Heyman On Marlins, Pujols, Sabathia
Buster Posey, Jason Heyward, Colby Rasmus, Gordon Beckham and Matt Kemp make Jon Heyman's list of players who could take another step toward stardom in 2011. Here are the latest rumors from Heyman at SI.com…
- Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez begins the season ‘under the gun,’ according to Heyman. Rodriguez was never the first choice of owner Jeffery Loria, who can make Miami seem like ‘Steinbrenner south.’
- Three GMs predict Albert Pujols will re-sign with the Cardinals after the season, when he hits free agency for the first time in his career. The sides are not negotiating during the season, but earlier in the spring, the Cardinals’ main offer was for over $200MM and nine years.
- A rival GM predicts that C.C. Sabathia is “definitely opting out'' of his contract with the Yankees after the season. It seems likely that the lefty could obtain more than $92MM over four years if he puts together a typical season in 2011.
NL East Notes: Reyes, Werth, Amaro
The latest on the NL East, before the Phillies, Mets and Marlins open their respective seasons…
- Mets shortstop Jose Reyes tells Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger that he isn't worried about the 2011 season – his walk year. I recommend McCullough's piece for an in-depth look at Reyes.
- Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal says the Mets can forget dominance and aim for competence and respectability in 2011.
- Tom Verducci of SI.com praises Nationals manager Jim Riggleman for batting $126MM man Jayson Werth second.
- Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Daily News writes that past and current Phillies GMs Ed Wade and Ruben Amaro Jr. are good friends despite their professional rivalry and different personality types.
Jimenez Extension Going Well For Rockies
There's inherent risk in signing any pitcher long-term, let alone someone who has just one full season of Major League experience to his name. If you're wondering why teams ever commit $10MM-plus to relatively inexperienced pitchers, take a look at the Rockies and Ubaldo Jimenez.
When Jimenez signed his current extension with the Rockies, he had similar numbers to the ones Wade Davis has now. Their ERAs (Davis 4.01 vs. Jimenez 4.06), records (Davis 14-12 vs. Jimenez 16-16) and innings totals (Davis 204 1/3 vs. Jimenez 288 1/3) were comparable after one-plus MLB seasons and those stats led to similar extensions (Davis four years, $12.6MM vs. Jimenez four years, $10MM).
Two years into Jimenez's deal, he has developed from a promising 25-year-old like Davis into a Cy Young candidate and legitimate top-of-the-rotation starter. Jimenez has posted a 3.17 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 since signing his extension, averaging 220 innings and 17 wins per season. If any doubt remained about his status as an ace, he erased it last year, throwing a no-hitter, making the All-Star team and finishing third in NL Cy Young balloting.
Jimenez earned twice as much as pitchers in his service class in 2009-10 thanks to the structure of his extension and he'll earn $2.8MM in 2011, his first season as an arbitration eligible player. It's a substantial raise from his 2010 salary of $1.25MM and not a bad salary for a first-time arbitration eligible pitcher.
But given Jimenez's career accomplishments to date, he could have surpassed the salaries Mike Pelfrey ($3.925MM) and Chad Billingsley ($3.85MM) earned their first time through arbitration and matched Jered Weaver's $4.265MM salary. Not only is that $1.4MM more than Jimenez will actually earn in 2011, a $4.265MM salary would have set him up for future arbitration raises.
As it stands, Jimenez will earn $4.8MM from 2009-11, about the same as he would have obtained by going year to year. The Rockies will start saving big in 2012, when they'll pay Jimenez just $4.2MM and the savings could continue in 2013 and 2014, as the Rockies have a pair of team options. The risk paid off for Colorado, which could save $15MM or more if Jimenez stays healthy and GM Dan O'Dowd exercises both options.
That doesn't make the deal a regrettable one for Jimenez and his representatives at SFX, however. Like Davis, Jimenez took the risk that his performance would justify larger raises than the ones structured into his extension in exchange for the security of guaranteed money. Like Davis, he'll hit free agency in his early 30s, even if the team exercises its options, so there's still time for a substantial free agent payday.
Ichiro Hints At Prolonged Career With Mariners
Ichiro Suzuki hinted to John Hickey of Sportspress Northwest that he wants to re-sign with the Mariners after his current contract expires. Ichiro, whose contract expires after the 2012 season, is now 37, but he says age is more of a distraction than a limitation.
“Take the talk of age. It’s something that I will have to battle," Ichiro said. “When you have to think about something like that, it’s not a positive for you. I mean, it’s something you don’t have to think about, but when you have people around you talking about it, you don’t want the negatives to get in.”
There were lots of positives for Ichiro in 2010. He led the league in hits, reached the 200 hit plateau for the tenth consecutive season and stole 42 bases, hitting .315/.359/.394. As Ichiro points out he can still play though, “there are players who are 25 who play already like they’re 40.”
He has 2,244 hits as a Major Leaguer, so the 3,000 hit plateau is within reach, even though he didn’t make his MLB debut until he was 27. Ichiro admits that his goals were once personal, but says they have become more team-oriented as he has become a fixture in the game and, especially, in Seattle.
“For me, it’s about going to the playoffs with the Mariners,” Ichiro said. “It’s all the time you’ve spent getting there."
D’Backs Sign Josh Wilson
The Diamondbacks signed infielder Josh Wilson to a minor league deal, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter links). Wilson, who was released by the Mariners earlier in the week, will report to Triple-A Reno.
Wilson appeared in 11 games for Arizona during the 2009 season before playing for the Padres and Mariners. In 388 plate appearances for Seattle last year, Wilson posted a .227/.278/.294 line as a utility infielder. Though he's primarily a shortstop, Wilson has pitched three times and played every infield position.
Blue Jays Have Not Approached Hill About Options
Aaron Hill told Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star that the Blue Jays have not approached him about the options they have for his 2012-14 seasons (Twitter link). The Blue Jays can exercise all three options before the season for $26MM total, exercise the 2012-13 options after the season for $16MM total or decline the options and allow Hill to hit free agency next fall.
As Griffin points out, it does not appear that the Blue Jays will exercise the three options before the season, which means Hill will either become a free agent after the season or see the Blue Jays exercise his 2012-13 options for $16MM total.
No qualified hitter in baseball had a lower batting average on balls in play than Hill last year, an indication that the second baseman was unlucky. Hill, who turned 29 last week, finished the 2010 season with 26 homers and an unusual .205/.271/.394 batting line.
Wade Davis, Agent Take Calculated Risk
The Rays acknowledge that they took a significant risk when they invested $12.6MM in a pitcher who has appeared in just 35 big league games. Wade Davis signed for more guaranteed money than any pitcher in his service class (one-plus years), but he took on a different kind of risk.
Davis’ agent, B.B. Abbott, acknowledges that there’s a chance his client will earn millions less than he would have obtained by going year to year and hitting free agency after 2015. It could amount to a $6-8MM discount for the Rays, but Abbott says it's a worthwhile tradeoff for Davis, who gets guaranteed money and security.
"I don't think anyone can definitively tell you that it's the wrong deal or a bad deal or a good deal," Abbott told MLBTR. "It was just the right deal for Wade and the right deal for the team."
It's a contract that will allow Davis to enter free agency in time for a major free agent payday. Even if the Rays exercise their three team options, Davis will hit the open market as a 32-year-old with $35.1MM in his bank account. He was flattered that the Rays considered him worthy of such substantial investment after just one full season.
"It doesn’t seem to happen a whole lot in baseball, so it’s a huge compliment and something that I’m looking forward to," Davis said on a conference call earlier today.
The Rays made a similar investment in James Shields after the 2007 season and though 2010 was disappointing, he has put together three consecutive 200-inning seasons under his current contract. Shields was one of the main points of reference for the Davis deal, along with Brett Anderson, who had the record for one-plus pitchers ($12.5MM guarantee) until Davis signed. Chad Billingsley, who just signed an extension of his own, and Matt Garza were other comparable pitchers relevant to the negotiations between Davis, Abbott and the Rays.
Friedman, Rays Take Calculated Risk With Deal
Wade Davis has appeared in 35 big league games and today the Rays signed him to a deal that could pay him over $35MM. Davis gets a $12.6MM guarantee from an organization that will spend just $41MM on its entire roster this year, so Rays executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman fully acknowledges he's taking a risk. But the Rays didn't want to pass up the opportunity to sign a core player long-term.
"I think the one thing that we’ve really demonstrated over the years is how important these investments are for our organization," Friedman said via conference call. "We’ve been aggressive at that core that we can keep in place for a number of years and hopefully sustain success in this division."
Friedman locked up current Rays Evan Longoria, James Shields and Ben Zobrist to similar club option-heavy deals to provide the team with flexibility. The since-departed Carlos Pena and Scott Kazmir also signed extensions with the Rays since Friedman took over baseball operations in 2006.
The Rays wanted to add Davis to the list of players they've signed long-term, partly because they like his ability and his character. However, talent and dedication don't eliminate the risk inherent in signing a rookie pitcher to a multiyear deal.
"There’s no question that the injury rate is much higher with a pitcher than a position players and that fairly intuitive," Friedman said. "That’s why it’s so important for us in the sense of how well we know our guys – what their makeup is, the work ethic, how driven they are and it’s something that Wade fits into very, very well on all those fronts."
There’s another reason the Rays signed Davis long-term, though it’s impossible to quantify. Friedman says multiyear deals allow players to focus entirely on baseball and not on the money they may or may not make through arbitration or free agency. Davis, who considered the deal carefully before signing, agrees.
"The biggest thing for me is to be able to relax and I think it’s like that with anybody when they’re able to relax on the baseball field and just go all out out there," Davis said.
Jermaine Dye To Retire
After 14 seasons and 325 home runs in the Major Leagues, Jermaine Dye is retiring, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Dye, 37, last played in 2009, though he considered returning to the majors in 2010 and 2011.
Dye, a 17th round selection in 1993, hit 325 homers in his career with a .274/.338/.488 line. He played for the Royals, White Sox and Athletics after breaking in with the Braves as a 22-year-old in 1996. The two-time All-Star and 2006 Silver Slugger recipient was the World Series MVP in 2005 when the White Sox won the World Series.
Dye was traded twice; he went from the Braves to the Royals in 1997 and from the Royals to the A's in a three-team trade in 2001. He earned just shy of $75MM in his career, according to Baseball-Reference.
Pirates Designate Ramon Aguero For Assignment
The Pirates designated right-hander Ramon Aguero for assignment to create 40-man roster space for Jose Veras, according to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. The Pirates had optioned Aguero to Double-A Altoona on March 14th.
Aguero posted a 6.14 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 5.2 BB/9 in 29 1/3 innings at Class A and Double-A last year. The 26-year-old Dominican has a 4.14 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in parts of five pro seasons.