Quick Hits: Pagan, Giants, Indians, Brewers,
A roundup of tonight's links as we have our eyes fixed on the Winter Meetings countdown clock..
- The Phillies continue to go hard on Angel Pagan while Giants look to be short right now on average annual value in a four-year deal, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Olney previous reported that the Phillies and Pagan have been talking for weeks.
- Indians General Manager Chris Antonetti says he has interest in re-signing Jack Hannahan, Rafael Perez, and Chris Seddon, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer. All three players were non-tendered on Friday.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin says that he sees a Kameron Loe-type pitcher in the newly-acquired Burke Badenhop, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel. "He's a similar pitcher to Loe," said Melvin. "He might have been a non-tender, so we put the deal together late (Friday) night. Instead of letting him go out on the market where you don't know what might happen, we thought it best to make a trade for him."
American League Non-Tenders
Here are today’s American League non-tenders. All decisions must be in by 11pm CT tonight. Be sure to track all tender decisions using MLBTR's Non-Tender Tracker. Related resources include our list of non-tender candidates, our projected arbitration salaries and our arbitration eligibles series.
- The Rays have non-tendered Ben Francisco according to Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times (on Twitter).
- The Blue Jays have non-tendered Bobby Wilson, the team announced.
- The Mariners have non-tendered Robert Andino, the team announced. They acquired him from the Orioles less than two weeks ago.
- The Rangers have non-tendered Geovany Soto, Brandon Snyder, and Jacob Brigham according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan (on Twitter).
- The Orioles have non-tendered Mark Reynolds in addition to Omar Quintanilla and Stuart Pomeranz, the team announced (on Twitter).
- The Athletics have non-tendered Jermaine Mitchell, the team announced. Mitchell was designated for assignment earlier this week.
- The Red Sox have non-tendered Rich Hill, Ryan Sweeney, and Scott Atchison, the team announced. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports had the Sweeney news earlier (on Twitter) while Rob Bradford of WEEI.com had the Atchison news.
- The Indians announced they non-tendered Jack Hannahan, Rafael Perez and Chris Seddon
- The White Sox announced that they've non-tendered right-hander pitcher Anthony Carter and infielder Dan Johnson.
- The Royals announced that they won't tender outfielder Derrick Robinson a contract for 2013 (Twitter link). Robinson has no MLB experience so he wasn't arbitration eligible.
- The Tigers announced that they will non-tender Daniel Schlereth. The left-hander was limited to six appearances this past season, which he mostly spent on the disabled list with shoulder tendinitis. Schlereth was not yet arbitration eligible.
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
Minor Moves: Cory Wade, Fernando Nieve
We'll keep track of the latest minor moves here…
- Cory Wade elected free agency, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports (on Twitter). Wade, 29, appeared in 39 games for the Yankees in 2012, posting a 6.46 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9. The Blue Jays had claimed him off of waivers last month.
- The Indians signed right-hander Fernando Nieve and invited him to big league Spring Training, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (on Twitter). The 30-year-old spent the 2012 season with the Dodgers' Triple-A team, posting a 5.96 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 119 1/3 innings. He has MLB experience with the Mets and Astros, most recently in 2010.
Indians Claim Mike McDade, Designate Seddon
The Indians claimed infielder Mike McDade off of waivers from the Blue Jays, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (on Twitter). The Indians designated left-hander Chris Seddon for assignment in a related move.
McDade, 23, posted a .285/.360/.445 with 17 home runs in the upper minors of Toronto's system this past season. Toronto designated him for assignment ten days ago.
Indians Avoid Arbitration With Blake Wood
The Indians have avoided arbitration with Blake Wood, signing the right-hander to a one-year, $560K contract, reports Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Wood was arbitration-eligible for the first time.
Wood was claimed off waivers from the Royals earlier this month. The 27-year-old posted a 4.30 ERA, a 1.72 K/BB ratio and a 7.0 K/9 rate in 106 relief appearances for Kansas City in 2010-11, and he underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2012. Wood's new $560K contract was slightly less than the $600K that MLBTR's Matt Swartz projected he would receive through the arb process.
With Wood's deal out of the way, the Tribe still has nine other arb-eligible players to settle contracts with for the 2013 season. You can follow all the offseason arbitration dealings for the Indians and every team via MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker.
Indians Designate Rafael Perez For Assignment
The Indians designated left-handed reliever Rafael Perez for assignment, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (on Twitter). The team added Nick Hagadone to the 40-man roster in a related move.
Perez, 30, had been a non-tender candidate with a projected salary of $2MM. The Indians can still trade Perez, though a release seems more likely. He appeared in just eight games this past season, spending considerable time on the disabled list with a strained lat. In seven years at the MLB level, Perez has a 3.64 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9.
Seven Teams Interested In Victorino
B.J. Upton's name has dominated the conversation regarding free agent center fielders lately, but Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that the Indians, Rangers, Yankees, Giants, Rays, Red Sox and Reds all have interest in another free agent center fielder — Shane Victorino.
Several teams, according to Heyman, are willing to offer three years to Victorino in spite of his slow finish to the 2012 season. Victorino is willing to move to a corner outfield spot, though he has a track record of solid defense in center field.
Victorino stole a career-high 39 bases in 2012 (with a brilliant 87-percent success rate), but his 11 homers were his lowest total since 2009. He slumped at the plate following a trade to the Dodgers and finished the season with a .255/.321/.383 batting line, which will likely prevent him from securing the five-year contract he sought prior to the 2012 season.
In a recent Free Agent Faceoff, Victorino came up just short to fellow center fielder Angel Pagan when roughly 56 percent of readers voted that they preferred Pagan to Victorino.
Indians Notes: Lillibridge, Spears, Staff Assignments
On this day in baseball history (1941), Indians shortstop Lou Boudreau replaced outgoing manager Roger Peckinpaugh to become the youngest manager in baseball history at the age of 24. Here's the latest news coming out of Cleveland…
- Utility man Brent Lillibridge has declined his outright assignment to Triple-A Columbus, tweets MLB.com writer Jordan Bastian. The move makes him a free agent.
- Left-hander Nate Spears has received an invitation to the Indians' big league camp for Spring Training after being signed last week to a Minor League contract, says Bastian (via Twitter).
- Former first base coach Tom Wiedenbauer and bullpen coach Dave Miller are staying with the Indians organization as field coordinator and pro scout, respectively, tweets Bastian.
Minor Moves: Nate Spears, Jose Flores
Here are Saturday's minor moves…
- The Indians have signed infielder Nate Spears to a minor league contract, reports MLB.com's Jordan Bastian (on Twitter). The 27-year-old hit .240/.329/.396 with ten homers in 395 Triple-A plate appearances this season. Spears has made two brief cameos with the Red Sox in each of the last two years and has experience at all four infield spots as well as in the corner outfield.
- The Indians have also re-signed right-hander Jose Flores to a minor league deal according to Bastian. Flores, 23, posted a 2.42 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 44 2/3 relief innings at two levels of Cleveland's farm system this year. The Mariners gave him a look as a Rule 5 Draft pick in 2011, but returned him to the Indians at the end of Spring Training.
Passan’s Latest: Myers, Fowler, Asdrubal, McCarthy
The Royals have been shopping top prospect Wil Myers but only in exchange for starting pitching, reports Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan. Earlier this week, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reported that Kansas City was known to be at least listening to offers for Myers and top position players like Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer. The only untouchable Royals appear to be Alcides Escobar and Salvador Perez due to their team-friendly contracts — "executives consider [Perez's deal] the best in the game," Passan writes.
The Royals have discussed trades with the Rays, Mariners, Diamondbacks and Athletics, Passan reports. While Myers would be of interest to any team, he is of particular value to low-payroll teams like the Rays and A's given that Gordon and Butler have large contracts and Moustakas/Hosmer are Scott Boras clients.
Here are some more items from Passan…
- The Rockies' asking price for Dexter Fowler is "absurd," one rival executive tells Passan. It appears to be a buyers' market for center fielders right now, though another executive warns that "it will shake out" as the offseason progresses.
- The Indians are shopping Asdrubal Cabrera, though "not at Black Friday prices," an executive says. Cabrera is one of a few shortstops on the trade market, along with the Astros' Jed Lowrie and the Marlins' Yunel Escobar.
- Teams are more worried about Brandon McCarthy's history of arm injuries than with his season-ending brain surgery. If McCarthy's medicals are clear, however, a team executive thinks the right-hander will get a multiyear contract.
- Anibal Sanchez's demands for a six-year, $90MM contract are "crazy, and he's probably going to get it," an executive tells Passan.