West Notes: Kershaw, Dodgers, Young, Wells, Booty
Commissioner Bud Selig weighed in on the Houston Astros' strategy and payroll, saying that the organization has "chosen the path with some very qualfied people" and that he "think[s] they're doing it the right way." ESPN's Buster Olney writes (Insider sub. req'd) that baseball should be more cautious in endorsing what he characterizes as a "strategy to lose." Of course, it remains to be seen how the major league club will compete this season in what figures to be a tough AL West.
- With today's news of a big extension for Adam Wainwright, attention could turn to another ace who could be extended: the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw. According to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times, however, Kershaw does not want to keep negotiations open past spring training and is staying quiet as to whether there has been any progress. Hernandez also notes that Kershaw's agents, Casey Close and J.D. Smart, visited Dodger camp a week ago but were not not actively discussing a Kershaw extension.
- The time is now for the Dodgers to decide what to do with their excess starting pitching, writes Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles TImes. Aaron Harang, for one, may have thrown his last pitch in Dodger blue. While Harang's tepid spring is a deterrent, Dilbeck notes that the righty threw well last season and should draw suitors.
- Chris Young could sign with the Angels, tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News, who also notes that the Mets are highly unlikely to sign him. The righty is back on the market after opting out of his contract with the Nationals.
- Mariners manager Eric Wedge says a decision between outfielders Casper Wells and Jason Bay will be made soon, leading Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times to posit that Wells could already have been put on waivers. If Wells is indeed put on waivers, he would be an option for the Phillies, tweets Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- The Diamondbacks have released Josh Booty, who earned a non-roster invite as the winner of "The Next Knuckler," the team announced on Twitter. The former QB was originally drafted by the Marlins fifth overall back in 1994 before he retired to pursue football, which meant that he was still technically under Marlins control when he joined Arizona for the spring.
Rangers Notes: Snyder, Robertson, Borbon
Here are some notes from Texas:
- The Rangers announced via press release that infielder Brandon Snyder "has requested and received his unconditional release from his minor league contract." Snyder, a former 1st round pick of the Orioles, hit .277/.309/.446 in 69 plate appearances last year for Texas.
- The Rangers have asked pitcher Nate Robertson to accept an assignment to Triple-A, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. Though he has not pitched in the big leagues since 2010, Robertson has over seven years of service time and must therefore assent to such a move. Robertson is expected to agree to the assignment, though he will keep looking for opportunities with other major league clubs and expects the Rangers to work with him should he find a chance.
- Outfielder Julio Borbon is still waiting to find out what will happen to him with GM Jon Daniels working hard to trade him, according to Sullivan. With Leonys Martin and Craig Gentry set to man center field, and Borbon out of options, he seems destined for waivers if Daniels cannot find a deal.
Blue Jays Extend J.A. Happ
The Blue Jays have agreed to extend recently-named fifth starter J.A. Happ, reports Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com on Twitter. Happ will receive $5.2MM for 2014, his final arbitration-eligible year, in addition to the $3.7MM he was already owed for this season. Chisholm also tweets that the Jays obtained an option for the 2015 season at $6.7MM.
It has been a quick change of events for Happ, a client of Jay Fee Sports Group. Not long ago, he was reportedly the "odd man out" and unhappy with the prospect of a bullpen role or trip to the minors. Now, with Toronto's decision to keep Ricky Romero off of the Opening Day roster, Happ finds himself with both a rotation spot and a new deal.
Happ, a 30-year-old lefty, joined Toronto last season in a mid-season trade with the Astros. He pitched to a 4.79 ERA over 144 2/3 innings split between Toronto and Houston last year, along with 9.0 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9. For his career, Happ has registered a 4.19 ERA and averaged 7.6 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9.
Interestingly, MLBTR's Extension Tracker reveals no recent starters who agreed to an extension with the structure of Happ's deal. Happ, who has over four years of MLB service time, gave up control over his first season of free agent eligibility in exchange for guaranteed money in his final year of arbitration.
In sum and substance, in return for locking in $5.2MM in new money for 2014, Happ has given up a chance at a larger payday down the line. This offseason, comparable starters like Jeremy Guthrie (three years, $25MM) and Joe Blanton (two years, $15MM) managed to land multi-year deals with better annual value than Happ would be looking at if Toronto exercises his option. While Guthrie and Blanton have longer track records of logging 190+ inning seasons, Happ is younger than both and appears to have an opportunity to showcase himself over the next two seasons.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pirates DFA Strickland, Robinson
The Pirates announced that the team has designated right-hander Hunter Strickland and first baseman Clint Robinson for assignment. (Twitter links.) In corresponding moves, the club selected the contracts of lefty Jonathan Sanchez and infielder Brandon Inge, it also announced.
Strickland, 24, has yet to appear above the Double-A level and put up a 4.46 ERA in 42 1/3 innings at that level last season, while also compiling a 2.98 ERA in 45 1/3 innings at High-A. Robinson, 27, made his first big league showing last year with Kansas City but played primarily in Triple-A, putting up a .292/.393/.452 line in 570 plate appearances. The Pirates acquired Robinson from the Royals in the offseason after he was designated for assignment.
Angels Acquire Elvin Ramirez From Mets
The Angels have acquired minor-league righty Elvin Ramirez from the Mets for cash consideration, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports on Twitter. Ramirez was one of the players mentioned yesterday by ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin as being shopped by the roster-spot-hungry Mets. Rubin notes on Twitter that this deal leaves 38 occupied spots on the team's 40-man roster.
For Los Angeles, they are acquiring a pitcher who has only thrown 21 1/3 big league innnings, over which he compiled a 5.48 ERA. In addition to that brief audition last year with the Mets, Ramirez logged a composite 2.13 ERA over 55 minor league innings in 2012, 42 of which were spent in Triple-A.
Rays Trade De La Rosa To Angels For Geltz
The Rays have traded right-hander Dane De La Rosa to the Angels for fellow righty Steve Geltz, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. A Rays press release confirmed the move, and noted that Geltz will begin the year in Triple-A Durham. Both players had previously been outrighted to Triple-A by their former clubs.
Neither pitcher has seen much time at the major league level. In addition to his 12 appearances with the big club over the last two seasons, the 30-year-old De La Rosa pitched to a 2.79 ERA over 67 2/3 innings pitched last season in Triple-A. And as MLBTR noted yesterday when he was outrighted by his former club, Geltz tossed just two major league innings last year and had mixed results between Double-A and Triple-A.
NL Notes: Garland, Cook, Puig, Brewers, Soriano
Making his first start in a Rockies uniform tonight, recently-signed Jon Garland made such an impression with his groundball-inducing ways that the club tweeted his groundout to flyout ratio (2.5:1) through five innings.
- Garland has substantial incentives in his contract with the Rockies that could raise its total value to $3.1MM, explains Troy Renck of the Denver Post. In addition to his base $500k deal, which will fully vest if he stays on the 25-man roster for 45 days, Garland can earn up to $1.35MM for innings pitched (the pay starts at 105 IP and increases up to 195 IP) and up to $1.25MM for starts made (with the incentives kicking in at 20 starts and continuing to 32 starts).
- The Rockies are expected to consider the possibility of inking righty Aaron Cook, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post tweeted earlier today. Cook, who was released earlier today by the Phillies, is (like Garland) known as a groundball artist.
- In spite of being sent to Double-A today by the Dodgers, Yasiel Puig has been so impressive that he may enable the club to effectively buy even more young talent from other clubs, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. As Rosenthal explains, if L.A. is able to replace either Carl Crawford or Andre Ethier with Puig, they could then offer to pay for much of the balance of the contracts of those expensive veterans to extract quality prospects from a trade partner. According to an unnamed rival executive, "It's smart actually — the only way to really build a farm system under the new rules. And you can only do it if you've got big dollars."
- The Kyle Lohse signing was a substantial investment for the Brewers at three years and $33MM, but owner Mark Attanasio says that it will not prevent the club from "being able to make another move," reports Rosenthal. In particular, Attanasio expects to be in a position to re-sign first-baseman Corey Hart, who falls just outside the top 10 anticipated 2014 free agents in MLBTR's TIm Dierkes's 2014 Free Agent Power Rankings. While the Brewers sought to add to their rotation without losing a draft pick when they made an offer to Ryan Dempster before he joined the Red Sox for two years and $26.5MM, Attanasio explained that, "at the time we made the Dempster decision, we thought Kyle would go at a higher price." Finally, Rosenthal notes that Lohse can earn three separate paydays totalling an additional $1MM for reaching 190 innings pitched over each of the next three seasons.
- Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano has been a popular topic of trade speculation, with the presumption being that Chicago would try to get whatever prospects and/or salary relief it could. Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times wonders, however, whether Soriano is now too valuable for the team to consider dealing. For his part, Soriano raves about the team's new front office and coaching staff, explaining how they changed the culture from one in which he felt singled out for the team's failings to one in which, "if we lost, we lost like a team; if we won, we won like a team."
Minor Moves: Townsend, Royals, Green, Geltz
Here are some of today's minor moves:
- Tyler Townsend, an Orioles' first base prospect who impressed when healthy but could not overcome his myriad injuries, has announced his retirement, reports Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com. Despite his "great swing," Townsend ultimately "was just not enjoying the process" due to the series of hamstring, wrist, and hip injuries he suffered, explained O's director of player developmet Brian Graham.
- The Royals have released minor league pitchers Michael Giovenco, Jose Jimenez, Leondy Perez, and Elisaul Pimentel, reports Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star. K.C. originally acquired Pimentel before the 2010 trade deadline along with catcher Lucas May, in a deal that sent Scott Podsednik to the Dodgers.
- Marlins infielder Nick Green has been "sent down" by Miami and "may consider opting out" of his deal with the club, CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman tweets. Green elected free agency when he was outrighted to Triple-A by the Marlins last fall, only to return to the club on a minor league deal in January.
- Righty Steve Geltz was outrighted by the Angels today and will head to the club's Triple-A affiliate, MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez reports on Twitter. The move opens a 40-man roster spot for the Angels. Geltz, 25, saw his first big league action last year for L.A., logging just two innings in relief. While Geltz posted a 0.36 ERA in 25 1/3 Double-A innings last year, he sported a 5.08 ERA in his 33 2/3 innings at Triple-A Salt Lake.
Quick Hits: Santiago, Padres, White Sox
Here are some notes on a few possible trade situations shaping up around baseball:
- The Tigers are shopping middle infielder Ramon Santiago, reports ESPN's Buster Olney (on Twitter). The 33-year-old Santiago has spent 9 of his 11 big league seasons in Detroit, but his performance fell off last year when he hit just .206/.283/.272 in 259 plate appearances for the Tigers.
- In light of today's news that Padres third baseman Logan Forsythe suffered a setback in his attempt to recover from a foot injury, the club once again finds itself wondering who will man the hot corner for the start of the season after already losing Chase Headley. As reported by Bill Center of The San Diego Union-Tribune, manager Bud Black acknowledged that a DL stint was likely for Forsythe. GM Josh Byrnes says that it is unlikely that the team will look outside the organization for a replacement, tweets Corey Brock of MLB.com. Center suggests that, instead, rookie Jedd Gyorko will move over to third, with Alexi Amarista filling in at second.
- Meanwhile, the White Sox also have some injury concerns that they do not expect to address via trade, writes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. However, GM Rick Hahn says that the team is "looking around outside for other upgrades." Chicago manager Robin Ventura also announced that righty Dylan Axelrod will be the team's fifth starter to begin the year, writes Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times, in conjunction with the news that John Danks will begin the year on the DL.
New York Notes: Mets, Havens, Marcum, Wells
Here are some notes from the big apple's two big league clubs:
- The Mets are "in desperate need of clearing several spots" on their 40-man roster, and have "put out word to other teams that they are interested in moving non-core prospects" who would have to pass through waivers to be retained, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. With the team likely in need of four roster vacancies to account for players who figure to be added to the 40-man before Opening Day, the Mets could look to move players such as Gonzalez Germen, Darin Gorski, Reese Havens, Juan Lagares, Cesar Puello, Elvin Ramirez, and Hansel Robles, according to Rubin.
- The Blue Jays could be interested in the aforementioned Havens, tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. Havens, a 25-year-old second baseman, has yet to see big league action and hit .215/.340/.351 over 390 Double-A plate appearances last year.
- After allowing him to reach free agency, the Brewers "didn't want to touch" Shaun Marcum this offseason due to injury concerns, tweets Martino. Marcum, now with the Mets, is looking unlikely to start the season in the rotation due to neck and shoulder issues, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com explains.
- The Yankees "will not receive credit on their 2014 luxury-tax payroll" for recently-acquired outfielder Vernon Wells, tweets FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. Instead, "the charge for him will simply be zero." Rosenthal had previously discussed the complicated background of the Yankees' attempt to maximize their ability to get under the luxury tax threshold in structuring the Wells deal. Wells is still due $42MM over the next two seasons as he plays out the end of his 7-year, $126MM deal. As Rosenthal explains, the Yankees will pay him $13.9MM of the remaining obligation, with only $2.4MM of that allocated to 2014 for purposes of luxury tax avoidance.
- Rosenthal discussed the financial impact to the Yanks for acquiring Wells, questioning whether the club might have been better served by instead inking Russell Martin this off-season. In particular, Rosenthal explained that Martin told New York that he would agree to a one-year deal for around $9-10MM before he agreed to terms with the Pirates on a two-year, $17MM contract.
- Discussing his contract, which he originally signed with the Blue Jays before it was famously assumed by the Angels, Vernon Wells acknowledged that "no one's worth that kind of money," tweets Andy McCullough of The Star-Ledger. Wells continued: "It’s what the market’s worth at that time … I caught the market at a good time."
- While commentators and fans seem skeptical of the Yankees' prospects for 2013, as well as their recent roster moves, GM Brian Cashman is resolute, writes McCullough (hat tip to River Ave. Blues). Cashman says that any notion of rebuilding is "just not part of our DNA," and rejects the notion that the team has been holding back on spending, though he acknowledges that he intends to "tread water until the guys come back." In terms of philosophy on long-term commitments, Cashman says he will not be "gun-shy," but nevertheless will be "more choosy" going forward.
- Cashman also discussed the decision not to beat the Mets' offer for then-Twins hurler Johan Santana. Unlike current Yankees starter C.C. Sabathia, Cashman noted, Santana profiled as a "high-risk player going forward, health-wise."