Extension Candidate: Matt Wieters
Catchers often take a few years to adjust to big league life after being called up from the minors, in part because they have to learn a pitching staff in addition to focusing on their own development. The Buster Posey-types who have an immediate impact are few and far between. Matt Wieters was the best prospect in all of baseball before the 2009 season according to Baseball America, but it wasn't until 2011 that he started to put it all together.
Wieters, 25, hit .262/.328/.450 with 22 homers for the Orioles last season and was named to his first All-Star Game. A switch-hitter, Wieters was Barry Bonds from the right side (.339/.430/.694) and Neifi Perez from the left (.235/.291/.371). His career splits are much less pronounced, however. Wieters won the Gold Glove Award for his work behind the plate, and also won the Fielding Bible Award at the position for those of you who prefer a more analytical approach to defense. His career may have started slowly, but now Wieters is starting to break out.
Quality catching is hard to find, which is why teams are eager to lock up their young backstops these days. Nick Hundley (three years, $9MM) and Salvador Perez (five years, $7MM) traded their arbitration-eligible years for guaranteed payouts this offseason while Yadier Molina set the market for free agent backstops with his five-year, $75MM contract. A Molina-like payday may be unavoidable for the Orioles and Wieters down the road, but the club certainly has reasons to look into buying out his arbitration years as well some potential free agent years with an extension.
Molina ($9.25MM), Kurt Suzuki ($14.85MM), Brian McCann ($15.5MM), and Joe Mauer ($20.5MM) all signed away their three arbitration years for similar amounts as part of a multi-year extension. The free agent years surrendered as part of those four extensions range in value from $5.25MM (Molina) to $12.5MM (Mauer). Miguel Montero did not sign an extension but will earn $11.1MM during his three arbitration years. Using those five backstops as a blueprint, a five-year contract worth $22-25MM could make sense for both the O's and Wieters. It would cover his final pre-arbitration year (2012), all three arbitration years ($13-15MM total), and one free agent year ($9-10MM). Options for additional free agent years are, as they say, optional.
It's worth noting that Wieters is a Scott Boras client, but the superagent has been willing to let clients like Jered Weaver, Carlos Gonzalez, Stephen Drew, and Elvis Andrus sign long-term extensions in recent years. Baltimore hired new GM Dan Duquette back in November and they're just starting to pick up the pieces of a franchise that's finished in the AL East cellar in each of the last four years. Wieters could be part of the next contending Orioles team, and the club might want to gain some cost certainty before he continues his breakout and gets even more expensive.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Quick Hits: Nationals, Blue Jays, Soria, Carpenter
Two weeks from now, the regular season will be underway. In the meantime, here are some links, including injury updates on a trio of pitchers…
- "We are pretty comfortable with the team that we have right now," said Nationals GM Mike Rizzo to reporters (including MLB.com's Bill Ladson). "If something comes up to improve ourselves, we'll certainly investigate it. We are not selling anybody or shopping anybody or making a lot of phone calls, because we are comfortable where we are at."
- The Blue Jays have five roster spots up for grabs – left field, fifth starter, utility infielder, two bullpen spots – but there are clear frontrunners for each job according to MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm. The team doesn't want to delay any official moves, but they also want to make sure everyone gets enough playing time to audition for jobs.
- Royals closer Joakim Soria will undergo Tommy John surgery on April 3rd, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports (Twitter links).
- Chris Carpenter is out indefinitely with a nerve issue, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak told reporters, including MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch (Twitter link). Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch suggests Carpenter will likely miss two months or more (Twitterlink).
- Joba Chamberlain dislocated his right ankle and lost a life-threatening amount of blood yesterday, Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News reports. The injury will end Chamberlain's season and could threaten his career.
- One scout says Mark Reynolds isn't appealing, especially given his $7.5MM salary, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com tweets. The Orioles are shopping Reynolds and teammate Kevin Gregg.
- Padres owner John Moores could earn a substantial profit when he sells his team, partly because bidders who fail to purchase the Dodgers may view Padres as consolation prize, Jon Paul Morosi writes at FOX Sports.
- Former All-Star reliever Chad Cordero tells Jonathan Hacohen of MLB Reports that he's getting the itch to play again and will attempt to come back to the Major Leagues in 2013. The 30-year-old reliever took time off to deal with the death of his infant daughter, but he's not ready to give up on baseball yet.
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
AL East Notes: Cook, Red Sox, Pettitte, Orioles
Earlier today, Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine told reporters that Daisuke Matsuzaka could be back in the rotation as he recovers from Tommy John surgery. In the meantime, another BoSox pitcher is making a strong case for breaking camp with the club. More on that and other links out of the AL East..
- Right-hander Aaron Cook can opt-out of his deal with the Red Sox on May 1st if he isn't on the big league squad, but the veteran might punch his ticket well before that, writes Alex Speier of WEEI.com. Cook's deal with Boston is worth $1.5MM if he is put on the major league roster.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman is keeping tight-lipped when it comes to the makeup of the club's rotation, but he is preaching patience when it comes to Andy Pettitte, writes Jeff Bradley of the Star-Ledger. For his part, the 39-year-old says that he plans on keeping to his schedule and joining the team around May 1st.
- MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli likes Ryan Flaherty's chances of making the Orioles. The Rule 5 pick must be returned to the Cubs if he is not on the O's Opening Day roster.
Orioles Shopping Kevin Gregg, Mark Reynolds
The Orioles are shopping right-handed reliever Kevin Gregg and corner infielder Mark Reynolds, Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com tweets. Both players are under contract for 2012 with club options for 2013.
Gregg, 33, posted a 4.37 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 6.0 BB/9 in 59 2/3 innings of work last year, his first season in Baltimore. He'll earn $5.8MM in 2012 and his contract includes a $6MM club option for 2013. I'd be surprised if a team took on more than $2MM of his salary in a trade.
Reynolds, 28, hit 37 homers and posted a .221/.323/.483 line last year, while playing first and third base. He led the league in strikeouts for the fourth consecutive season, striking out in approximately one third of his 620 plate appearances. He'll earn $7.5MM in 2012 and his contract includes a $11MM club option for 2013 ($500K buyout).
Orioles Notes: Britton, Willis, Catchers
Here's the latest from Charm City…
- Zach Britton underwent two rounds of platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy today in an effort to solve the inflammation in his throwing shoulder. The young left-hander told reporters (including Brittany Ghiroli from MLB.com) that Dr. James Andrews recommended the procedure and if it works, Britton will be able to avoid surgery. Britton will be sidelined for at least six weeks and he hopes to be pitching by early May.
- Dontrelle Willis said he received offers from other teams before signing with the Orioles, tweets Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun.
- The O's plan to use Willis as a left-handed relief specialist and he'll start the season in the minors, Dan Duquette told reporters (including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com). Duquette also said the team would look out for other available pitchers but are concentrating on evaluating their current arms in camp.
- "It's going to be hard to pick up another catcher this time of the year," Duquette said, indicating that the Orioles will stick with Ronny Paulino as their backup catcher if Taylor Teagarden has to spend time on the disabled list.
Minor Moves: Phillies, Barfield, Dodgers, Smit
A look at today's minor moves..
- The Phillies released former Rangers first-round pick Kasey Kiker, tweets Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus. The left-hander spent six seasons in the Texas farm system, posting a 4.53 ERA with 9.2 K/9 and 5.2 BB/9.
- The Orioles signed second baseman Josh Barfield to a minor league deal, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Barfield, 29, last appeared in the majors with the Indians in '09.
- More from Eddy (via Twitter), who reports that the Dodgers signed right-hander Kyle Smit. Los Angeles originally drafted Smit in ’06 and sent him to the Cubs in the Ted Lilly deal in 2010.
- The Rays released a number of minor leaguers, including left-handers Sergio Espinosa and Robert Dickmann, tweets Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
Orioles To Sign Dontrelle Willis
The Orioles will sign Dontrelle Willis to a minor league contract, report ESPN's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun reports (on Twitter) that Willis will make $700K in the big leagues. The Sosnick Cobbe client was released by the Phillies last week.
Willis pitched 75 2/3 innings for the Reds in 2011 — his highest total since 2007. The 30-year-old southpaw posted a 5.00 ERA with 6.8 K/9, 4.4 BB/9 and a 54.5% ground ball rate in 13 second half starts with Cincinnati this past season. An ineffective Spring Training with Philadelphia led to his release.
Cafardo On Red Sox, Aybar, Lannan, Cecil
While Larry Lucchino may not have officially signed a new deal with the Red Sox, the team’s president/CEO told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that he expects to be with the organization for years to come. It's widely known that Lucchino has a greater role in baseball operations than he did in years past when he worked with GM Theo Epstein. The CEO also told Cafardo that while ownership long considered Cherington to be Epstein's heir, there were brief discussions about going outside for a GM. Here's more from Cafardo..
- The Angels are working on a multiyear extension with shortstop Erick Aybar, who can become a free agent next winter. Agent Fernando Cuza is looking for a five-year deal and Aybar could land a big contract on the open market. If Jose Iglesias doesn't look like the Red Sox's long-term solution, Aybar may become an option.
- Interest in Nationals left-hander John Lannan has diminished with some teams that feel what they have is just as good. Boston, for example, feels equally comfortable with Felix Doubront and Andrew Miller. However, the Nats still have a pitching surplus and it appears that teams are more interested in lefty Ross Detwiler’s upside. It's also possible that Washington will want to keep all of their starters as insurance because of Chien-Ming Wang's hamstring injury.
- As the Blue Jays create more room for their top young pitchers, left-hander Brett Cecil could be made available in a deal. The former top prospect hasn’t lived up to expectations and hasn’t had an especially good spring. Last week we learned that Cecil and Kyle Drabek are drawing attention from scouts.
- Mike Aviles is the Red Sox's starting shortstop, but the Phillies are one team that would be interested in dealing for him as they look for an experienced backup infielder. If Boston committed to Iglesias, Aviles could be made available.
- The Indians are wading through left fielders to find a fit, and they could wind up with Johnny Damon. One Tribe exec shot down that idea yesterday, saying that Damon's lackluster defense kills any interest they might have. While the Orioles keep indicating they won’t sign Damon, the veteran would be a great fit for their lineup.
- Cafardo wonders if Ivan Rodriguez could land somewhere soon. The Orioles feel protected with Ronny Paulino if Taylor Teagarden’s back issues persist, but Cafardo writes that Paulino never seems to endear himself wherever he goes. The Royals are on the lookout for catching help due to Salvador Perez’s injury but rather solve that problem from within. Yesterday we heard that the Royals extended a camp invite to Pudge which was not accepted but the club later denied the report.
Orioles Seek Starting Pitching
The Orioles are looking for a starting pitcher, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets. Executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette spent much of the offseason acquiring candidates for the rotation, but it remains light on MLB experience.
Joe Blanton, Gavin Floyd and Freddy Garcia are among the potentially available starters for the Orioles to consider. They also appear to have had interest in Cardinals right-hander Kyle McClellan for some time. John Lannan may no longer be available given Chien-Ming Wang’s hamstring injury.
Wei-Ying Chen, Jason Hammel, Zach Britton, Jake Arrieta, Brian Matusz, Brad Bergesen, Chris Tillman, Dana Eveland, Tsuyoshi Wada and Armando Galarraga entered the spring with a shot at obtaining a spot in Baltimore’s rotation.
Quick Hits: Cain, Hamels, Aybar, K-Rod, Escobar
Happy birthday to Kevin Youkilis (33), Jon Jay (27) and Leo Nun…er, make that Juan Oviedo (30). This is the first time Oviedo has been able to publicly celebrate his actual birthday in several years, as he kept a listed birthday of August 14, 1983 while living under the Leo Nunez identity.
Here's some news from around the major leagues as we head into Friday…
- Matt Cain's agent Rick Landrum tells John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle that "we'll never give up hope" that Cain and the Giants can work out a contract extension before Opening Day. There hasn't been much progress in recent negotiations but the two sides "remain open for business," as Shea writes.
- In addition to Cain, there have been no new developments over the last week in Cole Hamels' extension talks with the Phillies, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.
- Also from Olney (via Twitter), he hears from evaluators that there isn't much trade talk overall around the majors. Olney predicts things will probably pick up in 10 days or so, once teams start to sort out their needs for their Opening Day rosters.
- Angels GM Jerry Dipoto has had at least two face-to-face meetings since Monday with Erick Aybar's representatives, reports Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles. Aybar is believed to be looking for an extension of at least five years. Dipoto recently said that he thought an extension with Aybar was possible, if not necessarily by Opening Day.
- The Padres were discussing a one-year, $9MM contract with Francisco Rodriguez over the winter before the club saw an opportunity to acquire Huston Street, reports Scott Miller of CBS Sports. San Diego also talked to free agent Frank Francisco and asked the Athletics about Andrew Bailey.
- The Royals' extension with Alcides Escobar is the team's latest step in locking up its young talent, reports MLB.com's Dick Kaegel. "[Owners] Dan and David Glass are determined to keep as many of these young players together as we can, knowing full well that it has to fit within our salary structure and our payroll going forward," Moore said. "It's going to get a little sticky for us, it's going to get a little hairy as we get into 2014-15-16." Moore declined to comment on the progress of contract talks with another of Kansas City's young stars, Alex Gordon.
- The well-traveled Octavio Dotel shares some of his road stories with ESPN's Jayson Stark. Dotel will set a new Major League record once he plays his first game for the Tigers this season by becoming the first player to suit up for 13 different teams.
- "I feel comfortable we finally got to a level [where we] can be competitive every single year," Tigers owner Mike Ilitch told media (including MLB.com's Jason Beck) during a visit to Spring Training today. "That's always been my goal. I feel good about that. It would be hard to screw that up once you get there. You tell yourself you want to stay there now."
- The Orioles could be looking for backup catching help if Taylor Teagarden's back injury lingers into the season, reports CSN Baltimore's Rich Dubroff. Veteran Ronny Paulino is Matt Wieters' backup for now, but Paulino only just arrived in camp due to a visa issue.