Blue Jays Release Mark Teahen
The Blue Jays announced that they have given Mark Teahen his unconditional release. They designated the infielder/outfielder for assignment earlier in the month and will be responsible for paying his $5.5MM salary in 2012.
Teahen joined the Blue Jays in the three-way deal that sent Edwin Jackson to St. Louis and Colby Rasmus to Toronto. The 30-year-old posted a .200/.273/.300 line in 177 plate appearances for the White Sox and Blue Jays in 2011, appearing at all four corner positions.
Dombrowski On Tigers’ DH Options
Representatives for free agent hitters have started calling the Tigers, who will probably play the 2012 season without one of their top offensive players. But general manager Dave Dombrowski is still digesting the news that Victor Martinez is likely out for the season with a torn ACL, and he doesn't feel the need to rush the team's next move. The GM points to the 2011 Cardinals, who lost Adam Wainwright in Spring Training but won the World Series.
"You need to be resilient," Dombrowski said on a conference call with reporters. "After you feel sorry for yourself for a day you move on, you look at all your alternatives."
If the Tigers add a bat, it would most likely be a short-term addition, Dombrowski said. The club could maneuver from within, but that would mean using Jhonny Peralta, Alex Avila or an outfielder at DH on occasion — not shifting Miguel Cabrera to third base and pursuing a first baseman. Dombrowski declined to comment on specific players, but Johnny Damon, Manny Ramirez and Vladimir Guerrero are among the available free agent designated hitters.
As for Martinez, he injured his left knee late last week while doing a side to side shuffling exercise. The Tigers expect him to recover fully if he undergoes surgery, as expected. The possibility exists that he could return late in the 2012 season, but that would be a bonus, rather than anything Dombrowski and manager Jim Leyland will count on.
Martinez signed a four-year, $50MM contract with the Tigers last offseason and posted a .330/.380/.470 line in his first season in Detroit. Though Martinez appeared in 26 games at catcher last year, the Tigers hadn't planned to rely on him behind the plate in 2012.
Quick Hits: Orioles, Cespedes, Dodgers
Links for Monday, as teams and players continue avoiding arbitration in advance of tomorrow's deadline for exchanging figures…
- Former A's, Mets and Brewers pitching coach Rick Peterson has accepted a job with the Orioles, MASNsports.com's Roch Kubatko reports. The sides have been discussing a pitching-related role since last month.
- ESPN.com’s Buster Olney suggests the Yankees could use their DH spot to see what Jorge Vazquez can do at the big league level or to give Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter partial days off (all Twitter links). The 29-year-old Vazquez posted a .262/.314/.516 line with 32 homers at Triple-A in 2011.
- The Orioles aren’t very high on the idea of having a DH-only player, Olney tweets. Because teams like the Orioles and Yankees are shying away from traditional DHs, veterans such as Vladimir Guerrero, Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui and Manny Ramirez aren't finding a robust market for their services.
- Yoenis Cespedes has two hits with six strikeouts in 19 at bats in the Dominican Winter League, tweets Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America includes Devin Mesoraco, Yonder Alonso, Mike Trout and Matt Moore on his 2012 all-rookie team in this week's edition of Ask BA.
- Many see Steve Cohen, whose net worth likely exceeds $5 billion, as the biggest threat to buy the Dodgers, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.
Reds Notes: Navarro, Young, Ankiel, Arredondo
The Reds may have made all of their significant offseason moves now that they have agreed to terms with Dioner Navarro and Ryan Ludwick. Here are some details on the team via Tom Groeschen of the Cincinnati Enquirer:
- GM Walt Jocketty said he signed Navarro “purely for depth” at Triple-A.
- Jocketty doesn’t expect to sign Dmitri Young, the former Reds outfielder/first baseman who is looking to make a comeback at age 38 after losing 70 pounds. The Reds are looking to see what some of their younger players can do in Spring Training.
- Before agreeing to terms with Ludwick, Jocketty said Rick Ankiel was in the mix for an outfield job with the club, according to Groeschen.
- The Reds are “working on” a deal with Jose Arredondo, Jocketty said. The first-time arbitration eligible right-hander appears to be nearing a two-year contract with the club.
Reds To Sign Ryan Ludwick
The Reds have agreed to sign free agent outfielder Ryan Ludwick to a one-year deal that includes a mutual option for 2013, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. Ludwick gets a $2.5MM guarantee and could earn another $500K in incentives, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Beverly Hills Sports Council represents Ludwick, who played for Cincinnati GM Walt Jocketty in St. Louis.
Ludwick, who can play left and right field, gives the Reds some much-needed outfield depth. Like left fielder Chris Heisey, Ludwick is a right-handed hitter. However, Ludwick has hit right-handers (.804 OPS) better than left-handers (.751 OPS) in his nine-year career.
Ludwick, 33, posted a .237/.310/.363 line with 13 homers for the Padres and Pirates in 2011. His batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage all dropped for the third consecutive season. However, UZR/150 suggests Ludwick has played average defense in the outfield corners in recent years.
Arbitration Resources
By this time tomorrow, all unsigned arbitration eligible players will have exchanged proposals with their respective teams. We'll be keeping track of everything at MLBTR, but in the meantime here are some links to posts and resources that will help make sense of arbitration, a fixture in baseball offseasons for nearly 40 years:
- MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker offers a look at the many unsigned players plus those who have already agreed to terms.
- MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz listed his projected arbitration salaries and they've been on the money so far.
- Swartz also broke down arbitration salaries for hitters and pitchers, explaining the importance of innings pitched, home runs and RBI.
- Last offseason I weighed in on what matters in arbitration and explained what doesn't apply.
- Teams and players make the headlines, but agencies are an integral part of the process, so check out our Agency Database.
A’s Notes: Taylor, Gomes, Damon, Outman, Moscoso
On this date in 1986, the Mets and Twins completed a five-player trade involving former first rounder Billy Beane. Now the Athletics’ GM, Beane completed a trade today, obtaining Seth Smith from Colorado for Guillermo Moscoso and Josh Outman. Here are the latest Athletics-related links…
- Beane says the Athletics are still looking for right-handed hitting outfielder depth, Joe Stiglich of the Bay Area News Group tweets. Michael Taylor will have to play his way into the picture, according to Stiglich.
- John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle hears that the A's are pursuing a Jonny Gomes/Ryan Ludwick type for depth. The A's haven't ruled out Johnny Damon, Shea tweets.
- Outman told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that the trade was "bittersweet," but that he's "not mad by any means," Pitching so far above sea level will be an adjustment for the fly ball pitcher, however.
- Moscoso told Slusser that he's "in shock," although he's looking forward to the opportunity in Colorado.
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Reds, Arredondo Nearing Two-Year Deal
The Reds are nearing a two-year deal with right-handed reliever Jose Arredondo, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The 27-year-old had a projected 2012 salary of $1MM through arbitration.
Arredondo posted a 3.23 ERA with 8.2 K/9, 5.3 BB/9 and a 42.1% ground ball rate in 53 innings last year. A two-year deal would cover the first two of his four arbitration seasons (he's a super two player). Arredondo, who missed the 2010 season with Tommy John surgery, broke onto the scene in 2008 with an impressive debut season in Anaheim (1.62 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and a 51.2% ground ball rate in 61 innings).
Yankees, Hideki Matsui Have Been In Contact
There has been some contact between Hideki Matsui and the Yankees this offseason, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The Yankees, who have also been in touch with Johnny Damon, appear to have just $1-2MM to spend on a DH. That would likely be enough to sign the 37-year-old Matsui, who’s coming off a disappointing season in Oakland.
Matsui posted a .251/.321/.375 line with 12 homers in 583 plate appearances last year. He recovered from a slow start to produce better results in the second half (.753 OPS after July 1st), but the average DH posted a .265/.340/.429 line in 2011, so the positionless Matsui hasn’t drawn much interest. A return to Oakland doesn’t seem likely and no other teams have been publicly linked to the Wasserman Media Group client.