Brandon Inge Picks Up Ten And Five Rights
As of today, Brandon Inge has ten years of big league service. They've all been with Detroit, so the third baseman now has ten and five rights, which means the Tigers now need Inge's permission to trade him.
Inge, who signed a two-year, $11.5MM deal last offseason, now has limited trade value, so the point is mostly moot from a transactions standpoint. The 34-year-old has a .215/.284/.291 line 178 plate appearances into the season. Inge's calling card has always been power, but he has just nine extra base hits this year. He told MLBTR last month that he hopes to wear the old English 'D' for a long time.
Orioles Appear Poised To Spend This Winter
The American League East appears to be as strong as always this year, but the Orioles have something to look forward to despite their last place 24-29 record. Orioles people are saying they’ll have significant money to spend after the season, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. Manager Buck Showalter wants a first baseman who can hit in the middle of the order and Prince Fielder may be the team’s top target, according to Knobler.
When MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes examined the team’s contract issues, he estimated that the Orioles could have over $18MM to spend on 2012 salaries without raising payroll (before accounting for players earning the MLB minimum). Derrek Lee, Baltimore's current first baseman, hits free agency after the season, so a need will emerge barring a trade or a surprise performance from a minor leaguer (2010 minor league player of the year Joe Mahoney has been on the DL twice and has limited experience above Class A).
President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail and the rest of the front office will have multiple needs to address and Fielder figures to be looking for at least $22MM per season on a multiyear deal, since that’s similar to what Mark Teixeira and Adrian Gonzalez obtained. It’s worth noting that the O’s expressed some interest in Teixeira when he hit free agency after the 2008 season (though the first baseman later said their bid didn’t compare with his other offers).
New York Notes: Colon, Reyes, Beltran, Wright
Six Yankees lead All-Star balloting at their respective positions in the early going: Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Russell Martin and Curtis Granderson (who's second among outfielders to Jose Bautista). Here's the latest on the Yankees and their cross-town rivals:
- Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record points out that the Yankees have no incentive to dig for answers from Bartolo Colon, who had stem cells injected into his shouder and elbow before signing with them last offseason. The commissioner's office seems to know that Colon is beyond their reach, but MLB officials believe Colon should have disclosed what had happened when he signed with the Yankees.
- One GM suggested to Joel Sherman of the New York Post that Mets fans shouldn't expect too much in possible trades for Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran. The return for players on the brink of free agency hasn't historically been overwhelming, the GM said, pointing to the 2008 deal that sent Teixeira from Atlanta to the Angels for Casey Kotchman. On the other hand, Matt Holliday was traded for Brett Wallace the next summer.
- Maybe Fred Wilpon was on point when he said David Wright is not a superstar. Rival executives tell Sherman that the third baseman would work best as the third or fourth-best player in a lineup.
Heyman On Dodgers, Mets, Rendon, Red Sox
The Dodgers have had unofficial conversations with Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier about long-term deals, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. GM Ned Colletti would like to lock both outfielders up instead of letting them hit free agency after the 2012 season. Here are the rest of Heyman’s rumors:
- Though it’s hard to imagine Dodgers owner Frank McCourt signing either player long-term given his current financial issues, MLB seems hopeful that they can find a new owner for the team if and when it's necessary.
- Proposed Mets limited partner David Einhorn will have the chance to increase his share of the team from 33% to 60% after five years, according to Heyman. Majority owner Fred Wilpon could then block Einhorn and repay him his $200MM while allowing him to keep 16.5% of the team. Heyman hears that the Wilpons won’t allow Einhorn to become majority owner. Various reports about the value of the deal circulated over the weekend.
- Anthony Rendon’s draft stock is again rising, according to Heyman. The Mariners, who select second, could choose the Rice third baseman if the Pirates pick UCLA righty Gerrit Cole first overall. If the Pirates take Virginia lefty Danny Hultzen with the top pick, Rendon and Cole figure to be Seattle’s top choices.
- The Red Sox could look to acquire an outfielder if J.D. Drew’s nagging injuries persist.
- The Nationals are suggesting that they will have a high asking price for Ivan Rodriguez.
Poll: Which Surprise Teams Will Stay In Contention?
Memorial Day is behind us and the Indians and Diamondbacks lead their respective divisions. The standings will change between the beginning of June and the beginning of October, of course, but they're now the product of 50-plus games.
Though the Indians are 32-20, they've lost five of seven games and can't be quite sure what Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner can offer the rest of the way. Meanwhile, the 30-24 D'Backs could face stiff competition if and when the Rockies and Giants recover from injuries to Jorge de la Rosa and Buster Posey, respectively. Both Cleveland and Arizona are talented, but that doesn't mean 2011 is their year.
Which team(s) will contend all season?
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Cleveland Indians 43% (3,913)
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Neither team 28% (2,575)
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Arizona Diamondbacks 15% (1,345)
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Both teams 14% (1,316)
Total votes: 9,149
Cardinals Have Inquired On Heath Bell
Fernando Salas has converted all ten of his save opportunities in 2011, so the Cardinals may not need another closer this summer. But in case Salas, Ryan Franklin, Eduardo Sanchez, Mitchell Boggs and the rest of the St. Louis bullpen don't offer enough late-inning stability, the Cardinals are doing their homework. They're among the teams that have checked in on Padres closer Heath Bell, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
Bell, 33, earns $7.5MM this year and hits free agency after the season. He converted his fourth save in as many days tonight and now has 14 on the season to go along with a 1.96 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9. The Rangers have also checked in on Bell, whose trade value I explored last week.
Quick Hits: Mauer, Dodgers, Suzuki, Soria
Evan Longoria is back in the cleanup spot and his eighth-inning homer led the Rays to a win against the Rangers today. Here are some links from around the Major Leagues…
- Twins manager Ron Gardenhire told Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com that he doesn't plan to move Joe Mauer from behind the plate when he returns from the disabled list. "He signed an eight-year deal to catch in the big leagues for the Minnesota Twins," Gardenhire said. "So we're trying to get him back as a catcher. If it doesn't work out when he comes back, then we're going to have to figure somewhere else."
- Tom Verducci of SI.com crunches some numbers and says the Twins are done. The Cubs and White Sox aren't much better off if you ask Verducci.
- A's GM Billy Beane told catcher Kurt Suzuki that he wants him to avoid collisions at the plate, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. Across the bay, Giants catcher Buster Posey will miss the rest of the season with a leg injury after a home plate collision.
- Dodgers manager Don Mattingly told AJ Cassavell of MLB.com that there's no mistake he hasn't learned from in his first year as L.A.'s skipper.
- Royals manager Ned Yost told Dick Kaegel and Adam Holt of MLB.com that the Royals haven't had serious discussions about converting recently-demoted closer Joakim Soria to the rotation.
NL Central Notes: Lyles, Reyes, Doumit
Here's the latest from around the NL Central, with an emphasis Jordan Lyles. The Astros' right-hander debuted against the Cubs tonight and pitched seven-plus innings, allowing one earned run on five hits with four strikeouts and no walks….
- Astros manager Brad Mills pointed out that Lyles could be with Houston for two starts or 20 years, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. Lyles' debut may be the most anticipated in Astros history since Hunter Pence's 2007 debut, according to McTaggart.
- Lyles' promotion represents a victory for assistant GM and amateur scouting director Bobby Heck, according to Stephen Goff of the Houston Astros Examiner.
- I examined the service time implications for Lyles earlier tonight.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty told John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer that he hasn’t had talks with the Mets. That means speculation linking the Reds to Jose Reyes is unfounded at this point (though the Reds could have had internal discussions about the shortstop).
- Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit has fractured his left ankle and will miss at least a month, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (on Twitter). Doumit, a potential trade target, would have a few weeks to re-establish his value before the trade deadline if he makes a speedy return. But his $5.1MM salary could clear waivers, which would enable the Pirates to deal him in August.
Draft Notes: Guerrieri, Pirates, Bauer
Here's the latest on the MLB draft, which is less than a week away…
- No prospect has seen his draft stock rise more than high school right-hander Taylor Guerrieri, according to Nathan Rode of Baseball America. Guerrieri is the best high school arm an American League scout has ever seen and the odds that he goes to college seem slimmer than ever.
- Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus points out that this year's draft is hard to predict from the first overall selection on. Goldstein has the sense that the Pirates will select Virginia left-hander Danny Hultzen, but he can see them taking UCLA righty Gerrit Cole or Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon.
- Check out our Draft Prospect Q&A series for conversations with all three players and others.
- You may have heard about Trevor Bauer's unorthodox workout program, but the UCLA right-hander would prefer to be known for his fastball, according to MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo. Mayo offers a must-read take on Bauer, who led the country with 189 strikeouts this season.
- Hultzen, Rendon and Bauer are all finalists for 2011 USA Golden Spikes Award, Cash Kruth writes at MLB.com.
The Implications Of Jordan Lyles’ Debut
In less than an hour, Jordan Lyles will make his much-anticipated MLB debut. Ten starts into the Triple-A season, the right-hander has a 3.20 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9, impressive stats, especially for a 20-year-old.
Those aren't the only relevant numbers for Lyles and his team. The Astros appear to have significantly reduced the chances that Lyles will become a super two after 2013 and go through the potentially lucrative salary arbitration process an extra time.
Even if Lyles never sees the minor leagues again, he’ll have two years and 121 days of service time after 2013. That doesn’t figure to be enough for super two status – last year’s cutoff was unusually low at two years and 122 days – so Lyles is only on track for three arbitration years.
But it’s too early to know how much service time will be required for super two status three offseasons for now, because the cutoff date changes most years. And since baseball’s collective bargaining agreement expires after 2011, there’s no guarantee that the super two will exist a few years from now (though coming up with alternative that satisfies baseball’s owners and the players’ association will not be easy).
There’s a good chance that the Astros will have to option Lyles to the minors at some point – few 20-year-olds make the big leagues and even fewer thrive instantly at the highest level. If Lyles does return to the minors, the projections could change dramatically, as they did for Brett Cecil, Jenrry Mejia and legions of other pitching prospects who were demoted after debuting in the big leagues.
Everything from the super two cutoff to the CBA to Lyles’ development is subject to change, but here’s what we know: if the rules stay the same, the cutoff falls where we expect it to and Lyles stays in the big leagues from here on, the Astros will have avoided super two status for the young righty and saved themselves millions in the process. That may not be Houston's intention – there's much more to player development than waiting until Memorial Day then calling up your top players – but at the very least it's a pleasant coincidence.