The Rays have officially exercised their 2013 club options for James Shields, Fernando Rodney, and Jose Molina, the team announced. They also declined their option for Luke Scott.
Both Molina ($1.8MM) and Shields ($10.25MM) were expected to have their options picked up. The 35-year-old Rodney pitched to a 0.60 ERA with 48 saves this year, so his $2.5MM option was a no-brainer. Scott, 34, hit .229/.285/.439 with 14 homers and will receive a $1MM buyout rather than a $6MM salary.
Luke Scott’s 2012 season fell short of expectations, but he’d like to return to Tampa Bay for another year. The 34-year-old designated hitter told Bill Chastain of MLB.com that he hopes the Rays exercise the $6MM club option on his contract instead of paying him a $1MM buyout.
“The environment is awesome,” Scott said. “It's just a great place to play. I really enjoyed my time here. I hope they'll have me back."
Scott made two trips to the disabled list this past season as a result of oblique and back injuries. When healthy he hit 14 home runs and posted a .229/.285/.439 batting line in 344 plate appearances. Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told Chastain it’s too early to say whether Scott will be back for another year.
“He really scuffled in the first half,” Friedman said. “In the second half he had the type of output that we kind of anticipated if things went well and lined up well."
On this date in 2009, the Red Sox signed John Smoltz to a one-year contract. He struggled through 40 innings in Boston before moving on to St. Louis, where he pitched to considerably better results in seven starts. Here's the latest on the AL East…
THURSDAY: The deal is official, Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (Twitter links). Scott will earn $5MM in 2012, and the club option is worth $6MM with a $1MM buyout. The Tampa Tribune reports (on Twitter) that the contract also includes bonuses placed on plate appearances.
WEDNESDAY: The Rays have reached an agreement with designated hitter Luke Scott on a one-year deal with a 2013 option, reports Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times was first to report the near-agreement, and he notes that it includes incentives. Scott is represented by PSI Sports Management.
Scott, 33, hit .220/.301/.402 in 236 plate appearances in 2011, his season cut short by July shoulder surgery. The Orioles non-tendered him last month rather than pay a salary in the range of 2011's $6.4MM figure. Scott told Topkin he expects to primarily serve as the Rays' DH, with some time at first base. If his shoulder is fully recovered, perhaps he can return to the .500 slugging percentage-type power he's shown in the past. The Rays are closest to Scott's Florida home, notes Connolly.
Scott is a late bloomer, having burst onto the scene with a strong half-season for the Astros at age 28 in '06. After the '07 campaign, he was dealt to the Orioles as part of the Miguel Tejada trade. Scott has drawn plenty of attention off the field, particularly after interviews with David Brown of Yahoo and Amy K. Nelson of ESPN.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
12:12pm: It sounds like the Rays are moving close to a deal with Scott, tweets Topkin.
8:50am: Luke Scott is among the players the Rays have talked about, reported Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times yesterday. Scott could be a one-year option for the Rays mainly at designated hitter. Reportedly ten teams aside from the Orioles have shown interest in Scott since he was non-tendered a month ago, but none of them had been revealed until now. Shoulder surgery ended Scott's season in July.
As we mentioned yesterday, Topkin talked to agent Scott Boras, who said Carlos Pena and Johnny Damon remain possible for the Rays.
The Orioles announced a three-year deal with left-hander Wei-Yin Chen today, but that’s far from the only news to trickle out of Baltimore today. Here’s the latest on the club…
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After introducing the newly signed Tsuyoshi Wada to the media today, Orioles GM Dan Duquette addressed his club's offseason to date and future plans with reporters, including Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com. Here's the latest:
The Orioles and approximately ten other teams have expressed some level of interest in signing Luke Scott, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter). The 33-year-old became a free agent Monday night when the Orioles declined to tender him a contract.
Scott, who battled a shoulder injury in 2011 and underwent surgery this summer, projected to earn $6MM through arbitration, so GM Dan Duquette let him go. But from 2008-10, Scott averaged 25 home runs and a .266/.348/.497 line, so there's strong interest in the PSI Sports Management client.
Today's American League non-tenders are below, but you can keep track of all teams in our non-tender tracker.
