Kendry Morales Hires Scott Boras
While he lost free agent Felipe Lopez yesterday, agent Scott Boras has picked up a new client in Angels first baseman Kendry Morales, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Morales is entering the final season of a six year, $4.5MM contract and will be arbitration-eligible for the first time after this season.
The 26-year-old Morales was previously represented by the Hendricks brothers. Jorge Arangure Jr. of ESPN writes that Morales helped lure Aroldis Chapman to Hendricks Sports Management.
Angels To Re-Sign Robb Quinlan
The Angels agreed to re-sign Robb Quinlan to a minor league deal, tweets MLB.com's Lyle Spencer. The utility man, who turns 33 next month, hit .243/.275/.339 in 120 plate appearances for the Angels last year. Quinlan player all four corner positions for the Angels last year and figures to play a similar role if he makes the club again.
The Rockies, Twins and Dodgers had some interest in Quinlan this offseason.
Adeiny Hechevarria Drawing Interest
6:06pm: Arangure mentions (via Twitter) that Hechevarria still has to be "unblocked" by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, meaning it could be weeks before he's able to sign.
2:24pm: Adeiny Hechevarria is the next big thing out of Cuba, tweets ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. ESPN's Mark Saxon has the scoop on the 19-year-old shortstop.
Saxon says the Angels and five other teams watched Hechevarria in the Dominican Republic last week and bidding "could reach eight figures." Indeed, Arangure tweets that he expects Hechevarria to get more than Jose Iglesias' $8.2MM. The blog Cuban Ball Players has video and a profile of Hechevarria, and AOL Fanhouse's Frankie Piliere tweets one evaluator's take.
Players To Avoid Arbitration: Friday
Here's a round up of the players that have agreed to deals avoiding arbitration today…
- MLB.com's Lyle Spencer tweets that the Angels and Joe Saunders have agreed to a deal for 2010, avoiding arbitration. Kevin Baxter of The Los Angeles Times reports that the deal is worth $3.7MM, which splits the difference between each side's filing figure.
- The Rangers and Scott Feldman have agreed to a one-year deal worth $2.425MM, reports Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News (via Twitter). He was the team's last remaining arbitration case.
Odds & Ends: Anderson, Smoltz, Red Sox, Dye
Links for Friday…
- Heyman tweets that the Angels and Dodgers could pursue Garret Anderson.
- Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that the Mets are falling behind in their attempts to sign John Smoltz.
- As Rob Bradford of WEEI.com notes, Theo Epstein says the Red Sox do not have a policy against negotiating extensions during the season.
- The Red Sox, Phillies, Diamondbacks and Rockies watched Oscar Villarreal throw today, tweets Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse.
- An MLB executive tells ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that Jermaine Dye turned down $3.3MM from the Cubs before they signed Xavier Nady for the same price (Twitter link).
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson tweets that money may prevent the Nationals from signing Orlando Hudson. Adam Dunn believes Washington is Hudson's first choice.
- The club could go after Adam Kennedy if Hudson signs elsewhere, tweets Ladson.
- The Blue Jays have money, but aren't going to spend for the sake of spending, according to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.
- In case you'd like more on the Johnny Damon-Yankees drama, SI's Jon Heyman talked to the player and GM.
- Alex Rodriguez was "staring at retirement right in the face" last March when diagnosed with a torn labrum in his hip, he told Kim Jones of the YES Network Wednesday night.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs wonders if aging players are the new market inefficiency.
- Cameron compares Jason Bay to Josh Willingham and concludes that the two outfielders are pretty similar.
- In an interview with SNY's Kevin Burkhardt last night, Mets GM Omar Minaya insisted he has full autonomy. Joel Sherman of the New York Post doesn't buy it.
- U.S.S. Mariner's Dave Cameron tweets of rumblings that the Royals and Mariners have discussed Alberto Callaspo.
- The Red Sox signed catcher Gustavo Molina to a minor league deal, reports WEEI's Rob Bradford. Molina, 28 in February, hit .209/.233/.308 for the Nationals' Triple A club last year.
- Larry Granillo of Wezen-Ball digs up the true story behind Andre Dawson, the Cubs, and the blank check in '87.
- Twins lefty Glen Perkins explained his grievance to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Odds & Ends: Hudson, Turnbow, Delgado, Nady
Links for Tuesday…
- Orlando Hudson is "making progress on signing with a team," tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson, however Hudson declined to name the team. In separate tweet, Ladson says a source told him that the Nationals top Hudson's wish list.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that the Diamondbacks and Rockies are pursuing Derrick Turnbow, who could sign soon.
- MLBTR's resident translator Nick Collias passes along this report from Esteban Rivera of the Puerto Rican newspaper Primera Hora, in which Carlos Delgado says that the Mets, Orioles, and Royals "have seen him [play] on the island." Omar Minaya said there is still a mutual interest in bringing Delgado back to New York, tweets ESPN's Jorge Arangure
- The final offer Scott Boras presented the Yankees with for Xavier Nady was worth $5MM, tweets Joel Sherman of The New York Post. He adds that the Yanks would have considered him at the price he signed for today, and that they'll only do a minor league deal for Rocco Baldelli (via Twitter).
- Now that Ben Sheets has signed with the A's, Ken Rosenthal at FoxSports.com tweets that the Mets' next target appears to be John Smoltz. A source tells him they haven't aggressively pursued Jon Garland.
- MLB.com's Brian McTaggart mentions that the Astros and Wandy Rodriguez are set to go an arbitration hearing on February 17th. Wandy filed for $7MM, the team $5MM.
- Meanwhile, Richard Justice of The Houston Chronicle breaks down the Astros' offseason in a video.
- Rick Ankiel said that the Nationals, Marlins, and Yankees were in it until the end, reports Doug Tucker of The Brownsville Herald.
- Cody Ross' arbitration hearing has been scheduled for February 15th, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. Ross is seeking a $4.45MM salary in 2010, but the Marlins are countering with $4.2MM.
- ESPN's Buster Olney wrote about baseball's internal discussions on how to fix the draft, including some notes about what was discussed at the recent general managers meeting (sub. req'd).
- In a mailbag, MLB.com's Kelly Thesier says the Twins payroll appears to be right around $90MM, and they don't seem willing to spend much more than that.
- Meanwhile, Lyle Spencer of MLB.com writes in his mailbag that the Angels "appear to have stretched the salary budget to its limit," so don't expect any more major moves.
- Ken Davidoff of Newsday lists what he thinks are the best run organizations in baseball (sub. req'd). There's 15 of them, however ten are from the AL while just five come from the NL.
- John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer looks at the list of remaining free agents, and sees only one fit for the Reds: Orlando Cabrera. He's probably too expensive for them at this point, however.
- MLB.com's Marty Noble says in a mailbag that he doesn't believe the Mets' current roster and the Opening Day roster will be the same, but he's not sure where the club can turn to improve.
Odds & Ends: Twins, Angels, Rangers
Lots to get to as Monday starts to wind down:
- Frankie Piliere of AOL Fanhouse weighs in with his top 100 prospects of 2010. The Top 25 can be found here, while 26-100 are available here.
- In addition to weighing in on Jim Thome, MLB.com's Kelly Thesier reports that the Twins would likely be looking to begin any contract extension with Joe Mauer in 2011, rather than re-work his 2010 deal.
- MLB.com's Lyle Spencer doesn't think the Angels are doing anything else significant this offseason.
- T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com says that the Rangers haven't ruled Ben Sheets out completely, but that the player movement is likely finished in Arlington as well.
- Add MLB.com's Marty Noble to the list of people who don't understand why the Mets acquired Gary Matthews Jr.
- Michael DiRocco of the Florida Times-Union reports that Texas Rangers' draft pick and Florida wide receiver Riley Cooper, practicing this week at the Senior Bowl, has chosen football over baseball.
- The Royals announced infielder Mario Lisson was designated for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster for Rick Ankiel.
Angels Extend Maicer Izturis
Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports that the Angels have extended Maicer Izturis' contract for three years, $10MM, avoiding arbitration in the process and buying out two years of free agency as well.
Izturis had submitted an arbitration salary of $3MM, while the Angels had countered with $2.3MM.
Izturis, 29, had a terrific 2009 season, posting a .300/.359/.434 batting line while playing mainly second base for the Angels. His UZR/150 at the position was a sparkling 14.7.
Though the 2010 projection systems see some regression from his near-.800 OPS, he still profiles as a strong choice at second base. A good signing at reasonable money for the Angels here.
Cafardo On Sheets, Lowell, Pineiro
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wonders why more teams don't take advantage of arbitration hearings. Clubs do have a history of winning cases against their players in recent years. Here are Cafardo's latest rumors:
- A Red Sox source tells Cafardo that it's unlikely the team signs Ben Sheets. Not a surprise, given Boston's rotation depth.
- One scout is certain Ron Mahay will be on a major league roster by the time Spring Training starts.
- An NL scout considers Miguel Batista a "very serviceable piece."
- Since Miguel Cabrera was in rehab for alcoholism this offseason, teams weren't eager to trade prospects for the first baseman and pay his $20MM salary.
- As we heard last week, the Twins are interested in signing Jim Thome.
- The Red Sox and Angels considered swapping Mike Lowell for Gary Matthews Jr. before concerns about Lowell's thumb emerged.
- An AL GM considers Joel Pineiro "another middle-rotation guy."
Angels Sign Joel Pineiro To Two-Year Deal
Joel Pineiro officially signed a two-year deal with the Angels worth about $16MM today. The Cardinals will receive a supplemental first round pick as compensation for losing the Type-B free agent. The 31-year-old Pineiro probably won't match the departed John Lackey, but he was the best available free agent starter.
Pineiro will apparently receive just $1MM more than Jason Marquis despite having a much better 2009 season. Pineiro pitched like an ace, with a 3.49 ERA in 214 innings for the Cardinals. His 60.5% groundball rate and 1.1 walks per nine innings were both MLB bests. Cards pitching coach Dave Duncan deserves credit for the former, as Duncan convinced Pineiro in February to try a sinker. The walk rate may be more difficult to repeat.
The Mets and Dodgers were also known to be pursuing Pineiro. They'll now have to turn to Jon Garland, Jarrod Washburn, and Braden Looper for bulk innings. Ben Sheets, Erik Bedard, John Smoltz, and Chien-Ming Wang provide the post-injury upside. Pedro Martinez sits somewhere in-between.
Ken Davidoff of Newsday first tweeted Pineiro's Angels preference, while SI's Jon Heyman and ESPN's Buster Olney followed with tweets of the agreement.
Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.