David Purcey Drawing Attention
Blue Jays lefty David Purcey is "drawing attention from clubs," tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal also notes that the Cubs had a scout on hand Sunday for Jason Frasor's ugly Sunday stint (four hits and four earned runs in a third of an inning). Rosenthal says Frasor was under the weather during the appearance.
Purcey, 28 in April, was J.P. Ricciardi's first-round pick in 2004. He posted respectable strikeout rates at most minor league stops, but was plagued by control problems. He seemed to figure it out by his third Double A stint in '07, trimming his walks per nine to 2.3. However, surgery to remove cysts in his forearm and triceps cut that season short. Purcey kept the walks down the next year at Triple A, and showed flashes of brilliance in his '08 MLB debut season. The '09 season was a step back, with Purcey losing his rotation spot by May due to his walk problem.
Now MLB.com's Jordan Bastian says the Blue Jays have trimmed Purcey's repertoire and are leaning toward making him a reliever. Once the Blue Jays' #3 prospect, Purcey's outlook has been downgraded over the years by Baseball America from a potential #2 starter to a mid-rotation guy to a reliever. He still brings the power stuff that made him a first-round pick in '04, and there might be another club out there with ideas on fixing his command.
Odds & Ends: Mateo, Kelvim Escobar, Mariners
Links to kick off the work week…
- Dominican outfielder Wagner Mateo is scheduled to work out for the Diamondbacks today, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Mateo's reps don't share the Cardinals' concerns about Mateo's vision.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Rays came second in the Kelvim Escobar bidding, offering $600K. Unlike the Mets, the Rays saw Escobar as a second half contributor.
- Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post thinks stat lovers themselves "may be the new inefficiency in the market," making Adam Dunn a bargain at three years and $40MM even if his defense doesn't improve.
- FanGraphs' Dave Cameron explains why the Astros and Royals sit at the bottom of his organizational rankings.
- SI's Jon Heyman names his "bests" for 2010, with the Angels getting the nod for the best rotation top to bottom. Heyman also talks about Jarrod Washburn, considered a person of interest for Seattle.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that the Ms are "still pondering backup catching options from outside." There aren't too many available backstops who can be considered clear improvements.
- In his latest GM's Corner video for FOX Sports, Jim Bowden gathers all the GMs involved in the Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee deals. Alex Anthopoulos mentioned that Ruben Amaro Jr. would not include Kyle Drabek or Domonic Brown when Halladay was discussed at the GM Meetings, but relented on Drabek a few weeks later.
- Dustin Parkes of Drunk Jays Fans says "the team has put its money where its mouth is" by signing Adeiny Hechevarria.
Nationals Release Ron Villone
The Nationals released lefty reliever Ron Villone, tweets NatsTown News. Villone, 40, was given three spring appearances to show his stuff. He at least got more of a look than Eddie Guardado, who the Nats cut after two games.
Villone posted a 4.25 ERA, 6.1 K/9, and 5.4 BB/9 in 48.6 innings for the Nationals last year. Lefties have hit .293/.379/.414 against him over the past three seasons.
D’Backs, Kris Benson Agree To Minor League Deal
The Diamondbacks reached an agreement with pitcher Kris Benson on a minor league deal, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports that Benson will receive $650K plus $100K of start-based incentives if he's in the big leagues. He also drew interest from the Nationals this winter.
Benson, 35, had rotator cuff surgery in March of '07. He's tallied 163 pro innings since then, most of them unimpressive minor league frames in the Rangers and Phillies organizations.
Benson auditioned for the D'Backs recently, and his agent Gregg Clifton said he was sitting in the 88-89 range. Benson worked at 90 mph with the Mets and Orioles in the two years prior to his injury.
Athletics Return Cassevah To Angels
The Athletics returned Rule 5 pick Bobby Cassevah to the Angels, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The Halos will pay the standard $25K fee in the transaction.
Cassevah, 24, was one of 17 players taken in the Major League phase of December's Rule 5 draft. He posted a 3.68 ERA, 5.5 K/9, and 4.5 BB/9 in 73.3 relief innings for the Angels' Double A club, allowing just two home runs. Baseball America ranked Cassevah 26th among A's prospects, praising his heavy 92-94 mph sinker but suggesting he has middle reliever upside given the control problems.
Given the $21MM spent on one-year deals, the A's fancy themselves contenders in the AL West. As such, it would've been difficult to keep Cassevah in the Majors all year.
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Scott Eyre Not Ruling Out Pitching
In early January, lefty reliever Scott Eyre told MLB.com's Todd Zolecki he was retiring. Eyre, 38 in May, turned down a minor league offer from the Phillies and suggested he still would've retired with a bigger offer.
However, Eyre left the door open when talking to Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Inquirer recently. He said his surgically-repaired elbow feels good, and he could be game-ready in about three weeks. Eyre noted that it'd have to be a good situation to compel him to put his family's planned RV trip on hold.
When the offseason began, Eyre was saying he'd choose the Phillies or retirement. Due to J.C. Romero's October surgery to repair a torn tendon in his elbow, the Phils are currently light on lefties to start the season according to Hagen. Eyre merits consideration, as he handled southpaws well the last few years. The Phillies could also go after free agents such as Joe Beimel, Alan Embree, and Ron Mahay with minor league offers.
Offseason In Review: Chicago Cubs
Next in our Offseason In Review series, the Cubs.
Major League Signings
- Marlon Byrd, CF: three years, $15MM.
- John Grabow, RP: two years, $7.5MM.
- Xavier Nady, OF/1B: one year, $3.3MM.
- Total spend: $25.8MM.
Notable Minor League Signings
Trades and Claims
- Acquired 1B Ryne White and P Scott Maine from Diamondbacks for RP Aaron Heilman
- Acquired RP Jeff Gray, P Ronny Morla, and OF Matt Spencer from Athletics for OF Jake Fox, IF Aaron Miles, and $1MM
- Acquired Rule 5 pick P Mike Parisi from Cardinals
- Acquired P Carlos Silva and $9MM from Mariners for OF Milton Bradley
Notable Losses
- Milton Bradley, Aaron Miles, Jake Fox, Aaron Heilman, Reed Johnson, Rich Harden, Kevin Gregg, Neal Cotts
Summary
The Cubs were handicapped this offseason by their need to unload outfielder Milton Bradley, a deal that went down on December 18th. The Cubs had little leverage with Bradley, as it was well-known they were dead-set on trading him. GM Jim Hendry had to take back a terrible pitcher on one of baseball's worst contracts, but he managed to save $5MM in acquiring Silva and cash from the Mariners. The whole mess reflects poorly on the Cubs, with Hendry making this dubious claim about Bradley: "No one could have really predicted how it turned out." The toxic clubhouse situation with Bradley forced the Cubs to subtract a .378 OBP in exchange for a two-year, $16MM commitment to Silva.
The Cubs then took the often-regrettable route of signing the best available free agent to fit their need, choosing Byrd out of a weak free agent center field market. Will the Cubs be happy paying a 34-year-old Byrd $6.5MM in 2012? They have to hope this is another Mark DeRosa signing: a contract that looked high at the time but paid off because DeRosa kept getting better.
The Grabow signing was painful. If that's the going rate for a southpaw reliever with control problems, find another solution. On the other hand I liked the Nady pickup. He should be one of the game's better reserves, and will be used heavily.
The success of the Cubs' rotation may hinge on Ted Lilly's health and Randy Wells' sophomore campaign. A midseason acquisition may be necessary. Same goes for the bullpen, where the big additions were Grabow and Gray. Angel Guzman's shoulder injury is a major blow, though not an unpredictable one given his injury history.
The Cubs enter their first season under new ownership with an array of bloated contracts and question marks, plus key players unsigned beyond 2010. This might be Hendry's last chance to get it right.
Execs Name Best, Worst Moves Of The Offseason
Recently MLBTR spoke to several MLB executives to gather their nominations for the best and worst moves of the offseason.
Free agent signings that received mention for the best moves: Felipe Lopez, Adrian Beltre, Adam LaRoche, Chone Figgins, Hideki Matsui, and Aroldis Chapman. Said one exec on Chapman: "He might truly live up to the hype." It's hard not to praise the Cards for getting Lopez on a one-year, $1MM deal.
Three trades came up as choices for the best moves of the offseason: the Mariners' acquisition of Cliff Lee, the Royals' trade of Mark Teahen, and the Rangers' trade of Kevin Millwood. One exec noted that the Mariners "didn't trade anyone that can hurt them in the next couple of years" for Lee, while another believed that "trading Lee and Kyle Drabek in the Roy Halladay deal will hurt [the Phillies] in the long run." The Royals received props for "getting some value for Teahen," while the Rangers' increased payroll flexibility from the Millwood deal was noted.
Nominated for the worst moves: free agent deals for Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, Brandon Lyon, Jason Kendall, Aubrey Huff, Jason Marquis, Randy Wolf, and Garrett Atkins. All the execs polled mentioned Holliday's seven year, $120MM deal when choosing their worst deals of the winter. Said one: "The fear that he would sign a one-year deal elsewhere and take his chances a year from now — that just doesn't make sense to me."
Aside from Kendall and Huff, there was a vibe of "like the player, hate the contract" with the panned free agent signings. One exec felt the Royals downgraded behind the plate with Kendall. Huff was nominated as a small-scale misstep, in that the exec felt that "Hank Blalock is better and he couldn't get half that salary on a non-roster deal."
Rockies, Todd Helton Sign Extension
The Rockies and first baseman Todd Helton signed a two-year extension that covers the 2012-13 seasons. Contract details: it's a two-year, $9.9MM extension paying $4.9MM in '12 and $5MM in '13. Helton will defer $13.1MM beginning next season.
Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports first reported the extension and its terms and Troy Renck of the Denver Post reported that it had been signed. Renck writes that Helton will work for the Rockies once he's done playing, perhaps as a coach. The club wants to keep him in a Rockies uniform for life.
"We view him in the same way as a Cal Ripken, George Brett and Tony Gwynn. He's a Rockie, and a Hall of Famer we believe," said GM Dan O'Dowd.
As part of his mammoth nine-year, $141.5MM deal, Helton was set to earn $16.6MM this year, $19.1MM in '11, and presumably a $4.6MM buyout after that season. The Rockies freed up $8.6MM on their 2011 payroll, as Helton will now earn $10.5MM during that season. The move is reminiscent of the Reds' recent restructuring of Scott Rolen's contract.
Now, instead of concluding his Rockies contract at age 38, Helton will be 40. Helton is on track to perhaps retire a Rockie once his contract is up. Despite his back woes, he really only slipped in 2008.