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Odds & Ends: Rangers, Hudson, Loretta, Pence

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More Saturday linkage..

  • Ty Wigginton of the Orioles will likely see his number of at-bats decrease after the team's signing of Miguel Tejada and Garrett Atkins.  Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com says that the 32-year-old could be a trade candidate in Spring Training.
  • The sale of the Rangers to Chuck Greenberg's group is complete and an announcement is forthcoming, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.
  • Phil Wood of MASNSports.com understands the Nats' pursuit of Orlando Hudson, but not their reported interest in Orlando Cabrera.  Hudson is reportedly seeking $9MM per season whereas Mike Axisa estimates that Cabrera can be had for $3MM.
  • Veteran infielder Mark Loretta is expected to retire this week and take a job with an unspecified major league club, writes Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.  The 38-year-old, who spent 2009 with the Dodgers, has a career .754 OPS.
  • Brian McTaggart of MLB.com writes that signing Hunter Pence to one-year, $3.5MM deal makes sense for Houston.  McTaggart senses that there is some kind of a groundswell of support by Astros fans to lock up the 26-year-old, but the club still has three years of contractual control to make such a deal happen.
  • Signing Brad Penny saved money for the Cardinals, writes Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  While it may seem as though Penny's $7.5MM deal is similar to Joel Pineiro's two-year deal that will pay him an average of $8MM per season, the extra year on Pineiro's contract didn't fit into the Cards' budget.
  • Due in part to the team's overload of left field options, top Reds prospect Todd Frazier could see some time at shortstop this season, writes John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.  Frazier played shortstop in his time at Rutgers University but was moved to the outfield as he was considered to be "too big for the spot."  GM Walt Jocketty said that there will be open competition for the role of starting shortstop, though Fay says that it will likely go to the light-hitting Paul Janish.

Dodgers Lock Up Andre Ethier, Jonathan Broxton

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FRIDAY, 1:38pm: We now have the details of Ethier's contract, courtesy of Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.  The 27-year-old's deal includes incentives and escalator clauses that could boost the total value of the pact to $15.625MM. 

Ethier is guaranteed $6MM this year, including a $500K signing bonus.  The escalators are tied to plate appearances, with the benchmarks at 600, 650, and 675.  Last season, the outfielder made 685 plate appearances.

THURSDAY, 12:36pm: The Dodgers avoided arbitration with two of their core young players, officially signing outfielder Andre Ethier and closer Jonathan Broxton to two-year deals. Broxton will hit free agency once his $11MM deal expires at the end of the 2011 season. Ethier is under team control through 2012, so the Dodgers will be able to retain him after his $15.25MM deal expires. Ethier's deal pays him $6MM next season and $9.25MM in 2011, with more money attainable through incentives. Broxton gets $4MM in 2010 and $7MM in 2011, plus escalators.

In his first full season as closer, Broxton saved 36 games and stuck out a ridiculous 13.5 batters per nine innings. He earned $1.825MM in 2009, and was eligible for arbitration for the second time this offseason. Huston Street, who just signed a long-term deal of his own, will earn about $12MM for those two same seasons of his career, so his deal may have been a point of reference for Broxton's deal.

Ethier, a Super Two, earned $3.1MM last season. He hit .272/.361/.508 with a career high 31 homers last season, finishing sixth in the NL MVP voting. Los Angeles locked Matt Kemp up to a two-year deal just last week, so the Dodgers have established some security in their outfield for the next two seasons.

MLB.com's Ken Gurnick tweeted the news of Either's deal and Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times followed up with the news of Broxton's agreement. Gurnick, Hernandez, Jon Heyman of SI.com and KCAL 9 added details, all via Twitter.

Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Felix, Phillies, Reds

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Seven years ago today, Ivan Rodriguez signed a one-year deal with the Marlins worth $10MM, ending a 12-year stint with the Texas Rangers. Pudge hit .297/.369/.474 with 16 homers in his lone season with Florida, leading the franchise to its second World Championship. He signed a little earlier this offseason, landing a two-year deal with the Nationals in early December.

Here's a look at what fans around the web are saying….

  • Lookout Landing re-lives five of Felix Hernandez's career-defining starts in honor of his new deal.
  • TAUNTR thinks the Phillies did well by locking up Joe Blanton and Shane Victorino, even if they didn't receive tremendous discounts.
  • Blue Sox Baseball previews the Reds' starting rotation heading into 2010.
  • Goat Riders of the Apocalypse looks at what's left for the Cubs this offseason.
  • TYU wonders why the Yankees used the top pick in the Rule 5 Draft on Jamie Hoffmann instead of John Raynor.
  • Capitol Avenue Club projects the Braves' depth chart.
  • The Ghost of Moonlight Graham examines the rotations in the NL East.
  • TurnTwo has some suggestions for how the Mariners could use the last $10MM left in their budget.
  • Dodgers Rumors considers the Vicente Padilla signing a big win for Los Angeles.
  • AdamAdkins.net reacts harshly to the Bengie Molina deal.
  • River Ave. Blues wonders how the Yanks might be able to extract some value from Kei Igawa.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Dodgers Notes: Padilla, Garland, Sheets

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Let's check out a couple of Dodgers-related tidbits..

  • Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times tweets that even though the Dodgers signed Vicente Padilla at a bargain price, GM Ned Colletti says that the club probably could not afford another starting pitcher.  It sounds as though Jon Garland and Braden Looper just lost a suitor.
  • Unsurprisingly, Buster Olney of ESPN (via Twitter) hears that the Dodgers, as well as the Rangers, may not have the money needed to sign Ben Sheets.  Olney also tweets that the Mets and the A's might be in the best position to be aggressive, based on the agents' perception of which teams are still spending.

Dodgers Re-Sign Vicente Padilla

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Vicente Padilla officially signed a one-year, $5.025MM deal with the Dodgers today.  He can earn another $1MM in innings incentives.  MLB.com's Ken Gurnick first reported the agreement earlier today, with his colleague Jesse Sanchez as well as Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times tweeting the contract details.

Padilla, 32, posted a 5.9 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, and 4.46 ERA in 147.3 innings for the Rangers and Dodgers last year.  The Dodgers added him as a free agent in August after the Rangers released him, and he tossed 56.6 solid innings for L.A. between the regular season and playoffs.  Padilla's '09 injury ledger included forearm tightness, a strained shoulder, a bruised palm, swine flu, and a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Gurnick had previously named Joel Pineiro, Jon Garland, and Braden Looper as other Dodgers targets.  Pineiro is off the board, while Garland and Looper will presumably have to look elsewhere.

Olney On Lee, Pineiro, Orioles

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A look at the latest blog post from ESPN's Buster Olney…

  • Olney believes the Phillies could have and should have kept Cliff Lee.  He points out that they could've traded Joe Blanton and taken draft picks for Lee after the season, resulting in a similar prospect package to the one they received from the Mariners.  It's not the exact same, partly since Blanton could yet net draft picks for the Phils, but I agree with Olney's point.  The Phillies' decision to move Lee in tandem with the Roy Halladay trade just seems weird.
  • Consequences of the Angels' Joel Pineiro deal: the Mets could sign Jon Garland or Ben Sheets, and the Dodgers could bring Vicente Padilla back.  Newsday's Ken Davidoff gets the sense the Mets "have prioritized Sheets over Garland." 
  • Olney says the Orioles "are very comfortable letting the field of free-agent corner guys come to them, at their price."  On a related note, O's second baseman Brian Roberts said to MASN's Roch Kubatko that he'd love to have Miguel Tejada back in Baltimore.

Gagne To Work Out For Teams

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THURSDAY, 8:23am: Via Twitter, Yahoo's Tim Brown adds the Rockies, Dodgers, and Blue Jays as other clubs that will watch Gagne throw.

WEDNESDAY, 2:43pm: ESPN's Jayson Stark talked to Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr., who downplayed the Gagne tryout: "We don't have any expectations, at all."

8:19am: After being released by the Brewers in March of last year, Eric Gagne hooked on with a Can-Am League team as a starter.  He tallied 102.6 mediocre innings, and now hopes to find his way back to the bigs.

Today David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News passes along a segment from Montreal radio station CKAC in which Gagne indicated he has a throwing session scheduled with the Phillies today.  The 34-year-old hasn't done much since his 33.3-inning stint with Texas in '07.

Sheets Impresses In Throwing Session

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WEDNESDAY, 7:52am: Sheets topped out at 92 mph on Tuesday, writes Tabby Soignier of The News-Star.  Mariners scout John Stearns' take:

"I was impressed.  Ben was free and easy, throwing the ball really well with not too much effort. He had good velocity. I was especially impressed with his curve ball. He's got a plus Major League curve ball with a lot of depth to it."

Soignier noted the presence of the Giants and Pirates, two clubs not on our list below (via Twitter, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette already says the Bucs won't be bidding).  Ed Price of AOL FanHouse adds the Phillies and Athletics, while adding more about Sheets' three throwing sessions.  Click here to see video from the session, as well as Sheets' interview with MLB Network's Trenni Kusnierek.

MONDAY, 7:14pm: Ben Sheets will have quite an audience when he throws for interested teams on Tuesday. It's no surprise that clubs are curious about the 31-year-old. He has a 3.72 ERA and nearly four times as many strikeouts as walks in his eight-year MLB career. He missed last year after undergoing surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon, so clubs want to see if Sheets is back in form before signing him. The right-hander told ESPN.com's Tim Kurkjian that he feels "refreshed" and "fantastic." Here's a list of teams that will be on hand this week to see for themselves.

Players To Avoid Arbitration: Tuesday

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Noon ET today was the deadline for both the team and player to submit their salary figures for arbitration, however the two sides can come to an agreement at any point before the actual hearing. The hearings are scheduled for the first week of February.

We'll keep track of the players who avoid arbitration today by agreeing to deals here. Make sure you check back in for updates, and be sure to click the "Continue Reading" link to see today's full list of settlements.  Yesterday's list can be found here.

  • Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times reports that the Angels avoided arbitration with Mike Napoli and Reggie Willits by signing the duo to one-year deals.  Napoli will earn $3.6MM in 2010 with a $100K bonus if he makes 120 starts.  Willits' contract is worth $625K. 
  • Zach Duke's one-year contract with Pittsburgh is worth $4.3MM with no performance bonuses, tweets Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  • The Padres and reliever Mike Adams have agreed to a contract, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock (via Twitter).  Brock's follow-up tweet says Adams' deal is worth $1MM, virtually splitting the difference between San Diego's $875K offer and Adams' $1.2MM demands.
  • Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune tweets that the Twins have agreements in place with all eight of their arbitration eligible players.  In a follow-up tweet, Christensen reports that Francisco Liriano agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.6MM and Jesse Crain agreed to a one-year contract worth $2MM.
  • Marc Carig of the New Jersey Star-Ledger reports that the Mets avoided arbitration with reliever Sean Green (via Twitter).  The one-year deal was worth $975K, according to the New York Daily News' Anthony McCarron.
  • The Tigers avoided arb with Gerald Laird and Zach Miner as well according to James Jahnke of The Detroit Free Press.  MLB.com's Jason Beck tweets the details on the one-year contracts: Laird will earn $3.95MM, Miner will earn $950K.
  • Christensen tweets that the Twins avoided arb with Brendan Harris, signing him to a two year deal worth $3.2MM with another $650K in possible incentives.
  • The Tigers and Bobby Seay avoided arbitration according to MLB.com's Jason Beck (via Twitter), agreeing to a one year deal worth $2.475MM.
  • Thesier tweets that Matt Guerrier agreed to a one year deal worth $3.15MM with the Twins, avoiding arb.
  • Amalie Benjamin of The Boston Globe tweets that the Red Sox have avoided arbitration with Ramon Ramirez and Manny Delcarmen, with Delcarmen getting $905K plus incentives according to Joe McDonald of The Providence Journal. Boston avoided arb with Jonathan Papelbon as well.

Read more

Odds & Ends: Arbitration Filings, Brewers, Blue Jays

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Got some more links for you on a hectic Tuesday…

  • Ed Price of AOL FanHouse has a list of salary figures exchanged by players and their teams at today's arbitration filing deadline.
  • MLB.com's Adam McCalvy breaks down the exchanged figures and the situations of the Brewers' remaining arbitration-eligible players.
  • Jordan Bastian of MLB.com says the Blue Jays' payroll "will probably be in the $60-63MM range" next season, down from a previously reported figure of $80MM.  Toronto's payroll, however, is "really a fluid number" according to Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos.
  • Colorado may sign veteran catcher Paul Lo Duca to a minor-league deal, reports Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
  • In a text message to Tyler Kepner of The New York Times (via Twitter), Johnny Damon said he's "sure things will work out somewhere." Damon added that he hasn't ruled out a return the Yankees either.
  • The Phillies are discussing a multi-year deal with arbitration eligible center fielder Shane Victorino, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.
  • With Bengie Molina returning to San Francisco, the Mets primary catching target is now Yorvit Torrealba, according to ESPN's Buster Olney (via Twitter).
  • Morosi tweets that Joe Blanton filed for $10.25MM in arbitration today, but the Phillies countered with $7.5MM.
  • Ed Price of AOL FanHouse (via Twitter) spoke to a scout who saw Ben Sheets' throwing session today. "He threw very well. He threw easy," said the scout, who guessed that Mets, Cubs, and Rangers were the leaders for his services.
  • Clark Spencer of The Miami Herald tweets that the Marlins and Cody Ross are going to an arbitration hearing over a $250K difference.
  • MLB.com's Brian McTaggart tweets that the Astros and Wandy Rodriguez are $2MM apart in their arbitration case.
  • The Rays and B.J. Upton did not reach a deal today, and his agent indicated that the two sides will head to an arbitration hearing according to Marc Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times (via Twitter). He later tweets that they may be just $300K apart.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com reports that the Cubs, Cardinals, and Dodgers are monitoring free agent lefty Mark Mulder. Late last week we learned that the Brewers were going to wait before deciding whether or not to offer Mulder a deal.
  • The Blue Jays have signed outfielder Jeremy Reed and righty Steven Register to minor league deals with invitations to Spring Training according to a team press release.
  • MLB.com's Ken Gurnick tweets that the Dodgers have signed catcher J.D. Closser to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training. The former top Rockies' prospect last appeared in the big leagues back in 2006.
  • ESPN's Jerry Crasnick penned a must-read on how Jack Zduriencik has transformed the Mariners in his short time at the helm.
  • SI.com's Tom Verducci took a look at the most efficient teams of the last decade. The Marlins, Athletics, and Rays highlight the best, while the Mets were among the least efficient.
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