Athletics Sign Ben Sheets
The A's signed Ben Sheets to a one-year deal worth $10MM plus performance bonuses today. The injury-prone righty took his physical and everything checked out fine. That's no surprise, since Sheets looked impressive last week when he auditioned for interested clubs.
It's a lot of money to guarantee a pitcher who hasn't taken the hill since 2008, but Sheets has considerably more upside than most. He pitched 198.1 innings for the Brewers in 2008, allowing 181 hits and 47 walks, striking out 158 for a 3.09 ERA.
Consider that most players are signing team-friendly deals at this point in the offseason and Sheets' contract looks pretty good. Consider that Rich Harden, who actually started 26 games last year, signed for $7.5MM this winter and the deal looks even better for Sheets and agent Casey Close.
CSNBayArea's Mychael Urban tweeted that the A's made Sheets a "competitive" offer and noted that the A's had scheduled a press conference. Danny Knobler of CBS Sports reported that the A's signed Sheets and Jon Heyman of SI.com added details, including the value of the deal.
Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.
Nationals Sign Chris Duncan
The Nationals signed outfielder Chris Duncan on January 19th, according to the team's official transactions page.
Duncan, 29 in May, hit .227/.329/.358 in 304 plate appearances for the Cardinals last year before being traded in July to the Red Sox for Julio Lugo. He was released from the Triple A Pawtucket club about a month later.
Talking to Rob Rains of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat in December, Duncan's agent Barry Meister suggested his client's neck injury and surgery caused his poor performance in 2008-09. Duncan hit .273/.358/.527 in his first two seasons with the Cards. It's been a busy offseason for the Duncans, as Dave re-upped as Cardinals pitching coach and Shelley landed with the Indians.
Rays May Not Be Done
4:25pm: Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times talked to Rays executive VP Andrew Friedman, who said the team is open to exploring a long-term deal with Upton.
10:15am: The Rays' biggest additions this winter have been catcher Kelly Shoppach and closer Rafael Soriano, as well as the re-signing of extra outfielder Gabe Kapler. Their losses have included Mitch Talbot, Akinori Iwamura, Gregg Zaun, and Jesse Chavez (who was acquired for Iwamura and then traded for Soriano).
They've also got one arbitration case in B.J. Upton. A hearing seems silly given a gap of only $300K. Upton isn't worried about the difference and even told MLB.com's Bill Chastain he's "definitely all for" discussing a long-term deal. The Rays might want to see if Upton's power returns before offering multiyear security.
Is that it for the Rays this winter? Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune suggests they're still looking for another reliever. An earlier article from Topkin indicated manager Joe Maddon wanted more competition in the pen and at second base. Among right-handed relievers, Kiko Calero might be the best remaining free agent. He shouldn't cost much. Chan Ho Park, Russ Springer, Mike MacDougal, and Kevin Gregg are lingering as well.
There's also the Jim Thome rumor, which Mooney notes would make a lot more sense paired with a Pat Burrell trade.
Mark Loretta Retires
Infielder Mark Loretta has retired to take a position as special assistant to the Padres' baseball operations staff, tweets MLB.com's Corey Brock.
Loretta finishes with a .295/.360/.395 line in 6,558 plate appearances across 15 seasons for the Brewers, Astros, Padres, Red Sox, and Dodgers. He mainly played second base, but also logged significant innings at the other three infield positions. Loretta appeared in two All-Star games and finished ninth in the NL MVP vote in '04, when he hit .335/.391/.495 for the Padres. According to Baseball-Reference, Loretta banked $29.4MM in his career.
Players Avoiding Arbitration: Monday
A few dozen arbitration-eligible players have yet to agree on 2010 salaries. As settlements are reached, we'll house them here.
- Brewers pitcher Dave Bush reached an agreement with the club just short of the filing midpoint, tweets MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Bush had filed at $4.45MM, the Brewers at $4.125MM. This is Bush's final arbitration year; he earned $4MM in '09. Corey Hart and Carlos Villanueva are the Brewers' two remaining arbitration-eligible players.
Cubs Rumors: Calero, Nady, Priorities
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports provide the latest Cubs rumblings…
- Morosi reported Wednesday that the Cubs were "engaged in negotiations" with free agent reliever Kiko Calero. However, he now says their interest has waned. A right-handed setup man is still a primary item on the Cubs' shopping list.
- Previous reports have connected the Cubs to outfielders Xavier Nady, Jonny Gomes, Rocco Baldelli, and Reed Johnson. The FOX writers say Nady is the Cubs' top choice unless Dye's contract demands come down.
- The Cubs seek rotation insurance, but the FOX writers confirm ESPN's Jayson Stark Saturday suggestion that Ben Sheets is unlikely. Perhaps Mark Mulder, linked to the Cubs Tuesday by Morosi, is more feasible.
- Though the Cubs have looked into Adam Kennedy and Orlando Hudson, adding a second baseman is not a high priority.
Odds & Ends: Mauer, Turnbow, Loaiza
Links for Monday…
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports wonders if the convergence of Joe Mauer, Ron Shapiro, and Bill Smith in St. Paul Wednesday for a Rick Reilly program will accelerate extension talks.
- The Rockies "remain firmly in the mix" for free agent reliever Derrick Turnbow, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. Turnbow could make a choice by Wednesday.
- In his latest MLB.com mailbag, Jordan Bastian notes that Blue Jays starter Dustin McGowan is out of options.
- MLBTR's resident translator, Nick Collias, passes along this Esteban Loaiza interview with Hector Linares from the Mexican newspaper Excelsior. Loaiza says he's doing everything possible to make it back to the big leagues, and has received a few calls from teams. He last pitched for the White Sox in June of '08.
- Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News explains why the Phillies' Cliff Lee trade was the right move. He says fans don't understand, and the Phils needed the prospects.
- Aaron Gleeman wouldn't mind seeing Delmon Young benched and Jim Thome added by the Twins to platoon at DH.
- RotoAuthority assesses David Wright's fantasy prospects for 2010.
- Baseball America's Ben Badler says MLB voided the seven-figure contract Dominican third baseman Duanel Jones had with San Francisco. ESPN's Jorge Arangure says (via Twitter) the move was prompted by Jones failing a drug test administered by the Giants.
- Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie told MASN's Steve Melewski that his $120K pay cut from 2008 to 2009 did not affect his '09 performance.
Rangers Designate Joe Inglett For Assignment
The Rangers designated Joe Inglett for assignment to make room for Colby Lewis, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Inglett had been claimed off waivers from the Blue Jays on December 4th, but perhaps the Rangers' signing of Khalil Greene made him expendable.
Inglett, 31, hit .281/.347/.348 in 99 plate appearances for the Jays last year while playing the outfield corners and second base. He hit .360/.422/.516 in 186 Triple A plate appearances.
Mets Rumors: Catcher, Smoltz, Sheets, Delgado
Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News has the latest on the Mets.
- The Mets are said to be 50-50 on whether to use internal catching options or sign Yorvit Torrealba or Rod Barajas. The current favorite to start is Omir Santos, projected to hit .247/.296/.359 by CHONE.
- The Mets are "very likely to add one more starting pitcher," writes Rubin. John Smoltz, Ben Sheets, and Jon Garland are the names under discussion. The Smoltz talks are described as "active dialogue." We learned earlier today that the A's appear to be a top competitor for Sheets, while SI's Jon Heyman believes the Rangers and Mariners are also in the mix. Heyman tweets that the Mets "don't appear to be the frontrunner for Sheets at the moment."
- Rubin considers a Carlos Delgado re-signing to be "not overly likely" due to concerns about Delgado playing first base. Instead, the Mets could bring Fernando Tatis back.
Royals Sign Rick Ankiel
The Royals officially signed outfielder Rick Ankiel to a one-year, $3.25MM deal today. The contract has a second-year mutual option worth $6MM, and Ankiel can earn up to $500K in incentives this year. Yahoo's Tim Brown first tweeted news of the agreement Thursday night, with Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports following the next day with the incentives.
Back on December 10th, ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweeted that Scott Boras wanted three years and "big money" for Ankiel, but ultimately he settled for an unsurprising contract. Ankiel also drew interest from the Cubs, Pirates, and Red Sox this winter.
Ankiel will try to rebuild value in Kansas City after slipping to a .231/.285/.387 line for the Cardinals in 2009. The 30-year-old's maladies included a sore Achilles tendon, a deep shoulder bruise, and a groin strain. The shoulder injury, suffered in May, came from a headfirst collision with a wall and lingered most of the season.
A converted pitcher, Ankiel has experience at all three outfield positions but predominantly played center field. He'll join Scott Podsednik, David DeJesus, and possibly Brian Anderson in the Royals' outfield, with Jose Guillen presumably serving as designated hitter.