Nationals Have Six Players For Four Spots
As Chico Harlan of the Washington Post explains, the Nationals now have six players for four spots following the Adam Dunn signing. Harlan says the Nats prefer Dunn in left field if Nick Johnson is healthy, leaving Josh Willingham‘s role in question. Here’s a look at the six players:
- Adam Dunn: Agreed to play first base or left field. Two-year, $20MM deal to become official today.
- Nick Johnson: Has never played anywhere but first base. Wants to play every day, but spent most of 2007-08 on the DL for leg and wrist injuries. He’s fine with a trade. Set to earn $5.5MM in ’09 in last year before free agency. OBP machine.
- Josh Willingham: Acquired along with Scott Olsen in November. Missed 50 games in ’08 with back issues. 2009 is his first arb year; he submitted $3.6MM vs. $2.55MM from the Nats. Free agent-eligible after 2011 season. Has mainly played LF in big league career (68 innings at catcher, 3 at first base).
- Austin Kearns: Friend of Dunn from Cincinnati days. Owed $9MM for ’09 (includes $1MM buyout for ’10). Has experience as CF and RF. Dealt with elbow, foot injuries in ’08.
- Lastings Milledge: Experience at all three OF positions. Turns 24 in April. Under team control through 2012. Didn’t hit much outside of August. Manny Acta committed to him as the center fielder.
- Elijah Dukes: Experience at all three OF positions. Turns 25 in June. Under team control through 2013. .972 OPS after All-Star break in 29 games (dealt with calf/knee injuries). Paid back child support; will not face prison time.
Two more, not mentioned by Harlan as those considered potential everyday players:
- Willie Harris: Signed two-year, $3MM extension in December. Has played all three OF positions and 2B in his career, plus a small amount of SS and 3B. FanGraphs valued his ’08 defense so highly that they calculated him to be worth $14.6MM overall.
- Wily Mo Pena: Exercised $2MM player option in October after Nationals declined $5MM club option. Shoulder surgery in July. Recently turned 27; had .472 career SLG prior to ’08.
The Nats also have Corey Patterson in camp on a minor league deal. Seems like he chose the wrong team.
Angels, Bobby Abreu Reach Agreement
9:55pm: According to Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times, incentives could raise the value of the contract above $6MM.
3:42pm: Crasnick says the Angels and Abreu have reached a preliminary agreement. It’ll be a done deal once he passes his physical and the Angels remove Nick Green from the 40-man to make room. Also:
The Braves have also expressed serious interest in Abreu, but sources said Atlanta’s budget is so tight that general manager Frank Wren would have to stretch to give him a $5MM salary.
11:44am: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick says the Angels and Abreu moved closer to a deal, but are still negotiating incentives that could be worth a million or two.
8:33am: According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, the Angels and Bobby Abreu reached an agreement on a one-year deal worth a little more than $5MM plus incentives.
Abreu, 35 in March, hit .296/.371/.471 in 684 plate appearances for the Yankees last year while playing poor defense. He earned $16MM in ’08. Many questioned Brian Cashman’s decision not to offer arbitration to Abreu, a Type A free agent. The decision was wise, as Abreu ended up taking a 69% pay cut in base salary. At the beginning of the offseason, most people expected him to get multiple years and at least $10MM per. Abreu’s agent Peter Greenberg remarked to Larry Stone on January 30th:
"He might take a one-year deal so that he can — in his words — win the MVP and go out on the market again. He’s definitely motivated. Not that he’s not usually, but he has extra motivation."
In Abreu, the Angels add some much-needed OBP to a team that ranked 11th in the AL last year in the crucial stat.
Blue Jays Sign Kevin Millar
4:00pm: The Blue Jays have a press release out.
3:16pm: According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the Blue Jays and Kevin Millar reached an agreement on a minor league deal. Millar, 37, hit .234/.323/.394 in 610 plate appearances for the Orioles last year. Rosenthal notes that Millar has been in the AL East since the Red Sox snagged him in February of ’03.
Rosenthal On Lefty Relievers, Bobby Crosby
New information from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
The top free agent lefty relievers may sign this week. Will Ohman received three offers in recent days and four total; he could sign today or tomorrow. Back on February 5th, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick linked the Mets and Phillies to Ohman after talking to his agent. Rosenthal does not indicate which clubs made the offers, however. The Dodgers are in on Joe Beimel, who they declined to offer arbitration to in December. Dennys Reyes continues to draw interest from the Dodgers and A’s.
Rosenthal adds that the A’s want to save their money for Orlando Cabrera, who would replace Bobby Crosby at shortstop. The Padres would not have interest in Crosby.
Odds and Ends: Garland, Lindstrom, Angels
Links for Wednesday…
- I cleaned up the 2010 free agent list a bit, eliminating a few guys who will not have six years service time after ’09. For example, Tim Redding. He’ll be a Met in 2010 unless they non-tender him.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic learned that if Jon Garland is traded this season and is a Type A free agent afterwards, his new team cannot offer him arbitration.
- Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald has an interesting profile on Marlins closer Matt Lindstrom.
- RotoAuthority gathers comments from readers on their favorite fantasy league provider. Yahoo leagues are open for registration, by the way.
- Sam Miller of the OC Register lists possible trade pieces for the Angels if they are able to finish up the Bobby Abreu contract.
Miguel Tejada Admits Lying
WEDNESDAY: Tejada pleaded guilty to lying and "admitted buying what he believed was human growth hormone." He figures to get probation.
TUESDAY: According to Del Quentin Wilber and Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post, Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada "was charged today with lying to congressional investigators about the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball." Specifically, Tejada is charged with lying to investigators about having conversations with another player (Adam Piatt) about performance-enhancing drugs.
D’Backs Could Re-Sign Juan Cruz
WEDNESDAY: Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says a D’Backs reunion with Cruz is unlikely, because they’d lose the chance at a compensation pick.
MONDAY: On Friday, ESPN’s Jayson Stark mentioned that the Diamondbacks "do have some interest in bringing back Juan Cruz in the right deal." Cruz’s Type A status and rejection of Arizona’s offer of arbitration has crippled his market.
Today MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert confirms Stark’s note, writing that the D’Backs have discussed re-signing Cruz. We learned when the D’Backs signed Jon Garland that recent circumstances have freed up cash for Arizona. Cruz, 30, boasts huge strikeout rates but has poor control.
Uggla’s Arbitration Hearing Is Today
According to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald, Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla will have his arbitration hearing today. The Marlins submitted $4.4MM, while Uggla is at $5.35MM. Uggla will sit in on the proceedings.
Royals Monitoring Free Agent Market
The Royals are leaving the door ajar for a free agent addition or midseason move, says Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. Team owner David Glass had this to say:
"Being as candid as I can, we’re close to where we’re going to have to be on payroll. But you still can make some moves. One thing that I want to make sure we do is have the flexibility where at midseason, if we’re in this thing, we have the opportunity to improve this team."
Royals GM Dayton Moore on the topic:
"We’ll continue to look at names, and we’re monitoring how things are unfolding with some of the remaining players. But if we add (payroll), we’re going to have to subtract."
The salary of new first baseman Mike Jacobs remains undetermined, with the team submitting $2.75MM and Jacobs at $3.8MM. Aside from Jacobs, the Royals added about $16MM in ’09 salaries this winter by bringing in Coco Crisp, Kyle Farnsworth, Miguel Olivo, Horacio Ramirez, Doug Waechter, and Willie Bloomquist.
Dutton notes that the Royals had previous interest in Orlando Hudson and Orlando Cabrera, but remain reluctant to lose their second-round pick even if the middle infielders come at bargain prices.
Yankees Won’t Void A-Rod’s Contract Or Trade Him
As expected, the Yankees won’t try to void Alex Rodriguez‘s contract or trade him in the wake of news about his 2001-03 steroid use. George A. King III and Mark Hale of the New York Post asked Hank Steinbrenner about the possibility of voiding the deal, and he said, "No, no…it’s simply…that’s it basically." Steinbrenner also chuckled/giggled when asked about attempting to trade A-Rod.