Cardinals Sign Nick Punto
The Cardinals announced that they signed Nick Punto to a one-year deal, according to MLB.com's Matthew Leach (on Twitter). It's a $700K deal, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Agent Charles Schneider represents the longtime Twin.
Punto hit .238/.313/.302 in 288 plate appearances for Minnesota last year. He played second, short and third in 2010, his seventh campaign in a Twins uniform. Punto has never hit more than 4 home runs in a season, but the switch-hitting 33-year-old can steal a base and back up around the infield. He'll presumably play a similar role to the one Brendan Ryan has in the past few seasons.
The Indians and Punto had "meaningful negotiations" earlier in the winter.
Free agent infielders Orlando Cabrera, Willy Aybar, David Eckstein and Ronnie Belliard remain available, but middle infield options are disappearing, as MLBTR's Free Agent Tracker shows.
Mariners Reduce Peguero’s Bonus By $1.8MM
The Mariners have reduced Esteilon Peguero's bonus by $1.8MM, from $2.9MM to $1.1MM, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America. The Dominican shortstop prospect signed a landmark deal with the Mariners last month.
Peguero signed for what would have been the largest bonus for an international amateur free agent in 2010, but that distinction now belongs to Blue Jays prospect Adonis Cardona. A $2.9 million bonus would have been a Mariners record for an international amateur prospect, but Phillips Castillo, who signed a $2.2MM deal last summer, now owns that record.
It’s not clear why the Mariners reduced Peguero's bonus. Rival international scouting directors told Badler that there was an issue with the 17-year-old’s shoulder, but another source denied that the player is injured.
Rays, Rangers Leading Suitors For Manny
The Rays and Rangers appear to be Manny Ramirez's most aggressive suitors, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). ESPNDeportes' Enrique Rojas included the Angels on his list of teams pursuing Ramirez when he suggested yesterday that the slugger would sign by early next week.
The Rays are discussing a deal with another Scott Boras client, Johnny Damon. Meanwhile, MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports that the Rangers are definitely interested in Ramirez. As Sullivan points out, adding the 38-year-old would probably cut into Mitch Moreland's playing time and lead to more playing time at first for Michael Young.
Remaining Free Agent Starters By Innings Pitched
A glance at MLBTR's Free Agent Tracker confirms the commonly-held belief that there's just not much starting pitching remaining on the free agent market. If we assume that Andy Pettitte is only an option for the Yankees and keep in mind that Jamie Moyer will miss the upcoming season, the list shrinks even more. At this point, only four free agent starters could be considered dependable options for a rotation (2010 innings totals in parentheses):
- Rodrigo Lopez (200)
- Kevin Millwood (190 2/3)
- Dave Bush (174 1/3)
- Jeremy Bonderman (171)
- Freddy Garcia (157)
Only two of those pitchers finished the season with an ERA below 5.00 and Garcia (4.64 ERA) and Bush (4.54 ERA) both posted marks above 4.50. The alternatives to those starters pitched less in 2010 and many of the free agents below dealt with injuries last year:
- Todd Wellemeyer (58 2/3)
- Brian Moehler (56 2/3)
- Doug Davis (38 1/3)
- Justin Duchscherer (28)
- John Maine (39 2/3)
Teams looking to sign free agent starters are probably not impressed with the options remaining. But clubs looking to trade starters could take advantage of the shallow free agent pool and send their arms elsewhere for salary relief and a prospect or two. The Phillies (Joe Blanton) Tigers (Armando Galarraga) and Braves (Kenshin Kawakami) would all deal pitchers for the right return, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see one or two more trades for starters before the season begins.
Rays Sign Hayhurst, Mayora, Olmedo
The Rays have signed right-hander Dirk Hayhurst and infielders Daniel Mayora and Ray Olmedo, the team announced. The Rays also made their deals with Chris Carter and Jonah Bayliss official.
Hayhurst, 29, posted a 3.75 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 57 2/3 innings for the Blue Jays' Triple-A affiliate in 2009 before missing the '10 campaign to recover from right shoulder surgery. He has big league experience with the Padres and Blue Jays and is the author of the bestselling book The Baseball Gospels.
Mayora, 25, hit .286/.352/.440 for the Rockies' Double-A affiliate last year. He has considerable minor league experience at second and short and has played third as well.
Olmedo has spent parts of five seasons in the majors with the Reds and Blue Jays. The 29-year-old was last spotted in a big league uniform three seasons ago, but he has continued playing at Triple-A since. Last year, Olmedo posted a .284/.330/.387 line for the Brewers' Triple-A affiliate.
Bayliss last pitched in the majors for the 2007 Pirates. The 30-year-old spent last season with the Astros' Triple-A affiliate, where he posted a 3.58 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 65 1/3 innings.
Carter, who arrived in New York in the 2009 Billy Wagner trade, has big league experience in left and right field. The left-handed hitter posted a .263/.317/.389 line in 180 plate appearances last year. The Mets shielded him from southpaws in 2010; all but 7 of his plate appearances came against right-handed pitching.
Mets To Sign Tim Byrdak
The Mets have agreed to sign left-handed reliever Tim Byrdak to a minor league deal, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). Mike Silva of the New York Baseball Digest first reported the deal.
Byrdak posted a 3.49 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 in 38 2/3 innings for the Astros last year before they outrighted him off of their 40-man roster in November. Byrdak has a career ground ball rate of 40.9%, but that figure dropped to 28.6% in 2010, the 37-year-old's ninth big league season.
Earlier this week, Mets manager Terry Collins said he'd like to add another left-handed reliever to complement newcomer Taylor Tankersley.
Giants Sign Jeff Suppan
The Giants have finalized a minor-league deal with Jeff Suppan, tweets Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com. Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News, who first reported that the sides were close, adds that the deal would pay Suppan $1MM for making the team and includes a late-March opt-out clause (Twitter links).
The 36-year-old will provide the team with insurance in case Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, Madison Bumgarner or Barry Zito got injured.
Suppan posted a 7.84 ERA in 15 appearances with the Brewers before they released him last year. The right-hander then appeared in 15 games for St. Louis and posted a 3.84 ERA for the Cards. Fielding independent pitching stats suggest Suppan's season ERA (5.06) should have been around 5.00. Overall, he logged 101 1/3 innings and posted 4.5 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and a 40.3% ground ball rate.
Manny, Vlad Progressing Toward Deals
Manny Ramirez and Vladimir Guerrero may not be on our free agent list much longer. Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes hears from various sources that both players are moving toward deals (link in Spanish). One source tells Rojas that Ramirez is likely to sign by the beginning of next week.
The Angels, Twins, Rangers, Rays and Blue Jays have shown some interest in Ramirez, but Minnesota just added Jim Thome and is no longer interested. The Angels, Rangers and Rays are pursuing him most aggressively. Rojas hears that Manny wants to prove himself after a disappointing season; money, it seems, is not the slugger's primary concern.
A person close to Guerrero told Rojas that the Orioles have the inside track on signing him, but the Angels are another possibility.
Giants, Lopez Avoid Arbitration
The Giants avoided arbitration with Javier Lopez, agreeing to terms on a deal for 2011, according to the team (on Twitter). The left-hander had filed for $2.88MM and the team offered $2MM, as MLBTR's Arb Tracker shows. The sides agreed to a $2.375MM deal, according to the AP (via ESPN). That puts Lopez's 2011 salary slightly below the midpoint of the two submissions.
Lopez posted a 1.42 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 0.9 BB/9 in 27 relief appearances after the Giants acquired him from the Pirates midway through the 2010 season. He pitched tremendously for the eventual world champions, improving on the solid numbers he had posted in Pittsburgh. Overall, Lopez had a 61.8% ground ball rate last year, up from his career mark of 56.1%. The 33-year-old has struggled with walks in his career (4.0 BB/9) and right-handed hitters have a .296/.377/.432 line against him.
Andres Torres is now the Giants' lone unsigned arbitration eligible player.
Blue Jays To Sign Dominican Left-Hander
The Blue Jays have agreed to sign Dominican left-hander Jairo Labour for $350K, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America. The 16-year-old became eligible to sign when the 2010 international signing period opened last July. Badler reports that Labour stands 6'4" and has a 92 mph fastball with feel for a breaking ball and a solid delivery.
The Blue Jays have been aggressive in international free agency under GM Alex Anthopoulos. They signed Adonis Cardona and Adeiny Hechavarria and expressed interest in others, including Aroldis Chapman and Luis Heredia.