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Odds & Ends: Alfaro, Brewers, Byrnes, Giambi

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Monday links, as we await a flurry of players avoiding arbitration…

  • The Rangers signed 16-year-old Colombian catcher Jorge Alfaro for $1.3MM, reports Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com.  Click here to watch video, courtesy of Kiley McDaniel.
  • The Mariners agreed to sign 17-year-old righty Kevin Quintanilla out of El Salvador.
  • Here's a link to Jon Heyman's latest at SI.com, where he ranks which teams have had the best offseasons so far.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Yankees did not make an offer to Jerry Hairston Jr., nor have they had recent contact with Johnny Damon.
  • Olney also says the Rockies "are staying in contact with Jason Giambi, but they are considering other options first."
  • Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel names the Brewers' arb-eligible seven, while also noting that GM Doug Melvin "remains in touch with the agents for free-agent lefties Doug Davis and Jarrod Washburn."
  • Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star writes about the Blue Jays' six arb-eligibles, noting that GM Alex Anthopoulos will not negotiate beyond Tuesday's deadline.
  • Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner believes Eric Byrnes is a fit for the Ms, though he acknowledges that the team already has several injury-prone players.  Cameron would be willing to pay about $1MM for Byrnes.  Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic looks back at the positive side of Byrnes' Arizona tenure.
  • In a FanGraphs article, Cameron says the WAR stat does value relievers correctly, and teams are just overpaying for closers.
  • WEEI's Rob Bradford wonders if Jonathan Papelbon's 2010 salary will lead to Theo Epstein's first arbitration hearing.
  • White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko told MLB.com's Scott Merkin that he wants to stay with the team beyond 2010, the last year of his current contract.
  • Yahoo's Jeff Passan examines the Athletics, who he feels are set up to contend in 2011.
  • At the Cubs Convention over the weekend, GM Jim Hendry said fans can "expect to have two new faces" before Spring Training.  The Cubs seek a reliever and a bench bat. 

White Sox Avoid Arbitration With Jenks, Quentin

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6:58pm: Jenks will make $7.5MM in 2010 while Quentin will make $3.2MM, according to Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com.  John Danks and Tony Pena are the two remaining arbitration-eligible members of the White Sox.

6:28pm: Bobby Jenks and Carlos Quentin have agreed to terms with the White Sox, according to team VP Scott Reifert (via Twitter).

Around this time last year, Jenks avoided arbitration with the club by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $5.6MM.  In 2009 the 28-year-old closer posted a 3.71 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9.  Despite having a slightly underwhelming campaign, Jenks threw his fastball at an average of 94.8 MPH, his hardest since 2006.

Meanwhile, plantar fasciitis slowed down Quentin in '09, as he played in just 99 games.  In his limited action, the left fielder managed to post .236/.323/.456 with 21 HRs.  The 28-year-old Quentin earned $550K last season.

Players To Avoid Arbitration: Saturday

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We'll recap all of the players who agree to deals to avoid arbitration throughout the day here. Be sure to check back in, there's bound to be plenty of updates. Here's yesterday's list.

  • The White Sox avoided arbitration with both Bobby Jenks and Carlos Quentin, signing both to one-year deals. Jenks will earn $7.5MM in 2010, while Quentin will receive $3.2MM after earning just $550K in 2009.
  • The Giants and reliever Brandon Medders avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $820K deal, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.
  • MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports that the Reds and Nick Masset have avoided arbitration, agreeing to a two-year deal.  Masset is set to earn $1.035MM this season and $1.545 next season, according to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Odds & Ends: Damon, White Sox, Wood

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Thursday night linkage…

  • The Tigers could be in play for Johnny Damon, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  The 36-year-old has a .961 OPS at pitcher-friendly Comerica Park.
  • The White Sox formally announced today that they have invited fifteen players to Spring Training – ten of which from within the organization.  Outfielder Jordan Danks, younger brother of John Danks, is one of the more notable invitees.
  • Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com takes a look at the Indians' bullpen in 2010.  It should come as no surprise that Kerry Wood and his hefty contract are unlikely to be moved.  Wood is set to earn $10.5MM in 2010 with a vesting option for $11MM in 2011 if he finishes 55 games.

White Sox Re-Sign Ramon Castro

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The White Sox re-signed catcher Ramon Castro to a one-year, $1MM deal with a club option for 2011, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  MLB.com's Kelly Thesier says the deal pays $800K in 2010 and has a $1.2MM club option/$200K buyout for '11.  She notes that the Sox designated catcher Cole Armstrong for assignment to make room for Castro.

Castro, 34 in March, was traded with cash by the Mets to the White Sox in May of '09 for Lance Broadway.  Castro hit .219/.292/.406 in 171 plate appearances on the season, catching about 400 innings.  A December 14th report that Castro signed with the Blue Jays proved to be inaccurate.  The Padres were another club known to be interested in Castro.  The backup catcher market still includes Brad Ausmus, Jose Molina, and Mike Redmond.

The White Sox have added over $29MM in new contracts this winter, acquiring/re-signing Mark Teahen, Juan Pierre, J.J. Putz, Mark Kotsay, Omar Vizquel, Freddy Garcia, Castro, Andruw Jones, and others.

Minor League Transactions

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Baseball America's Matt Eddy is back with minor league transactions for the period of December 21-31.  A few notable moves…

  • The White Sox signed 1B/OF Jason Botts, who compiled a .230/.325/.344 career line with the Rangers.
  • The Marlins signed reliever Chris Schroder, who posted a 2.22 ERA in 56.6 Triple A innings last year.
  • The Dodgers brought Jay Gibbons aboard.  Gibbons signed a minor league deal with the Marlins in January of '09 and was cut in March.
  • The Yankees added outfielder Reid Gorecki, who hit .286/.351/.464 in Triple A.  Also, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Yanks signed lefty reliever Royce Ring and outfielder David Winfree. 
  • The Giants signed reliever Kevin Cameron, who had a respectable rookie season with the Padres back in '07.  He pitched only 32.3 innings in '09 for various A's affiliates.
  • The Blue Jays signed left fielder Chris Lubanski, who was originally drafted fifth overall by the Royals in 2003.

GM Trade Histories: AL Central

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Brendan Bianowicz has more GM Trade History series updates for us.  Click below to download Excel spreadsheets with info on the AL Central GMs (trades, free agent signings, and top draft picks).

Odds & Ends: Indians, Maya, Sadowski

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Saturday night linkage..

  • In his latest mailbag, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer is asked about the Tribe's inactivity this winter.  Hoynes says that there are two reasons for this.  First, the team is rebuilding.  Secondly, ownership has little, if any, money to spend on free agents.  Hoynes says to look for the Indians to do something in January and February after the first and second-tier free agents have signed.
  • Cuban pitcher Yuniesky Maya put himself on display in the Dominican Republic last week.  Jorge Arangure of ESPN spoke to a scout in attendance who said the 28-year-old threw in the range of 88-92 MPH while showcasing a fastball, two-seamer, slider, curveball, and changeup.  According to a report from Globedia.com, passed along by Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog, the Mets and White Sox are the frontrunners to sign him.  Arangure notes that Deinys Suarez, who was also on display, has not generated as much interest as Maya.
  • Former Giants pitcher Ryan Sadowski has signed a deal to pitch for Korea's Lotte Giants in 2010, according to a report from The Korea Herald passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker.  Sadowski signed with Houston earlier this offseason, so it appears that the Astros have let the 27-year-old out of his contract.

Discussion: Pat Burrell

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Pat Burrell's move to the American League did not go as smoothly as he or the Rays hoped.  Burrell left the World Series-winning Phillies to sign a two-year, $16MM free agent contract with Tampa Bay last January, and then suffered through a season's worth of injuries and inconsistency to finish with a career-worst .682 OPS (.221/.315/.367) in 476 plate appearances.

With $9MM due to Burrell in 2010, the Rays have been openly shopping the slugger this winter.  Rumors of a deal of Burrell-for-Milton Bradley swirled for months before the Cubs dealt Bradley to Seattle last week.  With seemingly their best trade option gone, it appears as if Tampa Bay will go into next season with Burrell back in the DH spot — which, if 2009 was just an aberration, might not be a bad option given Burrell's 251 homers and .852 OPS over his first nine years in Philadelphia.

If the Rays still want to move Burrell and save some cash, however, here are a few of the clubs that are in need of a DH/LF type and might have the payroll flexibility to absorb some or all of Burrell's contract.

  • The Mets.  Should they give up on signing Jason Bay (or lose him to the Red Sox), New York would still have a hole to fill in left field.  The downside of Burrell going to a National League team, however, is his glove.  He played just two games in the outfield last season, and according to Fangraphs, his defense ranged from mediocre to terrible (a -25.2 UZR/150 in 2007) over his last four years in Philadelphia.
  • The Cardinals.  Just as Burrell is a backup plan for the Mets if they don't sign Bay, he can also be a backup plan for St. Louis if they don't sign Matt Holliday.
  • The Braves.  Atlanta's biggest offseason need was a right-handed power hitter.  While they are close to a deal with Troy Glaus, Glaus made just 32 plate appearances in 2009 after undergoing shoulder surgery last January.  Burrell is perhaps a more reliable option, and may regain his batting stroke back in the NL East.  
  • The White Sox.  Ozzie Guillen likes the idea of a rotating designated hitter, but GM Kenny Williams didn't close the door on the possibility of picking up an everyday DH if the right opportunity presented itself.
  • The Giants.  Mark DeRosa may be coming in as San Francisco's new left fielder, but Burrell could be an interesting alternative should DeRosa not accept the Giants' offer.  Or, the power-starved Giants could acquire Burrell to play in left, and then sign DeRosa to play third base, thus moving Pablo Sandoval over to first.  (Or, Sandoval plays 1B, DeRosa plays 2B and Freddy Sanchez moves over to 3B.)  If the Rays pay some of Burrell's contract, then he is a much cheaper option for San Francisco than Johnny Damon.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Matsui, Mariners, Callapso

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On Christmas Day way back in 2001, Hideki Matsui became the highest paid player in Japanese baseball history, agreeing to a one-year contract worth $4.7MM with the Yomiuri Giants. In his seven-year (and counting) Major League Baseball career, Matsui has never earned less than $6MM annually.

Let's see what's being written around the blogosphere…

  • River Ave. Blues takes a look at the economic impact of Matsui leaving the World Champs for the Angels.
  • U.S.S. Mariner runs down some potential first base options for the Mariners, covering players available through trades, free agency, and those already in-house.
  • It's About The Money, Stupid! compares Nick Johnson and Curtis Granderson to the two guys they're replacing, Johnny Damon and Matsui.
  • South Side Sox provides some thoughts on Kenny Williams' busy offseason.
  • Royals Authority says Kansas City needs an outfielder, and proposes a few deals centered around Alberto Callaspo.
  • Viva El Birdos has some concerns about signing Matt Holliday to a long-term contract.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

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