Players To Avoid Arbitration: Tuesday
Today is the deadline for players and teams to submit arbitration figures. The sides will then settle on a salary between the team's proposed number and the player's proposed number or go to an arbitration hearing. Arbitration eligible players are under team control, so the clubs don't risk losing them – it's a question of how much the players will earn.
Yesterday, 11 players avoided arbitration. We could see just as many agreements trickle in today and we'll keep you posted on them right here and with our Arb Tracker. The latest updates will be at the top of the post:
- The Angels have agreed to terms with Reggie Willits and Howie Kendrick, tweets Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times. Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register tweets that Kendrick will earn $3.3MM, Willits $775K (on Twitter).
- The Giants agreed to terms with Santiago Casilla on a one-year deal worth $1.3MM with incentives, according to ESPN Deportes' Enrique Rojas (on Twitter). The team also announced that they avoided arb with Jonathan Sanchez and Ramon Ramirez (on Twitter). Sanchez will earn $4.8MM with incentives tweets Hank Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle while Ramirez will earn $1.65MM according to Janie McCauley of The Canadian Press.
- The Braves agreed to terms with Peter Moylan and Eric O'Flaherty, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman (on Twitter). Moylan gets $2MM, O'Flaherty gets $895K according to Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter).
- The Mariners agreed to terms with Brandon League, David Aardsma and Jason Vargas, the team announced. Aardsma will earn $4.5MM with plenty of incentives, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times (plus Twitter link).
- The Rangers agreed to terms with C.J. Wilson and Nelson Cruz, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan (Twitter links). Cruz gets $3.65MM, and Wilson gets $7.05MM with a chance to earn another $100K according to his agent Bob Garber, via email.
Players To Avoid Arbitration: Monday
Teams and players exchange arbitration figures tomorrow if they haven't already come to terms for 2011. That means plenty of players will likely avoid arbitration today. We'll keep track of them all right here and with our Arbitration Tracker; the latest updates are at the top of this post:
- The Blue Jays avoided arbitration with Shawn Camp, agreeing to a one-year, $2.25MM deal, according to MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm (on Twitter).
- The Tigers avoided arbitration with Armando Galarraga by agreeing to a one-year, $2.3MM deal, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.
- The Orioles and Jim Johnson have agreed to a one-year, $975K deal, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun.
- The Blue Jays have reached agreement on a one-year, $830K deal with Jesse Litsch, according to Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star (Twitter links).
- The Indians have avoided arbitration with Asdrubal Cabrera, agreeing to a one-year deal, according to the team's Twitter feed. The deal is worth $2.025MM, according to the Associated Press.
- The Marlins have agreed to terms one-year deals with Leo Nunez and Edward Mujica, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post (via Twitter). Nunez will earn $3.65MM, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com tweets. Meanwhile, Mujica will make $800K according to Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel (via Twitter).
- The Blue Jays and Casey Janssen have agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.095MM, according to the Associated Press.
- The Rays and B.J. Upton avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one-year deal worth $4.825MM, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (Twitter links).
- The Nationals avoided arbitration with John Lannan, agreeing to a one-year, $2.75MM deal, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
- The Rockies and Matt Lindstrom agreed to a two-year deal.
- The Royals avoided arbitration with Robinson Tejeda, agreeing to a one-year contract, the team announced. It's worth $1.55MM, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star (on Twitter). The deal leaves Billy Butler and Kyle Davies as Kansas City's remaining unsigned arbitration eligible players.
Rockies, Lindstrom Agree To Two-Year Deal
The Rockies agreed to a two-year deal with Matt Lindstrom, avoiding arbitration, according to the team (on Twitter). The $6.6MM deal includes a club option for a third year, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter links). Lindstrom will earn $2.8MM in 2011 and $3.6MM in 2012 with a club option for $4MM in 2013, according to Renck.
Lindstrom was arbitration eligible for the second time after earning $1.63MM in 2010. This extension covers his two remaining seasons as an arbitraiton eligible player and the option covers his first season of free agency.
The Rockies acquired the right-hander from the Astros this winter after he posted a 4.39 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 53 1/3 innings. Along with Lindstrom, Matt Belisle (who also avoided arbitration with the Rockies), Huston Street and Rafael Betancourt provide manager Jim Tracy with a number of proven late-inning options.
Ian Stewart, Felipe Paulino and Jason Hammel are the team's remaining unsigned arbitration eligible players, as MLBTR's Arb Tracker shows.
Rockies To Re-Sign Jason Giambi
The Rockies announced that they have agreed to a minor league deal with Jason Giambi (Twitter link). The agreement, which is pending a physical, includes an invitation to big league camp for the WMG client. Giambi will earn $1MM in 2011 if he makes the team, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link).
Giambi hit .244/.378/.398 with six homers and 35 walks in 222 plate appearances for the Rockies last year. The 40-year-old left-handed batter isn't a natural complement to first baseman Todd Helton, or a viable defender at this point in his career. The Rockies have already added infielders Jose Lopez and Ty Wigginton this offseason, but Giambi will provide the team with depth.
Rockies Sign Two To Minor League Contracts
The Rockies have signed right-hander Jim Miller and left-hander Josh Muecke to minor league contracts, reports Jack Etkin of Inside The Rockies. It is unclear if either will receive an invite to Spring Training.
Miller, 28, was Colorado's eighth round pick in 2004, though the Rockies traded him to the Orioles for Rodrigo Lopez before the 2007 season. He made his big league debut with the O's in 2008, allowing just one earned run in 7 2/3 innings. Miller has yet to return to the show and posted a 4.84 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 57 2/3 relief innings for Baltimore's Triple-A affiliate this past season.
Muecke, 29, spent the 2010 season with the Rockies' Triple-A affiliate. He posted a 5.94 ERA in 119 2/3 innings (22 starts, three relief appearances), striking out 6.1 and walking 3.2 batters per nine innings, respectively. He was Houston's fifth round pick way back in 2003.
Francis Chooses Royals Over Other Suitors
Jeff Francis says he drew interest from "a bunch" of teams this offseason before agreeing to sign in Kansas City. His suitors reportedly included the Yankees and Rockies, but Francis chose the Royals instead of a team with a legitimate chance to contend in 2011.
As he explained on a conference call with reporters this afternoon, the left-hander chose the Royals because they offered him the opportunity to start and boast the game's most impressive collection of minor league prospects.
"From everything I've been able to learn, they certainly have the talent available," Francis said, comparing the current group of Royals prospects to the young Rockies players who made it to the 2007 World Series. "I've seen [a quick turnaround] happen before and I know it can be done."
Francis turned 30 over the weekend, but it wasn't long ago that he was a top prospect like current Royals lefties Mike Montgomery, John Lamb, Danny Duffy and Chris Dwyer. Though he doesn't consider himself much of a mentor yet, Francis knows what it's like to be a top prospect. As the 9th overall pick of the 2002 draft, Francis arrived in Colorado with lots of fanfare.
He leaves the Rockies – the only franchise he has ever known – for the American League. Francis says there could be an adjustment period and that he expects to succeed as long as he throws strikes, keeps hitters off-balance and stays healthy.
Injuries have been a problem throughout Francis' six-year big league career, but he says his left shoulder has been "feeling really good" and that he expects to be ready for Spring Training next month. The left-hander spent the entire 2009 season recovering from shoulder surgery and says he experienced some soreness again at the end of the 2010 campaign.
Boras Talks Damon, Andruw, Manny
Scott Boras told ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick that Johnny Damon, Andruw Jones and Manny Ramirez can boost fan interest, TV ratings and revenue for MLB teams. Not only that, the agent insists his clients can be key players on winning clubs.
"These guys are star players," Boras said. "They're championship-caliber players. Owners and general managers know they have extraordinary abilities, and they can be a force in the locker room and around young players."
Crasnick surveyed MLB executives and scouts about the three stars and heard the Angels and Rays mentioned as possibilities for Damon. The Dodgers, who have also been linked to the 37-year-old, are “unlikely” to sign him, according to a source familiar with the team’s thinking. The Yankees haven’t ruled out a reunion with Damon, but they’re only interested in him as a fourth outfielder, according to Crasnick.
Jones, another Yankees target, “still has value as an extra outfielder who can fill in at all three spots and mash left-handed pitching," an AL assistant GM said. The Braves briefly discussed a reunion with Jones and the Rockies are another possible fit.
Despite speculation that Ramirez could be a fit in Toronto, where former Red Sox coach John Farrell will take over as manager, it isn’t a likely match. In fact, Crasnick suggests Farrell’s familiarity with the slugger could make the Jays less likely to sign Manny. Tampa Bay could be a fit for Ramirez, who definitely wants to play in 2011, according to Boras.
NL West Notes: Padres, Belt, Sandoval, Rockies
Some news about the defending World Series champs and their division rivals…
- The Padres "remain open" to the idea of signing another Major League starter, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com. This is just pure speculation, but of the five hurlers on Luke Adams' list of pitchers that could benefit from the NL, three (Jeremy Bonderman, Bruce Chen and Kevin Millwood) are still available and would likely be open to the idea of pitcher-friendly Petco Park.
- Brandon Belt "has a legitimate chance" to win an everyday job playing first base or left field in San Francisco, writes MLB.com's Chris Haft. Belt, who turns 23 in April, has just one minor league season to his name, but he hit .352/.455/.620 in 595 plate appearances for the Giants' Class A, Double-A and Triple-A affiliates.
- Pablo Sandoval has lost 17 pounds training with former Olympic decathlete Dan O'Brien and plans to lose more weight before the start of Spring Training, Rich Aurilia tells Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Sandoval was threatened with a demotion to the minors by GM Brian Sabean unless the "Kung Fu Panda" improved his conditioning this offseason.
- The Rockies' big extensions with Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki put more pressure on the team's minor league system to produce low-cost, quality players, writes Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post.
Rockies Avoid Arbitration With Matt Belisle
The Rockies have agreed to a one-year, $2.35MM contract with Matt Belisle, reports Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link). Colorado avoids salary arbitration with Belisle, who was in his third and final arb-eligible season.
Belisle and the Rockies agreed to an $0.85MM contract for 2010, and the right-hander responded with the finest season of his seven-year Major League career. Belisle posted a 2.93 ERA, and 8.9 K/9 rate and a very impressive 5.69 K/BB ratio in 76 games for Colorado, all of which were career bests.
Belisle, 30, is the first of six arb-eligible Rockies to settle a contract with the club. These cases and every other arbitration-eligible player in baseball can be followed on the MLBTR Arb Tracker.
Six Clubs Offer Jose Veras Minor League Deals
The Giants, Rockies, Twins, Marlins, Rays and Pirates have all offered Jose Veras minor league deals and invited him to Spring Training, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes (on Twitter). The 30-year-old right-hander will likely decide on a team soon.
Veras posted a 3.85 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 5.4 BB/9 in 48 innings for the Marlins last year, before they non-tendered him. Veras has been tough to hit throughout his five-year MLB career, but he has always allowed plenty of walks (5.0 BB/9 in his career). His mid-90s fastball (94.4 mph last year) has helped him strike out 8.7 batters per nine in his career.