Alfredo Aceves To Opt Out Of Contract With Orioles
After being informed that he will not make the Opening Day roster, Orioles righty Alfredo Aceves is set to exercise his opt-out clause tomorrow and become a free agent, reports Britt Ghiroli of MLB.com (via Twitter). The 31-year-old joined Baltimore on a minor league deal in January, as MLBTR's Tim Dierkes reported.
Aceves, an O'Connell Sports Management client, worked 37 innings for the Red Sox last year, registering a 4.86 ERA. He spent a lot of time as a starter both in the bigs and at Triple-A, but was auditioning for a relief role with the O's. It appears that Evan Meek has the inside track to the team's final Opening Day roster spot at the moment.
Royals Return Rule 5 Pick Schuster To Diamondbacks
The Royals have returned Rule 5 pick Patrick Schuster to the Diamondbacks, according to the MLB transactions page. It appears that Schuster has passed through waivers this time after being claimed by the Royals just three days ago.
After being selected first overall in this year's Rule 5 draft by the Astros, Schuster was shipped to the Padres before being picked up by the Royals. But with a stacked Kansas City pen, the 23-year-old never appered to have much of a chance of making the roster, let alone sticking on it for the full season.
Instead, according to a report from Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star, the move was designed to create a reason for designating out-of-options outfielder Carlos Peguero for assignment. That, in turn, started a ten-day waiting period for Peguero. The Royals apparently hope that other clubs' 40-man spots will be occupied by the time the clock runs, making it more likely that they will be able to slip him through waivers to the minors.
Tigers Nearing Extension With Miguel Cabrera
4:48pm: The contract under consideration would go through at least 2021 (Cabrera's age-38 season), if not further, tweets Morosi. Extrapolating from these two reports, it would appear that the sides are contemplating a deal that would, at a minimum, land at around $180MM in total new money (six years at approximately $30MM).
4:45pm: The average annual value on the deal is expected to be in the range of $30MM per year, tweets Jon Morosi of FOX Sports. It is worth bearing in mind that Clayton Kershaw's recent extension set a new high-water mark in AAV at $30.7MM.
4:27pm: The Tigers are closing in on a huge new extension for star Miguel Cabrera, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. After holding discussions over the last several days, says Heyman, a deal appears imminent, though a physical would still need to be taken. Cabrera is a client of Relativity Baseball.
Of course, the timing of this news is notable as well, as the club recently saw extension talks with outstanding starter Max Scherzer put on ice. Scherzer, of course, is slated to hit the open market after the coming season, making his situation more pressing — though not necessarily more important — than that of Cabrera.
Added To The 40-Man Roster: Thursday
Between now and Opening Day, several minor league signees will win jobs with their clubs and earn 40-man roster spots. Here are today's additions:
- As expected, the Mets have added lefty John Lannan to the 40-man roster, Newsday's Marc Carig tweets. The longtime starter is expected to work out of the pen for the first time in his career after serving exclusively as a starter for 148 games between 2007-13.
- Jason Bartlett will make the Twins as a reserve infielder and center field option, tweets Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The 34-year-old had previously agreed to bump back his opt-out date. Though he has played exactly one MLB game at a position other than shortstop (a single 2004 appearance at second), Bartlett will apparently see some time in the outfield. He finds himself in position to break camp after taking just 98 professional plate appearances over the last two seasons.
- 25-year-old outfielder Ryan Kalish will make the Cubs Opening Day roster and be added to its 40-man, tweets Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com. It was reported yesterday that the same was true of utilityman Emilio Bonifacio, per Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). Chicago has two open roster slots, so no corresponding move would appear to be necessary. As Rogers notes, third baseman Mike Olt will also be on the active roster to start the year.
Chris Parmelee Outrighted To Triple-A
1:50pm: Parmelee has cleared waivers and been assigned to Triple-A. As he has never been outrighted before, he must accept the assignment.
1:23pm: The Twins have placed first baseman/outfielder Chris Parmelee on waivers, and his waiver period expires today, tweets Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press. Parmelee is one of several out-of-options Twins players to hit the wire.
Chosen 20th overall in the 2006 draft, Parmelee has not seen his skill and minor league success translate to the bigs. In 631 lifetime plate appearances, the 26-year-old has a .246/.322/.395 slash with 17 home runs.
Ryan Roberts Opts Out Of Deal With Cubs
Utilityman Ryan Roberts has opted out of his contract with the Cubs and will become a free agent, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. The 33-year-old has spent time at second, third, and the corner outfield in his MLB career.
Though he has put up a few very strong seasons, Roberts has been underwhelming over the last two campaigns. Last year, with the Rays, he hit .247/.295/.377 in 173 plate appearances. Of course, Roberts looks like a more attractive possible bench piece when one considers his versatility and the fact that he is still capable of doing damage against lefties. In 87 trips to the plate against southpaws last year, he put up a .305/.345/.500 line with four home runs.
Astros Claim Alex Presley, Designate Raul Valdes
The Astros have claimed outfielder Alex Presley off of waivers from the Twins, tweets Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. To clear a roster spot, the team has designated lefty Raul Valdes for assignment.
Presley, 28, came to Minnesota last year in the Justin Morneau trade. Over parts of four years of MLB action, he has a .264/.304/.411 line in 821 trips to the plate. Presley has also hit 17 long balls and swiped 20 bags, though the latter figure comes against 15 times in which he's been caught stealing.
Meanwhile, the 36-year-old Valdes was claimed off of waivers in October from the Phillies. Though his 7.46 ERA in 35 innings last year with Philadelphia is unsightly, his 9.5 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 (to say nothing of a 3.10 SIERA) make things look much better. Indeed, he posted a 2.90 ERA (10.2 K/9, 1.5 BB/9, 0.742 WHIP) in 2012 with the Phils, and had put up similar figures this spring (one earned, one walked, and six struck out in 5 1/3).
MLBPA Confirms Tony Clark As Executive Director
Unsurprisingly, the Major League Baseball Player's Association has "overwhelmingly confirmed" the appointment of Tony Clark to the position of executive director, the organization announced via press release. Clark was named by the MLBPA Executive Board to the post back in December.
The longtime big leaguer took over at the helm for the deceased Michael Weiner, after having been appointed as Weiner's deputy last summer. "I am honored to receive the support of the general membership in conforming my appointment as executive director," Clark stated in the release. "I look forward to working on behalf of the fraternity of all Players, and to building on Michael's vision and the proud traditions and accomplished history of the Player's Association."
Pirates Extend Starling Marte
The Pirates have officially agreed to extend another outstanding young outfielder, locking up Starling Marte to a six-year, $31MM deal that includes two option years. The contract kicks in for the 2014 season, meaning that it will extend team control over the 25-year-old by three seasons.
Marte, 25, has just 1.070 years of service and was set to reach arbitration in 2016 and free agency in 2019. The Legacy Agency client had a breakout 2013 season. WIth a .280/.343/.441 triple-slash to go with 12 home runs and 41 stolen bases, along with strong baserunning and defensive marks, Marte's contributions were valued at 4.6 fWAR and 5.4 rWAR.
He fits in alongside the dynamic Andrew McCutchen to form one of the league's most exciting young outfield combinations — all the more so when one considers that prospect Gregory Polanco could soon join the mix. With McCutchen under control through 2018 on his own early-career extension, and Polanco yet to accrue a single day of MLB service, that group should anchor the club for years to come.
Marte receives a $2MM signing bonus, but his salary will be just $500K in 2014. He will then earn the following annual salaries: $1MM (2015), $3MM (2016), $5MM (2017), $7.5MM (2018), and $10MM (2019). The options could reach $12.5MM (2020) and $13.5MM (2021) with escalators, says Heyman, and come with a $2MM buyout attached in some manner. In sum, the $31MM guarantee covers six seasons, and the tab could increase to a $57MM deal over eight years in the likely event that both options are picked up.
The extension guarantees one of Marte's free agent-eligible seasons while giving the club options over two more. In that respect, at least, it looks to be a more favorable approach for the Pirates than that adopted by the Braves in their recent deal with shortstop Andrelton Simmons, who was guaranteed $58MM to sign on (like Marte) through the 2020 campaign as a player with between one and two years of service. While the value of the option years on Marte's deal will likely bring its total achievable price in line with the Simmons deal, the Bucs take on substantially less risk by structuring the last two seasons as options. And that is even before one considers that Marte could be a bigger arbitration earner than Simmons given his gaudy stolen base totals.
Of course, the Marte contract nearly doubles the value of the most recent, reasonably comparable outfielder contract (Denard Span's 2010 deal with the Twins). But that deal is surely outdated by this point, and Marte offers more pop and bigger upside than did Span at the time of his contract. In the end analysis, moreover, the precise details matter less in this situation than the overall results. By promising to pay Marte only through his age-29 season, but getting control over him through his age-31 campaign, the Bucs have ensured control over an exciting young player through (but not past) his prime years at a reasonable price.
Dominican radio commentator Orlando Mendez first reported the deal's length and value via Twitter. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported the deal was finalized on Twitter. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported (via Twitter) that final agreement was close. MLB Network's Jim Duquette (Twitter link) reported that the deal included two option years, while Heyman tweeted that the deal would begin in 2014. The option value and annual breakdown was reported by Heyman (links to Twitter).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Phillies Release Bobby Abreu
The Phillies have released outfielder Bobby Abreu, tweets Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. Abreu is pursuing an opportunity with another team, Salisbury adds.
The 40-year-old joined the Phillies on a minor league deal after a strong run through the Venezuelan Winter League. He had agreed to push back the date on his opt-out clause with the team to Sunday, but the Phils decided to let him pursue an alternative opportunity after deciding that he would not make the Opening Day roster. Abreu has a .244/.404/.366 line in 52 spring plate appearances, his first in a big league uniform since 2012.