Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Rockies Rumors

Odds & Ends: Stauffer, Twins, Tigers, Desmond

By | at

Links for Sunday….

Offseason In Review: Colorado Rockies

By | at

The Rockies are next in our Offseason In Review series.

Major League Signings

Notable Minor League Signings

Trades and Claims: None

Extensions

  • Huston Street, RP: three years, $22.5MM.  Includes $9MM player option for 2013 with a $500K buyout.
  • Todd Helton, 1B: two years, $9.9MM.  Rockies also saved money via deferrals and new 2011 salary.
  • Chris Iannetta, C: three years, $8.35MM.  Includes $5MM club option for 2013 with a $250K buyout.
  • Ryan Spilborghs, OF: two years, $3.2MM.

Notable Losses

Summary

Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd focused most of his offseason efforts on the bullpen and bench, with the lineup and rotation already in good shape.  He also locked up four of his own players.  Let's take a closer look.

Betancourt was the main offseason splash.  The Rockies acquired him from the Indians in July and enjoyed 25.3 dominant innings.  That was enough to convince O'Dowd to take the plunge with an arbitration offer to the Type A free agent, though he declined Betancourt's $5.4MM club option first.  Betancourt played it safe and accepted the offer, and the Rockies worked out a two-year agreement a couple months later.  Betancourt turns 35 soon and has been dealing with shoulder inflammation, so this was a risky signing.

The risk of the Betancourt signing was balanced out by a slew of minor league deals to once-effective relievers.  It's likely that a few of these work out, and the Rockies end up with a pretty good pen.

Tacking two, possibly three extra years on to Street's deal was unnecessary.  Street dealt with biceps inflammation in September and now faces shoulder issues.  A one-year deal in the $8MM range made more sense.  As dominant as Street was in 2009, closers aren't getting paid like this anymore.

The Rockies want Helton to retire a Rockie, but did they need to commit to 2012 and 2013 now?  A reworking of Helton's previous monstrous contract provides short-term financial relief, a necessity after O'Dowd committed $11MM to Street and Betancourt for 2011.  The Iannetta extension was a clear bargain, though it was surprising to see the Rockies pick up Olivo a few weeks later for a 2010 job-sharing arrangement.

Offensive changes were unnecessary, as the Rockies' offense stacks up with any team in the NL.  They might have the game's best fourth and fifth outfielders in Seth Smith and Spilborghs, and the bench was further solidified with Giambi and Mora.

It will be difficult for Jeff Francis to replicate Marquis' 216 innings of 4.04 ball, though letting the latter go and taking a draft pick was the right move.  Ubaldo Jimenez, Aaron Cook, Jorge de la Rosa, and Jason Hammel form an underrated front four.

Though O'Dowd overindulged on extensions, the 2010 Rockies have few weaknesses and should be in the thick of the playoff hunt once again.

Rockies, Beimel Agree To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Rockies signed lefty reliever Joe Beimel to a minor league deal, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.  Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the deal pays an $850K base salary in the Majors with $300K in incentives.  Beimel believes he can be ready for the season, though he's likely to start the year in the minors.  He was signed to step into the lefty reliever spot left vacant by Franklin Morales, who will fill in for injured closer Huston Street.

Last year Beimel signed on March 18th, so he's comfortable waiting for the right deal.  The southpaw, 33 in April, continued to pitch well against lefties aside from allowing four home runs in 26 innings.  It seems those home runs cost Beimel, as he got a guaranteed $2MM deal coming off an otherwise similar '08 season.  Beimel has seen significant time against righties the last few years, and the results have not been pretty.

Odds & Ends: Helton, Gaudin, Hensley, Papelbon

By | at

Links for Monday…

  • Troy Renck of The Denver Post has the details of Todd Helton's new contract extension. He can void the deal if two of three general partners sell their controlling interest in the team, and it contains $13.1MM in deferred money at three percent interest.
  • The Yankees could look to move Chad Gaudin soon, according to Rosenthal (via Twitter). In another tweet, he mentions that Clay Hensley can opt out of his contract with the Marlins if he's not on the roster by April 1st.
  • Jim Bowden shows off his post-trade fist pump in his latest GM's Corner video for FOX Sports.  Bowden asked a slew of GMs about their processes for making deals; Frank Wren estimated that less than ten percent of discussions lead to trades.
  • In considering Jonathan Papelbon's future, WEEI's Alex Speier demonstrates just how risky large multiyear deals for relievers have been.
  • FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal says the Blue Jays "will not settle for fringe prospects in return" for relievers Scott Downs and Jason Frasor, and they could use them to continue the rebuilding effort.
  • Rosenthal adds that Gary Sheffield is talking to a NL club, though it's not clear which one. 
  • Meanwhile, Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com notes that both Jamey Wright and Austin Kearns have out clauses in their contracts, but a club official said the provisions will not impact the makeup of the team. A source added that there are "no trades on the horizon" for Cleveland.

Astros Not Interested In Beimel

By | at

7:28pm: FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter) passes on this quote from Beimel's agent, Joe Sroba: "Talks with [the] Mets have fallen apart.  Beimel is re-open to consider all clubs and willing to be flexible."

10:31am: Astros GM Ed Wade told MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez that his club is "more than adequately covered" with the relievers they have, so don't expect the Astros to pursue Joe Beimel (Twitter link). New additions Brandon Lyon and Matt Lindstrom lead a bullpen that could include Tim Byrdak, Jeff Fulchino, Chris Sampson and Alberto Arias on Opening Day.

Beimel, 33 next month, has suitors even though the Astros don't need him now. The Mets and Rockies are interested in the lefty, who has yet to hear from the A's. Beimel told Troy Renck of the Denver Post that he is open to signing with the Rockies.

As Tim noted yesterday, Beimel was still effective against lefthanders last year, as his 7.62 K/9 and 1.73 BB/9 against them suggest. He walked more righties than he struck out, however.

Mets, Rockies Interested In Joe Beimel

By | at

5:35pm: Foxsports.com's Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Mets continue to talk with Beimel, while other clubs remain in the mix.

9:25 am: The Rockies expressed interest in free agent lefty Joe Beimel, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.  Southpaw Franklin Morales is slated to close while Huston Street is out with a shoulder injury, creating an opening in left-handed relief.

Beimel, 33 in April, posted a 3.58 ERA, 5.7 K/9, and 3.1 BB/9 in 55.3 innings for the Nationals and Rockies last year.  The excellent FanGraphs splits pages show us that Beimel still handles lefties quite well, but had home run problems against them last year.  He is not to be used against righties.

Today is the one-year anniversary of Beimel's one-year, $2MM deal with Washington, so he's not afraid to wait for the right situation.  At the trade deadline the Nats traded Beimel and cash to Colorado for Robinson Fabian and Ryan Mattheus.  The Rockies chose not to offer arbitration to Beimel on December 1st.  Last we heard Beimel received an offer from the Mets in recent weeks.

Rockies Eyeing Juan Cruz

By | at

The Rockies are showing interest in Royals reliever Juan Cruz, reports Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.  Joe Beimel was named as a Rockies target as well recently, in the wake of Huston Street's shoulder injury.

Last year the Royals signed Cruz on February 28th, as the hard-throwing reliever was hampered by his Type A status.  The Royals ultimately gave up the #60 pick in the draft and inked Cruz to a two-year, $6MM deal with a club option for 2011.  Though he continued to throw 94 mph in his first season with Kansas City, Cruz's strikeout rate disappeared as he dealt with a shoulder strain.

Cruz has $3.75MM remaining on his contract, so the Royals would presumably have to eat salary to make a deal happen.

Odds & Ends: Guzman, Sonnanstine, Jukich

By | at

Links for Wednesday…

Rockies, Todd Helton Sign Extension

By | at

The Rockies and first baseman Todd Helton signed a two-year extension that covers the 2012-13 seasons.  Contract details: it's a two-year, $9.9MM extension paying $4.9MM in '12 and $5MM in '13.  Helton will defer $13.1MM beginning next season.

Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports first reported the extension and its terms and Troy Renck of the Denver Post reported that it had been signed. Renck writes that Helton will work for the Rockies once he's done playing, perhaps as a coach. The club wants to keep him in a Rockies uniform for life.

"We view him in the same way as a Cal Ripken, George Brett and Tony Gwynn. He's a Rockie, and a Hall of Famer we believe," said GM Dan O'Dowd.

As part of his mammoth nine-year, $141.5MM deal, Helton was set to earn $16.6MM this year, $19.1MM in '11, and presumably a $4.6MM buyout after that season.  The Rockies freed up $8.6MM on their 2011 payroll, as Helton will now earn $10.5MM during that season.  The move is reminiscent of the Reds' recent restructuring of Scott Rolen's contract.

Now, instead of concluding his Rockies contract at age 38, Helton will be 40.  Helton is on track to perhaps retire a Rockie once his contract is up.  Despite his back woes, he really only slipped in 2008. 

Trade Interest In Glen Perkins?

By | at

According to La Velle E. Neal III of The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, scouts from a number of clubs (including the Rockies, Pirates and Blue Jays) watched Glen Perkins pitch on Tuesday night.  It should be noted that the scouts could've been there for any number of reasons or to see any number of players, but the presence of the Toronto scouts is notable given the rumors that the Twins are interested in acquiring Jason Frasor to fill the void left by Joe Nathan's injury.  Given the number of left-handed starting options on the Blue Jays roster, however, one wonders why they'd be looking at Perkins.  The Pirates and Rockies also don't have any obvious need for a left-handed starter, but it's possible one of these clubs could be looking at Perkins as a reliever.

Perkins posted a 5.89 ERA in 18 games (17 of them starts) with Minnesota in 2009 before his season was cut short due to a shoulder injury.  After being sent to the minors for injury rehab, Perkins complained that the move cost him major league service time and filed a grievance against the Twins that was settled over the winter.  Neal wrote in December that the Twins were looking to move Perkins in part because of this dispute.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top