Marlins Sign Oscar Salazar
The Marlins signed Oscar Salazar to a minor league deal, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). The Padres removed Salazar from their 40-man roster in February and released him in March.
The utility player appeared in 85 games for the Padres last year, hitting .237/.318/.336 in 148 plate appearances. Salazar, 32, played first, second, third and both corner outfield positions last year, his second campaign with the Padres. In 419 MLB plate appearances with the Padres, Orioles and Tigers, the Venezuela native has a .269/.342/.435 line.
2012 Contract Issues: Florida Marlins
The Marlins are next in our 2012 Contract Issues series.
Eligible For Free Agency (4)
- Javier Vazquez's lost 2010 season with the Yankees allowed the Marlins to get him on a one-year deal. Can he re-establish himself?
- Omar Infante was a key component to the Dan Uggla deal. A strong season could cement him as a regular and result in the best contract of his career.
- Bench players Wes Helms and Greg Dobbs also project as free agents.
Contract Options (0)
Arbitration Eligible (9)
- First time: Chris Coghlan, Donnie Murphy, Brian Sanches, John Baker
- Second time: Clay Hensley, Edward Mujica, Burke Badenhop
- Third time: Anibal Sanchez, Leo Nunez
Not all of these players will make it to the point of being tendered a contract. Coghlan and Hensley will still be affordable. With Vazquez up for free agency, Sanchez will probably be retained even in the $6MM range. Nunez might be a tough sell for the Marlins at a price exceeding $5MM.
2012 Payroll Obligation
The Marlins' 2012 payroll obligation is $45.75MM, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts, with Hanley Ramirez, Josh Johnson, and Ricky Nolasco leading the way. With the new stadium the team's payroll could rise to $70MM, but arbitration eligible players could account for more than $15MM, leaving the team with less than $10MM to work with. Of course $70MM is just one reporter's speculation, and trading or non-tendering Sanchez and/or Nunez would free up money.
Carlos Delgado To Announce Retirement
Carlos Delgado will announce his retirement tomorrow, tweets Noel Pineiro of El Nuevo Día.
Back in February, Delgado told MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez he did not want to retire, which is why he went through multiple hip surgeries. He last played in the Majors in May of 2009.
Delgado finishes with a strong .280/.383/.546 line with 473 home runs across 17 seasons with the Blue Jays, Marlins, and Mets. His OBP ranks 149th all-time, while his slugging percentage ranks 28th. We know him as a first baseman, though Delgado caught in the minors and played left field early in his big league career.
He earned almost $150MM in his career, according to Baseball Reference. Alex Rodriguez has been the highest paid player in baseball since December of 2000, but Delgado is the most recent player besides Rodriguez to have had that distinction. The David Sloane client signed a four-year, $68MM deal that briefly made him the highest paid player in the game after the 2000 season.
Heyman On Marlins, White Sox, Jenks, Glaus
There is likely an unusually short list of managers on the hot seat this year, writes Jon Heyman of SI.com. Marlins skipper Edwin Rodriguez is the lone manager who truly has uncertain job security, according to Heyman. Rodriguez received a one-year deal from the Marlins, which is rare for managers and suggests he doesn’t necessarily figure into the club’s long-term plans. Here are the rest of Heyman’s rumors.
- Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria told Heyman that "no one's on the hot seat.”
- Jim Leyland of the Tigers, Jim Riggleman of the Nationals and Ozzie Guillen of the White Sox are not necessarily on the hot seat, but they’re worth keeping an eye on, according to Heyman.
- Leyland will likely be given the chance to return to Detroit after the season when his contract expires, but that’s not a sure thing, according to Heyman.
- One White Sox person told Heyman that Guillen “isn't going anywhere.”
- Before the Yankees signed Rafael Soriano, GM Brian Cashman told Bobby Jenks that he wasn’t offering any setup man $8MM. The Yankees signed Soriano for $35MM over three years, though Cashman advised against it.
- Free agent Troy Glaus is still at home after drawing some interest this winter.
Heyman On Orioles, Young, Thome, Red Sox
Orioles president Andy MacPhail told Jon Heyman of SI.com that Baltimore can contend if their young rotation continues pitching well. "If our starting pitchers pitch the way they did the last two months [of 2010] and the first four games [of 2011], of course we'll be a contender.'' The O’s are eyeing back-of-the-rotation help, just in case. Here are the rest of Heyman’s rumors:
- The Rangers may have enough hitting to be able to afford trading Michael Young for a starting pitcher. With three starters on the DL, the Rangers may already have some of the pitching they need. Rangers GM Jon Daniels said this week that the club is not discussing possible deals involving Young or anyone else.
- The Marlins will likely need a third baseman, as Donnie Murphy has not proven he’s more than a part-time player.
- Jim Thome does not assume that he’ll retire after 2011. "Why not keep going as long as you can do it?'' Thome asked.
- The Red Sox say they aren’t concerned about Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Heyman hears that the catcher has until June to prove he belongs in Boston.
Discussion: Marlins’ Third Base Options
Recently, there was a great deal of speculation as to how the Marlins would take care of the third base job as prospect Matt Dominguez was demoted to the minors to improve his offense. However, Larry Beinfest seemed to put that talk to rest when he said that the trade front was rather quiet, leaving Donnie Murphy as the club's Opening Day starting third baseman.
Unfortunately for the Marlins, Dominguez suffered a slight fracture to his left elbow yesterday and Murphy was struck on his surgically-repaired right hand by a pitch in the seventh inning of tonight's contest against the Mets. Dominguez should be back in action in 4-6 weeks but there is no word on Murphy's condition just yet. If the Fish find themselves without Murphy's services for an extended period of time, they can refer back to their shortlist of third base candidates from just weeks ago. We could hear names like Michael Young rehashed again, but with a $16MM annual salary, it's not likely that the Marlins and Rangers can match up. Fortunately for the Marlins, a couple of the more affordable options are newly available.
The Marlins flirted with the idea of bringing in Royals veteran Pedro Feliz in March. On Sunday, Feliz asked for, and was granted, his release. Though it was said at the time at the Marlins weren't likely to sign the 35-year-old, circumstances may bring about a change of heart in the Florida front office. Former Marlin Luis Castillo has also re-entered the open market after being cut loose by the Phillies. Castillo could theoretically be put at his preferred position, second base, with Omar Infante being moved over to third. Even though neither player would represent an earth-shattering signing, either player would be able to keep the spot at third warm until Dominguez recovers and gets his bat up to speed.
It's also quite possible that the Marlins would once again fill the void at third base internally. After all, as Beinfest said, whoever they would acquire to play the position would be nothing more than a "placeholder".
Minor Deals: Rangers, Padres, Marlins
The Braves made a pair of minor deals yesterday; here are today's minor moves…
- The Rangers released several minor leaguers including former major leaguer Ty Taubenheim, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
- The Padres released right fielder Kellen Kulbacki, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). The 40th overall selection in 2007, Kulbacki has a .273/.357/.448 line in four pro seasons.
- The Marlins released right-handed reliever Brett Sinkbeil, according to Eddy (on Twitter). Sinkbeil, the 19th overall selection in 2006, spent 2010 on the Marlins' 40-man roster and boosted his strikeout rate to 8.0 K/9 as a reliever at Triple-A.
Heyman On Marlins, Pujols, Sabathia
Buster Posey, Jason Heyward, Colby Rasmus, Gordon Beckham and Matt Kemp make Jon Heyman's list of players who could take another step toward stardom in 2011. Here are the latest rumors from Heyman at SI.com…
- Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez begins the season ‘under the gun,’ according to Heyman. Rodriguez was never the first choice of owner Jeffery Loria, who can make Miami seem like ‘Steinbrenner south.’
- Three GMs predict Albert Pujols will re-sign with the Cardinals after the season, when he hits free agency for the first time in his career. The sides are not negotiating during the season, but earlier in the spring, the Cardinals’ main offer was for over $200MM and nine years.
- A rival GM predicts that C.C. Sabathia is “definitely opting out'' of his contract with the Yankees after the season. It seems likely that the lefty could obtain more than $92MM over four years if he puts together a typical season in 2011.
Pirates Acquire Carlos Paulino For Jim Negrych
The Pirates traded infielder Jim Negrych to the Marlins for catcher Carlos Paulino, tweets MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch.
Negrych, 26, hit .283/.369/.384 in 457 plate appearances at Double and Triple-A last year, playing second base, third base, and left field. He last appeared in a Baseball America Handbook two years ago, ranking 24th among Pirates prospects after being named the team's minor league player of the year. His main ability is to hit for average, and he profiles as a utilityman if he reaches the Majors.
Paulino, 21, hit .184/.214/.234 in 216 plate appearances in Low-A last year. He's never appeared on a BA Marlins top 30 prospects list.
Marlins Release Dewayne Wise
Outfielder Dewayne Wise exercised his out clause and has been released by the Marlins, tweets Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. Wise was reassigned to minor league camp yesterday, losing the big league backup outfielder job to Scott Cousins partially because of a toe injury.
Wise, 33, hit .250/.282/.393 in 118 plate appearances for the Blue Jays last year, putting up a .270/.315/.511 line for the Phillies' Triple-A club before exercising his out clause. Wise is capable of playing all three outfield positions. He joins free agent outfielders such as Ryan Church, Randy Winn, and Gabe Gross.