Rays Sign Jack Cust
The Rays announced that they have signed Jack Cust to a minor league deal with an invite to major league spring training. The designated hitter/outfielder is represented by TWC Sports.
The 34-year-old last appeared in the majors with the Mariners in 2011 where he hit .213/.344/.329 with three homers in 67 games. Across parts of ten big league seasons, Cust owns a slash line of .242/.374/.439.
NL Central Notes: Lohse, Brewers, Scutaro, Cardinals
Here's a look at the latest out of the National League Central..
- We recently heard that agent Scott Boras is working hard to sell the Angels on Kyle Lohse and owner Mark Attanasio says that he is doing the same with the Brewers. "Our ears are always open. We don't want to lead our fans on in any way. There's not an active conversation. But our ears are always open. [GM] Doug [Melvin] and his group are always looking to improve the team," said the owner, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
- Marco Scutaro had a two-year, $18MM offer from the Cardinals on the table but instead took a three-year, $20MM deal to remain with the Giants, writes Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com. Scutaro's representatives told the Giants early on in the offseason that $20MM over three years would get the job done and they held true to their word, despite a higher average annual value and a recruiting pitch from Matt Holliday.
- Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wonders if the Cardinals are too old. The Cards have an average age of 30.5, making them the fourth oldest team in the majors behind the Yankees, Phillies, and Rangers.
Quick Hits: Bourn, Richard, Padres, Manuel
It took Michael Bourn a long time to find his new team this winter, but the center fielder isn't complaining, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. At the same time, several executives charge that agent Scott Boras overreached and initially asked for much more than a four year deal. "Boras clearly felt he’d get significant length, definitely five years, possibly six or seven," one exec told Rosenthal. Here's more Saturday linkage..
- Clayton Richard is now the lone remaining arbitration case with Homer Bailey agreeing to a one-year deal this afternoon, but it seems likely that he'll be headed to the table with the Padres, tweets Scott Miller of CBSSports.com.
- Phillies manager Charlie Manuel is entering the final season of his two-year contract extension, but the skipper says that he is focused on winning and not his next deal, writes Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. Manuel is adamant that he won't worry about his job security if the team struggles early on in the season and pointed out that managers like Joe Torre and Tony LaRussa have been in similar situations.
- While Rafael Soriano won't miss ceding the ninth inning to Mariano Rivera in New York, he will miss having the legendary closer as a teammate, writes Harvey Araton of the New York Times. Meanwhile, he's happy to be with the Nationals where he knows for certain that he will enter as the closer.
East Notes: Yankees, Hughes, Zimmermann, Mets
As the Yankees and Phil Hughes negotiated their one-year, $7.15MM deal for 2013, the topic of an extension hardly came up, writes Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger. As a pitcher, Hughes says that he never expected a long-term deal out of the Yankees before reaching free agency. At the same time, it sounds as though he'd like to stay in the Bronx for the long-term. “The Yankees are the ones who drafted me; they’re like a second family. For me to say I’d be neutral [about leaving New York] would be dishonest," said Hughes. Here's more out of the AL and NL East..
- Jordan Zimmermann would be open to listening on a multi-year extension, but so far nothing has happened on that front, writes Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. The Nationals and the right-hander avoided arbitration with a one-year, $5.35MM deal yesterday.
- Andy Martino of the New York Daily News (on Twitter) believes that Mets Triple-A manager Wally Backman would be a great big league manager, but he has a feeling that it will happen elsewhere and not with the Mets. If the Mets don't bring back Terry Collins next year, Martino expects the club to go with a younger skipper.
- Jair Jurrjens' contract with the Orioles is now a minor league deal rather than a guaranteed pact, but the pitcher says he's not overly concerned about it, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. The two sides first agreed to a $1.5MM contract with incentives potentially pushing the figure to $4MM, but red flags on his physical led to the O's insisting on a reworked deal.
Reds, Bailey Agree To One-Year Deal
The Reds and Homer Bailey have reached agreement on a one-year deal to avoid arbitration, GM Walt Jocketty told John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer (on Twitter). Bailey will earn $5.35MM in 2013, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
There was speculation that the club was working on a multi-year deal with Bailey given the amount of time they were spending on their deal. Jocketty tells Fay (Twitter link) that he'll revisit a multi-year deal with the right-hander at some point.
Bailey filed for $5.8MM this winter while the Reds countered with $4.75MM, making the midpoint $5.275MM. The 26-year-old enjoyed his best season to date in 2012, posting a 3.68 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 across 33 starts.
Central Notes: Inge, Porcello, Tigers, Stewart
The Pirates inked Brandon Inge to a minor league deal with an invite to big league camp earlier this week. The third baseman obviously hopes to make the varsity squad but if it doesn't happen by late march, his contract includes an opt-out clause that will allow him to try elsewhere, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Post-Tribune. Here's more out of the Central divisions..
- There's been quite a bit of trade talk surrounding Rick Porcello this offseason but the pitcher says that he's not letting the speculation bother him, writes John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press. Some believe that Porcello could be slotted in the bullpen if Drew Smyly beats him out for the fifth rotation spot, but he's not open to that possibility. "I believe that I'm an established starter, and I believe that I belong in the starting rotation, and that's what I'm thinking about. I'm preparing to start for the Detroit Tigers. I'm not even considering the bullpen as an option," said Porcello.
- Torii Hunter is on board with the projections that have the reloaded Tigers pegged as the best team in the AL Central despite the upgrades made by Indians and others, writes James Schmehl of the MLive.com.
- Ian Stewart is ready to reestablish himself after a broken bone in his wrist hampered his play across the last two years, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. The Cubs non-tendered Stewart this offseason before signing him to a non-guaranteed deal.
Nationals Avoid Arbitration With Jordan Zimmermann
6:12pm: Zimmermann will receive $5.35MM from the Nationals for the 2013 season, reports Bill Ladson of MLB.com (via Twitter). The salary represents a $150K increase over the figure Zimmermann would have received if he met the Nationals at the financial midpoint of both offers.
4:40pm: The Nationals announced that they have avoided arbitration with Jordan Zimmermann by agreeing to a one-year deal. Terms of the deal are not yet known for the SFX client.
Zimmermann, 26, said earlier this week that he and the Nationals were still far apart on a deal and GM Mike Rizzo had similar comments on Wednesday. The hurler filed for $5.8MM while the Nats countered with $4.6MM. Zimmermann posted a 2.94 ERA with 7.0 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 across 32 starts last season for Washington.
With Zimmermann under contract, the Nats have now settled with all of their arbitration eligible players this winter.
Daniel Seco contributed to this post.
Quick Hits: Stanton, Twins, Harden, Strasburg
Earlier today, Blue Jays shortstop Jose Reyes reflected on his short time in Miami and told reporters that he feels sorry for former Marlins teammate Giancarlo Stanton. "What is there to feel sorry for me about?," Stanton told the press, including Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. "I'm in the big leagues. I play a game for a living." Stanton went on to say that he won't pout about his situation this season, but that won't stop people from speculating about his future in Miami. Here's more from around baseball..
- If the Indians decide to trade outfielder Drew Stubbs, Twins general manager Terry Ryan will probably get a nudge from special assistant Wayne Krivsky, writes Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN. During his tenure as Reds general manager, Krivsky had a hand in taking Stubbs eighth overall in the 2006 draft.
- More from Wolfson, who tweets that Rich Harden will earn a $1MM base salary if he makes the Twins. Harden inked a minor league deal with a big league spring training invite with Minnesota earlier this offseason.
- Nationals’ right-hander Stephen Strasburg is eager to prove that he can handle a full 200-plus inning load, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports in a lengthy piece. Strasburg wants to “be the horse in the rotation” for 2013 and beyond.
- Recently-acquired Astro Chris Carter told MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart that he is looking forward to playing a major role on the rebuilding Houston club. The 26-year-old Carter is coming off of his first season of consistent playing time on a Major League roster, a 2012 campaign in which he hit 16 home runs for the Athletics over 260 plate appearances. While Carter was primarily a first-baseman for the A's, McTaggart writes that Carter figures to see a lot of time in the outfield in 2013.
Jeff Todd contributed to this post.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Schumaker, Bourn, Phillies
On this date in 2003, the Red Sox completed an unusually complicated move when they acquired Kevin Millar from the Marlins. The then 31-year-old was sold to Japan's Chunichi Dragons and had to first clear waivers in order to finalize the deal. However, Boston intervened by claiming Millar, who decided that he would rather stay in the states anyway. Here's this week's look around the blogosphere..
- Lasorda's Lair caught up with new Dodgers utility man Skip Schumaker.
- Wahoo's On First loved the Indians' signing of Michael Bourn.
- That Ball's Outta Here wonders if the Phillies have the wrong strategy for their farm system.
- A's Farm runs down Oakland's top ten prospects.
- Monkey With A Halo wants the Angels to get in on Kyle Lohse.
- Dodgers Nation dreams of Justin Verlander.
- Did The Tribe Win Last Night weighs in on the Bourn signing.
- The Tribe Daily points out that Bourn's arrival overshadows Daisuke Matsuzaka.
- On The Way Home looks at the residual effects of Felix Hernandez's extension.
- Baltimore Sports and Life discussed the ZiPs projection system in this week's podcast.
- MLB Prospect Watch explored the possible ramifications of the Fish rushing Jose Fernandez.
- MLB Injury News talks Didi Gregorius' injury.
- Fantasy CPR sees Freddy Garcia as a fantasy sleeper candidate.
- MLB Reports says that the A's will regret trading Chris Carter.
- Rankings Professor has the top five first baseman under 25.
- Kingdome of Seattle Sports compares this year's M's to last year's A's.
- Rays Colored Glasses wonders what Tampa Bay could fetch for David Price.
- Puckett's Pond remembers some guy the Twins drafted named Joe Thiesmann.
- Full Spectrum Baseball talks about a new kind of California gold rush.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.
Marlins Sign Casey Kotchman
The Marlins announced that they have signed Casey Kotchman to a minor league deal with an invite to big league camp. Kotchman is represented by Casey Close of Excel Sports Management.
Kotchman, who turns 30 next Friday, hit .229/.280/.333 with 12 homers in 142 games for the Indians last season. Things have been quiet for Kotchman this offseason but he reportedly drew some interest from the Red Sox earlier this winter.