Phillies Decline Placido Polanco’s Option
The Phillies have declined their half of Placido Polanco's $5.5MM mutual option, the team has announced. Polanco will instead receive a $1MM buyout and become a free agent.
Polanco, who turned 37 shortly after the regular season ended, earned $6.25MM in 2012 — the final guaranteed season of a three-year, $18MM contract he signed back in December 2009.
The veteran struggled to the tune of a .257/.302/.327 batting line with a mere two home runs. A pair of back injuries led to two stints on the disabled list, limiting Polanco to 90 games. That total was his lowest since playing a partial season for the Cardinals at age 23 in 1999.
His defense remained a plus according to both UZR (+8.1 runs per 150 games) and the Fielding Bible (+2 runs). Polanco shifted to third base after signing with Philadelphia to accommodate Chase Utley, but he has extensive experience at second base as well.
For his career, the ACES client is a .299/.344/.403 hitter. He's split his Major League service time between the Cardinals, Phillies and Tigers. Earlier today, the Phils picked up their option on Carlos Ruiz and declined their options on Ty Wigginton and Jose Contreras.
Phillies Decline Options For Wigginton, Contreras
The Phillies announced that they declined the contract options for Ty Wigginton and Jose Contreras. Both players obtain $500K buyouts and become free agents.
Contreras, 40, spent most of the 2012 season on the disabled list. He didn't pitch after June 2nd, when the Phillies placed him on the DL with a torn elbow ligament. His option was worth $2.5MM.
Wigginton appeared in 125 games this past season, playing first base, third base and left field. The 35-year-old posted a .235/.314/.375 batting line with 11 home runs in 360 plate appearances. Wigginton's two-year, $8MM contract with the Phillies included a $4MM team option for 2013.
The Phillies exercised the option of catcher Carlos Ruiz earlier today. They have two more days to decide whether to exercise Placido Polanco's option. GM Ruben Amaro Jr. is expected to decline.
Phillies Exercise 2013 Option For Carlos Ruiz
The Phillies exercised their 2013 option for Carlos Ruiz, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports (on Twitter). As expected, the catcher will earn $5MM in 2013 instead of a $500K buyout.
Ruiz, 33, posted a .325/.394/.540 batting line with a career-high 16 home runs in 421 plate appearances this past season. Exercising the All-Star catcher's option appears to have been an easy decision. All option decisions must be in within three days of the end of the World Series.
Sherman on Mets, Phillies, Cabrera, Olivo, Shoppach
Even in the middle of the World Series, baseball people continue to talk about embattled Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. News on Cabrera and other notes from today’s column..
- Sherman spoke with a group of baseball executives about where Cabrera will sign and the Mets and Phillies both came up regularly. The Mets could look to Cabrera as corner outfield insurance against Jason Bay and Lucas Duda if he is affordable. Such a move would make even more sense if they are unable to retain Scott Hairston.
- The majority of the execs see Cabrera winding up with a one-year deal in the $2-$5MM range to audition himself. One exec could see him getting $10-$12MM while another said he could possibly get one year at $8-10MM.
- The Mets are unlikely to obtain catcher Kelly Shoppach and they are instead eyeing free agent Miguel Olivo. When the Mets were combing the trade market for catchers this summer, the Mets had Olivo as a secondary candidate to the Rockies‘ Ramon Hernandez before ultimately trading for Shoppach. The Mariners announced on Wednesday that they would not pick up Olivo’s $3MM option for 2013.
- Yankees officials never saw Cabrera as a negative influence on Robinson Cano the way that people outside of the organization did, but he doesn’t look to be a great fit regardless. The Yankees might not be able to offer the certainty of playing time that Cabrera will need to rebuild his value.
Arbitration Eligibles: Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies are next in our 2013 Arbitration Eligibles series. Matt Swartz's salary projections are below.
- First time: Antonio Bastardo ($1.1MM), Kevin Frandsen ($800K)
- Second time: Nate Schierholtz ($1.6MM)
- Third time: None
Bastardo's high strikeout/walk/flyball rate formula was less effective for him on the surface this year, given the significant increase in his ERA. 43 holds over the past two seasons should still enable him to exceed $1MM as a first-timer. Frandsen had a nice campaign in 210 plate appearances, and has probably earned a spot on next year's team.
Schierholtz, 28, came to the Phillies in their trade deadline Hunter Pence deal but totaled only 73 plate appearances for his new club. He missed time with a broken toe, and is a non-tender candidate.
Assuming Bastardo and Frandsen are tendered contracts, the Phillies are looking at an estimated $1.9MM for two arbitration eligible players.
Matt Swartz's arbitration projections are available exclusively at MLB Trade Rumors. To read more about his projection model, check out this series of posts.
NL East Notes: Mets, Wright, Dickey, Marlins
The Mets‘ contract talks with David Wright and R.A. Dickey have not advanced to the point of discussing years or dollars, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations tells Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. General Manager Sandy Alderson has remained in touch with representatives for both players but the sides are “still talking about when to really get talking,” according to the source. Martino writes that some in the organization believe that the Mets will sign Wright but ultimately trade Dickey. Here’s more on the Mets and other items out of the NL East..
- Alderson disclosed that manager Wally Backman will return to the Mets‘ Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas next season, tweets Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger. The 53-year-old has managed in the organization’s minor league system for the past three seasons.
- The Phillies had some interest in bringing Backman aboard as their Triple-A manager in Lehigh Valley to replace Ryne Sandberg, Martino tweets. Sandberg was bumped up to third base coach for the Phillies earlier this month.
- The Marlins are said to have interest in Reds pitching coach Bryan Price for their managerial vacancy, but Price has recently agreed to a new deal with the club, tweets John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. However, Price won’t comment on whether the club has asked for permission to talk to him, writes Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel.
Outrighted: Michael Martinez, Jeremy Moore
We’ll keep track of the day’s outright assignments here…
- The Phillies announced that they have outrighted infielder Michael Martinez to Triple-A. Martinez, 30, saw time at shortstop, second base, third base, and every outfield position in parts of two big league seasons with the club. In 133 games during that stretch, Martinez posted a slash line of .188/.241/.272.
- The Angels outrighted outfielder Jeremy Moore to the minor leagues after removing him from the 60-day disabled list, according to the transactions page at CBSSports.com. Moore missed the entire 2012 season to undergo right hip surgery. The 25-year-old made his MLB debut a year ago, appearing in eight games for the 2011 Angels. He spent most of the ’11 season at Triple-A, posting a .298/.331/.545 batting line with 24 doubles, 18 triples and 15 home runs.
Blue Jays Claim David Herndon
The Blue Jays have claimed right-hander David Herndon off of waivers from Philadelphia, the Phillies announced. The 27-year-old underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery in June, which means he won't be ready to return until midway through the 2013 season.
Herndon was a key contributor for the Phillies from 2010-11, when he posted a 3.79 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 over the course of 92 games. He appeared in five games for the Phillies this April before being placed on the disabled list.
Watch out for the Blue Jays. They claimed Bobby Wilson yesterday and have also claimed Tyson Brummett, Cory Wade and Scott Cousins in the past week.
Quick Hits: Soriano, Blue Jays, Phillies, Rockies
The Yankees will indeed make a qualifying offer to Rafael Soriano if he opts out of his contract, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. This morning, agent Scott Boras strongly hinted that the reliever would be opting out of his contract with the Bombers. Rather than make a guaranteed $14MM for next season, Soriano will instead choose a $1.5MM buyout and the uncertainty of the open market. Here's more Saturday night linkage..
- If John Farrell winds up in Boston, Sandy Alomar Jr. is the favorite to be the next manager of the Blue Jays, tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post. Everyone Renck has spoken with believes that Alomar is ready to be a quality big league skipper.
- Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com looks at which corner outfielders are likely to remain with the Phillies and which ones are probably on their way out. Salisbury expects to see John Mayberry Jr., Domonic Brown, and minor league phenom Darin Ruf back in the mix while Juan Pierre, Laynce Nix, Ty Wigginton, and Nate Schierholtz seem likely to wind up elsewhere.
- More from Renck (via Twitter) as he expects to see the Rockies move an outfielder as they look to improve via trade this winter.
- Pirates second baseman Neil Walker hopes to see the club add some established impact players this winter, writes Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. However, he concedes that the Bucs will likely look to fill most of their holes from within.
Outrighted: Orr, Lerud, Lewis
We’ll keep track of the day’s outright assignments right here…
- The Phillies announced that they outrighted infielder Pete Orr and catcher Steven Lerud off of their 40-man roster. Orr, 33, appeared in 35 games for the team, playing second and third base while posting a .772 OPS. Lerud, 28, appeared in three contests this past season. The Phillies now have 37 players on their 40-man.
- The Mets outrighted outfielder Fred Lewis to the minor leagues, according to the transactions page at CBSSports.com. The seven-year MLB veteran appeared in 18 games for New York this past season, playing all three outfield positions. A Mets official told Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com that Lewis plans to become a free agent. The 31-year-old hasn't yet filed the formal paperwork, but will become a free agent once he does so.