Latin Links: Ruiz, Haitian Players, Ramirez
Links in Spanish, because English is so last season…
- Jose Julio Ruiz's new agent Mike Maulini tells Jorge Ebro at Nuevo Herald that the Cuban first baseman made the switch from Jorge Luis Toca after realizing that his much-rumored signing with a major league team was "long overdue." Ruiz had a $2MM offer in hand from Tampa Bay in February, but since then, the market has stagnated and the lefty feared he was in danger of missing his opportunity to play stateside.
- While Haitian baseball prospects exist, don't expect to see any of them signing with Major League teams, writes Juan Mercado in the Dominican newspaper El Dia. He talks with two coaches who complain that the MLB office on the island won't allow promising Haitian players to attend teams' academies because of the difficulty in verifying the players' backgrounds and paperwork. One source tells Mercado that the teams simply "prefer not to waste time" in fruitless investigations, while the two coaches call the policy discriminatory, saying many Cuban and Venezuelan players don't receive the same level of scrutiny. The only current Major Leaguer of Haitian descent is the Orioles' Felix Pie, though he was born in the Dominican.
- Several veteran players were signed during this offseason under the justification of mentoring developing players. But lost in the circle-of-life storyline is the idea that those veterans are being paid for their blunt critical eye. New White Sox backup shortstop Omar Vizquel brings the point home to Luis Rangel of Nuevo Herald when he says that mentee Alexei Ramirez "needs to move his feet when fielding. He has the tendency to stand still and not move to the ball." Ramirez committed 20 errors in his first full season at short, tying for fourth most among major league shortstops.
- Who says winter leagues help keep players in shape for the regular season? Yankees reliever Jonathan Albaladejo tells Esteban Pagan Rivera at Primera Hora that he shed 30 pounds this offseason after the team forbade him from playing in his home country of Puerto Rico. At the other end of the scale sits Pablo Sandoval, whose much-ballyhooed "Camp Panda" proved for naught when he came back from the Venezuelan Winter League in January heavier than when he arrived.
- The Twins signed one of Sandoval's fellow Navegantes of Magallanes in Venezuela, righty reliever Yoslan Herrera, to a minor league deal, confirms Joe Christensen at the Star Tribune. Herrera, who defected from Cuba in 2005, was a highly touted prospect in the Pirates system but disappointed in his only brief showing with the team in 2008. He showed more promise at the Bucs' Double-A and Triple-A levels in 2009 and will start out at Triple-A Rochester for the Twins. The Cuban blog Terreno de Pelota first reported the signing on Tuesday.
Odds & Ends: AL East, Mauer, D’Backs, Sheets
Some links to read with Opening Day just a month away…
- MLB.com's Peter Gammons says one suggested way to improve competitive balance is by breaking up the Yankees and Red Sox. In the scenario he presents, the Yanks and Mets would be put in one division, the Sox and Rays in another.
- Tom Tango of ESPN's The Max Info blog built a 25-man roster out of players that signed just a one-year deals this offseason, and all for under $100MM (Insider req'd).
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports thinks that agent Ron Shapiro's extended stay in Twins camp means the club is making progress on extension talks with Joe Mauer.
- The D'Backs don't appear likely to pursue Braden Looper or Jarrod Washburn, even if Brandon Webb starts the season on the DL, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
- Ben Sheets told reporters there is "zero bad blood" between him and the Brewers, his former team, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- Teams are still interested in Jarrod Washburn, though he's not close to a deal, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
- Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports explains the story behind the reunion of A's GM Billy Beane and his adviser, Grady Fuson.
- The Red Sox obtained 15 of the 39 players on their 40-man roster through the draft, notes Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball in this look at the Boston club.
- Prince Fielder tells ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that he isn't going to stress about his future, but he hopes to be part of the Brewers organization for 30 years.
- Meanwhile, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports thinks the floor for a Fielder extension might be $95MM over five years.
- Former Met and Marlin Henry Owens is auditioning for the Mets, according to Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog.
- Top Marlins prospect and MLBTR reader Logan Morrison is on Twitter.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears that the Reds are unlikely to make a trade unless one of their players gets hurt (Twitter link).
- Matt Youmans of the Las Vegas Review-Journal profiles Bryce Harper, the 17-year-old phenom who is expected to be a top pick in this year's draft.
- Fielder, also a Scott Boras client, could be up for an extension. ESPN.com's Buster Olney says many GMs emerge from initial contract negotiations with Boras thinking there's "no (expletive) way" they reach an agreement.
- Gordon Beckham tells MLB.com's Scott Merkin that he tries to ignore the trade rumors he appears in. The infielder says he wants to play for the White Sox for years.
- Bengie Molina tells Jesse Spector of the New York Daily News that he would have signed with the Mets if they had offered two years. Their one-year $5.5MM offer didn't sway him.
Heyman On Lee, Reynolds, Mauer
- Mark Reynolds would like a two-year $18MM deal to cover his first two arbitration years. That's Prince Fielder money, but the D'Backs would prefer to pay him $13MM or so, which would be closer to what Dan Uggla made for the same stretch of his career.
- There has been no acrimony between the Twins and Joe Mauer. That's a good thing for Twins fans, but other than that we know very little about the negotiations.
Mauer’s Agent Arrives At Twins’ Camp
As expected, uncovering details on the Joe Mauer extension talks has proven difficult. Still, La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune learned that Mauer's agent Ron Shapiro arrived at Twins' camp in Fort Myers, Florida. Neal explains:
While it's being shaped as Shapiro's annual visit to spring training, the sides are expected to hold face-to-face discussions about the future of the Twins' MVP catcher.
In a slightly pessimistic note, Neal speaks of "indications that progress has slowed recently." But don't worry Twins fans, SI's Jon Heyman (Twitter) and ESPN's Buster Olney both speak of optimism about these talks. Neal still contends that no deadlines have been set. Yahoo's Jeff Passan reported on November 30th that Mauer "plans on ending contract negotiations if a deal isn't struck by the end of spring training."
Tom Tango of Inside The Book recently tackled Mauer's value in an ESPN article, and determined that somewhere between $145-176MM would be appropriate for eight years.
Why Padres Likely Won’t Sign Adrian Gonzalez
A pair of interesting viewpoints emerged today about the Padres, and why they are likely to trade Adrian Gonzalez, rather than extend his contract.
As Ken Rosenthal puts it in his latest column, regarding Padres fans, "I would want to know just one thing: Why can’t my team sign Adrian Gonzalez if the Twins can sign Joe Mauer?"
Of course, Rosenthal lists the many reasons: attendance is down in San Diego, San Diego is the 28th biggest television market in baseball, and a Gonzalez deal could net a number of prospects in return.
But there is a more ominous reason cited by Rosenthal: there are questions about new ownership's viability. As Rosenthal writes, "Just over a year ago, Moorad’s group reached agreement to gain controlling interest of the club from John Moores over a five-year period. That’s right, the other owners allowed one of their franchises to be purchased on a layaway plan — an unusual arrangement, to say the least."
Jake Peavy also weighed in on the choice by the Padres to deal Gonzalez during an interview with Dan Hayes of the North County Times.
"He's a great player, and at times I think to myself, 'How could they not sign this guy?'" Peavy said of Gonzalez. "A hometown guy playing for his hometown team and being the superstar player he is. At the same time, this is the same organization that let their Hall of Fame closer walk away."
Peavy was referring, of course, to Trevor Hoffman.
If ownership can't afford Gonzalez, of course, that puts them in company with many other small-market teams. But it will be interesting to watch just what San Diego can spend-payroll was less than $44MM last season.
Offseason In Review: Minnesota Twins
Next up in our Offseason In Review series, the Twins.
Major League Signings
- Carl Pavano, SP: one year, $7MM. Accepted arbitration.
- Orlando Hudson, 2B: one year, $5MM.
- Jim Thome, DH: one year, $1.5MM.
- Clay Condrey, RP: one year, $900K.
- Total spend: $14.4MM.
Notable Minor League Signings
Extensions
- Brendan Harris, IF: two years, $3.2MM.
Trades and Claims
- Acquired SS J.J. Hardy from Brewers for CF Carlos Gomez
- Acquired P Chris Province from Red Sox for P Boof Bonser
Notable Losses
- Boof Bonser, Brian Buscher, Mike Redmond, Ron Mahay, Joe Crede, Carlos Gomez, Armando Gabino, Orlando Cabrera, R.A. Dickey, Philip Humber, Steve Tolleson, Jason Pridie, Bobby Keppel
Summary
For about $20MM and Carlos Gomez, Twins GM Bill Smith revamped his middle infield, retained a mid-rotation starter, added an excellent bench bat, and signed a groundballing middle reliever. On paper, Smith improved his team at a reasonable cost.
In Hardy, Smith traded for two seasons of the offseason's best available shortstop. Hudson should easily earn his salary, and might be able to top last year's Twins second base offensive output (.209/.302/.267) batting blindfolded. Pavano's '09 peripherals suggest he deserved an ERA around 4.00 as opposed to his actual 5.10 mark. Thome should come in handy; he hit .262/.383/.498 against righties last year.
The Twins' rotation looks respectable, with Kevin Slowey and Francisco Liriano likely to provide much more than last year's 227.3 innings of 5.42 ball. Does the lineup pack enough punch? CHONE projections suggest the Twins will score 850 runs. That's optimistic, since injuries are inevitable for all teams. Still, it's all relative, and the Twins' offense projects as the best in the division. Thanks to Smith's fine winter, the Twins are my AL Central favorite.
Athletics Sign Brett Tomko, Jason Jennings
The Oakland Athletics have signed right-handers Brett Tomko and Jason Jennings to minor league contracts, according to Joe Stiglich of the Oakland Tribune (via Twitter).
Jane Lee of MLB.com tweets that Jennings will report to the team's spring training camp, while Tomko will continue rehabbing an arm injury at Minor League camp. The San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser adds, via Twitter, that the Twins made Tomko a similar offer, but that he felt more comfortable in Oakland. Slusser also tweets that Jennings was close to a deal with the Giants at one point, while Stiglich adds the Cardinals and Mets to the list of teams spoken to by Jennings in a separate tweet.
Tomko was extremely effective in six starts for the A's in 2009, winning four games with a 2.95 ERA. Jennings, meanwhile, acted as a setup man for the Rangers, posting a 4.13 ERA in 44 relief appearances.
Odds & Ends: Beckett, Jones, Cust, Cubs
A roundup of some news on this Thursday night…
- In an interview on CSNNE's Sports Tonight show, Josh Beckett said he would "probably not" negotiate with the Red Sox about a new contract once the season begins. WEEI's Rob Bradford reports on Beckett's appearance here.
- Bobby Cox thinks Chipper Jones will play out the final three years on his contract, reports David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Jones was hinting at retirement last fall in the wake of his disappointing (for him) 2009 campaign, but thus far in spring training, O'Brien reports that Jones has been nothing but enthusiastic about Atlanta's chances this season.
- In an interview with Jane Lee of MLB.com, Jack Cust confirms what we all thought about this winter's crop of free agents at outfield and DH: "it just wasn't a very good market unless you're Matt Holliday or Jason Bay. Even for those guys, I don't think the interest level was as high as they may have thought it to be. Unless you're one of those big dudes, you take what you can get."
- Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com says that the Cubs have some interest in Luke Gregerson and/or Jason Frasor.
- Jon Paul Morosi tweets that there is "not much new" going on with the negotiations between Joe Mauer and the Twins.
- MLB.com's Anthony DiComo reports that Alex Rodriguez offered Johnny Damon some free agency advice this winter. Oh, so THAT's why it took so long for Damon to sign…
- We had heard about Toronto's possible interest in Jose Julio Ruiz, and MLB.com's Jordan Bastian now reports that the Jays may be looking at another Cuban prospect: Adeiny Hechevarria.
- Dick Kaegel of MLB.com reports that the Royals agreed to terms with Josh Fields and Kila Ka'aihue on one-year contracts. Terms were not disclosed, but Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star tweeted that neither deal is expected to exceed $500K.
Minor League Transactions: Bierbrodt, Jimerson, Cintron
The latest minor league transactions, from Baseball America's Matt Eddy…
- The Reds signed Aaron Harang's brother Daryl out of the Atlantic League.
- The Rockies signed lefty Nick Bierbrodt, the Diamondbacks' first-ever draft pick in '96. Bierbrodt, 31, sat out the '09 season.
- The Twins signed outfielder Charlton Jimerson out of the Atlantic League. He put up big numbers there in '09.
- The Mets inked second baseman Alex Cintron, who hit .285/.303/.387 in Triple A last year.
Odds & Ends: Floyd, Looper, El Duque, Manny
Links for Monday…
- Cliff Floyd is currently doing TV work, writes Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post.
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson tweeted that the Nationals offered contracts to Chan Ho Park and Braden Looper. Park went with the Yankees, while Looper told the Nats he's going in a different direction.
- Orlando Hernandez is looking to get back in the game, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown.
- Magglio Ordonez wants to play at least four more years, reports Tom Gage of the Detroit News.
- FOX Sports' Jim Bowden questioned Justin Upton, Theo Epstein, Jon Daniels, Dayton Moore, Kevin Goldstein, and Dave Cameron about modern statistics, and it made for an amusing video segment.
- Chico Harlan of the Washington Post talked to several Nationals players about their arbitration hearings, which were not enjoyable. ESPN's Rob Neyer doesn't think it makes sense for players to attend.
- Manny Ramirez believes this is his last year with the Dodgers, reports Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times.
- Duaner Sanchez signed with the Mexico City Red Devils, reports Noroeste. Though Sanchez is said to be throwing "an easy 90 mph," his shoulder is still not 100 percent. He hopes to find his way back to the bigs after being released by the Padres in May of '09. Thanks to Nick Collias for the translation.
- Jesse Lund of the Twinkie Town blog has an excellent discussion with Twins assistant GM Rob Antony. Antony provided details on the J.J. Hardy trade talks, and also noted that the Kevin Kouzmanoff rumors were "a little blown out of proportion."
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post doesn't buy the idea that the pressure will be off for Javier Vazquez as the Yankees #4 starter.
- Regarding catcher A.J. Pierzynski entering his contract year, White Sox GM Kenny Williams told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, "At some point, we'll check in with A.J. and his guys on expectations."
- The Diamondbacks offered Dominican shortstop Edward Salcedo around $1MM, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.