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."
Rays Claim Rob Delaney
The Rays claimed minor league right-hander Rob Delaney off of waivers from the Twins, according to LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (on Twitter). The Twins had designated Delaney for assignment when they claimed Dusty Hughes from the Royals earlier in the week.
Delaney has appeared in just one big league game so far, but the 26-year-old right-hander has plenty of minor league experience. He has a 2.96 ERA with 9.5 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 242 minor league relief appearances. Last year he posted a 3.44 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 83 2/3 innings for the Twins' top affiliates.
The Rays lost most of their best relievers this offseason, but they have added or re-signed Dirk Hayhurst, Kyle Farnsworth, Christopher Archer, Adam Russell, Cesar Ramos, Joel Peralta, Jonah Bayliss, J.P. Howell, Cory Wade and R.J. Swindle, as MLBTR's Transaction Tracker shows.
Twins Claim Dusty Hughes
The Twins claimed left-hander Dusty Hughes from the Royals and designated right-hander Rob Delaney for assignment to create roster space. Both teams announced the claim this afternoon.
Hughes, 28, appeared in 57 games for the Royals last year, posting a 3.83 ERA with 5.4 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9. The Royals selected the left-hander in the 11th round of the 2003 draft.
Delaney has appeared in just one big league game so far, but the 26-year-old right-hander has plenty of minor league experience. He has a 2.96 ERA with 9.5 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 242 minor league relief appearances. Last year he posted a 3.44 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 83 2/3 innings for the Twins' top affiliates.
Twins, Slowey Avoid Arbitration
The Twins avoided arbitration with Kevin Slowey, agreeing to a one-year, $2.7MM deal, according to MLB.com's Kelly Thesier (on Twitter). Slowey had filed at $3.1MM and the Twins had filed at $2.3MM, which puts the agreed-upon deal right at the midpoint of the two submissions.
Slowey posted a 4.45 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9 in 155 2/3 innings last year. The 26-year-old has never posted a walk rate above 1.7 per nine or a strikeout rate above 6.7 per nine in four big league seasons.
As MLBTR's Arb Tracker shows, the Twins have unresolved arbitration cases with Delmon Young and Francisco Liriano. Both made my list of ten unsigned arbitration eligible players to watch.
Manny, Vlad Progressing Toward Deals
Manny Ramirez and Vladimir Guerrero may not be on our free agent list much longer. Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes hears from various sources that both players are moving toward deals (link in Spanish). One source tells Rojas that Ramirez is likely to sign by the beginning of next week.
The Angels, Twins, Rangers, Rays and Blue Jays have shown some interest in Ramirez, but Minnesota just added Jim Thome and is no longer interested. The Angels, Rangers and Rays are pursuing him most aggressively. Rojas hears that Manny wants to prove himself after a disappointing season; money, it seems, is not the slugger's primary concern.
A person close to Guerrero told Rojas that the Orioles have the inside track on signing him, but the Angels are another possibility.
Twins Agree To Terms With Carl Pavano
The Twins have agreed to terms with right-hander Carl Pavano on a two-year, $16.5MM contract, according to a team press release. Pavano will earn $8MM next season and $8.5MM in 2012, plus an extra $500K should he reach certain incentive clauses. A deal between the club and the veteran starter has seemed imminent for the last two weeks, and the two sides were said to be "very close" to a contract just yesterday. Pavano is represented by Tom O'Connell.
Pavano, 35, has pitched well for the Twins since joining the team in August 2009. Pavano has posted a 3.97 ERA and a 3.32 K/BB ratio in 44 starts as a Twin, and his seven complete games last season tied Cliff Lee for most in the American League.
Pavano's deal resembles the contract Joel Pineiro signed almost exactly a year ago, a comparison MLBTR's Tim Dierkes drew in late December. In November, three of five MLBTR writers correctly predicted Pavano would remain with the Twins.
Ken Davidoff of Newsday was the first to report the deal had been finalized, while Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune and USA Today's Bob Nightengale added contract details.
Twins “Very Close” To Deal With Pavano
The Twins are "very close" to a new deal with Carl Pavano and are just working out the final details according to Joe Christensen of The Star Tribune (on Twitter). "I think we're in the home stretch here," said GM Bill Smith.
We first heard that the two sides were working towards a deal earlier this month, and just four days ago we heard that a decision was expected relatively soon. Previous reports indicated that they were working towards a two-year pact.
Pavano, 35, logged 221 innings in 2010, pitching to a 3.75 ERA with 4.8 K/9 and just 1.02 unintentional walks per nine innings. His 51.2% ground ball rate was the key to his success. Minnesota could slot him right behind Francisco Liriano to form a strong one-two punch in a division where both the Tigers and White Sox have improved quite a bit this offseason.
Quick Hits: Toregas, Montanez, Hargrove, Payrolls
A few notes from around the league that have nothing to do with players who avoided arbitration or filed salary figures…
- The Pirates signed catcher Wyatt Toregas to a minor league contract with an invitation Spring Training according to a team press release. The 28-year-old spent the 2010 season in the Indians' farm system, hitting .227/.311/.383 in 148 plate appearances.
- The Cubs signed outfielder Lou Montanez to a minor league deal according to Baseball America's Matt Eddy (on Twitter). They drafted him third overall back way back in 2000. Montanez hit .223/.257/.323 in 266 plate appearances with the Orioles over the last three seasons.
- Former Indians manager Mike Hargrove is back with the team as a special advisor, the club announced today.
- The Marlins project to have an Opening Day payroll around $58MM according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. It will be the franchise's highest payroll since opening the 2005 season at $60.4MM.
- The Twins, meanwhile, project to have an Opening Day payroll around $105.4MM according to Joe Christensen of The Star Tribune (Twitter links), but he says that a Carl Pavano signing could push that up to $115MM.
- The Royals are now projected to have a payroll around $40MM after Gil Meche's surprise retirement, tweets Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star. In a separate pair of tweets, Dutton says the team is unlikely to use the payroll savings from Meche's retirement on free agents, but will instead boost their draft and international free agent budgets.
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.
Arbitration Figures: Tuesday
Today is the deadline for players and teams to submit arbitration figures. Let's keep track of those figures here, with the latest updates on top. You can track all of the players that avoided arbitration today here.
- MLB.com's Jane Lee tweets that Craig Breslow filed for $1.55MM, but the Athletics countered with $1.15MM.
- Zachary Levine of The Houston Chronicle has some figures for the Astros. Wandy Rodriguez filed for $10.25MM, Hunter Pence for $6.9MM. The team countered with $8MM and $5.15MM, respectively.
- Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star tweets that Billy Butler filed for $4.3MM while the Royals countered with $3.4MM.
- Hank Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle tweets that Javier Lopez filed for $2.875MM and Andres Torres for $2.6MM (Twitter link). The Giants countered with $2MM and $1.8MM, respectively.