Players Who Cannot Be Offered Arbitration
Being designated a Type A free agent can be a detriment if the team offers arbitration. If the player accepts, he's off the market on a one-year deal and has a limited salary range. If he declines, his new team must surrender a draft pick upon signing him. Carrying around the added draft pick cost, Juan Cruz and Orlando Cabrera were among those with fewer opportunities as free agents after the '08 season.
As a result, a contractual clause prohibiting the team from offering arbitration if a player receives Type A status has been gaining in popularity. During the 2009-10 offseason, at least four players had this clause added:
- Orlando Hudson, Legacy Sports. Hudson was offered and turned down arbitration from the Diamondbacks after the '08 season, and was surprised he could only find a one-year deal from the Dodgers guaranteeing $3.38MM. The Dodgers were willing to give up the #17 overall pick to get Hudson at the reduced rate. Hudson avoided the problem when the Dodgers chose not to offer arbitration after the '09 season. His agent made sure it would not surface again after '10 by having a clause included in his Twins contract prohibiting the team from offering arbitration if he's a Type A. Hudson is a Type B right now anyway.
- Brad Penny, Legacy Sports. Penny was well-paid by the Cardinals given his 2009 stats, but he also had the "no arbitration offer" clause included. That might've been optimistic, since right now he's not even a Type B.
- Justin Duchscherer, Lapa/Leventhal. The A's offered arbitration to Duchscherer, a Type B, after the '09 season. He declined and re-signed, and this time made sure the team cannot offer if he's a Type A. The point is moot, as Duchscherer is below Type B and may miss the rest of the season with hip surgery.
- Ben Sheets, CAA. Not only did Sheets snag a huge $10MM guarantee after missing all of '09, he got this clause added just in case he has a season awesome enough to vault him to Type A status. I'm not sure that's even possible. Though he's been better recently, he'd need to quadruple his current Elias points (15.175) to reach Type B.
- Scott Boras may have been out front on this trend. He had the clause included in Ivan Rodriguez's one-year, $10MM deal with the Marlins in '03 as well as Carlos Beltran's seven-year, $119MM deal signed in '05. Beltran is a Type A at this time, but the Mets might not have offered arbitration after '11 anyway.
Odds & Ends: Anderson, Penny, Mariners, Zito
Links for Tuesday, as J.J. Hardy hits the disabled list…
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti told MLB.com's Ken Gurnick that he's sticking with Garret Anderson despite the former slugger's struggles as a pinch hitter and occasional outfielder this year.
- As Danny Knobler of CBS Sports points out, Barry Zito is making that $126MM contract look a little more tolerable to Giants fans these days.
- The White Sox named Jerry Krause their director of international scouting. The former Chicago Bulls GM had been overseeing the team's scouting in the Dominican Republic.
- If you have experience designing databases, MLBTR has a project for you. We’re interested in finding someone to design a searchable database for the site, so send an email to mlbtrdatabase@gmail.com if you are the right person for the job.
- The Mets released Shawn Riggans, who had been in the minors, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (via Twitter).
- Check out Tim's appearance on 590 KFNS in St. Louis right here.
- The Reds released outfielder Josh Anderson from their Triple A club, reports Michael Grant of the Courier-Journal.
- Brad Penny told Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he'd like to re-sign with the Cardinals, but if he doesn't he appreciates the opportunity they've given him. Penny ranks eighth in the NL with a 1.99 ERA, a figure he'll look to improve upon against the Astros tonight. The Cardinals also have Adam Wainwright and Jaime Garcia in the NL's top ten.
- The Mariners were choosing between Brandon Morrow and Daniel Bard for the fifth overall pick in the '06 draft, learned WEEI's Alex Speier.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan looks at ten popular phenoms making waves this year.
- Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News solves the mystery of the new delivery Barry Zito busted out in his first Giants bullpen session a few years ago.
- Chuck Hixson of PhillyBaseballNews.com looks at a few closers who might be available should the Phillies start looking.
Cafardo On Fielder, Wood, DeJesus
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe would like to see the Red Sox acquire a marquee player in his prime. Let's dive in and check out the tidbits that he has for us today..
- The Red Sox will shed a great deal of payroll this offseason thanks in large part to David Ortiz and Mike Lowell coming off of the books. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes examined the team's 2011 contract issues recently, suggesting $40MM could be freed up. With that newfound breathing room, Cafardo writes that the BoSox would like to zero in on one of three elite first basemen this winter. While he anticipates Albert Pujols remaining in St. Louis, he says that Prince Fielder and Adrian Gonzalez could be acquired via in-season trades.
- If Kerry Wood can show that he's healthy, he should be able to attract a contending team as we approach the trade deadline. Wood was recalled from his rehab assignment in Akron on Friday. The 32-year-old is set to make $10.5MM this season but if a team were to trade for him they would only have to assume the prorated portion of that.
- David DeJesus is "more than available" for teams seeking a lefty outfield bat. In return, the Royals would seek bullpen help and a positional prospect. Kansas City was said to be expecting serious interest in DeJesus this winter. The 31-year-old earns $4.5MM this season with a $6MM option for next season.
- While there's still some skepticism in Houston that Lance Berkman would really leave the organization, one Astros organizational person opined that the 34-year-old would "fit Boston like a fiddle". However, considering his advanced age and his offensive struggles this season, he's an unlikely fit for the club at present. Meanwhile, Cafardo mentions the Mariners and White Sox as teams that could really use a bat like Berkman's.
- Meanwhile, Jeremy Hermida is an outfielder that would seem to fit Seattle, though it doesn't appear that the Red Sox would entertain offers for him right now.
Odds & Ends: Bradley, Miles, Harwell, Zito
Links for Wednesday, as Ty Wigginton continues his assault on the American League…
- Milton Bradley left the Mariners in the middle of last night's game, reports ESPN's Mike Salk. The distractions become difficult to tolerate when he's hitting .214/.313/.371. GM Jack Zduriencik says Bradley asked the organization for help following last night's incident and will sit out for a few days while he works out personal "issues," according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.
- Bradley, for his part, texted Peter Gammons (Twitter link) to say: "Any reports I said I'm packing up and leaving are 100% fabricated."
- The Cardinals aren't sure yet whether Aaron Miles will work his way up to the bigs, writes Andy Jasner at MLB.com. The team is evaluating Miles' progress after signing him to a minor league deal last week.
- Baseball fans are mourning the loss of Tigers announcer Ernie Harwell, who was 92. A public viewing will take place Thursday night at Comerica Park.
- Barry Zito's 2014 option for $18MM vests if he starts racking up 200 inning seasons, reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Even if it remains a club option, the Giants face a hefty $7MM buyout.
- Baseball America's Jim Callis says Texas high school righty Jameson Taillon is the consensus #2 in the June draft. Will the Pirates spring for him? Will the Orioles have a shot at #3?
2011 Vesting Options Update
We entered the season with nine 2011 vesting option situations to watch. With one month in the books, several have already been pretty much decided. Let's take a look.
- Brian Fuentes, Angels. A back strain put Fuentes on the DL for a little while, making it unlikely he reaches 55 games finished. He'd need 51 in the team's remaining 136 games to cause his $9MM option to vest.
- Billy Wagner, Braves. Wagner's $6.5MM option vests with 50 games finished. He's finished eight games so far, and would have a shot at 50. However, the 38-year-old lefty recently told Braves manager Bobby Cox he'll retire after the season.
- Trever Miller, Cardinals. His $2MM option vests with 45 games, and he's appeared in seven so far. That's behind Miller's typical pace; he's averaged 71 the last three years. It's probably random, and Miller should still reach 45 games.
- Matt Cain, Giants. The $6.25MM option probably would've vested, but the Giants decided to guarantee Cain's 2011 salary at $7MM as part of an extension.
- Kerry Wood, Indians. His $11MM option vests with 55 games finished, but a back injury has Wood just now approaching his 2010 big league debut.
- Alex Cora, Mets. His $2MM option vests with 80 starts. He's started ten games so far. With Luis Castillo and Jose Reyes in the Mets' middle infield, we can't rule this one out yet.
- Darren Oliver, Rangers. His $3.25MM option vests with 59 appearances. He's already made a dozen, so this is looking likely.
- Ramon Hernandez, Reds. His $3.25MM option vests with 120 games played. Hernandez is at 16 so far, with the red-hot Ryan Hanigan getting more playing time recently.
- Magglio Ordonez, Tigers. His $15MM option vests with 135 starts or 540 plate appearances. He's at 25 games started and 113 plate appearances, so he'll get there barring injury.
- We're down to five vesting options to monitor: Miller, Cora, Oliver, Hernandez, and Ordonez. Also keep an eye on Francisco Rodriguez, whose scary $17.5MM option for 2012 vests with 100 games finished in 2010-11, 55 games finished in '11, and a successful physical after the '11 season. K-Rod has finished nine games on the young season.
Cardinals To Receive Cash For Lugo
The Cardinals will likely choose to receive cash to complete the Julio Lugo trade with Baltimore, GM John Mozeliak told Brian Feldman of ESPN Radio in St. Louis. The Cardinals have a choice between receiving a player to be named later or cash considerations for the veteran infielder.
Feldman opines that this demonstrates the lack of value Lugo really had as spring went along. It's hard to argue with that reasoning. Lugo became expendable when Felipe Lopez fell into their laps at a bargain rate.
The 34-year-old hasn't exactly been mashing for the O's so far this season, as evidenced by his .107/.167/.107 slash line. Something tells me we might see Julio again when we run the "Traded Players' Slow Starts" post later this evening.
Agent: Pujols “On An Island By Himself”
Albert Pujols' representation hinted on Friday what their expectations might be for a long-term contract, writes Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Asked about how Ryan Howard's extension would impact Pujols' negotiations, agent Dan Lozano of Beverly Hills Sports Council indicated that Howard's deal wouldn't necessarily be used as a baseline:
"We have to pay attention to any significant multi-year deal, especially one signed by a big first baseman. But the reality is that there are no comparables for Albert. He is on an island by himself."
The 30-year-old slugger said over the winter that he might be willing to give the Cardinals a discount if it helped the team improve, but the Howard deal calls into question what would qualify as a "discount." According to Strauss, rival executives believe the annual value of Pujols' next contract will top Alex Rodriguez's $27.5MM average yearly salary and could approach or exceed $30MM.
Although the Cardinals say they've budgeted a hypothetical Pujols extension into their payroll projections for the next five years, it's unclear exactly what figures they're using. If Pujols receives close to $30MM annually, St. Louis would be paying over $45MM per season to their two stars, Pujols and Matt Holliday. For an organization whose opening day payroll has never exceeded $100MM, that would represent an enormous commitment.
Heyman On Fielder, Pujols, Adrian
Some tidbits from Jon Heyman on the early edition of MLB Tonight on the MLB Network,..
- Heyman doesn't envision the Brewers getting a deal done with Prince Fielder. While he was complimentary towards club owner Mark Attanasio, he doesn't see Milwaukee ponying up the $25MM a year that it will likely take to hang on to him. This means that they'll have to trade him at the end of next year or let walk as a free agent.
- Meanwhile, he believes that Albert Pujols is now in line to receive a contract worth $30MM per season, perhaps up to eight years. The two sides tabled negotiations in March but will resume after the season.
- Even though the Padres are currently in first place in the NL West, Heyman believes that the club will deal Adrian Gonzalez. Heyman says it's unlikely that San Diego will allow their payroll to balloon in great excess of $50MM and therefore a re-up of Gonzalez won't fit in the budget.
Heyman On Howard, Pujols, Adrian, Werth
The latest hot stove thoughts from SI's Jon Heyman…
- The people Heyman talked to feel that with Ryan Howard averaging $25MM a year starting in 2012, a contract discussion for Albert Pujols has to start at $30MM a year.
- Heyman says that "the belief among skeptics of the deal that [the Howard extension] was an obvious overpay isn't reflected one bit among baseball people." Of course, there are hundreds of baseball people, and the ones I've spoken to agree with the skeptics.
- Adrian Gonzalez's agent John Boggs said, "We're just kind of innocent bystanders," noting that the Padres have not made contact about an extension.
- Jayson Werth's agent Jeff Borris believes his client will be "the premier free agent outfielder" if he doesn't sign an extension. Looking at the list, only Carl Crawford would have an argument. Heyman says there's a "belief around baseball" that Werth will be seeking $100MM. Previously we've heard suggestions of the four-year, $66MM Jason Bay range.
- Heyman says Stephen Strasburg has a contract clause that "permits 100 innings at the major-league level this year." I haven't heard of any clauses of that nature before, but Strasburg and Scott Boras is a powerful pairing.
Cardinals Sign Aaron Miles
The Cardinals have signed Aaron Miles to a minor league deal, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). Miles will report to extended spring training.
Miles, 33, was released by the Reds two weeks ago, and had garnered interest from the Rangers before signing with St. Louis. The switch-hitter was owed $2.7MM this season by Cincinnati, who will likely now pay $2.3MM of that figure, with the Cardinals picking up the remaining $400K.
Miles struggled through an injury-plagued 2009 season with the Cubs, hitting .185/.224/.242 in 170 plate appearances, but has enjoyed some success in St. Louis in the past. From 2006 to 2008, Miles posted a .289/.335/.363 slash line in 1328 plate appearances as a utility player for the Cardinals.