Nationals Sign Oliver Perez
The Nationals signed Oliver Perez to a minor league deal and assigned him to minor league camp, the team announced (on Twitter). This marks the second time this week that an NL East rival has picked up a discarded Mets veteran; the Phillies signed Luis Castillo Monday.
The Nationals will be responsible for the Major League minimum salary if Perez makes the team and the Mets will assume the rest of his $12MM salary. Southpaws Sean Burnett and Doug Slaten figure to pitch at the major league level, while Perez works in the minors. Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reports (on Twitter) that Perez will begin the season at Triple-A.
The Nationals signed Perez on the recommendation of Spin Williams, a pitching coordinator who knows Perez, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). Perez will report to minor league camp and work with Williams, according to Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com (on Twitter).
As MLBTR's Agency Database shows, the Nationals already have eight Scott Boras clients: Rick Ankiel, Alex Cora, Danny Espinosa, Alberto Gonzalez, Bryce Harper, Ivan Rodriguez, Stephen Strasburg and Jayson Werth. Boras appears to have a strong working relationship with Nationals GM Mike Rizzo.
Yahoo's Tim Brown first reported the deal.
Alderson On Perez, Castillo, Beato, Emaus, Reyes
Mets GM Sandy Alderson held a blogger conference call today, and Metsblog.com's Michael Baron has the transcript. Here are some of the hot stove-related notes…
- Fan sentiment "came into play" in Luis Castillo's release, Alderson said. The Mets "became aware about the sentiment in New York for [Castillo and Oliver Perez]….It's difficult to overcome that, so you evaluate player performance against presumption in the minds of the fans." In Perez's case, Alderson said the southpaw just didn't pitch well enough to make the roster, so the fans' thoughts were moot.
- Alderson says if the Mets are in contention, the club will have the money available to add a player if necessary.
- Alderson thinks his team's farm system is underrated but he says the Mets "need to be more aggressive and successful in developing players out of the draft."
- "There is a very good possibility we will keep both our Rule 5 picks" Alderson said, in regards to Pedro Beato and Brad Emaus. The GM said that Emaus' Rule 5 status was a major reason the team gave him every chance to win the second base job this spring. "If he was not a Rule 5 draftee, he wouldn’t have presented the immediacy that he does," Alderson said. "If he’s not the starting second baseman, I’m not sure how much he helps us in a bench role. At least at the outset, you’re going to give him every opportunity."
- If the Mets have a reduced payroll next season, they should still be able to re-sign Jose Reyes if they wish, given the number of contracts the team has coming off the books this winter.
Doug Davis Throws For Eight Teams
The Angels, Mets, Orioles, Rangers and Rockies were among the eight teams that sent scouts to Doug Davis' throwing sessions in Tempe today, reports MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez (Twitter link). Davis threw a 45-pitch bullpen session and said his arm "felt great" afterwards, according to Sanchez. As per recent reports, the three unnamed teams don't include the Astros or Davis' most recent team, the Brewers.
It isn't clear whether Davis expects a Major League or minor league contract, though given his injury history, the latter is much more reasonable. Of the named teams, Texas is the club with most sudden need for starting pitching, given that Tommy Hunter suffered a groin injury this afternoon and Neftali Feliz has been slotted back into the closer's job. The Rangers could sign Davis to a minor league deal to see how he performs in regular work, while putting Dave Bush into their rotation as Hunter's temporary replacement.
Mets Notes: Emaus, Alderson, Isringhausen
On this date in 2002, the Mets traded for Jason Bay and Jimmy Serrano, sending Lou Collier to the Expos. Here's the latest on New York's National Leaguers, one year into Bay's second tenure with the organization…
- Though it appears that the Mets are strongly considering Rule 5 pick Brad Emaus for their second base job, the position is up for grabs as the Mets evaluate Emaus and others, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post.
- Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle remembers that Mets GM Sandy Alderson was an outside-the-box thinker back in 1982, when he was an Oakland A's executive.
- Alderson tells Steve Popper of the Bergen Record that he'd like to have veteran reliever Jason Isringhausen on the team. The right-hander heard a pop in his elbow last week and says if he can't pitch he'll play softball, like he did last summer.
New York Notes: Posada, Cano, Mets
The Yankees claimed a minor league pitcher today. Here's the rest of what you need to know about New York's two teams…
- Jorge Posada told Kevin Kernan of the New York Post that he hopes to re-sign with the Yankees after the season, when he hits free agency. If the Yankees don’t want him back, he would consider playing elsewhere, even though he doesn’t want to sign with another team. "I would [leave], if it's the right situation," he said. "It's got to be the right situation."
- As Daniel Barbarisi of the Wall Street Journal explains, Robinson Cano is helping young Yankees learn how to deal with the media, even though media relations haven't always been his forte.
- Yahoo's Jeff Passan says that while Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez are gone, the Mets' problems are only beginning. "When the best thing about a team is the hamburger available at its stadium," Passan writes, "it’s bad."
- Be sure to read Tim Dierkes' take on the Mets' offseason.
Offseason In Review: New York Mets
The Mets are next in our Offseason In Review series.
Major League/International Signings
- Jose Reyes, SS: one year, $11MM. Club option exercised.
- D.J. Carrasco, RP: two years, $2.4MM.
- Chris Capuano, SP: one year, $1.5MM.
- Ronny Paulino, C: one year, $1.35MM.
- Scott Hairston, OF: one year, $1.1MM.
- Chris Young, SP: one year, $1.1MM.
- Taylor Buchholz, RP: one year, $600K.
- Total spend: $19.05MM.
Notable Minor League Signings
- Boof Bonser, Blaine Boyer, Tim Byrdak, Willie Harris, Taylor Tankersley, Mike O'Connor, Russ Adams, Dusty Ryan, Raul Chavez, Casey Fossum, Dale Thayer, Jason Isringhausen, Chris Shelton
Extensions
- R.A. Dickey, SP: two years, $7.8MM. Includes $5MM club option for 2013 with a $300K buyout.
Trades and Claims
- Claimed 2B/3B Brad Emaus from Blue Jays in Rule 5 draft
- Claimed RP Pedro Beato from Orioles in Rule 5 draft
- Acquired SS Chin-lung Hu from Dodgers for SP Mike Antonini
Notable Losses
- Hisanori Takahashi, Pedro Feliciano, Luis Castillo, Oliver Perez, Raul Valdes, Elmer Dessens, Fernando Nieve, John Maine, Sean Green, Chris Carter, Henry Blanco, Fernando Tatis, Mike Antonini
Summary
The biggest move of the Mets' offseason was undoubtedly the hiring of Sandy Alderson as GM in October. Alderson's small-market experience will be an asset with the Mets, as his payroll flexibility may remain limited for part of his four-year contract due to the Wilpons' Madoff-related issues. The new Mets front office has an analytical feel to it, as Alderson hired Paul DePodesta and J.P. Ricciardi. Additionally, Terry Collins is aboard as the new manager. Let's take a look at Alderson's first offseason.
Exercising Reyes' option at $11MM was a no-brainer. If Reyes has a strong first half, Alderson may be tasked with restocking a poorly-rated farm system by trading his shortstop. Releasing Oliver Perez was also a fairly obvious choice, as he simply isn't worth a roster spot despite his $12MM salary. Cutting Castillo might be considered a baseball decision as well as one for the fans. If Emaus has even a little bit of upside, he's the right pick at second base.
Like the Mariners, the Mets are a big-budget team but don't appear to be a player or two away from contention in 2011. Shopping the bargain bin was the right move for Alderson. Capuano and Young in particular have upside for a minimal commitment. The other moves amount to tinkering. Between second base, the rotation, and the bullpen, the Mets have a lot of opportunity for players to step up.
Speaking of the bullpen, it's imperative that the Mets find a way to prevent Francisco Rodriguez from finishing 55 games, as that would trigger a 2012 option adding a net cost of $14MM. I agree with Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal – the Mets could employ a more sabermetric bullpen strategy, using K-Rod in all kinds of high leverage situations. Then when the reliever's agent files a grievance, the Mets can cite legitimate baseball reasons as their motivation. The downside is that future free agent targets may be turned off if the Mets try to sneak around a contract clause to which they agreed. One DL stint for Rodriguez may make the whole issue a moot point.
2011 figures to be a transition year for the Mets, perhaps with the goals of trading Reyes, getting Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran off the books, spending more on amateur talent, and figuring out what the team has for 2012.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Luis Hernandez Drawing Trade Interest
Mets infielder Luis Hernandez is drawing trade interest, according to ESPN's Adam Rubin. The Mets appear poised to give the backup middle infield job to Chin-lung Hu instead. Hernandez is out of options, and Rubin does not think he would clear waivers. The Mets signed Hernandez to a minor league deal back in February of last year.
Hernandez's trade value is limited, as glove-only middle infielders are not hard to come by in most organizations. MLB.com's Corey Brock can envision the Padres having interest (Twitter link). The Padres are known to be eyeing Alberto Gonzalez and Robert Andino, who are both out of options. For our full list of out of options players, click here.
Olney On Shortstops, Juan Cruz, Mets
The latest from the blog of ESPN's Buster Olney…
- Olney muses on who the Giants might look at as a midseason acquisition if Miguel Tejada does not work out at shortstop. He comes up with Jose Reyes, Marco Scutaro, and Jack Wilson as possible trade candidates. I can see Stephen Drew, J.J. Hardy, and Ronny Cedeno as other possibilities.
- Evaluators tell Olney Rays reliever Juan Cruz looks excellent. Apparently recovered from shoulder surgery, Cruz has allowed one run in eight spring innings. He's whiffed nine and allowed only two hits, but also walked seven.
- The Mets intend to keep Rule 5 picks Brad Emaus and Pedro Beato, according to Olney. With Justin Turner being cut today, Emaus certainly appears to be the second base starter. Joel Sherman of the New York Post digs into the Mets' logic with Emaus here. The infielder, 25 on Monday, hit .298/.395/.495 at Triple-A last year.
NL East Notes: Castillo, DePodesta, Braves
Links from the NL East, as the Marlins declare that Josh Johnson is ready for the season…
- After some confusion, Luis Castillo arrived in Phillies camp, according to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post de-bunks the notion that the Mets could have built up trade value for Castillo instead of releasing him.
- Mets exec Paul DePodesta said in a chat at Baseball Prospectus that he likes to be aggressive in the draft and take occasional "shots where it's appropriate." However, DePodesta cautioned that it's possible to overspend on amateurs, since there is a finite number of future big leaguers out there (hat tip MetsBlog).
- Joe Pawlikowski of FanGraphs predicts that the Braves will get something in exchange for Kenshin Kawakami, even if they have to eat some of his $6.67MM salary.
- For the latest on the Nationals, click here.
Yankees Have No Interest In Oliver Perez
Turns out the rumor was too good to be true. Yankees GM Brian Cashman says he has no interest in left-hander Oliver Perez, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch (on Twitter). The Yankees considered the former Met, according to SI.com, before concluding that they would be better off without him. "It's not something that makes sense for us," Cashman said.
The Mets released Perez yesterday, making him a free agent. If an MLB team signs Perez, they'll contribute about $400K of his salary, with the Mets responsible for the remaining $11.6MM.
Pedro Feliciano and Boone Logan give the Yankees two serviceable left-handers out of the bullpen, so they never seemed like a likely destination for the 29-year-old. The Brewers aren't interested in Perez, either.