Blue Jays Extend Dustin McGowan
3:28pm: The team announced the deal, which will pay McGowan $1.5MM per season in 2013 and 2014 and includes a $4MM club option for 2015 (with a $500K buyout, according to The Associated Press).
2:50pm: Dustin McGowan, who arrived at Spring Training without a guaranteed spot in the Blue Jays' rotation, now has job security for at least two years. The oft-injured right-hander has agreed to terms with the Blue Jays on a two-year contract extension with an option, Jim Bowden of ESPN.com and MLB Network Radio tweets.
McGowan returned from shoulder trouble to make five Major League appearances last year, his first big league action since 2008. ACES represents the right-hander, who removed himself from a minor league start yesterday because of plantar fasciitis. McGowan, who turned 30 on Saturday, had already agreed to terms with the Blue Jays on a one-year, $600K deal for 2012.
Cubs Release Trever Miller
The Cubs released left-handed reliever Trever Miller, Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com tweets. The Cubs had signed the Praver/Shapiro client to a minor league contract in January.
Miller, who turns 39 in May, posted a 3.80 ERA with 5.1 K/9, 5.1 BB/9 and a 38% ground ball rate in 21 1/3 innings for the Cardinals, Blue Jays, and Red Sox in 2011. He started the season in St. Louis, went to Toronto in a July trade, and signed with Boston after the Blue Jays released him.
Mets Sign Chris Young
The Mets signed right-hander Chris Young to a minor league deal, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger reported this morning that the Mets were nearing a deal with the Williams & Connolly client.
Young, 32, started four games for the Mets last year after undergoing anterior capsule surgery in May. He has a 3.74 ERA with 7.8 K/9, 3.6 BB/9 and a 28.2% ground ball rate in eight career seasons with the Rangers, Padres and Mets.
Braves Inquired On Will Venable
The Braves asked the Padres about right fielder Will Venable, only to hear he’s not available, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (all Twitter links). It was reported over the weekend that Atlanta GM Frank Wren seeks depth for the infield and outfield.
The Braves would prefer to add someone who can play center field if they acquire an outfielder, Morosi writes. Venable has MLB experience at all three outfield positions, though he spent most of last season in right field. He has great speed for a right fielder to go along with outstanding range, according to The Fielding Bible Volume III. The Braves are reluctant to trade Kris Medlen for an outfielder, since they value the right-hander’s versatility.
Cubs Sign Shawn Camp
The Cubs signed right-hander Shawn Camp to a minor league deal, MLB.com's Carrie Muskat reports (Twitter links). The Mariners released the reliever five days ago.
Camp spent the last four seasons with the Blue Jays, and posted a 4.21 ERA with 4.3 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 53.5% groundball rate in 66 1/3 innings a year ago. The Blue Jays did not offer the right-hander arbitration after the season despite his Type B status.
AL East Notes: Rays, Bard, Snider, Chamberlain
The Tigers released Carlos Pena on this date in 2006. The first baseman spent most of the year in the minors with the Yankees and Red Sox then broke out with a 46-homer season for the Rays the following season. Here are today's AL East-related links…
- Gustavo Cabrera worked out for the Rays recently, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com reports. The 16-year-old Dominican outfielder is one of this summer's top eligible amateurs and could command a bonus in the $1.5-2.5MM range, Mayo writes.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders if Daniel Bard can successfully transition to Boston's rotation this year and explains that in a perfect world he wouldn't have to become a starter. A number of baseball people are skeptical that the Red Sox right-hander will succeed in the rotation, Rosenthal writes.
- Executives monitoring the outfield market say the Blue Jays are inclined to keep Travis Snider, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets. The Blue Jays optioned the left-handed hitting 24-year-old to Triple-A over the weekend.
- Yankees manager Joe Girardi said he's optimistic Joba Chamberlain will pitch in the Major Leagues this year, Jeff Bradley of the Star-Ledger reports. The right-hander dislocated his right ankle last week and will likely wear a cast for six weeks.
- It doesn't appear that the Yankees have any intention of releasing Chamberlain in an attempt to save money, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com writes.
Minor Moves: Tobi Stoner
The latest minor moves from around MLB…
- The Mets announced that they released right-hander Tobi Stoner (Twitter links). The 27-year-old posted a 6.05 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 105 2/3 innings at Class A and Double-A in 2011. He briefly made it to the Major Leagues in 2009 and 2010. The Mets also released Eric Niesen, Nick Carr, Roy Merritt, Chris Hilliard, Ronny Morla, Steve Winnick, Lucas Stewart and Chase Greene.
Offseason In Review: Detroit Tigers
Tigers owner Mike Ilitch spent aggressively on one of the top free agents available to bolster an already formidable offense.
Major League Signings
- Prince Fielder, 1B: nine years, $214MM.
- Jose Valverde, RP: one year, $9MM. Club option exercised.
- Ramon Santiago, IF: two years, $4MM.
- Octavio Dotel, RP: one year, $3.5MM.
- Gerald Laird, C: one year, $1MM.
- Total spend: $231.5MM.
Notable Minor League Signings
Trades and Claims
- Acquired RP Collin Balester from the Nationals for RP Ryan Perry.
Notable Losses
- Magglio Ordonez, Wilson Betemit, Carlos Guillen, Brad Penny, Joel Zumaya, Perry.
Draft Picks Gained or Lost
- Lost 27th overall selection to Brewers for Fielder.
Back in October, the Tigers’ chances of signing a major free agent seemed decent, if not particularly strong. Jose Reyes, Jimmy Rollins, Aramis Ramirez, Mark Buehrle and Yu Darvish all made a certain amount of sense for the Tigers, a team without certainty on the left side of the infield or a proven fifth starter. But Prince Fielder? Not a chance.
Things changed pretty quickly once Victor Martinez tore his ACL during an ill-fated offseason workout. Within ten days, owner Mike Ilitch had approved a $214MM contract for Fielder and, just like that, the 2012 Tigers were a changed team.
Fielder, undoubtedly one of the top offensive producers in baseball, has averaged 160 games in six full seasons. He brings durability and pure left-handed power to a Tigers lineup that placed fourth in the majors in scoring a year ago. They’ll put up a few runs again in 2012.
Detroit’s infield defense could become a concern as a result of the Fielder signing. Fielder will play first base and Miguel Cabrera will play third, a position at which he has played just 14 MLB games since being traded to Detroit after the 2007 season. Now that the Tigers have promised both superstars an everyday job in the field, they face a potentially difficult situation. Should Cabrera’s defense prove to be a real barrier to the team’s success, manager Jim Leyland and GM Dave Dombrowski will have to find a way to keep him in the lineup at another position.
When the Tigers’ offseason began, its success seemed to hinge on Dombrowski’s ability to obtain a second baseman and add pitching depth. The Fielder deal pushed Brandon Inge from third to second, where he’s competing for the starting job alongside the versatile Ryan Raburn and Ramon Santiago, who re-signed in Detroit after testing the free agent market. The Tigers apparently preferred their internal options to free agent second basemen such as Aaron Hill, Kelly Johnson and Mark Ellis.
The Tigers’ rotation features an enviable top four and their bullpen includes a number of proven relievers, but they added less pitching than I expected this winter. They inquired on Roy Oswalt, using the defending Cy Young and MVP as a recruiter, but the choosy right-hander didn’t reciprocate the team’s interest and he remains unsigned.
Speculation linked the Tigers to left-handed free agent starters such as Erik Bedard, Paul Maholm, Jeff Francis and Joe Saunders throughout the offseason, but the club ultimately passed on every one of them. They’ll go with an internal candidate for the fifth starter’s job, a role for which a group of left-handers are currently competing.
The Tigers could have added a starter on a minor league deal, even if they believe their young arms are ready to contribute at the Major League level. Most teams go through nine or ten starters over the course of a full season, so the additional depth would have helped. Perhaps the Tigers did show interest and starters such as Francis decided they'd have a better chance at winning a starting job elsewhere.
Dombrowski added Octavio Dotel to the bullpen, and though the veteran reliever is essentially a right-on-right specialist at this point in his career, the one-year deal makes sense. The Tigers traded flame-throwing former first rounder Ryan Perry for long relief option Collin Balester, but didn’t acquire others who are likely to make an impact out of the ‘pen in 2012. The Tigers’ bullpen doesn’t have many openings and the front office apparently determined that major turnover wasn't necessary.
The Tigers arrived at a turning point when the ligament in Martinez’s knee snapped two months ago. They could have made do without the switch-hitter and would have been favored to win the division even if they had allowed Fielder to go elsewhere. Instead, infield defense be damned, they signed Fielder to one of the biggest contracts in baseball history. The deal has its critics, as most nine-figure agreements do, but few will deny that the Tigers are a serious threat to repeat as AL Central champions and play deep into the postseason once again.
Photo courtesy Icon SMI.
Brewers, Lucroy Nearing Extension
The Brewers are nearing an extension with catcher Jonathan Lucroy, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports report (Twitter link). The deal with the Sports One Athlete Management client would be either four or five years long. An announcement is expected today, Morosi tweets.
Lucroy is about to start his third season in the Major Leagues. A four-year extension would cover the 25-year-old's final pre-arbitration season and three of his arbitration seasons, assuming the deal starts this year and that Lucroy obtains super two status following the 2012 season. A five-year deal that kicks in immediately would cover his final pre-arbitration season and all four of his arbitration seasons.
Lucroy posted a .265/.313/.391 line in 468 plate appearances last year, preventing 28% of stolen base attempts against him. However, the 2007 third round selection frames and blocks pitches well, according to The Fielding Bible Volume III.
Recent extensions have generally placed the value of a starting catcher's first three arbitration years in the $7-10MM range, as MLBTR's Extension Tracker shows. A four-year deal for Lucroy would figure to fall on the low end of that range given his relative inexperience.
This post was first published on March 26th, 2012.
Mets Nearing Deal With Chris Young
The Mets are nearing a deal with right-hander Chris Young, Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger reports. The Mets are expected to complete a minor league deal with the Williams & Connolly client this week.
Young, 32, started four games for the Mets last year after undergoing anterior capsule surgery in May. He has a 3.74 ERA with 7.8 K/9, 3.6 BB/9 and a 28.2% ground ball rate in eight career seasons with the Rangers, Padres and Mets.
This post was first published on March 26th, 2012.