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White Sox Extend Robin Ventura

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The White Sox announced on Twitter that they have agreed to a multiyear extension with manager Robin Ventura.

Ventura originally signed a three-year contract with the White Sox covering the 2012-14 seasons. Though he had no prior managerial experience, the now-46-year-old Ventura has two seasons under his belt at the helm for the Sox, during which the team has turned in a 148-176 record. The extension will prevent Ventura from entering what could be a transitional year as a "lame duck" manager with just one remaining year on his contract.

General manager Rick Hahn, executive vice president Kenny Williams and the rest of the Sox front office clearly believe that Ventura, who enjoyed a strong 16-year career as a player from 1989-2004, is the correct voice to lead youngsters such as Jose Dariel Abreu, Adam Eaton and Matt Davidson in the right direction. The hope on the South Side is that those three will be able to add to a strong core of pitching that is fronted by ace and franchise cornerstone Chris Sale.

Hahn offered up high praise for Ventura, per a followup tweet from the Sox: "There was never really any question in our minds as to who we wanted in the White Sox dugout now and into the future."

Masahiro Tanaka Reactions And Fallout

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The Masahiro Tanaka saga has come to an end in record-setting fashion. Earlier today, Tanaka agreed to an enormous seven-year, $155MM contract with the Yankees that contains an opt-out clause after the fourth season. Tanaka's $155MM guarantee is the second-largest in history for a free agent pitcher (the largest for a right-hander) and is also the second-largest pitcher contract in history in terms of new money guaranteed. The Tanaka buzz is unlikely to die down in the next couple of days, as pundits dissect the contract and what it means for the Yankees and the free agent market. Here's a look at some of the early reactions to and fallout from the Yankees' staggering investment…

  • New York GM Brian Cashman discussed the deal from the team's perspective in a conference call today, and MLBTR's Zach Links reported on the highlights.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney reports that the Yankees' internal sense is that this concludes their pursuit of major free agents this offseason (Twitter link). 
  • It's little surprise that the team with the biggest need and one of the two biggest revenue bases from which to draw wound up landing Tanaka, writes ESPN's Keith Law (Insider required). Law feels that Tanaka will be one of the 20 to 25 best starters in Major League Baseball in 2014 and notes that the opt-out clause works to the Yankees' advantage, in a way.
  • SB Nation's Rob Neyer writes that while Tanaka is a significant upgrade for the Yankees, it's hyperbolic to suggest that this signing will change the balance of power in the American League.
  • The Cubs were the runner-up in the Tanaka sweepstakes, according to David Kaplan of CSN Chicago (Twitter link). Ultimately, the fact that they're not ready to win in 2014 ended their chances, he elaborates.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Yankees separated themselves, but not by a wide margin. The Dodgers, Cubs, White Sox, Astros and Diamondbacks were all involved in the end. According to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, all teams that participated in the second round of bidding had to come in above the six-year, $120MM level.
  • Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com reports that the seventh guaranteed year is what separated the Yankees from the rest of the pack (on Twitter). According to Kaplan (via Twitter), other factors "trumped the possibility of more money," including the influence of Ichiro Suzuki and Hiroki Kuroda and the attractiveness of playing for the game's highest-profile franchise. 
  • The Dodgers wanted Tanaka, but drew a financial line, reports Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times. As Dilbeck explains, the team does have financial limitations that it intends to abide by. "We went as far as we thought we could go," said GM Ned Colletti. 
  • For the White Sox, GM Rick Hahn says that reports of the team's efforts to land Tanaka largely seemed "accurate," reports Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago. Ultimately, however, Hahn says that the money reached a level that the club was not comfortable reaching. The resources that the club would have used to sign Tanaka remain available for a similarly attractive opportunity in the future, Hahn said, but he does not see any in the current market. (Links to Twitter.)
  • MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports that the Astros' offer to Tanaka exceeded $100MM. McTaggart adds that GM Jeff Luhnow, owner Jim Crane and seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens were among the Astros contingent that went to meet with Tanaka in Los Angeles. 
  • Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Arizona was told that the Diamondbacks would not pursue other free-agent starters if they missed out on Tanaka, as the front office believes the asking prices to be too high (Twitter link). 
  • The Blue Jays were involved initially on Tanaka, but had "no way to compete" once it became clear that he would command seven years, reports John Lott of the National Post. Toronto had been willing to pay the $20MM fee, but was only interested in going to five years on the contract, Lott says. The team was also troubled by the opt-out clause, Lott tweets. Toronto figures to be among the most active teams on remaining free agent starters.
  • Angels GM Jerry Dipoto told reporters, including MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez, that his team was never very involved with Tanaka and did not make a formal offer (Twitter link). As Gonzalez further explains, the Halos will instead either try to fit Matt Garza within the team's approximately $15MM of 2014 budget space or hunt for a good deal from amongst the cheaper open-market options.
  • The Tanaka signing caps a nice run for Casey Close and the Excel Sports Management agency, notes Darren Heitner of Forbes. With an estimated 4% take, those two contracts would deliver a total of $14.8MM to the agency. Heitner notes also that Excel has worked out several notable deals with the Yankees in the past, given its representation of Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira. With its latest run of big contracts, says Heitner, Excel will surely climb the Forbes agency valuation chart.

Jeff Todd contributed to this post.

Masahiro Tanaka Rumors: Sunday

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Masahiro Tanaka will reportedly command a contract in the neighborhood of $120MM over six years (plus the expected $20MM posting fee) and is said to have received such an offer from the Diamondbacks. Here's the latest with five days remaining before Tanaka's posting period expires Friday at 4pm CT:

  • The Cubs' convention this weekend was rather quiet, but that might have been different if Tanaka's deadline had been a week earlier, Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago writes. One source told Rogers that the Cubs would be willing to sign Tanaka for up to six to eight years at $25MM per year, while another told him the Cubs would be willing to go with that time frame, but at a lower price.
  • Tanaka's decision should come Tuesday or Wednesday to allow time for further medical exams to take place prior to the Friday deadline, an AL scout tells David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com (via Twitter).
  • Kaplan tweets the same scout tells him the Cubs' current state is the biggest drawback in their landing Tanaka. Yesterday, we learned the Cubs made a formal offer to Tanaka, but are considered a long shot to win the bidding. 
  • The White Sox, who also have reportedly have made a formal offer to Tanaka, are in the same boat as the Cubs, tweets Kaplan.
  • The Mariners may have been priced out of contention for Tanaka or the 25-year-old's interest in Seattle wasn’t as high as some thought, reports the Seattle Times' Geoff Baker. 

Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.

Nikkan: Clubs Submit Formal Tanaka Offers

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Clubs angling to sign Masahiro Tanaka made formal offers by Jan. 16, Nikkan Sports reports (Japanese link). The list of teams includes the Yankees, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, White Sox and Cubs, with nearly all clubs putting together offers worth more than $100MM over six years.

The Diamondbacks have made no secret of their pursuit of Tanaka this winter, and according to Nikkan, they've offered him a deal for six years and $120MM. Such a contract would be the largest in Diamondbacks history by a wide margin. "Like other teams, we're very interested," CEO Derrick Hall was quoted as saying at a recent meeting of MLB owners. "We want to win this competition." Owner Ken Kendrick also reportedly met with Tanaka directly during his recent tour of clubs in the U.S.

The Dodgers and Yankees are believed to have made equivalent offers, according to Nikkan, while comments by Angels owner Arte Moreno suggest that the team would have trouble fitting Tanaka into its budget. Overall, we appear to be nearing the stage in negotiations where the only step remaining is Tanaka's actual decision.

Masahiro Tanaka Rumors: Friday

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Let's round up the day's rumblings on Masahiro Tanaka, who will have chosen his new club by this time next week:

  • Both Chicago organizations are real contenders for Tanaka, Dan Martin and Ken Davidoff of the New York Post wrote yesterday. An industry source says that the Cubs and White Sox have serious interest in the Japanese ace. Seven teams met with Tanaka during his trip to the U.S., the pair notes, though the Sox are the only ones to have publicly acknowledged a face-to-face. 
  • Those meetings have not yet resulted in feedback, according to Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com (via Twitter). Teams had around an hour to pitch Tanaka, but have not heard back. "Nobody knows where they stand," says Sanchez.
  • The Cubs have withheld cash thus far in order to keep a sufficient war chest to make a real run at Tanaka, says Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. But with a "debt-strung, skittish-to-spend ownership," in Wittenmyer's words, the club may not be a real player in the sweepstakes. 
  • The Dodgers are actively involved in talks with Tanaka, reports Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times. This report confirms what many had suspected (and the front office had indicated): the club will not be precluded from another massive investment after extending Clayton Kershaw. As Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com further reports, GM Ned Colletti has had discussions with Tanaka's reps at Excel Sports Management all week long. "We're still, first and foremost, concerned with the quality of the team we can put together, and adding it up comes second," said president Stan Kasten. "This is a long-term strategy of ours. After five or six or seven years, it will make a lot more sense than it does to people looking at today's snapshot."
  • For his part, MLB.com's Ken Gurnick is not so sure that Los Angeles will go all out for Tanaka, though it is interested if he values the chance to play on the West Coast and is "willing to make his decision on factors other than total financial package." But with interest that has been only "lukewarm at best," says Gurnick, the Dodgers would probably not look to win a bidding war absent intervention from the ownership group. A Hanley Ramirez extension is, in Gurnick's estimation, a higher priority for the L.A. brass.

Quick Hits: Lambin, White Sox, Yankees, Tanaka

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Infielder Chase Lambin is looking to latch on with a team on a minor league deal, MLBTR has learned. The 34-year-old is the oldest active minor leaguer without any Major League experience despite a solid .272/.345/.438 career line in the minor leagues. Lambin played well in 24 games for the independent Atlantic League's Sugar Land Skeeters in 2013, leading to a minor league deal with the Royals, where he appeared in 22 games at the Triple-A level. After 11 seasons in the minors (and one in Japan), Lambin still hopes to achieve his dream of donning a Major League uniform. Here are some more notes from around baseball.

  • The White Sox aren't likely to pursue Masahiro Tanaka, Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com writes. The money may be prohibitive, and it would be surprising if the White Sox were to take huge risks on both Tanaka and Jose Dariel Abreu in essentially the same offseason.
  • Abreu impressed his new organization at the team's minicamp, reports MLB.com's Cash Kruth. "We try to keep in mind that it's Jan. 14 and we still have a ways to go," says GM Rick Hahn. "But just watching Jose go through his work, you saw that professionalism as well as the plus-plus power on display today in only his first couple of rounds of BP. He's a very serious hitter."
  • The Yankees' brass agrees it needs to add talent to its rotation, but still hasn't reached a consensus about Masahiro Tanaka, Dan Martin of the New York Post writes. "We’ll find out soon enough, but it’s not like he’s a sure-fire thing," says one team official. "I’d like to think so, but I’m not convinced." Martin notes, however, that the Yankees haven't seriously pursued Ervin Santana or Ubaldo Jimenez.
  • Chone Figgins worked out for teams on Wednesday in Tampa, and the Twins were in attendance, 1500ESPN.com's Darren Wolfson tweets. The Dodgers watched as well, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal notes. Figgins, who will be 36 next week, did not play in the Majors in 2013 after struggling through the 2010-2012 seasons with the Mariners.

Steve Adams contributed to the intro to this post.

Minor Moves: Vizcaino, Bond, Omograsso

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Here are today's minor transactions, with the latest at the top of the page…

  • The Orioles have inked reliever Luis Vizcaino to a minor league deal, the club announced. Vizcaino, 38, has eleven seasons of MLB pitching under his belt, but last appeared in the bigs back in 2009 and had his career derailed by an achilles tear and PED suspension. Vizcaino reemerged last year with Yucatan of the Mexican League, notching a 1.40 ERA in 45 innings and racking up 25 saves. 
  • Baltimore has also signed infielder Brock Bond to a minor league deal, the club further announced. Bond had spent his entire career in the Giants system. Last year, CSNBayArea.com's Andrew Baggarly profiled the switch-hitting Bond, whose career minor league OBP has hovered around the .400 mark. The 27-year-old spent most of 2010-12 at Triple-A and competed for a roster spot in Spring Training last season. But he started off in the lower minors after a late-spring oblique injury, and never worked his way back up the ladder. After slashing .332/.422/.398 at Triple-A in 2012, Bond ended up with a .240/.339/.324 line at High A last year.
  • The White Sox have agreed to terms with right-hander Brian Omogrosso to a minor league contract, MLB.com's Scott Merkin reports (Twitter link).  Omogrosso elected to become a free agent in October after the White Sox outrighted him off their 40-man roster.  Omogrosso, 29, posted a 9.37 ERA, 8.8 K/9 and 1.78 K/BB rate over in 16 1/3 relief innings with Chicago last season.

White Sox Re-Sign Dylan Axelrod

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The White Sox have re-signed right-hander Dylan Axelrod to a minor league contract, according to the team's official transactions page. Axelrod is represented by Prodigal Sports Group.

The 28-year-old Axelrod appeared in a career-high 30 games for the White Sox in 2013 (20 starts), posting a 5.68 ERA with 5.1 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 40.3 percent ground-ball rate in a career-high 128 1/3 innings. Axelrod found himself very prone to the home run, averaging 1.7 homers per nine innings pitched. Part of his struggles could be velocity-related, as Axelrod averaged 88.1 mph on his fastball last season.

The White Sox non-tendered Axelrod on Dec. 2 despite the fact that he's not yet arbitration eligible. Though they apparently wanted to free up a 40-man roster spot, the White Sox clearly see potential in Axelrod. Chicago signed him out of independent ball after he was released by the Padres, and he's posted a sub-3.00 ERA across multiple minor league levels for the Sox since that signing. In 188 1/3 innings at Triple-A, Axelrod has a 2.58 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9.

Axelrod will serve as a nice depth piece for the White Sox and could compete with Andre Rienzo, Erik Johnson and Eric Surkamp for a rotation spot in 2014. Chris Sale, Jose Quintana and John Danks are all locks for Chicago's rotation, and Felipe Paulino figures to get a crack at the rotation as well after sigining a one-year deal worth $1.75MM.

Minor League Free Agents Finding Major League Deals

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40-man roster spots are a precious commodity in Major League Baseball.  Many of the transactions on MLB Trade Rumors stem from this fact, as teams decide which players will occupy those last few spots.  The roster squeeze prevents many recognizable free agents from securing a Major League contract each offseason, from useful veterans like Jason Kubel, Shaun Marcum, and Jamey Carroll to former top prospects like Trevor Crowe and Taylor Teagarden.  Those players, despite a decent amount of name value, signed minor league deals.  However, a new trend emerged this offseason, as eight players with scant Major League experience signed Major League deals: Francisco Pena (Royals), Kelvin De La Cruz (Orioles), Edgmer Escalona (Orioles), Erik Cordier (Giants), Francisco Peguero (Orioles), David Cooper (Indians), Angel Castro (Cardinals), and David Adams (Indians).  Four of the players have no Major League experience at all, while none of the eight have more than 100 innings or 226 plate appearances in the bigs.

Upside As A Separator

The average age of these eight players is about 27 years old, significantly younger than a standard free agent who signs a Major League deal.  Many of these seven come with top prospect pedigrees.  Peguero, an outfielder signed by the Giants out of the Dominican Republic in 2005, was ranked as the team's fourth-best prospect prior to the 2011 season by Baseball America.  As recently as last year, Peguero was ranked eighth by BA, who said he "still has the most exciting combination of speed and power in the system, along with perhaps the best bat speed."  He went on to hit .316/.354/.408 in 70 Triple-A games to earn his second big league call-up with the Giants, though he received only six starts in September.

The Giants were faced with a difficult situation.  With Peguero having used his four minor league options, they risked losing him to a waiver claim if they weren't willing to put him on the 25-man roster out of spring training in 2014.  The Giants decided to remove Peguero from the 40-man roster by designating him for assignment in late November, cutting ties by non-tendering him five days later.  As agent Dan Rosquete tells it, "The minute the Giants said 'Hey, we're taking him off the roster,' they backed it up with, 'Well, we want him back, what's it going to take?'"  After Peguero's frustration from the lack of opportunity at the end of the season with the Giants, Rosquete's primary goal was to secure playing time for his client in 2014.  Interestingly, the Giants designated Peguero for assignment in part to make room for Cordier, a big arm who had become a six-year minor league free agent after pitching in relief for the Pirates' Triple-A team.  Cordier is one of four six-year minor league free agents this offseason to sign a Major League deal with no Major League experience.

The Orioles swooped in with an appreciation for Peguero's tools, an opportunity for playing time, and a Major League offer.  Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette "could tell me more about my client than I knew about him," jokes Rosquete.  "Dan Duquette called me and said 'Listen, I'm looking at everything and I can see this guy as an everyday outfielder.'"  In an email, Duquette tells MLBTR Peguero "has good talent as he is a lifetime .300 plus hitter in the minors and [is a] very good defensive player."  As a group, these eight Major League signings possess upside rarely found affordably in free agency. For example, the Indians landed a former first round draft pick in first baseman Cooper, the Orioles added a strikeout lefty who has touched 94 miles per hour in De La Cruz, and the Giants picked up a power reliever who can touch 97 in Cordier.  Plus, all of them are considered to be near big league ready.  

Contracts Dictated By Strong Markets

The majority of the eight players were six-year minor league free agents, with a handful of non-tenders mixed in.  Ultimately, teams wouldn't give Major League deals and the accompanying 40-man roster spot to this level of player unless it was necessary to get the deal done.  Duquette, who authored three of these eight big league deals with Peguero, De La Cruz, and Escalona, notes, "In each case other clubs were offering Major League contracts, so you could say that the Major League contract was required by the market."  

The only way for an agent to really know what it will take is to let the market play out.  Paul Kinzer represents the 24-year-old Pena, who became a six-year minor league free agent after 2013 when the Mets decided not to add him to their 40-man roster.  "I don't know if anybody expected the kind of response we got on him," says Kinzer of Pena.  Kinzer says the strong demand for catchers worked in Pena's favor.  Three teams were close on the player, and the Royals had to offer a Major League deal to separate themselves.  Cooper signed a minor league deal with the Indians in August after recovering from career-threatening herniated disk in his chest cavity.  He opted for free agency at the end of the month, and demand was strong enough that the Indians re-signed him to a Major League deal.  The Rays put pressure on the Tribe by also reportedly making a Major League offer.

A Possible Trend

Though we don't have complete data on the number of inexperienced players signing Major League deals each offseason, the eight such contracts from 2013-14 is definitely the highest number in recent years.  Kinzer, who by his recollection has done three or four of these types of deals in his career, "absolutely" sees a trend toward more of them.  He explains, "Teams can go out and spend a little more on these guys and sometimes get a better return on their money than going with an older, veteran guy."  By "spend a little more," Kinzer is referring to the cost of a roster spot, since none of these contracts were for more than $75K above the $500K league minimum.  The going rate for a veteran backup catcher this winter has been in the $1-3MM range.

Teams are continually trying to find outside-the-box means of acquiring younger talent.  Showing a greater willingness to barter with a 40-man roster spot in November and early December, when most clubs are not near capacity, seems savvy.  The trend could truly explode if more success stories emerge.

The biggest recent success story is the signing of lefty Jose Quintana by the White Sox after the 2011 season.  Quintana was signed by the Mets out of Colombia for $40K in 2006, and signed with the Yankees about a year later after the Mets released him due to a violation of the Minor League Baseball drug policy.  Baseball America never ranked Quintana among the Yankees' top 30 prospects, and he became a six-year minor league free agent after '11.  GM Brian Cashman told Joel Sherman of the New York Post in June 2012, "We looked at him as a fringy prospect. We offered him a minor league contract to stay, but not a 40-man roster position. We didn’t feel he was ahead of other guys we gave spots to. It was a numbers game, but right now it does not look like a good decision."  White Sox scouts Joe Siers and Daraka Shaheed "made him stand out on the six-year free-agent list," then-assistant GM Rick Hahn told Sherman, and the Sox and GM Kenny Williams separated themselves from the pack by offering Quintana a Major League deal.  Fresh off 200 innings of 3.51 ball in 2013, Quintana is a scouting success for Chicago and the best recent example of a Major League deal paying off big for a player with no experience at the game's highest level.  

Quintana, who would go a long way toward stabilizing the Yankees' current rotation, is one that got away.  The team had a firsthand look at the southpaw for five years, but preferred to keep the roster spot open when he reached minor league free agency.  Of the eight who signed this offseason, seven landed with new clubs.  Time will tell whether the Mets, Dodgers, Pirates, Rockies, Giants, and Yankees will regret letting these players go, but if more credible big leaguers emerge from the group, it's likely we'll continue to see an increase in Major League deals for minor league free agents.

Minor Moves: Rodriguez, Golson, Christian, Martinez, Donald, Marrero, Carroll

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Here are today's minor moves and outright assignments from around the league…

  • The Rays have signed catcher Eddy Rodriguez to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invitation, MLB.com's Corey Brock tweeted earlier today. Most recently a Padres farmhand, Rodriguez has just seven MLB plate appearances to his name. (Notably, he appears on the short list of players to have hit a home run in their first trip to the plate, sandwiched chronologically between Starling Marte and Jurickson Profar.) Playing at the Double-A and Triple-A level last year, Rodriguez managed a .231/.271/.374 line in 299 plate appearances.
  • Outfielder Greg Golson has signed a minor league pact with the Brewers, the club announced via Twitter (hat tip to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Golson, 28, has seen sporadic big league action over parts of four seasons, but hasn't had a crack at the show since 2011. A first round pick of the Phillies back in 2004, Golson spent time in the Rockies and Braves systems last year, putting up a composite .249/.313/.392 line with 19 stolen bases.
  • The Rays have inked outfielder Justin Christian to a minor league deal that includes a Spring Training invite, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The 33-year-old has not seen MLB time since 2012, and has a career .203.255/.266 line in 155 plate appearances over three seasons. Last year, playing at Triple-A for the Cardinals organization, Christian put up a .270/.332/.353 triple-slash in 411 plate appearances.
  • The Marlins acquired minor league shortstop Hiram Martinez from the Athletics in exchange for cash considerations last week, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports in his latest minor transactions roundup. The 21-year-old played in the Mexican League last year and batted .222/.265/.254 in 56 games (just 69 plate appearances).
  • Also from Eddy, the Royals have signed former Indians infielder Jason Donald to a minor league deal. One of the four players acquired by Cleveland in the trade that sent Cliff Lee to the Phillies, Donald is a career .257/.309/.362 hitter that hasn't appeared in the bigs since 2012. The 29-year-old batted .219/.268/.319 in 271 plate appearances for the Reds' Triple-A affiliate in 2013.
  • The White Sox have signed first baseman Christian Marrero to a minor league deal and re-signed right-hander Scott Carroll to a minor league pact as well, per the team's transactions page. The ChiSox originally drafted Marrero in 2005, but he spent the past two seasons in the Pirates and Braves organizations. The 27-year-old is a career .273/.361/.434 hitter in the minors, but he has just 76 games at the Triple-A level. The 29-year-old Carroll has a 5.14 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 232 2/3 innings in his Triple-A career.
  • As can be seen in MLBTR's DFA Tracker, the Yankees' Vernon Wells is the only player that is currently in DFA limbo.
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