Free Agent Racism?
Twins second baseman Orlando Hudson hinted that racism is why Jermaine Dye is out of work, reports Yahoo's Jeff Passan. Hudson's comments:
"You see guys like Dye without a job. Guy with [27 home runs and 81 RBIs] and can't get a job. Pretty much sums it up right there, no? You've got some guys who miss a year who can come back and get $5, $6 million, and a guy like Jermaine Dye can't get a job. A guy like Gary Sheffield, a first-ballot Hall of Famer, can't get a job. We both know what it is. You'll get it right. You'll figure it out. I'm not gonna say it because then I'll be in [trouble]."
Passan is correct in that the perception of racism in the free agent market is a problem. But let's look at individual cases referenced in the article:
- Gary Sheffield hit well in 312 plate appearances for the Mets last year, but was lousy the year prior. The 41-year-old is a big negative on defense. He battled knee, back, and hamstring injuries, and sat out a game in August when the Mets declined his request for a contract extension.
- Passan provides good examples in Kenny Lofton and Ray Durham. But Lofton was said to be asking for $2.5-3MM by some, $6MM by others. In the spring of '08 Lofton was a near 41-year-old part-time player with suspect defense. Durham, 37 at the time, turned down an $850K offer from the Nationals. He was still able to hit, but his defense was questionable. Isn't it possible that the common thread here is age and defense rather than race? Luis Gonzalez and Jim Edmonds couldn't find anything after the '08 season either.
- Passan names three white players who did get paid this winter: Aubrey Huff, Garrett Atkins, and Xavier Nady. Presumably Passan is implying that if these three got $3-4.5MM, Dye should've too. However, Huff and Atkins were both named by team execs are two of the worst signings of the offseason. It's very possible that the Giants and Orioles just made bad signings. One exec told me he preferred Hank Blalock, who signed a $925K minor league deal, to Huff. And the Cubs made similar offers to both Dye and Nady. Nady was coming off a lost season, but he's younger and had more first base experience.
- Dye has been picky; he said yesterday that to move his family to Washington, D.C. he'd require "a little bit more." When the Rangers were interested, there was word that Dye did not want a full-time DH job. Dye appears unwilling to settle for the $1.5-2MM players like Jim Thome and Russell Branyan received.
- Hudson referred to players who missed a year and got $5-6MM. Presumably he's talking about Ben Sheets, but the situation isn't comparable to Dye. Coco Crisp snagged $5.5MM (also from the A's) coming off a 49-game season cut short by surgeries on both shoulders. The pair of moves was about the A's making injury upside plays. Unlike the older free agents forced out of the game, Crisp is known for his defense.
- Hudson's point deserves consideration, but he has to acknowledge the shift toward defense and youth as well.
Odds & Ends: Beimel, Cust, Dukes, Santos
Saturday links..
- Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post says that Joe Beimel should arrive in the big leagues within a few days, once he's able to pitch in back-to-back games. Beimel signed a minor league deal with Colorado that will pay a base salary of $850K when he makes the roster.
- A's GM Billy Beane is happy to have Jack Cust back in the mix, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
- MLB.com's William Ladson (via Twitter) received a text from Elijah Dukes shooting down a rumor that he has signed on with the Tabasco Olmecas of the Mexican League. Dukes was released by the Nationals roughly three weeks ago.
- Sergio Santos is becoming an integral part of the White Sox' bullpen, writes Scott Merkin of MLB.com. The right-hander made the squad just one year after converting over from the infield.
- The Twins' revamped bullpen is off to a good start, writes Bradford Doolittle of MLB.com.
Largest Contracts By Position
We've already looked at the largest contracts by service time, so now let's break it down by position…
Catcher
Joe Mauer: Eight years, $184MM
First Base
Mark Teixeira: Eight years, $180MM
Second Base
Chase Utley: Seven years, $85MM
Shortstop
Alex Rodriguez: Ten years, $252MM
Third Base
Alex Rodriguez: Ten years, $275MM
Outfield
Alfonso Soriano: Eight years, $136MM
Vernon Wells: Seven years, $126MM
Matt Holliday: Seven years, $120MM
Starting Pitcher
CC Sabathia: Seven years, $161MM
Johan Santana: Six years, $137.5MM
Barry Zito: Seven years, $126MM
Mike Hampton: Eight years, $121MM
Kevin Brown: Seven years, $105MM
Relief Pitcher
Joe Nathan: Four years, $47MM
Mariano Rivera: Three years, $45MM
Some thoughts…
- If you want to count DH as a position, which I guess it technically is, then Travis Hafner's four year, $57MM deal would top the list.
- Joe Mauer's contract is more than three and a half times larger than Jorge Posada's four year, $52.4MM deal, the second largest among active catchers. Mike Piazza's seven year, $91MM deal is the second largest for a catcher all-time.
- A-Rod only spent three years of his $252MM at the shortstop position before sliding over to third. The next largest contract ever given to a shortstop belongs to his teammate, Derek Jeter, who signed a ten year, $189MM deal in 2001.
- The Twins are the only team besides the Yankees to employ two of the largest contracts at their respective positions.
- The Soriano, Wells, Zito, and Hampton deals are all ones ownership wish they could take back. Brown spent a lot of time on the disabled list, but he did post a 3.23 ERA in close to 1,100 innings during the life of his deal.
- The Utley and Rivera deals are ones the teams would happily do again, but the jury is still out on the rest.
Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.
Twins Sign Jason Repko
The Twins have signed Jason Repko to play center field for their Triple-A affiliate, according to Joe Christensen of the Star Tribune. The 29-year-old was cut loose by the Dodgers on Wednesday, a move that saved the club $375K of his $500K salary.
In 2009 the oft-injured Repko hit .277/.329/.471 with 16 HRs for the Dodgers' Triple-A squad while making just 7 plate appearances in the majors.
Pedro Will Start Throwing, Plans To Pitch
TUESDAY, 7:06pm: Martinez has been linked to the Mariners, Twins, and Dodgers in recent days, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. Cafardo notes that Martinez still harbors bad feelings towards the Dodgers organization.
MONDAY, 2:30pm: Pedro Martinez plans to pitch in 2010 and will start throwing this week, according to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. Pedro will work towards a midseason signing like the one the Phillies added him on last summer. He says he can be ready soon.
“I’m in good shape, real good – it doesn’t take me that long to get ready,’’ he said.
He would prefer to pitch for a contender, on or near the East coast in the National League. Right now, the Phillies sound like a fit, given their interest in pitching. A few days ago, I wrote that Pedro could help somebody in 2010. He pitched well last year, but it wasn't until a month after he signed that Pedro appeared in the majors.
Odds & Ends: Beckett, Lind, Cardinals
Why isn't there more baseball today? Links for Tuesday…
- BoSox manager Terry Francona is glad that the organization hammered out Josh Beckett's extension before it became a media circus, writes Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal.
- I'll be joining Jeff & Jeff on KFNS St. Louis today at 1:25pm CST. Click here to listen live.
- SI's Jon Heyman wonders if the Diamondbacks and Rockies will get in on free agent lefty Jarrod Washburn.
- Josh Beckett initially wanted to top Carlos Zambrano's five-year, $91.5MM deal, reports WEEI's Rob Bradford. The market has changed since that deal was signed in August of '07, and the Red Sox secured Beckett for four years and $68MM.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says rival agents are exasperated by Adam Lind's four-year, $18MM extension, given the three club options. Frustrated agents – always a good sign for the team.
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch analyzes changes in the Cardinals' Opening Day payroll compared to '09.
- Steve Sommer of FanGraphs finds the best one-year deals at $2MM guaranteed or less for 2009, with Carl Pavano's Indians contract leading the way.
- The Twins look at seven factors when considering signing a young player to a long-term extension, learned Kelsie Smith of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
- Baseball America's Will Lingo puts together a list of lesser-known future GM candidates in the latest Ask BA.
Blocked Prospects: Wilson Ramos
Twins catching prospect Wilson Ramos, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus, became "one of the better trade chips in baseball" when Joe Mauer signed his eight-year extension. Goldstein ranked Ramos #65 overall among prospects. Baseball America put him at #58, while ESPN's Keith Law has him at #42.
In their 2010 Handbook, Baseball America wrote that Ramos is "almost big league-ready and has significant upside." All three outlets consider him an aggressive but above-average hitter with a cannon for an arm. Though Ramos missed almost three months with injuries in '09, he hit .317/.341/.454 at Double A and played well in winter ball.
Asked what the Twins should do with Ramos, Law recently said, "Trade him. And I don't mean for Heath Bell." Austin Jackson, Tim Alderson, Carlos Carrasco, and Jason Donald, Chris Perez, and Aaron Poreda are examples of prospects ranked in the #40-60 range on 2009 prospect lists who were recently traded for veterans. Each deal had its own nuances and additional parts, but the prospects named were typically headliners. They were used to acquire Curtis Granderson, Freddy Sanchez, Cliff Lee, Mark DeRosa, and Jake Peavy, veterans with varying contract situations.
Clearly Ramos can help bring in a major piece for the Twins. As Law indicates, it's not worth spending that chip on a reliever. A third baseman or an ace starting pitcher would make more sense, but at this point I can't find an appropriate name for the Twins to pursue. They may choose to let Ramos spend all of 2010 at Triple A and evaluate their needs in the offseason.
Odds & Ends: Rule 5, Jones, Hechevarria, Brewers
Links for Easter Sunday…
- Baseball America's John Manuel provides updates on five Rule 5 picks: Carlos Monasterios with the Dodgers, John Raynor with the Pirates, Zachary Kroenke, who was optioned to the minors by the D'Backs, Kanekoa Texeira with the Mariners, and David Herndon with the Phillies.
- Peter Gammons previews storylines for the 2010 season, such as emerging stars, prospects of the future, a slew of contenders, and the ever-present unpredictability of baseball.
- Dave Campbell of the AP looks at Jacque Jones and how Minnesota's late-season surge in 2009 inspired a comeback attempt for 2010 when he was on the verge of retirement. Jones is reporting to Triple-A Rochester after hitting .366/.409/.585 with the Twins this spring.
- In an interview with Mike Wilner of the FAN 590 in Toronto, Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos said while the team hasn't officially said anything about Adeiny Hechevarria, international cases like his are often slowed by visa issues and other approval processes.
- Tom Haudricourt tweets that there will be no last-minute changes to the Brewers 25-man roster.
- The San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser spoke with recently-DFA'ed Jack Cust, who is shocked and offended by the move. Cust says he will accept a minor league assignment if he clears waivers, but won't let Oakland "walk all over" him. The 31-year-old slugger has led the A's in home runs the past three seasons. Slusser takes a deeper look at the Cust move in a separate piece.
- Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times looks at what the Cubs' performance in 2010 means to Jim Hendry's job, and talks to several players about their positive relationships with the Chicago GM.
- Elliot Johnson cleared waivers and will report to Triple-A Durham, according to Marc Topkin. He adds that the Rays have set their roster and are waiting to hear from Hank Blalock on whether or not he'll accept a minor league assignment.
Looking At The Needs Of Some Contenders
With Spring Training wrapping up around the country, teams are finalizing their rosters and picking the 25 players they'll start the season with. There's always room for improvement, but some contenders have some very obvious weak spots on their rosters. Here's a look at some of them, which may need to be addressed during the season…
- Angels, third base: Brandon Wood and Maicer Izturis will get the first cracks at replacing Chone Figgins, but if neither is up to par, the Halos might be looking for a fill-in at the hot corner.
- Braves, outfielder: Superstar in training Jason Heyward will start the year in right, but incumbent centerfielder Nate McLouth had a brutal spring (6-for-51), which may push Melky Cabrera into full-time duty.
- Rays, setup man: With J.P. Howell on the shelf due to a bum shoulder, the team has no obvious candidate to hand the ball off to new closer Rafael Soriano. Dan Wheeler and Grant Balfour represent solid options, but if Howell misses more time than expected, the Rays might be looking to add a reliever.
- Twins, closer: This is the most obvious hole of them all. Joe Nathan is out for the season after having elbow surgery, and Jon Rauch will get the first chance to replace him.
- Yankees, left field: The team is breaking camp with Brett Gardner, Randy Winn, and Marcus Thames set to share time in left, but we've already seen a scenario laid out in which they might need help sooner rather than later.
That doesn't include all of the clubs that could very well be looking to add a starting pitcher at some point, like the Mariners, Mets, Phillies, Cubs, and Dodgers. Some other holes aren't so obvious though. Maybe the Red Sox could use another reliever (who couldn't?), or perhaps Seattle will go looking for a big bat that fits into their extreme run prevention plan.
What other areas of need to do you see out there for contenders?
Offseason Questions For The AL Central
All the offseason reviews are in the books, and today the AL Central takes the stand.
- Do White Sox acquisitions Juan Pierre and Mark Teahen deserve starting jobs and multiyear commitments? Will the Sox suffer subpar production at traditionally offensive spots in left field, third base, and designated hitter?
- With a respectable offense in place, should the Indians have signed a couple of veteran free agent starters and attempted a run?
- Will the Tigers moving Curtis Granderson hurt the 2010 club? Could the Edwin Jackson–Max Scherzer component have been facilitated without the Yankees being involved? Should the Tigers have added a free agent starter, and did they make the right choice in shipping out Nate Robertson instead of Dontrelle Willis?
- Could the Royals have acquired a similar veteran backstop for significantly less than the $6MM committed to Jason Kendall? Did they screw up in letting pitching prospect Juan Abreu hit the open market and sign with the Braves?
- Can the Twins' bullpen get by without a Joe Nathan replacement? Should they have upgraded at third base? Though he took less money to sign with the Twins, was Joe Mauer's eight-year, $184MM extension too risky?