NL Central Notes: Lohse, Brewers, Wainwright, Willis
After recapping the Pirates' offseason, let's take a look at the rest of the NL Central..
- The Collective Bargaining Agreement meant that Kyle Lohse had to wait longer than expected to sign this winter, but he can be a real game changer in the NL Central for the Brewers, writes Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports. The veteran will pitch alongside Yovani Gallardo and Marco Estrada in front of the National League's best offense in 2012.
- Fresh off of signing a five-year, $97.5MM contract extension, Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright says that he is ready to be the club's undisputed ace, writes MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch. Aside from being an impact player on the mound, Wainwright is also looked up to by the other hurlers on the team.
- The Cubs did some spring cleaning today and made some minor league cuts, including 2010 first-rounder Hayden Simpson and Dontrelle Willis, according to Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter).
Offseason In Review: Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates were far from the most active team in baseball this winter, but they did make a few significant moves.
Major League Signings
- Francisco Liriano, SP: one year, $1MM. $8MM Vesting option for 2014.
- Jeff Karstens, P: one year, $2.5MM.
- Jason Grilli, RP: two years, $6.75MM.
- Russell Martin, C: two years, $17MM.
- Pedro Alvarez, 3B: one year, $700K. Club option exercised.
- Total Spend: $27.95MM.
Notable Minor League Signings
Trades and Claims
- Acquired P Jeanmar Gomez from Indians for OF Quincy Latimore.
- Acquired OF Jerry Sands, RP Mark Melancon, IF Ivan de Jesus Jr. and P Stolmy Pimentel from Red Sox for RP Joel Hanrahan and IF Brock Holt.
- Acquired P Andrew Oliver from Tigers for C Ramon Cabrera.
- Acquired P Jhondaniel Medina from Orioles for IF Yamaico Navarro.
- Acquired P Zach Thornton from Athletics for P Chris Resop.
- Acquired P Vin Mazzaro and 1B Clint Robinson from Royals for P Luis Rico and P Luis Santos.
- Acquired P Zach Stewart from Red Sox for P Kyle Kaminska.
- Claimed P Chad Beck off waivers from Blue Jays.
- Claimed C Ali Solis off waivers from Padres.
Notable Losses
- Rod Barajas, Joel Hanrahan, Zach Stewart, Ramon Cabrera, Brock Holt, Quincy Latimore, Kevin Correia, Chad Qualls, Chris Resop, Luis Santos.
Needs Addressed
Last season, Rod Barajas started 98 games behind the plate for the Pirates, hitting .206/.283/.343 and posting his worst OPS in nearly a decade. His defensive play wasn't particularly strong either and one has to assume that Pittsburgh didn't spend too much time deliberating over his $3.5MM option for 2013. Instead, the Bucs got a significant upgrade behind the plate in Russell Martin. Martin's two-year, $17MM deal is the largest free agent contract signed during GM Neal Huntington's tenure in Pittsburgh and the Pirates expect to get their money's worth out of the three-time All-Star. Two years ago, the Dodgers non-tendered Martin after an underwhelming couple of years and replaced him with the cheaper Barajas. Since then, the 30-year-old has gotten back on track with the Yankees, posting a .224/.317/.405 slash line with 39 homers across two seasons.
It took a while to get everything hammered out but the Pirates ultimately inked Francisco Liriano to help fortify the rotation. The two sides originally agreed to a two-year deal in mid-December, but the Pirates backed out after Liriano broke his non-pitching arm at his home in the Dominican Republic. Everything finally got wrapped up in February, with language in the new deal that protects the team in case Liriano's arm puts him on the DL again.
The Pirates are highly unlikely to get the 2006 version of the left-hander, but they'll be doing cartwheels if Liriano can give them something in the neighborhood of his 2010 campaign. Liriano posted a 3.62 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in that season, but it's the only year out of the last four that he's had a sub-5.00 ERA. Thanks to the arm injury, Liriano's season won't get underway until May.
The club's other needs were taken care of with more affordable contracts. The Pirates signed Jonathan Sanchez to a minor league deal in February and he's now penciled in as the club's No. 4 starter due to Gerrit Cole being in Triple-A, Liriano's aforementioned injury, and Jeff Karstens' shoulder issues. Huntington also added some name players on non-guaranteed deals, including Brandon Inge, who will break camp with the club. Inge, 36 in May, can provide support off the bench for Pedro Alvarez at third and overall infield depth.
Questions Remaining
If all of the Pirates starters were healthy, they'd be entering the 2013 season with a rotation of A.J. Burnett, Wandy Rodriguez, James McDonald, Karstens, and Liriano. However, the back of the rotation will instead feature Sanchez (8.07 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 7.4 BB/9 in 2012) and Kyle McPherson/Jeff Locke in the No. 5 spot. Burnett and Rodriguez are both solid, but the rest of the rotation will be chock full of question marks until the summer when they're back at full strength. They could use some reinforcements to help tide them over and they're keeping a close eye on the Dodgers' Chris Capuano as the season nears.
The PIrates were a lackluster defensive team in 2012 and were ranked in the lower-third of the majors. Substituting Barajas' arm with Martin's (24% of runners caught stealing vs. 6%) should help keep everyone honest but they'll need more improvement than that to make signficant strides.
Deal of Note
The Pirates have a great deal of confidence in Jason Grilli so it only made sense for them to flip Joel Hanrahan to the Red Sox in December. The swap allowed Pittsburgh to deal from an area of strength and add first baseman/outfielder Jerry Sands, infielder Ivan De Jesus Jr., reliever Mark Melancon, and right-hander Stolmy Pimentel to the organization. Sands, who was a prized prospect in the Dodgers system before being shipped to Boston in the blockbuster deal, has impressive power and the PIrates obviously believe that the 25-year-old has a high ceiling.
Over the last two years with the PIrates, Grilli has looked like a brand new pitcher, posting a 2.76 ERA with 12.5 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9. The 36-year-old was one of the better available relievers this winter and figures to slot in nicely as the Bucs' closer. Unlike other closing options, Grilli didn't require a three-year pact and his two-year, $6.75MM deal amounts to less than Hanrahan will earn in 2013 alone. However, it's worth noting that Grilli has limited experience in the role, finishing just 15 games across the last two seasons.
Overview
The Pirates certainly have promise for the future with the likes of Cole, Jameson Taillon, Alen Hanson, Gregory Polanco, and Luis Heredia in the fold. However, the 2013 Bucs don't appear to be world beaters. However, they do have the talent to win 82 games and snap their 20 year losing streak. After all, they came just three games shy of hitting that mark even after their late season collapse in 2012.
Manager Clint Hurdle believes that his club has improved across the board, even if most of that improvement comes in the way of the younger players having another year of experience under their belt. It's hard to see the Pirates finding their way into the playoffs, but they can certainly crack the .500 mark.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Diamondbacks Extend Paul Goldschmidt
The Diamondbacks have confirmed the extension of first baseman Paul Goldschmidt via a team press release. The five-year, $32MM extension was but the third-largest agreed to yesterday, as it was eclipsed later in the day by the massive extensions for Buster Posey and Justin Verlander. Goldschmidt is now under contract with the Diamondbacks through 2018. The SFX client's deal includes a team option for 2019 that could be worth $14.5MM and boost the overall value of the pact to $46.5MM.
Goldschmidt wasn't scheduled for arbitration eligibility until after the '14 season and wouldn't have been able to hit free agency until after the 2017 season. The deal buys out Goldschmidt's pre-arbitration years, arbitration years, and at least one of his free agency years. The long-term deal comes as something of a surprise since we recently heard that the first baseman rebuffed Kevin Towers' attempt to start talks.
The 25-year-old has been impressive thus far in his young career, hitting .286/.359/.490 in 2012 with 20 homers and 18 stolen bases in 21 attempts across the last two seasons. Goldschmidt's case is a unique one because as MLBTR's Extension Tracker shows, no first basemen have signed long-term deals with between one and two years of service time. However, several hitters have done so, including Goldschmidt's former teammate Chris Young.
This marks the fifth extension issued by Towers and the D'Backs this offseason. Before this, Arizona worked out deals with Aaron Hill (three years, $35MM), Martin Prado (four years, $40MM), Cliff Pennington (two years, $5MM), and J.J. Putz (one year, $7MM).
Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (on Twitter) first reported the agreement. Terms were provided by Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweeted additional contract details. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Tigers Extend Justin Verlander
Justin Verlander is extremely competitive, and he bested every pitcher in baseball today with his new contract extension. His five-year, $140MM extension with the Tigers has a $28MM average annual value and will keep him in Detroit through the 2019 season. The deal also includes a vesting option for 2020 worth $22MM. Verlander's AAV is the highest ever for a pitcher, unless you count Roger Clemens' pro-rated 2007 salary. Verlander's new contract could be called a seven-year, $180MM deal, since this contract technically replaced the two years and $40MM Verlander was owed for 2013-14 without an increase. In that sense, it tops Felix Hernandez's seven-year, $175MM contract from last month (Felix received $135.5MM in new money, so Verlander wins that comparison as well).
The option for 2020 will vest if the hurler finishes top five in the 2019 Cy Young voting and includes a no-trade clause, though he was three seasons away from obtaining ten-and-five rights anyway. Predictably, the deal also includes performance bonuses for winning MVP and Cy Young awards.
“Justin is one of the premier pitchers in baseball and we are thrilled to keep him in a Tigers uniform for many years to come,” Tigers General Manager David Dombrowski said via press release. “Justin has been a Tiger for his entire career and he is on pace to be one of the greatest pitchers in this illustrious franchise’s history.”
Verlander said recently that he would not engage in contract talks once the season got underway. With little talk of progress between the two sides in recent weeks, it didn't seem likely that a deal would be worked out in time. With Verlander's new pact and deals for Prince Fielder, Anibal Sanchez, and Miguel Cabrera, the Tigers now have north of $90MM committed to four players for 2015.
Verlander's last extension was also of the five-year variety and was worth $80MM across the 2010-2014 seasons. The Tigers haven't done much in the way of extensions since then, as MLBTR's Extension Tracker shows. Ryan Raburn's two-year deal prior to the 2011 season was Dombrowski's last.
Even though Verlander bested Hernandez's deal by $5MM, he may not stay atop the mountain for long. His deal likely boosts the value of a deal for Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who is also scheduled for free agency following the 2014 season. Here are MLBTR, we don't consider Verlander's contract anywhere close to $200MM — we prefer to look only at new, guaranteed money. In that sense, C.C. Sabathia's seven-year, $161MM contract signed in December 2008 is still the largest ever given to a pitcher.
Buster Olney of ESPN.com (on Twitter) reported the terms of the deal. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter) had other details of the contract. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.
Giants Extend Buster Posey
Buster Posey said that he wanted to be a Giant for life, and he got his wish with a record-breaking deal that can keep him in San Francisco through his age 36 season. The Giants signed the star catcher to an eight-year, $159MM extension that will get underway after the 2013 season. In total, the new deal will pay the CAA client $167MM over nine years with a $22MM option for 2022, since it overwrites his previously agreed-upon 2013 salary.
The 26-year-old gets a $7MM signing bonus as part of the deal and will receive a $3MM buyout if his option year is not triggered. The hefty contract extension also provides the catcher with a full no-trade clause. The breakdown has Posey earning $3MM in 2013, $10.5MM in 2014, $16.5MM in '15, $20MM in '16, and $21.4MM per season from 2017-2021.
In his young MLB career, Posey has won the Rookie of the Year award, two World Series titles, and the 2012 National League MVP award. Across four seasons, Posey owns a .314/.380/.503 batting line and is coming off of a season where he belted a career high 24 homers.
Posey's contract covers his three remaining years of arbitration and five years of free agency, plus an option that could take care of a sixth free agency year. Before this contract, no catcher had earned more than Mike Napoli's $20.8MM for his arbitration years, and Posey nearly triples that. His $57MM arbitration total is third-highest all-time, behind Ryan Howard and Tim Lincecum. Posey's contract is the largest deal ever given to a catcher and second in dollars to Joe Mauer's eight-year, $184MM deal with the Twins. The contract also marks a record guarantee for a player with fewer than four years of service time. The previous holder of that distinction was Todd Helton, who had an eleven-year deal worth $151.45MM.
The Giants' deal with Posey represents their second consecutive year with a major contract extension completed just prior to Opening Day. Last year, right-hander Matt Cain - also represented by CAA's Jeff Berry – cashed in with a five-year, $112.5MM pact. For Berry, this deal is just the latest on a resume full of lucrative extensions. As MLBTR's Extension Tracker shows, he has recently ironed out deals for clients Mark Buehrle, Jake Peavy, and John Danks.
Terms of the deal were provided by Buster Olney of ESPN.com (on Twitter) while Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com tweeted the value of the option year. John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter), Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter), and the AP reported other details of the agreement. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
AL East Notes: Red Sox, Bradley, Cashman, O’s
This spring, Jackie Bradley Jr. has shown that he absolutely belongs on the Red Sox's big league roster, but he may not break camp with the club for Opening Day because of service time considerations. It's a system that agent Scott Boras believes is deeply flawed, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. "Certainly one of the problems in baseball is that the fans are owed the best performance. But for strategic and economic reasons the clubs place themselves in the position where they're making decisions based on the economic structure and not on the performance," Boras said. "Every team does this. I don't think it's good for baseball." Here's more from the AL East..
- Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe (on Twitter) thinks that the Red Sox are either trying to make sure that he stays healthy and/or looking to trade someone off of the 40-man roster to clear a spot for him.
- When asked if there were any attractive outside options available, Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman responded, "We’ll see. You don’t have to be attractive right now," tweets Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger.
- The Orioles released Adam Greenberg from their minor league system, tweets Steve Melewski of MASNsports. Greenberg, who was hit in the head with a pitch when he debuted with the Cubs in 2005, inked a one-day deal with the Marlins last year.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Buehrle, Yankees, Rangers
On this date in 2001, Todd Helton signed a nine-year, $141.5MM contract extension with the Rockies, making him the highest-paid player in franchise history. The first baseman certainly helped his case in his walk year, posting a .372/.463/.698 slash line with 42 homers. Twelve years later, the 39-year-old sounds pretty sure that this will be his final season. Here's this week's look around the blogosphere..
- Blue Jay Hunter tries to predict how Mark Buehrle will transition to the AL East.
- Yankees Fans Unite has ten reasons to like the 2013 Bombers.
- I R Fast compares Rangers bullpen candidates.
- Kings Of Kauffman is ready to move on from Wil Myers.
- Rising Apple wants the Zack Wheeler hysteria to come down a peg.
- Kingdome Of Seattle Sports assesses the Mariners' chances in the AL West.
- BoSox Injection wonders if Will Middlebrooks is headed for a sophomore slump.
- Puckett's Pond reminds us about a forgotten Twin.
- MLB Reports breaks down the A's pitching.
- Midway Madness caught up with Jermaine Dye.
- Pinstripe Pundits is keeping an eye on C.C. Sabathia.
- A's Farm has Opening Day roster projections for the A's and their top minor league teams.
- MLB Prospect Watch wants O's fans to take a deep breath.
- Prospect Insider discusses the myth of a weak draft class.
- The Doubleday talks Royals.
- Lasorda's Lair imagines a Juan Uribe-less Dodgers team.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.
Guillermo Moscoso Outrighted To Minors
Here's a look at today's outright assignments..
- The recently acquired Guillermo Moscoso cleared waivers and has been outrighted off of the Cubs' 40-man roster, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (on Twitter). The right-hander is likely to land in Triple-A Iowa.
Latest On Johan Santana
Yesterday, the Mets disclosed that Johan Santana will likely miss the 2013 season as he works to come back from a tear in his pitching shoulder. The injury may mean that the left-hander has pitched his final game for the Mets and it could even mean the end of his career. Santana was expected to miss some time this year as he struggled through spring training, but the news that he'll be sidelined for the entire campaign comes as a surprise. Here's more on Santana.
- General Manager Sandy Alderson indicated that the Mets "probably" will not seek outside pitching help despite acknowledging that the club's reserve pitching is "not terribly deep," writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com.
- Santana is owed $31MM for the remainder of his contract and the Mets will have to foot the bill for all of it, as they do not have insurance on it, Rubin writes. Premiums have increased sharply over the years, and one source told Rubin that outside insurance has declined tremendously across baseball.
- Santana is leaning towards undergoing surgery and trying to resume his career, a source told Mike Puma of the New York Post (on Twitter).
Yankees Designate David Aardsma For Assignment
The Yankees have designated David Aardsma for assignment, according to Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger (on Twitter). The Bombers felt that the right-hander couldn't really provide them distance out of the bullpen and manager Joe Girardi said that he "didn't really fit" on the roster.
Aardsma, 31, underwent Tommy John surgery two years ago but has looked healthy so far this spring. For his career, the right-hander owns a 4.22 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9.