Royals Sign Francoeur To Two-Year Extension
12:36pm: The two-year deal is worth $13.5MM, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City (via Twitter).
10:18am: The Royals have signed outfielder Jeff Francoeur to a two-year extension, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed.
The Royals and Francoeur had a $4MM mutual option for 2012, so this deal buys that out and locks up Francoeur through the 2013 season. The 27-year-old right fielder, a one-time blue-chip prospect, signed with Kansas City in December after he was traded twice in less than two years, going from the Braves to the Mets to the Rangers.
Francoeur was mentioned prominently in trade rumors prior to last month's deadline, but he remained in Kansas City, where he is enjoying a modest renaissance from his nadir in New York. A career .269/.312/.430 hitter, Frenchy has been a bit better than that in 2011, hitting .278/.328/.465.
Francoeur and Royals GM Dayton Moore have always had a strong relationship, going back to their time together in the Braves organization, according to Knobler (Twitter link). Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports first reported last month that a possible extension was in the works.
Rangers Acquire Tim Wood From Pirates
The Rangers have acquired right-handed reliever Tim Wood from the Pirates in exchange for cash or a player to be named, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (via Twitter).
Wood has been added to Texas' 40-man roster and optioned to Triple-A Round Rock, filling out Texas' 40-man, according to Evan P. Grant of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter).
Wood has appeared in 57 games with the Marlins and Pirates in parts of three big league seasons, posting a 4.50 ERA, 4.3 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9. The righty was drafted by Florida in the 44th round in 2002.
Indians Release Austin Kearns
The Indians have released outfielder Austin Kearns, according to a club press release.
The Tribe designated Kearns for assignment last week to make room on the active roster for Shin-Soo Choo, who was activated from the disabled list. Now, after clearing waivers, the 31-year-old is a free agent.
Kearns re-signed with Cleveland on a one-year, $1.3MM contract in December. He began the 2010 campaign with the Indians but was traded to the Yankees prior to the non-waiver trade deadline.
The former first-round pick (No. 7 overall in 1998) was once a highy touted prospect in the Reds organization, but has played mostly like a fourth outfielder or platoon type throughout his career. He has hit .254/.350/.417 in 10 big league seasons with the Reds, Nationals, Indians and Yankees.
Rockies Release Mike Jacobs
The Rockies have released minor league first baseman Mike Jacobs following his 50-game suspension for testing positive for HGH, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (via Twitter). He apologized to the Rockies and said he hopes to sign with a team in 2012, Renck reports (Twitter link).
Jacobs, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Rockies in December after he spent time with the Mets and Blue Jays organizations in 2010. He was hitting .298/.376/.534 with 23 homers for Triple-A Colorado Springs in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, but he did not appear in the big leagues in 2011.
Jacobs becomes the first player ever suspended for using HGH, which is not tested for in the Major Leagues, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. HGH testing was introduced in the minor leagues before the 2010 season.
With a new collective bargaining agreement to be negotiated this offseason, I wonder whether HGH testing will be one of the issues on the table.
Mets Won’t Trade Izzy, Byrdak, Hairston
Relievers Jason Isringhausen and Tim Byrdak, and outfielder Scott Hairston will remain with the Mets for season's balance, a source tells Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. The players were placed on waivers, claimed and pulled back by the Mets, meaning they are ineligible to be traded for the rest of the month, Rubin reports.
Last week, we heard that several Mets players cleared waivers, including Jason Bay, Chris Capuano, Angel Pagan, D.J. Carrasco and Willie Harris. Those players can be traded freely, as can the others on this list, which has a running tally of the guys who have cleared waivers this month.
Phillies Interested In Acquiring Left-Handed Hitter
The Phillies have had internal discussions about acquiring a left-handed bench bat to serve as a pinch-hitter, according to Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The Phils discussed trades involving Rockies first baseman Jason Giambi and Twins first baseman/DH Jim Thome prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, and they would still like to acquire either of those sluggers, according to Brookover. However, both would be long shots at this point because it's unlikely Giambi or Thome would fall to the Phillies through waivers.
Ross Gload and Brian Schneider are the only lefty hitters on the bench presently, although the Phils recently signed former Athletics and Mariners slugger Jack Cust to a minor league contract in hopes that he could serve in a Matt Stairs-like role. Cust has declined in recent years, though, and has not had much success in his career as a pinch-hitter, so it doesn't sound like the Phils are expecting much there.
Otherwise, one remaining option would be to recall Domonic Brown, although that is less than ideal because he is slumping with Triple-A Lehigh Valley and needs to play every day to develop. Another option the Phils have discussed, a source tells Brookover, is recalling Brandon Moss from Lehigh Valley. Moss, of course, was involved in the three-team swap that sent Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers and Jason Bay to the Red Sox a couple years back.
The Phils look to be fine-tuning things before the postseason. We also heard yesterday that they are seeking a left-handed reliever.
Quick Hits: Marquis, Pedroia, Mariners
A few links of note for my fellow night owls …
- Diamondbacks right-hander Jason Marquis may once again rekindle his interest in pitching for either his hometown Mets or Yankees this offseason when he enters free agency, writes Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. “I’m a New York guy, and I have always dreamed of playing for the Yankees or Mets, representing my hometown," said Marquis. The veteran was thought to have talked with the Mets prior to 2010 before signing with the Nationals, although those talks apparently never became serious.
- Rob Bradford of WEEI.com looks at the uniquely structured contract of Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia. There's a lot going on with this deal, but the takeaway is that there are escalators that can kick in depending upon where Pedroia finishes in MVP voting. Check it out here at Cot's Baseball Contracts.
- The Mariners have signed fifth-round pick Tyler Marlette, a high school catcher out of Florida, for $650K, writes Jim Callis of Baseball America. MLB's slot recommendation for the 153rd overall pick is $165.6K, according to Callis. Marlette was ranked No. 72 overall in BA's pre-draft rankings.
Central Notes: Leyland, Big Z, Brewers, Lindor
Here's the latest from some of baseball's central clubs, as the division-leading Tigers stage a comeback against the O's on the strength of a Miguel Cabrera three-run bomb …
- Tigers manager Jim Leyland, who signed a one-year extension through 2012 on Monday, won't retire even if his club goes deep into the postseason, two sources tell Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).
- The Cubs knew within two hours of Carlos Zambrano's tirade that he wasn't serious about retiring, and the righty returned his belongings to his locker later that night, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Of course, these are the events that led to Big Z being added to the disqualified list earlier today.
- The Brewers probably won't reach agreement with their first-round picks, Taylor Jungmann and Jed Bradley, before Monday, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter).
- Talks twixt the Indians and first-round pick Francisco Lindor (No. 8 overall) could also come down to the wire on Monday, writes Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Lindor, a shortstop, is represented by Sportsmeter, LLC, the same agency that brokered supplemental rounder Nick Castellanos' $3.45MM bonus with the Tigers last season, as Bastian notes. That sum was the fifth-highest among last year's first and supplemental rounders.
Marlins Release Wes Helms
The Marlins have released infielder Wes Helms, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post (via Twitter).
Helms, 35, was hitting .193/.279/.239 at the time of his release. The Marlins signed him to a one-year, $1MM extension through 2011 last August, at which point there was talk of him remaining with the organization beyond his playing days as a coach.
Helms is a career .256/.318/.405 hitter in parts of 13 seasons with the Braves, Brewers, Marlins and Phillies, mostly as a reserve and pinch-hitter. His best season was in 2003, when he hit .261/.330/.450 with 23 homers as an everyday player for Milwaukee.
The past few seasons haven't been especially productive ones for Helms, so there's a chance he could call it a career here.
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Wandy, Reds, Rays
Here's the latest Full Count video clip from Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com:
- The Astros may place lefty Wandy Rodriguez on waivers next week, and it's possible but unlikely that Rodriguez will be claimed by another team. He stands to earn $36MM over the next three seasons, which could be a deterrent for teams considering a claim, but if he clears, the Diamondbacks and other teams may show interest in working out a trade.
- The Reds have not seen a significant spike in attendance coming off last season's division title and will likely be relatively inactive this offseason.
- The Rays considered trading center fielder B.J. Upton in July, but they may hold him this offseason and allow him to walk in free agency after 2012. The Rays value Upton highly and think they may not be able to spend his 2012 salary, which Rosenthal estimates will be roughly $7MM, any better on another player or players.
- Tampa might be more willing to trade righty James Shields, who would probably yield a greater return than Upton.
- The Yankees will not release catcher Jorge Posada, which is why they're having trouble squeezing prospect Jesus Montero to the big leagues. The Yanks do not want to go to an 11-man pitching staff, which they'd have to do if they called up Montero.