Magglio Ordonez’s 2010 Option Vests
Magglio Ordonez has made his third plate appearance of the night in Detroit against the Royals, reaching base on an Alex Gordon error. The at-bat means his 2010 option has vested, as expected. Making his 1080th plate appearance in 2008 and 2009 combined, Ordonez reached the minimum number of PA required to guarantee his $18MM option.
When the Tigers benched and platooned the 35-year-old right fielder earlier in the year, it seemed unlikely that he would play enough to trigger the option, but a torrid second half (.364/.438/.521) has made it impossible for Jim Leyland to keep him out of the lineup.
While Ordonez's hot bat has helped the Tigers in their 2009 playoff push, his overall production has declined significantly. He has only homered seven times, after hitting 20-plus in each of the last three seasons. His age and injury history suggest the odds are against his 2010 numbers rebounding to his career averages of .311/.371/.512.
With $18MM now committed to Maggs next season, the Tigers will have less flexibility for other roster moves, such as re-signing or replacing closer Fernando Rodney and second baseman Placido Polanco.
Odds & Ends: Granderson, Magglio, Hampton
Another round of links…
- Lynn Henning of the Detroit News wonders if the Tigers will consider offers for Curtis Granderson after the season. Though he has 27 homers and 20 steals, Granderson has struggled at the plate this year, particularly against lefties. He has a batting average on balls in play below .300 for the first time in his career, and it has factored in to a .248/.331/.457 line that's solid, but below Granderson's standard. (He's hitting more fly balls than usual, which could explain the BABIP dip and rise in homers.)
- After months of anticipation, it looks like Magglio Ordonez will see his 2010 option kick in tonight. With three more trips to the plate, he can guarantee himself an $18MM salary next year.
- Mike Hampton had surgery on his left rotator cuff and will miss the 2010 season, according to MLB.com's Alyson Footer.
- If Josh Johnson makes all of his scheduled starts, he'll earn $50K in incentives before the season ends, as MLB.com's Joe Frisaro points out.
- Troy Renck of the Denver Post says there's a reasonable chance Jason Giambi returns to the Rockies next season.
Maggs, Millwood Inching Toward Vesting Options
7:07pm: For what it's worth, manager Jim Leyland said "He's going to get it," referring to Ordonez's option. "He's swinging the bat good. I need him in the lineup. I'm hoping he can be more of a force for us down the stretch. That would really be a boost to our offense." The quote comes courtesy of MLive.com's Chris Iott. Magglio is in the Tigers' lineup tonight, and has already come to the plate twice.
2:08pm: Big-money vesting options are at stake this month for a pair of Scott Boras clients. Right fielder Magglio Ordonez's $18MM option for 2010 vests with just eight more plate appearances. And pitcher Kevin Millwood is just 13 outs away from locking in a $12MM salary for next year.
The Ordonez situation is simple. He's been hitting well since the beginning of August, and the Tigers are not inclined to mess around trying to avoid the vesting option. Maggs figures to be removed from the potential 2010 free agents list Tuesday night against the Royals.
Millwood is more complicated. Evan Grant of D Magazine questions the pitcher's health and declining velocity, and suggests benching him may be the Rangers' best chance at winning. If so, the Rangers would have to play it off as a coincidence that the option came remarkably close to vesting. To be fair, Millwood has been knocked around in four of his last five starts. Perhaps Boras' grievance would point out that Millwood remained in the rotation after posting a 6.75 ERA in July, and how there hasn't been talk of him switching to a mop-up relief role for the rest of the season.
MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan grilled Rangers president Nolan Ryan and GM Jon Daniels about Millwood on Thursday (before the pitcher's Saturday stinker), and both execs insisted the vesting option is not a factor in the manager's decision-making. Ryan went as far to say, "I would never do that to him."
Odds & Ends: Johnson, Dontrelle, Millwood
Some links for the evening…
- Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald hears that there's "some sentiment" within the Marlins organization toward offering Josh Johnson a long-term deal.
- Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune wonders if the Tigers might decide to eat the $12MM they owe Dontrelle Willis.
- The Rangers may skip Kevin Millwood's next start, according to MLB.com's Todd Wills. The 34-year-old is only 13 outs away from seeing his 2010 option kick in for $12MM. Millwood says he feels fine, so his option will likely vest whether he skips a start or not.
- The Reds aren't making the playoffs this year, but, as manager Dusty Baker tells Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News, there's still "the personal stuff on the back of your bubblegum card" to play for.
Odds & Ends: Castillo, Wagner, Pitching
Some links to look through on the day Eric Munson returns to the big leagues…
- Joel Sherman of The NY Post wonders if a Luis Castillo for Jeremy Bonderman or Nate Robertson deal makes sense. Placido Polanco will be a free agent after the season, and both pitchers are expendable to Detroit. Castillo is owed $12MM over the next two years, while Bonderman and Robertson will take in $12.5MM and $10MM, respectively, in the final season of their contracts next year.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that the best possibilities for Billy Wagner next year are the Braves, Astros, Cubs, Tigers, and maybe even the Nationals.
- In a piece at ESPN, Baseball Prospectus' Shawn Hoffman looks at who could be the best pitching bargains of the offseason. Carl Pavano, Erik Bedard, and John Smoltz might be the best of the lot. You need Insider to read the article, but it comes recommended.
Odds & Ends: Chen, Mets, White Sox
An action-packed set of links for Wednesday…
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a report about MLB teams, the Cubs included, watching Chunichi Dragons pitcher Wei-Yin Chen's last start. It's possible Chen will be a free agent after the season. The Taiwanese southpaw has a 1.45 ERA this year and would be in high demand.
- MetsBlog's Matthew Cerrone does not believe the team will non-tender starter John Maine after the season. Maine, coming back from a shoulder injury, may start Sunday.
- SNY's Ted Berg says this is a terrible time to trade Jose Reyes.
- R.J. Anderson of DRays Bay sees a trade more likely than a non-tender for catcher Dioner Navarro.
- Over at FanGraphs, Anderson notes that Kiko Calero (10.8 K/9) is a "nice sleeper candidate" among free agent relievers. Calero's strikeout rate ranks behind only Rafael Soriano, Mike Gonzalez, Rich Harden, and Octavio Dotel among free agent pitchers with at least 40 innings.
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told MLB.com's Jason Beck the Magglio Ordonez vesting option situation "speaks for itself." 23 more plate appearances for Maggs, and the Tigers have him at $18MM for 2010.
- Among the topics in Mark Gonzales' Chicago Tribune White Sox mailbag: the Brandon Allen–Tony Pena swap and the possibility of the Sox pursuing Chone Figgins. In another article, Gonzales notes that Ozzie Guillen wants Freddy Garcia ($1MM club option) as his fifth starter next year.
- Jack Curry of the New York Times has the story on the Newark Bears, and independent league club that has chosen to stock its roster with recognizable former big leaguers trying to claw their way back to the Show.
- An AL scout told Tom Krasovic "Oakland got smoked" in the Scott Hairston trade. The Padres received pitchers Sean Gallagher, Ryan Webb, and Craig Italiano in the July 5th trade (Gallagher was named later).
- WEEI's Alex Speier says the Red Sox announced the signing of Cuban shortstop Jose Iglesias to a four-year Major League deal beginning next year (it's worth $8.25MM).
Odds & Ends: Bumgarner, Rangers, Kim
Links for Tuesday…
- Giants top pitching prospect Madison Bumgarner surprisingly gets the big league call today, says John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. The bad news: Cy Young contender Tim Lincecum is out with back spasms.
- Evan Grant of D Magazine shows how little the Rangers got out of the 2002-05 drafts (including the "DVD" trio), yet they had the game's best farm system coming into the season.
- MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo has the reverse standings, which give an idea of the 2010 draft order.
- Eddie Bajek looks at various scenarios where Placido Polanco could ascend to Type A status. It's a good reminder on how the Elias rankings come together.
- Tigers owner Mike Ilitch is behind the decision to let Magglio Ordonez's 2010 option vest, believes John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press.
- Former Dodgers GM Fred Claire finds the upcoming free agent class lacking in depth.
- East Windup Chronicle passes along a report suggesting Byung-Hyun Kim wants to make a comeback. Is he still represented by Scott Boras?
- Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee feels the team can win in 2010 with the same group, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune considers possible moves for next year.
- Brad Penny had a strong preference to pitch in the NL, according to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Twins players Mike Redmond and Carl Pavano lobbied Penny directly.
- Ben Kabak of River Ave. Blues expresses concern that Derek Jeter's next contract could approach $100MM.
The Week Ahead
Now that we've taken a look at the week that was, let's anticipate what lies ahead. There aren't as many pennant races to watch as usual this year, so keep your eye on the following stories as the week progresses:
- When Josh Beckett throws his first pitch tomorrow afternoon, his 2010 option will kick in for $12.1MM.
- Kevin Millwood will likely pitch against the Mariners on Friday. If he goes eight innings or more, he will have pitched 180 innings on the season and his $12MM option for 2010 will vest.
- One final option to monitor this week: Magglio Ordonez is a mere 27 plate appearances from seeing his $18MM option kick in for next season. It could happen this week, but, depending on playing time, Maggs may have to wait longer.
- For recaps of these options and more, check out Tim's post from earlier in the week.
- Tony Abreu filed a grievance against the Dodgers and Glen Perkins may file one of his own against the Twins. We'll see if either player reaches a resolution with his club this week.
- Don't rule out trades, either. Could the Rangers acquire an infielder? Could the Phils add a bench bat?
Gammons’ Latest: Iglesias, Magglio, Valentine
In his latest blog post at ESPN, Peter Gammons writes that the NL West has quietly become very competitive thanks to three California pitcher's parks that make it such a pitching dominated division. Through the help of scouts and team executives, he points out all the great young talent in the division, highlighted by the likes of Ubaldo Jimenez, Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Tim Lincecum, Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Pablo Sandoval, Troy Tulowitzki, and Mark Reynolds.
Here's a roundup of Gammons' rumors…
- Gammons jokes that Dodgers GM Ned Colletti "could be arrested for shoplifting," because in the last two seasons he's acquired Manny Ramirez, Casey Blake, George Sherrill, Jon Garland, Jim Thome, Doug Mientkiewicz, Ronnie Belliard, and Vicente Padilla while paying them approximately $2.7MM combined.
- The Red Sox will get their first look at Cuban shortstop Jose Iglesias, who they signed for $8.5MM back in July, in the Arizona Fall League. Gammons spoke to an NL GM who said he would have given Iglesias $12MM if his team could afford it, because "Our scouts say he's the best defensive shortstop they've ever seen."
- If you're interested, you can see the full Arizona Fall League rosters here.
- Jim Leyland was never told anything about benching Magglio Ordonez so his $18MM option in 2010 wouldn't vest. "He's going to make it," Leyland says. "So anyone who said otherwise has egg on his face. Dave Dombrowski has never even mentioned the vesting option." Ordonez needs just 35 more plate appearances this season to lock in the option.
- Bobby Valentine's name was mentioned by Nationals' ownership during every interview they hosted while searching for a permanent GM, so he might be in the mix for their managerial job.
Vesting Options To Watch
A few vesting options to watch in September…
- Josh Beckett needs two more starts for his $12.1MM option to vest for 2010. It's not much of a story since the Red Sox would exercise that option anyway.
- The Rangers lose the ability to void Kevin Millwood's $12MM option for 2010 if he pitches 13 more innings this year. Back in March Rangers owner Tom Hicks said he wanted Millwood's option to vest, so he must be pleased with the pitcher's 3.61 ERA.
- Since he made the All-Star team, Freddy Sanchez's 2010 option for $8MM vests if he makes 159 additional plate appearances. That won't happen in one month. Sanchez's shoulder strain couldn't have come at a worse time.
- Magglio Ordonez's $18MM option for 2010 vests with 42 more plate appearances. He had 80 PAs in August with a .961 OPS, so Scott Boras will take issue with excessive benching.