Quick Hits: Millwood, Bautista, Hawkins
Here are some items of note for Feb. 3, 2011, the day on which former AL Rookie of the Year and MVP Fred Lynn turned 59.
- The Indians are interested in free-agent righty Kevin Millwood, tweets Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer, but not at the current asking price of one year, $4-5MM. Cleveland is among the handful of potential Millwood suitors enumerated by Ben Nicholson-Smith earlier on Thursday. The Yankees are part of the group, too, and it stands to reason that Andy Pettitte's retirement might strengthen their interest, writes Chris Bahr of the Sporting News.
- The Red Sox's interest in trading for Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista is telling because it indicates there is a belief among baseball executives and talent evaluators that Bautista's monstrous 54-homer campaign in 2010 was not a fluke, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com. The Red Sox eventually got their man when they signed free-agent outfielder Carl Crawford, so Bautista-to-Boston is obviously off, notes Morosi, but it bodes well for Bautista in his final season before hitting free agency.
- Brewers reliever LaTroy Hawkins said that his surgically repaired shoulder feels good and that he'll compete for a spot in Milwaukee's bullpen, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post. Hawkins signed a two-year, $7.5MM deal with Milwaukee prior to last season but pitched in just 18 games before being lost to an injured labrum and rotator cuff. Hawkins has a guaranteed contract, so the Brewers will surely want him to be at full strength and pitching well, but it bears watching how they handle him if he struggles with injury and/or ineffectiveness.
Reactions: Andy Pettitte’s Retirement
Here's a look at some of the many and various takes on Andy Pettitte's retirement, which will be announced Friday …
- The Yankees will be no worse for the wear without the services of the aging and declining Pettitte, writes Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com. Although Pettitte would have been a convenient solution for the problem of the Yankees' thin starting rotation, he wouldn't necessarily have been an ideal fit on account of his diminishing workload over the past three years, according to Morosi.
- The Bronx Bombers should have assumed Pettitte was going to retire and executed an offseason plan accordingly, writes Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork.com. Instead, they're now in a bind with the prospect of Ivan Nova, Sergio Mitre, Freddy Garcia, Bartolo Colon and a handful of promising but young prospects battling for two rotation spots.
- Pettitte's decision is mildly surprising to Newsday's Ken Davidoff, who notes that Pettitte must have been pretty seriously contemplating a return, considering the left-hander had been throwing recently. Davidoff wonders whether the Yankees' failure to sign Cliff Lee and subsequently diminished World Series hopes factored into Pettitte's decision.
- Pettitte simply must not have been "feeling it" after he began preparing for the 2011 season, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. Don't expect a midseason return — a la Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez — for Pettitte, adds Olney.
- Whether Pettitte would return was as uncertain as a "flip of the coin," notes Tom Verducci of SI.com. Ultimately, the allure of spending more time with his family pulled the industrious Pettitte away from the game, according to Verducci.
- Considering they have a stellar lineup, solid bullpen, considerable financial resources for future moves and a top-heavy rotation that could be effective if things break right, the Yankees needn't panic, writes Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com.
- The Yankees' signing of reliever Rafael Soriano, thereby giving them a "lockdown pen," seems especially important in the wake of Pettitte's retirement, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com.
- Our own Mike Axisa of River Avenue Blues recounts his signature Pettitte moment.
- And the debate begins in earnest: Jayson Stark of ESPN.com writes that Pettitte is not quite a Hall of Famer.
Andy Pettitte To Retire
It's the end of a three-month wait for the Yankees and a 16-year career for Andy Pettitte. The left-hander is set to announce his retirement tomorrow, the team announced.
The Yankees waited all winter for Pettitte and would have welcomed him back for a 14th season in pinstripes. Instead, the 38-year-old will call it a career and the Yankees will turn to the likes of Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, Ivan Nova, Andrew Brackman and Sergio Mitre to fill out their rotation.
Pettitte won five World Championships with the Yankees and made three All-Star teams in a career that began with a relief appearance against the Royals in April of 1995. Pettitte retires with 240 regular season wins, a 3.88 ERA (117 ERA+) and 2251 strikeouts.
His teams made the postseason in all but three of his big league seasons, so Pettitte has lots of experience in October; he has 19 wins and a 3.83 ERA in the playoffs. Pettitte is the all-time winningest pitcher in postseason history, ranks first all-time in postseason starts and innings pitched and is tied for second with 173 strikeouts.
Pettitte becomes the second high-profile left-hander to turn down millions of dollars from the Yankees this offseason. Cliff Lee, the Yankees' top offseason target, turned down more guaranteed money from New York to return to Philadelphia.
Michael Kay of 1050 ESPN radio in New York first reported the news (on Twitter).
Yankees Remain In Contact With Kevin Millwood
The Yankees have added Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia in the last week, but the team is still in contact with Kevin Millwood, reports Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman (Twitter link). It could be that the Yankees just want to give themselves as many veteran starting options as they can, or, as Heyman opines, "they're growing more worried" that Andy Pettitte will retire. Pettitte's retirement would leave the Bombers with two open rotation spots that would be contested between Colon, Garcia, Sergio Mitre, Andrew Brackman, Ivan Nova and potentially Millwood.
Besides the Yankees, the Orioles, Royals and Indians have also been recently connected to Millwood. Like Baltimore, New York wouldn't be able to guarantee Millwood a rotation spot, but it's possible Millwood would take the risk for a chance to pitch for a contending team.
Yankees Designate Jordan Parraz For Assignment
The Yankees announced that they designated outfielder Jordan Parraz for assignment. They acquired Justin Maxwell from the Nationals in a related move, and needed to create 40-man roster space for Maxwell.
It's been a transaction-filled winter for Parraz. The Yankees claimed him off of waivers from the Red Sox, who had claimed him from the Royals earlier in the offseason. The 26-year-old spent last year at Triple-A Omaha, where he posted a .266/.350/.410 line with 39 extra base hits while playing right field. He has an .814 OPS in parts of seven minor league seasons, but has yet to reach the majors.
Yankees Acquire Justin Maxwell
The Yankees announced that they have acquired Justin Maxwell from the Nationals for minor league right-hander Adam Olbrychowski. When Washington had to clear roster space last week, they designated Maxwell for assignment.
Other than their four primary outfielders – Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher and Andruw Jones – the Yankees don't have a ton of outfield depth. Maxwell will provide manager Joe Girardi with an alternative to Colin Curtis, Greg Golson and Jordan Parraz.
Maxwell has a .201/.319/.379 line in 260 big league plate appearances and a .261/.357/.442 line in 1778 minor league plate appearances. The 27-year-old has shown speed on the basepaths and the ability to play all three outfield positions.
Olbrychowski reached Double-A last year in his fourth professional season. The 24-year-old posted a 3.90 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 67 innings at Class A and Double-A last year, working almost exclusively out of the bullpen.
Heyman On Lee, Cabrera, Wells, Pujols, Hamilton
Owner Chuck Greenberg and the Rangers were slower to offer Cliff Lee a competitive deal than other interested clubs, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Lee's camp wanted to keep the Rangers involved in the bidding, though they started with a 'lowball' offer before offering $100MM and, eventually, even more. The Rangers justified their lower offers by pointing out that Texas has no state income tax, but Lee asked around and determined that he wouldn't save that much, since he lives in Arkansas.
Talks between Lee and the Phillies broke off twice before the sides reached an agreement. If the Phillies hadn't completed the deal, the Yankees would have been seen as the favorites to sign the lefty, according to Heyman. Here are the rest of his rumors:
- One GM says Orlando Cabrera isn't being reasonable. "I don't think he gets the position he's in," the GM said, alluding to the lack of job openings remaining for the shortstop.
- The Rangers didn't show serious interest in Vernon Wells, according to Heyman.
- Executives around the game believe that Albert Pujols will sign an extension with the Cardinals. If the sides don't reach a deal by Spring Training, Pujols will be a free agent after the season, in which case the Cubs may be "best positioned" to pursue him, in the opinion of one executive.
- The Angels are still interested in signing or trading for a leadoff hitter. Scott Podsednik is out there, and could be a fit in L.A.
- One executive believes the Rangers will lose to Josh Hamilton if the sides go to an arbitration hearing. Heyman hears that the Rangers won't bring up Hamilton's history of substance abuse in a hearing. Keep track of all the remaining arbitration cases using our Arb Tracker.
New York Notes: Beltran, Garcia, Pettitte
The Angels considered the possibility of trading for Carlos Beltran before they acquired Vernon Wells from the Blue Jays, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Here are the details on the Angels' interest in Beltran and other notes from New York City:
- Sherman hears that the Mets and Angels discussed Beltran, but the Angels preferred Wells despite the $86MM remaining on his contract. The Angels had more confidence in Wells' health and defense.
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman tells Sherman that he doesn't want to have to rely on pitching prospects Manuel Banuelos and Dellin Betances in the majors this season. “They shouldn’t be caught up in our major league problems,” Cashman said. But as Sherman points out, the Yankees have summoned prospects like Phil Hughes to the majors earlier than expected; once the season starts, it's tough to predict what will happen.
- In conversations with Yankees people, Sherman never got the impression that they liked Freddy Garcia that much. The team agreed to a minor league deal with Garcia Monday.
- There's "a pretty good likelihood" that Andy Pettitte returns and the Yankees trade for a starter during Spring Training, Sherman writes.
New York Notes: Pettitte, Mets, Pitching
Let's check out a few items concerning the Yankees and Mets..
- Yankees people continue to hear from friends of Andy Pettitte that they think the 38-year-old will pitch this year, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. Of course, there's still no word from Pettitte himself on the matter.
- As expected, Mets principal owner Fred Wilpon, COO Jeff Wilpon and team president Saul Katz met with commissioner Bud Selig today to talk about the team's finances, writes Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. On Friday the club announced that they are looking to sell 20 to 25 percent of the team in order to give themselves a cushion against any settlement that comes from the Bernie Madoff case.
- Mike Piazza, who earned more than $120MM over the course of his major league career, says he isn't interested in buying a share of the club right now, according to Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com.
- Nick Swisher isn't concerned about the Yankees' pitching woes, writes Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger.
Yankees Reach Agreement With Freddy Garcia
The Yankees have agreed to sign Freddy Garcia to a minor league contract, reports ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). The deal will pay Garcia $1.5MM if he makes the Major League roster, and the total value of the contract could be worth $5.1MM if Garcia reaches all his start-based incentive plateaus, up to 30 starts. Garcia is represented by Peter Greenberg.
Garcia, 35, expressed his preference to pitch for the Yankees earlier this week, saying it would be "an inspiration" to pitch in the pressurized environments of both New York and the AL East. The Mets, Orioles and White Sox all showed some degree of interest in Garcia this winter, though Garcia ruled out a return to Chicago earlier today.
The veteran right-hander posted a 4.64 ERA, 1.98 K/BB ratio and a 40.7% ground ball rate in 28 starts with the White Sox last season. Garcia threw 157 Major League innings in 2010 — he pitched in just 129 innings combined over the prior three seasons due to nagging shoulder injuries.
Garcia joins the likes of Bartolo Colon, Ivan Nova, Andrew Brackman, Sergio Mitre and even Mark Prior in the battle for the final two starting spots in the Yankee rotation. This competition could be limited to just the number five spot, of course, should Andy Pettitte announce his return.