Spanish Links: Garcia, Belaguer, Rangers
Links in Spanish as the 2011 Caribbean Series inches closer…
- The White Sox may be considering Freddy Garcia, but Garcia had a different team in his sights when he spoke yesterday with Israel Pacheco Velásquez from the Venezuelan paper Meridiano. "My preference is to be with the New York Yankees, and it's not unreasonable to have that in mind, because I've demonstrated that I can be useful," Garcia said. "A team like New York would be ideal for my age, [as would ] playing in a successful, media-heavy, demanding division. Without doubt it would be an inspiration." Garcia's only previous sojourn to New York came in January 2009, when he signed with the Mets, only to be released in April after a disastrous spring. Garcia insists the team simply never gave him a chance, but his successful 2010 campaign should guarantee a longer leash. Garcia said he plans to sign soon, no matter the team.
- The Marlins have had discussions internally about signing Cuban outfielder Yasiel Balaguer, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. The 18-year-old has worked out for the Cubs and had a recent tryout for the Mariners rained out, reported Michael Miller at the Miami New Times yesterday. However, lest we get ahead of ourselves, Balaguer's agent Carlos Perez at Miami Sports Consulting informed El Nuevo Herald's Jorge Ebro that Balaguer has yet to be unblocked by the State Department after defecting in November.
- The high percentage of Latino players on the Rangers' roster helps the team to maximize on the potential of its prosects, general manager Jon Daniels told Julio E. Castro at the Dominican paper El Caribe. "[Latino players] are the ones that are in charge of advising our prospects, especially those from the Dominican Republic," Daniels said. "Thanks to them, we were able to advance to the World Series last season, and this year, they're key to our goals once again." The Rangers' current 40-man roster includes eight Latino players, down from 12 on last season's roster. Vladimir Guerrero noted last year that the Latino "heart and soul" of the team and its Spanish-friendly clubhouse were key attractions to him as a free agent.
Cubs Agree To Deals With Pair Of Cuban Players
The Cubs have reached agreements to sign a pair of Cuban players, MLBTR's Nick Collias has learned. They'll be signing outfielder Ruby Silva for $1.2MM as well as catcher Yaniel Cabezas for $500K.
Silva, 21, is a versatile left-handed hitter who played center field for the champion Havana Vaqueros in the 48th Cuban National series. He can play all three outfield positions and perhaps even the middle infield. He's a good athlete who draws praise as a plus runner with a plus arm. He could begin his pro career in low A ball with the Peoria Chiefs.
Cabezas is a catch-and-throw backstop who reminds some of a young Yadier Molina, though his bat has improved in the last year.
Cubs To Sign Todd Wellemeyer
Todd Wellemeyer is returning to the team that drafted and developed him. The Cubs signed Wellemeyer to a one-year, non-guaranteed deal, according to Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com. The right-hander can earn $800K, plus another $400K in incentives, Levine reports. Meister Sports Management represents Wellemeyer.
The Cubs drafted Wellemeyer in the fourth round of the 2000 draft and he showed some promise in the minor leagues, striking out more than a batter per inning and reaching the majors in his fourth pro season. He pitched for the Cubs from 2003-05 before they traded him to the Marlins.
Wellemeyer was a valuable starter for the 2008 Cardinals, but has struggled since. Last year, the 32-year-old pitched 58 2/3 innings for the Giants and posted a 5.68 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9. Another former Cardinal, Jeff Suppan, figures to replace Wellemeyer on the defending World Champions this year.
Cubs Get Commitment From Matt Szczur
THURSDAY: The Cubs announced that they have reached an agreement with Szczur. He will fully commit to baseball and set his pro football career aside. "We look forward to supporting and fostering [Szczur's] continued development as a baseball player,” Cubs GM Jim Hendry said.
TUESDAY: Outfielder Matt Szczur has verbally agreed to a deal worth $1.5MM with the Cubs, tweets Jim Callis of Baseball America. Tony Pauline first reported the deal (on Twitter).
Szczur, 21, was the Cubs' fifth round pick in the 2010 draft. He agreed to a $100K signing bonus at the time and hit .347/.414/.465 in 116 A-ball plate appearances after signing. Szczur then returned to Villanova for his senior football season, and this new contract buys him away from a potential NFL career.
The original contract called for a $500K bonus if Szczur committed to the Cubs in writing before the NFL combine in February, but it's unclear if that money is still in play. Baseball America recently ranked Szczur as Chicago's seventh best prospect, though that was before the Matt Garza trade thinned their system.
Quick Hits: Duchscherer, Damon, Gorzelanny
Happy birthday to Astros manager Brad Mills, who was born 54 years ago today in Exeter, California. Here are some news items to help the 'Stros skipper celebrate his big day…
- Justin Duchscherer recently held private workout sessions for two American League clubs, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. The Yankees, known to be interested in the right-hander, weren't one of the two teams. The Pirates, Red Sox and Athletics (Duchscherer's former club) have all expressed some degree of interest in the free agent hurler this winter.
- As part of an mailbag piece, MLB.com's Lyle Spencer discusses the Angels' search for a leadoff hitter and notes that "it doesn't appear that the Angels are in play" for Johnny Damon. Spencer also raises the point that if there actually is a rift between the Halos and Scott Boras, signing Damon could be an important olive branch between the club and the agent, esepcially given that Kendry Morales and Jered Weaver are both Boras clients.
- Did the Cubs really need to trade Tom Gorzelanny? ESPN.com's Justin Havens asks this question and points out that Gorzelanny and Matt Garza had surprisingly similar 2010 seasons.
- Sean Marshall's two-year contract is examined by Jack Moore of Fangraphs, who compares it to Grant Balfour and Brian Fuentes' recent deals with the Athletics. While Moore thinks the Cubs should probably have not made a multi-year commitment to Marshall, "if a team is going to go multiple years with a reliever, better to do so with young, arbitration eligibles like Marshall than veterans like Balfour and Fuentes."
- MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez looks at how various teams filled the holes left behind by departing free agents this winter.
Nationals Acquire Tom Gorzelanny
Tom Gorzelanny is heading to Washington for three prospects, the Cubs and Nationals announced today. Lefty Graham Hicks, right-hander A.J. Morris and outfielder Michael Burgess are going to Chicago in the trade.
The Nationals have been looking to bolster their rotation all offseason long. Cliff Lee and Zack Greinke spurned the Nationals, but GM Mike Rizzo continued his pursuit of arms. Once the Cubs acquired Matt Garza from the Rays, Chicago had a starter to spare and the team seriously considered moving Gorzelanny.
Gorzelanny posted a 4.09 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in 126 1/3 innings for the Cubs last year. The left-hander started 23 games, after spending most of the 2009 season as a reliever. Though Gorzelanny faded as the 2010 season progressed, he has logged over 200 innings before. The 28-year-old's best season may have come in 2007, when he posted a 3.88 ERA in 201 2/3 innings for the Pirates.
Morris, 24, posted a 3.77 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 86 innings as a swingman at Rookie ball and Class A last year. The 2009 fourth rounder has yet to pitch in the upper minors. Neither Morris nor Burgess appeared on Baseball America's list of top ten Nationals prospects.
Burgess, 22, posted a .265/.357/.465 line in 529 plate appearances at Class A and Double-A last year. The 2007 supplementary first rounder has hit at least 18 homers in eacch of the past three seasons.
A super two player, Gorzelanny is on track to hit free agency after the 2013 season. He agreed to terms on a $2.1MM deal for 2011 yesterday.
Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com first reported the trade and MLB.com's Bill Ladson and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reported on the deal as the story broke.
Quick Hits: Toregas, Montanez, Hargrove, Payrolls
A few notes from around the league that have nothing to do with players who avoided arbitration or filed salary figures…
- The Pirates signed catcher Wyatt Toregas to a minor league contract with an invitation Spring Training according to a team press release. The 28-year-old spent the 2010 season in the Indians' farm system, hitting .227/.311/.383 in 148 plate appearances.
- The Cubs signed outfielder Lou Montanez to a minor league deal according to Baseball America's Matt Eddy (on Twitter). They drafted him third overall back way back in 2000. Montanez hit .223/.257/.323 in 266 plate appearances with the Orioles over the last three seasons.
- Former Indians manager Mike Hargrove is back with the team as a special advisor, the club announced today.
- The Marlins project to have an Opening Day payroll around $58MM according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. It will be the franchise's highest payroll since opening the 2005 season at $60.4MM.
- The Twins, meanwhile, project to have an Opening Day payroll around $105.4MM according to Joe Christensen of The Star Tribune (Twitter links), but he says that a Carl Pavano signing could push that up to $115MM.
- The Royals are now projected to have a payroll around $40MM after Gil Meche's surprise retirement, tweets Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star. In a separate pair of tweets, Dutton says the team is unlikely to use the payroll savings from Meche's retirement on free agents, but will instead boost their draft and international free agent budgets.
Cubs, Marmol Discussing Multiyear Deal
The Cubs already signed Sean Marshall to a two-year contract today, and now they're trying to get closer Carlos Marmol under contract beyond 2011 as well. Gordon Wittenmyer of The Chicago Sun-Times tweets the two sides are in talks about a multiyear deal, and that neither side expects to go to an arbitration hearing.
Marmol, 28, earned $2.125MM in 2010, which was the first time he was eligible for arbitration in his career. Back in October MLBTR's Tim Dierkes predicted that Marmol will jump past a $4MM salary in his second time through the process. The right-hander saved 38 games this past season, striking out a ridiculous 16.0 batters per nine innings.
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.
Cubs, Marshall Agree To Two-Year Deal
The Cubs announced that they have agreed to a two-year deal with Sean Marshall. They also avoided arbitration with Tom Gorzelanny, who's still technically a Cub despite reports that a trade to Washington is imminent.
Marshall will earn $4.7MM over the course of the next two seasons, according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. Marshall will earn $1.6MM in 2011 and $3.1MM in 2012.