Royals Rumors

Rosenthal On Braves, Blue Jays, Nationals, Gonzalez

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 13, 2012 at 9:49am CDT

Rival executives believe Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez may already be on ‘probation,’ Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. Last year’s team lost its grip on a playoff spot down the stretch under Gonzalez, who’s now entering his second season as Atlanta’s manager. Here are the rest of Rosenthal’s notes from around the Major Leagues…

Special assistant Jim Fregosi may be the Braves’ leading candidate to manage should they replace Gonzalez internally.
The Diamondbacks would have interest in catcher J.P. Arencibia if the Blue Jays made him available. Arencibia isn’t going anywhere just yet, but top catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud could force the Blue Jays to make some difficult decisions within the year.
The Blue Jays, Royals, Tigers and others are in the market for starting pitching and many options are available, Rosenthal writes. Joe Blanton, Gavin Floyd and John Lannan are among the potential trade targets for teams seeking starters.
The Tigers, who are currently leaning toward left-hander Andy Oliver for their final rotation spot, could be a fit for Lannan. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes examined possible fits for Lannan last week, including the Tigers.
The Padres’ financial outlook is improving, so owner John Moores may be less eager to sell the team to CEO Jeff Moorad. Moorad has two years to complete his purchase of the club, but the deal won’t be finalized in the near future.
The A’s are no longer interested in free agent reliever Mike Gonzalez and the White Sox aren’t currently pursuing him, Rosenthal reports. The lefty is “about ready to go” following arthroscopic knee surgery.
Some in the industry question shortstop Ian Desmond, but the Nationals like him.

Quick Hits: Guerrero, Lee, Gordon, Giolito

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 7, 2012 at 5:09pm CDT

The Yankees signed Orlando Hernandez to a four-year, $6.6MM contract on this date 14 years ago. El Duque posted a 3.96 ERA in six seasons with New York and also made a number of memorable postseason starts as the Yankees won three consecutive World Series titles. Hernandez expressed interest in making a comeback as recently as last year, before officially retiring in August. Here are today's links…

Agent Fern Cuza told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that Vladimir Guerrero “still wants to play.” Guerrero is waiting the right opportunity and has a strong preference for contenders (Twitter links).
Free agent first baseman Derrek Lee is open to the right opportunity and doesn’t plan to officially retire, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets.
Negotiations between the Royals and Alex Gordon are in their early stages, but are expected to pick up later this spring, according to Rosenthal. Gordon will almost certainly look to sign for more than $55MM, the current Royals record, Rosenthal writes.
It’s too early to predict which team will select high school right-hander Lucas Giolito, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter). Giolito sprained the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow yesterday.

Quick Hits: Royals, Heyward, Diamondbacks

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 6, 2012 at 9:57pm CDT

On this date 25 years ago Andre Dawson signed a one-year, $650K contract with the Cubs. Owners were colluding against players at the time, and Dawson had even offered the Cubs a blank check earlier that winter. Dawson would go on to win the 1987 NL MVP, though the Cubs finished last in the NL East that year. Here are today's links…

The Royals have been grinding through negotiations with Alex Gordon and it won’t be surprising if they complete an extension with the outfielder, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney writes.
Jason Heyward and Travis Snider are among the former top prospects who struggled in 2011, but still have potential, ESPN.com's Keith Law writes.
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic identifies the Blue Jays, Angels, Padres or Red Sox as teams with catching depth that could match up with the Diamondbacks on possible trades. However, there doesn't seem to be any real chance of the Diamondbacks acquiring Nick Hundley or Yasmani Grandal from the Padres any time soon.

Catcher Extension Notes: Perez, Molina, Ruiz

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 2, 2012 at 9:06am CDT

The 2013 class of free agent catchers is taking shape. Yadier Molina and the Cardinals signed a five-year, $75MM extension this week, but Miguel Montero and Russell Martin have tabled extension talks for now and Mike Napoli expects to test free agency. Here are the latest notes on catcher extensions in MLB…

One agent joked to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com that Royals GM Dayton Moore “must have been wearing a ski mask” to convince Salvador Perez to sign a five-year, $7MM extension (Twitter link). I examined the extension earlier in the week, explaining what Perez will have to do for the Royals to break even.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports suggests the Diamondbacks and Braves might be ticked off by Molina's extension. The deal figures to shift the market for catchers and it may now cost more to retain the likes of Montero and Brian McCann. Rosenthal says the Cardinals' deal with Molina is an overpay, but an understandable one given the value of Molina's defense.
David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News explains that the Molina deal isn't a fair point of reference for Carlos Ruiz. Though Ruiz and Molina have posted similar offensive numbers in recent years, the Phillies’ catcher won't hit free agency until he's entering his age-35 season and allowed stolen bases with much greater frequency than Molina in 2011.

Extension Updates: Hosmer, Stanton, Molina

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 1, 2012 at 10:01am CDT

The Cardinals will officially announce their five-year extension with Yadier Molina this afternoon. In the meantime, here are some extension-related links…

Eric Hosmer told Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star that he's more open to signing a long-term deal with the Royals now that his friend Salvador Perez has an extension that will keep him in Kansas City. Perez signed a five-year, $7MM deal earlier in the week.
The Marlins haven't yet tried to go long-term with Giancarlo Stanton, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Mike Axisa previewed a possible extension for Stanton, who went by the name of Mike for his first two seasons in the Major Leagues. He is under team control through 2016
Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks ahead to the Cardinals' future payroll commitments and points out that Albert Pujols' decision to sign with the Angels probably helped the Cardinals retain Molina long-term.

Quick Hits: Rendon, Astros, Royals

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 28, 2012 at 10:35pm CDT

On this date last year, Adam Wainwright underwent Tommy John surgery, but it didn't stop the Cardinals from winning the 2011 World Series. Earlier today Tyler Kepner of the New York Times looked back at the moment Wainwright struck Carlos Beltran out to end the 2006 NLCS and the present-day relationship between the new teammates. Here are more of today's links…

Third base prospect Anthony Rendon is impressing Nationals scouts and front office personnel this spring, according to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. Rendon, a first round pick in 2011, doesn't appear to be far removed from the Major Leagues. Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman just signed a long-term deal, but Rendon says he is comfortable at second base.
In a chat with fans at MLB.com, Astros GM Jeff Luhnow said the club still needs to "add to [their] depth" and land an impact prospect with the first overall pick in June's draft.
The Royals' Opening Day payroll figures to be in the $57MM range, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star tweets. Dutton has the full breakdown here.

Examining Salvador Perez’s Extension

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 28, 2012 at 8:10pm CDT

The sixth-youngest player to appear in an MLB game in 2011 signed a multiyear deal yesterday. 21-year-old Salvador Perez is now the youngest player in the sport with a long-term contract (not counting amateur signing bonuses). The Royals made a historic investment by guaranteeing $7MM to someone with just a handful of games in the Major leagues. But if Perez turns into an MLB regular behind the plate, there’s an excellent chance this deal will save the club money long-term.

Let’s set aside the year-to-year breakdown of the five-year deal and determine how the sides are valuing Perez’s first two seasons of arbitration eligibility. He’ll earn $7MM for his first five MLB seasons — essentially the league minimum for three years plus a total of $5.5MM for two arb years.

How much do catchers have to produce to earn $5.5MM for their first two seasons of arbitration eligibility? To give you an idea, John Buck, Carlos Ruiz, Rod Barajas, Mike Napoli and Yadier Molina earned $4.5-6MM for that chunk of their careers. If Perez produces like those catchers, adding value on offense while playing capable defense on a regular basis, he and the Royals will basically have broken even through five years.

If Perez breaks out and produces like Joe Mauer, Brian McCann or Geovany Soto, the Royals will save money, even for the guaranteed portion of the deal. If he struggles to produce or stay healthy, the deal will cost the Royals more through 2016 than going year to year would have.

The contract includes three team options which were presumably essential for the Royals. They can retain him for $3.75MM in 2017 and lock up two free agent years for a total of $11MM in 2018-19. In other words, the Royals will have the chance to lock Perez’s prime age 27-29 seasons up at a well-below-market rate.

He obtained significant security just 39 games into his MLB career, and there's no guarantee he'll establish himself as the long-term solution behind the plate, but $7MM isn’t the kind of commitment that sets a franchise back significantly. Like Perez himself, this deal offers a whole lot of upside.

Extension Updates: Garza, Kennedy, Gordon, Hamilton

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 28, 2012 at 7:41pm CDT

The Cardinals and Yadier Molina are closing in on a five-year deal in the $70-75MM range. Here are more updates on extension talks around the league…

The Cubs will sit down and discuss a deal with Matt Garza, GM Jed Hoyer told David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com. "We're hoping to get something worked out, but you never know and we'll keep it private when we do," Hoyer said. Garza also expressed enthusiasm about an extension, a possibility I discussed during the offseason.
Ian Kennedy is open to a possible extension with the Diamondbacks, Steve Gilbert of MLB.comreports. The pre-arbitration eligible right-hander said agent Scott Boras hasn't discussed a deal with the team, as far as he knows.
Asdrubal Cabrera said he doesn't want to jump from team to team and hopes to finish his career in Cleveland, Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer reports. The Indians have discussed an extension with Cabrera, who is set to earn $4.55MM in 2012.
When the Royals announced major contractual news yesterday, many assumed Alex Gordon had signed an extension. The outfielder says there's "nothing new" on that front, according to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. The extension went to catcher Salvador Perez, in case you missed it.
Texas assistant GM Thad Levine joined Mike Ferrin and Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio and said the Rangers and Josh Hamilton have a different idea of what a long-term deal would mean (via Bowden on Twitter).
David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News wonders if a five-year, $65MM extension might make sense for the Phillies and Shane Victorino right now. The outfielder is scheduled to hit free agency after the 2012 season.
Dave Cameron of FanGraphs examines the Molina deal and decides that the Cardinals' decision looks better upon close examination. Cameron explains that Molina is a premium player, even though he's not signing at a bargain rate by any stretch.

Royals To Extend Salvador Perez

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 27, 2012 at 5:37pm CDT

The Royals announced that they signed catcher Salvador Perez to a five-year contract that includes three club options. Perez will earn a guaranteed $7MM over the course of the five-year contract, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports (Twitter links). The Morgan Advisory Group client could earn as much as $26.75MM if he maxes out his incentives and the Royals pick up all three options. Dutton has the yearly breakdown (Twitter links).

The deal buys out Perez's three pre-arbitration seasons and two of his seasons of arbitration eligibility. The Royals have options for his final season of arbitration eligibility and for his first two free agent seasons.

Perez debuted with the Royals last year, appearing in 39 games. The 21-year-old posted a .331/.361/.473 line in 158 plate appearances, adding 13 extra base hits. Before getting called up to Kansas City, Perez posted a .290/.331/.437 line in the upper minors and prevented 46% of stolen base attempts against him.

Perez joins Matt Moore and Evan Longoria, who also signed extensions before notching their first full year of MLB service time. The two Rays players also signed deals that include three club options. There's not much recent precedent for extensions involving pre-arbitration eligible catchers, as MLBTR's Extension Tracker shows.

GM Dayton Moore locked Joakim Soria up before the closer had two years of service time in a similarly motivated extension. The Royals obtained three club options on that deal as well.

Royals To Make Major Announcement

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 27, 2012 at 4:50pm CDT

The Royals will make a major announcement concerning the contract status of one of their players in 40 minutes, the team announced. GM Dayton Moore and manager Ned Yost will attend the press conference.

Alex Gordon and Eric Hosmer are among the extension candidates on the Royals' roster. Yahoo's Jeff Passan hears the deal isn't for Gordon (Twitter links). Yahoo's Tim Brown hears no Hosmer deal is imminent (Twitter link). Roy Oswalt is not signing with the Royals today, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (Twitter link).

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