Phillies, Pence Avoid Arbitration
The Phillies avoided arbitration with Hunter Pence, agreeing to a one-year, $10.4MM contract for 2012, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The Phillies announced the agreement, adding that it includes award bonuses. Beverly Hills Sports Council represents the right fielder.
As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, the sides settled at the midpoint between Pence's request for $11.8MM and the Phillies' $9MM offer. The Phillies have now signed all of their arbitration eligible players for 2012. Pence, 28, won't be eligible for free agency until after the 2013 season. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes recently examined his case for a long-term deal.
Phillies Sign Juan Pierre
The Phillies have signed Juan Pierre to a minor league contract that includes an invitation to Spring Training, the team announced. Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com first reported the deal (on Twitter). SFX represents Pierre, who joins a left field mix that includes John Mayberry, Laynce Nix and Domonic Brown.
Pierre spent the 2011 season with the White Sox and posted a .279/.329/.327 line with 27 stolen bases (44 attempts) in 711 plate appearances as the team's everyday left fielder. The 34-year-old has averaged 155 games played and 50 stolen bases since breaking in as an everyday player with the 2001 Rockies.
The Mets and Tigers were also linked to Pierre this offseason. He placed 43rd on MLBTR's list of top free agents entering the offseason.
NL East Notes: Cora, Rodriguez, Phillies, Mets
The latest links from the NL East…
- Though Alex Cora announced his retirement from winter ball, he intends to play in the Major Leagues this year. He has drawn interest as a coach and infielder, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. According to the Puerto Rican paper El Nuevo Dia, Cora says he'd still like to play in the majors for another year, even though he hasn’t seen official offers yet (translation by Nick Collias).
- Ivan Rodriguez, who caught for the Nationals last year but hasn’t signed with a new team yet, tells Amanda Comak of the Washington Times that it’s tough not having a job. “At the same time, what you going to do?” Rodriguez said. “You really cannot do anything. The only thing I can tell you is that I'm in good shape.”
- The Phillies are bottom fishing for infielders, Heyman tweets. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets that the Phillies could look for someone with a little more power than Wilson Valdez — perhaps Ryan Theriot.
- The Mets don’t expect to re-sign Jason Isringhausen, though they haven’t ruled anything out, Dan Martin of the New York Post reports.
Phillies Likely To Sign Juan Pierre
9:55am: The Phillies are likely to sign Pierre, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. It's expected to be a minor league deal.
9:30am: The Phillies have had "serious discussions" with free agent outfielder Juan Pierre about a minor league deal, Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com tweets. The Mets and Tigers have also been linked to the SFX client in recent weeks, though the Tigers' interest in adding position players has diminished now that they've added Prince Fielder.
Pierre spent the 2011 season with the White Sox and posted a .279/.329/.327 line with 27 stolen bases (44 attempts) in 711 plate appearances as the team's everyday left fielder. The 34-year-old has averaged 155 games played and 50 stolen bases since breaking in as an everyday player with the 2001 Rockies.
This post was first published on January 27th, 2012.
Quick Hits: Braves, Fielder, Reds, Cespedes, Dodgers
On this day last year, the Rangers traded Frank Francisco and cash considerations to the Blue Jays for Mike Napoli. Toronto pulled the trigger on the swap just four days after acquiring Napoli from the Halos. Here's a look at tonight's links..
- The Braves have set a player payroll budget of $94MM for this year, leaving them with several million dollars still to spend, chairman and CEO Terry McGuirk told Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. McGuirk also said that Liberty Media has expressed no intention of selling the club in the near future. Also of note is that the club is locked into a 25-year local TV deal that will prevent the franchise from cashing in on MLB’s trend toward higher telecast rights fees.
- The Rangers' bid for Prince Fielder was much shorter than nine years, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
- The Reds are probably done handing out big league deals this offseason, tweets John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Earlier tonight, the club reached agreement on a minor league deal with Jeff Francis.
- Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (via Twitter) ranked Yoenis Cespedes' most probable destinations in the following order: Cubs, Marlins, Orioles, and White Sox.
- Peter Ueberroth says he's heard from several groups bidding on the Dodgers but rebuffed them all, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).
- C. Trent Rosecrans of CBSSports.com examined what's left on the open market.
- Free agent Raul Ibanez believes that a three-day session that he had in December with Cubs hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo will be key to a bounce back season in 2012. Last season, Ibanez hit .245/.289/.419 in 575 plate appearances for the Phillies.
- Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette is zeroed in on improving the club's on-base percentage this winter, writes Eduardo A. Encina of The Baltimore Sun.
- Rival executives applaud Fielder for signing on with a winning club rather than signing with a struggling club just for the money, Heyman tweets.
NL East Notes: Nationals, Gonzalez, Fielder, Howard
The Nationals were linked to free agent slugger Prince Fielder for quite some time but yesterday the 27-year-old agreed to a nine-year, $214MM deal with the Tigers. Here's more on the Nats and other items from around the National League East..
- The Nats were never close to winning the Fielder bidding, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. The club only got as far as discussing parameters of a deal, never specifics.
- Gio Gonzalez doesn't have a no-trade clause in his new deal with the Nationals, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. Gonzalez agreed to a five-year extension with the club earlier this month.
- Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said Tuesday that while he believes Domonic Brown would benefit from more sustained playing time in the minor leagues, he'l have a chance to win the leftfield job away from John Mayberry this spring, writes Rich Hofmann of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- More from Hofmann as he writes that Amaro is even happier with Ryan Howard's five-year, $125MM deal after seeing the contracts signed by Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder.
- The Phillies looked at Omar Vizquel before he signed with Blue Jays, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. Crasnick notes that the club still has Michael Martinez as a utility infielder.
- Washington GM Mike Rizzo says that the club was in the talks for Fielder "until the end," tweets Kilgore.
Reds Acquire Wilson Valdez
The Reds announced that they acquired infielder Wilson Valdez from the Phillies for left-hander Jeremy Horst (Twitter link). Horst will be in Major League Spring Training as a non-roster player, according to the Phillies, who now have two open spots on their 40-man roster.
Valdez, 33, posted a .249/.294/.341 line in 300 plate appearances for the Phillies in 2011, playing second, third and short. He even pitched an inning, picking up a win against the Reds in May. He'll earn $930K in 2012.
Horst made his MLB debut in 2011, posting a 2.93 ERA with a 9K/6BB ratio in 15 1/3 innings. The 26-year-old also posted a 2.81 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 51 1/3 innings at Triple-A last year.
NL East Notes: Musser, Young, Marlins, Upton
Long-time Phillies broadcast Andy Musser passed away today at age 74. Throughout his distinguished, 45-year broadcasting career, Musser covered several college and pro sporting events and teams including the NBA's 76ers, the NFL's Eagles and over 25 years calling Phillies games. All of us at MLBTR send our condolences to Musser's family, friends and listeners.
Some items from around the NL East…
- Sandy Alderson tells ESPN's Jerry Crasnick that the Mets are open to bringing back right-hander Chris Young, likely on a minor league contract. Young made just four starts for the Mets last year before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery, but he tells Crasnick that he hopes to be pitching by April and his "arm feels the best it has felt in quite some time" (both Twitter links).
- The Marlins aren't interested in Prince Fielder in part because they feel his large contract would prevent the team from making other moves, writes MLB.com's Joe Frisaro as part of a reader mailbag. To wit, signing Fielder could make it hard for Miami to sign Mike Stanton to a multiyear extension.
- The Marlins' arbitration hearings with Anibal Sanchez and Emilio Bonifacio have been set for February 3 and 7, respectively, according to Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. You can keep track of those and all other cases and potential signings on the MLBTR Arbtracker.
- In regards to a recent Nick Cafardo item about how the Rays could again pursue a B.J. Upton trade, Pete Kerzel of MASNsports.com thinks the Nationals may still be interested in Upton but as a free agent next winter, not via a trade that would create another roster hole.
- Nationals manager Davey Johnson tells Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that his roster is basically settled going into Spring Training. Kilgore thinks if the Nats make another move, it will be for a bench bat (barring a major signing like Fielder, of course).
- The Phillies have the resources to be perpetual contenders, and "should never stink again," writes Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- The Braves had to wait until recently to re-sign Jack Wilson since many of the club's offseason trade talks involved a starting or backup shortstop, writes MLB.com's Mark Bowman.
Angels, Jays, Orioles, Phillies Are Pursuing Cordero
6:54pm: Bean Stringfellow, Cordero's agent, wouldn't comment on whether the Angels were looking at Cordero as a closer or as Jordan Walden's setup man, reports DiGiovanna. Stringfellow called it "a delicate situation."
6:21pm: The Angels, Blue Jays, Orioles and Phillies are all pursuing Cordero, reports Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). These could well be the four finalists Gonzalez referenced.
5:29pm: Free agent reliever Francisco Cordero expects to sign with a new team by the end of the week, reports MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez. Four clubs are finalists for Cordero; Gonzalez's source identifies the Angels as one of the four, but the Rays are not in the mix. One of the unknown teams "is a championship-contending team looking to slot [Cordero] in the eighth inning," and Gonzalez speculates this could be the Phillies, looking at Cordero as Jonathan Papelbon's setup man.
The Angels, Red Sox, Reds and Orioles have all been linked to Cordero this winter, though Boston's acquisitions of Andrew Bailey and Mark Melancon probably eliminate them from the hunt. The Reds are probably also out due to their signing of Ryan Madson, though they fit Gonzalez's description of a title contender and Cordero could be open to remaining in a familiar environment to chase a World Series.
Many Teams Eyeing Gerardo Concepcion
Cuban left-hander Gerardo Concepcion has been declared a free agent and is drawing interest from many MLB teams, Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com reports. The 18-year-old recently established residency in Mexico and was said to be close to declaring free agency last week.
The Rangers, Yankees, Cubs and White Sox have expressed the most interest in Concepcion, agent Jaime Torres said. The lefty worked out in front of Rangers personnel, including Nolan Ryan, in the Dominican Republic today. The Phillies, Giants, Blue Jays, Red Sox and Royals have also expressed interest.
Concepcion has an offer on the table and will likely sign within two weeks, according to his agent. He defected from Cuba last June while playing in the Netherlands.