Rick VandenHurk Elects Free Agency
The Indians announced that right-hander Rick VandenHurk has declined his outright assignment and elected free agency. The team cleared roster space by designating the out of options 26-year-old for assignment last week.
It's been a busy couple of months for VandenHurk. The Orioles released the native of the Netherlands in February, the Blue Jays signed him to a Major League contract soon afterwards. The Indians then claimed him off of waivers only to designate his contract and outright him to the minor leagues.
VandenHurk spent most of the 2011 season as a starter at Triple-A, where he posted a 4.43 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 154 1/3 innings. He has MLB experience in five seasons, but he appeared in just four games for last year's Orioles team. He has a 5.97 ERA with 8.8 K/9, 4.7 BB/9 and a 27.9% ground ball rate in 181 career innings with the Marlins and Orioles.
Cubs Interested In John Lannan
The Cubs inquired about John Lannan this week, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The Cubs had already talked to the Nationals about Lannan and another left-hander: former Cubs pitcher Tom Gorzelanny. Marlon Byrd came up in discussions between the two teams, Wittenmyer reports.
Lannan requested a trade after being optioned to the minor leagues earlier this week. GM Mike Rizzo said there's "mild" interest in the 27-year-old, but manager Davey Johnson said the Nationals are "not trading him."
Lannan posted a 3.70 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 184 2/3 innings last year. He’ll earn $5MM in 2012 and will remain under team control in 2013 (he currently projects as a non-tender candidate, however).
Quick Hits: Phillips, Kinsler, Podsednik, Moyer
Links for Thursday, as the first full day of the regular season wraps up…
- The Reds and Rangers are working towards contract extensions with Brandon Phillips and Ian Kinsler, respectively, and ESPN's Jim Bowden says (on Twitter) there's some work left to be done on each. Phillips is expected to get $12.5-13MM annually, Kinsler $13.5-14MM.
- Scott Podsednik will report to the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate, his agent confirmed to David Murphy of The Philadelphia Daily News. Podsednik was not technically a Major League free agent this offseason since he spent all of last year in the minors, so he was unable to opt-out of his contract at the end of Spring Training.
- Jamie Moyer's can make $2MM in incentives op top of his $1.1MM base salary, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports (on Twitter). The 49-year-old left-hander will open the season in the Rockies’ rotation.
- Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright took note when Matt Cain of the Giants signed earlier in the week, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. "Obviously, you have to pay attention to it,"Wainwright said. "It's a tremendous deal for him." Cain obtained $112.5MM in new money from the Giants, establishing a record for right-handed pitchers.
- Ivan Rodriguez is working out and says he's in shape, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). Heyman suggests the Rays could be a fit for the veteran free agent.
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
Reds Expect To Extend Brandon Phillips
6:16pm: ESPN's Jim Bowden hears that the Reds offered Phillips a five-year deal in the "neighborhood" of $62.5-65MM (Twitter link). That is just north of Dan Uggla's five-year, $62MM contract with the Braves.
3:51pm: GM Walt Jocketty said on today's TV broadcast that he's confident the Reds will complete a contract extension with Brandon Phillips within a week, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer (on Twitter). The ACES client will be eligible for free agency following the 2012 season if the Reds don't lock him up.
Earlier this week it seemed unlikely that the Reds would lock Phillips up long-term. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported last week that the likely asking price for Phillips is a raise from his current $12MM salary on a four or five-year deal. Phillips posted a .300/.353/.457 line with 18 home runs and 38 doubles in 675 plate appearances last year. He won his third Gold Glove in 2011, and deserved it based on advanced assessments of his fielding.
The Reds announced a ten-year, $225MM extension for Joey Votto earlier this week.
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
Outrighted: Neal, Hamren, Eveland, Rodriguez
Teams are clearing 40-man roster space for non-roster invitees who’ve made Opening Day rosters, so we’ve had a flurry of outright assignments in recent days. Here are the details via MLB.com’s transactions page…
- Indians outfielder Thomas Neal, who was designated for assignment yesterday, has cleared waivers, according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com (Twitter link). The Indians outrighted him to Triple-A.
- The Padres announced that right-hander Erik Hamren cleared outright waivers. The Padres have assigned him to Double-A and now have an open spot on their 40-man roster.
- The Orioles announced that they outrighted left-hander Dana Eveland to Triple-A after he cleared waivers. They had designated him for assignment last week.
- The Mets outrighted Armando Rodriguez to Binghamton after he cleared outright waivers. The right-hander pitched at Class A in 2011, posting a 3.96 ERA in 16 starts.
- The Cubs outrighted Frankie De La Cruz to Triple-A Iowa. They had claimed the 28-year-old right-hander off of waivers from the Brewers less than a month ago. De La Cruz spent most of last year as a starter at Triple-A, where he had a 3.88 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 137 innings.
- The Indians outrighted Rick VandenHurk to Triple-A. They had designated him for assignment soon after claiming him on waivers.
How Teams Obtained Their Opening Day Starters
The 30 Opening Day starters aren't the 30 best pitchers in the game, but their managers do consider them the best arms currently available. Here's a list of the pitchers who got the Opening Day nod this year and how their current teams acquired them (note that many have since signed extensions that delayed their arrival on the free agent market):
Draft Picks (12)
- Stephen Strasburg, Nationals – Selected in the first round of the 2009 draft (1st overall).
- Justin Verlander, Tigers – Selected in the first round of the 2004 draft (2nd overall).
- Ricky Romero, Blue Jays – Selected in the first round of the 2005 draft (6th overall).
- Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers – Selected in the first round of the 2006 draft (7th overall).
- Tim Lincecum, Giants – Selected in the first round of the 2006 draft (10th overall).
- Jered Weaver, Angels – Selected in the first round of the 2004 draft (12th overall).
- Yovani Gallardo, Brewers – Selected in the second round of the 2004 draft.
- Jon Lester, Red Sox – Selected in the second round of the 2002 draft.
- Josh Johnson, Marlins – Selected in the fourth round of the 2002 draft.
- Jake Arrieta, Orioles – Selected in the 5th round of the 2007 draft.
- James Shields, Rays – Selected in the 16th round of the 2000 draft.
- Tommy Hanson, Braves – Selected in the 22nd round of the 2005 draft.
Free Agent Signings (8)
- Kyle Lohse, Cardinals – Signed a free agent contract worth $4.25MM in March, 2008.
- Ryan Dempster, Cubs – Signed a free agent contract worth $52MM over four years in November, 2008.
- C.C. Sabathia, Yankees – Signed a free agent contract worth $161MM over seven years in December, 2008.
- Colby Lewis, Rangers – Signed a free agent contract worth $5MM over two years in January, 2010.
- Brandon McCarthy, Athletics – Signed a free agent contract worth $1MM in December, 2010.
- Carl Pavano, Twins – Signed a free agent contract worth $16.5MM over two years in January, 2011. The Twins originally traded for him in 2009, but Pavano has since hit free agency.
- Bruce Chen, Royals – Signed a free agent contract worth $9MM over two years in November, 2011.
- Erik Bedard, Pirates – Signed a free agent contract worth $4.5MM for one year in December, 2011.
Trades (7)
- John Danks, White Sox – Acquired from the Rangers in the December, 2006 trade that sent McCarthy to Texas.
- Johan Santana, Mets – Acquired from the Twins in a February, 2008 trade that sent Carlos Gomez, Philip Humber and Kevin Mulvey to Minnesota.
- Justin Masterson, Indians – Acquired from the Red Sox in a July, 2009 trade that sent Victor Martinez to Boston.
- Roy Halladay, Phillies – Acquired from the Blue Jays in a December, 2009 trade that sent Michael Taylor, Travis d'Arnaud and Kyle Drabek to Toronto.
- Ian Kennedy, Diamondbacks – Acquired from the Yankees in a December, 2009 trade involving the Yankees and Tigers.
- Edinson Volquez, Padres – Acquired from the Reds in a December, 2011 trade that sent Mat Latos to the Reds.
- Jeremy Guthrie, Rockies – Acquired from the Orioles in the February, 2012 trade that sent Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom to Baltimore.
International Free Agent Signings (3)
- Wandy Rodriguez, Astros – Signed as an amateur free agent in 1999.
- Felix Hernandez, Mariners – Signed as an amateur free agent in July, 2002.
- Johnny Cueto, Reds – Signed as an amateur free agent in 2004.
NL East Notes: Reyes, Hamels, Lannan
Some NL East links for Thursday, as the Braves and Mets get their season started in New York…
- Jose Reyes doesn't seem to be missing the Mets, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. It’d be hard to fault Reyes for enjoying his role on an exciting Marlins team and his $106MM contract.
- Cole Hamels' track record is "a little better than [Matt] Cain's, so it does make things difficult," Phillies senior advisor Pat Gillick told Bob McCown and Damien Cox on Sportsnet Radio FAN 590 yesterday. The Phillies have some interest in locking Hamels up long-term, but Cain's $112.5MM extension complicated things earlier this week.
- Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that he had two "uncomfortable" conversations with John Lannan after telling the left-hander he was being optioned to the minor leagues (Twitter links). "If he was happy and took this laying down, it wouldn't be John Lannan," Rizzo said. "And you'd have to worry about that type of person.''
- Rizzo said there's "mild" interest in Lannan, but manager Davey Johnson said the Nationals are "not trading him," Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reports. Lannan has requested a trade.
Rays Claim John Gaub
The Rays have claimed left-hander John Gaub off of waivers, the Cubs announced. The Cubs also announced that they placed right-hander Marcos Mateo on the 60-day disabled list to create 40-man roster space.
Gaub, 26, appeared in four games for the 2011 Cubs after spending most of the season in the minor leagues. He posted a 3.42 ERA with 12.2 K/9 and 6.5 BB/9 in 55 1/3 innings for the Cubs' Triple-A Iowa affiliate. Left-handed relievers J.P. Howell and Jake McGee made the Rays' Opening Day roster and Cesar Ramos and Alex Torres are minor league options.
Yankees Claim Cody Eppley
The Yankees claimed reliever Cody Eppley off of waivers from the Rangers, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. The Rangers had designated the right-hander for assignment yesterday.
Eppley appeared in ten games with the Rangers early on last year, but spent most of the season at Triple-A. The 26-year-old posted a 3.90 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 5.5 BB/9 in 55 1/3 innings of relief with Round Rock. They Yankees will send him to Triple-A.
Projected Super Two Cutoff For 2012
The cutoff for super two players after the 2012 season will be two years and 134 days of service time, according to preliminary internal studies by CAA (Twitter link). A year ago this time the agency correctly anticipated that the 2011 cutoff would be two years and 146 days of service time.
This would be good news for players such as Josh Thole, Chris Johnson, Michael Saunders, Tyler Colvin, Sam Fuld, Esmil Rogers, Drew Storen and Mark Melancon. They'll project as super twos this coming offseason, assuming they accrue a full year of service in 2012 and the CAA projection is accurate.
Super two status entitles certain players to four years of arbitration eligibility, rather than the usual three. In other words, they'll earn more than their peers. Under baseball's new collective bargaining agreement, 22% of players qualify as super twos. This represents an increase from 17% and helps explain why the cutoff is lower than it was a year ago.
Jonathan Lucroy would qualify as a super two if the cutoff falls at 2.134. If he qualifies, he'll earn an additional $2MM over the course of the extension he recently signed.
The following players will finish the season with less than two years and 134 days of service time: Carlos Santana, Justin Smoak, Danny Valencia, Michael Brantley, Jordan Schafer, Giancarlo Stanton, Madison Bumgarner, Stephen Strasburg, Daniel Hudson, Dan Runzler, Andrew Cashner and Alexi Ogando. They don't project as super twos, so their teams may only have to worry about going through the arbitration process three times.
I looked ahead to some upcoming first-time arbitration eligible players earlier in the year.