Latest On Roy Oswalt
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
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.
Minor Moves: Crisotomo, Sardinha
The latest minor moves from around MLB…
- The Royals agreed to sign right-hander Branly Crisotomo for $98.5K, the Dominican Prospect League announced. Crisotomo's fastball generally sits in the 88-92 mph range and he throws a curve and change-up, according to the league press release.
- The Orioles agreed to sign catcher Dane Sardinha to a minor league deal, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun tweets. The 32-year-old appeared in 15 games for the Phillies last year and also has big league experience with the Tigers and Reds. Sardinha has a .216/.262/.328 line in 11 minor league seasons.
Comparing Cruz, Jones, Gordon In Arbitration
Arbitration eligible outfielders Nelson Cruz, Adam Jones, and Alex Gordon all remain unsigned. As outfielders with at least four years of big league service and less than five, their cases are tied together. Let's take a closer look.
Cruz and Jones submitted near-identical salaries of $7.5MM and $7.4MM, respectively. The Orioles value Jones less than the Rangers value Cruz, submitting a figure $500K below Cruz's $5.5MM. It's no coincidence MLB scheduled the players' arbitration hearings for the same day, as that way a win by one can't benefit another. Should one of the two reach an agreement soon, the salary figure might be kept under wraps until the other's is determined. Gordon's hearing is scheduled one day earlier, but they're reportedly close to an agreement. The Cruz-Jones argument can be tailored either way — Cruz has more career power, but Jones is more durable and plays a premium position.
Gordon is valued below Cruz and Jones by all parties, as he submitted $5.45MM and the Royals $4.15MM. All things considered Gordon had the best platform year, topping Cruz and Jones easily in batting average, on-base percentage, runs, and stolen bases while posting similar home run and RBI totals. He's further boosted by a Gold Glove, so one separator here has to be the players' career numbers and related previous year earnings. Though Gordon wins in career OBP, his home run and RBI totals lag well behind the other two players.
Looking at past precedent, how strong are the cases of Cruz, Jones, and Gordon?
- Cruz wants a $3.85MM raise, while the Rangers are trying for the same $1.85MM one Carlos Quentin received after the 2010 season. Using Quentin's numbers through 2010, Cruz has better career numbers and a similar platform year. Ryan Ludwick and Josh Willingham received $1.75MM and $1.65MM raises in similar situations, though Cruz trumps all in career power numbers. However, Cruz does not have an advantage over where Luke Scott was after 2010, and Scott received a $2.35MM bump. Scott seems to push the argument in the Rangers' favor, except that Scott spent much of 2010 at designated hitter. Another point in Cruz's favor, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith mentioned to me, is his fantastic postseason production.
- Jones wants a $4.15MM increase. He's short on career home runs compared to his arbitration peers, so maybe his argument will be based on his ability to play center field regularly and a better platform year than B.J. Upton's 2010.
- Gordon seeks a $4.05MM raise. Given his batting average, run total, and Gold Glove award, he had the best platform year of his peers. He also has the worst career power numbers, plus the Royals filed a million bucks higher than the Rangers and Orioles did for their guys.
- We always hear that arbitration hearings are a crapshoot, and perhaps none of these players will end up going to one. However, the arguments seem to favor the teams in the cases of Cruz, Jones, and Gordon, who are seeking to top Hunter Pence's $3.5MM raise despite inferior numbers. Additionally, Matt Swartz's arbitration projections came in below the midpoint for all three players.
Royals, Gordon Nearing One-Year Deal
The Royals appear to be nearing a one-year deal with arbitration eligible outfielder Alex Gordon, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports. The sides have a hearing scheduled for February 16th and they'll present their respective cases to a panel of arbitrators if they don't reach an agreement first.
An agreement could occur before the end of the week, Dutton writes. GM Dayton Moore has never gone to a hearing with a player since becoming Kansas City's GM. Gordon and agent Casey Close filed for $5.45MM, while the Royals offered $4.15MM, as MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows. The sides are expected to resume extension talks once they agree on a 2012 salary.
AL Central Links: Indians, Ray, Lewis, Accardo
Two years ago today, the Twins signed Orlando Hudson to a one-year contract worth $5MM. He hit .268/.338/.372 in 126 games for Minnesota, then signed a two-year, $11.5MM deal with the Padres after the season. Here's the latest from the AL Central…
- "We spent a lot of time trying to identify guys that we felt could come in and win spots," said Indians GM Chris Antonetti to Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer. "If they didn't win spots, they could provide quality alternatives for us." Cleveland has signed 20 players to minor league deals this offseason, including Dan Wheeler, Jose Lopez, and Ryan Spilborghs.
- Within the same piece, Hoynes reports that Chris Ray can opt out of his minor league deal with the Indians on April 3rd. Fred Lewis and Jeremy Accardo can opt out of their contracts on June 1st.
- Baseball America's Ben Badler reports that Ramon Hernandez Jorrin's contract with the Royals is worth $500K. We first heard that Kansas City had signed the 22-year-old Cuban outfielder earlier this week.
Minor Moves: Royals, Rowland-Smith, Hessman
Some minor transactions from around the majors…
- The Royals signed Cuban outfielder Roman Hernandez Jorrin, reports Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald (Twitter link). Hernandez Jorrin, 22, is a right-handed hitter who escaped from Cuba in November 2010.
- The Cubs have signed Ryan Rowland-Smith to a minor league deal, tweets ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. The Australian southpaw compiled a 4.57 ERA and a 1.64 K/BB ratio in 362 2/3 innings with the Mariners from 2007-10. Rowland-Smith spent last season in the Astros' minor league system, posting a 6.19 ERA in 22 games at Triple-A Oklahoma City.
- The Astros signed Mike Hessman to a minor league contract, reports Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle. The deal doesn't include an invite to the Astros' big league Spring Training camp. Hessman has a .694 OPS in 250 career plate appearances with the Mets, Tigers and Braves on the Major League level and also has 335 career minor league homers. The 33-year-old played for the Orix Buffaloes in Japan last season.
- The Reds have signed right-hander Wirfin Obispo to a minor league contracts, reports Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Signed as an 18-year-old shortstop by the Red Sox in 2002, Obispo was converted to pitching by the Reds in 2004 and put up solid numbers for Cincinnati's Dominican summer league team over the next three seasons. Obispo has since pitched in Japan, posting a 3.25 ERA, a 7.8 K/9 rate and a 3.22 K/BB ratio in 46 games (28 of them starts) with the Yomiuri Giants and the Nippon Ham Fighters.
AL Central Notes: Cabrera, Floyd, Royals
The Indians made a trade today, acquiring 2011 International League MVP Russ Canzler from the Rays. It wouldn't be surprising to see Cleveland add another hitter before Opening Day, but their division rivals appear to have completed most of their offseason shopping at this point. Here's the latest from the AL Central…
- Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski ruled out the possibility of playing Miguel Cabrera in left field, according to James Schmehl of MLive.com.
- White Sox starter Gavin Floyd joined Jim Memolo and Jeff Nelson on MLB Network Radio and said he's been kept in the dark about the trade rumors surrounding him this offseason and that he knows it's out of his control.
- GM Dayton Moore told Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star that he'll consider ways of upgrading the Royals if they're in the pennant race midseason. For now, Kansas City is likely done adding major pieces.
Extension Candidate: Eric Hosmer
This past week was a rough one for the Royals. Not only did they watch the reigning division champs add Prince Fielder, but they also caught a glimpse of what it could take to keep Eric Hosmer in town long-term should he develop into the type of player they think he can become. After giving him $6MM as the third overall pick in 2008, it's clear Kansas City expects great things.
Hosmer, 22, was called up to the big leagues in early-May and went on to finish third in the AL Rookie of the Year. He hit .293/.334/.465 with 19 homers and 11 steals in 128 games. The Royals likely delayed his free agency by a year with the late call-up, but Hosmer is almost certain to qualify as a Super Two after the 2014 season. That means he'll be arbitration-eligible four times rather than the usual three, which can get expensive in a hurry.
For comparison's sake, Hunter Pence hit .289/.340/.488 during the first three years of his career, and parlayed it into $20.8MM during his first three years of arbitration-eligibility as a Super Two. He earned $3.5MM his first year of eligibility, $6.9MM in the second, and recently agreed to $10.4MM for the third. Barring an unexpected non-tender next winter, Pence will earn north of $32MM during his four years of arbitration-eligibility. Surely the Royals would want to avoid a similar payout for Hosmer.
The largest contract ever given to a player with less than one full year of service time is the eight-year, $45MM pact the Brewers bestowed upon Ryan Braun during the 2008 season. I'm sure the Royals would love to lock up Hosmer's next eight years at that price, but it might be unrealistic since he's a Scott Boras client. If there's one thing Boras is good at, it's breaking contract records. Evan Longoria's six-year, $17.5MM deal is the only other contract ever given to a position player with less than one year of service time worth more than $1.5MM annually.
If Kansas City plans to buy out any of Hosmer's free agent years, they're looking at a minimum contract length of seven years. That would cover his six years of team control and just one free agent year. It would also be the longest deal in franchise history by two years, and anything more than $55MM would make it the richest as well (Gil Meche and Mike Sweeney hold the record with matching five-year, $55MM contracts). I'm not suggesting that a deal of that size would be appropriate for Hosmer after one year in the bigs, but like I said, Boras is fond of breaking records. Those are some benchmarks he can target.
The Royals have more pressing issues than extending Hosmer (like extending Alex Gordon), and there's no real rush to get a deal done now. They will pay their first baseman little more than the league minimum over the next two years, so time is on their side. The Fielder contract serves as a harsh reminder though, a reminder that if Hosmer turns into the franchise cornerstone Kansas City hopes he'll be, he might price himself right out of Kansas City. A long-term contract extension could help prevent, or at least delay that.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Many Teams Eyeing Gerardo Concepcion
Cuban left-hander Gerardo Concepcion has been declared a free agent and is drawing interest from many MLB teams, Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com reports. The 18-year-old recently established residency in Mexico and was said to be close to declaring free agency last week.
The Rangers, Yankees, Cubs and White Sox have expressed the most interest in Concepcion, agent Jaime Torres said. The lefty worked out in front of Rangers personnel, including Nolan Ryan, in the Dominican Republic today. The Phillies, Giants, Blue Jays, Red Sox and Royals have also expressed interest.
Concepcion has an offer on the table and will likely sign within two weeks, according to his agent. He defected from Cuba last June while playing in the Netherlands.