MLBTR At The GM Meetings
Baseball's GM Meetings kick off today, and MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith is on the scene in Orlando. He'll be digging up quotes and providing commentary through the @mlbtrorlando Twitter account, so be sure to give him a follow!
Boras Talks Manny
Manny Ramirez lacks buzz for the first time in his career, writes Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times. Agent Scott Boras was upfront in his conversation with Shaikin, explaining that Manny is seeking a one-year, incentive-laden deal as a designated hitter.
"It's just like Vlad Guerrero. His last Angels season, where he had an injury season and he had 50 RBIs, was not a customary Vlad Guerrero season. He went to Texas and reestablished himself. This is really the course for great veteran hitters. We've seen, following an injury season, a player goes out and performs at optimum levels, because these players are still uniquely skilled. They're still great hitters."
Boras went on to explain that Manny's sports hernia was correctable, and his calf injury came from playing in the outfield.
Running through potential suitors, Shaikin notes that the Athletics "say they are not interested in Ramirez." If Guerrero stays with the Rangers, that leaves only the Tigers, Rays, Blue Jays, and perhaps Orioles in Shaikin's estimation. I should add that the Tigers prefer left-handed hitters and the Orioles may be content with Luke Scott serving as DH. Technically the Royals, Twins, and Mariners aren't locked in at DH, but they don't seem like matches for Ramirez.
Braves Close To Nearing Deal For Dan Uggla
The Braves "appear to be very close to nearing a deal" for Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla, tweets MLB.com's Mark Bowman. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted minutes ago that the division rivals are discussing a deal that would send Uggla to Atlanta for utility man Omar Infante and lefty reliever Mike Dunn.
Infante, a super-utility type, hit .321/.359/.416 in 506 plate appearances for the Braves this year. He's under contract through 2011. Dunn, 26 in May, is a hard-throwing left-handed reliever who came to Atlanta from the Yankees a year ago in the Javier Vazquez deal. Dunn racked up big-time strikeout and walk numbers this year between Triple-A and the Majors. The intra-division asking price for Uggla was said to be large, but this return would be OK at best.
Brewers Notes: Peterson, Hannahan, James
The latest on the Brewers…
- Rick Peterson is officially out as the team's pitching coach, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Peterson was let go with a year remaining on his contract; Rosenthal notes that the Pirates, Mets, and Yankees have openings. ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that Peterson will not be the Yankees' next pitching coach. Rick Kranitz will replace Peterson for the Brewers, according to a team press release.
- The Brewers have interest in infielder Jack Hannahan on a minor league deal, tweets Rosenthal's colleague Jon Paul Morosi. Hannahan, 31 in March, hit .237/.340/.374 in 392 Triple-A plate appearances this year while playing all around the infield. UZR, an advanced defensive stat, indicates he's done good work at the hot corner in the bigs.
- The Brewers claimed reliever Justin James off waivers from the Athletics earlier this month; Baseball America's Casey Tefertiller digs into the righty's underdog story.
- A review: the Brewers have eight arbitration eligible players – Manny Parra, Joe Inglett, Kameron Loe, Carlos Gomez, Carlos Villanueva, Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, and Todd Coffey. Inglett and Coffey are non-tender candidates, in my estimation. The team's six free agents: Dave Bush, Craig Counsell, Chris Capuano, Trevor Hoffman, Doug Davis, and Gregg Zaun. Counsell and Capuano are candidates to return.
Phillies Re-Sign Jose Contreras
The Phillies re-signed reliever Jose Contreras to a two-year, $5.5MM deal, reports MLB.com's Todd Zolecki. The contract includes performance incentives and a club option for 2013. Year-by-year details can be found here. ESPN's Enrique Rojas first reported last night that a deal was close.
Contreras, 39 in December, posted a 3.34 ERA, 9.1 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, 0.8 HR/9, and 44.7% groundball rate for the Phillies in 2010. It was his first full season as a reliever, and his fastball played up to a 94.0 mph average. He even served as the Phillies' closer for a while in May. At just $1.5MM, Contreras was a major bargain for the Phillies in 2010. This time around the second year is less than ideal, but it was likely necessary to secure him early. Plus, Contreras' salary remains reasonable.
The Phillies' bullpen spending is far from finished. They've added Contreras and Eddie Bonine, and GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told ESPN's Jayson Stark he's contacted "40 free agents, predominantly bullpen guys." The Phils are prioritizing left-handed relief and are known to be interested in Hisanori Takahashi.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Brandon Webb
The Athletics guaranteed $10MM to Ben Sheets in January even though he'd missed the entire 2009 season due to elbow surgery. The signing was not a success, but Sheets' upside must have been tantalizing for the A's. This winter, free agent Brandon Webb presents a more exaggerated risk/reward scenario for teams. Webb is two years removed from the Majors due to shoulder surgery, but his agent Jonathan Maurer still considers Sheets' deal a "conversation starter." Webb missed more time than Sheets, but Maurer's client finished first or second in the Cy Young voting each year from 2006 to '08.
Today Maurer provided MLBTR details about Webb's September/October instructional games, and also said he expects 30+ starts from his client in 2011:
Brandon pitched for the first time competitively (in 17 months) in September and October in three instructional games. The first game, Webb threw 80% and was 78-80 mph. The second game Webb was closer to 90% and was 81-83, and the third game, Webb, still laying back a bit, was 81-85. The reality is that Brandon showed good pitchability (he had strong movement on his signature sinker, plus plus change, and plus breaking ball). What he also had was some rust on location. Brandon's velocity is of very little concern to those that watch a lot of games. His arm strength is indeed coming back, and honestly, he pitched at 87-90 all of 2008 (when he won 22 games) and that is only 2-5 mph off where he was in October.
Brandon's surgeon, Dr. Keith Meister, fully expects him to prepare at a normal pace to be ready when camp opens in February, for whomever signs him. Brandon is hungry, excited, and ready to start 30 plus times in 2011. There is nothing to indicate he won't, with all the work he has put in and his consistent offseason workout program.
So far reports indicate that the Dodgers and Nationals have checked in on Webb, though surely many more clubs have kicked the tires. Back in October, John Tomase of the Boston Herald reported that 21 teams watched Webb throw at Chase Field. Will Webb reach the $7.5-10MM guarantee his agent seeks? I think he may fall a bit short, but $5-6MM would not be surprising. Incentives should allow the righty to top $10MM. Webb's first bout with free agency comes at an inopportune time in his career, but a vintage 2011 season would result in a huge contract.
Red Sox Claim Taylor Buchholz
The Red Sox claimed reliever Taylor Buchholz off waivers from the Blue Jays, the team announced today. Buchholz had been designated for assignment by the Rockies in September and claimed by Toronto.
Buchholz, 29, tossed 21 1/3 innings in the minors this year and another 12 in the bigs. He had Tommy John surgery in June of '09 after an excellent '08 season for Colorado. He earned $1.055MM in each of the last two seasons and will be arbitration eligible again this winter. The Red Sox will have the opportunity to retain Buchholz for the 2012 season if he pitches well next year.
The claim caused the Blue Jays to fall behind the Athletics for the honor of having the most arbitration eligible players – the A's lead with 11 after claiming Edwin Encarnacion.
Buster Posey, Neftali Feliz Win ROY Honors
Giants catcher Buster Posey took home the National League Rookie of the Year award today, while Rangers closer Neftali Feliz won it in the AL.
After Posey, Jason Heyward, Jaime Garcia, Gaby Sanchez, Neil Walker, Starlin Castro, Ike Davis, Jose Tabata, and Jonny Venters received votes in the NL. After Feliz it was Austin Jackson, Danny Valencia, Wade Davis, John Jaso, Brennan Boesch, and Brian Matusz in the AL. Click here to see the full voting results.
Non-Tender Candidate: Ryan Ludwick
About a month ago, Padres GM Jed Hoyer appeared on XX-1090 Sports Radio with Darren Smith, and one of the topics was outfielder Ryan Ludwick. Ludwick is eligible for arbitration for the last time this winter, and he'll get a raise on this year's $5.45MM salary. Though Ludwick struggled mightily after coming to the Padres in a deadline deal, Hoyer's comments on the radio show strongly implied the outfielder will be tendered a contract:
I think he came over here and probably put too much pressure on himself to try to protect Adrian and hit home runs and he struggled, but a lot of people can struggle over a two-month period and we still love the power, the corner outfield power and I think one thing that we'll probably talk about at some point is moving him to left here. I think Will [Venable] is a great right fielder defensively and that might be a better fit, but otherwise we’re excited to have him back and he's a guy that we think will have a lot of home runs for us. I think he'll fit in better for us over the course of a full season than he did and I think he'll put less pressure on himself.
Those comments indicate Hoyer has Ludwick in his plans for 2011, but should he? Ludwick is likely to be paid $6.5-7MM next year. Coming off a .251/.325/.418 season, he might make half that as a free agent if he's non-tendered. It may be difficult to convince a slugger to sign in San Diego, but not to the point where they must be paid double.
In Ludwick's defense, he did slug .484 with the Cardinals this year. Only a dozen free agents had a higher slugging percentage in 2010. Ludwick also has a ridiculous 2008 season on his resume - a 37 home run campaign. If the Padres let him go, what's the backup plan in left field? Free agents like Pat Burrell and Brad Hawpe aren't much better, while Adam Dunn and even Magglio Ordonez may be expensive. Trade options could include Josh Willingham, Luke Scott, Carlos Quentin, and Kosuke Fukudome.
Your turn: will Ludwick be tendered a contract? Click here to make your prediction and here to see the results.
Dodgers Eyeing Brandon Webb
The Nationals and Dodgers have some interest in free agent right-hander Brandon Webb, tweets Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. We'd heard about the Nationals, but the Dodgers part is news. Webb hasn't pitched professionally since he made one appearance in April of 2009, as he was sidelined by shoulder surgery. Prior to '09, Webb was among the best pitchers in all of baseball.
The Dodgers signed Ted Lilly early, so he's penciled into their rotation along with Clayton Kershaw and Chad Billingsley. One more veteran arm would make sense. The Dodgers are also known to be seeking a left fielder and bench players, with another question mark being Russell Martin's standing as the starting catcher.
This is purely my speculation, but I wonder if the Cardinals will take a look at Webb as their annual rotation wild card. Perhaps it will depend on whether they sign Jake Westbrook.