Angels To Sign Brennan Boesch, Carlos Pena
WEDNESDAY: Boesch would earn $800K if he makes the MLB roster, while Pena would make $1MM.
TUESDAY: The Angels have reached agreement on minor league deals with outfielder Brennan Boesch and first baseman Carlos Pena, reports Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter). Boesch, 28, is represented by CAA Sports, while the 35-year-old Pena is a client of the Boras Corporation. Both deals include Spring Training invites, tweets Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.
Boesch saw only 53 MLB plate appearances last year, posting a .275/.302/.529 line, before he was released by the Yankees in July. The Yanks had signed Boesch to a $1.5MM deal after he was let go by the Tigers, for whom he had been a regular between 2010-12. Over that stretch, Boesch posted a .259/.315/.414 triple-slash with 42 home runs and 18 stolen bases in 1,487 plate appearances. With just over three years of MLB service to his name, Boesch comes with team control beyond the 2014 season.
Pena, a 13-year MLB veteran, was an everyday player until last season. Spending most of 2013 with the Astros, Pena slashed .207/.321/.346 in 328 plate appearances. As that line would indicate, Pena has hung his hat on his ability to get on base via the walk, which he has done at about twice the league-average rate throughout his career. Once a major power threat — he hit 172 home runs between 2007 and 2011 — Pena's HR/FB rate has dropped from a peak of 29.1% down to around the 15% level in recent seasons.
Cubs Avoid Arbitration With Justin Ruggiano
The Cubs have avoided arbitration with outfielder Justin Ruggiano, who will earn $2MM next season, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports via Twitter. Chicago picked up Ruggiano, who turns 32 in April, from the Marlins in mid-December.
As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, Ruggiano settled for just under the midpoint between his $2.45MM filing number and the team's $1.6MM counter. His 2014 salary lands just above the $1.8MM that MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected.
Ruggiano, who swings from the right side of the plate, had a stellar 2012 season in which he posted a .313/.374/.535 line and notch 13 homers and 14 steals over just 91 games. He took a step back last year, however, receiving a career-high 472 plate appearances but registering only a .222/.298/.396 triple-slash. Ruggiano did knock 18 long balls and swipe 15 bags, but Baseball-Reference valued his contributions at replacement level while Fangraphs credited him at about one win.
Cardinals Avoid Arbitration With Daniel Descalso
The Cardinals have avoided arbitration with infielder Daniel Descalso, settling at $1.29MM, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Descalso can earn $10K if he reaches 250 plate appearances, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
Descalso, 27, will earn the midpoint between his submitted $1.65MM figure and the club's $930K mark. The case had featured the second-highest relative gulf in filing figures, and club GM John Mozeliak acknowledged that a hearing was possible. Ultimately, Descalso will earn just over the $1.2MM projection arrived at by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.
Descalso has been an important part-timer for St. Louis over the last three seasons, logging at least 350 plate appearances in each one and maintaining an OPS in the .650 range. He has seen most of his action at third or second, but has also played 95 games at short (including 55 last season). In 2013, Descalso saw his playing time dip slightly from prior seasons to 123 games and 358 trips to the plate. He ended up with a .238/.290/.366 triple-slash on the year.
Suk-min Yoon In Talks With Two Clubs, May Sign Soon
WEDNESDAY: The Twins aren't inclined to meet agent Scott Boras' asking price at this time, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN.
TUESDAY, 10:05pm: Yoon has yet to meet with Twins officials and has not visited Minnesota, reports Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press (Twitter links). That does not mean that the club is out on Yoon, says Berardino, who was told by a source that the Twins are "monitor[ing]" things at present.
5:16pm: South Korean hurler Suk-min Yoon is engaged in talks and could sign soon, according to a Naver Sports article (Korean language link, via a tweet from Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net). The 27-year-old righty has reportedly fielded four offers from MLB clubs, and is in discussions with two of the offering teams.
Yoon landed at 36th on MLBTR's Tim Dierkes's list of the top fifty free agents. Though he is said to offer substantially less upside than fellow Korean Hyun-jin Ryu of the Dodgers, Yoon is said to be the next-best arm to come out of the KBO. As Dierkes explained in his profile of Yoon, the hurler has experience both as a starter and as a reliever.
The most recent reports indicated that the Red Sox and Twins both have interest in Yoon, who is not controlled by any KBO club and is therefore a free agent. While Yoon's value remains difficult to assess, Dierkes gave his best guess as a two-year, $10MM deal.
Quick Hits: Mets, Drew, Bullpen, Nolan Ryan, Cards
For those of you who entered MLBTR's annual free agenct prediction contest, be sure to check out the leaderboard to see where you stand with 39 of the top 50 free agents now under contract. At present, four readers are tied with an eye-pleasing .333 batting average, with eleven others right on their heels with 12 correct picks.
Here are some notes to round out the evening:
- Mets GM Sandy Alderson said that the team is unlikely to sign shortstop Stephen Drew, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Though this is not the first time he has given such an indication, Alderson said he had only had "sporadic" talks with Drew's agent, Scott Boras. Of course, neither did he close the door on Drew. "We haven't ruled it out, but I think doing anything is unlikely," said Alderson. "… I know there's been a lot of speculation about Drew and the Mets, but at this point, that's what it remains — speculation."
- Alderson likewise said that New York was not enamored with the possibility of giving out a big league deal for a free agent reliever. New York has recently been linked with closer Fernando Rodney and reportedly made a legitimate run at Grant Balfour before he signed with the Rays. "Acquiring someone with some experience would give us some comfort going into Spring Training, but we don't want to preclude some of our younger pitchers from getting a solid opportunity either," Alderson explained. "So if there's somebody there that we like, we'll pursue them. Otherwise, one of the ways we've approached starting pitching, for example, is to bring in a couple of guys on minor league contracts and have them compete with some of our own internal candidates. We may do the same thing with the bullpen."
- As expected, Nolan Ryan has met with Astros owner Jim Crane, MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports. Today's sit-down reportedly included Ryan's son Reid, who is Houston's president of business operations. Details have yet to emerge as to what was discussed and where things stand, but it would appear that the former Rangers CEO could be headed toward some kind of role with the Astros.
- None of the players on the Cardinals' 40-man roster is out of options, says MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch, leaving the club with ample flexibility in constructing its active roster. In fact, only three players — Pete Kozma, Sam Freeman, and Shane Robinson — are down to their last option. (Of course, players with at least five years of service time can refuse an optional assignment.) That should leave the Cards with the means to stash and shuttle players as necessary over the course of the coming season without exposing them to waivers.
AL Notes: Roberts, Rodney, Yankees, Buehrle, Samardzija
Brian Roberts spoke with Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun yesterday about his decision to join the Yankees and leave an Orioles organization that was the only one he'd ever played for professionally. Roberts explained that he decided to join a new club in part because "the opportunity to be an Oriole wasn't there anymore." The second baseman indicated that Baltimore never approached him about a return. "We really didn't have any conversations about [a return]," said Roberts. "I don't think it's my place as a player to necessarily go to an organization and ask for a job." Roberts had nothing but positive things to say about his time with the Orioles, but said he is excited at the chance to don pinstripes. "[W]e felt like that was the best opportunity when it came to everything we were looking for, when it came to an opportunity to play and an opportunity to win and several other things that our family was looking at."
Here are some more notes from the American League:
- The Mariners are "in on" closer Fernando Rodney, tweets Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports. Seattle was said to have interest in Rodney during the Winter Meetings. As Brown notes, other clubs in pursuit of the former Ray reportedly include the Mets and Orioles.
- While the Yankees may be done adding significant players before the start of the season, ESPN's Buster Olney explains (Insider subscription required and recommended) that New York could potentially add a talented player in a trade-deadline salary dump. Olney lists several players who could conceivably become available for little more than salary relief, depending upon their team's performance.
- Among the players on that list is Blue Jays starter Mark Buehrle, who Olney says was dangled in trade talks within the past year. Olney calls the southpaw a "plow horse … being paid like a racehorse." The sturdy-but-unspectacular Buehrle is owed $37MM over 2014-15 under his backloaded deal. Moving the 34-year-old's contract could represent an easy way for the team to shed dollars if it is not in contention, says Olney.
- Meanwhile, the Blue Jays are still talking with the Cubs about acquiring pitcher Jeff Samardzija, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports. Indeed, Toronto has been the "most aggressive team" with regard to Samardzija, according to Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com (via Twitter), although Chicago is still working to extend him even as the team explores trade options.
Yuniesky Betancourt To Sign With Orix Buffaloes
Free agent infielder Yuniesky Betancourt has reached agreement on a one-year contract with the Orix Buffaloes of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Betancourt, soon to turn 32, is represented by Miami Sports Management.
Last year, spending most of his time at first and third for the Brewers, Betancourt checked in with a .212/.240/.355 line and 13 home runs in 409 plate appearances. Betancourt has played nine MLB seasons, registering a cumulative .261/.285/.388 slash line in 4,278 plate appearances. He has not maintained an OPS of over .700 since the 2007 season, and both Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference credit Betancourt with a cumulative sub-replacement level contribution over his career to date.
Though the vast majority of Betancourt's MLB time has been spent at short, Betancourt has not held down a shortstop job since 2011. He has also seen at least 60 games apiece at first, second, and third. Betancourt is expected to see most of his time with Orix at the corner infield, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.
A.J. Burnett Will Pitch In 2014, Test Open Market
A.J. Burnett plans to play this year, reports Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and the hurler may be open to pitching for a team other than the Pirates. This news throws a considerable wrinkle into the free agent pitching market.
Prior to today's news, the righty had been expected to pitch for the Pirates or retire, with the latter option looking increasingly likely. Now, he becomes one of the best arms available on the open market.
Burnett, 37, is coming off of two outstanding seasons in Pittsburgh. After a 202 1/3-inning, 3.51 ERA effort in 2012, Burnett threw 191 innings of 3.30 ball last year. He led all National League starters in 2013 with 9.8 K/9 and a 56.5% ground ball rate. Among free agents, Burnett had the lowest FIP (2.80), xFIP (2.92), and SIERA (3.10).
Burnett landed in the ninth position among baseball's top fifty free agents, according to MLBTR's Tim Dierkes. For teams looking to add impact without taking on long-term obligations, Burnett makes for a tantalizing option. That is especially so since, unlike other top rotation arms that remain, he is not tied to draft-pick compensation since the Bucs felt they could not afford to make a qualifying offer. As MLBTR's Steve Adams wrote before the offseason, Burnett would fit nicely in even the game's top rotations.
Pirates GM Neal Huntington has previously indicated that the club was not in a position to pay Burnett at the top of the market, though the club has made clear recently that it remains interested in a reunion. Commenting on today's report, Huntingon told MLB.com's Tom Singer that he was not aware of any new direction from Burnett but could not rule the possibility. "I can't say he has not [decided to test the market]. I'm not aware of every discussion there might have been," said Huntington. "All I can say is, he has been very public with his intent to pitch in Pittsburgh or not pitch at all." Huntington further said that the club's "process continues with A.J." and that there was "nothing new to report," Sawchik reports on Twitter.
The Orioles have been mentioned as a possible alternative landing spot for Burnett given his reported preference to play in close proximity to his Maryland home. Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun tweets that Burnett "would be at the top of the club's list." Other Mid-Atlantic clubs could presumably also be particularly appealing to Burnett, and the Phillies have reportedly also expressed interest, Sawchik tweets.
If Burnett sets his sights further afield geographically, many other teams could conceivably be interested. The Rangers have some interest in the hurler, tweets Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas. Burnett reportedly nixed a deal that would have sent him to the Angels back in 2012 — the Yankees instead dealt him to the Pirates — leading MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez to peg the Halos (via Twitter) as a longshot to land him via free agency.
The entry of Burnett onto the market could be bad news for the remaining free agent starting crop and could also lead to movement in other segments of the player market. Pittsburgh reportedly will not sign a replacement pitcher if Burnett does indeed leave town, but could repurpose funds towards a first baseman. If he decides to head for another team that is in the market for starters, Burnett would have a significant impact on the balance of supply and demand. And if the Pirates look to add a bat through free agency or, perhaps more likely, via trade, an inverse effect could take result in that arena.
Heyman On Free Agents: Drew, Morales, Jimenez
CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman covered a series of free agent topics in an MLB Network appearance last night (hat tip to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca). Among them:
- The Blue Jays are "in the mix" for shortstop Stephen Drew, presumably viewing him as a second base option. Nevertheless, the Red Sox remain the favorites to land him, as they prefer to play Xander Bogaerts at third and appear willing to give Drew multiple years. Boston could dangle an opt-out clause of some kind to sweeten things for Drew, Heyman adds. There was a competing report last night on the Yankees' interest, but Heyman says that the club "seem[s] more interested in Drew than ever" after landing Masahiro Tanaka.
- Toronto, says Heyman, figures to be a major threat to land any of the prominent remaining free agents. As he explained further today, the Jays — armed with two protected first-round draft picks — may have made the strategic decision to wait out the market for players that are burdened with draft pick compensation. Likewise, as Heyman wrote today, the Mariners could still figure in on the top of the remaining free agent crop.
- Kendrys Morales is among the players who Heyman says could land with either of those clubs. The Jays like Morales, but presumably would need to deal first baseman/DH Adam Lind to bring him on board. Likewise, the Rangers could potentially be involved, but would likely have to flip Mitch Moreland for a Morales signing to fit. If one of those clubs did land Morales, the Pirates might be a club that could swoop in on the trade market, says Heyman.
- The market for Nelson Cruz is looking thin, Heyman says. Cruz may not want to play in Safeco Field, and other possible landing spots like the Orioles and Rangers are focused on pitching.
- Turning to the mound, Heyman said that Ubaldo Jimenez may now be willing to drop his salary demands and could ultimately land in the three-year, $39MM range. The Blue Jays and Orioles are the most likely clubs to sign Jimenez, according to Heyman, with the O's still concerned about burning a draft pick. Meanwhile, the Indians could still get involved if the price on Jimenez falls even further.
Brewers Sign Matt Garza
JAN. 28: Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports the complex details of Garza's fifth year option (all Twitter links). The Brewers hold a $5MM option on Garza for the fifth year that will drop to just $1MM if Garza spends more than 130 days on the DL in any 183-day period throughout the life of the deal (183 days is the length of one regular season). However, the option will vest for Garza at $13MM if he pitches 110 games over the first four years of the deal, is not on the disabled list at the end of the 2017 season and throws at least 115 innings in 2017.
Sherman adds that Garza will also receive an additional $500K for reaching 190 innings and 30 games in each year of the deal. Each year of the contract contains $2MM in deferred money without interest.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports notes (Twitter links) that the complex nature of the fifth-year option illustrates the Brewers' concerns over Garza's long-term health, and he adds that other teams shared those concerns.
JAN. 26: The Brewers drew plenty of criticism for not adding a single free agent on a Major League deal this winter, but that changed on Sunday when principal owner Mark Attanasio announced at the team's On Deck event that they've reached an agreement with right-hander Matt Garza. The Brewers have since announced the four-year deal with a fifth-year vesting option via press release.
The contract reportedly guarantees Garza $50MM and contains a $13MM vesting option for a fifth year plus $4MM worth of incentives, meaning the CAA Sports client can earn up to $67MM over five years in Milwaukee.
GM Doug Melvin told the crowd (as tweeted by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Todd Rosiak), "I know we are a stronger team today." Melvin also said ironing out the contract details is what held up the announcement, Rosiak tweets.
This marks another late-offseason, impactful starting pitching signing from GM Doug Melvin and Milwaukee. Last year, the club nabbed Kyle Lohse on a three-year, $33MM deal after he languished on the market due to draft-pick compensation. As MLBTR's Tim Dierkes recently examined, signing free agents late in the offseason is becoming a habit for Melvin and the Brewers. Dierkes noted that 40 percent of Major League free agent deals issued by the Brewers over the past five seasons have come in January or later, and this contract boosts that number to 42 percent (11 of 26). This instance is different than all others, however, as the club will give Garza the largest guarantee it has ever made to a free agent.
Garza will not cost the Brewers draft pick compensation, as will be the case for fellow top arms Ervin Santana and Ubaldo Jimenez. Given the draft-pick drag on their value, Garza's deal could temper expectations for those two starters.
MLBTR's Steve Adams profiled Garza after the 2013 season, predicting that he would land four years and $64MM on the open market. While he got the years, Garza fell $3MM per year short of that salary target. In the end, Garza will receive only a $3MM greater guarantee than that given to Ricky Nolasco by the Twins for the same term. He lands an identical pact (in terms of dollars and years, at least) to the contract Edwin Jackson signed last year with the Cubs.
Garza's strong track record on the hill has been accompanied by injury questions that presumably limited his value on the open market. As Adams detailed, Garza suffered a stress fracture in his right elbow as well as a lat strain. All said, Garza has only pitched 259 innings over the last two years.
Previously, however, Garza had been a workhorse. Over the 2008-11 period, Garza made at least 30 starts and threw at least 184 2/3 innings a season. His cumulative ERA over that stretch was 3.72, and he averaged 7.6 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9. Since that time, though his innings are down, Garza has largely prevented runs at the same level. (He has a 3.86 ERA across the 2012-13 period.)
Garza will add to a Brewers rotation that already featured Yovani Gallardo, Kyle Lohse, Marco Estrada and Wily Peralta. Each of those pitchers is controllable beyond the 2014 season (Gallardo's contract contains a $13MM option with a $600K buyout), meaning that Melvin and his staff may have effectively set the Brewers' rotation for the next two seasons by inking Garza. Though they'll face steep competition in the form of the Cardinals, Reds and Pirates, the Brewers figure to boast a solid rotation with full seasons from Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez, meaning they should fare significantly better in 2014 than they did in 2013.
MLB.com's Brewer Nation blog first reported Milwaukee's interest in Garza. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports was the first to report the agreement, pending a physical (via Twitter). The Brewers then issued a statement to say the deal was not quite finalized before Attanasio announced the sigining on Jan. 26. Rosiak relayed the info of Attanasio's announcement, and his colleague Tom Haudricourt tweeted the news of the fifth-year option and its role in delaying the deal. McCalvy tweeted the financial details, and Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweeted that Garza will earn $12.5MM annually.
Steve Adams and Edward Creech contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.