Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Tigers, Max Scherzer Avoid Arbitration

By | at

5:01pm: Scherzer's deal will pay him $6.725MM — the midpoint between the two figures, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter).

4:52pm: The Tigers avoided arbitration with right-hander Max Scherzer, Brian Britten of the Tigers announced (on Twitter). Scherzer, a client of the Boras Corporation, obtains a one-year deal for 2013.

Scherzer filed for $7.4MM and the Tigers countered with a $6.05MM offer, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows. The 28-year-old will go to arbitration one more time following the 2013 season then hit free agency two offseasons from now. The Tigers have now avoided arbitration with all of their eligible players.

Here's a look at the remaining unsigned arb eligible players from around MLB. Be sure to check out MLBTR's Arbitration Basics for a primer on the process.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

Giants Claim Tony Abreu

By | at

The Giants claimed infielder Tony Abreu off of waivers from Kansas City, the Royals announced. The Royals had designated Abreu for assignment on January 25th to create room for another waiver claim, catcher George Kottaras.

Abreu, 28, appeared in 22 games for the Royals last year, playing second base, third base and shortstop. He spent most of the season at Triple-A Omaha and posted a .322/.347/.492 batting line with 36 doubles in 453 plate appearances. Abreu has a .252/.280/.355 batting line in 464 plate appearances over the course of four MLB seasons.

Brandon Webb To Retire

By | at

Former National League Cy Young winner Brandon Webb is retiring from baseball, agents Jonathan Maurer and Mike Montana of Millennium Sports told Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. Webb, a three-time All-Star who last pitched at the MLB level in 2009, had been considering another comeback attempt.

The Diamondbacks initially selected Webb in the eighth round of the 2000 draft. Three years later he posted a 2.84 ERA with Arizona over the course of 180 2/3 innings. From 2004-08 the groundball pitcher averaged 227 innings with a 3.30 ERA, 7.1 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9. That stretch included his three All-Star appearances and the 2006 NL Cy Young Award. However, Webb hasn't pitched in the big leagues since Opening Day 2009. Shoulder injuries have limited him for the past few years, and though the Rangers took a chance on him in 2011, he didn't make it back to MLB.

Teams such as the Rockies, Twins, Phillies, Marlins, Nationals and Mets had interest in Webb this winter. The 33-year-old earned more than $31MM during his MLB career, according to Baseball-Reference. Webb will retire with an 87-62 record and a 3.27 ERA in 1319 2/3 innings pitched over the course of 199 career appearances.

Mets Notes: Bourn, Lyon, Matsuzaka

By | at

The Mets are nearing a deal with right-handed reliever Brandon Lyon less than a week after adding Scott Atchison and LaTroy Hawkins. Here’s the latest on the Mets’ roster…

  • New York GM Sandy Alderson said the Mets will probably be done adding to their bullpen, assuming the deal with Lyon goes through, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports (Twitter links). The club had interest in a number of relievers as recently as last week, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork reported.
  • Alderson sounds serious about pursuing free agent center fielder Michael Bourn, DiComo reports. However, the GM said the Mets could end up going to Spring Training with their current roster. The Mets have sincere interest in Bourn, but don't intend to forfeit the 11th overall pick in the 2013 draft to complete a deal with the Scott Boras client.
  • One Mets official indicated to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that the team has no interest in Daisuke Matsuzaka (Twitter link). Cafardo reported yesterday that teams like the Astros and Mets were considering the possibility of bringing the free agent right-hander to camp.

Cardinals Notes: Prospects, Free Agents

By | at

The Cardinals have added role players such as Randy Choate, Ty Wigginton and Ronny Cedeno this offseason instead of making more substantial changes to their roster. But most of the players who led the Cardinals to an 88-win season in 2012 will return, so general manager John Mozeliak didn't need to make major moves this winter. Here’s the latest from St. Louis…

  • The Cardinals have the top farm system in baseball, Keith Law writes in his annual rankings at ESPN.com. In Law’s view the Cardinals have "drafted well, fared well in Latin America, traded well and developed well over the past five years." Five of the top 100 prospects in baseball play in the Cardinals’ system, according to Law.
  • Mozeliak explained to Anna McDonald of ESPN.com that advanced metrics encourage teams to pay free agents for what they will do next as opposed to what they have already done. "Now we're able to combine these advanced stats with the ability now to really create a model that gives us sort of recommendations on contracts, salary and length," he said. "When you start thinking about things like the aging curve — that is something I think 20, 30 years ago when players were signing contracts, they were signing contracts for what they accomplished — now people are signing contracts for what you expect them to do." The complete ESPN.com piece provides more insight into Mozeliak’s view on the role of baseball analytics.

Latest On Marlins, Jose Valverde

By | at

11:43am: Valverde is talking with a number of teams, including the Marlins, but no deal is imminent, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.

11:27am: The report that the sides are nearing a deal is "utterly false," Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports. One of Spencer's sources suspects Boras is "trying to drum up attention when no market exists."

10:23am: The Marlins are nearing a one-year deal with free agent reliever Jose Valverde, Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com reports (on Twitter). The Boras Corporation represents Valverde.

Valverde, who turns 35 next month, spent the past three years as the Tigers' closer. The right-hander converted all 49 of his save chances in 2011, but his performance dropped off last year, when he posted a 3.78 ERA with 6.3 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and 35 saves in 69 innings. He lost his closing job in the playoffs, with the Tigers turning to Phil Coke and others in high-leverage situations. Valverde posted a 34.0% ground ball rate in 2012 while averaging 93.4 mph with his fastball.

Valverde entered the offseason ranked 44th on MLBTR's list of top free agents available. The Mets had interest in Valverde, who was unsure if he would pitch in 2013 back in October. The Tigers made it clear that they were not going to bring him back to Detroit.

Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Wilson and Mark Lowe are among the other free agent relievers available, as MLBTR's Free Agent Tracker shows. Valverde could end up closing for the Marlins, who currently have internal options such as Steve Cishek and Ryan Webb. Follow @closernews on Twitter for closer-related fantasy baseball news and analysis. 

Remaining Arbitration Cases

By | at

High-profile players such as Chase Headley and Martin Prado avoided arbitration last week, further reducing the number of unsigned arb eligible players remaining. There are now just 15 such players, down from the group of 200-plus players for whom MLBTR projected arbitration salaries when the offseason began. Using MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker let's take a look at the remaining unsigned players…

  • Jason Hammel filed for $8.25MM, Orioles countered with $5.7MM
  • Shin-Soo Choo filed for $8MM, Reds countered with $6.75MM
  • Max Scherzer filed for $7.4MM, Tigers countered with $6.05MM
  • Jim Johnson filed for $7.1MM, Orioles countered with $5.7MM
  • Homer Bailey filed for $5.8MM, Reds countered with $4.75MM
  • Jordan Zimmermann filed for $5.8MM, Nationals countered with $4.6MM
  • Clayton Richard filed for $5.55MM, Padres countered with $4.905MM
  • Dexter Fowler filed for $5.15MM, Rockies countered with $4.25MM
  • Mat Latos filed for $4.7MM, Reds countered with $4.15MM
  • Sergio Romo filed for $4.5MM, Giants countered with $2.675MM
  • David Freese filed for $3.75MM, Cardinals countered with $2.4MM
  • Mike Leake filed for $3.5MM, Reds countered with $2.65MM
  • Mike Aviles filed for $3.4MM, Indians countered with $2.4MM
  • Darren O'Day filed for $3.2MM, Orioles countered with $1.8MM
  • Gerardo Parra filed for $2.7MM, Diamondbacks countered with $2.1MM

Hearings are scheduled to begin in Phoenix today and continue through February 21st, Paul Hagen of MLB.com reported last week. However, these cases won't necessarily end up going before panels of arbitrators. No file and trial team has any remaining arb eligible players, as Tim Dierkes recently explained.

Quick Hits: Brewers, Lyon, Reds

By | at

The latest from around MLB…

  • Rays closer Fernando Rodney continues to express confidence at the Caribbean Series that he'll get a two-year extension finalized, Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com reports (on Twitter). Agent Dan Lozano recently said no talks have taken place between the Rays and Rodney, who's entering the final year of his contract.
  • Though the Brewers wanted to sign Lyle Overbay and Juan Rivera, the free agents went to American League teams in part because NL teams can't offer playing time as a DH, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter).
  • Free agent reliever Brandon Lyon is still talking to several teams yet nothing is imminent, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports (on Twitter). Meister Sports Management represents the right-hander.
  • The Reds are monitoring the relief market and could make a deal if the price is low enough, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reported this morning (Twitter links). Though the Reds like their bullpen, GM Walt Jocketty acknowledged the team is "looking.''  The Reds have added Manny Parra since Crasnick provided this update, so it's not clear if they'll continue searching for arms.
  • MLBTR is seeking someone to lead an effort to fix a bug a few readers are experiencing, in which ads display incorrectly. Experience with DFP Small Business and TypePad is a plus. If you're interested in this job, please email Tim Dierkes at mlbtrhelp@gmail.com and explain your qualifications.

Reds Sign Parra, Designate Redmond

By | at

4:34pm: Parra obtained a Major League deal with a base salary of $1MM, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). Parra can earn another $400K in appearance bonuses.

4:06pm: The Reds announced that they signed left-hander Manny Parra to a one-year contract (Twitter link). The club designated right-hander Todd Redmond for assignment in a corresponding move.

Parra appeared in 62 games for the Brewers in 2012, posting a 5.06 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 in 58 2/3 innings of relief work. The Brewers non-tendered the 30-year-old earlier in the offseason instead of paying him a projected $1.6MM salary. Parra, a CAA Sports client, also drew interest from the Cardinals, Pirates and Mets this winter. He joins a Reds bullpen that includes left-hander Sean Marshall. 

Redmond made his MLB debut in 2012, starting one game at the big league level. The 27-year-old spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he posted a 3.63 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 148 2/3 innings. The Reds acquired him from the Braves for Paul Janish last July.

Yankees Sign Travis Hafner

By | at

4:33pm: Hafner can earn up to $4MM in incentives beyond his $2MM salary, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports (on Twitter).

3:11pm: The Yankees have officially signed Travis Hafner to a one-year, Major League contract. The deal is worth $2MM plus incentives, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). The Legacy Agency represents Hafner.

The Yankees plan to use Hafner as a platoon designated hitter who only plays against right-handers, Chad Jennings of the Journal News writes. Hafner, a left-handed hitter, has a career batting line of .287/.391/.534 against right-handed pitching.

Hafner hit free agency after the Indians chose a $2.75MM buyout over a $13MM option earlier in the offseason. The 35-year-old hit .228/.346/.438 with 12 home runs in 263 plate appearances for Cleveland last year. 

Hafner has averaged only 85 games a season over the past five years due of injuries. Despite his past health issues, he drew interest from the Indians this winter. Rob Bradford of WEEI.com first reported the Yankees could be nearing a deal with Hafner and Jennings first reported the agreement.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top