Arbitration-Eligible Players
Hundreds of players are eligible for arbitration, and Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball has the full list from the MLBPA. Dozens of these players will become free agents on December 12th, the non-tender deadline. Based on numbers from ESPN's Buster Olney, it seems typical to see at least 40 players non-tendered. Check out our list of non-tender candidates here.
Giants, Orioles Pursuing Dan Uggla
THURSDAY, 9:10pm: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports say that while the Orioles and Marlins are discussing Uggla, it might not be a match. The Orioles aren't sure how Uggla would produce in the American League, and may be reluctant to give up young talent for two years of his services. Indeed, check out Andy MacPhail's general comments to Jeff Zrebiec:
"I just don't see us giving up a young and talented player for a short-term fix. If we give up a young and talented player and fill a different position that we thought was a greater need going forward, that would be something we'd consider. But I don't see us giving up somebody we see as a core guy for a one- or two-year guy."
Of course, the Marlins didn't get a ton for Josh Willingham and Scott Olsen a year ago, so maybe the price for Uggla will be acceptable.
WEDNESDAY, 3:04pm: MLB.com's Joe Frisaro believes the Nationals will also show interest in Uggla.
1:19pm: The Giants and Orioles are showing the most interest in Dan Uggla, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Those clubs would move Uggla to third base, a position he hasn't played since 2005 in the minors. The writers add that the Red Sox have inquired, with an eye on using Uggla in left field. Uggla played 20 games in the outfield in Double A in '04. Rosenthal and Morosi add that an Uggla trade would compel the Marlins to retain Jorge Cantu.
Uggla, 30 in March, hit .243/.354/.459 in 668 plate appearances this season as the Marlins' second baseman. He's under team control for two more years, but is due a raise on his $5.35MM salary of '09.
Trade Market: Starting Pitchers
Next up in our Trade Market series, starting pitchers. Click here to see our free agent market analysis. Get a comfy chair, because there are about 30 pitchers named here.
- Roy Halladay, Blue Jays. Doc is perhaps the game's best pitcher, and new Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos may look to cash him in for a bevy of young talent. Halladay has a no-trade clause and $15.75MM remaining on his contract.
- Edwin Jackson, Tigers. The rumor first surfaced at the GM Meetings that Jackson could be made available as a way for the Tigers to trim payroll. Jackson's probably not as good as his 3.62 ERA this year, but he's only 26 and is under team control for two more years.
- Justin Verlander, Tigers. We haven't heard Verlander's name in trade rumors. But he's similar to Felix Hernandez, a young ace headed toward a large second-year arbitration award. Imagine the teams that would come calling for Verlander.
- Nate Robertson, Tigers. At $10MM next year, the Tigers could attempt to unload Robertson in a bad contract swap or by pairing him with someone valuable. He had minor elbow surgery in July and hasn't been effective in years.
- Dontrelle Willis, Tigers. Willis, owed $12MM in 2010, suffered through another lost season this year. He has even less trade value than Robertson.
- Jeremy Bonderman,Tigers. The 27-year-old Bonderman would be an interesting project if he wasn't owed $12.5MM. He's coming back from a shoulder injury.
- Derek Lowe, Braves. Trading Lowe would free up $45MM over the next three years for the Braves. The contract might be viewed as excessive, but Lowe still has value.
- Kenshin Kawakami, Braves. With $13.3MM owed over the new two years, Kawakami would be an affordable mid-rotation acquisition. Kawakami posted a 3.86 ERA in 156.3 innings in his MLB debut.
- Javier Vazquez, Braves. Vazquez was an ace in 2009, ranking fourth in baseball with 238 strikeouts. He's earning $11.5MM in '10, and can block deals to AL and NL West clubs. The Braves may extend him if they trade Lowe.
- Felix Hernandez, Mariners. At the GM Meetings, Ms GM Jack Zduriencik said "Felix is our property," but wouldn't rule out a future trade. The expectation is that the Mariners will attempt to lock him up and might consider a trade if they fail. Hernandez will turn 24 in April.
- Barry Zito, Giants. Zito is owed $83MM over the next four years, and has a full no-trade clause. He's pretty much untradeable, and aside from Vernon Wells' deal there's not much worse.
- Bronson Arroyo, Reds. The durable Arroyo pitched below a 2.00 ERA over the season's last two months, dragging his '09 mark down to 3.84. He has $13MM and one year left on his contract, and presumably the Reds could dump him to cut costs.
- Aaron Harang, Reds. Harang has been very hittable in recent years, but his strikeout and walk rates are still pretty good. He has $14.5MM and one year left on his deal, so he might be tougher to move than Arroyo.
- Jeremy Guthrie, Orioles. Guthrie turns 31 in April, but he's still under team control through 2012. His numbers slipped last year, and the Orioles could move him to the NL and still get something decent in return.
- Josh Johnson, Marlins. Arbitration-eligible Marlins always make the Trade Candidate posts. Johnson is the rare talent the Fish will actually try to lock up, though.
- Jeff Suppan, Brewers. His ugly contract is wrapping up, with $14.5MM left for one year. The Brewers need starters, but not ones with a 1.08 K/BB ratio.
- Roy Oswalt, Astros. Will the Astros fixture finally be traded this year? He has a full no-trade clause and is owed $33MM over the next two seasons. His value seems to be slipping as his salary increases. But if the Astros are trying to contend, they must keep Oswalt.
- Carlos Zambrano, Cubs. A trade rumbling popped up in September, but was quickly shot down.
- Gil Meche, Royals. Meche will earn $24MM over the next two seasons. Shoulder and back problems resulted in his first lousy Royals campaign this year.
- Brian Bannister, Royals. The studious righty drew trade deadline interest from multiple clubs. Shoulder fatigue ended his season, during which he posted a 4.73 ERA in 154 innings. Like Guthrie, Bannister is under team control through 2012.
- Brian Tallet, Blue Jays. The 32-year-old lefty moved in and out of the Jays rotation this year, and seems expendable. He's headed toward an arbitration raise if tendered a contract.
- Dave Bush, Brewers. The Brewers are not in a position to shed pitching, but the arbitration-eligible Bush earned $4MM in '09. If the Brewers consider him a non-tender candidate, they could look to trade him first.
- Brandon McCarthy, Rangers. Another arbitration-eligible righty, McCarthy has never pitched more than 101.6 big league innings in a season. The Rangers may decide to go with someone else for their fifth starter job.
- Andy Sonnanstine, Rays. The soft-tossing righty couldn't hang on to his rotation spot this year despite 13 wins in '08. He lost his pinpoint control, but the NL has a way of making those things return. Bonus: he's not yet arbitration-eligible.
- Oliver Perez, Mets. Just another ugly contract, with $24MM over two years remaining. He'll try to rebuild his value with a winter at the Athletes Performance Institute.
- Carlos Silva, Mariners. Silva has $25MM remaining over two years, so he's probably unmovable.
- Brandon Webb, Diamondbacks. Webb is one to watch as a possible summer trade candidate, should the D'Backs fall out of contention.
- Jamie Moyer, Phillies. Moyer profiles as the Phillies' fifth starter, with Pedro Martinez and Brett Myers headed for free agency. The 47-year-old wasn't thrilled about being sent to the bullpen in August, and ESPN's Jayson Stark pondered his offseason trade prospects at that time. The $8MM he has coming next year would be the issue.
- Chris Young, Padres. At $6.25MM in 2010, Young is the highest-paid Padre. If he can bounce back from exploratory shoulder surgery, he could be put on the block next summer.
- Jake Westbrook, Indians. The Tribe surely wouldn't mind shedding Westbrook's $11MM. He had Tommy John surgery in June of '08 and hasn't pitched in the Majors since.
Royals Prefer Trades
Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star dishes on the Royals…
- Dayton Moore…step away from the free agent market. The Royals are moving toward trades, with an eye on the long-term. Owner David Glass says the plan is to "turn over some of the club." Moore already made a nice move in flipping Mark Teahen for Josh Fields and Chris Getz.
- Dutton again mentions the talks between the Dodgers and Royals on a possible A.J. Ellis for Alberto Callaspo deal. Ellis, 29 in April, posted OBPs over .436 in Triple A for 2008-09.
- The Royals are probably stuck with Jose Guillen, but David DeJesus and Gil Meche could be trade chips. Dutton says the Royals prefer to keep Meche though.
- Dutton says the Royals are more likely to trade for a center fielder than to re-sign Coco Crisp.
- Via Twitter, Dutton says lefty Lenny DiNardo and reliever Yasuhiko Yabuta elected free agency.
D’Backs Search For Pitching
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic brings home a bunch of Diamondbacks hot stove buzz from the GM Meetings…
- The Diamondbacks would have to give up their second-round pick if they sign a Type A free agent who turned down arbitration. GM Josh Byrnes told Piecoro he'd consider it if the player came at a discount. You can check our free agent list to see all the types.
- Piecoro wouldn't be surprised to see Livan Hernandez return as the D'Backs' fifth starter. He wouldn't be the main rotation pickup; the bigger targets are probably Randy Wolf, Jason Marquis, and Brad Penny.
- Piecoro can't find a team that would be able to send the D'Backs a pitcher for catcher Chris Snyder. The Royals, Mets, Reds, Brewers, and Astros don't fit, in Piecoro's opinion, while the Blue Jays already nixed a deal. The Rays, Nationals, Mariners, and Giants may also be looking for a catcher, but they might not match up either.
- The D'Backs would like to bring back arbitration-eligible infielder Augie Ojeda.
Offseason Outlook: Texas Rangers
Next up in our Offseason Outlook series, the Rangers. Their likely commitments for 2010:
C – Jarrod Saltalamacchia – $411K
C – Taylor Teagarden – $401K
1B – Chris Davis – $407K
2B – Ian Kinsler – $4MM
SS – Elvis Andrus – $400K
3B – Michael Young – $16MM (partially deferred)
IF – Joaquin Arias – $402K
LF – David Murphy – $415K
CF – Josh Hamilton – $555K+
RF – Nelson Cruz – $408K
OF – Brandon Boggs – $409K
OF – Craig Gentry – $400K
DH – Julio Borbon – $400K
SP – Kevin Millwood – $12MM
SP – Scott Feldman – $435K+
SP – Derrek Holland – $400K
SP – Tommy Hunter – $401K
SP – Brandon McCarthy – $650K+
Other rotation candidates: Neftali Feliz, Matt Harrison, C.J. Wilson, Dustin Nippert, Guillermo Moscoso, Eric Hurley
RP – Frank Francisco – $1.615MM+
RP – C.J. Wilson – $1.85MM+
RP – Darren O'Day – $406K
RP – Dustin Nippert – $412K+
RP – Neftali Feliz – $400K
RP – Doug Mathis – $400K
RP – Willie Eyre – $410K
Other bullpen candidates: Guillermo Moscoso, Warner Madrigal, Pedro Strop
Other commitments: Frank Catalanotto – $2MM, Vicente Padilla – $1.75MM
That's roughly $44MM committed before arbitration raises to Hamilton, Feldman, McCarthy, Francisco, Wilson, and Nippert. I have German as a non-tender, but you never know. The raises plus money owed to Catalanotto and Padilla should put the Rangers in the low-$60MM range. They entered 2009 with a $68.2MM payroll according to Cot's Baseball Contracts, and MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan says it will be around $68-70MM again despite the team's unsettled ownership. I'd say the Rangers have $10MM to spend at most, but a year ago we learned that Young is really getting about $12MM per year. Factoring that in would give the Rangers another $4MM to work with.
Sullivan wrote a week ago that a right-handed bat is a high priority for Rangers GM Jon Daniels. Re-signing Marlon Byrd would be one solution, while Sullivan suggested Jermaine Dye, Marcus Thames, Vladimir Guerrero, Gary Sheffield, Troy Glaus, and Fernando Tatis could also fit. We listed a bunch of right-handed power options a month ago. We know that Cruz and Hamilton will take two of the Rangers' outfield spots; Daniels could look to improve upon Borbon at DH and/or Murphy at left field.
Cubs switch-hitter Milton Bradley could be the answer, if the Rangers can whittle the $21MM commitment down to $5-6MM. The idea of involving Millwood's contract has already been shot down. The Rangers also may look to acquire a backup catcher, with re-signing Ivan Rodriguez a possibility.
As for the pitching staff, Sullivan considers it the Rangers' "strongest area of depth." As you can see, their rotation is overflowing with candidates, though many are unproven. Sullivan feels that shopping the arbitration-eligible McCarthy would be wise. Should Feliz or Wilson be given the team's fifth starter job, the Rangers would probably look to augment their bullpen with a free agent or two.
Ben Sheets would be a rotation wild card. There's little harm in rekindling discussions with him, since it'd likely be an affordable one-year deal. But we could easily see talents like Feliz and Holland erase rotation concerns in 2010.
The Rangers were not an offensive powerhouse in 2009 – their .320 team OBP ranked 12th in the AL. Subtracting Hank Blalock and giving Davis a shorter leash should help there, as would getting more out of Kinsler, Hamilton, and Saltalamacchia. If a couple young arms break through in 2010, the Rangers should compete. Daniels doesn't have a ton of free cash, but he only needs to make minor additions.
Braves Announce Tim Hudson Extension
1:41pm: O'Brien says Hudson received a three-year, $28MM deal – $9MM annually plus a $1MM buyout on the option.
8:41am: The Braves announced Tim Hudson's extension today, according to Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He says it's a three-year deal worth around $9MM per year, with an option for 2013. Hudson's new deal overwrites the $12MM mutual option he had for 2010.
Yesterday, MLB.com's Mark Bowman wrote, "We've long known that the Braves are going to end up trading either Derek Lowe or Javier Vazquez." O'Brien feels that Kenshin Kawakami is another possibility. Bowman suggests that the Yankees or Angels could be suitors for Lowe, should they decide not to sign John Lackey. Vazquez could be extended if Lowe is moved.
Heyman On Damon, Lackey, Crede
After working the lobby all week at the Chicago GM Meetings, SI's Jon Heyman has the latest hot stove chatter…
- The Giants "appear to have emerged as one potential competitor" for the services of Johnny Damon.
- The Rangers met with John Lackey's agent yesterday, though they're not expected to have that kind of money available. Heyman adds that the Brewers and Mariners haven't ruled out signing the righty.
- Joe Crede is among the third base candidates the Orioles will consider. We heard about Adrian Beltre, Mark DeRosa, and Pedro Feliz earlier today.
- Lefty reliever Mike Gonzalez "appears very popular in the free agent market." If that's true, then the Braves figure to offer arbitration to Gonzalez, a Type A.
- Mets GM Omar Minaya said some teams have shown interest in second baseman Luis Castillo, and Heyman says the Dodgers have spoken to the Mets. Castillo has $12MM coming over the next two years and it might be time to sell relatively high.
Olney On Ausmus, Carroll, Prior, Penny
A few notes from ESPN's Buster Olney…
- Via Twitter, Olney's heard from other teams that the Reds would love to move closer Francisco Cordero. Of course, closers are plentiful and Cordero is set to earn $25MM over the next two years. I mentioned in our Reds Offseason Outlook that the team would have to eat half of that to make him mildly appealing. Similarly, the Indians would definitely listen on Kerry Wood, who is set to earn $20MM over the next two years.
- Olney believes other teams could join the Reds and Tigers in cost-cutting mode. He says the teams with payroll space "will be in position to make some excellent deals."
- Olney finds it unlikely that Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, or John Lackey will receive a $100MM contract.
- Catcher Brad Ausmus on 2010: "I could end up playing if somebody wants me."
- The A's are interested in free agent infielder Jamey Carroll. Ed Price of AOL FanHouse tweets that the Dodgers and at least seven other teams are also interested in Carroll.
- Mark Prior is throwing on flat ground and plans to audition for scouts. Prior, 29, most recently had shoulder surgery in June.
- The Giants are attempting to re-sign Brad Penny, who lost 12 pounds since the end of the season.
- Olney wonders if the Royals will dump more players before the December 12th non-tender deadline. I think Mike Jacobs, John Buck, and John Bale fit the bill.
- Olney's heard that the Phillies "will be aggressive in signing a set-up man/closer safety net," with Brad Lidge having flexor tendon surgery.
Phillies’ Third Base Targets
The Phillies have Placido Polanco, Mark DeRosa, and Adrian Beltre on their third base wish list, according to sources speaking to Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Salisbury adds that Chone Figgins and Miguel Tejada are also of interest, but to a lesser degree.
Phils GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told Salisbury he'd "rather do something early," but doesn't see that happening. DeRosa signed early with the Cubs three years ago, specifically on November 14th. Salisbury debates the merits of Polanco, DeRosa, and Beltre in his column. Which do you prefer? By the way, ESPN's Jayson Stark finds Figgins an unrealistic fit for the Phillies for a variety of reasons.
In other Phillies news, Salisbury notes Korean reports suggesting Chan Ho Park wants to start in 2010. Amaro has heard differently from Park's agent. Starting was a big factor in Park's decision to sign with the Phillies a year ago.