AL West Notes: Darvish, O’Flaherty, Angels, Mariners
In less than two years, Yu Darvish's contract went from a big risk for the Rangers to a major bargain, ESPN Dallas' Richard Durrett writes. Between Darvish's posting fee and six-year contract (plus bonuses), Durrett calculates that Darvish will cost Texas roughly $111MM over the six years, a deal that looks very reasonable compared to the massive contracts signed by other ace pitchers around baseball since the 2010-11 offseason. Masahiro Tanaka, for instance, is set to earn twice as much as Darvish over the next four seasons though most scouts concur that Darvish is the better pitcher.
Here's some more from around the AL West…
- Athletics manager Bob Melvin and assistant GM David Forst discussed the club's signing of Eric O'Flaherty in a conference call with reporters, including Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com. Forst said the A's were satisfied that O'Flaherty was making good progress in his recovery from Tommy John surgery in May 2013. The reliever expressed similar confidence to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link) that he is "100 percent certain" he'll be able to pitch in the first half of the season, possibly as early as May.
- The Angels aren't looking for relievers "with closer experience," GM Jerry Dipoto told reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register). The Halos seem set with Ernesto Frieri returning as closer and Joe Smith serving as a setup man.
- In a mailbag piece, MLB.com's Greg Johns addresses such topics as why the Mariners went after Corey Hart and Logan Morrison instead of re-signing a known quantity in Kendrys Morales, as well as Seattle's chances of pursuing some of the big names remaining on free agent market.
- From earlier today, the Angels agreed to sign Ian Stewart to a minor league deal, while the Mariners agreed to bring Endy Chavez back on a minor league contract.
Angels To Sign Ian Stewart
The Angels have signed third baseman Ian Stewart to a minor league deal, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports (via Twitter). The deal contains an invitation to the club's Major League Spring Training camp. Stewart is represented by Reynolds Sports Management.
Stewart was taken by the Rockies as the 10th overall pick of the 2003 draft and was listed as no less than the 57th-best prospect in the sport by Baseball America every season from 2004-08, topping out as #4 before the 2005 season. While Stewart didn't quite live up to his lofty pedigree, he still put up a decent .246/.334/.454 slash line and 53 homers over 1236 PA with Colorado from 2008 to 2010.
A wrist injury hurt his production, however, and the injury followed him to Chicago after Stewart was dealt to the Cubs following the 2011 season. That stint ended badly after Stewart criticized the organization and was subsequently released, leading him to finish out 2013 on a minor league deal with the Dodgers.
Stewart is stll only 28 and could give the Angels some extra pop off the bench if he regains his form. Grant Green projects as the Halos' top backup infielder with Andrew Romine, Luis Jimenez and the newly-signed John McDonald also in the mix.
Masahiro Tanaka Reactions And Fallout
The Masahiro Tanaka saga has come to an end in record-setting fashion. Earlier today, Tanaka agreed to an enormous seven-year, $155MM contract with the Yankees that contains an opt-out clause after the fourth season. Tanaka's $155MM guarantee is the second-largest in history for a free agent pitcher (the largest for a right-hander) and is also the second-largest pitcher contract in history in terms of new money guaranteed. The Tanaka buzz is unlikely to die down in the next couple of days, as pundits dissect the contract and what it means for the Yankees and the free agent market. Here's a look at some of the early reactions to and fallout from the Yankees' staggering investment…
- New York GM Brian Cashman discussed the deal from the team's perspective in a conference call today, and MLBTR's Zach Links reported on the highlights.
- ESPN's Buster Olney reports that the Yankees' internal sense is that this concludes their pursuit of major free agents this offseason (Twitter link).
- It's little surprise that the team with the biggest need and one of the two biggest revenue bases from which to draw wound up landing Tanaka, writes ESPN's Keith Law (Insider required). Law feels that Tanaka will be one of the 20 to 25 best starters in Major League Baseball in 2014 and notes that the opt-out clause works to the Yankees' advantage, in a way.
- SB Nation's Rob Neyer writes that while Tanaka is a significant upgrade for the Yankees, it's hyperbolic to suggest that this signing will change the balance of power in the American League.
- The Cubs were the runner-up in the Tanaka sweepstakes, according to David Kaplan of CSN Chicago (Twitter link). Ultimately, the fact that they're not ready to win in 2014 ended their chances, he elaborates.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Yankees separated themselves, but not by a wide margin. The Dodgers, Cubs, White Sox, Astros and Diamondbacks were all involved in the end. According to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, all teams that participated in the second round of bidding had to come in above the six-year, $120MM level.
- Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com reports that the seventh guaranteed year is what separated the Yankees from the rest of the pack (on Twitter). According to Kaplan (via Twitter), other factors "trumped the possibility of more money," including the influence of Ichiro Suzuki and Hiroki Kuroda and the attractiveness of playing for the game's highest-profile franchise.
- The Dodgers wanted Tanaka, but drew a financial line, reports Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times. As Dilbeck explains, the team does have financial limitations that it intends to abide by. "We went as far as we thought we could go," said GM Ned Colletti.
- For the White Sox, GM Rick Hahn says that reports of the team's efforts to land Tanaka largely seemed "accurate," reports Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago. Ultimately, however, Hahn says that the money reached a level that the club was not comfortable reaching. The resources that the club would have used to sign Tanaka remain available for a similarly attractive opportunity in the future, Hahn said, but he does not see any in the current market. (Links to Twitter.)
- MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports that the Astros' offer to Tanaka exceeded $100MM. McTaggart adds that GM Jeff Luhnow, owner Jim Crane and seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens were among the Astros contingent that went to meet with Tanaka in Los Angeles.
- Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Arizona was told that the Diamondbacks would not pursue other free-agent starters if they missed out on Tanaka, as the front office believes the asking prices to be too high (Twitter link).
- The Blue Jays were involved initially on Tanaka, but had "no way to compete" once it became clear that he would command seven years, reports John Lott of the National Post. Toronto had been willing to pay the $20MM fee, but was only interested in going to five years on the contract, Lott says. The team was also troubled by the opt-out clause, Lott tweets. Toronto figures to be among the most active teams on remaining free agent starters.
- Angels GM Jerry Dipoto told reporters, including MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez, that his team was never very involved with Tanaka and did not make a formal offer (Twitter link). As Gonzalez further explains, the Halos will instead either try to fit Matt Garza within the team's approximately $15MM of 2014 budget space or hunt for a good deal from amongst the cheaper open-market options.
- The Tanaka signing caps a nice run for Casey Close and the Excel Sports Management agency, notes Darren Heitner of Forbes. With an estimated 4% take, those two contracts would deliver a total of $14.8MM to the agency. Heitner notes also that Excel has worked out several notable deals with the Yankees in the past, given its representation of Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira. With its latest run of big contracts, says Heitner, Excel will surely climb the Forbes agency valuation chart.
Jeff Todd contributed to this post.
Nikkan: Clubs Submit Formal Tanaka Offers
Clubs angling to sign Masahiro Tanaka made formal offers by Jan. 16, Nikkan Sports reports (Japanese link). The list of teams includes the Yankees, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, White Sox and Cubs, with nearly all clubs putting together offers worth more than $100MM over six years.
The Diamondbacks have made no secret of their pursuit of Tanaka this winter, and according to Nikkan, they've offered him a deal for six years and $120MM. Such a contract would be the largest in Diamondbacks history by a wide margin. "Like other teams, we're very interested," CEO Derrick Hall was quoted as saying at a recent meeting of MLB owners. "We want to win this competition." Owner Ken Kendrick also reportedly met with Tanaka directly during his recent tour of clubs in the U.S.
The Dodgers and Yankees are believed to have made equivalent offers, according to Nikkan, while comments by Angels owner Arte Moreno suggest that the team would have trouble fitting Tanaka into its budget. Overall, we appear to be nearing the stage in negotiations where the only step remaining is Tanaka's actual decision.
Players Avoiding Arbitration: Friday
We'll keep track of today's smaller deals to avoid arbitration in this post. Click here for background on the upcoming arbitration schedule and how MLBTR is covering it. You can also check in on our Arbitration Tracker and look at MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz's arbitration projections.
Today's noon CT deadline to exchange arb figures has passed, but negotiations to avoid an arbitration hearing can continue into February. The Braves are the only strict "file and trial" team that did not agree to terms with all of its arb-eligible players, meaning they could be headed for several hearings. The Nats and Indians have also shown a willingness to go to a trial and still have some players unsigned. On to today's contract agreements…
- After exchanging numbers, the Mets and pitcher Dillon Gee have agreed to settle at the midpoint of $3.625MM, tweets Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. Swartz projected Gee to earn $3.4MM.
- The Cubs have avoided arbitration with reliever Pedro Strop, president Theo Epstein told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). He will earn $1.325MM next year, according to a tweet from Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. It is not immediately apparent whether the deal was reached before the sides exchanged terms.
- The Angels have reached agreement on a $3.8MM deal with reliever Ernesto Frieri, reports Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com (on Twitter).
- Mike Minor has agreed to terms on a $3.85MM deal with the Braves to avoid arbitration, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com (Twitter links). The deal came before figures were exchanged, Bowman notes.
- Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish reports that the D-Backs and lefty Joe Thatcher have avoided arb with a one-year, $2.375MM deal (Twitter link).
- Nicholson-Smith tweets that the Angels and Fernando Salas reached an agreement to avoid arbitration. Salas is the first Halos player to avoid arb. Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times tweets that Salas will earn $870K, which beats out his $700K projection.
- MLB.com's Jason Beck reports (via Twitter) that the Tigers and righty Al Alburquerque have reached agreement on a deal to avoid arb. The hard-throwing righty will earn $837.5K in 2014, tweets Beck.
- Sherman tweets that the Yankees and Ivan Nova avoided arbitration with a one-year, $3.3MM deal.
- The Pirates and Vin Mazzaro inked a one-year, $950K deal in lieu of an arbitration hearing, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune.
- The Royals announced that they've avoided arbitration with infielder Emilio Bonifacio. Heyman tweets that Bonifacio will earn $3.5MM in 2014.
- Sherman reports that the Rays avoided arbitration with Jeremy Hellickson and Sean Rodriguez (Twitter link). Hellickson landed a $3.625MM payday with a $25K bonus if he hits 195 innings pitched. Rodriguez will get $1.475MM with a $25K bump for hitting 300 plate appearances.
- Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets that Brian Matusz avoided arb with the Orioles. Sherman adds that he'll earn $2.4MM in 2014.
- MLB.com's Brian McTaggart tweets that Jason Castro and the Astros have avoided arbitration. McTaggart adds in a second tweet that Jesus Guzman avoided arb as well. Heyman reports that Castro will be paid $2.45MM, while Sherman tweets that Guzman will make $1.3MM.
- The Indians tweeted that they've avoided arb with lefty Marc Rzepczynski, and MLB.com's Jordan Bastian tweets that he'll earn $1.375MM in 2014. Bastian adds that Scrabble will earn an additional $25K for appearing in 55 games and another $25K for 60 games.
- The Giants avoided arbitration with Yusmeiro Petit, according to MLBTR's Steve Adams (on Twitter). He'll earn $845K, according to Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith (via Twitter).
Arbitration Filing Numbers
MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker is the place to go to see the arbitration contracts agreed upon thus far, as well as the figures exchanged between teams and players that were not able to reach agreement before today's noon deadline to swap salary positions. Matt Swartz's arbitration projections are available here.
As MLBTR has previously explained, 146 players officially filed for arbitration (after some eligible and tendered players had alread reached agreement). Of those, 40 players will exchange figures with their clubs. Of course, those players can still reach agreements before their hearings (which will take place betwee February 1st and 21st). If the case goes to a hearing, the arbitrator must choose one side's figures, rather than settling on a midpoint.
For the Braves players listed below, however, Atlanta says it will cease negotiations and take all cases to a hearing. Two other teams that have swapped figures with some players — the Nationals and Indians — also have employed variations of the "file and trial" approach with their arbitration cases.
Though a tweet from FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal indicates that the Reds have joined the list of teams employing "file and trial," GM Walt Jocketty did not seem to echo that position in comments today to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. It turns out that the team has only taken that position with respect to players whose deals were valued under the $2MM level, tweets Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.
We will use this post to keep tabs on the the highest-stakes arbitration situations remaining — those where the player files for at least $4.5MM:
- A.J. Ellis filed at $4.6MM while the Dodgers countered at $3MM, tweets Passan.
- Gerardo Parra filed at $5.2MM while the Diamondbacks countered at $4.3MM, tweets Passan.
- Tyler Clippard filed at $6.35MM while the Nationals countered at $4.45MM, tweets Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.
- Alex Avila filed at $5.35MM while the Tigers countered at $3.75MM, tweets Jason Beck of MLB.com.
- David Freese filed at $6MM while the Angels countered at $4.1MM, tweets Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.
- Mark Trumbo filed at $5.85MM while the Diamondbacks countered at $3.4MM, tweets Heyman.
- Kenley Jansen filed at $5.05MM while the Dodgers countered at $3.5MM, tweets Heyman.
- Craig Kimbrel filed at $9MM while the Braves countered at $6.55MM, tweets Bowman.
- Jason Heyward filed at $5.5MM while the Braves countered at $5.2MM, tweets Mark Bowman of MLB.com.
- Doug Fister filed at $8.5MM while the Nationals countered at $5.75MM, tweets Heyman.
- Aroldis Chapman filed at $5.4MM while the Reds countered at $4.6MM, tweets Heyman.
- Greg Holland filed at $5.2MM while the Royals countered at $4.1MM, tweets Heyman.
- Justin Masterson filed at $11.8MM while the Indians countered at $8.05MM, tweets Heyman.
- Freddie Freeman filed for $5.75MM while the Braves countered at $4.5MM, tweets Heyman.
- Matt Wieters filed for $8.75MM while the Orioles countered at $6.5MM, tweets Heyman.
- Homer Bailey filed for $11.6MM while the Reds countered at $8.7MM, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
- Jeff Samardzija filed for $6.2MM while the Cubs countered at $4.4MM, tweets Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.
Masahiro Tanaka Rumors: Thursday
We'll keep track of the day's updates on Masahiro Tanaka right here:
- ESPN's Jayson Stark tweets that it was amazing how many owners at the quarterly owners meetings in Arizona were convinced that the Cubs were preparing to blow away the rest of the field with their offer to sign Tanaka.
Earlier Updates
- The Angels are telling other clubs that they are "not seriously involved" in Tanaka negotiations, tweets ESPN.com's Buster Olney.
- The Cubs are "pushing hard" for Tanaka, reports FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal on Twitter. The Angels "remain involved" on the 25-year-old righty, says Rosenthal, along with other teams that have been prominently linked to the Japanese ace (such as the Yankees and Dodgers).
- We have heard previously that the Cubs were prepared to make a major offer to Tanaka. Indeed, as club president Theo Epstein has said previously, he "wish[es] there was a free agent market for young players." Tanaka is about as close as things get to such a market.
- The involvement of the two Chicago organizations in the Tanaka sweepstakes is an indication of his broad market appeal. (The White Sox are one of a few teams confirmed to have met with Tanaka, though some cold water has since been thrown on their interest.) Both clubs have substantial resources, but neither has qualified for the postseason since 2008 and neither looks primed to break up that trend in 2014. Nevertheless, both teams have made substantial free agent commitments over the last two years to relatively youthful players (Edwin Jackson for the Cubs and Jose Dariel Abreu for the White Sox).
Angels Sign John McDonald
The Angels have signed infielder John McDonald to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite, reports Rob Bradford of WEEI.com on Twitter. McDonald will earn $850K, plus incentives, if he makes the big league club, Bradford further tweets. The 39-year-old is represented by Relativity Baseball.
Last year was an adventurous campaign even for the well-traveled McDonald. He saw limited time with four MLB clubs: the Pirates, Indians, Phillies, and Red Sox. Over just 77 plate appearances, McDonald slashed a meager .116/.197/.174.
McDonald has spent the bulk of his fifteen seasons to date in Cleveland and Toronto. He has a lifetime .235/.274/.327 triple-slash in 2,560 plate appearances. The slick fielder continues to hang his hat on his defensive ability. Spending most of his time up the middle at short and second, McDonald has accumulated a lifetime 10.8 rWAR through his defense, while being a net negative with the bat.
Angels’ Moreno On Garza, Stadium Deal, Trout
Angels owner Arte Moreno covered several topics today with Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. (All links to Twitter.) Here are the highlights:
- Explaining that the club is still looking to add arms, Moreno told Morosi that the club has had discussions with free agent starter Matt Garza. The Angels have been rumored to prefer Garza to Ubaldo Jimenez and Ervin Santana, due at least in part to the lack of draft pick compensation required to sign him.
- Meanwhile, Moreno said that he is "very optimistic" that the Angels will reach a deal with the city of Anaheim to keep the club playing at Angel Stadium for the next two decades. The deal under consideration would see the team pay for infrastructure improvements while picking up rights to revenue from redevelopment initiatives in the stadium's vicinity.
- Of course, with Clayton Kershaw's record-setting extension from earlier today, Mike Trout becomes the young superstar whose possible extension becomes most interesting to consider. Moreno, however, said that there was "nothing to speak of" regarding Trout's contract status.
Angels Sign Raul Ibanez
JANUARY 15: Ibanez will make about $250K for every 50th plate appearance, and would max out his $2.25MM incentive plan by making 400 trips to the plate, tweets Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.
DECEMBER 27: The Angels lost a good deal of pop from their lineup when they traded Mark Trumbo to the Diamondbacks, and they're hoping that Raul Ibanez can replace some of those lost round-trippers. The Halos officially announced that they've signed Ibanez to a one-year deal today. The ACES client reportedly receives a $2.75MM guarantee with incentives that can take the deal as high as $5MM.
The 41-year-old Ibanez turned back the clock with a surprising 29-homer campaign with the Mariners last year. Ibanez slashed .242/.306/.487 and hit lefties equally as well as he hit right-handed pitching. However, the Mariners gave Ibanez a surprising 832 innings in the outfield, where his glove was poor enough for Fangraphs to grade him as a replacement-level player and Baseball-Reference to peg him at a mere 0.4 WAR despite his power.
In that sense, Anaheim is a logical fit, as they don't need to play Ibanez in the outfield given the presence of Josh Hamilton, Mike Trout, Kole Calhoun and J.B. Shuck. Ibanez figures to receive the lion's share of at-bats as the Halos' DH. Though Albert Pujols occupied the position a good deal last year, Anaheim will bank on his health in 2014 and beyond as he returns to his role as an everyday first baseman. Ibanez isn't the only new face in the Angels' lineup either, as GM Jerry Dipoto acquired David Freese from the Cardinals this offseason in a trade that sent Peter Bourjos to St. Louis.
As Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register points out (on Twitter), this move places the Angels within roughly $15MM of the $189MM luxury tax threshold, but that doesn't figure to stop the team from pursuing Matt Garza or Masahiro Tanaka (in the event that he is posted).
Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish first reported that the two sides were close (on Twitter), and Fletcher first tweeted the one-year, $2.75MM guarantee. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports first reported the agreement and the incentives (Twitter links).