Justin Verlander Wins AL MVP
Justin Verlander won the American League MVP award, according to the Baseball Writers Association of America. Verlander took home the AL's Cy Young award last week. He's the first pitcher to win the MVP since Dennis Eckersley in 1992, and the first starter since Roger Clemens in '86.
Jacoby Ellsbury, Jose Bautista, Curtis Granderson, Miguel Cabrera, Robinson Cano, Adrian Gonzalez, Michael Young, Dustin Pedroia, and Evan Longoria rounded out the top ten. Ian Kinsler, Alex Avila, Paul Konerko, C.C. Sabathia, Adrian Beltre, Ben Zobrist, Victor Martinez, James Shields, Mark Teixeira, Asdrubal Cabrera, Alex Gordon, Josh Hamilton, and David Robertson also received votes.
Added To 40-Man Roster: Giants, Dodgers, Pirates
Today is the deadline for teams to add players to the 40-man roster to protect them from next month's Rule 5 draft. Here's more on which players need to be protected and here are the details on which players have had their contracts selected to the 40-man roster:
- The Giants added Hector Correa, Charlie Culberson, Tyler Graham, Roger Kieschnick, Dan Otero and Angel Villalona to their 40-man roster, reports Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News (Twitter links). Baggarly suspects Villalona's inclusion may be a "procedural move," since Villalona still needs a new visa to play in the United States.
- The Dodgers have added Michael Antonini, Alex Castellanos, Stephen Fife, Josh Wall and Chris Withrow to their 40-man roster, according to Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times (Twitter link).
- The Pirates have announced the additions of Matt Hague, Starling Marte, Jordy Mercer, Rudy Owens, Duke Welker and Justin Wilson to their 40-man roster. Pittsburgh's 40-man roster is now full.
- The Mariners added Chih-Hsien Chang, Francisco Martinez and Carlos Triunfel to the 40-man roster, reports Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Radio Seattle (via Twitter).
- The Angels added Johnny Hellweg, Fabio Martinez, Ariel Pena and Jean Segura to their 40-man roster, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
- The Red Sox announced that Drake Britton, Che-Hsuan Lin and Will Middlebrooks were added to the club's 40-man roster.
- The Rangers added pitchers Jacob Brigham, Roman Mendez, Justin Miller, Martin Perez, Neil Ramirez and Matt West to their 40-man roster, reports Anthony Andro of FOX Sports Southwest (via Twitter).
- The Indians announced that Scott Barnes, Juan Diaz and Danny Salazar were added to the team's 40-man roster. The Tribe's roster now has a full complement of 40 players.
- The Cubs announced that Jeff Beliveau, Junior Lake, Matt Szczur and Josh Vitters have been added to the club's 40-man roster.
Outrighted To Triple-A: Dodgers, Cubs, Athletics
Teams will be adding minor leaguers to their 40-man rosters today in anticipation of next month's Rule 5 Draft. In order to create roster space, some teams will outright players off of the 40-man. Here are the latest outright assignments from around MLB…
- The Dodgers outrighted John Ely and Carlos Monasterios to Triple-A, reports Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).
- The Cubs announced Esmailin Caridad, Lou Montanez and Kyle Smit have been outrighted off their 40-man roster. The Cubs currently have six open spots remaining on their 40-man roster.
- The A's announced that they outrighted right-hander Evan Scribner and outfielder Cedric Hunter to Triple-A.
- The Rockies outrighted infielder Andrew Brown off of their roster, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter).
- The Twins announced that they outrighted right-hander David Bromberg off the 40-man roster.
- The Pirates announced that they outrighted Matt Pagnozzi to Triple-A.
- The Tigers announced that they outrighted Cale Iorg to Triple-A. The infielder split the 2011 season between Detroit's top two affiliates.
- The Angels outrighted right-handers Francisco Rodriguez and Loek Van Mil to Triple-A yesterday, according to MLB.com's transactions page. Rodriguez, 28, has appeared in 53 games for the Angels since 2010, posting a 4.43 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 in 61 innings. Van Mil, a 7'1" native of the Netherlands, posted a 2.04 ERA with 6.2 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 66 1/3 innings at Double-A in 2011. The Angels acquired him from the Twins for Brian Fuentes in 2010.
Tigers Agree To Sign Gerald Laird
FRIDAY: The Tigers announced the deal. It's a one-year contract for $1MM, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
THURSDAY: The Tigers and Gerald Laird have agreed to a one-year contract, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The deal is still pending a physical.
Laird, 32, spent the 2009-2010 seasons in Detroit after coming over in a trade with the Rangers. He hit just .232/.302/.358 in 108 plate appearances with the World Series Champion Cardinals this past season, throwing out just four of 20 attempted basestealers. The move allows the Tigers to use Victor Martinez as a full-time DH.
Tigers Nearing Deal For Gerald Laird
10:34am: The Tigers are on the verge of signing Gerald Laird, according to Morosi and Rosenthal on Twitter.
10:23am: The Tigers aren't close to a deal with Shoppach, according to MLB.com's Jason Beck (on Twitter).
10:04am: The Tigers are close to signing a catcher, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Free agent Kelly Shoppach is one of the team's targets and Morosi reported earlier in the week that the Tigers are considering Jose Molina, Matt Treanor, Ramon Castro and former Tiger Gerald Laird as possible backups.
Alex Avila will start for the Tigers, who want Victor Martinez's bat in the lineup every day. GM Dave Dombrowski has said the Tigers view Martinez as the team's regular DH and third catcher, which means the team is on the hunt for someone who can spell Avila regularly.
Jose Reyes Rumors: Tuesday
While many are wondering if Yu Darvish's stock could be affected by Japanese imports' past success, or lack thereof, Dave Cameron of Fangraphs wonders if Carl Crawford's poor 2011 could affect Jose Reyes' next contract. As Cameron writes, the two players are similar in many ways, and teams may have second thoughts about committing so many years and dollars to a player in Crawford's mold. Still, in this morning's poll, approximately 63% of MLBTR readers predicted Reyes would sign for $100MM or more. Let's check out today's Reyes-related rumors, with the latest additions on top….
- Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio (Twitter link) hears that Reyes only has two legit offers so far, but cautions that it's still early. Bowden guesses the offers are from the Marlins and Mets, but Adam Rubin of ESPN New York (Twitter link) spoke to a Mets person who suggests no offer has been extended to Reyes.
- Andy Martino of the New York Daily News talked to Mets people who continue to find it unlikely that the club would go as high as six years for Reyes. SI.com's Jon Heyman (on Twitter) says the reported six-year, $90MM offer for Reyes could be in the Mets' ballpark, but no one expects that to ultimately be the best offer.
- Tigers manager Jim Leyland told Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio (Twitter link) that, while he loves Reyes, "I don't think we're going to shop at that store."
- GM Doug Melvin told Tom Haudicourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he thinks the Brewers' interest in Reyes has "probably" been overstated (Twitter link).
Dombrowski On Verlander, Raburn, Worth, Betemit
Justin Verlander won the the 2011 American League Cy Young Award unanimously and he gets an extra — though unofficial — vote from Tigers president and general manager Dave Dombrowski.
"He's a real special player who means a lot to our community," Dombrowski explained at the MLB General Manager Meetings in Milwaukee. "He's been a Tiger since the day he was drafted and he'll be with us for a long time."
Verlander would have been a free agent this offseason had he not signed his current five-year, $80MM contract before the 2010 season. There's no telling what Verlander would have been worth coming off a season like this, so it's no surprise Dombrowski's glad to have locked the right-hander up for three of his free agent seasons.
Looking ahead to 2012, the Tigers want to get Ryan Raburn's bat in the lineup and may play him at second base at times next year. Danny Worth is another second base candidate for the Tigers, who are also weighing external options.
Wilson Betemit met Dombrowski's expectations after joining the Tigers in a midseason trade, but the GM anticipates adding an extra catcher this offseason, which will limit the Tigers' roster flexibility in 2012. The Tigers haven't pursued Betemit aggressively to this point and Dombrowski didn't suggest that will change. The Tigers want to keep Victor Martinez in the everyday lineup, so adding a backup for Alex Avila is on the agenda this winter.
Central Notes: Neil Walker, Royals, Oswalt
The latest on several Central division clubs…
- The Pirates are not currently engaged in contract extension discussions for Neil Walker, reports Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The second baseman is under team control through 2016, and will be eligible for arbitration after the 2012 season if he qualifies as a Super Two player.
- Roy Oswalt's agent Bob Garber is expected to meet with the Royals today or tomorrow in Milwaukee, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Garber's agency also represents C.J. Wilson. Kansas City's interest in Oswalt is minimal, however, cautions a Royals source (Twitter link).
- SI's Jon Heyman hears scuttlebutt that if Jim Crane is approved as Astros owner this week, he may spend on a free agent or two. Click here to read my offseason outlook for the team.
- The Tigers have scouted Cuban center fielder Yoenis Cespedes several times, assistant GM Al Avila told John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press.
- The Cubs and White Sox could lose possible supplemental draft picks if Type B compensation is eliminated this winter, explains Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune. Of course, under the current system the player has to receive and turn down an arbitration offer for compensation to be possible. For a look at all the Type B free agents, click here.
Justin Verlander Wins AL Cy Young
Tigers righty Justin Verlander unanimously won the American League Cy Young award, announced the Baseball Writers Association of America. Verlander posted a 2.40 ERA with 250 strikeouts and 24 wins in 251 regular season innings this year, leading the league in all four categories. The Tigers have him under contract through 2014.
Also receiving votes: Jered Weaver, James Shields, C.C. Sabathia, Jose Valverde, C.J. Wilson, Dan Haren, Mariano Rivera, Josh Beckett, Ricky Romero, and David Robertson. Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News provided the lone vote for Robertson, rating him the league's best reliever.
Shields gets a $500K increase in his 2012 salary with the top five finish, tweets Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
Tigers Interested In Martin Prado
TUESDAY, 10:55am: "There is a trade brewing between the Braves and Tigers centering around Prado for Young," reports ESPN's Jim Bowden. However, MLB.com's Mark Bowman says there won't be a Young-Prado deal, as the majority of the Braves' front office isn't interested in Young (Twitter link).
MONDAY, 2:37pm: The Tigers are interested in Braves infielder/left fielder Martin Prado, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The free agent market for potential second basemen has moved quickly, with Aaron Hill and Jamey Carroll off the board and Mark Ellis close to a deal with the Dodgers. Morosi adds that the Tigers are willing to trade left fielder Delmon Young for the right second baseman, but it's not known whether the Braves are interested.
Prado has also drawn interest from the Rockies and other teams. The 28-year-old had a disappointing offensive year in 2011, spending most of his time in left field for the Braves after they acquired second baseman Dan Uggla. MLBTR projects Prado to earn about $4.4MM in arbitration in 2012, and freeing up that salary would add to the Braves' flexibility. Prado will continue to be under team control for the 2013 season.
Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski said Friday on MLB Network Radio to host Jim Bowden, "We're not going to non-tender Delmon Young. I mean, that's just not going to happen." Young, 26, hit .274/.298/.458 in 178 plate appearances for the Tigers after coming over in an August trade, adding five postseason home runs. With a projected $6.3MM salary, Young was thought to be a non-tender candidate for the Twins but is currently penciled in as the Tigers' left fielder for 2012. I think Prado would be generally regarded as more valuable than Young.