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Ohio Notes: Jimenez, LaPorta, Masterson, Reds

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Here's the latest baseball news from the Buckeye State's two teams…

  • "We talked about a lot of different ways to bring Ubaldo [Jimenez] back,” Indians GM Chris Antonetti told reporters (including Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer).  Hoynes interprets this as meaning that the Tribe made Jimenez a multiyear offer in addition to the $14.1MM one-year qualifying offer, but Jimenez is very likely to sign elsewhere.
  • Once a top prospect and the key part of the Brewers' trade package to the Indians for C.C. Sabathia in 2008, Matt LaPorta is now a minor league free agent and may not return to the Tribe.  Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer looks at LaPorta's career and talks to Indians director of player development Paul Atkins, who doesn't sound optimistic about LaPorta re-signing with the organization.
  • Also from that piece, Antonetti didn't comment on whether the team was looking to sign Justin Masterson to a multiyear extension.  “I will tell you how much we value Justin and what he’s brought to this team since we acquired him in 2009,” Antonetti said.  Masterson emerged as the Tribe's ace last season and is a free agent next winter.
  • The acquisition of Brayan Pena means that the Reds "are obviously up to something" in regards to a catcher trade, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes.  The consensus has been that Ryan Hanigan will be dealt but Fay wonders if "a major trade" is in the works that would send Devin Mesoraco elsewhere.
  • Fay also notes that if the Reds trade Brandon Phillips, speedster Billy Hamilton could be a potential replacement at second base.  Hamilton was originally drafted as a shortstop but was seen by some in the Reds organization as a future second baseman.
  • The Reds will hire Jay Bell as their new bench coach, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports (via Twitter).  Bell was serving as the Pirates hitting coach and previously worked as the Diamondbacks' bench coach.  Bell and new Cincinnati manager Bryan Price both worked in Arizona's organization at the same time.

Choo Seeking To Exceed Werth’s $126MM Contract

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Outgoing Reds outfielder Shin-Soo Choo is being shopped above the seven-year, $126MM contract inked by Jayson Werth with the Nationals before the 2011 season, reports ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). The Scott Boras client, who is unquestionably one of the game's most attractive open market commodities, has long been rumored to be looking for nine figures, though a report yesterday said he was asking more in the $90MM range.  

The Werth comparison does make sense, so far as it goes. Both Werth and Choo hit the market in their early thirties, coming off of high-OBP, mid-140-OPS+ campaigns. Werth has shown somewhat more pop, while Choo reaches base like few others. Each is regarded as a solid glove in the corner outfield. But as MLBTR's Tim Dierkes explained in profiling Choo, the Werth contract has been viewed as a non-precedential deal. Hence, he predicts, Choo will probably get something more like six years and $100MM. Of course, contextual perception is important; with Werth coming off of an outstanding year, Boras may be able to argue that the contract is hardly the albatross it has been characterized as.

Whether or not Boras can land a Werth-sized deal, there is little question that Choo is hitting free agency at an opportune time. The remaining corner outfield market is thin, Choo returned to his earlier-career levels of performance last year, and new TV money could provide a boost in salaries around the game.

Quick Hits: Jackson, Cubs, Antonetti, Drew, Hanigan

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Theo Epstein admitted that the Cubs "got a little ahead of ourselves" in signing Edwin Jackson to a four-year, $52MM contract last winter.  In response to a fan's question at a season ticket-holders event in Chicago, Epstein said the team “didn’t fully understand the scope of our situation, the overall situation with the timing of our business plan, the timing of our facilities and the timing of our baseball plan."  (hat tip to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times).  The Jackson signing was seen a surprise move for the rebuilding Cubs and it hasn't worked out thus far, as Jackson posted a 4.98 ERA over 175 1/3 IP in 2013.

Here are some more items as we head into the weekend…

  • Epstein told reporters (including MLB.com's Carrie Muskat) that he expects Jackson to be a positive for the Cubs next season, though he noted that the team plans to add more "quality" starting pitching this winter.  "Every starting pitcher we acquire is someone we hope is starting Game 1 of the World Series for us," Epstein said.
  • The Indians' biggest needs this winter are bullpen pieces and a complementary bat, Tribe general manager Chris Antonetti tells Jim Bowden and Casey Stern on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link).
  • Scott Boras scoffed at projections that Stephen Drew would only find a three-year contract this winter, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman writes.  "A three-year deal, for a 30-year-old free agent, really?  Are these writers aware of what Elvis Andrus signed for?", Boras asked.  The Andrus comparison isn't as entirely outlandish as it first appears, since Andrus' eight-year, $120MM extension with the Rangers is only guaranteed for four years and $62MM since Andrus has opt-out clauses.  Still, even that price tag seems quite high — MLBTR's Tim Dierkes predicted Drew for a four-year, $48MM deal this winter and that was with reservations about the fourth year and the draft pick compensation attached to Drew's free agency.
  • Reds catcher Ryan Hanigan could be a better catching option for 2014 than Jarrod Saltalamacchia even aside from the financial considerations, Fangraphs' Dave Cameron opines (Twitter links).  Hanigan actually has a higher career WAR than Saltalamacchia (8.3 to 6.9) and could be available in a trade, while "Salty" could cost a team around $36MM in free agency.
  • The Dodgers should at least consider trading Yasiel Puig, ESPN Los Angeles' Mark Saxon argues.  He would certainly net more in a deal than any club's higher-priced outfielders and the Dodgers could be selling high on Puig since it's unclear whether his style of play will age well.
  • The Angels don't have much payroll room to make big changes for 2014 but MLB.com's Tracy Ringolsby thinks the Halos might only need a few tweaks to contend.
  • The Tigers aren't likely to re-sign Ramon Santiago, MLive.com's Chris Iott reports, as the team has younger and cheaper utility infield options available.  Santiago, 34, has played for Detroit since 2006 and spent 10 seasons overall with the Tigers as a backup or part-time starter in the middle infield.

Minor Moves: Ramirez, Carreno, Seratelli, Parraz

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Here are today's minor league transactions from around baseball, with the latest moves at the top of the page…

  • The Reds signed catcher Max Ramirez to a minor league deal with an invite to Cincinnati's Spring Training camp, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link).  Ramirez has played for seven different organizations over a 10-year minor league career, including playing for the Royals' Triple-A club in 2012-13.  The 29-year-old has 140 career Major League PA, with the Rangers in 2008 and 2010.  This is the second catching move the Reds have made today after their acquisition of Brayan Pena.
  • The Mets signed right-hander Joel Carreno to a minor league contract with an invite to their Major League Spring Training camp, the team announced (Twitter link).  Carreno posted a 4.06 ERA, 7.2 K/9 and 1.67 K/BB rate over 37 2/3 relief innings with the Blue Jays in 2011-12 and had a very impressive 2.43 ERA, 12.2 K/9 and 3.75 K/BB rate in 66 2/3 IP split between Toronto's Double-A and Triple-A affiliates in 2013.
  • The Mets signed utilityman Anthony Seratelli to a minor league deal that includes a Major League Spring Training invitation, ESPN New York's Adam Rubin reports.  The 30-year-old switch-hitter has spent seven years in the Royals' farm system and posted a .286/.385/.452 slash line with 28 homers and 39 steals over 926 PA at the Triple-A level in 2012-13.  At least 10 teams had "serious interest" in Seratelli, Rubin notes.
  • The Diamondbacks signed outfielder Jordan Parraz to a minor league contract, Baseball America's Matt Eddy reports (Twitter link).  A 10-year veteran of the minors, Parraz began 2013 with the Braves' Triple-A team before moving on to 74 games with the Twins' Double-A affiliate.

Reds To Sign Brayan Pena

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The Reds have agreed to a two-year contract with catcher Brayan Pena, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com. Pena, who is represented by the Kinzer Management Group, will earn at least $1.25MM in the first year of the deal, though complete financial terms aren't yet available.

Pena, 32 in January, batted .297/.315/.397 with four homers as the primary backup for Detroit's Alex Avila in 2013. A switch-hitter, Pena was significantly better as a left-handed hitter (.801 OPS) than as a right-handed hitter (.608 OPS) — a trend that he's shown throughout his career.

Pena joins incumbent catchers Devin Mesoraco and Ryan Hanigan on Cincinnati's 40-man roster, which figures to be one more catcher than the team needs. Hanigan projects to earn $2.3MM in arbitration next season, so the Reds could look to trade him elsewhere or non-tender him following a season in which he batted .198/.306/.261 — easily the worst numbers of his career. Mesoraco has certainly failed to live up to his lofty prospect status at this point, but he's still just 25 years old and is not yet arbitration eligible, so I'd imagine the Reds don't consider him the odd man out.

Central Notes: Bruce, Phillips, Arroyo, Johan

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While Jay Bruce's agent, Matt Sosnick, said his client hasn't discussed an extension with the Reds, he didn't quash the idea either, writes Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.  "Obviously, Jay loves playing in Cincinnati. He's made it clear in the past that all things equal, he'd like to finish his career there and certainly would be open to anything," said Sosnick.  While the Reds control Bruce through 2017 with three guaranteed years at $34.5MM and a team option for $13MM, the idea of a pre-emptive extension makes sense since the slugger will only be 30 upon hitting the open market.  Here's more out of the Central divisions..

  • Passan spoke to one exec who said that Brandon Phillips is as good as "gone" in Cincinnati.  Yesterday we learned that the Yankees made a preliminary inquiry on the second baseman, but it's possible that they're simply looking for leverage in talks with Robinson Cano.
  • The Twins have expressed interest in free agent pitchers Bronson Arroyo, Phil Hughes, and Jason Vargas, sources tell Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press.  While the Twins have yet to make a formal offer to Arroyo, the interest appears to be mutual between the club and the 36-year-old.
  • The Twins have also called on Scott Kazmir and Johan Santana, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN.
  • Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network (video link) spoke with Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer about dealing with trade speculation and the possibility of hammering out an extension.
  • It might not have made a difference, but the Red Sox weren't showing any indication that they were ready to let Torey Lovullo go to the Cubs, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).  The Cubs agreed not to poach personnel from the Red Sox after Theo Epstein left to take over their operations.

Yanks Made Preliminary Inquiry On Brandon Phillips

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Preparing themselves in the event that Robinson Cano signs elsewhere, the Yankees have placed a preliminary call to the Reds on Brandon Phillips, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Cincinnati's asking price for Phillips is said to be "way too steep" according to Heyman.

Phillips, 32, batted .261/.310/.396 with 18 home runs this season but was involved in a pair of ugly PR incidents: one in which he publicly complained about how the Reds handled his contract negotiations and another in which went on a tirade against a Cincinnati reporter for pointing to his low on-base percentage. He is owed $50MM over the final four years of his six-year, $72.5MM contract.

Reports from this past weekend indicated that the Yankees made a similar preliminary inquiry on free agent Omar Infante. The Yankees are still considered the favorites to re-sign Cano this offseason, but it's not surprising to see GM Brian Cashman doing his homework in the event that another team swoops in and lands the All-Star second baseman.

Reds Make Qualifying Offer To Choo, Not Arroyo

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3:31pm: Reds assistant director of media relations Jamie Ramsey confirms that Choo has received a qualifying offer and Arroyo has not.

3:22pm: MLB.com's Mark Sheldon reports that the Reds have officially extended a qualifying offer to Shin-Soo Choo.

Choo, 31, batted .285/.423/.462 with 21 homers and 20 stolen bases in his lone season with the Reds. The Reds' decision to make him a qualifying offer comes as little surprise, given his status as one of the market's most highly regarded free agents (he ranked No. 3 on MLBTR's Top 50).

MLBTR owner Tim Dierkes projected a six-year, $100MM contract in his free agent profile for Choo, predicting that Choo's sky-high on-base percentage (he ranked fourth in MLB) and agent Scott Boras' negotiating skills would outweigh Choo's problems against left-handed pitching and defensive question marks.

1:36pm: The Reds will not make a qualifying offer to right-hander Bronson Arroyo, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The lack of a qualifying offer is good news for Arroyo and agent Terry Bross of Gaylord Sports Management, as interested teams won't be required to surrender a draft pick to obtain his services on the free agent market.

The $14.1MM value of the qualifying offer was too great a risk for the small-market Reds to take, writes Heyman. I agree with the thinking, as it seems there was a decent chance Arroyo would've accepted the offer, knowing what draft pick compensation would've done to his value on the open market.

Arroyo, 37 in February, topped 199 innings for the ninth consecutive season in 2013, posting a solid 3.79 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 202 innings. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes profiled Arroyo in September, predicting that the veteran innings eater would land a two-year, $24MM contract, provided the Reds didn't issue a qualifying offer.

Minor Moves: Jacobs, Herndon, LaRoche, Lalli, Bourgeois, Humber

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Today's minor moves can be found right here in this post …

  • Among the many re-signings of players otherwise eligible for minor league free agency reported by Matt Eddy of Baseball America are first baseman Mike Jacobs, who will stay with the Diamondbacks, and reliever David Herndon, who the Yankees have re-signed. Neither saw big league action this year. Jacobs put up a nice .296/.366/.533 line in 514 Triple-A plate appearances in his age-32 season, while Herndon, now 28, was good for a 2.78 ERA in his 35 2/3 innings across the Yanks system.
  • Third bagger Andy LaRoche has signed with the Blue Jays, Eddy reports on Twitter. The 30-year-old younger brother of Nats' first baseman Adam LaRoche played in just one game with Toronto last year, and has not been a regular big league contributor since leaving the Pirates after the 2010 season.
  • Catcher Blake Lalli has caught on with the Diamondbacks, Eddy notes in the same link. Also thirty years of age, Lalli has only forty uneventful MLB plate appearances. Playing at Triple-A for the Brewers last year, he put up a .282/.334/.447 line in 311 plate appearances.
  • The Reds have signed 31-year-old outfielder Jason Bourgeois, Eddy reports on Twitter. Bourgeois saw limited time with the Rays last year. His career big league line stands at .259/.305/.326 in 515 plate appearances over parts of six seasons, including 51 stolen bases.
  • Right-handed starter Philip Humber, 30, has inked a deal with the Athletics, reports Eddy (via Twitter). The once-perfect Humber had his option declined by the Astros early last month.
  • Righty Fabio Martinez signed with the Dodgers, per another Eddy tweet. The longtime Angel farmhand last worked in the Indians system, but has never managed to harness his live arm and posted BB/9 totals of over ten in 2012-13. 
  • Pitcher Trevor Reckling has signed with the Reds out of independent league ball, Eddy tweets. He played six seasons in the Angels' system, reaching Triple-A at age 21 before moving the wrong way down the ladder. Noted as a reclamation project for the White Sox before the 2012 year, Reckling will give it one more go in Cinci.
  • The Rockies re-signed minor league second baseman Angelys Nina in a move designed to keep him from reaching the open market as a minor league free agent, tweets Eddy. Nina managed a .280/.331/.422 line in his second go-round at Tulsa, adding ten home runs and nineteen steals.
  • Outfielder Chris Dickerson and first baseman Dan Johnson, each of whom were outrighted on Thursday, have refused their assignments and elected to become free agents, according to an Orioles press release yesterday. 
  • Remember to check MLBTR's DFA Tracker for updates on players designated for assignment around baseball. Currently, only Tommy Layne is sitting in DFA limbo.

Reds Claim Pedro Beato, Outright Greg Reynolds

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The Reds announced that they have claimed right-hander Pedro Beato off waivers from the Red Sox. In corresponding moves, Cincinnati has outrighted right-hander Greg Reynolds and catcher Corky Miller off the 40-man roster, each of whom has elected free agency.

Beato, 27, was designated for assignment last week when the Red Sox acquired outfielder Alex Castellanos from the Dodgers. Beato pitched 10 innings for Boston this season and allowed four earned runs (five total) on 12 hits and a pair of walks with five strikeouts. In 89 career innings between the Mets and Red Sox, the Dominican hurler has a 4.55 ERA with 5.7 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 45.5 percent ground-ball rate. He's averaged a solid 92.4 mph on his heater in those 89 innings and was up to 93.1 mph with the Sox in 2013.

The 28-year-old Reynolds was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2006 draft by the Rockies, but the Stanford product has never been able to get his career going. He struggled through six appearances (five starts) for the Reds this season, yielding a 5.52 ERA with just 13 strikeouts against six walks in 29 1/3 innings. He was completely dominant at Triple-A Louisville, however, compiling a 2.42 ERA with 5.6 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 156 1/3 innings.

Miller, 38 next Spring, batted .257/.366/.400 in 41 plate appearances for the Reds this season. The journeyman has appeared in parts of 11 big league seasons with the Reds, Red Sox, Twins, Braves and White Sox, posting a .193/.277/.306 triple-slash line in 616 plate appearances along the way. The veteran is a career .249/.370/.420 hitter in 3,859 minor league plate appearances.

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