Shortstop Barry Larkin was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame today with 86% of the vote, announced the Baseball Writers Association of America. Larkin is the lone inductee of 2012.
Larkin played his entire 19-season career with the Reds, with a .295/.371/.444 line and 198 home runs across 9,057 plate appearances. He won the NL MVP in 1995, made a dozen All-Star appearances, and won three Gold Gloves. FanGraphs pegs his career Wins Above Replacement at 70.6.
Norichika Aoki's workout for the Brewers yesterday in Phoenix lasted 75 minutes, reports Nikkan Sports as translated by NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman. GM Doug Melvin, manager Ron Roenicke, and owner Mark Attanasio were among those present, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "It was a good workout. He's probably the kind of player you'd expect, coming from Japan," said Melvin.
The Brewers have until 4pm central time on January 17th to sign Aoki, or else the Yakult Swallows must refund the $2.5MM posting fee. The Brewers are still deciding whether to make an offer. The Brewers conducted a physical exam for Aoki this morning to buy themselves some time, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
Aoki, a 30-year-old outfielder, hit .292/.358/.360 for the Swallows this year and would assume a bench role for Milwaukee.
11:26am: The Cubs are close on Maholm, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
10:59am: The Cubs and free agent lefty Paul Maholm are trying to work out an agreement, tweets Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago. Maholm has been linked to several other suitors this offseason, but most have since added starters.
The Cubs' current projected rotation has Matt Garza, Ryan Dempster, Chris Volstad, Travis Wood, and Randy Wells, perhaps with Andy Sonnanstine and Casey Coleman in the mix for the fifth starter job. In theory, signing Maholm could give the Cubs the depth to move Garza, even if Maholm is more of a back-end guy.
Hiroki Kuroda has informed the Hiroshima Carp he intends to pitch in the Major Leagues again in 2012, according to the Jiji Press and other Japanese outlets, as translated by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. Newman adds that "Masatoshi Kimura of the Chugoku Shimbun reports that Kuroda is expected to decide on a destination within the next couple of days."
A few days ago, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweeted that Kuroda sought a one-year deal in the $13-14MM range. The Yankees and Red Sox are among the possibilities, but both AL East superpowers seem gunshy of his asking price.
The Rangers are offering "Dice-K money" to Yu Darvish, sources tell Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, and there's no evidence a deal is close. Daisuke Matsuzaka received a six-year, $52MM deal from the Red Sox about five years ago. Heyman says it's not clear whether the Rangers' offer to Darvish is for five or six years. The deadline to work out a deal is January 18th at 4pm central time. The Rangers won the exclusive right to negotiate with Darvish for $51,703,411, which would be returned to them from the Nippon Ham Fighters if they fail to reach an agreement with Darvish.
In October, I polled five agents and one team executive and most predicted a five or six-year deal in the $72-75MM range for Darvish.
The Blue Jays designated third baseman Mark Teahen for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot for Darren Oliver, announced the team.
The Jays acquired Teahen from the White Sox as part of a salary dump, and they'll be assuming the $5.5MM left on his contract for 2012. The 30-year-old hit .200/.273/.300 in 177 plate appearances last year, playing the infield and outfield corners.
Teahen was a big component of the 2004 trade that sent Carlos Beltran to the Astros. He couldn't sustain a strong partial season in 2006 for the Royals, and was traded to the White Sox in November of '09. A few months later the Sox signed him to a surprising three-year, $14MM extension.
Plenty has been written about the potential starting pitching depth of the 2013 free agent class, which could include Matt Cain, Cole Hamels, Zack Greinke, Anibal Sanchez, Brandon McCarthy, and more. But how does next offseason's free agent market look for position players?
Catcher
This could be the deepest free agent catching class in a long time. Yadier Molina will set the market, while Chris Iannetta, Russell Martin, Miguel Montero, Mike Napoli, A.J. Pierzynski, and Yorvit Torrealba join him. It's rare to find offense at catcher, but there is plenty in this group. Napoli and Molina seem most likely to be extended prior to reaching the open market.
First basemen
Napoli and Lance Berkman head up the group, with second tier guys like Aubrey Huff, Adam LaRoche, Carlos Lee, and James Loney also in the mix. They'll be joined by Casey Kotchman, Carlos Pena, and Derrek Lee if they sign one-year deals. Overall, there's a case to be made for a non-contender to sign Prince Fielder if they're looking forward to this group.
Second basemen
Howie Kendrick signed an extension over the weekend. If Brandon Phillips follows suit and obvious options are picked up on Robinson Cano and Ian Kinsler, the best available might be Kelly Johnson, Maicer Izturis, and Freddy Sanchez.
Shortstops
Erick Aybar is the best option, but the Angels could extend him too. Stephen Drew could get a big contract with a healthy season, while Marco Scutaro and Alex Gonzalez will be looking for everyday jobs.
Third basemen
The third base market may be bleak once again. David Wright could be a free agent after the 2012 season if he's traded before it ends and chooses to void a 2013 option, or if the Mets simply decline the $16MM option. Kevin Youkilis' $13MM option will probably be exercised. Additionally, Scott Rolen and Placido Polanco are likely free agents.
Left fielders
Josh Hamilton is the big name. His contract will depend heavily on his 2012 season. Delmon Young will have age on his side at 27 years old. Several others who are currently penciled in at center or right field will be options in left.
Center fielders
Hamilton can play some center, but this is a deep group with Michael Bourn, B.J. Upton, Shane Victorino, Melky Cabrera, Marlon Byrd, Grady Sizemore, and Angel Pagan.
Right fielders
Andre Ethier, Carlos Quentin, and Nick Swisher will be seeking big paydays. Ichiro Suzuki and Torii Hunter will represent the old guard.
Designated hitters
David Ortiz will again be the best available; we'll see if he gets the equivalent of an arbitration offer from the Red Sox. Edwin Encarnacion could be interesting, while Bobby Abreu and Travis Hafner will be fighting for regular work.
The Rockies offered Kevin Millwood a guaranteed $1MM prior to acquiring Kevin Slowey at the Winter Meetings, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. The Millwood offer included approximately $1MM more in incentives, but the 37-year-old righty sought $3MM guaranteed. With Slowey having agreed to a $2.75MM salary, Renck says the Rockies have little room in the budget for Millwood.
The Rockies have not ruled out Millwood, but their budget for veteran starting pitching depth doesn't seem to have much flexibility. It'd be surprising to see Millwood score $3MM guaranteed on the strength of nine big league starts, but he does have baseball's toughest agent in Scott Boras.
The Rockies are not currently pursuing a reunion with free agent lefty Jeff Francis, writes Renck. As of right now, all projected members of the Rockies' 2012 rotation are under 30.
The Orioles are close to a multiyear deal with Taiwanese lefty Wei-Yin Chen, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. As a foreign player in Nippon Professional Baseball, Chen had free agency negotiated into his contract with the Chunichi Dragons.
Last year in Japan, Chen posted a 2.68 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 1.7 BB/9, and 0.49 HR/9 in 164 2/3 innings. He ranked 19th on Keith Law's top 50 free agents list. Law offered a positive scouting report, concluding that Chen "offers more upside than the typical NPB refugee, both due to age and the chance for the slider to become a consistently plus pitch." Chen, 26, throws relatively hard for a southpaw, as high as 92-94 when he's right according to Law.
New Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette has gone the international route to supplement his rotation, having already added an NPB starter in December in Tsuyoshi Wada.
Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has authored eight extensions since taking charge in November of 2008, so it's only natural to assume he'll attempt to lock up summer acquisition Hunter Pence. Let's discuss Pence's situation.
Pence, 28, had the best year of his career in 2011 with a .314/.370/.502 line in 668 plate appearances. He's averaged 156 games over the last four seasons, with right field defense generally regarded as a positive. Pence, a client of Beverly Hills Sports Council, has four years and 156 days of Major League service time. That means he's already been arbitration eligible twice, with two more times to go. Pence's agency won a hearing last February, scoring a $3.4MM raise to a $6.9MM salary. The Astros had submitted a $5.15MM figure. In unparalleled work done exclusively for MLBTR, Matt Swartz projected an even bigger raise this time, taking Pence to approximately $11.1MM for 2012.
In his prime and two seasons away from free agency, Pence may not necessarily be motivated to sign long-term at a big discount. $23MM could work for his two arbitration years. It'd be difficult to make a case that Pence deserves Ryan Braun/Matt Kemp money to buy out free agent years, which would be $19-21MM a season. The $17-18MM range we saw with Jayson Werth and Matt Holliday could work, though those seven-year deals were reached by Scott Boras on the open market. Pence might be able to get a six-year free agent deal if he remains consistent in 2012-13. If the Phillies are willing to buy out six free agent years now at $16MM apiece, the total eight-year commitment could approach $120MM. I think the floor for a Pence contract has to be five free agent seasons at $15MM each, bringing a seven-year deal to almost $100MM.
Pence turns 29 in April. He one shot at a huge long-term deal in his career, and if he signs now, $100MM is a reasonable target. The Phillies probably consider Cole Hamels a more pressing concern, but another big year from Pence will either drive the price higher or close the door on a long-term extension altogether.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
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