Brewers Will Not Bid On Prince Fielder
Albert Pujols is off the board with a $254MM contract from the Angels, but Scott Boras is going to let the Prince Fielder market simmer this month. The latest:
- GM Doug Melvin confirmed to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the Brewers are out on Fielder (Twitter link). "I think Scott [Boras] understands that," Melvin told Haudricourt.
- The Cubs are definitely in the mix for Fielder, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. He adds that the Mariners are trying and the Blue Jays and Rangers are "among teams showing interest and thinking hard about it." At the Winter Meetings, Rangers president Nolan Ryan told reporters his team is not in on Fielder.
Minor Moves: Yankees, Jeroloman, Carpenter
Today's minor moves…
- The Yankees outrighted Colin Curtis to Triple-A and announced that Greg Golson is now a free agent, according to Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger (on Twitter).
- The Twins confirmed the loss of Jim Hoey, adding that they outrighted recently-claimed shortstop Pedro Florimon to bring their 40-man roster count to 38.
- The Blue Jays also confirmed the claim of Jim Hoey today, also noting they've outrighted catcher Brian Jeroloman and righty Drew Carpenter. Their 40-man roster is now full.
- The Brewers announced they've signed first baseman Travis Ishikawa to a minor league deal, and also confirmed their signing of Mike Rivera. Ishikawa was designated for assignment by the Giants in March, and after clearing waivers went on to hit .251/.368/.383 in 211 Triple-A plate appearances. Ishikawa injured his non-throwing shoulder in June while playing right field and had surgery that month. His agent Jim McDowell tells MLBTR Ishikawa was cleared for baseball activities two months ago and will be at full strength for 2012.
Mets Claim Jeremy Hefner; Sign May, Olson
The Mets claimed righty Jeremy Hefner off waivers from the Pirates, reports ESPN New York's Adam Rubin. They also signed catcher Lucas May and lefty Garrett Olson to minor league deals.
Hefner, 25, was claimed by the Pirates from the Padres in November but designated for assignment by Pittsburgh on Friday. The 25-year-old posted a 4.98 ERA, 6.9 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, and 1.2 HR/9 in 157 1/3 innings at Triple-A this year. Baseball America ranked him 15th among Padres prospects prior to the season, noting that his "three average offerings and feel for the strike zone make him ideally suited to fit in the back of a rotation."
May, 27, hit .238/.330/.427 in 286 Triple-A plate appearances this year for the Diamondbacks' and Royals' affiliates. Olson, 28, is a former first-round draft pick who posted a 3.05 ERA, 6.4 K/9, 4.9 BB/9, and 0.7 HR/9 in 85 2/3 Triple-A innings for the Pirates' affiliate.
Blue Jays Focused On Gio Gonzalez
The Blue Jays are focused on Athletics lefty Gio Gonzalez, tweets Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Last week, Slusser reported that 12 teams were interested in Gonzalez, and there were indications the A's and Jays might try to involve a third team to facilitate a deal.
The A's recently traded Trevor Cahill to the Diamondbacks, but ESPN's Buster Olney still thinks Gonzalez will be dealt. Gonzalez, 26, ranked ninth in the AL with 197 strikeouts but led the league with 91 free passes. He's under team control through 2015. Gonzalez is a Super Two player for 2012 and MLBTR projects a $4.2MM salary. That's not far from the current first-time starting pitcher arbitration record, and if Gonzalez stays healthy and continues pitching well I think he could earn nearly $40MM over his four arbitration years.
Pujols’ Wife On Cardinals’ Offer
"The city of St. Louis has absolutely been deceived," said Albert Pujols' wife Deidre today on the Greg & Sandi show this morning on 99.1 Joy FM in St. Louis (thanks to Drew Silva for the link). Deidre's thoughts on her husband's offseason…
- Deidre was confused that the Cardinals said they wanted Albert to be a Cardinal for life but only offered a five-year deal. She feels she and Albert have been given an unfair trial by the public, based on "deceiving numbers" in the media. She explained, "The offer that people have seen on television…had that offer been the one that was given to us with guarantee, we would have a bird on our back. It wasn't a guaranteed situation." Deidre also confirmed they turned down a larger offer in taking $254MM from the Angels. Marlins president David Samson told reporters they were at ten years and "a hair over $200MM," so it's unclear which team offered more than $254MM, if any.
- The Cardinals' ten-year, $210MM offer to Pujols included $30MM deferred without interest, tweets Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Deidre may have been referring to the Cardinals' initial bid of five years and $130MM.
- Cardinals GM John Mozeliak commented on the negotiations to KFNS St. Louis. He also agreed that it's safe to assume his team will not be in on Prince Fielder.
Blue Jays Claim Jim Hoey
The Blue Jays claimed reliever Jim Hoey off waivers from the Twins, GM Terry Ryan confirmed on ESPN 1500 (hat tip: Aaron Gleeman). Hoey indicated the same on Twitter.
Hoey, 28, struggled in 24 2/3 innings with the Twins this year, his first big league action since 2007. He posted a 3.83 ERA in 42 1/3 Triple-A innings. The Twins acquired the hard-throwing Hoey a year ago in the J.J. Hardy deal.
Rockies Making Aggressive Push For Cuddyer
The Rockies are making an aggressive push for Michael Cuddyer, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Cuddyer is believed to be seeking a three-year, $30MM deal, and the Twins remain in the mix. Cuddyer does not appear to be close to a decision, tweets Scott Miller of CBS Sports.
Cuddyer, 32, hit .284/.346/.459 with 20 home runs in 584 plate appearances this year. Cuddyer's versatility would be useful to the Rockies, as he's able to play the infield corners, second base, and right field.
Blue Jays Acquire Ben Francisco
The Blue Jays acquired outfielder Ben Francisco from the Phillies for minor league lefty Frank Gailey, announced the team. The Jays also designated reliever Jesse Chavez for assignment.
Francisco, 30, hit .244/.340/.364 in 293 plate appearances for the Phillies this year. As a right-handed hitter he's gotten a disproportionate share of at-bats against lefties in his career, but he hasn't done markedly better against them. Francisco is set to earn an estimated $1.5MM through arbitration in 2012, and perhaps the Phillies would have cut him loose had they not found a trade partner. He'll be under team control for 2013 as well if the Blue Jays want him. With Francisco filling the role of Toronto's fourth outfielder, Rajai Davis may be expendable.
Gailey, 26, posted a 3.41 ERA, 7.4 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, and 0.6 HR/9 in 74 relief innings across High and Double-A this year. A Philadelphia native, Gailey must be excited about the deal.
Chavez, 28, spent most of 2011 with the Royals' Triple-A affiliate. There he posted a 3.75 ERA, 8.4 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, and 0.9 HR/9 in 57 2/3 innings. The Blue Jays claimed him off waivers from Kansas City in late October.
How Much Will Ortiz, K-Rod, and Kelly Johnson Earn Next Year?
Free agents David Ortiz, Francisco Rodriguez, and Kelly Johnson accepted their teams' offers of arbitration last week, making them signed players for 2012. In recent years we've seen the occasional setup-type free agent reliever accept arbitration, but not position player regulars or a closer. Without much recent precedent, determining the salaries of Ortiz, Rodriguez, and Johnson will be tricky.
The players have incentive to avoid hearings. If a deal is agreed upon, the player asks for a Signing Guaranteed Provision, guaranteeing the contract. A hearing, however, opens up the small chance of the player being released in spring training. The team would have to prove the player "failed to to exhibit sufficient skill or competitive ability" during spring training. The Padres pulled this off with Todd Walker in 2007, but it's rare. The Red Sox are happy to have Ortiz next year, and the Blue Jays have use for Johnson. While I imagine the Brewers would like a do-over on offering K-Rod arbitration, I don't think they'll try to release him in spring training and then go toe-to-toe with Scott Boras.
I talked to a team executive, a former agency employee, and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz about the salaries Ortiz, Rodriguez, and Johnson might receive. The details:
- Estimates ranged from $13-15MM on Ortiz. He's working from a $12.5MM salary, and his raise will probably be relatively small. The Red Sox could point to Travis Hafner as a $13MM comparable, while Ortiz's agents at SFX could look to top Adam Dunn's $14MM by virtue of Ortiz's higher batting average. A two-year deal is possible for Ortiz, but if the Red Sox are at $18MM, Big Papi might as well stop worrying about multiyear security since he can easily get more than $4-5MM in 2013 with a passable 2012.
- K-Rod should be an interesting case. On the high end, Boras could argue for Mariano Rivera's $15MM salary. If they're feeling adventurous, the Brewers could actually try to cut Rodriguez's $11.5MM salary, citing Jonathan Papelbon's $11MM salary for 2012 or Rafael Soriano's $10MM salary. Rest assured that trying to cut Rodriguez's salary would lead to a hearing, so a settlement closer to Rivera's figure seems possible.
- Johnson's case might involve bringing in a third baseman such as Miguel Tejada, who signed at $6.5MM for 2011. Johnson earned $5.85MM in an off-2011, so $7MM is probably his ceiling. A multiyear deal is possible here.
Non-Tender Candidates
I initially published my non-tender candidates list on November 14th, and since then many of the 54 players I mentioned have been removed from 40-man rosters or traded. Below is my revised list in advance of tonight's 11pm central time deadline. As a reminder, not all of these players will be non-tendered, but those who are become free agents. Click here for MLBTR's projected salaries for these players, if they are tendered contracts. You can follow all of today's action with MLBTR's non-tender tracker.
Position Players
Daric Barton
Emmanuel Burriss
Jesus Flores
Mike Fontenot
Chris Getz
Tony Gwynn Jr.
Koyie Hill
Paul Janish
Jeff Keppinger
George Kottaras
James Loney
Donnie Murphy
Ronny Paulino
Brayan Pena
Landon Powell
Adam Rosales
Skip Schumaker
Luke Scott
Ryan Spilborghs
Ryan Theriot
Wilson Valdez
Eli Whiteside
Pitchers
Matt Albers
Brad Bergesen
Tom Gorzelanny
Rich Hill
J.P. Howell
Hong-Chih Kuo
Jose Mijares
Peter Moylan
Micah Owings
Manny Parra
Jo-Jo Reyes
Joe Saunders
Doug Slaten
Andy Sonnanstine
Joe Thatcher
Chris Volstad
Jerome Williams