Jacque Jones Signs With Marlins
According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports and Mike Phillips of the Miami Herald, Jacque Jones has reached a contract agreement with the Marlins. It’s a no-risk move for the first place Fish, who will pay him the pro-rated league minimum. Jones, 33, hit .165/.244/.253 in 90 plate appearances for the Tigers.
Rosenthal and Phillips seem to disagree on Jones’ role. Rosenthal says Jones will be a fourth outfielder and bench bat and notes that he’ll begin at extended spring training. Phillips sees Jones as the team’s starting center fielder.
Locking Up Young Stars: Martin, Kendrick, Kotchman, Pedroia, Uggla
Bill Shaikin of the L.A. Times takes a look at the spate of recent long-term deals for young stars. Talking to different players and agents, Shaikin found no consensus on whether such contracts are a good idea.
- Some folks (including Shaikin and Pat Gillick, apparently) believe it’s wise for richer clubs to go year-to-year to avoid getting stuck with a bad contract. I’m sure teams have done comprehensive studies on these types of contracts, but my guess is that flops are few are far between. I can only think of a handful (Angel Berroa, Eric Hinske come to mind). As Scott Boras says, teams usually choose players who will succeed.
- Boras advises his clients to go year to year and maximize their total earnings. He suggests young players signing long-term are getting "30 cents on the dollar." Paul Cohen, author of the Troy Tulowitzki and Evan Longoria contracts, preaches security over maximum earnings.
- Ned Colletti revealed that he has twice approached catcher Russell Martin about an extension, and has been denied. Martin will be arbitration-eligible after this season and should add an extra zero to his $500,000 salary, at least.
- Angels second baseman Howie Kendrick would consider a long-term offer, and GM Tony Reagins isn’t opposed to long-term deals for young players.
- First baseman Casey Kotchman is a year-to-year guy. He astutely notes that in most professions employees aren’t even guaranteed one year.
- Jumping over to the Boston Herald – the Red Sox have twice approached Dustin Pedroia about a deal. Pedroia is amenable to the idea.
- It’s not known if the Marlins are planning to buy out Dan Uggla‘s arbitration years, but he seems open to it.
Odds And Ends: Cards’ Bullpen, Fish Extensions, Aubrey Promoted
- St. Louis closer Jason Isringhausen is on the DL. But the Cards aren’t going shopping for a replacement. At least, not yet. "Not at this time," Mozeliak said when asked if the club might be tempted to check out the market for relievers. "We’re very fortunate that we have a lot of depth in relief, not only here but at Triple-A [Memphis]. A lot of this can be addressed internally."
- After today’s press conference announcing Hanley Ramirez‘s six-year deal, Marlins officials said the baseball personnel staff has not recommended any other players receive multi-year contract offers. Dan Uggla, Mike Jacobs, Josh Willingham and Scott Olsen will all be arbitration-eligible at season’s end.
- Cleveland’s Jeremy Sowers, who turned 25 on Saturday, was sent back to Buffalo, where he is 2-2 with a 2.21 ERA in seven starts. Sowers made his second spot start of the season on Friday, giving up three runs and five hits over five innings. His ERA ranks fifth in the International League. Mike Aubrey takes Sowers’ place on Cleveland’s roster. With Akron, Aubrey was batting .277 with nine doubles, two homers and 16 RBIs in 24 games. The oft-injured Aubrey, who was Cleveland’s first pick in the 2003 First-Year Player Draft, might only be with the Tribe for a short while, if the team opts to go with seven relievers when it resumes its regular American League schedule on Tuesday.
Coley Ward writes for Umpbump.com. You can reach him here.
Jones, Marlins Close To Deal?
The Florida Marlins are likely looking to upgrade in center field, where incumbent Alfredo Azemaga is hitting a svelte .226/.311/.292. They’re also likely looking for someone to help shoulder the load of injured OF Josh Willingham, who just experienced a setback in his rehab — though Luis Gonzalez has hit fairly well since replacing him, at .317/.369/.433 in 16 games. So they’re a likely destination for free agent Jacque Jones.
Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinal has something of a third-hand rumor that the Marlins could sign Jones by this evening. Damon Lapa, Jones’s agent, has, of course, denied the rumor. He says that he and his client hope to narrow down a list in the next few days before ultimately deciding on a destination. His new team will only be on the hook for a prorated amount of the league minimum $390,000.
"We’ve started some dialogue with a number of clubs," Lapa said. "Ever since he technically became free there’s been an uptick in intensity. He’s weighing all his options."
Rodriguez notes that Jones is from and continues to reside in San Diego, and might seek employment closer to home. The Padres could probably use him, though I’m not sure Jones would want to sign there, given the team’s play to this point. The two LA teams have plenty of outfielders.
The Marlins still do seem like the most likely destination. The only small problem I can see is that both Jones and Azemaga have clear career splits showing they hit righties better than lefties, though Jones bucked that trend last year in 87 plate appearances against southpaws. But that shouldn’t stop the Marlins from pursuing a potential upgrade in center.
Joe Pawlikowski writes for River Ave Blues, a Yankees blog, and can be reached here.
Hanley Ramirez Contract Details
Hanley Ramirez’s six-year, $70MM deal will be officially announced Saturday. MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro has the details of the contract.
Basically the deal pays $23.5MM for Ramirez’s three arbitration years and $46.5MM for his first three years of free agency. It’s also been confirmed that the deal lacks no-trade provisions. I know we always label these young-player long-term deals as team-friendly. But this one takes the cake. That’s not a knock on Ramirez – if I had his talents I’d certainly exchange maximum dollars for immediate security. How about you?
Odds and Ends: Hanley, Salcedo, Torrealba
Time to round ’em up…
- Rob Neyer guesses B.J. Upton is the next to get a long-term deal from the Rays. Back on April 24th, Jayson Stark wrote that the Upton family "has its own ideas about the market value of both brothers."
- Expect a Hanley Ramirez press conference today, or this weekend at the latest.
- Tribe Report walks us through the Edward Salcedo confusion.
- Yorvit Torrealba‘s agent has filed a grievance against the Mets over their nearly-signed three-year deal.
- Jon Heyman says nothing’s imminent with Ken Griffey Jr. Buster Olney wrote today that the Mariners are "not especially gung-ho" about trading for Junior.
- The Indians DFA’d Jason Tyner.
- A.J. Pierzynski attempts to dispel all those negative stories about his time with the Giants.
Jonathan Mayo Projects The Top Ten Picks
MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo admits it’s too early, but still takes a stab at projecting the first ten picks of the June draft. Here’s what he’s come up with:
1. Rays – Buster Posey, C.
2. Pirates – Pedro Alvarez, 3B.
3. Royals – Eric Hosmer, 1B.
4. Orioles – Brian Matusz, LHP.
5. Giants – Tim Beckham, SS.
6. Marlins – Kyle Skipworth, C.
7. Reds – Aaron Crow, RHP.
8. White Sox – Gordon Beckham, SS.
9. Nationals – Justin Smoak, 1B.
10. Astros – Tanner Scheppers, RHP.
Interesting note from Mayo: he’s hearing that the Orioles are leaning toward a college player. Mayo has also heard buzz that the Marlins "have been all over Skipworth." Read Mayo’s column – it’s a nice blend of inside info and educated guesses. What do you think about this mock top ten?
Also, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune has some White Sox draft tidbits.
Odds and Ends: Jacque, Lee Hak-ju, Tavarez
Here’s today’s collection of links.
- The Tigers weren’t able to trade Jacque Jones; he’ll become a free agent tomorrow. The Marlins are expected to make an offer.
- The Cubs signed a Korean high school shortstop named Lee Hak-ju. Aaron Shinsano, who works for the Cubs as a scout, says the team believes he’d have been a first round pick in the states.
- Giants owner Peter Magowan is expected to step down Friday.
- Troy Renck says the Rox still want Julian Tavarez but won’t give up pitching prospect Brandon Hynick. Baseball America ranked Hynick eighth among Rockies prospects, they describe him as a command guy with a decent splitter. The Sox are talking to two or three teams about Tavarez.
- Not a surprise, but Jon Garland isn’t likely to sign back with the White Sox.
Odds and Ends: Jacque, Vizquel, Greinke
Today’s linkage…
- An MLBTR chat will take place in this space at 2pm CST – get your questions ready!
- I will also be hopping on ESPN-1580 (Columbia, MO) today at 4:20pm CST.
- Jacque Jones prefers to play for the Marlins…I imagine he will end up there.
- GM bloodlines courtesy of Batter’s Box.
- Omar Vizquel wants to play in ’09, if he has a good offensive year in ’08.
- The White Sox do not intend to overpay their 8th overall pick this June.
- The Royals haven’t had any extension talks yet with Zack Greinke, who would become a free agent after the 2010 season. Greinke says he doesn’t know what he’s worth. The market says about $11MM over the 2009-10 seasons.
- J.P. Ricciardi says he’s done tinkering with his offense.
Rosenthal’s Full Count: Bonds, Webb, Hanley
Let’s hit up Ken Rosenthal’s latest Full Count video:
- Rosenthal thinks the Tigers should sign Barry Bonds. Sure, Detroit already has too many DHs, and Bonds wouldn’t help their need for improved defense and speed, but they absolutely need another lefthanded bat. Rosenthal points out that the team is 11-20 in games started by RHP. As for the fear of a clubhouse problem, Gary Sheffield – who has feuded with Bonds in the past – has no problem and I would presume that the other players, particularly veterans, on the Tigers would echo that sentiment.
- The 3-year contract extension for Brandon Webb does not have "a lot of momentum." Like Jake Peavy last year, Webb is looking for around 3 years, 52 million despite being 2 years older than Peavy.
- KR loves the Hanley deal. It keeps them from having to deal another player before his contract becomes too expensive and that there shouldn’t be any concern for Hanley’s production to drop off.
By Nat Boyle