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Athletics Notes: Manny, Cespedes

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The A's made a splash Monday, signing Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes to a four-year, $36MM contract that allows him to reach free agency at its conclusion.  The latest on the club:

  • "The A's are likely to sign Manny Ramirez just before or soon after the start of spring training," writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Pitchers and catchers are due to report Saturday, while the full squad reports February 24th.  Manny, of course, has a reputation of arriving late to spring training.  Ramirez would serve as designated hitter for the A's, but he'd first need to serve a 50-game PED suspension.
  • Despite the Cespedes signing, Coco Crisp still feels he's Oakland's best center field option.  Crisp told Slusser, "Unless he's a demigod come down from the heavens, no one is going to outshine me in center field."  Crisp noted that a center field job was one of the reasons he chose the A's over the Rays, but concluded, "I'm excited to play alongside Cespedes – no matter what side that may be."
  • Cespedes' no-arbitration clause is precedent-setting, writes ESPN's Buster Olney, as in the past only Japanese players have managed to secure free agency without the typical requirement of six years of Major League service.
  • As I noted earlier today, the A's have four out of options players on the 40-man roster with fewer than five years of Major League service: Brandon Allen, Jerry Blevins, Joey Devine, and Kila Ka'aihue.

Out Of Options 2012

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The following 40-man roster players have less than five years service time and are out of minor league options.  That means they must clear waivers before being sent to the minors.  I've included players on multiyear deals.  This list was compiled through MLBTR's sources.

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AL East Links: Vlad, Theo, Red Sox

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One AL East player has avoided arbitration in designated hitter David Ortiz, and another is close in reliever Casey Janssen.  The latest from the division:

Jose Veras Had Arbitration Hearing

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Brewers reliever Jose Veras had his arbitration hearing today, according to the Associated Press.  Veras submitted a $2.375MM figure, while the team went with $2MM.  The decision from arbitrators Dan Brent, Marlene Gold, and John Sands is expected tomorrow.

Veras, 31, posted a 3.80 ERA with 79 strikeouts in 71 innings for the Pirates last year, and was traded to Milwaukee for Casey McGehee in December.  McGehee appears headed for a hearing as well.    

Blue Jays Nearing Two-Year Deal With Janssen

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The Blue Jays are nearing a two-year deal with reliever Casey Janssen that includes a third-year option, tweets Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca.  As the Blue Jays are a file and trial team, a multiyear deal was the only way to the impending arbitration hearing.  Janssen and the Jays had a $400K spread, with $2.2MM and $1.8MM submissions, respectively.  The two-year deal would buy out one free agent year with an option on a second.

Janssen, 30, posted a 2.26 ERA, 8.6 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, 0.32 HR/9, and 47.3% groundball rate in 55 2/3 innings last year.  He earned $1.095MM in 2011, his second arbitration year.  Janssen's extension would mark the seventh in the career of Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos, according to our transaction tracker.

Potential Fits For Mike Gonzalez

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33-year-old southpaw Mike Gonzalez may be the best available reliever, and he's got the Boras Corporation on his side.  However, with pitchers and catchers due to report in a week, financial resources and roster spots are limited for most teams.  Here are some potential fits for Gonzalez, who posted a 4.39 ERA, 8.6 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 1.18 HR/9, and 40.9% groundball rate for the Orioles and Rangers in 2011.

Red Sox, David Ortiz Settle At Midpoint

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Hours before today's arbitration hearing, the Red Sox and designated hitter David Ortiz settled at the midpoint for $14.575MM, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.  The new contract represents the largest-ever average annual value for a DH, notes WEEI's Rob Bradford.  Had Ortiz and the Red Sox reached a hearing, a panel of three arbitrators would have chosen between Boston's $12.65MM submission and Ortiz's $16.5MM salary figure for 2012.  Ortiz is represented by Fern Cuza of SFX.

Potentially inhibited by the cost of a draft pick, Ortiz accepted an arbitration offer from the Red Sox in December, and it took the looming threat of a hearing to force a settlement.  I favored the Red Sox in a potential hearing, but they preferred not to risk a situation many regard as a crapshoot.  As a bonus, they were able to avoid Ortiz having a front-row seat for their attempt to prove he's worth less than the midpoint.

Six potential arbitration hearings remain, as our tracker shows: Alexi Casilla (Twins), Casey Janssen (Blue Jays), Adam Jones (Orioles), Garrett Jones (Pirates), Casey McGehee (Pirates), and Jose Veras (Brewers).

Indians Close To Deal With Jon Garland

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The Indians are working on a deal for free agent righty Jon Garland, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  This morning ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted that Garland "is getting a minor league deal" with the Indians, but still has to pass his physical.  Garland, 32, made nine starts for the Dodgers to begin the 2011 season before having July surgery to clean out debris in his shoulder.  

Two weeks after the surgery, Garland said he expected to be ready for spring training, explaining to MLB.com's Ken Gurnick and AJ Cassavell, "I was very satisfied with what the doctor said. He's upbeat. The labrum was almost pristine. The cuff was a little worse than he thought, but a lot of what he found was just scar tissue and bursitis. He shaved down the bone so things move smoothly. A layoff like this can only help the rest of my body."

The Indians added Derek Lowe and Kevin Slowey this offseason, with the latter likely battling for the fifth starter job with David Huff and Jeanmar Gomez, according to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.  Fausto Carmona, who was previously penciled in, is an unknown due to false identity charges.

Prior to 2011, Garland had posted nine consecutive seasons of at least 190 regular season innings.  He signed a team-friendly one-year, $5MM deal with the Dodgers in November of 2010.  At that time it seemed likely to become a two-year, $13MM contract, as an $8MM option for 2012 was to vest with Garland's customary 190 innings.  Now it seems the California native may wind up back in the AL Central, after spending the first eight seasons of his career with the White Sox.

This post was originally published on February 13th.

Rangers, Nelson Cruz Agree To Two-Year Deal

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Nelson Cruz passed his physical, and his two-year deal with the Rangers is worth $16MM plus incentives, MLBTR has learned.  The ACES client had an arbitration hearing scheduled for next week.

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Cruz, 31, hit .263/.312/.509 with 29 home runs in 513 plate appearances last year, adding eight more homers in 70 postseason PAs.  The right fielder's arbitration case seemingly had some bearing on those of Adam Jones and Alex Gordon, who remain unsigned.

Cruz will be eligible for free agency upon the completion of his two-year deal.  His .540 slugging percentage since 2008 ranks sixth in MLB among those with at least 1500 plate appearances.  Health has been the only obstacle for the late-blooming Cruz, who has averaged 120 regular season games over the past three years.

The Rangers extended shortstop Elvis Andrus yesterday, so Mike Napoli is their only remaining unsigned  arbitration eligible player.  Napoli's hearing is scheduled for Wednesday of next week, with a $3.2MM salary spread.

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