Dodgers Still Want To Add A Starting Pitcher
Even after signing Dan Haren earlier in the offseason and agreeing to extend Clayton Kershaw today, the Dodgers hope to add another arm to their staff, report Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (Twitter links). Masahiro Tanaka is a possibility, but would be an ownership call, while Bronson Arroyo is also on the team's "short list" of options.
Club GM Ned Colletti has said that, despite inking Haren, another starter addition remained possible. The rotation presumably will include Kershaw, Zack Greinke, and Hyun-jin Ryu in addition to Haren. For the fifth spot, absent a new signing, the club would be expected to host a Spring Training competition between veterans Josh Beckett and Chad Billingsley.
While Beckett and Billingsley remain question marks due to injury issues, the two are owed a combined $27.75MM by Los Angeles next year. Presumably, either or both could become trade candidates in the event that another starter is brought in.
Brewers Sign Zach Duke
The Brewers have agreed to a minor league deal with lefty Zach Duke, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy (via Twitter). The deal includes a Spring Training invitation.
Duke, 30, struggled early last year with the Nationals, posting a 8.71 ERA in his first 20 2/3 innings. But the southpaw turned things around upon joining the Reds, allowing less than an earned run per nine during his 10 2/3 innings in Cincinnati. Since losing his job as an everyday starter after the 2010 season, Duke has bounced around the league as a middle reliever.
Travis Hafner Agrees To Join College Coaching Staff
Longtime big league slugger Travis Hafner has agreed to join the coaching staff of Division II Notre Dame College, according to reports from Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (via Twitter) and a press release posted on the school's website. As Cotillo notes, however, it is not yet clear what Hafner's agreement means for his playing career.
The left-handed swinging DH is now 36 years of age. He spent last year in pinstripes, putting up a .202/.301/.378 line and 12 home runs in 299 plate appearances for the Yankees. Hafner's best season at the plate came in 2006, when he put up a monster .308/.439/.659 campaign with 42 long balls to lead the league in slugging and OPS.
Hafner has not seen time in the field since way back in 2007, which does limit his usefulness to MLB clubs at this stage of his career. His career triple-slash stands at a robust .273/.376/.498 in 4,782 plate appearances, over which he also hit 213 home runs.
Quick Hits: Kershaw, Tanaka, Matsuzaka, Twins
Bargains abound on the free agent market, opines Doug Miller of MLB.com. Miller lists the following sleeper candidates for solid production in 2014: catcher Michael McKenry, first bagger Casey Kotchman, outfielders Chris Coghlan, Derrick Robinson, Grady Sizemore, and Tyler Colvin, and pitchers James McDonald, Suk-min Yoon, and David Aardsma. Here are a few more links to round out the day:
- Ace Clayton Kershaw has had ongoing discussions with the Dodgers about an extension that could reach ten seasons with over a $30MM annual salary, says Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. Club GM Ned Colletti said just recently that talks have been active, and of course the club reportedly extended Kershaw a $300MM offer during the 2013 season. Such a deal would make Kershaw the best paid player in baseball history, both in terms of total guarantee and annual salary.
- Meanwhile, the Dodgers are still in on the biggest open market pitcher of the offseason, Masahiro Tanaka. As Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com explains, the Yankees have an urgent need for Tanaka, while the Dodgers more aptly want the hurler. If Los Angeles nevertheless outbids the Yanks for the Japanese star, says Saxon, it would represent a fundamental power shift in the game.
- You can count the Athletics out of the mix for Tanaka, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). Though GM Billy Beane surprised many when he nabbed Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, Slusser says that Oakland is not pursuing Tanaka.
- Reports earlier this evening that Daisuke Matsuzaka had re-signed with the Mets proved untrue, as multiple reports made clear. But Matsuzaka still realistically could land in New York on a minor league deal, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News reports. He would compete with in-house options for the club's fifth and final rotation slot.
- The Twins have hit before on the international market, and may now have their eyes on a couple of Cuban pitchers. According to a report on Twitter from 1500 ESPN Darren Wolfson, Minnesota sent three scouts to Mexico to see hurlers Misael Siverio and Odrisamer Despaigne throw in a showcase.
NL Notes: Amaro, Nationals, Cordier
Wondering what your team still can or should do to improve before the start of the 2014 season? ESPN.com's Jim Bowden lays out the "missing links" he sees for each of the National League's clubs. On the free agent side of things, he thinks that the Reds (Nelson Cruz), Pirates (Kendrys Morales), and Mets (Stephen Drew) could all stand to add an impact bat. Elsewhere around the NL …
- In an interesting piece on Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr., Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that the Phils' top baseball man will continue to "take swings" at arguably risky acquisitions. "There are only so many chances to be a champion, and I will never stop believing that if you have a chance, you take the opportunity," Amaro says. "if you don't take a chance on Adam Eaton, then maybe you don't take a chance on Jayson Werth." (Of course, Amaro was referring to Eaton the retired pitcher, not the young outfielder by the same name.)
- Amaro discussed his philosophies in relation to some of the club's recent moves, He acknowledged that the signing of Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez was a risk, but called him "a guy with a tremendous ceiling." And while Marlon Byrd will earn $16MM over two years to be "a decent role player" for Philadelphia, in Amaro's words, the GM explained that he had to balance the team's needs. "If I go get Carlos Beltran," said Amaro, "then I can't take a chance on Roberto Hernandez. We've got a lot of holes to fill, and our job is to try to make the right decision 70 percent of the time, not the wrong decision 70 percent of the time."
- The Nationals recently added another bench piece in Jamey Carroll, and Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post expects that the veteran will make the club out of Spring Training. But that does not mean that GM Mike Rizzo is done fiddling with his reserves, says Kilgore. Possible additions include a catcher, a left-handed bat such as Lyle Overbay, or a right-handed corner option like Mark Reynolds. Likewise, another southpaw reliever could still be added.
- The powerful right arm of reliever Erik Cordier earned him a guaranteed deal with the Giants even though he's never thrown a big league pitch. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes has learned that Cordier's new club had good reason to offer him a MLB deal, as two other clubs were likewise willing to use a 40-man roster spot on the 27-year-old. (Twitter link.)
146 Players File For Salary Arbitration
The Major League Baseball Players Association has issued a press release announcing that 146 players have officially filed for salary arbitration. Among them are many outstanding players (and some fascinating arbitration cases), including Clayton Kershaw, Craig Kimbrel, Chris Davis, Max Scherzer, David Price, and Giancarlo Stanton.
Let's take a quick look at what this means, and how MLBTR will guide you through the arbitration happenings soon to come:
Upcoming Arbitration Period
Today's deadline is largely a formality. Teams were required to make decisions on tendering arbitration by December 2nd, and players file as a matter of course when arbitration is offered.
But with the announcement, the clock is now ticking down to Friday at noon central, when players and teams will formally exchange and submit salary figures. As a result, we can expect a flurry of new deals to avoid arbitration between now and then.
Though a hearing can still be avoided after the Friday's exchange, several teams tie their bargaining position to the deadline. As MLBTR's Tim Dierkes has explained, so-called "file and trial" teams refuse to negotiate after the exchange deadline in any case, taking the stance that they will go to a hearing if agreement has not been reached. The Blue Jays, Braves, Marlins, Rays, and White Sox are the clubs that maintain such a policy. Meanwhile, at least four other clubs — the Brewers, Pirates, Nationals, and Indians — take the file and trial approach in some circumstances, and have shown a particular willingness to go to a hearing.
On a league-wide basis, of course, hearings are an increasing rarity. For the first time ever, there were none last year. Hearings will be scheduled over the period of February 1st through 21st this year.
How To Keep Tabs On Arbitration Situations
With so many players' situations still to be resolved, how can you keep track? MLBTR has you covered as the flow of arbitration settlements increases:
- First, you'll want to take a look back at the arbitration projections of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. Swartz has also provided some excellent arbitration breakdown pieces, in which he takes a closer look at the cases of certain key players.
- Second, as always, be sure to keep a close eye on MLBTR's pages, whether by the classic means of regular browser refreshing or — if you prefer — through a more modern mechanism. Remember, news will always appear on the site first.
- Third, MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker will carry the latest updates while maintaining all arbitration information in one spot. Our writing team will do its best to keep the tracker fresh troughout the coming days and weeks.
Of course, the Arb Tracker also allows you to filter amongst the players within it based upon such factors as team, service time, settled amount, and (eventually) player and team submission amounts.
Looking at the tracker now, 34 players have already reached agreement on a contract for 2014. Among them, only Seth Smith, Stephen Strasburg, and Brad Ziegler have broken the $3MM barrier, so most of the big spending is still to come.
Indians reliever Josh Outman just became the first of the 146 players who technically filed today to reach an agreement with his club. Click here to take a look at the other filing players whose cases are still outstanding.
Players Avoiding Arbitration: Josh Outman
We'll keep track of any players to avoid arbitration this evening right here:
- The Indians have avoided arbitration with southpaw reliever Josh Outman, the club announced via Twitter. Outman was recently acquired from the Rockies in exchange for outfielder Drew Stubbs. Outman was projected by MLBTR's Matt Swartz to earn a $1.4MM paycheck, and the Associated Press reports (via ESPN) that he will in fact make $1.25MM. Outman becomes the first player to avoid arbitration who technically filed for it today.
- You can keep tabs on all arbitration situations — including those already resolved and those still outstanding — through MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker.
Indians To Sign Nyjer Morgan
7:08pm: Morgan can earn over $1MM if he makes the roster and reaches the incentives in his contract, Crasnick reports on Twitter.
6:34pm: Nyjer Morgan has signed a minor league deal with the Indians, reports Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The deal includes a Spring Training invitation, Crasnick notes. Morgan recently became a client of Team One and Millenium Sports.
Morgan played in Japan last year after seeing action in parts of six seasons, putting up a .294/.361/.434 line in 424 plate appearances for the Yokohama Bay Stars. In 2012 with the Brewers, Morgan mustered only a .239/.302/.308 triple-slash in 322 plate appearances. While his last look at the bigs was subpar, however, Morgan did put up OPS marks of over .750 in both 2009 and 2011.
At 33, Morgan's legs may not be quite what they once were. He notched 42 and 34 stolen bases over the 2009 and 2010 seasons, respectively, but barely mustered double-digits in his last two seasons of big league action and had just three for the Bay Stars last year. It remains to be seen, also, whether he can continue to add value as a plus defensive center fielder.
It could be a tall order for Morgan to break camp with the Indians. Michael Bourn is entrenched in center, and the club already has left-handed bats in Michael Brantley and David Murphy at the corners.
Dallas Braden To Retire
Former Athletics starter Dallas Braden has decided to retire, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Braden has not thrown a professional pitch since 2011, but had intended to put on a showcase for teams this winter in hopes of getting a chance to work back.
Now 30, the southpaw had a stellar campaign for the A's back in 2010 as a 26-year-old. He put up a 3.50 ERA in 192 2/3 innings, capping things off by throwing a memorable perfect game. Braden was off to a nice start early in the 2011 campaign when he succumbed to a series of shoulder and rotator cuff issues. The A's allowed Braden to become a free agent before last season rather than tendering him arbitration.
Slusser reports that Braden's comeback plans were shelved when a recent MRI revealed that the damage was beyond fixing. “There is nothing left in there, it's just a shredded mess,” Braden told Slusser. “I left my arm on the mound at the Coliseum, and I'm okay with that."
Rod Barajas To Manage Padres’ Rookie League Team
Longtime big league backstop Rod Barajas has agreed to manage the Padres' Rookie League club, MLB.com's Corey Brock reports. (Twitter links.) Barajas has apparently not officially retired from his playing career, however, and Brock notes that the 38-year-old has not yet ruled out a return to the diamond.
Barajas last saw MLB action in 2012 with the Pirates, serving as the club's primary catcher. After a disappointing campaign — he posted a .206/.283/.343 line with 11 home runs in 361 plate appearances — Barajas had his 2013 option declined by Pittsburgh. He signed with the Diamondbacks on a minor league deal, but was ultimately released by Arizona before the start of the season.
Over parts of 14 seasons, Barajas has a lifetime .235/.284/.407 triple-slash and 136 career home runs in 3,784 total plate appearances. He caught at least 97 games for eight of nine seasons over 2004-12.