GM Trade Histories: NL Central
Brendan Bianowicz continues to update the GM Trade History series, covering the NL Central today. Click below to download Excel spreadsheets chronicling trades, free agent signings, and top draft picks for each GM.
Nationals Sign Matt Capps
Reliever Matt Capps officially signed a one-year, $3.5MM deal with the Nationals today. He can earn another $425K for games finished. ESPN's Jerry Crasnick first named the Nats a strong contender for Capps on December 21st. ESPN's Buster Olney had the Nats closing in on the 23rd, and MLB.com's Bill Ladson had an agreement being reached on the 24th. ESPN's Bruce Levine added the terms later that day.
The Cubs and Mets were other late contenders for Capps, but his best shot at closing was in Washington. The Nationals have the option of keeping Capps for 2011 as an arbitration-eligible player. He was surprisingly non-tendered by the Pirates on December 12th, and many teams expressed interest. Capps, 26, had an off-year for the Bucs in '09, posting a 5.80 ERA with an abundance of hits and home runs in 54.3 innings.
Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.
Rosenthal On Holliday, Sheets, Valverde
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a new column up in which he predicts destinations for ten of the top remaining free agents. A few worth noting:
- Rosenthal guesses the Cardinals will sign Matt Holliday for around seven years and $120MM.
- Rosenthal likes the Marlins for Aroldis Chapman.
- He sees the Cubs nabbing Ben Sheets, a possibility I hadn't really considered. It's unclear how much money the Cubs have left and how much Sheets will require.
- Rosenthal expects the Tigers to sign one of the available DH types (Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome, Jermaine Dye, and Carlos Delgado are out there).
- Rosenthal's choice for Jose Valverde, the Tigers, makes more sense than my earlier A's prediction. Rosenthal admits that the Tigers surrendering their #19 pick would be "a significant obstacle," but one person I talked to noted that it might not be since the Tigers traditionally go over slot and could therefore get a big talent later in the draft.
Odds & Ends: Rincon, Calero, Rangers, Encarnacion
Here are some links to kick off the weekend…
- Troy Renck of The Denver Post provides the details on Juan Rincon's contract with the Rockies. He'll earn $800K plus incentives in the big leagues, or $20K per month in the minors.
- Satchel Price at Beyond The Box Score wonders why we haven't heard more about Kiko Calero this offseason. The Cubs and Giants were interested in the righthander at various times this offseason.
- Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas reiterates what we heard yesterday: the Rangers are seeking a veteran catcher. He mentions that they've shown interest in both Rod Barajas and Dioner Navarro.
- Edwin Encarnacion suffered burns to his face in a fireworks accident according to ESPN Deportes' Enrique Rojas. He will not require surgery, and will be ready to go in Spring Training.
- Jeff Passan at Yahoo! Sports lists ten players we should keep an on eye to see how their market develops during the remainder of the offseason. His list is led by Matt Holliday and Aroldis Chapman.
- MLB.com's Matthew Leach notes that if the Cardinals felt they weren't in a good position to re-sign Holliday, they would have moved on to other targets by now.
- Dick Kaegel of MLB.com says that "it would take a calamitous showing" for Royals' manager Trey Hillman to lose his job this season given his relationship with GM Dayton Moore.
- Steve Slowinski at DRaysBay goes back in time to evaluate the Danys Baez and Lance Carter for Edwin Jackson and Chuck Tiffany trade.
Odds & Ends: Byrd, Werth, Tigers, Brewers
Here's your first batch of links for 2010…
- Marlon Byrd signed with the Cubs partly because of hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, according to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. Jaramillo worked with Byrd in Texas.
- The Marlins are willing to spend on Aroldis Chapman because they don't anticipate handing big bucks over to their first round pick next year, tweets MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. The Marlins have the 23rd overall pick in the draft.
- Jayson Werth is set to become a free agent after the 2010 season, and MLB.com's Todd Zolecki says he isn't sure the Phillies could retain him if he goes looking for a deal similar to what the Mets gave Jason Bay.
- Jason Beck of MLB.com says he'd be surprised if the Tigers didn't trade for a veteran reliever on a short-term contract to fill in at the back of the bullpen.
- Don't discount the idea of Brewers' GM Doug Melvin making another move to bolster his pitching staff, says Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Such a move could come before the season, or ahead of the trade deadline.
- MLB.com's Corey Brock notes that Padres' GM Jed Hoyer has talked about finding players that fit Petco Park, which would be "an athletic one, has doubles-power, someone who can run … if it's an outfielder, someone who can go get a ball, someone who won't clog the bases."
- The Rangers will bring in "at least one and possibly two" veteran catchers, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. He notes that the team has talked about Rod Barajas and Yorvit Torrealba, but both are looking for two-year deals.
- In an interview with Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chipper Jones says that he's told team officials he'll only change positions if the team brings in "the right personnel." Chipper also reiterated that he's going year-to-year at this point of his career, and admits there's parts of being a ballplayer that he's sick of.
- Here's the current 2010 draft order based on the free agent signings that are official. At the moment, the Angels have five of the first 37 picks.
Odds & Ends: Bay, Byrd, Baez
Happy New Year everyone! Here are some links to close out 2009..
- MLB.com's Marty Noble isn't buying into the talk suggesting that Jason Bay won't be able to hit home runs in Citi Field.
- Cubs GM Jim Hendry will come to regret signing Marlon Byrd, writes Keith Law of ESPN. Law says that while Byrd could play everyday for a non-contender, he's not worthy of being the everyday center fielder for a team with playoff aspirations.
- Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com wishes Danys Baez good luck with the Phillies, his sixth major league club. Although he hopes that Baez will find success with the 2008 World Champions, Kubatko says that they might come to regret the contract they gave him.
Odds & Ends: Bay, Byrd, Liriano, Duchscherer
Some links on the last day of a year we'll remember for Joe Mauer, Albert Pujols and the World Series Champion New York Yankees…
- Tigers catcher Gerald Laird and his younger brother Brandon Laird, a prospect in the Yankees farm system, were arrested following a brawl at the Celtics-Suns NBA game in Phoenix, Arizona, according to the Associated Press. Gerald lives in Arizona during the offseason while Brandon played in the Arizona Fall League this past year.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (via his newly minted Twitter account) that Chan Ho Park's name has come up in the Giants' front office.
- Alex Speier of WEEI.com hears that Jason Bay was indeed interested in joining the Mets. The two sides didn't go longer than a day without talking once negotiations got started. An interesting note: Speier hears that the Mets never offered Bay a guaranteed five-year deal.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs considers Marlon Byrd an average player, but likes the Cubs' decision to sign him.
- Cameron tweets that the Mariners are "kicking the tires" on Francisco Liriano.
- Mike Lowell's thumb surgery was a success, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Lowell appears to be available, but health concerns may prevent the Red Sox from dealing the third baseman and some of his $12MM salary (the D'Backs face a similar challenge with Chris Snyder).
- Just because Lowell's still in Boston doesn't mean the Red Sox won't consider other third basemen. Adrian Beltre is one option and R.J. Anderson of FanGraphs doesn't think $10-15MM is an unfair asking price for the Scott Boras client.
- Justin Duchscherer tells Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he returned to the A's because he's comfortable in Oakland and appreciates the club's support through his struggles with depression. Slusser also has details on the incentives in the righty's contract.
- Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues wants the Yankees to stay away from free agent outfielder Marlon Byrd.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Pirates' failure to sign Dominican prospect Miguel Angel Sano was one of the club's low points this year. As Kovacevic says, "not every signing can be an absolute steal."
Cubs Sign Marlon Byrd
The Cubs signed Marlon Byrd to a three-year $15MM deal today. The 32-year-old will play center field and push Kosuke Fukudome to right. Ken Rosenthal tweeted that the Cubs were nearing a deal with Byrd and Carrie Muskat followed up with the contract's length and value before Gordon Wittenmyer reported the specifics: the Cubs will pay Byrd just $3MM in 2010, $5.5MM in 2011 and $6.5MM in 2012.
A number of teams had been connected to Byrd, including the Braves. He had expressed interest in returning to the Rangers, but wanted a multi-year deal. As a Type B free agent, Byrd nets the Rangers a supplementary rounder in next year's draft.
Byrd, 32, hit .283/.329/.479 in 599 plate appearances with the Rangers last year, hitting a career-high 20 homers. He played mostly in center field, where his defense was below average, according to UZR/150. However, the sample size (889 innings) is limited, and UZR did like Byrd's defense in left.
Cubs Rumors: Podsednik, Ankiel, Frasor
For the second consecutive winter, the Cubs will sign a former Rangers outfielder to a three-year deal. Jim Hendry & Co. are active on other fronts too, as ESPN.com's Bruce Levine reports:
- The Cubs were negotiating with representatives for Scott Podsednik and Rick Ankiel until they agreed to sign Marlon Byrd yesterday.
- The Cubs would like to add relievers, and possibly a swingman who could start or contribute out of the 'pen.
- Jason Frasor interests the Cubs, who have talked to the Blue Jays about their relievers.
Carlos Zambrano’s Availability
THURSDAY, 8:23am: Hendry tells Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune that Zambrano is likely to return to the Cubs next year:
"I fully expect him to come back in 2010 and pitch like the old Big Z."
WEDNESDAY, 9:56am: The availability of Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano is in question. Zambrano, 28, has a full no-trade clause and at least $53.75MM remaining on his contract over the next three years. Zambrano's agent Barry Praver has spoken out multiple times about trade rumors, recently telling the Chicago Tribune:
Jim [Hendry] has not approached us about Carlos waiving the no-trade provision of his contract, nor is Carlos interested in waiving it.
Of course, one wouldn't expect the Cubs GM to involve Praver unless an agreement is close. But Zambrano's desire to remain in Chicago is an important point.
A couple of sportswriting buddies, Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman, seem to disagree on Zambrano's availability. Sherman wrote today in the New York Post that "two AL officials say the Cubs are definitely dangling Zambrano," while acknowledging Zambrano's unwillingness to approve a trade. Heyman, on Twitter, called the Zambrano trade rumors a "time waster." Not sure if we get a vote, but MLBTR's source says there's "nothing to it."