Quick Hits: Hamilton, Axelrod, Abreu, Pelfrey, Mets
Saturday night linkage..
- Josh Hamilton told Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas that he's open to talking to the Rangers about a contract extension during the season. “If they want to talk to my agent, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” he said after previously indicating an unwillingness to negotiate during the season.
- Agent Barry Axelrod has been discussing employment opportunities with the Diamondbacks, reports Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic (Twitter links). Axelrod and GM Kevin Towers are close friends.
- Unlike agents Jeff Moorad and Arn Tellem, Scott Boras has no desire to own a major league team, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com.
- The Angels' deal to trade Bobby Abreu to the Indians fell apart due to salary concerns, a source familiar with the talks told Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. Cleveland wanted the veteran slugger but the two sides couldn't agree upon how much of his $9MM salary they would assume.
- Mets pitcher Mike Pelfrey was surprised to learn that his job was on the line during spring training, writes David Lennon of Newsday. The front office was kicking around the idea of releasing the 28-year-old before Opening Day to free up roughly $4MM, the non-guaranteed portion of his one-year, $5.7MM deal.
- Scouts covering the Giants say the club is getting nervous about rotation depth, tweets Jayson Stark of ESPN.com.
- The Orioles cut minor league pitcher Josh Banks, tweets Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com. The right-hander spent most of 2011 with the Giants' Triple-A affiliate and posted a 7.27 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in twelve starts and seven relief appearances.
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
Anthopoulos On Bautista, Romero, Boras, Draft
Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star sat down with Alex Anthopoulos as the GM enters his third season with the Blue Jays. Here are some highlights from the interview..
- Jose Bautista told Griffin that he was unaware of the club's policy of no deals being in excess of five years but was happy with the length of the deal he signed. Anthopoulos says that contract length hasn't been an impediment for the club at any point as they haven't pursued a free agent who signed for more than five years.
- Team president Paul Beeston was pushing a team policy that would limit position players to five year deals and pitchers to just three. However, Anthopoulos says that he was ultimately able to convince Beeston to give Ricky Romero a five-year, $30.1MM extension in August 2010. The GM believes that he won out largely because two of those years were pre-arbitration. Anthopoulos cited this as an example of the club being both flexible and creative when it comes to deals.
- Griffin notes that there seems to be a negative vibe towards Scott Boras clients within the Toronto organization. Anthopoulos said that the club doesn't have any bias towards any agency and noted that he signed Boras clients such as Scott Schoeneweis, Josh Banks, and Guillermo Quiroz and drafted James Paxton.
- AA believes that the CBA changes to draft spending will result in more high school kids going to college rather than jumping to the majors. Anthopoulos also believes that the changes could be the first step towards a universal draft and acknowledged that there has been a great deal of chatter about that happening.
Orioles Waive Alfredo Simon
SATURDAY: Simon told reporters (including MLB.com's Britt Ghiroli) that he expects to get claimed off waivers, but will elect free agency is he's not.
FRIDAY: The Orioles have waived right-hander Alfredo Simon, a source confirmed to Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). Simon, 30, had a 4.90 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 16 starts and seven relief appearances last season.
One National League exec told Connolly (via Twitter) that it's hard to imagine Simon not getting claimed based on his ability, though consistency is a concern with him. Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets that the move will help to create room on the 40-man roster as the O's need space for Nick Johnson and Ronny Paulino.
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
Nationals Notes: Roster Moves, Blanco, Michaels
A few pieces of Nats news courtesy of Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post..
- General Manager Mike Rizzo says that the Nationals are unlikely to make any last-minute changes to their major league roster. Barring "something out of the ordinary," Rizzo says that any changes to the Opening Day roster will come from the players already in-house.
- Rizzo expects Andres Blanco to exercise his opt-out clause and become a free agent. The Nats reassigned the infielder yesterday.
- The Nationals hope to hang on to outfielder Jason Michaels after releasing him on Thursday. Rizzo would like to re-sign the veteran and place him with Triple-A Syracuse.
Quick Hits: Padres, Luebke, Red Sox, Dodgers, Brewers
Friday night linkage..
- Several scouts not affiliated with the Padres now regard Cory Luebke as the team's best starter, writes Tom Krasovic of Inside The Padres. Luebke agreed to a sizable extension with the club earlier this evening.
- Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino said today that GM Ben Cherington is "exploring" the team's options in regards to their compensation package for Theo Epstein, writes Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com. Boston would like to receive a different player from the Cubs after the injury suffered by Chris Carpenter.
- Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times writes that the public will ultimately pay for the Dodgers' massive sale price.
- Veteran infielder Cesar Izturis is relieved to have made the cut with the Brewers, writes MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
Padres Agree To Deal With Cory Luebke
The Padres today announced that they have agreed to terms with left-hander Cory Luebke on a contract through the 2015 season with club options for 2016 and 2017. The 27-year-old is represented by Meister Sports Management.
The deal will give Luebke a guaranteed $12MM, according to Tom Krasovic of Inside The Padres (via Twitter). If both options are exercised, Luebke could earn up to $27.75MM, tweets Corey Brock of MLB.com.
The contract can potentially cover Luebke's arbitration eligible years and his first year of free agency. The lefty appeared in 46 games for the Padres last season, posting a 3.29 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9.
Royals, Alex Gordon Agree To Extension
6:10pm: The deal is worth $37.5MM over four years with a player option for 2016 at $12.5MM, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. Gordon will earn $6MM for 2012, $9MM for 2013, $10MM for 2014, and $12.5MM for 2015, Dutton tweets.
5:40pm: The Royals announced that they have reached a contract extension with leftfielder Alex Gordon. The contract includes four guaranteed years through the 2015 season with a player option for 2016. The Excel Sports Management client would have been eligible for free agency after the 2013 season.
Its been a busy spring for General Manager Dayton Moore who signed off on a five-year, $7MM extension for Salvador Perez and a new deal for Alcides Escobar who could earn up to $21.75MM through 2017. Eric Hosmer could also be an extension candidate but earlier this week the first baseman said that he is in no rush to sign a multi-year deal.
Terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed but Gordon could potentially hold the richest deal in club history. To date, the largest deal in Kansas City's history has been $55MM, the amount given to both Gil Meche and Mike Sweeney.
Gordon, 28, hit .303/.376/.502 with 23 homers in 690 plate appearances in 2011. Last season marked Gordon's first as a full-time outfielder.
Quick Hits: Hamilton, Reds, Francis, Rays, Nady
Wednesday night linkage..
- Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton said that it will be “miraculous” if he and the club come to terms on a new deal before Opening Day, writes Drew Davidson of the Star-Telegram.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty told Tracy Ringolsby of FOXSports.com that while the club is making progress in multi-year contract talks with Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto, nothing is imminent.
- Pitcher Jeff Francis has decided not to exercise his opt-out clause with the Reds, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. Francis told the club that he’d be willing to go to Triple-A and start.
- The Rays are a thorn in the side for people those who contend that teams with limited budgets can’t win, writes Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. Tampa Bay is bumping up their payroll this year in an effort to spark attendance and revenue at Tropicana Field.
- After spending just one day in major league camp, it looks like Xavier Nady may have a chance to crack the Nationals’ roster, writes Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. One spot is up for grabs between Nady and Jason Michaels, who has an out clause. The out clause may actually work against him as the player that the Nats choose will likely be sent to the minors once Michael Morse returns.
NL West Notes: Giants, Cain, Dodgers, Padres
Items out of the NL West and surprise surprise, many of them come back to the Dodgers..
- The Giants and Matt Cain, perhaps newly motivated by the Dodgers’ $2.15 billion sale, have picked up extension talks again, writes Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea.com. The negotiations are being watched carefully by the Players’ Association as the pitcher signed what was viewed as a pair of club-friendly extensions earlier in his career.
- The Giants won't be the biggest spender in the division for long, writes Baggarly. Giants CEO Larry Baer told Baggarly that while the club will look to "compete their brains out" against the Dodgers, they are glad to see the team in good hands and in a position to prosper.
- Steve Garvey's group didn't wind up getting the Dodgers but the former first baseman told XX1090 Sports Radio (via Twitter) that his group is interested in buying the Padres.
- Steve Gilbert of MLB.com writes that the Diamondbacks face a tough decision when it comes to out-of-options reliever Mike Zagurski. There doesn't appear to be room for him on the roster but getting a solid left-handed reliever through waivers won't be easy.
Kei Igawa Signs With Orix Buffaloes
Former Yankees left-hander Kei Igawa has signed a two-year deal with the Orix Buffaloes, according to a report from Nikkan sports (Japanese link) which was passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker (via Twitter). Igawa's deal is worth ¥200M, which is roughly $2.5MM USD.
The Bombers invested a total of $46MM in the Japanese import, paying a $26MM posting fee to his Japanese club and $20MM to the pitcher. Igawa, now 32, posted a 6.66 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 71.2 innings for the Yanks. The left-hander spent the rest of his Yankees contract pitching in the minors, mostly with the club's Triple-A affiliate.