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Indians Interested In Kevin Millwood

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The Indians are interested in signing free-agent starter Kevin Millwood, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com, but the sides are far apart on a price.

The Royals are in interested in Millwood, as well, and the Yankees may be in play, too, depending on what happens with Andy Pettitte, according to Heyman.

Heyman On Pettitte, Millwood, Molina, Wandy

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Yankees people seem a bit more optimistic about the potential return of Andy Pettitte, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. They’ll consider alternatives such as Kevin Millwood, but only after hearing from Pettitte. Here are the rest of Heyman’s rumors:

  • The Indians and Royals remain possibilities for Millwood.
  • One rival executive doesn’t think the Bartolo Colon signing means much for the Yankees. "There is no real risk. But there is no real reward, either," the executive said.
  • Bengie Molina might consider returning for “special opportunities,” Heyman writes.
  • The Rangers and GM Jon Daniels have started discussing a contract extension and Rangers people expect a new deal for Daniels, whose current contract expires after the 2011 season.
  • One competing executive believes the Astros overpaid for Wandy Rodriguez. I don’t mind this deal for the Astros, since solid left-handed starters aren’t cheap or easy to find and Rodriguez was about to hit free agency.

Quick Hits: Maine, Minaya, Meche, Maroth, Kim

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The Yankees signed Andy Pettitte on this date in 2009. The Bronx Bombers added an accomplished pitcher today, but it wasn't Pettitte; they're still waiting to hear from the left-hander. Here are some links for Wednesday…

  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that free agent starter John Maine is throwing bullpen sessions and is auditioning for teams (Twitter link). The 29-year-old right-hander had his shoulder cleaned up last summer.
  • Mets GM Sandy Alderson has not had any contact with former GM Omar Minaya since early January according to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York. Alderson indicated that there was a position available for his predecessor, assuming he wants it. 
  • Tyler Kepner of The New York Times wrote about the legacy of Gil Meche.
  • Former Tiger Mike Maroth told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that he's retiring. Maroth started 100 games for the Tigers from 2003-05, but the left-hander's elbow has caused problems since. He last pitched in 2007 for the Cardinals and Tigers.
  • The Rakuten Golden Eagles have announced the signing of Byung-Hyun Kim, according to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. The 32-year-old spent nine seasons with the D'Backs, Rockies, Red Sox and Marlins, posting a 4.42 ERA with 8.6 K/9 as a starter, closer and reliever. He allowed memorable home runs to Paul O'Neill and Tino Martinez in the 2001 World Series.
  • Alex Speier of WEEI.com hears that the Red Sox aren't likely to sign any more pitchers to major league deals this offseason.
  • The Royals edged out the Rays, Braves, Blue Jays and Phillies in Keith Law's organizational rankings at ESPN.com.
  • Royals GM Dayton Moore explains to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that he intends to turn the Royals into a "consistent, solid, thriving organization" by continuing to develop young players.
  • Mets GM Sandy Alderson told ESPN.com's Adam Rubin that he would like to avoid arbitration with R.A. Dickey and remains open to a multiyear deal with the knuckleballer.

Twins Claim Dusty Hughes

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The Twins claimed left-hander Dusty Hughes from the Royals and designated right-hander Rob Delaney for assignment to create roster space. Both teams announced the claim this afternoon.

Hughes, 28, appeared in 57 games for the Royals last year, posting a 3.83 ERA with 5.4 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9. The Royals selected the left-hander in the 11th round of the 2003 draft.

Delaney has appeared in just one big league game so far, but the 26-year-old right-hander has plenty of minor league experience. He has a 2.96 ERA with 9.5 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 242 minor league relief appearances. Last year he posted a 3.44 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 83 2/3 innings for the Twins' top affiliates.

Contract Details: Loe & Francis

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Here are some details about a pair of recently signed contracts…

  • Kameron Loe's new deal with the Brewers contains $115K in incentives tied to pitching appearances according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. The right-hander will earn $25K for 50 games, $30K for 55 games, $35K for 60 games, $10K for 76 games, and $15K for 78 games. Loe appeared in 53 games for the Brew Crew last season despite not being called up from the minors until June 1st.
  • Troy Renck of The Denver Post reports that Jeff Francis' contract with the Royals calls for $800K in incentives based on starts, and another $1.2MM in incentives based on innings pitched (Twitter links). The escalators start to kick in at 15 starts and 110 innings, respectively.

Billy Butler Agrees To Extension With Royals

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SUNDAY, 9:31am: Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star has the financial details of the deal (Twitter link). Butler will earn $3MM in 2011, and $8MM per year from 2012 to 2014. The contract also includes a $2MM signing bonus and a $12.5MM club option for 2015, with a $1MM buyout.

SATURDAY, 8:03pm: The Royals have confirmed the agreement in a press release. It's a four-year contract with a fifth year option for 2015.

10:11am: Billy Butler told MLB.com's Dick Kaegel that he and the Royals have agreed to a four-year, $30MM contract extension. The deal buys out all three of his arbitration-eligible years plus one year of free agency. Butler is represented by Greg Genske of Legacy Sports.

MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows that Butler filed for $4.3MM in arbitration earlier this week while the Royals countered with $3.4MM. Kansas City recently picked up an extra $12.4MM when Gil Meche unexpectedly retired.

Butler, 25 in April, has hit .309/.375/.480 with 36 homers over the last two seasons. Just 28 players boast an OPS that high during that time (min. 1,000 PA), but Evan Longoria, Carlos Gonzalez, Ryan Zimmerman, Troy Tulowitzki, and Butler are the only ones to do so at age 25 or younger. Clearly, the Royals' first baseman has emerged as one of the game's most dangerous young hitters.

Kansas City owns the game's best farm system, and they've now ensured that their best position player at the Major League level will be around when some of those highly touted prospects start to arrive. MLBTR's readers discussed Butler's future with the Royals after the team traded Zack Greinke to the Brewers last month.

Royals Designate Hughes For Assignment

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The Royals designated left-handed pitcher Dusty Hughes for assignment, tweets Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.

The move was made to make space on the 40-man roster for the recently acquired Jeff Francis. In a related transaction, Bruce Chen was officially added to the 40-man roster after his signing in the wake of Gil Meche's retirement, writes Dick Kaegel of MLB.com.

Hughes, 28, appeared in 65 games with the Royals over the past two seasons, 57 of them in 2010 (all in relief). For his career, he has a 6.3 K/9, 4.1 BB/9 and a 4.09 ERA.

AL Central Notes: Tigers, Meche, White Sox, Indians

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The Twins grabbed headlines yesterday, finally agreeing to terms with Carl Pavano after months of discussions. Here's the latest on the Twins' AL Central division rivals:

  • John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press explains that Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski has avoided arbitration hearings since taking over the team.
  • The Royals didn't expect Gil Meche to walk away from his $12MM salary without asking for some sort of settlement, but that's just what the right-hander did, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. GM Dayton Moore says we shouldn't expect the Royals to go out and spend for the sake of spending, even though they have money.
  • White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune that he likes the looks of Chicago's rebuilt bullpen, which features newcomers Will Ohman and Jesse Crain. 
  • Indians GM Chris Antonetti told  MLB.com's Jordan Bastian that he would still like to add a starter who can provide reliability, stability and leadership. Manager Manny Acta and pitching coach Tim Belcher told Bastian that they expect a lot from the Indians' young starters.

Moore Discusses Meche’s Retirement

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The Royals caught a $12MM break yesterday and Dayton Moore has never seen anything like it. The Kansas City GM says he didn't expect Gil Meche to retire, since the right-hander had the option of collecting checks all season long. Instead, he forfeited the money, called it a career and provded his former team with unexpected financial flexibility.

“Gil had every right to finish off the final year of this contract and be compensated and he chose not to,” Moore said yesterday on a conference call with reporters.

The five-year, $55MM deal that Meche signed before the 2007 season looked good for the first two years and awful for the next two. Meche logged over 200 innings in 2007 and '08, posting a 3.82 ERA and leading the league in starts both seasons. But shoulder and back injuries limited his effectiveness and availability in 2009-10. At 32, the ten-year veteran is calling it a career.

Moore says he doesn't consider the signing a mistake, since Meche took the ball when healthy and helped ease Zack Greinke into major league stardom. But the caretaker of the best farm system in baseball isn't about to compromise his prospects' development with more long-term free agent deals.

“We’re not going to do anything with long-term contracts that’s going to restrict their transition to the major leagues,” Moore said.

There will come a time when the Royals look to complement their homegrown core with free agent pieces, Moore said. The team does have $12MM more than expected, but Moore says he doesn't plan to add any expensive pieces soon.

Quick Hits: Toregas, Montanez, Hargrove, Payrolls

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A few notes from around the league that have nothing to do with players who avoided arbitration or filed salary figures…

  • The Pirates signed catcher Wyatt Toregas to a minor league contract with an invitation Spring Training according to a team press release. The 28-year-old spent the 2010 season in the Indians' farm system, hitting .227/.311/.383 in 148 plate appearances.
  • The Cubs signed outfielder Lou Montanez to a minor league deal according to Baseball America's Matt Eddy (on Twitter). They drafted him third overall back way back in 2000. Montanez hit .223/.257/.323 in 266 plate appearances with the Orioles over the last three seasons.
  • Former Indians manager Mike Hargrove is back with the team as a special advisor, the club announced today.
  • The Marlins project to have an Opening Day payroll around $58MM according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. It will be the franchise's highest payroll since opening the 2005 season at $60.4MM.
  • The Twins, meanwhile, project to have an Opening Day payroll around $105.4MM according to Joe Christensen of The Star Tribune (Twitter links), but he says that a Carl Pavano signing could push that up to $115MM.
  • The Royals are now projected to have a payroll around $40MM after Gil Meche's surprise retirement, tweets Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star. In a separate pair of tweets, Dutton says the team is unlikely to use the payroll savings from Meche's retirement on free agents, but will instead boost their draft and international free agent budgets.
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