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Discussion: Next Young Pitcher To Be Extended

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One of the game's best young pitchers signed a contract extension yesterday that will take him to his 30th birthday, as the Marlins finally locked up Josh Johnson to a four-year deal worth $39MM. The extension mirrors the deal Kansas City gave Zack Greinke before last season, and is just the latest example of a club willing to assume the risk of a breakdown in exchange for cost certainty.

Paul Maholm, Scott Baker, Ubaldo Jimenez, Adam Wainwright, Matt Cain, Jon Lester, and James Shields are other young arms who have sacrificed the superior earning power of the arbitration process for financial security in recent years. Who do the readers of MLBTR think the next young pitcher to agree to an extension could be?

Leaving aside the big names like Tim Lincecum, Justin Verlander, and Felix Hernandez, here's a few pitchers who already have, or will soon enter into their arbitration years…

  • Yovani Gallardo – the Brewers' young ace struck out 204 batters and allowed just 150 hits in 185.2 innings last season, and will be arb eligible following the 2010 season.
  • Matt Garza – one of Tampa's many young power arms, Garza has struck out 7.3 batters per nine innings in his career, and has made 62 starts over the last two years. He's arb eligible as a Super Two this offseason.
  • Jair Jurrjens – perhaps the best pitcher no one talks about, Jurrjens led the NL in starts last year and owns a 3.21 career ERA. He'll be up for arbitration after the 2010 season.
  • Wandy Rodriguez – his breakthrough season last year included a 3.06 K/BB ratio and 193 strikeouts in 205.2 innings. Wandy is arb eligible for the second time this offseason after earning $2.6MM in 2009.

Players To Avoid Arbitration: Friday

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Here's a list of the players who have avoided arbitration so far today, with more names sure to stream in:

Odds & Ends: Giants, Yost, Red Sox, Blue Jays

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Wednesday linkage…

Astros Designate Jason Bourgeois For Assignment

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The Astros designated outfielder Jason Bourgeois for assignment to make room for Brett Myers, tweets MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.  The Astros had claimed the 28-year-old Bourgeois off waivers from the Brewers in October.  In 2009, he hit .316/.354/.401 in Triple A while playing all three outfield positions.  The Astros re-signed Jason Michaels in mid-December, lessening the need for extra outfielders.

Odds & Ends: Valverde, Gardner, Wells

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Rounding up some news from around the majors on this Tuesday night….

  • MLB.com's Jason Beck cites a report from an unnamed radio station which states the Tigers' offer to Jose Valverde is for two years.  In another piece, Beck calls Detroit "the most logical destination" for Valverde.
  • Brett Gardner has two backers (sort of) in Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News and ESPN's Keith Law.  McCarron would like to see the Yankees acquire a "get-the-uniform-dirty type" but thinks Gardner should get "a real chance" to play every day.  Law would let Gardner start the season because he feels that potential signings Reed Johnson or Xavier Nady are "marginal improvements that may not justify the cost."
  • Jordan Bastian of MLB.com says the Blue Jays aren't thinking of moving Vernon Wells to a corner outfield spot in spite of Wells' declining UZR numbers in center.  One factor might be that the Jays don't really have any other solid CF options, especially with Alex Rios no longer on the roster. 
  • C.J. Wilson is not a candidate to be traded despite the Rangers' signing of Darren Oliver, reports Ben Rogers of ESPNDallas.com.
  • MLB.com's Jim Street says Miguel Tejada's asking price is too high for the Mariners to make a play for the free-agent infielder.
  • Brian McTaggart of MLB.com passes along a report from Houston's KRIV-TV that Great Court Capital is the investment company negotiating to buy the Astros from Drayton McLane.
  • Eric Hinske tells David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Atlanta "really seemed like the best situation" out of the clubs who made him offers.
  • Doug Miller of MLB.com provides a quick round-up of some of the remaining free agents on the market.

Astros Sign Brett Myers

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The Astros officially signed Brett Myers to a one-year, $5.1MM deal today.  His contract pays $3.1MM in 2010 and has an $8MM mutual option/$2MM buyout for '11.  ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick first tweeted that the Astros were talking to the right-hander about a starting job and MLB.com's Brian McTaggart followed up with a couple Tweets of his own, first indicating that the Astros had signed Myers, then passing the specifics along.  Alyson Footer tweeted salary details today.

Myers' ERA and hit rates have risen for two consecutive seasons and his strikeout rate dropped for the second straight year in 2009. His average fastball lost velocity and his slider lost effectiveness. To his credit, Myers lowered his walk rate last year and allowed a disproportionately high homer total.  He was sidelined for much of the season due to hip surgery.

The Astros are hoping that Myers can recover his 2005-06 form. The 29-year-old made 30 starts in both seasons, keeping his ERA below 4.00. Myers joins Roy Oswalt and Wandy Rodriguez in a rotation that will likely include two of Brian Moehler, Bud Norris and Felipe Paulino.  The Astros have committed over $28MM this offseason to Myers, Matt Lindstrom, Pedro Feliz, Brandon Lyon, Jason Michaels, Geoff Blum, and others – more than they were thought to have available.

Odds & Ends: Astros, Pirates, Giants

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What's that you say? You want more news? You're just in time:

  • MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports that Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane has entered into negotiations to sell the team. McLane says he's in no hurry to sell the team, but has entered into an exclusive 30-day negiotiating window with an unnamed New York investment banking company.
  • According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, the 2010 Pirates should use this as their motto: "Pirates baseball: Where unwanted relief pitchers seek employment."
  • MLB.com's Chris Haft says that with the signing of Aubrey Huff, the Giants are likely finished making improvements to their roster.
  • MLB.com's Jason Beck addresses the idea of Joel Zumaya as closer. The questions around Zumaya in that role are a big reason why Detroit is linked to free agent Jose Valverde, of course.

Odds & Ends: Royals, Red Sox, Astros

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Here are some Duraflame logs for the Hot Stove…

  • Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reviews the Kansas City offseason, and let's just say he makes "Old Dogs" look like it got raves from the critics by comparison.
  • MLB.com's Ian Browne answers questions about the Red Sox, ranging from where contract talks stand with Josh Beckett (spring training is critical) to whether David Ortiz could be traded (not without his consent).
  • MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports that despite the apparent signing of Brett Myers, the Astros still prefer to develop pitchers themselves.
  • MLB.com's Mark Bowman addresses whether the Braves have improved their offense, or if position player moves are still to come, in his latest Inbox column.

Odds & Ends: Maddux, Valverde, Davis, Felix

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Links for Monday…

  • Press release: Greg Maddux has joined the Cubs as an assistant to GM Jim Hendry.  He'll work with the coaching staffs as well as baseball operations.  Click here for the official story. 
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports says the Diamondbacks' interest in Jose Valverde has cooled.  The Tigers made an offer, the magnitude of which is unknown. 
  • Morosi says the Indians are not engaged in trade talks for Jhonny Peralta.
  • ESPN's Keith Law praises the Reds for adding a pitcher with huge upside in Aroldis Chapman.  He also points out that MLB's current draft setup "screws American-born players."
  • David Coleman of The Crawfish Boxes says the Astros drew a line when they designated Julio Lugo for assignment in '03 following domestic violence charges, making their Brett Myers signing seem hypocritical.
  • Free agent lefty Doug Davis is interested in joining the Nationals, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson, but Davis was told the Nats are more focused on adding a second baseman.  Davis acknowledged, "Things are kind of going slow for me because I'm fifth or sixth down the line [when it comes to] starting pitching."
  • Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times talks about the Mariners' need to sign Felix Hernandez long-term before the season begins.
  • Grant Brisbee of McCovey Chronicles evaluates the Giants' Aubrey Huff signing.
  • MLB.com's Doug Miller discusses new defensive stats with experts and team officials.

Houston’s Compensation For Losing Valverde

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Hundreds of players remain on the open market, but only one of the unsigned Type A free agents received an offer of arbitration. Now that players like Jason Bay and Matt Holliday have signed, just Jose Valverde remains. 

Valverde's Type A status matters to the teams interested in him. After all, they have to give up a top pick to sign him. It also matters to the Astros, who will receive two top picks in next year's draft unless they bring Valverde back (just one of those picks will come from the team that signs him). So if you're an Astros fan, where do you want Valverde to sign? The short answer is Detroit. But here's a detailed breakdown of what picks the Astros stand to gain, depending on their old closer's new address. Thanks to River Ave. Blues for their updated 2010 draft order.
  • 19th – The Tigers would have to give their first rounder up, but they've reportedly made an offer.
  • 23rd – The Marlins consider Valverde too pricey right now. 
  • 49th - The Pirates have some interest, but don't like Valverde's asking price of $8MM per year.
  • 53rd – The D'Backs, who are also interested, have their first round pick protected.
  • 57th – The A's have a protected first rounder, but they may stick with 2009 Rookie of the Year Andrew Bailey.
  • 58th – We haven't heard of definitive interest from the Blue Jays.   
  • The Phillies (27th), Yankees (32nd) and Nats (48th) would all surrender top-50 picks to sign Valverde, though those clubs don't appear to be likely destinations.
  • The Red Sox haven't been connected to him either, and they'd rather avoid the luxury tax, but here's something to consider: they'd only have to give up their 107th overall pick to add the reliever. Valverde's ranked higher than John Lackey and Marco Scutaro, so the Astros get the 29th pick (now held by the Angels) if their former closer signs with the Red Sox. The Blue Jays and Angels are surely hoping to avoid this possibility because it would strengthen their rival's bullpen and diminish the value of their compensation picks.
  • Confused? Check out our free agent compensation primer. 
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