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Minor Moves: Royals Signings

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The latest minor moves from around MLB…

Royals Acquire Elliot Johnson

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The Royals announced that they acquired utility player Elliot Johnson from the Rays as the player to be named later in the December trade involving James Shields and Wil Myers. The Rays had designated Johnson for assignment last week.

Johnson, 28, appeared in 123 games for the Rays in 2012. He posted a .242/.304/.350 batting line with six home runs in 331 plate appearances. The Royals placed Johnson on their 40-man roster, moving Felipe Paulino to the 60-day disabled list in a corresponding move.

The Royals acquired Shields, Wade Davis and a player to be named or cash from Tampa Bay for Myers, Jake Odorizzi, Mike Montgomery and Patrick Leonard in December.

Quick Hits: O’s, Verlander, Royals, Crawford

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Justin Verlander repeated today that he wants to stay with the Tigers beyond 2014, when his current contract expires. “I love Detroit,” he said, according to John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press. “I feel like I’m a kindred part of that town. I grew up in front of these fans and earned my way into their hearts.” Verlander said he's not yet sure whether he and his representatives would be willing to negotiate during the season. Here are some more links from around MLB…

  • Grantland's Jonah Keri interviewed Orioles GM Dan Duquette about the success of his team in 2012 and Duquette's outlook on 2013. Duquette feels that both Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman will be ready to make significant impacts on the club at some point in 2013.
  • ESPN's Jayson Stark presents an in-depth look at the top stories to watch in each league during Spring Training this year. Stark's piece also includes breakdowns of the best and worst free agent signings, trades and more, according to a group of 16 baseball scouts and executives.
  • Dave Cameron of FanGraphs lists the ten worst moves of the offseason with the caveat that "the worst moves aren’t as bad as bad as they used to be." The Royals make three appearances on the list after trading Wil Myers to obtain James Shields, acquiring Ervin Santana and signing Jeremy Guthrie for three years.
  • Meanwhile, in another piece for Grantland, Keri examines the worst contracts in MLB starting with Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees and Carl Crawford of the Dodgers.
  • Agents at Hendricks Sports have filed an MLBPA grievance against three MLB agents who left the firm for Excel Sports Management and took players with them, Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal reports (on Twitter). Be sure to use MLBTR’s Agency Database for your agency-related inquiries.

Reactions To The Michael Bourn Signing

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The Indians agreed to a four-year deal with Michael Bourn earlier tonight, presumably capping an offseason spending spree that saw GM Chris Antonetti dish out $117MM in guaranteed contracts. Here are some reactions from around the baseball world pertaining to tonight's news…

  • It doesn't sound like the signing will prompt the Indians to trade Drew Stubbs or Michael Brantley, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Twitter link).
  • In the event of a trade, Stubbs is the most likely to go, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, who notes that the Mets are a logical landing place.
  • Heyman also writes that the Mets' credibility took a hit with their inability to sign Bourn. He opines that the team should've have filed a grievance weeks ago to attempt to keep their first-round pick, even if it meant risking increased leverage for Scott Boras in negotiations.
  • The contract is good for both Bourn and the Indians in the mind of Fangraphs' Jeff Sullivan. He adds that Cleveland's protected first-round pick meant they were sacrificing less value to sign Bourn, as he cost them only a competitive balance draft pick. Because they didn't have to give up as much value as others would have to sign Bourn, they were willing to spend more on the contract itself.
  • It's a fair contract, and Bourn immediately becomes one of Cleveland's best players, but the move is still a head-scratcher according to ESPN's Keith Law. Law feels that Cleveland's pitching isn't improved enough to make them a .500 team, which makes all of this spending a curious decision unless it's with an eye toward stockpiling affordable talent for future trade assets.
  • Law also notes that the Royals are losers in this deal, as part of their rationale for parting with Wil Myers was that the weakness of the AL Central could make them Wild Card contenders: "…every move that Cleveland, Minnesota or the White Sox make to get better hurts the odds of Kansas City getting to the 88-win territory."

Giants Claim Tony Abreu

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The Giants claimed infielder Tony Abreu off of waivers from Kansas City, the Royals announced. The Royals had designated Abreu for assignment on January 25th to create room for another waiver claim, catcher George Kottaras.

Abreu, 28, appeared in 22 games for the Royals last year, playing second base, third base and shortstop. He spent most of the season at Triple-A Omaha and posted a .322/.347/.492 batting line with 36 doubles in 453 plate appearances. Abreu has a .252/.280/.355 batting line in 464 plate appearances over the course of four MLB seasons.

Rosenthal On Lohse, Prado, Porcello, Padres

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The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…

  • Though Brewers owner Mark Attanasio recently said “there’s always a chance” that Kyle Lohse could end up in Milwaukee, Rosenthal suggests the free agent right-hander will likely sign elsewhere. The Brewers are reluctant to surrender the 17th overall selection in the upcoming draft in addition to the corresponding slot money. Lohse, the top starter remaining in free agency, has been linked to draft pick compensation since he turned down the Cardinals’ qualifying offer. 
  • Martin Prado’s bat might seem suited for second base, but Aaron Hill is already established at the position. It won’t be an issue, since the Diamondbacks want to keep both Prado and Hill, according to Rosenthal. Both players are clients of The Legacy Agency.
  • Rick Porcello could benefit from pitching in front of a better infield defense, and he remains a potential trade target given Detroit’s starting pitching depth. However, some teams are concerned about Porcello’s low strikeout rate, struggles against left-handers and $5.1MM salary. If Porcello has a big year, he could obtain a substantial raise through arbitration leading up to the 2014 season.
  • The Padres are likely to pass on Porcello for more affordable starters. Rosenthal suggests San Diego could look to trade for pitchers such as Aaron Harang and Luke Hochevar in Spring Training.

Quick Hits: Napoli, Red Sox, Bourn, Mets, Marlins

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It took the Red Sox quite a while to finalize their agreement with Mike Napoli this offseason over concern about a potential hip issue.  Fortunately, his doctor says that the hip problem was detected early enough to prevent it from getting worse over time, writes Tim Britton of the Providence Journal.  The two sides wound up re-working their three-year, $36MM pact into a one-year, $5MM deal with incentives that could boost it to $13MM in total.  Here's more from around baseball..

  • A source tells Marc Carig of Newsday (on Twitter) that the MLBPA could file a grievance on the Michael Bourn/compensatory draft pick issue, even if the Mets don't agree to terms with the outfielder first.  There has been talk of the players union supporting the Mets if they choose to argue against having to surrender a first-round pick to sign a free agent like Bourn.
  • It appears that the Mets will face some stiff competition in the NL East as they vie with the Nationals and Braves, but GM Sandy Alderson says that he isn't sweating it too much, writes Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.  "I would agree that the Nationals and the Braves appear to be very good teams for '13 and beyond," Alderson said. "But many teams have been described as set up well for the long haul, and it hasn't always worked out as described.
  • The Marlins have made former West Virginia football standout Pat White an offer to get back into baseball, but the quarterback and one of his associates told Orlando Alzugaray of 640 AM that baseball is only a Plan B if football doesn't work out, writes Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald.  White won't completely rule out going to spring training with Miami, but he is also considering a two-year contract offer the Canadian Football League and has spoken to representatives for at least eight NFL teams.
  • The Royals now have three catchers on the 40-man roster after claiming George Kottaras earlier today, but GM Dayton Moore isn't sure how many backstops will make the cut for Opening Day, writes Pete Grathoff of The Kansas City Star.  The 29-year-old Kottaras will earn $1MM this season and will remain under team control as an arbitration eligible player through 2015.

Royals Designate Tony Abreu For Assignment

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The Royals announced that they designated infielder Tony Abreu for assignment. The move creates roster space for George Kottaras, who was claimed off of waivers from the Athletics.

Abreu, 28, appeared in 22 games for the Royals last year, playing second base, third base and shortstop. He spent most of the season at Triple-A Omaha and posted a .322/.347/.492 batting line with 36 doubles in 453 plate appearances.

Royals Claim George Kottaras

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The Royals announced that they claimed catcher George Kottaras off of waivers from the Athletics. The A's had designated Kottaras for assignment to create roster space for John Jaso last week.

Kottaras hit nine home runs and posted a .211/.351/.415 batting line in 209 plate appearances last year. Oakland acquired the 29-year-old from the Brewers for Fautino De Los Santos in July. He'll earn $1MM in 2013 and will remain under team control as an arbitration eligible player through 2015.

Quick Hits: Rangers, Furbush, Aviles, Free Agents

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A few notes from around the Majors as we wrap up a very busy Thursday…

  • The Rangers are "not looking at anything major" in terms of further offseason moves, general manager Jon Daniels tells MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  If the club does make any additions, it will be bench depth or another candidate to fight for the fifth starter's job. 
  • Left-hander Charlie Furbush wasn't part of the package the Mariners offered to the Diamondbacks for Justin Upton, Larry Stone of the Seattle Times reports.  The two teams had agreed on a package that included Taijuan Walker, Nick Franklin and Stephen Pryor before Upton blocked the deal with his no-trade protection.  Stone isn't sure if just those three were offered to Arizona or if another pitcher besides Furbush was also part of the proposed trade.
  • Mike Aviles hasn't heard updates from his agent about his contract status with the Indians but tells MLB.com's Jordan Bastian that "as far as I know, everything is progressing and I don't see why it wouldn't be settled" before the two sides reach an arbitration hearing. Aviles is the Tribe's only remaining arb-eligible player who hasn't yet agreed to a deal.  MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker indicates that Aviles is looking for a $3.4MM contract while Cleveland is offering $2.4MM.
  • Michael Bourn and Kyle Lohse are still unsigned, which many attribute to the draft pick compensation tied to them as players who turned down qualifying offers from their former teams. Andrew Miller, the Red Sox MLBPA representative, told Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal that the two players' situations "clearly means more fine-tuning" is needed for the new free agency rules. "It's not an open market for these guys….It's just unfortunate that those guys can help teams but teams are hesitant to go after them because of a draft pick," Miller said.
  • Center field has been the busiest position of the offseason, as MLB.com's Andrew Simon notes the large number of teams who have made changes in center this winter.
  • The Royals don't have an out clause in their TV contract with FOX Sports Kansas City, Royals senior VP of business Kevin Uhlich tells Pete Grathoff of the Kansas City Star. The club's current broadcast deal runs through the 2019 season.
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