No In-Season Contract Talks For Wainwright, Cards
Adam Wainwright has told the Cardinals that he’d prefer to wait until the season ends before discussing a possible contract extension, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Wainwright confirmed that GM John Mozeliak contacted him in the past two weeks to discuss a deal. However, the right-hander would prefer to focus on the season now and consider a new deal after the season.
"I don't want to do anything to create a distraction for me or the team," he told Strauss.
Wainwright, who turned 31 yesterday, missed the 2011 season to undergo and recover from Tommy John ligament replacement surgery. The Aegis Sports Management client pitched to a 4.75 ERA for the first three months of the 2012 season but has since pitched as effectively as he did pre-surgery, posting a 2.08 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9 in ten outings since the beginning of July. Overall Wainwright has a 3.63 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 53% ground ball rate in 166 innings this year.
Wainwright's under contract for $12MM next year and he’s eligible for free agency following the 2013 season. The Cardinals recently extended Jake Westbrook, another member of their projected ‘13 rotation. Mozeliak has been particularly aggressive in signing players to late-season extensions, as MLBTR’s Transaction Tracker shows.
Carlos Lee Drawing Interest
Carlos Lee continues to draw trade interest from teams seeking right-handed hitters, Yahoo’s Tim Brown reports (on Twitter). Lee, a free agent after the season, can block deals to 14 teams.
For Lee to be eligible for another team’s postseason roster, he’d have to be on another club by tomorrow. He was on waivers earlier in the month, but it’s unclear if he was claimed. The Giants are among the teams currently seeking right-handed hitters.
The Marlins are responsible for paying Lee the pro-rated portion of the MLB minimum salary, while the Astros are covering the rest of his $18.5MM salary. The 36-year-old has a .278/.346/.388 batting line in 486 total plate appearances for the Astros and Marlins this year. He has spoken to Miami officials about the possibility of returning for the 2013 season.
The Marlins tried to move Lee at the trade deadline, according to multiple reports. The Yankees agreed to pay Miami $1MM in exchange for Lee, who blocked the proposed deal. The Marlins also tried to move Lee to Baltimore at the trade deadline, according to Jon Heyman. Lee blocked a potential deal to Los Angeles back in June.
Hector Luna Elects Free Agency
The Phillies announced that infielder Hector Luna elected free agency after being outrighted off of the team's 40-man roster. The Phillies now have one open spot on their 40-man roster.
Luna appeared in 28 games for the Phillies this year, playing left field and both corner infield positions. The 32-year-old posted a .226/.273/.355 batting line in 66 plate appearances, hitting two home runs. Luna is a seven-year veteran with experience on the Cardinals, Blue Jays, Indians and Marlins.
Padres May Keep Headley, Pursue Starters
Padres executives are encouraged by the team’s improved play and will consider adjusting their offseason plans, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. The Padres are leaning against trading Chase Headley this winter, Rosenthal reports. GM Josh Byrnes considered trade offers for Headley leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline, but there’s no urgency to deal the third baseman, who’s under team control through 2014.
The Padres could also attempt to sign at least one free agent starter during the offseason, Rosenthal writes. If possible, they would like to add an impact starter and Hiroki Kuroda is one possible target. Padres general manager Josh Byrnes has tried to sign Kuroda twice, according to Rosenthal. He pursued him as the GM of the Diamondbacks and again as the GM of the Padres.
The Seidler/O’Malley families and Ron Fowler officially completed the purchase of the Padres for $800MM yesterday. San Diego has the best record in the NL West since June 10th at 41-30.
Minor Moves: Gregory Infante
The latest minor moves from around MLB…
- The White Sox announced that they released right-hander Gregory Infante. The 25-year-old pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings for the team two years ago, but he hasn't appeared in an MLB game since. He posted a 3.55 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 21 relief outings in the upper minors this year.
Giants Continue Seeking Right-Handed Bat
The Giants are still looking for a right-handed hitting outfielder, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports (on Twitter). Rival teams say the Giants are aiming low and that they aren't expected to add more than an extra guy.
Scott Hairston could have been a fit for the Giants, but he was claimed off of waivers by another team, apparently as a blocking move. The Giants had some interest in Steve Pearce earlier this month. However, they didn't claim him when he was placed on waivers and Houston traded him to New York. Both Angel Pagan, a switch hitter, and Gregor Blanco, a left-handed hitter, hit right-handers better than left-handers.
Poll: Which AL GM Made The Best Offseason Moves?
Baseball’s 30 general managers complete hundreds of transactions every offseason as they look for ways of improving their respective teams. Some of those moves, such as the signing of Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder, generate tons of buzz. Others go unnoticed until the season begins and players start exceeding or falling short of expectations.
MLBTR’s Transaction Tracker offers a look back at last offseason’s moves (you can filter by team for more focused summaries). Now that the stretch run of the 2012 season is about to begin, let’s take stock of last winter’s moves. Taking into account both 2012 results and the long-term outlook, which American League general manager had the best 2011-12 offseason?
Which AL GM made the best offseason moves?
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Billy Beane (Athletics) 34% (6,596)
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Dan Duquette (Orioles) 12% (2,355)
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Ben Cherington (Red Sox) 10% (1,931)
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Jerry Dipoto (Angels) 9% (1,847)
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Kenny Williams (White Sox) 8% (1,512)
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Brian Cashman (Yankees) 7% (1,328)
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Jon Daniels (Rangers) 6% (1,163)
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Dave Dombrowski (Tigers) 5% (899)
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Alex Anthopoulos (Blue Jays) 3% (550)
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Jack Zduriencik (Mariners) 3% (550)
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Andrew Friedman (Rays) 2% (338)
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Terry Ryan (Twins) 2% (311)
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Dayton Moore (Royals) 1% (166)
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Chris Antonetti (Indians) 0% (98)
Total votes: 19,644
Offseason Trades Fuel Athletics’ Success
Only two American League teams have a better record than the Athletics, even though they traded away their closer and two top starting pitchers for a collection of relatively unproven players after the 2011 season. Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill and Andrew Bailey are all gone, but the A’s have a 71-57 record and are tied for one of the American League’s Wild Card berths with 34 games to go.
Though there’s no singular reason that the A’s have played this well, the team’s offseason trades could hardly be working out better. Billy Beane acquired one third of the team’s starting lineup, its setup man and two fifths of its starting rotation in deals this past winter. MLBTR’s Transaction Tracker offers a recap of these moves. Here’s the breakdown, featuring players on the team’s active roster:
- Josh Reddick, acquired from Red Sox in trade for Andrew Bailey and Ryan Sweeney – Reddick has been a major contributor to Oakland's offense this year, hitting 26 home runs and posting a .253/.321/.487 batting line. He has already been worth 4.3 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs' version of the metric.
- Seth Smith, acquired from Rockies in trade for Guillermo Moscoso and Josh Outman - Smith has posted a respectable .244/.344/.431 batting line with 12 home runs. He continues to produce against right-handed pitchers (10 homers).
- Derek Norris, acquired from Washington in trade for Gio Gonzalez and Robert Gilliam – Norris became the Athletics' regular catcher when Oakland sent Kurt Suzuki to Washington. He has five home runs but just a .272 on-base percentage in 158 plate appearances.
- Ryan Cook, acquired from Arizona in trade for Trevor Cahill and Craig Breslow – The 25-year-old right-hander has a 2.45 ERA with more strikeouts (60) than innings pitched (55). He averages 95 mph with his fastball and 11.8% of his offerings generate swings and misses. Cook, a 2012 All-Star, picked up 12 saves earlier in the year.
- Jarrod Parker, acquired from Arizona in trade for Trevor Cahill and Craig Breslow – Parker has a 3.52 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 135 1/3 innings this year. Peripheral stats such as his 43.9 % ground ball rate and a 9.8% swinging strike rate are also encouraging.
- Tommy Milone, acquired from Washington in trade for Gio Gonzalez and Robert Gilliam – Milone has a 3.73 ERA with four times as many strikeouts as walks in 159 1/3 innings.
- The A’s also traded for a number of minor league players, including Brad Peacock and Collin Cowgill.
Oakland currently has a 51% chance of playing in the postseason, according to Baseball Prospectus’ postseason odds report. But even if the A’s don’t qualify this year, last winter’s trades should have an impact in future seasons. Smith will be second-time arbitration eligible this offseason, but Reddick won’t be arbitration eligible until next offseason. The others — Norris, Cook, Parker and Milone — are at least two years away from arbitration eligibility. Not only are these players contributing, they’re doing so at a time in their careers when they’re relatively affordable. That creates flexibility which makes a difference in any market and should be especially valuable in Oakland.
Victorino Could Re-Sign With Dodgers
Shane Victorino would like to re-sign with the Dodgers when he hits free agency this coming offseason. But if there isn’t room in Los Angeles’ starting outfield, he won’t be back. The 31-year-old switch-hitter told Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times that he has no intention of returning as a bench player.
"Are you crazy?" Victorino said. "I'm not even thinking about stepping back. Why would I? I'm 31 years old. . . . I'm going to be an everyday play, whether it be here, whether it be Philly, whether it be any uniform."
Los Angeles seemed like a possible long-term fit for Victorino when he was acquired from the Phillies before the non-waiver trade deadline. The Dodgers have since acquired Carl Crawford, who’s under contract through 2017. However, Crawford recently underwent Tommy John surgery, so he might not be ready for the beginning of the 2013 season.
Victorino, who lives in Las Vegas, said he likes what the Dodgers are doing and would consider re-signing with the team if there’s interest on both sides. "Anything can happen,” he told Hernandez.
NL West Notes: Padres, D’Backs, Dodgers, Oswalt
The Padres announced that the ownership group led by the Seidler/O’Malley families and Ron Fowler completed the purchase of the team for $800MM. Fowler is the team’s control person and the ownership group includes two sons and two nephews of Peter O’Malley, the Dodgers’ longtime owner. Tom Garfinkel will stay on as the Padres' president and CEO and Josh Byrnes will remain the team’s executive VP and general manager.
Here are today’s NL West links…
- The Padres' new owners offered more platitudes than specifics when addressing the media today, Scott Miller of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). The owners didn't say where the team's payroll will sit.
- The Dodgers continue spending aggressively, but it doesn’t seem to bother the Diamondbacks’ top officials. Managing general partner Ken Kendrick told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that he has “no problem competing with these folks." Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall said "there is so much more to building a championship team than just exorbitant salaries."
- The Diamondbacks will be able to contend with the Dodgers if their young core of starting pitchers can stay healthy and perform, Piecoro writes. If pitchers such as Tyler Skaggs, Wade Miley and Trevor Bauer can continue to pitch effectively as pre-arbitration eligible players, Arizona can spend elsewhere. Relying on young starting pitching isn’t foolproof, but it’s been done before, as Piecoro explains.
- One Dodgers person didn’t seem enthused about the possibility of trading for Roy Oswalt, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). Oswalt has cleared waivers and the Rangers will consider trading him. The Dodgers inquired on Oswalt, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times.