Vesting Options To Watch
A few vesting options to watch in September…
- Josh Beckett needs two more starts for his $12.1MM option to vest for 2010. It's not much of a story since the Red Sox would exercise that option anyway.
- The Rangers lose the ability to void Kevin Millwood's $12MM option for 2010 if he pitches 13 more innings this year. Back in March Rangers owner Tom Hicks said he wanted Millwood's option to vest, so he must be pleased with the pitcher's 3.61 ERA.
- Since he made the All-Star team, Freddy Sanchez's 2010 option for $8MM vests if he makes 159 additional plate appearances. That won't happen in one month. Sanchez's shoulder strain couldn't have come at a worse time.
- Magglio Ordonez's $18MM option for 2010 vests with 42 more plate appearances. He had 80 PAs in August with a .961 OPS, so Scott Boras will take issue with excessive benching.
Rodney Headed Toward Free Agency
A look at the American League saves leaderboard reveals some surprising names - David Aardsma with 32, Fernando Rodney with 30, and Andrew Bailey with 21.
Rodney, 33 this March, won the Tigers' closer job over Brandon Lyon in Spring Training despite trade rumors, shoulder problems, and a 4.91 ERA in 2008. Along with those 30 saves this year, Rodney cut his ERA to 3.22 despite his typical shaky control. Couple the walks with Rodney's age and injury history, and he'll make for a risky signing after the season.
Nonetheless, Lynn Henning of the Detroit News sees Rodney getting two or three years at $8-10MM per on the free agent market. Rodney's current salary, $2.7MM, was decided prior to his success in the ninth inning. Henning believes Rodney will be priced out of the Tigers' range for 2010 and beyond. Last we checked Rodney projected as a Type B, but a good September could make him an A. It certainly makes sense for the Tigers to at least offer arbitration.
Will Rodney get Kerry Wood ($20.5MM over two years) or even Brian Fuentes ($17.5MM over two years) money this winter? He'll be joined on the free agent market by closers such as Trevor Hoffman, Rafael Soriano, Mike Gonzalez, Jose Valverde, and perhaps Billy Wagner.
Royals May Part With Catchers This Winter
The Royals may be ready to cut ties with catchers John Buck and Miguel Olivo this winter, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. Buck is a non-tender candidate, while Olivo has a $3.3MM mutual option. Dutton also speaks of mixed reviews on rookie catcher Brayan Pena. My take: if the Royals decide to enter the free agent market, they can consider names such as Rod Barajas, Ramon Hernandez, Jason Kendall, Bengie Molina, Ivan Rodriguez, Brian Schneider, and Jason Varitek. Arizona's Chris Snyder could potentially be available via trade.
Dutton traces Buck's history as a major piece in the Carlos Beltran deal. The 29 year-old has a career-best .446 SLG in limited playing time, but he's never mustered an OBP above .308 in his career. He's easy to run on as well, unlike Olivo. Olivo changed his mind and re-signed with the Royals in November once he was promised the starting gig. He has better power than Buck but is even worse at getting on base. I think Pena deserves a better shot; he's only 28 in January and he's showing improved power this year. He seems just as good as most of the options listed above.
Cardinals Extend Ryan Franklin, Trever Miller
11:20pm: Goold has the contract details. As he mentioned before, Franklin gets about $6.5MM plus incentives for 2010-11. As for Miller:
The contract finalized Sunday picks up and guarantees all of his bonuses for this season — some $680K worth for appearances yet to come — and pays him $2MM for next year. Miller has a $2MM vesting option for 2011. It triggers a $1MM buyout if he makes 45 appearances in 2010 and does not go on the disabled list with the shoulder imperfection discovered in the physical.
2:40pm: The Cardinals extended the contracts of relievers Ryan Franklin and Trever Miller, according to Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter). Franklin's deal runs through 2011, while Miller's is through 2010 with a vesting option for '11. Here's the press release from the Cardinals; terms are not yet known.
Franklin stepped into the Cardinals' closer role this year and saved 35 games in 37 tries. His 1.05 ERA is obviously not sustainable, as Franklin has been oddly unhittable and his flyballs have not left the yard. That said, it's hard to see fault in the two-year, $6.5MM price suggested by Derrick Goold of the P-D. Goold says Franklin can earn incentives if he remains the team's closer.
Lefty specialist Miller has answered the bell by holding southpaws to a .100/.161/.175 line this year. As a free agent signing in December, Miller was guaranteed only $500K by the Cardinals due to concerns they had about his shoulder.
Discussion: AL Rookie Of The Year
Let's get away from the hot stove for one post and talk about the American League Rookie of the Year candidates. Rattling off some of the top names: Nolan Reimold, Elvis Andrus, Gordon Beckham, Brett Gardner, Andrew Bailey, Brad Bergesen, Jeff Niemann, Ricky Romero, Jose Mijares, Tommy Hunter, Rick Porcello, Brett Anderson, and Scott Richmond. Who's been the most valuable rookie in 2009? And which of these players would you most want on your team moving forward?
The last few AL ROY winners: Evan Longoria, Dustin Pedroia, Justin Verlander, Huston Street, and Bobby Crosby.
Odds & Ends: Diamond, Penny, Pelekoudas
Links for Tuesday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- The Rangers designated pitcher Thomas Diamond for assignment, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Diamond was the 10th overall pick in the 2004 draft. He was considered the #52 prospect in the game by Baseball America in '05, but he had Tommy John surgery in '07 and dealt with shoulder soreness this year.
- ESPN's Buster Olney says the Angels were in on Brad Penny, with a bullpen role in mind.
- Stephen Strasburg has a few things to learn about dealing with media attention, says John Feinstein of the Washington Post.
- Mariners Associate GM Lee Pelekoudas has resigned to pursue other career opportunities, according to a team press release. Pelekoudas was the Ms' interim GM before Jack Zduriencik was hired. He spent 30 years in the organization.
- USA Today's Paul White writes about the stigma of a college degree for ballplayers.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star suggests newly-extended GM Dayton Moore, and not the Glass family, is accountable for the Royals' future performance.
- Reliever Luis Ayala, recently designated for assignment by the Marlins after pitching badly, was upset by the team's "lack of respect" (Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reporting). Ayala earned $1.3MM for his 5.63 ERA this year in 40 innings.
Garland, Contreras Trade Reactions
A couple of heroes of the 2005 postseason, Jon Garland and Jose Contreras, were acquired by NL West teams yesterday. Let's round up reaction links.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports likes the stability Garland provides the Dodgers, and wonders if they should exercise his $10MM option for 2010. The Rockies and Rangers both had interest in Garland, who turns 30 this month. His contract states that he cannot be offered arbitration if he's a Type A free agent, but that's irrelevant since Garland is currently battling just for Type B status. ESPN's Buster Olney says the D'Backs are paying the entire freight for Garland, so the Dodgers will give up a decent player (we don't know who yet).
- Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post says the Rockies acquired Contreras as a reaction to Aaron Cook's injury. Contreras was the consolation prize after the Rox were unable to meet the D'Backs' demands for Garland. The Sox will pay most of Contreras' remaining $2.7MM, compelling the Rockies to send pitching prospect Brandon Hynick to Chicago. Hynick talked to Jack Etkin of Inside The Rockies about the trade. Baseball America says he profiles as a back of the rotation innings eater, in their latest Handbook.
- How do you rank the recent NL West rotation additions, weighing these two moves and the Giants' signing of Brad Penny? Most folks would probably be inclined to say Garland, Penny, Contreras, but in one month's time anything can happen. All three pitchers have free agency as extra motivation.
Discussion: J.J. Hardy
When the Brewers demoted slumping shortstop J.J. Hardy on August 12th, GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that the move was performance-based and was not done to delay his free agency by a year. Talking to Anthony Witrado of the JS yesterday, Hardy and his agent Mike Seal publicly called BS on Melvin. After all, the Brewers chose the latest possible date to demote Hardy and still ensure he would not become a free agent until after the 2011 season. Melvin would point to Hardy's .229/.300/.367 batting line. Which side are you on?
Hardy was initially OK with the demotion, until his agent informed him of the Brewers' perfect timing. The Brewers may prefer the younger, cheaper Alcides Escobar as their shortstop moving forward, making Hardy a prime offseason trade candidate. Even with a pay cut, Hardy will make at least $3.7MM in 2010 if tendered a contract. That seems a worthwhile gamble – FanGraphs had Hardy as a 4+ win player in each of the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
Which teams might pursue the 27 year-old shortstop? Rumors linking Boston to Hardy date back to at least June. Perhaps the Twins could renew their winter interest. The Blue Jays and A's may also make sense.
Hendry Noncommittal On Harden’s Future
Cubs starter Rich Harden has piled up 152 strikeouts in 129 innings this year, and doesn't turn 28 until November 30th. With a strong, healthy September, the oft-injured righty could be a hot commodity on the free agent market after the season. Will the Cubs attempt to re-sign him? Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times couldn't get much out of GM Jim Hendry, who has to sort through Harden's health outlook and contract demands, as well as his team's ownership situation. Wittenmyer says Hendry "seems interested in the idea" of bringing Harden back, and the pitcher would like to stay.
At the least, it'd make sense for the Cubs to offer arbitration to Harden after the season. He currently projects as a Type A free agent, meaning the Cubs would snag two draft picks if he rejects an arb offer to sign elsewhere. Arb offers are not always obvious to predict, however – I was surprised last year when GMs chose not to make offers to players such as Bobby Abreu, Pat Burrell, Adam Dunn, Randy Wolf, and Kerry Wood (several of those decisions showed excellent foresight).
As for the Twins' recent waiver claim of Harden, Hendry called it a non-story. A dozen Cubs were claimed on waivers and pulled back, Aaron Heilman also among them. What's surprising to me is that no NL team thought Harden merited a claim.
Thome Trade Reactions
The White Sox sent designated hitter Jim Thome to the Dodgers last night, paying part of his remaining $2.4MM salary and receiving 26 year-old High A shortstop Justin Fuller ("just a player," according to Mark Gonzales' Dodgers source). Thome is hitting .249/.372/.493 in 417 plate appearances on the season.
The Sox are in third place in the AL Central, six games back (they've lost eight of their last nine). Baseball Prospectus puts Chicago's playoff chances at about 5.6%. Sox fans: would you have preferred to see Ken Williams focus on that 1 in 18 chance, and retain Thome? On to our links…
- In this ESPN story, Dodgers manager Joe Torre wouldn't rule out the idea of using Thome at first base occasionally. But GM Ned Colletti rejected the notion, and said Thome suggested it'd have to be an emergency situation. So Thome will mostly be a pinch-hitter, though he could DH if the Dodgers reach the World Series.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says Williams "shifted from buyer to seller in record time," given the recent acquisitions of Jake Peavy and Alex Rios. The Sox have Peavy through 2012 and Rios through 2014. Rosenthal also praises Colletti's many trade improvements (Thome, George Sherrill, Jon Garland, Ron Belliard), again done on a limited budget.
- Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Tribune thinks Williams threw in the towel too early.
- Sox Machine runs through many interesting implications of the trade, including the chance to get a good look at Tyler Flowers. South Side Sox wonders if the good vibes could compel Thome to re-sign for 2010. Both blogs gripe about Chicago's July 7th Brandon Allen–Tony Pena deal.
- Thome projected as a Type A free agent in the American League; we'll get you his NL status later today. It's a moot point, as the Dodgers seem unlikely to offer arbitration.