MLB Teams Sign Six Dominican League Prospects
The Dominican Prospect League announced that Major League organizations have signed six of its top prospects. Here are the details on the deals:
- The Yankees signed 20-year-old center fielder Freiter Marte for $100K. Marte had been selected to play in the DPL All-Star Game.
- Elvis Rubio, who was also chosen to play in the All-Star Game, signed with the Brewers for $95K. Rubio is a 17-year-old corner outfielder.
- If you think Rubio is young, look at who the Rays signed. Tampa Bay signed 16-year-old left-hander Luis Cepeda for $60K. The Rays get another DPL All-Star in Cepeda.
- The Cardinals signed Fernando Gonzalez, a 16-year old right-hander, for $66K. Gonzalez has drawn comparisons to a young Leo Nunez, according to the league.
- The Indians signed Kevin Calderon for $80K. The 16-year old made this year's All-Star team and is considered a top defensive catcher.
- The Pirates signed Leandro Rodriguez, a 17-year-old right-hander with a loose arm, for $80K.
Rays Designate Justin Ruggiano For Assignment
Justin Ruggiano told Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times that he's being designated for assignment (Twitter link). The 28-year-old outfielder loses his roster spot since the Rays had to create space for new acquisitions Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon.
Ruggiano, who played for the Rays in 2007 and 2008, spent last year at Triple-A Durham. He hit 15 homers for the second consecutive season and posted a .287/.357/.453 line. The 25th-rounder has a .561 OPS in 96 big league plate appearances.
Molina Talking To Teams, Unsure About 2011
Bengie Molina is talking to “a couple of” teams, but hasn’t decided whether he’ll play in 2011, according to Newsday’s Ken Davidoff. The catcher told Davidoff that he has “no idea” whether he’ll sign with one of the interested teams.
“They're not offering what we want, for sure. I don’t know right now what’s going to happen," Molina said.
Molina is looking for significant playing time and a payday of $4MM or so, according to Davidoff. Last month, Jon Heyman of SI.com reported that Molina could return for a special opportunity. It wouldn’t be surprising to see a team like the Rockies or Royals (my speculation) express interest in Molina as a backup, but it will be a challenge for him to find regular playing time at this point in the offseason.
In 118 games for the Giants and Rangers last year, Molina hit .249/.297/.326. He hit at least 15 homers each season from 2005-09, before hitting just five long balls in 2010. The 36-year-old has played for the Angels, Giants, Rangers and Blue Jays in 13 Major League seasons.
Dodgers Sign Aaron Miles
6:04pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman reports that Miles will earn $500K if he makes the team (Twitter link).
3:54pm: The Dodgers signed Aaron Miles to a minor league deal and invited him to Spring Training, the team announced (on Twitter). Miles, 34, can provide depth up the middle behind Jamey Carroll, Rafael Furcal and Juan Uribe.
The eight-year MLB veteran drew interest from other clubs, including a former team of his, the Rockies, before heading West. He'll arrive at Dodgers camp with a career .282/.321/.354 line. Last year was a typical one for Miles, who hit .281/.311/.317 for the Cardinals while playing second, third and short and chipping in with two scoreless pitching appearances.
Rangers, Hamilton Talk Two-Year Deal
5:43pm: GM Jon Daniels told reporters that the club has had productive talks with Hamilton and his agent, and the two sides are "moving in [the] direction of a deal" according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports and Anthony Andro of The Star Telegram (Twitter links).
4:52pm: Josh Hamilton and the Rangers have discussed a two-year deal, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). Talks between the Rangers and the reigning AL MVP have been positive, though their submissions for Hamilton's 2011 salary were far apart. Texas offered $8.7MM, while Hamilton countered with a $12MM bid.
That gap means Hamilton's arbitration case is arguably the most interesting one of the year. The Rangers are open to extending Hamilton and if the sides discuss a longer term deal, It's conceivable that Hamilton could demand a nine-figure contract.
Hamilton earned $3.25MM last year in his first season as an arbitration eligible player; a two-year deal would buy out his remaining seasons of arbitration eligibility, but woludn't delay his free agency. Earlier in the offseason, NL MVP Joey Votto signed a three-year extension that covers his arbitration years without delaying his free agency.
Orioles To Sign David Riske
The Orioles agreed to sign David Riske to a minor league deal, CAA, his agency, announced on Twitter. Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail, who has already re-signed Koji Uehara and Mark Hendrickson and signed Jeremy Accardo and Kevin Gregg, continues to add relievers.
Last year Riske returned from 2009 Tommy John surgery to appear in 23 games for the Brewers, before Milwaukee released him. The 34-year-old fly ball pitcher struck out 16 batters and walked 8 in 23 1/3 innings, posting a 5.01 ERA.
AL East Links: Lowell, Guerrero, Jeter
This round of Monday afternoon links includes updates on one player who is leaving the AL East, one who is just arriving in it and one who has played his entire career there…
- Former Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell tells Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he knows he'll miss playing this year, though his transition to retirement has been smooth so far.
- Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun explains that Orioles owner Peter Angelos and president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail wanted to sign Vladimir Guerrero and that Guerrero wasn't wavering on his $8MM asking price. The sides agreed to a deal last Friday.
- Derek Jeter tells Brian Costello of the New York Post that that he's "done with" feeling hurt by his contract negotiations with the Yankees and not worried about potential position switches.
Durbin Hopes To Join A Contender
Chad Durbin wants to sign with a competitive team and is holding out for offers from contenders, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Durbin has offers from teams that aren’t expected to contend, but he’s waiting for proposals from teams that could win in 2011. Two or three likely contenders are showing interest, Rosenthal reports.
The Phillies are probably not re-signing Durbin, but other contenders could reach out to the right-hander. Rosenthal lists the Rays, Marlins, Brewers and Twins as clubs that could emerge as suitors for Durbin.
The 33-year-old posted a 3.80 ERA with 8.3 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and a 42.4% ground ball rate in 68 2/3 innings last year. Durbin has averaged 65 appearances and 75 innings in three seasons out of the Phillies' bullpen.
Remaining Unsigned Arbitration Eligible Players
Only 13 arbitration eligible players are still unsigned for 2011 and that number figures to keep on shrinking this week. As our Arb Tracker shows, most of the 150-plus arbitration eligible players have agreed to terms with their clubs. Here's the list of players who have yet to sign, sorted by the midpoint of the submissions. As you can see below, the players often submitted significantly higher figures than their teams did:
- Josh Hamilton, $12MM vs. Rangers, $8.7MM
- Jose Bautista, $10.5MM vs. Blue Jays, $7.6MM
- Jered Weaver, $8.8MM vs. Angels, $7.37MM
- Luke Scott, $6.85MM vs. Orioles, $5.7MM
- Hunter Pence, $6.9MM vs. Astros, $5.15MM
- Rickie Weeks, $7.2MM vs. Brewers, $4.85MM
- Jeremy Guthrie, $6.5MM vs. Orioles, $5MM
- Kelly Johnson, $6.5MM vs. Diamondbacks, $4.7MM
- Delmon Young, $6.25MM vs. Twins, $4.65MM
- James Loney, $5.25MM vs. Dodgers, $4.7MM
- Carlos Marmol, $5.65MM vs. Cubs, $4.1MM – the sides are close to a long-term deal.
- Shaun Marcum, $5MM vs. Brewers, $3MM
- Ross Ohlendorf, $2.02MM vs. Pirates, $1.4MM
MLBTR At FanGraphs: The Next $100MM Players
I'm writing a series of guest posts at FanGraphs, one of the first places baseball fans go for top analysis and stats. Today, I look ahead to the next crop of $100MM players and conclude that Albert Pujols and Adrian Gonzalez are far from the only ones with a shot at signing nine-figure contracts in the near future.