Manny Ramirez Will Return To Dodgers in 2010
7:01pm: Hernandez has a quote from Boras:
"Obviously, he enjoys L.A.," Boras said. "If he went into the marketplace, the real negative was that he could end up playing in a place he wasn't comfortable playing."
6:19pm: Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times tweets that according to agent Scott Boras, Manny Ramirez will return to the Dodgers next year. Technically, Manny signed a two-year deal last offseason, but he has the ability to opt out of the 2010 portion of his contract within five days after the World Series. He would forfeit $20MM by doing so.
The 37-year-old Ramirez had a tale of two seasons in 2009. He hit .348/.492/.641 in the team's first 29 games, but "just" .269/.389/.492 after returning from a 50-game banned substance suspension. ESPN's Keith Law said that Manny showed the "the loss of bat speed" at the end of the season, and didn't think that any team should invest $20MM in him for 2010.
Pirates Designate Three For Assignment
The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports that the Pirates designated three players for assignment today: righthanders Virgil Vasquez and Eric Hacker, and catcher Steve Lerud. All three were sent to Double-A Altoona.
Vasquez, 27, had two stints with the Pirates in 2009, pitching to a 5.84 ERA in 44.2 IP. The 26-year-old Hacker was acquired from the Yankees in May, and allowed two runs in three innings this year, his Major League debut. Lerud, 24, hit just .240/.339/.336 in Double-A this season, though Baseball America ranked him the club's 21st best prospect coming into 2009.
Mets Decline Option On J.J. Putz
FRIDAY: The Mets officially declined Putz's option, according to Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News. Rubin adds that the Mets exercised an option to pay Mike Pelfrey $500K in 2010, after which he'll be arbitration-eligible.
THURSDAY: According to Bart Hubbuch of The New York Post, the Mets have informed reliever J.J. Putz that they will not pick up his $9.1MM option for 2010, instead paying him a $1MM buyout. Hubbuch says the club cited health concerns when breaking the news to Putz.
The 32-year-old righthander appeared in just 29 games for the Mets before going down with an elbow injury that eventually required surgery. Putz's velocity was down all year, and his walk rate has jumped nearly four walks per nine innings pitched in the last two seasons.
Royals Trade Mark Teahen To White Sox
3:42pm: Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star heard the Royals sent $1MM to the White Sox with Teahen.
12:35pm: White Sox GM Ken Williams told reporters Teahen will play third base, with Gordon Beckham moving to second. He told MLB.com's Scott Merkin that Scott Podsednik is unlikely to re-sign and the DH position might not be decided until the end of the offseason.
11:16am: The deal is official, according to a Royals press release. The Royals acquired Getz and Fields for Teahen and cash considerations.
FRIDAY, 8:40am: Mum's still the word from all involved, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Late last night, Teahen tweeted that he hadn't heard anything official.
THURSDAY, 5:30pm: The story keeps changing. Now, according to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel, neither team has confirmed the deal.
11:13am: The White Sox have confirmed the trade, according to The Chicago Sun Times. It's Teahen for Getz and Fields.
10:17am: ESPN's Buster Olney says talks are "not that far along." Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun Times mentions that Getz hasn't heard anything about a trade.
9:04am: According to Bill Madden of The NY Daily News, the Royals have agreed to send the versatile Mark Teahen to the White Sox in exchange for Chris Getz and Josh Fields. Madden says Teahen is expected to replace free agent-to-be Jermaine Dye in right field.
The 28-year-old Teahen hit .271/.325/.408 last year, but is a career .261/.325/.514 hitter at U.S. Cellular Field. FanGraphs has him at -2.0 UZR/150 in right, which is a massive upgrade over Dye's -17.5 mark. Teahen earned $3.575MM in 2009, and has two more years of arbitration eligibility ahead of him. He's certainly been the subject of many trade rumors over the years.
Getz, 26, was Chicago's every day second baseman for most of 2009, hitting .261/.324/.347 with 25 stolen bases in 27 attempts. Fields, 28, has struggled to find a place with the White Sox, hitting .229/.302/.416 in 746 plate appearances over the last four years while playing first, third, and left field. Both players are in their pre-arbitration years, and have a combined ten years of team control left.
Red Sox Acquire Jeremy Hermida
According to Juan C. Rodriguez of The Sun Sentinel, the Red Sox have acquired Jeremy Hermida from the Marlins in exchange for minor league lefthanded pitchers Hunter Jones and Jose Alvarez.
Hermida, 25, has hit .265/.344/.425 in almost 2,000 career plate appearances, which is not what many had in mind for the guy Baseball America once ranked as the fourth best prospect in baseball. He earned $2.25MM in 2009, and still has two more years of arbitration eligibility ahead of him.
The 25-year-old Jones got his first taste of the big leagues in 2009, when he put up a 9.24 ERA in 12.2 innings. He spent most of the year in Triple-A, where he held lefties to a .206 AVG against. Alvarez, 20, spent 2009 in Class-A ball, where he put up a 2.26 ERA in 26 games (12 start).
Royals Facing Option Decisions
Now that the World Series has ended, the clock has started for clubs to make decisions about any player options for 2010. The Royals have three such decision to make, involving Coco Crisp, Miguel Olivo, and Yasuhiko Yabuta.
Bob Dutton of The KC Star breaks down what we might see happen with those three…
- Decisions on Crisp's and Yabuta's options are due five days after the end of the World Series, Olivo's just three days.
- The team has shown "little inclination" to pick up Crisp's $8MM option, but his $500K buyout isn't exactly cheap. Crisp was limited to just 49 games last year due to a shoulder injury.
- Dutton notes that the Royals continue to "express interest in negotiating a new contract with Crisp that contains a low guarantee with significant performance bonuses."
- Olivo's $3.3MM option is mutual, meaning he can walk even if the team picks up their half. He's expected to push for a mutli-year deal, which would make the Royals look elsewhere.
- Yabuta has put up a 7.14 ERA in 51.2 IP in two years in KC, so the team figures to walk away from his $4MM option, instead paying him a $500K buyout.
Odds & Ends: Holliday, Putz, Lopez, Teahen, Reds
It's been a busy first day on the hot stove, so here's another batch of links…
- Derrick Goold of The St. Lous Post Dispatch says there are eight teams "that have the need and the financial wherewithal" to sign Matt Holliday. It's the usual suspects (i.e. big market clubs), and Goold explains why each may be interested in Holliday.
- Craig Landis, agent for J.J. Putz, said that his client "hasn't ruled out returning to the Mets with a cheaper, incentive-laden deal," according to Bart Hubbuch of The NY Post. Earlier today we learned that the Mets informed Putz that they wouldn't be picking up his 2010 option.
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy says the Brewers are waiting to see whether Felipe Lopez qualifies as a Type-A or B free agent, and that will likely play a role in their decision whether or not to offer him arbitration. Eddie Bajek's work projects Lopez to be a Type-B, but he's right on the cutoff.
- ESPN's Keith Law loves the Mark Teahen trade for the Royals, noting that they traded one average player close to free agency for two average players with several years of team control left.
- John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Reds' relievers Nick Masset and Jared Burton are arbitration eligible as Super Two's, but Micah Owings is not.
- Meanwhile, the Reds are expected to decline Ramon Hernandez's $8.5MM option for 2010, according to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
- David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal Constitution has some quotes from Tim Hudson about his contract extension.
- Did you catch Mariano Rivera saying that he wants to play another five years during the Yankees' World Series celebration last night? It turns out he wasn't kidding. Chad Jennings of The Journal News quotes the Yanks' closer as saying “I’m serious. I hope the organization does whatever it takes to bring me back.”
Angels Re-Sign Bobby Abreu
2:40pm: Price says the deal is worth $19MM guaranteed. Abreu will be paid $9MM in 2010 and 2011, plus a $1MM buyout of a $9MM option for 2012 that could vest based on plate appearances. Given how the market treated Abreu last year, it's not a surprise that he jumped on this offer.
2:19pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman says the deal also includes a vesting option for 2012.
1:58pm: The Angels have re-signed outfielder Bobby Abreu to a two year deal, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse. Terms of the deal are not yet known, but stay tuned for updates.
The 35-year-old Abreu made just a $5MM base salary in 2009, though incentives tied to plate appearances put another $1MM in his pocket. Abreu hit .293/.390/.435 in his first year in Anaheim, driving in 100+ runs for the seventh straight season.
Daniel Cabrera Becomes A Free Agent
In addition to declining their 2010 option for Chad Tracy, the Diamondbacks cleared three 40-man roster spots by outrighting players, according to The Arizona Republic. The casualities were outfielders Alex Romero and Trent Oeltjen, and righthander Daniel Cabrera. Cabrera elected to become a free agent rather than accept a minor league assignment.
The suddenly well-traveled Cabrera got into six games (one start) for Arizona, allowing eight runs and 20 baserunners in just 11 innings. He also made eight starts and one relief appearance with the Nationals after spending five years in Baltimore.
Diamondbacks Decline Chad Tracy’s Option
The Arizona Republic reports that the Diamondbacks have declined Chad Tracy's $7MM option for 2010, choosing instead to pay him a $1MM buyout.
The 29-year-old Tracy missed a month of the season with a strained oblique, hitting just .236/.306/.389 in 288 plate appearances when he did make it onto the field. Capable of playing first and third base, Tracy's OBP and SLG have each declined for three straight seasons.