Tim Dierkes | MLB Trade Rumors

A.J. Burnett Rumors: Wednesday

By Tim Dierkes | February 15, 2012 at 10:54pm CDT

The Pirates and Yankees are discussing an A.J. Burnett trade, as the Yankees look to unload some of the $33MM owed to him for 2012-13. The latest:

Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger hears four teams are in the mix for Burnett and that "a deal will get done with somebody.“
The Yankees are engaging the Pirates and one other team about Burnett and a deal seems increasingly likely, David Waldstein of the New York Times reports. It doesn't appear that Burnett would block a trade to either one of the two possible destinations.
The Yankees tried to convince the Angels that Burnett could be their fifth starter, according to Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com. The Yankees would have obtained Bobby Abreu in the proposed trade, but Burnett rejected the deal because he'd prefer to play on the East Coast.
The two clubs remain at an impasse, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. As the day before Yankees pitchers and catchers report to spring training, Saturday represents a soft deadline for the trade talks. A trade is not likely with any of the three other teams interested in Burnett, as the Indians never got serious, Burnett will not approve a deal to the Angels, and the mystery team has lukewarm interest.

Which Players Might Bring Draft Pick Compensation After 2012?

By Tim Dierkes | February 15, 2012 at 11:43am CDT

After accepting Boston's arbitration offer this winter, David Ortiz submitted a $16.5MM salary figure for 2012 against the team's $12.65MM. They ended up settling at the midpoint recently. Ortiz's $14.575MM salary will not be possible for a free agent accepting arbitration after the 2012 season, however, because the new collective bargaining agreement simplified the process. Draft pick compensation for a departing free agent will require the team to make a "qualifying offer" in the $12-13MM range. The qualifying offer amount will be determined by averaging the top 125 salaries from 2011. This offer will be fixed each offseason, even for players already earning more than the qualifying offer amount, MLB told me today.

Though 2011 salaries are used for the 2012 qualifying offer (which reflects the player's potential 2013 salary), MLB does not seem to know the exact amount, so we'll use $12.5MM as a proxy for now. For elite free agents, a qualifying offer will be a lock, as will their decision to turn it down. The locks for 2012 appear limited to starting pitchers: Matt Cain, Cole Hamels, and Zack Greinke. A look at the more borderline potential free agents from the 2012-13 class follows.

Yadier Molina, Mike Napoli, Miguel Montero: $12.5MM catchers are pretty rare, though one could make a sabermetric case that all three will be worth risking that amount on a guaranteed one-year deal if they have solid 2012 seasons. Montero seems the least likely of the trio to receive a qualifying offer, however.
Lance Berkman: If Berkman replicates his 2011 season, the Cardinals won't mind risking a raise of less than a million bucks. But if he plays 125 games and is only pretty good, it'll be a tough decision.
Brandon Phillips: By exercising his 2012 option, the Reds showed they were comfortable with an $11.25MM net price on Phillips. If he slips back to his 2008-10 production level, that may give the Reds pause. If they offer and Phillip accepts, there would be a trade market if the Reds find the salary prohibitive.
Erick Aybar, Stephen Drew: Like Montero, the player may be worth $12.5MM in a sense, but the large raise could be hard to stomach. Some of these qualifying offer questions are likely to be eliminated by extensions or diminished performance.
David Wright: If Wright struggles to an extent in 2012 where the Mets determine he is not worth a $15MM net option price for 2013, would they be willing to risk $12.5MM for two potential draft picks? Would Wright be too insulted to consider accepting?
Josh Hamilton: I almost had Hamilton as a lock, as it's difficult to picture a scenario where the Rangers are unwilling to offer a one-year, $12.5MM deal.
Michael Bourn, B.J. Upton, Shane Victorino: Bourn and Upton are good examples of a borderline guys, as the Braves and Rays will probably not be thrilled with the idea of offering them $12.5MM for 2013. Victorino seems a bit more likely to get an offer from the Phillies.
Andre Ethier, Carlos Quentin, Nick Swisher, David Ortiz: It's tough to call until we see how these guys play in 2012, but Ortiz seems to have the best chance of an offer.
Edwin Jackson, Hiroki Kuroda, Colby Lewis, Shaun Marcum, Brandon McCarthy, Anibal Sanchez: Sanchez seems the best bet here, given a typical season. No one else quite feels like a $12.5MM pitcher, but with decent years they'd all have cases. Even Francisco Liriano could merit consideration with a bounceback campaign.
Ryan Madson, Mariano Rivera, Francisco Rodriguez, Jose Valverde: I expect qualifying offers for relievers to be hard to come by, and my guess is none of these guys receive one.

Twins Avoid Arbitration With Alexi Casilla

By Tim Dierkes | February 15, 2012 at 9:44am CDT

The Twins avoided arbitration with infielder Alexi Casilla, agreeing to a one-year, $1.3825MM contract, tweets director of baseball communications Mike Herman. The Proformance client settled $25K below the midpoint, avoiding an arbitration hearing. Casilla received a $517,500 raise his second time through arbitration. MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith looked at some possible comparables last week.

As MLBTR's arbitration tracker shows, the Twins are now finished with their arbitration eligible players. They committed a total of $8.432MM to Casilla, Francisco Liriano, and Glen Perkins for 2012.

Two arbitration eligible players remain unsigned overall: Garrett Jones and Casey McGehee of the Pirates.

Athletics Notes: Manny, Cespedes

By Tim Dierkes | February 15, 2012 at 9:27am CDT

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

By Tim Dierkes | February 15, 2012 at 7:37am CDT

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.

Check Out HoopsRumors.com

By Tim Dierkes | February 13, 2012 at 2:41pm CDT

One week ago I proudly announced the newest site in our network, Hoops Rumors. If you're an NBA fan and you enjoy our transaction-related coverage, please check it out.

AL East Links: Vlad, Theo, Red Sox

By Tim Dierkes | February 13, 2012 at 2:15pm CDT

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:

"Vladimir Guerrero has made it known to the Yankees that he wants their DH spot," tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, but Raul Ibanez remains the frontrunner. Ibanez had a slightly worse 2011 season, but the Yankees seem to prefer his left-handed bat.
The Cubs and Red Sox submitted briefs regarding the Theo Epstein compensation issue, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, and a decision could come this week.
Red Sox GM Ben Cherington told WEEI after the Ortiz settlement that he doesn't expect any major moves between now and when pitchers and catchers report Sunday, but added, "We're still working on some stuff." WEEI's Rob Bradford hears there's still no traction with Roy Oswalt.
Orioles executive director of international recruiting Fred Ferreira will still fly to the Dominican Republic this weekend to scout six Cuban players, including outfielder Jorge Soler, he told Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com. The Orioles had interest in Yoenis Cespedes, but Ferreira isn't surprised or disappointed about not getting him.
Matt Moore, Dylan Bundy, Manny Machado, Travis d'Arnaud, Jake Marisnick, Manny Banuelos, Xander Bogaerts, Gary Sanchez, Brandon Jacobs, Daniel Norris, Will Middlebrooks, Dellin Betances, Hak-Ju Lee, Anthony Gose, Jonathan Schoop, Noah Syndergaard, Ryan Lavarnway, and Mason Williams are the division's best prospects, based on Kevin Goldstein's recently-released top 101 prospects list for Baseball Prospectus. Jacobs, Norris, and Syndergaard didn't merit mentions on Keith Law's top 100 or his "just missed" list for ESPN. On the other hand, Law included Drew Hutchison, Chris Archer, Enny Romero, Mikie Mahtook, Taylor Guerrieri, Aaron Sanchez, and Blake Swihart on his list and Goldstein did not.

Jose Veras Had Arbitration Hearing

By Tim Dierkes | February 13, 2012 at 1:46pm CDT

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

By Tim Dierkes | February 13, 2012 at 12:53pm CDT

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

By Tim Dierkes | February 13, 2012 at 10:21am CDT

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.

Earlier this month, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted that the Rangers are still in on Gonzalez, for whom they could find money by trading Koji Uehara. As of January, Michael Kirkman and Martin Perez were the Rangers' top candidates to fill a lefty relief role, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Since then, the team added Joe Beimel and Mitch Stetter on minor league deals.
The Yankees are going with Boone Logan as their primary lefty, with Rule 5 pick Cesar Cabral also needing a 25-man roster spot if he is to be retained. Hideki Okajima and Michael O'Connor will be in camp on minor league deals.
Assuming Travis Wood makes the Cubs' rotation, they'll have Jeff Beliveau, John Gaub, Scott Maine, James Russell, and Trever Miller looking to fill the lefty reliever void created by the Sean Marshall trade. The Cubs had to sacrifice Blake DeWitt to find a 40-man roster spot for Adrian Cardenas, however, and someone else would have to go if Gonzalez were to sign a Major League deal.
The Astros have lefty relievers, but they could represent Gonzalez's best chance to return to closing if he'll accept a meager salary. The team's pen is unsettled after the Mark Melancon trade.
The Brewers will have Zach Braddock and Manny Parra vying for a lefty reliever job, with non-roster invitees Juan Perez and Daniel Meadows also in the discussion. The team might not have a few million in the budget for Gonzalez, but they've got a $375K swing assuming they go to an arbitration hearing with reliever Jose Veras.
The Dodgers have Scott Elbert as their main lefty reliever, with names such as Michael Antonini, John Grabow, Wil Ledezma, and Alberto Castillo trying to grab another spot. Finding a roster opening could be the biggest stumbling block.
Lefties Josh Spence and Joe Thatcher are penciled into the Padres' bullpen, but Gonzalez would make a nice addition for the Padres behind Huston Street.

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