We'll keep track of the day's outright assignments right here…
Blue Jays hurlers Brett Cecil and Kyle Drabek and drawing attention from scouts of other teams, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The team is reluctant to move Drabek while his value is down, however. He was acquired in the Roy Halladay trade and considered one of the game's 30 best prospects just one year ago by Baseball America.
Cecil, 25, pitched to a 4.73 ERA in 123 2/3 innings for Toronto last season. His velocity had dropped noticeably, and he spent a dozen starts in Triple-A trying to figure things out. Drabek, 24, posted a 6.06 ERA with more walks (55) than strikeouts (51) in 78 2/3 innings last season. He spent another 75 ineffective innings in Triple-A. The left-handed Cecil is under team control through 2015, the right-handed Drabek through 2017.
Earlier today Rosenthal reported that the Jays were in the market to add starting pitching, not necessarily subtract it. They've spoken to the White Sox about Gavin Floyd and GM Alex Anthopoulos recently scouted Joe Blanton of the Phillies. Nationals' left-hander John Lannan is said to be available as well. The Jays could be willing to move either Cecil or Drabek for a more established pitcher with a similar amount of team control years remaining.
Here's the latest on the Red Sox, who are trying to get back to the playoffs after two straight years on the outside looking in…
On this date in 1995, the 28 owners unanimously approved the addition of two new franchises: the Diamondbacks and Devil Rays. The clubs were assigned leagues in 1997 and started play in 1998. Here are the box scores for the first game in D'Backs and D'Rays history. With the regular season just a month away, let's round up the latest from around the web…
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The new Collective Bargaining Agreement changed the game for large payroll clubs, raising the luxury tax rate and offering partial revenue sharing refunds for remaining under the luxury tax threshold. Yankees GM Brian Cashman and owner Hal Steinbrenner have both come out and said the club’s goal is to get under the $189MM luxury tax threshold by 2014, just two years from now.
At the moment, the Yankees have just three players under contract for 2014: Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, and CC Sabathia. Those three combine for $75.125MM in salary, giving the team roughly $113MM for the remaining 37 spots on its 40-man roster plus benefits and bonuses. Both Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson are scheduled to become free agents after 2013, and both could command $20MM+ annual salaries if they maintain last year’s production. Michael Pineda and Ivan Nova will both be in their first arbitration years, potentially giving the club two cost effective rotation options behind Sabathia.
Building a World Series contender for $189MM or less is obviously doable, but getting from where the Yankees are now to where they want to be in 2014 may prove difficult. Cashman and everyone else in the front office will have to come up with creative solutions at certain positions and also make some very difficult decisions about whether to retain productive players or allow them to leave as a free agents.
Here's the latest from baseball's two West divisions as some late night baseball is being played in Florida…
SATURDAY, 3:05pm: Victorino seemingly softened his stance when addressing reporters today, writes Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The 31-year-old would still like a five-year deal, but says that staying in Philadelphia is his top priority.
"I'm not saying this will be my last one. It might be. Who knows? What I'm saying is, why not finish it here? I made it seem like I want a five-year deal, but I'd love to stay," the centerfielder said.
Victorino added that his agents, Sam and Seth Levinson, have yet to formally engage in contract negotiations with the club.
THURSDAY, 4:51pm: While Cole Hamels garners most of the attention as the Phillies' top free agent after the season, the team is also faced with the impending free agency of center fielder Shane Victorino. Victorino told MLB.com's Todd Zolecki that he's looking for a five-year contract, but is willing to take a reasonable hometown discount to remain in Philadelphia.
"I look at it this way," Victorino said. "If it's a significant difference, I have to weigh my options more than anything. I obviously love to play in Philly. They gave me my opportunity. … But I also understand there's a window in this game … When I say I don't want to go anywhere, yeah, I call this home. I want to finish my career here. I won't say I won't take a hometown discount, but I also will say I want to maximize my opportunity with not only what I've accomplished as an individual, but as part of a team."
Victorino said he expects the two sides to discuss an extension during Spring Training, and he would allow talks to carry into the regular season even though that's not his preference. He's represented by Sam and Seth Levinson.
A .279/.355/.491 hitter in 2011, the 31-year-old Victorino is currently in the final season of the three-year, $22MM deal he signed in January 2010. Outfielders Torii Hunter ($90MM), J.D. Drew ($70MM), and Aaron Rowand ($60MM) all signed five-year contracts as free agents in recent years, and chances are The Flyin' Hawaiian's camp will use those deals as reference points during negotiations.
2:32pm: Maybin will earn $500K in 2012 with the money escalating each year, according to Corey Brock of MLB.com. The 24-year-old will earn $3MM, $5MM, $7MM, $8MM, and $9MM in years to follow. The final year of the deal, 2017, comes with a $1MM buyout.
11:11am: The Padres and Cameron Maybin have agreed to a five-year contract extension with an option for a sixth year, reports Scott Miller of CBSSports.com. Dan Hayes of The North County Times first reported that an extension was imminent earlier this morning. The Brian Goldberg client will get $25MM guaranteed, according to Corey Brock of MLB.com. The option is worth $7-8MM. The team has announced the deal.
The five-year contract extension covers Maybin's final pre-arbitration season, all three seasons of arbitration-eligibility, and one free agent year with an option for second. Maybin did ask for a no-trade clause according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter), but the team has a policy against them.
Maybin, 24, enjoyed a breakout season in San Diego last summer after being acquired from the Marlins for Ryan Webb and Edward Mujica. He hit .264/.323/.393 with nine homers and 40 steals overall, but like most players he was much more productive away from Petco Park: .294/.349/.457 with seven homers. Maybin is also considered a strong defensive center fielder, ranking third at the position with a +9.5 UZR in 2011.
The contract is similar to the one signed by Chris Young with the Diamondbacks back in 2008, a five-year deal worth $25.5MM that was brokered by current Padres GM Josh Byrnes. He had less than two years of service time at the time, however. Curtis Granderson ($30.25MM) also signed a five-year deal at a similar point in his career. Both Young and Granderson had a substantial advantage over Maybin in power numbers though, so it appears as though Goldberg got a nice deal for his defense-first outfielder.
As our Extension Tracker shows, the Padres have not signed a player to an extension longer than three years since Adrian Gonzalez and Chris Young in April 2007. Jake Peavy signed a three-year, $52MM extension in December 2007 and Jason Bartlett signed a two-year, $11MM deal last January. The two sides had been talking about a long-term extension most of the offseason, though talks stalled early last month when Maybin changed agents. Ben Nicholson-Smith suggested that the five-year contract worth $21-22MM could work for both parties back in January.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Most clubs have addressed their significant roster questions by the time players report to Spring Training, but there are always minor tweaks to be made. We've already seen one extension today, now let's look back at notable transactions made last March with some help from our Transaction Tracker…
Outfielder Chris Carter is now playing with the Seibu Lions, reports ESPN New York's Adam Rubin (on Twitter). This is the Chris Carter who was traded from the Red Sox to the Mets for Billy Wagner in 2009, not the current Athletics prospect.
Carter, 29, has hit .263/.316/.374 with four homers in 206 big league plate appearances spread across three seasons. He spent last year in Triple-A with the Rays and Braves, hitting .286/.331/.488 with 14 homers in 308 plate appearances. The left-handed swinger has experience at both corner outfield spots as well as first base.
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