John Lannan Elects Free Agency
FRIDAY, 9:26am: The Phillies announced that Lannan has elected free agency after being outrighted.
THURSDAY, 6:59pm: The Phillies have outrighted pitcher John Lannan, according to the team. Lannan pitched 74 1/3 innings for the Phils in 2013, posting a 5.33 ERA with 4.6 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9. A knee injury ended his season in August.
Lannan agreed to a one-year, $2.5MM deal with the Phillies after being non-tendered by the Nationals last offseason. He would have been eligible for arbitration again this offseason as a fourth-year Super Two. For his career, Lannan has a 4.12 ERA with 4.7 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9, but he still ended up pitching much of the 2012 season in the minors while still in the Nationals organization.
Jose Dariel Abreu About To Agree To $68MM Deal
9:28pm: The Rangers will not sign Abreu, Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan tweets. The Astros and Red Sox likely will not, either. The White Sox still appear to be the favorites, although there might still be a "mystery team" involved.
7:29pm: Cuban first baseman Jose Dariel Abreu is "finalizing" a six-year, $68MM contract, likely with the White Sox, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal tweets. Abreu is represented by Praver Shapiro Sports Management. The deal would be the largest contract ever for an international free agent. It would easily surpass the six-year, $42MM deal Yasiel Puig received from the Dodgers last June.
This afternoon, it emerged that Abreu was deciding between the White Sox, Red Sox and Astros. The Rangers, Marlins and Giants had also shown interest.
Abreu, 26, defected from Cuba two months ago. He put up massive numbers in Cuba's Serie Nacional, winning over-the-top praise for his power and earning comparisons to Ryan Howard. Some experts have raised doubts about his bat speed, however, and his defense and athleticism are not highly regarded. Tim Dierkes' profile of Abreu predicted he would receive a six-year, $54MM contract.
AL Notes: Hunter, Jimenez, Athletics, Yankees
Torii Hunter of the Tigers says he could continue playing after his contract expires following the 2014 season, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe tweets. "I can see myself paying beyond 2014," says Hunter. "I'm slim, trim and ready to go." The Tigers signed Hunter to a two-year, $26MM deal last offseason, a year after Hunter told the press he might retire following the 2012 season. Hunter hit .304/.334/.465 as the Tigers' right fielder in 2013. Here's more from around the American League.
- Pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez will likely void his 2014 option to stay with the Indians, and will instead try the free-agent market, Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer writes. Jimenez posted a 3.30 ERA with 9.6 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 182 2/3 innings for Cleveland this year. Jimenez agreed to team options for his 2013 and 2014 seasons when he signed a long-term deal with the Rockies before the 2009 season, but he received the right to void the $8MM 2014 option when Colorado shipped him to the Indians.
- Unless there are trades, the Athletics roster isn't likely to undergo dramatic changes this offseason, reports John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. None of Oakland's key position players are set to depart, and they have plenty of starting pitching, even if Bartolo Colon leaves via free agency.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman would prefer to have Alex Rodriguez play in 2014, even if that means the Yankees have to pay his salary, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News reports. If Rodriguez's 2014 suspension is upheld, that would take the Yankees off the hook for the $25MM they owe him in 2014. "I think if people think there’s some sort of benefit by losing that talent, I mean, you can’t replace it," Cashman says. "It’s not like, ‘All right, well, Alex is gone.’ If he winds up getting suspended and it’s upheld, how do you replace that? It’s not easy."
Korean Star Suk-Min Yoon To Try Out For MLB Teams
Korean pitcher Suk-Min Yoon is coming to the U.S. to try out for MLB teams, the Korean paper Chosun Ilbo reports. Yoon hired Scott Boras to represent him following the 2011 season, and there was some speculation he would pitch in the big leagues in 2012, but he ultimately stayed in Korea. He appears to be a free agent and therefore would not require a posting fee.
Yoon starred for South Korea in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. In 2011, he was the MVP of the Korea Baseball Organization. He throws a fastball that sits in the low 90s, along with a slider and a changeup. Yoon, 27, posted a 4.00 ERA for the KIA Tigers in 2013, with 7.8 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9.
East Notes: Red Sox, Rays, Ripken
Red Sox free agents will be key to this year's market, but Boston's decisions about which players they'll extend qualifying offers will strongly affect the market as well, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. Jacoby Ellsbury will, obviously, almost certainly receive a qualifying offer. Sherman also expects that Mike Napoli, Stephen Drew and Jarrod Saltalamacchia will, and qualifying offers would significantly dampen the market for those three players. Teams will not want to forfeit draft picks to sign Napoli, Drew or Saltalamacchia, who, as free agents, would likely receive less per year than the $14.1MM qualifying offer, even if draft pick forfeiture didn't exist. Here are more notes from the East divisions.
- The Rays face a number of tough decisions this offseason, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. At the center of their offseason, of course, is pitcher David Price, who is set to receive a raise on his $10.1MM 2013 contract in arbitration. Assuming the Rays pick up their options on Ben Zobrist and Yunel Escobar, they'll have an additional $23.6MM tied up in those two plus Evan Longoria, Joel Peralta and Matt Moore. Add in ten more arbitration-eligible players, nine free agents and what's likely to still be a very low 2014 budget, and Andrew Friedman and the Rays' front office are likely to have their hands full this winter.
- Hiring Cal Ripken to replace the retiring Davey Johnson as manager would be a bad idea for the Nationals, Mike Harris of the Washington Times writes. Harris argues that the Nats don't need to make a flashy choice for their managerial job. They don't need a manager who will receive tons of media attention (even if he doesn't ask for it). Instead, what they need is a manager with experience, and while Ripken might be a good manager once he has experience, he doesn't have it yet. Nats bench coach Randy Knorr and Diamondbacks third base coach Matt Williams would be better choices, Harris says.
Week In Review: 10/6/13 – 10/12/13
Here's a look back at this week at MLBTR.
- The Yankees re-signed manager Joe Girardi.
- The Rockies exercised their option on pitcher Jorge De La Rosa.
- Qualifying offers will be worth $14.1MM this offseason.
- The Cubs re-signed outfielder Ryan Sweeney to a two-year deal.
- The Rangers re-signed reliever Jason Frasor to a one-year deal.
- The Mariners claimed outfielder Travis Witherspoon off waivers from the Angels.
- The Rangers designated infielder Jeff Baker for assignment.
- Royals infielder Jamey Carroll became a free agent after rejecting his outright assignment.
- Mariners catcher Henry Blanco became a free agent after rejecting his outright assignment.
- The Cardinals outrighted pitcher Victor Marte.
- The Cubs outrighted six players, including outfielder Darnell McDonald and pitcher Rafael Dolis.
- The Angels outrighted pitchers Robert Coello, Brandon Sisk and Andrew Taylor.
- The Marlins outrighted pitchers Kevin Slowey and Zach Phillips and catcher Koyie Hill.
- The Indians outrighted pitcher Clay Rapada.
- The Twins signed infielder Doug Bernier to a minor-league deal.
Quick Hits: Pirates, Dodgers, Leyland, Orioles
The Pirates might now be better than any other organization at fixing pitchers, ESPN's Jayson Stark writes. That begins with Francisco Liriano, who started Game 3 of the NLDS against the Cardinals tonight, but it also includes Charlie Morton, who will start Game 4, along with Jason Grilli, Mark Melancon, and Jeanmar Gomez. Liriano originally agreed to a two-year deal with the Pirates, but when Liriano broke his non-pitching arm while surprising his kids last Christmas, that contract was adjusted to guarantee just $1MM. Liriano's injury caused him to miss the beginning of the season, but it also allowed the Pirates to take their time adjusting his delivery. "The changes that he made — we couldn't have done that if he'd been in big league camp," says Jim Benedict, a special assistant to GM Neal Huntington. "But because he spent so much time in extended spring training, he had time to get his delivery right and build his arm up slowly." The adjustments they made turned Liriano into a top-flight starter, and gave the Pirates one of the biggest free agent bargains of the offseason. Here are more notes from around the Majors.
- Despite the Dodgers' extremely strong finish to the season, they still haven't picked up manager Don Mattingly's 2014 option, and that's leading to speculation about Mattingly's future, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman notes. Outwardly, the Dodgers have shown strong support for Mattingly, but one source tells Heyman that the Dodgers might need to beat the Braves in the NLDS for Mattingly to be asked to return.
- As far as GM Dave Dombrowski knows, Jim Leyland "wants to keep going" as the Tigers' manager, Dombrowski tells MLB.com's Barry M. Bloom. The Tigers have retained Leyland on a series of one-year deals, and that will likely continue, but, Dombrowski says, "He knows if he wants to manage, he can just keep managing."
- Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette says his club needs to improve its on-base percentage and pitching, reports Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. The team will likely concentrate on retaining and developing its own pitching, however, rather than trying to work the free agent market. They would particularly like to see their pitchers throw more innings. "That would be the goal: to make the most of the players on our current roster and encourage them to train in a way in the offseason to help them accomplish that," says Duquette. The Orioles would also like to re-sign Scott Feldman.
Alex Rodriguez Asked MLBPA Not To Represent Him
In August, Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez's lawyers wrote a letter to the Major League Baseball Players Association requesting that it stop representing him, Serge F. Kovaleski and Steve Eder of the New York Times report. The letter, which the Times acquired only recently, shows Rodriguez as suspicious not only of Major League Baseball and the arbitration system, but also of the players' union, Kovaleski and Eder suggest.
The letter claims that the MLBPA did not "fairly represent [Rodriguez's] interests" in the Biogenesis investigation. Rodriguez's attorneys also claim that MLBPA executive director Michael Weiner did Rodriguez a disservice by suggesting in a radio interview that Rodriguez should have accepted a suspension.
The MLBPA has "has made matters worse by failing to protest M.L.B.’s thuggish tactics in its investigation, including paying individuals to produce documents and to testify on M.L.B.’s behalf, and bullying and intimidating those individuals who refuse to cooperate with their ‘witch hunt’ against the players — indeed principally Mr. Rodriguez," according to the letter.
The MLBPA's David Prouty still participated in representing Rodriguez in arbitration hearings this month. Rodriguez continues to fight his 211-game suspension for his role in the Biogenesis scandal.
Week In Review: 9/29/13 – 10/5/13
Here's a look back at this week at MLBTR.
- The Reds fired manager Dusty Baker.
- After being fired by the Cubs, Dale Sveum joined the Royals' 2014 coaching staff. The Royals also signed manager Ned Yost to an extension.
- The Twins signed manager Ron Gardenhire to an extension.
- The Mets signed manager Terry Collins to an extension.
- The Twins acquired pitcher Duke Welker from the Pirates to complete the Justin Morneau trade.
- Major League Baseball cleared Cuban pitcher Yenier Bello to sign.
- The Indians claimed pitcher Tyler Cloyd from the Phillies, designating pitcher Clay Rapada for assignment in the process.
- The Diamondbacks claimed pitcher Alex Sanabia off waivers from the Marlins.
- The Angels claimed pitcher Josh Wall off waivers from the Marlins.
- The Cardinals claimed outfielder Joey Butler from the Rangers.
- The Cubs claimed infielder Mat Gamel from the Brewers.
- The Astros claimed pitcher Raul Valdes from the Phillies. They also declined their 2014 option on pitcher Philip Humber.
- The Cardinals designated pitcher Victor Marte for assignment.
- The Blue Jays outrighted pitcher Ricky Romero and catcher Mike Nickeas.
- The Marlins outrighted pitchers Steve Ames and Jose Ceda, first baseman Joe Mahoney and shortstop Gil Velazquez.
- The Diamondbacks outrighted pitcher Matt Langwell and outfielder Keon Broxton.
- The Phillies outrighted pitchers Zach Miner and Mauricio Robles, infielder Pete Orr, and utilityman Michael Martinez.
- The Twins outrighted outfielder Clete Thomas and pitchers Josh Roenicke, Cole De Vries and Shairon Martis. The Twins also outrighted infielder Doug Bernier.
- The Brewers outrighted infielder Taylor Green, outfielder Josh Prince and pitcher Nick Bucci.
- The Orioles outrighted pitcher Eric Beaulac.
- The Padres outrighted catcher Chris Robinson.
- The White Sox outrighted pitcher Ramon Troncoso and catcher Bryan Anderson. They also outrighted catcher Miguel Gonzalez.
- Yankees pitcher Mike Zagurski became a free agent.
- White Sox pitcher Brian Omogrosso became a free agent.
- Astros catcher Matt Pagnozzi became a free agent.
- Orioles catcher Taylor Teagarden and pitcher Jairo Asencio became free agents.
Reds Notes: Phillips, Baker, Perez
The Reds could deal second baseman Brandon Phillips this offseason, says Reds announcer Marty Brennaman (via MetsBlog's Matthew Cerrone). With the firing of Dusty Baker, the Reds might be looking to give their team a makeover, and dealing Phillips would be the best way to clear payroll and acquire prospects, Brennaman says. Of course, it might be fair to question whether a 90-win team needs the kind of makeover that involves trading established players for prospects, or how easy it would be for the Reds to trade Phillips (who is 32, coming off a down season, and owed $50MM through 2017), for top-notch prospects in the first place. Here are more notes on the Reds' managerial opening.
- The Reds would like to quickly fill their managerial vacancy, MLB.com's Mark Sheldon writes. Two candidates from within the organization will be pitching coach Bryan Price and Triple-A manager Jim Riggleman. Riggleman formerly managed the Padres, Cubs, Mariners and Nationals, compiling a 662-824 record. David Bell, who coached third base for the Cubs this season, might also be a possibility.
- Reds players expressed surprise at Baker's departure, writes Sheldon. "It's obviously a bit shocking," says Jay Bruce. "I understand that it's a business, and when teams don't accomplish what's expected of them, there are changes, but any way you slice it, Dusty was an integral part of turning the organization around."
- Astros bench coach Eduardo Perez is "intrigued" about the possibility of managing the Reds, Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle reports. Perez is from Cincinnati, and his father Tony was a Reds great and briefly managed the team.