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Quick Hits: Votto, Davis, Matsuzaka, Indians

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Links for Tuesday, as the Rangers announce that Josh Hamilton will miss six to eight weeks with a non-displaced fracture of his right shoulder…

  • The other MVP from last year, Joey Votto, continues to adjust and improve his game, as Dave Cameron points out at FanGraphs. Votto appears to be chasing fewer pitches outside of the strike zone.
  • Trackman, a Danish technology company, is using 3D Doppler radar ball flight measurement to scout pitchers and pitches with hard data, as Tom Verducci reports at SI.com.
  • Doug Davis can opt out of his minor league deal with the Cubs on May 30th, according to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com (on Twitter).
  • The Red Sox are, of course, unlikely to trade Daisuke Matsuzaka, despite his awful start yesterday. However, they are considering skipping his next start, according to the Boston Herald.
  • Yahoo's Tim Brown examines the Indians' hot start and says it provides us with the "opportunity to discover what is right in an organization that has been forced into hard decisions" since they took a 3-1 lead over the Red Sox in the 2007 ALCS.

Upcoming Player Options

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Teams covet options and are reluctant to provide them to players when it's not absolutely necessary, so there are about ten times as many club options as player options coming up after the season. Here's a look at the four upcoming player options and whether they're likely to be exercised:

  • Marco Scutaro, Red Sox – If the Red Sox don't exercise Scutaro's $6MM option, he can remain in Boston for $3MM instead of taking a $1.5MM buyout. Top shortstop prospect Jose Iglesias is now at Triple-A and could position himself to take over the regular shortstop job in 2012. Scutaro, who turns 36 before the offseason, may be choosing between free agency with a $1.5MM buyout or a backup job with a $3MM salary.
  • Ryan Dempster, Cubs - With a typical season (200-plus innings, sub-4.00 ERA, 8.0 K/9, 48% ground ball rate) Dempster would be one of the top pitchers available in a weak free agent class. He'll be 34 after the season, but that's how old Ted Lilly was when he signed his current three-year deal.
  • Rafael Soriano, Yankees – Soriano can opt out and collect $1.5MM or exercise his $11MM player option and stay in the Bronx for another year (or two). Agent Scott Boras did well to bypass GM Brian Cashman and find his client a player-friendly deal last offseason and it's hard to imagine a better opportunity arising for Soriano, even if he reproduces his tremendous 2010 numbers. Soriano's leverage will be reduced with so many quality relievers hitting free agency at once.
  • C.C. Sabathia, Yankees – Sabathia will be the top free agent starter if he opts out and, with respect to Dempster, Mark Buehrle and C.J. Wilson, it's not that close. Sabathia can exercise a four-year, $92MM option if he gets hurt, has an off-year or decides free agency is too much of a hassle, but the early expectation is that he'll opt out. It's a win-win decision for the big left-hander.

Quick Hits: Buchholz, Duaner Sanchez, Royals

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Links for Monday, as Angels number two prospect Tyler Chatwood prepares for his big league debut against the first place Indians…

  • The Red Sox were non-negotiable on getting two club options on Clay Buchholz's contract, reports Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald.  Buchholz explained, "If it was me and I didn’t have a wife and a kid that I had to take care of, it might have been a decision that we would have thought about a little bit more."
  • Teams are locking up their best players earlier and placing increased emphasis on club options, writes Dave Cameron of FanGraphs, and the result may be that "the best players in the game are going to be significantly underpaid during their primes," while the free agent market could become even more inflated.
  • Reliever Duaner Sanchez signed with the Long Island Ducks, the team announced.  Sanchez hasn't pitched in the Majors since May of '09, his career derailed by a July '06 taxi cab accident.  His Ducks teammates include Ruddy Lugo, J.R. House, Lew Ford, and John Rodriguez.
  • Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star writes about how Royals owner David Glass changed his tightfisted ways upon hiring Dayton Moore as GM about five years ago.  Glass won't rule out keeping his talented wave of top prospects together on long-term deals "regardless of who their agent is."
  • Baseball America links: Conor Glassey chatted with potential top draft pick Anthony Rendon, while J.J. Cooper lists the youngest players in every league.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has details on the iPads Carl Crawford's agent Brian Peters distributed as a promotional tool early in the outfielder's free agency.  Though GM Theo Epstein said the iPad didn't change his evaluation of Crawford, he was compelled to return the favor with some Red Sox Beats By Dre headphones.  First Dr. Dre mention in MLBTR history?

Red Sox Extend Clay Buchholz

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5:08pm: Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com has the breakdown (on Twitter). Buchholz will earn $3.5MM in 2012, $5.5MM in 2013, $7.7MM in 2014, and $12MM in 2015. The two club options are worth $13MM and $13.5MM respectively. 

3:45pm: The Red Sox announced that they have signed Clay Buchholz to a four-year contract extension in a press release. The deal is worth $29.945MM with a pair of club options, making it comparable to the contract signed by teammate Jon Lester a few years ago. Ben Nicholson-Smith looked at Buchholz as an extension candidate back in September.

Boston bought out all three of Buchholz's arbitration-eligible years plus one year of free agency with the contract. The club options cover two more free agent years, and the Red Sox saved approximately $1.6MM against the luxury tax by announcing the deal after the season started. Yovani Gallardo and Ricky Romero are two other young pitchers that have signed similar contracts in recent years. 

Buchholz, 26, broke out in a big way last season, pitching to a 2.33 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 173 2/3 innings (28 starts). He earned his first All-Star Game nod and finished sixth in the Cy Young Award voting thanks to the second lowest ERA in the AL. Fielding independent pitching metrics say he wasn't quite that good as that ERA indicates, but a 3.61 FIP is certainly impressive on its own. 

Lester's deal has proven to be a tremendous bargain for Boston so far, which is the level of success the Sox hope to achieve with Buchholz's deal. Boston now has five starting pitchers under contract through 2012 and four under contract through 2013. 

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports originally reported the agreement (Twitter links) while Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston (on Twitter) and WEEI.com's Rob Bradford and Alex Speier added details.

Quick Hits: Pedro, Martin, Archer, Davis, D’Backs

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Links for Saturday, after Matt Harrison threw his second gem in as many starts…

  • A team official told Joel Sherman of The New York Post that the Yankees have no interest in Pedro Martinez even though he's looking to return (Twitter links). The Yankees changed their mind about Carlos Silva after the right-hander agreed to get in shape and pitch in the minors.
  • Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com spoke to Russell Martin, who said the Red Sox expressed interest in signing him this offseason but were concerned about his injured hip.
  • Rays prospect Chris Archer holds no ill-will towards the Cubs for dealing him, writes Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.  The right-hander was a part of the deal that brought Matt Garza to Chicago.
  • The Yankees did not send a scout to watch Doug Davis' workout yesterday, reports George A. King III of The New York Post.
  • In his Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney spoke to some executives that said Manny Ramirez's reported PED use may have altered the future of former Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes and manager Bob Melvin. Arizona led the NL West for most of the 2008 season, but were knocked out of postseason race when the Dodgers made a late charge after acquiring Manny at the deadline.
  • ESPN's Jerry Crasnick profiled Brett Wallace of the Astros, who was traded three times in the span of 371 days. "The way I choose to look at it, the teams that traded for me all had a plan for me and believed in me," said the first baseman. "But it definitely makes you step back and see the business side of baseball. When you get traded one year out of the draft, it's an eye opener. It doesn't matter how much a team likes you or doesn't like you. Things can change. Things are going to happen, and anyone is touchable."

Pedro Martinez Looking To Return

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Free-agent pitcher Pedro Martinez is waiting for a call to help a team win a World Series, writes Joe Brescia of the New York Times.  The 39-year-old says that he could get himself into playing shape rather quickly.

"I’m in shape right now and I’m training and I’m playing catch, so getting to full strength would probably take me a month, month and a half, to be on a mound," said the eight-time All-Star.

Martnez was asked if he would choose the Yankees, BoSox, or Phillies if all three teams called and offered the same salary.  The vet said that he would probably choose Boston, so that he could retire and enter the Hall of Fame with the same hat.  He would consider the Phillies though as he would like to win a championship in the National League.

The right-hander last pitched in 2009 for the Phillies, posting a 3.63 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 in nine starts.

Quick Hits: Villanueva, Looper, Red Sox, Wilson

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As the Giants raise their World Series banner with an assist from the Say Hey Kid, here's some news from around the majors…

  • The Brewers received cash, rather than a player to be named later, from the Blue Jays to complete the Carlos Villanueva trade, reports the team (and passed on by MLB.com's Adam McCalvy).
  • The Cubs aren't considering trying to lure Braden Looper out of retirement, reports ESPNChicago.com's Bruce Levine.  Looper retired when he didn't make Chicago's Opening Day roster.  With right-handers Andrew Cashner and Randy Wells on the disabled list, the Cubs have a sudden lack of pitching depth, but the team will turn to internal options like Casey Coleman, who will start on Sunday. 
  • The Red Sox got their first win of the season today, but there's still plenty of talk about Boston's slow start.  SI's Tom Verducci thinks there are legitimate reasons for worry, namely that Josh Beckett, John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka "have to suddenly reverse the downward trends of their careers in their 30s."
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com also questions Boston's pitching, pointing out that barring rebound years from Beckett, Lackey and Matsuzaka, "they’re essentially the same team as the Yankees — terrific offense, deep bullpen, weak back of the rotation."  Rosenthal, however, thinks it is far too early in the season for the Sox and their fans to panic.
  • Jack Wilson asked to be taken out of the Mariners' 7-3 loss to the Rangers on Wednesday, Seattle manager Eric Wedge told reporters today.  Wilson implied that Wedge had removed him from the game, which upset Wedge, tweets Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.  The Twitter feed of the Brock & Salk radio show on 710 ESPN Seattle reports that Wedge described Wilson's actions as "unspeakable" and wouldn't discuss the veteran infielder's status with the club.
  • Pirates right-hander Tyler Yates has a torn flexor tendon in his throwing elbow, reports Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.  Yates hasn't pitched since 2009 due to Tommy John surgery, and Langosch reports that this latest injury might convince Yates to retire, a decision he's already considered earlier in his career.
  • The Diamondbacks are looking at Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rendon and Danny Hultzen with the third pick in this June's amateur draft, says Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.  Sources on other teams think this trio will be the first three players taken in the draft, though perhaps not in that order.  Arizona also has the seventh overall pick, and Piecoro notes that the D-Backs' priority with that pick is to draft a player they can sign.  Vanderbilt's Sonny Grey and high schoolers Dylan Bundy and Taylor Guerrieri are some of the players Piecoro hears connected with this pick.   
  • Doug Davis held another workout today, tweets Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus.  Five or six teams were present, down from the eight clubs that watched Davis throw two weeks ago. 

Olney On Castro, Escobar, Wells, Pineda

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The Red Sox should complete a seven-year extension worth $154MM or so with Adrian Gonzalez at some point in the next ten days, as ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reminds us. On a lighter note, Olney points out that Boston appears to be functioning despite a winless week for the Red Sox. Here are the rest of Olney’s rumors.

  • Starlin Castro has “made the adjustment” to the big leagues and is no longer phased to be playing at the highest level, Cubs GM Jim Hendry says. 
  • Another young shortstop, Alcides Escobar of the Royals, may be the best defensive shortstop in the American League, according to at least one scout. 
  • Angels fans may not like hearing it, but one evaluator says that in sending Mike Napoli elsewhere they “traded a player who would've given them similar production to what they'll get out of Vernon Wells , except it'll cost them about $75 million more." 
  • Instead of delaying Michael Pineda’s service time and/or arbitration, the Mariners called him up to start the season in Seattle. "He earned the right to be on the club," GM Jack Zduriencik said. "We actually talked about calling him up last September."

Quick Hits: Collins, Red Sox, K-Rod, Dodgers

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Links for Thursday, as the minor league season opens and Bryce Harper and others make their pro debuts…

  • Yahoo's Jeff Passan explains how 5'7" left-hander Tim Collins went from being an aspiring carpenter to a promising rookie in the Royals' 'pen.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports know the winless Red Sox aren't as bad as they've seemed for the first five games of the season, but he argues they aren't as good as they seemed in January.
  • The Mets and Francisco Rodriguez continue to say they aren't worried about the reliever's vesting option for 2012, according to Dan Martin of the New York Post. Rodriguez finished his first game of the season last night and with 54 more games finished, he'll have his $17.5MM option vest.
  • MLB’s main concern with the deal Dodgers owner Frank McCourt recently proposed is that it would relieve McCourt’s debt without necessarily improving the product on the field at Dodger Stadium, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney.
  • ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick anticipates some milestones that players may reach in 2011.

Rangers Close To Signing Leon’ys Martin

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12:57pm: However, Peter Gammons hears that the Red Sox offered less than $2MM for Martin (Twitter link).

THURSDAY, 12:44pm: The Red Sox offered Martin over $12MM and the Rangers topped that offer, according to Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. Knobler hears good things about Martin from a scout whose team dropped out of the bidding.

WEDNESDAY: The Rangers are close to signing Cuban center fielder Leon'ys Martin to a Major League deal, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The 23-year-old defected from Cuba last year and hit free agency last month. If the Rangers complete the signing, Martin will start his career in the minor leagues.

Baseball America's John Manuel described Martin as a speedy outfielder who plays strong defense. He was a bench player for Cuba in the 2009 World Baseball Classic and is "considered an elite prospect," according to ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr.

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