Amateur Signing Bonuses: Pirates
Let's move our amateur signing bonus to the Steel City…
- Jameson Taillon, $6.5MM (2010)
- Pedro Alvarez, $6MM (2008)
- Bryan Bullington, $4MM (2002)
- Brad Lincoln, $2.75MM (2006)
- Luis Heredia, $2.6MM (2010)
If there's any good that can come out of finishing with a below-.500 record for 18 straight years, it's that you'll have a ton of high draft picks. Unfortunately for the Pirates, they really didn't take advantage of those high picks until the last few years, as too many first rounders to count have flamed out since the team's last winning season. Neal Huntington has been dedicated to building the next great Pirates team through the farm system, so he's spent a ton of money on amateurs since taking over in late 2007. In fact, Pittsburgh has doled out close to $30.6MM on draft picks in the three years that Huntington's run the team, the most in baseball by more than $2MM.
Taillon was the best pitcher available in this year's draft class, high school or otherwise, so the Pirates gobbled him up with the second overall pick and gave him the second largest signing bonus in draft history, trailing only Stephen Strasburg's $7.5MM bonus. It's also the largest bonus ever given as part of a minor league contract. Taillon did not pitch after signing and will start his career next spring.
There was a bit of drama with the Alvarez signing after he was chosen second overall in 2008. Alvarez and agent Scott Boras agreed to a minor league contract worth $6MM, but the deal was struck two minutes after the August 15th signing deadline passed. The union filed a grievance on the player's behalf, and the issue was resolved a month later. Alvarez ultimately received the same $6MM bonus, though the second time around it came as part of four-year, $6.335MM major league contract. He reached the big leagues this summer and hit .256/.326/.461 with 16 homers in 386 plate appearances. Alvarez is expected to be a force in the middle of the Pirates' lineup for the next half-decade, at least.
Bullington was one of those dud draft picks we talked about earlier, taken with the first overall pick in 2002. The Pirates' brain trust famously referred to him as a solid mid-rotation starter not long after the draft (an opinion other teams agreed with), not exactly what you expect with the top pick. Even worse, Bullington failed to deliver on even those modest expectations. He pitched to a 3.32 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 288 innings in his first two pro seasons, then made his big league debut in September 2005 (two runs in 1.1 innings). Bullington missed the entire 2006 season due to shoulder surgery, and he was eventually lost to the Indians on waivers after being designated for assignment in July 2008. All told, he threw just 18.1 innings for Pittsburgh, posting a 5.89 ERA.
Lincoln was the fourth overall pick in 2006, but he ended up missing the entire 2007 season due to Tommy John surgery. He came back in 2008 and pitched well enough in the minors to earn his first taste of the big leagues this June. In 52.2 innings with the Pirates (nine starts, two relief appearances), Lincoln pitched to a Halloween appropriate 6.66 ERA. He figures to get a long look in Spring Training.
The draft isn't the only place where Huntington has spent big, he's also given out some huge bonuses on the international market. They heavily pursued Miguel Sano before he signed with the Twins, though they did sign the 16-year-old Heredia this past August. Since his rights were owned by the Mexican team Veracruz, Heredia received just 25% of that bonus ($650K). The other 75% went to Veracruz ($1.95MM). He'll start his pro career next season.
It's worth noting that Tony Sanchez (fourth overall in 2009) and Danny Moskos (fourth overall in 2007) are right behind Heredia at $2.5MM and $2.475MM, respectively.
Week In Review: 10/25/10 – 10/31/10
While the baseball world enjoys Game Four of the World Series, let's review the week that was on the rumor circuit…
- The Mets officially named Sandy Alderson their new general manager this week, and he indicated that they will not be big spenders on the free agent this winter.
- Rumors of an Ozzie Guillen for Mike Stanton swap surfaced, though the reports were later shot down. Don't expect it to happen, but that sure would be fun.
- The Blue Jays hired John Farrell to be their new manager, and Manny Ramirez wouldn't mind playing for him.
- Dave Duncan agreed to a new two-year deal to stay in St. Louis, making him the game's highest paid pitching coach.
- Bobby Valentine is the leading candidate to manager the Brewers. Unless Don Wakamatsu landing a managerial job elsewhere, he will be the Orioles' bench coach in 2011. The Marlins are leaning toward keeping interim manager Edwin Rodriguez on a full-time basis.
- The Yankees re-signed manager Joe Girardi to a new three-year, $9MM contract. They will discuss how much they're willing to offer Cliff Lee this week, and will look for a lefty reliever this offseason.
- Philadelphia has money to spend, and they have made contact with Scott Boras about Jayson Werth. The Phils are unlikely to bring Jamie Moyer back on anything but a non-guaranteed deal.
- The Mets and Hisanori Takahashi have extended their deadline to get a new contract worked out to November 5th after he hired a new agent. They offered the lefty a one-year deal recently.
- The Rakuten Golden Eagles are hoping to receive $16MM-17MM when they post righty Hisashi Iwakuma. Hiroyuki Nakajima hasn't given up on being posted.
- It's unclear if the Blue Jays will go to arbitration with Jose Bautista, or offer him a one- or multi-year deal. Jorge de la Rosa intends to test the free agent market.
- The White Sox are targeting Colby Rasmus in a trade, while their captain Paul Konerko will be a priority of the Diamondbacks this offseason. The Tigers are said to be "deeply interested" in Carl Crawford and are expected to work something out with Jhonny Peralta.
- Dan Uggla and the Marlins made some movement towards a contract extension, and David Ortiz still wants security in the form of a multi-year deal. The Giants don't figure to increase their payroll much despite going to the Fall Classic.
- Jose Molina had his 2011 option picked up by the Blue Jays, as did Matt Thornton and Ramon Castro of the White Sox. The Twins exercised Jason Kubel's option while declining Nick Punto's. The Yanks declined their options for Kerry Wood, Lance Berkman, and Nick Johnson, as did the Phillies with J.C. Romero.
- Both the Padres and Yankees signed a high profile international free agents; San Diego Edwin Moreno and New York Wilmer Romero.
- Among the players that elected free agency this week: Gabe Gross and Jeff Larish of the Athletics, Chris Gimenez and Anthony Reyes of the Indians, and Greg Dobbs of the Phillies.
- Rangers' CEO Chuck Greenberg confirmed that they will discuss a contract extension with GM Jon Daniels after the season.
- Last, but certainly not least, Pedro Martinez is looking for motivation to come back.
MLBTR Originals: 10/25/10 – 10/31/10
The Rangers and Giants are providing plenty of action on the field, but at MLBTR we love everything that goes on off the field and behind the scenes. Here's a round up of our original content from the last week…
- The official Elias rankings for the 2010-2011 offseason were released, and Ben Nicholson-Smith listed all of the Type-A and Type-B free agents.
- Tim Dierkes looked at the free agent market for designated hitters, right fielders, and center fielders, as well as the trade market for right fielders, center fielders, and left fielders. He also reviewed last year's big free agent deals.
- The Arbitration Eligibles series concluded with the Giants. Here's a list with links for all 30 teams.
- Ben tried to dig up some potential platoon partners for Domonic Brown, trade suitors for Adrian Gonzalez, as well as find some landing spots for A.J. Pierzynski.
- We broke down several non-tender candidates, including Andrew Miller of the Marlins, Mike Fontenot of the Giants, Jack Cust of the Athletics, John Maine of the Mets, and Fred Lewis of the Blue Jays.
- We also looked at the stock of soon-to-be free agents like Jon Rauch of the Twins, Frank Francisco of the Rangers, and Brian Fuentes of the Twins.
- Our series reviewing each team's amateur spending plugged along, continuing this week with the Astros, Royals, Angels, Dodgers, Brewers, Twins, Mets, Yankees, Athletics, and Phillies.
- This week's poll questions concerned David Ortiz's future and whether you prefer Ozzie Guillen or Mike Stanton.
- In honor of Sandy Alderson's hiring, Howard Megdal ranked the 11 other general managers in Mets' history.
- I rounded up the best the blogosphere had to offer in this week's Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
- Ben's chat transcript can be found here.
- Want to write for MLBTR? Then check out this post for info on how to apply. If you'd like to advertise with MLBTR, that info can be found here.
Amateur Signing Bonuses: Phillies
The Phillies are next in our series looking at the five largest bonuses each team has given to amateur prospects…
- Gavin Floyd, $4.2MM (2001)
- Pat Burrell, $3.15MM (1998)
- Brett Myers, $2.05MM (1999)
- Cole Hamels, $2MM (2002)
- Chase Utley, $1.78MM (2000)
Philadelphia managed to land an above-average big leaguer with each of those bonuses, but unfortunately Floyd developed into that player with another team. Taken fourth overall in 2001, he pitched to a 6.96 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9 in 108.2 innings with the Phillies before being traded to the White Sox (along with Gio Gonzalez) for Freddy Garcia in December 2006.
As the first overall pick in 1998, Burrell's deal paved the way for the mega-deals we see now. The $3.15MM bonus was part of a five-year, $8MM major league contract, an unheard of amount for a draftee back then. Burrell reached the big leagues less than two years after being drafted, and was a fixture in the Phillies' lineup for the better part of a decade. He hit .257/.367/.485 with 251 homers in seven years with Philadelphia before departing for the Rays as a free agent after the 2008 season.
Myers was the 12th overall pick in 1999 and made his big league debut in July 2002. He made 30+ starts every year from 2003-2006, and overall pitched to a 4.40 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 183 starts and 57 relief appearances with the Phillies. He, of course, signed with the Astros as a free agent last winter.
Hamels is yet another first round success story, reaching the majors less than four years after being drafted 17th overall. He owns a 3.53 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 149 career starts, taking home World Series MVP honors in 2008. More money well spent.
Might as well save the best for last. Utley was the 15th overall pick in 2000 and first reached the big leagues in 2003. He's a .293/.380/.514 career hitter at a premium up-the-middle position, earning five consecutive trips to the All Star Game (2006-2010) and three top eight finishes in the NL MVP voting (2006, 2007, 2009) in his career. Since Utley's first full season in '06, only Albert Pujols (42.6) and Joe Mauer (33.8) can top his 30.8 WAR.
Odds & Ends: Crawford, Indians, Lopez, Brewers
A few links to check out after the Rangers picked up their first World Series win in franchise history…
- Torii Hunter is at the World Series for TV work, though he did mention liking the idea of Carl Crawford in an Angels' uniform according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter links). Hunter wouldn't confirm if he's been lobbying the soon-to-be free agent outfielder.
- In a mailbag piece, Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer answers questions about the Indians chances of signing quality free agents and whether or not Javier Vazquez is a fit for them.
- FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal tweets that Giants' lefty reliever Javier Lopez will fall short of qualifying for free agency this offseason by just five days of service time. It's a shame he won't be able to cash in on his dominant postseason (5.2 innings, one hit, one walk, six strikeouts).
- Rosenthal also says that the Brewers are just doing their due diligence, and are expected to name a manager shortly after the World Series (Twitter link).
- Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune lists the hurdles the White Sox would have to clear if they want to acquire Colby Rasmus. He also noted that St. Louis had people watching ChiSox prospects at a recent Arizona Fall League game.
- Chad Jennings of The Journal News provide an offseason to-do list for the Yankees.
- MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli tweets that the announcement of the Orioles' coaching staff is being held up by Don Wakamatsu. He'll be their bench coach unless he lands a managerial gig elsewhere.
- Joel Sherman of The New York Post explains what impressed him about Sandy Alderson's introductory press conference yesterday.
- Meanwhile, Newsday's David Lennon wonders if Alderson's hiring will boost ticket sales (via Twitter). Mets' attendance has dropped from an average of 51,165 fans per game in 2008 to 32,401 in 2010 despite the opening of CitiField last season. Obviously the economy is part of the problem.
- Jennings also passed along a lengthy quote from Yankees GM Brian Cashman, who explains his desire to make his team younger without sacrificing their ability to be competitive.
- Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle compares the path the Rangers and Giants took to the World Series to some of the moves the Astros made a few seasons ago.
Non-Tender Candidate: Andrew Miller
There is no commodity in baseball more precious than young power pitching, and that goes double if the player happens to be lefthanded. That's the case with Andrew Miller of the Marlins, the sixth overall pick in the 2006 draft and one of the key pieces in the December 2007 trade that sent Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to Detroit.
It's easy to forget that he's still just 25 years old, but it seems like Miller had lived a baseball lifetime. He made his big league debut a few weeks after signing his first contract, throwing 10.1 innings of low-pressure relief down the stretch for Jim Leyland's club. After a brief minor league tune-up the next year, Miller found himself in the Tigers' rotation at midsummer, posting a 5.63 ERA in 13 starts. The next year he was in Florida, and in his three seasons with the Fish he's pitched to a 5.89 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9 in 220 innings.
Miller has been bouncing back and forth between the majors and minors throughout his career as he's struggled to find consistency with his delivery and command, and as a result he's now out of options. If the Marlins want to sent him to minors next year, he'll have to first be exposed to the other 29 teams on waivers. There's a chance that will be a non-issue though, because Florida may opt to simply non-tender Miller this offseason.
Thanks to the major league contract he signed out of the draft, Miller earned a touch over $1.79MM in 2010. That original deal expired after 2009, though it paid him $1.575MM that season, which was used as a base for his 2010 compensation. Considering how poorly he's pitched, not to mention the system in general, Miller wouldn't have come close to a seven-figure salary in either of the last two years if he was a regular player with less than three years of service time. Given their financial restraints, it's not tough to see why the Marlins may opt to pass on paying Miller close to $2MM in 2011.
Despite all that, it's tough to walk away from a young lefty that still touches the mid-90's with his fastball. The Kevin Towers led Padres wanted Miller in a potential Heath Bell trade last year, and I'm sure general manager Michael Hill would be able to drum up some trade interest if he looks around. That would be preferable than a non-tender, since at least Florida would get something other than payroll relief in return.
What do you think the Marlins will do with Miller this offseason? Click here to vote and here to see the results. Thanks in advance.
Mets Offered Takahashi One-Year Deal
Most of the news regarding the Mets and southpaw Hisanori Takahashi has been about extending their deadline to work out a new deal, but now David Waldstein of The New York Times brings some actual contract news. The team offered Takahashi a one-year deal heavy with incentives, but the lefty wants two or three years guaranteed. That offer was made before Sandy Alderson took over as GM, however.
The 35-year-old Takahashi did everything the Mets asked of him in 2010 and then some, working as both a starter and reliever, and even filling in as closer when Francisco Rodriguez was on the disqualified list. In 122 innings, Takahashi put up a 3.61 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9. Before that he spent nine years with the Yomiuri Giants.
We heard the two sides were discussing a new contract last week, and they have since agreed to push the deadline to get a new deal done back to November 5th. If no deal is reached by then, the Mets would not be able to re-sign Takahashi to a major league contract until after May 15th because of an obscure rule (Rule 8(i)(2), to be exact).
Diamondbacks To Pursue Paul Konerko
Long-time White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko went to high school in Scottsdale and still makes his offseason home in the area, and if the Diamondbacks have their way he'll be playing there year-round as well. ESPNChicago.com's Bruce Levine reports Konerko will be an offseason priority for the D-Backs once the free agency period opens in another week or so.
Arizona received good but not great production out of Adam LaRoche in 2010 (.261/.320/.468 with 25 homers), and this report seems to indicate that they will buy out his $7.5MM mutual option for $1.5MM rather than pick it up. Konerko had a monster season, hitting .312/.393/.584 with 39 home runs in 631 plate appearances. New GM Kevin Towers expressed an interest in cutting down on his team's strikeouts, something Konerko would certainly help with; he struck out 62 fewer times than LaRoche in 16 more plate appearances.
The 34-year-old Konerko told reporters back in September that he could retire if he's unhappy with the way his offseason shakes out, but I'm sure playing close to home will be an interesting option. Konerko has also said that contract length isn't much of a priority because he isn't sure how much longer he wants to play. He just wrapped up five-year deal that paid him $12MM annually.
Amateur Signing Bonuses: Athletics
Let's take a trip to the Bay Area and continue our amateur signing bonus series…
- Michael Ynoa, $4.25MM (2008)
- Mark Mulder, $3.2MM (1998)
- Grant Green $2.75MM (2009)
- Renato Nunez, $2.2MM (2010)
- Michael Choice, $2MM (2010)
The Athletics are undeniably a small market team, but they spend like financial powerhouses when it comes to young talent. Ynoa, formerly known as Michel Inoa and arguably the most hyped Latin America pitching prospect of all-time, had a deal in place with the Yankees for $2.7MM before agent Adam Katz stepped in and raised the price. He ended up signing with Oakland for the largest bonus ever given to an international prospect, nearly doubling the previous record (Wily Mo Pena's $2.44MM). Ynoa missed a big chunk of the 2009 season with elbow soreness, then managed just nine innings (six hits, five runs, four walks, eleven strikeouts) this season behind needing Tommy John surgery that will cost him most of 2011.
Mulder was the second overall pick in 1998 reached the big leagues less than two years later. He pitched to a 5.44 ERA in 154 innings as a rookie in 2000, then finished second in the Cy Young voting thanks to a 3.45 ERA, 6.0 K/9, and 2.0 BB/9 in 229.1 innings the very next season. Mulder was a horse for the Athletics (3.92 ERA in 1003 innings from 2000-2004) before being dealt to the Cardinals for a package highlighted by a 24-year-old righty named Dan Haren.
Green (13th overall) and Choice (tenth) are Oakland's last two first round picks. Green hit .318/.363/.520 in his full season as a professional in 2010, Choice .266/.377/.587 in 130 plate appearances after signing. Nunez was the team's top international signing this summer, agreeing to his deal on July 2nd, the day the signing period began. He'll begin his career next season. The A's also signed another top Latin American prospect this year in 16-year-old catcher Argy Raga. His bonus is unknown, however.
Gabe Gross, Jeff Larish Declare Free Agency
Outfielder Gabe Gross and infielder Jeff Larish declared free agency after being outrighted off the Athletics' 40-man roster according to a team press release. Righthanders Jon Meloan and Justin Souza were also outrighted, but remain in the organization.
Gross, 31, hit just .239/.290/.311 in 243 plate appearances this year after signing a one-year, $750K deal last offseason. Despite the down year, Gross said he would return to the A's in 2011 "with bells on." Larish, 28, was claimed off waivers from the Tigers in August and hit .175/.277/.333 in 65 plate appearances with Oakland.
Neither Meloan nor Souza appeared in the big leagues this year. The former didn't pitch at all due to Tommy John surgery, the latter managed a 4.33 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9 in 49 relief innings, mostly at the Double-A level level.