The Mariners avoided arbitration with closer Brandon League, agreeing to a $5MM deal, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Matt Swartz had projected $4.2MM for the ACES client. League will be eligible for free agency after the 2012 season.
As our arbitration tracker shows, the Mariners have Jason Vargas and Shawn Kelley remaining.
Infielder Craig Counsell will retire as a ballplayer and join the Brewers' front office, tweets Scott Miller of CBS Sports. The Wisconsin native is known for his quirky stance and involvement in the winning scoring plays of the 1997 and 2001 World Series.
Counsell spent most of his 16-year big league career at second base, third base, and shortstop, hitting .255/.342/.344 for the Rockies, Marlins, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Brewers. According to Baseball-Reference, he earned almost $21MM along the way.
The Giants avoided arbitration with outfielder Melky Cabrera, tweets ESPN's Enrique Rojas, signing him for $6MM. Cabrera, who is represented by ACES, received a healthy $4.75MM raise over last year's free agent base salary. The Giants acquired Cabrera on November 7th from the Royals for another arbitration eligible player, Jonathan Sanchez.
As our arbitration tracker shows, the Giants' remaining arbitration eligible players are Tim Lincecum, Sergio Romo, Pablo Sandoval, and Nate Schierholtz.
The Dodgers avoided arbitration with right fielder Andre Ethier on a one-year deal worth $10.95MM plus performance bonuses, tweets his agency CAA. He received a $1.7MM raise. MLBTR had projected a $10.7MM salary for Ethier, who is entering his final season before free agency.
As our arbitration tracker shows, the Dodgers still have Clayton Kershaw and James Loney on the docket.
RotoAuthority was my first website, started in June 2005. The site was brimming with fantasy baseball analysis, often off the beaten path. My posts became sporadic as MLBTR grew, so I've recruited a team to ensure regular, high-quality content for 2012. The group includes familiar names such as Mark Polishuk, Dan Mennella, Steve Adams, and Mike Axisa. We'll be covering everything you need to win your mixed league, including sleepers, busts, rankings, average draft position, projections, and position battles. Our newest posts:
In advance of tomorrow's 11am central time deadline to exchange arbitration figures, settlements will be rolling in today. Follow all of the action with MLBTR's arbitration tracker. The latest for players under $4MM:
The second version of our Baseball Trade Rumors iPhone app came out recently, with plenty of upgrades. In the name of constant improvement, we're already looking into what should be done for version 3. The app's commenting feature needs a tune-up, and we're also looking into developing a similar app specifically for the iPad. The price of the iPhone app will remain $2.99. Beyond that, if you have purchased our iPhone app, what would you like to see added or changed? Please click here to take the simple one-question survey.
The Reds signed catcher Dioner Navarro to a minor league deal, according to the team's Twitter feed. He'll earn $800K plus $200K in incentives in the bigs, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Navarro, 28 in February, will provide veteran depth after catching tandem Devin Mesoraco and Ryan Hanigan. He's represented by MDR Sports Management.
Navarro hit .193/.276/.324 in 202 plate appearances for the Dodgers last year, catching 428 innings. He was designated for assignment in August. The Reds' other non-roster invitees include Sean Gallagher, Ron Mahay, Kanekoa Texeira, Clay Zavada, and Corky Miller.
The Rockies have made an offer to a veteran starting pitcher, GM Dan O'Dowd told Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. O'Dowd didn't provide any further detail, other than saying it wasn't Kevin Millwood.
The Rockies' rotation picture seems about ten-deep after today's acquisition of Guillermo Moscoso and Josh Outman for Seth Smith, and it appears O'Dowd seeks a veteran presence beyond that of Jorge De La Rosa. Renck speculates on Rodrigo Lopez and Jeff Francis as possibilities.
1:44pm: Padilla received a minor league deal that pays $1.5MM in the Majors, reports the Boston Herald.
11:34am: The Red Sox reached an agreement with righty Vicente Padilla, tweets Peter Gammons of MLB Network. Boston's interest in Padilla was first reported by Francisco Jarquín Soto at the Nicaraguan paper El Nuevo Diario two days ago. Padilla is represented by Wasserman Media Group.
Padilla (pictured) made only nine appearances for the Dodgers in 2011, all in relief, before neck problems ended his season in June. He briefly took over the closer's job from Jonathan Broxton, though in recent years the 34-year-old has been a swingman and spot starter (he thrived as a starter as recently as 2010). He has reportedly been hitting 95-96 mph with his fastball this winter in Nicaragua, and has said he wants to fight for a rotation spot. Seeing as the Red Sox have no shortage of hard-throwing righties in their revamped pen, Padilla could get his wish if his health permits. Aaron Cook and Carlos Silva are expected to be part of that fifth starter battle.
Aside from his injury history, Padilla brings the baggage of a 2006 DWI and a reputation as a headhunter.
Nick Collias contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com
Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information
scroll to top
