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Rays Sign Ben Zobrist To Extension

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The Rays officially signed Ben Zobrist to a three-year contract extension that includes two club options today. The deal buys out Zobrist's three arbitration seasons for $14.5MM, and the options would pay him $7MM in 2014 ($2.5MM buyout) and $7.5MM in 2015 ($500K buyout), his first two years of free agent eligibility. The extension also includes a signing bonus of just under $562K, bringing his 2010 salary to an even $1MM and the total value of the contract up to nearly $30MM, if both options are exercised.

The 28-year-old switch-hitter enjoyed an MVP-caliber season in 2009, hitting .297/.405/.543 while playing nearly every position on the diamond — and playing them well, according to UZR/150. He would have earned about $438K this year before hitting arbitration for the first time in 2011.

As a point of comparison, teammate Evan Longoria will earn $12.5MM in his first three arbitration seasons and has club options that total $22.5MM in his first two years of free agency. Longoria's contract is widely considered one of the most team-friendly deals in the league, but if Zobrist continues to perform like he did in 2009, he'll be a bargain as well. Very good job of locking up a core player by the Rays.

Marc Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times first reported the agreement, while Roger Mooney of The Tampa Tribune later tweeted the contract details.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

White Sox Gauging Pierzynski’s Value

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White Sox GM Ken Williams has called around attempting to gauge A.J. Pierzynski's trade value, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Cowley's source says that Williams "didn't like what he heard."

Pierzynski's possible future with the White Sox has been well-documented, with the backstop himself discussing the issue earlier this week. At the time, Williams said that he has yet to explore any possible trades involving Pierzynski, adding that the team wouldn't rush into any decisions involving the 33-year-old.

Pierzynski will achieve 10-and-5 rights in June, meaning he'd have the power to veto any trade that the club worked out involving him after that point. Cowley suggests that if the Sox continue to play sub-.500 ball over the next couple months, Pierzynski may not last that long in a Chicago uniform: "Why would Reinsdorf want to pay for a Pierzynski on a fifth-place team when he can have a cheaper Tyler Flowers?"

Red Sox Interested In Chris Snyder?

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The Red Sox have Chris Snyder on their "down-the-road hit list," a source tells Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. With Miguel Montero on the disabled list for about another month, Snyder is not currently available, but the Red Sox may be interested in the backstop when Montero returns.

The FOX duo notes that before the Sox acquired Victor Martinez last season, they offered flamethrower Daniel Bard to the Diamondbacks for Montero. Now that Martinez's and Jason Varitek's troubles containing baserunners are compromising Boston's defense, the Sox could once again look into acquiring a Diamondback catcher. For his career, Snyder has thrown out 25.9% of opposing basestealers.

The Diamondbacks had worked out a trade over the winter that would have sent Snyder to the Blue Jays, but it fell through due to injury concerns. Given his back problems and his $11.25MM price tag over the next two years, Snyder will be difficult to deal. However, if the Sox keep allowing stolen bases at a 97% rate (34-of-35), they could be forced to make a move.

Pirates Not Looking To Trade For Pitching

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Following a historic loss against the Brewers yesterday, the Pirates are still not looking to trade for starting rotation help, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Although the team acknowledged that the rotation needs to be upgraded, they have no plans to look outside the organization to do so.

The Pirates' 7.23 ERA ranks last in all of baseball, and the starting rotation has played a significant part in the club's struggles. Daniel McCutchen and Charlie Morton have been extremely ineffective in three starts each, combining to allow 37 earned runs in just 21.1 innings.

Nonetheless, GM Neal Huntington says a trade is unlikely, despite the team being a prime candidate to make a move. For now, the Pirates will recall Kevin Hart, wait for Ross Ohlendorf to get healthy, and hope Morton can straighten things out. The club also has top prospect Brad Lincoln waiting in the wings in Triple-A Indianapolis, but is unconvinced that he's quite ready to be promoted to the majors.

Earlier in the week, we outlined some potentially available starting pitchers, which the Pirates could look into if they changed their stance on a trade. Of course, given the team's usual place in the NL Central standings, they're probably more likely to be sellers than buyers.

When Will Indians Call Up Santana?

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When ESPN's Keith Law ranked baseball's top prospects earlier this year, only two players placed ahead of Indians catcher Carlos Santana: Jason Heyward and Stephen Strasburg. So far in 2010, Santana, who is currently day-to-day with a knee bruise, has done nothing to dissuade the notion that he's a future star. The 24-year-old has posted a ridiculous .364/.451/.727 slash line, homering four times in 51 Triple-A plate appearances. So when will we see him in an Indians' uniform?

Cleveland's catching duo of Lou Marson and Mike Redmond has been unproductive thus far, to say the least. With only two singles and two walks in 28 plate appearances, Marson's numbers coming into today sit at .080/.148/.080, and Redmond's (.190/.227/.238) aren't much better. Even if Santana takes some time to adjust to playing at the Major League level, he should still be an immediate upgrade.

The Indians have already postponed Santana's free agency for a year by keeping him in the minors until now, and will have to decide how much longer they'll delay his big-league debut. In an article for ESPN.com, Baseball Prospectus' Christina Kahrl suggests that in the AL Central, the Indians are "contenders by default" and that they're "minimizing their already slim playoff chances" as long as Santana remains at Triple-A Columbus. As one of the more cost-conscious teams in baseball though, Cleveland could save millions by putting off a Santana promotion until June, preventing the catcher from eventually qualifying as a Super Two player.

For a team with deeper pockets and more serious postseason aspirations, calling Santana up now would be a no-brainer. At 24, he appears ready to contribute in the bigs, and he'd replace a black hole of production behind the plate in Cleveland. However, even in the AL Central, it's unlikely that the Indians have the talent to make a playoff run this season, meaning we shouldn't expect to see Santana called up for at least a few more weeks. It may test the patience of Indians fans, but for an organization frequently forced to trade away their pricier stars, looking to the future and delaying Santana's service time clock is the right move.

Rangers In Need Of Bullpen Help?

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The Rangers have identified two needs in their bullpen, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. The club would like to find a left-handed reliever to complement Darren Oliver, and a power right-handed arm for the 8th inning.

Sullivan suggests that the Rangers will look first within their organization. For the left-handed role, Triple-A reliever Clay Rapada is perhaps the most likely choice, since the team has no desire to move C.J. Wilson or Derek Holland to the bullpen. As for the right-hander, Sullivan notes Chris Ray could emerge if Frank Francisco continues to struggle, though Ray hasn't exactly been dominant so far either.

If the Rangers' bullpen, which sported a 4.66 ERA coming into tonight's game, does not improve in the near future, the team might be forced to explore trade options. Last week, we identified a few relief pitchers that may be on the market this summer. The Blue Jays, who have a very effective lefty (Scott Downs) and multiple power righties (Jason Frasor, Kevin Gregg) in their 'pen, could potentially match up well with Texas.

Marlins Sign Jorge Sosa

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Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that the Marlins signed Jorge Sosa to a minor league deal "earlier this month." Sosa has been in extended spring training for the last week and will soon join the starting rotation in New Orleans, Florida's Triple-A affiliate.

Sosa, 31, had been signed by the Red Sox on a minor league contract earlier this winter. After a few mediocre spring innings, he was reassigned to minor league camp and ultimately released by Boston.

The right-hander appeared in 18 games for the Nationals last season, posting a 6.45 ERA over 22.1 innings. He last demonstrated big-league effectiveness in 2007, compiling a 4.47 ERA in 112.2 IP for the Mets.

Odds & Ends: Davis, Cano, Athletics, Pirates

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As today's games try to top Ubaldo Jimenez's no-hitter and the Mets' marathon victory, let's browse a few links….

When Should Rangers Call Up Smoak?

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The Texas Rangers are facing an impending decision on whether to call super-prospect Justin Smoak up to replace struggling first baseman Chris Davis. Smoak, who is ranked as baseball's ninth-best prospect by Keith Law and 13th overall by Baseball America, currently remains in Triple A. Let's take a look at the pros and cons of bringing Smoak to the majors in the near future.

Pros:

  • As MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith pointed out in his piece on calling up top prospects, if a player makes his major league debut after April 19th, he won't earn a full year's service time this season. So the Rangers could call up Smoak as early as this week and still have delayed his free agency by a year.
  • Davis is off to a homerless, .229/.289/.343 start to the 2010 campaign, while Smoak has been tearing the Pacific Coast League up (.353/.500/.647 with two homers).
  • When the Rangers drafted Smoak in 2008, Baseball America praised his fielding, citing "Gold Glove-caliber actions and soft hands." Davis's defense at first base is slightly below average (career -2.7 UZR/150).
  • The AL West race looks wide open, and the Rangers presumably want to field their best possible lineup immediately. Delaying Smoak's debut for another month and a half could compromise their chances of contending.

Cons:

  • If Texas calls Smoak up before late May or early June, he will earn enough service time to eventually qualify as a Super Two, hitting arbitration a year early.
  • It's probably too soon in the season to give up on Davis, considering his career numbers include a .481 slugging percentage and a 162-game average of 30 homers.
  • There's no guarantee that Smoak will thrive at the major league level right away. Even a can't-miss prospect like Matt Wieters posted a mere .263/.308/.369 line in the first 70 games of his career.
  • Smoak's underwhelming Triple A numbers last season also suggest he could use more seasoning, though they can be partially attributed to a strained oblique.

Smoak will almost certainly wear a Rangers' uniform at some point this season. Whether that happens before June depends on a variety of factors, both on-field and off-field. The bet here is that the Rangers give Davis at least another week or two to heat up. If he continues to struggle, we could see Smoak in the big leagues sooner rather than later.

Cafardo’s Latest: Downs, Cruz, Dye, Sheffield

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In his newest piece for the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo discusses Manny Ramirez's Hall of Fame chances, concluding that the slugger's positive test for a banned substance last season may keep him out of Cooperstown. Here are a few other topics that Cafardo's column explores:

  • The Phillies would love to add a left-hander to their bullpen, particularly while J.C. Romero remains on the shelf. They're looking at Scott Downs, but given the Blue Jays' solid start, the team may hang on to him for the time being. When the Jays are ready to sell, Downs should provide a decent return.
  • Juan Cruz is another reliever on the trade market, albeit a less impressive one. He'll earn $3.75MM this year for the Royals, who may have to eat most of that salary to pull off a deal.
  • Jermaine Dye and Gary Sheffield should sign somewhere soon. When asked his thoughts on Orlando Hudson's insinuation that racism factored into Dye's and Sheffield's unemployment, Sheffield said he appreciated Hudson's concern, but "I'm not going to comment."
  • Cafardo names Jerry Manuel and Dave Trembley as two managers who could be on the hot seat and speculates about who would be next in line to replace the skippers. Cafardo points out that there are plenty of ex-managers available who have history with Orioles president Andy MacPhail, while for the Mets, Bob Melvin might be "the logical successor."

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