AL East Notes: Cole, Penny, Davis, Vlad
A few AL East links, as the Orioles enjoy first place…
- Check out some interesting quotes from Yankees executives Brian Cashman and Damon Oppenheimer in Tyler Kepner's profile of potential #1 draft pick Gerrit Cole for the New York Times. MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith spoke to Cole in March.
- The Rays and other teams approached Brad Penny during the offseason about becoming a closer, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Three club options "are far too many" from a player's point of view, writes SI's Jon Heyman in reference to Wade Davis' new contract with Tampa Bay. Davis' agent B.B. Abbott explained to MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith on Thursday that the pitcher felt the contract represented a worthwhile tradeoff.
- Not much is known about Vladimir Guerrero's personal life, but Kevin Van Valkenburg and Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun shed a little light on his personality.
East Notes: Simon, Red Sox, Feliciano, Mets
Let's take a look at some items from the AL and NL East..
- An Orioles source confirmed to Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun that Alfredo Simon arrived in Tampa on Saturday afternoon and will work out at the team’s minor-league complex within the next few days.
- Don't get accustomed to the Red Sox signing $100MM players, cautions Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal.
- Orioles pitcher Alfredo Simon hasn't been totally cleared of wrongdoing in a fatal shooting, but he has been able to secure a visa which allowed him to travel to the United States. Simon's agent, Phil Issac, says that Simon will arrive in Florida this afternoon, writes Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun. Zrebiec writes that it's too early to speculate about his availability, but the veteran will begin a throwing program and start preparing for the 2011 season.
- Nationals catcher Ivan Rodriguez wants to stay with the club beyond 2011, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com. The catcher has been brought up in trade rumors as some believe that the club could make Jesus Flores the backup after handing the keys over to Wilson Ramos behind the plate.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman said that Pedro Feliciano was "abused" by the Mets' use of him in recent years, tweets Jim Baumbach of Newsday.
- One group of bidders interested in buying a share of the Mets includes Tampa Bay Rays minority owner Randy Frankel, writes Michael O'Keeffe of the New York Daily News.
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.
Heyman On Marlins, Pujols, Sabathia
Buster Posey, Jason Heyward, Colby Rasmus, Gordon Beckham and Matt Kemp make Jon Heyman's list of players who could take another step toward stardom in 2011. Here are the latest rumors from Heyman at SI.com…
- Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez begins the season ‘under the gun,’ according to Heyman. Rodriguez was never the first choice of owner Jeffery Loria, who can make Miami seem like ‘Steinbrenner south.’
- Three GMs predict Albert Pujols will re-sign with the Cardinals after the season, when he hits free agency for the first time in his career. The sides are not negotiating during the season, but earlier in the spring, the Cardinals’ main offer was for over $200MM and nine years.
- A rival GM predicts that C.C. Sabathia is “definitely opting out'' of his contract with the Yankees after the season. It seems likely that the lefty could obtain more than $92MM over four years if he puts together a typical season in 2011.
NY Notes: Hernandez, Misch, Yanks Rotation
One New York team, the Mets, rested today while the other, the Yankees, opened their season with a win over the Tigers. Here are some items of note for each of Gotham's big league ballclubs …
- Luis Hernandez has decided to remain with the Mets organization after clearing waivers, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. The second baseman, rumored at one point during Spring Training to be the favorite to win the starting job at second base, will report to Triple-A Buffalo rather than testing free agency.
- Similarly, left-hander Pat Misch has opted to stay with the organization after clearing waivers, writes Rubin. Misch, too, will report to Triple-A Buffalo.
- All the conjecture over the state of the Yankees' rotation came to an end today, at the outset of the regular season, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Despite the attention paid to the state of the Bombers' rotation this offseason and spring, Sherman writes, their starting five was hardly a sure thing in 2010, when they managed to win 95 games and reach the ALCS. As with last season, the lineup and bullpen are very strong, but it will be interesting to see how the spotty rotation plays out and whether GM Brian Cashman makes any in-season moves in the event that things don't work out between A.J. Burnett, Phil Hughes, Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia. No team's Nos. 1-5 starters are perfect, of course, but as Sherman notes, the Red Sox and Rays appear to have the better rotations in the AL East on paper as of now.
Yankees Designate Romulo Sanchez For Assignment
WEDNESDAY: The Yankees designated Sanchez for assignment and announced that he has an offer to play in Japan.
MONDAY: The Yankees are selling Romulo Sanchez's rights to a Japanese team, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch (on Twitter). Sanchez, 27 in April, is an out of options hurler with a 95 mile per hour fastball.
He spent most of last year at Triple-A, posting a 3.97 ERA, 8.3 K/9, 5.1 BB/9, and 0.7 HR/9 in 104 1/3 innings. The Yankees acquired him from the Pirates about two years ago for Eric Hacker. At that time, Baseball America wrote Sanchez was "a big, intimidating presence…[who] lacks a great feel for pitching and has control lapses that keep him from dominating."
Quick Hits: Orioles, Montero, Silva
We've seen four trades already today, but there's still more news on possible deals and free agent signings. Here it is…
- Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail told MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli that there's no late trade in the offing this spring (Twitter link). Baltimore made late-spring trades in 2009 (Robert Andino) and '10 (Julio Lugo, Steve Lerud).
- Yankees catching prospect Jesus Montero failed this spring, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Yankees wanted him to become their backup catcher and to pretend now that they didn't plan on that is disingenuous, writes Sherman.
- Carlos Silva cleared waivers and is now a free agent, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
Yankees Release Ronnie Belliard
The Yankees released Ronnie Belliard, according to Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). The Yankees signed the veteran infielder to a minor league deal last month, but he did not make the team. Instead, Eduardo Nunez and Eric Chavez will be the Yankees' backup infielders.
Belliard, 35, hit .216/.295/.327 in 185 plate appearances for the Dodgers last year, playing first, second and third. He has a .273/.338/.415 line in 13 MLB seasons.
AL East Notes: Red Sox, Showalter, Sabathia
Among AL East clubs, only the Yankees will play on the season's first day Thursday. Here's the latest from the division…
- Relievers Dennys Reyes and Matt Albers made Boston's 25-man roster, reports WEEI's Alex Speier. Hideki Okajima and Alfredo Aceves were optioned to Triple-A. GM Theo Epstein explained to reporters that the choices were about "preservation of pitching depth," since he would have lost Reyes and Albers if they didn't make the team. Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald has quotes from Okajima's agent Joe Rosen on the decision.
- Orioles manager Buck Showalter stirred the pot in this Men's Journal interview with Paul Solotaroff, saying, "I’d like to see how smart Theo Epstein is with the Tampa Bay payroll." Epstein has already accepted an apology from Showalter on the comments, tweets Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald.
- Red Sox 2010 second-round pick Brandon Workman changed agents from Kevin Hubbard to Jeff Berry of CAA Sports, reports Speier. Workman had signed for $800K, about $165K over slot. Track all the latest in our Agency Database.
- Another strong year might make C.C. Sabathia the Yankees' best free agent signing ever, suggests Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The contract could end up being a three-year, $60MM deal if the lefty opts out after the season.
Offseason In Review: New York Yankees
The Yankees are next in our Offseason In Review series.
Major League Signings
- Derek Jeter, SS: three years, $51MM.
- Rafael Soriano, RP: three years, $35MM.
- Mariano Rivera, RP: two years, $30MM.
- Pedro Feliciano, RP: two years, $8MM.
- Russell Martin, C: one year, $4MM.
- Andruw Jones, OF: one year, $2MM.
- Total spend: $130MM.
Notable Minor League Signings
- Kevin Millwood, Ronnie Belliard, Eric Chavez, Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon, Brian Anderson, Buddy Carlyle, Mark Prior, Neal Cotts, Warner Madrigal, Luis Ayala, Andy Sisco
International Signings
- Juan Carlos Paniagua, Yadil Mujica, Freiter Marte, Wilmer Romero
Trades and Claims
- Acquired SP Scott Allen from Diamondbacks for 1B Juan Miranda
- Acquired OF Cody Johnson from Braves for cash considerations
- Claimed OF Jordan Parraz off waivers from Red Sox
- Acquired OF Justin Maxwell from Nationals for RP Adam Olbrychowski
- Acquired OF Chris Dickerson from Brewers for SP Sergio Mitre
Notable Losses
- Marcus Thames, Lance Berkman, Austin Kearns, Nick Johnson, Juan Miranda, Adam Olbrychowski, Kerry Wood, Javier Vazquez, Andy Pettitte, Dustin Moseley, Alfredo Aceves
Summary
Only the Yankees can spend $130MM on free agents and have it seem like they didn't do much during the offseason. Cliff Lee spurned the team's huge offer, but they were able to retain future Hall of Famers Jeter and Rivera while improving the bullpen.
The Yankees ended up paying about twice what Jeter is probably worth in a strictly baseball sense, after a few unnecessary verbal jabs from both sides. I don't have a problem with it; they can afford to overpay, and they didn't have a superior alternative at shortstop. The price to keep Rivera was steep as well, yet he remains among the game's best relievers into his 40s. Perhaps the Yankees found it reassuring that multiple teams were willing to offer Rivera three guaranteed years, which suggests they weren't forced to overpay just for being the Yankees.
The mystery team actually signed Lee, with the Phillies inking him to a five-year, $120MM deal in mid-December. At $148MM over seven years, the Yankees offered Lee more guaranteed money than the Rangers or Phillies. Still, the Phillies seemingly offered the biggest salary at $24MM a year. Had the Yankees extended themselves to $150MM over six years, they might have gotten their man – even if they represented his second or third choice. With Pettitte's status an unknown at the time, going the extra mile for Lee still would have been the right move. The Yankees cannot buy or trade for high-quality starting pitching if it just isn't there, and I'm not convinced this year's trade market will feature even a #2-type starter.
Carl Crawford and Jayson Werth were already off the board by the time Lee signed, and Adrian Beltre would have been an even tougher fit, so there weren't any big names left for the Yankees to pursue. The starting pitching market was especially bleak at that point, but credit GM Brian Cashman for setting aside a potential fan backlash and exploring a reunion with Carl Pavano.
Cashman chose not to pursue Zack Greinke, who secretly met with the GM during the Winter Meetings to try to convince him he'd thrive in New York. Jon Heyman's article implies Cashman bowed out mainly because he thought Greinke wasn't a good fit with the club, rather than balking at the Royals' asking price. If true, it's interesting that Cashman felt Greinke was a bad fit but Pavano was a good one, but of course the stakes were higher with Greinke.
Assuming a Matt Garza trade would have made both the Rays and Yankees uneasy, Cashman was out of options on starting pitching. His plan at that point was apparently to toss a mere $14MM at complementary pieces Feliciano, Martin, and Jones. There's something to be said for committing two years to Feliciano instead of three, and the Yankees will need a strong bullpen if their fourth and fifth starters consistently fail to go deep into games. Even if Cashman wasn't on board, the Soriano signing certainly gives the team a much stronger bullpen. The dual opt-outs are the smallest concern with that contract, which I explained in a separate post.
The Yankees' minor league signings include former big names Chavez, Colon, Garcia, Millwood, and Prior. There are spring indications that several of them can have positive contributions for the big league club in 2011. The main goal may be to wring a couple of good months out of the rotation candidates.
Most likely we'll hear the Yankees connected to every starting pitcher with a pulse throughout the season, after which the team's rotation could be further depleted if C.C. Sabathia opts out. Problem is, it's hard to identify even one front-end starter who projects to be available in July. The Yankees may need one or two of their in-house starters to exceed expectations if they are to go deep into the playoffs this year.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.