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Yankees Interested In Raul Ibanez

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The Yankees have interest in Raul Ibanez, Kevin Kernan of the New York Post reports. Ibanez has drawn interest from a number of clubs, including the Mets and Tigers, in recent weeks. We heard ten days ago that ACES had contacted the Yankees about Ibanez, but this is the first concrete indication that the interest is mutual.

Ibanez posted a .245/.289/.419 line with 20 home runs in 575 plate appearances as the Phillies' everyday left fielder last year. The 39-year-old could provide the Yankees with an option at designated hitter or in the corner outfield positions. He owns a .286/.351/.488 line against right-handed pitching in 16 MLB seasons. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney suggested earlier today that Ibanez would be a good fit in the Bronx (Twitter link).

Yankees Sign Hiroki Kuroda

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The Yankees have signed Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year contract, the team announced.  Jack Curry of the YES Network first reported the agreement (Twitter link).  The deal will pay Kuroda $10MM, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney.  Kuroda is represented by the Octagon agency.

Kuroda

Kuroda was originally looking for a one-year deal worth $13-$14MM for next season, but recently dropped his asking price and was sending feelers out to the Yankees and Red Sox.  Olney reports that Kuroda's salary was an "extra expenditure" approved by ownership, so the club will not have to move a similar salary in order to fit the team's payroll.

Kuroda turns 37 in February and comes to the American League after four years of pitching for the Dodgers.  Kuroda has pitched at least 183 innings in three of his four years in the Majors and his career numbers include a 3.45 ERA, a 3.29 K/BB ratio and a 48.6% ground ball rate that should ease his transition from Dodger Stadium to Yankee Stadium.  (Kuroda's career home/away splits are also virtually identical.)

Between Kuroda and the newly-acquired Michael Pineda, a once-shaky Yankees pitching staff has been overhauled and improved in just one day.  C.C. Sabathia, Pineda, Kuroda and Ivan Nova project as the top four, with Phil Hughes, A.J. Burnett and Freddy Garcia fighting for the fifth spot in the rotation.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

Yankees, Boone Logan Avoid Arbitration

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The Yankees avoided arbitration with left-hander Boone Logan, the Associated Press reports (via the Boston Herald). The Select Sports Group client will earn $1.875MM in 2013.

Logan, 27, posted a 3.46 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 41 2/3 innings last year, when he earned $1.2MM. He's under team control through 2013. As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, Logan asked for a 2012 salary of $2.1MM, and the Yankees offered $1.7MM. The Yankees have now agreed to terms with all of their arbitration eligible players.

Yankees Designate Kevin Whelan For Assignment

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The Yankees designated right-hander Kevin Whelan for assignment to create 40-man roster space for Hiroki Kuroda, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The 28-year-old debuted with the Yankees in 2011, appearing in two games.

Whelan posted a 2.75 ERA with 9.3 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 52 1/3 innings at Triple-A in 2011. The 2005 fourth rounder owns a 3.23 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 in seven minor league seasons.

AL East Links: Red Sox, Jays, Rays, Rivera, Martin

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Who would have guessed that two AL teams would hand out $200MM+ contracts this winter, and neither of them would reside in the AL East? Here's the latest from the only division with three 90-win teams in 2011…

  • The Red Sox have checked in with Edwin Jackson and maintain interest in Roy Oswalt, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). They're also looking at some infielders.
  • Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm that he doesn't anticipate a move to upgrade the starting rotation before Spring Training (Twitter links). "I wouldn't expect us to do anything else. Maybe adding a reliever is probably the only thing I think we have a chance at doing," said the GM a few hours before signing Francisco Cordero.
  • In an interview with Jim Duquette and Jeff Joyce of MLB Network Radio, Anthopoulos said that Brandon Morrow's work ethic was one reason why the Blue Jays signed him to an extension. "I haven't been doing this very long … but the mistakes we have made, we haven't necessarily put as much stock into someone's character and the work ethic," he said.
  • Anthopoulos also acknowledged that the Blue Jays would be able to support a high payroll down the road, but they're "not there yet right now."
  • Rays president Matt Silverman told Marc Topkin of The Tampa Times that they haven't found a deal to trade one of their excess starters yet, but that doesn't mean they aren't still looking (Twitter link).
  • Yankees closer Mariano Rivera hinted at retirement during Jorge Posada's retirement press conference today, reports MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. "[It's] the same thing; just knowing that it's time to go," Rivera said. "You just have to accept that. I mean, I love the game and I have the passion for the game, but when the time comes and you have to go, you have to go."
  • WEEI.com's Alex Speier wrote about the Red Sox in the wake of the Prince Fielder signing, saying they preferred trading for Adrian Gonzalez last offseason to waiting for this year's crop of free agent first baseman.
  • Prior to avoiding arbitration with a one-year deal, the Yankees and Russell Martin discussed a two-year contract according to WFAN's Sweeny Murti (on Twitter).

Yankees Avoid Arbitration With Russell Martin

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6:37pm: David Waldstein of The New York Times reports (on Twitter) that Martin received $7.5MM with $100K in performance bonuses. In terms of guaranteed money, he settled just below the midpoint of the filing figures.

5:04pm: The Yankees and Russell Martin have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year contract, the team announced. The Matt Colleran client filed for $8.2MM while the team countered with $7MM, as our Arbitration Tracker shows.

Martin, 28, signed a one-year deal worth $4MM with the Yankees last offseason after being non-tendered by the Dodgers. He hit .237/.324/.408 with 18 homers and eight steals during his first year in pinstripes, and remained under the team's control are an arbitration-eligible player. This is his fourth time up for arbitration as a Super Two, and he's eligible for free agency next winter.

Boone Logan is the Yankees' only remaining unsigned arbitration-eligible player.

Yankees Notes: Burnett, DH Options, Trades

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A few items out of the Bronx…

  • In a conference call with reporters (including Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees blog) today, GM Brian Cashman said he will look to fill the Yankees' DH spot through a trade, with free agent designated hitters being a "secondary" focus.  Cashman said it's "a possibility" he will try to acquire a hitter using the Yankees' excess pitchers.
  • The Yankees hope to address their DH need by trying to deal A.J. Burnett for salary relief or a "DH type," tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  If that isn't possible, Sherman says the next target would be to deal for a young, controllable hitter in exchange for a young starter like Phil Hughes.
  • Joe Pawlikowski of the River Aves Blues blog looks at the pros and cons of trading Burnett, eventually concluding that New York should probably keep him given the difficulties in finding value in a deal.
  • Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com hears the Burnett trade market is non-existent, even to the point of using a "pie in the sky" hashtag to describe the Yankees' chances of moving the veteran right-hander.
  • The Yankees are "in no rush" to address their DH need quickly, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  "Teams in need can almost name their price," Rosenthal writes, given how many free agent DH types (Raul Ibanez, Hideki Matsui, Vladimir Guerrero, Johnny Damon, etc.) remain on the market.

Quick Hits: Pineda, Posada, White Sox, Dodgers

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Today the Yankees and Mariners announced the trade that will send right-handers Michael Pineda and Jose Campos to New York for catcher/DH Jesus Montero and right-hander Hector Noesi. Here are some links for Monday, starting with a couple of notes related to the blockbuster swap…

  • In this week’s edition of Ask BA, Jim Callis of Baseball America explains that he prefers Rangers right-hander Yu Darvish over Pineda in the long term. However, Pineda isn't far behind Darvish in Callis’ estimation.
  • One scout says Noesi could be the "surprise piece" for the Mariners, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).
  • Jorge Posada will discuss his retirement at a press conference at Yankee Stadium tomorrow morning, the Yankees announced. News broke a couple of weeks ago that the long time backstop has decided to call it a career.
  • Pita Rona, a 17-year-old New Zealand native, signed with the Orioles, TVNZ reports. Director of international operations David Stockstill and GM Dan Duquette confirmed the move. New Zealand has yet to produce a Major League player.
  •  The White Sox announced that they promoted former player and manager Buddy Bell to the role of VP, player development and special assignments.
  • The first financial proposals to buy the Dodgers arrived over the weekend and the soft deadline for submissions is today, Yahoo’s Tim Brown tweets.

Many Teams Eyeing Gerardo Concepcion

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Cuban left-hander Gerardo Concepcion has been declared a free agent and is drawing interest from many MLB teams, Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com reports. The 18-year-old recently established residency in Mexico and was said to be close to declaring free agency last week.

The Rangers, Yankees, Cubs and White Sox have expressed the most interest in Concepcion, agent Jaime Torres said. The lefty worked out in front of Rangers personnel, including Nolan Ryan, in the Dominican Republic today. The Phillies, Giants, Blue Jays, Red Sox and Royals have also expressed interest.

Concepcion has an offer on the table and will likely sign within two weeks, according to his agent. He defected from Cuba last June while playing in the Netherlands.

Mariners, Yankees Swap Pineda For Montero

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The Mariners needed hitting, the Yankees needed pitching.  The two teams addressed each other's needs in a blockbuster trade of young stars, as right-handers Michael Pineda and Jose Campos will go to the Bronx in exchange for catcher/DH Jesus Montero and righty Hector Noesi.  Both teams confirmed the trade this afternoon.

Pineda

The Yankees re-signed C.C. Sabathia and Freddy Garcia this winter, but those moves amounted to just standing pat with a rotation that (after Sabathia) contained several question marks.  In Pineda, however, the Yankees now have one of the top young arms in the game and one who has already showed he can perform at the Major League level.  Pineda (pictured) posted a 3.74 ERA, a 3.15 K/BB ratio and a 9.1 K/9 rate in 28 starts last season, earning an All-Star appearance and a fifth-place finish in the AL Rookie Of The Year vote.  Pineda recently turned 23 and is under club control through 2016.

Campos, 19, is another intriguing young arm.  John Sickels of Minor League Ball ranked Campos as the fifth-best prospect in Seattle's system going into 2012, noting that while Campos' secondary pitches need some polish, "his upside is very high, he throws hard, and already throws strikes."  Campos is coming off a dominant campaign in low Class-A ball in 2011, posting a 2.32 ERA and a whopping 6.54 K/BB in 14 starts.  Joel Sherman of the New York Post hears from an NL executive that if Campos was in this year's amateur draft, "he is [a] no-doubt top-10 pick" (Twitter link).

Montero was a top-four prospect in both 2010 and 2011 according to Baseball America and the 22-year-old showed why when he posted a .996 OPS in 69 September plate appearances.  Montero was drafted as a catcher but questions about his defensive capabilities had several pundits projecting his long-term future to be at designated hitter or first base.  In New York, these spots will be blocked by Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez for the next several seasons, but the bat-starved Mariners have plenty of room in the lineup.  Montero immediately projects as Seattle's probable #3 hitter, splitting time between DH and catcher, and it's easy to see Montero hitting behind Dustin Ackley for years to come.

Montero was very nearly a Mariner in July 2010, as he headlined a prospect package the Yankees were ready to send to Seattle for Cliff Lee.  The M's, however, pulled out of that trade and ended up dealing Lee to the Rangers.  Yankees management was reportedly upset that the Mariners pulled out of the deal at the last minute, but whatever hard feelings existed between the two clubs clearly weren't enough to keep them from doing business 18 months later.

Noesi appeared in 30 games for New York last season (two of them starts), posting a 4.47 ERA and a 2.05 K/BB ratio.  Noesi turns 25 later this month and amassed impressive numbers over six seasons in the Yankee farm system.  Noesi should get a shot at filling Pineda's rotation spot in Seattle and could blossom at pitcher-friendly Safeco Field. 

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com was the first to announce the trade as official, with MLB.com's Greg Johns adding Campos and Noesi's involvement.  ESPN's Jerry Crasnick first heard of a "significant trade" involving a "young impact hitter" coming to the Mariners earlier today, and Larry Stone of the Seattle Times was the first to cite Pineda and Montero in the deal, as he had heard "rumblings in that direction."

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.

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