Odds & Ends: Weeks, Cliff Lee, Cody Ross
Four years ago today, the Devil Rays traded Russell Branyan to the Padres for Evan Meek and a player to be named later (Dale Thayer). Meek would be taken from the Rays by the Pirates in the '07 Rule 5 draft but was designated for assignment the following May. Meek cleared waivers and the Rays rejected his return, taking cash considerations from the Bucs. This year, Meek represented the Pirates at the All-Star game. Today's links:
- Rickie Weeks chose Greg Genske of Legacy Sports as his new agent after his previous representative, Lon Babby, became president of the Phoenix Suns, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- A Mets official told ESPN's Adam Rubin the team won't be pursuing Cliff Lee in the offseason.
- Giants assistant GM Bobby Evans confirmed to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle that they claimed Cody Ross in part to block him from going to the Padres.
- Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia talked to WEEI's Rob Bradford about why they signed long-term extensions. Youkilis knows he could've made more as a free agent after this season, but he points out that he's making more money than he ever thought he would. Youk believes players should go through arbitration at least once, as he did. For more on players who would've been eligible for free agency after this season had they not signed extensions, check out our August 16th article.
- Bradford's colleague Alex Speier looks at Boston's recent history of acquiring players despite being included in their no-trade clauses.
- Joe Posnanski explains that pitchers with Hall of Fame stuff getting beaten by injuries is the rule, not the exception.
Uggla Seeking Five Years, $55-60 Million
Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla is seeking a five-year extension in the $55-60MM range, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. As Rosenthal notes, such a deal would cover his last arbitration year as well as four free agent seasons.
Back on August 7th, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald suggested the Marlins were willing to do a three-year deal in the $30MM range. Uggla, who switched from Beverly Hills Sports Council to Gaylord Sports Management this summer, said in July that a Marlins extension "would make me a very happy man." He'll certainly have to drop his demands if he's to remain with the Fish beyond the 2011 season.
In Uggla's defense, there's no perfect comparable for a second baseman who will have over 150 home runs over his first five seasons and signs one year away from free agency. If Uggla's agent thinks his client is in the discussion with Robinson Cano and Chase Utley, those players will get $14-15MM per free agent year. Brandon Phillips, Aaron Hill, and Ian Kinsler will make less, but all five had less service time than the five years Uggla will and signed contracts covering different portions of their careers.
White Sox Will Claim Manny Ramirez
The White Sox will claim Manny Ramirez with the intention of acquiring him once he's placed on waivers by the Dodgers, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets that GM Kenny Williams is pushing all his chips on getting Ramirez, according to an MLB source. Manny has not yet been placed on waivers, based on reports, even though the Dodgers gained the ability to do so yesterday.
With a .540 winning percentage, the White Sox are the first AL contending team in the waiver order if Ramirez makes it past the NL unclaimed. Rosenthal says the Rays and Rangers are also interested in Manny.
Ramirez has $4.46MM left on his contract at the moment, though about $3.34MM of that is deferred without interest. Assuming Manny approves the assignment, the Dodgers might be willing to dump his contract just for salary relief.
Ramirez would certainly provide a boost to the White Sox as their designated hitter, if he can stay healthy. He's hitting .312/.404/.508 in 223 plate appearances this year, a down year in rate stats only by his lofty standard.
Abandoned Free Agent Signings
Eight players signed as free agents for over a million bucks in the offseason have been dumped so far this year. Let's look at the grisly details.
- Alex Cora, released by Mets on 8-7-10. Signed to a one-year, $2MM deal by Omar Minaya on 11-30-09. Received 187 plate appearances.
- Chan Ho Park, designated for assignment by Yankees on 7-31-10. Signed to a one-year, $1.2MM deal by Brian Cashman on 2-24-10. Pitched 35.3 innings.
- Brendan Donnelly, released by Pirates on 7-29-10. Signed to a one-year, $1.35MM deal by Neal Huntington on 1-18-10. Pitched 30.6 innings.
- Garrett Atkins, released by Orioles on 7-6-10. Signed to a one-year, $4.5MM deal by Andy MacPhail on 12-18-09. Received 152 plate appearances.
- Adam Everett, released by Tigers on 6-15-10. Signed to a one-year, $1.55MM deal by Dave Dombrowski on 12-7-09. Received 89 plate appearances.
- Randy Winn, designated for assignment by Yankees on 5-28-10. Signed to a one-year, $1.1MM deal by Brian Cashman on 2-8-10. Received 71 plate appearances.
- Bob Howry, released by Diamondbacks on 5-17-10. Signed to a one-year, $2.25MM deal by Josh Byrnes on 12-28-09. Pitched 14.3 innings.
- Jack Cust, designated for assignment by Athletics on 4-3-10. Signed to a one-year, $2.65MM deal by Billy Beane on 1-7-10. This may have been more of a procedural move by the A's, but they were still willing to let him go for nothing three months and zero plate appearances after signing him.
- Only $16.6MM was committed to these players, so it's not outrageous. The cases of Cust, Howry, and Winn are curious because they were cut so quickly, while Atkins stands out as the worst signing of the bunch.
- Also consider Jeremy Hermida, Akinori Iwamura, and Brian Bruney. They were not free agents but these offseason acquisitions were also outrighted or released.
Arbitration Eligibles: New York Yankees
A look at the Yankees players who will be arbitration-eligible after the season…
- First time: Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Dustin Moseley
- Second time: Boone Logan
- Third time: Sergio Mitre
- Fourth time: Chad Gaudin
Hughes and Chamberlain are the team's most interesting cases. Though Joba still has a respectable 3.79 career ERA, his recent work hasn't been great and the time spent in the bullpen has resulted in only 16 career wins. He won't get a massive salary. Hughes will be coming off a strong platform year, but his career numbers are similarly limited. He should fall short of $4MM.
Logan will probably be tendered a contract; it's not too risky and he showed promise against lefties when he was in the bigs. Gaudin, Mitre, and Moseley are the biggest non-tender candidates.
Will The Cubs Sign Adam Dunn?
With the caveat that free agent destinations are difficult to predict in August, Adam Dunn and the Cubs are an agreeable match. The Cubs badly need a left-handed power bat at first base, and Dunn is a fan of Wrigley Field and Cubs GM Jim Hendry, based on comments he made to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. ESPN's Buster Olney guesses that a four-year offer from the Cubs would seal the deal. The Cubs currently project to have the sixth overall pick in the 2011 draft, which will be protected if they sign a Type A free agent who turned down an arbitration offer.
Dunn twice mentioned his ongoing contract talks with the Nationals in his conversation with Wittenmyer. How likely is an extension? According to MASN's Ben Goessling, team sources "are skeptical that the Nationals will re-sign the first baseman before he hits free agency." What's more, one Nationals source says the team's braintrust "loves" Carlos Pena. Pena has slumped to a .213/.338/.439 line in 2010, but he won't require a four-year deal. As a Scott Boras client, I wonder if Pena prefers a one-year pact.
Arbitration Eligibles: Boston Red Sox
A look at the Red Sox players who will be arbitration-eligible after the season…
- First time: Jacoby Ellsbury, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Kevin Cash
- Second time: Hideki Okajima
- Third time: Jonathan Papelbon
Okajima stands a good chance of being non-tendered as the Sox try to revamp a portion of their bullpen. I expect Theo Epstein to shop him around in advance of the December 2nd non-tender deadline. As for Cash, Boston would probably non-tender him and try to re-sign him to a minor league deal if they want him back.
Ellsbury seems to be on thin ice in Boston, while Papelbon is having his worst season. Both players are trade candidates. It might be wise to wait for Ellsbury to rebuild value. Papelbon presents a tricky situation. He's still a useful reliever, and could return to greatness in 2011, but the cost may approach $12MM. The Red Sox have to decide whether to trade him, keep him, or even non-tender him.
Red Sox Claim Johnny Damon
9:36pm: Damon repeated after tonight's game that he's leaning toward staying in Detroit, according to MLB.com's Jason Beck (Twitter links). Damon's gut and his teammates are telling him to stay in Detroit.
3:45pm: Damon hasn't decided whether he'd accept an assignment to Boston, according to MLB.com's Jason Beck, who notes that the outfielder has about 48 hours to make up his mind (Twitter link).
3:09pm: A no-trade clause does not necessarily give a player the right to prevent his team from handing him over on waivers, according to an MLB Players Association official who spoke to MLBTR this afternoon. In many cases, a player has a non-assignment clause that would prevent trades and waiver claims. However, not all players with no-trade clauses can prevent their teams from handing them over on waivers.
In other words, Damon's ability to prevent the Tigers from handing him to the Red Sox depends on the wording in his contract.
2:51pm: Damon told Ed Price of AOL FanHouse he's not inclined to go back to Boston (Twitter link).
2:28pm: The Red Sox claimed Johnny Damon off waivers from the Tigers, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. The next question is whether the Tigers will work out a trade with the Sox, dump Damon on them for nothing, or pull him back. Damon can veto a trade to the Red Sox. Of Damon's $8MM salary, about $1.8MM remains. Heyman opined earlier today that he believes the Tigers would let Damon go if a deal cannot be worked out.
Damon played for the Red Sox from 2002-05, but had an acrimonious departure and signed with the Yankees. The Red Sox would be getting a diminished version of Damon this time, but he'd still be useful with Mike Cameron and Jacoby Ellsbury currently on the disabled list. The Sox may have made the Damon claim to block the Rays or Yankees, but they know it is possible they end up with the player.
Damon, 36, predictably saw his power slip with the switch from Yankee Stadium to Comerica Park. He's hitting .270/.355/.409 on the season and has logged only 268 innings in the outfield. He profiles as a Type B free agent after the season, but an arbitration offer seems unlikely.
Tigers Designate Enrique Gonzalez For Assignment
The Tigers designated righty Enrique Gonzalez for assignment to make room for outfielder Casper Wells, according to the team.
Gonzalez, 28, posted a 3.81 ERA, 4.5 K/9, and 5.9 BB/9 with four home runs allowed in 26 relief innings for the Tigers this year. He was signed to a minor league deal in January and made 11 decent Triple A starts before getting the call in June. Gonzalez has logged time with four organizations in the last four years, pitching for the Tigers, Red Sox, Padres, and Diamondbacks.
Odds & Ends: Draft, Pirates, Betemit
Links for Monday, as the Yankees' Ivan Nova prepares for his first big league start in Toronto…
- RotoAuthority looks at the five first basemen who returned good value in fantasy baseball mixed leagues this year.
- The Dodgers led baseball by spending 224% of their estimated slot on the draft, according to Baseball America. Most clubs spent more than MLB suggested, but only eight exceeded 150% of MLB's preferred budget.
- BA's Jim Callis creates a fresh Pirates top ten prospects list, given all the new talent entering the system recently.
- U.S.S. Mariner's Dave Cameron would like to see the Mariners acquire recently-designated Matt Downs from the Giants.
- In a FanGraphs article, Cameron examines the Royals' situation with Wilson Betemit's last arbitration year coming up.