Cardinals Make Brendan Ryan Available
The Cardinals feel that Ryan Theriot is an upgrade at shortstop over incumbent Brendan Ryan. Ryan is now expendable, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "The Cardinals have let other teams know Ryan is available, and they'll look to trade him during next week's winter meetings in Florida, if not sooner."
Ryan doesn't want to leave, but he doesn't have any say in the matter. He's arbitration eligible for the first time, but his dismal offensive career numbers should keep his salary down. The Fielding Bible's love for his 2010 defense might not provide much ammo for his agents at WMG in an arbitration hearing.
Starting shortstops are hard to come by, but the Pirates, Orioles, and Padres might be the only teams in the market.
Non-Tender Candidates Revised
MLBTR named 85 non-tender candidates back on November 2nd. Since then, 23 of those players were cut loose early. A couple more have signed new deals or been traded. Here's an updated list of our speculative non-tender candidates for Thursday night's deadline. Non-tendering a player makes him a free agent. Be sure to bookmark our new non-tender tracker, as it will be constantly updated as decisions roll in.
Position players
Willy Aybar
Travis Buck
Ryan Church
Jack Cust
Matt Diaz
Edwin Encarnacion
Josh Fields
Mike Fontenot
Kevin Frandsen
Alberto Gonzalez
Tony Gwynn
Scott Hairston
J.J. Hardy
Joe Inglett
Conor Jackson
Dan Johnson
Kevin Kouzmanoff
Fred Lewis
James Loney
Jose Lopez
Russell Martin
Jeff Mathis
Dioner Navarro
Wil Nieves
Augie Ojeda
Ronny Paulino
Brayan Pena
Jason Repko
Reggie Willits
Josh Wilson
Pitchers
Jeremy Accardo
Matt Albers
Blaine Boyer
Jared Burton
D.J. Carrasco
Todd Coffey
Clay Condrey
Lance Cormier
Kyle Davies
Manny Delcarmen
Zach Duke
J.P. Howell
Bobby Jenks
Jeff Karstens
Jensen Lewis
John Maine
Dustin McGowan
Dustin Moseley
Pat Neshek
Dustin Nippert
Hideki Okajima
Tony Pena
Glen Perkins
Chris Ray
George Sherrill
Joe Smith
Chien-Ming Wang
American League Free Agent Arbitration Decisions
23 American League free agents were offered arbitration on November 23rd. Four of those - Joaquin Benoit, John Buck, Victor Martinez, and Javier Vazquez - already have new contract agreements. Current free agent Kevin Gregg has chosen to decline. The remaining 18 AL free agents offered arbitration will have their decisions noted here and in our tracker.
- Cliff Lee (A) declined the Rangers' offer, as expected.
- Miguel Olivo will decline the Blue Jays' offer, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Jason Frasor (A) will accept the team's offer, according to Mike Wilner of the FAN 590. Scott Downs (A) will decline the Blue Jays' offer, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported earlier that Jason Frasor would either sign a multiyear deal or accept arb (Twitter link).
- Adrian Beltre will decline arbitration from the Red Sox, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). Felipe Lopez (B) will also decline an offer of arbitration, reports WEEI's Rob Bradford.
- Carl Pavano (A) has officially turned down arbitration, according to Newsday's Ken Davidoff (on Twitter). Orlando Hudson (B) will decline the Twins' offer of arbitration, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune tweets of "strong indications" Jesse Crain (B) will also decline.
- A source tells Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that Paul Konerko (A) will decline arbitration (Twitter link). J.J. Putz (B) declined arbitration from the White Sox, according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin (on Twitter).
- Chad Qualls (B) and Carl Crawford (A) have declined arbitration, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (on Twitter). Grant Balfour (A) turned down arbitration, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). As anticipated, Randy Choate (B) declined the Rays' offer, according to Newsday's Ken Davidoff. ESPN's Buster Olney predicted the decision earlier today. Rafael Soriano (A) will decline the Rays' arbitration offer, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. Brad Hawpe (B) will decline the Rays' offer as well, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.
- Frank Francisco (A) will accept the Rangers' offer, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
National League Free Agent Arbitration Decisions
12 National League free agents were offered arbitration on November 23rd. Four of those – Jorge de la Rosa, Jon Garland, Yorvit Torrealba, and Juan Uribe – have new contract agreements. Another three – Kevin Correia, Octavio Dotel, and Trevor Hoffman – have already decided to decline. The remaining five NL free agents offered arbitration will have their decisions noted here and in our tracker.
- Jayson Werth (A) will decline the Phillies' offer.
- Adam LaRoche (B) appears to have declined arbitration from the Diamondbacks. Aaron Heilman (B) will decline arbitration, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Heilman is drawing interest in his preferred role as a starter, his agent Mark Rodgers explained to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic yesterday.
- Adam Dunn (A) will decline arbitration from the Nationals, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
- Pedro Feliciano (B) has declined arbitration from the Mets, tweets Ken Davidoff of Newsday.
Cardinals Acquire Ryan Theriot
The Cardinals acquired infielder Ryan Theriot from the Dodgers for righty Blake Hawksworth, according to the Dodgers' official Twitter feed. Theriot was a non-tender candidate for the Dodgers in the wake of their Juan Uribe signing, but the Cardinals have a need for him.
The Cardinals view Theriot as a shortstop and could still pursue a second baseman, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
Theriot, 31 next month, is intimately familiar with the NL Central after spending parts of six seasons with the Cubs. He was dealt to the Dodgers at the trade deadline this year along with Ted Lilly. Theriot struggled offensively at both stops, hitting a combined .270/.321/.312 in 640 plate appearances. He'll still be due a raise on this year's $2.6MM, a salary he was assigned after losing a February arbitration case.
Hawksworth, 28 in March, posted a 4.98 ERA, 6.1 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 1.5 HR/9, and 51.5% groundball rate in 90 1/3 innings for the Cardinals this year. Heading into the 2008 season, Baseball America ranked Hawksworth 20th among Cardinals prospects, praising his changeup but noting his injury history and struggles against left-handed hitters.
This appears to be the first time GMs Ned Colletti and John Mozeliak matched up on a trade.
Dodgers Sign Juan Uribe
Juan Uribe is leaving the Giants for the rival Dodgers on the first multiyear free agent deal of his career. The infielder officially signed a three-year, $21MM contract with the Dodgers today.
Uribe, 31, hit .248/.310/.440 with 24 home runs in 575 plate appearances for the Giants this year, adding a pair of postseason home runs. He mainly played shortstop, but also logged time at third base and second base. Uribe will presumably serve as the Dodgers' second baseman with Rafael Furcal in the fold at short. The contract may seal Ryan Theriot's fate, with Thursday's non-tender deadline looming. Another effect may be a heightened sense of urgency for the Giants as they search for a shortstop. Uribe is a Type B free agent who was offered arbitration by the Giants, so they'll receive a supplemental draft pick for their loss.
Uribe's agents Barry Praver and Scott Shapiro engineered the deal. They did well in getting three years, though Uribe was a hot commodity in a weak market for middle infielders. On November 2nd, MLBTR correctly predicted Uribe would sign with the Dodgers.
ESPN's Buster Olney first reported that a three-year deal was close, while Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted the amount and agreement.
Yankees Rumors: Jeter, Chamberlain
The latest on the Yankees, as GM Brian Cashman prepares to rappel down a building dressed as an elf on Sunday…
- Eduardo Nunez is the team's Plan B if they are unable to re-sign Derek Jeter, reports ESPN's Buster Olney. Rather than try to sign a veteran replacement, the Yankees would install Nunez and allocate the money elsewhere. Of course, Olney feels that the Yankees would remain flexible for potential upgrades if Nunez became their starting shortstop.
- SI's Tom Verducci looks at how other teams have compensated aging icons in recent years, with Cal Ripken, Barry Larkin, George Brett, Craig Biggio, and Paul Molitor serving as examples. It may be difficult to reduce Jeter's pay from his previous $18.9MM average annual value.
- Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues estimates Joba Chamberlain's 2011 salary at a bit less than $2MM.
Astros Avoid Arbitration With Humberto Quintero
The Astros avoided arbitration with catcher Humberto Quintero, according to a team press release. Eligible for arbitration for the third time, Quintero will earn $1MM in 2011. He gets a $250K raise after hitting .234/.262/.317 in 276 plate appearances and catching 653 2/3 innings.
The Astros have seven remaining arbitration eligible players: Nelson Figueroa, Hunter Pence, Michael Bourn, Matt Lindstrom, Jeff Keppinger, Wandy Rodriguez, and Clint Barmes. I expect they'll all be tendered contracts on Thursday. Among the seven, Rodriguez is an extension candidate according to GM Ed Wade.
Dodgers Interested In Damon, Multiple Catchers
The Dodgers have outfielder Johnny Damon on their radar, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. They're also in contact with "virtually every free agent catcher," including Jason Varitek, Rod Barajas, A.J. Pierzynski, and Miguel Olivo. They're trying to hammer out a deal with Russell Martin prior to Thursday's non-tender deadline; the Dodgers will not risk going to arbitration with him.
Martin is at least a week away from running and maybe six weeks away from baseball activities, says Rosenthal. Martin is recovering from an August hip fracture; his agent Matt Colleran gave MLBTR an update last week. Martin would still be at $4MM if the Dodgers cut his salary by the maximum, something Colleran would presumably reject anyway.
As Rosenthal notes, Damon might be an awkward fit for the Dodgers in left field since he logged fewer than 300 outfield innings in 2010. On the other hand, the Dodgers put up with Manny Ramirez in left field for over 1,100 innings across the 2009-10 seasons.
The Dodgers have been aggressive this offseason, committing over $71MM to Ted Lilly, Juan Uribe, Hiroki Kuroda, Jon Garland, and Jay Gibbons.
Rangers Sign Yoshinori Tateyama
The Rangers signed Japanese free agent righty Yoshinori Tateyama to a one-year Major League deal with two club option years, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Tateyama, 35 next month, posted a 1.80 ERA, 9.7 K/9, 1.8 BB/9, and 0.49 HR/9 in 55 relief innings this year for the Nippon Ham Fighters. He's primarily a fastball/slider pitcher, wrote NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman in October. Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein tweets a more detailed scouting report.