Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Yankees Rumors

Cafardo On Free Agency, Price, Nathan, Lackey

By | at

Free agents are not allowed to negotiate with all 30 MLB clubs until 11:01 pm (CT) Monday, but agent Scott Boras says his phone was ringing off the hook regarding Jacoby Ellsbury and Stephen Drew within hours of the Red Sox winning the World Series, reports Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The Yankees will be the most interesting team during free agency, according to Cafardo, but will be hamstrung until a decision is made on Alex Rodriguez's appeal. Cafardo also lists the Phillies, Tigers, Giants, Orioles, Blue Jays, and Rangers as active participants in the free agent market. In other tidbits from his Sunday Baseball Notes column:

Minor Moves: Jacobs, Herndon, LaRoche, Lalli, Bourgeois, Humber

By | at

Today's minor moves can be found right here in this post …

  • Among the many re-signings of players otherwise eligible for minor league free agency reported by Matt Eddy of Baseball America are first baseman Mike Jacobs, who will stay with the Diamondbacks, and reliever David Herndon, who the Yankees have re-signed. Neither saw big league action this year. Jacobs put up a nice .296/.366/.533 line in 514 Triple-A plate appearances in his age-32 season, while Herndon, now 28, was good for a 2.78 ERA in his 35 2/3 innings across the Yanks system.
  • Third bagger Andy LaRoche has signed with the Blue Jays, Eddy reports on Twitter. The 30-year-old younger brother of Nats' first baseman Adam LaRoche played in just one game with Toronto last year, and has not been a regular big league contributor since leaving the Pirates after the 2010 season.
  • Catcher Blake Lalli has caught on with the Diamondbacks, Eddy notes in the same link. Also thirty years of age, Lalli has only forty uneventful MLB plate appearances. Playing at Triple-A for the Brewers last year, he put up a .282/.334/.447 line in 311 plate appearances.
  • The Reds have signed 31-year-old outfielder Jason Bourgeois, Eddy reports on Twitter. Bourgeois saw limited time with the Rays last year. His career big league line stands at .259/.305/.326 in 515 plate appearances over parts of six seasons, including 51 stolen bases.
  • Right-handed starter Philip Humber, 30, has inked a deal with the Athletics, reports Eddy (via Twitter). The once-perfect Humber had his option declined by the Astros early last month.
  • Righty Fabio Martinez signed with the Dodgers, per another Eddy tweet. The longtime Angel farmhand last worked in the Indians system, but has never managed to harness his live arm and posted BB/9 totals of over ten in 2012-13. 
  • Pitcher Trevor Reckling has signed with the Reds out of independent league ball, Eddy tweets. He played six seasons in the Angels' system, reaching Triple-A at age 21 before moving the wrong way down the ladder. Noted as a reclamation project for the White Sox before the 2012 year, Reckling will give it one more go in Cinci.
  • The Rockies re-signed minor league second baseman Angelys Nina in a move designed to keep him from reaching the open market as a minor league free agent, tweets Eddy. Nina managed a .280/.331/.422 line in his second go-round at Tulsa, adding ten home runs and nineteen steals.
  • Outfielder Chris Dickerson and first baseman Dan Johnson, each of whom were outrighted on Thursday, have refused their assignments and elected to become free agents, according to an Orioles press release yesterday. 
  • Remember to check MLBTR's DFA Tracker for updates on players designated for assignment around baseball. Currently, only Tommy Layne is sitting in DFA limbo.

Yankees Re-Sign Jeter To One-Year, $12MM Deal

By | at

8:07pm: It is not yet clear whether the Jeter accounting saga is resolved, but Sherman has provided a full breakdown of what is apparently the most convoluted Competitive Balance Tax calculation yet encountered. The net, Sherman reiterates, is that Jeter's player option would have registered an approximately $10.75MM hit, while his new deal will count for $12.81MM.

You'll need to read the piece for the complete details, but the causal agent in this odd scenario is a CBA provision that addresses contracts, like Jeter's, that have cheap options attached. Pursuant to that (unspecified) clause, Sherman says, the Yanks were charged a prorated portion of the option year value in each of the first three years of the deal, which in turn required yet more maneuvering in calculating the present cap hit.

4:07pm: Sherman tweets that the MLBPA is arguing with the Commissioner's Office over how the luxury tax calculations are being handled, adding that new numbers are coming.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports chimes in, noting that the contract now will save the Yankees a bit of money over what the option would have saved. The Yankees will save roughly $1MM, with $12.8-$13.2MM counting against the luxury tax for reasons that are "too complicated to explain," as Rosenthal puts it (all Twitter links).

1:36pm: Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the common belief that this deal saves the Yankees from the luxury tax threshold is a misconception. According to Sherman, given the way that the luxury tax is computed, this deal will count more significantly against the luxury tax than Jeter's player option would have. Had Jeter exercised that option, $10.75MM would have gone against the luxury tax in 2014, says Sherman, but this new deal will count $12.8MM toward the luxury tax (Twitter links)

12:20pm: The Yankees announced that have re-signed shortstop Derek Jeter to a one-year deal worth $12MM. Jeter, who is represented by Casey Close of Excel Sports Management, had a $9.5MM player option on his previous contract, but this deal will override that option.  Jeter-Derek

The long-time Yankee Captain will turn 40 next June and appeared in just 17 games this season, making the decision to give him a $2.5MM raise on his option a curious one. However, by agreeing to a new deal, Jeter is no longer on his old contract, the average annual value (AAV) of which counted against the luxury tax. Had he exercised his player option, Jeter would've added $6.5MM to the AAV of his three-year, $51MM contract ($3MM of the option was guaranteed in the form of a buyout). Doing so would have raised his AAV to $14.375MM. Instead, his $12MM contract will be the number that counts against the luxury tax, thereby actually saving the Yankees $2.375MM relative to the luxury tax.

Jeter underwent surgery to repair a broken ankle last October and missed the majority of the season recovering from inflammation in his surgically repaired foot. Upon activation, he encountered a pair of DL stints for calf and quadriceps strains. In his 17 games, Jeter batted .190/.288/.254 with a home run. However, he's just one year removed from a campaign that saw him hit .316/.362/.429 with 15 homers en route to his fifth career Silver Slugger award.

The Yankees sorely missed Jeter's production in 2013, as their shortstops combined to bat a woeful .228/.283/.308 on the season. While those numbers do include 17 games of an injury-hobbled Jeter, his bat will be an unquestionable boon to that lineup in 2014, if he's healthy. The Yankees deployed a mix of Jeter, Eduardo Nunez, Jayson Nix, Luis Cruz, Brendan Ryan, Alberto Gonzalez and Reid Brignac at the position in 2013.

By addressing Jeter's situation during the five-day exclusive period following completion of the World Series, Yankees GM Brian Cashman allows himself to focus on other pressing offseason issues, most notably the status of impending free agent Robinson Cano.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jeff Todd contributed to this post.

New York Notes: Yankees, Cano, Ellsbury

By | at

As always, New York will be an interesting market to watch this season, highlighted by the Yankees' attempts to re-sign Robinson Cano and the Mets' desire to aggressively participate in the free agent market. Here's the latest on both teams, courtesy of Jon Heyman of CBS Sports and Andy Martino of the New York Daily News…

  • The Yankees have already been linked to big fish like Masahiro Tanaka, Brian McCann, Shin-Soo Choo and Carlos Beltran, but Heyman adds that they've also had internal discussions about Jacoby Ellsbury, Matt Garza and Stephen Drew. As Heyman points out, Drew would be a peculiar target given Derek Jeter's $9.5MM player option for 2014.
  • According to Heyman, the Yankees are still the favorites for Cano, but there's a sizable gap between his eye-popping $305-310MM asking price and the Yankees' current thinking. Heyman says the Yankees have only shown a willingness to go to $160MM or so to this point.
  • According to Martino, no one from either camp has denied the fact that Cano's camp began negotiations by asking for $300MM+.
  • Martino adds that the Mets aren't likely to pursue Ellsbury on the free agent market, as his sources have indicated that GM Sandy Alderson simply isn't comfortable with the type of contract that Ellsbury will ultimately end up signing. Instead, expect the Mets to pursue trades and free agent signings of corner outfielders, as they're very pleased with Juan Lagares' glove in center field. This marks the second instance in the past six weeks or so in which we've heard specifically that the Mets aren't a likely match for Ellsbury.
  • General manager Brian Cashman worries that Hiroki Kuroda will return to Japan, writes Andy McCullough of the Star Ledger. He adds that one baseball official to whom he spoke would "be blown away" if Curtis Granderson didn't receive a series of lucrative offers on the open market despite his lost season.

AL Notes: Nathan, Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers

By | at

Joe Nathan wants to continue pitching for the Rangers, but he understands it might not be possible if he wants a two-year deal, Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com reports. "I know they have a surplus of arms in the bullpen and I know the business side of it," says Nathan. "You’re trying to get as much money as you can to strengthen your club, so they may want to spend that money somewhere else. They have some work to do to piece some holes together." The Rangers have a one-year, $9MM team option on Nathan, although Nathan has the right to void it; even that might not be the best use of resources for the Rangers, who will be trying to address a variety of needs (catchers and the outfield, in particular) with a limited budget. Here are more notes from around the big leagues.

  • Yankees GM Brian Cashman says he will congratulate Red Sox GM Ben Cherington at the Winter Meetings in December, Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News reports. Cashman says he texted Cherington before the World Series, adding, "I was rooting for them and thought they were the team to beat." Cashman notes, however, that the stress of the offseason means that Cherington won't have much time to enjoy his organization's accomplishment. "As GM, you don’t have time to enjoy it long," says Cashman. "The work starts again right away."
  • The Tigers interviewed Padres bench coach Rick Renteria for their manager position today, writes John Lowe of the Detroit Free Press. CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reported earlier this week that Renteria would interview. Renteria worked in the Marlins system when current Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski was GM there. The Tigers have also interviewed their own hitting coach, Lloyd McClendon, along with Dodgers third base coach Tim Wallach and Padres executive Brad Ausmus.

Quick Hits: Red Sox, A-Rod, Cardenas, D’Backs

By | at

The Boston Red Sox are the 2013 World Series champions, just a season removed from a last-place finish in the AL East.  CBS Sports' Jon Heyman details how the Sox focused on acquiring less-heralded free agents who could handle the pressure of playing in Boston, and almost all of those free agents delivered big contributions throughout the season and through the playoffs.  While the return to good health and good form by several holdover Red Sox stars also played a huge role, several teams will be looking to replicate Boston's free agent strategy in the coming offseason.

Here are some notes from around baseball as the Hot Stove League has officially begun…

  • The Red Sox were immeasurably helped by the "payroll miracle" of their August 2012 blockbuster trade with the Dodgers, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes.  The Yankees could get a similar "financial reset" if all or most of Alex Rodriguez's 2014 salary is removed from the books via suspension, allowing the Yankees to re-sign Robinson Cano, sign other free agents and also avoid the $189MM luxury tax limit.
  • Rodriguez's appeal hearing may not be decided until late December, Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger reports, which could impact the Yankees' offseason spending plans.
  • Adrian Cardenas, drafted 37th overall by the Phillies in 2006, walked away from a promising career at age 25 and with just 67 Major League PA to his name.  In a fascinating piece for the New Yorker, Cardenas details the thought process that went into his decision and his gradual disillusionment with the professional side of the game.
  • The Diamondbacks don't have much payroll flexibility for 2014, as The Arizona Republic's Nick Piecoro notes in his breakdown of the Snakes' salary obligations.  Piecoro suggests that the D'Backs could sign free agents by backloading their contracts for 2015 and beyond, when the club has more money coming off the books.
  • The Dominican Republic recently passed a law stating that children of undocumented Haitian immigrants would no longer be considered Dominican citizens, even if they were born in the country.  Jorge Arangure of Sports On Earth investigates how this ruling could make it harder for amateur ballplayers of Haitian descent to obtain the proper visa or citizenship information to play in Major League Baseball.
  • The Pirates can afford to be more patient this offseason, GM Neal Huntington tells Jenn Menendez and Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  A.J. Burnett's future needs to be decided first, however, since his status will determine the rest of the Buccos' moves.  "If we retain A.J, that will be a significant positive, but also it's going to cost us a good chunk of the available money, and we'll have to react accordingly," Huntington said.
  • The Marlins could fill a few needs by targeting the Angels' Mark Trumbo and Chris Iannetta in trades, MLB.com's Joe Frisaro opines as part of a reader mailbag.
  • The Blue Jays have hired Kevin Seitzer as their new hitting coach, Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports.  Seitzer previously worked as the hitting coach for the Diamondbacks and Royals, and he and Jays manager John Gibbons worked together on the K.C. staff from 2009-11.

Free Agent Profile: Phil Hughes

By | at

Not long ago, the thought of Phil Hughes hitting free agency at age 27 would have come with lofty contract expectations. The former No. 4 overall prospect in the game, per Baseball America, enjoyed a dominant season in the bullpen with the 2009 Yankees en route to a World Series title. He followed it up with a solid 4.19 ERA in 176 2/3 innings in the rotation at age 24 — a season in which he earned his first All-Star nod. It's been mostly a downhill ride for Hughes since that point, however, and he'll head into free agency having posted an ERA north of 5.00 in two of his past three seasons.

Strengths/Pros

Through all his ups and downs, Hughes has steadily maintained solid control. He's averaged 2.7 walks per nine innings from 2010-13 (a span of 674 innings pitched). Part of the reason he's able to limit walks is because of the way that he attacks hitters. Hughes-PhilAmong qualified starters over that same four-year stretch, only Cliff Lee, Tommy Milone and Kevin Slowey have thrown a first-pitch strike at a higher rate than Hughes' 66.7 percent.

Additionally, his 7.6 K/9 rate over the past two seasons is a tick above the league average for starting pitchers (7.2). Hughes' 2.95 K/BB ratio ranks 13th out of the 41 potential free agent starters with more than 50 innings pitched this season.

He also compares favorably to his competition in terms of fastball velocity. Using the same criteria, Hughes' average fastball — 92.4 mph — ties him with Ervin Santana and Mike Pelfrey for eighth highest among potential free agent starters (or seventh if you want to remove Jon Lester, whose option is sure to be exercised, from the list).

Likely the most appealing factor for Hughes' suitors will be the fact that he's actually been a very solid pitcher away from Yankee Stadium. Hughes checked in with a 5.19 ERA overall in 2013, but that was due to a bloated 6.32 ERA when pitching in the Bronx. On the road, Hughes posted a 3.88 ERA. Over the past four seasons, Hughes has a 4.11 ERA and 3.80 FIP on the road compared to a 5.12 ERA and 5.02 FIP at home. As a right-handed fly-ball pitcher, Yankee Stadium (and its short porch in right field) is perhaps the worst possible setting for Hughes.

Hughes is the youngest free agent starter on the market, and while at one point there was talk of the Yankees extending a qualifying offer for that reason, the Yankees don't figure to bring Hughes back for $14.1MM. He won't cost his new team a draft pick.

Weaknesses/Cons

Hughes' home struggles can't simply be written off. No matter where he signs this offseason, he's going to have to pitch some games in hitter-friendly stadiums, and those are daunting settings for a pitcher with the sixth-lowest ground-ball rate in all of baseball over the past four seasons (33 percent).

While he's just 27, Hughes has some injury baggage on his resume already. He missed nearly half the season in 2011 with inflammation and fatigue in his right shoulder, and he has a history of back issues. Hughes dealt with a herniated disk in his back as a minor leaguer, and he's missed small amounts of time with back-related injuries since. He also had a stress fracture in his rib that cost him nearly all of the 2008 season.

Hughes has only topped 100 innings three times in his career, and he's never reached 200 frames. And, in two of those three 100+ innings seasons, he's significantly faded down the stretch. After a 4.57 first-half ERA in 2013, he faded with a 6.32 ERA in the season's second half. In 2010, his ERA sat at 3.65 at the All-Star break, but he limped to the finish with a second-half ERA of 4.90. Hughes' injury troubles, low innings totals and second-half struggles in seasons with a full starter's workload will give teams serious concerns about his durability.

Personal

Hughes is a devout Christian and has the bible verse "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" tattooed on his left arm. As he explained to Ben Reiter of Sports Illustrated back in 2009, Hughes actually got the tattoo while on a road trip to Atlanta. In his free time, one of Hughes' favorite hobbies is cooking.

Market

After six years at Yankee Stadium, it seems unlikely that Hughes would opt to pitch for a team in a hitter-friendly environment. Teams in spacious home parks will likely appeal to Hughes, and it was already reported over the summer that the Twins are expected to be interested. Target Field in Minneapolis is plenty spacious, and they liked him when discussing trade packages for Johan Santana all the way back in the 2007-08 offseason.

While Hughes was quoted as saying he wouldn't immediately disregard an offer to pitch out of a team's bullpen, he clarified shortly after that his strong preference was to remain in a starting role for as long as he can. Even with his struggles at home, he shouldn't have a problem doing so.

A move to the National League could be beneficial to Hughes, who is a native of Mission Viejo, Calif. His hometown is located just 75 miles north of San Diego and 48 miles south of Los Angeles, so geographically speaking, the Padres, Dodgers and Angels may be appealing. If he's willing to pitch further north, I'd imagine the Giants and Mariners to be another pair of West Coast teams that would have interest. We've seen the Pirates buy low on talented hurlers like Francisco Liriano and (former Yankee) A.J. Burnett recently. The Nationals have done the same, albeit with less success, in signing Edwin Jackson and Dan Haren.

Expected Contract

It's rare that a starting pitcher hits free agency at such a young age, but Hughes doesn't have much of a track record on his side at this time. In fact, in a recent edition of MLBTR's Free Agent Faceoff, nearly 72 percent of the 8,000+ respondents said they'd rather sign Scott Kazmir as a free agent this offseason, despite Kazmir's own spotty track record.

Hughes could look to follow Jackson's lead and sign a one-year, make-good deal before cashing in on a multiyear contract, or he could prefer to take whatever two-year deal is on the table for him to maximize his earnings. We saw Francisco Liriano take the latter approach last offseason, and I'd expect Hughes to have an opportunity at a two-year deal with a modest annual value as well.

A rebound campaign in 2014 would set Hughes up as a desirable arm entering his age-28 season on next year's free agent market. I wouldn't be surprised to see him go the Liriano route and ink a two-year contract (he'd still be able to hit free agency again at age 29), but my prediction is that Hughes will sign a one-year, $8MM contract this winter.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Quick Hits: Robertson, Dodgers, Tanaka, Orioles

By | at

The Yankees should sign reliever David Robertson to an extension, River Ave Blues' Mike Axisa argues. By signing Robertson now, Axisa argues, the Yankees will get to pay setup man rates for him. If, in the wake of Mariano Rivera's retirement, Robertson takes the Yankees' closer job in 2014 and performs reasonably well, he'll stand to make much more money after the season, when he becomes a free agent. But signing him now could be tricky, Axisa notes, since it will also be clear to Robertson what he stands to gain by closing for a year and then hitting the free agent market. Axisa proposes a three-year, $21MM deal. Here are more notes from around the big leagues.

  • The Dodgers' pursuit of pitcher Masahiro Tanaka appears to be "the most obvious move since Brad Pitt sidled up to Angelina Jolie," writes Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times. Dilbeck cites the Dodgers' signings of Hyun-Jin Ryu, Yasiel Puig and Alexander Guerrero as evidence that the team will use its considerable financial heft to pursue the biggest-name international free agents. "We've scouted him a lot, we're very much aware of him," says GM Ned Colletti. "We saw him as recently as two days ago."
  • Pitchers Tim Berry and Chris Jones and catchers Caleb Joseph and Michael Ohlman are all candidates to be added to the Orioles' 40-man roster this offseason, MASNsports.com's Steve Melewski writes. Jones, who spent most of the 2013 season pitching in relief at Triple-A Norfolk, is eligible for minor-league free agency, but Baltimore would like to keep him.

AL Notes: Wotus, Corrigan, Orioles, Youkilis

By | at

What are the biggest holes to be filled by potential 2014 contenders? Writing for ESPN, Paul Swydan lists catcher for the Tigers, right field for the Orioles, and DH for the Yankees. Having already covered some of this evening's news from the AL Central side, here are more notes from the American League:

  • The Mariners have interviewed Giants bench coach Ron Wotus for the team's manager role, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Heyman notes that Wotus joins a lengthy group of candidates vying to become the new Seattle skipper. 
  • The Angels lost major league special assignment scout Larry Corrigan, who will return to the Twins in some capacity, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports via Twitter. Corrigan has previously been described as one of GM Jerry Dipoto's most trusted scouts.
  • While the Orioles have a lengthy list of free agents, the club is taking its time addressing their situations, reports Dan Connolly of the Balitimore Sun. With well-known names like Scott Feldman, Nate McLouth, Michael Morse, Brian Roberts, and Francisco Rodriguez all coming off the books, the Baltimore front office has to decide who to pursue. "We haven't moved on any of those free agents yet," said executive VP Dan Duquette.
  • Yankees third baseman Kevin Youkilis is healthy and ready to test the free agent market once more, agent Joe Bick tells Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News. The 35-year-old was a bust for the Yanks, who got 28 games off subpar production from him at a cost of $12MM. 

Sherman On Cardinals, Posting System, Headley

By | at

While there is a common thinking that a team can never have "too much pitching," Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes that the Cardinals may actually be able to boast that luxury. The team's incredible wealth of young, cost-controlled arms sets them up to be as aggressive as they'd like in addressing holes this offseason, opines Sherman, including shortstop and center field. The Cardinals likely have the young pieces to deal to acquire a marquee player like Troy Tulowitzki or a lesser, but strong option like J.J. Hardy. Their stock of young talent would even make the loss of a draft pick more palatable should they decide to be bold in free agency, as they were when they signed Matt Holliday to his seven-year deal. More from Sherman…

  • In a second piece, Sherman reports that Major League Baseball and Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball are nearing an agreement on alterations to the posting system for Japanese players. Two sources told Sherman that MLB and NPB are hoping to have an agreement in place by Nov. 1 (this coming Friday). He adds that one scenario he's heard would allow the posted player to select one of the three highest bidders and negotiate solely with that club — a scenario suggested as a possibility last month by Newsday.
  • From that same article, Sherman reports that the Padres recently completed their organizational meetings and feel that they will retain Chase Headley rather than trade him prior to his walk year. While they will still listen to offer on their switch-hitting third baseman, a trade doesn't seem likely.
  • Padres officials that spoke with Sherman said the team doesn't feel the Yankees are a potential fit as a trade partner for Headley. San Diego wants to win now and would only deal Headley if the return included cost-effective players that are ready for the Majors or close to it. As Sherman points out, the Yankees' farm system doesn't include many players that fit that bill.
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top