2014 Vesting Options Update
As we close in on the month of May, let's check in on the players who have vesting options for the 2014 season…
- Kurt Suzuki, Nationals: $9.25MM option vests with 113 starts in 2013. Prior to Opening Day, the Nats announced that Suzuki would be in a timeshare with Wilson Ramos behind the plate. However, Ramos' hamstring has led to Suzuki starting 16 of the club's 23 games so far in 2013. Ramos is scheduled to rejoin the club on Monday, but if he suffers another setback, Suzuki could have a realistic shot at triggering his '14 option.
- Jamey Carroll, Twins: $2MM option vests with 401 plate appearances. Carroll has surpassed that mark in each of the last three seasons with 500+ plate appearances in each of the last two years, but he has just 18 PAs as April comes to a close.
- Wilson Betemit, Orioles: $3.2MM option vests with 324 plate appearances (combined 700 between 2012 and 2013). Betemit suffered a PCL tear during the last week of Spring Training, keeping him out of action until at least mid-May. When he returns, he figures to see less action than he did last year thanks to Manny Machado.
- Lance Berkman, Rangers: $13MM option vests with 550 plate appearances. So far, Berkman has 19 games under his belt with 80 plate appearances. He'll be within reach as long as he stays healthy. In 2011, his last full season, Berkman racked up 587 PAs for the Cardinals.
- Roy Halladay, Phillies: $20MM option vests with 259 innings pitched (combined 415 innings pitched between '12 and '13). So far, Halladay has logged 28 and 1/3 innings through five April starts but the 259 mark remains a longshot. However, it's worth nothing that Halladay has come close to that figure twice in the last six years (2008, 246 IP; 2010, 250.2 IP) and surpassed it once in his career (2003, 266 IP).
- Brett Myers, Indians: $8MM option vests with 200 innings pitched in 2013 and a passed physical after the season. Myers is expected to miss most of May due to tendinitis and a mild ligament sprain in his right elbow. So far, the right-hander has 21 and 1/3 innings to his credit in 2013.
- Barry Zito, Giants: $18MM option vests with 200 innings pitched. Zito has 23 and 2/3 innings so far through the month of April and will make his fifth start of the year tonight against the Padres.
- Johan Santana, Mets: His $25MM option could have vested with 215 innings pitched or winning the 2013 Cy Young Award, but he won't have a chance at that thanks to a season-ending tear in his pitching shoulder.
It's also worth noting that Francisco Liriano has a $8MM club option for 2014 with the Pirates, but it can vest at any of three levels, $5MM, $6MM, or $8MM, based on the number of days he is not on the DL this year with a recurrence of his right arm injury. It's not known how many days the hurler must steer clear of right arm trouble in order to trigger each level of his option, however. Liriano has yet to take the hill in 2013, but he is expected to make his big league debut on May 10th vs. the Mets.
Rosenthal On White Sox, Stanton, Price, Collins
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has posted his latest edition of Full Count (video link) and we've got the highlights..
- If the White Sox fall out of contention, they could be an interesting seller at the deadline. Paul Konerko, Gavin Floyd, Matt Thornton, and Jesse Crain are among their attractive potential free agents. Meanwhile, Alex Rios and Jake Peavy are signed only through next season. However, their pitching means that they should be in the mix for at least the second wild card spot. According to one team's internal calculations, their staff is currently the most productive in baseball.
- The Rangers could face a problem if they try to put a deal together for Giancarlo Stanton or David Price. Texas is thin on high-end pitching in the upper levels farm system, which will hurt them, particularly if they go after Price.
- Mets skipper Terry Collins is in the final year of his deal and one team official says he'll likely be judged on how much the team's young talent improves. So far, so good as Daniel Murphy, Jordany Valdespin, Lucas Duda, and of course Matt Harvey are among the homegrown Mets off to decent starts. Ruben Tejada and Ike Davis, on the other hand, appear to be question marks. In any case, Collins' status likely won't be decided until the end of the season.
- There was a lot of talk about Dan Haren's hip after the Cubs backed out of trading for him last November, but the pitcher has heard the talk and thinks its overblown. He says that his hip is the same as it was when he was in Oakland and says that it hasn't gotten any better or worse since then. He also noted that he has missed only three starts in ten seasons and doesn't plan to miss any in 2013.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Byrd, Carpenter, Blue Jays
On this date in 2008, the Pirates released Matt Morris, a move which cost the team more than $11MM. The pitcher lasted only 1 2/3 innings against the Phillies in his previous start and compiled an 0-4 record with a 9.67 ERA in his five April outings for the Bucs. Here's this week's look around the baseball blogosphere..
- Wahoo's On First spoke with former pitcher Paul Byrd.
- The Daily Statesman sat down with Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals.
- Blue Jays Way tries to diagnose the problem in Toronto.
- Amazin Avenue asks if an extension would make sense for Dillon Gee.
- Pinstripe Pundits looks at Brett Gardner's new approach at the plate.
- On The Way Home asks if Bryce Harper is turning into the next Chipper Jones.
- World Series Dreaming explores the idea of abandoning the draft.
- Marlin Maniac held a roundtable on Giancarlo Stanton and more.
- Baseball Hot Corner has some trade proposals involving Stanton.
- Sodo Mojo is frustrated with the Mariners.
- Prospect Insider discussed the future of Franklin Gutierrez and the Mariners.
- Federal Baseball profiled Shelby Miller in advance of his showdown vs. the Nats.
- Lasorda's Lair says the Dodgers' biggest problem is baserunning.
- Grading On The Curve is concerned about Jacob Turner.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.
Marlins Claim Duane Below
The Marlins claimed Duane Below off of waivers, according to a press release from the Tigers. Detroit designated the lefty yesterday in order to create roster space for Jose Valverde.
From 2011-12, the 27-year-old totaled 75 1/3 innings at the Major League level, posting a 4.06 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 2.3 BB/9, and a 43.4% groundball rate. Below has also spent parts of three seasons at the Triple-A level, posting a 3.30 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 26 starts. Prior to the 2012 season, Baseball America wrote, "Below's stuff is average at best, but he throws strikes and has good feel for pitching." BA noted, "He fits best as a No. 5 starter or swingman."
Red Sox Likely To Seek Trade For Aceves
After tonight's win over the Athletics, the Red Sox informed Alfredo Aceves that he would be demoted to the club's Triple-A affiliate. The right-hander now has 72 hours to report to Pawtucket and indications are that the Red Sox will try to deal him, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (on Twitter).
Earlier today, Buster Olney of ESPN said in a radio interview that he spoke to one big league GM who believes that he club won't be able to get anything in return for the troubled pitcher. The Red Sox might be able to get salary relief in a deal involving Aceves, however, and Olney pointed to a club in search of bullpen help like the Angels could be a fit.
Aceves, 30, earns $2.6MM this season and isn't set to hit the open market until after the 2014 season. In parts of six big league seasons, Aceves owns a 3.82 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 176 relief appearances and 12 starts. A few teams were interested in dealing for the right-hander prior to Opening Day, but injuries to Franklin Morales and Craig Breslow coupled with Daniel Bard's issues meant that the Red Sox couldn't part with him.
AL East Notes: Blue Jays, Red Sox, Crawford
In this morning's roundup of news out of the American League East, Alex Burnett spoke with Shi Davidi of Sportsnet about the waiver process that ultimately took him from the Blue Jays to the Orioles. As trying as his brief pit stop with Toronto was, he feels even more for Casper Wells, who took a three game detour with the Blue Jays without playing once. “It happened pretty quickly for me, guys like Wells were in limbo forever, he hasn’t been able to do anything,” said Burnett. “I think it’s something that should maybe be brought up in the next players’ association meeting. It is a bad situation when it carries on as long as it has for some people.” Here's more on the Blue Jays and other notes out of the AL East..
- While the Blue Jays' usage of the waiver wire is starting to attract attention from around baseball, Matt Eddy of Baseball America spoke to one agent who said that he believes GM Alex Anthopoulous is up front with players who may get DFA'd shortly after being claimed. Agent Matt Sosnick also came to the defense of AA, saying, "I’d be very skeptical of somebody who said that Alex lied or misled them. I have a hard time believing that that’s the case.”
- It's not just players that aren't thrilled about the way the waiver system can be used, some clubs have lobbied for a rule change that would force teams to keep players claimed on waivers for a set period of time, sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. However, other clubs don't want to lose flexibility, according to a source, and the union almost certainly would oppose restricting player movement. Players who get knocked off of from 40-man rosters receive major league pay and service time while designated for assignment. Rosenthal spoke to Anthopoulos about his frequent waiver claims, and the GM noted that the Jays have lost players as well. He explained that the Jays' former Triple-A affiliate, the Syracuse Chiefs, aligned with the Nationals in part because Toronto did not provide a winning club. Now on a two-year contract with Buffalo, Anthopoulos is trying to provide a competitive team. As Eddy pointed out, however, many of Anthopoulos' waiver claims are with the Double-A club.
- Carl Crawford is thriving with the Dodgers and the outfielder attributes that in part to being able to leave a tough situation with the Red Sox behind, writes Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. The outfielder explained that a number of factors including injuries and self-imposed pressure hounded him in Boston and took offense to the perception that he wasn't working hard enough to get back on track.
Olney On Red Sox, Aceves, Webster, Napoli
Earlier today, ESPN's Buster Olney joined WEEI's Mut & Merloni to talk all things Red Sox and we have the highlights courtesy of Annie Maroon..
- One major league GM told Olney that the Red Sox would get nothing by trading pitcher Alfredo Aceves. His trade value is extremely low because of his reputation as a poor teammate, though it's conceivable that he could go elsewhere and rebound. The best Boston could do might be to get some salary relief for Aceves and a team starving for bullpen help like the Angels could be a fit.
- Rival teams were shocked that the Dodgers gave up both Allen Webster and Rubby De La Rosa in the blockbuster trade seeing as how they were taking so much dead money off of Boston's payroll. In fact, baseball people felt that Red Sox GM Ben Cherington pulled off one of the best trades in years, even when factoring in all of the talent he parted with.
- Olney sees Mike Napoli’s hip condition impacting the offers he’ll see as a free agent next year but he was surprised to see the catcher's deal affected so much by the hip issues this past offseason with the Red Sox. Olney expected another team to jump in while the deal was in limbo and steal him away, but that didn't happen. At the same time, it's possible that Napoli had other attractive offers on the table but decided that he liked the situation in Boston and the chance to show that he can provide value at first base.
Quick Hits: Dodgers, Garza, Price, Yankees
"You can never have too much pitching" isn't just a cliche, and the 2013 Dodgers are proof of that. The Dodgers announced today that Chad Billingsley is headed to the disabled list because of right elbow pain and the right-hander may even require Tommy John surgery down the road. The Dodgers theoretically had a pair of extra starters to dangle to teams a couple of weeks ago, but injuries to Billingsley, Chris Capuano, and Zack Greinke have put that idea on hold. Here's more from around baseball..
- Baseball officials told Buster Olney of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) that if Matt Garza winds up getting tied to draft pick compensation like Kyle Lohse, the advice they would have for him would be to push his negotiations early in the offseason. Because he's not a Greinke-type of talent, Garza will want to sign before teams have already settled in around spring training.
- Olney recently suggested that the Cubs, Red Sox, Cardinals, and Rangers could be frontrunners if the Rays move David Price, but Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times doesn't see Tampa Bay doing business with Boston unless it's at a significant premium.
- Lyle Overbay, Vernon Wells, and other new Yankees are rejuvenating their careers in New York, writes John Harper of the New York Daily News.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Rasmus, Beavan, Stanton
Fifty-seven years ago, the Dodgers faced the Phillies in Jersey City, New Jersey, marking the first major league game ever played in the Garden State. The Dodgers won 5-4 after 10 innings at Roosevelt Stadium in front of a sparse crowd of 12,214. The game was also notable as Brooklyn backstop Roy Campanella tied the score in the tenth inning with his 1000th career hit, a double down the left field line. Here's this week's look around the baseball blogosophere..
- I R Fast decided to dig a little bit deeper on recent claims that Colby Rasmus made.
- Prospect Insider examined Blake Beavan's new delivery.
- Grading On The Curve says Texas has enough to land Giancarlo Stanton.
- i70 Baseball looked at the Cardinals' first base depth.
- Pinstripe Pundits explains why Ichiro may head to the bench when Curtis Granderson returns.
- If I Were GM came to the defense of Carlos Quentin.
- Baseball Hot Corner wonders if Mike Scioscia will last the season.
- Lasorda's Lair reviewed 42 and gave it three out of four baseballs.
- Kings of Kauffman looked at statistical outliers so far in this young season.
- The Tribe Daily asks what the Indians should do with Ubaldo Jimenez.
- Marlin Maniac spoke with pitching prospect Edgar Olmos.
- MLB Reports says the Rays have to call up Wil Myers ASAP.
- On The Way Home asks if the Rangers should move Jurickson Profar.
- Cardinals Fan In Cubs Land wants the DH kept out of the NL.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.
Cafardo On Britton, Norris, Garza, Red Sox
In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that strikeouts are on the rise this season and there are an abundance of theories as to why. One prominent AL GM believes that the umps are using a wider strike zone. Former pitcher Curt Schilling believes the strikeouts are piling up because there are more power arms than ever before. Others believe that there are a lot of youngsters in the game right now who may not be major league ready, leading to a lot of Ks. Here's more from today's column..
- As the Orioles look for pitching help, there’s an increasing feeling among baseball people that Zach Britton is the arm the Orioles could dangle in a deal. The 25-year-old has begun the season well in Norfolk and has 1.98 ERA with five strikeouts and seven walks in three starts.
- Astros pitcher Bud Norris could be the No. 1 guy on contenders’ wish lists – along with the Cubs’ Matt Garza, if he’s healthy and productive – according to an AL GM. Erik Bedard can also draw interest but he has an injury history, which scares teams off. Carlos Pena has value because of his power and could find himself on a contender if he has a strong showing in Houston.
- Scouts feel that Red Sox minor league outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker has put himself back on the map as a player teams might be interested in trading for. Early in the season, the 25-year-old has a slash line of .271/.308/.563 with four homers in Triple-A. Scouts say he has taken a far more aggressive approach at the plate and is swinging at good pitches in good counts. Hazelbaker is also showing some power and is considered a plus defensive outfielder.
- The Red Sox never pursued Ted Lilly while he was available because it would have been too difficult to add him to the 25-man roster. The Sox have been looking for a veteran starter they can keep at Triple-A in reserve, but haven’t found the right guy.
- Brad Penny is still a free agent and looking to get back to the majors. However, he's still waiting for a team to bite. The 34-year-old last pitched for the Giants in 2012 and also had a disappointing few months with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Japan.