Early Reactions To The McCann Deal
Let's take a look at some of the early reactions to the Yankees' reported five-year, $85MM deal for Brian McCann:
- Troy Renck of The Denver Post tweets that the Rockies were "very aggressive" in angling for McCann but weren't prepared to offer $100MM to a player that will probably be DHing by the contract's end.
- While the Rangers lost out on McCann, there are still players available that would boost the team's offense, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News writes. Texas continues to seriously consider Shin-Soo Choo and Carlos Beltran for their left field job, while Jacoby Ellsbury and re-signing Nelson Cruz are also possibilities.
- With McCann off the board, the Rangers could also target a catcher who bats from the left side on a short-term deal, then platoon him with Geovany Soto, Grant writes. As a switch hitter, Dioner Navarro would appear to fit that bill.
- The Red Sox were interested in McCann, but their offer wasn't close to what he ended up getting, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe tweets.
- In a post for ESPN Insiders (sub. req'd.), Keith Law writes that the signing addresses the Yankees' most pressing need and projects that the deal will ultimately be "one of the most sensible" agreements of the offseason. While Law admits that five years is a lot to commit to a catcher, McCann should be able to take advantage of Yankee Stadium's short right porch to boost his power numbers. His article also suggests that McCann's strong framing skills add value in a way that isn't reflected in current defensive metrics.
- The Braves remained in discussions with McCann's agent, B.B. Abbott, as recently as Friday, David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says (Twitter link). However, they weren't invovled in the multi-year bidding for the catcher. The Braves will receive a draft pick after the first round becuase of the signing, O'Brien notes.
Minor Moves: Laird, Wells, Lerud, Maya, Sappelt
We'll keep tabs on the day's minor moves here:
- The Royals announced a series of minor league signings, including for third baseman Brandon Laird, outfielder Paulo Orlando and right-hander Wilking Rodriguez. Laird, 26, is the younger brother of Gerald Laird and joins the Royals from the Astros, where he received major league playing time in 2013. Orlando, 28, is re-upping with the Royals after six seasons in the organization. The 23-year-old Rodriguez will transition to the Royals after seven seasons in the Rays' farm system. He has a career 3.90 ERA, mostly as a starter, but has never reached Double-A.
- Matt Eddy of Baseball America has updates on a number of clubs' minor league signings. Among those with MLB experience (with links to Twitter): The Rockies will return Bobby Cassevah and Matt McBride, and have added righty Greg Burke. Headed to the Tigers is righty Jhan Marinez, while Gorkys Hernandez and Edinson Rincon will stick with the Royals organization. The Phillies have brought back shortstop Andres Blanco. And the Dodgers inked utility infielder Brendan Harris. Other clubs with new signings include the Orioles, Reds, Marlins, White Sox, and Athletics.
- The Cubs have signed outfielder Casper Wells, according to a tweet from Eddy. The team also added righties Paolo Espino and Carlos Pimentel, along with shortstop Jeudy Valdez. Wells got 102 plate appearances with three different clubs last year, posting a meager .126/.186/.147 line that is perhaps understandable given his constant movement and scant playing time. In 2012, over 316 plate appearances with the Mariners, Wells was good for a .228/.302/.396 slash.
- In addition to bringing back righty Benino Pruneda and catcher Jose Yepez on minor league deals, the Braves have added former Phillies backstop Steven Lerud, tweets Eddy. Lerud appeared in nine games for the Phils between 2012-13. At Triple-A last year, he had an interesting .217/.353/.311 line over 219 plate appearances, as he drew nearly as many walks (35) as he had hits (39).
- Cutting ties with a major international acquisition, the Nationals have released righty Yunesky Maya, Eddy tweets. Washington saw little return on its $6MM investment in Maya, who had been outrighted off of the club's major league roster early in the 2013 season. After struggling in two brief call-ups in 2011-12, Maya's last stint with the Nats was even more regrettable. In his only MLB appearance of the 2013 season, Maya retired one batter in the bottom of the tenth before surrendering a walk-off home run to Pablo Sandoval.
- The Cubs have released outfielder Dave Sappelt, tweets Eddy. As Eddy notes, Sappelt was one of the pieces — along with lefty Travis Wood and second baseman Ronald Torreyes — picked up by Chicago in the deal that sent Sean Marshall to Cincinnati. The 26-year-old Sappelt has a .251/.301/.343 slash line in 274 plate appearances spread over the 2011-13 seasons. He has spent most of his time in Triple-A over that time frame, and posted a sub-.700 OPS in each of his two years at Iowa.
Brian McCann Closing In On Deal With Yankees
5:09pm: The deal is for five years and $85MM and has a sixth-year vesting option that could boost the contract's value to $100MM, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. The deal is simply pending a physical, Rosenthal adds in a second tweet.
4:51pm: The deal could be worth close to $90MM, if not more, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
4:41pm: McCann is closing in on a five-year, $80MM+ deal with the Yankees, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Two other sources tell Rosenthal (Twitter link) that the Rockies made a late, strong run at McCann.
4:13pm: Brian McCann is on the verge of a long-term deal with the Yankees, two sources tell Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. McCann’s agent, B.B. Abbott, told Grant that he could not confirm that his client had agreed to terms with any team.
McCann, soon-to-be 30, is also said to be on the radar for the Red Sox and Rangers this offseason. The veteran hit .256/.336/.461 in 102 games for the Braves last season and has been widely regarded as this winter's top free agent catcher over Boston's Jarrod Saltalamacchia. The backstop ranks fourth on Tim Dierkes' Top 50 Free Agents List for this offseason.
Rockies Sign LaTroy Hawkins
Thursday: Hawkins has passed his physical, and the deal is now official, Hawkins himself tweets.
Monday: The Rockies have agreed to terms with right-hander LaTroy Hawkins on a one-year, $2.25MM deal, USA Today's Bob Nightengale reports (Twitter links) The contract also carries a $2.25MM option for 2015 with a $250K buyout and will be official if Hawkins passes a physical on Thursday. Hawkins is represented by Reynolds Sports Management.
Hawkins will serve as the Rockies' closer, Nightengale reports. The club was known to be looking for back-end relief help, and though Rex Brothers pitched well as a replacement close for Rafael Betancourt, Colorado will instead use Brothers as a setup man with an eye towards slowly easing him towards the closer's job (according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post). Since Hawkins is a righty and Brothers is a lefty, it's possible manager Walt Weiss could platoon his two closing options depending on the situation.
This is the well-traveled Hawkins' second stint in Colorado, as the veteran righty threw 55 1/3 relief innings for the Rockies' pennant-winning team in 2007. Hawkins turns 41 in December but is coming off one of his stronger seasons — he posted a 2.93 ERA, 5.50 K/BB and 7.0 K/9 in 70 2/3 IP with the Mets in 2013. Hawkins has done a good job of keeping the ball on the ground over his career, with a 47.8% grounder rate and an 8.6% HR/FB rate over his 19 Major League seasons, so he projects well at Coors Field.
There was solid demand for Hawkins, as Nightengale reports that the Mets, Braves and Indians were all interested in his services and 1500 ESPN's Darren Wolfson notes that the Twins "had [a] brief talk" of signing the veteran as well.
NL West Notes: Lopez, Kemp, Rockies, Padres
The Giants and Javier Lopez have finalized a three-year, $13MM contract, pending a physical, and Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the exam may not take place until next week. Here's more out of the NL West…
- Matt Kemp doesn't want to be traded, but he's accepted the fact that it's a possibility and rumors of potential deals aren't going away, agent Dave Stewart tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Mariners have been linked to Kemp, and Rosenthal adds that the Rangers spoke with the Dodgers at the GM Meetings as well, though they consider Kemp's contract too prohibitive. Kemp's preference, should he be traded, is too end up with a winning team, but Stewart made it clear that Kemp's desire is to spend his career in Dodger blue.
- Even though they have a deal in place for veteran right-hander LaTroy Hawkins to be their closer, the Rockies say the job of rebuilding their bullpen is not complete, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. "We don't look at it like our bullpen is closed," assistant GM Bill Geivett said. "It's only Nov. 19, and we've just made one move, so we are still looking for ways to improve our club." Joe Smith and Edward Mujica are among the options available, but they'll likely be seeking three-year comittments.
- A left-handed hitter remains the Padres' priority, tweets Corey Brock of MLB.com. A starting pitching upgrade wasn't at the top of the Pads' list this offseason, but Josh Johnson was a clear upgrade at the top of the rotation.
Steve Adams contributed to this post.
Players Added To The 40-Man Roster
Midnight tonight is the deadline for teams to add players to their 40-man roster in order to protect them from being selected in next month's Rule 5 Draft. There should be no shortage of players being added, and we'll run them down here in this post…
- The Brewers announced that they've added first baseman Hunter Morris, first baseman/outfielder Jason Rogers and right-handers Brooks Hall and Kevin Shackelford to their 40-man roster.
- The Braves announced that they've added left-hander Carlos Perez, right-hander Luis Vasquez and infielder Elmer Reyes to their 40-man roster. MLB.com's Mark Bowman tweets that the Braves had only recently signed Vasquez, 27, to a minor league deal. His entire career to this point has come in the Dodgers' minor league system.
- The Reds have added catcher Tucker Barnhart, right-hander Chad Rogers and outfielders Juan Duran and Ryan LaMarre to their 40-man roster, tweets John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
- In addition to McGuire, the Blue Jays announced that outfielder Kenny Wilson has been added to the 40-man roster as well (Twitter link).
- Catcher Tommy Joseph, left-hander Rob Rasmussen and outfielders Aaron Altherr and Kelly Dugan have been added to the Phillies' 40-man roster, the team announced.
- Right-hander Kirby Yates and southpaw C.J. Riefenhauser have been added to the Rays' 40-man roster, according to their agency, the Beverly Hills Sports Council (Twitter link). The Tampa Tribune's Roger Mooney reports that infielder Vince Belnome and righty Jesse Hahn have been added as well (also on Twitter).
Red Sox, Rays, Rockies, Others Interested In Corey Hart
Corey Hart told Jim Bowden of SiriusXM (Twitter link) that his agent has talked with the Brewers, Red Sox, Rays, and Rockies amongst other interested teams. Hart added that he won't officially get 100% medical clearance until December 3rd when he visits his doctor in Los Angeles, but he's fully healthy (link).
The CAA Sports client doesn't consider himself to be an injury prone player but admits that he's in a holding pattern until he's cleared physically, tweets Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter links). Hart says that he's dropped 20 pounds and that he should be able to run around better than he had the past few years, so he'll be open to playing in the outfield (link).
Also from Rosiak, Hart says that a winning team would be nice, but he's a family man first and will do what he feels is best for them. As MLB.com's Adam McCalvy points out in his transcript of Hart's interview, Harts and his family live in Arizona, which could factor into his decision. McCalvy notes that of the four teams mentioned by Hart, the Rockies and Brewers both have Spring Training facilities in the Phoenix area. The Spring Training facilities for Tampa Bay and Boston are each in Florida.
Hart last played in 2012, batting .270/.334/.507 with 30 homers, 35 doubles and four triples, illustrating why he can still be considered one of the most promising power bats on this year's free agent market even after missing the 2013 season.
Steve Adams contributed to this post.
NL West Links: Johnson, Hawkins, Rockies, Dodgers
Josh Johnson reached out to the Giants and Padres to let them know they were his first choices for a new team, Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (all Twitter links). Both teams play close to Johnson's home in Las Vegas and also have pitcher-friendly ballparks that are ideal for a hurler looking to rebuild his value on a one-year contract. Schulman isn't sure if the Giants made Johnson an offer, though Johnson's chances of joining the club have likely dimmed now that San Francisco has signed Tim Hudson. Starting pitching isn't an offseason priority for the Padres, though a healthy and in-form Johnson projects as the ace of San Diego's rotation.
Here are some more items from around the NL West…
- The Rockies' one-year, $2.5MM agreement with LaTroy Hawkins "blew away" the Mets' offer to the veteran reliever, a source tells Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News. Colorado also outbid the Braves, who didn't need Hawkins in either a closing or setup role, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link).
- Now that the Rockies have signed Hawkins, Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Sulia link) opines that the club needs to pursue the likes of Edward Mujica, Joe Smith or Jose Veras to further upgrade their shaky bullpen. Renck also looks at how the Hawkins signing impacts Rex Brothers' role as Colorado's "closer of the future."
- Also from Renck (Sulia link), the Rockies and left-hander Jorge De La Rosa haven't begun talks on a contract extension. De La Rosa's current deal is up after the 2014 season and Renck reported last month that both sides have interest in continuing their relationship. The southpaw also tells Renck that he is recovered from the thumb injury that bothered him down the stretch last season.
- The Dodgers have received "moderate to moderate-plus" trade interest in Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier, an official tells Yahoo Sports' Tim Brown. We heard last week that the Dodgers were open to offers for Kemp, Ethier or Carl Crawford in order to free up payroll space and a spot in the outfield. Brown's piece outlines the Dodgers' offseason priorities, beginning with Yasiel Puig and Clayton Kershaw.
- Juan Uribe is looking for a three-year contract, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link). The Dodgers are interested in bringing Uribe back but not at that length, which Heyman admits is "probably a stretch." Indeed, Tim Dierkes said that Uribe would be weighing one- or two-year offers in MLBTR's free agent profile of the third baseman.
- The Dodgers would be better off trading to upgrade their rotation than signing a free agent hurler, ESPN Los Angeles' Mark Saxon opines. "With the exception of [Masahiro] Tanaka, it’s an exceptionally flawed market for free agent starting pitchers and it seems like the Dodgers are more than aware of that. Much as they’d like to improve their rotation, they might be better served to sit this one out," Saxon writes.
- In other NL West news from earlier today, we collected some more Giants news items and MLBTR's Tim Dierkes reported that the Dodgers signed Brendan Harris to a minor league deal.
Reactions To The Carlos Ruiz Signing
Earlier today it was reported that the Phillies have re-signed Carlos Ruiz to a three-year, $26MM contract. The deal is significantly costlier than many pundits predicted, so let's check in with some reactions and related news…
- ESPN's Jayson Stark reports that the Red Sox were in on Ruiz until the very end, which is what caused Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. to guarantee the third year and give a slight boost in terms of average annual value (Twitter link).
- The Rockies topped out at two years and $15MM plus a club option for the third year, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. (on Twitter). Ruiz's priority was to secure a three year deal. Renck praises agent Marc Kligman for securing a larger guarantee than Russell Martin.
- Chooch's deal sets the bar even higher for free agent backstops, writes Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. BN-S adds that the three-year, $26MM pact makes Martin’s two-year, $17MM contract with the Pirates look even more team-friendly.
- ESPN's Keith Law feels that (Insider subscription required and recommended) "giving a 35-year-old catcher with platoon problems who's coming off a PED suspension a three-year deal is absolute lunacy." The Phillies continue to create a bigger mess for themselves going forward, writes Law.
- Dave Cameron of Fangraphs takes the opposite stance from Law, opining that the deal isn't nearly as bad for the Phillies as most initial reactions make it out to be. Cameron points out that most free agent contracts at this point are intended to deliver value up front before declining at the end, and Ruiz's floor is roughly that of a 2 WAR player in 2014, which is a bargain at $8.5MM.
- ESPN Dallas' Richard Durrett discusses the Ruiz deal with B.B. Abbott, Brian McCann's agent. “There are certainly teams that are probably looking at the deal and think it has to impact what they’re going to do in this market,” Abbott said. “It doesn’t change what we think of him. But it’s significant in that another catcher is off the market. It’s another puzzle piece that isn’t out there.” Abbott also noted that he is willing to be patient to find a good deal for McCann.
- MLBTR's own Tim Dierkes called the contract "a clear win" for Ruiz and Kligman "and an offer they were unlikely to beat if they waited." While Dierkes is surprised at the size of Ruiz's contract, the deal is a reasonable one for the Phillies.
Quick Hits: Marlins, Rockies, Pena
Former Marlins infielder Chris Valaika recently signed with the Cubs, and it's no surprise that he would leave Miami behind, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald writes. In August, the Marlins were about to promote Valaika from Triple-A New Orleans, but Valaika was among the players who had complained about harrassment by former hitting coach Tino Martinez. So Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria refused to allow the team to promote Valaika. Loria also blocked the promotion of second baseman Derek Dietrich. Spencer points to an innocuous-sounding comment from Valaika's agent Joel Wolfe following Valaika's signing with the Cubs (via FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal on Twitter): "Chris is very excited to be with a first-class organization." That seemingly mild statement might be a shot at the Marlins, Spencer suggests. Here are more notes from around the Majors.
- The Rockies have about $9MM to spend this offseason, Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post writes. That's a far cry from previous big-ticket expenditures like Mike Hampton, Renck points out, but their $63MM offer to Jose Dariel Abreu, who ended up signing with the White Sox, was a "bold move" in that direction. In any case, the Rockies could look to add talent at first base (where Justin Morneau, James Loney or Mike Carp might make sense), catcher and the pitching staff. The Rockies are seeking hard-throwing relief help, as well as an innings-eater in the rotation. At catcher, however, they could just decide to go with Wilin Rosario and Jordan Pacheco.
- The Royals have been aware of newly-signed catcher Francisco Pena for many years, and not just because Pena's father Tony used to manage the Royals, MLB.com's Dick Kaegel reports. "We've got a long history with him, from the time he was an amateur and signed with the Mets," says assistant GM J.J. Picollo. The Royals feel Pena's offensive track record, defensive ability and youth are interesting enough to make him worth adding to their roster.