Rays Payroll Unlikely To Increase
Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times says the Rays payroll, which increased by 40% this offseason, is unlikely to do so again next year. Rays owner Stuart Sternberg says the increase was thanks to saved money from previous years and earned last year. Topkin says Sternberg believes the Rays will have trouble sustaining their $60MM payroll for next year.
An interesting note from Topkin is that the Rays ALCS Game 5 loss to the Red Sox wound up being their "best worst loss ever." Topkin says the increased revenue from playing Games 6 and 7 at Tropicana Field allowed the Rays to go out and sign Joe Nelson, Brian Shouse, and Pat Burrell, and push their payroll past $60MM for the second time in franchise history. That pours some salt on the wounds of Red Sox fans.
Olney’s Latest: Mark Ellis
Last month, Orlando Hudson signed for a third of what Mark Ellis got back in October. That Ellis signed for more than Hudson shows the unpredictability of the current free agent market. With Hudson expected to be the bellwether, Ellis was considered an affordable alternative. His extension was expected to increase demand for Hudson's glove.
Buster Olney points out just how smart Mark Ellis and his agents look by agreeing to a 2-year $11MM extension with the A's that at the time was considered a mistake by many. Olney notes it wasn't about economic forecasting:
This begs the question: Would Billy Beane have been better off waiting? With Oakland's young rotation, Ellis' defense is probably not something they wanted to risk losing.
Rangers Working On Extending Hamilton
According to Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram, the Rangers are expected to begin moving toward a long-term contract extension for Josh Hamilton and could have something done by the end of spring training. The Rangers have been discussing this for over a month.
For how much or how long remains to be seen. Hamilton has 3 years of arbitration remaining after this year before becoming eligible for free agency in 2012. Wilson thinks Texas will want to cover 2 years of free agency. The Rangers signed Ian Kinsler to a 5-year, $22MM deal in February 2008 so a five-to-six year deal similar to the Kinsler deal, or recent deals signed by Dustin Pedroia (6 years), Troy Tulowitzki (6 years), Evan Longoria (6 years), or Ryan Braun (8 years), could be expected for Hamilton.
T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com says the Rangers are expected to make a proposal to Hamilton's agent, Michael Moye, early this week.
Olney’s Latest: Willis, Zito
Buster Olney touches on Dontrelle Willis and Barry Zito, two lefties long-struggling to make a comeback.
- Willis may not make the Tigers rotation. Instead, "rival talent evaluators" believe he will either be sent to the minors to continue to work, or be released. Willis hasn't impressed this spring, allowing 17 H, 7 BB, and 12 ER over 8.1 IP. Olney says scouts can't think of an example of a pitcher who has regressed as much as Willis and made a successful comeback.
- Zito is receiving mixed reviews with a fastball either in the range of either 80-82mph or 83-85mph. Says Olney, "… if he were to just give the Giants a chance to win games over the last five years of his deal, the club would be thrilled. Give Zito credit for this: He is trying like heck to make this work."
Red Sox, Lester Announce Extension
5:22pm: WEEI Alex Speier has the year-by-year breakdown of Lester’s deal. He’ll be paid pretty well over the next five years.
11:08am: Gary Dzen of Boston.com reports the Red Sox have announced the five-year deal. No details were given.
10:41am: Ron Borges of the Boston Herald reports the Red Sox and Jon Lester are expected to announce the signing of his $30MM extension this morning. The extension is expected to include a $13MM club option for 2014.
The cat was out of the bag last Sunday when Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan had the scoop.
Bay, Red Sox Stop Negotiations
12:40pm: Rob Bradford of WEEI.com has Jason Bay’s side of the story:
“I don’t think anybody in my situation wants to play for six years and then you earn the right to be a free agent and on some levels sell yourself short, and that doesn’t mean there doesn’t have to be some concessions… But you put yourself in this position and I think it’s in my best interest to kind of explore. Not to say we’re ever going to go that far, but I definitely want to make sure it’s the right fit.”
Bay is making no predictions about the market:
"Like I said, if something comes up that makes some sense … I mean, you get to this position you don’t want to sell it short, but I also understand it’s a different time that it was three or four years ago.”
12:30pm: Adam Kilgore of the Boston Globe has an explanation from Theo Epstein:
"The market has changed so much from two years ago to this winter, from a year ago to now… Who knows where it’s going to be a year from now? So that unpredictability, I think, has created a landscape that’s been difficult for us to navigate in terms of getting an extension done a year early. Both sides wanted it, so we tried. But both sides recognized that it’s just too difficult to get done right now. We had some talks [earlier in the offseason], but they weren’t really substantive. Recently, we’ve had more substantive talks. It’s become clear that because of the unusual marketplace, we’re not going to get anything done during spring training. We’re going to sort of halt talks for now, just table them. But both sides have committed to maintaining good dialogue throughout the course of the season."
11:59am: Alex Speier of WEEI.com reports the Red Sox have halted negotiations with Jason Bay. Both sides feel an agreement is not possible at this time, after the market for power-hitting corner outfielders has experienced dramatic changes.
Speier says the two sides remain open to discussion resuming during the season. Bay will make $7.5MM during the final year of his 4 year $18.25MM contract.
White Sox Sponsorships Expire In 2010
Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf is not presently concerned about any adverse effects the recession might have on his club in 2009. One indicator is that ticket sales for the ’09 season are surprisingly ahead of last year’s pace.
The 2010 forecast is a bit foggier. Several of the White Sox sponsorships expire at the end of this season and contract renewals have made for difficult negotiations, according to Gonzales. Still, Reinsdorf remains optimistic. Gonzales writes,
"Reinsdorf said the projected shortfall in sponsorships in 2010 should not affect the player payroll. ‘Even if we have a decline in revenue in 2010, I don’t see it having an effect on the players we want to have.’"
Dodgers’ Orenduff Outrighted To Triple-A
According to Ken Gumick of MLB.com, right-handed pitcher Justin Orenduff cleared waivers today and has been outrighted to Triple-A, Albuquerque. Orenduff was designated for assignment by the Dodgers ten days ago to make room for Manny Ramirez on the 40-man roster.
Gumick notes Orenduff "was a supplemental first-round pick in the 2004 First-Year Player Draft as compensation for the loss of free agent Paul Quantrill."
Angel Guzman Out Of Options
The Cubs have a decision to make with one-time prospect Angel Guzman who is out of minor league options, according to Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald. Miles writes,
He’s unlikely at this point to make the team, and the Cubs risk losing him on waivers if they try to send him to the minor leagues at the end of camp. "Guzman’s had a tough spring, a tough spring," Lou [Pineilla] said. "No consistency."
Guzman has a 14.40 ERA this spring in the Cactus League.
Lugo To Have Arthroscopic Knee Surgery
Julio Lugo is going to have his knee scoped to determine the severity of a torn meniscus, reports Dan Barbarisi of the Providence Journal. Recovery from a meniscus tear can be a matter of weeks or months.
Lugo has a $9MM vesting option for 2011 that requires 600 plate appearances in 2010 (and 2400 PAs from ’07-’10) for it to kick in. That now looks improbable.