Yankees Sign Luis Vizcaino
The Yankees have signed right-hander Luis Vizcaino to a minor league contract according to Marc Carig of The Star Ledger (via Twitter). If he makes the team, he'll earn $750K.
Vizcaino, now 36, has not pitched in the majors or minors since being designated for assignment by the Indians back in June of 2009. The former workhorse reliever appeared in fewer than 70 games just once from 2002 through 2007, and he owns a 4.33 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in his career. If we remove intentional walks, that drops all the way down to 3.3 BB/9.
MLB.com's Tom Singer recently listed Vizcaino as one of several players looking to revive his career, noting his effective stint in the Dominican Winter League.
Giants To Sign Guillermo Mota
The Giants have agreed to sign Guillermo Mota to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, tweets Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes. The Dodgers and Rays were also considered finalists for his services.
Mota, 37, appeared in 56 games for the World Champion Giants in 2010, pitching to a 4.33 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9. He then chipped in another 2.1 scoreless innings in the postseason. According to PitchFX, he was still flirting with the mid-90's with his fastball.
Poll: Joakim Soria’s Future
The Royals completed a franchise altering trade today, sending Zack Greinke to the Brewers for a package of four young players. Earlier this offseason they shipped David DeJesus to Oakland, the team’s longest-tenured player at the time. As much as Kansas City would love to unload the $12MM left on Gil Meche‘s contract, it simply won’t happen. If GM Dayton Moore wants to continue purging his roster of veterans, could closer Joakim Soria be the next to go?
The old axiom says that bad teams don’t need a good closer, and the Royals are expected to be among the league’s worst clubs in 2011 while Soria is once again one of the game’s top closers. Compared to the multiyear contracts handed out to non-elite relievers this offseason, Soria’s $4MM salary for 2011 with club options for 2012 ($6MM), 2013 ($8MM), and 2014 ($8.75MM) is a bargain. Trade interest would be plentiful, and the Royals could expect several young players in return.
Because his contract is so team friendly, Moore could also hold on to Soria and see how the trade market develops before the deadline. We can’t forget the fans in KC either, Moore might not want to alienate them anymore by dealing his All Star closer so soon after trading away Greinke. The Padres reportedly kept Heath Bell for similar reasons.
A radical, albeit unlikely, third option would be to convert Soria into a starter. He started in the Mexican League for quite some time, throwing a perfect game in his first start after the Royals selected him in the 2006 Rule 5 Draft. PitchFX data available at FanGraphs tells us that he still throws four pitches regularly (cutter, curveball, changeup, slider), so the repertoire is certainly there. It’s just a matter of health and getting stretched out. Like I said, it’s an unlikely move, but it wouldn’t be unprecedented. Just look at C.J. Wilson. What do you think the Royals should do with Soria?
What should the Royals do with Joakim Soria?
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Keep him and trade him before the deadline 36% (4,061)
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Trade him this offseason 32% (3,643)
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Turn him into a starting pitcher 18% (1,982)
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Keep him and don't trade him before the deadline 14% (1,537)
Total votes: 11,223
Week In Review: 12/12/10 – 12/19/10
It's been a busy seven days since last Sunday. Let's look back at the top stories from last week:
- Doubters of a Cliff Lee mystery team were silenced when the Phillies swooped in and signed the market's top free agent to a five-year deal worth $120MM with a vesting option. Here's some reactions to Lee's signing and his decision to leave tens of millions of dollars on the table.
- Lee wasn't the only big name pitcher to change teams this week. The Brewers jumped in and acquired Zack Greinke (along with Yuniesky Betancourt and cash) for Alcides Escobar, Lorenzo Cain, Jeremy Jeffress, and Jake Odorizzi. The move came not long after Greinke requested a trade. Here are some reactions.
- The Padres overhauled their middle infield with a pair of moves. The long awaited Jason Bartlett trade was finalized, with four players (Brandon Gomes, Adam Russell, Cesar Ramos, and Cole Figueroa) going to Tampa. San Diego also received a player to be named later. The Padres also agreed to terms with Orlando Hudson on a two-year deal worth $11.5MM, and received Eric Patterson from the Red Sox as the player to be named later in the Adrian Gonzalez trade.
- Minnesota strengthened its middle infield as well, signing Tsuyoshi Nishioka to a three-year deal worth $9MM. There is also an option for a fourth year.
- The A's bolstered their offense with two moves this week. First, they signed Hideki Matsui to a one-year deal worth $4.25MM. Secondly, they acquired Josh Willingham from the Nationals in exchange for Henry Rodriguez and minor leaguer Corey Brown. Oakland also brought back Rich Harden on a one-year, $1.5MM deal and signed Brandon McCarthy for one year and $1MM.
- The Tigers brought back Magglio Ordonez to deepen their lineup, signing him for one year and $10MM. They are now looking at Brad Penny and a few other free agent starters.
- Lee wasn't the only one who turned down more money to go where he wanted. Despite a larger offer from the White Sox, Kerry Wood signed for just one year and $1.5MM to return to the Cubs, where it all began.
- Wood certainly wasn't the only reliever to sign this week, in fact a whole bunch came off the board. The Red Sox signed Bobby Jenks (two-years, $12MM), Dan Wheeler (one year, $3MM with a vesting option), Andrew Miller (minor league contract), and Matt Albers (unknown terms). The Yankees agreed to sign Pedro Feliciano (two years, $8MM with an option) and Mark Prior (minor league deal). The Orioles brought in Jeremy Accardo (one year, $1.08MM) and re-signed Koji Uehara (one-year, $3MM with a vesting option). The Marlins signed Randy Choate (two-years, $2.5MM)and the Dodgers signed Matt Guerrier (three-years, $12MM). The White Sox agreed to deals with Jesse Crain (three-years, $13MM) and Brian Bruney (minor league deal). The Rays signed Joel Peralta (one year, $900K) and J.P. Howell (one year, $1.1MM). The Nationals brought in Chad Gaudin on a minor league deal.
- The Red Sox are still looking at some lefties for their bullpen, and the Phillies will as well after their deal with Dennys Reyes fell apart. Joe Beimel has a few offers, and David Aardsma is available.
- Adrian Beltre received a "significant" offer from the Angels and the Rangers may be pursuing him aggressively. The Nationals are one of several teams interested in Derrek Lee while the O's are on Adam LaRoche. The Braves are optimistic about signing Dan Uggla long-term.
- The quartet of backup catchers landed with new teams. Henry Blanco signed with the Diamondbacks for one-year and $1MM, while Gerald Laird and Dioner Navarro got the same exact contract from the Cardinals and Dodgers, respectively. Matt Treanor took one-year and $850K from the Rangers. The Yankees signed Russell Martin for one-year and $4MM (with incentives), though he'll be a starter.
- Arizona imported Xavier Nady on a one-year deal worth $1.75MM while the Pirates brought in Matt Diaz for two-years and $4.25MM. Lyle Overbay also went to Pittsburgh for one-year and $5MM and Bill Hall joined the Astros for one-year and $3.25MM. The Nats added Matt Stairs on a minor league deal and the Blue Jays brought Edwin Encarnacion back a few weeks after waiving him.
- There's a bit of a hiccup in talks between the Marlins and Ricky Nolasco about a long-term extension. Despite strong interest in Matt Garza, the Rays aren't looking to trade a starting pitcher. Fausto Carmona is a popular target, however. Brandon Webb is likely to decide on a new club soon, but another injury rehab pitcher landed in Washington: Chien-Ming Wang re-upped with the Nats for one-year and $1MM with incentives.
- The Brewers avoided arbitration with Carlos Gomez as did the A's and Joey Devine.
- The Rangers took a flier on Seth McClung, and the Pirates finalized their contract with Kevin Correia. Pedro Martinez is "most likely" finished.
MLBTR Originals: 12/12/10 – 12/19/10
It was a very busy week on the hot stove, but we still managed to churn out some original content here at MLBTR. We don't want you to miss anything, so let's recap it all…
- First and foremost, we introduced MLBTR's latest and greatest feature this week, the Transaction Tracker. Make sure you check out the post to see all the cool things you can do with it. We also added a new Tools menu button.
- In the wake of the Cliff Lee signing, Tim Dierkes told us what we learned from the deal and also dug up some possible fits for Joe Blanton.
- Ben Nicholson-Smith looked at the Dodgers' busy offseason while I examined all of the compensation draft picks the Rays are accumulating.
- This week's poll questions asked where Carl Pavano will sign, who will play first for the Padres, which team will acquire Zack Greinke, whether or not you'd offer a non-elite reliever a multiyear deal, the top remaining free agent, and whether or not there was a mystery team in on Lee. That last one sounds silly in hindsight.
- Howard Medgal broke down the top five Phillies GMs since 1960.
- I compiled the best from around the web in this week's Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
- Ben's chat transcript can be found here.
- If you're a new reader, welcome, and here's a handy guide with all the different ways you can use MLBTR.
Odds & Ends: Rauch, Rays, Jenks, Rockies, Rangers
On this date in 1997, the Red Sox traded Tony Armas Jr. and Carl Pavano to the Expos for reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martinez. A case can be made that Pedro's 1999 and 2000 seasons were the two best pitching seasons in baseball history, in which he held batters to a .186/.231/.274 batting line with 597 strikeouts in 430.1 innings.
It's highly unlikely that we'll see a pitcher of Pedro's caliber traded anytime soon, but that Zack Greinke kid is pretty good in his own right. Here are today's links…
- Two days ago we heard that the Rockies had interest in David Aardsma, Grant Balfour, and Todd Coffey, and now Troy Renck of The Denver post throws Jon Rauch's name into the mix.
- Marc Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times has some quotes from Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg, who called the size of free agent contracts being handed out this winter "discouraging." He also commented (briefly) on the team's 2011 payroll.
- Bobby Jenks will take his physical on Monday, tweets Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe. It was originally scheduled for today but was pushed back, and it's necessary to finalize his contract with the Red Sox.
- Renck also has the goods (Twitter links) on two recent Rockies signings. Ty Wigginton took less money to sign in Colorado, earning $3.5MM in 2011, $4MM in '12, and a club option for $4MM in '13 ($500k buyout). Meanwhile, pitcher Eric Stults has an out in his $435k minor league deal that will allow him to sign with the Hiroshima Carp if he does not make the big league roster.
- Richard Durrett of ESPN.com applauds the Rangers' efforts to bolster their starting depth.
- Dan Wheeler is happy to be a member of Boston's improved bullpen, writes MLB.com's Ian Browne.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that Seth McClung's deal with the Rangers will pay him $700K if he makes the team. There are another $700K available in bonuses tied to the number of starts he makes.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a report (via Twitter) indicating that Hideki Matsui's contract with the A's has a limited no-trade clause preventing trades to the Mariners, Orioles, Twins, Blue Jays, Indians, and Royals.
- Mariano Rivera told Erik Boland of Newsday that he plans to give long-time teammate Andy Pettitte a call to try to convince the lefty to come back for another season.
- Finding a left-handed bat off the bench is one of the last remaining items on the Marlins offseason agenda, but MLB.com's Joe Frisaro says they might already have that guy on their roster. Catcher John Baker, who is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery, said he would be up for the job until he's cleared to catch again.
- Former Mets GM Omar Minaya told Ian Begley of ESPN New York that he plans to sit down with new GM Sandy Alderson after the holidays to discuss a potential new role with the team. Minaya said he has several offers on the table, including interest from the Diamondbacks.
- Hey iPhone users, do you have the MLBTR app yet? Jason Bartlett does, and that's how he found out his trade to the Padres was in the works.
Marlins, Nolasco On Verge Of Contract Extension
The Marlins and Ricky Nolasco are "putting the finishing touches" on a three-year contract extension worth $27MM, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. The deal is not yet finalized, but the two sides came close to agreeing to terms according to Frisaro's source. Nolasco needs to take and pass a physical as well.
A three-year deal would buy out Nolasco's two remaining years of arbitration-eligibility as well as one year of free agency. He earned $3.8MM in 2010. Just yesterday we heard that the two sides had hit a bit of a snag in their negotiations, but Nolasco's agent Matt Sosnick told us that they remained optimistic about getting a deal done. Clearly, his optimism was warranted.
The 28-year-old Nolasco posted a 4.51 ERA in 157.2 innings this past season, though he once again put up stunning peripheral stats. He struck out 8.4 batters per nine innings pitched and walked just 1.8 per nine unintentionally. For his career, he owns an 8.0 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 (again removing intentional walks), though he is a bit homer prone (1.2 HR/9).
Nolasco had been mentioned as a trade candidate if the two sides were unable to work out a new contract.
This post was originally published on December 19th.
Poll: The Padres’ Opening Day First Baseman
The Padres lost their best player when they traded Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Sox for three prospects earlier this month, and GM Jed Hoyer is still trying to find someone to replace him at first base. Hoyer recently told XX1090 sports radio that the team’s next first baseman will come via free agency (as opposed to trade), and it would also be a one-year solution only.
Derrek Lee, who was originally drafted by the Padres back in 1993, seemed like a logical fit, but yesterday we heard they were unlikely to pursue him after signing Orlando Hudson. Jorge Cantu, Brad Hawpe, and Adam LaRoche are on the team’s list of options instead. Another solution could be free agent Troy Glaus, who Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse reminds us was a client of Padres CEO Jeff Moorad’s back in his agent days (Twitter link). The free agent pool also offers guys like Russell Branyan and Casey Kotchman.
Kyle Blanks would have been an ideal candidate if he wasn’t out until midseason after having Tommy John surgery. Who do you think will be manning first base for the Padres when the season starts?
Who will be the Padres' Opening Day first baseman?
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Jorge Cantu 17% (1,797)
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Troy Glaus 16% (1,713)
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Derrek Lee 15% (1,657)
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Adam LaRoche 13% (1,412)
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Someone not listed 12% (1,271)
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Casey Kotchman 11% (1,187)
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Russell Branyan 10% (1,048)
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Brad Hawpe 7% (742)
Total votes: 10,827
Rays Loading Up On Draft Picks
The Rays have become baseball's model franchise when it comes to drafting and developing players from within. Four-fifths of their 2010 starting rotation was homegrown (all but Matt Garza), as were sixth and seventh starters Andy Sonnanstine and Jeremy Hellickson. Homegrown products Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria batted three-four in their lineup for much of the season while B.J. Upton roamed centerfield and John Jaso handled most of the catching duties. Jason Bartlett was just traded to the Padres to clear room for Reid Brignac, another homegrown player.
Tampa is going to have to continue to operate this way to contend at the big league level given their financial situation, and there is plenty of more help on the way from their strong farm system. The Rays will also have a tremendous opportunity to replenish the pipeline in the 2011 draft because they are loading up on compensation picks this offseason.
In addition to their own first round pick (32nd overall), the Rays also received Boston's first rounder (24th overall) when Crawford headed north, and they also pocketed three supplemental first round picks for Crawford, Joaquin Benoit, and Randy Choate. That's not it though. They can still receive six more compensation picks if Rafael Soriano (Type-A), Grant Balfour (A), Brad Hawpe (B), and Chad Qualls (B) all sign elsewhere. That's 11 potential first or supplemental first round draft picks, the last of which can be no worse than 64th overall.
Of course having a lot of early draft picks means the Rays will have to spend a lot of money to sign those players. The Angels led the way with five of the first 64 picks last year and spent over $6.2MM to sign those players. That's more than 15 teams spent on their entire draft class. The Blue Jays had eight of the first 100 picks and spent more than $6.55MM to sign those players. No matter how many picks Tampa ultimately ends up with, this will clearly be a costly venture.
The Rays are not shy about spending money on draft picks though. They gave David Price the largest major league contract out of the draft in six years in 2007 and signed Tim Beckham to what was then the largest minor league contract in draft history in 2008. Over the last three seasons Tampa has spent over $21MM on draft picks, the seventh most in baseball.
Tampa has already lost the best player in franchise history as well as basically its entire bullpen via free agency this offseason, but landing all of those extra draft picks will be a nice consolation. The 2011 draft class is widely considered one of the best and deepest in years, and they're well positioned to reap the benefits thanks to scouting director R.J. Harrison and his staff.
Click here to see the current 2011 draft order.
Red Sox Still Looking At Lefty Relievers
The Red Sox have been one of, if not the most active team this offseason, and over the last week they've upgraded their bullpen by adding Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler. ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes says (via Twitter) that the team is still looking at lefty relievers, and one name that could be in play is Dennys Reyes.
Reyes had a one-year contract worth $1.1MM in place with the Phillies earlier this month, but yesterday we learned that the two sides "hit a snag" and the deal fell apart with no reason given. The free agent market still offers plenty of other options, including Brian Fuentes (who the Sox have interest in), Joe Beimel, Will Ohman, Arthur Rhodes, and J.C. Romero. Fuentes, however, is looking for a deal in line with the three-year pact Scott Downs received.