Mets Avoid Arbitration With John Maine
The Mets have avoided arbitration with righty John Maine, reports MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. The AP (via SI.com) says that Maine will receive a $3.3MM base salary in 2010, with an extra $225K in performance bonuses (hat tip to MetsBlog.com)
Maine, 28, earned $2.6MM in 2009, though he only managed to make 15 starts because of a shoulder issue. He's posted a 4.01 ERA in four seasons in Queens after coming over from Baltimore in trade for Kris Benson following the 2006 season.
Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Rolen, Sweeney, Twins
On this date in 1990, the Tigers signed free agent Cecil Fielder after he hit 38 homers as a member of the Hanshin Tigers the year before. Fielder went on to lead the league with 130 HR and 389 RBI over the next three years, landing a five-year, $36MM contract that made him the then-second-highest paid player in baseball history behind Barry Bonds. Believe it or not, Prince is already more than halfway to his father's career total of 319 homers despite having fewer than half as many plate appearances.
Let's see what's being written around the baseball blogosphere…
- The Phrontiersman goes back in time to see how things would have played out for the Phillies if Scott Rolen signed a contract extension and was never traded away.
- DRays Bay wonders if Matt Sweeney could take over first base for the Rays if Carlos Pena leaves as a free agent after 2010. Sweeney was acquired in the Scott Kazmir trade.
- Fack Youk compares Vladimir Guerrero to Hideki Matsui to Nick Johnson, the three biggest DH signings of the offseason.
- Lookout Landing says the Mariners did just fine to acquire Casey Kotchman, even though Adam LaRoche agreed to a relatively cheap deal yesterday.
- Meanwhile, Jorge Says No! thinks the Mets may have made a mistake by not signing LaRoche.
- Nick's Twins Blog wonders if Michael Cuddyer or Joe Nathan could be expendable as Minnesota's estimated payroll will approach nine-figures in 2011.
- AdamAdkins.net thinks the Tigers will regret signing Jose Valverde.
- Pinstripes Published takes a look at the market for Johnny Damon, or lack thereof.
- TurnTwo looks at all the movement going on with the Giants' defensive alignment.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
Odds & Ends: Standridge, Johnson, Davis, Crede
Links for Thursday…
- Josh Johnson's agent Matt Sosnick is now "cautiously optimistic" about a potential long-term deal with the Marlins for his client, according to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez. However, the two sides still have differing thoughts on the proper comparables to use for Johnson's 2010 salary. I'd say Ben Sheets, Carlos Zambrano, and Zack Greinke might be used in that discussion, but given Johnson's $1.4MM salary in '09 he probably can't expect much more than $4.2MM.
- What do Tupac, Sandra Bullock, and MLBTR have in common? They're all favorites of Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia.
- Scott Lauber of The News Journal tweets that the Phillies signed righty Jason Standridge to a minor league deal. The former Rays first-rounder pitched only 12.6 innings for the Marlins' Triple A club this year.
- Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports wrote last night that the Twins, Brewers, Mets, and Nationals have interest in free agent lefty Doug Davis. Davis suggested to MLB.com's Bill Ladson that the Nats are more focused on adding a second baseman.
- Roch Kubatko of MASN says Joe Crede "appears to top" the Orioles' free agent list.
- The Mets signed lefty Bobby Livingston to a minor league deal, tweets MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. The 27-year-old southpaw logged 156 innings of 4.15 ball at various minor league stops in 2009.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says players of Adam LaRoche's caliber should take note of his new deal, because "the offers aren't going to get any better."
- Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post runs through Yorvit Torrealba's suitors, while also noting that Miguel Olivo's $2.5MM option for 2011 can become a player option with 110 games in '10.
- Catcher Mike Rabelo is a new name among the Tigers' 17 minor league deals announced today, writes MLB.com's Jason Beck.
Mets Close To Signing Bengie Molina
The Mets are "close" to signing Bengie Molina, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The Mets have been connected to Molina all offseason, but seem reluctant to guarantee him two years. Molina, who was looking for a three-year deal, is willing to sign a two-year contract, according to Morosi.
The 35-year-old catcher hit .265/.285/.442 for the Giants last year, hitting 20 homers. Molina's career .308 OBP is nothing special and he throws out fewer baserunners than he did when he was winning Gold Gloves in the early 2000s, but he is durable. Molina appeared in 132 games last year, up from his average of 121 for the decade.
Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Beltran, Guzman
Some links on this Wednesday evening…
- Yorvit Torrealba could end up with the Giants, according to Chris Haft of MLB.com. However, Torrealba may prefer to wait until after the weekend to sign with any club as his Venezuelan Winter League team is still active in the postseason.
- Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times tweets that in addition to Matt Kemp, the Dodgers are talking about multiyear deals with Jonathan Broxton and Andre Ethier.
- Carlos Beltran will have to refrain from baseball activities for twelve weeks after having his knee scoped, according to a Mets press release passed along by MetsBlog. The story was first reported by the New York Post's Joel Sherman (via Twitter). If all goes well with his rehabilitation, the center fielder should only miss a small amount of games to start the year.
- Free agent lefty Doug Davis is attracting interest from four teams, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The Twins, Brewers, Mets, and Nationals are all interested in the 34-year-old, who posted a 4.22 ERA with 6.7 K/9 over the last three years in Arizona.
- Fernando Tatis' agent told Thomas Harding of MLB.com that the Rockies had preliminary discussions with his client earlier this week. About a week ago, we heard that the Rockies were eyeing the 35-year-old for a bench role. Also, two major league sources tell Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that the Mariners are interested as well.
- Former Brewers closer Derrick Turnbow will audition for at least 16 teams on Friday in Phoenix, according to a report from ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. The 31-year-old demanded his release from the Rangers back in May.
- If the Nats are able to sign Orlando Hudson or Adam Kennedy to play second base, Cristian Guzman and his $8MM salary are unlikely to be moved elsewhere, writes Bill Ladson of MLB.com. Guzman would remain at shortstop, where his agent insists that he is still valuable despite shoulder surgery.
- Pittsburgh's signing of Ryan Church could pay huge dividends for the club, says ESPN's Rob Neyer. If Church is healthy and generates interest from other clubs, the Pirates will be able to move him for a more valuable commodity.
Delgado Not A Fit For Blue Jays
WEDNESDAY, 1:54pm: MLB.com's Jordan Bastian writes that a Major League source told him Delgado "doesn't fit into the Blue Jays' plans." But if you're concerned about Delgado's health, his agent told Bastian the slugger "would have no problems playing first base on an everyday basis."
MONDAY, 6:59pm: AOL Fanhouse's Ed Price tweets, the Mets have seen Carlos Delgado in Puerto Rico twice, and plan to see him once more. Price adds that Delgado "is not moving well". Price adds that the Blue Jays, Delgado's first team, might be a "more likely landing spot."
One would figure Price mentions this because Toronto plays in the American League, giving Delgado a chance to DH, but it isn't so clear where Delgado fits in there. Adam Lind is Toronto's best hitter, and fields like a DH. Lyle Overbay is left-handed, just as Delgado is. Just how much of a role Toronto can offer Delgado is not at all clear.
Where Delgado fits with the Mets is much more obvious- he stands as far likelier to excel as a hitter while playing first base than Daniel Murphy in 2010. If he can't move well enough to play the position, of course, he becomes a glorified pinch hitter for New York.
For his part, Delgado has been hitting in his time with Carolina, putting a .353 average up in 19 plate appearances, including a home run. He only began playing the field on Sunday night, however.
Nationals Looking At Adam Kennedy
The Nationals "have interest" in Adam Kennedy, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson (via Twitter). We've heard that the Mets, Athletics and Marlins have targeted Kennedy to various degrees, but this is the first time that Washington has been attached to the veteran infielder.
In a mailbag story from Ladson yesterday, he felt the Nats would have a second baseman with a better glove than Cristian Guzman in their Opening Day lineup. While Guzman would be playing 2B for the first time in his career, Kennedy's play at second has fluctuated wildly over the last three seasons. Fangraphs charts his UZR/150 as -5.7 in 2007, leaping up to 21.8 in 2008 and then down to -14.8 last year. Guzman, meanwhile, has kept a middling but stable -0.8 UZR/150 as a shortstop since 2002.
In that same mailbag, Ladson also noted that Felipe Lopez was not a candidate for the Nats' search for middle infield help given that Lopez "left on bad terms" in 2008 when Washington released him in mid-season. Orlando Hudson, however, appears to be on the club's wish list and as we learned earlier today, may be offered a two-year contract.
Bengie Molina Willing To Sign Two-Year Contract
Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports is reporting that free agent catcher Bengie Molina is backing away from his desired three-year contract and is now willing to sign a deal for only the next two seasons. We learned two weeks ago from ESPN's Jerry Crasnick that Molina was considering lowering his demands, perhaps to reach a compromise with the Mets' offer of a one-year contract with an option (though Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog.com thought the Mets would be willing to offer Molina the full two years.)
A source told ESPN The Magazine's Tim Kurkjian (as reported on ESPN's Insider Rumors page) that a deal could be finalized between the team and the veteran catcher within "the next 48 to 72 hours," which makes sense if Molina and the Mets have met each other halfway on the contract's length.
Mets, Dodgers In On Pineiro
7:37pm: According to Tim Brown's Twitter feed, "In the face of economic limitations, Dodgers working on a way to sign Joel Pineiro."
7:09pm: According to Ed Price's Twitter feed, the Mets and Joel Pineiro are talking, with the money somewhere around two years, $15MM.
At that price, you'd have to think a deal could get done quickly. The Mets have been interested in Pineiro all offseason, though Pineiro has seemed to be looking for a deal that rivals or exceeds the three-year, $29.75MM contract Randy Wolf signed with the Brewers.
Two years, $15MM is exactly what Jason Marquis signed for earlier this offseason with the Nationals. Despite the concerns over whether Pineiro can repeat his successful 2009 without Dave Duncan, his pitching coach with the Cardinals, the Mets would be taking a worthwhile risk at that price and length.
Pineiro was 15-12 in 2009 with a 3.49 ERA and just 27 walks in 214 innings pitched.
Heyman On Mauer, Pujols, Damon, Washburn
3:59pm: David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that the Braves have not made an offer to Damon, contrary to Heyman's suggestion below.
12:49pm: Jon Heyman's latest column for SI.com leads with thoughts on contract talks for two superstars, Joe Mauer and Albert Pujols. Heyman says Mauer has been slow to engage with the Twins only because he's giving them a chance to put the 2010 team together first. Heyman believes Mauer is "thinking about a contract for at least seven years and more than $20MM, though he isn't going to press the $30MM issue that could conceivably come into focus if he goes the free-agent route." On the other hand, Heyman says Pujols is "surely seeking" $30MM a year. On to Heyman's other rumors…
- Heyman believes the Braves and Giants made offers to Johnny Damon. It's not clear if the Giants' offer for Damon is still on the table given their Aubrey Huff agreement.
- Jarrod Washburn rejected a $5MM offer from the Twins; the Mets and Royals are other suitors.
- The Mariners have considered Ryan Garko. An outfielder would make more sense.
- The Rangers are looking for a "low-cost starting pitcher."
- The Orioles are "still in play" for first baseman Adam LaRoche. Currently it's difficult to name another LaRoche suitor.