Los Angeles Notes: Angels, Dodgers, Trout, Wilson
Here's a look at the latest from the two L.A. teams..
- The Angels gave star outfielder Mike Trout a $510K contract for next season, just $20K over the MLB minimum, and agent Craig Landis voiced his displeasure in a statement, writes Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com. Gonzalez writes that the Halos didn't want to set a precedent for their other players and they don’t feel that it'll hinder their ability to sign him to a long-term extension. For his part, Landis says that the figure "falls well short" of a fair deal.
- The Dodgers have an embarrassment of riches on the mound at a time when most teams are searching for their fourth and fifth starter, writes Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. While there's likely a trade candidate or two on the Dodgers, GM Ned Colletti says that he's happy to hang on to his surplus.
- After signing a five-year, $77.5MM deal with the Angels last winter, C.J. Wilson didn't get off to the greatest start with his new club. However, the hurler says that he's finally healthy and ready to have a bounceback year, Gonzalez writes.
Poll: Will The Yankees Get Under $189MM For 2014?
Last year, the Bombers made waves and eyes roll when they said that they were determined to get under the $189MM figure to avoid being severely taxed in 2014. The new Collective Bargaining Agreement meant that the Yankees’ free-spending ways were no longer good business, but people were still skeptical that the Steinbrenner family would go through with tightening the belt. One year later, it seems like they’re still serious about being smart shoppers.
The Yankees kept veteran pitchers Andy Pettitte and Hiroki Kuroda on one-year deals, meaning that they’ll see a combined $27MM come off of the books after this season. Kevin Youkilis was also brought in on a one-year, $12MM deal to satisfy the club’s need at third base. Meanwhile, the club resisted temptation and stayed away from the bigger names on the open market this winter. It’ll stay that way too, despite Scott Boras’ desire for the club to get involved with Kyle Lohse.
Everything seems to be falling in line for the Yankees when it comes to getting under the $189MM mark, except when it comes to their star second baseman. The Yanks insist that they have made a “significant offer” to keep Cano for the long-term, but there could be a significant gap between the club and the Boras client. The Bombers could be thinking about something in the neighborhood of seven years at $171MM while Boras might expect opening bids for ten years at $20-25MM per season. Ultimately, keeping Cano from testing free agency may mean compromising their repeated desire to avoid paying steep luxury tax penalties. When all is said and done, do you see the Bombers sticking to their guns?
Will the Yankees get under the $189MM luxury tax threshold for 2014?
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No 63% (8,120)
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Yes 37% (4,752)
Total votes: 12,872
East Notes: Wang, Yankees, Rays, Marlins
The Yankees are among the teams keeping an eye on Chien-Ming Wang, who threw six shutout innings against Australia in the World Baseball Classic, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Aussies may not be the toughest team in the WBC, but Wang looked strong and probably helped his case for hooking on with the Bombers or another club as pitching depth. Here's more out of the AL and NL East..
- MLBPA chief Michael Weiner said this morning that there's "some legitimacy" to the Rays' management concerns that the new CBA has not helped them in terms of competitive balance, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
- Weiner went on to say that he is "disappointed" in the Rays' attendance figures, but neither contraction nor relocation have come up as possibilities. He also says there is a curiosity to see what could happen with stadium on other side of Tampa, closer to Orlando (Twitter links).
- Mets catcher John Buck says that he's keeping himself out of the beef between his former Marlins teammates and the club's management, writes Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel. Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle have both spoken out against Miami owner Jeffrey Loria.
- Marlins hitting coach Tino Martinez says that Jake Marisnick, who was acquired in the trade with the Blue Jays, could be the best defensive center fielder in the game right now, Sherman tweets.
2014 Vesting Options
Recently, I crunched the numbers on vesting options from the last three years and found that just over 29% of them were triggered. Which players can lock in their 2014 options based on their performance this season? Let's take a look..
- Kurt Suzuki, Nationals: $9.25MM option vests with 113 starts in 2013.
- Jamey Carroll, Twins: $2MM option vests with 401 plate appearances.
- Wilson Betemit, Orioles: $3.2MM option vests with 324 plate appearances (combined 700 between 2012 and 2013).
- Lance Berkman, Rangers: $13MM option vests with 550 plate appearances.
- Roy Halladay, Phillies: $20MM option vests with 259 innings pitched (combined 415 innings pitched between '12 and '13).
- Barry Zito, Giants: $18MM option vests with 200 innings pitched.
- Johan Santana, Mets: $25MM option vests with 215 innings pitched or winning the 2013 Cy Young Award.
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.
Central Notes: Tigers, Cubs, Rondon, Valverde
The Tigers would love to lock Justin Verlander up for the long-term, but it may take a while for the two sides to find middle ground. The right-hander says that he wants to become baseball's first $200MM pitcher and also says that he is intrigued by the idea of free agency. While it's certainly a priority for Detroit, Verlander won't be a free agent until after the 2014 season. In the short-term, they have other questions to answer. Here's more on the Tigers and other notes out of the Central divisions..
- Tigers manager Jim Leyland remains interested in bringing Jose Valverde back as a safety net but the money still isn't good enough to facilitate a return, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The veteran would serve as insurance against rookie Bruce Rondon, who is slated to take over the role of closer in 2013.
- Lynn Henning of the Detroit News believes Leyland is scared that Rondon isn't ready to make the leap just yet. If the Tigers can't come to terms with Valverde and Rondon struggles, GM Dave Dombrowski may have to start exploring the trade market for ninth inning options.
- Cubs players recognize that Theo Epstein & Co. may look to sell off valuable pieces at the deadline this year, but they're hoping to play well enough to prevent that from happening, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. "That’s not what our plan is," right-hander Jeff Samardzija said. "Our plan is to put them in a situation — a tough situation — on what they want to do halfway through the year. . . . If we’re doing our job and winning ballgames, then they’re going to have a tough decision on what they want to do."
AL East Notes: Yankees, Cano, De La Rosa, Red Sox
Here’s a look at the American League East..
- Ken Davidoff of the New York Post opines that the Yankees and Robinson Cano need to take a season-long break from their contract talks. With Cano confessing that the negotiations are starting to get into his head, it would be in the best interest of both parties to table everything for a good seven or eight months. At this point, however, there’s no indication that they’ll do that.
- Fireballing right-hander Rubby De La Rosa, who came over in the blockbuster deal with the Dodgers, looks to be a gem for the Red Sox, writes John Tomase of the Boston Herald. De La Rosa won’t be with the varsity squad to start the season, but the BoSox are high on him nonetheless. “He’s got electric stuff,” Dustin Pedroia said. “We’re glad to have him. You can never have enough pitching, and it’s pretty exciting, the guys we got in that trade. They’ve got some great stuff. Getting young talent like that, especially pitching, those are prized pieces. This will be huge for our team.”
- Rob Bradford of WEEI.com wonders how good of a first baseman offseason acquisition Mike Napoli can become. So far, Napoli is getting strong reviews from infield coach Brian Butterfield.
Quick Hits: Yankees, Cano, Lohse, Nationals
On the latest edition of the Rosters & Rumblings podcast, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith and Jason Mart.inez of MLB Depth Charts discussed Robinson Cano's contract status and the Padres' 2013 chances. Here are some links to close out this Friday evening..
- A more restrained approach to spending by the Yankees doesn't mean that they can't re-sign Cano to a hefty, long-term deal, writes MLB.com's Mike Bauman. From a competitive standpoint, the Yanks cannot afford to lose Cano considering their aging lineup and the loss of power elsewhere.
- The Kyle Lohse situation shows that not even Scott Boras can truly command the invisible hand of the market, Jack Moore of Fangraphs writes. However, Boras has found a way around this in the past with pillow contracts and Moore looks at examples including Edwin Jackson, Ryan Madson, and Adrian Beltre.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America takes a stab at predicting the 2016 World Series and has the Nationals topping the Rays. Callis sees the Nats' stable of first-rounders powering the club in the years to come and envisions Anthony Rendon and Lucas Giolito emerging by this time.
- The Marlins are giving non-roster invitee Michael Wuertz a chance at salvaging his career, writes Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald.
Notable Transactions From March 2012
Most clubs have addressed their significant roster questions by the time players report to Spring Training, but there are always moves to be made. We know that we're likely to see at least one significant move go down as Kyle Lohse remains on the open market, but what else can we expect this month? Let's take a look back at notable transactions made last March with help from our handy Transaction Tracker…
- Trades: Jason Bourgeois and Humberto Quintero for Kevin Chapman and PTBNL (MLBTR post)
- Contract Extensions: Yadier Molina (five years, $75MM), Cameron Maybin (five years, $25MM), Andrew McCutchen (six years, $51.5MM), Glen Perkins (three years, $10.3MM), Alcides Escobar (four years, $10.5MM), Nick Hundley (three years, $9MM), Derek Holland (five years, $28.5MM), Jonathan Lucroy (five years, $11MM), Alex Gordon (four years, $37.5MM), Cory Luebke (four years, $12MM)
- Waiver Claims: Brandon Hicks (A's from Braves), Frankie de la Cruz (Cubs from Brewers), Rick VandenHurk (Indians from Blue Jays), Kelvin De La Cruz (Tigers from Indians), Craig Tatum (Yankees from D'Backs), Zelous Wheeler (Orioles from Brewers)
- Minor League Contracts: Miguel Gonzalez (Orioles), Scott Atchison (Red Sox), Jason Repko (Red Sox), Andy Pettitte (Yankees), Xavier Nady (Nationals), Dontrelle Willis (Orioles), Steve Pearce (Yankees)
- Released: Dennys Reyes (Orioles), Carlos Silva (Red Sox), Alberto Castillo (Dodgers), Joel Pineiro (Phillies), Hong-Chih Kuo (Mariners), Alex Cora (Cardinals), Koyie Hill (Cardinals), Joe Beimel (Rangers), Casey Blake (Rockies), Zach Duke (Astros), Jack Cust (Astros), Steve Pearce (Twins), Preston Mattingly (Yankees)
NL East Notes: Byrd, Hawkins, Feliciano, Marlins, Mets
Here's a look at some items on the Mets and Marlins..
- Mets outfielder Marlon Byrd says that he may retire if he doesn't make the club out of spring training, writes Mike Puma of the New York Post. However, the 35-year-old stands a good chance of winding up in orange and blue this year given the state of the Mets' outfield. Byrd was released before he could serve his 50-game suspension last season, but he won't have to serve any more time on it in 2013.
- Under the new collective bargaining agreement, a player with significant MLB experience the previous season who comes to camp the next year on a minor league deal gets an early decision on whether he has made the team. Mets vets LaTroy Hawkins, Pedro Feliciano, and Tim Byrdak qualify, assistant GM John Ricco tells Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. Because of that, the Mets must either inform those three they've made the team, cut them a check for $100K to go to the minors, or release them by March 26th.
- Mark Buehrle is happy to have moved on from his short stay with the Marlins and isn't dwelling on owner Jeffrey Loria's PR campaign in Miami, writes Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. "I saw some of it and pretty much didn't pay attention to it," the left-hander said, "because I know what I was told and I saw what he was saying, and they weren't the same thing. So I mean, I guess he's got to do what he's got to do to get the fans back. But whatever."
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Ethier, Harper, Cordero
On this date in 1987, Charlie Kerfeld agreed to one of the more ludicrous deals in the history of baseball. The right-hander inked a one-year deal with the Astros worth $110,037.37 and 37 boxes of orange Jello. Kerfeld, who wore No. 37, insisted he earn more than teammate Jim DeShaies' $110K salary and wanted the gelatin for future pranks.
We've already had lots of great stuff on MLBTR today, but there's always room for Baseball Blogs Weigh In. Here's this week's look around the web..
- Baseball Hot Corner wonders if the Dodgers should have traded Andre Ethier.
- Baseball Big Brother Project gives Bryce Harper the credit he deserves.
- Free Lance makes a case for the teams that PECOTA isn't crazy about.
- I R Fast analyzes Chad Cordero's Pitch F/X data.
- MLB Injury News doesn't think the Yankees should make a deal to fill in for Granderson.
- Pinstripe Pundits has some options in case the Bombers do go that route, however.
- NASORB profiles the current and former Mariners in the WBC.
- The Daily Statesman explains why the Cardinals need Matt Carpenter's bat in the lineup.
- STL Cardinal Baseball doesn't want to see the Cards overpay for Adam Wainwright.
- Fantasy Rundown compiled the top prospect rankings from the best sources on the web.
- Braves Banter has five questions for spring training.
- Baltimore Sports And Life talked World Baseball Classic in the latest podcast.
- Lasorda's Lair wonders if the Dodgers should deal Aaron Harang or Chris Capuano.
- A's Farm checked in with Addison Russell.
- Puckett's Pond revisits David Ortiz in Minnesota.
- Wahoo's On First says the Michael Bourn signing makes the Brett Myers deal look like a mistake.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.