No More Personal Service Deals & Milestone Bonuses
Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have agreed to put an end to personal service deals and milestone bonus clauses, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports. Existing contracts with these deals or bonuses won’t be affected by the changes, which were agreed to this month.
Albert Pujols and Ryan Zimmerman recently signed long-term contracts which include personal services provisions and Alex Rodriguez has milestone bonuses associated with his contract. However, MLB and the union say these bonuses violate baseball’s collective bargaining agreement. The sides have agreed that the CBA doesn’t allow players to agree to deals that include obligations beyond their playing careers.
MLB is trying to prevent teams from finding loopholes that enable them to evade the luxury tax, Stark reports. Personal service deals and milestone bonuses aren’t considered guaranteed money and therefore don’t count against the luxury tax.
AL East Notes: Nunez, Valentine, Hutchison
Believe it or not, Rays left-hander Matt Moore has never started a game at Tropicana Field. The 22-year-old left-hander will take the mound at home against the Twins tonight for his first Tampa Bay start. Here are today's AL East links…
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post suggests the Yankees should use Eduardo Nunez as their primary left fielder while Brett Gardner's on the disabled list. Nunez could be part of the Yankees' future, while veterans like Andruw Jones and Raul Ibanez won't be, Sherman argues.
- It's too early to bet against Boston manager Bobby Valentine, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. Some rival executives say Red Sox president Larry Lucchino tried to regain power by hiring Valentine, according to Rosenthal.
- Ben Badler of Baseball America introduces readers to right-hander Drew Hutchison, who will make his MLB debut for the Blue Jays tomorrow. The 21-year-old could use some more minor league seasoning, but he's quite polished for his age and could fit in as a back-of-the-rotation starter not unlike Henderson Alvarez. The Blue Jays decided to rely on internal starting pitching options this offseason instead of completing trades or free agent signings.
Yankees Sign Nelson Figueroa
The Yankees have signed right-hander Nelson Figueroa to a minor league deal, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. Mike Silva first reported that the Yankees had a deal with ACES client.
The Blue Jays signed the 37-year-old to a minor league deal in January, but appear to have released him since. Figueroa started the 2011 season in Houston's rotation, but the Astros released him in August after he posted an 8.69 ERA with 5.3 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 in 29 innings. He spent most of the season at Triple-A, where he posted a 6.05 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 99 2/3 innings.
Quick Hits: Lannan, Martin, Nationals, Orioles
Giants closer Brian Wilson will undergo his second Tommy John surgery tomorrow. Over the weekend we heard that his season was over and that another elbow procedure was likely. Make sure you follow @CloserNews on Twitter for all your fantasy bullpen needs. Meanwhile, here's the latest from around the league…
- Nationals southpaw John Lannan is still not drawing trade interest according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. His $5MM salary continues to be a problem, with one executive saying "teams would rather use a low-paid Minor Leaguer for the fifth spot before dealing with Lannan's money."
- The Yankees have no plans to talk to Russell Martin about a contract extension soon, reports Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Martin will become a free agent after this season, and the two sides briefly discussed a multi-year deal this past offseason.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that a panel of baseball officials will help resolve a local television revenue dispute between the Nationals and Orioles. The two clubs share ownership of MASN, but the O's hold a substantially larger stake. The current deal was hammered out when the Nats moved to Washington in 2005.
Quick Hits: Marlins, Jeter, Lincecum, Chisenhall
In a piece inspired by early-season injuries to key relievers Tom Verducci of SI.com points out that closers tend to be inefficient investments. "No one wants to admit it," he writes, "but the modern bullpen is a failure." Here are the rest of today's links…
- Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria told Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that he likes what he has seen from manager Ozzie Guillen despite last week's controversial remarks. “He’s very good for here," Loria said. "Excellent. Not only for here, for any team."
- When the Yankees signed Derek Jeter to a three-year, $51MM contract two offseasons ago, they felt it was an overpay, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. But the shortstop played tremendously down the stretch in 2011 and has started the 2012 season well.
- ESPN.com’s Buster Olney suggests the Giants will likely want to see Tim Lincecum rebound from his early-season struggles before offering him an extension at market value.
- Indians manager Manny Acta told Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio that top prospect Lonnie Chisenhall remains Cleveland's future third baseman and won’t become trade bait this summer (Twitter link, audio here).
Cafardo On Greinke, Marcum, Damon, Indians
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wonders how the Red Sox will approach Jacoby Ellsbury, now that he is injured for the second time in three years? The Sox could be thinking longer-term with players like Daniel Bard, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Andrew Bailey but Ellsbury's health is a concern. However, it might not make a big difference one way or another as Ellsbury is a Scott Boras client. Here's more from Cafardo..
- The Brewers took a hit when they couldn’t retain Prince Fielder, and owner Mark Attanasio is very competitive. That could spark the club to get a deal worked out with right-hander Zack Greinke, even though the two sides recently put discussions on hold. Greinke, however, needs to have a strong season and show consistency from one year to the next to get the big-money deal he’s after. Greinke could be after a Matt Cain-type deal (six years, $127.5MM) but the numbers may not support that.
- There hasn't been much talk between the Brewers and Shaun Marcum either, but Milwaukee should have extra incentive to get a deal done after giving up Brett Lawrie to land him.
- Could the Indians slow offensive start have sparked them to sign Johnny Damon? Cafardo writes that GM Chris Antonetti came to the conclusion that the Tribe could use Damon, especially after the club hit .176 on its opening five-game homestand.
- Scouts seem to have split opinons on Alex Rodriguez as some say that his bat has slowed down significantly and others believe that he looks as physically sound as he has in three years. Cafardo agrees with the latter. Including this season, Rodriguez has six years remaining on his ten-year, $275MM deal.
Quick Hits: Royals, Teixeira, Wright, Rockies, Royals
On this day in 2000, the (Devil) Rays purchased Dwight Gooden from the Astros. Doc made eight starts with Tampa Bay before being released in May, allowing him to finish out his career in New York with the Yankees. Gooden obviously didn't replicate the numbers of his prime in this final season but did post a 4.71 ERA with 4.7 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 for the three teams. Here's a look at tonight's links..
- The Royals have hope for the first time in a long time but they'll have to ramp up the spending to truly contend, writes Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.
- Teams continue to sign first basemen to long, expensive agreements despite mounting evidence that such deals are not very good ideas, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. It looks as though Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira is in decline in the middle of his monster deal and even Todd Helton's team-friendly pact with the Rockies wound up looking like an overpay.
- In a piece for CapitalNewYork.com, Howard Megdal wonders if the Mets might be laying the PR groundwork to let David Wright walk at the end of this season. The Mets hold a $16MM option on the third baseman for 2013.
- Mike Fontenot could replace Pete Orr on the Phillies' bench as the utility man, but don't expect him to replace Freddy Galvis, writes David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News. The Phillies signed the 31-year-old infielder to a minor league deal earlier today.
- Mike Cameron signed a one-day deal with the Mariners today in order to retire with the club and though he may look to be a coach or instructor he vowed to never pursue a managerial career, tweets John Hickey of SportsPressNW.com.
Yankees Notes: Kuroda, Rodriguez, Sabathia, Cano
In the eyes of people like Derek Jeter, the season doesn't truly begin until the Yankees play their first home game. Here are some Yankees-related notes as the Bronx Bombers prepare to host their first game of the season…
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post points out that transitioning to the AL East can be a daunting task for starting pitchers, but Yankees GM Brian Cashman says Hiroki Kuroda can succeed in his new division. "Our scouts really liked Kuroda and feel he will be a contributing member to an AL rotation," he said.
- Scouts haven't been impressed with Alex Rodriguez's mechanics so far this season, George A. King III of the New York Post writes. However, scouts tell King that Jeter has actually gotten faster.
- C.C. Sabathia should recover from a somewhat disappointing start to the season, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post writes. But Sherman suggests Sabathia's been a different pitcher since last July. The Yankees signed the left-hander to a nine-figure extension soon after the 2011 season ended.
- In a piece at River Ave. Blues, Mike Axisa says it's too early to worry seriously about Sabathia and explains why he fully expects the Yankees to spend big on Robinson Cano next offseason. The 29-year-old Cano is an extension candidate.
Olney On McCann, Hunter, Yankees
ESPN.com’s Buster Olney discussed Brian McCann’s next contract, Torii Hunter’s next team and a possible trade for the Yankees in his latest Insider-only column. Here are the highlights…
- There’s been little traction in extension talks between the Braves and McCann, according to Olney. However, the Braves control the catcher’s rights through 2013 with a $12MM club option. Olney suggests the 28-year-old could ask for more than Yadier Molina obtained from the Cardinals ($75MM for five years).
- Olney expects many teams to have interest in Hunter when he hits free agency this offseason. The right fielder has said he’ll be looking to sign with a team that has a real shot at winning the World Series.
- The Yankees would be open to dealing a starter, but haven't discussed any trades involving Freddy Garcia so far.
New York Notes: Cano, Murphy, Phelps
The Mets played their first game in franchise history on this date 50 years ago. The 1962 team was so bad they’ve since become the standard against which other poor teams are measured. To their credit, however, they turned things around before long and won their first World Series seven years later. Here are the latest links from New York…
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post compares Ian Kinsler to Robinson Cano and wonders if Cano is really worth $5-10MM per year more than his counterpart in Texas. Sherman won’t be surprised if some teams are willing to pay Cano more than $20MM per year on a deal that could approach $200MM.
- The second baseman will hit free agency following the 2013 season, assuming the Yankees exercise his option this coming offseason. Sherman gets the sense that Cano would prefer to spend his entire career with the Yankees and GM Brian Cashman has said he views the 29-year-old as a possible Hall of Famer.
- Mike Axisa looked ahead to a possible Cano extension last night.
- The Mets believe Daniel Murphy’s best position is third base, Sherman writes. Since David Wright won’t necessarily be in New York long-term, the Mets may want to see Murphy at the hot corner while Wright’s broken finger heals.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney points out that David Phelps may be emerging as an electric reliever for the Yankees.