Royals Rumors

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).

Central Notes: Sizemore, Kendall, Reds, Votto

By Zachary Links | February 25, 2012 at 4:49pm CDT

Here’s a look at some items out of the Central divisions..

Even though the outfielder has suffered yet another setback, Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com doesn’t see the re-signing of Grady Sizemore as a mistake for the Indians. The 29-year-old is set to earn $5MM with as much as $4MM in incentives in 2012.
Jason Kendall enjoys serving as a coach for the Royals but still hopes to play again, writes Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star. The 37-year-old hasn’t played since his stint with Kansas City in 2010.
Reds CEO Bob Castellini also gave a solid endorsement of skipper Dusty Baker, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The manager is in the final year of his contract.
Castellini says that there’s mutual interest between the club and Joey Votto in completing a new deal, tweets Morosi. The slugger has been tight-lipped on contract talks but acknowledged that they are something of a distraction. Ben Nicholson-Smith recently wrote that it could cost as much as $160MM to keep Votto signed through 2020.
Castellini also acknowledged that the club is active in talks with second baseman Brandon Phillips, Morosi tweets.
Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio wants to wrap up contract extensions for GM Doug Melvin and manager Ron Roenicke before Opening Day, writes Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Meanwhile, Attanasio didn’t say much about free agents-to-be Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum.

AL Central Links: Castellanos, Royals, Sabathia

By Mark Polishuk | February 20, 2012 at 7:48pm CDT

Here's a round-up of news from the AL Central…

With Miguel Cabrera taking over at the hot corner for the Tigers, John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press looks at how the switch affects the progress of third baseman Nick Castellanos, one of the team's top prospects. I can't see this being a major long-term issue — Castellanos is just 19 and I can't see Cabrera staying on third for very long, given his defensive limitations. If anything, Victor Martinez could be the odd man out, with Prince Fielder locked in at first and Cabrera probably requiring a move to DH sooner rather than later.
Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star covered a number of Royals topics as part of a live chat with fans earlier today.
The players the Indians acquired for C.C. Sabathia in 2008 have produced -0.6 WAR in the three-plus seasons since the trade, writes Fangraphs' J.P. Breen. "The Indians still have nine years of control between [Matt] LaPorta and [Michael] Brantley, but neither appear destined for full-time roles at the big league level," Breen writes.
Twins starter Francisco Liriano has worked on his mechanics and better locating his fastball this winter in preparation for what could be a make-or-break season for the southpaw, reports Phil Mackey of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities Radio.
Dick Allen's arrival in 1972 didn't just make the White Sox better on the field, but his presence might have also helped keep the team in Chicago, writes MLB.com's Scott Merkin.

AL Central Notes: Inge, Royals, Hernandez, Twins

By Mark Polishuk | February 17, 2012 at 2:17pm CDT

Happy birthday to former White Sox farmhand Michael Jordan, who turns 49 years old today. Jordan played one season of Double-A ball with the Birmingham Barons in 1994, hitting .202/.289/.266 in 497 plate appearances. On the strength of those numbers, Jordan was named ESPN's greatest athlete of the 20th century. In hindsight, it's possible ESPN may have also taken Jordan's basketball career into consideration, but you'd have to take that argument up with the gang at MLBTR's new sister site Hoops Rumors.

Here's the latest from around the AL Central…

Brandon Inge will be given a chance at the Tigers' second base job during Spring Training, manager Jim Leyland told reporters (including John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press). Inge joins Ryan Raburn and Ramon Santiago in battling for playing time at second. With Miguel Cabrera now playing third, Inge finds himself without a position. Inge has been a strong defensive third baseman throughout his career (a +5.6 UZR/150) but he has never played second during his 14-year professional career.
Rany Jazayerli thinks the Royals should have acquired at least one more proven starting pitcher this offseason, arguing that such a move could have possibly given Kansas City a shot at the division title.
Roberto Hernandez (a.k.a. Fausto Carmona) is visiting baseball camps in the Dominican Republic to teach young players not to lie about their identity or true age, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Jorge Brito, Hernandez's agent, didn't say whether these visits were necessary for Hernandez to regain his ability to leave the Dominican and rejoin the Indians.
MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger gives his thoughts about what the Twins' Opening Day roster could look like.

Royals Exercise Ned Yost’s 2013 Option

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 14, 2012 at 9:00am CDT

The Royals announced that they have exercised the 2013 option on manager Ned Yost's contract. The 57-year-old skipper now starts his second full season in Kansas City with job security that extends beyond the coming season.

The Royals have a 126-163 record under Yost, who managed the Brewers from from 2003-08. He is the 16th full-time manager in Royals history.

Latest On Roy Oswalt

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | February 13, 2012 at 9:20pm CDT

Even as pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training, Roy Oswalt remains unsigned. Here’s the latest buzz on the 34-year-old, who’s undeniably the top free agent available…

Royals GM Dayton Moore explained to Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star that he has passed on available starting pitchers this offseason because he wants to see what his young pitchers can do at the Major League level. Moore said he doesn't think the Royals' offseason plan would have changed much if they had known from the start that Oswalt and Edwin Jackson would end up signing one-year deals.
Rangers senior director of player development Tim Purpura said adding Oswalt to a pitching staff that already includes six starters wouldn't be easy, according to Bryan Dolgin of ESPNDallas.com.
The Reds haven't been in touch with Oswalt's agents in the past week and GM Walt Jocketty thinks the right-hander is waiting for the Rangers to create room for him on their payroll.

Royals Avoid Arbitration With Alex Gordon

By Mike Axisa | February 9, 2012 at 4:16pm CDT

The Royals and Alex Gordon have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract, the team announced. Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star reports that the deal is worth $4.775MM while Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com says he can earn another $25K in bonuses (Twitter links). Gordon is represented by Casey Close.

As our Arbitration Tracker shows, Gordon filed for $5.45MM while the team countered with $4.15MM, so they settled just below the midpoint in terms of guaranteed money. The two sides are said to be exploring a long-term contract, but for now they've only addressed the upcoming season. Gordon can become a free agent after 2013. All of Kansas City's arbitration-eligible players are now under contract for 2012.

Gordon, who will turn 28 tomorrow, enjoyed a long-awaited breakout season in 2011, hitting .303/.376/.502 with 23 homers and 17 steals. He earned his first All-Star selection and drew some MVP votes as well, which is what the Royals hope he'll do on an annual basis after making him the second overall pick in the 2005 draft.

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