Mets Re-Sign Jeremy Hefner
The Mets have re-signed starting pitcher Jeremy Hefner, MLB.com's Anthony DiComo tweets. They non-tendered Hefner last week. Hefner will spend this year rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent late in the season.
Hefner, 27, pitched well for the Mets in his second big league season, racking up 130 2/3 innings in 24 outings (23 starts) for the club. Before being shut down in August and undergoing surgery, the right-hander posted a 4.34 ERA to go along with 6.8 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9.
Even though Hefner is unlikely to return to the mound until the second half of the 2014 season, New York's decision to non-tender him came as a bit of a surprise, since he's not yet eligible for arbitration. However, as Adam Rubin of ESPN New York tweets, Hefner's new deal with the Mets will be a minor league pact, which will result in significant cost savings for the team as he rehabs.
Hefner is represented by BBI Sports Group.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Brewers Making Corey Hart A Priority
12:46pm: The Brewers are making Hart a priority, Berry told Haudricourt. However, Berry notes that there's been interest from other clubs and there will have to a fit for both sides.
7:57am: Free agent first baseman Corey Hart says his agent, Jeff Berry of CAA Sports, is likely to meet with the Brewers this week in Orlando, Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel writes. Hart, who missed the entire 2013 season and underwent knee surgeries in January and July, is likely to receive an incentive-heavy deal.
Haudricourt notes that the Brewers likely will not want to extend the sort of multi-year deal it would take to acquire James Loney to fill their first base void, and have not shown interest in Michael Morse. The Brewers could involve themselves in trade talks for first basemen like Ike Davis or Lucas Duda of the Mets, or Logan Morrison of the Marlins, but perhaps only as a backup plan if they can't re-sign Hart.
Hart had received interest from the Rockies, Red Sox, Rays and others this offseason, although the Rockies have since agreed to terms with Justin Morneau, and the Red Sox have agreed to re-sign Mike Napoli. The Pirates might be another logical fit. Hart, however, wants to stay in Milwaukee and has said that he would play at a discount in order to stick with the Brewers.
Week In Review: 12/1/13 – 12/7/13
Here's a look back at this busy week at MLBTR:
- The Mariners agreed to sign second baseman Robinson Cano to a ten-year deal. They also signed utilityman Willie Bloomquist for two years.
- The Yankees agreed to sign outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury to a seven-year deal with an option. They also agreed to sign outfielder Carlos Beltran to a three-year deal and utilityman Kelly Johnson to a one-year deal, and they also re-signed pitcher Hiroki Kuroda for one year.
- The Mets agreed to sign outfielder Curtis Granderson to a four-year deal.
- The Marlins signed catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia to a three-year deal and infielder Rafael Furcal to a one-year deal.
- The Astros signed pitcher Scott Feldman to a three-year deal. They also signed pitcher Chad Qualls to a two-year deal.
- The Tigers signed closer Joe Nathan to a two-year contract with an option.
- The Nationals agreed to sign outfielder Nate McLouth to a two-year deal with an option.
- The Athletics signed pitcher Scott Kazmir to a two-year deal.
- The Red Sox agreed to re-sign first baseman Mike Napoli to a two-year deal. They also agreed to sign reliever Edward Mujica, also to a two-year deal, and they signed catcher A.J. Pierzynski to a one-year deal.
- The Rockies agreed to sign first baseman Justin Morneau to a two-year deal.
- The Blue Jays signed catcher Dioner Navarro to a two-year deal.
- The Orioles agreed to sign reliever Ryan Webb to a two-year deal. They also signed outfielder Francisco Peguero.
- The Dodgers agreed to sign reliever Brian Wilson to a one-year deal with a player option.
- The White Sox agreed to sign reliever Ronald Belisario to a one-year deal. They also agreed to re-sign first baseman Paul Konerko, also for one year.
- The Rangers agreed to sign catcher J.P. Arencibia to a one-year deal.
- The Cubs signed reliever Wesley Wright to a one-year deal.
- The Phillies signed catcher Wil Nieves to a one-year deal.
- The Rays re-signed reliever Juan Carlos Oviedo to a one-year deal.
- The Nationals acquired pitcher Doug Fister from the Tigers for pitchers Ian Krol and Robbie Ray and utilityman Steve Lombardozzi.
- The Astros acquired outfielder Dexter Fowler and a PTBNL from the Rockies for pitcher Jordan Lyles and outfielder Brandon Barnes.
- The Athletics acquired outfielder Craig Gentry and pitcher Josh Lindblom from the Rangers for outfielder Michael Choice and infielder Chris Bostick.
- The Athletics acquired reliever Jim Johnson from the Orioles for infielder Jemile Weeks.
- The Royals acquired outfielder Norichika Aoki from the Brewers for pitcher Will Smith.
- The Padres acquired outfielder Seth Smith from the Athletics for reliever Luke Gregerson.
- The Pirates acquired catcher Chris Stewart from the Yankees for a PTBNL.
- The Rays signed catcher Ryan Hanigan from the Reds and Heath Bell from the Diamondbacks in a three-way deal. The Rays then signed Hanigan to an extension. The Reds received pitcher David Holmberg from the Diamondbacks, while the Diamondbacks received pitcher Justin Choate and a player to be named or cash from the Rays.
- The Phillies acquired pitcher Brad Lincoln from the Blue Jays for catcher Erik Kratz and pitcher Rob Rasmussen.
- 43 players were non-tendered.
- The Pirates designated catcher Michael McKenry for assignment.
- The Twins designated pitcher Liam Hendriks for assignment.
- The Athletics designated pitcher Andrew Werner for assignment.
- The Tigers designated infielder Dixon Machado for assignment.
- The White Sox outrighted outfielder Blake Tekotte and infielder Mike McDade.
AL East Notes: Price, Orioles, Axford, Hinske
Since 2008, teams that have traded top-of-the-rotation pitchers usually haven't gotten much in return, ESPN's Mike Petriello argues (Insider-only). The Diamondbacks' trade of Dan Haren for Patrick Corbin, Tyler Skaggs, Rafael Rodriguez and Joe Saunders was unusual, Petriello argues. Instead, what typically happens looks more like the weak returns various teams have received when they dealt Cliff Lee. The Indians' trade of C.C. Sabathia to the Brewers, which produed Michael Brantley and little else. That's worth keeping in mind as we prepare for weeks of rumors involving David Price and the Rays. The Rays did, of course, pull off one very good trade of a high-level starting pitcher when they shipped James Shields (and Wade Davis) to Kansas City in return for Wil Myers, Jake Odorizzi and others. But that doesn't mean they can do it twice. Here are more notes on the AL East.
- The Orioles have already lost Scott Feldman (Astros) and Nate McLouth (Nationals) to free agency and Jim Johnson (Athletics) to a trade, and the team seems "unwilling to make even a cursory attempt to compete for quality talent outside the organization," Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun writes. With only Ryan Webb, Francisco Peguero, Jemile Weeks and a few other low-profile acquisitions on the other side of the docket so far, "fans have every right to wonder what exactly is their plan to compete for the American League East title," Schmuck says.
- The Orioles, along with the Cubs and Mariners, are all interested in John Axford, who was non-tendered by the Cardinals last week, tweets CBS Sports' Jon Heyman, who also suggests that Axford has a chance of landing a job as a closer.
- Eric Hinske only worked in the Yankees' scouting department for a month before leaving to become the Cubs' first base coach, but he helped convince Brian McCann to sign on for five years in New York, Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger writes. Hinske and McCann played together in Atlanta from 2010 through 2013. "[Hinske] was involved. He helped me with Brian McCann," says Yankees GM Brian Cashman. "So I appreciate Eric Hinske giving Brian McCann a lot of good advice about his experience here with the Yankees. He was a great resource for about 30 days."
Yankees Open To Trading Ichiro Suzuki
The Yankees have begun discussing Ichiro Suzuki in trade talks with other clubs, Chad Jennings of the Journal News reports. Jennings notes that this does not mean an Ichiro deal is imminent. The Yankees now have a surplus of outfielders after agreeing to terms with Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran. Since the news of the Beltran acquisition, it's also emerged that the Yankees would be open to trading Brett Gardner, who would make a far more attractive trade candidate than Ichiro would.
Jennings notes that other teams are likely to view Ichiro as a bench player. The 40-year-old outfielder hit just .262/.297/.342 last season, although he was effective defensively. Ichiro will make $6.5MM in 2014 in the second year of a two-year deal.
Central Notes: Pirates, Royals, White Sox
The idea that the Pirates would trade for David Price is "pure nonsense," writes the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ron Cook. The Pirates would have to pay about $30MM for two seasons of Price, and would have to give up lots of value in prospects as well. "There are a lot fewer clubs that can play at the top of the market than clubs that can't," Pirates GM Neal Huntington says. "We just can't afford to do 'X.' Well, we could, but then how would we build a championship-caliber club around that one player?" Huntington also says the single biggest improvement the Bucs can make is re-signing A.J. Burnett, who continues to consider whether to play for one more year or to retire. Here are more notes from the Central divisions.
- The Pirates could look for a first baseman, starting pitcher, shortstop and/or right fielder this week, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. Biertempfel notes that the Pirates "checked in on" starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo. If so, that might indicate that they're not hopeful that Burnett will be back next year.
- The Royals offered Carlos Beltran three years and over $40MM, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman tweets. Beltran ended up going to the Yankees for three years and $45MM. Heyman also notes that the Royals will also be bidding against the Yankees for infielder Omar Infante.
- The White Sox have demonstrated interest in Chase Headley of the Padres, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. As Van Schouwen notes, that's a little odd, unless the White Sox think they can sign Headley to an extension — the White Sox aren't expected to contend in 2014, and Headley is a free agent after the season.
West Notes: Cano, Astros, Padres, Dodgers
Huge long-term deals frequently turn out badly, and yet teams continue to offer them, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. "I thought after [Albert] Pujols [10 years for $240 million] went so wrong, so quickly, turned into such instant garbage, such a horror show, that the industry had finally learned," an NL executive tells Sherman. "I really did think it was the tipping point." That didn't stop the Mariners from giving Robinson Cano ten years and $240MM, however. Here are more notes from the West divisions.
- The Astros have already acquired Dexter Fowler, Scott Feldman and Chad Qualls this offseason, but that doesn't mean they won't be busy at the Winter Meetings, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle writes. They'd like to add another reliever, and they also have the first pick in the Rule 5 Draft, which takes place Thursday.
- Many Padres fans were disappointed when the team shipped Luke Gregerson to the A's for Seth Smith, but GM Josh Byrnes saw acquiring a left-handed bat as essential, U-T San Diego's Bill Center writes.
- The Padres are looking to acquire left-handed relief and could trade a young starter such as Burch Smith, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets, adding that the Twins haven't been in contact yet.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti says the team is open to trading one of its outfielders, provided "it makes sense and we like what we get back," Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports. Colletti also says he's made "a few offers" to Juan Uribe, who's known to be asking for a three-year contract.
Aaron Steen contributed to this post.
East Notes: Rays, Phillies, Mets
If the Rays do end up trading David Price, it won't be their first trade of a young starter. The Tampa Bay Times' Marc Topkin revisits four trades of relatively high-profile deals — those of James Shields, Matt Garza, Scott Kazmir and Edwin Jackson. The Rays got useful players in all four. The Shields deal, of course, produced AL Rookie of the Year winner Wil Myers, and the Garza deal returned Chris Archer. Kazmir brought back utilityman Sean Rodriguez, while the Rays got Matt Joyce back for Jackson. Fans will likely use the Shields deal (which could continue to pay dividends for the Rays as Jake Odorizzi emerges) as a barometer for a potential Price trade, whether that's fair or not. As FanGraphs' Dave Cameron recently pointed out, the Shields trade shouldn't set the market for deals involving frontline starting pitchers. Here are more notes from the East divisions.
- The Phillies are looking for a starting pitcher, and they pursued Scott Feldman and Ryan Vogelsong before those two players signed with other teams, CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury reports. (The Phils extended a two-year offer of about $15MM to Feldman before he ultimately signed with the Astros, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.) Salisbury notes that the Phillies' interest in Feldman and Vogelsong is indicative of the sort of mid-grade starter they'll continue to pursue — don't expect them to make a splash.
- In the wake of the signing of Curtis Granderson, the Mets could redouble their efforts to trade Ike Davis or Lucas Duda, writes Newsday's Marc Carig. Since there isn't much besides Stephen Drew (who should be relatively expensive) on the free-agent shortstop market, and since the Mets' budget will only allow them to spend about an extra $13MM, Carig writes that the Mets are likely to try to find a shortstop via trade.
Marlins To Sign Rafael Furcal
FRIDAY, 4:20pm: The Marlins confirmed the deal via press release.
THURSDAY, 8:30pm: The Marlins will sign shortstop Rafael Furcal to a one-year deal, tweets FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald writes that the deal is for $3MM plus incentives (via Twitter).
Rosenthal reports that Furcal will be the Marlins' everyday second baseman. Furcal has not played more than four games in a season at second since 2000, having played at shortstop almost exclusively since then, although many players have successfully transitioned from shortstop to second base. Donovan Solano and Derek Dietrich were the Marlins' primary second basemen in 2013, and Adeiny Hechavarria is currently their starter at shortstop.
Furcal, 36, hit .264/.325/.346 with the Cardinals in 2012 and has a .281/.346/.403 line for his career. Furcal himself indicated last week that the Marlins were one of several teams interested in him, along with the Mets, Red Sox, Pirates, Nationals and Rockies. The Mets reportedly lost interest in Furcal, who missed the entire 2013 after having Tommy John surgery, amidst concerns about his health.
Furcal is the second significant free-agent signing for the Marlins this winter, following catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, who received a three-year, $21MM deal. Furcal lives in southern Florida, so the signing will keep him close to home.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Quick Hits: Red Sox, Coghlan, Beltran
Who's the most valuable trade asset in baseball? Not to spoil the ending of Jonah Keri's MLB Trade Value rankings for Grantland (Part 1 here, Part 2 here), but it's almost certainly Angels outfielder Mike Trout, who posted over ten wins above replacement for the second straight season while making barely more than the league minimum. Not only is he the best player in the game, but even without a long-term deal, the Angels can control him for the next four years at what will likely be below-market rates. Figuring out who else ought to go in the top ten, based on their age, contract status and all-around performance, is a fun exercise. The Pirates' Andrew McCutchen and his now-extremely-team-friendly-looking deal are there, as is 21-year-old stud Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper. The order of the rest isn't nearly so obvious. Here are more notes from around the Majors.
- Now that Jacoby Ellsbury is gone, the Red Sox are looking for an outfielder to pair with Jackie Bradley Jr. in center field, Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald writes. Curtis Granderson wouldn't work since both and Bradley hit left-handed, so the Red Sox are looking at righty outfielders. One of those, Lauber writes, is Franklin Gutierrez, who has a .256/.306/.391 career batting line but has a strong defensive reputation and a career .818 OPS against lefties. The Red Sox could also still acquire Carlos Beltran (although he certainly wouldn't be a candidate to play center field) or trade for an outfielder.
- The Marlins would like to see outfielder Chris Coghlan return, but Coghlan is deciding what to do next after being non-tendered, MLB.com's Joe Frisaro writes. Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill suggests that Coghlan would need to accept a minor-league contract to stay with the Marlins. If another team offers him a big-league deal, Coghlan will likely leave Miami behind. It seems unlikely, however, that he'll get one, given that he's coming off a .256/.318/.354 season, isn't a strong defensive player, and hasn't posted an OPS above .718 since his Rookie of the Year-winning debut season in 2009.
- Contrary to recent rumors, the Royals haven't offered Carlos Beltran three years and $48MM, tweets FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. Royals ownership would have to be involved if the team wanted to offer that much money.