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Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Molina, Perez, Cano, Playoffs

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On this date in 1927, Babe Ruth became the highest paid player in baseball history when he signed a three-year contract with the Yankees that would pay him $70K annually. That would be approximately $910K per year in 2012 dollars, giving you an idea of just how much baseball salaries have exploded over the years. Here's the latest from the baseball corner of the internet…

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Padres, Cameron Maybin “Very Close” To Extension

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10:43am: It's a five-year contract worth $23-25MM with a $7-8MM option for a sixth year, reports Hayes (Twitter links). The deal buys out Maybin's final pre-arbitration season, all three seasons of arbitration-eligibility, and one free agent year with an option for second.

9:54am: The Padres and Cameron Maybin are "very close" to a contract extension, reports Dan Hayes of The North County Times. Maybin is a Brian Goldberg client. Terms are unknown, but the deal is likely to be announced later today. 

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 two sides have been talking about a long-term extension most of the offseason. Ben Nicholson-Smith suggested that the five-year contract worth $21-22MM could work for both parties back in January. Maybin will be arbitration-eligible for the first time after this season and can not become a free agent until after 2015.

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.

This post was originally published on March 3rd.

Quick Hits: Axford, Dodgers, Varitek, Drew, Rangers

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On this date in 1993, the Expos signed Vladimir Guerrero as an 18-year-old amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic. He reached the big leagues three years later and went on to hit .318/.379/.553 during his Hall of Fame caliber career. Here's the latest from around the league…

  • John Axford told Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel that he'll have to sign a one-year contract for now, but would very much like to get a multi-year extension done with the Brewers. Ben Nicholson-Smith looked at Axford's extension case earlier today.
  • Dodgers assistant GM De Jon Watson told Anthony Jackson of ESPN Los Angeles that the team is working to sign one player from their tryout camp (all Twitter links). Doug Davis and Minnesota Vikings free safety Jarrad Page were among those at the open tryout today. The player will report to minor league camp once signed.
  • Scott Boras told reporters (including WEEI.com's Rob Bradford) that he "really didn't let" other teams make offers to the now-retired Jason Varitek. "We didn't want to mislead anybody that he wasn't going to play for them," Boras said of the long-time Red Sox.
  • "He's just home," said Boras to reporters (including Bradford) about J.D. Drew. "He hasn't announced anything, but he's there. He hasn't made any decisions. He's home." We heard Drew was "very likely" to retire back in January.
  • The Rangers payroll is approaching $127MM, but president and CEO Nolan Ryan told Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News that they won't be forced to dump any salary before the season.
  • Omar Vizquel understands that he has to win a spot on the Blue Jays roster in Spring Training, but he told Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com that he doesn't understand why more older players don't do try to do the same. "It's weird to see all these guys retire, and I'm still on the field," said the 44-year-old.

Indians Will Keep Eye Out For Sizemore Alternatives

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The Indians lost Grady Sizemore for the next 2-3 months due to his recent back surgery, but GM Chris Antonetti told reporters (including MLB.com's Jordan Bastian) that he likes the team's in-house replacements (Twitter link). Antonetti acknowledged that he'll have scouts watching other clubs in Spring Training for possible alternatives, however.

With Sizemore out, Michael Brantley will step in as the everyday center fielder with Shin-Soo Choo and various left field candidates flanking him. The Indians signed Fred Lewis, Felix Pie, and Ryan Spilborghs to minor league contracts this offseason and already have Ezequiel Carrera, Aaron Cunningham, and Shelley Duncan on the 40-man roster. Scouting other clubs following Sizemore's injury seems to be little more than due diligence.

NL Central Links: Marshall, McCutchen, Francis

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The Reds finalized a three-year, $16.5MM contract extension with Sean Marshall earlier today, so now let's check in on the latest from the NL Central…

  • Marshall will earn $4.5MM in 2013, $5.5MM in 2014, and $6.5MM in 2015 according to the AP (via John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer on Twitter). The southpaw can earn $1MM more per year if he closes for the Reds.
  • “We’re obviously very excited about it,” said Reds GM Walt Jocketty to reporters (including MLB.com's Mark Sheldon) about Marshall's deal. “When we made the trade for him, we made it intending to extend him. We felt confident we would do that. We wanted to approach it sooner than later.”
  • The Pirates are still willing to work out a long-term extension with Andrew McCutchen, reports Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. McCutchen's camp is looking for something close to the $51MM given to Justin Upton while the club is coming in around $10MM below that.
  • Jeff Francis told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that his final decision came between the Reds and Mets (Twitter link). The southpaw signed a minor league deal with Cincinnati last month.
  • "We saw this coming years ago," said Pirates team president Frank Coonelly to Biertempfel when asked about the new draft spending restrictions. "We pushed money up to make sure we'd be taking advantage of opportunities we had last year and the year before."

Nationals Links: Zimmerman, Rizzo, Harper

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The Nationals signed franchise cornerstone Ryan Zimmerman to a six-year, $100MM extension over the weekend, and can now turn their full attention to Spring Training. Here are some links from the nation's capitol, starting with notes on baseball's newest $100MM man…

  • ESPN.com's Keith Law argues that Zimmerman should have had to prove his ability to stay healthy before obtaining such a large guarantee from the Nationals, who have promising third base prospect Anthony Rendon in their system.
  • Matt Swartz of FanGraphs compares Zimmerman to players who signed long-term deals at similar stages in their careers and concludes that comparable agreements have been worthwhile for teams in recent years.
  • Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com has the year-by-year breakdown of Zimmerman's extension. The third baseman will earn $12MM in 2012, $14MM each year from 2013-2018, and $18MM in 2019. The $18MM option for 2020 comes with a $2MM buyout. Zuckerman explains how the personal services contract and escalator payments fit into the deal.
  • Amanda Comak of The Washington Times notes (on Twitter) that a $10MM "personal services" provision raises the value of the new extension to exactly $100MM.
  • “It feels good,” said GM Mike Rizzo to Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post in the wake of the signing. “You have payroll certainty. You have control of players … And there’s a lot of comfort to the fact these guys are going to be together for a long time … And now we’re ready to take off.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports predicts that Bryce Harper will be with the Nationals early in the season, but not before April 25th. He notes that the outfielder must spend at least 20 days in the minors to delay his free agency by a year.

Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.

Tigers Haven’t Ruled Out Trading For Pitcher

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The Tigers have a strong rotation, with Doug Fister, Max Scherzer, and Rick Porcello behind reigning AL Cy Young and MVP Justin Verlander. The club does have some concerns about the fifth spot though, and assistant GM Al Avila told James Schmehl of MLive.com that they'll remain on the lookout for pitching help during Spring Training.

“We’ll be looking at other pitchers in other camps throughout spring training to see if there’s anything that makes sense for us,” said Avila.

Avila did emphasize that the Tigers are comfortable with their in-house fifth starter candidates, namely Andy Oliver, Jacob Turner, Duane Below, and Adam Wilk. There aren't many clubs with starting pitching to spare, but John Lannan is said to be on the market and would make sense as a left-handed complement to Detroit's four right-handers. That's just my speculation, however.

The Latest On Ryan Zimmerman

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The Nationals and Ryan Zimmerman are reportedly close to a long-term contract extension, with no-trade language being the largest remaining hurdle. The third baseman's self-imposed deadline for a new deal is 10am ET this morning, as MLB.com's Bill Ladson reports (on Twitter). Here's the latest, with the newest info up top…

  • Rizzo said the two sides made progress and the Nats believe a deal will be struck either tonight or early tomorrow, according to Kilgore, Zuckerman, and Comak (all Twitter links). "We feel good and optimistic Zim is going to be a Washington National for a long, long time," said the GM. "I don't see any major stumbling blocks. More detail-oriented work that needs to be done."
  • "Nothing is done until it's done, but both sides are optimistic," said Zimmerman's agent Brodie Van Wagenen in a statement according to Comak and Kilgore (all Twitter links). "While nothing is finalized, I am confident we can reach an agreement … [we are] working on a structure that will allow the team to continue to add talent and establish a winner."
  • A source told ESPN's Jim Bowden that there will be closure to negotiations tonight, one way or the other (Twitter link).
  • Zimmerman acknowledged that the no-trade issue is "basically the only thing left" to settle, tweets Amanda Comak of the Washington Times.
  • Rizzo told reporters (including Kilgore and Comak) that they're working on a "very lucrative, very complicated" extension (Twitter links). "We don't have an agreement at this time," confirmed the GM.
  • "Today is the day," Zimmerman said to reporters after today's workout, including Amanda Comak of The Washington Times (Twitter links). "Both sides are working to get over the last couple of hurdles." He said they've gone back and proposed a "creative" solution to bridge the gap.
  • The deadline has passed and players are out on the field for their workout, report Ladson and Kerzel (Twitter links). There is no word as to whether an extension has been reached.
  • "The ball has been in the Nationals' court for quite some time," said Zimmerman to reporters, including Ladson (Twitter links). "I'm waiting like the rest of you."
  • GM Mike Rizzo responded with a simple "no" when asked if there was anything new to report, says Pete Kerzel of MASNSports.com (on Twitter).
  • Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington mentions that the deadline is a soft deadline, and something could still get worked out in the near future (Twitter links). He points out that Zimmerman's last contract was announced three weeks after its deadline.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Nationals Interested In Gerardo Parra

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8:16pm: The Diamondbacks and Nationals are not currently discussing a trade involving Parra, reports Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. He says other clubs also expressed interest in the outfielder following the Kubel signing.

11:49am: The Nationals have expressed interest in Diamondbacks outfielder Gerardo Parra, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson. GM Mike Rizzo is familiar with Parra from his time with Arizona, though it's unclear who the Nats would be willing to send the D'Backs in a trade.

Parra, 24, hit .292/.357/.427 with 15 steals and won a Gold Glove last year, but his role has been minimized due to the Jason Kubel signing. He's more than capable of manning all three outfield spots, and he won't be eligible for free agency until after 2015. The Nats have been looking for a long-term solution in center for quite some time, and Parra would certainly fit the bill.

NL West Links: Cain, Giants, Ethier, Quentin

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On this date in 1999, the Diamondbacks acquired Tony Womack from the Pirates for Jason Boyd and a minor leaguer. Womack hit .269/.314/.362 in five seasons with the D'Backs, helping the club to the 2001 World Championship. Here's the latest from the NL West…

  • Giants CEO Larry Baer wouldn't give away much regarding contract talks with Matt Cain except to say that they are "back and forth" and "ongoing," tweets Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com.
  • "I'm going to be respectful of the process here," said Baer to reporters (including MLB.com's Chris Haft) when asked about the Giants potentially relinquishing territorial rights to San Jose, allowing the Athletics to move. "You know, I think that's really important. The game is bigger than any internal machinations."
  • "I can't tell you what will happen with that," said Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick when asked about signing a contract extension after the team is sold at the end of April. "The only thing I can change is the way I play. Today is today, and that's all I can handle. I'm here to play for today." Ethier can become a free agent after the season.
  • Carlos Quentin is returning home to Southern California following his trade to the Padres, and Don Norcross of The San Diego Union-Tribune wrote about the excitement he brings to the team.

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