Cardinals Set Timetable For Pujols Talks?
The Cardinals "appear to have firmed" the timetable for talks about a new contract with Albert Pujols according to Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link). The team unsurprisingly picked up their first baseman's $16MM option for 2011 last month.
Pujols, 31 in January, has a resume that reads like a video game. He's a .331/.426/.624 career hitter with nine All Star Game appearances in ten seasons, not to mention three MVP awards and five other top four finishes in the voting. Next season will be the final one on the seven-year, $100MM contract he signed before the 2004 season.
GM John Mozeliak indicated that the club might increase its payroll over the next few seasons back in September, something they'll almost certainly have to do to keep their megastar and remain competitive.
Dodgers Acquire Anthony Jackson To Complete Dotel Trade
The Dodgers have selected outfielder Anthony Jackson as the player to be named later in September's Octavio Dotel trade according to the Rockies' official Twitter feed. Dotel allowed four runs in just 5 1/3 innings with the Rockies.
Jackson, 26, is a career .252/.331/.340 hitter in 2,290 minor league plate appearances. He's spent the last two seasons with Colorado's Double-A affiliate and was not listed as one of the team's top 30 prospects in the 2010 edition of Baseball America's Prospect Handbook.
Dodgers Re-Sign Hiroki Kuroda
The Dodgers have re-signed right-hander Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year contract worth $12MM. The deal includes a full no-trade clause and an additional $500K in performance bonuses.
Kuroda, 36 in February, just wrapped up a three-year deal with the Dodgers that paid him $35.3MM. He's pitched to a 3.60 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 82 career starts (and one relief appearance) with LA, though 2010 was his best season yet: 3.39 ERA, 7.3 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 in 196.1 innings. Kuroda missed time with a shoulder strain, an oblique issue, and a concussion during his first two years in MLB, but he was healthy this season.
Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times reported the original agreement as well as the length of the contract. SI.com's Jon Heyman and FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal added the financial details (all four Twitter links).
Melvin: “We’re Not Shopping Prince”
Prince Fielder has just one more year to go before becoming eligible for free agency, and as a result many around the game expect the Brewers to shop their hulking first baseman. GM Doug Melvin told USA Today's Bob Nightengale that isn't the case however, saying explicitly "We're not shopping Prince." Here's the full quote…
"We're not shopping Prince,'' said the Brewers GM. "I'd like to keep him. He's a homegrown player who wants to play every inning of every game. But we'd like to get something done by the end of the off-season. I don't want to negotiate during the year.''
Melvin indicated that the end of Spring Training is the team's deadline for working out an extension with their two-time All Star. Fielder, 26 and a Scott Boras client, is a .279/.385/.535 career hitter, averaging 38 home runs in his five full seasons as a big leaguer.
Nightengale also lists a number of players that are already "under discussion," including Zack Greinke, Dan Uggla, Adrian Gonzalez, Bobby Jenks, Jonathan Papelbon, Nick Swisher, Jason Bartlett, Mark Reynolds, and both Justin and B.J. Upton.
Reds Re-Sign Ramon Hernandez
The Reds have re-signed catcher Ramon Hernandez to a one-year contract according to the team's official Twitter feed. FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal reports that the deal is worth $3MM (Twitter link).
Hernandez, 34, hit .297/.364/.428 with 18 doubles and seven homers in 352 plate appearances this season, though he was usurped by Ryan Hanigan as the team's everyday catcher. Hernandez failed to appear in the 120 games needed for his $3.25MM option to vest, getting into just 97 contests.
Luke Adams broke down Hernandez's free agent stock last month.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Victor Martinez
Quality catching is extremely hard to come by these days, and Victor Martinez is the best backstop available on the free agent market by a wide margin. Let's review his stock…
The Good
- Martinez is as consistent with the bat as they come. He's posted an OPS between .844 and .879 in six of the last seven years.
- A true switch hitter, Martinez is a .301/.379/.482 hitter from the right side and .298/.363/.462 from the left, so the drop-off is minimal.
- Despite the rigors of catching regularly, V-Mart has only been on the disabled list twice in the last seven years. He had surgery to remove bone chips in his right elbow in 2008, and fractured his thumb on a foul tip this year.
- He's also versatile, capable of both catching and playing first base. DH is always an option as well.
The Bad
- Martinez's defense behind the plate leaves plenty to be desired. He's thrown out just 24% of attempted base stealers in his career, and over the last two seasons that mark is just 18.8%.
- At 31 years old (32 next month), his days behind the plate are probably numbered.
- Martinez is a Type-A free agent and will certainly be offered arbitration, so it'll cost a high draft pick to sign him.
The Verdict
Martinez rejected Boston's two-year contract extension offer over the summer, so he's clearly looking to land a big payday while he can. Aside from the Red Sox, the Tigers, Orioles, and Rockies are all said to have interest in the switch hitting catcher, so competition will be steep. He's one of the few true impact bats in this free agent class and will be paid accordingly, though the smart money is on V-Mart ending a potential four-year contract as a full-time first baseman or DH.
Amateur Signing Bonuses: Blue Jays
Let's take our series looking at each club's spending on amateur players north of the border…
- Adeiny Hechavarria, $4MM (2010)
- Adonis Cardona, $2.8MM (2010)
- Ricky Romero, $2.4MM (2005)
- Felipe Lopez, $2MM (1998)
- Deck McGuire, $2MM (2010)
When Alex Anthopoulos replaced J.P. Ricciardi as Toronto's GM last October, one of the first things he did was considerably increase the size of the team's scouting department. The fruits of that labor are seen above, as three of the five largest signing bonuses the team has ever given to amateur players came this year.
Hechavarria defected from Cuba in 2009 and signed with the Jays this March. His bonus was part of a four-year big league contract worth $10MM, and he reportedly passed on signing with the Yankees because he didn't want to get stuck behind Derek Jeter. The 21-year-old shortstop hit .242/.272/.333 in 440 plate appearances this season, most of which came at Double-A.
Cardona was the team's other big international signing this year, receiving the largest bonus ever given to a Venezuelan-born player and the second largest ever given to a Latin American pitcher. The 16-year-old signed in July and will begin his career next season. McGuire was the tenth overall selection in this year's draft, though he did not pitch after signing and like Cardona he will start his career in 2011.
Toronto selected Romero with the sixth overall pick in 2005 and expected him to climb the ladder quickly as a polished college left-hander, but he didn't make it to the show until four seasons after being drafted. He's certainly proven to be worth the wait though; Romero has posted a 3.99 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 61 starts (388 innings) over the last two years.
Lopez was the eighth overall pick back in 1998, and after a little more than three years in the minors he made his big league debut. Lopez hit just .240/.293/.399 in 501 plate appearances for the Blue Jays before being traded to the Reds in a four-team swap that included Erubiel Durazo, Elmer Dessens, and a player to be named later (Jason Arnold).
Phillies, Contreras Close To Two-Year Deal
The Phillies and reliever Jose Contreras are close to reaching an agreement on a two-year deal worth $5MM, reports ESPNDeportes.com's Enrique Rojas. The deal also includes an option for a third year plus performance based incentives.
Contreras, 39 next month, was very good for the Phillies in 2010, pitching to a 3.34 ERA in 56.2 innings. He struck out 9.1 and walked just 2.5 batters for every nine innings pitched. Earlier this week we heard that the Phillies were "working aggressively" to re-sign him.
Tim Dierkes broke down Contreras' free agent stock back in May, saying that he could be in line for a two-year deal if his strong work as a reliever held up.
Phillies Interested In Hisanori Takahashi
The Phillies are showing interest in Hisanori Takahashi, reports ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin. Philadelphia declined J.C. Romero's option a few weeks ago, so they're in the market for a left-handed reliever.
The Mets were unable to work out a new contract with Takahashi despite numerous deadline extensions earlier this month, and they were contractually obligated to release him. The 35-year-old is reportedly seeking a three-year deal worth upwards of $15MM coming off his first season in MLB. In 122 innings with New York, he struck out 8.4 men per nine innings and walked 3.2, resulting in a 3.61 ERA. Takahashi made a dozen starts and 41 relief appearances, filling in as closer when Francisco Rodriguez was injured late in the season.
Tim Dierkes examined Takahashi's free agent stock in-depth back in September.
MLBTR Originals: 11/7/10 – 11/14/10
The GM Meetings are upon us this week, but let's review the original content featured at MLBTR over the last seven days…
- Tim Dierkes published his annual list of the top 50 free agents with predictions about where they'll sign. The rest of the staff provided their predictions as well.
- Tim also broke down the trade market for relief pitchers, and detailed why closing jobs might be hard to come by.
- Ben Nicholson-Smith explained why most Type-A free agents won't sign right away, and also dug up some potential suitors for Gordon Beckham.
- Among the free agents whose stock we examined this week: Adam Dunn of the Nationals, J.J. Putz of the White Sox, Vladimir Guerrero of the Rangers, Lance Berkman of the Yankees, and Magglio Ordonez of the Tigers.
- We also looked at non-tender candidates like Ryan Ludwick of the Padres, Blaine Boyer of the Diamondbacks, and Kyle Davies of the Royals.
- My series looking at each team's spending on amateur prospects continued with the Mariners, Rays, and Rangers.
- We wanted to know if you think the Phillies are truly intent on keeping Jayson Werth in our lone poll question.
- Here's this week's lengthy edition of Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
- Tim's chat transcript can be found here.
- If you're new to MLBTR, here's a list of our regular features.
- Last, but certainly not least, the MLBTR iPhone app is now available!