Rockies Sign Billy Buckner
The Rockies signed righty Billy Buckner to a minor league deal with a spring training invite, reports MLB.com's Thomas Harding.
Buckner, 27, came up through the Royals' system and was traded to Arizona in '07 for Alberto Callaspo. This year, the D'Backs sent Buckner to the Tigers for Dontrelle Willis, but Detroit released him less than two months later. In 2010 the former second-rounder posted a 6.25 ERA, 5.4 K/9, 3.7 BB/9, and 1.1 HR/9 in 80 2/3 innings across two Triple-A stops.
Heading into the '09 season, Baseball America ranked Buckner eighth among D'Backs prospects. At that time, they suggested Buckner had "the weapons to pitch in the middle of a rotation." Today, Rockies player development director Marc Gustafson told Harding, "We've seen a lot of him, and he's a hard worker and he still has some upside as a prospect."
Hard work will indeed be required for Buckner to get starts for the 2011 Rockies. Their rotation seems locked in with Ubaldo Jimenez, Jorge de la Rosa, Jhoulys Chacin, Jason Hammel, and Aaron Cook, while Felipe Paulino, Esmil Rogers, and Eric Stults are back-end candidates as well.
Pirates Reach Agreement With Josh Fields
The Pirates reached an agreement on a minor league deal with third baseman Josh Fields, the team announced on Twitter. A spring training invite is included.
Fields, 28, joined Kansas City a year ago in the Mark Teahen trade. Hip surgery took up most of his Royals career, though he had 104 interesting pro plate appearances before being non-tendered this month. Beyond the hot corner, he's dabbled at first base and left field.
Fields was drafted 18th overall by the White Sox in 2004 and was once considered a top prospect. He crushed 23 home runs in 418 plate appearances with the Sox in '07, nine of which came in August of that year. Earlier this month the Pirates added another former top third base prospect in Andy Marte, cutting a third one loose in Andy LaRoche.
Cubs, Rangers Ahead Of Nats For Brandon Webb
The Cubs and Rangers have jumped ahead of the Nationals in the Brandon Webb sweepstakes, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Webb is already throwing and preparing like usual for spring, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. On Friday, we learned that Webb is likely to decide on a team soon.
About a month ago, Webb's agent Jonathan Maurer told MLBTR, "Brandon is hungry, excited, and ready to start 30 plus times in 2011." Webb is two years removed from the Majors due to shoulder issues.
Odds & Ends: Pavano, Greinke, Soria, Pettitte
Two years ago today, the Yankees officially signed C.C. Sabathia to the largest-ever contract for a pitcher. Sabathia's $161MM record figures to hold for a while, though a couple of monster seasons by Francisco Liriano, Cole Hamels, Zack Greinke, and Matt Cain could put it in jeopardy in the 2012-13 offseason if those pitchers do not sign extensions. Today's links:
- The Brewers are officially out on Carl Pavano now that they've acquired Zack Greinke, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Pavano appears to be down to the Twins and Nationals, unless the Pirates jump in.
- Greinke told Anthony Witrado of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel he removed the Brewers from his no-trade list once they acquired Shaun Marcum and retained Prince Fielder.
- Greinke fired his agents at SFX after the Winter Meetings because he felt they were responsible for his not being traded, tweets Yahoo's Jeff Passan. Passan adds that SFX facilitated a deal with the Nationals, but the pitcher rejected it. SI's Jon Heyman tweets that the Royals sought Jesus Montero and Eduardo Nunez from the Yankees, but they weren't convinced New York was right for Greinke. The Royals also wanted Manuel Banuelos or Dellin Betances, tweets Joel Sherman.
- MLB.com's Peter Gammons analyzes the Brewers' and Royals' situations.
- Though the Royals are getting calls on closer Joakim Soria, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that they have no plans to move him.
- Andy Pettitte is still leaning toward retirement, Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Jack Curry of the YES Network. If that doesn't change, Curry tweets that the Yankees intend to fill the rotation from within and have low interest in Freddy Garcia/Kevin Millwood types. ESPN's Wallace Matthews has more comments from Cashman.
- Free agent first baseman Derrek Lee seeks $8-10MM, tweets Rosenthal. That'd fall in the range of Lance Berkman and Carlos Pena, he notes. Rosenthal says the Padres probably can't afford Lee at that price but it's not necessarily too high for the Nationals.
Indians Sign Austin Kearns
The Indians signed outfielder Austin Kearns to a one-year, Major League contract, according to the team's Twitter feed. The deal is worth $1.3MM plus incentives, reports MLB.com's Jordan Bastian, who also notes that the Indians will have to remove someone from their 40-man roster for Kearns. Kearns spent the 2010 season with the Tribe before being traded to the Yankees on July 30th for Zach McAllister.
Kearns, 30, hit .263/.351/.395 in 461 plate appearances this year, playing mainly left field. I imagine the Indians' ideal outfield setup involves Shin-Soo Choo, Grady Sizemore, and Michael Brantley as starters and Kearns as the primary backup. Kearns is represented by SFX.
The Kearns deal marks Chris Antonetti's first Major League signing as Cleveland's GM. Antonetti agreed to a minor league deal with Travis Buck earlier today. Bastian notes that the Indians remain in the market for a veteran starting pitcher and perhaps a third baseman.
Orix Buffaloes Sign Chan Ho Park
Japan's Orix Buffaloes agreed to a one-year deal with pitcher Chan Ho Park, according to the team's Twitter feed. The contract is worth just over $1MM, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. The 37-year-old Korean righty posted a 4.66 ERA, 7.4 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 1.3 HR/9, and 48.7% groundball rate for the Yankees and Pirates this year in 63 2/3 relief innings.
Park still had enough left in the tank to function as a National League middle reliever, but he's chosen to play in Japan instead. The Buffaloes recently added Alfredo Figaro out of the Tigers' system as well.
If this is it for Park's Major League career, he finishes with a 4.36 ERA and 124 wins in 1,993 innings for the Dodgers, Rangers, Padres, Mets, Phillies, Yankees, and Pirates. Unfortunately, he is best known for a disastrous five-year, $65MM deal signed with the Rangers nine years ago.
Potential Free Agent Starters For 2012-13 Offseason
We already know the free agent market for starting pitching is likely to lack big names following the 2011 season. How about those who may hit free agency after the 2012 season? Ricky Nolasco is off the board; let's see who's left.
The following starting pitchers are on pace to have six-plus years of service time for the first time once the '12 season ends: Jered Weaver, Cole Hamels, Francisco Liriano, John Danks, Shaun Marcum, Chad Billingsley, Jonathan Sanchez, Jeremy Guthrie, Joe Saunders, and Anibal Sanchez. They're each two seasons away from a shot at free agency, unless they agree to extensions before November 2012. If top names like Weaver, Hamels, Liriano, Danks, Marcum, Billingsley, and Jonathan Sanchez are willing to gamble that they'll post strong, healthy 2012 seasons, they could be the cream of the free agent crop.
These players are signed to multiyear contracts that will end after the 2012 season: Zack Greinke, Matt Cain, Derek Lowe, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Joe Blanton, Kevin Correia, and Kyle Lohse. Greinke and Cain are the standouts.
These pitchers have contract options for 2012: Chris Carpenter, Roy Oswalt, Ryan Dempster, Colby Lewis, Aaron Cook, Zach Duke, Jon Garland, Aaron Harang, Scott Kazmir, Paul Maholm, Scott Olsen, and Carlos Silva. They'd be free agents for the 2011-12 offseason if the options are declined, or the 2012-13 offseason if exercised or vested. So there's a good chance Carpenter, Oswalt, Dempster, and Lewis become free agents after the 2012 season.
The following pitchers have options for 2013, which if declined would make them free agents for the 2012-13 offseason: Dan Haren, Ervin Santana, Brett Myers, Tim Hudson, Jake Westbrook, Carlos Zambrano, Jorge de la Rosa, Scott Baker, Jake Peavy, Gavin Floyd, Randy Wolf, and Scott Feldman. Zambrano's is an unlikely vesting option, so he'll probably hit the market.
Fausto Carmona and James Shields have club options for '12, '13, and '14. If their '12 options are picked up and '13 declined, they'd join this free agent class. Additionally, current free agent starters could join this group by signing two-year deals or one-year contracts with options that are picked up. Still more names will be added from those who sign one-year deals now and again after the season, as well as those non-tendered after '12.
Cot's Baseball Contracts was instrumental in creating this post.
Yankees, Mets, Others Considering Freddy Garcia
The Yankees, Mets, and others have asked for medicals on free agent starter Freddy Garcia, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News was first to report the Yankees' request. The White Sox have also checked in, tweets Feinsand's colleague Andy Martino. Heyman opines that Garcia is the best free agent starter left after Carl Pavano.
Garcia, 35, posted a 4.64 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 1.3 HR/9, and 40.7% groundball rate for the White Sox in 157 innings this year. It was his highest innings total since 2006, though he did miss time with back pain. He's not close to signing and is believed to be seeking less than Jon Garland's $5MM guarantee, tweets Martino.
As for Heyman's contention? Garcia's competition includes injury bounceback candidates like Brandon Webb, Jeff Francis, Chris Young, and Brad Penny, as well as innings guys like Kevin Millwood, Rodrigo Lopez, and Dave Bush.
iPhone App Available
When new Padres shortstop Jason Bartlett wanted to track the progress of his own trade, where did he turn? Our new Baseball Trade Rumors iPhone app, of course. The app allows you to select only the players or teams you want, and receive a push notification for every related new rumor. The app also has a clean, crisp interface with the 25 latest MLBTR posts, easily refreshed. You can customize headline size and leave comments on MLBTradeRumors.com as well.
Even baseball executives are getting in on the Baseball Trade Rumors app. According to Tim Sullivan of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Padres GM Jed Hoyer recently purchased an iPhone – and he says Baseball Trade Rumors might be his first application.
Brewers Acquire Zack Greinke
The Brewers entered this offseason with the goal of upgrading their rotation. Today, they acquired Zack Greinke, Yuniesky Betancourt, and $2MM from the Royals for Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, Jeremy Jeffress, and Jake Odorizzi. The Royals have confirmed the move in a press release. After already acquiring Shaun Marcum in exchange for Brett Lawrie last month, it's safe to say Milwaukee has accomplished its goal.
Greinke, 27, had been one of the winter's most discussed trade candidates, with rumors picking up steam after the right-hander requested a trade earlier this weekend. Although many clubs reportedly inquired on and pursued the Royals ace, a trade was no sure thing, due to Greinke's no-trade clause and the Royals' high asking price. However, neither issue ultimately proved to be an obstacle for the Brewers, who had made repeated attempts to acquire the righty despite being on his no-trade list, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter links).
During his time in Kansas City, Greinke posted a 3.82 ERA in 1108 innings, including a 3.25 ERA and 8.4 K/9 over the last three years. Prior to his Cy Young campaign in 2009, Greinke signed a four-year extension, meaning he'll remain under Milwaukee's control for two more seasons, at a cost of $13.5MM per year.
Escobar, who turned 24 earlier this week, was viewed by Baseball America as the Brewers' top prospect heading into the 2010 season, his first full year in the bigs. Although he struggled at the plate, hitting .235/.288/.326 in 552 plate appearances, Escobar provided above-average defense at shortstop, according to UZR. Baseball America's scouting report prior to the season dubbed Escobar a "defensive whiz" and a "special defender," while also citing a hope that he'd develop into a solid leadoff option. The 24-year-old's minor league numbers (.293/.333/.377, 176 SB) indicate that his offensive game should continue to improve at the major league level.
Cain, 24, was considered one of the Brewers' top 10 prospects even before a hugely successful 2010 campaign. After hitting .317/.402/.432 across two minor league levels, Cain received his first shot at the bigs, and posted a .306/.348/.415 slash line in 148 plate appearances in Milwaukee. Like Escobar, Cain's primary strengths are his speed and athleticism. Baseball America suggested before the 2010 season that he "could be a more prolific and successful basestealer," and Cain responded by stealing 33 bases in 37 attempts between the minors and majors. According to Baseball America, the former 17th-round pick shows "flashes of power but is mostly a gap hitter."
Both pitching prospects heading to Kansas City are former first round picks; the Brewers selected Jeffress with the 16th overall pick in the 2006 draft, while Odorizzi was taken 32nd overall in 2008. Jeffress' path to the bigs has been sidetracked by repeated suspensions for substance abuse. His most recent violation resulted in a 100-game ban that saw him miss significant chunks of the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Jeffress' fastball has touched 100 mph and Baseball America raved that he had "as much sheer talent" as any player in the Brewers' system heading into this season, but his off-field issues and control problems (5.5 BB/9 in his minor league career) had slowed his development.
Odorizzi, meanwhile, was rated by some teams as the best high school pitcher in the 2008 draft, according to Baseball America. Just 20 years old, Odorizzi is the only player in the deal who has yet to see major league action, but he turned in an impressive year at Class A Wisconsin, recording a 3.43 ERA and 10.1 K/9 in 120 2/3 innings. ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick notes in a tweet that the two right-handers were ranked first (Odorizzi) and third (Jeffress) in Milwaukee's system in Baseball America's upcoming Prospect Handbook.
The Brewers had long indicated a desire to shore up a starting rotation whose 4.65 ERA ranked near the bottom of the National League in 2010. Moving a handful of young players in two trades, while hanging on to Prince Fielder, suggests that the club feels they can immediately contend in the NL Central.
Credit Jim Breen of Bernie's Crew with the scoop last night, with an assist to Andrew Wagner of OnMilwaukee.com. ESPN's Buster Olney confirmed the story this morning, while Kevin Goldstein from Baseball Prospectus cleared up some conflicting reports and confirmed that Jeffress would indeed be included in the deal (via Twitter).
MLBTR's Luke Adams and Steve Adams contributed to this post.