Orioles Avoid Arb With Luke Scott
According to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun, the Orioles avoided arbitration with Luke Scott by signing him at $2.4MM for ’09. George Sherrill‘s case remains unresolved.
Prince Fielder Staying Put
Adam Mertz of The Capital Times talked with Brewers GM Doug Melvin yesterday. Melvin was asked whether he would commit to Prince Fielder for the entire year, and the GM replied, "Yeah." Melvin said he never discussed a Fielder trade and hasn’t received inquiries on his first baseman. Melvin doesn’t seem too worried about settling Fielder’s ’09 salary with Scott Boras.
Mertz also learned that Melvin expects Ben Sheets to sign elsewhere, though the door remains open.
Quinlan, Taschner, Thompson Avoid Arb
Three more players avoided arbitration, according to the AP’s Ronald Blum: Robb Quinlan ($1.1MM), Jack Taschner ($835K), and Brad Thompson ($650K). We should have a full list of those who exchanged figures at some point this afternoon.
Tigers Sign Juan Rincon
According to the AP, the Tigers signed reliever Juan Rincon to a minor league deal. Rincon, 30 in a few days, posted a 5.86 ERA in 55.3 innings with the Twins and Indians last year. Rincon’s control and ability to get groundballs has slipped in recent times.
Brewers Avoid Arb With Seth McClung
According to Tom Haudricourt, the Brewers avoided arbitration with pitcher Seth McClung by agreeing to a deal for ’09. Ronald Blum says it’s for $1.6625MM. McClung, 28 next month, continued to struggle with his control but had his best season in 2008. The Brewers still have three big ones left in Prince Fielder, Corey Hart, and Rickie Weeks.
Jason Repko Wants A Trade
TUESDAY: Repko’s agent says he’s been asking for a trade for the past two years. They don’t see much opportunity for Repko in the Dodgers’ outfield. Ned Colletti’s response: "It’s all about production. That is all I’m going to say."
MONDAY: According to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times, the Dodgers avoided arbitration with outfielder Jason Repko by signing him for $500K plus incentives for ’09. Ken Gurnick says he can earn an additional $90K.
Repko, 28, hasn’t done much at the Major League level. In his second extended stint at Triple A, he hit .283/.373/.449.
Athletics Interested In Russ Springer
According to ESPN’s Buster Olney:
Heard this: Oakland is among the teams talking with free agent pitcher Russ Springer.
Springer, 40, had another fine year out of the Cardinals’ pen in ’08 (2.32 ERA). He seems worthy of a one-year deal in the $2-3MM range.
Phillies Sign Madson To Three-Year Extension
TUESDAY: The Madson extension is official, says Scott Lauber.
MONDAY: According to Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Phillies signed reliever Ryan Madson to a three-year extension worth $12MM plus incentives. The deal buys out his final arb year and two free agent years. It was previously thought that Madson, a Scott Boras client, might test the free agent market after the '09 season.
Madson, 28, posted a 3.05 ERA in 82.6 innings of relief this year.
Padres Projecting Over Budget
According to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Padres have a meager $40MM budget for players this year. They’re projecting to be about $4-5MM over, and they’ll probably have to trade Jake Peavy and/or Brian Giles at some point to meet the target. Both players have full no-trade rights.
It could be risky to wait on a Peavy trade, since an injury can happen anytime and he might pitch in the WBC. If the new Cubs ownership group will approve Peavy’s addition to the 2010 budget, trade talks could reignite (hasn’t happened yet). I don’t see why Opening Day has to be the arbitrary deadline to trade Peavy – maybe we’ll see a rare April blockbuster if the Padres and Cubs’ ownership situations necessitate it. Regarding the Felix Pie–Garrett Olson trade as a precursor, Padres CEO Sandy Alderson says too much is being made of it.
Mets-Sheets Chatter
MetsBlog’s Matthew Cerrone transcribes some comments from SI.com’s Tom Verducci, and also provides his own insight into Ben Sheets‘ possible demands. The Mets like him, but they want to do a heavily incentive-based deal similar to Brad Penny‘s. Sheets, having had a much better season than Penny, is apparently seeking two years and $18MM or so with a third-year option.
I’m surprised Sheets would want to lock himself in for multiple years given the down market. If he’s confident in his health, a straight one-year deal could be best. Sheets did already turn down such an offer from the Brewers (their offer of arbitration), but that was back on December 7th.