Cubs Discussing Contract With John Grabow
The Cubs are still discussing a new contract with lefty reliever John Grabow, according to ESPN Chicago's Bruce Levine. Levine says they're talking about a two-year deal in the $6.5-7.5MM range (plus incentives), with Grabow's agent pushing for a third-year vesting option.
I still don't understand the Cubs' infatuation with Grabow, who turns 31 in a few days. He managed a 3.36 ERA in 72.3 innings, but walked 40 and had an xFIP over 4.90. If you're tight on payroll there are better ways to spend $3-4MM.
Offseason Outlook: Minnesota Twins
Next up in our Offseason Outlook series, the Twins. Their likely commitments for 2010:
C – Joe Mauer – $12.5MM
C – Jose Morales – $400K
1B – Justin Morneau – $14MM
2B – Alexi Casilla – $428K
SS – Nick Punto – $4MM
3B – Brendan Harris – $466K+
IF – Matt Tolbert – $405K
IF – Brian Buscher – $413K
LF – Delmon Young – $1.152MM+
CF – Denard Span – $435K
RF – Michael Cuddyer – $8.5MM
OF – Carlos Gomez – $438K+
DH – Jason Kubel – $4.1MM
SP – Scott Baker – $3MM
SP – Nick Blackburn – $440K
SP – Kevin Slowey – $440K
SP – Glen Perkins – $430K
SP – Francisco Liriano – $430K+
Other candidates: Brian Duensing, Anthony Swarzak
RP – Joe Nathan – $11.25MM
RP – Jon Rauch – $2.9MM
RP – Jesse Crain – $1.7MM+
RP – Matt Guerrier – $1.475MM+
RP – Pat Neshek – $440K+
RP – Brian Duensing – $400K
RP – Jose Mijares – $400K
Other candidates: Bobby Keppel, Jeff Manship
Non-tender candidates: Boof Bonser, Delmon Young
The Twins have about $70.5MM committed before arbitration raises to Harris, Young, Gomez, Liriano, Crain, Guerrier, and Neshek. (Perkins is considering a grievance over missing Super Two status). They'll be in the high $70MMs range if all those players are tendered contracts. The Twins entered the '09 season at $65.3MM, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts. Fortunately, there's a rumor payroll could jump to the $90-100MM range with the new stadium opening in 2010.
Smith's areas of focus should be second base, shortstop, and third base. Second base options are plentiful on the free agent market. Among shortstops Smith would be well-served to target Milwaukee's J.J. Hardy, but Hardy should have multiple suitors. Adrian Beltre and Troy Glaus could be interesting third base considerations.
The Twins are set in the outfield, though there's a case to be made for non-tendering Young and using that money for a left field/DH type.
The rotation has question marks behind Baker and Blackburn. Slowey is coming back from wrist surgery, Perkins from a shoulder injury, and Liriano from post-Tommy John elbow issues. Duensing had a 2.73 ERA in nine starts, though his peripheral stats were less inspiring. The Twins will have to find the Carl Pavano of 2010, an innings eater who can be had for a few million bucks.
Trading Nathan should be considered; he's owed $24.5MM over the next two seasons. He might bring a few decent pieces in return, and the savings could be used to add a veteran starter and/or late-inning reliever. On the other hand, the market will be flooded with closers this winter and the Twins could be starved for suitors.
Additionally, the Twins will attempt to sign Mauer long-term. Even with a hometown discount this might require a $100MM commitment.
Last winter, Smith used his budget to re-sign Punto and add Joe Crede and Luis Ayala. He supplemented those moves with the midseason additions of Orlando Cabrera, Ron Mahay, Pavano, and Rauch. The shuffling should continue this winter, as the Twins continue to seek infield solutions. With the pitching depth taking a hit, Smith will need every penny of that increased payroll.
Manny Ramirez Rumor Shot Down
2:21pm: Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times says (via Twitter) that Dodgers GM Ned Colletti shot down the rumor below. By the way, Hernandez just joined Twitter, so get following!
12:16pm: From Bob Keisser of the Long Beach Press-Telegram (hat tip to Diamond Leung):
A baseball insider says the club has been contacted by an American League team that is interested in Manny Ramirez if the team will pay part of his $20 million salary for 2010. It's a team that plays in a very mediocre division, has a few team officials familiar with Ramirez, and always needs a bump in notoriety.
MLBTR has not referenced a rumor from Keisser in its four-year history, but let's explore this one anyway.
SI's Jon Heyman wrote Wednesday that Manny "is planning to exercise" his $20MM player option. Manny hit well in 2009, but a 50-game PED suspension marred his season.
As for Keisser's clues, he appears to be referring to the AL Central. Did the Twins, Tigers, White Sox, Indians, or Royals express interest in Manny? Indians GM Mark Shapiro crossed paths with Ramirez. The Tigers' David Chadd worked for the Red Sox when Manny was there. Do any of the other teams have officials familiar with the slugger? In general, do you buy this rumor?
Jarrod Washburn Discusses The Future
MLB.com's Jim Street talked to free agent lefty Jarrod Washburn recently. Washburn, a 35-year-old Scott Boras client, posted a 3.78 ERA in 176 innings this year for the Mariners and Tigers. A few highlights from their chat:
- Back in Spring Training, Washburn was planning to retire after the '09 season. He wasn't enjoying the game anymore. However, Washburn's improved performance and the Mariners' clubhouse chemistry ended the retirement plans.
- Washburn will be ready for Spring Training 2010 after having his knee cleaned out surgically. He said the knee limited him with the Tigers, for whom he posted a 7.33 ERA in 43 innings.
- Washburn says the Mariners are "definitely toward the top of my list." His desired contract length is unknown, except that he doesn't want to play for another four years. It's not known whether the Mariners want him back. SI's Jon Heyman expects the Brewers to be in the mix; Washburn was born in Wisconsin.
- Washburn's performance with the Tigers pushed him out of Type B status, so there's no reason for them to offer arbitration.
Discussion: Russell Branyan
On December 3rd, new Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik made his first free agent signing: Russell Branyan on a one-year, $1.4MM deal with $350K in incentives. Zduriencik said at the time he was prepared to "give Russell as many at-bats as he's had in his career." That held true, as Branyan racked up 505 plate appearances in 2009. The playing time led to a .251/.347/.520 line with a career-best 31 home runs. However, perhaps due to a back injury, Branyan was only productive for the season's first three months.
Based on comments made by Zduriencik and Branyan, interest in a new contract is mutual. Branyan turns 34 in December, and his rough finish to the season should lead to another one-year deal (perhaps with a club option for 2011). The Mariners have money to spend, though Mike Carp is lurking after hitting .271/.372/.446 at Triple A. Since the Ms have a DH vacancy as well, they could easily fit in both players if Carp shows he can hit big league pitching.
The stars are aligned for Branyan to re-sign with the Mariners. What would constitute a fair offer? FanGraphs valued Branyan's performance at $12.5MM this year, and the free agent market typically overvalues power. Branyan can point out that among free agents, only Jason Bay hit more home runs.
Trade Market: Left Fielders
Looking to trade for a left fielder? This entry in the Trade Market series has you covered. We covered free agent left fielders here.
- Carl Crawford, Rays. Crawford's $10MM (plus escalators) club option for 2010 should be exercised soon. Crawford has said he'd like to sign an extension this winter or else play out the 2010 season and try free agency. In a September mailbag, Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times considered a winter Crawford trade "very unlikely" but a July trade possible if the Rays fall out of contention. The 28-year-old speedster hit .305/.364/.452 in 672 plate appearances this year.
- Carlos Lee, Astros. Lee is owed a hefty $55.5MM over the next three seasons, and he has a full no-trade clause in 2010. There's no indication the Astros are trying to move him, but the payroll flexibility wouldn't hurt.
- Josh Willingham, Nationals. Willingham, 31 in February, hit .260/.367/.496 in 502 plate appearances this year. He's due an arbitration raise on his '09 salary of $2.95MM. Willingham and Adam Dunn drew interest at the trade deadline, but GM Mike Rizzo set a high asking price.
- Adam Dunn, Nationals. Dunn was named in our first baseman post, but he did play 505 innings in left field this year.
- Juan Pierre, Dodgers. Assuming Manny Ramirez exercises his $20MM player option, the Dodgers could attempt to trade Pierre. Pierre is owed $18.5MM over the next two seasons. His .365 OBP this year was his best since 2004.
- David DeJesus, Royals. DeJesus has appeared in stray rumors over the years. He's owed $4.7MM next year and has a $6MM club option for '11. He posted a .281/.347/.434 line and plays a strong left field.
- Chase Headley, Padres. With Kevin Kouzmanoff manning third base for the Padres, Headley spent most of his time in left field. He didn't show much pop, tallying a .262/.342/.392 line in his first full season. To his credit, he hit .305/.377/.426 away from Petco and had a similar split last year. The Padres may decide to trade Kouzmanoff and put Headley back at third base.
- Jose Bautista, Blue Jays. We discussed him in our third baseman post, but Bautista logged 322 innings in left field this year.
- Delmon Young, Twins. It's not crazy to consider Young a non-tender candidate after 2009's weak .284/.308/.425 line and dismal defense. Still, Young is only 24 and was considered the best prospect in baseball a few years ago. Would a second change of scenery help?
- Eric Byrnes, Diamondbacks. The D'Backs figure to attempt to trade Byrnes before eating the entire $11MM he's owed. Byrnes could be part of a bad contract swap.
- Jack Cust, Athletics. Cust is a DH at heart, but he played 401 innings in right field this year and 585.6 in left field in '08. He's a non-tender candidate after slipping to .240/.356/.417 this year. The A's could try to move him before that December 12th decision comes due (Cust earned $2.8MM this year).
- Luke Scott, Orioles. Scott, 31, spent most of his time at DH this year. He logged 199 innings in left field after getting 840 in '08. Bolstered by a huge May, Scott posted a .258/.340/.488 line this year. He's due an arbitration raise on his $2.4MM salary.
- Marcus Thames, Tigers. Thames could be non-tendered after earning $2.275MM to hit .252/.323/.453 in 294 PAs. He tallied 125 innings in left this year after 488 in '08.
- Matt Murton, Rockies. Murton, 28, toiled in Triple A most of the year, hitting .324/.389/.499 at Colorado Springs. He did a decent job when he last played regularly in the Majors for the Cubs.
Odds & Ends: Chapman, Bradley, Rays, Twins
Links for Monday…
- Offers have begun rolling in for Aroldis Chapman, says ESPN's Keith Law. Also, MLB.com's Carrie Muskat says the Cubs talked to Chapman's agent but he "doesn't fit in their budget."
- ESPN's Peter Gammons tweets that Red Sox Director of Player Development Mike Hazen declined Jed Hoyer's offer to become the Padres' assistant GM.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan says the Rangers "refused to rule out the possibility of Milton Bradley coming back to Texas." Sullivan wasn't willing to allow the possibility a month ago, when he wrote, "The Rangers are not interested in Bradley. Sources have made that clear. He is not coming back. So stop it." Back in September, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram said Bradley "pushed himself way down the wish list with his comments, and probably pushed himself off it completely."
- R.J. Anderson of DRays Bay reflects on the Matt Garza–Delmon Young trade.
- Aaron Gleeman runs through free agent second baseman options for the Twins. Also check out our free agent and trade candidates posts for second base.
- Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times talked to former Rays GM Chuck LaMar about the trade that sent Chad Gaudin to the Blue Jays for Kevin Cash.
Week In Review: 10/25/09 – 10/31-09
Baseball's hot stove season begins after the World Series, but we still had action during the last week of October.
- Manny Acta was hired to manage the Indians, which led to the Astros hiring Brad Mills. Tony La Russa's extension with the Cardinals was announced; it's a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2011. La Russa is bringing Mark McGwire with him as the Cards' new hitting coach.
- Jed Hoyer was announced as the Padres' new GM; he replaced Kevin Towers. Hoyer signed a four-year contract with a club option for 2014. Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd and manager Jim Tracy are close to three-year agreements.
- Catcher Kenji Johjima opted out of his Mariners contract on October 19th, leaving $16MM on the table. On Tuesday he reached an agreement with the Hanshin Tigers for four years and around $21MM.
- The Rays re-signed outfielder Gabe Kapler to a one-year, $1.05MM deal, a slight raise on last year's salary. The Astros re-upped infielder Geoff Blum for one year and $1.5MM, with a mutual option for 2011. The biggest signing of the week goes to the Giants, who inked Freddy Sanchez to a two-year, $12MM extension. Sanchez is off the market, but remaining free agent second basemen include Akinori Iwamura (club option), Mark DeRosa, Orlando Hudson, Adam Kennedy, Felipe Lopez, Ronnie Belliard, Placido Polanco, and Juan Uribe.
- Righty Tim Hudson was expected to sign a three-year extension worth around $27MM by the end of the week. If an agreement was reached, the Braves are keeping it under wraps. Perhaps they're still hammering out details.
- Several players became free agents, including Tyler Yates, Chris Coste, Noah Lowry, Edgar Gonzalez, and Jack Taschner. View our full 2010 MLB free agents list here.
- Alex Anthopoulos' first move as Blue Jays' GM was a quiet one: he claimed pitcher Sean Henn off waivers from the Orioles.
- The Orioles declined two options: third baseman Melvin Mora for $8MM and catcher Chad Moeller for $850K. Moeller is still expected to return. The Astros declined their $2.85MM option on reliever Doug Brocail.
- Gary Matthews Jr. wants to be traded and does not realize how undesirable he is. Speaking of bad contracts, we listed a slew of them here.
- We summed up the Aroldis Chapman sweepstakes. Chapman visited with the Red Sox and Orioles this week, while the Tigers and Mariners were added to the list of suitors.
- SI's Jon Heyman reported that Manny Ramirez is "planning to exercise" his $20MM player option for 2010.
- Albert Pujols told 101 ESPN in St. Louis that he wants to be a Cardinal for life. Pujols is basically under contract through 2011 already.
- Free agent left fielder Jason Bay chatted with fans at WEEI.com, and said he wouldn't be limited by geography.
- We analyzed the trade market for all five infield positions: catcher, first base, second base, shortstop, and third base.
- We did Offseason Outlooks for the Braves, Tigers, and Mariners.
- Ben Nicholson-Smith's Trades of the Decade series included famous deals involving Bartolo Colon, Scott Kazmir, and Ken Griffey Jr.
Trade Market: Third Basemen
Next up in our Trade Market series, third basemen. Click here to see our take on the free agent market for the position.
- Dan Uggla, Marlins. Uggla is a second baseman, so we discussed him here. He last played third base for the '05 Tennessee Smokies, for what it's worth. If a team acquired him and asked him to switch, he wouldn't have much of a choice.
- Jorge Cantu, Marlins. Cantu had an entry in our first basemen post, but he did log 355 innings at the hot corner this year and 1066.6 last year. His defense at third base left much to be desired.
- Kevin Kouzmanoff, Padres. How valuable is Kouzmanoff? The 28-year-hit .255/.302/.420 this year in 573 plate appearances after a similar offensive line last year. He's solid defensively, according to UZR/150. Kouzmanoff will be arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter, so his salary should jump into the $3-4MM range. That he's a competent third baseman gives him value, but teams may not be jumping to add his .300 OBP.
- Mark Teahen, Royals. Teahen, 28, hit .271/.325/.408 this year while playing third base, right field, and a little bit of first and second base. His defense has not rated well lately. Since Teahen is due a raise on this year's $3.575MM salary, he's a non-tender candidate.
- Mat Gamel, Brewers. Casey McGehee will be the Brewers' starting third baseman next year, and Gamel won't be moved to the outfield. What's more, Brewers assistant GM Gord Ash admitted last month that the team might have to take some risks and consider trading top prospects. Put it all together, and Gamel might be traded for pitching this winter. The 24-year-old has yet to really crush Triple A pitching; he hit .278/.367/.473 in 320 plate appearances this year. He struggled defensively at third base in the minors.
- Neil Walker, Pirates. Walker is currently playing winter ball; he hopes to steal Andy LaRoche's at-bats at third base in 2010 before Pedro Alvarez arrives. Walker complained in August that he wasn't one of Neal Huntington's guys, though he was called up weeks later. He hit .264/.311/.480 in his second full season at Triple A.
- Brandon Wood, Angels. Wood was named in our shortstops post, but he's spent time at third base in his career.
- Garrett Atkins, Rockies. Atkins is highly likely to be non-tendered after earning $7.05MM this year. If there's a team willing to give the Rockies a useful player and pay Atkins a similar amount in 2010, he will be traded. Count on the non-tender.
- Ramon Vazquez, Pirates. Vazquez didn't play much third base this year, but did get 1073.3 innings there in 2007-08 for the Rangers. He's set to earn $2MM next year and is coming off a .230/.335/.279 performance.
- Jose Bautista, Blue Jays. Bautista, 29, hit .235/.349/.408 in 404 plate appearances this year while playing third base, left field, right field, and even a few games in center. He continued to crush lefties and defend well. He earned $2.4MM this year and it wouldn't be a mistake to tender him a contract. Maybe the Jays will shop Bautista or Edwin Encarnacion, or maybe they'll stand pat since Alex Rios won't be with the club in 2010.
- Josh Fields, White Sox. Fields, 27 in December, hit .222/.301/.347 in 268 plate appearances this year. He hoped for a trade deadline deal, but it didn't happen.
Astros Re-Sign Geoff Blum
The Astros re-signed infielder Geoff Blum to a one-year deal, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. The deal is worth $1.5MM in 2010 and has a $1.65MM mutual option for '11. Blum, 37 in April, hit .247/.314/.367 this year in 427 plate appearances while playing mostly third base. Hopefully the Astros envision more of a utility role for Blum next year, though he does appear solid defensively at the hot corner.
In other team news, McTaggart says the Astros hired Brad Arnsberg, formerly of the Blue Jays, as their new pitching coach.