Reds Info: Pitching, Saunders, Theriot, Cuddyer
John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer talked to Reds GM Walt Jocketty; here's the latest.
- Jocketty says his pursuit of starting pitching has been "very frustrating" and he's not close on anything. The Reds have been linked in rumors to Gio Gonzalez and Jair Jurrjens in recent weeks.
- The Reds have made some progress on an extension for Brandon Phillips.
- Jocketty has contacted the agents for recently non-tendered players Joe Saunders and Ryan Theriot, and the Reds also have some interest in Michael Cuddyer depending on his asking price. They won't be submitting a bid on Yu Darvish.
Red Sox Acquire Melancon For Lowrie, Weiland
The Red Sox acquired reliever Mark Melancon from the Astros for shortstop Jed Lowrie and starter Kyle Weiland, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. ESPN's Jerry Crasnick first tweeted that Weiland was traded to Houston in a deal that involved a reliever going to Boston. The deal marks the first trade involving Major Leaguers by both Astros GM Jeff Luhnow and Red Sox GM Ben Cherington since taking over their respective roles.
Melancon, 26, turned in a 2.78 ERA, 8.0 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 0.61 HR/9, and 56.7% groundball rate in 74 1/3 innings this year, saving 20 games in 25 tries. The right-hander won't be arbitration eligible until after the 2013 season and won't hit free agency until after the 2016 campaign. Acquiring Melancon will bolster Boston's bullpen, but they're unlikely to stop here, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Boston has reportedly been after A's closer Andrew Bailey and Rosenthal says that they can't be ruled out on Ryan Madson.
Lowrie has been drawing a good deal interest from clubs this offseason. The infielder's name also came up during the Winter Meetings when the Red Sox met with the Rangers and discussed possible trades. In 341 plate appearances for Boston last season, the oft-injured Lowrie hit .252/.303/.382 with six homers. Lowrie has been used all around the infield, but he's likely to take over as the Astros' starting shortstop. He's arbitration eligible for the first time this winter and MLBTR projects a $1.2MM salary.
Weiland, 25, struggled in 24 2/3 innings in his Red Sox debut this year. At Triple-A, he posted a 3.58 ERA, 8.8 K/9, 3.9 BB/9, and 0.70 HR/9 in 128 1/3 innings. A third-round pick in 2008, Baseball America ranked Weiland 20th among Red Sox prospects prior to the season. BA says the former Notre Dame closer "relishes pitching inside" and his "best pitch is a low-90s fastball that peaks at 95 but is most notable for its hard sink." The Astros plan to use Weiland as a starter in 2012, tweets Alex Speier of WEEI.com.
The Astros will have to clear a spot on their 40-man roster, as it was full prior to the trade.
How Many Years Will Prince Fielder Get?
One team tells Scott Miller of CBS Sports Prince Fielder is looking for a ten-year deal. As Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports writes, isn't Fielder entitled to an Albert Pujols-like contract, as a 27-year-old coming off a monster season?
The problem is the marketplace, however, writes Morosi. The teams with the biggest payrolls don't appear to be fits for Fielder. Over 38,000 MLBTR readers responded to our poll last week about Fielder's destination. While the Cubs led with 24% of the vote, they almost seem to be the default pick for Fielder since there is no obvious favorite.
I doubt the Cubs would do an eight, nine, or ten-year deal for Fielder. I'm having trouble finding any team that would do so, assuming an average annual value around $25MM is required. It's time for Scott Boras to work his magic. That brings us to today's poll question: how many years will Fielder get?
How many years will Prince Fielder get?
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7 28% (7,732)
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6 27% (7,494)
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8 18% (5,027)
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5 15% (4,174)
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10 5% (1,246)
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4 2% (646)
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1 2% (482)
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9 1% (318)
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3 1% (292)
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2 0% (89)
Total votes: 27,500
Brewers Sign Aramis Ramirez
The Brewers have secured a much-needed power bat, as they've announced a three-year deal with third baseman Aramis Ramirez. The $36MM contract includes a mutual option for 2015. With first baseman Prince Fielder expected to leave via free agency and MVP Ryan Braun facing a potential 50-game suspension for a banned substance, the Brewers were motivated to add a middle-of-the-order hitter. Ramirez is represented by Paul Kinzer of Wasserman Media Group.
Ramirez, 33, bounced back to hit .306/.361/.510 with 26 home runs in 626 plate appearances for the Cubs in 2011. Former Cubs GM Jim Hendry stole Ramirez from the Pirates in a 2003 trade, and the right-handed slugger solidified the position for Chicago by hitting .294/.356/.531 with 239 home runs over eight-plus seasons. His defense is below-average, based on UZR. Aramis, MLBTR's eighth-ranked free agent, finished a five-year, $75MM deal when he declined his side of a mutual option in October. The Cubs will receive a supplemental draft pick for their loss.
The Brewers had a need at the hot corner after Casey McGehee disappointed in 2011. The arbitration-eligible McGehee was traded to Pittsburgh shortly after the Ramirez agreement was reached.
After Francisco Rodriguez accepted arbitration from the Brewers last week, it wasn't clear whether the Brewers would still be in the mix for another expensive player like Ramirez. The Brewers have revamped the left side of their infield, announcing a deal with shortstop Alex Gonzalez Monday.
Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago first reported the agreement, with Ken Rosenthal adding details. Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Orioles, Braves Discussed Trade For Jurrjens, Prado
The Orioles and Braves have discussed a deal that included both righty Jair Jurrjens and infielder/outfielder Martin Prado, reported Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports yesterday. However, the FOX writers find it unlikely that the Braves would package both chips in one trade.
Jurrjens, 25, posted a 2.96 ERA, 5.3 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 0.83 HR/9, and 42% groundball rate in 152 innings this year, missing time with oblique and knee injuries. His skills continue to suggest an ERA around 4.40, and he's only reached 190 innings once, but sub-3.00 ERAs in '09 and '11 may have allowed Jurrjens' reputation as a front-end starter to persist. The Orioles don't seem to be in a position to move significant young players for two years of Jurrjens, despite their current rotation uncertainty.
Dodgers Sign Bard, Ledezma, Castillo, Guzman, More
The Dodgers announced the signing of 15 non-roster players yesterday, reported MLB.com's Ken Gurnick: catcher Josh Bard, lefty reliever Wil Ledezma, lefty reliever Alberto Castillo, righty reliever Angel Guzman, outfielder Cory Sullivan, righty reliever Fernando Nieve, righty reliever Jose Ascanio, righty Ryan Tucker, righty Will Savage, lefty Matt Chico, lefty Scott Rice, corner infielder Jeff Baisley, infielder Lance Zawadzki, and infielder Luis Cruz.
Bard, 33, had 86 plate appearances for the Mariners this year and another 250 in Triple-A. His signing was first rumored last week at the Winter Meetings. Ledezma, 30, briefly appeared in the Majors with Toronto this year. He struck out 64 batters in 48 Triple-A innings as well. Castillo, a 36-year-old Cuban, tossed 11 2/3 innings for the Diamondbacks and a strong 42 1/3 frames at Triple-A. His near-deal was first reported last week.
Ascanio, 26, appeared briefly in the bigs with the Pirates this year and also whiffed 50 in 44 Triple-A innings. He was part of the July '09 John Grabow-Tom Gorzelanny trade with the Cubs, but he had labrum surgery in October of that year. Tucker, 25, is a former first-round pick of the Marlins who pitched five innings with the Rangers this year and 68 1/3 more in Triple-A. Guzman, Sullivan, Nieve, Chico, Baisley, Zawadzki, and Cruz have also spent time in the Majors. Guzman, notably, was a successful setup man for the Cubs in '09.
Brewers Sign Alex Gonzalez
TUESDAY, 7:23pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter) that the deal is worth $4.25MM. A $4MM option for 2013 will vest with 525 plate appearances, a level Gonzalez has reached in each of the last two seasons.
MONDAY, 11:18am: The Brewers announced the signing of shortstop Alex Gonzalez today. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first tweeted news of the agreement last week, noting that it's a one-year deal with a vesting option for 2013. Gonzalez will take over as Milwaukee's starting shortstop, a position occupied by Yuniesky Betancourt this year. Gonzalez is represented by Eric Goldschmidt.
Gonzalez, 34, hit .241/.270/.372 with 15 home runs in 593 plate appearances for the Braves in 2011. UZR suggests Gonzalez was average defensively this year and above-average from 2006-10. Gonzalez seems to represent an upgrade over Betancourt, but not by much. In November, the Braves elected not to offer arbitration to Gonzalez, so they won't be receiving a supplemental draft pick for the loss. The Cardinals and Giants had also been linked to Gonzalez.
As our free agent tracker shows, the list of available shortstops includes Betancourt, Ronny Cedeno,Nick Punto, and Jimmy Rollins. Most of the clubs that lost or need shortstops, such as the Giants, Braves, Rays, Mets, Phillies, and Astros, say they have acceptable internal candidates. It doesn't seem like Rollins has much leverage to extract a big five-year deal out of the Phillies.
MLBTR’s Free Agent Tracker
MLBTR has the best free agent tracker around, as it allows you to filter by position, team, type, signed or unsigned, contract years, contract amount, and any combination of those. Yesterday's non-tenders are now part of the tracker. Bookmark MLBTR's free agent tracker today!
American League Non-Tenders
Today's American League non-tenders are below, but you can keep track of all teams in our non-tender tracker.
- The Mariners announced that they non-tendered Dan Cortes and Chris Gimenez.
- The Orioles announced that they non-tendered Willie Eyre, the right-handed reliever who was designated for assignment last week. They non-tendered Jo-Jo Reyes, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). The Orioles also non-tendered Luke Scott, tweets Connolly. Scott, who battled a shoulder injury in 2011 and underwent surgery this summer, projected to earn $6MM through arbitration.
- The Rays non-tendered Andy Sonnanstine, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (Twitter link).
- The Rangers non-tendered right-hander Fabio Castillo, according to Anthony Andro of FOXSportsSouthwest.com (Twitter link).
- The Red Sox announced that they non-tendered Rich Hill.
- The Royals announced that they will non-tender left-hander Aaron Laffey.
- The Twins announced that they've non-tendered left-hander Jose Mijares (Twitter link).
- The Tigers non-tendered second baseman Will Rhymes, announced the team. Rhymes is not yet close to being arbitration eligible, as he has less than one year of big league service time. Rhymes, 28, hit .306/.377/.390 at Triple-A this year.
Non-Tender Tracker
On average, each MLB team currently has about six arbitration eligible players. I count 188 in total, from the White Sox and Astros with two each to the Giants with a dozen. This winter, arbitration eligible players are those with at least two years and 146 days of MLB service and less than six years, who aren't signed to multiyear deals.
Tonight at 11pm central time, teams must decide whether to tender contracts to their arbitration eligible players. Perhaps 20% of arbitration eligible players are at risk of being cut loose (non-tendered) tonight. Of course, reaching free agency without having to accrue six years of service can sometimes be a positive. Also, note that each year there are a few stray non-tenders who are not yet arbitration eligible, such as Alfredo Aceves last year.
We'll have posts for non-tenders in each league constantly updated today, but another great way to stay informed is MLBTR's non-tender tracker. There you can see all the arbitration eligible players and filter by team and whether the player was tendered a contract. Be sure to bookmark our non-tender tracker and check it throughout the day.