Quick Hits: Rookies, Rays, Cubs
Jose Fernandez of the Marlins, Aaron Hicks of the Twins, and Jackie Bradley, Jr. of the Red Sox are all on their teams' Opening Day rosters, even though that might make them free agents a year earlier, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports is rooting for all three of them. Rosenthal says he's tired of watching talented players languish in the minors at the start of each season as their teams attempt to delay their service-time clocks. The best players should be on the field, Rosenthal argues. "The game is so flush with cash, teams are awarding hundred-million dollar extensions like Halloween candy," he says. "I’ll grant that certain low-revenue clubs need to watch their money more carefully than others. The rest of ‘em, no way."
- "The system" keeps the Rays on a winning path, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. "One of the things I'm most proud of is that we've been able to remain committed to our plan," says executive vice president Andrew Friedman. "It takes a tremendous amount of discipline because there are times when it is very tempting to deviate from that plan, but I feel very confident that had we done that in '08 or '09 we wouldn't be sitting where we are today." Topkin notes that the Rays haven't been successful in every area — they haven't done well in the draft recently, and they haven't had much success with catchers and designated hitters. But a key area at which they have been successful is in developing their own starting pitching. By developing their own pitching, they're able to not only avoid expensive free-agent commitments, but to trade from their own stockpile, as they did when they sent James Shields and Wade Davis to the Royals for Wil Myers and prospects.
- Bud Selig isn't concerned about the Cubs' debt, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun Times reports. The Ricketts family purchased the Cubs for $845MM in 2009, and the team still has substantial debt related to that purpose. "The Ricketts family worked closely with our office to develop certain financial structures designed to [ensure] the stability of the franchise at these debt levels," a spokesman for Selig says.
AL Notes: Orioles, Snyder, Red Sox, Youkilis
Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette is defending his team's quiet offseason, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun reports. "[W]e're bringing back the core of the group from a year ago and the ball club that we had at the end of the season was a good defensive team," says Duquette. "And we've continued to build our pitching staff and our defense and the core players are young [and] they should continue to improve their offensive capabilities." The Orioles appear likely to take a step back in 2013, but they have an enviable young core that includes infielder Manny Machado, catcher Matt Wieters and outfielder Adam Jones. They could also get pick-me-ups at some point in the season from top pitching prospects Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman. Here are more notes from around the American League.
- Catcher Chris Snyder has accepted a Triple-A assignment with the Angels, Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com reports. The Angels signed Snyder in mid-March as Hank Conger, who had been slated to back up Chris Iannetta, worried the Angels with his throwing. Snyder's deal with the Angels permitted him to opt out and become a free agent, but he has chosen not to do so even though the Angels ultimately decided to go with Conger as their backup. Gonzalez reports that Snyder felt it would be difficult to find a major-league job with another team with Opening Day looming.
- After winning their Opening Day matchup against the Yankees, the Red Sox can officially put 2012 behind them, Jackie MacMullan of ESPNBoston.com writes. Their victory was keyed, in part, by two new outfielders, Shane Victorino (who signed a three-year, $39MM deal as a free agent) and Jackie Bradley Jr. (a first-round pick in 2011). "I wasn't part of what happened in the past," says Bradley, "but we're leaving it in the past."
- The Red Sox aren't the only ones who want to leave the past behind. So does former star Kevin Youkilis, who's ready to stop talking about how he's with the Yankees now, MLB.com's Bryan Hoch writes. "I don't sit down and stare at my uniform all game," he says. "I don't look and say, 'Oh wow, look at these pinstripes! This is pretty cool!' I just go out and play baseball."
Rangers, Elvis Andrus Nearing Deal
Shortstop Elvis Andrus and the Rangers are "close" on an eight-year deal that could be worth $120MM, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). Andrus is a Scott Boras client, as shown in MLBTR's Agency Database.
Andrus, 24, has hit .275/.342/.353 in four big-league seasons, but he also provides significant and consistent value with his fielding and his baserunning. He had his best offensive year so far in 2012, hitting .286/.349/.378 in 711 plate appearances. Andrus is currently in the second year of a three-year, $14.4MM contract that covers all three of what would have been his arbitration-eligible seasons. He is currently set to make $4.8MM in 2013.
If Andrus were to reach agreement on a new deal with the Rangers, it would cap a span of just a few days in which Justin Verlander, Buster Posey, Adam Wainwright and Paul Goldschmidt all also signed big-money deals to remain with their current teams. An Andrus mega-contract would be somewhat novel, in that position players with his lack of offensive firepower (he has virtually no home run power and has yet to post an OPS+ higher than 91) rarely get such deals, but Andrus' youth and fielding ability make him a very valuable commodity.
An eight-year deal would put Andrus in line for free agency at the age of 33, an idea that isn't appealing to the shortstop's camp, a source tells Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram (on Twitter). However, a deal of this magnitude could put those concerns to rest.
The Rangers also have top prospect and fellow shortstop Jurickson Profar at Triple-A, and it's unclear how an Andrus extension might affect his future. The Rangers could keep them both and use Profar at second base, with Ian Kinsler, who is signed through 2017, moving to DH or first base.
Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels worked out one other extension this winter when he inked Matt Harrison to a five-year, $55MM deal, according to MLBTR's Extension Tracker. Texas has also shown that they aren't afraid to hammer out a contract after Opening Day as they gave Ian Kinsler his five-year, $75MM deal in early April last year.
Quick Hits: Indians, Youkilis, Walker
Over the course of 48 hours last week, teams handed out nearly a half-billion dollars in long-term deals to Justin Verlander, Buster Posey, Adam Wainwright and Paul Goldschmidt, Bob Nightengale of USA Today notes. But not all of those expensive contracts go well, which leads to, for example, last week trade of Vernon Wells from the Angels to the Yankees. "We're becoming like the NBA," says Brewers GM Doug Melvin. "Instead of old-fashioned baseball trades, we're trading contracts. I can see more of these in the future. And that's concerning." A sidebar to Nightengale's article lists how much each team will be paying other teams this year, much of it for contracts gone bad. The Angels are paying the most money, most of it going to the Yankees for Wells. The Pirates are receiving the most money, much of it coming from the Yankees (for A.J. Burnett) and Astros (for Wandy Rodriguez). Here are more notes from around the league.
- Two bad months — a bad August 2011 for the Red Sox, and a bad August 2012 for the Indians — helped create the 2013 Indians, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. Without the Red Sox's bad month, Cleveland wouldn't have been able to hire manager Terry Francona, and without the Indians' 5-24 August, the team's ownership might not have felt the need to make a splash in the offseason. That month of "zombie baseball" led to the acquisitions of Nick Swisher, Michael Bourn, Brett Myers and Mark Reynolds, Hoynes argues.
- The Red Sox will see former star Kevin Youkilis as he makes his regular-season debut with the Yankees on Monday, Peter Abraham of the Boston Glove notes. Youkilis signed a $12MM deal with the Yankees in the offseason. "It’ll be weird," says Boston's Jon Lester. "I wouldn’t never thought that it would happen. But he made that choice for him and his family. I’m sure he’s excited about it."
- Pirates second baseman Neil Walker also says he isn't likely to discuss a long-term contract with the team during the regular season, Michael Sanserino of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports (on Twitter). The Bucs have not made a new offer to Walker, either, Sanserino says. Walker will make $3.3MM in 2013 in his first year of arbitration eligibility.
East Notes: Marlins, Aceves, Lester, Blue Jays
The Marlins have an Opening Day, on-field payroll of just $36.1MM, about $58MM less than in 2012, Juan Rodriguez of the Sun-Sentinel notes. That the Marlins' team is dramatically less expensive than it was at this point last year is hardly news, but it's still startling to see a list of the team's players and their salaries, as Rodriguez provides here. After Ricky Nolasco at $11.5MM, the next-highest-paid Marlin is Placido Polanco, who will make $2.75MM.
- "A few teams" were interested in trading for Alfredo Aceves of the Red Sox, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes (on Twitter). But injuries to Franklin Morales and Craig Breslow, along with Daniel Bard's control problems, meant it wasn't possible for the Sox to deal Aceves.
- Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester isn't interested in discussing a contract extension during the season, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI. "If something did come up during the season I probably wouldn't listen," says Lester. "I don't want to deal with it. I think it's too much of a distraction." Lester will make $11.625MM in 2013, and the Red Sox have a $13MM option, with a $250K buyout, for Lester's services in 2014.
- The Blue Jays added plenty of talent this offseason, adding R.A. Dickey, Josh Johnson, Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and others, but bold offseasons don't necessarily lead to big results, Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com argues. McAdam points to the 2011 Red Sox (who did finish third, although they also won 90 games) and 2012 Marlins as examples of teams that have disappointed in the years following exciting offseasons.
West Notes: Dodgers, Wells, Athletics, Angels
The nine top names to watch in Los Angeles baseball in 2013 include Chase Headley and Robinson Cano, argues Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. Headley could be an in-season trade target for the Dodgers, and Cano will likely be connected to the Dodgers as a free agent next winter. Shaikin also suggests that if the Dodgers don't do well in 2013, they could try to hire Rays GM Andrew Friedman. Here are more notes from the West divisions.
- The Mariners' decision to keep Jason Bay and designate Casper Wells for assignment doesn't make sense, Jeff Sullivan of USS Mariner says. Sullivan notes that Wells is younger, had four years of team control remaining, and has recently been the better player on both offense and defense — and the Mariners will likely lose him for virtually nothing. "Wells, probably, is going to end up getting traded to a team with a thin outfield in exchange for a non-roster barely-prospect," Sullivan says. Sullivan also points out that Wells was one of the key players in the Doug Fister deal with the Tigers. The Tigers already looked like clear winners in that trade, but it's even clearer now.
- The Giants' signing of Buster Posey to an eight-year, $159MM contract demonstrates the inequities between the Giants and the Athletics, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle writes. The Giants have opposed the Athletics' move to San Jose. "It's more than mildly ironic that the Giants granted a single player a contract that exceeds the A's entire payroll by a factor of three," says San Jose City Councilman Sam Liccardo.
- The trade of Vernon Wells to the Yankees gave the Angels additional payroll flexibility, Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com writes. The deal leaves the Angels about $6MM under the luxury tax threshold, Gonzalez reports.
Week In Review: 3/24/13 – 3/30/13
Here's a look at the week that was here at MLBTR.
- The Angels traded outfielder Vernon Wells and cash to the Yankees for minor-leaguers Exicardo Cayones and Kramer Sneed.
- The Brewers signed pitcher Kyle Lohse to a three-year, $33MM contract.
- The Tigers signed pitcher Justin Verlander to a five-year, $140MM extension that begins in 2015, for an average annual value of $28MM per year.
- The Giants signed catcher Buster Posey to an eight-year, $159MM extension.
- The Cardinals signed pitcher Adam Wainwright to a five-year, $97.5MM extension.
- The Diamondbacks signed first baseman Paul Goldschmidt to a five-year, $32MM extension.
- The Blue Jays signed pitcher J.A. Happ to an extension that will pay him $5.2MM in 2014.
- The Dodgers discussed a new deal with pitcher Clayton Kershaw.
- The Giants extended the contracts of general manager Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy.
- The Brewers signed infielder Yuniesky Betancourt.
- The Athletics claimed pitchers Danny Otero from the Yankees and Josh Stinson from the Brewers. The Yankees had claimed Otero from the Giants earlier in the week.
- The Blue Jays claimed first baseman Clint Robinson from the Pirates and pitcher Alex Burnett from the Twins.
- In addition to Robinson, the Pirates also designated pitcher Hunter Strickland for assignment.
- The Athletics designated first baseman Daric Barton and pitcher Travis Blackley for assignment.
- The Mariners designated outfielder Casper Wells for assignment.
- The Red Sox designated first baseman Mauro Gomez for assignment.
- The Blue Jays designated first baseman Lars Anderson for assignment.
- The Rockies designated catcher Ramon Hernandez and pitcher Will Harris for assignment.
- The Marlins designated Zack Cox, Gorkys Hernandez, Scott Maine and Evan Reed for assignment.
- The Reds designated infielder Jason Donald for assignment and outrighted pitcher Jose Arredondo to the minors.
- The Indians designated pitcher David Huff and outfielder Ezequiel Carrera for assignment.
- The Rays designated catchers Robinson Chirinos and Stephen Vogt for assignment.
- The Yankees designated pitchers Clay Rapada and David Aardsma for assignment and outrighted pitcher Sam Demel to the minors. The Yankees claimed Demel from the Astros earlier in the week.
- The Cubs outrighted pitcher Guillermo Moscoso to the minors after claiming him off waivers from the Blue Jays.
- Mets infielder Reese Havens and pitcher Darin Gorski cleared waivers.
- The Astros released infielder Tyler Greene.
- The Yankees released 1B/OF Juan Rivera and infielder David Adams.
- The Nationals released pitcher Chris Young.
- The Red Sox released outfielder Ryan Sweeney.
- The Rockies released pitcher Miguel Batista.
- The Mariners released catcher Ronny Paulino.
- The Diamondbacks released catcher Rod Barajas.
- The Rangers returned Rule 5 pick Coty Woods to the Rockies and received Rule 5 pick Chris McGuiness back from the Indians.
- The Rays traded pitcher Dane De La Rosa to the Angels for pitcher Steve Geltz.
- The Astros traded RF/C Mike Kvasnicka to the Twins for pitcher Gonzalo Sanudo.
- The Tigers traded catcher Curt Casali to the Rays for Rule 5 pick Kyle Lobstein, allowing them to retain Lobstein's rights.
- The Brewers traded pitcher Jairo Asencio the Orioles for a PTBNL or cash.
- The Indians traded minor-league catcher Brian Jeroloman to the Pirates for cash considerations.
- The Mets traded minor-league pitcher Elvin Ramirez to the Angels for cash considerations.
- The Rangers traded outfielder Desmond Henry to the Royals to complete the November deal for Tommy Hottovy.
- The Giants traded pitcher Scott Proctor to the Orioles for cash considerations.
- The Yankees signed first baseman Lyle Overbay to a minor-league deal. The Red Sox had released Overbay earlier in the week.
- The Orioles signed pitcher Freddy Garcia to a minor-league deal.
- The Rockies signed pitcher Aaron Cook to a minor-league deal. The Phillies had released Cook earlier in the week.
- The Marlins agreed to terms with catcher Miguel Olivo on a one-year contract and with outfielder Matt Diaz on a minor-league deal. They also signed catcher Koyie Hill to a minor-league deal.
- The Angels signed reliever Mark Lowe to a minor-league deal.
- The Dodgers signed utilityman Nick Evans to a minor-league deal.
- The Giants re-signed pitcher Ramon Ramirez to a minor-league deal.
- The Royals re-signed veterans Xavier Nady and George Sherrill. The Royals had released both players earlier in the week.
- The Indians re-signed pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Matt Capps. The Indians had released Capps and Matsuzaka earlier in the week.
Giants Extend Contracts Of Sabean, Bochy
SUNDAY: Bochy's new contract will pay him close to $5MM per year and he could be second only to the Angels' Mike Scioscia as the highest-paid manager in baseball, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Sulia). Bochy would not comment to reporters, including Schulman, except to say Giants' ownership was "very generous."
THURSDAY, 7:40pm: The Giants have sent another release that does not include the team options for 2017, as they originally indicated. Sabean and Bochy's contracts go through 2016 and do not include team options.
7:31pm: The Giants have extended the contracts of general manager Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy through 2016, according to a team release. Dollar figures for the two contracts have not been released.
The Giants won World Series in 2010 and 2012, so it's not surprising the team would want to keep Sabean and Bochy in the fold. Sabean took over as general manager of the Giants in 1996 and has been on the job longer than any other active GM. Bochy has managed the Giants since 2007.
The team exercised its 2014 options on both Sabean and Bochy last December. Last month, it was reported that the Giants were negotiating extensions with both of them.
Edward Creech contributed to this post.
Quick Hits: Verlander, Wheeler, Gregg
Tigers manager Jim Leyland is excited about Justin Verlander's extension and the possibility it could keep Verlander in Detroit his entire career, MLB.com's Adam Berry reports. "I think it was obviously a great situation for him. I think it's a great situation for the organization. I think it's a great situation for the fans," says Leyland. "He's been with the Tigers for going on his eighth year, [and he could stay] conceivably 15 years or maybe 16. That's pretty much a whole career. I think that's got a nice ring to it."
- The Mets should consider promoting top pitching prospect Zack Wheeler, and should soon begin thinking about signing him to a long-term deal, David Lennon of Newsday.com argues. Promoting Wheeler to start the season, rather than delaying his service-time clock by starting him off in the minors, might show that the Mets are taking the 2013 season seriously, Lennon suggests. Once Wheeler is in the majors, Lennon argues that the landscape of the game (with teams signing their young stars left and right) suggests that the Mets will consider signing Wheeler long-term.
- Kevin Gregg of the Dodgers is still bothered that he didn't receive a major-league contract this offseason, ESPN Los Angeles' Mark Saxon reports. Gregg posted a 4.95 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 4.9 BB/9 for the Orioles in 2012. "The way last year ended, the way the offseason unfolded, you're not a competitor if you don't have a little fire to show your abilities," says Gregg. Gregg has gotten good results this spring, but the Dodgers have a very crowded pitching staff, and might not have space for him.
Red Sox Release Ryan Sweeney
The Red Sox have released outfielder Ryan Sweeney, according to a team release. Sweeney signed a minor-league deal with Boston in January. Sweeney hit .260/.303/.373 in 204 at-bats with the Red Sox in 2012. For his career, Sweeney has hit .280/.338/.378 in 1,719 at bats with the Red Sox, Athletics and White Sox. The Red Sox had already informed Sweeney he would not be making their 25-man roster, and he had requested his release, as Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe notes (on Twitter).