Rays Notes: Davis, Niemann, Maddon, Pena
A few items on the Rays courtesy of Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times..
- A few months ago it would have seemed unlikely that the Rays would have been able to fill their primary holes without dealing Wade Davis or Jeff Niemann, but the club has done just that. They say they are willing to go into the season with an extra starter, but team president Matt Silverman says that the club continues to look for a deal.
- Topkin suggests that the club could deal Niemann in order to land an experienced catcher. Geovany Soto, Kurt Suzuki, and Nick Hundley are possibilities on the trade market while Ivan Rodriguez and Bengie Molina remain free agents.
- The Rays and manager Joe Maddon are expected to announce a three-year contract extension before the February 20th opening of Spring Training.
- There's an interesting theory floating about that suggests that the Rays raising their offer to $7.25MM to sign Carlos Peña helped lead the Tigers to spend $214MM on Prince Fielder.
MLBTR Originals
Here's a look back at the original reporting and analysis produced by our writing staff this week..
- This week, MLBTR rolled out the brand-new Extension Tracker. The extension tracker shows all contract extensions, whether they cover the player's arbitration years, free agent years, or both. Please note that some of the data prior to 2011 is still in the process of being added, such as service time, position, and number of options.
- On Saturday morning, agent Bob Garber told Tim Dierkes that there is "no chance" of Roy Oswalt relieving in 2012. There have been reports that the Cardinals are nearing a deal with the veteran, but this stance indicates that they would have to trade a current starter or move one to relief.
- The Diamondbacks agreed to a one-year, $1.795MM deal with Brad Ziegler, avoiding arbitration, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith learned. The right-handed reliever was arbitration eligible for the second time this offseason after earning $1.25MM last year.
- The Reds signed arbitration eligible reliever Nick Masset to a two-year extension and Ben reported that the deal is worth a guaranteed $5.5MM and includes performance bonuses.
- With Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols off of the market, Joey Votto is officially the next MVP-caliber first baseman scheduled to hit free agency. Ben examined what it would take for the Reds to lock Votto up on a new deal.
- After giving Eric Hosmer $6MM as the third overall pick in 2008, it's clear that the Royals expect great things out of the 22-year-old. The Royals have bigger fish to fry than extending Hosmer but a long-term deal could help prevent the prospect from pricing himself out of Kansas City down the line, writes Mike Axisa.
- Mike rounded up the best from around the web in this week's edition of Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
- Ben gave us a look at 2012's highest-paid arbitration eligible players. Tim Lincecum tops the list with the $18MM he will earn as part of his extension. Mike also compiled a list of the largest remaining arbitration cases.
- For the 2011-12 offseason, players and owners agreed to modify the procedure for Type A free agents. Ben examined how the modified Type A free agents fared under the new rules.
- There were just a handful of free agents who cost their new teams draft picks this winter.
- Tim's fantasy site, RotoAuthority, is back in action with a great team of writers. Here's a look at some of the staff's work from this past week.
- The Blue Jays agreed to sign right-handed reliever Francisco Cordero to a one-year, $4.5MM contract. The Angels, Phillies, Orioles and Rangers all showed interest in Cordero leading up to today's agreement, MLBTR learned.
- Ben conducted MLBTR's weekly chat on Wednesday and if you missed out, you can check out the transcript right here.
- Teams exercised a total of 19 player options after the 2011 season and two of those players have since been dealt. Ben provided a closer look into the circumstances surrounding the two trades.
Tim Wakefield Considering Retirement
Pitcher Tim Wakefield told John A. Torres of Florida Today that while his preference is to pitch for the Red Sox in 2012, he will consider retirement. The knuckleballer has also received interest from a number of teams and won't necessarily rule out pitching for another club besides Boston next season.
“There have been a number of clubs who have called, who have an interest in signing me but I’m kind of just weighing my options right now,” the 45-year-old said. “I think I can be a valuable asset to them as an insurance policy, you know a fifth or sixth starter or if something doesn’t pan out for some of the guys they have already penciled in to the rotation. You know that’s kind of been my job these last two years; I don’t have a problem doing that.”
Earlier this month, Red Sox skipper Bobby Valentine said that he "couldn't imagine" Wakefield coming in to Spring Training and competing for a job. General Manager Ben Cherington has also said that he doesn't expect Wakefield to be with the team in 2012.
Cardinals Shopping McClellan, Talking With Oswalt
5:14pm: The Orioles are pursuing Koji Uehara of the Rangers as well as McClellan, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Their pursuit of a reunion with Uehara could complicate the Cards' plan to clear money to sign Oswalt.
3:47pm: The Cards appear to be interested in salary relief more than obtaining a high-end prospect for McClellan, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The club could also move Kyle Lohse or Jake Westbrook to the bullpen.
Morosi adds that the club has discussed deals with Oswalt in the range of $7.5MM while the pitcher seeks $10MM. Moving McClellan, who makes $2.5MM, would give the Cards enough room to sign the veteran (Twitter link).
3:16pm: Even though they have interest, the Cardinals' asking price is too high for the Orioles right now, a team source tells Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com (via Twitter)
2:35pm: The Cardinals are actively shopping versatile righthander Kyle McClellan, writes Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Moving McClellan would allow the club to alleviate a logjam in their bullpen and give them the payroll flexibility to a sign a free agent starting pitcher.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals are looking to clear money in order to sign Roy Oswalt, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. It was rumored this week that St. Louis was near a deal with the veteran but Morosi stresses that there's no deal in place just yet.
General Manager John Mozeliak recently conceded that the club could possibly deal McClellan but believes it more likely that the he will be with the Cardinals when pitchers and catchers report on February 18th. The Cardinals have attempted to engage a number of clubs in talks for McClellan and the Orioles have emerged as one of the most promising trade partners for him, according to Strauss' industry sources.
The Padres and Diamondbacks are also among the teams that have expressed interest in McClellan.
Zack Greinke Open To Extension
Brewers ace Zack Greinke is still operating without an agent, but that does not necessarily scuttle the chances of a contract extension, writes Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Greinke is entering the final season of the four-year, $38MM extension he signed in with the Royals in January of 2009.
"I’ll talk to them about it," the 28-year-old said. "I don’t really want to talk to anyone else about it. But I like the business of baseball. It’s exciting for me. It’s not like I plan on being my agent, but it is exciting being able to know what’s going on behind the scenes."
The 28-year-old left CAA last spring and does not currently have a representative. Greinke sounded open to signing on with another agency when discussing the matter.
Mets Looking For Left-Handed Bat Off Bench
The Mets are looking for a veteran left-handed bat for the bench and are looking at options such as Rick Ankiel, Kosuke Fukudome, Raul Ibanez, and Johnny Damon, two team insiders tell Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.
Ibanez and Damon appear to be less of a fit as the Mets as they would prefer more at-bats and have less defensive versatility than the links of Ankiel and Fukudome. Either one of those outfielders would provide Terry Collins with a lefty pinch-hitter, an occasional platoon partner for Jason Bay, and insurance against the club's starters.
Willie Harris signing with the Reds left the Mets with two unproven lefties off the bench in Mike Baxter and Adam Loewen. The club is prepared to begin Spring Training with only Baxter and Loewen, but that is a less likely scenario, one insider told Martino.
The Mets could be helped by Juan Pierre's agreement on Friday with the Phillies and the abundance of left-handed outfielders on the open market. Pierre agreed to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training on Friday.
Montero, Diamondbacks Likely To Go To Hearing
The Diamondbacks and catcher Miguel Montero appear to be headed to a hearing on Tuesday morning, major-league sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The 28-year-old is asking for $6.8MM while the Diamondbacks are offering $5.4MM.
Earlier this month, D'Backs GM Kevin Towers said that he hoped to keep Montero "well beyond this year". At the time, Towers said that there weren't a lot of relevant comparables at the catcher position.
According to Rosenthal, the Diamondbacks view Mike Napoli as Montero’s biggest comparable but Montero’s agents at Octagon disagree. Napoli, they argue, is only a part-time catcher while Montero tied Yadier Molina's for the most starts at the position last season with 131.
Napoli signed with the Rangers for $5.8MM in arbitration last season as a player with a little more than four years of service, one fewer than Montero. A midpoint settlement of $6.1MM for Montero would give him more than what Brian McCann and Yadier Molina earned as five-plus players in multiyear deals.
Last year, Montero hit .282/.351/.469 with 18 homers in 553 plate appearances. If Montero and the D'Backs don't reach agreement on a multi-year deal, the catcher will be a free agent after the 2012 season.
Orioles Have Discussed Casey Kotchman
The Orioles have discussed free agent first baseman Casey Kotchman, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. The soon-to-be 29-year-old hit .306/.378/.422 for the Rays in 563 plate appearances last season.
Kotchman has been linked to the Indians and Rays this offseason though Tampa Bay might not be in the mix any longer after re-signing Carlos Pena. By signing Kotchman, the O's could make Chris Davis the primary DH and use Wilson Betemit as more of a utility player and part-time DH.
Cafardo On Dodgers, Ethier, Red Sox, Cubs, Orioles
As demonstrated by the Red Sox last year, "winning" December and January doesn’t necessarily translate into winning when it counts, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. With that said, Cafardo takes a look at where all 30 teams rank after making their moves thus far. Unsurprisingly, the Angels top Cafardo's list, followed by the Yankees and Rangers. The Tigers, after signing Prince Fielder, occupy the fifth spot in the rankings. Cafardo writes that a Fielder-Miguel Cabrera middle of the order could be monstrous, but the club could use more bullpen help. Here's more from today's column..
- The Dodgers will soon decide whether to lock up Andre Ethier with a long-term deal as they did with Matt Kemp. Earlier this month, it was reported that the club had yet to discuss extensions with Ethier and Clayton Kershaw. The right fielder, who will be a free agent at the end of the season, avoided arbitration with the team by agreeing to a one-year, $10.7MM deal.
- Three West Coast teams are kicking the tires on reliever Hong-Chih Kuo and the veteran seems like a good gamble. The Dodgers, who non-tendered him earlier this month, are one of those three clubs. Kuo once had great stuff but has undergone five elbow surgeries, including two Tommy Johns, and has also experienced anxiety issues.
- An AL GM who is not associated with the Red Sox or Cubs believes that Commissioner Bud Selig will give Boston a significant player in the compensation agreement: "I don’t think MLB wants executives leaving their teams before their contracts are up and therefore he will try to deter teams from doing that again."
- Cafardo credited Orioles VP of Baseball Operations Dan Duquette with doing a solid job of building the club thus far. The next step for the club might be to add a DH such as Johnny Damon while hoping for the best when it comes to pitching. By this time next year, Duquette will add a significant piece to the rotation.
- Teams are now looking for "tack-on" guys, the ones who “can really make you look good," according to one AL assistant GM. Raul Ibanez and Hideki Matsui could both be reasonably-priced quality additions and the Yankees could be a fit for either one. Serviceable relievers Mike Gonzalez, Chad Qualls, and Juan Cruz also remain on the open market.
Quick Hits: Indians, Pena, Oswalt, Kinsler, Rangers
Some links as Saturday turns into Sunday…
- The Indians offered Carlos Pena a one-year deal worth $8MM, reports Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer. Pena took less money (one-year, $7.25MM) to return to the Rays, however.
- One of the two sides will have to get creative for Roy Oswalt to land with the Cardinals, says Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. He says the team's motives are unclear as well, noting that St. Louis recently checked in on Edwin Jackson.
- Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler says that he doesn't have anything new to report on a possible long-term extension, writes Richard Durrett of ESPN.com. Kinsler added that there haven't been many discussions with the club in regards to a new deal, but we know that there has been some conversation.
- More from Durrett, as he writes that Rangers pitcher Matt Harrison isn't concerned about hearing Roy Oswalt's name being connected to the club. Harrison would likely be bumped out of the rotation if Texas signs the veteran, but Harrison says that he's okay with moving to the bullpen.