Yanks Ink Cano Through Arb Years
UPDATE, 1-28-08 at 9:25pm: Peter Abraham has Cano’s contract particulars. The deal could be worth $57MM over six years, at the high end.
UPDATE, 1-25-08 at 5:06pm: Jon Heyman has the probable contract details. Cano gets $28MM over his arbitration years. He then has a 2012 option for $13MM and a 2013 option for $15MM.
FROM 1-24-08 at 12:54pm:
Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Yankees are close to a four-year deal with second baseman Robinson Cano. Since he’s a Super Two, this will cover all of his arbitration years. Rosenthal also says that the deal will include a club option or two, allowing the Yankees to buy out some of Cano’s free agency. The deal looks to be worth $30 million.
Rob Neyer recently said that if he was picking a second baseman for the next five years, he’d take Cano. We at River Ave. Blues totally agree. His defense has improved every year that he’s been in the majors, and save for a horrific slump from mid-April through May, Cano was an absolute monster at the dish last year.
This is odd protocol for the Yankees, who tend to let their arbitration guys go year-to-year. They didn’t even sign Derek Jeter before he was ready for free agency — and they actually lost an arbitration hearing to him prior to the 1999 season. Of course, he more than made up for it with his 10-year, $189 million contract.
-Joe
Johan Santana Rumors
UPDATE, 1-28-08 at 9:42am: LEN3 jumps on his blog to give a few more tidbits. He doesn’t see the Twins adding a player or any kind of three-team scenario unfolding, based on talks with Twins officials.
FROM 1-28-08 at 9:09am:
I imagine there will be a daily thread for Johan Santana rumors. Here’s the latest from LEN3.
- The Twins "may soon tell teams…to step up with their best offers." The Yankees, Red Sox, and Mets are all still in the mix.
- The officials Neal spoke to disputed Buster Olney’s suggestion that Jon Lester was off the table.
- The Twins still want a big ol’ package from the Mets that includes both Carlos Gomez and Fernando Martinez.
- Meanwhile, Sid Hartman at the same newspaper quotes the Twins’ assistant GM as saying their four-year, $80MM offer remains on the table. Santana doesn’t seem likely to relent that far, and a trade may be a phone call away.
Odds and Ends: Dotel, Valverde, Wilkerson
Some Saturday odds and ends to mull over…
- The Yankees considered bringing Octavio Dotel back, but wouldn’t go two years on him.
- Richard Justice thinks Astros GM Ed Wade is making a mistake by setting a deadline and going to arbitration hearings with Jose Valverde and Mark Loretta. I doubt the Astros wanted Loretta to accept their offer of arbitration in the first place, but they took the $4-5MM gamble hoping to get a draft pick. But they actively sought out Valverde, and this might not bode well for him staying past 2009.
- Can’t promise anything, but my source is saying Brad Wilkerson is likely to become a Mariner on a one-year deal. Put this in the unconfirmed category for now.
- Did the Rangers DFA Armando Galarraga in anticipation of including him in a trade?
- Troy Tulowitzki explanation: he can opt out of his $15MM club option for 2014 if he’s traded. Tracy Ringolsby also reports that Garrett Atkins had unfruitful extension talks with the Rox last year and would still like to stay.
- "No substantive negotiations" on a multiyear deal for Ryan Zimmerman.
- Casey Blake‘s agent put in a counteroffer but hasn’t heard back from the Indians yet; the two sides are $1.5MM apart on his ’08 salary.
Johan Santana Rumors
UPDATE, 1-25-08 at 9:46pm: According to LEN3: I was told today that next week is a big week in terms of determining if and where Santana will be dealt. The end is in sight, then?
FROM 1-25-08 at 9:30am:
Time for your daily Johan Santana rumors post.
- LEN3 talked to a Twins official who said there had been no recent extension talks between Santana and the Twins. Meanwhile Sid Hartman at the same paper says the Mets and Yankees won’t go seven years, and he think the Twins’ 4/80 offer is fair.
- Neal says that while Santana won’t necessarily veto any trade reached after Spring Training starts, it’s in everyone’s best interest to avoid dragging it that far.
- The Mets are still reluctant to part with Fernando Martinez, seemingly the dealbreaker right now. Aaron Heilman could enter the mix though.
- Neal believes the Yankee/Red Sox offers from December are still on the table. This has been my hunch as well. Which is why I think Boston can still pull this off.
- If no deal can be reached soon the Twins might have to sign a stopgap CF like Corey Patterson or Kenny Lofton.
- Buster Olney on Johan’s warning signs: I talked with evaluators and scouts with three other teams since then, and they all saw the exact same thing in Santana: diminishment in velocity, relatively few sliders thrown, subpar (for Santana) performances. But two of the three believe the regression could be attributed to the Twins not being in the race, Minnesota not playing in a high-adrenalin situation, and Santana coping with a cracked nail. The third evaluator wonders, too, if Santana is OK. "If a deal is made, you could see there would be a complete physical, given the money involved," said the evaluator.
Odds and Ends: Zimmerman, Tulo, Hawpe, Wang
Some bits and pieces from today…
- Damian Miller is leaning toward retirement, leaving Johnny Estrada as the one halfway viable catching option out there.
- Talks continue with Ryan Zimmerman on a long-term deal. The Nationals and Zimmerman reportedly discussed this a year ago.
- Padres GM Kevin Towers is upfront about his inquiries on Matt Murton and Xavier Nady. The Cubs aren’t done, by the way.
- Troy Tulowitzki is able to void his contract if he’d traded.
- The Rockies have had preliminary talks with Brad Hawpe about a multiyear deal. Tracy Ringoslby says they might aim for a four-year deal, buying out one year of free agency. The 28 year-old hit .291/.387/.539 in ’07. He was a lot better at Coors and against righties.
- Anthony McCarron says a long-term deal with Chien-Ming Wang looks unlikely, and the Yankees may have to go to a hearing with him regarding his ’08 salary.
Johan Santana Rumors
SI.com’s Jon Heyman and the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s La Velle E. Neal III recently weighed in on the Johan Santana situation.
- Neal says the Mets, Red Sox, and Yankees have all had recent discussions with the Twins about Santana. He says the Twins have "stepped up their efforts" to make a deal before Spring Training.
- Heyman believes the Mets have taken the lead. He thinks it would take five or more prospects, and submission by the Red Sox and Yankees.
- Heyman says the Twins may prefer Carlos Gomez over Fernando Martinez. That would be good for the Mets, who do not want to part with Martinez.
Odds and Ends: Cano, Colon, Lowry
Here are some links I’ve rounded up this morning.
- In theory, Robinson Cano would be open to a long-term deal. River Ave. Blues recently took a look at how historically good Cano has been so far, and suggest the Yankees lowballed him with their arbitration submission.
- Baseball Prospectus’ Derek Jacques saw Bartolo Colon pitch in the Dominican League Finals, and lends his evaluation. Colon was not impressive, but not terrible. It doesn’t seem like he will get the two-year deal he wants.
- The Brewers will bring Abraham Nunez to camp. Versatile, but a drain on offense.
- Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune notes that the White Sox aren’t done yet. The Joe Crede situation should linger into spring. Gonzales also mentions that the Giants are "listening to offers for Noah Lowry."
- A factual look at whether Omar Minaya really stockpiles Latin American players.
- The Astros can’t settle their gaps with Mark Loretta or Jose Valverde, and Ed Wade expects the team to go to its first arbitration hearings in over a decade. Wade has set a deadline of this afternoon and will go to hearings otherwise. Loretta asking for $4.9MM seems particularly off.
- Matthew Cerrone takes an educated guess on the current Johan Santana situation.
- Some interesting quotes from XM Radio from Michael Cuddyer and Scott Boras, separately.
Johan Santana Rumors
I know some of you crave daily Johan Santana updates…today we’ve got a blurb from Charley Walters:
The Twins say they’re not panicking while holding out for the best deal for Johan Santana. But word within baseball circles is that offers by the New York Yankees (no more Phil Hughes) and Boston Red Sox are diminishing by the week. Best bet now for a trade of the two-time Cy Young Award winner appears to be with the New York Mets in a deal that would not include fast-rising hitter Fernando Martinez.
Yikes – from those solid Yankee/Red Sox offers to a Martinez-less Mets package? If that happens then I would say Bill Smith overplayed his hand. Kat O’Brien recently talked to Smith, but wasn’t able to get much out of him. She believes the Yanks, Red Sox, and Mets "all retain some interest."
Odds and Ends: Howard, Cormier, Gerut
I am currently evaluating Phil Hughes‘ playlist. Some of it is solid. Let’s get on to the odds and ends…
- Bill Conlin thinks it’s a mistake for the Phillies to pay Ryan Howard at a rate commensurate with his service time. It’s a slippery slope – shouldn’t Cole Hamels be earning $15MM instead of $500K, then? The system may be broken but it doesn’t make sense for the Phillies to start ignoring service time.
- John Mozeliak is not done yet. Meanwhile, Albert Pujols continued to direct his ire at KTVI-TV of St. Louis.
- The Orioles agreed to a minor league deal with 27 year-old righty Lance Cormier worth around $450K. Cormier doesn’t have much to show for his 244 big league innings, whether starting or relieving. He has a decent groundball rate, at least.
- The Padres signed Jody Gerut to a minor league pact that could be worth as much as $910K. He’s 30 now; his best season was an .830 OPS for Cleveland at age 25. Since then he’s had all sorts of knee problems and even had a grievance with the Pirates.
Red Sox Interested In Brad Wilkerson
Rob Bradford of the Boston Herald was able to confirm our rumor from yesterday, that the Red Sox have some interest in Brad Wilkerson. Bradford says Wilkerson, a Boras client, is looking for three years and $21MM. I don’t think the Sox would go anywhere near that price.
The same source told me on Friday that the Yankees, A’s, and Mariners have expressed interest in Wilkerson as well. Wilkerson, 30, hit .234/.319/.467 for the Rangers last year in 119 games (doing most of his damage at home). In his career he has played all three outfield positions plus first base.