D’Backs Could Add Rotation Depth
The Diamondbacks have a full rotation, but they could add depth, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Piecoro suggests that any newcomers would likely arrive on minor league deals.
Joe Saunders, Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, Zach Duke and Barry Enright give the D’Backs a solid starting five, but Kennedy, Hudson and Enright had not seen much big league playing time before 2010. GM Kevin Towers could look to add depth to a rotation that has lost Dan Haren, Edwin Jackson and Rodrigo Lopez in the past 12 months.
As MLBTR's Free Agent Tracker shows, Towers has plenty of options. Lopez, a free agent, logged 200 innings for the D'Backs last year, so he figures to look for a guaranteed starting job elsewhere.
The D'Backs' offseason is nearly complete, but the team has interest in utility player Willie Bloomquist.
Cardinals ‘Hopeful’ About Extending Pujols
Cardinals chairman and CEO Bill DeWitt Jr. told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that he is “hopeful” that the Cardinals can extend Albert Pujols by the time the season starts. The sides are not that far along yet, but they have had “discussions” and will continue to talk. They re-started extension talks last week.
DeWitt says the sides don’t necessarily have to agree to a deal by the start of Spring Training. However, Pujols has said that he doesn’t want to negotiate in-season. I suggested earlier today that it wouldn't be unreasonable for Pujols to compare himself to Alex Rodriguez, who signed the biggest contract in baseball history three offseasons ago.
DeWitt said he doesn’t expect “major” upgrades to his team’s roster between now and the start of the regular season. The Cardinals are not likely to add expensive position players, so Michael Young won't be going to St. Louis. He probably won't be going anywhere, as the Rangers have told him he's staying put.
Marlins Sign Dewayne Wise, Three Others
Dewayne Wise is one of four players the Marlins signed to minor league deals, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (Twitter links). The team also added infielder Joe Thurston, catcher Clint Sammons and corner infielder Jamie D'Antona.
Wise, 33 next month, spent the 2010 campaign with the Blue Jays after two seasons with the White Sox. He hit .250/.282/.393 in 118 plate appearances last year and backed up at all three outfield positions. The eight-year veteran will provide insurance for the Marlins in case Chris Coghlan struggles in center field.
Thurston last appeared in the majors on the 2009 Cardinals. He has a .225/.306/.324 line in 280 big league plate appearances spread over six seasons. The infielder can play second or third base and has some experience in the outfield.
Sammons, 27, picked up some playing time with the Braves from 2007-09. The catcher hit .162/.253/.244 at Triple-A last year, but threw out 36% of would-be base stealers.
D'Antona, back in North America after two seasons in Japan, hit .263 with 36 homers for the Yakult Swallows last year, according to Eddy. The D'Backs selected D'Antona in the second round of the 2003 draft and he made it all the way to the majors in 2008.
Six Clubs Offer Jose Veras Minor League Deals
The Giants, Rockies, Twins, Marlins, Rays and Pirates have all offered Jose Veras minor league deals and invited him to Spring Training, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes (on Twitter). The 30-year-old right-hander will likely decide on a team soon.
Veras posted a 3.85 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 in 48 innings for the Marlins last year, before they non-tendered him. Veras has been tough to hit throughout his five-year MLB career, but he has always allowed plenty of walks (5.0 BB/9 in his career). His mid-90s fastball (94.4 mph last year) has helped him strike out 8.7 batters per nine in his career.
Indians Notes: Perez, Antonetti, Prospects
The Indians could add a veteran starter and build infield depth before Spring Training begins, but it's been a quiet offseason for the Tribe so far. They've made a number of minor deals and signed Austin Kearns - here's what's up next for the Indians…
- Chris Perez says his agent has started discussing a deal with the Indians, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (on Twitter). Asdrubal Cabrera, Shin-Soo Choo and Rafael Perez are also eligible for arbitration this offseason. Here's a look at how an extension between Choo and the Indians might look. If you ask Jon Heyman of SI.com, an extension is not likely (Twitter link).
- Chris Antonetti is the newest GM around. Jordan Bastian of MLB.com chronicles the 36-year-old's rise from Expos intern to Indians executive.
- The Indians announced that they hired former big leaguer and longtime Astros employee Tom Wiedenbauer to be the field coordinator of their player development system.
- Top prospects Lonnie Chisenhall, Alex White and Jason Kipnis will attend the Indians' upcoming Winter Development program.
AL West Notes: Mariners, A’s, Daniels, Thome
The four AL West teams averaged 78 wins in 2010. Here's the latest on the A's, Rangers and Mariners as they look to win baseball's smallest division:
- The Mariners are not looking at left fielders at the moment, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link).
- The A's issued a statement saying that owner Lew Wolff "has no interest whatsoever in purchasing the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise." Earlier in the week, ESPN.com's Buster Olney speculated that Wolff could be a potential buyer for the Dodgers.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan suggests Rangers execs Nolan Ryan and Chuck Greenberg could discuss an extension with GM Jon Daniels this week. Daniels' contract is up after the season, but he has said he would like to stay in Texas.
- Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News explains how a potential Jim Thome signing would shape the 2011 Rangers. I examined the same issue earlier in the week.
Tigers, Ryan Raburn Agree To Two-Year Deal
The Tigers announced that they agreed to a two-year deal with Ryan Raburn, avoiding arbitration. The 29-year-old will earn $3.4MM for 2011-12, according to the AP (on CBSSports.com). The deal pays him $1.3MM in 2011 and $2.1MM in 2012, according to Tom Gage of the Detroit News (on Twitter). Raburn was arbitration eligible for the first time this offseason, so the Tigers will control his rights for a year after the extension expires.
Raburn established career highs in runs scored (54), hits (104) and doubles (25) last year. He added 15 homers and posted a .280/.340/.474 line in 410 plate appearances. Raburn did a bit of everything last year, playing all three outfield positions, logging 18 games at second base and appearing at first and third.
The right-handed hitter figures to pick up regular at bats in left field next year, and he's a candidate to sub in at other positions. That flexibility should give manager Jim Leyland some options. Meanwhile, GM Dave Dombrowski must come to terms with Armando Galarraga and Joel Zumaya, the team's unsigned arbitraiton eligible players. Keep track of the developments with our Arbitration Tracker.
Rays Sign Kyle Farnsworth
The Rays have officially signed Kyle Farnsworth to a one-year deal, according a team press release. The agreement was first reported by Steve Slowinski of DRaysBay and confirmed by ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter links). The deal will pay the Barry Meister client $3.25MM in 2011 and could be worth $6MM over two years, since there's an option for 2012.
Farnsworth posted a 3.34 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 64 2/3 innings for the Royals and Braves last year. The 34-year-old's 41% ground ball rate is unremarkable, but it's higher than it was earlier in his career, when he was more of a fly ball pitcher. Farnsworth doesn't throw quite as hard as he once did, but his average fastball was still 94.9 mph last year. That was enough to place Farnsworth at the top of MLBTR's list of the hardest throwing free agent relievers.
The Rays have added bullpen candidates Adam Russell, Cesar Ramos, Joel Peralta, Chris Archer, Cory Wade, J.P. Howell and R.J. Swindle this offseason. That's a promising group of players, but Andrew Friedman's acquisitions are considerably less established than the collection of Rays relievers that hit free agency after the season.
As MLBTR's Free Agent Tracker shows, former Rays relievers Rafael Soriano, Grant Balfour and Chad Qualls are among the remaining unsigned arms.
It's been a publicly quiet offseason for Farnsworth since the Braves declined his $5.25MM option for 2011 at the beginning of November.
Cubs Avoid Arbitration With Koyie Hill
The Cubs avoided arbitration with Koyie Hill, the team announced. MLB.com's Carrie Muskat first reported the agreement (on Twitter). The catcher earned $700K last year as a first-time arbitraiton eligible player and Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com reports (on Twitter) that his 2011 deal is for $850K.
Hill, 32 in March, hit .214/.254/.298 in 231 plate appearances as Geovany Soto's backup last year. He threw out 18% of would-be base stealers, down from his career average of 28%. Welington Castillo and recent pickup Max Ramirez could also compete for a 25-man roster spot this spring.
As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, the Cubs have four arbitration eligible players who aren't yet under contract for 2011: Soto, Sean Marshall, Carlos Marmol and Tom Gorzelanny.
Extension Candidate: Albert Pujols
Baseball is a numbers game, whether you're talking about home runs, on-base percentage or xFIP. It's also a numbers game off the field when it comes to players' contracts. Some deals are entirely predictable. Shin-Soo Choo, for example, will likely earn $3-4MM through arbitration next year; Carl Pavano will probably sign for about $10MM per season; Russell Branyan's likely in line for another one-year deal.
But most of the comparable players for Albert Pujols are in Cooperstown, not in uniform. So determining a fair price for the 30-year-old will be a unique challenge for Cardinals GM John Mozeliak and agent Dan Lozano. Quite simply, there is not much precedent for Pujols.
Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Howard signed contracts that could come up in talks between Pujols' representatives and his team. Both Rodriguez and Howard are former MVPs who signed long-term deals that begin with their age-32 seasons. Pujols, who has three MVP trophies on his mantle, will be 32 in 2012, which would be the first season of a potential new deal.
Howard, a tremendous player who isn't on the same level as Pujols, received $125MM for his age 32-36 seasons. Rodriguez, an all-time great who was arguably the best player in the game when he signed his extension, will make an average of $27.5MM per season (plus bonuses) for his age 32-41 seasons.
Rodriguez and Howard aren't perfect matches for Pujols, but few other contemporary players even compare. Baseball-Reference lists Ken Griffey Jr., Manny Ramirez and Juan Gonzalez as similar batters to Pujols through age 30. Seven Hall of Famers including Lou Gehrig, Hank Aaron and Mickey Mantle fill out the top ten list of his most statistically comparable players.
In other words, Pujols is in select company. Not only is the nine-time All-Star and two-time defending NL home run champion one of the best players of his generation, he's one of the best players of all time.
A similar argument led Rodriguez to the two biggest contracts in baseball history. But A-Rod hadn't won a World Series with the Yankees or endeared himself to their fans when he signed his most recent contract.
Pujols, on the other hand, defines the Cardinals much like Derek Jeter defines the Yankees. The Cards developed Pujols after drafting him in the 13th round of the 1999 draft (when Mozeliak was the team's scouting director). Five years later, the Cardinals were in the World Series and in 2006 the team won its first world title since 1982.
Pujols means more to the Cardinals now than A-Rod did to the Yankees in 2007, but Rodriguez does have one considerable advantage over the Cardinals' 6'3" slugger: he plays a more demanding defensive position. Not only that, the Yankees have the option of working Rodriguez's bat into the lineup as a DH at the end of his deal, but the Cardinals will have to play Pujols on the field for the life of his extension, even if his now-stellar glovework deteriorates.
As tempting as it is to compare Pujols to Rodriguez, Howard and various historical players, it doesn't make much sense to do so. The Cardinals don't have as much money as the Yankees and the sides could get creative with incentives and performance bonuses to ensure that the star first baseman stays put. Not much is certain about Pujols' demands or the Cardinals' willingness to spend, but we can say this: Pujols is on track to become an inner-circle Hall of Famer and it would not be unreasonable for him to ask for an Alex Rodriguez-like contract.