White Sox Agree To Extension With Alexei Ramirez
The White Sox have agreed to a four-year, $32.5MM extension with Alexei Ramirez, the team announced. The shortstop will receive $5MM in 2012, $7MM in 2013, $9.5MM in 2014 and $10MM in 2015. The club can choose between a $10MM option and a $1MM buyout for 2016. Ramirez still will earn a base salary of $2.75MM in 2011 as per the terms of his previous deal.
Ramirez is represented by Jaime Torres, who said his client would be "very willing to discuss" a multiyear extension in the wake of Chicago exercising Ramirez's 2011 option.
Ramirez, 29, hit .282/.313/.431 with 18 homers in 2010, earning his first Silver Slugger Award. The Cuban has hit 54 home runs in his three Major League seasons and showed some tremendous glovework last season, posting a +10.1 UZR/150 rating.
Jorge Ebro of the Nuevo Herald first reported the deal.
Quick Hits: Young, Ortiz, Blue Jays, Chicago Teams
Congratulations to Jack Gillis, Jim Howard, Terry Reynolds and Mike Toomey on their induction into the Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame! The four long-time scouts will be inducted individually during separate ceremonies through August.
Some news items…
- The Rockies and Rangers were close enough on a Michael Young trade package earlier this winter that a Colorado player who would've gone to Texas, Eric Young Jr., was asked to take a physical, reports Tracy Ringolsby of FOXSports.com. Texas was concerned by the stress fracture that sidelined Young Jr. for half of last season and the two sides couldn't settle on a deal.
- With Vladimir Guerrero struggling to find a contract, FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal wonders if a similar fate awaits David Ortiz in next winter's free agent market.
- The Blue Jays' decision to start John Buck over prospect J.P. Arencibia in August and September of last season was an organizational call, Alex Anthopoulos tells MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm. The Jays GM said he promised Buck an everyday job if he signed with Toronto, and Anthopoulos wanted to stand by his agreement. "When we give our word to someone … that's part of our brand," Anthopoulos said. "When I'm negotiating with an agent or I'm trying to recruit a player, and we have to tell them something, whether it's good or bad news, they know that we're going to honor our word and we're going to be straight shooters."
- Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago discussed several Cubs and White Sox topics in a chat with fans.
- Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com gives his list of the offseason's biggest winners and losers. I'm not sure if I agree with Urban's designation of Manny Ramirez as the biggest individual "loser" this winter — he took a big pay cut, but the Rays should still be a contending team.
Garcia: Not Returning To Chicago
Freddy Garcia continues to indicate that he'd prefer to spend 2011 playing outside of Chicago, despite recent reports that the White Sox are still considering him. Last Wednesday, he stated his goal to pitch for the Yankees this season, while not explictly ruling out out Chicago or any other team. But in a recent interview with Leonardo Mendoza and Francisco Zambrano from the Venezuelan paper Lider en Deportes (link in Spanish), Garcia seemed ready to say goodbye to the South Side:
"I would love to stay in Chicago because I like the city and I have friends here, but I don't think I'm going to come back," Garcia said. "In any case, I appreciate them for trusting me last year; however, a team like New York would be ideal, and would match up with this stage of my career."
Were he to head East, Garcia would presumably slot behind Phil Hughes in the Yankees' rotation, leaving the fifth spot open for contention among a group including rookies Ivan Nova and Andrew Brackman and veterans Bartolo Colon and Sergio Mitre. With Andy Pettitte's return far from a sure thing, and Joba Chamberlain looking more like a trade chip than a starter, a healthy Garcia could help the Yankees buy time in the short term to continue weighing their long-term options.
White Sox Considering Freddy Garcia
4:27pm: White Sox GM Ken Williams said he talked to Garcia but not recently, tweets Scott Merkin of MLB.com. No formal offer was made, according to Merkin, nor did Garcia reject one.
12:09pm: The White Sox are considering Freddy Garcia, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). The White Sox will have starting options even if they don't sign the right-hander, since Chris Sale could join the rotation and Jake Peavy is recovering from July shoulder surgery and should return midseason.
Garcia logged 157 innings for the White Sox last year, posting a 4.64 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9. He was a key member of the 2005 White Sox team that won the World Series and started 33 games for the club the following season.
Chicago expressed interest in re-signing Garcia back in September, but the sides haven't been publicly linked since. The Yankees and Orioles were interested in Garcia earlier in the month and both clubs could still have interest. Over 14% of 18,293 MLBTR voters say Garcia is the best free agent starter remaining at this point in the offseason.
Quick Hits: Vlad, White Sox, Rockies, Reds
Links for Saturday…
- SI.com's Jon Heyman reports (via Twitter) that the Orioles and Vladimir Guerrero haven't talked in two weeks. Team president Andy MacPhail shot down a report indicating that the two sides were close to a deal earlier today.
- White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf told Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago that it was a tough decision to add payroll this offseason. "Last year we weren't as good as we thought we could be," said Reinsdorf. "Our attendance was down … I just decided two days before the Adam Dunn signing, 'Let's go for it.' If we spend the money, the attendance will pick up."
- Steve Foster of Inside the Rockies notes that the Rockies now have four of their five starting pitchers under contract for 2012 following Jason Hammel's two-year pact, so he looks at possible candidates for that fifth spot.
- The Cincinnati Enquirer lists the ten most lopsided trades in Reds' history with a little twist: it's the trades that did not work out for Cincy.
- SI.com's Melissa Segura tweets that the Astros have signed Jose Carlos Thompson for approximately $250K. The second baseman hit .440/.484/.729 at Western Oklahoma State, and is said to be a close friend of Aroldis Chapman's. I'm not sure if that last part has any tangible benefit though.
- Steve Dilbeck of The Los Angeles Times estimates that the Dodgers are on the hook for almost $94.5MM in payroll next season, plus another $16.3MM in deferred payments.
- Alex Speier of WEEI.com explains why the Vernon Wells' trade makes the Carl Crawford signing look even better for the Red Sox.
- Josh Shea of The San Francisco Chronicle says the moves the Athletics' made this offseason make them a serious contender for the AL West crown.
- The AP (via The Boston Herald) provides a comprehensive list of each team's free agent signings this winter. Of course, you could always use our Transaction Tracker for that and a whole lot more.
Mark Buehrle Discusses His Future
About two years ago we heard that Mark Buehrle may consider retirement when his current contract expires after the 2011 season, something he reiterated that yesterday's SoxFest '11 according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin. The White Sox ace did leave the door open for a return though; allow me to quote…
"If I have a good year, and something happens and there's an opportunity out there to sign, I'm open for it," said Buehrle. "I talked with the wife about playing for a couple more years possibly, so we'll see. It's a long year, so if I decide to retire at the end, I'll retire. If not, I'll sign somewhere."
"If a deal gets done and talks are going on, it's between me and the team. That's where it ends at, and people don't need to know what's going on or the battling back and forth or the numbers involved. I just want to concentrate on playing baseball."
Buehrle will turn 32 towards the end of Spring Training and is still a highly effective starter. He's thrown no fewer than 201 innings in a single season since 2000, and he's pitched to a 3.84 ERA during that ten-year stretch. He'll earn $14MM in 2011 and looks to be the best free agent starter on the market next winter, barring some unexpected option decisions involving other players.
White Sox Exercise Ozzie Guillen’s 2012 Option
The White Sox have picked up the option year on Ozzie Guillen's contract, keeping the manager in the fold through the 2012 season, tweets Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Guillen's current three-year contract (covering 2009-11) was signed in 2007, and included the option year for 2012 that would've also become guaranteed if Chicago wins the AL Central next season. Guillen just celebrated his 47th birthday yesterday.
Guillen's seven-year tenure as Chicago's manager has had its share of controversy and some notable ups-and-downs with GM Kenny Williams, but Guillen has delievered results on the field. He has a 600-535 record as manager, and ended the club's 88-year World Series drought by bringing home the championship in 2005. The White Sox also won the AL Central in 2008.
Heyman On Fielder, Papelbon, Rays, Giants
Prince Fielder is looking to join the $200MM club and the Red Sox considered trading Jonathan Papelbon to the A's or White Sox, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Here are the details and the rest of Heyman's rumors:
- Fielder is looking for at least eight years and $200MM or so when he hits free agency after the season, according to Heyman. Not surprisingly, the Brewers don't like the idea of committing that much to their first baseman.
- The Red Sox talked to the A's and White Sox about Jonathan Papelbon. Boston appeared willing to offer Rafael Soriano a one-year deal and make him their closer. If the sides had agreed to a deal, the Red Sox would have sent Papelbon elsewhere, likely to Oakland or Chicago
- The Rays, who are moving toward a deal with Johnny Damon, have also considered Vladimir Guerrero, Manny Ramirez, Russell Branyan and Nick Johnson.
- The Yankees hope to hear from Andy Pettitte soon, but the lefty is still mulling retirement.
- The Giants appear to be nearing a one-year deal with Andres Torres. As our Arb Tracker shows, Torres filed at $2.6MM and the Giants countered with $1.8MM.
- Heyman says there's "scuttlebutt" that the Rangers could look to lock Josh Hamilton up on a multiyear deal.
- Heyman talked to executives about Joey Votto's new deal and arrived at the conclusion I reached after talking to insiders earlier in the week: the Reds didn't appear to gain much from their deal with the reigning NL MVP.
- Heyman points out that Jose Bautista's representatives will have to convince arbitrators to overlook the string of pedestrian seasons that led up to Bautista's mammoth 2010 campaign. For more on Bautista's case, click here.
AL Central Notes: Tigers, Meche, White Sox, Indians
The Twins grabbed headlines yesterday, finally agreeing to terms with Carl Pavano after months of discussions. Here's the latest on the Twins' AL Central division rivals:
- John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press explains that Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski has avoided arbitration hearings since taking over the team.
- The Royals didn't expect Gil Meche to walk away from his $12MM salary without asking for some sort of settlement, but that's just what the right-hander did, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. GM Dayton Moore says we shouldn't expect the Royals to go out and spend for the sake of spending, even though they have money.
- White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune that he likes the looks of Chicago's rebuilt bullpen, which features newcomers Will Ohman and Jesse Crain.
- Indians GM Chris Antonetti told MLB.com's Jordan Bastian that he would still like to add a starter who can provide reliability, stability and leadership. Manager Manny Acta and pitching coach Tim Belcher told Bastian that they expect a lot from the Indians' young starters.
Multiyear Deal Notes: Pelfrey, Danks, Andrus
We already found out that the Brewers and Rickie Weeks are tabling talks about a multiyear contract while the Cubs hope to pursue one with Carlos Marmol, so let's recap a few more notes regarding potential contract extensions…
- Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweets that the Mets never talked about a multiyear contract with Mike Pelfrey before agreeing to a one-year deal to avoid arbitration today.
- John Danks told MLB.com's Scott Merkin that neither he nor the White Sox are panicking about getting an extension done. "It's not at the point where it's do-or-die for a [multiyear] deal," said the lefty, who confirmed that the two sides haven't talked seriously about a deal since before the 2009 season (Twitter link).
- Meanwhile, MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan wonders if the Rangers will approach Elvis Andrus about a multiyear contract in Spring Training. Andrus is under team control through the 2014 season.