Olney On The Bullpen Market
Teams like the Yankees and White Sox are already encountering bullpen problems and it won’t be long before other clubs are looking for relief help as well. The Yankees aren’t optimistic about the current relief market, while Chicago’s search for an effective closer has manager Ozzie Guillen dreaming of Bobby Thigpen. As one GM points out to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney, lots of teams will be looking for bullpen help this summer and lots of effective pitchers should eventually become available.
Unless Heath Bell takes a massive discount to stay in San Diego, Olney suggests the Padres will deal him. The White Sox should be considered the early favorites to land Bell, Olney says.
Jonathan Broxton, Francisco Rodriguez and the Blue Jays and Rays relievers could also become available this summer. Jose Valverde will probably stay in Detroit unless the Tigers fall far out of the race, but Michael Wuertz (now on the disabled list) could be on the block even if Oakland contends.
Offseason In Review: Detroit Tigers
The Tigers are next in our Offseason In Review series.
Major League Signings
- Victor Martinez, DH/C: four years, $50MM.
- Joaquin Benoit, RP: three years, $16.5MM.
- Brandon Inge, 3B: two years, $11.5MM. Includes $6MM club option for 2013 with a $500K buyout.
- Jhonny Peralta, SS: two years, $11.25MM. Includes $6MM club option for 2013 with a $500K buyout.
- Magglio Ordonez, RF: one year, $10MM.
- Brad Penny, SP: one year, $3MM.
- Total spend: $102.25MM.
Notable Minor League Signings
Extensions
- Ryan Raburn, LF: two years, $3.4MM.
Trades and Claims
- Acquired RP Pedro Perez from Red Sox for IF Brent Dlugach
- Acquired SP Kevin Eichhorn and RP Ryan Robowski from Diamondbacks for SP Armando Galarraga
Notable Losses
Summary
The Tigers' offseason was all about being aggressive early, as they locked up Inge, Peralta, Benoit, and Martinez before the end of November. GM Dave Dombrowski was able to land his top targets, but often had to overpay in the process.
Dombrowski's commitment to Benoit shook the relief market. The contrast was stark for a reliever whose previous contract was a minor league deal. Explained the GM, "When you want to get the best players at certain positions, you have to be aggressive and prepared to do things." The Tigers should be commended for signing the reliever they felt was the best available, going the extra mile to get it done. Like most eight-figure relief contracts, this one is risky – Benoit is a 33-year-old who had rotator cuff surgery in January of '09.
The early push to sign Inge and Peralta is more difficult to understand. Despite being known as an offensive-minded infielder, Peralta hasn't hit much since '08. And while Inge might make up for Peralta's lack of range, he's a negative with the bat as well. The free agent market typically doesn't reward defense-first players with the kind of contract Inge received. The Tigers' goal here seemed to be to secure the left side of their infield and have cost certainty before moving on to bigger fish.
That big fish was Martinez (pictured). The popularity of Martinez and Adam Dunn on the free agent market showed that teams are willing to make large commitments to players with little defensive value. Martinez has more than Dunn, in that the former can don the tools of ignorance without embarrassing himself. I would have liked the V-Mart signing more if it didn't require giving the Red Sox the best unprotected draft pick at #19. Now, the Tigers won't have a pick in the 2011 draft until #76. Still, the team got the capable middle of the order bat they sought from the outset of the offseason.
Dombrowski was able to further bolster the offense by signing Ordonez, who chose the popular Scott Boras "pillow contract" as he attempts to rebuild value after a fractured ankle ended his season in July. Unlike Carlos Pena, Ordonez was at least coming off a strong season. However, at age 37, Ordonez's durability will be a huge question mark – especially with Martinez claiming the DH spot most of the time.
Converted reliever Phil Coke filled one rotation spot, while Dombrowski took a $3MM flier on Penny for the other. Sooner or later teams will stop guaranteeing Penny millions of dollars on the hope that he will have another 2007. To be fair, Penny only needs to provide 100 solid innings to be worth the $3MM guarantee. The bigger question is where the Tigers will turn when they inevitably need a sixth or seventh starter. Andy Oliver is big league ready, though top prospect Jacob Turner is only 19 years old. Lefties Casey Crosby, Duane Below, Charlie Furbush, and Adam Wilk could factor in depending on the magnitude of the Tigers' need. MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith addressed the Tigers' rotation depth last month in a piece at FanGraphs.
The Tigers had significant money come off the books after the '10 season, and despite their numerous free agent commitments the Opening Day payroll still appears to be down about $27MM. I wasn't a fan of all of Dombrowski's choices, but I respect his aggressive pursuit of primary targets. If the 2011 Tigers fail, it won't be because the market got away from them and they had to go to Plan B or C.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Heyman On Marlins, White Sox, Jenks, Glaus
There is likely an unusually short list of managers on the hot seat this year, writes Jon Heyman of SI.com. Marlins skipper Edwin Rodriguez is the lone manager who truly has uncertain job security, according to Heyman. Rodriguez received a one-year deal from the Marlins, which is rare for managers and suggests he doesn’t necessarily figure into the club’s long-term plans. Here are the rest of Heyman’s rumors.
- Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria told Heyman that "no one's on the hot seat.”
- Jim Leyland of the Tigers, Jim Riggleman of the Nationals and Ozzie Guillen of the White Sox are not necessarily on the hot seat, but they’re worth keeping an eye on, according to Heyman.
- Leyland will likely be given the chance to return to Detroit after the season when his contract expires, but that’s not a sure thing, according to Heyman.
- One White Sox person told Heyman that Guillen “isn't going anywhere.”
- Before the Yankees signed Rafael Soriano, GM Brian Cashman told Bobby Jenks that he wasn’t offering any setup man $8MM. The Yankees signed Soriano for $35MM over three years, though Cashman advised against it.
- Free agent Troy Glaus is still at home after drawing some interest this winter.
Red Sox Send Pedro Perez To Tigers To Complete Deal
The Red Sox have sent right-hander Pedro Perez to the Tigers to complete the trade for Triple-A infielder Brent Dlugach, according to Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe. Perez spent last season with Boston's Single-A Greenville affiliate.
Perez, who will turn 23 in May, turned in a 3.94 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 28 games last season in Greenville. The right-hander made just two starts last season but has 30 starts to his credit in five minor league seasons. The Tigers have assigned him to their Connecticut Short-Season Class A affiliate, according to Steve Kornacki of MLive.com.
The Red Sox acquired Dlugach in November for cash considerations or a player to be named later. The 28-year-old owns a career .274/.325/.401 slash line in Triple-A.
Lame Duck General Managers
By now, I'm sure you've looked over our list of players that will be free agents after the 2011 season numerous times, but what about general managers? With some help from Cot's Baseball Contracts, here's the list of GMs without contracts for 2012…
- Andy MacPhail, Orioles – Technically, MacPhail isn't the GM, he's the president of baseball operations. He's still the guy calling the shots though. Last October we heard that he doesn't have any plans to approach owner Peter Angelos about a new deal before his current one expires.
- Neal Huntington, Pirates – Team president Frank Coonelly said he expects Huntington to be in Pittsburgh "for a long time" earlier this year.
- Walt Jocketty, Reds – Cincinnati is clearly a team on the rise, so it seems likely that ownership would want to bring Jocketty back after the season.
- Dave Dombrowski, Tigers – A few months ago we heard that the fates of Dombrowski and manager Jim Leyland could be a package deal based on the team's performance in 2011.
- Brian Cashman, Yankees – The third longest-tenured GM in the game would seem to be on rocky ground after being over-ruled by ownership on the Rafael Soriano signing, but we heard afterwards that he still has the "full backing" of the Steinbrenners.
Quick Hits: Selig, Leyland, Rangers, Ethier
Links for Wednesday evening to tide you over until Opening Day…
- Peter Gammons offers up some predictions at MLB.com, but not before explaining how quickly things can change once the season begins. MLBTR's team made postseason and award picks earlier tonight.
- Commissioner Bud Selig says he's hopeful for peaceful negotiations between MLB and the MLBPA after the season, according to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez. "Hopefully, we'll do it the way we did it in '06 — thoughtfully, carefully and quietly," Selig said.
- Tigers manager Jim Leyland told MLB.com's Jason Beck that he doesn't feel additional pressure because he's in the last year of his contract. “If we do all right, I assume I’ll be here," Leyland said. "If we don’t, I probably won’t be.”
- Rangers president Nolan Ryan told MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan that he expects Texas to repeat as AL West champions. The Rangers will have the flexibility to make another major midseason acquisition, according to Ryan.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said on 710 ESPN's Mason and Ireland show that he was surprised by Andre Ethier's recent comments and that he has no interest in moving him (via ESPNLosAngeles).
Procedural Notes: Abreu, Blanco, Evans, Hernandez
The latest procedural notes…
- D'Backs manager Kirk Gibson told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that Tony Abreu cleared waivers and is going to Triple-A (Twitter link).
- The Royals told Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that Gregor Blanco cleared waivers and will be outrighted to Triple-A (Twitter link).
- Outfielder Nick Evans cleared waivers yesterday, GM Sandy Alderson told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). The Mets outrighted Evans when he didn't make the Opening Day roster.
- Another Mets player, Luis Hernandez cleared waivers, reports MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. He's unsure whether he'll accept a minor league assignment.
- Cubs catcher Max Ramirez cleared waivers and was outrighted to minor league camp, tweets MLB.com's Carrie Muskat.
- The Tigers outrighted infielder Audy Ciriaco to create a 40-man spot for reliever Enrique Gonzalez, tweets MLB.com's Jason Beck.
- Retired reliever Billy Wagner was removed from the Braves' 40-man roster today, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Wagner has no plans to come out of retirement, but if he did he'd have to play for the Braves in 2011. The AP has details.
- Orioles righty Rick Vandenhurk cleared waivers, tweets Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.
- Mets reliever Jason Isringhausen, who didn't make the club out of Spring Training, agreed to spend two weeks in Port St. Lucie. According to ESPN's Adam Rubin, one condition of the extended Spring Training agreement is that "if another team approaches Isringhausen in the interim about a major league opportunity, the Mets must either call up Izzy or let him depart." The Mets chose Blaine Boyer over Isringhausen for the Opening Day roster, which so far has allowed them to retain both relievers.
- Outfielder Brandon Boggs, outrighted by the Brewers yesterday, accepted his Triple-A assignment according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
AL Central Links: Mazzaro, Tigers, Everett
Links from the AL Central as Royals prospect Mike Moustakas makes Alden Gonzalez's list of top young standouts at MLB.com…
- The Royals optioned Vin Mazzaro to Triple-A and returned Louis Coleman, Luis Mendoza and Zach Miner, Irving Falu and Lance Zawadzki to minor league camp, according to the team. Mazzaro should join the Royals in the middle of April when the club needs another starter.
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press that the organization has never been stronger during his nine-year tenure in the Motor City. “We have now a nice blend of young players at the big-league level, veteran players and some guys in the prime of their career,” Dombrowski said. “And they’re backed up by some guys behind them that are prospects that are talented."
- Adam Everett told Jordan Bastian and Tom Singer of MLB.com that he would have been ready to contemplate retirement if he hadn't made the Indians' Opening Day roster.
AL Central Notes: Indians, Gonzalez, Tigers
Some Saturday links from a few midwestern AL clubs…
- Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer says the Indians' Opening Day payroll projects to be just north of $42.4MM, the third straight season it's shrunk. Grady Sizemore, Travis Hafner, and Fausto Carmona account for close to 63% of that total. The payroll sat at $81.6MM just two seasons ago.
- The Tigers sent Danny Worth, Adam Wilk, and Andy Dirks to minor league camp today, indicating that Enrique Gonzalez has made the team. MLB.com's Jason Beck tweets that the club doesn't have to make a 40-man roster move to accommodate Gonzalez until next week.
- Noah Trister of the AP (via The Detroit Free Press) explains how the Tigers rebuilt on the fly thanks to the three-way trade that sent Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson to the Yankees and Diamondbacks, respectively.
Quick Hits: Santiago, Eric Young, Giants
We're officially less than a week away from the start of the 2011 season! Here are some news items to tide you over as we start the countdown to another great year of baseball…
- Ramon Santiago "is available in the right deal," an anonymous scout tells Steve Kornacki of MLive.com. The long-time Tigers middle infielder started 78 games last season, posting a .662 OPS in 367 plate appearances. Santiago's competition for the utility job, Danny Worth, "has made a great impression on Jim Leyland," Kornacki writes.
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post isn't hearing much "trade buzz" (Twitter link) from scouts about Jose Lopez, contrary to a Ken Rosenthal report from earlier today. Renck reiterated his item from earlier this month about how Eric Young Jr. would draw interest if the Rockies wanted to put him on the trade market.
- Baseball America's Matt Eddy rounds up the week's minor league transactions.
- The Giants "might be the deepest team in baseball," but Dave Cameron of Fangraphs thinks their "big flaw" is Miguel Tejada and Mike Fontenot at short. Cameron suggests San Francisco should try to move one of their excess outfielders for "a real Major League shortstop."