Ben Nicholson-Smith | MLB Trade Rumors

Rich Harden To Miss 2012 Season

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 9, 2012 at 7:27am CDT

Rich Harden will miss the 2012 season while he recovers from a shoulder operation, Peter Gammons of MLB Network reports on Twitter. Dr. James Andrews repaired a torn capsule in Harden's shoulder last week and the free agent right-hander aims to come back healthy in 2013.

Harden started 15 games for the 2011 Athletics, but he's no stranger to serious injuries, having spent much of the 2006 and 2007 seasons on the disabled list. The 30-year-old posted a 5.12 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 82 2/3 innings for the A's in 2011. He drew interest as a starter and as a reliever this offseason from teams such as the Rockies.

NL Central Notes: Greinke, Cardinals, Rodriguez

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 8, 2012 at 10:30pm CDT

All three of the National League's unsigned arbitration eligible players play in the NL Central, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows. Here are the latest links from the division…

Brewers GM Doug Melvin joined Todd Hollandsworth and Jim Memolo on MLB Network Radio and said that he and Zack Greinke have had some conversations about the right-hander's future in Milwaukee. Greinke told Melvin that he likes pitching for the Brewers and wants them to remain competitive going forward. Greinke is one of the top starting pitchers scheduled to hit free agency after the 2012 season.
The Cardinals are waiting to see if Roy Oswalt will sign on their terms and at their price, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney writes.
Astros GM Jeff Luhnow said Wandy Rodriguez is "definitely an important part" of the team's plan at this point, Stephen Goff of the Houston Astros Examiner reports. Rodriguez has been involved his share of trade rumors in the past year, but Luhnow says the left-hander is an important part of Houston's roster.
Jose Veras of the Brewers and Casey McGehee and Garrett Jones of the Pirates are the NL's remaining unsigned arbitration eligible players.

Quick Hits: Dodgers, Padres, Cespedes, Ramirez

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 8, 2012 at 9:53pm CDT

The Dodgers signed 26-year-old right-hander Hideo Nomo on this date 17 years ago. Armed with an exceptionally deceptive delivery, Nomo struck out 236 batters and was named NL Rookie of the Year in 1995. Here are tonight's links, starting in L.A…

Michael Heisley, a billionaire who owns the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA, is bidding on the Dodgers, Bill Shaikin of the LA Times reports. The 75-year-old led one of the 11 bids that made it through the first round of cuts, Shaikin writes.
The Padres have the top farm system in baseball even though they don’t have a top-25 prospect, ESPN.com’s Keith Law writes. The Rays and Blue Jays round out Law’s top three and the White Sox rank 30th.
Jonathan Papelbon, Prince Fielder and Heath Bell make appearances on Dave Cameron’s list of the ten worst offseason moves at FanGraphs.
Free agent left-hander Horacio Ramirez will throw in front of scouts in Arizona tomorrow, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets. The 32-year-old appeared in 12 games for the Angels last year, spending most of the season with their Triple-A affiliate.
Marlins officials met with Yoenis Cespedes in Miami today, showing him around the city and providing him with a tour of their new park, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com writes. Cespedes is currently blocked by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, though MLB has declared him a free agent.

Minor Moves: Crisotomo, Sardinha

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 8, 2012 at 9:43pm CDT

The latest minor moves from around MLB…

The Royals agreed to sign right-hander Branly Crisotomo for $98.5K, the Dominican Prospect League announced. Crisotomo's fastball generally sits in the 88-92 mph range and he throws a curve and change-up, according to the league press release.
The Orioles agreed to sign catcher Dane Sardinha to a minor league deal, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun tweets. The 32-year-old appeared in 15 games for the Phillies last year and also has big league experience with the Tigers and Reds. Sardinha has a .216/.262/.328 line in 11 minor league seasons.

Contract Details: Pierre, Belisle, Andrus

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 8, 2012 at 8:30pm CDT

Juan Pierre, Matt Belisle and Elvis Andrus recently agreed to new deals; here are details on their respective contracts:

Pierre would earn $800K on the Major League roster and he could earn additional incentives based on plate appearances, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The outfielder signed a minor league deal with the Phillies last week.
Belisle will earn $4.1MM in 2013 and his extension includes a mutual option worth $4.25MM for 2014, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports. If Belisle accepts his half of the option, the Rockies can still decline for $250K. The deal includes $450K in incentives for games finished.
Andrus gets a signing bonus of $750K, $2.375MM in 2012, $4.8MM in 2013, and $6.475MM in 2014, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets.

Astros, Lowrie Avoid Arbitration

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 8, 2012 at 6:01pm CDT

The Astros announced that they avoided arbitration with infielder Jed Lowrie, signing him to a one-year contract for 2012. CAA represents Lowrie, who joined the Astros in the December trade that sent Mark Melancon to Boston. Lowrie's deal is worth $1.15MM plus performance bonuses, CAA tweets.

As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, first-year GM Jeff Luhnow has now avoided arbitration with all of the team's eligible players. Lowrie filed for $1.5MM and the Astros countered with an offer of $900K for a midpoint of $1.2MM.

Lowrie posted a .252/.303/.382 line with six home runs as a shortstop/third baseman in Boston last year. Mike Aviles, Robert Andino and Blake DeWitt were relevant to his case, as I explained this afternoon.

Red Sox Notes: Oswalt, Wakefield, Varitek, Ortiz

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 8, 2012 at 5:30pm CDT

Last year this time considerable hype surrounded the Red Sox, who had just traded for Adrian Gonzalez and signed Carl Crawford. Gonzalez and Crawford are still around, but the hype has disappeared. Here’s the latest on the Red Sox as they prepare for Spring Training 2012…

There's "no sense of progress" in talks between the Red Sox and Roy Oswalt, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald reports.
The Red Sox still appear to be in the running for Oswalt, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wrote earlier today. The Red Sox could be an alternative if Oswalt can't work out a deal with the Cardinals or Rangers. The right-hander's back issues haven't scared the Red Sox away.
GM Ben Cherington expects definitive resolution on free agents Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield by next week, Cafardo writes.
Alex Speier of WEEI.com examines David Ortiz’s upcoming arbitration case and explains that players such as Adam Dunn, Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner could be relevant in a hearing. Agent Fern Cuza could also compare Ortiz to higher salaried position players like Prince Fielder. The hearing is scheduled to take place Monday, according to Cafardo.

Rangers, Elvis Andrus Sign Extension

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 8, 2012 at 4:45pm CDT

The Rangers and shortstop Elvis Andrus have officially signed a three-year extension. The deal, which doesn't include any options, is worth $14.4MM, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports on Twitter. The Boras Corporation represents Andrus, who was arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason and had a hearing scheduled for Thursday. Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports first reported the agreement.

Andrus had filed for $3.6MM in arbitration, while the Rangers had countered with a $2.65MM submission, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows. The 23-year-old Venezuela native is under team control through 2014, so the deal buys out all of his arbitration seasons and no free agent years.

Andrus owns a .271/.340/.343 line with 102 stolen bases (135 attempts) as a Major Leaguer. He has appeared in at least 145 regular games in each of the past three seasons and contributed in the postseason in 2010 and 2011. Andrus is an above-average defender at short, according to UZR.

Photo courtesy Icon SMI.

Rangers, Nelson Cruz Nearing Two-Year Deal

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 8, 2012 at 4:35pm CDT

THURSDAY: The deal would likely be worth $15MM-plus, Grant tweets. Cruz appears to have avoided arbitration, though nothing's official at this point.

WEDNESDAY: The Rangers are nearing a two-year deal with Nelson Cruz, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. Cruz filed for $7.5MM in arbitration, while the Rangers countered with a $5.5MM offer. The sides have an arbitration hearing scheduled February 17th.

Cruz hit .263/.312/.509 with 29 home runs in the regular season before clubbing eight postseason homers and being named the 2011 ALCS MVP. The 31-year-old ACES client is arbitration eligible for the second time after earning $3.65MM in 2011. A two-year deal would buy out both of his remaining arbitration seasons, but no free agent years. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes examined the cases for Cruz, Adam Jones and Alex Gordon earlier today.

This post was first published on February 8th, 2012.

Rangers, Nelson Cruz Avoid Arbitration

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 8, 2012 at 4:25pm CDT

The Rangers avoided arbitration with outfielder Nelson Cruz, Andy Slater of 640-AM Sports in South Florida tweets (hat tip Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com via Twitter). Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported last night that the sides were nearing a two-year deal.

Cruz filed for $7.5MM in arbitration, while the Rangers countered with a $5.5MM offer. It's unclear whether they settled on a one-year deal or agreed to a multiyear contract. The sides had an arbitration hearing scheduled February 17th.

Cruz hit .263/.312/.509 with 29 home runs in the regular season before hitting eight postseason homers and being named the 2011 ALCS MVP. The 31-year-old ACES client is arbitration eligible for the second time after earning $3.65MM in 2011. A two-year deal would buy out both of his remaining arbitration seasons, but no free agent years. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes examined the cases for Cruz, Adam Jones and Alex Gordon yesterday.

This post was first published on February 9th, 2012.

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