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Kemp Signs Two-Year Deal To Avoid Arbitration

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MONDAY, 7:07pm: Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times reports that Kemp's contract could allow him to make up to $11.25MM in total. 

If Kemp makes 600 plate appearances this year, he would increase his 2011 salary by $50K.  If he makes 650 plate appearances, he'd earn an additional $100K, and 700 plate appearances would tack on another $150K.

Kemp made 667 plate appearances in 2009 and 657 the year prior.

FRIDAY, 7:40pm: The Dodgers avoided arbitration with Matt Kemp today and signed him to a two-year contract worth nearly $11MM. The deal, which the sides have been working on all week, is now official, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times. Kemp was arbitration-eligible for the first time, so the Dodgers will have him under team control for another season after the deal expires. By that point, Kemp will be considerably richer, as he is set to earn $4MM this year and $6.95MM in 2011.

That's more than what two comparable players, Nick Markakis and Carlos Beltran, got for the same two years. Beltran earned $9.5MM for his first two arbitration years and Markakis will earn $9.75MM. Kemp, who is only 25, combined good center field defense with an .842 OPS for the Dodgers last year.

Jim Bowden first reported that the sides were close to a deal and MLB.com's Ken Gurnick said they had reached an agreement before Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times added the details.

Gurnick hears that the Dodgers are also talking two-year deals with Andre Ethier, Jonathan Broxton and James Loney. They agreed to terms with Chad Billingsley on a 2010 contract today.

Ben Sheets To Throw For Teams Tuesday

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SATURDAY, 8:31pm: The Mets will be in attendance when Sheets throws on Tuesday, according to Ed Price of Fanhouse.com (via Twitter).

Earlier today, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak confirmed to fans and reporters that the club will be in Monroe, Louisiana to watch Sheets as well.

FRIDAY, 4:36pm: Brewers GM Doug Melvin tells Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the Brewers will watch Sheets next week. Haudricourt suggests the Brewers are just being dilligent.

1:33pm: The Dodgers will watch Sheets pitch, according to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times (via Twitter).

11:42am: The Angels could use Sheets, but will they watch him throw? "Not at this time," GM Tony Reagins tells Bill Shaikin of the LA Times.

8:40am: Cardinals GM John Mozeliak tells Rob Rains of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat that the Cards will "likely" watch Sheets throw.

MLB.com's Jordan Bastian adds the Blue Jays to the list of interested teams.

THURSDAY, 1:52pm: The Rangers will be in attendance on Tuesday, writes MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  Sheets and Rich Harden would be a high-upside, high-injury risk pair of rotation additions.

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Dodgers Focused On Pineiro, Padilla

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WEDNESDAY, 11:22pm: Dylan Hernandez tweets that in addition to Pineiro and Padilla, the Dodgers have recently contacted the agents for Braden Looper and Garland.

WEDNESDAY, 7:06pm: The Dodgers are open to bringing back Padilla if they are unable to land Pineiro, a major league source told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.

9:55am: It's been a quiet offseason for the Dodgers, as they've unloaded Juan Pierre while adding Jamey Carroll and a cast of minor league signings.  With Randy Wolf joining the Brewers, there's still a strong need to add a veteran starting pitcher.

The Dodgers' search is focused on Joel Pineiro and Vicente Padilla, reports MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.  Gurnick indicates they've backed off on Jon Garland.  The Dodgers are aiming for a one-year deal, which might put Pineiro out of reach.  Still, ESPN's Buster Olney wrote today that the Dodgers "are going through the process of getting approval for the funds necessary to make a Pineiro deal."  Ed Price of AOL FanHouse tweeted Monday that the Mets were talking to Pineiro about a two-year deal in the $15MM range, so it's probably a two-horse race. 

A reunion with Padilla seems likely, especially if his price starts to plummet.  Early in the offseason, interest was mutual.  The Dodgers' main competition appears to be the Cardinals, who are trying to stretch $6-7MM across several needs.

Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Beltran, Guzman

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Some links on this Wednesday evening…

  • Yorvit Torrealba could end up with the Giants, according to Chris Haft of MLB.com.  However, Torrealba may prefer to wait until after the weekend to sign with any club as his Venezuelan Winter League team is still active in the postseason.
  • Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times tweets that in addition to Matt Kemp, the Dodgers are talking about multiyear deals with Jonathan Broxton and Andre Ethier. 
  • Carlos Beltran will have to refrain from baseball activities for twelve weeks after having his knee scoped, according to a Mets press release passed along by MetsBlog.  The story was first reported by the New York Post's Joel Sherman (via Twitter).  If all goes well with his rehabilitation, the center fielder should only miss a small amount of games to start the year.
  • Free agent lefty Doug Davis is attracting interest from four teams, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  The Twins, Brewers, Mets, and Nationals are all interested in the 34-year-old, who posted a 4.22 ERA with 6.7 K/9 over the last three years in Arizona.
  • Fernando Tatis' agent told Thomas Harding of MLB.com that the Rockies had preliminary discussions with his client earlier this week.  About a week ago, we heard that the Rockies were eyeing the 35-year-old for a bench role.  Also, two major league sources tell Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that the Mariners are interested as well.
  • Former Brewers closer Derrick Turnbow will audition for at least 16 teams on Friday in Phoenix, according to a report from ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick.  The 31-year-old demanded his release from the Rangers back in May.
  • If the Nats are able to sign Orlando Hudson or Adam Kennedy to play second base, Cristian Guzman and his $8MM salary are unlikely to be moved elsewhere, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com.  Guzman would remain at shortstop, where his agent insists that he is still valuable despite shoulder surgery.
  • Pittsburgh's signing of Ryan Church could pay huge dividends for the club, says ESPN's Rob Neyer.  If Church is healthy and generates interest from other clubs, the Pirates will be able to move him for a more valuable commodity.

Dodgers Close To Two-Year Deal With Kemp

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4:09pm: Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times has more comments from Stewart, who expects Kemp to be signed by the Tuesday salary figure exchange date.  Meanwhile, Dodgers president Dennis Mannion told Hernandez Ned Colletti is not being limited to two years for Kemp.

11:43am: Back on December 31st, we learned from MLB.com's Ken Gurnick that the Dodgers opened multiyear contract discussions with center fielder Matt Kemp.  Kemp's agent, Dave Stewart, said that if he and the Dodgers couldn't find common ground he was comfortable going year to year.

Interviewed on XM MLB Home Plate radio last night, Stewart told host Jim Bowden that he and the Dodgers are close to a two-year deal for Kemp (via Bowden's Twitter account).  Stewart indicated he believes the Dodgers' ownership situation limited the number of years they could offer.  MLB.com's Ken Gurnick has direct quotes from Stewart.

Nick Markakis and Carlos Beltran are two decent comparables for Kemp, in terms of where their simple career numbers were after three years service time.  On a six-year deal, Markakis will be paid $9.75MM for his first two arbitration years.  Beltran went year to year in 2002-03 and made $9.5MM.  I would guess Kemp would be in the $10MM range for 2010-11.

Dodgers Sign Nick Green, Two Others

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WEDNESDAY, 3:48pm: Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times writes that Green will get a $550K base salary if he's on the big league roster, with another $100K in incentives.  Hernandez also has contract details for Angel Berroa, Doug Mientkiewicz, and Russ Ortiz.

MONDAY, 1:25pm: The Dodgers signed Nick Green to a minor league deal, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Rosental says Green would be Rafael Furcal's primary backup at shortstop. 

Green, 31, hit .236/.303/.366 in 309 plate appearances for the Red Sox last year, logging 644.3 innings at short.  His defense graded as a positive in that insufficient sample.  Green had back surgery in November and was outrighted by the Sox shortly thereafter.  The Rockies also showed interest this offseason.

MLB.com's Ken Gurnick notes two other Dodgers signings: pitcher Scott Dohmann and infielder Argenis Reyes.  Dohmann, 31, was released by the Hiroshima Carp in June and landed in the D'Backs organization.  Reyes, 27, hit .282/.336/.377 for the Mets' Triple A club.

Minor League Transactions

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Baseball America's Matt Eddy is back with minor league transactions for the period of December 21-31.  A few notable moves…

  • The White Sox signed 1B/OF Jason Botts, who compiled a .230/.325/.344 career line with the Rangers.
  • The Marlins signed reliever Chris Schroder, who posted a 2.22 ERA in 56.6 Triple A innings last year.
  • The Dodgers brought Jay Gibbons aboard.  Gibbons signed a minor league deal with the Marlins in January of '09 and was cut in March.
  • The Yankees added outfielder Reid Gorecki, who hit .286/.351/.464 in Triple A.  Also, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Yanks signed lefty reliever Royce Ring and outfielder David Winfree. 
  • The Giants signed reliever Kevin Cameron, who had a respectable rookie season with the Padres back in '07.  He pitched only 32.3 innings in '09 for various A's affiliates.
  • The Blue Jays signed left fielder Chris Lubanski, who was originally drafted fifth overall by the Royals in 2003.

Mets, Dodgers In On Pineiro

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7:37pm: According to Tim Brown's Twitter feed, "In the face of economic limitations, Dodgers working on a way to sign Joel Pineiro."

7:09pm: According to Ed Price's Twitter feed, the Mets and Joel Pineiro are talking, with the money somewhere around two years, $15MM.

At that price, you'd have to think a deal could get done quickly. The Mets have been interested in Pineiro all offseason, though Pineiro has seemed to be looking for a deal that rivals or exceeds the three-year, $29.75MM contract Randy Wolf signed with the Brewers.

Two years, $15MM is exactly what Jason Marquis signed for earlier this offseason with the Nationals. Despite the concerns over whether Pineiro can repeat his successful 2009 without Dave Duncan, his pitching coach with the Cardinals, the Mets would be taking a worthwhile risk at that price and length.

Pineiro was 15-12 in 2009 with a 3.49 ERA and just 27 walks in 214 innings pitched.

Odds & Ends: Chapman, Webb, Guerrero

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Let's round up some assorted Sunday links….

  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney tweets that the A's finished second to the Reds in the chase for Aroldis Chapman.
  • A major league source tells Alex Speier of WEEI.com that the Red Sox tried hard to sign Chapman earlier in the offseason. They pulled their initial offer after Chapman switched agents and never offered another formal deal.
  • Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic finds it hard to imagine Brandon Webb returning to the D'Backs after 2010.
  • Jamey Newberg wonders if Vladimir Guerrero will "revive his pinball numbers by playing half his games in his favorite arcade." Vlad has a career 1.175 OPS in Texas, but Jack Moore of FanGraphs suggests this stat is overblown. 
  • Within his Sunday blog entry, ESPN.com's Buster Olney addresses the persistent rumors about a potential reunion for Johnny Damon and the Yankees. Olney says that a few executives around the league "are absolutely convinced" that Damon will end up in the Bronx, but that it would require Damon significantly lowering his asking price and initiating contact with the Yanks. 
  • FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi reports that the Dodgers avoided arbitration with Jason Repko, signing him to a one-year deal worth $500K. Repko should compete for the team's fourth outfield spot.
  • Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe writes that injuries have slowed the development of Red Sox prospect Ryan Westmoreland, whose name frequently pops up in trade rumors.
  • Pittsburgh's 2004 first-round pick, Neil Walker, could be without a position at Triple-A this year, and is a candidate to be traded, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  • Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer says the Indians hope that at least one of Austin Kearns and Shelley Duncan makes the 25-man roster, to add a right-handed bat to their lefty-heavy outfield.
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