Rays Avoid Arbitration With David Price
The Rays have reached agreement on a one-year, $14MM deal with ace David Price to avoid arbitration, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. Price, who is represented by Bo McKinnis, will qualify for arbitration one more time before hitting free agency in 2016.
Price's deal represents a nearly $4MM raise over his 2013 salary. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had projected him to earn $13.1MM, though Swartz explained that Price had a somewhat higher ceiling to aim for. As FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal notes on Twitter, the southpaw stands to constitute about twenty percent of the club's approximately $70MM payroll for the coming year. $14MM also makes for the highest single-season salary in club history, though Tampa has already promised higher paydays over the 2019-22 portion of Evan Longoria's extension.
The agreement should not have a substantial impact on the possibility of Price being dealt. While salary certainty knocks out one minor variable, Price's rights are enormously valuable either way. Of course, the latest chatter has suggested that Price is increasingly likely to pitch for the Rays in 2014 anyway, at least to start the year.
Blue Jays Sign Chris Getz
The Blue Jays have reached a minor league deal with second baseman Chris Getz, reports Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Getz will have an opportunity to compete for playing time at the keystone during Spring Training, GM Alex Anthopoulos said.
Getz, 30, had spent the last four years with the Royals but never gained hold of the club's second base job. Lat year, in 237 plate appearances, Getz put up a .220/.288/.273 triple-slash. Advanced metrics see him as a roughly average defender at second, though he landed at a solid 7.5 UZR/150 mark last year (good for 12th in baseball, minimum 200 plate appearances) and was credited with a career-best five defensive runs saved.
The Jays got a league-worst -2.1 fWAR out of the second base position last year. Getz joins a variety of options already under contract for 2014, including Ryan Goins and Maicer Izturis.
Angels Sign John McDonald
The Angels have signed infielder John McDonald to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite, reports Rob Bradford of WEEI.com on Twitter. McDonald will earn $850K, plus incentives, if he makes the big league club, Bradford further tweets. The 39-year-old is represented by Relativity Baseball.
Last year was an adventurous campaign even for the well-traveled McDonald. He saw limited time with four MLB clubs: the Pirates, Indians, Phillies, and Red Sox. Over just 77 plate appearances, McDonald slashed a meager .116/.197/.174.
McDonald has spent the bulk of his fifteen seasons to date in Cleveland and Toronto. He has a lifetime .235/.274/.327 triple-slash in 2,560 plate appearances. The slick fielder continues to hang his hat on his defensive ability. Spending most of his time up the middle at short and second, McDonald has accumulated a lifetime 10.8 rWAR through his defense, while being a net negative with the bat.
Orioles To Sign Alfredo Aceves
THURSDAY, 10:07am: Aceves gets a $35K signing bonus with his deal, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The incentives are tied to appearances and games started, Sherman adds.
The contract also includes two opt-out clauses, Sherman further reports (on Twitter). If he is not on the MLB roster by March 28, he must be released within 48 hours. Likewise, if Aceves is not on the MLB roster as of June 30, he must be released within 72 hours.
WEDNESDAY, 2:47pm: Aceves would make a guaranteed $1.2MM if he makes the Orioles roster, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today. His deal also includes incentives that could raise its value to $3MM.
2:19pm: The Orioles have reached agreement with free agent pitcher Alfredo Aceves on a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite, reports MLBTR's Tim Dierkes (via Twitter). Aceves could work from the pen or make a run at a rotation spot, Dierkes adds. The righty is represented by O'Connell Sports Management.
Aceves, 31, will stay in the American League East after spending three seasons apiece with the Yankees and Red Sox. Last year, throwing for Boston, Aceves managed a 4.86 ERA in 37 innings, including six starts and five relief appearances. In 51 innings at Triple-A, mostly as a starter, Aceves notched a 4.06 ERA.
Aceves has had several very productive stretches throughout his career — including a 114-inning, 2.61 ERA campaign in 2011 — but has not yet harnessed his talent consistently. In 2012, his last full season of MLB action, Aceves started out as Boston's closer (he notched 25 saves on the year) but ended the campaign with a 5.36 ERA in 84 innings. Nevertheless, his FIP (4.33) and xFIP (4.36) put a more positive spin on that year, as does his solid 8.0 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9.
Rangers Looking At Lefties To Replace Holland
The Rangers are in discussions with several free agent pitchers who would step in for the injured Derek Holland, reports Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News. Among the pitchers contacted by Texas are Paul Maholm, who revealed the discussions himself recently on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM, and recent Royals swingman Bruce Chen.
With Holland reportedly out until at least the All-Star break, the Rangers will need to account for some innings, whether they do so from within or make an addition. Both Maholm and Chen have generally been reliable inning-eaters over their careers, so the interest makes sense in that regard.
The 31-year-old Maholm should come at a relatively reasonable price after enduring some injury issues and a down season in 2013. After respective 3.66 and 3.67 ERA campaigns, Maholm ended up with a 4.41 ERA last year. He also posted his lowest inings total (153) since becoming a full-time big leaguer, though his strikeout ratio (6.2 K/9 vs. 2.8 BB/9) was in line with his career averages and he actually posted his second-best xFIP (3.89). Maholm landed at the 43rd slot on MLBTR's Tim Dierkes's list of the top fifty free agents.
Chen, 36, was effective last year for Kansas City in a mixed role (15 starts, 19 relief appearances). He ended up with a 3.27 ERA in 121 innings, though his FIP (4.12) and xFIP (4.93) indicate reason to view that tally with a grain of salt. Indeed, Chen's 2013 BABIP-against (.255) and strand rate (78.8% LOB) fell below and above league average, respectively.
Gammons On Top Starters, Shields, Blue Jays, Drew, Polanco
In two pieces today for GammonsDaily.com, Peter Gammons discusses a variety of hot stove topics. In particular, even before Clayton Kershaw's market-busting extension earlier today, Gammons noted that the price of starting pitching has been a hot topic among baseball GMs.
- The two key situations driving market pricing, he writes, are the Masahiro Tanaka sweepstakes and how the Rays handle David Price. Tanaka could command $120MM or more from the Yankees or Dodgers, says Gammons. As for Price, Tampa is increasingly inclined to hold onto their ace at least until the trade deadline, when they can try to extract a higher price or hold onto him for a postseason run.
- These situations could have a substantial impact on several other high-end starters that are set to become free agents next year. James Shields has let the Royals know that he is looking to score a contract on the magnitude of Zach Greinke's six-year, $147MM deal.
- Meanwhile, the Red Sox and Reds do not plan on approaching key extension candidates Jon Lester and Homer Bailey, respectively, until Spring Training.
- After disappointing returns on some of their major pitching acquisitions last year, the Blue Jays are not going to engage in any bidding wars for starting pitching, Gammons says. The club will instead "build on youth and rehabs," and will only jump into the mix for arms like Ervin Santana or Ubaldo Jimenez if they "fall down to [Toronto]."
- Agent Scott Boras has increasingly given indication that free agent Stephen Drew is willing to play positions other than shortstop, says Gammons, which may increase his appeal to both the Yankees and Red Sox. As Andy Martino of the New York Daily News writes in a separate piece, Boras says that Drew has suitors other than the Sox and Mets, though he declined to name them.
- Already considered one of the game's top prospects, Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco has raised his stock even further with big numbers (including a .428 OBP) in he Dominican winter league. Polanco, 22, could have an impact by the mid-season of 2014. More importantly for the Bucs' long-term plans, one National League GM tells Gammons that the prospective Pittsburgh outfield of Polanco, Andrew McCutchen, and Starling Marte "will be the best outfield in the game."
Players Avoiding Arbitration: Wednesday
Click here for background on the upcoming arbitration schedule and how MLBTR will be covering it. You can also check in on our Arbitration Tracker and look at MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz's arbitration projections. We'll use this post to keep tabs on players avoiding arbitration today:
- Josh Outman, who avoided arbitration with the Indians last night, will earn a $1.25MM salary in 2014, the Associated Press reports (via ESPN).
- The Rockies have avoided arbitration with lefty Franklin Morales, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com (via Twitter). Morales was recently picked up from the Red Sox in exchange for Jonathan Herrera, and was projected to earn $1.8MM by Swartz. His salary comes in just below that mark at $1.7125MM, according to a tweet from the Denver Post's Troy Renck.
- Burke Badenhop has settled on a one-year deal with the Red Sox, the club announced in a press release. The right-handed reliever, who was acquired from the Brewers back in November, came with a projected $2.2MM price tag and will in fact earn $2.15MM, according to a tweet from WEEI.com's Alex Speier. Badenhop's last two seasons have been uncannily similar. In both 2012 and 2013, Bandenhop threw 62 1/3 innings, registered 42 strikeouts (6.1 K/9) against 12 walks (1.7 BB/9), and surrendered six home runs. He allowed just one less hit (62) last year than in 2012, though his ERA rose from 3.03 to 3.47 due to a drop in his strand rate.
- The Mets have reached agreement with infielder Ruben Tejada on a 2014 contract, the club announced on Twitter. He will earn a $1.1MM salary in his first year of arbitration eligibility, tweets Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, which is in line with his $1MM projection. Tejada struggled to a .202/.259/.260 mark in 227 plate appearances last year, but is still only 24 years old. He will have three more years of arb eligibility since he qualified as a Super Two player.
- The Rangers have reached agreement on a one-year deal to avoid arbitration with southpaw Neal Cotts, the club announced via press release. The deal will pay Cotts $2.2MM, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Cotts will earn $700K over Swartz's projection.
- Outfielder Michael Saunders has reached agreement with the Mariners on a deal to avoid arbitration, reports Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (via Twitter). The 27-year-old will earn $2.3MM (plus incentives) in his first arb-eligible season, Divish tweets, which comes in just above the $2MM projection from Swartz.
Mark Reynolds Weighing Offers, Expected To Sign Soon
Free agent corner infielder/designated hitter Mark Reynolds has several offers in hand and is likely to take one by the end of the week, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. As Kilgore notes, the Nationals are among the teams to have expressed interest in the slugging 30-year-old.
Last we heard, the Nats were joined by four other teams that were in on Reynolds: the Rangers, Twins, Orioles, and Yankees. Though Reynolds was let go by the Indians after a rough .215/.307/.373 triple-slash over his first 384 plate appearances of 2013, he was better upon joining the Yankees. In 120 plate appearances for New York, Reynolds slashed .236/.300/.455.
Reynolds has prodigious power, having hit at least twenty home runs over the last six seasons. But with that strength comes a tendency to swing and miss; Reynolds has led the league in K's in four of his seven seasons. Reynolds has also graded out poorly as a fielder as well, though his baserunning metrics see him as average in that regard. It is worth noting, also, that Reynolds has a relatively minor career platoon split (.777 OPS and 147 home runs vs. righties; .834 OPS and 55 home runs vs. lefties).
Diamondbacks Extend Josh Collmenter
The Diamondbacks have avoided arbitration and reached an extension with righty Josh Collmenter, reports Ken Rosentha of FOX Sports (Twitter links). The club has also officially announced the extension via press release.
Collmenter will receive a $2.425MM guarantee. The deal also includes a club option and a mutual option, according to Rosenthal, and could reach $6.5MM in value if both options were to be exercised.
Collmenter, soon to be 28 years of age, is represented by The Sparta Group. He began his time in Arizona as a starter, throwing 154 1/3 innings of 3.38 ERA ball back in 2011. But Collmenter struggled to a 5.11 ERA in eleven starts in the 2012 season, leading to a switch to the pen. He has been solid in his new relief role, and last year racked up 8.3 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 in 92 innings, supporting a 3.13 ERA.
Angels’ Moreno On Garza, Stadium Deal, Trout
Angels owner Arte Moreno covered several topics today with Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. (All links to Twitter.) Here are the highlights:
- Explaining that the club is still looking to add arms, Moreno told Morosi that the club has had discussions with free agent starter Matt Garza. The Angels have been rumored to prefer Garza to Ubaldo Jimenez and Ervin Santana, due at least in part to the lack of draft pick compensation required to sign him.
- Meanwhile, Moreno said that he is "very optimistic" that the Angels will reach a deal with the city of Anaheim to keep the club playing at Angel Stadium for the next two decades. The deal under consideration would see the team pay for infrastructure improvements while picking up rights to revenue from redevelopment initiatives in the stadium's vicinity.
- Of course, with Clayton Kershaw's record-setting extension from earlier today, Mike Trout becomes the young superstar whose possible extension becomes most interesting to consider. Moreno, however, said that there was "nothing to speak of" regarding Trout's contract status.