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Latest On Mets’ Search For Outfield Bat

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The Mets remain interested in adding a left-handed hitting outfielder and appear to be hunting for the cash to sign one, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. It was reported last week that the Mets are monitoring the market for outfielders who hit from the left side, including Johnny Damon, Kosuke Fukudome, Rick Ankiel and Raul Ibanez.

I doubt that any of the outfielders above will cost more than $1-2MM in terms of guaranteed salary on a one-year deal. However, the Mets are working on a budget, even after cutting payroll by approximately $50MM this offseason. The Mets' projected outfield currently consists of the right-handed hitting Jason Bay and Scott Hairston, the left-handed hitting Lucas Duda and the switch-hitting Andres Torres.

Dodgers Ownership Links: Cohen, Claire

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Frank McCourt's final offseason at the helm of the Dodgers has been a busy one. GM Ned Colletti & Co. have signed Aaron Harang, Jerry Hairston Jr., Chris Capuano, Adam Kennedy, Mike MacDougal, Mark Ellis and Juan Rivera and extended Matt Kemp long-term. Here are some links on potential buyers for the team…

  • Steven Cohen is trying to buy the Dodgers, though he's about to become a minority owner of the Mets, Bill Shaikin of the LA Times reports. The billionaire investor can pursue the Dodgers, even if his minority purchase of the Mets goes through, Shaikin writes. However, if he buys the Dodgers, he will have to sell his part of the Mets. MLB cleared Cohen as a possible minority owner.
  • Former Dodgers GM Fred Claire and his partners can still get into the bidding for the club if they obtain more capital soon, Shaikin tweets.

Pirates Linked Through Arbitration

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Casey McGehee and Garrett Jones haven’t teamed up on the field yet, but they’re already linked through the arbitration process. McGehee and Jones, the Pirates’ two remaining unsigned arbitration eligible players, would have been comparables for one another this offseason even if Pittsburgh hadn’t traded for McGehee in December. 

Garrett Jones - Pirates

To this point, they have similar career arcs: a cameo appearances in the big leagues followed by a change of teams, a strong first full season, votes in the 2009 NL Rookie of the Year balloting and solid but unspectacular production from corner positions ever since. Parallels like that don’t have to exist for the players to be relevant to one other in arbitration, but the similarities extend to their statistical production.

McGehee has a .265/.320/.426 career line with 52 home runs and 242 RBI in 1689 plate appearances across 437 games. Jones has a .254/.323/.450 career line with 60 home runs and 193 RBI in 1573 plate appearances across 419 games. McGehee's platform year included 13 home runs, 67 RBI and a .223 average, while Jones' platform season featured 16 home runs, 58 RBI and a .243 average. 

Not surprisingly, the first-time arbitration eligible teammates are positioned for similar 2012 salaries. McGehee and his representatives at Meister Sports Management asked for $2.725MM, while the Pirates offered $2.35MM (midpoint of $2.538MM). Meanwhile, Jones (pictured) and his representatives at SFX asked for $2.5MM, while the Pirates offered $2.25MM (midpoint of $2.375MM). 

McGehee, who is one year younger than Jones, has 49 more RBI for his career, including one season with 100-plus driven in (like it or not, RBI matter). Jones, a super two player, had a stronger platform season, with more home runs and doubles than McGehee and a considerably better battling line. 

The Pirates teammates are obvious comparables, but many other players are also relevant to the discussion. Should a hearing or two take place, recent first-time eligible position players such as Seth Smith ($2.415MM), Colby Rasmus ($2.7MM), Ian Stewart ($2.229MM) and David Murphy ($2.4MM) could figure in to discussions as well.

Photo courtesy Icon SMI.

Minor Moves: Fossum, Sanchez

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Here's where we'll keep track of the day's minor moves…

  • The Orioles have agreed to sign left-hander Casey Fossum to a minor league deal, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun tweets. Fossum, 34, last pitched in the Major Leagues with the 2009 Mets. He spent the 2010 season in Japan, before posting a 6.56 ERA in 35 2/3 innings at Triple-A in 2011. Orioles general manager Dan Duquette selected Fossum in the first round of the 1999 draft when he was Boston's GM.
  • Astros infielder Angel Sanchez cleared waivers and will be a non-roster invitee at Spring Training, MLB.com's Brian McTaggart tweets. The 28-year-old appeared in 110 games for the Astros in 2011, playing shortstop, second and third. He posted a .240/.305/.285 line in 328 plate appearances, and the Astros designated him for assignment last week.

AL East Notes: Red Sox, Burnett, Blue Jays

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The Yankees signed Alfredo Aceves on this date in 2008. The investment paid off, as the Yankees obtained 126 innings of 3.21 ERA baseball from the right-hander before non-tendering him last offseason. He signed with the rival Red Sox about a year ago and excelled in 2011, his debut campaign in Boston. Aceves' arbitration case remains unresolved and his 24-3 career record and 2.93 ERA should be enough to make things interesting should the sides go to a hearing. Here are today’s AL East links…

Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.

February Trades

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The offseason is far from over, with extensions on the horizon, dozens of unresolved arbitration cases, and players like Edwin Jackson, Roy Oswalt and Yoenis Cespedes remaining on the free agent market. But if recent history is any indication, there’s not much reason to expect franchise-altering trades in the next six weeks. 

Last year, the biggest name dealt between the beginning of February and the middle of March was Aaron Laffey, as our Transaction Tracker shows. The year before saw an early February deal involving Willy Taveras, Aaron Miles and Adam Rosales, but not much else. In 2009, the February 1st to March 15th window featured a Michael Wuertz trade during a similarly quiet period. 

Back in 2008, however, months of rumors and speculation ended when Erik Bedard and Johan Santana were involved in early February blockbusters. There’s some history of major trades involving top starting pitchers, but the Matt Garza rumors have quieted down in recent weeks, and a significant deal doesn’t seem likely this month.

Why the calm six-week stretch from the beginning of February to the middle of March? Teams want to see what they have in their own camps before calling around for outside help. Plus, general managers are less likely to inquire about trades before injury concerns emerge during Spring Training. The quiet period should end toward the end of March, when out of options players who haven’t earned roster spots become available and a mini-flurry of deals takes place.

Quick Hits: Boras, Cespedes, Cubs

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Links for Wednesday, as we await news on the top free agent pitchers available: Edwin Jackson and Roy Oswalt…

  • Ben Lindbergh of Baseball Prospectus responded to Scott Boras' comments about the importance of a closer in MLB. Though Lindbergh confirmed Boras' assertions on a factual level, he interprets them differently than the agent and doesn’t buy the implication that good teams are good because they have good closers.
  • Though MLB was supposed to send the players' association a proposed schedule for the 2012 postseason by today, fitting two extra Wild Cards in has been more challenging than anticipated, and the deadline may not be met, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports. Stark explains the challenges facing commissioner Bud Selig, who hopes to add a second Wild Card team to each league in 2012.
  • Kevin Goldstein asked MLB executives about Yoenis Cespedes' ability in relation to other MLB center fielders such as Drew Stubbs and Adam Jones for a piece at Baseball Prospectus and ESPN.com.
  • Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said he's pleased to have added starting pitching depth in Chicago and explained how he's 'building' the Cubs into a contender at his recent Hot Stove Cool Music charity event, Evan Drellich of MLB.com writes. MLBTR’s Transaction Tracker offers a detailed look at Epstein’s offseason moves.

Padres To Sign Micah Owings

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4:29pm: The agreement is for a one-year, $1MM, Major League deal, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets.

2:41pm: The Padres have agreed to sign Micah Owings to a minor league contract that includes an invitation to Spring Training, Dan Hayes of the North County Times tweets. Legacy Sports Group represents the 29-year-old right-hander.

Owings spent the 2011 season with the Diamondbacks, posting a 3.57 ERA with 6.3 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and a 38% ground ball rate in 63 innings. A former starter with the Diamondbacks and Reds, Owings has pitched mostly out of the bullpen since 2010. At the plate, he has nine homers and an impressive .286/.313/.507 batting line in 217 career plate appearances. Kirk Gibson let Owings bat for himself regularly last year and asked him to pinch hit on one other occasion.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Kevin Whelan

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The latest players to be outrighted off of big league rosters…

  • The Yankees outrighted Kevin Whelan to Triple-A, MLB.com's Bryan Hoch tweets. Whelan posted a 2.75 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 52 1/3 innings at Triple-A in 2011. The 2005 fourth rounder owns a 3.23 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 in seven minor league seasons. He was designated for assignment last week.

Astros Sign Livan Hernandez

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The Astros have signed Livan Hernandez to a minor league deal, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. The Praver/Shapiro client would provide Houston with rotation depth if he makes the team out of Spring Training.

Hernandez posted a 4.47 ERA with 5.1 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 42.4% ground ball rate in 175 1/3 innings for the 2011 Nationals. The 36-year-old has averaged 216 innings and a 4.44 ERA since 1998, his first full season as a big league starter, and has completed at least 175 innings in each of the past 14 seasons. He earned $1.25MM in 2011, but didn't obtain guaranteed money from the Astros.

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