Brewers Sign Takashi Saito
The Brewers signed reliever Takashi Saito to a one-year deal, the team announced today. The contract guarantees Saito $1.75MM and gives him the chance to earn $1.5MM more through incentives, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Saito has a chance to match last year's $3.2MM salary through appearance and roster bonuses; his physical is already done. Nikkan Sports was first to report the possible deal, which NPB Tracker passed along on Twitter. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the agreement. Saito is represented by CAA.
Saito, 41 in February, posted a 2.83 ERA, 11.5 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 0.7 HR/9, and 43.6% groundball rate in 54 innings for the Braves this year. He dealt with hamstring and shoulder injuries and has had serious elbow issues in the past, so the deal reflects the health uncertainty despite Saito's fantastic numbers.
The Brewers' bullpen ranked 12th in the NL with a 4.48 ERA this year. Saito will join John Axford, Kameron Loe, LaTroy Hawkins, and Sean Green in the 2011 pen. Todd Coffey, Trevor Hoffman, Carlos Villanueva, and others have departed.
NL Notes: Pavano, Young, Cubs, Brewers
Some notes from the senior circuit…
- Carl Pavano is still "entertaining interest" from a handful of teams according to MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling. The Nationals remain very much in that mix, and Goessling's source indicates that there is no timetable for Pavano's decision.
- Meanwhile, Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post gets the sense from team officials that the Nats are "lukewarm" on Pavano (Twitter link). He says not to expect a deal until Pavano's asking price comes down.
- ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Mets' offer to Chris Young "likely includes guaranteed money over $1 million." A team offical said that yesterday's Chris Capuano pickup will not take the team out of the running for other free agent starters.
- The Cubs are not planning to upgrade at second base, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). That makes it unlikely that they'll pursue Michael Young.
- The Brewers have signed right-hander Jesus Sanchez to a minor league deal, reports Baseball America's Matt Eddy (on Twitter). The 23-year-old posted a 2.99 ERA with 5.8 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 129 1/3 Single-A innings for the Phillies last season. They originally acquired him from the Yankees in the Bobby Abreu trade, back when Sanchez was a catcher.
- Eddy tweets that the Brewers also signed outfielder Brandon Jones to a minor league deal. The 27-year-old hit .231/.333/.325 in the minors last year, bouncing from the Braves to the Pirates to the Tigers.
Brewers Rumors: Marcum, Betancourt, Weeks
The Brewers are going to be a different looking team in 2011. GM Doug Melvin appears to have improved his starting rotation significantly with a pair of major trades. Here's the latest on what remains for the Brewers between now and Opening Day…
- MLB.com's Adam McCalvy explains that the Brewers are open to extensions with new acquisitions Shaun Marcum and Zack Greinke. Jon Heyman of SI.com notes that no talks are planned between Greinke and the Brewers at this point (Twitter link).
- All indications from Melvin suggest he's comfortable with Craig Counsell and Yuniesky Betancourt at short. Melivn defended Betancourt's ability and McCalvy takes an in-depth look at the shortstop's glovework.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel projects upcoming raises for the Brewers' five unsigned arbitration-eligible players. Make sure to check out MLBTR's new arbitration tracker for the latest on Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, Kameron Loe, Manny Parra, Marcum and other arbitration eligible players throughout MLB.
Odds & Ends: Greinke, Young, Rangers, MacLane
Links for Sunday….
- SI.com's Jon Heyman says the "word is" that the Nationals offered Zack Greinke a big contract extension in an effort to entice him to join their team (Twitter links). He simply didn't believe the Nats could win, so he instead waived his no-trade clause to go to the Brewers.
- A source told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that the Rangers and Rockies have not had any serious talks about Michael Young in the last week, so if he does get traded, it will likely be to a team that did not show much interest in him at the Winter Meetings (Twitter links).
- Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News offers a "semi-educated guess" that if the Rangers do sign Adrian Beltre, they'll shift Young to a DH/utility role rather than trade him (Twitter link).
- NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman passes along a Japanese report that has the Orix Buffaloes set to acquire Evan MacLane from the Cardinals. An official announcement is expected soon.
- Cole Hamels and the Phillies haven't yet begun discussions for a multiyear extension, writes Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer. As MLBTR's Tim Dierkes noted when he examined the Phillies' four aces, Hamels is arbitration eligible after next season and can become a free agent after 2012.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Insider required) shares a list of 36 potential MLB storylines for 2011. Olney's list includes the Albert Pujols negotiations, Heath Bell trade talks, and C.C. Sabathia's out clause.
- The Jason Bartlett trade potentially opened up a spot on the 25-man roster for long-time Rays' farmhand Elliot Johnson, according to Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times.
- WEEI's Rob Bradford and Alex Speier attempt to determine whether Hideki Okajima is likely to rebound for the Red Sox in 2011.
- Roch Kubatko of MASN can't see the Orioles signing a full-time DH now that Derrek Lee is on board.
- Police say Alfredo Simon is the primary suspect in a fatal shooting in the Dominican Republic, reports the Associated Press (via the Miami Herald). Simon insists he was not involved in the incident, according to Orioles Dominican representative Felipe Alou Jr.
Several Teams Interested In Brian Fuentes
SATURDAY: Having added Hideki Okajima, the Red Sox appear out of the running for Fuentes, tweets Heyman. However, the Rays, Yankees, and a handful of other teams are still showing interest.
THURSDAY: The Rays appear to be very interested in Fuentes and are pursuing him, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
TUESDAY: SI's Jon Heyman pegs the Red Sox, Blue Jays, Rays, Rockies, Mariners, Twins, Pirates, Phillies, Brewers, Yankees, and Mets as teams with some interest in free agent lefty reliever Brian Fuentes.
If Fuentes is still looking for Scott Downs money, as ESPN's Buster Olney suggested 12 days ago, many of those eleven teams will drop out. I'm skeptical the Red Sox would sign Fuentes, as he'd be a luxury and they'd be hit with a 30% added tax. The Blue Jays appear close with Octavio Dotel, the Rockies just added Matt Lindstrom, the Brewers signed Takashi Saito, the Yankees added Pedro Feliciano, the Twins have big commitments to Joe Nathan and Matt Capps, and the Phillies and Mets appear nearly tapped out on payroll.
The Blue Jays, Rays, Mariners, Twins, Pirates, Yankees, and Mets do seem destined to add relievers, though I can see a shift toward a buyer's market a few weeks from now.
Brewers Break Off Talks With Capuano
Brewers GM Doug Melvin says the team agreed to stop negotiations with Chris Capuano, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Now that the Brewers have added Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum to a rotation that already included Yovani Gallardo, Randy Wolf and Chris Narveson, they don't have room for Capuano.
The Brewers had made Capuano an offer at the beginning of the offseason and it was on the table earlier this month, but the sides have now decided to move on. Melvin says Capuano wants to be a starter, so the Brewers don't have room for him. However, the GM says he likes the left-hander a lot and has heard other teams have interest.
Capuano, 32, came back from his second Tommy John surgery in 2010 after missing the 2008-09 seasons. He posted a 3.95 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2/9 BB/9 in 66 innings as a swingman for the Brewers last year. His best seasons came in 2005-06, when he averaged 220 innings per season and posted ERAs near 4.00 with 7.4 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9.
It wouldn't be surprising to see the Orioles, Indians, Royals, Tigers, Pirates, Cardinals, Nationals or Mets show interest in Capuano. That's a speculative list that depends on teams' assessments of the lefty's health. Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner hears that the Mariners have interest.
Unfinished Business: NL Central
We looked at the NL East earlier; now it's time to examine the unfinished business of NL Central clubs.
- Cubs: Starting pitcher. ESPN's Bruce Levine says the Cubs are still talking to Tampa Bay about Matt Garza, though the Rays seem to prefer to hang on to him. The Cubs' rotation is already five-deep, so adding a back-end guy wouldn't make sense.
- Reds: Lefty reliever, left-handed hitting outfielder/leadoff hitter, backup shortstop, Joey Votto extension. The Reds have a small amount of cash to play with after Arthur Rhodes signed with the Rangers. Scott Podsednik or Fred Lewis could fit into their tight budget. NL MVP Votto will be tough to lock up, but he's under team control through 2013 anyway.
- Astros: Lefty reliever. The Astros will probably stay in-house for left-handed relief, though they could make a minor move. They also appear reluctant to sign a left fielder and affect Brett Wallace's playing time. Their last move may be trading Jeff Keppinger to clear a little payroll.
- Brewers: None. After signing Takashi Saito today, the Brewers might be done with a successful offseason. They have Yuniesky Betancourt at shortstop and Carlos Gomez/Chris Dickerson in center, but don't appear to be looking for upgrades.
- Pirates: Veteran reliever, starting pitcher, taker for Ryan Doumit. Despite the signings of Kevin Correia and Scott Olsen, MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch says they're still looking for starting pitching. They've also been in on Octavio Dotel and others and appear to be shopping Doumit.
- Cardinals: Albert Pujols extension, pitching depth. There was word on December 8th from Joe Strauss that the Cards were shopping for a sixth starter and big league reliever, though MLB.com's Matthew Leach wrote six days ago that they appear to be done adding Major Leaguers. An established backup third baseman wouldn't hurt. The dominating story for the next several weeks should be Pujols, who will be perilously close to free agency if the Cards don't get something done before spring training.
Odds & Ends: Brewers, Nolasco, Thames, Astros
Happy Holidays to all of MLBTR's readers. Here is today's batch of links…
- Yovani Gallardo was delighted to learn of the deal that brought Zack Greinke to Milwaukee, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
- The Ricky Nolasco deal leaves the Marlins with $41.5MM in contractual committments for nine players this season, writes Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post. The right-hander made his three-year extension worth $26.5MM official early this morning.
- In today's blog post at ESPN (Insider req'd), Buster Olney says the Yankees are unlikely to bring Marcus Thames back for the 2011 season since they need reserve players capable of providing flexibility on defense.
- Astros GM Ed Wade told Joseph Duarte of The Houston Chronicle that he believes he had enough "protection on the back end of the bullpen" to trade Matt Lindstrom. "With the ability to go out and add two more young arms to create more depth in the system and balance the payroll, this was a sensible deal for us to make."
- MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling muses about some players who have taken their time finding a new team this offseason.
Brewers Re-Sign Craig Counsell
Craig Counsell is returning to Milwaukee for another season, the Brewers announced today. The 15-year veteran will earn $1.4MM in his sixth campaign with the Brewers. Agent Barry Meister represents Counsell.
Counsell, 40, hit .250/.322/.319 in 230 plate appearances this year while appearing at shortstop, third base, and second base. He has appeared in 100 or more games in each of the past seven seasons.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the agreement and Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel added the terms of the deal on Twitter.
Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.
Brewers Sign Sean Green
The Brewers announced that they signed right-hander Sean Green to a one-year contract. MLB.com's Adam McCalvy hears that the contract is worth a non-guaranteed $875K.
Green missed most of the 2010 season because of a ribcage injury, but logged over 200 innings out of the 'pen from 2007-09 with the Mariners and Mets. New York non-tendered him earlier this month, making him a free agent. Agent Adam Hubble represents Green.
The 31-year-old made just 11 appearances last year, with all but one of them coming in September and October, when he struck out 11 batters in 8 1/3 innings. Green allowed just five hits, but his command failed him. Though he has never limited free passes particularly well, Green walked more than usual in 2010 (7.7 BB/9).