Quick Hits: Balfour, Wells, Pirates, Penny
The Astros signed Wandy Rodriguez as an amateur free agent 12 years ago today. The lefty, who turns 32 next week, is an extension candidate this winter. Here are today's links…
- Stop by at 2pm CDT for this week's chat.
- In his latest blog post for ESPN, Buster Olney suggests that Grant Balfour could return to Tampa on a one-year deal if the Rays assure him that they won't offer arbitration again if he's a Type A free agent after 2011. Teams other than the Rays have to give up a top pick to sign the reliever this offseason and it isn't helping his market value.
- Vernon Wells explains to Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star that he's a different person and teammate than he was a few years ago, when he first signed his $126MM extension. He also admits that he may not be a $100MM player. "Everybody would say I’m not worth the money and I would totally agree that I’m not worth that contract" Wells said.
- The Pirates are still looking for pitching, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
- Some within the Cardinals organization liked the idea of bringing Brad Penny back to compete with Kyle Lohse for the final rotation spot, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter). The Cards weren't willing to match the Tigers' $3MM guarantee, though.
Revisiting NL Free Agent Arbitration Decisions
On Monday, we examined this year's AL free agent arbitration decisions. Today, let's shift our focus to the Senior Circuit and revisit the 12 National Leaguers who declined their teams' offers of arbitration in November.
Players who decline arbitration forfeit the chance to settle on one-year deals with their former clubs through the arbitration process. Frank Francisco and Jason Frasor chose their teams' offers over free agency and will now work toward deals with the Rangers and Blue Jays, respectively.
Players who accept arbitration don't get guaranteed raises, but those who go through the arbitration process rarely take significant pay cuts. The chart below shows players' 2010 salaries and whether the player signed a new deal or remains on the open market.
Tigers To Sign Brad Penny
The Tigers have officially agreed to sign Brad Penny to a one-year, $3MM deal, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link). ESPN.com's Buster Olney, who first reported the agreement, says the deal includes up to $3MM in incentives for the Legacy Sports client (Twitter link).
Penny will compete with Armando Galarraga at the back of a Tigers rotation that's led by Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello and Phil Coke. After starting the 2010 season with nine strong starts, Penny missed four months with a right shoulder strain. The 32-year-old's season line includes a 3.23 ERA with 5.7 K/9, 1.5 BB/9 and a career high 52.8% ground ball rate.
Penny has spent nearly his entire career in the National League and his one stint in the American League went poorly. The Red Sox signed him before the 2009 season and he posted a 5.61 ERA in 131 2/3 innings for Boston. As MLBTR's Transaction Tracker shows, this isn't the first time Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski has acquired Penny. He obtained him for the Marlins from the Diamondbacks in 1999.
Click here to read about the fallout from the deal.
Olney and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reported that Penny was nearing a deal with the Tigers after the right-hander hinted at one on his Twitter account.
Trevor Hoffman Retires
All-time saves leader Trevor Hoffman told MLB.com's Barry Bloom that he is retiring. Hoffman walks away with 601 career saves, a 2.87 ERA and 1133 strikeouts in 1089 1/3 innings for the Marlins, Padres and Brewers. After 18 seasons in the big leagues, he says he's ready to call it a career.
"It's time to retire. It's time to move on," Hoffman told Bloom. "This is more of a self-evaluation. I expect to pitch at a certain level and I had to be honest with myself that I wasn't certain I could maintain that anymore."
It seemed possible that the Padres or D'Backs could sign Hoffman to play and he did draw some interest this offseason, but the 43-year-old is moving to a different side of the game. He will return to the Padres in a front office role.
The seven time All-Star agreed to decline the Brewers' offer of arbitration after the season. If he had signed a major league deal with another team, Milwaukee would have obtained a supplementary first round pick in this year's draft.
Phillies Notes: Blanton, Durbin, Manuel
Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki that right field, the bullpen and the bench are areas his team could potentially improve upon before the season starts. “I'm looking forward to seeing some competition in all three of those areas," Amaro said. Here are more Phillies-related notes from Zolecki:
- The Phillies don’t have to clear payroll, but they could explore deals that create flexibility for later on in the season. The team is still open to moving Joe Blanton, who will earn a total of $17MM in 2011-12. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes recently listed some potential destinations for the right-hander.
- Philadelphia hasn’t ruled out a reunion with Chad Durbin. The sides exchanged offers last week.
- The Phils would “obviously” like to extend their relationship with manager Charlie Manuel, Amaro said. Manuel is in the final year of his contract, but the sides won’t necessarily reach an agreement before the regular season begins. For a comprehensive look at 'lame duck' managers and GMs, check out this piece by MLBTR's Mark Polishuk.
Fallout From The Brad Penny Deal
There are still over 100 free agents out there, but the Tigers could pass on all of them now that they've added another arm to their rotation. GM Dave Dombrowski agreed to sign Brad Penny to a one-year deal worth $3MM plus incentives, capping a busy offseason.
Penny's agreement with the Detroit means Jeremy Bonderman loses a suitor. The longtime Tiger won't return to the Motor City, but Bonderman can take solace in the fact that Penny signed a deal worth $3MM plus incentives after missing the final four months of the season. Like Penny, Bonderman, Jeff Francis, Chris Young and Justin Duchscherer have dealt with injuries in the past couple seasons, but they're drawing legitimate interest nonetheless.
The deal also impacts Armando Galarraga, who will now have to overcome serious competition to win the fifth starter's job. Before the Spring Training battle begins, Galarraga and the Tigers will determine the right-hander's 2011 salary; he's arbitration eligible for the first time.
I wonder if Jonathan Sanchez's name could come up as a comparable pitcher. Sanchez, who's one year ahead of Galarraga in terms of service time, had similar career numbers last offseason (4.81 ERA, 429 K, 214 BB in 413 1/3 innings) to the ones Galarraga has now (4.49 ERA, 301 K, 186 BB in 475 1/3 innings). The Giants paid Sanchez $2.1MM for the 2010 season. Interestingly, both pitchers even approached pitching perfection in their final pre-arbitration seasons – Sanchez with a no-hitter and Galarraga with a near-perfect game.
Penny's deal sends the Tigers' offseason spending over the $100MM mark, as MLBTR's Free Agent Tracker shows. The team has now committed $102.25MM to Victor Martinez, Joaquin Benoit, Brandon Inge, Jhonny Peralta, Magglio Ordonez and Penny.
Tigers catchers will have to handle some of the hardest throwers in the game in 2011. Dombrowski has added Penny (94.1 mph fastball in 2010) and Benoit (94 mph) to a staff that already included Justin Verlander (95.4 mph), Ryan Perry (95.4 mph), Jose Valverde (95.2 mph) and Max Scherzer (93.2 mph).
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Rockies Extend Carlos Gonzalez
The Rockies are officially announcing that they have signed Carlos Gonzalez to a seven-year, $80MM extension. The deal will keep Gonzalez in the Rockies' lineup through 2017 along with Troy Tulowitzki, who is under contract through 2020.
Augusto Cárdenas of Diario Panorama explains that Gonzalez receives a $3MM signing bonus and will earn $1MM in 2011, $5MM in 2012, $7.5MM in 2013, $10.5MM in 2014, $16MM in 2015, $17MM in 2016 and $20MM in 2017.
Quick Hits: Pujols, Jones, Nationals, Ledezma
One year ago today, the Reds won the bidding for Aroldis Chapman. The Cuban left-hander made 15 relief appearances in the majors last year and figures to have an even bigger impact on the 2011 season. Here are today's links…
- The Cardinals' negotiations with Albert Pujols could resemble the Yankees' negotiations with Alex Rodriguez, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Cardinals executives have acknowledged that an extension with their first baseman would take the organization "places it hasn't gone" in terms of contract value and potential incentive clauses, Goold writes.
- Benjamin Kabak of River Ave. Blues says he'd lean toward Andruw Jones over Marcus Thames for the Yankees in 2011.
- Meanwhile, Troy Renck of the Denver Post reports that the Rockies still have some interest in Jones (Twitter link).
- The Rangers are concerned that Jim Thome would prefer to return to Minnesota, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports (on Twitter). The Rangers are interested in Thome, though he's not a perfect fit for their needs.
- The Nationals need a utility player who can back Danny Espinosa up at second base and potentially play in the outfield, according to Ben Goessling of MASNSports.com. He lists Willie Bloomquist, David Eckstein and Willie Harris as possible fits.
- Dan Szymborski explains the challenges the Giants face if they want to repeat as World Champions in a piece for ESPN.
- The Blue Jays announced that they outrighted Wil Ledezma to Triple-A Las Vegas.
Angels, Callaspo Avoid Arbitration
The Angels agreed to a one-year contract with Alberto Callaspo, avoiding arbitration, according to the team. The sides agreed to a $2MM deal, according to the AP (via the Miami Herald). The 27-year-old was arbitration eligible for the first time.
In 601 total plate appearances last year, Callaspo hit .265/.302/.374. He walks nearly as often as he strikes out (31BB, 42K) and can play second, third and, on occasion, the outfield.
As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, the Angels still have a full slate of arbitration eligible players: Erick Aybar, Howie Kendrick, Jeff Mathis, Kendry Morales, Mike Napoli, Jered Weaver and Reggie Willits.
Dave Bush On Mets’ Radar
Dave Bush is among the starting pitchers on the Mets' radar, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). As Crasnick notes, current Mets exec J.P. Ricciardi was the Blue Jays' GM when Toronto selected Bush in the second round of the 2002 draft.
The Rockies reportedly had interest in Bush earlier in the offseason, but the market for the right-hander has been remarkably quiet this winter.
Bush, 31, is a back-of-the-rotation starter who won't be mistaken for former teammates like C.C. Sabathia and Roy Halladay any time soon. But he notched 18 quality starts in 2010 and has averaged 28 starts and 168 innings per season since cracking the Blue Jays' rotation in 2005. He posted a 4.54 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 174 1/3 innings last year.
The Mets have added Bush's longtime teammate, Chris Capuano, and have also expressed interest in Jeff Francis and Chris Young as GM Sandy Alderson looks to add depth to his rotation.