Should They Have Been Non-Tendered?
On November 2nd of last year I listed 85 non-tender candidates, most of whom were indeed cut loose. Almost five months have passed since the December non-tender deadline, and I'd like to revisit five of those decisions.
- Kevin Kouzmanoff, tendered a contract by the Athletics. The A's certainly shopped around for third base alternatives after tendering a contract to Kouzmanoff, which ended up being for $4.75MM. So far the third baseman has again been part of the problem, though he's not alone as the team ranks 11th in the AL with 3.63 runs scored per game. There weren't many alternatives for the A's this offseason, but they probably should have saved Kouzmanoff's money for a trade deadline addition. They'll still be able to pursue someone, though.
- James Loney, tendered a contract by the Dodgers. Loney is already on notice with the Dodgers given the arrival of Jerry Sands. Loney settled for a predictable $4.875MM salary for 2011. Sands doesn't actually project to do any better than Loney, but the two are close enough that the Dodgers probably should have traded Loney and used the money elsewhere.
- Russell Martin, non-tendered by the Dodgers. According to Yahoo's Steve Henson, Martin wanted a guaranteed $5.5MM rather than the Dodgers' offer of $4.2MM. GM Ned Colletti made the difficult decision to non-tender Martin, but kept the offer on the table while suggesting a possible super-utility role. Martin ended up taking less guaranteed money to start at catcher for the Yankees, and he's off to a great start. The Dodgers could have forced Martin's hand by tendering a contract and arguing for a pay cut through arbitration. That would have been a risky choice, and Martin's health was a concern at the time, so I can't fault the Dodgers for non-tendering him.
- Bobby Jenks, non-tendered by the White Sox. Non-tendering Jenks was the right move given his $7.5MM salary, and the pitcher understood that decision according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin. However, Jenks and the Sox were not on the same page about the team's desire to retain him and confidence in his abilities, so he signed with Boston. The White Sox lead baseball with six blown saves, but it was still best for them to part ways with Jenks.
- Brandon McCarthy, outrighted by the Rangers in November. If they had retained McCarthy, the Rangers probably would have had to pay him something similar to last year's $1.3MM salary rather than the $1MM he received from the A's. McCarthy has looked good so far, though it's only been three starts. The Rangers are second in the AL in starter ERA without McCarthy. Still, given the strong offseason interest in him I think it would have been best to tender a contract and shop him around.
Heyman On Young, Emaus, Rays, Wilson, Melky
The Rangers were close to sending Michael Young to the Rockies for two young players before the season, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. The deal didn’t go through, but the Rangers appear to have assured the Rockies that they’ll have the first chance to acquire Young if he becomes available once again. Here are the rest of Heyman’s rumors:
- One GM told Heyman that Mets Rule 5 selection Brad Emaus looks like a Quadruple A player.
- The Rays could have interest in adding a hitter now that Manny Ramirez isn’t around and Heyman suggests Chris Davis would be a fit. I wrote last month that the Rays are one team that could have interest in the first baseman if the Rangers make him available.
- C.J. Wilson could ask for $82.5MM on his next contract, as Heyman points out. The left-hander hits free agency after the season and could compare himself to A.J. Burnett and John Lackey in negotiations with the Rangers and/or other clubs.
- Alex Rodriguez worked out with Melky Cabrera this offseason and “begged” the Yankees to sign the outfielder to no avail.
- The Orioles are “very high” on Jake Arrieta, the 25-year-old who made 18 starts as a rookie in 2010 and remains in Baltimore’s rotation.
Quick Hits: Gonzalez, Padres, Rays, Mariners
Links for Sunday, as Grady Sizemore homers versus the Orioles in his return to the Indians' lineup….
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports explains why Adrian Gonzalez's contract extension makes sense for the Red Sox.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker takes a look back at his favorite offseason trades.
- The Padres have hired former Major League outfielder Jeffrey Hammonds as a professional scout, writes MLB.com's Corey Brock. Hammonds was the #4 overall pick in the 1992 draft by the Orioles and represented the Rockies in the 2000 All-Star Game in his best season.
- The Rays may add a bat to replace Manny Ramirez, but it likely won't happen anytime soon, reports Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times. Not only will the trade market develop as the season progresses, but the Rays should also have a better idea in a couple months whether they'll be buyers or sellers.
- The Brewers have signed Luis Figueroa to a minor league deal, tweets SI.com's Jon Heyman. The infielder has only seen 16 big league plate appearances, most recently in 2007, but hit .319/.354/.429 in nearly 500 Triple-A PAs last season.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider link) wonders if Jack Zduriencik and Felix Hernandez will be a part of the Mariners' next winning team.
- Adrian Gonzalez's extension with the Red Sox is another example of baseball's stars gravitating to a handful of high-payroll teams, writes Tim Sullivan of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer fields questions about Sizemore, Nick Johnson, and potential contract extensions in an Indians mailbag.
- The Rangers' rotation is holding its own without Cliff Lee so far, says Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.
Rangers Notes: Cano, Martin, Webb, Lewis
Let's check out some Rangers items as they take on the Yankees in the Bronx..
- The Rangers will undoubtedly be on the lookout for relief pitching this offseason, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.
- Evan P. Grant of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter) wonders what the Rangers would look like had they taken Robinson Cano instead of Joaquin Arias in the Alex Rodriguez trade.
- The Rangers will likely wait to announce the signing of Cuban outfielder Leonys Martin, writes MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. The 23-year-old is still being processed through the customs and immigration, and it could be beyond this week before he is ready to play for the club.
- As he works to rehabilitate his injured shoulder, Brandon Webb tells Sullivan that he would be willing to work out of the bullpen as a reliever if that's what the Rangers need when he gets back. Webb's performance bonuses for 2011 are tied to innings pitched and days on the active roster, but not to number of games started. The right-hander will earn a base of $3MM and could boost the value of the deal to $8-10MM through incentives.
- Colby Lewis will return from paternity leave on Monday but the Rangers won't have to risk losing anyone to create a roster spot, Sullivan writes. It seems likely that either Michael Kirkman or Mark Lowe will be optioned to Triple-A.
Davidoff On Sabathia, Wilson, Calero
While it's still too early in the season to draw conclusions about a player's performance, Ken Davidoff of Newsday takes note of a few impending free agents who are off to hot or cold starts. Players like Prince Fielder (hot) and Albert Pujols (cold) are locks to put up numbers and score big contracts, but some names Davidoff mentions can significantly affect their stocks based on their performances in 2011. Continued health and success from Jose Reyes should earn him a lucrative deal, while a good year from Edwin Jackson would set him up nicely in a free agent class thin on top starters. Let's check out the other updates from the Newsday piece….
- Davidoff thinks there's a "decent chance" that the Yankees and C.C. Sabathia work out a contract extension before the left-hander's opt-out date next winter.
- If that were to happen, C.J. Wilson would likely be the most desirable southpaw on the market, but Wilson is trying to avoid thinking about or talking about his walk year: "I'm just pretty much approaching it like I did last year. I'm not going to be looking at my stats too often, because that doesn't really help."
- Davidoff wonders if the Mets or another club could take a flier on Kiko Calero, who agent Burton Rocks calls a "no-risk, high-reward, high-return guy for any organization." Health is the concern with Calero, though for what it's worth, Rocks says the 36-year-old is in "fantastic shape."
Rosenthal On DeRosa, Rangers, Gonzalez, Garcia
Let's dive into the latest edition of Full Count from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports..
- It's early in the season, but it already seems like the Giants' Mark DeRosa could be the odd man out in San Francisco. DeRosa is obviously versatile, but the club seems to be set at shortstop, second base, third, and in the outfield. The veteran is earning $6MM and he seems like a prime candidate to be traded.
- The Rangers are off to a hot start but the club is concerned about their lack of a dominant right-handed set-up man. Alexi Ogando was supposed to fill that role but instead, he's flourishing as a starter. Darren O'Day is coming off two strong seasons but he's viewed as more of a "seventh inning guy". Because of that, look for Texas to target a strong right-handed reliever before the deadline.
- The next young starters in line for contract extensions might be the A's Gio Gonzalez and the Cardinals' Jaime Garcia following the deals given to Trevor Cahill and Clay Buchholz. However, Gonzalez is a Super Two player, meaning that the A's might have to guarantee him another year to cover his first year of free agency.
Quick Hits: Zito, Rangers, Morgan, Angels
Links for Thursday night..
- The Giants likely can't get much for Barry Zito and therefore a deal involving him is unlikely, writes MLB.com's Chris Haft.
- Ryan Theriot enjoyed his brief stint with the Dodgers last season, writes Quinn Roberts for MLB.com. After playing 54 games for the club last season, he was shipped to the Cardinals for reliever Blake Hawksworth.
- Despite all of the uncertainty about their rotation heading into this season, it seems like the Rangers pitching is just fine, writes Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.
- After bouncing around from the Pirates to the Nationals to the Brewers, Nyjer Morgan seems to be carving out a niche for himself in Milwaukee, writes George Von Benko for MLB.com. The Brewers acquired Morgan in exchange for Cutter Dykstra in late March.
- Major League Baseball announced the selection order for the draft (June 6-8) and the Padres own five of the first 58 overall selections, writes Corey Brock of MLB.com. In addition to their own first-rounder, the club has the ninth pick for failing to sign their 2010 first-round pick, pitcher Karsten Whitson. They also have three compensatory picks for Jon Garland (Dodgers), Yorvit Torrealba (Rangers) and Kevin Correia (Pirates).
- The Angels are grateful to have picked up left-handed relievers Hisanori Takahashi and Scott Downs this offseason, writes Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.
Rangers Notes: Young, Martin, Profar
The Rangers top WEEI.com's power rankings for the second consecutive week, despite Josh Hamilton's injury. Here's the latest on the defending AL Champions…
- The Rangers haven't had conversations with other teams about Michael Young since near the end of Spring Training, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. It doesn't appear that the Rangers will make a deal before his ten and five rights kick in this May.
- Leonys Martin, the Cuban outfielder who is about to sign with the Rangers, has speed and a good arm, but limited power, various talent evaluators tell Olney. Despite his defensive tools, he isn't yet a Michael Bourn-type defender and may never become elite on defense, according to one evaluator.
- As Jamey Newberg writes at MLB.com, shortstop prospect Jurickson Profar is bound to appear in future trade rumors, since the switch-hitting 18-year-old has impressed since signing with Texas two summers ago.
Heyman On Hamilton, Young, Felix, Royals
Rangers left fielder Josh Hamilton is out for six to eight weeks after enduring a non-displaced fracture of his right shoulder and, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com, some people in Cincinnati may not be completely surprised. After the 2007 season, Reds medical people strongly suggested that the front office should trade Hamilton because of his health reports. Here’s the latest on the Rangers and other notes from around the league:
- The Rangers were “extremely close” to sending Michael Young to Colorado about a month before Spring Training, according to Heyman. The Rockies loved Young and he would have welcomed a trade to Denver or to either L.A. team. The infielder has since reconciled himself to his role in Texas.
- A rival GM says he’d trade Felix Hernandez to the Yankees for Ivan Nova, Dellin Betances, Manny Banuelos and Jesus Montero if he were running the Mariners.
- One GM says Royals GM Dayton Moore did a good job of ‘bottom feeding’ this winter to come up with left-handers Bruce Chen and Jeff Francis on affordable deals.
- Andres Torres suffered an Achilles injury, so the Giants need outfield depth and are unlikely to release Aaron Rowand soon. Rowand has a .923 OPS so far including two hits yesterday.
Rangers Expected To Sign Leonys Martin Today
The Rangers are expected to sign Cuban outfielder Leonys Martin today for a signing bonus in the neighborhood of $15MM, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Martin, who will receive a 40-man roster spot, took his physical yesterday. Grant believes Martin could become a Major League option at some point this season.
The 23-year-old outfielder became a free agent last month after defecting from Cuba last year and establishing residency in Mexico. Back in September, Baseball America's John Manuel wrote that Martin's "best tools are his speed and defense." ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. tweeted in March that Martin is "considered an elite prospect."