Craig Counsell To Join Brewers’ Front Office
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.
Giants Avoid Arbitration With Melky Cabrera
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.
Dodgers Avoid Arbitration With Andre Ethier
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.com: Fantasy Baseball Site Relaunched
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:
Players Avoiding Arbitration: Monday
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 Braves and Eric O'Flaherty avoided arbitration, Mark Bowman of MLB.com tweets. O'Flaherty will earn $2.49MM, just shy of his projected $2.6MM salary.
- The Orioles and Jim Johnson have avoided arbitration, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun tweets. The right-hander will earn $2.625MM in 2012, just north of his projected $2.5MM salary.
- The Red Sox avoided arbitration with Franklin Morales, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe tweets. The left-hander had a projected salary of $1MM and agreed to an $850K deal.
- The Rays avoided arbitration with J.P. Howell, agreeing to a $1.35MM deal for 2012, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith tweets. Matt Swartz had projected a $1.4MM salary for the left-hander.
- The Royals avoided arbitration with Chris Getz, agreeing to a $967,500 deal for 2012, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith tweets. Matt Swartz had projected a $1.2MM salary for the infielder.
- The Nationals announced they've avoided arbitration with catcher Jesus Flores. Flores, who is represented by Praver/Shapiro, received $815K, MLBTR has learned.
- The Brewers avoided arbitration with outfielder Nyjer Morgan, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The ACES client received $2.35MM, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
- The Royals announced they've avoided arbitration with catcher Brayan Pena, a client of Wasserman Media Group. Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star says the deal is worth $875K; Matt Swartz had him at $900K.
- Orioles pitcher Darren O'Day avoided arbitration for a deal worth $1.35MM, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Matt Swartz had projected the same for the Beverly Hills Sports Council client.
- Yankees righty Phil Hughes agreed to a deal worth $3.2MM plus performance bonuses, tweets his agency CAA. The 25-year-old gets a $500K raise after a lost 2011 season.
- The Tigers announced they've avoided arbitration with lefty Phil Coke. Coke, a client of Full Circle Sports Management, gets a $1.1MM base salary with $50K in incentives for appearances or starts, MLBTR has learned.
- The Angels avoided arbitration with infielder Alberto Callaspo, signing him to a one-year deal worth $3.15MM, tweets ESPN's Keith Law. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz nailed this one, projecting a $3.1MM salary. Callaspo, a client of Eric Goldschmidt, received a $1.15MM raise for his second time through arbitration.
iPhone App Users: Feedback Requested
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.
Reds Sign Dioner Navarro
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.
Rockies Make Offer To Veteran Starting Pitcher
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.
Red Sox To Sign Vicente Padilla
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.
Athletics Acquire Seth Smith
The Athletics acquired outfielder Seth Smith from the Rockies for righty Guillermo Moscoso and lefty Josh Outman, according to the Rockies' Twitter feed. The A's are a somewhat surprising match for Smith, but they did need corner outfield help after losing Josh Willingham and David DeJesus to free agency. Josh Reddick and Coco Crisp round out Oakland's outfield.
Smith, a 29-year-old left-handed hitter, batted .284/.347/.483 with 15 home runs in a career-high 533 plate appearances for the Rockies last year. The corner outfielder has struggled against southpaws in his career. Smith (pictured) is under team control through 2014, and MLBTR reported last night that he'll earn $2.415MM in 2012. The Rays, Mariners, Braves, and Mets are among the other teams that showed interested in Smith this winter. He became expendable after the Rockies signed Michael Cuddyer for $31.5MM in December.
Moscoso, 28, had his first prolonged big league exposure last year for the A's. He posted a 3.38 ERA, 5.2 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 0.98 HR/9, and 26.8% groundball rate in 128 innings. His flyball/pitch-to-contact approach might not play well at Coors Field. Originally signed by the Tigers, Moscoso was traded to the Rangers in December of '08 for Gerald Laird and then to the A's a year ago for Ryan Kelly. Prior to the 2010 season, Baseball America wrote, "Moscoso is ready for a big league role, either as a back-of-the-rotation starter, a long reliever, or a swingman."
Outman, 27, tossed 58 1/3 big league innings last year and another 78 1/3 at Triple-A. He's been a useful starter in the Majors, with a chunk of missed time due to June 2009 Tommy John surgery. Outman was drafted by the Phillies in 2005 and traded to Oakland in '08 as part of the Joe Blanton deal. Prior to that season, BA said Outman profiled as a number three starter. Now, he'll join Moscoso in what Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd called a "raging competition" for rotation spots. The Rockies are actually close to adding a veteran starter to the mix for more depth, tweets Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.