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New York Notes: Cano, Murphy, Phelps

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The Mets played their first game in franchise history on this date 50 years ago. The 1962 team was so bad they’ve since become the standard against which other poor teams are measured. To their credit, however, they turned things around before long and won their first World Series seven years later. Here are the latest links from New York…

  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post compares Ian Kinsler to Robinson Cano and wonders if Cano is really worth $5-10MM per year more than his counterpart in Texas. Sherman won’t be surprised if some teams are willing to pay Cano more than $20MM per year on a deal that could approach $200MM. 
  • The second baseman will hit free agency following the 2013 season, assuming the Yankees exercise his option this coming offseason. Sherman gets the sense that Cano would prefer to spend his entire career with the Yankees and GM Brian Cashman has said he views the 29-year-old as a possible Hall of Famer. 
  • Mike Axisa looked ahead to a possible Cano extension last night.
  • The Mets believe Daniel Murphy’s best position is third base, Sherman writes. Since David Wright won’t necessarily be in New York long-term, the Mets may want to see Murphy at the hot corner while Wright’s broken finger heals.
  • ESPN.com's Buster Olney points out that David Phelps may be emerging as an electric reliever for the Yankees.

NL East Notes: Ozzie, Nationals, Pelfrey

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It didn’t take Ozzie Guillen long to stir up some controversy in Miami. The Marlins announced a five-game suspension without pay for their new manager following his recent comments about Fidel Castro. Here are the latest links from the NL East…

  • Guillen, who addressed the media this morning, faced “the biggest day of his professional life” today according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (all Twitter links). Heyman suggested Guillen’s job was "at risk” but said the community reaction will ultimately matter most.
  • Yahoo's Tim Brown writes that Guillen "possesses no authority on the subject of Fidel Castro."
  • There doesn’t appear to be any traction on a possible John Lannan for Marlon Byrd trade, Heyman tweets. The Nationals appear to have discussed Lannan and Byrd with the Cubs.
  • The Mets view Mike Pelfrey as an innings eater who stays in games, even if it's not always pretty, Newsday's David Lennon writes. Pelfrey says he's capable of more, but the Mets have low expectations for the right-hander.

Make Or Break Year: Mike Pelfrey

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The Mets slashed more than $25MM off their Opening Day payroll from last season, but one player they held onto was Mike Pelfrey. The club's Opening Day starter a year ago was a non-tender candidate this past offseason, and now he has to show that they make the right decision by keeping him around for another year.

Uspw_5202756Pelfrey, 28, has yet to live up to the expectations of being the ninth overall pick in the 2005 draft. He has made at least 31 starts and thrown at least 180 innings in each of the last four seasons, but he's pitched to a 4.27 ERA during that time. Pelfrey's career strikeout (5.1 K/9), walk (3.2 BB/9), and ground ball (48.5%) rates leave an awful lot to be desired, especially for a pitcher making $5.675MM in his second year of arbitration-eligibility.

The Mets were reportedly open to trading Pelfrey last month, and at one point they were even said to be considering releasing him. That didn't happen, and instead the 6-foot-7 right-hander will make his season debut tonight. If the club was thinking about trading him in Spring Training, there's a pretty good chance they're hoping he performs well early in the season so they could flip him for a decent return at midseason. Quality starting pitching is always in high demand at the trade deadline.

At the same time, there's also the chance that Pelfrey does not improve his performance and boost his trade value. Another season like last year (4.74 ERA in 193 2/3 innings) or 2009 (5.03 ERA in 184 1/3 innings) likely means that the Mets are stuck with him, at least until the non-tender deadline in December. At that point he would be a free agent coming off three disappointing seasons in the last four years. A good year could mean a trade to a contender and a hefty salary in 2013, but another typical Pelfrey season means something much less lucrative.

Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Mets Extend Jon Niese

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The Mets have officially signed left-hander Jonathon Niese to a five-year extension with two club options, the team announced. The deal is worth $25.5MM, and the two options could push the total value to $46MM. Niese is an O'Connell Sports Management client.

The deal cover Niese's final pre-arbitration season, his three arbitration seasons and at least one season of free agency. He will earn $1.02MM this year, $3MM next year, $5MM in 2014, $7MM in 2015, and $9MM in 2016. The pair of club options offers the Mets the opportunity to keep Niese in New York for two additional free agent years.

Niese, 25, has a 4.39 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 370 2/3 career innings. He posted career-best strikeout (7.9 K/9) and walk (2.5 BB/9) rates during a promising 2011 campaign, but didn't pitch after enduring an intercostal strain on August 23rd.

This extension represents the biggest contract the Mets have agreed to under GM Sandy Alderson. It resembles deals signed by starters Derek Holland, Clay Buchholz and Trevor Cahill. However, Niese obtains less guaranteed money than Buchholzand Cahill, who had considerably lower career ERAs when they signed.

ESPN New York's Adam Rubin first reported that the two sides agree to the deal and later added details (on Twitter). Newday's David Lennon provided the annual breakdown (on Twitter). Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.

Outrighted: Neal, Hamren, Eveland, Rodriguez

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Teams are clearing 40-man roster space for non-roster invitees who’ve made Opening Day rosters, so we’ve had a flurry of outright assignments in recent days. Here are the details via MLB.com’s transactions page…

  • Indians outfielder Thomas Neal, who was designated for assignment yesterday, has cleared waivers, according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com (Twitter link). The Indians outrighted him to Triple-A.
  • The Padres announced that right-hander Erik Hamren cleared outright waivers. The Padres have assigned him to Double-A and now have an open spot on their 40-man roster.
  • The Orioles announced that they outrighted left-hander Dana Eveland to Triple-A after he cleared waivers. They had designated him for assignment last week.
  • The Mets outrighted Armando Rodriguez to Binghamton after he cleared outright waivers. The right-hander pitched at Class A in 2011, posting a 3.96 ERA in 16 starts. 
  • The Cubs outrighted Frankie De La Cruz to Triple-A Iowa. They had claimed the 28-year-old right-hander off of waivers from the Brewers less than a month ago. De La Cruz spent most of last year as a starter at Triple-A, where he had a 3.88 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 137 innings.
  • The Indians outrighted Rick VandenHurk to Triple-A. They had designated him for assignment soon after claiming him on waivers.

NL East Notes: Reyes, Hamels, Lannan

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Some NL East links for Thursday, as the Braves and Mets get their season started in New York…

  • Jose Reyes doesn't seem to be missing the Mets, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. It’d be hard to fault Reyes for enjoying his role on an exciting Marlins team and his $106MM contract.
  • Cole Hamels' track record is "a little better than [Matt] Cain's, so it does make things difficult," Phillies senior advisor Pat Gillick told Bob McCown and Damien Cox on Sportsnet Radio FAN 590 yesterday. The Phillies have some interest in locking Hamels up long-term, but Cain's $112.5MM extension complicated things earlier this week.
  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that he had two "uncomfortable" conversations with John Lannan after telling the left-hander he was being optioned to the minor leagues (Twitter links). "If he was happy and took this laying down, it wouldn't be John Lannan," Rizzo said. "And you'd have to worry about that type of person.''
  • Rizzo said there's "mild" interest in Lannan, but manager Davey Johnson said the Nationals are "not trading him," Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reports. Lannan has requested a trade.

Extension Updates: Votto, Niese, Kinsler, Greinke

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It’s been a big week for extensions, as Joey Votto and Matt Cain signed historic contracts on Monday. Here are some extension updates from around the league, starting with a couple additional notes on Votto’s deal.

  • John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer has the annual breakdown of Votto's deal (Twitter links). He'll earn $12MM in 2014, $14MM in 2015, $20MM in 2016, $22MM in 2017, and $25MM during each of the final six years. The club option for 2024 is worth $20MM with a $7MM buyout.
  • Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com has a breakdown of Jonathon Niese's new extension with the Mets (on Twitter). The southpaw gets a $250K signing bonus with annual salaries of $769.5K, $3MM, $5MM, $7MM, and $9MM. The two club options ($10MM and $11MM) can each be bought out for $500K.
  • Reds president and CEO Bob Castellini was the one driving the Votto deal, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. Other ownership groups have some concern over the ten-year deal, Crasnick adds.
  • The Rangers are discussing a long-term deal with Ian Kinsler, and while the sides are in agreement on the contract length — six years — they haven’t yet found common ground in terms of contract value, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Kinsler doesn’t want to negotiate after the season begins on Friday.
  • Casey Close, the agent for Zack Greinke, and Brewers GM Doug Melvin will speak tomorrow to “fill each other in on where discussions stand,” the GM told Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Greinke had been representing himself, but his new agent will handle talks from here on.

Mike Axisa contributed to this post.

NL East Notes: Harvey, Wheeler, Nationals

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The Marlins will break in their new ballpark tonight when they host the Cardinals and the regular season gets started in earnest. Here are some links from the NL East…

  • The Mets "have taken a step backward in the short term" Mike Puma of the New York Post writes in his season preview. Puma points out that David Wright will look to prove himself worthy of an extension and suggests pitching prospect Matt Harvey could be called up by July.
  • Mets VP of player development and amateur scouting Paul DePodesta took questions in a Baseball Prospectus chat yesterday and explained that he'll be thrilled if Harvey and Zack Wheeler become dependable starters in the Major Leagues. "If they do, we'll be happy with the results in the long run," DePodesta added.
  • Commissioner Bud Selig told Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that the Nationals are generating lots of buzz this spring. "In terms of people talking about a club that is clearly coming on, it’s the Nationals,” Selig said. The commissioner credits Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg for providing fans with "hope and faith.”

Stinson, Rodriguez On Waivers

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Here's where we'll keep track of today's minor moves…

  • The Mets have placed right-handed pitchers Josh Stinson and Armando Rodriguez on outright waivers, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. The move clears two 40-man roster spots for the Mets, who risk losing the pitchers to a claim. Stinson appeared in 14 games with the Mets last year, but spent most of the season in the upper minors, where he posted a 5.94 ERA in 109 innings. Rodriguez pitched at Class A in 2011, posting a 3.96 ERA in 16 starts.
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