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Quick Hits: Minaya, Weaver, Danks, Zimmerman

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Emilio "Millito" Navarro, believed to be the oldest living professional baseball player at 105, passed away in Puerto Rico today. The former Negro Leaguer also played in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico during his career. Our condolences go out to his family.

  • Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer reports that former Mets GM Omar Minaya has spent the past two days on a "friendly visit" with Indians GM Chris Antonetti, president Mark Shapiro, and manager Manny Acta. Cleveland interviewed former Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes during the offseason, and Hoynes says Antonetti has "made [it] no secret that he'd like to add the right person to the front office."
  • While researching the impending free agency of young stars, SI's Jon Heyman (via Twitter) learned that we can count on Jered Weaver and John Danks filing after 2012.
  • It's been a bad day for star third basemen, writes Justin Sablich of the New York Times.  The Giants lost Pablo Sandoval for 4-6 weeks with a broken bone in his right wrist and the Nationals announced that Ryan Zimmerman, who has been on the disabled list since April 12, will miss at least an another six weeks.  If both players return within those timeframes, it's unlikely that either squad will look for an out-of-house fill-in.
  • Matt Klaassen of Fangraphs questions the Blue Jays' wisdom in demoting Travis Snider to work on his hitting after just 99 plate appearances in 2011.

2012 Vesting Options Update

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It's the final day of the month, so let's check the status of the various vesting options around the league…

  • Bobby Abreu, Angels: $9MM option vests with 433 plate appearances. Abreu is more than a quarter of the way there already; he has 116 PA after today's game.
  • Rafael Furcal, Dodgers: $12MM option vests with 600 plate appearances. Furcal came to the plate 28 times before breaking his thumb. He's going to miss another three to five weeks, so he's unlikely to see the option vest.
  • Jon Garland, Dodgers: $8MM option vests with 190 innings pitched. Garland started the year on the disabed list and has thrown just 20 innings so far. He should still get there if he stays healthy.
  • Francisco Rodriguez, Mets: $17.5MM option vests with 55 games finished and if doctors declare him healthy at the end of the season. K-Rod has finished eight games so far, but you have to think the club will use him in a way to prevent the option from vesting.
  • Koji Uehara, Orioles: $4MM option vests with either 55 appearances or 25 games finished. Uehara has appeared in eight games and finished four, putting him on pace for 54 and 27, respectively.
  • Arthur Rhodes, Rangers: $4MM option vests with 62 appearances and if he's not on the disabled list at the end of the season. He's appeared in eight games so far, putting him on pace for 50. Injuries to the some of his bullpen mates could increase Rhodes' workload though.
  • Joakim Soria, Royals: $6MM option vests with 55 appearances. He's already appeared in 12 games and is on pace for 75.
  • Dan Wheeler, Red Sox: $3MM option vests with 65 games; increases to $3.25MM with 70 games. Wheeler has appeared in just eight games so far, so he'll have to start seeing more time for the option to kick in.

Adam Wainwright's 2012 ($9MM) and 2013 ($12MM) options will not vest because he will finish the season on the disabled list. Aramis Ramirez's option depends on MVP Award finishes and whether or not he's traded, not plate appearances or another counting milestone.

Mark Buehrle is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2011 season and although he doesn't have a traditional option in his contract, he gets an extra year at $15MM tacked onto his current deal if he's traded at some point this season. 

Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.

Dead Money: Paying Players To Play Elsewhere

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Eating money in trades or by releasing players is far from an ideal business practice, but sometimes it's a necessary evil. The Mets believe they are better off paying Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo a combined $18MM not to be on their team this year, and released the two just last month. David Wharton of The Los Angeles Times wrote about the concept of "dead money" today, speaking to Dodgers GM Ned Colletti, sports economist J.C. Bradbury, and Scott Boras.

With some help from Cot's Baseball Contracts, let's look at the teams that are paying players to be anywhere but on their roster this season…

This doesn't include money the Braves owe Kenshin Kawakami ($7.4MM) or the Yankees owe Kei Igawa ($4MM). Both Japanese imports remain in the organization, but they've since been banished to the minor leagues. It also doesn't include all the money the Mets famously owe Bobby Bonilla for the next two decades.

Yuniesky Betancourt is the only player collecting paychecks from three different big league teams at the moment, but Carlos Silva could join him if he's called up by the Yankees. Gary Matthews Jr. could also be in that mix if he catches on somewhere this summer.

AL West Notes: Barton, Angels, Wilhelmsen

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Happy birthday to Rangers manager Ron Washington, who turns 59 years old today.  Let's celebrate by taking a look at some items from Washington's division…

  • Daric Barton admits that he has been thinking about his multiyear contract negotiations with the Athletics, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.  "It's always in the back of your mind," Barton said. "It's not something you like to think about, but realistically, it happens."  We heard about these negotiations last month, with MLBTR's Tim Dierkes noting that Barton's walk-heavy production could make him a bargain for the A's if they choose to go to arbitration with the first baseman.
  • The Angels are integrating young players into their lineup while still remaining competitive in the AL West, writes Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
  • Mike Trout is having a nice season at Double-A Arkansas, but ESPN.com's Jason A. Churchill predicts Trout will only reach the majors in 2011 if the Angels want to give him a few token at-bats in September.  Churchill speculates that Trout might skip Triple-A altogether and potentially make the Angels out of Spring Training next year, or at least be in the majors by May 2012 (or after next year's Super Two cutoff date).
  • Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports profiles Mariners right-hander Tom Wilhelmsen, who made his improbable Major League debut this season after spending five years away from the sport.

Angels Designate Jason Bulger For Assignment

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The Angels designated right-hander Jason Bulger for assignment, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the LA Times (on Twitter). The Halos optioned Matt Palmer to Triple-A, and activated Joel Pineiro and Scott Downs from the disabled list in corresponding moves.

Bulger, 32, has a sparkling 0.96 ERA in 9 1/3 innings this year. However, he has walked more batters (10) than he has struck out (7). Opponents have hit just .167 on balls in play and Bulger's 7.54 FIP and 6.14 xFIP suggest his ERA should probably be 5-6 runs higher than it is.

Bulger has a 4.33 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9 in 133 career innings, all but 10 of them with the Angels. The seven-year veteran has pitched in manager Mike Scioscia's bullpen every year since 2006.

Arbitration Records: Starting Pitchers

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Several arbitration records could fall in 2012.  Here's my best attempt at finding the current records for starting pitchers who went year-to-year.

  • First time: Dontrelle Willis – $4.35MM (2006).  If you count the $100K in award bonuses Jered Weaver earned last year, he's the record holder at $4.365MM.
  • Second time: Jered Weaver – $7.37MM (2011).  Weaver's agent Scott Boras actually aimed to push this bar up to $8.8MM, but he lost an arbitration hearing to the Angels.  There does not appear to be a challenger to this record in the upcoming offseason.
  • Third time: Carlos Zambrano – $12.4MM (2007).  Z's $5.9MM raise had precedent: the $6MM raises Kevin Millwood and Chan Ho Park received early in the decade.

Whatever you consider the first-time record, it'll probably fall unless Clayton Kershaw and David Price sign multiyear extensions.  If those two aces have their first-time salaries determined in the arbitration process, they'll probably both reach $5MM.

Weaver, who already has six wins and 49 strikeouts on the season, has a good chance of topping Zambrano's $5.9MM raise and setting a new standard for elite pitchers going to arbitration for a third time.  Based on projections, Weaver should be well ahead of where Zambrano was before his third arbitration year in everything aside from ERA (in which they could be almost dead even).  Boras could have a good case for a $7-8MM raise, taking Weaver to a $15MM salary in his final year before free agency.

Side note: if Weaver's salary gets to such dizzying heights, the rising tide will lift those below him like John Danks and Matt Garza.  If Weaver gets to $15MM before Danks' salary is determined, Danks' agent can use that to his client's benefit.

We haven't yet mentioned Tim Lincecum, who would have eclipsed Willis' record had he not signed a two-year deal.  Lincecum is untouchable, and if his 2012 salary is determined by the arbitration process it will easily top Weaver's and be an arbitration record for all non-free agent players, not just pitchers. 

Pirates Claim Brandon Wood

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The Pirates claimed shortstop Brandon Wood off waivers from the Angels, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Wood had been designated for assignment by the Halos late Tuesday, and the Pirates were first in line in the waiver order.

Wood

The former top prospect is now 26 years old, and in 494 big league plate appearances with the Angels he hasn't had success.  The Pirates present the perfect opportunity for redemption, as they're one of few teams that can give Wood regular at-bats at shortstop with some leeway for struggling.  The scouting report is three years old, but before the '08 season Baseball America said Wood had unexceptional range but could "handle shortstop just fine" defensively.  Though he's a shortstop by trade, Wood has played third base as well.  MLB.com's Lyle Spencer wrote recently, "It was fascinating to see how different he was when he was in the lineup at shortstop rather than at third."

The claim was a no-brainer for Pittsburgh, a team with few interesting players in the shortstop pipeline.  Ronny Cedeno is currently the starter, though the club sought upgrades all winter.  The Pirates were able to get Wood for nothing, after the Angels seemingly kept the asking price high on him for years.  The Pirates will have to open up a 40-man roster spot to accommodate Wood, and they've said they'll make the corresponding move this afternoon.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Brandon Wood Rumors: Pirates, Blue Jays

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26-year-old infielder Brandon Wood was designated for assignment late Tuesday by the Angels, and there is "zero chance of him clearing waivers," tweets USA Today's Bob Nightengale.  He'd be a fit for many clubs at shortstop or third base, as I outlined here, but he's more likely to land with a club that can give him some leeway to struggle in the Majors.  Claims are due in by noon eastern time today, reports Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  The latest:

  • The Blue Jays "expressed interest in trading for Wood as recently as this offseason," according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, so they could be interested now.
  • The Pirates will "almost surely" place a claim, tweets Dunlap.  They have first dibs, as 2010 records are used within the first 30 days of this season to determine waiver order.  The team's 40-man roster is currently full, so they'll either have to designate someone for assignment or put someone on the 60-day DL if they win a claim on Wood.  Keep in mind that claims might not come into play if a team simply trades for Wood.
  • Brewers GM Doug Melvin told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy (Twitter link) that his team discussed going after Wood, but demurred since Milwaukee has no spot for him.  I named the Brewers as one potential candidate for Wood yesterday.

Quick Hits: Purke, Wood, Bonderman, Promotions

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On this date three years ago, the Blue Jays released Frank Thomas. He retired after a brief return engagment with the Athletics, hitting .301/.419/.555 in a career that should garner Hall of Fame consideration. Here's some links for the evening…

  • TCU left-hander Matt Purke is out indefinitely with a sore shoulder according to Stefan Stevenson of The Star-Telegram. He will be evaluated by Dr. James Andrews later this week. Purke, who was expected to be one of the top picks in this June's draft, spoke to MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith last month.
  • Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic says (on Twitter) that the Diamondbacks don't have interest in, or room on the roster for Brandon Wood.
  • Jeremy Bonderman recently visited his former Tigers' teammates during their trip to Seattle, writes MLB.com's Jason Beck. The right-hander told reporters that he feels "great," and that he plans to visit the Tigers in Detroit in a few weeks. That would seem to indicate he isn't close to signing with a team.
  • In a piece for ESPN Insider, Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus breaks down some factors that are considered when a prospect is promoted to the big leagues or a higher minor league level.
  • ESPN The Magazine published a list of the highest paid athletes from 182 countries. A dozen MLB players make the list, but that comes nowhere close to the number of soccer players making big bucks.

AL West Notes: Felix, Leonys Martin, Brandon Wood

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The Rangers and Angels are currently tied for first place in the AL West, with 11-6 records.  The latest from the division:

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