Stark On Cameron, Ohman, Jenkins
ESPN's Jayson Stark has a new blog post up.
- The Astros plan to give Chris Johnson a chance to win the third base job, but Stark says Juan Uribe, Jose Bautista, and Jeff Baker "could still show up on their shopping list in the next two weeks."
- Stark heard "rumblings the Yankees are poking around again on Mike Cameron's availability." Back in December, the Yanks and Brewers were pretty close on a deal.
- Eric Milton is looking decent and appears to be the frontrunner for the Dodgers' fifth starter job (given Pedro Martinez's asking price).
- Will Ohman seeks a one-year, $1.75MM deal with easily-reachable incentives for another million. He also prefers the West Coast, and Stark believes the Padres and Giants are more likely than the Dodgers. Like the Dodgers, the Phillies and Marlins have interest at a lesser price. Stark has also heard the Phils connected to Giants lefty Jack Taschner.
- Shawn Camp, Geoff Geary, John Buck, and Geoff Jenkins are currently available. The Phillies would eat almost all of the $8MM owed to Jenkins.
Hideki Matsui Enters Contract Year
Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes about Hideki Matsui‘s future with the Yankees. Matsui, 34, projects as the team’s full-time DH and Opening Day cleanup hitter this year. Sherman says that after two knee surgeries the Yankees view him strictly as a designated hitter.
The Yankees’ outfield may see changes for 2010. Matsui is a free agent after the season, as are Scott Boras clients Johnny Damon and Xavier Nady. Nick Swisher is under contract through 2011. Sherman says that since the Yanks may want to keep the DH spot open for Jorge Posada and other stars under contract, Matsui may not make sense. Interesting names on the free agent market after ’09: Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, Rick Ankiel, Mike Cameron, Bobby Abreu, Jermaine Dye, and possibly Manny Ramirez.
Matsui told Sherman he’d be open to playing for other teams and doesn’t intend to return to Japan. Like many corner outfield/DH types, Matsui will probably have to take a large pay cut in free agency even if he has a solid year.
Odds & Ends: Hamels, Giants, Yankees
Links for Monday…
- Cole Hamels is flying to Philadelphia to have his sore left elbow examined. Hamels threw 3,914 pitches in total last year, the most in baseball (two more than C.C. Sabathia). Hamels thinks he’s fine and it’s not a big deal.
- Julian Tavarez on why he chose the Nationals.
- MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro says the Marlins returned Rule 5 lefty Zach Kroenke to the Yankees.
- Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball looks at postseason ticket revenue over the last decade.
- Dan Brown of the San Jose Mercury News talked to John Dewan about the Giants’ defense.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes about the fraternity in the Yankees’ revamped rotation.
- Athletics Nation talked to Jason Giambi, who was very close to re-signing with the A’s before he signed with the Yankees.
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker asks if Yankees starter Kei Igawa, owed $12MM over the next three years, is movable.
The Yankees And a Decade of Decadence
This just in… The New York Yankees spend wildly on player payroll.
That statement may not be surprising to most, but it could be if you look at player payroll over the course of several years.
To be exact, I have now have pulled together end of year payroll figures for the last decade. In looking over the totals, this much is clear: the Yankees spend, and outspend all comers by a considerable margin.
To place this in perspective, the Yankees have never ranked any lower than 2nd in total player payroll at the end of a season since 1999. At the end of the 2001 season they had a player payroll of $114,457,768, second only to the Dodgers at $115,478,346.
But, what should show how much more George Steinbrenner and Co. enjoy spending is that the Yankees have spent over 42 percent more than the Red Sox over the last decade, and have exceptionally close outcomes:
World Series Wins
Yankees: 2
Red Sox: 2
ALCS Champions:
Yankees: 4
Red Sox: 2
ALDS Champions:
Yankees: 4
Red Sox: 5
As they say, talk amongst ya selves. For those interested, the totals for each of the 30 clubs over the last decade are now available on The Biz of Baseball. Here’s end-of-year payrolls for the Yankees and Red Sox over the last decade:
|
Yankees EOY Payroll (1999-2008)
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||
|
Year
|
Rank
|
EOY Payroll
|
|
2008
|
1
|
$222,519,480
|
|
2007
|
1
|
$218,311,394
|
|
2006
|
1
|
$207,461,320
|
|
2005
|
1
|
$207,152,931
|
|
2004
|
1
|
$187,918,394
|
|
2003
|
1
|
$180,322,403
|
|
2002
|
1
|
$133,429,757
|
|
2001
|
2
|
$114,457,768
|
|
2000
|
1
|
$95,285,187
|
|
1999
|
1
|
$91,990,955
|
|
Total
|
$1,658,849,589
|
|
|
Red Sox EOY Payroll (1999-2008)
|
||
|
Year
|
Rank
|
EOY Payroll
|
|
2008
|
2
|
$147,075,645
|
|
2007
|
2
|
$155,402,595
|
|
2006
|
2
|
$137,497,097
|
|
2005
|
2
|
$116,640,070
|
|
2004
|
2
|
$130,395,386
|
|
2003
|
5
|
$104,873,607
|
|
2002
|
2
|
$110,249,535
|
|
2001
|
3
|
$114,331,641
|
|
2000
|
7
|
$75,525,525
|
|
1999
|
7
|
$72,330,656
|
|
Total
|
$1,164,321,757
|
|
Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer. Brown’s full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.
Odds & Ends: Manny, Papelbon, Pudge, Peavy
Links for Thursday…
- The Nationals remain interested in Duaner Sanchez, says Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post.
- Yahoo’s Jeff Passan talked to Mark Prior.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post heard Manny Ramirez and Scott Boras consider the contract with the Dodgers a one-year deal with a safety net. Sherman wonders if the Yankees and/or Mets could get involved depending on how Manny’s 2009 season plays out.
- Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon commented about Manny to Chris Jones in the April issue of Esquire. It’s a good article and there’s a lot more to it than the Manny comments.
- Free agent catcher Ivan Rodriguez is working out at first base, according to Will Gonzalez of MLB.com.
- The Padres have the third pick in the June draft. Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune asks whether they’ll finally take a player with big upside.
- Jake Peavy‘s agent Barry Axelrod seems to be writing off the Padres, in comments to Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune: "It’s tough with the Padres’ situation. They are not very good and it looks like it is going to be another long year for them."
- Marlins shortstop Robert Andino is out of options, so Mike Phillips of the Miami Herald says this is his audition.
- ESPN’s Buster Olney says Mark Mulder‘s audition is drawing closer and he’s throwing well. Olney also says Luis Gonzalez is waiting by the phone. For a look at the other remaining free agents, click here.
Yanks Sign Joba, Mets Sign Murphy
Joel Sherman of the New York Post has more pre-arbitration signings for us today, including Joba Chamberlain ($432,575) and Daniel Murphy ($401,000).
Heyman On Contracts, Loretta, Indians, Lackey
SI.com’s Jon Heyman has a new column up…
- Heyman writes in praise of White Sox GM Ken Williams, who says, "People don’t really understand our way, our method."
- Heyman names his top 13 contracts, from an agent point of view. Barry Meister appears twice, with Edgar Renteria and Kyle Farnsworth. Scott Shapiro and Barry Praver get two mentions (Willy Taveras and Juan Cruz), and Scott Boras has three (Derek Lowe, Mark Teixeira, and Willie Bloomquist).
- Heyman writes of "talk at Dodgers camp" about possible Yankee interest in Mark Loretta (you may recall their consideration of him as a first base candidate in 2007). Loretta would have to consent to a trade, and keep in mind Brian Cashman’s comments yesterday.
- The Indians may have sufficient depth in young position players to make a trade for pitching.
- Heyman speaks of optimism for an extension for Angels ace John Lackey, since the team was able to hammer out his ’06 contract with agent Steve Hilliard.
Yankees Not Likely To Replace A-Rod Through Trade
7:32pm: Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger has another quote from Cashman on why the Yankees will not trade for a replacement.
"With the team not wanting add payroll, not wanting to hurt the farm system and stuff like that, and we’re going to get Alex back, we’re going to go with what we have in camp," Cashman said.
7:08pm: According to an AP article, Brian Cashman spoke about the possibility of finding a replacement for Alex Rodriguez through the trade market saying it is not likely.
"I’m not optimistic about doing anything," Cashman said before the Yankees played Cincinnati on Tuesday night. "I’m not going to be proactive in trying to do something. If something represents itself that makes sense, then maybe it will be different. I think our answer is here in camp."
Cashman added that he has not spoken to any other GM’s about a third baseman but he has heard from the agents representing free agent third basemen.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Odds & Ends: Crosby, Vizcaino, Andruw
Links for Tuesday…
- Chat today, 2pm CST.
- RotoAuthority sums up the stats you should target in each category for your fantasy league.
- The Braves released pitcher Anthony Lerew, according to Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- Rany Jazayerli says the Royals will be better just by subtracting Ross Gload, Tony Pena Jr., and Joey Gathright. Here’s my Offseason In Review for the club, if you’re interested.
- A’s manager Bob Geren "chuckled and said no" when asked if Bobby Crosby is being showcased at third base for the Yankees, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Crosby is learning third in part because Eric Chavez is injured again.
- Speaking of Crosby, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune wonders if the Cubs could work out a deal involving reliever Luis Vizcaino. Despite the $4MM owed to Vizcaino, he’s not a lock for the Cubs’ bullpen. We learned last week that the Cubs do not appear interested in Crosby.
- Slusser also has an article about young A’s pitcher Michael Ynoa, who believes he can be in the Majors in two years at age 19.
- Andruw Jones apologized to Dodgers fans in this Bill Plaschke article.
- Talking to Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Daily News, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel sees Jayson Werth missing no more than 15-20 games this year. Geoff Jenkins, with $8MM left on his contract, looks like the odd man out.
Rosenthal On Pedro, A-Rod, Beimel, Ohman
Here’s the latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- One executive tells Rosenthal Pedro Martinez seeks a contract similar to the one John Smoltz received (a $5.5MM base plus $5.5MM incentives). Rosenthal’s speculative candidates for Pedro include the Dodgers, Marlins, Indians, and Mets. He says the A’s, Orioles, Nationals, and Brewers are out.
- Rosenthal does not expect a major acquisition by the Yankees to cover for Alex Rodriguez. He adds that the Yanks will not collect insurance on A-Rod’s salary.
- In addition to Orlando Cabrera, Manny Ramirez has a clause in his contract prohibiting his team from offering arbitration if he’s a Type A free agent after the season. Orlando Hudson and Bobby Abreu do not have such clauses.
- Two GMs told Rosenthal Joe Beimel wants a one-year, $2.5MM deal, but the pitcher’s agent Joe Sroba says they have’t gotten that specific. Sroba says new teams are in the mix for Beimel and he’s waiting for one to be "aggressive and sincere in their pursuit."
- The White Sox and Dodgers are two teams in on free agent lefty Will Ohman.