Latest On Roy Oswalt
The Cardinals and Rangers — Roy Oswalt’s preferred teams earlier this year — both have questions in their rotations, but it doesn’t sound as though either team is in the mix for the free agent right-hander at this time. The Cardinals aren't sure how much time Chris Carpenter will miss, and Neftali Feliz got his shoulder checked out this week, so both of last year’s World Series contestants may have less pitching than expected.
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that the Cardinals prefer to rely on internal options and that the Rangers aren’t currently keen on Oswalt (all links go to Twitter). The Cardinals will rely on Lance Lynn, who’s currently being stretched out as a starter. The Rangers can turn to Alexi Ogando or Scott Feldman if Feliz’s injury proves to be more serious than expected.
As Joel Sherman of the New York Post points out (Twitter links), Andy Pettitte’s $2.5MM salary establishes precedent for Oswalt should he also sign soon. Oswalt prefers the Cardinals, according to Sherman.
Indians Designate De La Cruz For Assignment
The Indians announced that they designated left-hander Kelvin De La Cruz for assignment. The move creates 40-man roster space for waiver claim Rick VandenHurk.
De La Cruz posted a 4.19 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 6.0 BB/9 in 86 innings as a starter and reliever at Double-A last year. The 6'5" 23-year-old has typically walked and struck out lots of opponents, as his career rates of 8.9 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 indicate. The Indians originally sent De La Cruz to the Rangers on February 21st before re-acquiring him six days ago. He made one appearance for Texas before being returned to Cleveland.
Indians Claim Rick VandenHurk
The Blue Jays announced that the Indians claimed right-hander Rick VandenHurk off of waivers. The Blue Jays had signed the native of the Netherlands to a Major League contract in February after the Orioles released him.
VandenHurk, who is out of options, has experience in five big league seasons, but he appeared in just four games for the 2011 Orioles. He spent most of the 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. The 6'5" 26-year-old 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.
Cardinals Notes: Carpenter, Oswalt, Luhnow
The Cardinals may open the season without their ace starting pitcher. Here are the details along with reactions from around the league…
- Chris Carpenter returned to St. Louis to be examined by nerve specialists, Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. It now seems likely that Carpenter will open the season on the disabled list with Lance Lynn taking his spot in the Cardinals’ rotation.
- Richard Justice of MLB.com doubted Roy Oswalt's decision to sign midseason, but now that Carpenter and Rangers starter Neftali Feliz are battling injuries, there's uncertainty on Oswalt's two preferred teams.
- Jeff Gordon of the Post-Dispatch makes the case that “revisiting the Oswalt Option is imperative.”
- Astros GM Jeff Luhnow says his time spent working in the Cardinals front office formed him professionally, Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch reports. "My time with the Cardinals — it defines who I am. It defines what kind of baseball executive I am and will be," Luhnow said.
White Sox Re-Acquire Terry Doyle
The White Sox re-acquired Rule 5 selection Terry Doyle from the Twins, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune tweets. The Twins paid $50K to acquire Doyle in December and they'll get half of that sum back from the White Sox.
Doyle, 26, spent the 2011 season with Chicago's Class A and Double-A affiliates, posting a 3.07 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 173 total innings. The 6'4" Massachusetts native also pitched in the Arizona Fall League.
Mariners Release Shawn Camp
The Mariners announced that they have released reliever Shawn Camp. The 36-year-old Dave Meier client had signed a Major League deal worth $750K in February. Seattle now has 38 players on its 40-man roster.
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. Greg Johns of MLB.com first reported the news.
Offseason In Review: Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers won't replace Prince Fielder's offense in 2012, but they have newcomer Aramis Ramirez at third base and — despite a months-long scare — a full season of defending National League MVP Ryan Braun.
Major League Signings
- Aramis Ramirez, three years, $36MM.
- Alex Gonzalez, one year, $4.25MM.
- Norichika Aoki, two years, $2.25MM.
- Total spend: $42.5MM.
Notable Minor League Signings
Jay Gibbons, Corey Patterson, Seth McClung, Brooks Conrad, Cesar Izturis, Travis Ishikawa, Mike Rivera, Erick Almonte.
Trades and Claims
- Acquired RP Jose Veras from the Pirates for IF Casey McGehee.
- Claimed IF Jeff Bianchi from the Cubs.
Notable Losses
- Prince Fielder, Yuniesky Betancourt, Mark Kotsay, Craig Counsell, Jerry Hairston, Josh Wilson, Felipe Lopez, LaTroy Hawkins, Takashi Saito, McGehee.
Draft Picks Gained or Lost
- Obtained 27th overall selection from Tigers for Price Fielder. Also obtain supplementary first round pick, 38th overall.
As expected, Prince Fielder signed elsewhere, but beyond that the Brewers' winter was far from routine. Most notably, Ryan Braun tested positive for a banned substance before contesting the 50-game suspension and winning the appeal.
It marked the second consecutive intrigue-filled offseason for Brewers fans. They watched a year ago as GM Doug Melvin traded for Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum, but the club relied primarily on free agency this winter.
Though his destination of choice proved to be a surprise, Fielder's free agent departure had seemed inevitable for months, if not years. Even after setting an attendance record and making it to the NLCS, a $200MM commitment would not have made sense for the mid-market Brewers. They've steadily raised payroll under owner Mark Attanasio, but other, more affordable options existed for Melvin and the rest of the Brewers' front office.
They turned to the free agent market to improve the left side of their infield, signing Aramis Ramirez for three years and $36MM and agreeing to terms with Alex Gonzalez on a one-year, $4.25MM deal. The duo offers power, but at 33 and 35, respectively, Ramirez and Gonzalez may soon start to decline. Gonzalez remains an excellent defender, so he should help make up for Ramirez's less-than-stellar glovework. Meanwhile, the Brewers expect Ramirez to replace some of Fielder's offensive production.
“We needed some power back in our lineup missing Fielder even though we’re not going to get it all back,” assistant GM Gord Ash told MLBTR.
Instead of pursuing a free agent first baseman, the Brewers have handed the starting job to 26-year-old Mat Gamel. They cleared space for him by sending Casey McGehee to the Pirates for reliever Jose Veras and seemingly had little interest in Derrek Lee, Carlos Pena, Casey Kotchman and other free agent first basemen. Despite Gamel's struggles with the Brewers, he has had limited opportunity at the Major League level and his minor league stats are excellent. Various models project Gamel to have an on-base percentage of .330 or so along with a slugging percentage of .440 or so in 2012 — an outcome the Brewers would surely welcome. Plus, the Brewers may be better off defensively with Gamel at Fielder's old spot.
In a surprising development, reliever Francisco Rodriguez accepted the Brewers' offer of arbitration. His salary diminished via the arbitration system, but the Brewers probably weren't expecting to spend $8MM on the right-hander in 2012. Spending that kind of money on a setup man seems excessive for the Brewers, and finding a way to anticipate the reliever's decision and withold the offer of arbitration may have been preferable.
With Rodriguez back for another year and Veras now in the bullpen mix, manager Ron Roenicke should have enough quality right-handed relievers in 2012. The Brewers will be short on left-handed relief unless Zach Braddock pitches better or Manny Parra returns to health. They may lock John Axford up long-term, and doing so could create savings for the closer's arbitration years.
The Brewers' top five starters accounted for all but seven of the team's starts a year ago, and none of the five were eligible for free agency, so Melvin essentially left the rotation alone this offseason. The club showed interest in deepening its starting staff with minor league deals, but it's difficult to convince free agent starters to join a rotation with five established pitchers.
“They tend to gravitate to places where there are a few more openings,” Ash said. “They say ‘we don’t see the same opportunity here that we see somewhere else’ and they sign with another team.”
Shoulder issues have sidelined Marcum temporarily and if he's out for longer than expected swingman Marco Estrada will provide rotation depth. Top prospect Wily Peralta has the potential to start in the Major Leagues at some point relatively soon, though he may not presently be ready.
The Brewers signed Japanese outfielder Norichika Aoki to a modest two-year deal, and added Jay Gibbons and Corey Patterson just in case. Corey Hart may miss Opening Day, so the depth may prove useful even though Braun is eligible to play the entire season.
The Brewers lost one of the game's top power hitters this offseason, but their window for contention didn't collapse when Prince Fielder left. By strengthening the left side of the infield and adding complementary pieces up and down the roster, Melvin increased the chances that the Brewers will return to the postseason in 2012.
Rangers To Extend Derek Holland
8:56pm: The total value of Holland's deal will be $49MM if both option years are exercised according to Jeff Wilson of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter). The contract values each of his free agent years at $10-11MM compared to $11-13MM for Lester, Gallardo, Romero, and Cahill.
8:42am: We can officially pencil Derek Holland into the Rangers' rotation for the foreseeable future. The Rangers agreed to terms with the left-hander on a five-year, $28.5MM contract extension. The deal covers the 2012-16 seasons and includes two club options, as MLBTR's Tim Dierkes first reported. Martini Sports Management represents the 25-year-old Holland.
Yovani Gallardo, Ricky Romero, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Trevor Cahill signed five-year deals in the $30MM range at similar stages in their respective careers and were no doubt points of reference in talks leading up to today's agreement. Holland has more career innings than any of those pitchers did at the time of their extensions, but none of them had a career ERA above 3.94 at the time of their deals, while Holland has a career mark of 4.73. The deals for Cahill and Buchholz include two club options, while the others include just one.
Holland posted a 3.95 ERA with 7.4 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 46.4% ground ball rate in 198 innings this past season. If he can replicate that level of performance, the deal will prove to be a success for the team. Yet Holland obtains financial security by agreeing to terms now instead of going year to year.
The Rangers signed Nelson Cruz and Elvis Andrus to extensions earlier in the offseason. However, the club didn't obtain additional years of control on either of those two deals.
Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News first reported that the sides were on the verge of an agreement with Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com adding detail. Photo courtesy Icon SMI.
Royals Acquire Jason Bourgeois, Humberto Quintero
5:36pm: Luhnow told reporters (including MLB.com's Brian McTaggart) that the player to be named later will be the "key component" of the trade (Twitter links). Astros Sr. Director of Social Media Alyson Footer says it'll be a while before that player is named, however. It's probably worth noting that any player drafted last year can not officially be traded yet, so they can only be included in a deal as a player to be named right now.
3:38pm: The Royals have acquired outfielder Jason Bourgeois and catcher Humberto Quintero from the Astros for minor league left-hander Kevin Chapman and a player to be named later. Both teams have announced the trade.
Bourgeois posted a .294/.323/.357 line with 31 stolen bases last year, while playing all three outfield positions and appearing at second base. The 30-year-old will be arbitration eligible for the first time after the 2012 season.
Quintero, 32, appeared in 79 games last year, posting a .240/.258/.317 line in 272 plate appearances. He'll earn $1MM in 2012 and hit free agency after the season. He and Brayan Pena will share the Royals' catching duties while Salvador Perez recovers from a knee operation.
“Jason and Humberto were a big part of this team last year and both will be missed,” Astros GM Jeff Luhnow stated. “This deal gives us an opportunity to add prospect depth and we are excited about both players coming our way.”
Chapman, a fourth round selection in 2010, split last season between Class A and Double-A in the Royals' minor league system. The 6'4" 24-year-old posted a 4.94 ERA with 13.1 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 62 total innings of relief in 2011.
The move likely means Jordan Schafer will assume the starting center field role in Houston. The Astros have catchers Chris Snyder and Jason Castro, so they could afford to part with Quintero and his salary. Meanwhile, projected Royals starter Lorenzo Cain could find himself competing with Bourgeois for playing time. The Royals placed Perez and Manny Pina on the 60-day disabled list to create roster space for their new acquisitions.
Royals Continue Eyeing Catching Help
The Royals completed a trade for Humberto Quintero this afternoon, but the club isn't necessarily done yet. They continue looking for catching depth, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets.
The Royals are short on catching, since Salvador Perez underwent a knee operation and will be sidelined for months. Yesterday I outlined some options catching options GM Dayton Moore might have interest in pursuing. Brayan Pena and Quintero figure to share the Major League catching duties, but Moore seeks Triple-A depth, Rosenthal writes.