AL Notes: A-Rod, Angels, Tanaka, Twins
Alex Rodriguez's fall from grace is among the "saddest baseball stories ever told," CBS Sports' Jon Heyman writes. On top of A-Rod's 162-game suspension, "his name has no value" and he's now "practically friendless." Heyman also estimates that Rodriguez is spending at least $1MM a month in legal fees. Here are more notes from around the American League.
- Angels GM Jerry Dipoto says the organization's farm system is improving despite a second consecutive No. 30 ranking from Baseball America, MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez reports. "We're better than we were [last year]," says Dipoto. "If that's deemed by Baseball America to be No. 30, we'll have to be content with living with their evaluation of our system. But we believe we're getting better; we believe we're in a better situation than that." The Angels did not have first round picks in 2012 or 2013 due to their signings of Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton, leading to tiny draft spending pools. But as Gonzalez has previously written, a number of other factors have also contributed to the Angels' weak farm system, including trades of prospects and the team's under-involvement in Latin America.
- Masahiro Tanaka has returned to Japan after meeting with various MLB teams in the US, Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News notes, citing Japanese media reports. The White Sox were among the teams that met with Tanaka.
- The Twins have interest in free-agent infielders Mark Reynolds and Justin Turner, but, via 1500ESPN.com's Darren Wolfson (on Twitter), a Twins official notes that other teams also have interest and that the "process has to play out."
Twins Sign Kurt Suzuki
JANUARY 9: Suzuki can earn as much as $500K in playing time incentives, reports Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Bonus thresholds are tied to games started at the catcher position: Suzuki would earn $100K upon his 85th and 95th starts behind the dish and $150K apiece at the 105 and 115-start levels.
DECEMBER 23: With Joe Mauer on the move to first base, the Twins had a need for a veteran catcher, and they addressed that issue today by announcing the signing of Kurt Suzuki to a one-year, $2.75MM contract that reportedly contains additional incentives. Suzuki is represented by the MVP Sports Group.
Originally drafted by the Athletics, Suzuki was traded from the A's to the Nationals in 2012. This past summer, he was traded from Washington back to Oakland. The 30-year-old batted .232/.290/.337 with five homers between Washington and Oakland. Suzuki has seen his power dip over the past two seasons, but he did average 14 homers per season from 2009-11.
Suzuki has thrown out 26 percent of opposing base stealers throughout his career, though that number fell to 12 percent in 2013. He was significantly better in 2012, when he picked off 30 percent of potential thieves. In 2013, he was above-average in blocking pitches, per Fangraphs, and was average in terms of pitch-framing, per Matthew Carruth's report at StatCorner.
Now that concussion issues have forced Mauer to first base on a full-time basis, Suzuki will split time behind the dish with rookie Josmil Pinto. The 25-year-old Pinto burst onto the scene in 2013 with a huge minor league line of .309/.400/.482 between Double-A and Triple-A. He followed that up with an even more impressive September cameo in the Majors, slashing .342/.398/.566 with four homers in 83 PAs.
However, Pinto has been hampered by shoulder issues in Winter Ball and is not considered a strong defender behind the plate yet, so Suzuki could see a significant amount of time in the Twins' lineup. Switch-hitting outfielder/catcher Chris Herrmann could also see some time behind the plate if Pinto's shoulder problem lingers or if the Twins feel he needs a bit more work at Triple-A.
Minnesota recently traded one of its catching options, Ryan Doumit, to Atlanta in exchange for lefty Sean Gilmartin. Though Suzuki doesn't hit as well as Doumit, he's a superior defender, which the Twins likely wanted to acquire given Pinto's inexperience and injury. In adding Suzuki, they've effectively upped their catcher defense in exchange for some offense while saving $750K.
Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle first reported the agreement (Twitter links). Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the terms of the contract (Twitter link).
Minor Moves: Tateyama, Severino, Wimberly, Indians
Baseball America's Matt Eddy has a new Minor League transactions piece posted that is rife with signings and releases. Here are just some of the highlights, but the full, free piece is highly recommended (all info credited to Eddy unless otherwise specified)…
- The Yankees have re-signed right-hander Yoshinori Tateyama to a minor league deal and inked Bruce Billings to a minor league pact as well. Tateyama, who turned 38 on Dec. 26, had an outstanding 1.70 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 0.9 BB/9 in 42 1/3 innings for the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate in 2013. Billings, a 28-year-old right-hander, has spent the past three seasons in Oakland's system and posted a 4.31 ERA in 148 1/3 innings at Triple-A in 2013.
- Left-hander Atahualpa Severino has inked a minor league deal with the Braves. As Eddy notes, the 29-year-old held opposing left-handers to a .171/.234/.271 batting line while striking out 27.3 percent and walking 6.5 percent of the 77 he faced last year. He split the season between the Triple-A affiliates for the Pirates and Royals, posting a combined 3.60 ERA.
- The Twins have signed outfielder/second baseman Corey Wimberly to a minor league deal, tweets Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish. The 30-year-old is a career .274/.351/.347 career hitter in parts of four seasons at the Triple-A level and split 2013 between the Reds and Braves organizations.
- Cotillo also reports that the Tigers have signed backstop Luis Exposito to a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training (Twitter link). Soon to be 27, Exposito slashed .224/.279/.346 in 64 games with Baltimore's Triple-A affiliate in Norfolk last year.
- The Indians announced on Twitter that they have released six minor leaguers: right-handers Kyle Blair, Owen Dew, Rafael Homblert and Michael Goodnight; infielder Manuel Boscan; and outfielder Victor De Jesus.
AL Central Rumors: Twins, Plouffe, Downs, White Sox
After signing a one-year deal worth $4MM that includes a club option for 2015, Scott Downs says he's on board with the White Sox's plan. “The talks that I had about rebuilding, about going young, about needing some extra veteran leadership in the clubhouse and on the field — it all appealed to me,” Downs said on a conference call, according to Dan Hayes of CSNChicago.com. “I want to win and be a part of something special and I think we have that here.”
- Twins GM Terry Ryan says that even at a projected payroll of about $84MM, the club won't have to unload salary to add another piece, tweets Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press (Twitter link).
- Ryan also said that as they get ready to take care of their arbitration cases, he's not discussing multi-year deals with Trevor Plouffe, Anthony Swarzak, or Brian Duensing (Twitter links). “I’m not saying it’s an impossibility,” Ryan said, “but we are not talking to any of the three about a multi-year deal."
- The White Sox's level of interest in Masahiro Tanaka remains to be seen, but whatever interest is there has certainly been sparked by the level playing field, Hayes writes.
Twins Notes: Mauer, Pelfrey, Garza, Morgan
SB Nation's Grant Brisbee examines the ups and downs of Joe Mauer's contract and wonders what Mauer would have signed for had he been a free agent this offseason. Mauer is owed $115MM over the remainder of his contract, and while Brisbee feels he'd fall a bit shy of that, he still predicts a healthy six-year, $101MM contract. Mauer would have been the second-best hitter in this year's free agent class, Brisbee notes, pointing out that among 2013-14 free agents, only Robinson Cano has a higher OPS+ than Mauer over the past two seasons. More Twins-related news and rumors…
- Mike Pelfrey's two-year, $11MM contract with the Twins includes $3.5MM in incentives based on innings thresholds, as broken down by Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
- There isn't any change in negotiations between the Twins and Matt Garza, according to 1500 ESPN's Darren Wolfson (Twitter links). As Wolfson reported earlier this week, Minnesota is willing to meet Garza's price but only on a short-term deal, while Garza is looking for a longer commitment.
- The Twins are not one of the six teams that have expressed interest in a minor league deal for Nyjer Morgan, according to Darren Wolfson (Twitter link). Morgan recently switched agents and is weighing a return to the Majors after a strong season in Japan.
- Major League sources tell Andy Martino of the New York Daily News that a reunion between the Twins and Johan Santana is a real possibility. Minnesota has continued to discuss its former ace internally, has stayed in contact with Santana's agents and has some interest in a reunion.
- The Twins face an interesting battle for the fifth spot in their rotation, wrote MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger in his most recent Twins Inbox. Samuel Deduno, Vance Worley and Scott Diamond are all out of minor league options, but the rotation figures to have room for just one of the three with Ricky Nolasco, Phil Hughes, Kevin Correia and Mike Pelfrey all under control. That's to say nothing of top prospect Kyle Gibson, who struggled in 2013 but still projects to be in the rotation at some point. Bollinger feels that Deduno is the front-runner for the fifth spot but doesn't see a Worley or Diamond trade happening until at least midway through Spring Training, as each pitcher's value is at a low point.
MLBTR's Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post
AL Notes: Orioles, Rosario, Blue Jays
The Orioles have collected a large number of candidates to replace Nate McLouth in the left field, CSNBaltimore.com's Rich Dubroff reports. They already had Nolan Reimold, Steve Pearce and Henry Urrutia (who could also DH), and this offseason, they've added David Lough, Francisco Peguero, Julio Borbon, Xavier Paul and Quintin Berry. The Orioles could also add another righty-hitting outfielder or two before spring training starts as they aim to patch together a group of players to play alongside center fielder Adam Jones and right fielder Nick Markakis. Here are more notes from the American League.
- Major League Baseball has officially announced the suspension of 2B/OF prospect Eddie Rosario for a drug of abuse, and the Twins are disappointed, reports Phil Miller of the Star Tribune. "Losing 50 games, that's a huge setback," says GM Terry Ryan. "That's a lot of development time, a lot of learning that he'll miss. It sets back his progression [toward] going up to the big leagues." MLB.com ranks Rosario the Twins' fifth-best prospect. He hit .302/.350/.460 while collecting 544 plate appearances between Class A+ Fort Myers and Double-A New Britain in 2013.
- The Blue Jays announced that they have re-assigned bullpen coach Pat Hentgen due to family issues. Bob Stanley, who was the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons' pitching coach in 2013, will serve as the Jays' bullpen coach in Hentgen's absence.
Minor Moves: Brandon Wood, Eric Farris, Conrad
We'll keep track of today's notable minor moves here …
- Rounding out a trio of infield depth signings, the Padres have inked Brandon Wood to a minor league deal with no Spring Training invite, according to Corey Brock of MLB.com (via Twitter). The 28-year-old last saw MLB action in 2011. Playing in the Royals and Orioles systems at the Triple-A level last year, Wood .226/.262/.329 line in 252 plate appearances.
- The Twins have re-signed infielder Eric Farris to a minor league deal without an invite to Spring Training, Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDIsh.com tweeted yesterday. Farris, who will turn 28 before the start of the year, has seen very limited MLB action in his career. He registered a .249/.303/.313 line in 452 plate appearances last year across the Double-A and Triple-A levels.
- The Padres have signed infielder Brooks Conrad to a minor league deal that does not include a Spring Training invite, reports FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal (via Twitter). Conrad signed on with the Hanshin Tigers after a tough 2012 MLB campaign, but things failed to pan out in Japan for the soon-to-be 34-year-old. In just 69 plate appearances for Hanshin, Conrad posted a .175/.319/.281 triple-slash.
- You can keep track of any players currently in DFA limbo via MLBTR's DFA Tracker. Three players are still awaiting a final disposition: Santos Rodriguez (White Sox),Rafael Ortega (Rangers), and Adys Portillo (Padres).
The Teams That Could Use Stephen Drew The Most
Agent Scott Boras has a quality starting shortstop on his hands in free agent Stephen Drew. Drew, 31 in March, bears the stigma of costing a draft pick to sign. But in 2013 for the Red Sox, he hit .253/.333/.443 in 501 plate appearances and was worth 3.4 wins above replacement according to FanGraphs. That tied for eighth-best in baseball among shortstops.
If you are a believer in projection systems, Drew will not be a top ten shortstop in 2014. Using an average of projected 2014 WAR from Steamer, Oliver, and where available, ZiPS (all from FanGraphs), Drew ranks 23rd among starting shortstops with 2.0. Starlin Castro and Jose Iglesias rank below Drew, but they are close enough that he wouldn't be a clear upgrade. We're left with six starting shortstops on whom Drew would be an upgrade, based on these projections: Jonathan Villar of the Astros, Derek Jeter of the Yankees, Ruben Tejada of the Mets, Pedro Florimon of the Twins, Alcides Escobar of the Royals, and Adeiny Hechavarria of the Marlins. Let's look at each situation individually.
- Astros: The Astros want to see what Villar, 23 in May, can do over the course of a full season. The Astros viewed the outfield as a place to potentially add a hitter, so they acquired Dexter Fowler in December. They also picked up first baseman/left fielder Jesus Guzman in another trade that month. For the Astros to displace Villar and give up the #33 pick in the draft, Drew would have to come at an extreme bargain. The Astros do not look like a fit, even if Drew would give them an extra win in 2014.
- Yankees: GM Brian Cashman told Peter Gammons in late December his team won't be signing Drew, which is a fairly rare comment on a specific free agent. Drew would only cost the #53 pick in the draft. But even if it makes some sense in a spreadsheet, adding him as insurance for Jeter could be controversial. Plus, the Yankees made a large commitment to Jeter and have more pressing needs right now.
- Mets: One rival GM thinks the Mets are feigning disinterest in Drew, according to Gammons, as he would be an upgrade on Tejada. Drew makes a ton of sense for the Mets, who would only have to surrender the #82 draft pick. The Mets are by far the best match for Drew.
- Twins: The Twins have spent $86.75MM on four free agents so far this winter, with 97% of that going toward pitching. Their draft pick cost would be #43, and I don't see why they wouldn't give Drew serious consideration. However, they seem set with Florimon.
- Royals: The Royals have spent big on free agents Omar Infante and Jason Vargas this winter, but don't seem interested in upgrading on Escobar even if they could afford Drew.
- Marlins: The Marlins have added four position players through free agency this winter, but they seem set with Hechavarria manning shortstop for years to come.
What about Drew's old team, the Red Sox? He may have less than 100 big league plate appearances to his name, but 21-year-old phenom Xander Bogaerts projects to be better than Drew in 2014. Re-signing Drew would mean not receiving a supplemental first round pick for losing him, so there is a cost in that regard. Drew makes sense if the Red Sox are wary of using Bogaerts and Will Middlebrooks as their starters on the left side of the infield, though.
It seems the Mets and Boras will continue to play chicken regarding Drew, but GM Sandy Alderson does have the upper hand in that no other suitor is emerging. It seems to be the right time for a Mystery Team to step in. One Hail Mary option for Boras could be to market Drew as a potential second or third baseman in 2014, for teams with entrenched shortstops. Once again, Boras is tasked with pulling a rabbit out of his hat on a free agent client.
Twins Again Kicking Tires On Matt Garza
The Twins are once more kicking the tires on free agent starter Matt Garza, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN. Though the club has already committed $84MM to three free agent starters, it apparently remains active on the open market. (Wolfson tweets that the club is "still circling" on Bronson Arroyo, and he recently reported interest in Masahiro Tanaka.)
In mid-December, Wolfson reported that the Twins "know the price" for Garza. But if Garza has made his terms clear, so too have the Twins. Minnesota's position seems to remain the same, according to Wolfson: the club will put a lot of money on the table, but still will not commit to a lengthy term.
It will certainly be interesting to see whether Twins GM Terry Ryan ultimately adds a fourth multi-year starting pitching contract. As MLBTR's Steve Adams has explained, obtaining quality innings was the most important task facing Ryan before the 2014 season. But the deals given to Ricky Nolasco (four years, $49MM), Phil Hughes (three years, $24MM), and Mike Pelfrey (two years, $11MM) already constitute a huge investment in the team's rotation. Adding another substantial contract would make for a virtually complete overhaul of the staff for the foreseeable future.
Quick Hits: Brewers, Twins, Mulder, Angels, Red Sox
It wouldn't make sense for the Brewers to move Rickie Weeks or Ryan Braun to first base, MLB.com's Adam McCalvy writes. The Brewers have been connected to Corey Hart, Ike Davis and other first basemen this winter, but they haven't landed any of them. Scooter Gennett figures to be the Brewers' second baseman next season, leaving no obvious spot for Weeks. Weeks doesn't have an ideal bat for first base, and the Brewers could try to trade him, if they can find a taker. Milwaukee sees Braun as a long-term fix in right field, McCalvy notes. (Also, we might add that Braun's performance at third base in 2007 very persuasively suggests that he stay in the outfield.) Here are more notes from around the Majors.
- McCalvy also notes that Rule 5 pick Wei-Chung Wang's chances of sticking with the Brewers are "very slim," noting that the Brewers haven't kept a Rule 5 pick for an entire season since 2004 with reliever Jeff Bennett (who, like Wang, was selected out of the Pirates organization). Wang has also never pitched above the Gulf Coast League. McCalvy does point out, however, that there will be chances to stick in the Brewers' bullpen, particularly if they use lefty Will Smith as a starter.
- The Angels want to keep their first-round pick in this year's draft, MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez writes. They're still looking for pitching, though, and if they don't want to surrender their pick, then signing Ervin Santana or Ubaldo Jimenez, who each rejected qualifying offers, won't be possible for them. That limits them to Masahiro Tanaka, Matt Garza, and Bronson Arroyo, followed by less-desirable options like Paul Maholm, Jason Hammel and Chris Capuano.
- The Twins had "some interest" in Mark Mulder, 1500ESPN.com's Darren Wolfson tweets. Mulder was not interested in signing with Minnesota, however, and he ended up heading to the Angels instead.
- Mulder says he's open to pitching in the minors if he feels like he's on a path back to the big leagues, but he doesn't want to stay in the minor leagues the whole season, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets.
- It looks more and more likely that the Red Sox will re-sign Stephen Drew, and if so, that doesn't mean they'll necessarily trade Will Middlebrooks, writes Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal. A number of potential suitors, including the Mets, Pirates, Twins and Yankees, appear content to go with internal options rather than signing Drew and losing a draft pick, which could leave the Red Sox as the only team standing. Boston currently figures to head into the season with Xander Bogaerts at shortstop and Middlebrooks at third, but if they re-signed Drew, Bogaerts would head to third and Middlebrooks wouldn't have a place to play. The Red Sox could then keep Middlebrooks for depth. MacPherson points to the example of Mike Carp, who demonstrated last year that a player need not have an obvious starting role to be helpful — perhaps Middlebrooks could follow in his footsteps.