Quick Hits: Farnsworth, Durbin, Izzy, Duchscherer
Here are a few items of note for Jan. 29, 53 years to the day after Stan Musial became the National League's highest-paid player with the one-year, $100K contract he signed with the Cardinals …
- The Rays will pay Kyle Farnsworth $2.6MM in salary in 2011, tweets Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. If Farnsworth's option for 2012 is picked up, he will earn $3.3MM that year. If it's declined, the buyout is $650K. The deal also includes up to $300K in incentives for games finished.
- The Phillies have not re-signed free-agent reliever Chad Durbin because he is seeking a two-year deal at a higher annual salary than the club is comfortable giving him, tweets Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. Philly is also intent on preserving the roster spot for the sake of grooming younger relievers, according to Stark.
- The Reds will decide whether to sign free-agent reliever Jason Isringhausen after watching him throw a bullpen session on Monday in Arizona, tweets John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Isringhausen signed a minor-league deal with the Reds last July but did not appear in any games for them. He last appeared in the big leagues with the Rays in June 2009, a stint that ended when he suffered an arm injury that required Tommy John surgery.
- The Orioles remain fairly interested in free-agent pitcher Justin Duchscherer after receiving positive feedback on the right-hander's Friday bullpen session, blogs Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.
Phillies Interested In Signing Jason Grilli
The Phillies are interested in signing free-agent reliever Jason Grilli to a minor-league deal, writes Paul Hagen of Philly.com.
Grilli, a right-hander, last pitched for the Rangers in 2009. He signed a minor-league deal with the Indians prior to last season before suffering a knee injury that cost him all of the 2010 campaign.
Grilli's best season in the Majors (3.00 ERA) came in 2008, when he split time with the Tigers and Rockies. For his career, he has a 4.74 ERA over 356 2/3 innings.
Grilli, 34, is a former first-round pick of the Giants and has pitched for five teams.
Charlie Manuel Not Worried About Extension
Phillies manager Charlie Manuel says "it's just a matter of time" before he and the Phillies agree to a contract extension. Manuel appeared on 610 WIP radio (MLB.com's Joe Frisaro has some pertinent quotes) to discuss both the Phillies and his own future with the team.
Manuel is only under contract through next season. He reiterated his preference to have his extension settled before Opening Day, or even before Spring Training, to avoid being a "distraction." Manuel seems to be looking for a two-year extension since he said he knows he can manage three more seasons, or until he turns 70 years old. After that, Manuel said he will sit down with Phillies management and see what direction the team wants to take.
Manuel has a 764-618 career record in his nine seasons as a Major League manager, including a 544-428 record in six years in Philadelphia. The West Virginia native has led the Phillies to two NL pennants and the 2008 World Series title.
Quick Hits: Cashman, Mets, Blanton, Indians, DeRosa
One year ago, the Orioles officially signed Miguel Tejada, bringing him back for his second stint with the club. Unfortunately for the O's, the veteran infielder couldn't match the numbers he'd previously put up in Baltimore, posting a .670 OPS before a July trade sent him to the Padres. While we wait to see what January 23rd will bring this year, here are a few links to browse:
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman would prefer to run a small market team, opines Bill Madden of the New York Daily News, who is beginning to think Cashman may walk away from the Yankees when his contract expires following the 2011 season.
- ESPN's Adam Rubin provides a breakdown of the Mets' 2011 payroll following Jeff Wilpon's statement that the team payroll will be in the $145MM-plus range.
- Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer makes a case for Joe Blanton's value, then says the Phillies need to sell that argument to just one other team. Brookover opines that shedding some money by dealing Blanton could give the Phils a little wiggle room to address other potential areas of need.
- Within a multi-sport mailbag, Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer addresses the Indians' third base picture, which could include Jason Donald, Lonnie Chisenhall, and Jared Goedert.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle takes a look at what the Giants can expect from Mark DeRosa this season. DeRosa is entering the second and final year of the $12MM deal he signed last winter.
- In their newest blog entries, the Baltimore Sun's Peter Schmuck and MASN's Roch Kubatko each discuss the most recent Orioles rumblings, with a focus on Vladimir Guerrero.
Mike Sweeney Wants To Play In 2011
Mike Sweeney has been telling former teammates that he would like to play in 2011, but only if he can find a contending team willing to give him a Major League contract according to ESPN's Jayson Stark (Insider req'd). The Phillies told Sweeney that they would have interest in bringing him back on a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training.
The 37-year-old Sweeney hit .231/.310/.385 in a reserve role for the Phillies after coming over from the Mariners in a midseason trade. He finally got his first taste of postseason play in 2010, the 15th full season of a career that features a .297/.366/.486 batting line.
Stark speculates that the Padres could have interest in Sweeney as a bat off the bench and possible platoon partner for Brad Hawpe at first.
East Notes: Jones, Buchholz, Papelbon, Rizzo, Jays
Some news about the various beasts of the eastern baseball world…
- Adam Jones doesn't believe the Orioles discussed a multi-year extension with his CAA representation before the two sides agreed to a 2011 contract, the outfielder tells MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli.
- The Red Sox haven't discussed a long-term extension with Clay Buchholz this offseason, reports Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal. Last September, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith explored what a Buchholz extension might cost Boston.
- Also from MacPherson, he points out that the Red Sox could wind up letting Jonathan Papelbon leave for nothing next winter. Papelbon would have to turn down an arbitration offer from Boston in order for the Sox to receive compensatory draft picks if he signed elsewhere as a free agent. However, by offering arbitration, the Red Sox would be making "a $14-$15MM gamble" that Papelbon wouldn't accept, since he's unlikely to find that much salary elsewhere.
- GM Mike Rizzo discussed several Nationals-related topics during a conference call with reporters today. Mark Zuckerman of the Nats Insider blog has a partial transcript.
- Alex Anthopoulos tells MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm his philosophy about not publicly disclosing whether or not the Jays are negotiating multi-year contracts, be they with Jose Bautista or any player.
- Brett Lawrie tells MinorLeagueBaseball.com's Robert Emrich that he has been working out at third base and believes he will play the position during Spring Training. When Toronto acquired Lawrie in the Shaun Marcum deal, there was speculation to whether Lawrie would stay at second base or be moved to third or even a corner outfield spot. The Jays are, obviously, set at second (at least in the short term) with Aaron Hill.
- In an interview with Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio (Twitter link), Phillies assistant GM Scott Proefrock says his club does not have to deal Joe Blanton or Kyle Kendrick. Proefrock also said the Phillies will look within the organization for right-handed hitting help.
- The Orioles are lacking in Major League third base depth, writes Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun.
Players To Avoid Arbitration: Tuesday
Today is the deadline for players and teams to submit arbitration figures. The sides will then settle on a salary between the team's proposed number and the player's proposed number or go to an arbitration hearing. Arbitration eligible players are under team control, so the clubs don't risk losing them – it's a question of how much the players will earn.
Yesterday, 11 players avoided arbitration. We could see just as many agreements trickle in today and we'll keep you posted on them right here and with our Arb Tracker. The latest updates will be at the top of the post:
- The Angels have agreed to terms with Reggie Willits and Howie Kendrick, tweets Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times. Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register tweets that Kendrick will earn $3.3MM, Willits $775K (on Twitter).
- The Giants agreed to terms with Santiago Casilla on a one-year deal worth $1.3MM with incentives, according to ESPN Deportes' Enrique Rojas (on Twitter). The team also announced that they avoided arb with Jonathan Sanchez and Ramon Ramirez (on Twitter). Sanchez will earn $4.8MM with incentives tweets Hank Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle while Ramirez will earn $1.65MM according to Janie McCauley of The Canadian Press.
- The Braves agreed to terms with Peter Moylan and Eric O'Flaherty, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman (on Twitter). Moylan gets $2MM, O'Flaherty gets $895K according to Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter).
- The Mariners agreed to terms with Brandon League, David Aardsma and Jason Vargas, the team announced. Aardsma will earn $4.5MM with plenty of incentives, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times (plus Twitter link).
- The Rangers agreed to terms with C.J. Wilson and Nelson Cruz, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan (Twitter links). Cruz gets $3.65MM, and Wilson gets $7.05MM with a chance to earn another $100K according to his agent Bob Garber, via email.
Amaro Not Comfortable Trading Blanton
It's been widely assumed that the Phillies would trade Joe Blanton after signing Cliff Lee, if for no other reason than to shed the $8.5MM he's owed in each of the next two seasons to create some salary relief. GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that might not be the case, however.
"I don’t feel comfortable doing it," said Amaro. "He’s going to pitch for the Phillies, probably for the entire season … We do not need to trade the man."
The number of teams looking for starting pitching is plentiful, but one rival GM told Rosenthal there was "not a chance" that his team would want Blanton unless the Phillies ate a significant portion of his salary.
The 30-year-old right-hander pitched to a 4.82 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 in 175.2 innings last season. It was the first time he failed to throw at least 194 innings in a full season in his career, but you can blame that on an oblique strain that robbed him of all of April.
Quick Hits: Francisco, Manny, Rays, Athletics
On this date two years ago, the Dodgers signed Ronald Belisario as a minor league free agent after he had spent the previous eight years in the Marlins' and Pirates' systems. Belisario made the team's Opening Day roster in 2009 and has pitched to a 3.36 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and a 58.5% ground ball rate in 126 innings since.
Here are Sunday's links…
- Paul Hagen of The Philadelphia Daily News has the breakdown of the incentives included in Ben Francisco's contract with the Phillies. The outfielder can earn another $100K in bonuses tied to plate appearances, plus more for various awards.
- Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News sees just one reason why the Rangers should consider signing Manny Ramirez. Texas is one of five teams that have recently expressed interest in Manny.
- Some estimates say the Rays should budget upwards of $15MM for the 2011 draft because of all the extra picks they have, according to Marc Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times. Once the Rafael Soriano, Grant Balfour, and Chad Qualls signings become official, Tampa will own a dozen of the first 90 or so picks.
- The Athletics are optimistic about their offseason moves says Joe Stiglich of The Oakland Tribune, and rightfully so.
Phillies Avoid Arbitration With Ben Francisco
The Phillies have agreed to a one-year, $1.175MM deal with Ben Francisco, tweets Matt Gelb of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The 29-year-old outfielder is represented by John Boggs.
This offseason was Francisco's very first as an arbitration eligible player. In 2010, Francisco turned in a .268/.327/.441 slash line with six homers in 197 plate appearances. Philadelphia acquired the right-handed batter from Cleveland in the deal that brought them Cliff Lee in 2009. To keep up with the status of every arbitration eligible player, bookmark our handy Arb Tracker.
Paul Hagen of The Philadelphia Daily News has the breakdown of the incentives in Francisco's contract.