2010 Options: Cleveland Indians
Today let's take a look at the 2010 options facing the Indians.
- Cliff Lee – $9MM club option with a $1MM buyout. Lee's 2010 option received a $1MM bump when he won the Cy Young last year. He doesn't have to repeat that performance to make this an easy decision to exercise. He could be trade bait this summer, but maybe the Indians will prefer to have him for 2010.
- Victor Martinez – $7MM club option with a $250K buyout. This is a near-lock to be exercised. Perhaps they will broach an extension before next season.
- Rafael Betancourt – $5.4MM club option. Betancourt signed this deal in January of 2008, coming off his best season. It was thought that Betancourt might replace Joe Borowski at closer, but that didn't last too long. The Indians figure to decline the option.
- Masahide Kobayashi – $3.25MM club option with a $250K buyout. Kobayashi can become a free agent if the option is declined. Looking at the numbers, that seems likely.
Miller To Undergo Major Surgery
According to MLB.com's Stephen Ellsesser top Indians pitching prospect Adam Miller will undergo season-ending surgery that will put his career in jeopardy. The tendons in middle finger on his pitching hand need to be repaired, so Miller will have surgery Tuesday. The Indians' head athletic trainer said it's a "career threatening" procedure.
Pedro Martinez May Sign Soon
6:47pm: Just to clarify, Nationals GM Mike Rizzo says the team maintains mild interest in Pedro.
1:41pm: For what it's worth, Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post would like to see the Nationals ink Pedro. He believes the organization has more than enough money, citing the recent Forbes findings, to match the right-hander's high salary demands.
FRIDAY, 8:53am: MLB.com's Bill Ladson has a source saying the Nationals haven't had interest in Pedro since Spring Training. The door remains just a crack open in the event that Martinez becomes amenable to an inexpensive contract. Otherwise, Ladson's Nationals source says, "We are satisfied with our rotation even though there is going to be some bumps along the way. We wouldn't want to make any changes there."
Meanwhile, here's Dodgers GM Ned Colletti talking about Pedro.
THURSDAY: According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, Pedro Martinezcould decide on his next team within two weeks. He's set to begin throwing off a mound tomorrow. Rosenthal says Pedro is open to both contending and rebuilding teams, but continues to demand a $5MM salary. ESPN's Jayson Stark suggested today that Martinez's exorbitant asking price may be a way of delaying his return.
A rundown of possible suitors, from Rosenthal:
- Angels GM Tony Reagins recently admitted to contacting Pedro's agent, but Rosenthal says "the two sides have not spoken in more than two weeks."
- Rosenthal learned from Nationals acting GM Mike Rizzo that the team has mild interest in Pedro and scouted him in March. Martinez's asking price is the issue.
- The Rangers have some interest.
- Rosenthal's Yankees source denies interest in Pedro, despite the pitcher telling friends the opposite. There is a Dominican newspaper report floating about suggesting a Pedro-Yankees union, but we'll trust Rosenthal's source.
- The Indians don't have the money, the Dodgers don't like the price, and the Mets aren't interested.
- Rosenthal does not mention the Orioles, Cardinals, or Pirates, teams that have been linked to Pedro in the past.
Indians Willing To Trade Cliff Lee?
FRIDAY: Talking to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, here's Indians GM Mark Shapiro on trading Lee:
"I'm not even thinking about that. My focus is on us having a contending season and Cliff having a great season. I think the two go hand-in-hand."
Lee's agent Darek Braunecker says "right now it's just sheer speculation."
THURSDAY: Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com wrote about Indians starter Cliff Lee a few days ago. The article includes speculation from rival executives:
Multiple officials familiar with the Indians said this week that they wouldn't be at all surprised to see Lee get traded if the Indians fall far out of the race, just as C.C. Sabathia was dealt away when Cleveland fell out of it last year. "I think they'd love to trade him," one of the officials said.
The Indians were in last place, 13.5 games out, when they traded Sabathia to the Brewers on July 6th of last year. They finished in third place, 7.5 games out.
Lee, 30, has a 5.25 ERA this year through four starts but pitched well in his last two starts. He has yet to show last year's otherworldly control and 46% groundball rate. At $5.75MM this year with a $9MM club option for 2010, Lee would be attractive on the trade market even if he's pitching like a middle-rotation guy.
Back in March, the Indians decided not to negotiate an extension with the Cy Young winner due to the economy. Said Lee:
"They said they can't do it become of the economy. I'd like to spend the rest of my career here. I would have loved to get that out of the way. But I can't force that to happen."
Odds & Ends: Valuations, Figueroa, Thome
Links for Thursday…
- Forbes' MLB team valuations are out. The Yankees top the list at $1.5 billion, while the Marlins are 30th at $277 million.
- Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News says Nelson Figueroa will refuse the Mets' assignment to Triple A and become a free agent.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports talked to Jim Thome about many topics, including his future and the Cleveland discussion with Manny.
- Peter Gammons spoke to Yankees GM Brian Cashman yesterday at Southern Connecticut State University. This AP article has a few tidbits, but let me know if you find a transcript. Dom Amore of the Hartford Courant has a few quotes.
- MLB.com's David Singh has the story of Darren O'Day's interesting day.
Odds & Ends: Bonifacio, Jimenez, Darvish
Links for Friday…
- Royals third baseman Alex Gordon is out 10-12 weeks due to hip surgery. Mark Teahen will slide over to take his place.
- Ken Rosenthal examines the Indians.
- I did a Q&A with But The Game Is On.
- Chico Harlan of the Washington Post gets into the Emilio Bonifacio trade.
- ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. writes about how the Yankees' signing of D'Angelo Jimenez changed everything.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker has a Yu Darvish velocity chart.
- The Big Lead talked to Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- Paul DePodesta explains the Padres' decision to expose Travis Denker to waivers.
Odds & Ends: Milledge, Draft Order, Cubs
Links for Tuesday…
- The Nationals issued a press release regarding Lastings Milledge's demotion to Triple A. Seems like they're hoping it's a wake-up call.
- Scott Boras spoke to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle about matching his client Dallas McPherson with the Giants.
- Baseball America has the 2009 June draft order.
- According to a Reuters article, one source suggested the sale of the Cubs to the Ricketts family may drag on past May.
- Bart Given of Inside The Majors says the Indians are an exception in terms of providing nutritious meals to minor leaguers.
- This week's chat will take place tomorrow at 2pm CST.
Manny Would Like A Second Indians Stint
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Manny Ramirez would like to play for the Indians one more time before the end of his career. He even talked to Jim Thome about reuniting in Cleveland. Of course, it takes two to tango and the Indians have Travis Hafner locked in at DH through 2012.
Back in the 2000-01 offseason, it seemed that Manny wanted to stay in Cleveland but his agent Jeff Moorad steered him toward the more lucrative Boston offer. The Indians topped out at $138MM over eight years, but Ramirez received $160MM from the Red Sox. Manny reportedly regretted his decision by the summer of '01, according to his authorized biography Becoming Manny.
Ken Gurnick and John Schlegel of MLB.com have follow-up comments from Manny and Scott Boras.
Delwyn Young Drawing Interest
Tony Jackson of the LA Times tells us that Dodgers' outfielder Delwyn Young is drawing interest from numerous teams. The Indians, Pirates, and Phillies have all had scouts present in the past week during a rehab assignment. Jackson expects a move to be made in the next few days.
Young, 26, is out of options. Jackson wrote in an earlier piece that he expected Young's rehab stint to go the maximum 20 days because there doesn't appear to be a place for him on the 25-man roster.
Young hasn't been overly impressive in the Majors over parts of three seasons, but he's a switch hitter and possesses a .303/.363/.515 minor league line.
The Jason Bay Trade Revisited
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsbugh Post-Gazette recounts the details of the deadline deal that sent Jason Bay to Boston, specifically the final 7 minutes that reshaped the future of the Pirates organization. It's a really interesting read for any rumor-enthusiasts. Some points of interest:
- According to Kovacevic, before finally dealing Bay at the buzzer, Pittsburgh had been working on dealing Bay for over a year and a half.
- Before the 2008 season, the Bucs had come close to dealing Bay and catcher Ronny Paulino to Cleveland for Cliff Lee, Franklin Guttierez, and Kelly Shoppach. The Pirates did not feel it was enough and killed it.
- Just 20 minutes before the 4p.m. deadline, Kovacevic says the Braves and Rays were considered the primary trading partners, particularly the "prospect-rich Rays." But with only 15 minutes left, "the Pirates called each [team] to insist upon a specific prospect package and summarily were rejected," writes Kovacevic.
The Rays Index takes a look at this article from a Tampa Bay perspective.