Quick Hits: Weeks, Dodgers, Cuddyer, Mets
On this day 20 years ago, the Atlanta Braves signed Falcons cornerback Deion Sanders as a free agent. Though he struggled in his first year as a Brave, 'Prime Time' was a key contributor for the National League champs in 1992; he hit .304/.346/.495 with 26 stolen bases in 325 regular season plate appearances and added eight hits and five steals in four World Series games. Sanders ended up leaving both Atlanta franchises in 1994, but not before he racked up 75 stolen bases and ten touchdowns for the Braves and Falcons respectively. Here are Sunday's links:
- The Brewers are comfortable with Rickie Weeks' deadline for an extension, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. He relays a quote from assistant GM Gord Ash praising Weeks for focusing on the right area once the season starts — baseball.
- Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times looks at the possibility of Tony Gwynn Jr. hitting well enough to play every day and how that would impact the Dodgers' roster.
- Michael Cuddyer and agent Casey Close have yet to discuss a long-term extension with the Twins, writes MLB.com's Kelly Thesier. While Cuddyer is open to talking about a contract during Spring Training, he'd prefer to table the topic during the regular season.
- Martin Luther King III, son of the civil rights leader, is leading a group that's interested in buying at least 50% of the Mets, reports Kevin Kernan of the New York Post. The Wilpons were said to be willing to sell up to 25% of the team.
- Given the Mets' financial situation, some rival executives think Jose Reyes is likely to be moved before this year's trade deadline, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider-only).
- In a tweet, Olney adds that, despite considering it, the Diamondbacks are "probably not" going to implement a humidor at Chase Field this year.
- Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer wonders why expectations for Phillies' prospect Domonic Brown seem to have diminished since last summer.
- Within an Indians mailbag, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer says he can see the Tribe signing a couple more players before Spring Training, though the team would likely only do minor league deals.
Rickie Weeks Has Deadline For Extension Negotiations
Rickie Weeks, who is eligible for free agency after 2011, does not want to talk about a multiyear extension once Spring Training begins, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "Once I get to Spring Training, I want to focus on baseball," the second baseman told Haudricourt.
Weeks, 28, is still without a contract for 2011, though we heard this morning that the Brewers are optimistic about working out a one-year deal rather than going to a hearing. Arbitration eligible for the last time, Weeks filed for $7.2MM, while the Brewers countered with $4.85MM.
The Brewers have expressed a desire to sign Weeks to a multiyear deal, but tabled those talks for the time being, while they work on a one-year contract. Even if the two sides agree on a salary for 2011 soon, the Brewers will have to re-open multiyear discussions fairly quickly if they hope to lock Weeks up long-term before his Spring Training deadline. Given how far apart the two sides were when they talked before, Haudricourt says an extension before Spring Training "sounds almost impossible."
Arbitration Rumors: Marcum, Weeks, Liriano, Young
17 arbitration eligible players remain unsigned, according to MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker, and only four teams have more than one outstanding case. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and MLB.com's Kelly Thesier provide negotiation updates on two of those clubs with multiple cases, the Brewers and Twins….
- Brewers negotiator Teddy Werner is optimistic that the team will reach agreements with both Shaun Marcum and Rickie Weeks without going to a hearing.
- Both players are exclusively discussing one-year deals with the Brewers, though Werner conveyed the club's desire to work out a long-term extension with Weeks later this year.
- Like the Brewers, the Twins appear to be focusing on one-year deals, rather than multiyear extensions, with their arbitration eligible players, Francisco Liriano and Delmon Young. "Right now, we're focused on trying to get them signed for 2011, and we'll go from there," Minnesota GM Bill Smith told Thesier.
- Smith appears willing to go to a hearing with either player if they can't settle on a figure the Twins like: "We'll continue to work on these two guys, and if we can reach agreement, we will. If not, then there's an arbitration panel that will do it."
Brewers Seek Veteran Bench Help
The Brewers are looking to add veteran bench help and Mark Kotsay is a possibility, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Brewers showed interest in Willie Harris before he signed with the Mets and could look to sign Kotsay, who could pinch-hit for Carlos Gomez.
Kotsay, 35, hit .239/.306/.376 in 359 plate appearances for the White Sox last year. The left-handed batter hit eight homers while playing first base and right field.
The Brewers already have a number of outfield options. They recently signed Jeremy Reed to a minor league deal and outfielders Chris Dickerson, Brandon Boggs, Caleb Gindl and Logan Schafer will also be in Brewers camp this spring. Gomez, Ryan Braun and Corey Hart are the team's starting outfielders.
Contract Details: Loe & Francis
Here are some details about a pair of recently signed contracts…
- Kameron Loe's new deal with the Brewers contains $115K in incentives tied to pitching appearances according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. The right-hander will earn $25K for 50 games, $30K for 55 games, $35K for 60 games, $10K for 76 games, and $15K for 78 games. Loe appeared in 53 games for the Brew Crew last season despite not being called up from the minors until June 1st.
- Troy Renck of The Denver Post reports that Jeff Francis' contract with the Royals calls for $800K in incentives based on starts, and another $1.2MM in incentives based on innings pitched (Twitter links). The escalators start to kick in at 15 starts and 110 innings, respectively.
Quick Hits: Brewers, Cardinals, Tigers, Rays
On this date in 2003, the White Sox signed Esteban Loaiza as a free agent. He went on to lead the league in strikeouts, post a 2.90 ERA and win 21 games, finishing second in the AL Cy Young Award balloting to youngster Roy Halladay. Here are today's links…
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan says it's hard to call the Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum deals "anything other than a resounding victory" for Brewers GM Doug Melvin.
- Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch explains how the selective shopping of Cardinals GM John Mozeliak might pay off this season. Players like Nick Punto, Brian Tallet and Miguel Batista could contribute in 2011.
- ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick examines a Tigers pitching staff that's loaded with dynamic young arms.
- At ESPN.com, Kevin Goldstein gives us a sense of what the Rays could do with their many 2011 draft picks. I previewed Tampa Bay's draft last week.
Brewers Agree To Terms With Kameron Loe
The Brewers have avoided arbitration with Kameron Loe, agreeing to a one-year contract worth $1.25MM, reports MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Loe can earn $115K in bonuses based on appearances. This was Loe's second time in the arbitration process, and he is represented by Page Odle.
Loe submitted a $1.65MM figure on Tuesday, which "somewhat surprised" the Brewers, McCalvy said. The club offered $1.055MM, so the settled total fell $100K under the midpoint of the two proposals.
Loe, 29, was one of Milwaukee's better relief arms last season. The right-hander posted a 2.78 ERA, a 3.07 K/BB ratio and a 7.1 K/9 rate in 53 games in 2010, all of which were career bests. Loe joined the Brewers on a minor league deal after pitching in Japan in 2009. He posted a 4.77 ERA in 107 games (47 of them starts) for Texas between 2004-08.
Shaun Marcum and Rickie Weeks are the only two arb-eligible Brewers yet to agree to contracts for next season. You can keep track of their progress on MLBTR ArbTracker.
Brewers Sign Jeremy Reed
The Brewers announced that they signed Jeremy Reed to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training.
The 29-year-old appeared in 14 games for the Blue Jays last year, but spent most of the season at Triple-A. He hit .279/.342/.412 in 358 plate appearances for Blue Jays and White Sox affiliates last year. The center fielder is no stranger to the major leagues, though. He has appeared in at least 13 games every season since 2004, when he broke in with the Mariners.
Reed will compete with outfielders Chris Dickerson, Brandon Boggs, Caleb Gindl and Logan Schafer for a backup outfielder's job this spring.
Heyman On Fielder, Papelbon, Rays, Giants
Prince Fielder is looking to join the $200MM club and the Red Sox considered trading Jonathan Papelbon to the A's or White Sox, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Here are the details and the rest of Heyman's rumors:
- Fielder is looking for at least eight years and $200MM or so when he hits free agency after the season, according to Heyman. Not surprisingly, the Brewers don't like the idea of committing that much to their first baseman.
- The Red Sox talked to the A's and White Sox about Jonathan Papelbon. Boston appeared willing to offer Rafael Soriano a one-year deal and make him their closer. If the sides had agreed to a deal, the Red Sox would have sent Papelbon elsewhere, likely to Oakland or Chicago
- The Rays, who are moving toward a deal with Johnny Damon, have also considered Vladimir Guerrero, Manny Ramirez, Russell Branyan and Nick Johnson.
- The Yankees hope to hear from Andy Pettitte soon, but the lefty is still mulling retirement.
- The Giants appear to be nearing a one-year deal with Andres Torres. As our Arb Tracker shows, Torres filed at $2.6MM and the Giants countered with $1.8MM.
- Heyman says there's "scuttlebutt" that the Rangers could look to lock Josh Hamilton up on a multiyear deal.
- Heyman talked to executives about Joey Votto's new deal and arrived at the conclusion I reached after talking to insiders earlier in the week: the Reds didn't appear to gain much from their deal with the reigning NL MVP.
- Heyman points out that Jose Bautista's representatives will have to convince arbitrators to overlook the string of pedestrian seasons that led up to Bautista's mammoth 2010 campaign. For more on Bautista's case, click here.
Contract Details: Votto, Saito, Thome, Bloomquist
Updates to a few recently completed contracts…
- John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer has the breakdown of Joey Votto's new contact with the Reds. The reigning NL MVP will earn $5.5MM in 2011 and $9.5MM in 2012 before jumping up to $17MM in 2013. His $6MM signing bonus will be paid out between now and 2014.
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports that Takashi Saito has a clause in his contract stipulating that the Brewers must release him after the 2011 season. That prevents the team from offering him arbitration if he qualifies as a Type-A free agent.
- Jim Thome's deal with the Twins includes a boatload of incentives, reports Joe Christensen of The Star Triibune. The slugger will earn $200K for 200 plate appearances, and $300K each for 300, 350, and 400 plate appearances.
- Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com tweets that Willie Bloomquist's contract with the Diamondbacks will pay him $900K in 2011. It also includes a mutual option for 2012 worth $1.1MM.
- MLB.com's Jordan Bastian tweets that Austin Kearns' contract with the Indians contains incentives tied to plate appearances. He'll earn $50K each for 400, 425, 475, and 500 plate appearances.
- ESPN's Jayson Stark put together a list of the offseason's most creative contract clauses.