NL East Notes: Zimmermann, Marlins, Heyward
Players with zero to three years of service time are under team control and don't have the power to negotiate their salaries. Most of these players agree to terms with their clubs on deals worth $400-500K, but some don't agree to terms and their clubs renew their contracts instead (it doesn't affect the player's timeline for arbitration or free agency). Here's the latest on the NL East, including news on some contract renewals:
- The Nationals announced that they have renewed the contracts of right-handers Tyler Clippard and Jordan Zimmermann.
- The Marlins renewed the contracts of four of their own players, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post (on Twitter). The team did not agree to terms with Logan Morrison, Gaby Sanchez, Mike Stanton or Ryan Webb.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan shows that Jason Heyward is uncharacteristically mature for a 21-year-old. The Braves right fielder tells Passan that he can improve upon his standout rookie season, something that would please new manager Fredi Gonzalez.
NL East Notes: Beltran, Cox, Vazquez
On this date five years ago, the Mets signed Pedro Feliciano, who had spent the previous season playing for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the NPB. He posted a 3.09 ERA from 2006-10, appearing in more than half of the Mets' games during that time. Feliciano and his durable left arm still play for a New York team, but he will now show up for work at Yankee Stadium. Here's the latest on the NL East…
- Carlos Beltran says he'll move to right field to keep Angel Pagan in center. Beltran explained that Carlos Delgado and agent Scott Boras helped him make the decision, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. Beltran, a free agent after the season, says he feels capable of playing center field, but wants to do what's best for the Mets.
- ESPN.com's Jayson Stark details the transition from Bobby Cox to Fredi Gonzalez, explaining that the Braves were not looking for something "dramatically different from the previous administration." Gonzalez says the Braves model is "really not broke," so he isn't looking to make radical changes.
- New acquisition Javier Vazquez was only throwing 88 mph yesterday, but the Marlins aren't concerned about his velocity, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post. Vazquez, who has consistently thrown 91-92 mph throughout his career, averaged 88.7 mph on his fastball last year.
Olney’s Latest: Marlins, Padres, Cardinals, ChiSox
ESPN's Buster Olney wrote about the Marlins' revamped bullpen in today's blog post (Insider req'd), noting that they now have a pair of left-handers (Randy Choate and Mike Dunn) to go after the middle of Philadelphia's lineup. They lacked those options early last year. Florida also brought in right-handed relievers Ryan Webb and Edward Mujica in this winter's Cameron Maybin trade.
Here are the rest of Olney's rumors…
- Padres officials met with prospects Casey Kelly, Anthony Rizzo, and Reymond Fuentes recently to stress that they don't want them to put too much pressure on themselves after the trade that brought them to San Diego. The trio was acquired in the Adrian Gonzalez swap.
- The Cardinals are going to watch their pitchers over the next few weeks in the wake of Adam Wainwright's injury, then see if they "need to change course."
- White Sox GM Kenny Williams told Olney's colleague Gene Wojciechowski "I know what I want for next year right now. I have an idea. But if we're going to have dreams of maintaining where we are payroll-wise or taking it even a step higher, yeah, a lot of it depends on what happens this year." Williams said he would have liked to have done more this offseason, but is thrilled with the payroll owner Jerry Reinsdorf gave him.
Offseason In Review: Florida Marlins
The Offseason In Review series continues with the Marlins.
Major League Signings
- John Buck, C: three years, $18MM.
- Javier Vazquez, SP: one year, $7MM. Marlins cannot offer arbitration after season.
- Randy Choate, RP: two years, $2.5MM.
- Total spend: $27.5MM
Notable Minor League Signings
- Greg Dobbs, Dewayne Wise, Shawn Hill, Ruben Gotay, Donnie Murphy, Joe Thurston, Victor Garate, Josh Kroeger
Extensions
- Ricky Nolasco, SP: three years, $26.5MM.
Trades and Claims
- Acquired RP Michael Dunn and IF Omar Infante from Braves for 2B Dan Uggla
- Acquired RP Edward Mujica and RP Ryan Webb from Padres for CF Cameron Maybin
- Acquired RP Dustin Richardson from Red Sox for P Andrew Miller
Notable Losses
- Dan Uggla, Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller, Ronny Paulino, Brett Carroll, Jose Veras, Jorge Sosa, Taylor Tankersley, Will Ohman
Summary
The Marlins had barely made a ripple in the free agent waters since the 2004-05 offseason, but this winter president Larry Beinfest and GM Michael Hill broke out the checkbook. They made early November strikes for Buck and Vazquez, and also dealt away Uggla, Maybin, and Miller in a four-day span that same month. The Fish are pushing payroll over $50MM for the first time since '05, but did they spend the extra money wisely?
What was more surprising – that Buck scored an $18MM deal, or that it was with the Marlins? Buck is a useful catcher, though a .247/.299/.484 line got him non-tendered by the Royals after '09. In 2010 with Toronto, Buck reached a career high in playing time and hit for average for the first time in his career, but didn't seem to become a drastically different player than the one Kansas City cut loose. Clearly the Marlins viewed Buck as a notch above the available catchers, with Victor Martinez out of their price range. I imagine they assigned a premium to Buck's intangibles and felt they needed the leadership.
I can get behind the Vazquez gamble, even though the price was on the higher end for a reclamation project. He turned down multiyear offers to play close to home. Maybe Vazquez's velocity won't come back in 2011, but perhaps a return to the NL means 200 innings of 4.00 ball from the 34-year-old righty. It's possible that after so many years of starting every fifth day, Vazquez just couldn't get back on track once the Yankees skipped starts and sent him to the pen. I also like the addition of Shawn Hill, who seems like a poor man's Justin Duchscherer.
Choate is a strong bet to continue shutting down lefties, though his agency deserves a nod for snagging a second year. I like Choate more than Will Ohman, who received $1.5MM more. Buck, Vazquez, and Choate are all represented by ACES, a firm that also pounced on the Tigers' desire to act early by getting strong deals for Brandon Inge, Jhonny Peralta, and Joaquin Benoit.
The Marlins also bucked their traditional minor league free agent approach to bullpen-building. Aside from signing Choate, they added big arms Dunn, Mujica, Webb, and Richardson through trades. It seems early to give up on Maybin, who turns 24 in April and has yet to reach arbitration. Even Beinfest admitted Maybin "never really had the sustained time in the big leagues to show what we think he was capable of doing at the time of the trade [with Detroit]." In Florida's defense, they received two controllable relievers for a player who could simply flame out in San Diego. The price for a guy like Webb might have risen as the offseason progressed and free agent relievers started signing for good money. The Marlins will turn to Chris Coghlan in center field, a position he's never played as a pro.
Florida's free agent spending was made possible in part by trading Uggla to the division-rival Braves after he wisely rejected a four-year, $48MM extension offer. I found the return for Uggla to be disappointing for the Marlins, who could have kept him for $10-11MM for 2011. They lose about 25 home runs out of the second base spot, and Infante is a year away from free agency as well. Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria said that "the home run hitters didn't win enough games for us" as justification for the power subtraction. The Marlins may have felt that they'd be better served redistributing Uggla's money toward pitching and defense. And if they weren't necessarily willing to offer arbitration to the slugging second baseman after the 2011 season, they risked getting no players in return.
The Marlins deserve credit for hammering out an extension with Nolasco, buying out a free agent year from their number two starter. With Josh Johnson, Nolasco, Vazquez, and Anibal Sanchez, the Marlins have a formidable front four.
A year after signing zero Major League free agents, the Marlins committed over $27MM to three this offseason. Beinfest and company focused on Buck's leadership, Vazquez's innings, and upgrading the bullpen, with the expectation that they'll still have a strong lineup one through seven without Uggla. The Marlins may not be considered the NL East favorite, but their top-shelf young talent makes them a sleeper for 2011.
Photo courtesy Icon SMI.
Michael Young Rumors: Friday
Michael Young is scheduled to arrive at the Rangers' Spring Training camp tomorrow, where he is expected to address the media in regards to his trade request. MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan writes that the Rangers "are still talking to other teams about a trade, although nothing is imminent." As we heard on Wednesday, talks with the Angels, Rockies and Diamondbacks all seem to be stagnant at this point.
Here are today's Young-related items, with the most recent updates on top…
- The Marlins have "no interest" in Young, tweets MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. We heard earlier today that an even longer-shot Young trade partner, the Royals, were also not interested.
- Young's friend Vernon Wells isn't pleased with how the Rangers went public with Young's trade demand, reports Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Wells praised Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos for working out Wells' deal to the Angels without any media attention until the move was announced. "I dealt with it in-house, which was the right way to do things. [Young is] having to deal with it, unfortunately, publicly," Wells said. "It creates all kinds of problems. It's been handled poorly on their end, I'll say that." This is just total speculation on my part, but you wonder if Wells would consider restructuring his contract to free up some money for the Halos to acquire Young. It's a longshot, but Wells might be willing in order to both upgrade the Angels and to once again play alongside his long-time friend.
Quick Hits: Liriano, Guerrero, Fielder, D’Antona
On this date in 2009, the Mariners welcomed Ken Griffey Jr. back to Seattle, signing him to a one-year deal. The Kid hit 19 homers in his age-39 season and re-signed with Seattle for one last season before the 2010 campaign. Last year went poorly for Junior, but he's back in Seattle as a consultant this year. Here are today's links…
- Francisco Liriano told La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he doesn't think his representatives had serious discussions with the Twins about a long-term deal during the offseason. (Twitter link).
- Vladimir Guerrero says he hasn't thought about retirement, according to MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli (on Twitter). The Orioles finalized their deal with Vlad today.
- Brewers manager Ron Roenicke told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that he doesn't expect Prince Fielder's contract status to be "an issue" for the team this year (Twitter link). Prince hits free agency for the first time after the coming season.
- The Marlins released Jamie D'Antona, according to MLB.com's transactions page. They signed the third baseman last month after he spent two seasons in Japan. The 2003 second rounder clubbed 36 homers for the Yakult Swallows last year.
- Tim Dierkes ranks this year's crop of third basemen from a fantasy perspective at RotoAuthority.
Quick Hits: Bautista, Chapman, Mariners, Marlins
Some news items to wrap up the evening….
- In regards to the Blue Jays and Jose Bautista pushing back their arbitration hearing, a source tells FOXSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi (Twitter link) that when hearings are delayed, it "frequently" means a long-term deal is on the way.
- Reds pitching coach Bryan Price confirms that Aroldis Chapman will pitch relief for Cincinnati this season, reports Fanhouse's John Hickey. The Reds' rotation is deep enough that they "don't have to push Chapman," Price said. "We don't need to stockpile innings on him at this stage of his career…But down the road will he start? I think he will."
- The Mariners announced that Ken Griffey Jr. will be a special consultant for the club, according to the team's Twitter feed. MLB.com's Greg Johns outlines some of the tasks Griffey will perform in his new position.
- Chris Ray tells Greg Johns that he turned down a Major League offer from another club to sign a minor league deal with the Mariners since Ray will get a chance to close or at least set up games in Seattle. "It doesn't really mean a whole lot if it's a one-year contract [elsewhere] and I'm a free agent again next year if I'm pitching basically the scrap innings," Johns said. "That's not something that will help me out in the future. From this point forward, I want to be the guy who goes in late in the ballgame."
- Jeffrey Loria thinks the Marlins are a playoff-caliber team, writes Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Loria also hinted that Florida's payroll will rise next year when the Fish move into their new Miami stadium.
- Jorge Posada said "it wouldn't surprise" him if Andy Pettitte pitched again, reports Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.
Michael Young Rumors: Tuesday
We heard yesterday that the Rangers are talking to at least two teams about Michael Young and could still deal him. The Rockies aren't one of the two clubs, but their expansion cousins are interested. The Marlins inquired on Young, though they would likely need Texas to take on most of his contract. Here's the latest on Young with the most recent updates up top:
- Ozzie Guillen once called Young his favorite non-White Sox player in baseball, but the Chicago manager doesn't think his team will make a move to acquire the infielder, reports MLB.com's Scott Merkin. Guillen is happy with his current third base options and doesn't believe the Sox have enough payroll space to afford Young.
- A D'Backs source tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that the Snakes and Rangers did discuss a Young trade at one point, but "we haven’t spoken to them for a while.”
- The Diamondbacks are interested in Young, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The D'Backs believe Young is a potential upgrade over third baseman Melvin Mora, but talks haven't developed much yet and they may not pick up. Arizona would need Texas to pick up a considerable chunk of Young's $48MM contract to make a deal work, but the Rangers are saying they don't want to include much money in a trade. Like the Marlins, the D'Backs would need Young's approval for any deal to go through.
- The Marlins appear to view Young as a $6-7MM player, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). They could want more than $30MM in salary relief in possible trades with Texas.
- The Mets never called the Rangers about Young, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The front office is concerned about the $48MM remaining on Young’s contract and his ability to play second base. The Mets, who are not on Young’s list of accepted destinations, want to evaluate their in-house second base candidates and having Young around would prevent them from doing so.
Quick Hits: Young, Papelbon, Marlins, Rangers
On this day in 1989, the Yankees re-signed Tommy John, who was 45 years old at the time. John lost seven of the 10 starts he made in '89, and was released by the Yankees on May 30th. It would be his last stint in the majors. Of course, over two decades later, the southpaw is a bigger household name than ever, immortalized as the namesake of a surgical procedure now common among pitchers: Tommy John surgery. Here are the links for Sunday, as we celebrate the return of baseball. Pitchers and catchers report!
- Jamey Newberg provides some reasons that Michael Young is unlikely to be traded. He points out that Texas doesn't match up well with contenders looking to add offense because those contending teams don't want to give up players who will help them win in 2011.
- Jonathan Papelbon doesn't know why everyone assumes he won't be with the Red Sox after 2011, tweets Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe. However, in this piece from WEEI.com's Rob Bradford, Papelbon voices his desire to be the "number one guy" on free agency next offseason and says Rafael Soriano's contract helped set the bar for elite relievers.
- Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel discusses five questions about the Marlins' roster changes for 2011.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider-only link) thinks Michael Young makes a lot of sense for the Brewers. Not only would Young represent an upgrade over Yuniesky Betancourt at shortstop, but it was GM Doug Melvin who initially acquired Young from the Blue Jays in 2000. Olney acknowledges, however, that Milwaukee's minor league system has been depleted by the Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum deals, and the money situation might not work.
- It's been an up-and-down offseason for the Rangers, writes Randy Galloway of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
- The Indians view recently signed infielder Orlando Cabrera as a super utility type who could play not just second base, but also shortstop and third base as needed, according to Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Quick Hits: D’Backs, Doumit, Wagner, Marlins
Chuck Tanner, manager of Pittsburgh's last World Series championship team, passed away today at age 81. Tanner played eight seasons in the majors but gained more fame as a manager, compiling a 401-414 record manning the benches of the White Sox, Athletics, Pirates and Braves from 1970 to 1988. Tanner's lone postseason appearance came in 1979 when he led the "We Are Family" Bucs to victory over the Orioles in a tight, seven-game World Series. The MLBTR team sends its condolences to Tanner's friends and family.
Some news to wrap up the week…
- Arizona CEO Derrick Hall tells Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that the Diamondbacks' payroll for next season will be "in the low $60s, approaching $65MM." Hall says the team has lost money in each of the last three years but is still open to potential new spending if the Snakes are in contention, since the club will only draw more fans if they put a winning product on the field. The article also notes the D'Backs "are budgeting for significant costs in this year's draft," given that Arizona holds the third and seventh overall picks.
- The Pirates have both received and sent out some "feelers" about Ryan Doumit, writes Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as part of a chat with fans. Dunlap thinks teams want to make sure Doumit is healthy during Spring Training before seriously pursuing the catcher/first baseman. I recently looked at how Doumit's 2011 season is a make-or-break campaign.
- Billy Wagner is taking his time filing retirement papers, but David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that Wagner's continued presence on the Braves' 40-man roster isn't preventing the club from making any moves.
- The Marlins are comfortable with their young rotation and have no need for a veteran innings-eater like Kevin Millwood or Jarrod Washburn, writes MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.
- Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com thinks that labeling either Albert Pujols or Michael Young as "greedy" is misguided.
- The Irving Picard lawsuit filed against the Mets' ownership group could result in the financial records of several, if not all, other Major League teams being examined in court, reports Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- Jayson Stark of ESPN.com recaps the offseason and lists which teams he thought made the best and worst winter moves.