Boras Has No Plans To Discuss Eric Hosmer Extension
Eric Hosmer's agent Scott Boras tells Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan that he has no plans to negotiate a long-term contract between his client and the Royals. “Athletes have to know that you have to look at the market you’re in,” Boras said. “You can’t look at the markets of the past. For players like Hosmer, as you go back and look, as [Mark] Teixeira had his own market and [Prince] Fielder had his own market, Hosmer will have his own. And something tells me it’s going to be a rather eventful one.”
Royals fans can't be too pleased to hear Boras comparing Hosmer to those other first basemen — both of whom, of course, are Boras clients. Teixeira turned down an eight-year, $140MM extension with his original team, the Rangers, in 2007 and ended up signing a massive eight-year, $180MM deal with the Yankees before the 2009 season. Fielder is widely expected to leave Milwaukee after this season since the Brewers can't afford the Teixeira-esque contract he is seeking. That said, another notable Boras client (Carlos Gonzalez) recently signed a contract extension, so Hosmer leaving Kansas City when he hits free agency after the 2017 season isn't a foregone conclusion.
Boras expects forthcoming national and regional TV contracts to increase revenues all over baseball, including for smaller-market teams like the Royals. It also makes sense on a more practical level for Hosmer to not commit to a new deal yet since, as MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith pointed out last week, Hosmer could be in line for an extra year of arbitration given his early call-up. Hosmer could potentially cost himself millions by signing an extension before he learns if he's a Super Two, or even before Major League Baseball's new CBA with the players' union is worked out.
Quick Hits: Sabathia, Cashman, Rzepczynski
Jason Vargas and Zach Britton both threw nine shutout innings in a remarkable pitcher's duel tonight in Baltimore. After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the 12th, the Orioles came back to win the game in the bottom half of the inning on a bases-loaded single from J.J. Hardy.
Some news from around the majors…
- "The C.C. Sabathia opt out situation is sure to be messy," predicts Mike Axisa of the River Avenue Blues blog, but Axisa thinks Brian Cashman's upcoming contract negotiations with the Yankees "will be messier." Cashman is in the last year of his deal with New York and, as per club policy, the team won't discuss an extension in mid-season. There has been some speculation about Cashman's future in the Bronx given his disagreements with upper management about the Rafael Soriano and Derek Jeter signings last winter, but Axisa thinks those signings give Cashman the leverage in negotiations, "plus the fact that there’s no ready-made, in-house replacement available."
- As for Sabathia, Axisa thinks he will almost surely opt out of his contract, and the southpaw will look at Cliff Lee's five-year, $120MM deal with Philadelphia "as a starting point."
- The Blue Jays lost Scott Downs to free agency last winter, but as MLB.com's Arden Zwelling writes, Marc Rzepczynski has been a superb fit as Downs' replacement in Toronto's bullpen.
- Fangraphs' Reed MacPhail wonders why teams are still paying top-dollar for relief pitching.
- When the sale of the Astros to Jim Crane is finalized, Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle reports that former Houston Rockets president George Postolos will be the Astros' new CEO. Justice also speculates that Crane may try to get Andrew Friedman to return to his hometown to become the Astros' new GM, but it's extremely doubtful Friedman would leave Tampa Bay just to start another rebuilding process elsewhere.
- In his latest chat with fans, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star would be "astounded" if the Royals didn't quickly pursue signing Eric Hosmer to a long-term extension, though it could be "a tough sell" given that Scott Boras is Hosmer's agent. Earlier today, Dutton's Star colleague Sam Mellinger, proposed a six-year, $25MM extension for Hosmer (with three option years and possibly $40MM more added on), though MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith pointed out that Hosmer and Boras would surely turn down such an offer.
Gammons On A’s, Pirates, Royals, Rays
Starting pitching is one of the most valuable assets in the game and, as Peter Gammons explains at MLB.com, small-market teams usually have to rely on the draft to obtain it. Here are Gammons’ latest notes from around the league…
- A's GM Billy Beane says his current rotation, a group that’s more or less untouchable, could be as good as Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder and Barry Zito were. Trevor Cahill has “become one of the best pitchers in the game,” according to Beane.
- "Let's face it, no small-market team can afford to go into the market to get starting pitching," Beane told Gammons. "To survive and compete, you have to draft and develop pitching, or go out and get it before it's on the Major League radar screen."
- Gammons reports that some expect the Pirates to take Virginia left-hander Danny Hultzen with the first overall pick this June. Click here for MLBTR's Q&A with Hultzen.
- Georgia Tech Lefty Jed Bradley will likely disappear within the first ten picks of the draft, and Connecticut righty Matt Barnes will likely be a top-15 selection.
- The Royals are looking for a college starter who can arrive in the Major Leagues and make an impact in the rotation soon.
- Royals GM Dayton Moore agrees that you need pitching to go along with premium position players. “They're not going to win if we don't find young, affordable pitching," Moore said.
- The D’Backs, who hold two of the first seven picks this year (#3, #7), will take at least one arm early on and the Rays are also likely to take a number of pitchers with some of their many high picks.
Royals Notes: Hosmer, Francoeur, Duffy
Not only did the Royals beat the Yankees in Yankee Stadium last night, they did so behind Eric Hosmer's first MLB home run. Here's the latest on the Royals, with a focus on Hosmer…
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star argues that the Royals should attempt to sign Hosmer to a deal that guarantees him $25MM over six years and includes three club option years that could raise the value of the deal to $65MM over nine years.
- My take: agent Scott Boras would presumably decline the offer, instead of allowing Kansas City to lock Hosmer's free agent years up for below market value. Plus, Hosmer could easily earn more than $25MM for his first three arbitration years if he becomes the player we expect him to be. Ryan Howard, Joey Votto, Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, Albert Pujols and Mark Teixeira all earned at least $27.9MM for their first three seasons of arbitration. Justin Morneau was inconsistent early in his career, but had still earned over $25MM through his first three arbitration years. Still, as Mellinger says, there’s no harm in asking.
- As Ken Rosenthal points out at FOX Sports, fellow Royals Alex Gordon and Jeff Francoeur experienced similar hype to Hosmer and they haven't lived up to it. But Gordon and Francoeur like what they see from the rookie and what happened to them won't necessarily happen to Hosmer. Rosenthal's entire piece is worth a read.
- Royals manager Ned Yost told Dick Kaegel of MLB.com that he wants to make sure prospects such as Danny Duffy and Mike Montgomery are "absolutely ready" before calling on them. At this point, Yost says "we're not quite there yet with these kids."
Heyman On Blue Jays, Royals, Bradley, Reyes
The trade that sent Vernon Wells from Toronto to Anaheim was the “Holy Grail” of deals for the Blue Jays and the best move of the winter, writes Jon Heyman of SI.com. Jose Bautista's five-year, $65MM contract places second on Heyman's list of teams' top offseason moves. As Heyman says, Bautista could have been in position to earn $100MM or more as a free agent after the season if the Blue Jays hadn't signed him long-term. Here are the rest of Heyman's rumors:
- Royals GM Dayton Moore is pleased with Jeff Francoeur's production so far and says the outfielder does a lot of things well, though he “doesn't have a knack for getting on base.” As I showed last week, the Royals are getting lots out of their free agent acquisitions so far in 2011.
- Can Milton Bradley find another job? Five MLB executives expressed at least strong doubt about Bradley's future job prospects in the Major Leagues. His fading offense and poor defense don't make up for the distractions he creates, which led one exec to predict that the outfielder's “career is over” now that Seattle designated him for assignment. Others expect Bradley to get one last chance.
- It's early, but Heyman suggests the White Sox, Tigers and A's look like possibilities for Carlos Beltran this summer. Beltran has a no-trade clause and is impressing scouts early on this season.
- The Red Sox and Blue Jays could be interested in catcher Jordan Weems, a high schooler who is moving up some draft boards.
- Heyman hears that it's “highly unlikely” that the Red Sox would be willing to meet the Mets' asking price for Jose Reyes this summer.
2012 Contract Issues: Kansas City Royals
The Royals are next in our 2012 Contract Issues series. Here's what the team faces after the 2011 season:
Eligible For Free Agency (6)
- Catchers Jason Kendall and Matt Treanor will be eligible for free agency, so look for the Royals to acquire a veteran backstop this offseason.
- With Kyle Davies, Bruce Chen, and Jeff Francis signed through 2011, three-fifths of the club's current rotation will be up in the air. The Royals might lose a couple of veteran lefties, but in Mike Montgomery, John Lamb, Danny Duffy, and Chris Dwyer, they've got four highly-rated southpaws not far from the Majors. Aaron Crow has pitched well out of the team's big league bullpen, but he could also be in the rotation mix next year. I can picture the Royals adding a veteran free agent or two for depth.
- Infielder Wilson Betemit may be approaching free agency at the ideal time, as he's assembled a .300/.374/.497 line in 422 plate appearances in his Royals career to date. He should be able to continue as a third base regular with another club.
Contract Options (2)
- Joakim Soria: $6MM club option with a $750K buyout. Arbitration eligible if declined. Soria hasn't been himself this year, though much of the damage came in one outing against the White Sox. At any rate, he's not going anywhere.
- Jeff Francoeur: $3MM mutual option. Did you know Francoeur is currently tied with Howie Kendrick for the American League lead in total bases? He could end up knocking 30 home runs for the first time in his career. Wil Myers is learning to play right field in Double-A currently, so the Royals may prefer a stopgap solution at most for 2012.
Arbitration Eligible (8)
- First time: Mike Aviles, Mitch Maier, Chris Getz
- Second time: Luke Hochevar, Brayan Pena
- Third time: Robinson Tejeda, Alex Gordon
- Fourth time: Melky Cabrera
There may be a few non-tenders in this group, but Aviles, Maier, Hochevar, Tejeda, Gordon, and Cabrera are likely to be retained. I'll estimate something like $15MM for the six.
2012 Payroll Obligation
The Royals' 2012 payroll obligation, according to Cot's, is about $17MM assuming Soria's option is picked up. $15MM for the key arbitration eligibles puts them around $32MM, $6MM shy of this year's payroll and about $40MM short of the '09 and '10 payrolls. The Royals will probably increase their free agent activity during the 2011-12 offseason, as things may already be starting to come together.
Nationals Acquire Gregor Blanco
The Nationals acquired Gregor Blanco from the Royals for a player to be named later, according to the team's Twitter account.
Blanco, 27, is a career .258/.358/.324 hitter who came to the Royals with Tim Collins and Jesse Chavez in the trade that sent Kyle Farnsworth and Rick Ankiel to Atlanta last season. Ironically, Blanco may be an option to challenge Ankiel for playing time in Washington. The Nationals have been looking for center field options after trading Nyjer Morgan to Milwaukee and making Ankiel their everyday center fielder. Ankiel has struggled with just a .221/.302/.288 slash line in 118 PAs.
Blanco's best assets are his ability to draw a walk (career BB% of 12.8%) and his speed. He owns 209 minor league stolen bases to go along with 26 at the Major League level. While he struggled early in his career, his success rate has improved over the past few seasons.
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Colletti, Hendry, Royals
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has a new Full Count video up, so let's dive in…
- Ned Colletti is under contract as Dodgers GM through 2012, but he has an out-clause after that. MLB is unlikely to stand in the way if another team asks to interview him before then though.
- The consensus is that the Cubs need to show some progress if GM Jim Hendry is going to keep his job beyond this season. The team's 14-17 start already has some in the game speculating about possible successors, which might include Colletti, former Diamondbacks GM and current Padres executive Josh Byrnes, and White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn. If the ChiSox are worried about losing Hahn, Rosenthal says they could promote him to GM and promote Kenny Williams to club president.
- Most expect the White Sox to "snap out of it," but if not, they could be a team to watch as the trade deadline approaches. One GM said Williams is not the type to "sit there in no man's land," so expect some rumblings about free agents to be Mark Buehrle and Edwin Jackson. Some believe Buehrle would only accept a trade to the Cardinals though.
- Their most intriguing chips are John Danks and Carlos Quentin, who are under team control as arbitration-eligible players in 2012. Danks could bring a significant return.
- The Royals could be quite busy if they remain in contention. The Zack Greinke trade and Gil Meche's retirement freed up significant cash, and the team could be both buyers and sellers. Wilson Betemit is expendable because of top prospect Mike Moustakas, possibly to the Marlins, and they could look to deal either Jeff Francoeur or Melky Cabrera. One thing they will need in return: bullpen reinforcements. The Kansas City bullpen is throwing a ton of innings.
Stark On Liriano, Hamels, Hosmer, Reyes
Here's the latest from Jayson Stark of ESPN.com …
- Twins lefty Francisco Liriano could be made available via trade in July if Minnesota continues to struggle, but teams will be hesitant to acquire him because of his inconsistencies. One scout told Stark that Liriano has great stuff, but the southpaw's mechanics are a mess. Liriano is under team control through next season.
- Phillies lefty Cole Hamels' three-year, $20.5MM deal expires after this season, leaving him with one year of arbitration eligibility before free agency. Stark wonders how the Phillies will approach a potential extension for Hamels, and Hamels' agent said that the sides haven't yet discussed such a deal. One point of reference to keep in mind, per Stark: Justin Verlander, whose five-year, $80MM pact with the Tigers bought out three years of arbitration eligibility.
- Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer made his Major League debut today amid much fanfare, but several teams told Stark that they would have waited a while longer so as to ensure that the blue-chipper wouldn't be a Super Two. Kansas City, however, has said all along that it would call up its players when they're ready, according to Stark. Earlier today, Ben Nicholson-Smith examined the financial implications of Hosmer's promotion.
- The Mets and Giants maintain that they haven't discussed a potential trade for shortstop Jose Reyes. However, Stark thinks the Giants will need to address the position, and Reyes is a perfect fit.
Moore’s Free Agent Signings Playing Well So Far
There are lots of reasons to be excited for the future of the Royals and one of them will make his Major League debut tonight: Eric Hosmer. The first base prospect will join a team that’s been surprisingly good so far in 2011 (they’re 17-14), one that appears poised to become a playoff contender once its highly-touted prospects become Major Leaguers.
It’s never all about the future, even with rebuilding teams like the Royals. Managers need players to pencil into the lineup and fans need something to cheer for, so general managers sign stop-gap players to represent the big league club while prospects develop.
So far, the four veterans GM Dayton Moore signed this offseason are more than earning their keep. Jeff Francoeur has eight homers and a .305/.346/.602 line (it’s not BABIP-inflated, either) and Melky Cabrera has a .293/.317/.466 line after yesterday’s three-hit game. They've both been pleasant surprises for the league's best offense.
On the pitching side, Jeff Francis has a 5.45 ERA (3.73 xFIP) in 29 2/3 innings with a strong 21K/8BB ratio. Fellow southpaw Bruce Chen has a 3.59 ERA (4.54 xFIP) through 42 2/3 innings with a 24K/14BB ratio. Neither pitcher replaces Zack Greinke atop the rotation, but they’re healthy and productive at the very least. The quartet of Francis, Chen, Francoeur and Cabrera has been worth a combined 2.5 wins above replacement so far, yet another indication that they're producing.
Moore signed the four players for a total of $7.75MM and didn’t give up a single draft pick in the process. It’s a promising development for Royals fans since every homegrown team needs to supplement its core players with free agents at times. Moore’s track record on the free agent market includes its share of blemishes – Jose Guillen for example – but this year his approach has produced strong results for minimal cost.