Odds & Ends: Rangers, Hudson, Loretta, Pence
More Saturday linkage..
- Ty Wigginton of the Orioles will likely see his number of at-bats decrease after the team's signing of Miguel Tejada and Garrett Atkins. Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com says that the 32-year-old could be a trade candidate in Spring Training.
- The sale of the Rangers to Chuck Greenberg's group is complete and an announcement is forthcoming, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
- Phil Wood of MASNSports.com understands the Nats' pursuit of Orlando Hudson, but not their reported interest in Orlando Cabrera. Hudson is reportedly seeking $9MM per season whereas Mike Axisa estimates that Cabrera can be had for $3MM.
- Veteran infielder Mark Loretta is expected to retire this week and take a job with an unspecified major league club, writes Jerry Crasnick of ESPN. The 38-year-old, who spent 2009 with the Dodgers, has a career .754 OPS.
- Brian McTaggart of MLB.com writes that signing Hunter Pence to one-year, $3.5MM deal makes sense for Houston. McTaggart senses that there is some kind of a groundswell of support by Astros fans to lock up the 26-year-old, but the club still has three years of contractual control to make such a deal happen.
- Signing Brad Penny saved money for the Cardinals, writes Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. While it may seem as though Penny's $7.5MM deal is similar to Joel Pineiro's two-year deal that will pay him an average of $8MM per season, the extra year on Pineiro's contract didn't fit into the Cards' budget.
- Due in part to the team's overload of left field options, top Reds prospect Todd Frazier could see some time at shortstop this season, writes John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Frazier played shortstop in his time at Rutgers University but was moved to the outfield as he was considered to be "too big for the spot." GM Walt Jocketty said that there will be open competition for the role of starting shortstop, though Fay says that it will likely go to the light-hitting Paul Janish.
Orioles Agree To Sign Miguel Tejada
Miguel Tejada arrived in Baltimore with a $72MM contract and the promise of MVP-caliber play six offseasons ago. This time, the expectations are more moderate and so is Tejada's contract. The Orioles agreed to a one-year, $6MM deal with the infielder, who will play third for the first time in his MLB career.
Baltimore already signed one corner infielder, Garrett Atkins, so Tejada will play third and Atkins will play first. The 35-year-old Tejada hit .313/.340/.455 for the Astros last season, with pretty drastic home-road splits. UZR/150 tells us that Tejada's defense cost the Astros ten-plus runs last year, though that was at a different position than the one the O's will have him play.
Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun first reported the deal and Jon Heyman of SI.com added the terms.
Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.
Odds & Ends: Gomes, Coffey, Nolasco, Vazquez
Links for Thursday…
- Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that team sources have told him that the Cubs are looking at Jonny Gomes as a fourth outfielder. Gomes – who proved to be one of the best minor league deals of 2009 – confirms.
- The Brewers signed arbitration-eligible reliever Todd Coffey for $2.025MM, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. That's just short of the midpoint.
- MLB.com's Joe Frisaro writes that a strong 2010 season would lead the Marlins to explore a multiyear deal with Ricky Nolasco. Nolasco is under team control through 2012, and will earn $3.8MM in his second arbitration year.
- Yankees pitcher Javier Vazquez spoke to Puerto Rican newspaper La Perla del Sur. MLBTR's translator Nick Collias supplies this interesting quote: "I don't have much playing time left…I go year by year, and I don’t know if it will be one, two or three years, but I'm definitely not going to play until 40." Vazquez is eligible for free agency after the season.
- Rockies outfielder Dexter Fowler switched to Scott Boras in November, Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post wrote in a Monday blog post. Fowler's been added to our Scott Boras client list, which can always be found on the sidebar.
- MLBTR missed this January 14th signing: the White Sox added Daniel Cabrera on a minor league deal. Cabrera, 29 in May, posted a 0.55 K/BB ratio and 6.00 ERA in 51 big league innings last year.
- The Mets and Diamondbacks haven't had any new discussions for catcher Chris Snyder, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Piecoro examines the debate about whether to trade Snyder.
- Luke Scott wants to play defense, writes Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Scott says he's "taking one for the team" by serving as DH, and it hurts him in contract negotiations.
- Slugger Jim Thome continues to keep the door open for the White Sox, writes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. However, in comments to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, manager Ozzie Guillen indicated a preference to avoid a permanent DH.
Olney On Lee, Pineiro, Orioles
A look at the latest blog post from ESPN's Buster Olney…
- Olney believes the Phillies could have and should have kept Cliff Lee. He points out that they could've traded Joe Blanton and taken draft picks for Lee after the season, resulting in a similar prospect package to the one they received from the Mariners. It's not the exact same, partly since Blanton could yet net draft picks for the Phils, but I agree with Olney's point. The Phillies' decision to move Lee in tandem with the Roy Halladay trade just seems weird.
- Consequences of the Angels' Joel Pineiro deal: the Mets could sign Jon Garland or Ben Sheets, and the Dodgers could bring Vicente Padilla back. Newsday's Ken Davidoff gets the sense the Mets "have prioritized Sheets over Garland."
- Olney says the Orioles "are very comfortable letting the field of free-agent corner guys come to them, at their price." On a related note, O's second baseman Brian Roberts said to MASN's Roch Kubatko that he'd love to have Miguel Tejada back in Baltimore.
Odds & Ends: Havlicek, Lincecum, Kennedy
Links for Wednesday…
- The Rays signed 16-year-old lefty Stepan Havlicek out of the Czech Republic, according to a press release. He is "believed to be the first ever signed by the Rays out of Europe."
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports takes a look at the significance of Tim Lincecum's arbitration case. SI's Jon Heyman believes a two-year, $24MM deal would work for both sides.
- Heyman also notes that the Rays, Marlins, and Nationals have a policy not to compromise after figures are filed.
- In another article, Morosi says Adam Kennedy is down to three teams, two of which would use him as an everyday second baseman.
- Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram informs us about Colby Lewis, the newest member of the Rangers' rotation.
- WEEI's Alex Speier tells you everything you ever wanted to know (and then some) about the Red Sox and their efforts to minimize their competitive balance tax.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker says 34-year-old screwballing lefty Hisanori Takahashi may have a big league offer. The Orioles are one interested party, according to MASN's Roch Kubatko.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times says the Mariners appear to have about $10MM left to spend.
Sheets Impresses In Throwing Session
WEDNESDAY, 7:52am: Sheets topped out at 92 mph on Tuesday, writes Tabby Soignier of The News-Star. Mariners scout John Stearns' take:
"I was impressed. Ben was free and easy, throwing the ball really well with not too much effort. He had good velocity. I was especially impressed with his curve ball. He's got a plus Major League curve ball with a lot of depth to it."
Soignier noted the presence of the Giants and Pirates, two clubs not on our list below (via Twitter, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette already says the Bucs won't be bidding). Ed Price of AOL FanHouse adds the Phillies and Athletics, while adding more about Sheets' three throwing sessions. Click here to see video from the session, as well as Sheets' interview with MLB Network's Trenni Kusnierek.
MONDAY, 7:14pm: Ben Sheets will have quite an audience when he throws for interested teams on Tuesday. It's no surprise that clubs are curious about the 31-year-old. He has a 3.72 ERA and nearly four times as many strikeouts as walks in his eight-year MLB career. He missed last year after undergoing surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon, so clubs want to see if Sheets is back in form before signing him. The right-hander told ESPN.com's Tim Kurkjian that he feels "refreshed" and "fantastic." Here's a list of teams that will be on hand this week to see for themselves.
- Reds
- Nationals
- Diamondbacks
- Cubs (by the way, we're not on board with the rumor that Sheets is "all but signed" by them)
- Rangers
- Cardinals
- Blue Jays
- Dodgers
- Brewers (Sheets appears too expensive for them)
- Mets
- The Angels will not be there this Tuesday.
- The Yankees were not present.
- The Astros currently have no plans to watch Sheets.
Players To Avoid Arbitration: Tuesday
Noon ET today was the deadline for both the team and player to submit their salary figures for arbitration, however the two sides can come to an agreement at any point before the actual hearing. The hearings are scheduled for the first week of February.
We'll keep track of the players who avoid arbitration today by agreeing to deals here. Make sure you check back in for updates, and be sure to click the "Continue Reading" link to see today's full list of settlements. Yesterday's list can be found here.
- Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times reports that the Angels avoided arbitration with Mike Napoli and Reggie Willits by signing the duo to one-year deals. Napoli will earn $3.6MM in 2010 with a $100K bonus if he makes 120 starts. Willits' contract is worth $625K.
- Zach Duke's one-year contract with Pittsburgh is worth $4.3MM with no performance bonuses, tweets Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- The Padres and reliever Mike Adams have agreed to a contract, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock (via Twitter). Brock's follow-up tweet says Adams' deal is worth $1MM, virtually splitting the difference between San Diego's $875K offer and Adams' $1.2MM demands.
- Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune tweets that the Twins have agreements in place with all eight of their arbitration eligible players. In a follow-up tweet, Christensen reports that Francisco Liriano agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.6MM and Jesse Crain agreed to a one-year contract worth $2MM.
- Marc Carig of the New Jersey Star-Ledger reports that the Mets avoided arbitration with reliever Sean Green (via Twitter). The one-year deal was worth $975K, according to the New York Daily News' Anthony McCarron.
- The Tigers avoided arb with Gerald Laird and Zach Miner as well according to James Jahnke of The Detroit Free Press. MLB.com's Jason Beck tweets the details on the one-year contracts: Laird will earn $3.95MM, Miner will earn $950K.
- Christensen tweets that the Twins avoided arb with Brendan Harris, signing him to a two year deal worth $3.2MM with another $650K in possible incentives.
- The Tigers and Bobby Seay avoided arbitration according to MLB.com's Jason Beck (via Twitter), agreeing to a one year deal worth $2.475MM.
- Thesier tweets that Matt Guerrier agreed to a one year deal worth $3.15MM with the Twins, avoiding arb.
- Amalie Benjamin of The Boston Globe tweets that the Red Sox have avoided arbitration with Ramon Ramirez and Manny Delcarmen, with Delcarmen getting $905K plus incentives according to Joe McDonald of The Providence Journal. Boston avoided arb with Jonathan Papelbon as well.
Olney’s Latest: Hernandez, Mets, Orioles, GM’s, Harper
In today's blog post at ESPN.com, Buster Olney writes about Miguel Tejada's trip to Haiti, plus what other agents have privately speculated about what a fair deal for Felix Hernandez (six years and $110 million) would be.
Here's the rest of Olney's rumors…
- Mets' GM Omar Minaya was never given a budget this offseason. The front office is making recommendations to COO Jeff Wilpon on a case-by-case basis without knowing if they're approaching a payroll limit. It's easy to see how that could become a problem.
- The Orioles continue to look for a corner infielder, preferably a third baseman so that Garrett Atkins could man first. Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun notes that Andy MacPhail has had talks with the agents for Joe Crede and Tejada.
- Last week's GM meeting went so well that it ended up lasting five hours longer than originally scheduled. They discussed changes to the draft among other things, but Olney notes that some executes are concerned that a slotting system may lead to a situation where having the first overall pick is viewed as a bad thing because of the bonus required to sign the player. Allowing teams to trade picks would solve that.
- Some scouts question how Bryce Harper's size will impact his game going forward. Harper, the projected top pick for the 2010 Draft, is already 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds at age-17. "You worry that if he gets too big, his swing just won't be quick enough when he starts facing guys who throw harder," said one evaluator.
Odds & Ends: Kouzmanoff, Taguchi, Draft
Some links on this frosty Saturday night…
- Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic spoke to Diamondbacks general manager Josh Byrnes, who took full responsibility for Eric Byrnes' three-year, $30MM contract. Arizona designated Byrnes for assignment on Friday.
- The Rays have four remaining arbitration-eligible players in Jason Bartlett, Matt Garza, J.P. Howell, and B.J. Upton. The club will stick with their policy of cutting off negotiations after exchanging figures, which happens at noon on Tuesday, writes Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. Tampa Bay does this to try to bring about a settlement and to avoid settling at an artificial midpoint between the two figures.
- Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com isn't terribly upset that the O's weren't the club to land Kevin Kouzmanoff. Kubatko understands frustrations over the Orioles' lack of production at third, but notes that the 28-year-old's offensive production was nothing to write home about in 2009. Kouzmanoff hit .255/.302/.420 with 18 HRs for the Padres last season.
- As we heard earlier today, a committee is being formed to work on changes to the amateur draft. The committee will look into making the draft worldwide and instituting a slotting system. Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues doesn't see any changes being made until after 2011, when the collective bargaining agreement expires.
- The Orix Buffaloes are close to signing So Taguchi, according to a report from Sponichi passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker (via Twitter). The 40-year-old emerged with the Cubs at the end of last season, making 12 plate appearances in six games.
Odds & Ends: Hairston, Brewers, Reds, Salazar
Some links for Friday…
- In an interview with 619 Sports out of San Diego, Scott Hairston said he found out he got traded back to the Padres by reading MLBTR. Cool!
- The Brewers will wait until next month before they consider making an offer to Mark Mulder, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
- John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer runs down the Reds' arbitration history.
- The Orioles have signed outfielder Jeff Salazar to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, reports Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun.
- The Brewers are still in touch with Mark Mulder and Doug Davis, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- The Yankees offered Jesus Montero straight up for Roy Halladay, according to Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star (Hat Tip: River Ave. Blues).
- The Rockies watched Derrick Turnbow throw today, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
- The Nationals are still in the mix to sign Orlando Hudson, who hopes to sign soon (MLB.com's Bill Ladson reporting).
- Pete Caldera of NorthJersey.com hears of some mutual interest between the Yankees and Rocco Baldelli.
- The Rangers avoided arbitration with Brandon McCarthy, agreeing to a $1.32MM deal for 2010, according to Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
- Rangers GM Jon Daniels tells Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas that he'd like to add a catcher, but he's not about to rush. "We have some time," the GM said.
- Ryan Theriot tells Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune that he'd like the Cubs to sign Ben Sheets.
- The Mets signed Jolbert Cabrera to a minor league deal, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse (via Twitter).
- Writing for FanGraphs, Patrick Newman explains what the Rangers can expect from new signing Colby Lewis.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweeted last night that the Mets contacted Jerry Hairston Jr..
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney says some people within the Mets organization believe Omar Minaya will be fired the first time his club slumps badly.
- Olney also notes that Adam LaRoche will be up against a crop of free agent first basemen that could include Carlos Pena, Lance Berkman and Derrek Lee after the season.
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post says the Giants, Padres, Rangers and Mariners have all called about Yorvit Torrealba.
- The Pirates aren't close to agreeing to terms with Zach Duke on his 2010 salary, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Duke made $2.2MM last year in his first season as an arbitration-eligible player.
- The Cardinals will watch Derrick Turnbow throw today, according to Rob Rains of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
- The Cards signed knuckleballer Charlie Zink to a minor league deal, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. After eight years in the Red Sox organization, the 30-year-old will try to break camp with St. Louis.
- Bill James tells Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe that he's curious to see how much better the Red Sox are on defense this season.