Yankees To Sign Andruw Jones
The Yankees agreed to sign Andruw Jones to a one-year deal, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). The Scott Boras client signed for $2MM and can make up to $1.2MM more by reaching incentives.
The Yankees were looking for an outfielder who can hit lefties and can handle left and center field. Outfielders Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner both bat from the left side, so Jones, a right-handed hitter, will spell them against tough southpaws. He has an .863 OPS against lefties in his career, including a .931 mark in 2010. The 33-year-old hit 19 homers for the White Sox last year, playing all three outfield positions.
The Rays, Rockies and Braves were among the teams that showed interest in Jones this offseason. Meanwhile, Johnny Damon, a rumored alternative for the Yankees, will presumably have to seek employment elsewhere. The Angels could use an outfielder with on-base skills, so they are one possible suitor for Damon.
Damon, Manny Ramirez and Kevin Millwood are among Boras' most noteworthy unsigned clients, now that Jones has agreed to terms.
Quick Hits: Wagner, Andruw, Chavez, Upton
One year ago today, the Angels signed Joel Pineiro to a two-year, $16MM deal. Yesterday, the Twins agreed to a similar deal with a similar pitcher: Carl Pavano. Here are today's links…
- Billy Wagner is on the Braves' 40-man roster, but the lefty is going to retire as planned, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports explains.
- Agent Scott Boras and Yankees GM Brian Cashman had a long meeting about Andruw Jones yesterday, but the sides are still apart on money, Jack Curry of the YES Network reports (on Twitter). Jones appeared to be nearing a deal with the Yankees earlier in the week.
- Eric Chavez worked out for the Dodgers today, according to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. The Mariners and Blue Jays have also been linked to the six-time Gold Glover and Gurnick says the White Sox and Yankees are potential suitors for Chavez.
- B.J. Upton told Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times that he would consider signing a long-term deal in Tampa Bay if the Rays approached him about one. The center fielder signed a one-year deal earlier in the week, avoiding arbitration.
Five Facts About The Elias Rankings
If you’re interested in free agency or the draft, chances are you’ve heard about the Elias rankings. The Elias Sports Bureau takes player stats from the previous two seasons and classifies all players as Type A or B or unranked. If Type A or B free agents turn down their teams’ offers of arbitration to sign Major League deals elsewhere, the clubs collect picks in the upcoming Rule 4 draft.
But there’s a lot of history to the rankings, which are now in their 30th edition. Here are the essential facts about the Elias rankings system:
How did it all begin?
Free agent compensation was at the center of the 50-day strike that took place between the teams and the players in 1981. Baseball owners wanted compensation for losing top free agents, but the players association was reluctant to diminish free agents’ bargaining power. The association argued that teams would be less eager to bid on free agents if that meant surrendering a big league player or amateur draft choice.
The sides determined statistical formulas through collective bargaining and hired the Elias Sports Bureau to track players’ stats and provide rankings. The rankings aren’t exactly the same as they were 30 years ago and teams don’t approach the rankings as they did in the early ‘80s, but the Elias Bureau has tracked them the entire time.
Then and now
The rankings are not much different now than they were 30 years ago. Players are still ranked on their stats from the previous two seasons and divided by position (for example, catcher) or position group (for example, second base, third base and shortstop). The stats used have been tweaked, but the MLBPA and MLB have generally asked the Elias Bureau to track the same stats. For example, plate appearances, batting average, on-base percentage, home runs and RBI still figure prominently into the rankings for non-pitchers.
The rankings themselves haven’t changed much in 30 editions, but signing ranked free agents used to have significantly different consequences for clubs. Teams that signed ranked free agents once had to expose major league players to a winter draft. The clubs that had lost top free agents would select players from a pool created from unprotected players on the rosters of teams that decided to pursue that year’s crop of top available players. Teams could opt out and protect all of their players, but that would prevent them from signing the top names.
For example, the Mets decided to pursue free agents after the 1983 season and left Tom Seaver, unprotected in January of 1984. The White Sox pounced on the future Hall of Famer, who had just posted a 3.55 ERA (103 ERA+) in 231 innings in his age-38 season. Seaver would spend two and a half years in the White Sox rotation, pitching deep into games with ERAs slightly better than the league average.
Draft pick compensation, always an element of the system, became more prominent once major league players were no longer exposed to MLB teams.
The top 20% of players are still Type As if they’re free agents, but the remaining players are now categorized differently. There were once Type C free agents, but that classification no longer exists; it’s now Type A, Type B or unranked.
Changes in compensation
Today, teams obtain two draft choices for losing Type A free agents who turn down arbitration and one draft choice for Type Bs who turn down arbitration.
Teams once obtained amateur draft choices and professional players for losing Type A free agents, as explained above. But after the 1985 strike, big league players were no longer involved in compensation.
In the early 1980s, teams obtained two amateur draft choices for losing Type B free agents (now they just get one pick).
Bargaining Power
Players would occasionally use the rankings to prove their worth in negotiations with teams. After the 1986 season, for example, Blue Jays catcher Ernie Whitt was acting as his own agent. And as he explained to the Toronto Star, he used the Elias rankings in negotiations with Toronto GM Pat Gillick.
“Out of the 63 catchers who were ranked," Whitt said, "my client, Ernie Whitt, is No. 6. The rankings are based on the performances of the last two seasons – plate appearances, on-base percentages, RBIs, home runs, defense – the works. I got this information through the players' association. Naturally, I feel it's powerful information."
Next up…
Steve Hirdt has been a statistician at the Elias Sports Bureau since the rankings were implemented and he expects the bureau to continue producing the rankings.
“As long as they’re a part of the CBA and we’re baseball’s official statistician, we’ll produce them as we’ve continued to for the last 30 years,” Hirdt told MLBTR.
Data compiled from the Elias Sports Bureau and historical reports in the New York Times, the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail and the Miami Herald.
Mets Sign Scott Hairston
The Mets have officially signed Scott Hairston, according to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo (on Twitter). Like his brother Jerry, who signed with the Nationals yesterday, Scott is a CAA client.
Hairston spent the 2010 season in San Diego, where he hit .210/.295/.346 in 336 plate appearances. The 30-year-old, who played all three outfield positions last year, has a .278/.331/.498 line against left-handed pitching in his career. Willie Harris and Hairston should provide manager Terry Collins with alternatives to Carlos Beltran, Angel Pagan and Jason Bay in the outfield.
AL Central Notes: Tigers, Meche, White Sox, Indians
The Twins grabbed headlines yesterday, finally agreeing to terms with Carl Pavano after months of discussions. Here's the latest on the Twins' AL Central division rivals:
- John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press explains that Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski has avoided arbitration hearings since taking over the team.
- The Royals didn't expect Gil Meche to walk away from his $12MM salary without asking for some sort of settlement, but that's just what the right-hander did, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. GM Dayton Moore says we shouldn't expect the Royals to go out and spend for the sake of spending, even though they have money.
- White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune that he likes the looks of Chicago's rebuilt bullpen, which features newcomers Will Ohman and Jesse Crain.
- Indians GM Chris Antonetti told MLB.com's Jordan Bastian that he would still like to add a starter who can provide reliability, stability and leadership. Manager Manny Acta and pitching coach Tim Belcher told Bastian that they expect a lot from the Indians' young starters.
The Rays’ 2011 Draft
The Rays will select eleven players before the Tigers choose once in this year’s amateur draft. It seems like Detroit’s at a colossal disadvantage, but the Tigers have shown that teams can draft well without first round selections.
They have spent big on players who price themsleves off of other teams’ draft boards in recent years. Detroit paid up for Rick Porcello and Jacob Turner after other teams shied away from their demands. This year, the Tigers spent $3.45MM on prep third baseman Nick Castellanos, a potential star who slipped out of the first round.
“I don’t think spending has anything to do with it at all,” Tigers executive David Chadd said after locking up Castellanos, Chance Ruffin and Drew Smyly last summer. “You have to take the right players. It comes down to the players, not the money.”
But one National League executive told MLBTR last month that it would be naive to leave money out of the equation. As the Tigers have shown, teams with more draft picks don't necessarily emerge with more talent.
“You’ve got to think about it like what’s your draft budget,” the executive said. "You have a finite amount of money that you can spend on the draft. And you can spend $15MM on 50 picks or you can spend $15MM on 55 picks.”
With ten selections before the beginning of the second round, the Rays will have the chance to infuse their highly-regarded farm system with even more high-upside players.
But like every team, they operate on a budget and in 2010 they allotted $7.15MM for draft bonuses. This year, it would cost $9.1MM for the Rays to spend slot money on the picks they have in the first, supplementary and second rounds alone.* So the picks themselves are not enough to assure the Rays of a strong draft.
“The way you get extra talent in the draft is either having extra picks that you paid slot for or by going over-slot for fewer picks,” the executive said. “But it’s really all about money you spend.”
The Rays will be picking early and often this June, an advantage that will give them more choice than any other team. But to fully take advantage of the many early picks, the team will have to spend more than it did in 2009 or 2010.
*Unless Felipe Lopez signs a major league deal. In that case the figure drops to $9MM. Thanks to MLBTR’s Mike Axisa for the calculations.
Mets Sign Chris Young
The Mets completed their one-year deal with Chris Young, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork, who first reported the deal (Twitter links). The agreement guarantees the right-hander $1.1MM, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). Agent Lon Babby represents Young, who can earn up to $4.5MM if he reaches all the deal's incentives.
Injuries have limited Young to just 36 starts in the past three seasons, but he was durable and effective from 2005-07, when he started 30 or more games per season. He has always been hard to hit (7.4 H/9), but vulnerable to walks (3.5 BB/9). In 135 career starts (751 2/3 innings), the 6'10'' right-hander has a 3.80 ERA. He missed most of last season with a shoulder strain before pitching for the Padres in September.
Young will join Mike Pelfrey, Jon Niese, R.A. Dickey and Chris Capuano in the team's rotation if the pitchers remain healthy this spring. Johan Santana should join the group midway through the season.
The deal reunites Young with two of his former Padres bosses, current Mets execs Sandy Alderson and Paul DePodesta.
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Rangers Notes: Manny, Guerrero, Daniels
Rangers president Nolan Ryan discussed possible moves for the defending American League champions and MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan has the details…
- The Rangers are sill interested in adding offense after missing out on Jim Thome.
- “It’s always nice to have a veteran bat off the bench," Ryan said. "It gives you an opportunity late in the game if you don't like the matchups. I'm not sure that person is out there."
- Vladimir Guerrero and Manny Ramirez are probably not fits, Ryan said.
- It’s not realistic for the Rangers to acquire another dependable veteran starter, Ryan said. Instead, the team will rely on Michael Kirkman, Derek Holland and Tommy Hunter to continue developing.
- Extending GM Jon Daniels, whose contract expires after the season, will become a priority in the coming weeks.
Millwood Open To Re-Signing In Baltimore
Kevin Millwood told Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com that he can imagine re-signing with the Orioles. And agent Scott Boras says the O's have some interest in bringing Millwood back to Baltimore.
"Scott went over teams that were interested and he mentioned Baltimore, but I'm not sure about the level of interest," Millwood said.
Millwood says he doesn't expect to sign in the immediate future and believes he'll land a major league contract. The 36-year-old posted a 5.10 ERA with 6.2 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a 37.2% ground ball rate in 190 2/3 innings for the Orioles last year.
The Indians and Yankees have expressed interest in Millwood, as have the Rockies and Royals. However, Colorado and Kansas City have since added starting pitchers, so their interest may have diminished. The Orioles are looking to add pitching depth, and they are currently exploring the trade market.