Red Sox Rumors: Luxury Tax, Wandy
The latest on the Red Sox, courtesy of Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald…
- GM Ben Cherington's comments on the team's pursuit of pitching: "We need to add some pitching depth, we’re working on that, we don’t know what the scope of that’s going to be. Last year at this time, nobody knew who Alfredo Aceves was, and by the end of the year he was one of our best pitchers." Tim Britton of the Providence Journal notes that Aceves was a non-tender last year by the Yankees, and takes a look at seven players who could interest the Sox if they're cut loose at tonight's deadline. Click here for my list of non-tender candidates.
- Red Sox president Larry Lucchino explained the team's stance on the luxury tax: "We wouldn’t rule it out (going over the threshold), but our plan historically has been to try to be at or around it. We have gone over it when we felt there was a need to. When the baseball operations department suggested a certain transaction made imminent good sense, we were willing to go over it, and I think that will be our policy going forward."
- Wandy Rodriguez is among the starting pitchers of interest to the Red Sox, writes Silverman. Word was a week ago that the Astros didn't want to eat any of Wandy's potential $36MM over the next three years, though that was before Jeff Luhnow was hired as GM.
- Gio Gonzalez, Andrew Bailey, John Danks, and Gavin Floyd also remain on the radar, says Silverman. The White Sox and Red Sox got together during the Winter Meetings to discuss Danks and Floyd.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports explains why he feels the Red Sox are a fit to acquire the Marlins' Hanley Ramirez.
Latest On John Danks
A week ago, Jon Heyman reported that the Yankees were unwilling to trade Manny Banuelos or Jesus Montero for White Sox lefty John Danks. The newly-minted CBS Sports scribe now tweets that the White Sox asked for two of Montero, Banuelos, or Dellin Betances, and the Yankees might give up one in a package.
It's easy to see why the Yankees have resisted so far, as Danks is only under team control for one year. He'll certainly be motivated with free agency on the horizon, and he would be just 27 years old on the open market. If Danks can put up 32 starts with a sub-4.00 ERA, as was his custom prior to 2011, I think he'll be able to top four years and $50MM. Edwin Jackson's upcoming contract may set the bar.
One executive told ESPN's Buster Olney during the Winter Meetings that the White Sox sought a "Ubaldo Jimenez" package for Danks, which would be hard to defend since Jimenez came with two-plus years of cost certainty. In addition to the Yankees, AL East rivals such as the Blue Jays and Red Sox appear to have checked in.
Manny Ramirez Comments
Manny Ramirez was officially reinstated from the retirement list by MLB on Saturday, though he must serve a 50-game suspension if signed. Ramirez recently spoke to Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes, here are a few highlights.
On his abrupt April retirement:
"I was badly advised, I took a decision I should not have taken. I should have said something to my fans. I was surrounded by many people who gave me bad advice. I made an emotional decision, but I have regretted that decision since the day I made it."
On his willingness to sign a minor league deal:
"If a scout comes by and sees me, sees the shape that I'm in, I can get a big league contract, but the doors are open."
On his willingness to play Japan or someone else other than MLB:
"We are the working class and wherever there is work, you must go work."
Barry Bonds was unable to find a minor league offer in 2008 and 2009, and while Manny doesn't come with quite as much baggage, it's possible he'll come up empty as well.
Yankees Win Rights To Hiroyuki Nakajima
Saturday, 2:41pm: Nakajima spoke to Nikkan Sports (Japanese link) about the Yankees submitting the top bid. "I thought 'whoa!'. I got a bid from a great team," said the shortstop before adding that he doesn't know how everything will turn out. Thanks to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker for the translation.
Thursday, 6:18am: ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the question is being explored as to whether or not the Yankees will trade Nakajima, as they don't really have a role for them on their club.
Wednesday, 6:43pm: Given the low salary Nakajima figures to receive, the Yankees aren't confident they'll sign the infielder, tweets Heyman. Nakajima could decide to stay in Japan.
11:34am: The Yankees won the bid for about $2MM, tweets Jon Heyman. Noting Nakajima's preference to play for a West Coast team, Rosenthal wonders if he'll be willing to be a utility player for the Yankees.
11:18am: The Yankees won the rights to negotiate with Nakajima, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. They now have 30 days to work out a deal with him.
11:08am: The Yankees submitted a posting bid on Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima with an eye on using him in a utility role, tweets David Waldstein. One person believes the Yankees won the bid, but Waldstein has not yet confirmed that. The Seibu Lions should announce the winning bidder today.
Padres Acquire Huston Street
The Padres found their Heath Bell replacement, acquiring closer Huston Street from the division-rival Rockies for minor league left-hander Nick Schmidt. The Rockies have officially announced the trade. The Rockies are eating $1MM on Street's $8MM salary, tweets Joel Sherman. MLB.com's Thomas Harding tweeted the agreement, Joel Sherman tweeted when it became official, and Danny Knobler, Scott Miller, and Buster Olney contributed to the breaking story.
Street, 28, posted a 3.86 ERA, 8.5 K/9, 1.4 BB/9, 1.54 HR/9, and 34.9% groundball rate in 58 1/3 innings for the Rockies this year, saving 29 games in 33 attempts. The move to Petco Park should help Street's home run rate, and if he has a big year he could decline his $9MM player option for 2013 and test the open market. Street had a DL stint for triceps soreness in August, during which the Rockies realized Rafael Betancourt could be an effective closer. The move appears to be mostly a salary dump for Colorado, and the team now has more money to pursue a starting pitcher such as Hiroki Kuroda. For fantasy analysis of the deal, check out Bryan Grosnick's latest at CloserNews.
Schmidt, 26, was drafted 23rd overall by San Diego in the 2007 draft. The southpaw has yet to pitch beyond the high Class A level, posting a 4.61 ERA and an 8.00 K/9 rate in four pro seasons. Schmidt underwent ligament replacement surgery that caused him to miss the entire 2008 season.
This marks Josh Byrnes' second trade since taking over as Padres GM, as he acquired catcher John Baker from Miami in November.
Tigers Sign Octavio Dotel
The Tigers announced an agreement with reliever Octavio Dotel on a one-year contract, plus a club option for 2013. According to MLB.com's Jason Beck, Dotel will earn $3MM in 2012 and the club option is worth $3.5MM (with a $500K buyout). Dotel is represented by Beverly Hills Sports Council.
Dotel, 38, posted a 3.50 ERA, 10.3 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 1.00 HR/9, and 30.1% groundball rate for the Blue Jays and Cardinals this year. The Cardinals chose a $750K buyout over his $3.5MM club option after the season. Dotel is known for his dominance against right-handed hitters and struggles against left-handed ones. In November as part of the new collective bargaining agreement, Dotel was changed from a Type A free agent to Type B, and it was decided that the Cardinals would not have to offer him arbitration to receive a supplemental draft pick as compensation.
The Tigers now have righties Jose Valverde, Joaquin Benoit, Al Alburquerque, and Dotel at the back end of their bullpen.
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports first reported the near-agreement on Wednesday night, with Heyman reporting last night that the two sides had agreed to terms.
Rays Extend Matt Moore
The Rays have authored another precedent-setting contract, locking up 22-year-old phenom Matt Moore for at least five years, according to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. Moore has just 17 days of big league service time (plus ten innings in the postseason), but the Rays committed $14MM for Moore’s next five seasons. The contract is reminiscent of the Rays’ April 2008 commitment to Evan Longoria, but is the first of its kind for a pitcher.
Moore’s guarantee is easily a record for a pitcher with less than a year’s service time, and it also tops any pitcher who signed with less than two years service. The Rays have club options covering Moore’s third arbitration year and first two free agent years. If those are exercised, the deal could be worth $37.5MM over eight years, and it could exceed $40MM with escalators. Moore is represented by Matt Sosnick along with Jon Pridie and Adam Karon of Sosnick Cobbe Sports.
My take: the contract makes sense for both sides. Moore is widely regarded as a future ace, with three plus pitches and a strikeout-heavy resume. But as a player who signed for $115K after being drafted in the eighth round in 2007, the guaranteed money would have been difficult to turn down. Though Longoria’s contract is considered the most team-friendly in baseball, it wasn’t without risk at the time it was signed. That risk is heightened for the Rays since Moore is a pitcher.
The Rays are unlikely to lose money on Moore’s contract. The worst case scenario is Moore missing significant time due to injury. For example, Brett Anderson signed a deal with the Athletics for a $12.5MM guarantee with just one year of service. With Anderson battling injuries since that deal was signed, the A’s might overpay by around $5MM for his first two arbitration years. They retain club options on his third arbitration year and first free agent season and could still come out ahead, but Anderson probably does not regret the contract. Sosnick Cobbe Sports has its own examples of “sure thing” starters whose careers were derailed, including Jesse Foppert and Dontrelle Willis.
Arbitration savings were a factor for the Rays, as paying $15MM for Moore’s three arbitration years could be a major bargain. An ace like the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw could receive $8MM for his first arbitration year alone in 2012, and there’s no telling how high the bar will be three years from now, when Moore would have been eligible. The Rays gain long-term cost certainty, something they lack with ace David Price. Perhaps more crucial for Tampa Bay is having club options on each of Moore’s first two free agent seasons at $10MM, with aces such as Felix Hernandez and Justin Verlander requiring $20MM for free agent years on multiyear deals signed later in their careers. Getting three club options is a signature move for the Rays, as executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman accomplished the feat with previous deals for starters James Shields and Wade Davis.
Moore wasn’t going anywhere regardless of this contract, as he was under team control for a full six seasons. Still, there was a chance the Rays would have held him in the minors for part of 2012 with the intent of controlling him for a seventh year or avoiding Super Two status. This contract likely removes that scenario, making Moore a stronger candidate for the Rays’ Opening Day rotation and increasing the likelihood Shields, Davis, or Jeff Niemann is traded this offseason.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Red Sox Notes: Nakajima, Arnsberg, Cherington
Aside from David Ortiz accepting arbitration, the Red Sox had an uneventful Winter Meetings, though the offseason is still young. The latest:
- An executive who knows Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine says he's very high on Japanese shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman's source expects Nakajima to reject the Yankees' attempts to sign him, play in Japan for 2012, and sign with the Red Sox as a free agent.
- Red Sox GM Ben Cherington met with pitching coach candidate Brad Arnsberg before leaving the Meetings, tweets Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com. The meeting went well, but others will be interviewed. Arnsberg has served as pitching coach for the Blue Jays and Astros.
- It's unlikely the Red Sox focus their remaining offseason resources on offense, Cherington told reporters including WEEI's Alex Speier.
- Cherington said he's felt all along that his pitching staff would be an "all-winter project."
- Asked if the Sox considered being creative to try to fit Albert Pujols in, Cherington replied, "Not really."
- Regarding the compensation owed by the Cubs for acquiring Theo Epstein, Cherington said, "Loosely, we've loosely defined a strategy of talking at some point in the near future. Yeah. We'll resolve it at some point I'm sure."
- In case you missed it, the Red Sox added reliever Jesse Carlson on a split contract and minor league pitcher Marco Duarte by way of trading Rule 5 pick Marwin Gonzalez to Houston.
Red Sox Sign Jesse Carlson
The Red Sox signed lefty reliever Jesse Carlson to a split contract with a spring training invite, his brother told Robert Mayer of the local online newspaper the Berlin Patch in a story published yesterday. Carlson, 30, had rotator cuff surgery in May and was removed from Toronto's 40-man roster in November. Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com first tweeted the near-agreement yesterday morning.
Rockies Considering Three-Year Offer To Cuddyer
The Rockies' willingness to consider a three-year offer to free agent right fielder Michael Cuddyer makes them a serious suitor, writes Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. The Rockies freed up $7MM in yesterday's Huston Street trade. They have mild interest in Cody Ross as a complementary piece and are not pursuing Josh Willingham, writes Renck.
The Twins reportedly have a three-year offer worth $24-25MM on the table for Cuddyer. GM Terry Ryan told MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger he still thinks they have a chance. Ryan would like to get something done sooner than later. Cuddyer's wife just gave birth to twin girls, however, so Cuddyer may be occupied with diaper duty.