Astros Sign Max Ramirez
The Astros signed catcher Max Ramirez to a minor league deal, according to Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle. Carlos Corporan broke a finger last week, further compromising the Astros' catching depth, explained Levine. Ramirez had been released by the Cubs on Friday. The 26-year-old had been claimed off waivers by the Cubs from the Red Sox, who claimed him from the Rangers.
Ramirez hit .286/.373/.381 in 226 plate appearances for the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate last year, picking up another 85 PAs with the big club. He played 11 games for the Cubs' Triple-A team this year. Ramirez may still have potential with the bat, but he is considered a below-average defensive catcher.
Astros Notes: Crane, Pence, Draft
At 13-22, the Astros currently have the worst record in the National League. Baseball Prospectus continues to give them a 0.0% chance at the playoffs. The Astros have scored 4.2 runs per game, which ranks seventh in the league. However, their bullpen has the NL's worst ERA at 5.40. The starting pitching has been subpar as well at 4.81, though that ranking is largely due to J.A. Happ (5.75) and the recently-designated Nelson Figueroa (8.28 as a starter). On to today's notes…
- Only "a little fine-tuning" remains to complete the sale of the Astros to Jim Crane, reports Bob Allen of ABC 13 out of Houston. Allen expects the sale price to be around $680MM.
- I covered the Astros' 2012 contract issues last week; it will be interesting to see how the new ownership approaches the offseason. If Hunter Pence reaches 100 RBIs for the first time in his career, will he set a new third-time arbitration record for position players going year by year? Will the Astros be willing to pay him eight figures?
- Astros fans can look forward to the June 6th draft, in which the team picks 11th overall. Three Baseball America experts did a mock draft as if they were in charge of the teams, and Conor Glassey took Oklahoma high school righty Dylan Bundy for Houston after considering George Springer and Taylor Jungmann. Prior to the season, prospect gurus such as Keith Law, Kevin Goldstein, and BA all ranked the Astros' farm system 26th or worse among the 30 teams.
- MLBTR has all kinds of Astros-centric pages to check out: Facebook, Twitter, RSS, and forums.
2012 MLB Free Agent List
Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, Jose Reyes, and C.C. Sabathia lead the list of players eligible for free agency after the season. I recently updated our 2012 MLB free agent list, so please check it out and bookmark it.
Arbitration Records: Position Players
Recently we looked at the arbitration records for starting pitchers and catchers. Today let's look at the general position player records.
- First time: Ryan Howard – $10MM (2008).
- Second time: Miguel Cabrera – $11.3MM (2007).
- Third time: Prince Fielder – $15.5MM (2011). Preceded by two-year deal. Otherwise Alfonso Soriano at $10MM in 2006.
Howard won a hearing against the Phillies in February of '08, as his $10MM submission was chosen over the team's surprisingly low $7MM figure. Howard had a chance to continue smashing arbitration records, but a year later he signed a three-year extension after submitting $18MM against the team's $14MM.
Had he gone to arbitration this year, I don't think Joey Votto would have set a new first-time record. However, he could have come close and then set a second-time record for '12. Instead, Votto signed a deal paying $38MM for his three arbitration years. Howard's record might stand for a while – it's been over three years, but he came into that hearing with 129 home runs, 353 RBIs, a Rookie of the Year award, an MVP, and a fifth-place MVP finish.
Cabrera's second-time record isn't much higher than Howard's first-time salary. Still, only a superstar player can get to that level in his second arbitration year. Cabrera signed an eight-year deal a couple of months after agreeing at $11.3MM for '08, but that salary remained unchanged.
If you exclude Fielder and Mark Teixeira from the third-year group because they did not go year-to-year, Soriano's $10MM third-time mark seems especially fragile. The Astros' Hunter Pence, who won a $6.9MM second-year salary in a hearing this year, has a shot at Soriano for '12. Shin-Soo Choo, a Scott Boras client with a nice first-time salary of $3.975MM, could also keep going year-to-year and exceed $10MM for his third time.
2012 Contract Issues: Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies are next in our 2012 Contract Issues series. Here's what the team faces after the 2011 season:
Eligible For Free Agency (7)
- Raul Ibanez will probably be allowed to leave, freeing up some cash and leaving an opening in left field for the Phillies.
- Shortstop Jimmy Rollins hasn't been a power guy for several years, but he is sporting a career-best walk rate currently. There is a lot of baseball left to be played, but Rollins, 33 in November, could be the cheaper free agent alternative to Jose Reyes. The Phils don't have an obvious replacement for Rollins.
- Ryan Madson, a Scott Boras client, is four-for-four in save opportunities this year with Brad Lidge and Jose Contreras out. Madson wants to finish his career with the Phillies and be a closer. The team could let Lidge go and sign Madson for something like three years and $18MM.
- Danys Baez, Brian Schneider, Ross Gload, and J.C. Romero will also be eligible for free agency.
Contract Options (2)
- Roy Oswalt: $16MM mutual option with a $2MM buyout. Oswalt is undecided on whether to play next year. He's currently on the DL with back pain, so the option seems up in the air for both sides.
- Brad Lidge: $12.5MM club option with a $1.5MM buyout. Lidge is recovering from a shoulder injury; it's tough to see the Phillies picking this one up.
Arbitration Eligible (6)
- First time: Wilson Valdez, Scott Mathieson
- Second time: Kyle Kendrick, Ben Francisco, Pete Orr
- Third time: None
- Fourth time: Cole Hamels
Not all of these players will make it to the point of being tendered contracts. The only lock is Hamels, who signed an extension in January of '09 but left his fourth arbitration year open. He's working from a $9.5MM salary and having a strong year so far. The arbitration cases of Tim Lincecum and Jered Weaver could be factors (more on those here and here), if one or both of them settles first. $15MM is a reasonable estimate for Hamels, though. Hamels wants to stay, but the team has yet to approach him about an extension.
2012 Payroll Obligation
The Phillies' 2012 payroll obligation, according to Cot's, is $112.903MM including buyouts for Oswalt and Lidge. If another $15MM goes to Hamels, they're at $128MM, about $38MM shy of this year's $166MM high water mark. A lot of that money could be eaten up if Rollins, Madson, Oswalt, Kendrick, and Francisco are retained, which are open questions at this point. The Phillies have flexibility if they maintain their payroll, but also have several crucial free agents and one huge arbitration case.
Which Agency Had The Biggest Offseason?
From the Blue Jays signing Dustin McGowan for $450K to the Red Sox extending Adrian Gonzalez at $154MM, teams committed almost $3 billion in free agent deals, arbitration contracts, and extensions to 314 players during the 2010-11 offseason. I defined the offseason as October 1st, 2010 through April 30th, 2011, so that the April extensions would be recognized.
The goal was to capture guaranteed money from new contracts. Arbitration deals typically are not guaranteed, though those players are rarely cut, so I included them. If you find any errors in the numbers in the attached spreadsheet, please contact us or leave a comment.
- Boras Corporation: $444.475MM. Boras is back on top after ranking third last winter. Contracts for Jayson Werth, Adrian Beltre, Carlos Gonzalez, and Rafael Soriano accounted for much of the total.
- Legacy Sports Group: $321.375MM. Legacy's huge winter was led by Carl Crawford, Adam Dunn, Rickie Weeks, and Billy Butler. Crawford signed the offseason's biggest free agent contract at $142MM.
- CAA Sports: $234.575MM. CAA's total comes mainly from Ryan Braun and Derek Jeter.
- John Boggs & Associates: $185.675MM. Extensions for Adrian Gonzalez and Trevor Cahill pushed this company to the fourth spot. Gonzalez signed the biggest contract of any player during the offseason at $154MM.
- TWC Sports: $164.0575MM. Rockies players Troy Tulowitzki and Jorge De La Rosa comprise most of this total.
- SFX: $152.38MM. SFX had a balanced winter, with only Mariano Rivera and Clay Buchholz in the $30MM range.
- Frontline: $126.375MM. This is almost all Cliff Lee.
- ACES: $125.85MM. Early contracts for John Buck, Joaquin Benoit, Brandon Inge, and Jhonny Peralta boosted this agency.
- Gaylord Sports Management: $102.65MM. Dan Uggla and Bronson Arroyo made up most of this total.
- Octagon: $99.885MM. Victor Martinez was the big fish for this agency.
- Praver/Shapiro: $95.15MM. This group had four major deals, with Johnny Cueto, Juan Uribe, Carlos Marmol, and Leonys Martin.
- Wasserman Media Group: $91.91MM. Like SFX, Wasserman had a balanced winter, with only Wandy Rodriguez topping $15MM.
- Sosnick Cobbe Sports: $90.95MM. This firm made their money with extensions, led by Jay Bruce and Ricky Nolasco.
- LSW Baseball: $71.725MM. Paul Konerko, Jason Bartlett, and J.J. Putz scored eight-figure deals.
- Beverly Hills Sports Council: $66.4685MM. BHSC's biggest deals went to relievers Brian Fuentes and Kevin Gregg, and they were able to beat their former agent Dan Lozano.
- Proformance: $65.865MM. This is almost all Jose Bautista's contract.
- Dan Lozano: $51.35MM. This agency should do well next offseason with Albert Pujols, Jimmy Rollins, and others. During 2010-11 they were led by Joey Votto's extension.
Those were the 17 agencies to top $50MM brokered during the 2010-11 offseason. Another 47 agencies accounted for the remaining 14% of the offseason total.
Dan Lozano To Represent Alex Rodriguez
Agent Dan Lozano signed Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez for all baseball-related work, reports Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal (subscription required). On the surface it doesn't seem that A-Rod has much need for an agent, since he is signed through 2017. Rodriguez left the Boras corporation last summer. Steve Loy of Gaylord Sports Management handles Rodriguez's marketing.
Lozano left Beverly Hills Sports Council about a year ago. His robust client list includes impending free agents Albert Pujols and Jimmy Rollins, as MLBTR's agency database shows.
Mariners Designate Ryan Langerhans For Assignment
The Mariners announced they've designated Ryan Langerhans for assignment to make room for outfielder Mike Wilson, tweets ESPN 710's Shannon Drayer.
Langerhans, 31, hit .173/.317/.346 in 64 plate appearances for the Mariners this year after re-signing on a minor league deal in December. Langerhans is no stranger to the DFA, as this is the third time in his career. Other candidates to be removed from the roster, such as Milton Bradley and Chris Ray, live to see another day.
Rosenthal On Hendry, Indians, Kelly Johnson
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- On Saturday Rosenthal talked about the "consensus in the game is that the Cubs need to show progress for GM Jim Hendry to keep his job beyond this season." Rosenthal, however, feels that the Ricketts family should extend Hendry, who in his estimation has built a team that is positioned to contend for the next several years. The club may have over $60MM to spend in 2012 salaries during the offseason, so the Cubs' GM, whoever it is, should be a major player in the free agent market.
- Rosenthal wonders whether the Indians will be willing to part with prospects for midseason reinforcements, having assembled much of their promising team through trades. Earlier this month, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith discussed the Indians' approach with GM Chris Antonetti.
- If the Diamondbacks want to acquire a pitcher, they're most likely to move Kelly Johnson according to Rosenthal. He feels that they'd be open to swapping Johnson for a starter "at a comparable salary and service level," though Johnson would need to start producing first. It's tough for me to identify a team positioned to swap a starter for Johnson, as well.
- Jered Weaver has the best stuff in the game, says Red Sox DH David Ortiz. Click here for my take on how much Weaver might earn in his 2012 contract year.
2012 Contract Issues: Kansas City Royals
The Royals are next in our 2012 Contract Issues series. Here's what the team faces after the 2011 season:
Eligible For Free Agency (6)
- Catchers Jason Kendall and Matt Treanor will be eligible for free agency, so look for the Royals to acquire a veteran backstop this offseason.
- With Kyle Davies, Bruce Chen, and Jeff Francis signed through 2011, three-fifths of the club's current rotation will be up in the air. The Royals might lose a couple of veteran lefties, but in Mike Montgomery, John Lamb, Danny Duffy, and Chris Dwyer, they've got four highly-rated southpaws not far from the Majors. Aaron Crow has pitched well out of the team's big league bullpen, but he could also be in the rotation mix next year. I can picture the Royals adding a veteran free agent or two for depth.
- Infielder Wilson Betemit may be approaching free agency at the ideal time, as he's assembled a .300/.374/.497 line in 422 plate appearances in his Royals career to date. He should be able to continue as a third base regular with another club.
Contract Options (2)
- Joakim Soria: $6MM club option with a $750K buyout. Arbitration eligible if declined. Soria hasn't been himself this year, though much of the damage came in one outing against the White Sox. At any rate, he's not going anywhere.
- Jeff Francoeur: $3MM mutual option. Did you know Francoeur is currently tied with Howie Kendrick for the American League lead in total bases? He could end up knocking 30 home runs for the first time in his career. Wil Myers is learning to play right field in Double-A currently, so the Royals may prefer a stopgap solution at most for 2012.
Arbitration Eligible (8)
- First time: Mike Aviles, Mitch Maier, Chris Getz
- Second time: Luke Hochevar, Brayan Pena
- Third time: Robinson Tejeda, Alex Gordon
- Fourth time: Melky Cabrera
There may be a few non-tenders in this group, but Aviles, Maier, Hochevar, Tejeda, Gordon, and Cabrera are likely to be retained. I'll estimate something like $15MM for the six.
2012 Payroll Obligation
The Royals' 2012 payroll obligation, according to Cot's, is about $17MM assuming Soria's option is picked up. $15MM for the key arbitration eligibles puts them around $32MM, $6MM shy of this year's payroll and about $40MM short of the '09 and '10 payrolls. The Royals will probably increase their free agent activity during the 2011-12 offseason, as things may already be starting to come together.