Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Twins Rumors

Odds & Ends: Orioles, Scheppers, Pirates, Blue Jays

By | at

As we prepare for a weekend of watching AL pitchers take ineffective swings, here are a few news items…

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Hoffman, Bay, Markakis

By | at

On this date back in 2004, Alex Rodriguez returned to Texas to play the Rangers for the first time since being traded (along with $71MM) to the Yankees for Alfonso Soriano and Joaquin Arias. He was booed loudly just like every other road game of his career, though he silenced the home crowd – at least temporarily – with a two-run homer in the first inning. 

 Here are a few links from around the baseball blogosphere…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Players Who Cannot Be Offered Arbitration

By | at

Being designated a Type A free agent can be a detriment if the team offers arbitration.  If the player accepts, he's off the market on a one-year deal and has a limited salary range.  If he declines, his new team must surrender a draft pick upon signing him.  Carrying around the added draft pick cost, Juan Cruz and Orlando Cabrera were among those with fewer opportunities as free agents after the '08 season.

As a result, a contractual clause prohibiting the team from offering arbitration if a player receives Type A status has been gaining in popularity.  During the 2009-10 offseason, at least four players had this clause added:

  • Orlando Hudson, Legacy Sports.  Hudson was offered and turned down arbitration from the Diamondbacks after the '08 season, and was surprised he could only find a one-year deal from the Dodgers guaranteeing $3.38MM.  The Dodgers were willing to give up the #17 overall pick to get Hudson at the reduced rate.  Hudson avoided the problem when the Dodgers chose not to offer arbitration after the '09 season.  His agent made sure it would not surface again after '10 by having a clause included in his Twins contract prohibiting the team from offering arbitration if he's a Type A.  Hudson is a Type B right now anyway.
  • Brad Penny, Legacy Sports.  Penny was well-paid by the Cardinals given his 2009 stats, but he also had the "no arbitration offer" clause included.  That might've been optimistic, since right now he's not even a Type B.
  • Justin Duchscherer, Lapa/Leventhal.  The A's offered arbitration to Duchscherer, a Type B, after the '09 season.  He declined and re-signed, and this time made sure the team cannot offer if he's a Type A.  The point is moot, as Duchscherer is below Type B and may miss the rest of the season with hip surgery.
  • Ben Sheets, CAA.  Not only did Sheets snag a huge $10MM guarantee after missing all of '09, he got this clause added just in case he has a season awesome enough to vault him to Type A status.  I'm not sure that's even possible.  Though he's been better recently, he'd need to quadruple his current Elias points (15.175) to reach Type B. 
  • Scott Boras may have been out front on this trend.  He had the clause included in Ivan Rodriguez's one-year, $10MM deal with the Marlins in '03 as well as Carlos Beltran's seven-year, $119MM deal signed in '05.  Beltran is a Type A at this time, but the Mets might not have offered arbitration after '11 anyway.

July 2 Prospect Update: De La Cruz, Peguero, Romero

By | at

Vicmar De La Cruz has received a seven-figure offer from the Indians, according to MLBTR contributor Blake Bentley. Teams cannot make official offers until the international signing period begins this July 2nd, but they're watching now. Bentley reports that the Indians are interested, but says De La Cruz will likely wait for more offers. 

This year's best July 2 shortstop, Martin Steylon Peguero, will be in position to demand a solid contract as he is this year's best July 2nd shortstop. Bentley reports that the Rangers, Mariners, Padres, Twins, Reds and Cubs have all expressed serious interest in Peguero, who has also received a seven figure offer. 

Wilmer Romero, an outfielder from Santo Domingo, has the toolset to demand seven figures, writes Bentley. The previous unknown stands 6'2'', has good speed, a strong arm and plus power. 

2011 Contract Issues: Minnesota Twins

By | at

The Twins face a pair of contractual options after the season:

  • Designated hitter Jason Kubel has a $5.25MM club option with a $350K buyout.  If he is able to crank things up and approach his '09 production, I'd expect the Twins to exercise.
  • Infielder Nick Punto has a $5MM club option with a $500K buyout.  Punto may eventually justify the $4.5MM net price in some statistical or technical sense, but this feels well beyond what he could get as a free agent.

The Twins have plenty of free agents coming off the books, including Carl Pavano, Orlando Hudson, Matt Guerrier, Jesse Crain, and Jim Thome.  The potential losses of Guerrier and Crain, the Twins' current relief innings leaders, will hopefully be offset by the return of Joe Nathan.  Assuming Punto leaves and Kubel stays, the Twins will free up $23.55MM in departing free agents.  Of course, they may elect to re-sign some of them.  Another $100K comes off with Mike Lamb's buyout being paid.

Increases to players under contract will eat up $19.35MM of the free cash.  Joe Mauer leads with a $10.5MM increase, while Michael Cuddyer, Nick Blackburn, and Scott Baker also get decent bumps.  Then there are the arbitration cases.  Kevin Slowey and Alexi Casilla would go for the first time, Delmon Young, Francisco Liriano, and Pat Neshek a second, Clay Condrey a third, and J.J. Hardy a fourth.

Even if they let all departing free agents leave aside from Kubel, the Twins will need to raise payroll past $100MM just to retain under-contract and arbitration-eligible players.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Rays, Lackey, Peavy, Cano

By | at

On this date 11 years ago, Hideki Irabu of the Yankees and Mac Suzuki of the Mariners faced off in the first match up of Japanese starting pitchers in Major League history. Irabu allowed one run over seven innings as the Yanks defeated Seattle by the score of 10-1.

Here are some links from around the baseball blogosphere…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Stark On Gordon, Dunn, Lowell

By | at

The five most untradeable contracts in baseball?  ESPN's Jayson Stark's poll of baseball executives say it's Alfonso Soriano, Vernon Wells, Travis Hafner, Carlos Lee, and Barry Zito.  Hard to argue; check out our Bad Contract Swap Meet from last year for a look at other ugly deals.  It was interesting to see Daisuke Matsuzaka and Kosuke Fukudome nab honorable mentions in Stark's poll.  On to his other rumblings…

  • Stark's conversations led to repeated mentions of the new collective bargaining agreement, which will go into effect in December of 2011.  The uncertainty will have an impact – will 2011 draftees lack leverage, knowing that a slotting system could be installed the following year?  Does it make sense to worry about Super Two status for Mike Stanton now, when that provision might not exist in 2012?
  • Teams have kicked the tires on Alex Gordon, but the Royals have no interest in trading him.  MLBTR's Luke Adams led a discussion post on Gordon yesterday.
  • The Dodgers are scouring the trade market for starting pitching, while the Royals and Phillies seek bullpen help.  The Mariners and Braves are trying to add offense.  The Diamondbacks are actually more interested in starting pitching than relief, and are expected to have Chris Snyder available once Miguel Montero returns.
  • A "baseball man familiar with the Nationals' thinking" expects Adam Dunn to return in 2011, though not necessarily via an in-season extension.
  • A friend of Mike Lowell tells Stark the third baseman would love to play for the Twins or Angels if the Red Sox plan to trade him.
  • The Phillies have recently adopted a stance against full no-trade clauses, which is reflected in the Roy Halladay and Ryan Howard extensions.

Odds & Ends: Royals, Byrnes, Colon, Twins

By | at

A few links to browse, as we prepare for the Mets' third consecutive appearance on Sunday Night Baseball….

  • R.J. Anderson of Fangraphs weighed in on the Royals' demotion of Alex Gordon.
  • Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner (via Twitter) has a gut feeling that the M's will release Eric Byrnes tomorrow.  Heading into today's game, Byrnes had a slash line of .107/.265/.179 in 34 plate appearances.
  • Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star tweets that reports of the Royals selling Ramon Colon to Korea's Kia Tigers appear to be premature.  However, the deal for the righty should happen sometime mid-week.
  • In a guest piece at Minorleagueball.com, Twins' prospect guru Seth Stohs tells readers about five Twins prospects that you might not know, but probably should.
  • ESPN New York's Ian O'Connor spoke with Omar Minaya about several Mets-related issues, including his early impression of Ike Davis and Jerry Manuel's contract status. Minaya offers praise for Manuel, but says he won't be approached about an extension until season's end.
  • The New York Post's Joel Sherman writes that the Rays' front office will continue to keep their club competitive, regardless of how many fans are in the stands. He also opines that the presence of Desmond Jennings and Jeremy Hellickson in Triple-A Durham gives the team the flexibility to make a trade that would help them both immediately and in the long-term.
  • Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times examines how the Dodgers' cost cutting has affected their scouting and player development.
  • J.D. Durbin has signed a one-year deal with NPB's Softbank Hawks, according to Kyodo News. The 28-year-old right-hander last pitched in the majors in 2007 for the Phillies.

Rosenthal On Kurt Suzuki, Heath Bell, Dusty Baker

By | at

A look at the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…

  • Rosenthal explains why we shouldn't expect the A's to make catcher Kurt Suzuki available in trade.  He suggests that if Suzuki did become available, the demand to acquire three-plus years of his services would exceed Cleveland's return last summer for Victor Martinez.  Suzuki hasn't had extension talks with the A's, though John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweeted that he's open to the idea.
  • Although the Twins explored trades for closers after Joe Nathan went down, they "never had a formal discussion with the Padres about Heath Bell."  He may not be a big strikeout guy, but Jon Rauch has done a solid job so far in saving six out of seven.
  • Rosenthal says Dusty Baker asked the Reds about a contract extension, but "evidently the team is not yet ready to decide upon his future."

Cafardo On Suzuki, Cabrera, Griffey, Zambrano

By | at

In Nick Cafardo's latest piece for the Boston Globe, he takes an extended look at the Red Sox' early-season catching issues. He reiterates that if David Ortiz's struggles continue, the logical solution is to move Victor Martinez to DH and acquire a catcher. Cafardo names Kurt Suzuki as a player who would intrigue the Sox, since he can hit as well as play defense. Here are a few of Cafardo's other notes:

  • Other catchers to keep an eye on for the Sox include Chris Iannetta, Miguel Olivo, Chris Snyder, and even Twins prospect Wilson Ramos, though he'd be costly.
  • Cafardo praises the work Miguel Cabrera has put in to improve his image after last year's off-field problems. According to Cafardo, the Tigers "entertained trade proposals for him, but they wanted the farm in return."
  • Ken Griffey Jr. is off to a slow start this year, but the Mariners will give him time to work through it. Seattle may eventually have to limit his playing time if his bat doesn't get hot, but would never release him.
  • Cafardo is skeptical that the Cubs will be able to trade for a setup man and move Carlos Zambrano back into the rotation in the near future, suggesting the relief market is fairly thin.
  • One AL international scout's assessment of Cuban shortstops Jose Iglesias and Adeiny Hechavarria: "Iglesias is certainly the more polished player at this stage, but Hechavarria has more upside…. I’d say Iglesias could play defensively in the big leagues right now, where Hechavarria would need a year or two to refine his game a bit." While the Sox would like to give Iglesias more minor league experience, they could bring him up if something were to happen to Marco Scutaro or Dustin Pedroia.
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top