AL East Notes: Yankees, Tanaka, Rays
Dave Wallace was away from the majors for years but he's now back with the Orioles to lend pitchers a helping hand, writes Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun. Wallace, 66, wa the minor league pitching coordinator for the Braves before he was hired as the O's pitching coach. "It was real difficult," Wallace said of deciding whether to return to a big league coaching staff. "I'd be lying to you if I said it wasn't. … I'm not the youngest guy in the world, but I'm in pretty good shape physically now. Actually, I did some praying. I have a strong faith, and if the good Lord thought I was healthy enough to do it again, then I would love to have an opportunity." Here's today's look at the AL East..
- Masahiro Tanaka is ready to make the transition from Japan to New York, writes Christian Red of the New York Daily News. Red spoke with baseball executives and people familiar with the history of players coming over from Japan about what it will take for the star pitcher to make things work wth the Yankees.
- The Yankees have to be careful and protect their investment in Tanaka, writes Barry Federovitch of the Star-Ledger. Tanaka was overworked in Japan, so it would make sense for the Bombers to have him skip the occasional start to preserve his arm.
- Rays owner Stuart Sternberg acknowledges that he's making a play for a championship in 2014, but he doesn't like people saying that Tampa Bay is "all in," writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. "I don't believe in the phrase, 'all in,' " Sternberg said. "I've heard it, and I don't care for it. We are feeding the beast. That usually comes with very successful teams who have to keep throwing money into an incinerator to keep things going."
AL Central Notes: Santana, Twins, Tigers
Today’s glimpse at the AL Central..
- Bob Dutton of the The News Tribune (via Twitter) hears from industry insiders that Matt Garza‘s reported four-year, $52MM agreement with the Brewers means that former Royals ace Ervin Santana is unlikely to get more than $40MM over three years and maybe much less. If there is a drop in price, that could put many more teams in play. Meanwhile, Garza’s deal with Milwaukee – agreed upon on Thursday – has yet to be completed.
- Twins GM Terry Ryan says that he’s still got “his eye” on position players as he feels that the club is a little lean that area, tweets Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press.
- Prospect Robbie Ray, now with the Tigers, wasn’t initially in the trade talks that sent Doug Fister to the Nationals, writes MLB.com’s Jason Beck. That fits with an opinion just after the trade from an American League talent evaluator, who suggested the Nationals would not have traded Ray for fellow Tigers starter Rick Porcello.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Price, Tanaka, Orioles
On this date in 1989, the rules put in place during the 1988 season to make balk calls more uniform throughout baseball were rescinded and replaced by the pre-1988 rules. The wording change led to an unprecedented amount of balk calls in both leagues. Here’s this week’s look around the baseball blogosphere..
- DRaysBay maps out a David Price extension.
- Pinstripe Pundits asks if Masahiro Tanaka‘s deal is fair value.
- Camden Depot looks at the Orioles’ situation in left field and at DH.
- The Shea Faithful votes for Mitchell Boggs.
- Kevin Says breaks down the Rays-Padres deal.
- Inside The Zona says it’s time for the D’Backs to plant their flag in Australia.
- Baseball Hot Corner spoke with Tony Rasmus and talked about baseball in the family.
- Outside Pitch discusses Sammy Solis‘ upcoming spring training.
- Yanks Beat Blog says the Bombers’ rotation is shaping up nicely.
- Rays Colored Glasses likes the trade for Tampa Bay.
- Baseball News Source looks at clubs that can turn it around in 2014.
- Blue Jay Hunter says it’s time to dump the five-year policy.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, send it to Zach at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.
Cafardo On Burnett, Tanaka, Morales, Matsuzaka
In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe checks in with GMs, players, writers, and scouts to help run down the best coaches in baseball. On his list of bench coaches who are managers in waiting: Brad Mills of the Indians, Torey Luvullo of the Red Sox, Larry Bowa of the Phillies, Tim Flannery of the Giants, and the Brewers' Jerry Narron. More from today's column..
- The Pirates probably won’t go after a pitcher if A.J. Burnett retires. Right now, Pittsburgh is looking for a full-time first baseman and would use the money that would have gone to the veteran toward that end. Cafardo also notes that the Orioles could be a "wild card" in the situation since Burnett lives in Baltimore.
- While the bids of the other teams are still unknown, one GM threw out the following figures in the Masahiro Tanaka sweepstakes: Yankees $155MM, Cubs $120MM, Diamondbacks $120MM, Dodgers $119MM, White Sox $100MM, Astros $100MM.
- The Diamondbacks were head over heels for Tanaka, but the fact they weren’t on one of the coasts and they were in a smaller media market worked against them.
- Scott Boras doesn't represent David Ortiz, but he tells Cafardo that he feels for them. Boras sees some similarities between the Red Sox star and his own client Kendrys Morales. Morales is seen by most clubs as a DH rather than a first baseman which is hurting his value. Boras argues that Ortiz is the featured power hitter in Boston's lineup as a DH and believes that Morales can also provide value in that role.
- There had been some talk that Daisuke Matsuzaka might go back to Japan to pitch, but the possibility of breaking into the Mets’ rotation with Matt Harvey out intrigued Matsuzaka enough to fight for a spot.
- The Giants have been through a lot with Pablo Sandoval and even if he has a good season, this could be Pablo Sandoval's last in San Francisco. Sandoval will be a free agent following the 2014 season.
Grady Sizemore Eager To Get Back To Baseball
Earlier tonight, the Red Sox agreed to sign Grady Sizemore to a one-year, $750K deal that could balloon to $6MM if he reaches all of his incentives. The three-time All-Star was once the face of the Indians franchise but thanks to some unfortunate injuries, he hasn't been on the field since 2011. Sizemore finally felt ready to come back and multiple teams came calling this winter when Sizemore's reps at CAA Sports put out word that their client was healthy and ready to return to baseball. The Reds, in fact, seemed right on the cusp of inking him to a contract until earlier today, when GM Walt Jocketty said in a radio interview that a deal wouldn't be happening. However, when I asked Sizemore how close he was to donning a Reds jersey, he downplayed the seriousness of that talk.
"Honestly, I was talking with multiple teams and I was kind of exploring every option that I could," Sizemore said on this evening's conference call. "In the end, I thought the Red Sox gave me the best opportunity to succeed and that's why I went with these guys."
The Red Sox, Sizemore said, have been talking to him since the start of the offseason, but things truly ramped up in the last "two or three weeks." I asked Sizemore what made the Red Sox the most attractive option of any club and he explained that his familiarity with a few members of the Boston staff coupled with the medical game plan that they laid out for him made them the winner.
One might assume that the opportunity to play center field appealed to Sizemore but he says that he didn't have a positional preference, just a desire to get significant playing time. More than anything, Sizemore sounds like a player who is thrilled to finally be on the path back to MLB.
"It's been frustrating. No one likes to deal with injuries and I've had my fair share. Hopefully that's behind me now. I'm just looking forward to moving on and starting the second half of my career."
Brian Cashman On Signing Masahiro Tanaka
Earlier today, the Yankees gave Masahiro Tanaka the largest ever open-market deal for a right-handed free agent pitcher – a seven-year, $155MM pact. It's the sort of contract that Yankees fans have come to expect from the club over the years, but there were serious doubts heading into this offseason that they would be writing those kinds of checks after about a year of talk of staying under the $189MM luxury tax threshold. Now, with free agents Tanaka, Carlos Beltran (three years, $45MM), Brian McCann (five years, $85MM), and Jacoby Ellsbury (seven years, $153MM) in the fold, it's hard to see the Bombers staying beneath that line. On today's conference call, I asked General Manager Brian Cashman when the Yankees decided that they would scrap their fiscally conservative plan. He responded:
"I think Hal Steinbrenner has spoken to that on a number of occasions now, the new basic agreement provided certain benefits if we were on our way to under $189MM, he conveyed that it was a goal, but he has reiterated that it wouldn't come at the expense of putting together a championship team. I think our fans can recognize that Hal Steinbrenner and Hank Steinbrenner [mean it] when they say they intend to put a team on the field that can compete on a yearly basis."
Indeed, the Yankees showed this winter that they were not going to accept a repeat of last season, which ended with an 85-77 finish and no postseason berth. I asked Cashman if this was the last starting pitcher or significant free agent that the Bombers would add, and while he was largely non-committal, he did acknowledge that "much of the heavy lifting" has already taken place.
Tanaka was widely regarded as the best free agent pitcher on the open market this offseason, despite never having thrown a major league pitch. His upside and his age made him an extremely hot commodity, but his odometer is of concern to some. For instance, the Rakuten Golden Eagles allowed him to toss a 160-pitch complete-game loss in Game 6 of the Japanese championship series before throwing 15 pitches in relief the next day. Cashman says that he and his staff have taken those concerns into account and were willing to forge ahead anyway:
"You always have concerns. That's always something you can't ignore or deny. But, I think that as you can see clearly by the competitve bidding on him as a free agent, with his age, talent, the scouting assessments on him, and the pitching market the way it is, it's certainly something that we're still willing to take the risk by acknowledging, yeah, there's a workload there."
The Yankees, despite their worries, came out on top in the bidding process, but Cashman isn't quite sure how much he beat the second-highest bidder by. The GM was informed that the bidding was "very competitive," but he isn't sure how the other finalists (reportedly including the Dodgers, White Sox, Cubs, and D'Backs) stacked up. He also confirmed that the opt-out clause included in the deal wasn't initially part of their pitch but instead was requested by agent Casey Close. Close told Cashman that all of the other serious offers included an opt-out clause and would more-or-less be mandatory if he hoped to land the hurler.
When asked if he shied away from fellow Japanese star Yu Darvish before the 2012 season due to concerns over some of his fellow countrymen not making the grade, Cashman was adamant that he was very interested in his services. The scouting department was extremely high on the right-hander, but the $50MM+ posting fee that was required was too rich for their blood at the time.
This time around, the Yankees got their man with a much more reasonable $20MM fee, though the total commitment to Tanaka is much higher than the roughly $108MM the Rangers committed to land Darvish ($51.7MM posting fee and $56MM salary guarantee). Needless to say, it's a sizable committment, and one that the Yankees made after years of homework. According to Cashman:
"We started evaluating him back in 2007, certainly paying close attention to him in the '09 [World Baseball Classic]. This year we went to 15 of his games including the WBC and we sent a scout to evaluate him in the playoffs as well. We made a determined effort to know as much as we possibly could."
Brett Tomko On His Comeback Bid
Brett Tomko enjoyed a long career in Major League Baseball that included pitching in big games and stops in the postseason. While some athletes in his position – accomplished professionally with a young family – would choose to relax and enjoy post-retirement life, the 40-year-old is enthusiastic about his bid to return to the bigs in 2014.
The veteran says he has every reason to be confident, because he's been counted out before and proved the naysayers wrong. In the midst of his 100th career win late in 2009, he suffered a pinched nerve that caused him to lose feeling from his elbow to the middle of his hand. When doctors jammed needles into Tomko's right arm as part of a nerve test to assess the damage, he didn't feel them. The next year, the veteran pitched in the lower levels of the A's minor league system and got shelled by "18 and 19 year olds" as he couldn't get his fastball above 83 mph.
He eventually got his velocity back, however, and hooked on with the Rangers in 2011 where he pitched in Triple-A after some time on the varsity squad. He spent the bulk of 2012 with the Reds' Triple-A affiliate, but during his final start of the year, he dislocated his right shoulder. Now, after a year of independent ball, Tomko says he's anxious to show MLB what he's capable of.
"I was basically told by a lot of doctors that I'd never pitch again and that kind of made me appreciate things more," Tomko said. "It gave me a new perspective on baseball and how great it was that I got to play for the last 18 years and how much I enjoyed playing. I enjoy everything about the process: traveling to new cities, the competition..there's nothing I really don't enjoy about it."
Tomko is offering clubs more than just a positive attitude, though that's probably also a selling point, as he says that he's willing to pitch in Triple-A and eager to help young pitchers improve. This offseason, the veteran has lost 20 to 25 pounds and has gotten his fastball up to the 90-93 mph range. By his account, Tomko, who turns 41 in April, says that he feels as good as he did when he was 25. He also played some winter ball for the first time in his professional career, spending a month in the Dominican Republic where he stifled big league hitters with regularity.
While in the Dominican, scouts from numerous teams – including the Mariners, Indians, Red Sox, Marlins, Nationals, Dodgers, and Mets – all spoke with Tomko and expressed varying degrees of interest. The veteran has also chatted with the Angels and Yankees and will be throwing for the Orioles on Friday. A few Asian clubs also approached him during his stint in the DR, and while he'll consider those opportunities, he says he would prefer a good Triple-A opportunity with a big league club. Tomko says that agent Larry O'Brien will set up a formal audition for multiple clubs at the end of January or in the first week of February if he hasn't signed with a club by that time.
Tomko is taking it all one step at a time, but he's more than open to pitching beyond 2014 if the opportunity presents itself.
"Physically, if I still feel as good as I did when I was younger, then I could see [pitching in 2015 and beyond]. I'll keep lacing it up until someone rips the uniform off of my back and says 'You're done.'" Tomko said. "I tell my family all the time, I'd never go out there and embarrass myself, and if my stuff suffers or isn't the same or if my pitches have gone to the dumps, I'm done. I feel like I can look in the mirror at any point and say it's been a good run, but I don't feel like I'm done. I'm not throwing 95 or 96 [mph] like when I was 25 or 26, but I'll take 93. If I was throwing 84, I'd say it's time to shut it down."
No matter what, Tomko says he wants to stay involved in baseball and would be open to different opportunities when he's done pitching, including coaching and serving as a TV analyst. However, he's not thinking about any of that right now.
"I'd definitely want to stay in the game in some avenue, whether it's being with an organization in a role where you still help the young kids…I'm game for anything. But, right now my focus is playing and pitching and working out. I have the same mindset every year. This February I'm going to be in camp somewhere and ready to pitch."
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Morrow, Martin, D’Backs
On this date in 1972, at the age of 36, Dodgers southpaw Sandy Koufax became the youngest player to be elected into the Hall of Fame. Here’s this week’s look around the baseball blogosphere..
- Blue Jays Plus goes deep on Brandon Morrow.
- Rays Colored Glasses checked in with J.D. Martin.
- The Beanball looks at the best defensive free agents left.
- Inside The Zona contemplates a three-headed shortstop.
- Hidden Vigorish talks about the PIrates’ payroll.
- Outside PItch sizes up the Braves’ catchers.
- Grading On The Curve says the Orioles would be foolish to spend on pitching.
- Pinstripe Pundits talks about why the Yankees won’t sign Stephen Drew.
- Baseball News Source runs down rookies that can make a splasn in 2014.
- Talkin Sox With Dan is sticking with Clay Buchholz.
- Lasorda’s Lair rejoices over Clayton Kershaw‘s new deal.
- Konsume wonders if Kershaw is the greatest pitcher of all-time.
- The Shea Faithful counts on rate stats, not counting stats.
- The Brewers Bar has ten gifts for the Brewers fan in your life that you secretly hate.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached at ZachBBWI@gmail.com.
Nationals In Mix For Grant Balfour
The Nationals have interest in free agent reliever Grant Balfour, major league sources tell Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Nats already have three relievers with closing experience in Rafael Soriano, Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen, but the addition of Balfour could make sense for a variety of reasons, Rosenthal writes.
According to sources, GM Mike Rizzo & Co. would like to trade Storen, who will earn $3.45MM in 2014. Meanwhile, Washington almost certainly doesn't want Soriano to pitch enough games to trigger his $14MM option for 2015 and they'd probably like to keep Clippard as a setup man.
The Nationals saved about $3.5MM by signing shortstop Ian Desmond and right-hander Jordan Zimmermann to back-loaded, two-year extensions and major league sources say their aim was to create financial flexibility. They want to add another bat off the bench, but they also would like to add Balfour. They could also parlay those savings into settling their arb cases with Clippard and Doug Fister, but, of course, they'd rather not have to.
Balfour, of course, had agreed to a two-year, $15MM contract with the Beltway's other team before the O's called it off due to concerns about his knee and wrist. Meanwhile, Balfour has been adamant that he is completely healthy.
While the Nationals like Balfour, they don't have interest in Fernando Rodney, the other top closer on the market, sources say.
Cafardo On Cruz, Garza, Tanaka, Figgins
In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that outside of his own representation, you won’t find a lot of legal experts who believe Alex Rodriguez will win in federal court. “I would be surprised if the decision is reversed,” Stanford law professor William B. Gould IV said. “Since 1960, arbitration awards can only be reversed when the arbitrator decides on his own ideas of justice rather than the CBA or because of fraud, corruption or partiality. The merits are for the arbitrator, not the courts. Probably the arbitrator should have called Selig to the stand to avoid partiality, but that won’t be a basis for reversal on its own. As for the union, their obligation is to investigate A-Rod’s claim in good faith — they did so and took his case. And allowing his own counsel.” More from today's column..
- Teams are staying away from Nelson Cruz because salary demands still haven’t come down quite enough, according to one National League GM. He made sense for the Orioles as a power-hitting right-handed bat, but their recent acquisition of Delmon Young may have squashed their interest.
- Teams have been reluctant to pony up a four- or five-year deal for Matt Garza and he may have to settle for fewer years, even with the price of pitching very high. “There may be concerns about him physically,” said one AL exec. “I think most teams are thinking four or five years is just too risky, even if he’s a no-compensation guy.”
- Cafardo hears that the bidding for Masahiro Tanaka could get as high as $120MM over six years and that he could shake hands on a deal before the January 24th deadline.
- The Red Sox were not among the teams who watched Chone Figgins workout in Arizona as he attempts a comeback. Figgins hopes to resurrect his career, even if it’s as a utility man. It appears he’ll get the chance to be in camp with someone.
- After recovering from life-threatening injuries and having his spleen removed, Carl Pavano is throwing off of flat ground in Arizona, according to his agent, Dave Pepe. “Some teams have popped in to see where he’s at. Our intention is for him to throw bullpens for teams in mid-February,” Pepe said.
- Former Rockies and Red Sox pitcher Aaron Cook is also looking to bounce back after a tired arm ended his season in July. He did not pitch in the majors last season, making eight starts with Triple A Colorado Springs.
- Agent Alan Nero says he'd be surprised if any of the arbitration-eligible players went to a hearing this year.
- Former Indians and Mariners skipper Eric Wedge will likely take a network television job soon but he'd like to get another chance in the dugout at some point.
- Reliever Cedrick Bowers, who spent last season in the Atlantic League, is starting to catch the eye of scouts in Venezuela.