2010 Options: Baltimore Orioles
Let's take a look at the options facing the Orioles after the season.
- Gregg Zaun – $2MM club option with a $500K buyout. The general feeling is that Matt Wieters will be the starter behind the plate by the All-Star break. Paying a net of $1.5MM for a quality backup like Zaun is probably still worthwhile.
- Melvin Mora – $8MM club option with a $1MM buyout. Prospect Billy Rowell moved to right field in March, and he's not close to the Majors anyway. The Orioles don't have much in the third base pipeline. Mora would be worth the net $7MM for another year if he can approach his '08 production. Currently the 37 year-old is on the DL with a strained hamstring.
The Orioles also have many contracts ending after '09: Aubrey Huff, Danys Baez, Jamie Walker, Ryan Freel, and Mark Hendrickson. Those five will earn a total of $23.5MM this year. Ty Wigginton will still be around next year, but the Orioles may be in the market for another corner infielder.
Odds And Ends: Wieters, Guerrero, Gonzalez
A few links for Saturday morning…
- Steve Melewski of MASN.com spoke with the Orioles Director of Player Development, David Stockstill, about Matt Wieters, who left last night's minor league game with an apparent right hamstring cramp.
- More bad news for Angels fans, as Vladimir Guerrero is out for at least a month.
- Luis Gonzalez tells Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post that he's already missing baseball and he wouldn't ask for much salary-wise.
- Ozzie Guillen still doesn't have an answer in center field according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Cowley wrote earlier in the week that the Giants are looking to unload Aaron Rowand.
- ESPN.com's Keith Law discusses high school prospect Donovan Tate, who's the son of former NFL running back Lars Tate. Law says Tate is the "top prep position player in this draft."
Rosenthal On Free Agents, Orioles, Ortiz
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a new column up.
- Rosenthal discusses the unprecedented number of decent free agents available, a few games into the season (click here for our free agent list). He suggests the hitters will have a harder time getting jobs than the pitchers due to the time needed to shake off the rust. In talking with execs, Rosenthal learned that the trade market for mediocre players (Jarrod Washburn, Nate Robertson, Austin Kearns) may be depressed this summer due to the available free agents.
- As he wrote in February, Rosenthal says that Braden Looper turned down more money to play for the Orioles due to his preference for the NL. Tim Redding also preferred the easier league. The result of those rejections: a very questionable '09 rotation.
- Rosenthal spoke to an executive who was shocked to discover that Russ Ortiz seems to be back to his peak form.
- Rosenthal speculates that Paul Bako could help the Twins.
Boras Blast From The Past: Ben McDonald
Last time in our Boras Blast From The Past series, we talked about his first client, Bill Caudill. This time let's discuss Ben McDonald.
McDonald, a junior at Louisiana State University, was selected first overall by the Orioles in the 1989 amateur draft. It was suggested by the Washington Post's Richard Justice that scouts viewed McDonald as the best pitching prospect since Doc Gooden. The #1 overall selection by Baltimore didn't stop LSU from using McDonald in six of their last seven games, infuriating the Orioles according to Justice.
Initially McDonald was advised by his father and was said to be seeking a $275K bonus, similar to Andy Benes the year before, as well as a three-year deal worth $425-700K. The two sides couldn't even agree to that. Then Scott Boras entered the picture, and talk began about McDonald returning to LSU for his senior year.
Eventually the Orioles, led by president Larry Lucchino and GM Roland Hemond, offered McDonald a deal worth around $700K over three years, second only to Bo Jackson's $1.1MM in 1986. McDonald, however, was reportedly offered a two-year, $2MM deal from an upstart new baseball league that was to begin in 1990 with the backing of Donald Trump. Boras initially demanded the Orioles match the offer. Then he backed off and just requested that the Orioles match the $1.1MM. If the Orioles failed to sign McDonald, they'd receive a compensation pick between the first and second round in 1990. Boras' comment on the negotiations, according to Justice:
Every situation is unique. That's the thing Baltimore must understand. This has become a free agent negotiations because of external matters [the new league].
On August 18th, 1989, Lucchino and Boras finally hammered out a three-year package worth $950K plus incentives. Justice's sources said the independent Trump league never actually made a formal contract offer. McDonald debuted with six appearances out of the Orioles' bullpen in '89, and was underwhelming given his brief minor league experience.
McDonald's Orioles career was viewed a disappointment. His best year was 1993, when he pitched 220.3 innings with a 3.39 ERA. In 1995, a year when arbitration hearings were done in June, McDonald submitted $4.5MM and the Orioles submitted $3.2MM. McDonald and Boras were willing to meet in the middle, but the Orioles instead tried to win the case. McDonald won. Subsequently, the Orioles non-tendered him in December since they were could only cut his salary by a maximum of 20% and were concerned about injuries. It would be a while before the relationship between Peter Angelos and Boras was repaired. From Buster Olney's Baltimore Sun article:
The team officially severed ties with McDonald yesterday, choosing not to tender him a contract rather than extending the required minimum offer of $3.6 million. Orioles general manager Pat Gillick called McDonald's representative with the news, and agent Scott Boras responded with about 30 seconds of silence. "The least we could tender him at was $3.6 million," Gillick said, "and we weren't comfortable with that…We're not really sure what the market is [for McDonald]."
McDonald drew interest from the Yankees and Brewers, and ultimately signed with Milwaukee on a two-year, $5.75MM deal with a player option and plenty of incentives. McDonald had a strong first year with the Brewers, posting a 3.90 ERA in 221.3 innings. Brewers GM Sal Bando offered McDonald a big extension in '97 – three years, $18MM plus a $6MM option (according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). Boras turned down the extension, requesting a guaranteed fourth year. The decision turned out to be a blunder, as McDonald never pitched again due to injuries.
Odds & Ends: Fogg, Payrolls, Padres, Nady
Links for Friday…
- Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post says the Orioles have "mild interest" in Josh Fogg. If Fogg can't find an appealing job elsewhere he'll report to Triple A Colorado Springs for the Rockies.
- Via the Twitter feed of John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer…the Reds have talked about Geoff Jenkins and Frank Catalanotto but nothing is close.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker has a Sports Hochi report saying recently released pitcher Ken Kadokura is reaching out to the Cardinals and Orioles.
- Ryan Shealy cleared waivers and was sent to Triple A, clearing up the Royals' first base/DH logjam.
- The website FINalternatives.com says Rangers owner Tom Hicks defaulted on more than $500MM in loans.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post looks at the payrolls for the Mets and Yankees.
- Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune says Hal Steinbrenner "told close friends he plans on hiring Lou Piniella as a consultant when his managerial contract with the Cubs runs out after the 2010 season."
- According to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Padres GM Kevin Towers said he still might add another starting pitcher.
- Albert Chen of Sports Illustrated writes about the advanced defensive metrics that are becoming prevalent in the game.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs writes about the ethics of service time manipulation.
- SI.com's Jon Heyman noted yesterday that "The Giants like Xavier Nady and wouldn't mind bringing the University of California product home at some point."
Minor Moves
A few players were released this evening…
- Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says pitcher Casey Daigle was among the players released by the Rangers. Wilson says Daigle is currently on a reality show with wife Jennie Finch.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a Kyodo News report that the Cubs released pitcher Ken Kadokura.
- Chad Jennings The Times Tribune says Reegie Corona has been placed on waivers by the Mariners, the first step toward returning the Rule 5 pick to the Yankees.
- The Orioles released shortstop Chris Gomez, who became unnecessary with the Robert Andino acquisition.
Marlins Acquire Hayden Penn For Robert Andino
4:21pm: Mike Berardino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel has Larry Beinfest's thoughts on the Marlins' acquisitions today. Berardino also says Dallas McPherson "might wind up with the Yankees."
11:54am: Interesting swap today: the Marlins acquired pitcher Hayden Penn from the Orioles for shortstop Robert Andino. Both players are out of options.
Penn, 24, wasn't able to crack the Orioles' weak rotation. Perhaps he can recover the promise he had back in '05 and '06 with a fresh start.
Andino, 25 later this month, hit .287/.356/.497 in his second attempt at Triple A. He was blocked by Hanley Ramirez in Florida, but he plays strong defense and may be able to chip away at Cesar Izturis' playing time in Baltimore. Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun says it looks like Chris Gomez will be released now. Schmuck also has Andy MacPhail's explanation of the deal.
Mark Teixeira: In His Own Words
Mark Teixeira appeared on New York-based radio station WFAN this morning and spoke, among other things, about why he decided to sign with the Yankees over other interested teams. Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times has transcribed a few of the more interesting quotes:
"I always had the Yankees in my sights, and one thing my agent and I had asked every single team is, we're not going to negotiate through the media, and we ask you not to," Teixeira said. "The Yankees were really the only team that did that. The other teams went out and told everybody their offers, told everybody that they talked to me, that they made this call, made that trip. The Yankees kept quiet. We talked all winter. When they were ready to make their final offer, it was a great offer, and my wife and I were excited about going to New York."
Asked specifically about the Red Sox, who made their December 18 visit to his home in Texas public knowledge, Teixeira admitted to being bothered: "I think in the end, it probably worked against them a little bit, because everyone thought the Red Sox were my No. 1 choice. … The Yankees had a leg up all along."
Odds And Ends: Braves, Bernie, Boras
Links for Saturday…
- MLB.com's Mark Bowman reports that the Braves are considering dealing outfielder Josh Anderson. Bowman suggests the White Sox could be a fit even though Ozzie Guillen said he expects to find a center fielder internally. Bowman also passes along some fun anecdotes about Chipper Jones and Santonio Holmes.
- MLB.com's Sarah D. Morris likes the bench assembled by Dodgers GM Ned Colletti.
- MLB.com's Ed Eagle reports that Bernie Williams wants to play in the majors again, but not if it means playing in the minors or an independent league first.
- In this article by Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune Scott Boras says the Padres will spend more liberally on amateur talent now that Jeff Moorad's taking over the club.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer offers his take on a female knuckleballer from Japan.
- Tim recently did a Q&A about the Jays at The Blue Jay Hunter blog.
- Steve Melewski of MASN Sports breaks down the minor league free agents in Orioles camp.
- ESPN The Magazine's Jeff Bradley profiled Manny Ramirez.
- The Astros, Marlins and Pirates made decisions about their respective backup catchers.
Orioles Face Hayden Penn Decision
According to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun, 24 year-old Hayden Penn is one of five candidates for three open rotation spots on the Orioles (Adam Eaton and Mark Hendrickson may secure two of those). The O's may also consider putting Penn in the bullpen. The problem is that Penn is out of options and has had a lousy spring. Zrebiec notes that the Padres have expressed interest in Penn in the past, so the Orioles probably can't slip him through waivers.
On Baseball America's Top 100 prospects list, Penn ranked 94th in '05 and 81st in '06. Back in '06 BA said Penn threw three plus pitches for strikes and touched 96 with his fastball.