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Quick Hits: Yankees, Mets, Indians, Ross

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With just one day to go before option decisions are due and only a few days remaining before free agents can sign with any team, here are the latest links from around MLB…

Heyman On Wright, A’s, Cabrera

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The latest from notes and rumors from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com…

  • The Mets are discussing a long-term deal with David Wright, Heyman reports. They'll exercise the third baseman's $16MM option for 2013 by tomorrow, assuming a larger deal isn't completed by then. The sides appear to have made progress, though some say the negotiations are progressing slowly. It appears the discussions will continue after the option's exercised, Heyman writes.
  • The Athletics are talking to free agent shortstop Stephen Drew about a new contract, Heyman reports. The A's declined their half of Drew's 2013 mutual option yesterday, but assistant general manager David Forst said the team will continue talking to him about a possible deal.
  • Everth Cabrera has hired Scott Boras as his agent, Heyman reports (on Twitter). Cabrera, a former ACES client, will be arbitration eligible for the first time this coming offseason. Be sure to check out MLBTR’s Agency Database for any information about player representatives.
  • The Angels are still talking to teams about possible deals involving Ervin Santana and Dan Haren, Heyman reports. In case you missed it, MLBTR reported today that Santana switched agencies again.

Sherman on Mets, Phillies, Cabrera, Olivo, Shoppach

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Even in the middle of the World Series, baseball people continue to talk about embattled Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  News on Cabrera and other notes from today’s column..

  • Sherman spoke with a group of baseball executives about where Cabrera will sign and the Mets and Phillies both came up regularly.  The Mets could look to Cabrera as corner outfield insurance against Jason Bay and Lucas Duda if he is affordable.  Such a move would make even more sense if they are unable to retain Scott Hairston.
  • The majority of the execs see Cabrera winding up with a one-year deal in the $2-$5MM range to audition himself.  One exec could see him getting $10-$12MM while another said he could possibly get one year at $8-10MM.
  • The Mets are unlikely to obtain catcher Kelly Shoppach and they are instead eyeing free agent Miguel Olivo.  When the Mets were combing the trade market for catchers this summer, the Mets had Olivo as a secondary candidate to the Rockies’ Ramon Hernandez before ultimately trading for Shoppach. The Mariners announced on Wednesday that they would not pick up Olivo’s $3MM option for 2013.
  • Yankees officials never saw Cabrera as a negative influence on Robinson Cano the way that people outside of the organization did, but he doesn’t look to be a great fit regardless.  The Yankees might not be able to offer the certainty of playing time that Cabrera will need to rebuild his value.

Sherman’s Latest: Wright, Soriano, Tigers, LaRussa

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Here's the latest from Joel Sherman of The New York Post…

  • Sherman has spoken to more than ten executives outside the Mets organization who believe the team will re-sign David Wright and relatively soon. It's a public relations move as much as a baseball move, plus getting him signed quickly will allow them to fine tune their offseason plans.
  • Officials expect Wright to receive a seven-year, $127MM extension that, when combined with his $16MM club option for next year, would be worth a total of $143MM across eight years. It would make Wright the highest paid Met in history (ahead of Johan Santana) and the second high paid third baseman in history (behind Alex Rodriguez).
  • “Teams no longer like paying big money for closers, there is a lot of tread on his tires and he is not known as a great guy," said one NL executive about Rafael Soriano, who is expected to opt-out of his contract with the Yankees and become a free agent this offseason.
  • Sherman wonders if Jose Valverde's late-season collapse will help Soriano on the open market as the Tigers will likely look for a high-end closer. Tigers own Mike Ilitch has a strong working relationship with Soriano's agent Scott Boras.
  • Former manager Tony LaRussa recently said he would not have offered more than five or six years to Albert Pujols last winter or Josh Hamilton this winter, and Sherman says the players association was not pleased. LaRussa is currently an advisor to the Commissioner and anything resembling talk of collusion from baseball's higher-ups sets off an alarm.

NL East Notes: Mets, Wright, Dickey, Marlins

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The Mets’ contract talks with David Wright and R.A. Dickey have not advanced to the point of discussing years or dollars, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations tells Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.  General Manager Sandy Alderson has remained in touch with representatives for both players but the sides are “still talking about when to really get talking,” according to the source.  Martino writes that some in the organization believe that the Mets will sign Wright but ultimately trade Dickey.  Here’s more on the Mets and other items out of the NL East..

  • Alderson disclosed that manager Wally Backman will return to the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas next season, tweets Marc Carig of the Star-Ledger.  The 53-year-old has managed in the organization’s minor league system for the past three seasons.
  • The Phillies had some interest in bringing Backman aboard as their Triple-A manager in Lehigh Valley to replace Ryne Sandberg, Martino tweets.  Sandberg was bumped up to third base coach for the Phillies earlier this month.
  • The Marlins are said to have interest in Reds pitching coach Bryan Price for their managerial vacancy, but Price has recently agreed to a new deal with the club, tweets John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.  However, Price won’t comment on whether the club has asked for permission to talk to him, writes Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel.

Mets Claim Anthony Recker

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The Mets have claimed catcher Anthony Recker from the Cubs, according to Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald (via Twitter).  Recker was designated for assignment by Chicago yesterday to make room for right-hander Carlos Gutierrez.

Recker, 29, posted a .143/.263/.245 slash line in 58 plate appearances for the Athletics and Cubs in 2012.  For his career, Recker has a .277/.359/.474 career batting line in over 1,200 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.

Super Two Cutoff To Be 2.139

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Players with at least two years and 139 days of service time will be eligible for the potentially lucrative arbitration process this offseason, according to the Associated Press (via FOXNews.com). The top 22% of players with between two and three years of MLB service qualify for arbitration under baseball’s new collective bargaining agreement.

Nationals reliever Drew Storen, Padres shortstop Everth Cabrera, Mets catcher Josh Thole, Rays outfielder Sam Fuld, Rockies outfielder Tyler Colvin and Diamondbacks third baseman Chris Johnson are all eligible. 

Mariners outfielder Michael Saunders missed the cutoff by one day. Others, including Justin Smoak, Danny Valencia, Michael Brantley, Jordan Schafer, Giancarlo Stanton, Stephen Strasburg, Daniel Hudson, Dan Runzler, Andrew Cashner, Alex Burnett, Esmil Rogers and Alexi Ogando, came close to super two status without reaching the threshold.

Jonathan Lucroy, whose contract includes escalators related to super two status, will fall three days short of arbitration eligibility. The difference will cost him $2MM, as I explained last month.

Super two status entitles certain players to four years of arbitration eligibility, rather than the usual three. As a result, players who earn the super two designation generally earn more than their peers. The cutoff would have been two years and 144 days under baseball’s previous collective bargaining agreement, according to the AP. In previous years the top 17% of players with between two and three years of MLB service qualified. The players and owners agreed to a new system last fall.

Mets To Non-Tender Pelfrey, Maybe Torres

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As expected, the Mets will non-tender right-hander Mike Pelfrey, a person with the team told Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter links). The Mets still want to sign Pelfrey as a free agent, Puma reports. 

Pelfrey, 28, earned $5.68MM this past season though he underwent Tommy John surgery after just three starts. For the Mets to retain him through the arbitration process they'd have to offer him a salary in the $5-6MM range — a considerable amount for a pitcher recovering from a serious injury.

The future of non-tender candidate Andres Torres remains “up in the air,” according to Puma. Torres, 34, posted a .230/.327/.337 batting line in 434 plate appearances this past season. He earned $2.7MM in 2012 and could also be cut loose this offseason.

Cafardo On Mets, Davis, Lincecum, Peavy

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The Yankees are obviously frustrated with how their 2012 campaign turned out, but an American League General Manager told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that they won't have to blow things up the way that the Red Sox did in order to improve.  “[I] don’t think they necessarily have to hit rock bottom like Boston to get better," said the GM.  "We always said you can’t do that in Boston, but it happened. We always say that can’t happen with the Yankees, so I guess we’ll see.  But I just see Brian Cashman trying to get this team younger while still competing. That’s what I think will happen.”  Here's more from today's column..

  • We've heard that the Mets will be open to trading Ike Davis, but special assistant J.P. Ricciardi would be shocked to see any movement on the first baseman.  Davis has often been linked to the Red Sox and the Rays would also be a fit.  Tampa Bay could certainly afford to part ways with a pitcher in order to improve their offense.
  • Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum will be available in trade and it will be interesting to see what kind of market develops for him.  The Giants say his problems were strictly mechanical, but other teams wonder why his fastball dipped from around 96 mph to 92 mph for most of the season.  The 28-year-old is due $22MM in the final year of his deal.
  • The White Sox will decline Jake Peavy's $22MM option for 2013 and one National League GM sees him fetching a three-year deal worth $36-40MM on the open market.  Understandably, the GM cautioned that team doctors would have to do a thorough check on him despite the fact that he stayed healthy this past season.
  • Ricciardi's deal with the Mets is up but he expects to return.  So far, no one has inquired on him as a GM candidate or something close, though he says he would like to return to the front office.

NL East Links: Dickey, Nationals, Contracts

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It was on this day in 1997 that the state of Florida got its first taste of the Fall Classic, as the Marlins hosted Game One of the 1997 World Series.  The Marlins got off to a winning start, scoring a 7-4 victory over the Indians and eventally capturing their first title after seven dramatic games.  Here's the latest from around the NL East…

  • "[R.A. Dickey's] situation does not compare to any in baseball history," writes MLB.com's Anthony DiComo, noting Dickey's late-career success, the historical precedent of knuckleballers pitching well past age 40 and the price of high-quality pitching.  Dickey, 38, underwent minor surgery today to correct a torn abdominal muscle, a procedure that won't factor into the Mets' decision about signing Dickey to a multiyear contract.  The Mets hold a $5MM club option on Dickey for 2013, but DiComo thinks that if an extension can't be reached, the Mets could think it better to trade Dickey rather than pick up the option and see him potentially leave after the season.
  • Adam LaRoche's free agency creates some questions surrounding the Nationals' first base and left field situation, writes Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com.  The Nats could let LaRoche go and install Tyler Moore in left or at first, or they could re-sign LaRoche and either keep Moore on the bench or possibly use Michael Morse as trade bait. 
  • Carlos Beltran, his agent Dan Lozano and the Giants have been arguing over how much contact the Giants had with Beltran last winter, a dispute that Matthew Cerrone of Metsblog argues "speaks to the disconnect in language between reality, reporting and how sports fans form opinions about what goes on in the free agent and trade market."  Cerrone uses last offseason's negotiations between the Marlins, Mets and Jose Reyes as an example.
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