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Yankees Release David Aardsma

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The Yankees have unconditionally released reliever David Aardsma, tweets MLB.com's Bryan Hoch.  Aardsma had been designated for assignment on Friday.

Aardsma signed with the Yankees in February 2012, and appeared in only one big league game for them after recovering from July 2011 Tommy John surgery.  The team picked up his cheap $500K option in October, but cut him this spring partially due to his history as a one-inning guy.

Aardsma, 31, was drafted in the first round by the Giants in 2003, but didn't really find himself until he became the Mariners' closer in 2009.  From 2009-10, Aardsma ranked ninth in the game with 69 saves.  Aardsma's velocity reached 94 miles per hour in Spring Training, and he was able to prove his health, so he should generate interest as a free agent.

Orioles Claim Josh Stinson; A’s Outright Barton

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The Orioles claimed righty Josh Stinson off waivers today, according to an Athletics press release.  The Orioles transferred Tsuyoshi Wada to the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man roster for Stinson.  The A's also noted that first baseman Daric Barton cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A.  

The A's had claimed Stinson off waivers from the Brewers last week, but designated him for assignment yesterday upon their claim of Will Harris from the Rockies.  Stinson, 25, appeared briefly in the Majors last year.  He posted a 3.16 ERA, 5.6 K/9, 4.4 BB/9, and 0.43 HR/9 in 145 1/3 Triple-A innings.  The former Mets draft pick will work out of the rotation at Triple-A Norfolk.

Barton, 27, was a first-round pick of the Cardinals in 2003.  He did his thing at Triple-A last year, hitting .255/.411/.425 in 336 plate appearances.  Barton led the American League with 110 walks in 2010, but a shoulder injury has affected him since.

Francisco Cordero Aiming For 2014

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Free agent reliever Francisco Cordero is aiming for 2014 after undergoing surgery on his non-throwing shoulder, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Cordero was released by the Astros in September of last year.

Cordero, 37, posted a 7.55 ERA, 7.1 K/9, 4.1 BB/9, 2.06 HR/9, and 39.6% groundball rate in 39 1/3 innings for the Blue Jays and Astros last year.  He lost the Jays' closer job in May, was traded to Houston in July, and hit the DL with a toe injury prior to his release.  Cordero has 329 saves in his career, second among active players.

White Sox Sign Tyler Greene

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The White Sox signed infielder Tyler Greene, tweets Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.  He'll presumably add to the club's infield depth at Triple-A.  With less than three years of Major League service, the White Sox can control Greene for a while if he proves useful.

Greene, 29, hit .230/.274/.400 in 330 plate appearances for the Cardinals and Astros last year.  Astros GM Jeff Luhnow acquired Greene, a former draft pick of his in the first round in '05, from the Cards in August of 2012.  Though the Astros would go on to trade Jed Lowrie, they added Ronny Cedeno at shortstop in March, leading to Greene's release last month.

Players With Opt-Out Clauses

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The opt-out clause seems to be gaining in popularity over the last ten years or so.  The most popular example is Alex Rodriguez's first contract, negotiated by Scott Boras in December of 2000.  That record deal allowed A-Rod to opt out after the seventh year, and he did so (during the World Series) to eventually snare an even larger contract.  We've also seen J.D. Drew, A.J. Burnett, C.C. Sabathia, and Rafael Soriano use opt-out clauses to their advantage.  Vernon Wells had the ability to opt out after the 2011 season, but chose to stick with his current contract.  Here's a look at current Major Leaguers with opt-out clauses or something similar:

  • Zack Greinke, Dodgers.  Greinke can opt out after the 2015 season, at which point he'd have three years and $71MM remaining ($23.67MM AAV).  He'll be 32 at that point, so there's a possibility for another $100MM contract.
  • Elvis Andrus, Rangers.  Andrus' new deal with the Rangers, which was officially announced today, allows him to opt out after the 2018 or 2019 season.  I haven't yet seen the year-by-year salary breakdown, but using the $15MM AAV, Andrus would either leave four years and $60MM or three years and $45MM on the table by opting out at age 30 or 31.
  • Hyun-Jin Ryu, Dodgers.  Ryu may opt out after the 2017 season, leaving one year and $7MM on the table, if he reaches 750 innings pitched from 2013-17 (an average of 150 per year).
  • Barry Zito, Giants.  Zito has an $18MM club/vesting option for 2014, of which he may opt out and receive a $3.5MM buyout if it vests.  The option vests with 200 innings in 2013, a level he has not reached since his last year in Oakland (2006).
  • Ubaldo Jimenez, Indians.  Having been traded in the midst of his contract, Jimenez can void the Indians' $8MM club option for 2014.
  • Joe Nathan, Rangers.  Nathan may void a $9MM club option for 2014, forfeiting a $750K buyout, with 55 games finished this year.  He finished 62 in 2012.
  • Derek Jeter, Yankees.  Jeter has an $9.5MM player option for 2014 with a $3MM buyout.  The option value increased by $1.5MM when Jeter won a Silver Slugger award last year, and would have gone up another $2MM had he finished one spot higher in the MVP voting.  It is reasonable to expect Jeter to decline the player option, since he only needs to top one year and $6.5MM after the buyout to come out ahead.
  • Mike Scioscia, Angels manager.  Scioscia can walk away after 2015, leaving three years and $18MM on the table.

What's next for the opt-out clause?  The Dodgers handed out two this offseason, and Andrus set a precedent for a non-free agent to get two of them.  It'd be a fair request for Clayton Kershaw, even though Justin Verlander did not receive one.  An opt-out clause could also be a target for Robinson Cano, though it's been more popular with Scott Boras than CAA.

Latest On Robinson Cano

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Robinson Cano found an agent who is perhaps more powerful than Scott Boras, dropping Boras for Jay-Z this week.  While it was previously suggested CAA Baseball's Brodie Van Wagenen would handle all of the contract negotiations, Jay-Z will be "intimately involved," Van Wagenen tells Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.  Heyman feels that Cano, next offseason's top free agent, has "at least tipped his hand that he wants to stay in the Bronx."  

Boras, who never brokered a contract for Cano during their time together, flew to New York Tuesday to try to meet with his former client, writes Heyman.  Notes Heyman, "As of late Wednesday morning, he had not heard a word back from Cano, who is notoriously non-confrontational."  Perhaps players just aren't keen on making the breakup call to Boras.  Former Boras advisee Jay Bruce admitted to me in February that his mom made that call with his contact at the agency, though it was certainly a different situation since Bruce was a teenager and did not have a relationship with Boras himself.  Cano did not want to address his avoidance of his former agent, responding to the question with, "No answer on that one, how's that?" according to David Lennon of Newsday.

Cano's teammate Mark Teixeira, also a former Boras client, explained to reporters why some players might prefer other representation.  He told reporters, including Tyler Kepner of the New York Times, "Everyone knows Scott likes to control everything.  He has a financial-services part of his business, he has a sports-performance training side of his business, he has a mental-performance side of his business. He has everything that you could possibly do; he takes care of for you if you choose. It doesn’t necessarily benefit every player. Some guys need that, some guys want that. But the guys that want to take control of their lives and make their own decisions, it’s not ideal for."  

Does Jay-Z have a conflict of interest, given his longstanding association with the Yankees?  Certainly Boras doesn't sport a Yankees cap in public.  Publicist Ron Berkowitz told Heyman, "Jay-Z's a New York guy, but he's going to represent his guys, and it's going to be about where the player wants to go."

Rays Say Timing Of Shields-Myers Deal Was Key

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by Chuck Myron for MLBTR

In December, the Rays parted with their all-time leader in wins, strikeouts and games started when they sent James Shields to the Royals in a blockbuster trade that brought back a package headlined by touted prospect Wil Myers. Shields, the only pitcher ever to notch a win in the World Series for Tampa Bay, was coming off the best two-season stretch of his seven-year Major League career, compiling a 3.15 ERA and 448 strikeouts in 477 innings across 66 starts. Myers is the jewel of the Rays’ haul, which includes two more minor leaguers who have won Baseball America and MLB.com top-100 billing within the past 18 months. Still, the four players heading to Tampa Bay as part of the deal have a total of two games of Major League experience.

The result is an obvious hole in the Rays rotation, as well as in the clubhouse. But many of the Rays who spoke to MLBTR during Spring Training believe the move wasn’t nearly as jarring as it could have been.

"I think it’s an easier pill to swallow when it happens in the winter, and you get to spring training and you have what you believe is your team," outfielder Sam Fuld said. "And ultimately that group of 25 guys is going to change, obviously, throughout the season, but when you lose a guy of that significance, it helps to do it before the season starts."

Many of Fuld’s teammates concurred, including righty Jeff Niemann, who was battling to inherit the open spot in the rotation that wound up going to Roberto Hernandez. Compared to a midseason trade, "it’s kind of almost like it never happened," Niemann said.

Left-hander Matt Moore, one of the starters who’ll be asked to step up in Shields’ absence, offered a dissenting view. He isn’t so sure the timing of the move made any difference.

"It’s just a part of what happens," Moore said. "Teams trade guys every year, so you know it’s going to happen."

Still, Ben Zobrist believes the players in the Rays clubhouse aren’t the only ones better off because of when the move occurred, pointing to Shields and fellow pitching staff mainstay Wade Davis, who also went to Kansas City in the trade.

"I guess it’s probably easier for them to transition to a different team," Zobrist said. "Every team coming in is going to be new and different, because there’s going to be new guys. So yeah, it’s probably easier on us and them, just knowing that that transition was happening in the offseason instead of right in the middle of the season."

Talk of a Shields trade wasn’t confined to the hot stove period. The Cardinals, Braves, Dodgers, Indians, Rangers, Diamondbacks and Angels all showed interest in acquiring Shields in the days leading up to last year’s trade deadline. There were rumors about his availability before the 2011 deadline as well. Right-handed pitcher Alex Cobb, who acknowledged the team wouldn’t have won as many games the past two seasons if Shields weren’t around, is glad the team held off on a trade. Cobb, 25, is nonetheless confident that he and the rest of the team’s young players are ready to compete this year without their one-time ace.

"We’ve got Chris Archer on the verge from the Garza trade, (and) multiple prospects in the minor leagues on the verge of getting ready to help the big league club," Cobb said. "That’s just the way we operate around here. It’s obviously tough to let go of not only James, (but also) Wade, who’s been a great arm for us, both starting and relieving. But it’s one of the things that we have to do to keep competing in the AL East. We have to get rid of the older, more veteran-type guys and bring a new crop of young guys to do the job that they’ve done in the past."

Jeremy Hellickson, another 25-year-old right-handed starter, sees Cobb’s development as a key part of the club’s reloading effort.

"(Shields) was a big part of our rotation last year, but you know, Cobb’s going to step in this year, and he’s going to throw a lot of innings for us, so as good as (Shields) was, and as much as he saved the bullpen and all that, I like the guys we have," Hellickson said.

Of course, the effectiveness of the trade, regardless of its timing, will ultimately be judged by how the newly acquired prospects perform at the big-league level. In particular, Myers, who put up a .286/.333/.429 slash line in 35 spring at-bats before getting sent down to Triple-A, has his Major League teammates anxious to see him return.

"I know he swings it really well," Moore said. "I’ve seen a lot of solid contact and good plate appearances, so I’m excited for him."

"He was impressive," infielder Sean Rodriguez said. "Time will tell with him. He’s definitely got tools, he’s definitely got a good head on his shoulders, so we’ll see."

Quick Hits: Free Agency, Draft Bonus Pools

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With 259K Twitter followers, MLB Trade Rumors ranks fourth on Sports Business Daily's MLB rankings, behind ESPN's Buster Olney, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, and Peter Gammons of MLB Network.  Andrew Westney conducted an interesting roundtable on the topic of Twitter with Olney, Rosenthal and the also well-followed Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.  In the discussion, Rosenthal blames/credits MLBTR for his joining Twitter, and I do recall urging him to give in to the inevitable so that we wouldn't have to keep refreshing his blog.  On to today's links:

  • "Free agency is neither dead nor dying; rather, it's just become a lot less interesting," writes Rob Neyer of Baseball Nation, with so many of the game's top players signed to extensions.  Neyer contends that trades are more interesting than free agent signings anyway, because they involve two teams rather than one.  But doesn't free agency involve many teams bidding on one player?
  • "For the foreseeable future, I’d expect free agency to be the place you buy a short term fix rather than a long term superstar," suggests Dave Cameron of FanGraphs, who thinks the recent Red Sox offseason is what free agency is moving toward.  
  • MLB's assigned draft bonus pools have risen 8.2% over last year, reports Jim Callis of Baseball America.  Callis has obtained the bonus pools by team, from the Astros at nearly $11.7MM to the Nationals at about $2.7MM.

Does Elvis Andrus Affect Ian Desmond?

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Back in November, I wondered if Alexei Ramirez's four-year, $32.5MM deal could be a point of reference for the Nationals and shortstop Ian Desmond in contract extension negotiations.  Like Desmond now, Ramirez had three years of Major League service when he signed.  Ramirez had better career offensive numbers at that time, though he never reached the 25 home run level Desmond did in 2012.

Desmond, however, has "something of a template" in Elvis Andrus' eight-year, $120MM contract with the Rangers, writes Amanda Comak of the Washington Times.  One major difference is that Andrus' contract covers only free agent years, while Desmond will be arbitration eligible for 2014 and '15.  Plus, Desmond only has one really good season under his belt, while Andrus has been consistently valuable for four seasons.  Desmond does not match Andrus' defensive reputation, though he clearly has more pop.  If Desmond does wait until after the season, he'll have four years of service time, and hopefully more of a track record of being an elite shortstop.  At that point, I think Alex Gordon's four-year, $37.5MM contract (plus a $12.5MM player option) would be a floor, even though we're straying away from infielder comps.  As far as Desmond getting into the $100MM range, I can't picture it unless he posts an MVP-type season.  

Desmond didn't have much to say on the topic, explaining to Comak, "I'm trying to do everything I can to win a World Series.  Talking about that, or revisiting that, isn't really going to help. We'll see where it goes."  GM Mike Rizzo said, "We don’t discuss negotiations with players and that type of thing.  But we feel Ian is one of our leaders. He’s one of the guys that is our core players and he’s a guy we’d like to be with the Nationals for a long time."

Robinson Cano Fires Boras; Hires CAA

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11:33am: Boras told ESPN's T.J. Quinn, "I haven't spoken to Robinson, and I hope to."  Quinn's sources say Cano is still under contract with Boras.  And I can confirm that at this moment, the MLBPA still has Cano's agent as Boras.  It could just be a matter of paperwork, however, since Cano and his new agent have already released statements.

9:27am: Robinson Cano has fired agent Scott Boras, reports ESPN's Buster Olney.  Olney says the Yankees' second baseman "has quietly been meeting with other agents in recent weeks to discuss a possible switch, and now he has changed representation."  Cano hired CAA as his new agency, tweets Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.  Cano is the top free agent of the 2013-14 offseason, with a potential $200MM contract in his sights, so it's a big blow for Boras and huge addition to a CAA roster that includes Ryan Braun, Buster Posey, Adam Jones, Ryan Zimmerman, Roy Halladay, Matt Cain, Jake Peavy, Andre Ethier, Matt Garza, Corey Hart, and Ryan Howard, among many others.

Cano hired Boras in February 2011, three years after previous agent Bobby Barad negotiated a team-friendly contract that included a pair of club options.  Last month, Yankees GM Brian Cashman told reporters the team had made a "significant offer," with free agency looming after the season.  It stands to reason that the Yankees' chances of extending the player before free agency have increased.  Cano's marketing will be handled by Jay-Z's company Roc Nation, notes Feinsand, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says this affiliation is part of the reason the player chose CAA.  Olney further explains, "Jay-Z is starting a sports rep agency, attached to CAA, and Cano will be its first client."  CAA agent Brodie Van Wagenen will handle baseball stuff, tweets Andy McCullough of the Newark Star-Ledger.  For more on Jay-Z's Roc Nation Sports venture, including news that Jay-Z (real name Shawn Carter) himself is planning to become a certified agent, check out this article from ESPN's Darren Rovell.

"Because of my love of sports, it was a natural progression to form a company where we can help top athletes in various sports the same way we have been helping artists in the music industry for years," Jay-Z told Daniel Barbarisi of the Wall Street Journal.

Usually, the Boras Corporation adds a few of the top free agents before free agency hits.  The agency does still have big names for next offseason in Jacoby Ellsbury and Shin-Soo Choo.

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