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West Notes: Mariners, Dodgers, Helton, Rangers

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Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com weighed in with five likes and dislikes for the 2013 Mariners today. Heyman is a fan of the M's improved offense thanks in particular to the additions of Mike Morse and Kendrys Morales.  On top of that, less-heralded pickups like Raul Ibanez, Jason Bay, and Kelly Shoppach could also help Seattle put more runs on the board this season.  Here's more out of the AL and NL West..

  • Dodgers manager Don Mattingly says that Jerry Hairston Jr. might have a future as a coach or a manager, writes Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com.  However, the 36-year-old first has to decide when he's going to retire.  Hairston will serve as the backup in left field, right field, and third base this year and assess his future after the season.
  • Todd Helton's teammates say that the veteran can be a significant contributor in what will likely be his final season, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post.  Even Helton, who will earn $5MM in the final year of his deal, acknowledges that this is likely the end of the road.
  • If Rangers execs Nolan Ryan and Jon Daniels can't coexist, then Ryan should be the one to go, opines Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News.  Ryan is reportedly unhappy with the idea of ceding power to the newly promoted GM.

Quick Hits: MLBPA, Wainwright, Dodgers

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One year ago today, the Orioles' signing of Miguel Gonzalez to a minor league contract became official. The move drew little notice at the time, but Gonzalez would go on to become a key cog in Baltimore's unlikely playoff berth. Gonzalez pitched to a 3.25 ERA, 6.6 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 105 1/3 innings for manager Buck Showalter's team. Here's more news from around the league…

  • Scott Miller of CBS Sports spoke with MLBPA director Michael Weiner about the increasing amount of players calling for harsher penalties for first-time PED offenders. Recently, Dustin Pedroia, Matt Holliday, Michael Cuddyer and Ryan Zimmerman spoke out, with Cuddyer calling for first-time offenders to receive 100-game suspensions. Weiner said the issue will be tackled this coming offseason.
  • Adam Wainwright's agent Steve Hammond has returned from a ten-day trip to Israel, so negotiations with the Cardinals could resume soon, tweets B.J. Rains of 1380 AM.  Rains spoke with Wainwright about his relationship with Hammond for a forthcoming installment of MLBTR's "Why I Chose My Agency" series.
  • MLB.com's Ken Gurnick looks at the nine Dodgers will be free agents following the 2013 season. As Gurnick notes, Chris Capuano, Aaron Harang, Nick Punto, Mark Ellis, Jerry Hairston, Matt Guerrier, J.P. Howell and Juan Uribe will all be eligible for free agents. They're not all guarantees to depart, however, as Capuano, Ellis and Harang all have options on their contracts. This is also the final season that the Dodgers will owe $8.3MM in deferred money to Manny Ramirez, meaning they'll have $54.2MM coming off the books.
  • Dave Cameron of FanGraphs explains that the disparity in salaries between experienced players and inexperienced players works in favor of low revenue teams and has a positive impact on competitive balance in MLB.

Steve Adams and Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.

NL Notes: Pirates, Nationals, Cardinals, Kershaw

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With Spring Training in full swing, wonderful stories from present and past are always emerging. Take Rays starter Chris Archer, who is not just fighting for a spot on Tampa Bay’s opening-day roster, but is on a quest for self-discovery. (As told by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.)  Or today's matchup between former and current Padres workhorses Jake Peavy and Clayton Richard, who were traded for one another back at the 2009 trade deadline.  (Courtesy of Corey Brock of MLB.com.)  Or, going back further still, recall Roberto Clemente, whose presence was felt strongly in Fort Myers, FL during his playing days and lives on vividly today. (From David Dorsey of News-Press.com.)  On to some National League notes …

  • While there was never a question who would cover the right-field grass for Pittsburgh when Clemente was roaming Forbes Field, the team must find someone to man that role in 2013. Jose Tabata has shown hustle and power this spring that have exceeded the Pirates' expectations, Tom Singer of MLB.com writes.  Still just 24 years old, Tabata’s strong showing thus far has only further complicated Pittsburgh’s right field situation. As Singer explains, in addition to Tabata and trade-deadline acquisition Travis Snider (who the team hopes will lay claim to the position), the Pirates are considering options like Clint Robinson, Jerry Sands, Alex Presley, Garrett Jones, Felix Pie, Darren Ford, and Brad Hawpe. 
  • Also making a surprising impression in Pirates camp is right-handed reliever Brooks Brown, who Singer says has emerged as an unexpected favorite to earn a spot in the Bucs' bullpen.  Brown was selected by Arizona in the first round back in 2006, but has yet to make a big league appearance.
  • Another darkhorse bullpen candidate who appears to be making strong moves towards a roster spot is the Nationals' Fernando Abad.  As reported by The Washington Post's Adam Kilgore, with fellow left-handed relievers Bill Bray, Will Ohman, and Brandon Mann being sent to minor league camp, the 27-year-old minor-league-invitee Abad now stands as the most likely candidate to round out the Washington bullpen should the Nationals decide to keep another lefty alongside Zach Duke.  (Ohman was apparently cut during today's game, just after his poor outing, according to Mark Townsend of Yahoo.)
  • The Nationals also welcomed back catcher Wilson Ramos, who made his first appearance in a game since tearing his ACL early in the 2012 season, reports James Wagner of The Washington Post.  Ramos will likely split time with Kurt Suzuki as soon as he is able to catch regularly.
  • With Rafael Furcal being shut down indefinitely after a setback in his recovery from the elbow injury he suffered late last season, the Cardinals are planning what GM John Mozeliak is calling “an open competition” at shortstop, reports Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. After emerging last season when Furcal went down, Pete Kozma will battle with veteran Ronny Cedeno for the starting job out of camp.
  • The Dodgers' outstanding young starting pitcher, Clayton Kershaw, says that he is not thinking about whether or not he can top the Felix Hernandez contract, Tracy Ringolsby or MLB.com writes.  Kershaw explains that he'll "play the game the same way" regardless of salary because "it's the best job you could have. … I talk to my buddies all the time.  They are putting on suits and ties, and going to the office every day.  I put on a uniform and play a game."

West Notes: Trout, D’backs, Wilson, Crawford, Rockies

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In an ESPN Insider piece (subscription required), Buster Olney lists the Angels renewing Mike Trout's contract for $510K as one of the biggest issues facing baseball today. Craig Landis, the agent for the AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP runner-up, said the renewal "falls well short of a 'fair' contract." Jeff Miller of the Orange County Register agrees considering Joe Blanton will receive a $500K bonus from the Angels if he throws 200 innings and the team gave a $250K signing bonus to free agent reliever Sean Burnett. Olney, however, writes it makes almost no sense for Trout to refuse to sign his contract tender and have a negotiation flare-up so early in his career because he will reap millions from the system later on. For his part, the 21-year-old is quoted by Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter) as saying, "I've got to keep putting up numbers. My time will come." Elsewhere from MLB's West Divisions:

  • MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez reports the Angels don't expect any of this will ruffle enough feathers to sour Trout's desire to sign an extension and cites similar situations involving Adam Jones, Derek Jeter, Ryan Howard, David Wright, and Jered Weaver.
  • The Diamondbacks renewed Wade Miley's contract for $500,500, tweets CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman. The left-hander earned All-Star honors last year while finishing second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. 
  • Giants manager Bruce Bochy told Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio the team has not closed the door on former closer Brian Wilson (Twitter link).
  • The Dodgers will have questions to answer in left field and the leadoff spot because Carl Crawford will likely not be ready to open the season, according to Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. Manager Don Mattingly will use a variety of in-house options including Cuban import Yasel Puig.
  • If non-roster invitee third baseman Nolan Arenado continues his torrid play during camp and shows he's ready, it could allow the Rockies to use their depth at third base to acquire more pitching, tweets the Denver Post's Troy Renck. 
  • Cody Ross was disappointed by the lack of interest from West Coast teams during his free agency this offseason until the Diamondbacks called "out of nowhere," reports Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. "My wife and I were jumping up and down," said Ross, a Phoenix resident. "We were so excited to live at home and play at home and be around a good bunch of guys and great coaches, and a front office that’s committed to winning."
  • Earlier today, we learned Hunter Pence would rather sign a long-term contract with the Giants rather than test free agency.

 

Los Angeles Notes: Angels, Dodgers, Trout, Wilson

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Here's a look at the latest from the two L.A. teams..

  • The Angels gave star outfielder Mike Trout a $510K contract for next season, just $20K over the MLB minimum, and agent Craig Landis voiced his displeasure in a statement, writes Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com.  Gonzalez writes that the Halos didn't want to set a precedent for their other players and they don’t feel that it'll hinder their ability to sign him to a long-term extension.  For his part, Landis says that the figure "falls well short" of a fair deal.
  • The Dodgers have an embarrassment of riches on the mound at a time when most teams are searching for their fourth and fifth starter, writes Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.  While there's likely a trade candidate or two on the Dodgers, GM Ned Colletti says that he's happy to hang on to his surplus.
  • After signing a five-year, $77.5MM deal with the Angels last winter, C.J. Wilson didn't get off to the greatest start with his new club.  However, the hurler says that he's finally healthy and ready to have a bounceback year, Gonzalez writes.

NL West Notes: Goldschmidt, Kershaw, Crawford

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No National League division has produced more pennant winners over the last 15 seasons than the NL West.  The Giants have own three of those pennants (plus two World Series titles to boot) and the Padres, Rockies and Diamondbacks all have one each over that span.  The Dodgers are the odd team out but they're sparing no expense to get back to the World Series as soon as possible.  Here's the latest from around the division…

  • The Diamondbacks are looking to re-open extension talks with Paul Goldschmidt before Opening Day, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.  Goldschmidt turned down the club's initial attempt to negotiate a few weeks ago, telling GM Kevin Towers that he wanted more time to establish value.
  • The Dodgers and Clayton Kershaw haven't yet begun serious negotiations about a long-term contract, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reports (via CBS Sports' Dayn Perry).  The two sides hadn't even begun talking by mid-February and there is an unofficial deadline of Opening Day, as Kershaw says he doesn't want negotiations to drag into the season.
  • If the Dodgers trade one of their extra starting pitchers, they could look to obtain a right-handed hitting outfielder in return to provide a backup plan if Carl Crawford struggles or isn't healthy, Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times opines.
  • Brock Bond went from being an "accidental" draft pick in 2007 to reaching his first Major League Spring Training camp after six years in the Giants system, CSNBayArea.com's Andrew Baggarly writes.
  • Over at Roto Authority, Steve Adams recently judged whether three NL West outfielders would be fantasy sleepers or busts in the coming season.

Los Angeles Notes: Dodgers, Harang, Angels

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Mike Hampton, a left-handed starter who accumulated 148 wins over 16 big league seasons, is returning to baseball as a pitching coach in the Angels minor league system.  MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez writes that Hampton will join the staff of the Double-A Arkansas Travelers.  Here's more on the Halos, as well as their NL counterparts in Los Angeles:

  • Manager Don Mattingly did not see Aaron Harang as an option for the Dodgers' bullpen even before the righty's rough outing today, and that could make Harang a trade candidate, Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times reports. “Harang doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that pitches out of the pen,” says Mattingly. “To me he’s more of a guy that paints. He keeps you in the game. He’s just not that guy that’s going in and overpower you.”  After the acquisitions of Zack Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu, the Dodgers have a surplus of starting pitching.  
  • Mattingly could see other starters (like Chris Capuano, who has also been pushed down the rotation depth chart), in bullpen roles, A.J. Cassavell of MLB.com explains.
  • With Harang and the rest of the Dodgers' rotation candidates (excluding Ryu) out of minor-league options, and with the bullpen seemingly an unlikely landing spot, the veteran seems aware that his time in Los Angeles could soon end, reports Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times.  "There's all sorts of scenarios out there right now, and if guys are traded, we're all starters," said Harang.  He went on to explain that he had to maintain the mental approach of a starter: "If we do get sent somewhere else and they want us to be a starter, we can't have the mind-set of, 'Oh I'm going to be a reliever now.' "
  • Former Nationals closer Chad Cordero, on the comeback trail with the Angels after nearly two years away from the game, aspires to return to closing, Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com writes. Cordero's infant daughter died in 2010, and the Blue Jays released him in May 2011. Cordero, who's still only 30, last pitched in the majors with the Mariners in 2010.
  • While there is some history for pre-arbitration players coming off of outstanding years to receive salaries substantially greater than league minimum, Mike Trout has little leverage, writes Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register.  Fletcher goes on to note that "there doesn't seem to be much incentive on either side" to explore a long-term extension at the moment, with the Angels having "enough money that they can afford to wait on Trout" to ensure that "he is as good as his first year showed."  For his part, Trout stated that he is "not even thinking about that now."

Charlie Wilmoth contributed to this post.

National League Notes: Cubs, Pirates, Wells

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Manager Dale Sveum is prepared for the possibility that the Cubs could be sellers again at the July 31st trade deadline, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports. Sveum said he hopes to be in contention but will understand if the team needs to re-focus on 2014. "If your team is out of it, to start building and getting a healthier organization, unfortunately or fortunately, that's part of the business," he said. Here are some more notes from around the National League…

  • Tom Singer of MLB.com explains that the Pirates would probably like to lock up core players such as Neil Walker and Pedro Alvarez. While Walker would presumably like to stay with the Pirates, his hometown team, retaining him will be expensive, as Singer outlines. Alvarez, a New York native, might like the idea of playing for the Yankees in Singer's view. 
  • Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com hears that Kip Wells looked good throwing for Phillies people yesterday (Twitter link). Wells, who started seven games for the Padres last year, had good off-speed pitches, Heyman writes.
  • Adrian Gonzalez said that he couldn't be happier to be playing for the Dodgers, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports. "I'm really really happy and excited to be here and really excited about where the team is heading and what we have an opportunity to do here," Gonzalez said. The Dodgers acquired Gonzalez from the Red Sox in a blockbuster trade last August.

Greinke Gave Rangers Chance To Beat Dodgers’ Offer

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Zack Greinke signed a contract that made him — at the time — the highest-paid right-handed pitcher ever this offseason (Felix Hernandez has since topped him). The money, Greinke told Jon Heyman of CBS Sports quite candidly, was the biggest factor in his decision to sign with the Dodgers. However, multiple sources indicated to Heyman that Greinke gave the Rangers an opportunity to top the Dodgers' final offer before agreeing to his six-year, $147MM contract. Greinke made an offer to the Rangers, but Texas elected to counter-offer rather than accept it.

According to Heyman, the Rangers and Dodgers were in a "near-dead heat" on the main terms of the contract, but the Rangers wouldn't budge on giving Greinke an opt-out clause after three seasons. Beyond that, Greinke told Heyman that he vastly prefers National League baseball to the American League version:

"It's boring watching American League games to me,'' Greinke said. “With the Angels we had (Mike) Trout, (Albert) Pujols, (Mark) Trumbo, (Kendrys) Morales and (Torii) Hunter, but it wasn't as much fun as watching Milwaukee's team. There's much more strategy."

Heyman also writes that Greinke met with Dodgers officials himself before completing his deal with the team. The former No. 6 overall pick in the draft has long been fascinated by free agency. He turned down a trade to the Nationals that would have come with a $100MM extension a little more than two years ago in part because he didn't think the Nationals were ready to win, but also because he was too fascinated by free agency:

“I wanted to see it. If it was going to be only one year for $1 million, I wanted to see for myself,'' he said.

Greinke went several months without an agent last year, though he ultimately hired Casey Close shortly after Opening Day.

As MLBTR's Transaction Tracker shows, Greinke's $147MM contract is the third-largest contract ever signed by a pitcher, with only Hernandez and CC Sabathia ranking ahead of him (he topped Cole Hamels by $3MM). Candidates to displace Greinke from the Top 3 in the next couple of years include Clayton Kershaw and Justin Verlander. However, with three dominant seasons, Greinke could enter free agency again as a 32-year-old and position himself for another hefty contract that would extend into his late 30s.

Quick Hits: Weaver, Giants, Dodgers, Walker

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Jered Weaver isn't worried that he might have lost out on a bigger contract when he signed a five-year, $85MM extension with the Angels in 2011, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles times writes. "I don't give a [expletive]," says Weaver. "You can quote me on that." If not for the extension, Weaver would have been a free agent this past offseason, in which Zack Greinke received a $147MM contract from the Dodgers. Here are more notes from around the majors…

  • Giants president Larry Baer is discussing long-term contract extensions with general manager Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Sabean and Bochy are signed through 2014, but, after having won World Series in 2010 and 2012, Baer appears to be planning to keep them in San Francisco much longer, saying their extensions "won't be for one year."
  • The Dodgers have discussed an extension with manager Don Mattingly, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times notes. "I think you might see something come up before the end of the year," says Dodgers chairman Mark Walter. Mattingly is in the last year of a three-year deal. Walter also says that the Dodgers, who already have a $230MM payroll in 2013, still have the financial flexibility to add substantial talent at this year's trade deadline, should the need arise. "I think in terms of who the players are, what we need and what our options are, rather than a total budget," Walter says. An extension for Clayton Kershaw could also be on the horizon.
  • The Pirates and second baseman Neil Walker avoided arbitration with a one-year, $3.3MM deal in late January, but "it could be a matter of when, not if" the two parties reconvene talks on an extension, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. Walker will not be eligible for free agency until after the 2016 season, at which point he will be 31 years old.
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