Royals Designate George Kottaras For Assignment
The Royals have designated catcher George Kottaras for assignment, according to a team release. The move clears the way for starting pitcher Jason Vargas to join the Royals' 40-man roster.
Kottaras, 30, hit .180/.349/.370 in 126 plate appearances for the Royals in 2013. Kansas City recently signed catcher Francisco Pena to a big-league deal, adding him to the 40-man roster. That gave them four catchers on their 40-man: Kottaras, Pena, Salvador Perez and Brett Hayes. Kottaras had a projected 2014 salary of $1.2MM and was a non-tender candidate.
Reactions To The Jason Vargas Signing
The Royals made the biggest signing of the day so far, announcing a four-year, $32MM deal for lefty starter Jason Vargas. Here are reactions and fallout from around the web.
- Four years for Vargas is too many, ESPN's Keith Law argues (Insider-only). Vargas is already a below-average starter, Law argues, and it's optimistic to think Vargas' finesse style will hold up for four years, particularly given that his results so far have partly been a creation of favorable home parks in Seattle and Anaheim.
- The Angels were evidently in agreement that four years was too many. They would not give Vargas a fourth year, and instead offered him three years and $24MM, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times writes (Twitter links).
- Focusing on the number of years in the contract misses the point, writes Dave Cameron of FanGraphs. Vargas' deal only costs $8MM per year. He only needs to produce about 5 WAR over the course of the contract to justify the deal, and that seems possible, even if he isn't that likely to pitch well in the final season of the contract.
Royals Sign P.J. Walters To Minor League Deal
The Royals' signing of Jason Vargas will draw more headlines, but the team also inked right-hander P.J. Walters to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training today. The pitcher himself announced the signing on Twitter, and MLBTR's Tim Dierkes has confirmed that it's a minor league deal. Walters is represented by Aspire Sports Management.
The 28-year-old Walters pitched 39 1/3 innings for the Twins in 2013, posting a 5.95 ERA, 5.5 K/9, 4.1 BB/9 and 39.7 percent ground-ball rate in eight starts. He made a dozen starts for Minnesota the year prior but encountered similar struggles. Walters is a decent depth signing for the Royals, as his 4.50 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 645 career Triple-A innings are serviceable numbers.
AL Central Links: Twins, Sizemore, Anderson, Santiago
Baseball America's Matt Eddy provided a breakdown of the minor trade that went down earlier in the week that saw the Twins ship Duke Welker back to the Pirates in exchange for Kris Johnson. Johnson has an above-average two- and four-seam fastball that sits in the low 90s, but his breaking pitches are average at best, says Eddy. One bonus for the Twins is that Johnson has three minor league options remaining, while Welker has just one. Here's more on the Twins and the rest of the AL Central…
- The Twins were interested in free agent/reclamation project Grady Sizemore at one point, but they've moved on from Sizemore, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (Twitter link).
- ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Royals have had internal discussions about acquiring Brett Anderson from the Athletics. An Anderson acquisition would be a somewhat similar move to GM Dayton Moore's decision to buy low on Ervin Santana in a trade last October. Unlike Santana, however, the Royals could control Anderson for two years, as his contract contains a $12MM option for 2015.
- White Sox southpaw Hector Santiago told the Chicago Tribune's Colleen Kane that the summer trades of Jake Peavy and Matt Thornton taught him that any player can get traded. Santiago said he tries not to worry about hearing his name in rumors. He added that he hopes Chicago's decision to shut him down after 130 innings is an indication that they're protecting his arm so he can throw 200 innings in 2014.
- The Indians will listen to offers on Asdrubal Cabrera this winter, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer in his latest mailbag. Hoynes adds that any trading the team does will likely prioritize getting pitching in return, and the team would like to add a free agent starting pitcher. Hoynes lists Bartolo Colon and Jake Westbrook as speculative possibilities.
Royals Designate Arguelles, Falu For Assignment
The Royals have designated left-hander Noel Arguelles and second baseman Irving Falu for assignment in order to clear space for additions to their 40-man roster, the team announced via press release. In addition to the pair of DFAs, right-hander Felipe Paulino has elected free agency after being outrighted. The Royals will add Lane Adams, Christian Colon, Cheslor Cuthbert and Michael Mariot to the 40-man roster.
The Royals signed Arguelles, a Cuban defector, to a five-year, $7MM contract back in 2009, but the southpaw never lived up to his lofty prospect status. Arguelles, 23, underwent shoulder surgery in 2010 and was hampered by groin problems in 2013. He has a career 5.12 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 4.4 BB/9 in 300 1/3 minor league innings, none coming above the Double-A level.
Falu, 30, has outstanding Major League numbers, but they come in a tiny sample of just 95 plate appearances. Still, the switch-hitter owns a .337/.366/.427 slash line with the Royals — the only team for whom he's played at the big league level. Falu is a career .283/.342/.365 hitter in Triple-A.
Paulino, also 30, pitched to a 3.55 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 162 1/3 innings with the Royals from 2011-12 but had his 2012 campaign cut short by Tommy John surgery. His strong career strikeout rate (8.4 K/9) and respectable ground-ball rate (44 percent) make him an intriguing buy-low candidate.
Quick Hits: Marlins, Rockies, Pena
Former Marlins infielder Chris Valaika recently signed with the Cubs, and it's no surprise that he would leave Miami behind, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald writes. In August, the Marlins were about to promote Valaika from Triple-A New Orleans, but Valaika was among the players who had complained about harrassment by former hitting coach Tino Martinez. So Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria refused to allow the team to promote Valaika. Loria also blocked the promotion of second baseman Derek Dietrich. Spencer points to an innocuous-sounding comment from Valaika's agent Joel Wolfe following Valaika's signing with the Cubs (via FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal on Twitter): "Chris is very excited to be with a first-class organization." That seemingly mild statement might be a shot at the Marlins, Spencer suggests. Here are more notes from around the Majors.
- The Rockies have about $9MM to spend this offseason, Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post writes. That's a far cry from previous big-ticket expenditures like Mike Hampton, Renck points out, but their $63MM offer to Jose Dariel Abreu, who ended up signing with the White Sox, was a "bold move" in that direction. In any case, the Rockies could look to add talent at first base (where Justin Morneau, James Loney or Mike Carp might make sense), catcher and the pitching staff. The Rockies are seeking hard-throwing relief help, as well as an innings-eater in the rotation. At catcher, however, they could just decide to go with Wilin Rosario and Jordan Pacheco.
- The Royals have been aware of newly-signed catcher Francisco Pena for many years, and not just because Pena's father Tony used to manage the Royals, MLB.com's Dick Kaegel reports. "We've got a long history with him, from the time he was an amateur and signed with the Mets," says assistant GM J.J. Picollo. The Royals feel Pena's offensive track record, defensive ability and youth are interesting enough to make him worth adding to their roster.
Minor Moves: Valaika, Whiteside, Wheeler
We'll keep track of today's minor moves here. All news is courtesy of the MLB.com transactions page, unless otherwise noted.
- The Cubs signed infielder Chris Valaika to a minor-league deal with a spring training invite, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports (on Twitter). Valaika hit .219/.261/.344 in 70 plate appearances with the Marlins last season.
- The Cubs signed free agent catcher Eli Whiteside to a minor league contract. The 34-year-old spent last season with the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate and hit just .187/.242/.280 in 67 games. Whiteside, who last appeared in the majors with San Francisco in 2012, owns a career .215/.273/.335 slash line across parts of five seasons.
- The Yankees signed third baseman Zelous Wheeler to a minor league contract. Wheeler split time between the Orioles' Triple-A and Double-A affiliates in 2013, posting a .275/.354/.414 batting line.
Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.
Royals Sign Francisco Pena
The Royals signed catcher Francisco Pena to a Major League contract, adding him to their 40-man roster, reports MLB.com's Dick Kaegel. Pena, who had been a six-year minor league free agent, is represented by the Kinzer Management Group (per MLBTR's Agency Database).
Pena, the son of former Royals manager and current Yankees bench coach Tony Pena, spent the past six seasons in the Mets organization. He has yet to reach the Majors, but competition for his services must have been strong enough to warrant the MLB deal. The 24-year-old split 89 games between Triple-A Las Vegas and Double-A Binghamton in 2013 posting a .254/.300/.429 slash line in 315 plate appearances while also throwing out 30% of runners attempting to steal. Pena will battle Brett Hayes and George Kottaras to win the backup job to Salvador Perez.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Central Notes: Indians, Royals, Cubs
Let's take a look at the latest from the MLB's Central divisions:
- Multiple teams have approached the Indians with interest in Drew Stubbs, Buster Olney writes in an article for ESPN Insiders (sub. req'd). MLBTR's Matt Swartz projected that Stubbs is on track to earn $3.8MM in arbitration this offseason after hitting just .233/.305/.360 in 2013. However, Olney says a salary in that range in today's market is acceptable for a player like Stubbs, who's a strong defender with power and speed and can handle all three outfield positions.
- MLB.com's Jordan Bastian considers a rumored swap of Indians righty Corey Kluber and two minor leaguers for the Angels' Mark Trumbo, which was later shot down by Angels GM Jerry Dipoto. While Trumbo's right-handed power would help the Indians, such a deal undervalues Kluber, who was one of the better starters in the AL for much of 2013, Bastian says.
- Pitching is the highest priority for the Indians this offseason, Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer notes in a reader mailbag column. The Tribe faces the possibility of losing free agents Ubaldo Jimenez and Scott Kazmir from the rotation, while Joe Smith, Chris Perez, Rich Hill and Matt Albers could all depart from the bullpen.
- A Wednesday night deadline looms for teams to set their 40-man rosters in advance of the Rule 5 draft, and for the Royals, that means deciding who from a list of approximately six players is worth protecting, The Kansas City Star's Bob Dutton says. As Dutton notes, it can be easier to stash an arm than a position player on the 40-man for an entire season, as pitchers can be used in a mop-up role in the bullpen.
- Some have suggested that Darwin Barney may not be long for the Cubs' roster, Carrie Muskat writes in response to a reader question for MLB.com. On the cusp of arbitration after slashing just .208/.266/.303 in 2013, Barney is a non-tender candidate, though MLBTR's Tim Dierkes believes that may be a bit hasty given that Barney's only likely to earn around $2.1MM in his first go at the arbitration process. If the Cubs do decide to part ways with the infielder, Luis Valbuena would be one possible replacement, Muskat says.
Central Notes: Twins, Scherzer, Shields, Samardzija
We've heard a lot today on the Twins' interest in acquiring starting pitching, with two of the market's top arms — Ricky Nolasco and Matt Garza — both being mentioned as realistic targets. The club is willing to hand out as many as five years in a deal with a starter, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reports via Twitter. Minnesota is definitely interested in both Nolasco and Garza, he adds, though that isn't to say it would necessarily go to five years on either or both. Here's more on the starting pitching in baseball's central divisions:
- Though he says he understands the business logic that could force him to be traded, Tigers ace (and newly-minted Cy Young winner) Max Scherzer told MLB Network's Jim Bowden (on SiriusXM) that he hopes that does not occur. Scherzer said that he and agent Scott Boras had indicated to Detroit that he was "open to" an extension, but acknowledged that "no actual dialogue has been talked or anything like that." Ultimately, said Scherzer, he will "see how the business game works out and whether or not we go down that path."
- Meanwhile, Boras acknowledged that GM Dave Dombrowski would likely "invite a number of people to come in and look at all of his diamonds," referring to Detroit's most attractive trade assets. "But in the end I don't think Dave is in the business of anything other than what Mr. Illitch's goal is, and that is to win a world championship," Boras continued. As he further explained, Dombrowski could be discussing Scherzer with other clubs in part to guage his value and to see how those teams value their own players.
- Royals starter James Shields says that he has not had any talks with his club about an extension, ESPN.com's Jim Bowden reports via Twitter. Shields, who is in the last year of his deal, did say that he is open to exploring a new contract that would keep him in Kansas City. Having dealt recently-anointed AL Rookie of the Year Wil Myers to get Shields, one would think that GM Dayton Moore will at least make an attempt to secure his services beyond 2014.
- Cubs GM Jed Hoyer indicated that the club has talked about an extension with starter Jeff Samardzija, David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com reports via Twitter. "We've had discussions with Samardzija because we like him and want to keep him," said Hoyer. "We'll see where things go. We like hearing he wants to be here." Hoyer's comments seem to make an extension for the 28-year-old seem more plausible than we've recently heard. Absent a new deal, Samardzija will hit the open market before the 2016 season.
- The Cubbies' GM also emphasized that the front office was not going to change its approach to placate anxious fans Kaplan also tweets. "We will not hit the fast forward button on our plan simply because people are impatient," Hoyer said. "It will make it worth it in the end."