We’ll track the day’s outright assignments here…
Veteran infielder Miguel Cairo has joined the Reds front office in a role that apparently ends his playing career. The Reds announced that Cairo has become a special assistant to general manager Walt Jocketty (Twitter link).
Cairo, 38, spent the 2010-12 seasons with the Reds, contributing in a utility role. In a 17-year career that includes stints with nine teams, he has a .264/.314/.361 batting line. Cairo earned approximately $10MM as a player, including $1MM per season for 2011-12.
Infielder Reid Brignac told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that he has been traded to the Rockies (Twitter link). The Rockies announced the deal, which sends cash consideration and a player to be named later to Tampa Bay (Twitter link). The Rays had designated Brignac for assignment last week to create roster space for Kyle Farnsworth and Kelly Johnson.
Brignac appeared in 16 games for the Rays last year, playing second base, third base, shortstop and left field. The 27-year-old spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he posted a .231/.323/.353 batting line in 400 plate appearances as a middle infielder. Brignac, who is not yet arbitration eligible, has a .227/.268/.317 batting line in parts of five MLB seasons.
Brignac joins a middle infield mix that includes starters Troy Tulowitzki and Josh Rutledge and reserves Jonathan Herrera and D.J. LeMahieu.
The Twins signed left-handed reliever Rafael Perez to a minor league deal, La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports (on Twitter). Agent Drew Seccafico represents Perez.
The Indians designated Perez for assignment in late November then non-tendered him two days later (he had been a non-tender candidate with a projected salary of $2MM). GM Chris Antonetti expressed interest in re-signing the 30-year-old, who has spent his entire seven-year career with Cleveland.
Perez appeared in just eight games last year, spending considerable time on the disabled list with a strained lat. Perez has career a 3.64 ERA with 7.3 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a 54.5% ground ball rate. Assistant GM Rob Antony said the team plans see if Perez can start, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports (on Twitter).
As MLBTR's Free Agent Tracker shows, the market for left-handed relievers now features J.C. Romero and little else.
On this date in 2007 the Red Sox signed free agent outfielder J.D. Drew to a five-year, $70MM contract. Though Drew hit .264/.370/.455 in Boston, he had trouble staying on the field and faced his share of scrutiny over the years. Here are today's AL East links, as Drew's younger brother Stephen prepares for his first season with the Red Sox…
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The Nationals, Angels, Brewers, Red Sox and Cardinals seem to be distancing themselves from Kyle Lohse, publicly suggesting they aren't likely to reach a deal with the free agent right-hander. Lohse, the last remaining impact free agent, would represent an upgrade for most rotations around MLB. It’s just a question of which team will reach a deal with agent Scott Boras. Here’s the latest on Lohse…
8:21am: Mozeliak obtains a three-year deal through 2016, Goold reports (on Twitter). The Cardinals also formally exercised Matheny's 2014 option.
7:19am: The Cardinals will announce extensions for manager Mike Matheny and general manager John Mozeliak today, Derrick Goold and Bryan Burwell of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch report (Twitter links).
Matheny signed a two-year contract before the 2012 season. That deal included a 2014 club option which will be exercised today. The Cardinals reached the postseason in 2012, Matheny's rookie season. The club won 88 regular season games and advanced to the NLCS as a Wild Card team before losing to the Giants. The 42-year-old Matheny played at the MLB level for 13 seasons, winning four Gold Gloves as a member of the Cardinals, Brewers, Giants and Blue Jays.
Mozeliak had been working under a three-year contract covering the 2011-13 seasons. Since he became the team's GM following the 2007 season, the Cardinals have reached the playoffs three times and won at least 86 games every year. That run includes the 2011 World Series title and last year's NLCS appearance. ESPN.com's Keith Law recently ranked the Cardinals' farm system first in MLB.
7:26pm: Hernandez’s contract will include an eighth season at $1MM if he sustains a specific elbow injury, sources tell Jon Paul Morosi (on Twitter) and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Hernandez would need to miss 120-130 days within one season or consecutive seasons to trigger the clause (Twitter link).
5:24pm: Hernandez's deal includes a full no-trade clause, tweets Larry Stone of the Seattle Times. The right-hander was set to obtain ten-and-five rights after the 2015 season, but this gives him trade protection in the interim.
4:11pm: Felix Hernandez has now officially signed the most lucrative contract any pitcher has ever obtained. The Mariners announced that they have signed the 26-year-old right-hander to a seven-year deal that represents the largest commitment in franchise history. It's a $175MM contract, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, who first reported the agreement.
Alan Nero of Octagon represents Hernandez, whose deal required some modifications after an elbow issue surfaced late last week. The sides tore up the previous deal and the new one includes "minor concessions" related to the condition of Hernandez's elbow, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
“Felix is committed to this franchise, and to the city of Seattle, and is a key part of what we are building here,” GM Jack Zduriencik said in a statement released by the team. “As we take necessary steps to reach the next level as a team, Felix will be a key component. We have had a plan since I arrived in Seattle: to build this organization to play at a championship level on a consistent basis. As I have said before, when we get to that level we will need, and want a pitcher, and a person, like Felix."
The new deal replaces the two remaining years on Hernandez's previous contract. That deal covered the 2013-14 seasons and called for salaries of $19.5MM in 2013 and $20MM in 2013. With the extension the Mariners extend their team control of Hernandez by five years through his age-33 season.
C.C. Sabathia established the previous record for pitchers when he signed a seven-year, $161MM contract following the 2009 season. Zack Greinke established a record for right-handed pitchers earlier this offseason, when he obtained a $147MM guarantee from the Dodgers. Hernandez’s deal eclipses Greinke’s deal in terms of total value and average annual value.
The seven-year, $175MM deal becomes the largest financial commitment of the offseason, surpassing Greinke's contract with the Dodgers and Josh Hamilton's deal with the Angels. The deal also represents the largest commitment in Mariners' history.
“I have always told anyone who asks me, Seattle is where I want to be,” Hernandez said. “I love it here, and my family loves it here.
Hernandez signed his previous contract, a five-year, $78MM deal, after the 2009 season. Weeks after Hernandez signed, Justin Verlander obtained a five-year, $80MM contract from the Tigers. It's conceivable that history could repeat itself and that Hernandez's contract could again establish parameters for a deal between the Tigers and their ace. Like Hernandez, Verlander is two years away from free agency. Clayton Kershaw, another Cy Young winner who's two years from the open market, could also look to Hernandez's contract as a potential point of reference.
Hernandez has solidified his place as one of the game's elite starters since debuting as a teenager in 2005. He won the Cy Young Award in 2010 and finished fourth in the 2012 balloting. Last year Hernandez posted a 3.06 ERA with 8.7 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 over the course of 232 innings in a season highlighted by his August perfect game. 'King Felix' has pitched at least 230 innings in each of the last four seasons, a period for which he has an ERA of 2.81 and nearly as many strikeouts as innings pitched.
Edward Creech contributed to this post. ESPN's Buster Olney reported the elbow issue and Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported Hernandez would still obtain a $175MM deal (on Twitter). Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
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