Brewers Re-Sign Craig Counsell
2:05pm: Haudricourt tweets that Counsell will receive $2.1MM plus a possible $500K in incentives for games played.
12:38pm: The Brewers re-signed Craig Counsell, tweets Tyler Barnes, the team's VP of Communications. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets that it's a one-year pact worth "a bit more than $2MM." A new deal had been expected. Counsell is coming off a fine season in which he hit .285/.357/.408 for the Brewers and played second base, third base, and shortstop.
Mariners Sign Eliezer Alfonzo
The Mariners signed catcher Eliezer Alfonzo to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, tweets Venezuelan journalist Efrain Zavarce. Alfonzo, 31 in February, hit .175/.197/.254 in 117 plate appearances for the Padres this year, catching 255 innings. He hit .309/.339/.569 in 219 Triple A PAs, however.
Neal Huntington – GM Trade History
We've got a new entry in the GM Trade History series, courtesy of Jesse Behr of The 'Burgh Blues. Click here to download an Excel spreadsheet of Neal Huntington's work for the Pirates.
Interesting Non-Tenders
Dozens of players were non-tendered today, and they've been added to our 2010 free agents list. It's fitting that these players comprise the youngest free agents, since they were cut before tallying six years of service time. It should be noted that a one-year deal for many of these players can become more, as quite a few would again be arbitration-eligible after the 2010 season. Let's take a look at the most interesting non-tenders…
- Matt Capps, RP – The decision to let Capps go was a surprise move by the Pirates. The 26-year-old did fine work closing for the Bucs in 2007 and '08. His career BB/9 is just 1.7. His elbow was bruised twice this year, but Capps was otherwise healthy as his hits and home runs allowed ballooned.
- Kelly Johnson, 2B – Dealing with a wrist injury, Johnson hit .224/.303/.389 and lost the starting second base job in Atlanta. He's an interesting pickup given his offensive success in the two years prior. Johnson turns 28 in February.
- D.J. Carrasco, SP/RP – It was surprising to see Carrasco's name pop up as a possible non-tender on Friday, but it became a reality today. The righty, 33 in April, led MLB in relief innings and did solid work with a 3.76 ERA. Carrasco hopes to start in 2010, according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin.
- Chien-Ming Wang, SP – Wang, 30 in March, had strong years in '06 and '07 as the Yankees' mid-rotation groundball specialist. He had shoulder surgery in July but hopes to be ready by May 1st.
- Jack Cust, DH/OF – Cust is the AL strikeout leader for three years running, but he's also hit at least 25 home runs and drawn at least 90 walks in each of those seasons. He'd fit best in a DH role.
- Ryan Garko, 1B – Garko, 29 in January, has some decent years under his belt but struggled after being traded to the Giants this year. He still handles lefties well.
- Adam Miller, SP – Miller was once the Indians' top prospect, but he's had tendon surgery performed many times on the middle finger of his pitching hand.
- John Buck, C – Buck doesn't seem much worse than the veteran catchers currently snagging two-year offers, and he's only 29. He's shown flashes of power at times.
- Mike MacDougal, RP – MacDougal became a non-tender candidate when the Nationals acquired Brian Bruney last week. He saved 20 games this year but walked more than he struck out.
- Jonny Gomes, OF – Gomes, 29, hit .267/.338/.541 in 314 plate appearances for the Reds this year, though he did get to face lefties 35% of the time. He's had a hard time shaking the platoon bat label due to a .224/.311/.448 career line against righties.
- Garrett Atkins, 1B/3B – He has the name value, but his defense and ability to hit away from Coors are in question. This year, he didn't hit at Coors either.
- Ryan Church, RF – With a career line of .272/.345/.441 and strong right field defense, Church would at the least make a solid fourth outfielder.
- Jose Arredondo, RP – Armed with a 94 mph fastball, Arredondo posted a 1.62 ERA, 8.1 K/9, and 3.2 BB/9 as a rookie in '08. He struggled this year and is now scheduled for Tommy John surgery. He could be signed with an eye on 2011.
Red Sox Acquire Boof Bonser
SUNDAY, 1:16pm: Bonser's deal is non-guaranteed and worth $650K, with a $25K bonus for either 20 starts or 45 appearances, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com (via Twitter).
SATURDAY, 9:26pm: The Twins acquired righty Chris Province from the Red Sox for Bonser, according to a press release. It should also be noted that the Sox signed Bonser for 2010.
THURSDAY, 8:53am: The Twins confirmed the move in a press release. They'll receive a player to be named later or cash for Bonser. It'll be an A or AA player, reports Kelsie Smith of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
8:28am: The Red Sox acquired pitcher Boof Bonser, according to the pitcher's agency Reynolds Sports Management. Bonser was designated for assignment on Tuesday to make room for Carl Pavano. The 28-year-old had labrum and rotator cuff surgery in February. Bonser sports a 5.12 ERA, 7.3 K/9, and 2.9 BB/9 over 391.6 career innings spanning three seasons.
Cardinals Make Formal Offer To Matt Holliday
SATURDAY, 8:44am: Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post Dispatch spoke to a source that says the deal "does not offer an average annual value of $18 million." That number is significant because Holliday rejected a similar offer to remain in Colorado.
FRIDAY, 1:50pm: The Cardinals made a formal offer to Matt Holliday, GM John Mozeliak told Bernie Miklasz on ESPN 101 St. Louis this morning. Mozeliak expects to hear back from the Scott Boras camp within 48 hours.
Dodgers Sign Josh Towers
The Dodgers signed pitcher Josh Towers to a minor league deal worth $700K in the Majors, according to the AP. Towers, 33 in February, posted a 3.05 ERA, 4.8 K/9, and 2.1 BB/9 in 103.3 Triple A innings for the Yankees and Nationals organizations this year. Towers' best years were with the Blue Jays, namely an '05 season where he posted a 3.71 ERA in 208.6 innings. He has a career BB/9 mark of just 1.5.
Royals Sign Jason Kendall
6:24 PM: The Kansas City Star's Bob Dutton tweets that the deal is worth roughly the same as the two-year/$6MM contract Ivan Rodriguez signed with Washington earlier this week.
4:59 PM: The Royals signed catcher Jason Kendall to a two-year contract, according to a press release from the team. Kendall, 35, hit .241/.331/.305 in 526 plate appearances for the Brewers this year, catching 1,162 innings. Ivan Rodriguez and Brian Schneider also received two-year deals so far this winter.
The Royals entered the offseason intending to reboot their catching situation. They've declined an option on Miguel Olivo and signed Kendall, and may non-tender John Buck tomorrow.
Odds & Ends: Boyer, Chapman, Non-Tenders, Cubs
Links for Friday…
- The D'Backs agreed to a one-year deal with arbitration-eligible righty Blaine Boyer, tweets MLB.com's Steve Gilbert.
- ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. analyzes Aroldis Chapman's upcoming bullpen session – does it represent a loss of leverage? Arangure Jr. notes that Chapman received one offer so far – $15.5MM – from the Red Sox back when he was represented by Edwin Mejia.
- SI's Jon Heyman names his winners and losers of the Winter Meetings.
- Royals GM Dayton Moore expects a bigger non-tender group than years past, writes Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
- Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald expects the Cubs to tender contracts to Mike Fontenot, Koyie Hill, Sean Marshall, Jeff Baker, and Angel Guzman, but not lefty Neal Cotts. Cotts is coming back from Tommy John surgery, and the Cubs could re-sign him to a minor league deal.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post criticizes the New York Times for letting his good friend Jack Curry go.
- MLB.com's Carrie Muskat says the Cubs acquired righty Arismendy Mota from the Nationals for cash considerations. Mota was taken by the Nats from the White Sox with the first pick of the Triple A phase of the Rule 5 draft yesterday.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick believes that while the free agent dollars are flowing now, "the euphoria will fade after the New Year."
- The Nationals officially announced their two-year deal for Ivan Rodriguez today.
Orioles, Mariners Interested In Jason Marquis
4:35pm: An Orioles official told MASN's Roch Kubatko not to get too excited about Marquis. Kubatko says the Orioles are "more likely to sign a pitcher who's coming off injury to an incentive-ladened deal." They're known to have interest in bringing Erik Bedard back, for example.
3:20pm: This week we learned that the Phillies, Mets, and Nationals are in on free agent starter Jason Marquis. Today Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports add two American League clubs to the mix: the Mariners and Orioles. Marquis' positive traits: he can eat innings, and he was third in baseball with a 55.6% groundball rate.
The FOX writers note that the Mariners are in on many free agent starters, including John Lackey, Ben Sheets, Doug Davis, and Jarrod Washburn. This is the first I've heard of the Sheets connection.