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Quick Hits: Agents, Trout, Kipnis

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Spring training is time for players to get ready for the season, but it's also a busy time for agents, as agent Joshua Kusnick chronicles in a piece for Baseball Prospectus (subscription-only). This spring, Kusnick saw a number of significant career milestones or disappointments for lesser-known clients — Rule 5 pick Adrian Nieto stuck with the White Sox and fellow catcher Steve Clevenger made the Orioles out of camp, while pitcher Bobby Cassevah got released by the Rockies. Meanwhile, other clients headed to the independent Atlantic League. Kusnick's piece is a good remidner that the fortunes of players on the fringes of the big leagues can be fickle, especially in the spring. Kusnick also reveals that Manny Ramirez and Miguel Tejada both recently asked him about the possibility of representing them. Here are more notes from around the big leagues.

  • Mike Trout's extension with the Angels angered some players throughout baseball, Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post writes. The idea is that Trout, by potentially leaving money on the table, violated a "code" throughout baseball that you don't take an under-market deal, for fear that it will negatively affect other players. Svrluga notes that, for example, Trout's deal could affect potential extensions for Ian Desmond and Bryce Harper of the Nationals.
  • Jason Kipnis was smart to sign a long-term contract with the Indians, Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer writes. Kipnis recently turned 27, which means that he's already in his prime. His new contract takes him through age 33, and he previously would have been eligible for free agency heading into 2018, his age-31 season. Pluto suggests, then, that Kipnis was smart to take $52.5MM in guaranteed money now.

AL Notes: Teixeira, Lester, Kipnis

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Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira has been placed on the 15-day DL with a hamstring injury, the club announced today. Needless to say, that is not the start to the year that he or the team had hoped for as the 33-year-old works back from wrist surgery. The injury has revealed some roster issues in New York, which will move Kelly Johnson from third to first for the time being and call up catcher Austin Romine to take the open active roster spot. While the team was surely uninterested in carrying three backstops, the move was dictated by 40-man constraints. As Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News notes on Twitter, the Yankees have no infielders among the portion of the MLB roster that is not already active, meaning that the team would have had to remove another player to make room for Russ Canzler or another minor league call-up option. Here's more from the American League:

  • Though Jon Lester and the Red Sox have tabled extension talks for the time being, owner John Henry says he remains hopeful that a deal will be struck, WEEI.com's Meredith Perri reports. "It won't be easy to come to a deal," said Henry, "but we're going to work very creatively, both sides, and hopefully there will be a deal." But Henry cautioned that the team would not spend at all costs to keep the 30-year-old lefty. "It's not surprising that given where the market is right now, it's just something we haven't been chasing the market this way," said Henry. "Some teams have. Jon wants to come back. … We're going to do as we did with [Dustin Pedroia] last year — everything we can to bring him back. He's an important part of this club, but we're not going to do what some clubs might do."
  • The recent extension of Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis is another move towards stability in the team's core, writes MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince. Having already locked up Michael Brantley and Yan Gomes, but not starter Justin Masterson, Cleveland now has added price certainty and control over that group and maintains control over 16 players on its current 25-man roster through at lest 2016.
  • Speaking of Kipnis, I asked MLBTR readers last night how his new deal stacks up to the similar extensions just reached by the Braves with Andrelton Simmons and the Cardinals with Matt Carpenter. As of this moment, Simmons is leading the way with just under 40% of the vote, with Kipnis (32.25%) and Carpenter (28.06%) also getting significant support.

Quick Hits: Indians, Beato, Villalona

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The Indians have been busy recently, with the recent signings of Jason Kipnis, Yan Gomes and Michael Brantley to long-term deals. They still haven't signed Justin Masterson, but if they don't sign Masterson, "it won't be for a lack of effort," GM Chris Antonetti says in a video interview with Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor and Dan Labbe. The Kipnis, Gomes and Brantley deals will have no impact on their ability to sign Masterson, Antonetti says. Antonetti also notes that the Indians' approach this offseason compared to their previous one, in which they grabbed headlines with splashy signings of Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher, was based on need. "We felt we had more answers, internally, this offseason," he says. Here are more notes from around the big leagues.

  • Pedro Beato's health and experience in the big leagues were the keys to the Braves claiming him off waivers, and the decision was not much more complicated than that, David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. "In talking to (general manager) Frank (Wren) and talking to (assistant GM) Bruce (Manno), I think anytime a pitcher becomes available through a waiver or options — I’m sure 29 teams are doing the same thing — if you get a chance to get them, get them," manager Fredi Gonzalez says.
  • The Giants recently lost outfielder Roger Kieschnick off waivers to the Diamondbacks, and Alex Pavlovic of the San Jose Mercury News notes that losses like these usually lead to questions about why Angel Villalona is still on the Giants' 40-man roster. Villalona hit sparingly at Double-A Richmond last year. The issue, though, is that he still has options remaining and is perceived as having upside, so if the Giants were to expose him to waivers, a team could claim him and stash him in the minors.

Central Notes: Braun, Cubs, Masterson, Kipnis, Gomes

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Brewers right fielder Ryan Braun is again dealing with a thumb injury that hampered his swing in 2013, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Braun and the team's doctors thought the extended rest between his suspension and the offseason would heal his thumb. That was the case early in Spring Training, as he was pain-free, but as spring wore on, Braun began to again experience numbness in his right thumb. Because he cannot feel the thumb, he's unable to tell how tightly he is gripping the ball when throwing, leading to bruising and blisters on the digit. The root of the problem appears to be a damaged nerve, which can be corrected via surgery, but Braun says he doesn't want to think about that alternative now, as the recovery would not be quick.

More links pertaining to baseball's Central divisions as we gear up for a weekend of baseball early in the 2014 campaign…

  • The Cubs are exploring the idea of selling minority ownership shares as a way to help finance the stadium renovation, multiple sources tell Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com. The team is looking at selling a non-controlling interest, though no official decision has been reached. The potential sale wouldn't impact president of business operations Crane Kenney or president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, who are both locked into long-term contracts. While the deal may be perceived negatively by some, Mooney points out that the Giants and Cardinals list 30 principal owners while the Cardinals have 15 investors, and both are considered to be well-run franchises. Any sale would need to be approved by Major League Baseball, Mooney adds.
  • Earlier today, the Indians signed second baseman Jason Kipnis to a six-year, $52.5MM extension. At the press conference, GM Chris Antonetti told reporters that there's no "either/or" situation with Kipnis and Justin Masterson (MLB.com's Jorda Bastian reporting on Twitter). The club still has the financial flexibility to make something happen with Masterson, should talks re-ignite. The similarity between Kipnis' guarantee and Masterson's reported three-year, $51MM proposal may have led to some speculation prior to Antonetti's comments.
  • Bastian also tweets that the Indians have been trying to extend Kipnis since he had just 69 days of service time; in other words, Cleveland has been pursuing an extension for their second baseman since the completion of the 2011 season. Kipnis batted .272/.333/.507 with seven homers and five steals in 150 plate appearances in his big league debut that year. The deal was wrapped up on Sunday but not announced until today, he adds.
  • Fangraphs' Jason Collette looks at how Yan Gomes went from being "the other guy" in the trade that netted the Indians Mike Aviles to becoming the recipient of a six-year, $23MM extension. Gomes was never afforded a chance to catch everyday in the Blue Jays' minor league system because of their depth at the position. Collette calls the contract the "inverse of all free agent deals" as it rewards Gomes for his future production rather than past laurels. He also wonders if the new rules regarding home-plate collisions made the extension more palatable, as there is now less long-term risk with catcher extensions.

Indians Extend Jason Kipnis

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The Indians announced that they have signed second baseman Jason Kipnis to a six-year extension that runs through the 2019 season and contains a club option for the 2020 campaign. Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports (via Twitter) that Kipnis is guaranteed $52.5MM over the life of the deal. Hoynes was the first to catch wind of the fact that a deal was close, breaking that news at roughly 3am ET.

Kipnis-Jason

According to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian (on Twitter), the Beverly Hills Sports Council client receives a $1MM signing bonus and annual salaries of $2MM (2014), $4MM (2015), $6MM (2016), $9MM (2017), $13.5MM (2018) and $14.5MM (2019). The option, according to Bastain, is worth $16.5MM and contains a $2.5MM buyout.

Kipnis entered the 2014 season with two years, 69 days of service time, meaning he would have been under team control through 2017 without an extension. The new contract buys his final pre-arbitration season, all three arbitration years and a pair of free agent campaigns with an option for a third. His contract is worth $500K more than fellow breakout, All-Star infielder Matt Carpenter, who inked a six-year, $52MM contract with the Cardinals in Spring Training (Carpenter had two years, 12 days of service at the time of his deal). However, if the options are exercised on each deal, Carpenter's $68.5MM would top Kipnis' $66.5MM.

As shown in MLBTR's Extension Tracker, the deal is also comparable to the six-year extensions signed by Andrew McCutchen ($51.5MM), Justin Upton ($51.25MM) and Jay Bruce ($51MM) — each of which came when the player had two to three years of MLB service under his belt.

Kipnis, who turned 27 yesterday (talk about a birthday present), made his first All-Star team and finished 11th in the American League MVP voting on the heels of a stellar campaign in which he batted .284/.366/.452 with 17 homers and 30 stolen bases in 658 plate appearances. Defensive Runs Saved pegs him as an average defender to this point in his his career, while UZR/150 feels he's been slightly below (-4.2). Both metrics feel that he was above average in 2012.

Kipnis' contract falls a bit shy of Travis Hafner's four-year, $57MM extension, which is the largest in club history. It also marks the third contract extension that Cleveland has been able to strike in the past few months; Michael Brantley signed a four-year, $25MM extension in February, and Yan Gomes inked a six-year, $23MM deal last week. The Kipnis deal will likely lessen blow for some Indians fans who are still stinging over the club's inability to extend top starter Justin Masterson, even after he offered to take a discount of roughly two years and $35MM or three years and $51MM.

Talks between Kipnis and the Indians first surfaced in Spring Training of 2013, but both sides agreed to table the discussions when no deal was close on Opening Day. Talks resumed this spring, and while it looked as if they would once again be placed on hold with the season starting, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports recently reported that the two sides could continue talking early in the year.

Photo courtesy of Robert Stanton/USA Today Sports Images.

Kipnis, Indians Could Talk Extension After Opening Day

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MARCH 31: Though a deal has not been completed, it is still possible that one could be reached during the season, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).

MARCH 21: The Indians have reportedly approached All-Star second baseman Jason Kipnis about an extension, and the two sides have both agreed to set an Opening Day deadline on the negotiations, reports Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Should Kipnis and his agents at the Beverly Hills Sports Council not be able to find a common ground with the team in the next 10 days, talks won't resume until next offseason.

This same situation played out last Spring Training, and obviously, no deal was agreed to prior to the 2013 season. An extension for Kipnis will likely be far more expensive next offseason than right now, however, as Kipnis will be eligible for arbitration next winter. A second All-Star nod and more MVP votes would serve him well in that process, as would the benefit of another strong season that further extends his growing track record of excellence.

While the Indians were able to successfully negotiate one extension this offseason — a four-year, $25MM contract for Michael Brantley — they've reportedly ended talks with top starter Justin Masterson due to an unwillingness to meet his desire for a $17MM average annual value. The Kipnis discussions could be easier to negotiate, as unlike Masterson's case, the two sides aren't solely discussing free agent years. Therefore, Kipnis' AAV would reflect his arbitration years as well as free agent seasons, perhaps making the near-term commitment more palatable for Cleveland.

Kipnis batted .284/.366/.452 with 17 homers and 30 stolen bases in 2013, delivering somewhere between 4.5 and 5.9 wins above replacement, depending on your preferred version of the metric.

Indians Extend Yan Gomes

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The Indians have officially agreed to a six-year, $23MM extension with catcher Yan Gomes that includes two option years, as first reported by FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link). The agreement will cover two pre-arbitration seasons, as well as three arbitration years and a year of free agency (with two more free agent seasons under team control through the options). Gomes is represented by Players Edge Sports Management.

The two club options are valued at $9MM (2020) and $11MM (2021), reports MLB.com's Jordan Bastian (via Twitter). Gomes will receive a $500K signing bonus, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter links), and will earn the following annual salaries: $550K (2014), $1MM (2015), $2.5MM (2016), $4.5MM (2017), $5.95MM (2018), and $7MM (2019). The options can each increase by $3MM apiece based on escalator provisions, and come with a $1MM buyout. 

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Gomes enjoyed a nice season in 2013, slashing .294/.345/.481 in part-time play. However, he'll serve as the club's primary catcher in 2014 now that Carlos Santana has been converted to a third baseman. The 26-year-old did significant damage against left-handed pitchers last season, punishing them to a .327/ .376/.558 line, but his .336 wOBA against righties suggests he's more than just a nice platoon backstop. Advanced defensive metrics have also liked his work behind the plate.

If Gomes can replicate his 2013 numbers as the club's No. 1 catcher in 2014, the deal has the potential to bring major surplus value to the Indians. In just 88 games in 2013, Gomes generated more than 4 wins above replacement, according to Baseball Reference. And while not as club-friendly as the five-year, $7MM deal with three club options that catcher Salvador Perez agreed to with the Royals in 2012, Gomes' average annual salary of $3.83MM means there's limited risk here for the Indians.

The Brazilian catcher joins an increasingly crowded list of players who have been extended this offseason with between one and two years of service time. However, that list contains an outfielder, three starting pitchers and a shortstop. Instead, the most comparable deal on the books for Gomes' extension is that of his teammate, Santana. The Indians' new third baseman inked a five-year, $21MM pact early in the 2012 season. While Santana has the edge in yearly salary, Gomes' extra guaranteed year makes his deal the largest ever given to a pre-arb catcher.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Indians Sign George Kottaras

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The Indians have signed catcher George Kottaras, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets. It's a minor-league deal, but Heyman writes that it's likely the Indians will promote Kottaras soon. Kottaras is represented by All Bases Covered.

The Cubs acquired Kottaras from the Royals in November, then released him last week after he lost their backup catcher battle to John Baker. Kottaras hit .180/.349/.370 in 126 plate appearances with the Royals last season.

The Indians currently have just two catchers on their 40-man roster, Yan Gomes and Carlos Santana, and Santana is currently slated to play mostly third base. The team could option fellow third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall to make room for Kottaras in the short term, although they would have to make additional moves once Michael Bourn and Jason Giambi return from injury.

Indians Designate Colt Hynes, Frank Herrmann

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The Indians have designated lefty Colt Hynes and righty Frank Herrmann for assignment, the club announced via press release. These moves, along with the DFA of Preston Guilmet, clear roster space for the club's 40-man additions: Scott Atchison, Jason Giambi, and Nyjer Morgan.

Herrmann, 29, is making his way back from Tommy John surgery after missing all of 2013. He threw 120 1/3 innings between 2010-12 with the Indians, putting up a cumulative 4.26 ERA with 5.4 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9.

Hynes, meanwhile, was added in exchange for cash from the Padres back in October. He was knocked around in his first 17 MLB frames last year with San Diego (and in his 5 2/3 spring innings). But Hynes posted a sterling 1.52 ERA in 47 1/3 minor league innings last year, with an even more impressive 11.0 K/9 against just 0.4 BB/9.

Indians Designate Preston Guilmet For Assignment

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The Indians have designated righty Preston Guilmet for assignment, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Guilmet, a 9th-round pick in the 2009 draft, has spent his career as a reliever in the Cleveland system.

The 26-year-old has very limited MLB experience, appearing in just four games last year, but has been a force in the minors. In 64 1/3 innings last year in his first stint at Triple-A, he posted a 1.68 ERA with 10.1 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9. Since converting to the pen after his first year in professional ball, Guilmet has never had an ERA above 2.39 while moving up the ladder each year, and has consistently posted strong strikeout totals with few walks.

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