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Quick Hits: Rowand, Cabrera, Simon, Loans

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Here are some items of note for Friday night, including an interesting question posed by Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com on the Mets' and Dodgers' messy financial situations:

  • Giants outfielder Aaron Rowand will be under a lot of scrutiny this spring, writes Chris Haft of MLB.com, as he looks to be the odd man out in San Francisco's crowded outfield. It won't be easy to flip him though, Haft notes, because two years and $24MM remain on his contract, and he's coming off a down year in 2010. If the Giants do move Rowand, according to Haft, their trade partner will probably ask them to eat some salary or take on a similar financial commitment in return.
  • Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera made his on-field debut at Spring Training on Friday, writes Jason Beck of MLB.com. His arrival, of course, was delayed by last week's arrest for allegedly driving under the influence and resisting arrest. Cabrera is facing the proverbial two-strike count with respect to his off-field travails, writes Steve Henson of Yahoo! Sports: If Cabrera slips up again, he will likely face serious repercussions from Major League Baseball.
  • Orioles right-hander Alfredo Simon is no longer facing a civil suit after he was a suspect in a fatal shooting in his native Dominican Republic on New Year's Eve, but, per a Santo Domingo prosecutor, an investigation is ongoing and Simon has been denied bail, according to the Baltimore Sun. Prosecutors have till April 9 to file formal charges that could lead to a trial.
  • The Mets' $25MM loan from MLB may be the most damning indication of their financial woes, says Rosenthal in an audio clip. Rosenthal also finds it curious that MLB loaned the cash to the Mets but denied the Dodgers' request to borrow $200MM from FOX, as was reported by Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. "It's a simple question of fairness," says Rosenthal.

Machado, Alonso & Valencia Hire Dan Lozano

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Not long after landing Nick Swisher, agent Dan Lozano has added Manny Machado, Yonder Alonso, and Danny Valencia to his list of clients according to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick and Keith Law (all Twitter links). Machado and Alonso were named the 14th and 73rd best prospects in the game, respectively, by Baseball America just yesterday. Law notes that all three players than Miami roots.

Machado, 18, was the third overall pick in the 2010 draft. In his brief professional debut last summer (39 plate appearances), he hit .306/.359/.472 with a homer and as many walks (three) as strikeouts. In the 2011 edition of their Prospect Handbook, Baseball America said Machado "has the look of a perennial all-star" with a chance to "become a .300 hitter with 20 homers a season as he matures." Machado was previously being represented by Scott Boras.

Alonso, 24 in April, was the Reds' first round pick in 2008, seventh overall. He made his Major League debut last September, hitting just .207/.207/.276 with ten strikeouts and no walks in 29 plate appearances. Alonso is a .298/.368/.458 career hitters in the minors, and he told Crasnick that he left Legacy Sports "about a month ago." His salaries are controlled through 2012 thanks to the five-year, $4.55MM big league contract he signed out of the draft.

As a first baseman in the Reds' system, Alonso is stuck behind NL MVP Joey Votto, which is why the club has had him try third base and left field in the past. So far neither position has stuck, and Alonso could wind up trade bait.

Valencia, 26, emerged as the Twins third baseman last season, hitting .311/.351/.448 with seven homers in 322 plate appearances. He finished third in the AL Rookie of the Year voting.

Casey Close Leaving CAA Sports

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Agent Casey Close is leaving CAA Sports when his five-year contract expires at the end of the month, reports Liz Mullen of The Sports Business Journal (subs. req'd). A hat tip goes out to Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball.

Mullen says that CAA and Close are still trying to work out the details of his departure, "which may involve CAA and Close sharing the representation of some of the clients going forward." Close represents Derek Jeter, Ryan Howard, Michael Cuddyer, and Derrek Lee, among others.

It's unclear if Close will join a new a firm or work independently, though Brown notes that high profile agents (such as Dan Lozano) have been going out on their own recently. Close was one of the first sports agents that CAA hired when it launched its sports division in April 2006. It is primarily a Hollywood talent firm.

Quick Hits: Darvish, Simon, Kenny Williams, Rays

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Happy birthday to Brian Duensing (28), Kelly Johnson (29), Casey Kotchman (28), Daniel Nava (28), J.J. Putz (34), Don Wakamatsu (48) and Hall-of-Fame manager Sparky Anderson, who would've turned 77 years old today.

Onto some news from around the majors…

  • ESPN's Keith Law expects the Blue Jays to be "serious bidders" for Yu Darvish. (Twitter link)  The Japanese star says he wants to pitch in the Major Leagues in 2012, and at least nine teams besides Toronto are known to have interest.
  • Prosecutor Victor Mueses tells ESPNDeportes' Enrique Rojas that there are no plans to drop pending manslaughter charges against Orioles reliever Alfredo Simon.  It was reported over the weekend that Simon was expected to be released soon, but "nothing has happened to make us change our position," Mueses says.  Rojas also reports that Simon has agreed to pay $70K to the families of the victims of the New Year's Eve shooting in order to have the charges dropped, but Mueses says that such an agreement wouldn't impact his office's case.
  • White Sox GM Kenny Williams criticized baseball's financial structure yesterday and told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune today that he was even uncomfortable with his own team's $125MM payroll.  "We're out on a limb.  But that's our choice.  We made the choice in an effort to give our fans hope and give ourselves a chance to compete for a championship," Williams said.  "If things don't go our way, if we don't get the support, we'll lose money.  We're going to lose money but we've gone into this knowing how long can you do that, how much can you absorb?"
  • "The Rays’ bullpen figures to be a season-long work in progress," writes FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal.  Tampa Bay lost almost its entire bullpen to free agency, and Andrew Friedman admitted the club was "kind of freaking out about it" in January.  Rosenthal says the Rays will look at relievers cut by teams at the end of Spring Training, and they will also continue to consider possible trades.  
  • When might some of the Indians' young stars reach the majors?  Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer weighs in on when Tribe fans can see the likes of Lonnie Chisenhall at Progressive Field.

Orioles Place Alfredo Simon On Restricted List

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SUNDAY, 10:22pm: MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli reports that Simon is expected to be found not guilty, and could be released within ten days. One of the right-hander's agents, Phil Isaac, said they "fully expect [Simon] to be back up, and pitching very soon."

Ghiroli says the Orioles could keep Simon on the restricted list until he is ready to re-join the team. He will not get paid or accrue service time in the meantime.

FRIDAY, 8:13am: The Orioles announced that they placed right-hander Alfredo Simon on the restricted list to create roster space for Vladimir Guerrero. Simon is a suspect in a fatal New Year's Eve shooting in the Dominican, where he is currently in jail.

Players on the restricted list do not count toward a team's 25-man or 40-man roster. Two of the players to go on the restricted list recently, Carlos Zambrano and Milton Bradley, kept collecting paychecks while on the list, but it appears that Simon won't collect service time or salary. Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com says the Orioles won't be paying the reliever.

2012 Vesting Options

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Vesting options are always worth keeping track of during the season, especially since they can often have consequences that are less than desirable. Last year Magglio Ordonez ($15MM), Kerry Wood ($11MM), and Brian Fuentes ($9MM) all had big money options that did not vest, though Darren Oliver ($3.25MM) and Trever Miller ($2MM) had some smaller ones that did. 

Here is a list of 2012 vesting options to keep an eye on this summer…

  • Bobby Abreu, Angels: $9MM option vests with 433 plate appearances. Abreu hasn't come to the plate fewer than 589 times in a season since 1997, his rookie year.
  • Adam Wainwright, Cardinals: His $9MM option for 2012 and $12MM option for 2013 will lock in as long as he does not finish 2011 on the disabled list. His second place finish in the 2010 Cy Young voting was step one of the vesting process.
  • Aramis Ramirez, Cubs: $16MM option vests if he is named MVP of either the regular season or League Championship Series, or if he is traded at some point in 2011.
  • Rafael Furcal, Dodgers: $12MM option vests with 600 plate appearances. Furcal has come to the plate 600+ times just once in the last three seasons (2009) due to injuries.
  • Jon Garland, Dodgers: $8MM option vests with 190 innings pitched. Garland hasn't thrown fewer than 191 1/3 innings since becoming a full-time starter in 2002.
  • Francisco Rodriguez, Mets: $17.5MM option vests with 55 games finished and if doctors declare him healthy at the end of the season.
  • Koji Uehara, Orioles: $4MM option vests with either 55 appearances or 25 games finished. Uehara hasn't reached either milestone in his first two big league seasons, though he came close in 2010: 43 appearances and 22 games finished.
  • Arthur Rhodes, Rangers: $4MM option vests with 62 appearances and if he's not on the disabled list at the end of the season.
  • Joakim Soria, Royals: $6MM option vests with 55 appearances, which he's done in three of his four big league seasons. The chances of it coming into play are microscopic, but Soria has a $6.5MM option for 2012 that could vest with 334 1/3 innings pitched (400 IP in 2010 & 2011). That was obviously put into his contract in case the team ever moved him into the rotation.
  • Dan Wheeler, Red Sox: $3MM option vests with 65 games; increases to $3.25MM with 70 games.  Wheeler reached 64 games in 2010, but had at least 69 in each of the previous five seasons.

Mark Buehrle is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2011 season and although he doesn't have a traditional option in his contract, he gets an extra year at $15MM tacked onto his current deal if he's traded at some point this season. 

Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.

Quick Hits: Liriano, Guerrero, Fielder, D’Antona

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On this date in 2009, the Mariners welcomed Ken Griffey Jr. back to Seattle, signing him to a one-year deal. The Kid hit 19 homers in his age-39 season and re-signed with Seattle for one last season before the 2010 campaign. Last year went poorly for Junior, but he's back in Seattle as a consultant this year. Here are today's links…

  • Francisco Liriano told La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he doesn't think his representatives had serious discussions with the Twins about a long-term deal during the offseason. (Twitter link).
  • Vladimir Guerrero says he hasn't thought about retirement, according to MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli (on Twitter). The Orioles finalized their deal with Vlad today.
  • Brewers manager Ron Roenicke told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that he doesn't expect Prince Fielder's contract status to be "an issue" for the team this year (Twitter link). Prince hits free agency for the first time after the coming season.
  • The Marlins released Jamie D'Antona, according to MLB.com's transactions page. They signed the third baseman last month after he spent two seasons in Japan. The 2003 second rounder clubbed 36 homers for the Yakult Swallows last year.
  • Tim Dierkes ranks this year's crop of third basemen from a fantasy perspective at RotoAuthority.

Orioles Sign Vladimir Guerrero

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The Orioles signed Vladimir Guerrero to a one-year, the team announced. The SFX client will earn $8MM in total: $5MM this year and $3MM in deferred payments, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter links). Zrebiec reports that Guerrero will get the $3MM several years from now.

It had been reported that the slugger was seeking a deal in the $8MM range while the O's were offering just $4.5MM for 2011.  President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail appeared to be willing to let Guerrero go elsewhere, but it seems that the front office had a change of heart.  Guerrero is the latest move for the O's, who signed Derrek Lee, Kevin Gregg, and Justin Duchscherer and traded for Mark Reynolds this offseason.

In 2010, the veteran belted 29 homers while hitting .300/.345/.496 in 152 games for the Rangers.  Texas had some interest in retaining Guerrero last month but with Michael Young and Mike Napoli in the fold there wasn't a need for the nine-time All-Star.

Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com first reported the agreement.

Quick Hits: Vlad, Pujols, Cabrera

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Here are a few items of note for Feb. 17, the day on which Wally Pipp was born 118 years ago.

  • The Orioles will hold a press conference for Vladimir Guerrero on Friday, tweets Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com, so it's safe to assume that he passed his physical earlier this week and that his one-year deal is now official.
  • The Cardinals at some point offered Albert Pujols a nine-year contract extension worth more than $200MM, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com. To this point, the value of St. Louis' offer has been consistently around the $200MM range, but the length has been less clear.
  • Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera, arrested in Florida late Wednesday night and charged with DUI and resisting arrest, will not likely face jail time, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com, who spoke to a "leading criminal defense attorney." Whether Cabrera will enter a treatment program at this time remains unclear, Morosi notes.

East Notes: Millwood, Bartlett, Manuel, Jenks

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Pitchers and catchers are reporting in Arizona and Florida, but up in the northeast, it doesn't feel like spring has arrived quite yet. Here are a few AL and NL East-related links while we wait for the snow to melt….

  • Although the Yankees and Kevin Millwood are still talking, they have "a ways to go," tweets SI.com's Jon Heyman. Yesterday, nearly 43% of over 6,300 MLBTR readers voted that Millwood would eventually sign with the Yanks.
  • The Rays were close to sending Jason Bartlett to San Francisco before they worked out a trade with another NL West club, Giants GM Brian Sabean tells Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
  • John Gonzalez of the Philadelphia Inquirer wonders why it's taking so long for the Phillies and Charlie Manuel to work out a contract extension.
  • The Red Sox topped baseball's list of spenders this offseason, as ESPN.com's Katie Sharp writes. Since the turn of the century, the piece notes, only the 2009 Yankees have won a World Series after having outspent the rest of the league the previous winter.
  • Bobby Jenks spoke to the media in Fort Myers today, discussing his decision to sign with the Red Sox. The right-hander said he had offers elsewhere to close, but wanted to play in Boston, adding that he knows his role as a setup man and "didn’t come here to step on anybody’s toes." Alex Speier of WEEI.com has those quotes and more from Jenks.
  • Mike Puma of the New York Post and Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun each pose 10 questions that could shape the Mets' and Orioles' seasons, respectively. In addition to discussing how new arrivals will fit in, each article addresses the back of the bullpen. Will the Mets let Francisco Rodriguez finish 55 games to trigger his 2012 option? And will it be Kevin Gregg, Koji Uehara, Mike Gonzalez, or someone else closing in Baltimore?
  • For updates all year long on the closing situations in Boston, New York, Baltimore, and everywhere else, be sure to follow @closernews on Twitter. A great resource for fantasy players, @closernews will keep tabs on injuries, ineffectiveness, overuse, and anything else that could affect which relievers are getting save opps.
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