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Stark On Yankees, Red Sox, Reds, Garza

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The new collective bargaining agreement has created millions of dollars in incentives for teams to be below the luxury tax when it reaches $189MM in 2014, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark. The upcoming changes have contributed to the relatively restrained spending on the part of the Yankees and Red Sox this offseason, Stark writes. Here are the rest of his rumors…

  • The Yankees won’t be under the luxury tax threshold in 2012 or 2013, but they hope to spend less than $189MM in 2014, Stark writes. However, the CBA isn’t the only reason the Yankees are spending more cautiously. "I think this is what the Yankees were going to do, regardless," one of Stark’s sources said.
  • Hiroki Kuroda is sending signals to the Yankees and Red Sox that he’d like to sign with one of those teams, Stark reports. The Red Sox are “nowhere near close” on Kuroda while the Yankees are mostly “kicking tires,” Stark hears. Stark's colleague Buster Olney reported today that Kuroda's asking price has dropped to the $10-11MM range.
  • Though rival teams were surprised to see the Reds agree to terms with Ryan Madson, the move will help the team stockpile draft picks. They’ll obtain a compensatory pick when Francisco Cordero signs elsewhere and could obtain two more picks if they tender Madson a contract next offseason and he leaves as a free agent.
  • The Reds are going to attempt to turn Aroldis Chapman into a starter this Spring Training, though there’s some skepticism he’ll thrive in the rotation.
  • Chad Qualls’ name is on the Phillies’ shopping list, Stark reports.
  • Rival teams predict the Cubs won’t trade Matt Garza until July, when there are fewer alternatives available in free agency.
  • Stark hears that the Astros would pay half of the $18.5MM remaining on Carlos Lee’s contract and at least $7MM of the $11MM that Brett Myers will earn in 2012. Wandy Rodriguez is also available, though the Astros don’t appear to be nearing a deal involving the left-hander.

Astros Designate Henry Villar For Assignment

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The Astros announced that they designated right-hander Henry Villar for assignment to create 40-man roster space. Houston claimed outfielder Fernando Martinez from the Mets earlier today. 

Villar, 24, did not appear with the Astros in 2011, though he pitched in eight MLB games in 2010. He spent last year with Houston's top two affiliates and posted a 5.45 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 76 total innings. In six minor league seasons with the Astros, Villar has a 3.63 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9.

Astros Claim Fernando Martinez

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1:35pm: The Astros claimed Martinez, tweets ESPNNewYork's Adam Rubin.  They had the first crack at Martinez in the waiver process, with MLB's worst record in 2011.

11:53am: Mets outfielder Fernando Martinez will be claimed shortly by an NL Central team, tweets ESPN's Enrique Rojas.  The team appears to be the Astros, based on this tweet from Rojas.

Baseball America named Martinez one of the top 100 prospects in the game before each of the 2007-10 seasons, and at age 23, he's worth a 40-man roster spot for new Houston GM Jeff Luhnow.  Injuries, selectivity, and plate coverage have limited Martinez thus far, wrote Baseball America a year ago.

Astros Links: Lee, Wandy, Vasquez, Santana, Law

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The Astros inked southpaw Trever Miller on this date in 2006, bringing him back for a second stint with the team. Here's the latest from Houston…

  • The Astros have heard from a few teams with interest in Carlos Lee, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Nothing is close however, and Morosi speculates that the Indians could be a fit.
  • Interest in Wandy Rodriguez "seems almost nonexistent," reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Last month we heard that the Astros seemed willing to absorb some of the $25.5MM left on the left-hander's contract to facilitate a trade.
  • MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports that the Astros have signed 16-year-old right-hander Carlos Vasquez and 17-year-old outfielder Edward Santana. An agreement with 17-year-old righty Tomas Lopez is not yet official. All three players are from the Dominican Republic and will report to the team's academy there.
  • Keith Law announced (on Twitter) that he will remain with ESPN after interviewing for some front office positions with the Astros last month.
  • The Astros have received permission to interview Cardinals regional cross-checker Mike Elias for a special assistant role in scouting, reports Law (on Twitter).

Luhnow On Rebuilding, Free Agents, Payroll, Norris

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Astros GM Jeff Luhnow made an appearance on Astroline Radio yesterday, discussing a variety of topics about the team. You can listen to the interview here, though Astros' senior director of social media Alyson Footer provided a partial transcript. Here are the highlights…

  • "[Our] plan involves us building from within, developing a system that can be productive and allow us to compete year in and year out," said the GM. "How long it takes until we’re competing year in and year out, I don’t know at this point."
  • Luhnow said they will "be a small market team for a few years" as they rebuild, meaning they will avoid big free agent contracts.
  • The Houston market is big enough that the Astros can support a large payroll, but the team has "milestones along the way that [they're] going to need to hit" if they want to approach $100MM.
  • The team plans to emphasize both scouting and statistical analysis to make the best decisions as they move forward.
  • Luhnow does not plan to trade right-hander Bud Norris. "He is a critical part of the plan moving forward," said the GM.

NL Central Notes: Garza, Cubs, Cespedes, Astros

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Today, we learned that even though there's mutual interest between the Cardinals and free agent Roy Oswalt, it seems that the club might be looking at the veteran in a relief role.  The Cards already have five starters in the fold, but it's unknown whether Oswalt would open to pitching out of the bullpen.  Here's more from the NL Central..

  • A contending team can land Cubs right-hander Matt Garza if they're willing to part with three prospects from a team's "A" list, a Major League source tells Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.  The Red Sox, Yankees, and Blue Jays are among the teams known to be interested, but none have upped their offers to this point.
  • The Pirates have been tracking Yoenis Cespedes for a number of years, GM Neal Huntington told Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.  The Bucs are expected to be among the bidders for the outfielder but are not considered to be a frontrunner.
  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow is "open for business" when it comes to trades, but it appears that Wandy Rodriguez, Brett Myers, and Carlos Lee will remain with the club when Spring Training starts, writes MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.
  • The Astros have hired Sig Mejdal as the club’s director of decision sciences, writes Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle.  The addition of Mejdal should help the club to apply statistical analysis to all areas of the organization.  Houston has also brought Stephanie Wilka aboard as the coordinator of amateur scouting.  Wilka previously worked for the Dodgers and Red Sox.

Astros Interview Keith Law

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The Astros kicked off a new era when they hired Jeff Luhnow to be their new GM earlier this month, and now they’re looking to fill out the rest of their front office. Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports report that the Astros have interviewed ESPN’s Keith Law for a number of front office roles, including the position of scouting director. They have not yet made him an offer, however.

The FOX duo report that Law met with Luhnow and club president George Postolos last week. Before joining ESPN in 2006, Law spent four and a half years with the Blue Jays as a special assistant to then-GM J.P. Ricciardi. 

Checking In On Baseball’s Lowest Scoring Offenses

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The Giants won the 2010 World Series with an unspectacular offense and won 86 games in 2011 with one of the lowest scoring offenses in the game, but they're the exception, not the rule. Each of the five highest scoring MLB teams won at least 90 games in 2011, while the Giants were the only one of the five lowest scoring teams to avoid 90 losses.

Here's a look at what baseball's five lowest scoring teams have done to improve their offenses so far this offseason. Team name links go to a summary of the teams' moves on MLBTR's Transaction Tracker and 2011 run totals are in parentheses (for reference, the average MLB team scored 694 runs this past season):

  • Mariners (556) - GM Jack Zduriencik has added a number of former Major Leaguers on minor league deals and traded for John Jaso. The Mariners can expect more offense from Dustin Ackley, Justin Smoak, Franklin Gutierrez and others in 2012 and they may make an addition or two before Spring Training.
  • Giants (570) - The Giants traded for Angel Pagan and Melky Cabrera, who have both been above-average offensive players in the recent past. The Giants could improve considerably with a full season of Buster Posey and possible improvement from Brandon Belt.
  • Padres (593) - The Padres traded for Yonder Alonso and Yasmani Grandal earlier this month. Both could conceivably add to the Padres' offense in 2012, and Alonso could have an impact from day one. GM Josh Byrnes has also added role players John Baker and Jeremy Hermida.
  • Pirates (610) - The Pirates signed shortstop Clint Barmes, catcher Rod Barajas and outfielder Nate McLouth and traded for infielder Casey McGehee. However, none of the four acquisitions posted an OPS+ of 100 or better in 2011, so it would be unreasonable to expect a surge in scoring based on these additions.
  • Astros (615) – Former GM Ed Wade added a handful of players on minor league deals and waiver claims and Jeff Luhnow traded for Jed Lowrie after becoming Houston's new GM.

The Giants are best-positioned to make a significant offensive jump in 2012, in my opinion. Not only do Pagan and Cabrera provide possible upgrades, Posey's return and Belt's upside will likely invigorate the offense that finished last in the National League in scoring in 2011.

Quick Hits: Garza, Mets, Pirates, Red Sox, Astros

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Here's a look at some items out of the AL and NL East..

Quick Hits: Astros, Fielder, Red Sox, Bonser

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The latest links from around MLB on a big day for the Nationals…

  • The Astros may not keep Humberto Quintero and Ivan Rodriguez is a possibility in Houston, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The Astros avoided arbitration with Quintero last week, signing him to a one-year deal worth $1MM.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports suggests agent Scott Boras is “gunning for” an average salary of $25.5MM for Prince Fielder (Twitter link). A contract that generous would surpass Albert Pujols’ average salary of $25.4MM.
  • Alex Speier of WEEI.com takes a detailed look ahead to the candidates to make Boston's 2012 rotation. Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz are the only ones who are guaranteed starting jobs for the Red Sox at this point.
  • The Giants are talking to Boof Bonser about a possible minor league deal, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter). Bonser is recovering from Tommy John surgery.
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