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Brewers Claim Arcenio Leon

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The Brewers announced that they claimed right-hander Arcenio Leon off of waivers from the Astros.

Leon spent the 2012 season pitching in relief for Houston's Double-A affiliate. The 26-year-old appeared in 44 games, posting a 4.38 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9 in 63 2/3 innings. He has had trouble limiting walks in eight seasons as a professional, as his career rate of 5.2 BB/9 indicates.

Rosenthal On Greinke, Free Agency, Trades

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With a national television deal in place and labor peace established, MLB teams are ready to spend. Some people in the commissioner’s office are nervous about the possibility of more lavish free agent contracts, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. Here are more notes from Rosenthal on the day before free agents can sign with any team…

  • The Angels want to sign Zack Greinke, but so do their biggest rivals, the Dodgers and the Rangers.
  • Rosenthal points out that the offseason could unfold more quickly this year, partly because of the new MLB calendar. Teams won’t have to wait as long to determine which free agents are linked to draft pick compensation, which should accelerate the free agent market. I discussed the possibility in this week’s MLBTR chat.
  • Rosenthal expects almost every free agent who receives a qualifying offer to reject it.
  • MLB officials expect the trade market to remain “hot” throughout the winter, according to Rosenthal.

Cubs, Red Sox Interested In Dan Haren

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12:06pm: The Yankees don't seem to be involved in the bidding for Haren, reports Heyman (on Twitter).

11:50am: The Angels are still working on trading Haren today, Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio reports (on Twitter). They aren't interested in exercising his option and trying to trade him later.

10:40am: The Cubs are among the teams interested in Dan Haren, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. The Red Sox are eyeing the right-hander and other teams also appear to be involved.

The Angels have until today to exercise or decline Haren’s 2013 option ($15.5MM club option with a $3.5MM buyout). Today is also the deadline for teams to extend qualifying offers to free agents. 

The 32-year-old started 30 games for the Angels this past season, posting a 4.33 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 176 2/3 innings. Haren told the Los Angeles Times yesterday that he expects to be traded. "I have no specifics on teams, but that's the vibe I'm getting," he said.

The Cubs' rotation will need lots of attention this offseason. GM Jed Hoyer has had some talks with Ryan Dempster about a potential contract.

Hanwha Eagles To Post Hyun-jin Ryu

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NOVEMBER 2nd: The KBO informed MLB that Ryu will be posted, according to a KBO press release (link in Korean via Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net). The bidding can begin once MLB informs its teams about Ryu's availability.

OCTOBER 29th: The Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization will post South Korean left-hander Hyun-jin Ryu in a move that could be the first step toward a Major League Baseball career. The Eagles will accept bids for Ryu via the posting system this offseason, Jee-ho Yoo of Yonhap News reports.

Once the Eagles post Ryu, interested MLB teams will submit secret bids. After the bids are in the Eagles will decide whether to accept or decline an offer for the 25-year-old. If the Eagles accept an offer then Ryu, a Scott Boras client, would negotiate a deal with MLB the team that won the rights to sign him. Assuming the sides reach an agreement, the Eagles would then collect the posting fee from the MLB team. Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net has a copy of the posting rules for MLB and KBO teams.

Ryu has been one of the KBO's most dominant starting pitchers since 2006, according to the Yonhap report. He was on the South Korean team that won the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics and placed second in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Twins Notes: Santana, Casilla, Messenger

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The Twins made a push to trade for Ervin Santana before the Royals acquired him this week, Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN.com reports. The Twins were “in heavily” on Santana, but they wanted the Angels to absorb more than $1MM in salary. Here are some more Twins-related notes from Wolfson…

  • Rays starter James Shields could become a target for the Twins in Wolfson’s view.
  • Assistant GM Rob Antony was expected to speak with the agent for second baseman Alexi Casilla yesterday. It seems likely that the Twins will non-tender Casilla, who’s arbitration eligible this winter. You can view MLBTR’s full list of non-tender candidates here.
  • The Twins have inquired about right-hander Randy Messenger. The 31-year-old last pitched at the MLB level in 2009, but he is coming off of a strong season with the Hanshin Tigers in Japan. Messenger posted a 2.52 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 196 2/3 innings this past season.

Explaining Qualifying Offers

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For the first time since baseball’s collective bargaining agreement was finalized, teams, agents and players will navigate a new system for determining free agent compensation: qualifying offers. The offers are due today, so there’s no better time for a refreshed primer. Here’s a look at draft pick compensation under the sport’s new CBA:

  • Type A and Type B designations have been eliminated. Instead, teams will have to make players a qualifying offer to be eligible for draft pick compensation. 
  • The value of the qualifying offer, which is determined annually by averaging the top 125 player salaries from the previous year, will be worth $13.3MM this offseason. All qualifying offers are for the same duration (one year) and the same amount ($13.3MM for 2012-13). 
  • Teams have until five days after the World Series to make qualifying offers. At that point the players have seven days to accept.
  • Once a team makes a qualifying offer, the player has two choices: he can accept the one-year deal or decline in search of other offers. If he declines the offer and signs elsewhere, his new team will have to surrender a top draft pick (the selection doesn't go to the player's former team). 
  • Teams that sign free agents who turned down qualifying offers will surrender their first round picks. However, the forfeited picks don't go to other MLB teams. Instead, the first round simply becomes condensed.
  • The first ten selections in the draft are protected. Teams with protected picks will surrender their second-highest selections. The Astros, Cubs, Rockies, Twins, Indians, Marlins, Red Sox, Royals and Blue Jays have protected first round picks this offseason. The Pirates' ninth overall selection (compensation for failing to sign their 2012 first rounder) is also protected.
  • The player’s former team will receive its compensatory selection at the end of the first round. Teams now obtain one compensatory selection, instead of two.
  • If teams don’t make a qualifying offer, the player can sign uninhibited.
  • Only players who have been with their clubs for the entire season will be eligible for compensation. So Zack Greinke and Shane Victorino definitely aren’t getting offers.
  • Check out Tim Dierkes’ preview of which players will get qualifying offers from earlier in the week.

Rangers Interested In David Ortiz

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The Rangers have expressed serious interest in free agent designated hitter David Ortiz, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports. Texas executives envision Ortiz as someone who could replace the offense of Josh Hamilton should the outfielder sign elsewhere.

The Red Sox are still considered the favorites to sign Ortiz, Rosenthal reports. The sides continued discussing a two-year deal worth as much as $25MM this week. Only the Red Sox can sign Ortiz for now, but their exclusive negotiating period ends first thing Saturday morning.

Ortiz will likely obtain a qualifying offer from Boston later today. If he declines the offer to pursue other options he'll be linked to draft pick compensation, meaning a team such as the Rangers would have to surrender a draft pick to sign him.

Ortiz, who turns 37 later in November, posted a .318/.415/.611 batting line in 383 plate appearances this past season. He hit 23 home runs and 26 doubles, but appeared in just one game after suffering a right Achilles strain on July 16th. An SFX client, Ortiz ranks 13th on MLBTR’s list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Astros, Morgan, Veras, Braves

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The latest outright assignments…

  • The Astros announced that Fernando Abad, Sergio Escalona, Edgar Gonzalez, Jose Valdez, Kyle Weiland and the recently-DFA'ed Matt Downs have been outrighted to Triple-A.  All will become free agents except Weiland, who has been placed on the Triple-A roster.
  • The Brewers have outrighted Nyjer Morgan to Triple-A, the team announced.  Morgan was a key part of the Brewers' NL Central-winning team in 2011 but struggled last season, hitting .239/.302/.308 and getting less playing time in the Milwaukee outfield.  MLBTR's Tim Dierkes recently projected Morgan as a non-tender candidate.
  • The Brewers also confirmed that Jose Veras has elected to become a free agent after being outrighted off the 40-man roster yesterday.
  • The Braves outrighted right-hander Erik Cordier to Triple-A, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports (Twitter link). The 26-year-old pitched at three levels this past season, posting a 5.85 ERA with 7.5 K/9 in 32 1/3 total innings. He walked 32 of the 155 batters he faced, however. The Braves announced that they also outrighted catcher J.C. Boscan and left-hander Robert Fish off of the 40-man roster. Boscan elected free agency, according to the team.

Red Sox, Ortiz Agree To Two-Year Deal

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6:37pm: The deal is now in the language stage, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.

6:23pm: The deal will also include incentives that can boost the overall value to $30MM across two seasons, Bradford tweets.

6:10pm: Once the deal is finalized, it will be for two years and at least $26MM, tweets Rob Bradford of WEEI.com (via Twitter).

5:20pm: Two sources told Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe (via Twitter) that they expect Ortiz to sign a deal before the night is out.

4:50pm: The sides are "very close" to a deal, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports (on Twitter).

NOVEMBER 2nd, 9:47am: The Red Sox and Ortiz are starting to close the gap in their negotiations, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports (on Twitter). Texas' interest is real, Cafardo writes.

11:02am: It appears likely that Ortiz will hit the open market, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports. Boston's exclusive negotiating period ends Saturday morning, at which point Ortiz will be free to discuss a contract with any team. The Red Sox are expected to extend Ortiz a one-year qualifying offer.

NOVEMBER 1st, 8:13am: The sides hope to bridge the "modest gap" and agree to a contract within the next 24 hours, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports (on Twitter).

OCTOBER 23rd: Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe hears from both sides that Ortiz isn’t close to a deal, though talks are amicable (Twitter link).

Read more

Quick Hits: Ankiel, Dempster, Towles, Bourn

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If you haven’t done so already, be sure to check out Tim Dierkes’ list of the top 50 free agents for the upcoming offseason. The list includes Tim’s predictions for each player, and we’d like you to join us in predicting the destinations for the top 50 free agents. You can make your picks here. Now for this afternoon’s links…

  • Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hears Rick Ankiel is open to giving pitching another shot. The Cardinals could be among the teams willing to give Ankiel another chance on the mound. Ankiel pitched for the Cardinals from 1999-2004, putting together a strong season as a 20-year-old in 2000. He returned to the big leagues as a hitter in 2007.
  • The Cubs have been in contact with Ryan Dempster’s agent about the possibility of a contract, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports (on Twitter). The Cubs traded the LSW baseball client to the Rangers midseason and he’s now a free agent (he can't sign with a team other than Texas until Saturday).
  • Catcher J.R. Towles left Hendricks Sports for agent Burton Rocks, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). Our Agency Database has current information on the agents of most MLB players.
  • Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com hears word that Michael Bourn could be looking for as much as $100MM in free agency. The Phillies would probably be reluctant to spend that kind of money on a 30-year-old player who relies heavily on his legs, Salisbury writes.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports previews the destinations for a number of the offseason’s top free agents.

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