Largest Contracts In Team History
We've already looked at the largest contracts by service time and position, so let's now dig up the largest contracts ever given out by each of the 30 teams. These are in terms of guaranteed money only, but some could end up being even larger because of incentives and option years.
- Angels: Torii Hunter, five years, $90MM
- Astros: Carlos Lee, six years, $100MM
- Athletics: Eric Chavez, six years, $66MM
- Blue Jays: Vernon Wells, seven years, $126MM
- Braves: Chipper Jones, six years, $90MM
- Brewers: Ryan Braun, eight years, $45MM
- Cardinals: Matt Holliday, seven years, $120MM
- Cubs: Alfonso Soriano, eight years, $136MM
- Diamondbacks: Randy Johnson, four years, $53.4MM
- Dodgers: Kevin Brown, seven years, $105MM
- Giants: Barry Zito, seven years, $126MM
- Indians: Travis Hafner, four years, $57MM
- Mariners: Ichiro Suzuki, five years, $90MM
- Marlins: Hanley Ramirez, six years, $70MM
- Mets: Johan Santana, six years, $137.5MM
- Nationals: Ryan Zimmerman, five years, $45MM
- Orioles: Miguel Tejada, six years, $72MM
- Padres: Jake Peavy, three years, $52MM
- Phillies: Chase Utley, seven years, $85MM
- Pirates: Jason Kendall, six years, $60MM
- Rangers: Alex Rodriguez, ten years, $252MM
- Rays: Wilson Alvarez, five years, $35MM
- Reds: Ken Griffey Jr., nine years, $116.5MM
- Red Sox: Manny Ramirez, eight years, $160MM
- Rockies: Todd Helton, nine years, $141.5MM
- Royals: Gil Meche & Mike Sweeney, both five years, $55MM
- Tigers: Miguel Cabrera, eight years, $152.3MM
- Twins: Joe Mauer, eight years, $184MM
- White Sox: Frank Thomas, seven years, $64.4MM
- Yankees: Alex Rodriguez, ten years, $275MM
Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.
Top Trade Chips: AL Central
Let's continue our look at each club's top trade chips today with the AL Central…
- Indians: The Tribe have dealt their Opening Day starter in each of the last two seasons, and there's a good chance they'll do it again with Jake Westbrook in 2010. The 32-year-old righty will earn $11MM this season, the last one on his contract. After dumping Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez in cost-cutting moves last year, expect them to shop Westbrook around for prospects this summer.
- Royals: All four of Kansas City's outfielders come off the books after this season (assuming some options are bought out for six figures), so Rick Ankiel, David DeJesus, Scott Podsednik, and even Jose Guillen could be moved in a deal for a young player. The team would obviously have to eat a lot of money to move Guillen. The contracts of relievers Juan Cruz and Kyle Farnsworth also expire after the season, so there might be some interest in them.
- Tigers: Detroit isn't going to move any of their young power arms, but if they eat a large chunk of salary like they did with Nate Robertson, there might be interest in Jeremy Bonderman and/or Dontrelle Willis. Young backstop Alex Avila could make Gerald Laird expendable as well. The Tigers have four lefty relievers on their 40-man roster (Phil Coke, Fu-Te Ni, Daniel Schlereth, and Brad Thomas), and that demographic is always in demand.
- Twins: Minnesota has one of the best trade chips in the league, blocked catching prospect Wilson Ramos. Lefty Glen Perkins is pitching in Triple-A and seems to have fallen out of favor with the club after filing a grievance, so he could be made available as well. He has four years of team control left.
- White Sox: GM Kenny Williams isn't shy about emptying out the farm system in a trade for an established big leaguer, which has left him with little minor league ammo. Their best young prospects are catcher Tyler Flowers and starter Daniel Hudson, who would seem to have a future with the club, but I'm not going to put anything past Williams. Flowers could make A.J. Pierzynski or Ramon Castro expendable, ditto Hudson and Freddy Garcia. Gordon Beckham should be untouchable, obviously.
Odds & Ends: Strasburg, Guillen, Marlins, Posey
Some links as the first week of baseball comes to a close…
- Stephen Strasburg, who struck out eight over five innings of work in his pro debut today, will be limited to about 100 innings this year, according to MLB.com's Peter Gammons (via Twitter). Gammons says Scott Boras negotiated that condition into the righty's deal with the Nationals last summer. However, Nationals farm director Doug Harris told MASN.com's Ben Goessling that a 100 inning cap for Strasburg "doesn't hold water" (Twitter link). Harris says 150-160 innings would be reasonable for Strasburg (Twitter link).
- MLB.com's Jason Beck explains that Carlos Guillen nearly became an Indian six years ago.
- Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post wonders how long the Marlins will let Cameron Maybin struggle before calling on top prospect Mike Stanton.
- Buster Posey had a huge opening week in Triple A, so Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News wonders (via Twitter) how long the Giants can keep him in the minors. The timing of Posey's call up matters a great deal to the Giants, as I explained here.
Examining The Tigers’ Rotation
When we looked last week at questions facing the AL Central heading into the season, a crucial one for the Tigers involved their starting pitching. With Justin Verlander heading up Detroit's rotation, they can match aces with any club. After Verlander though, there are a few question marks for a team that aims to contend.
Rick Porcello and Max Scherzer have a ton of talent, but had thrown less than 400 major league innings between them coming into 2010. At the back of the rotation, although Dontrelle Willis and Jeremy Bonderman have enjoyed success in the past, both have struggled immensely over the past three years. Last season, Willis posted a 7.49 ERA in seven big league starts, while Bonderman had an 8.71 mark in eight appearances.
There are at least a couple names remaining on the free agent market that could interest the Tigers. Jarrod Washburn may not be one of them — his disastrous eight-game stint in 2009 in Detroit (7.33 ERA) is too fresh, and Scott Boras is still pushing for his client to earn more than clubs are willing to pay. Right-handers like Pedro Martinez and Braden Looper could be fits for the Tigers, however. Pedro has been effective enough in the National League to believe that he could succeed in the AL Central, and Looper has eaten up 190+ IP in each of the last two seasons.
For now, the Tigers appear content to exercise some patience. By trading away Nate Robertson, they exhibited confidence in their current group of arms, and so far they've been proven right. Willis and Bonderman both opened their campaigns with quality starts, and should young guns Porcello and Scherzer falter, it's more likely to happen later in the year, as they rack up a full season of innings. The success of the Tigers' rotation should be an important factor in the AL Central race in 2010. Whether or not they'll need to acquire another starter will be worth keeping an eye on as the year progresses.
Largest Contracts By Service Time
When Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo signed his five year, $30.1MM extension earlier today, it marked the largest contract ever signed by a pitcher with less than three years of service time.
Let's look at the richest contracts by service time, in terms of guaranteed money…
Less Than One Year
Position Player: Ryan Braun. Eight years, $45MM
Pitcher: C.C. Sabathia. Four years, $9.5MM.
One To Two Years
Position Player: Chris Young. Five years, $28MM.
Pitcher: Fausto Carmona. Four years, $15MM.
Two To Three Years
Position Player: Hanley Ramirez. Six years, $70MM.
Pitcher: Yovani Gallardo. Five years, $30.1MM.
Three To Four Years
Position Player: Albert Pujols. Seven years, $100MM.
Pitcher: Scott Kazmir. Three years, $28.5MM.
Four To Five Years
Position Player: Miguel Cabrera. Eight years, $152.3MM.
Pitcher: Justin Verlander. Five years, $80MM.
Five To Six Years
Position Player: Derek Jeter. Ten years, $189MM.
Pitcher: Jake Peavy. Three years, $52MM.
Six-plus Years
Position Player: Alex Rodriguez. Ten years, $275MM.
Pitcher: C.C. Sabathia. Seven years, $171MM.
Some thoughts…
- The most regrettable deals were signed very early in the player's career, Young and Carmona. Might be a lesson in using up those pre-arbitration years before taking the plunge.
- The largest contract signed by a position player with less than one year of service time after Braun's deal is Evan Longoria's, which will pay him just $17.5MM over six years. Is Braun overpaid, or is Longoria underpaid? I think the answer is clear.
- Sabathia's four year, $9.5MM deal nearly tripled Roy Halladay's three year, $3.7MM deal with Toronto, which was the previous record for a pitcher with less an a year of service time.
- One only of the above contracts has expired.
Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.
Odds & Ends: Lerew, Cuba, Coonelly, Hechavarria
Links for Wednesday…
- Anthony Lerew cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A, tweets Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star. The Royals designated Lerew for assignment over the weekend.
- Kat O'Brien of The Cincinnati Enquirer wrote a very interesting piece about what happens in Cuba once their players defect. Said one local cab driver: "[Aroldis] Chapman doesn't exist. He never existed."
- Pirates' team president Frank Coonelly chatted with fans at MLB.com. He fielded a question about what the Pirates would do with the second overall pick in June's draft if for some reason the Nationals pass on Bryce Harper.
- The Tigers released minor leaguer Kory Casto, reports Tom Gage of The Detroit News. Casto had been signed to a minor league deal after a .271/.334/.378 performance for the Nationals' Triple A club. Baseball America ranked him fourth among Nats prospects heading into the '07 season.
- Which of Zach Duke, Paul Maholm, and Ryan Doumit is most likely to be traded this summer? Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tackles the question.
- SI's Jon Heyman speculates that the Phillies would probably have to trade Raul Ibanez to be able to retain Jayson Werth after this season.
- Adeiny Hechavarria's visa has been approved and he's headed to the U.S. to take his physical this week for the Blue Jays, tweets ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan suggests the Rays will have long-term difficulty competing, while Jonah Keri offers a rebuttal.
- Rocco Baldelli still has hopes of playing baseball, according to this FOX Sports Florida article. He's currently rehabbing a shoulder injury and working with Rays minor leaguers.
- ESPN's Adam Rubin says the Mets will not place Canadian third base prospect Shawn Bowman on waivers until they've exhausted trade possibilites.
- In search of an accurate Mariners payroll number, Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times arrives at about $93MM.
- Tracy Ringolsby of Inside The Rockies explains why free agent Braden Looper would be a good fit for Colorado. On a related note, Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post learned that the Rockies are not interested in Jarrod Washburn.
- Elsewhere on the "nothing brewing" front, Jim Bowden of FOX Sports tweets that Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik told him the team has had no discussions regarding Pedro Martinez.
Odds & Ends: Rays, Reds, Pettitte, Robertson
Here are some links for the day…
- Rays GM Andrew Friedman told Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times that he "doesn't expect" to go outside of the organization for bullpen help (Twitter link). The Rays already added Virgil Vasquez today.
- Reds GM Walt Jocketty told MLB.com's Mark Sheldon that the team could make a midseason deal or two.
- Andy Pettitte hinted to the YES Network's Jack Curry that this may be his last season. The lefty says he wants to spend more time with his family.
- Nate Robertson tells Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald that he's glad to be back in Florida, especially since he's surrounded by a number of former Tigers.
- Jayson Werth says he isn't thinking about his upcoming contract year, but Phillies hitting coach Milt Thompson told Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer that it can become a distraction for lots of players.
- Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle says Buster Posey will likely start the year in the minors, partly because the Giants wouldn't mind slowing down the catcher's service time clock.
- Johnny Damon tells the Associated Press that he has been impressed with the Tigers this spring.
- Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts tells Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that the team's front office has been a "pleasant surprise" so far.
Offseason Questions For The AL Central
All the offseason reviews are in the books, and today the AL Central takes the stand.
- Do White Sox acquisitions Juan Pierre and Mark Teahen deserve starting jobs and multiyear commitments? Will the Sox suffer subpar production at traditionally offensive spots in left field, third base, and designated hitter?
- With a respectable offense in place, should the Indians have signed a couple of veteran free agent starters and attempted a run?
- Will the Tigers moving Curtis Granderson hurt the 2010 club? Could the Edwin Jackson–Max Scherzer component have been facilitated without the Yankees being involved? Should the Tigers have added a free agent starter, and did they make the right choice in shipping out Nate Robertson instead of Dontrelle Willis?
- Could the Royals have acquired a similar veteran backstop for significantly less than the $6MM committed to Jason Kendall? Did they screw up in letting pitching prospect Juan Abreu hit the open market and sign with the Braves?
- Can the Twins' bullpen get by without a Joe Nathan replacement? Should they have upgraded at third base? Though he took less money to sign with the Twins, was Joe Mauer's eight-year, $184MM extension too risky?
Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Giants, Lo Duca, Stults
Tuesday night linkage..
- The Dodgers' ownership issue won't be resolved until the end of the season, writes Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. The trial to determine the owner of the club will begin on August 30th.
- Sergio Santos – formerly a shortstop in the Diamondbacks organization – has made it to the major leagues as a pitcher for the White Sox, writes Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.
- Todd Wellemeyer isn't sure that the Giants' rotation is better than the Cardinals starting five that he was a part of, writes Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News. While it has yet to be announced, Wellemeyer will likely be crowned the fifth starter in San Francisco's rotation.
- Rockies catcher Paul Lo Duca will accept his reassignment to the minors, tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post.
- Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times supports the Dodgers' sale of Eric Stults to the Hiroshima Carp. This year marked Stults' ninth with the organization.
- Dontrelle Willis is sad to see Nate Robertson go to Florida, writes Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post. Willis' inclusion in Detroit's rotation was a big reason why the Tigers were able to part with Robertson.
Marlins Acquire Nate Robertson
The Marlins acquired lefty Nate Robertson and cash considerations from the Tigers for minor league reliever Jay Voss, according to a Tigers press release. The Tigers are paying $9.6MM of the $10MM owed to Robertson, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
Robertson originally came up through the Marlins' system, and was traded to the Tigers in the Mark Redman deal in January of '03. The 32-year-old posted a 5.44 ERA, 6.3 K/9, and 5.1 BB/9 in 49.6 innings last year. He started the '09 season in the Tigers' bullpen and hit the DL in May with a back strain. In June, he had surgery to remove four masses in his elbow. He rejoined the rotation in September, but strained his groin shortly thereafter. Robertson had November surgery to repair that tear. With a fresh start in Florida, perhaps Robertson can chew up 175 innings with an ERA around 4.50. The trade opens the Tigers' fifth starter spot for Dontrelle Willis.
Voss, also a southpaw, turns 23 in April. He spent '09 as a reliever, posting a 2.72 ERA, 8.3 K/9, and 3.3 BB/9 at High A and Double A. Baseball America ranked Voss 23rd among Marlins prospects, seemingly projecting a future as a lefty specialist.