First-Time Arbitration Eligible For 2012
Kendrys Morales, Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Billy Butler, Geovany Soto, Shin-Soo Choo, Nelson Cruz, Johnny Cueto, and Phil Hughes were among the players who were arbitration eligible for the first time in 2011. Several of the biggest names signed multiyear extensions, while other top players signed one-year deals in the $3-4MM range. For most players, arbitration eligibility is their first shot at a million-dollar salary. Let's go around the diamond and look at the potential notable first-timers for 2012. I've included some potential Super Twos, based on the possibility of the cutoff being in the range of two years and 120 days.
Catchers
Nick Hundley leads this small group, which also includes John Baker. Hundley may set a career-high for playing time this year, and he has extra financial incentive to produce.
First Basemen
Not much here aside from Oakland's Daric Barton. His agent at Legacy Sports Group faces the tough task of getting the arbitration system to properly value walks.
Second Basemen
Gordon Beckham of the White Sox might be the most interesting name here, if service time of 2.123 results in Super Two status. Sean Rodriguez, Mike Aviles, and Blake DeWitt should also be arbitration eligible after the season.
Shortstops
The Rangers' Elvis Andrus heads the first-time arbitration eligible shortstops. Offensively, his agent's pitch might be based on runs scored and stolen bases. Jed Lowrie and Paul Janish also should be arbitration eligible.
Third Basemen
Casey McGehee and Pablo Sandoval top the list of first-timers at the hot corner. Their cases figure to be linked, as they currently have very similar career home run and RBI numbers.
Outfielders
It's time for the Pirates to consider an extension for Andrew McCutchen, who will be arbitration eligible after the season after adding to his already impressive numbers. Colby Rasmus and Brett Gardner are also in line for arbitration paydays, with Travis Snider a potential Super Two at a projected 2.126. Chris Coghlan, Will Venable, Seth Smith, and Dexter Fowler are a few of the other arbitration eligible outfielders.
Starting Pitchers
Many of the game's best young starters will be arbitration eligible after the 2011 season, if they're not extended first. Clayton Kershaw, Clay Buchholz, Max Scherzer, Trevor Cahill, Jaime Garcia, and Gio Gonzalez are the headliners, but don't forget J.A. Happ, Brett Cecil, Randy Wells, Justin Masterson, Jordan Zimmermann, Clayton Richard, Jeff Niemann, Homer Bailey, and Phil Coke. Three who have a chance at Super Two, especially if the cutoff keeps decreasing: Tommy Hanson (2.120), Derek Holland (2.120), and Ian Kennedy (2.124).
Relievers
Andrew Bailey, Daniel Bard, Luke Gregerson, Tyler Clippard, Evan Meek, and Sergio Romo are the top relievers who project to be first-time arbitration eligible after 2011. Plenty more are in the mix, including Kevin Jepsen, Jason Motte, Mitchell Boggs (2.125), Joe Thatcher, Tony Sipp, Ryan Perry, Jose Mijares, and David Robertson.
Mets Release Oliver Perez
The Mets released lefty Oliver Perez, the team officially announced today. The move comes three days after the release of second baseman Luis Castillo, as the team's new regime bailed on Omar Minaya's two worst contracts with one year remaining. The Mets still owe Perez $12MM for 2011.
Perez, 29, re-signed with the Mets on a three-year, $36MM deal in February of 2009. The contract was fairly well-received in the media at the time. The signing quickly became unpopular, with the southpaw posting the two worst seasons of his career. The numbers: a 6.81 ERA, 7.9 K/9, 8.0 BB/9, and 1.7 HR/9 over 112 1/3 innings. New GM Sandy Alderson allowed Perez a chance to make the 2011 club as a reliever, but he allowed 13 hits and nine runs in 9 2/3 spring innings.
The Phillies signed Castillo yesterday and appear to have big league playing time for him. It'll be a much longer road back for Perez. The Mets ate $18MM to make the pair go away, minus the Major League minimum if they play in the Majors. The cuts should be popular with fans, and hopefully the team can generate a few positive storylines heading into the 2011 season.
Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal first tweeted the news of Perez's release.
Pirates Release Garrett Atkins
The Pirates released infielder Garrett Atkins, reports Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The 31-year-old veteran had been competing for the team's backup corner infield job with Andy Marte, Steve Pearce, and Josh Fields after signing a minor league deal in December. All along, the expectation was that Atkins would either make the team or become a free agent.
In 17 Spring Training games this year, Atkins hit .129/.182/.290 in 33 plate appearances. His last useful season was 2008, so he'll probably have to crush Triple-A pitching to earn another shot in the Majors.
Brian Wilson, Kurt Suzuki Now With Dan Lozano
Giants closer Brian Wilson, Athletics catcher Kurt Suzuki, Astros first baseman Brett Wallace, and Twins outfielder Jason Repko are represented by agent Dan Lozano, MLBTR has learned. Lozano left Beverly Hills Sports Council to form his own agency in June, and these four players are among many who went with him. Here's a look at Lozano's client list; click here for BHSC.
Wondering about a player's representation or an agency's client list? MLBTR's newly-launched, constantly-updated Agency Database puts all of the information at your fingertips. A link to the database can always be found in the Tools menu on the navigation bar. If you have any corrections or omissions, please email mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.
Introducing Rumores de Béisbol
We are proud to announce the official launch of a new website, Rumores de Béisbol. RDB provides timely Spanish translations of MLB Trade Rumors posts. We created Rumores de Béisbol because we know baseball has a huge following among Spanish speakers both in the U.S. and in countries around the western hemisphere. It's an international pastime. MLBTR is already the number one destination on the Internet for up-to-the-minute trade and free agent news and analysis. With such detail-oriented information, much is lost through automatic translation tools. That's why we've hired real bilingual people to properly translate MLB Trade Rumors to Spanish. Bookmark Rumores de Béisbol today, and tell your friends! Si se susurra, lo oímos.
Rosenthal On Rockies, Mariners, Garrett Olson
Spring Training notes from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- The Rockies appear to have the rotation depth to trade starter Aaron Cook, once he's healthy. Of course, they weren't able to move Cook last year. The 32-year-old sinkerballer is dealing with shoulder and finger injuries, and could be back around May 15th. He's owed $9.25MM this year, plus another million bucks if traded and a potential $500K buyout after the season. I think it'll have to be a bad contract swap if another team is to take him in June or July.
- Rosenthal explains that at least five non-roster players "stand reasonable chances" of making the Mariners, meaning they may have to do some major 40-man roster housecleaning. 27-year-old southpaw Garrett Olson is already on waivers. The former first-round pick tossed 37 2/3 relief innings for Seattle last year, and he continued to be plagued by the longball. Olson was better in Triple-A, but it was his fourth stint at the level.
Introducing The MLBTR Agency Database
MLBTR is proud to introduce our new Agency Database! Over the last few months we have contacted agencies and dug through their websites in an attempt to identify the representation for most 40-man roster players. The agency database will have a permanent home in the Tools dropdown on our navigation bar. Check out the MLBTR Agency Database today!
If you have corrections or omissions for the Agency Database, please email mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com.
Felix Hernandez’s No-Trade Clause
Mariners ace Felix Hernandez can block trades to ten teams, and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports learned eight of them: the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Cubs, Angels, Dodgers, Rangers, and Phillies. Morosi adds:
We shouldn’t infer from that list that Hernandez wants to avoid large-market clubs. Rather, astute players (and agents) will often protect against trades to high-revenue teams, because those clubs (a) are most likely to be interested in acquiring expensive players and (b) have the wherewithal to offer financial inducements that encourage players to waive the clauses.
Hernandez, 25 next month, is owed $70.5MM over the next four years under the contract he signed in January of 2010. Many teams would salivate if he were made available, but GM Jack Zduriencik recently told SI's Jon Heyman, "He's not going anywhere. We've got him. We'll keep him. We're not going to move him."
I don't see any reason to doubt Zduriencik or expect him to change his mind. 2011 may be a regrouping year for the Mariners, but they're surely expecting to contend before 2014.
Delaying Free Agency
Some teams don't concern themselves with service time manipulation, for example the Braves in the case of Jason Heyward last year. Others are all about it, taking great pains to ensure the player's free agency is delayed by a year and that he avoids Super Two status.
By my calculations, the MLB regular season is 182 days long this year (March 31st through September 28th). 172 days of service time represents one year, so a team just has to make sure their top prospect makes his MLB debut at a point where it's impossible to accrue more than 171 days. In 2011, that point appears to be April 11th or later.
For example, if the Mariners feel Michael Pineda is ready to join their rotation, they can at least wait until April 11th to call him up. This would ensure he's eligible for free agency after the 2017 season at the earliest. Call him up on April 10th or earlier, and if he stays in the Majors continuously you only control him through 2016. Jesus Montero, Zach Britton, and Matt Dominguez are a few other top prospects in the running to break camp with their teams and have their service time clocks start on March 31st. Brandon Belt and Brett Lawrie, meanwhile, appear ticketed for Triple-A.
The best recent example of a possible intentional free agency postponement is the Rays' Evan Longoria, who started the '08 season at Triple-A and spent 13 days there before making his big league debut. He ended up accruing 170 days of service time in '08, two days short of a full year. Rays players were unhappy when Longoria was reassigned, but executive vice president Andrew Friedman said service time considerations were "virtually irrelevant" in their decision because the Rays expected to sign the third baseman long-term. Longoria didn't get much Triple-A seasoning that year, but his April 12th call-up was necessitated by Willy Aybar going on the DL. Whether Longoria would have gotten the call had Aybar's injury occurred three days earlier, we'll never know.
The Rays managed to lock Longoria up to an unprecedented contract less than a week after his debut. But in that contract, 2014 represents his first free agent year, when it would have been 2013 had he broken camp with the team. As it stands, Longoria gave the team club options on three free agent years. Had he been called up a few days earlier, the contract might only allow for options through 2015 instead of '16.
Regardless of their intent regarding Longoria's debut, the Rays at least couldn't be accused of trying to prevent him from going to arbitration four times as a Super Two player. That may have been the plan for Jay Bruce and Matt Wieters, though the Reds were probably surprised to see Bruce eligible for Super Two status with two years and just 125 days of service time. Super Two manipulations may be more trouble than they're worth, especially with possible changes coming in the next collective bargaining agreement.
AL East Notes: Bowden, Chavez, Cliff Lee
AL East notes, as Jon Lester gets the Opening Day nod for the Red Sox…
- Michael Bowden told WEEI's Mike Petraglia he knows he has a slim chance to make Boston's bullpen, so he hopes to create an opportunity for himself in Triple-A. The 24-year-old former first-round pick could be a nice trade chip for the Red Sox should a need arise; he could start for another club.
- Athletics GM Billy Beane explained to Joel Sherman of the New York Post why he felt Eric Chavez was on a Hall of Fame career path when he locked up the third baseman for $66MM seven years ago. Now 33 and operating on a minor league deal, Chavez appears likely to have his contract purchased by the Yankees to begin the season. In a blog post, Sherman notes that Andruw Jones, unlike Chavez, "is creating no buzz in Yankee camp."
- Talking to Brian Costello of the New York Post, Yankees GM Brian Cashman responded to Cliff Lee's comment that "it seems like some of the Yankee guys are getting older." Lee never raised that issue to Cashman, who concluded, "It doesn't really matter. It was a marriage that was not meant to be. That's life."