Royals Claim Laffey, Designate Chavez
The Royals announced today they've claimed lefty Aaron Laffey off outright waivers from the Yankees and designated reliever Jesse Chavez to create a 40-man roster spot.
Laffey, 26, posted a 3.88 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 1.18 HR/9, and 48.1% groundball rate in 53 1/3 innings for the Mariners and Yankees this year. He wasn't any better against left-handed hitters. Earlier today, Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues wrote that Laffey was an expected victim of the Yankees' upcoming 40-man roster crunch.
Chavez, 28, had joined the Royals at last year's trade deadline in the Rick Ankiel/Kyle Farnsworth deal. He struggled mightily in the Majors this year but had a 3.75 ERA, 8.4 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, and 0.9 HR/9 in 57 2/3 Triple-A innings. Chavez averaged 94.5 miles per hour on his fastball the last few years, but that dropped a full two miles per hour this year in the Majors.
AL East Links: Red Sox, Jays, Yanks, Sabathia, O’s
Some links from the only division with three 90-win teams in 2011…
- WEEI.com's Alex Speier reports that the Red Sox will not interview anyone for their managerial opening until the status of GM Theo Epstein is resolved. The Cubs have asked permission to talk to Epstein about their GM vacancy.
- SI.com's Jon Heyman reports (on Twitter) that teams are showing trade interest in Joey Votto, and "speculation around the game" is that the Blue Jays will be in the mix. Earlier tonight we heard that the Reds have not discussed trading Votto, however.
- Unsurprisingly, the Yankees are looking for starting pitching and left-handed relievers, tweets Heyman. Our free agent list shows a number of attractive lefty relief options.
- Amber Sabathia, wife of Yankees ace CC Sabathia, told Ken Davidoff of Newsday that her family is "definitely invested" in New York and that she considers it to be their home. Sabathia can choose to opt-out of his seven-year, $161MM deal this winter.
- MLB.com's Britt Ghiroli looks both back and ahead with regards to the Orioles front office. President of baseball operations Andy MacPhail is stepping down when his contract expires at the end of the month.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Freddy Garcia
Among free agent starters with at least 100 innings pitched in 2011, C.J. Wilson, C.C. Sabathia, and Mark Buehrle unsurprisingly comprise the top three in ERA. Erik Bedard snags the fourth spot with a 3.62 ERA, the bigger surprise being the lefty's health rather than his performance. But just a hair behind Bedard in the free agent ERA rankings is a man who had to sign a minor league deal in late January: Freddy Garcia.
After the 2006 season Garcia had tallied 200+ innings in six consecutive years. Seeking a front-rotation arm, Phillies GM Pat Gillick acquired Garcia from the White Sox for Gavin Floyd and Gio Gonzalez at the Winter Meetings that year. Biceps soreness set in that spring for Garcia, who began the year on the DL. The big righty threw 56 innings for the '07 Phillies, at which point a serious shoulder injury was diagnosed. He had surgery in late August, and became a hot commodity as a free agent a year later. Garcia gave the '08 Tigers three September starts and planned to participate in the Venezuelan Winter League to further prove his health.
Garcia's shoulder flared up at that point, but he was healthy enough to land a $1.5MM base salary with $6.5MM in incentives from the Mets in January of '09. Mets GM Omar Minaya convinced Garcia to accept a minor league assignment to begin that season, but he was released by the end of April. It was a low point for Garcia, who signed back with the White Sox in June of that year on a minor league deal. Garcia closed out his season with nine starts for the Sox, pitching well enough to prompt the team to exercise a $1MM option in October.
In 2010 we saw a full season of the new Garcia. The results: a 4.64 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 1.32 HR/9, and 40.7% groundball rate in 157 innings. It wasn't enough to merit a big league deal, so the Yankees signed him to a minor league contract in January and he soon became the favorite to be the team's fourth starter. An August finger injury cost Garcia a few starts, but he ended up with similar numbers: a 5.9 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 0.98 HR/9, and 36.4% groundball rate in 146 2/3 innings. If you count a minor league start and a postseason start, Garcia pitched 156 innings.
SIERA says Garcia's skills suggest an ERA around 4.28, rather than his actual 3.62 mark. That's still an improvement over 2010. Garcia slightly improved his strikeout rate, perhaps due to some changes in his mix of pitches. Garcia still profiles as a back-end starter, but his new level of performance should result in a guarantee at least matching the $3MM given to the likes of Brad Penny and Brandon Webb last winter.
Garcia appears to have earned over $4MM this year including incentives, and the Yankees must decide whether to offer arbitration if his fringe Type B status holds up. Perhaps the Yankees can convince him to decline arbitration, as otherwise the process could lead to a $5-6MM guarantee should the pitcher accept. Garcia has shown he can provide that amount of value, but despite the lower ERA this year the market perception would probably put him below a $5MM base salary as a free agent.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Quick Hits: Payrolls, Jay, Wilson, Epstein
Here are some links to check out before the NLCS kicks off later this afternoon..
- Michael Hunt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel points out that the somewhat low payrolls of the remaining playoff teams are examples of the importance of drafting, scouting, and player development. The Tigers have the largest payroll (10th), while the Cardinals (11th), Rangers (13th), and Brewers (17th) round out the pack. It's also worth noting that the Diamondbacks rank 25th and the Rays were 29th.
- The progress of center fielder Jon Jay allowed the Cardinals to trade Colby Rasmus at the deadline, GM John Mozeliak told Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Edwin Jackson, Marc Rzepczynski, and Octavio Dotel have been key parts of the team's drive to the NLCS.
- Some people think that C.J. Wilson has keen interest as a free agent in New York, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. He adds that the Yankees are probably the early favorite to sign him.
- A Lakeview, Illinois resident is "99.9 percent sure" that he saw Red Sox GM Theo Epstein at a Starbucks in Lincoln Park, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. Boston ownership has yet to acknowledge a report that the Cubs have asked for permission to talk to Epstein.
- The Angels continued their front-office purge by not renewing the contract of player development director Abe Flores, a major league source told Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times. Flores spent four seasons as the team's player development director after spending the previous six as the team's manager of baseball operations.
- No matter what kind of career pitcher Pedro Strop has, the trade for left-hander Mike Gonzalez at the August deadline was worth it for the Rangers, writes Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com.
East Links: Marlins, Votto, Darvish, Cashman
For the first time since 2005, there isn't a single team from either East division in the LCS round. That just means we're going to be hearing a lot more about them during the hot stove season. Here are some East Coast links…
- Earlier today we heard that the Reds are expected to listen to offers for Joey Votto, and Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post thinks the Marlins may kick the tires (Twitter link). The Fish are expected to make a splash before moving into their new stadium, and Votto would certainly qualify. Click here for Tim Dierkes' Offseason Outlook.
- Although the Marlins are expected to be quite active this offseason, Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel (via Twitter) doesn't expect them to be in on Yu Darvish as the club isn't terribly active in Asia.
- No surprise here, but Yankees GM Brian Cashman says that he still wants to return next season, writes Chad Jennings of The Journal News. Cashman's contract expires at the end of the month, and ESPN's Buster Olney hears (on Twitter) that talks about a new contract are going smoothly. A deal could be done by the end of next week.
- Jennings looked back at the trade deadline and asked if the Yankees missed an opportunity. He says it's easy to say they did in hindsight, but he agrees when Cashman says "I don't see there was any missed opportunity I could have done differently."
Poll: Jorge Posada’s Future
The Yankees season came to an end on Thursday night, and along with it may have come the end of Jorge Posada‘s career. Posada’s four-year, $52.4MM contract expires after the season, and so far the only team he’s ever played for has shown little interest in re-signing him.
Although he hit a career worst .235/.315/.398 with 14 homers in 2011, Posada was the team’s best hitter in the postseason, when he picked up six hits and four walks in the five games against the Tigers (.429/.570/571). He was in the lineup all five games because Detroit used four right-handed starters, and the switch-hitter actually handled righties very well this year (.269/.348/.466). It was lefties that gave him trouble (.092/.169/.108).
Despite seeing his playing time dwindle throughout the summer, Posada said in August that he wants to keep playing beyond this year. The Yankees used him almost exclusively at DH this summer, in part because his defensive skills behind the plate have eroded, but also because of long-term concerns about head injuries. Posada did appear in 14 games at first base in 2011 (eleven starts).
As always, the free agent market is flooded with one-dimensional DH types. Posada’s pedigree is on par with anyone’s, but teams have been shying away from overpaying for name value in recent years. His market may not be as robust as he may like, and may even be non-existent.
What will Jorge Posada do this offseason?
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Retire. 67% (10,083)
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Sign with another team. 24% (3,535)
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Re-sign with the Yankees. 9% (1,344)
Total votes: 14,962
Yankees Notes: Montero, Cashman, A-Rod, Sabathia
You knew there would be a lot of Yankee news the day after the Bronx Bombers were eliminated from the postseason. Ben Nicholson-Smith already gave us one batch of items out of New York today, and now here are a few more tidbits as the Yanks look ahead to next year…
- Jesus Montero may once again be trade bait this winter, writes John Harper of the New York Daily News. A group of scouts tells Harper that such pitchers as James Shields, Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill, Mat Latos or Matt Cain could potentially be obtained in a deal featuring Montero. Harper also says "the early indications are the Yanks won't go to extremes to sign" C.J. Wilson as a free agent.
- Brian Cashman says that starting pitching is "always, always, always" the club's offseason focus and this year will be no different, reports Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger. Cashman noted, however, that he doesn't expect next year's roster to be drastically different from the 2011 edition.
- With Alex Rodriguez's weak postseason numbers fresh in everyone's mind, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post and Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal both express worry about the six years and $143MM remaining on A-Rod's contract.
- Locking up C.C. Sabathia for more years and more millions could turn the ace into a Rodriguez-esque albatross on the Yankee payroll, warns Johnette Howard of ESPN New York.
- Which of New York's two big free agents is a safer signing: Sabathia or Mets shortstop Jose Reyes? Ken Plutnicki of the New York Times asks the question.
Eric Chavez “Leaning Heavily Towards Retirement”
Veteran third baseman Eric Chavez is considering retirement, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link). Chavez, 33, is "leaning heavily towards" hanging up his cleats after 14 Major League seasons.
Chavez considered retirement in 2010 following three injury-plagued years and multiple surgeries on his back and shoulder, but signed a minor league deal with the Yankees in the offseason and ended up as a valuable bench piece for the AL East champions. Chavez hit .263/.320/.356 in 175 plate appearances, all but 23 of which were against right-handed pitching. He also made 33 starts at third base filling in for the injured Alex Rodriguez and showed some of the form (a +9.5 UZR/150) that earned him six straight Gold Gloves for the A's between 2001-06.
Should this be the end for Chavez, he will retire with a career line of .267/.342/.474, 232 home runs and career earnings of approximately $75.63MM.
Yankees Notes: Sabathia, Posada, Cashman
The Yankees won 97 regular season games and two more in the playoffs, but their quest for a 28th World Championship fell short in the Bronx last night, as the Tigers beat them 3-2. Here are some links as the Yankees look ahead to another offseason…
- Tyler Kepner of the New York Times says retaining C.C. Sabathia is the most pressing task of the Yankees' offseason. If they let him slip away, the Red Sox could have interest, as Kepner points out.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com points out that the Yankees' biggest offseason need is once again starting pitching and runs through a number of other issues facing the Bronx Bombers this winter.
- Sabathia can opt out of the four years remaining on his seven-year, $161MM contract after the season and the left-hander says he can't wrap his head around the decision yet, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. However, Sabathia repeated that he loves it in New York.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post suspects that the Yankees will wait, instead of extending Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson this offseason. Both players are eligible for free agency after 2013 (assuming New York exercises Cano's two options).
- Alex Rodriguez told Sherman that the Yankees' season was a "major failure" though they finished with the best record in the American League. Rodriguez says he has a lot to prove and is looking forward to the challenge of "coming back with a vengeance."
- As Mike Vorkunov of the Star-Ledger explains, Jorge Posada may have played his final game in Yankee pinstripes and the catcher turned DH is emotional about the possibility.
- Brian Cashman reiterated that he wants to return to the Yankees, according to Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger. The GM's contract expires after the season, but the Yankees want him back, so a new deal appears likely.
AL East Links: Damon, MacPhail, Granderson
Four of the AL East's teams are in offseason mode, while the Yankees prepare for the deciding ALDS game five against the Tigers tomorrow. Non-Red Sox links from the division:
- B.J. Upton and Johnny Damon hope to return to the Rays next year, they told Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. Damon has a say as a free agent, while Upton is under the Rays' control as an arbitration eligible player.
- Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun is starting to think Andy MacPhail could return as the Orioles' president in 2012.
- The Yankees' metrics have Curtis Granderson as an above-average defensive outfielder, GM Brian Cashman told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Andrew Stoeten took a look at the Blue Jays' infield over at Drunk Jays Fans.