prorated portion of his $2.3MM salary (currently $600K). Counsell can now be traded to any team, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Brewers seek "a legit return." Rosenthal notes that the Brewers received Chris Dickerson for Jim Edmonds, though I'll point out that Edmonds was having a stronger season at a lower salary and did get claimed on waivers by multiple clubs. In terms of the Counsell market, Rosenthal says the Cardinals inquired and backed off while the Braves have yet to inquire.
Counsell, 40 in a few days, is hitting .246/.317/.305 in 188 plate appearances this season. He's mostly played on the left side of the infield this year, but has plenty of career experience at second base. Counsell has had a disappointing season, though it seems to amount to a dip in playing time and batting average. He's not a clear upgrade for a contender, so he could stay put unless the asking price drops in the 15 days leading up to the waiver trade deadline.
Giants Trying To Block Cards, Braves From Third Basemen?
Some GMs have the perception the Giants are trying to block the Cardinals and Braves from acquiring a third baseman through a waiver trade, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. The team with the worse record gets first crack at a player, so at the moment the Giants can't stop a player from getting to the Cardinals. They can currently thwart the Padres, Reds, Phillies, and Braves.
Three players with the ability to play third base have already gotten through waivers unclaimed: Geoff Blum, Craig Counsell, and Edwin Encarnacion. We haven't heard about the status of Chone Figgins, Adam Kennedy, Jamey Carroll, Jeff Keppinger, Ty Wigginton, Wilson Betemit, Mark Reynolds, Melvin Mora, Jhonny Peralta, Aramis Ramirez, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Wes Helms, Andy LaRoche, Nick Punto, Brendan Harris, Jose Lopez, or Pedro Feliz yet. Brandon Inge is expected to hit the waiver wire this week, wrote Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch yesterday. The Twins could theoretically claim Inge before he gets to the Cards, but they may be satisfied with Danny Valencia at the hot corner.
Braves Considering Clint Barmes
The Braves are considering Clint Barmes as one potential way of replacing Chipper Jones, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Braves, who lost Chipper to season-ending knee surgery last week, cannot deal for Barmes yet, since the Rockies have yet to place him on waivers. Martin Prado, who should soon return from the disabled list, would play third and Barmes would play second if the Rockies and Braves were to complete a deal.
The Braves have a number of players in the organization who can play third. Troy Glaus will not return to the hot corner, but Prado, Omar Infante, Brooks Conrad and even Eric Hinske are options.
Aramis Ramirez, Pedro Feliz, Wes Helms, Adam Kennedy, Jose Lopez, Brandon Inge, Jhonny Peralta, Ty Wigginton, Edwin Encarnacion, Melvin Mora and Willie Bloomquist are among the infielders who could become targets for Atlanta should GM Frank Wren decide to make a trade. The Braves had not asked the Mariners about Chone Figgins as of last Friday.