Olney On Holliday, Valverde, Cust, Branyan
ESPN.com's Buster Olney argues that baseball writers shouldn't decide who makes it into the Hall of Fame. After explaining why he'd prefer to see the Hall of Fame appoint its own panel, Olney turns up some rumors from around the league. Here they are:
- One MLB official says the Matt Holliday deal may end up as "one of the worst deals in major league history" because the Cardinals were apparently bidding against themselves.
- Olney hears from negotiators who believe the Cards should have lowered their offer considerably once the Mets signed Jason Bay.
- Jose Valverde is asking for $8MM per season and wants to be a closer. As Olney points out, the Pirates and Marlins are not likely to match Valverde's asking price unless he lowers it. The Tigers have been cost-conscious this offseason, but they could use an accomplished reliever.
- Olney says it's clear that Billy Beane and the A's value Jack Cust "in a way that many other teams do not."
- Executives around the league are concerned about Russell Branyan's back. The 34-year-old slugged 31 homers last year, though he didn't play after August.
Red Sox Sign Adrian Beltre
Adrian Beltre left one defense-oriented team for another today and signed with the Red Sox. When he signed a five-year $64MM deal with the Mariners in 2004, Beltre was coming off a 48 homer season. Last year, he hit just eight homers, but his well-deserved reputation as one of the game's elite defenders earned him $9MM for the upcoming season and the chance to make even more in 2011.
Beltre, 31 in April, will earn a $7MM salary in 2010, in addition to a $2MM signing bonus. He has a player option for 2011 that's worth at least $5MM and will reach $10MM if Beltre makes 640 plate appearances this season. There's also a $1MM buy-out for 2011. It's not a lot of guaranteed money, but Beltre and agent Scott Boras could lobby for a long-term deal if Beltre re-establishes his offensive value in Fenway Park this year.
Jon Heyman tweeted that Beltre was close to a deal with the Red Sox and Buster Onley tweeted some details of the agreement before Tim Brown of Yahoo tweeted that Beltre had "reached an agreement" with the Red Sox. Peter Gammons, Peter Abraham, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, WEEI's Rob Bradford and Alex Speier followed up with the details.
According to the Boston Herald's John Tomase, Beltre turned down both a three-year and four-year deal in order to sign with the Red Sox. Rosenthal says Beltre turned down a pair of three-year, $24MM offers this offseason, apparently from the Phillies and A's. We'll see if he ultimately beats that amount over 2010-12.
The Mariners obtain a supplementary rounder in next year's draft for losing Beltre, who turned down their offer of arbitration.
Ben Nicholson-Smith contributed to this post.
A’s Agree To Sign Jack Cust
The A's will re-sign Jack Cust to a one-year deal worth 2.65MM plus $350K in incentives based on plate appearances. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle first reported the agreement and Jon Heyman of SI.com and Slusser added the specifics. The A's non-tendered Cust last month, and after Cust attracted some interest from teams such as the Giants, the A's brought him back.
Though he did play 51 games in the outfield last year, Cust has been consistently bad on defense in his career, according to UZR. But the A's aren't signing him for his defense. Cust, who turns 31 this month, has hit at least 25 homers each of the last three seasons for the A's. He has slugged .462 over the course of that three-year period, though his isolated power – the difference between his slugging and batting averages – dropped to .177 last year.
The A's, who added Jake Fox earlier in the offseason, seemed ready to move on without Cust when they non-tendered him. Cust made $2.8MM last year, so their new deal will keep him around for less guaranteed money than he was making in 2009 and, presumably, less than he would have made had the club offered arbitration. The A's will be able to retain Cust in 2011 as an arbitration-eligible player, since he won't have enough service time to file for free agency.
Odds & Ends: Epstein, Cards, Contracts, Greene
Links for a snowy Thursday…
- MLB.com's Lyle Spencer tweets of the Dodgers' interest in Robb Quinlan for a fourth outfielder role. The Rockies and Twins are other known suitors.
- Red Sox GM Theo Epstein appeared on the Toucher and Rich show this morning. He spoke about the team's offense, Adrian Gonzalez, Mike Lowell, and the "bridge period" comment; MLB.com's Ian Browne provides the transcript.
- MASN's Steve Melewski says the Red Sox rescinded the contract given to reliever Bob McCrory after he failed his physical.
- Tommy Rancel of DRays Bay looks at the team-friendly deals signed by Paul Cohen clients.
- Cardinals manager Tony La Russa told Cam Inman of The Contra Costa Times there's a non-zero chance the team adds Mark McGwire to the player roster on August 31st.
- There is currently no timetable for the Cardinals to sit down with Albert Pujols' agents, GM John Mozeliak told Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cards are ready to talk when Pujols is.
- Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball is beta-testing an MLB salary database. Also of note: Cot's Baseball Contracts has joined the Baseball Prospectus family.
- ESPN's Buster Olney wrote yesterday that Khalil Greene is working hard and seeks a big league deal. Greene can play shortstop or third base, and Olney sees Oakland as a potential match.
- The Pirates aren't far apart with Zach Duke on his 2010 salary, writes Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Kovacevic believes Duke's $2.2MM salary could double in his second arbitration year. A multiyear deal is not in the works.
- Murray Chass chronicles the blank contract Andre Dawson gave to the Cubs in the spring of '87.
- Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues looks at Nick Johnson's injury history in detail.
- A December 30th tweet from SI's Melissa Segura notes that Dominican lefty Victor Payano signed with the Rangers. Payano had a deal with the Red Sox in July for $900K that was voided due to shoulder concerns. Here's a video of the 16-year-old courtesy of Kiley McDaniel.
Urban On Athletics, Giants
CSNBayArea.com's Mychael Urban checks in with the latest on the A's and Giants.
- After failing to sign Adrian Beltre, the A's continue to seek a third baseman. The team has considered attempting to trade for the Pirates' Andy LaRoche or the Padres' Kevin Kouzmanoff. Neither player hit for much power in 2009, however (Kouz hit 18 home runs, but slugged only .420). Adam Kennedy is said to be Plan D or E.
- The A's are still talking to Jack Cust's agent, though they've yet to make an offer. Regarding the idea of returning to the A's after being non-tendered, Cust told Urban, "Stranger things have happened." Urban senses Cust would give the A's the opportunity to match any offer.
- Urban finds Cust a less-than-ideal fit for the Giants. He likes Adam LaRoche, or perhaps Miguel Tejada if LaRoche's demands remain high.
Odds & Ends: Lowe, Tigers, Halladay, Capps
Links for Monday…
- MLB.com's Mark Bowman says the Braves made it known they were willing to eat $9MM of the $45MM owed to Derek Lowe over the next three years, but found no takers.
- MLB.com's Jason Beck talked to Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski, who said nothing has changed in terms of using Scott Sizemore as the second baseman. Beck points out that if the Tigers wanted a veteran at the position they probably would've offered Placido Polanco arbitration.
- Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik told Murray Chass they he expressed interest in Roy Halladay a couple of times, before the trade deadline and at the Winter Meetings. It sounds like Halladay's no-trade clause was an obstacle.
- Chico Harlan of the Washington Post has a Q&A with new Nationals reliever Matt Capps, who agreed to a one-year, $3.5MM deal on Christmas Eve. MLB.com's Bill Ladson tweets that Capps' physical is scheduled for Tuesday.
- Baseball America's Jim Callis gives us a couple of prospect "All-Bust" teams for the 2000s.
- MLB.com's Todd Zolecki notes that the Phillies have a minor league offer out to Scott Eyre.
- MLB.com's Mark Sheldon talked to Reds GM Walt Jocketty, who will be looking at minor league deal possibilities. Sheldon indicated that the Reds' interest in Noah Lowry is now less than minimal.
- MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan fills us in on the Rangers' offseason plans and potential targets in his mailbag.
- Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues would like to see the Yankees buy low on Oakland's Travis Buck. Buck made our list of right field trade candidates back in November.
Angels Preparing Offer For Chapman?
Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles says that the Angels "appear to be lining up an offer" for Cuban southpaw Aroldis Chapman. The Halos might have an advantage over other clubs in the Chapman sweepstakes because of first baseman Kendry Morales, who has become a good friend of the lefthander.
"Selfishly, we're a nice fit. It's hard to come over here, and Kendry gives him some idea of the pitfalls of the adjustment," Angels scouting director Eddie Bane said. "It's a fit, but who knows? It depends on the price."
So far only two teams have made an offer to Chapman (the Red Sox and Marlins), and Bane said that he doesn't "see a team like Oakland or Kansas City or someone like that getting him." We just learned about the A's interest in Chapman two days ago.
Odds & Ends: Bay, Byrd, Liriano, Duchscherer
Some links on the last day of a year we'll remember for Joe Mauer, Albert Pujols and the World Series Champion New York Yankees…
- Tigers catcher Gerald Laird and his younger brother Brandon Laird, a prospect in the Yankees farm system, were arrested following a brawl at the Celtics-Suns NBA game in Phoenix, Arizona, according to the Associated Press. Gerald lives in Arizona during the offseason while Brandon played in the Arizona Fall League this past year.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (via his newly minted Twitter account) that Chan Ho Park's name has come up in the Giants' front office.
- Alex Speier of WEEI.com hears that Jason Bay was indeed interested in joining the Mets. The two sides didn't go longer than a day without talking once negotiations got started. An interesting note: Speier hears that the Mets never offered Bay a guaranteed five-year deal.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs considers Marlon Byrd an average player, but likes the Cubs' decision to sign him.
- Cameron tweets that the Mariners are "kicking the tires" on Francisco Liriano.
- Mike Lowell's thumb surgery was a success, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Lowell appears to be available, but health concerns may prevent the Red Sox from dealing the third baseman and some of his $12MM salary (the D'Backs face a similar challenge with Chris Snyder).
- Just because Lowell's still in Boston doesn't mean the Red Sox won't consider other third basemen. Adrian Beltre is one option and R.J. Anderson of FanGraphs doesn't think $10-15MM is an unfair asking price for the Scott Boras client.
- Justin Duchscherer tells Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he returned to the A's because he's comfortable in Oakland and appreciates the club's support through his struggles with depression. Slusser also has details on the incentives in the righty's contract.
- Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues wants the Yankees to stay away from free agent outfielder Marlon Byrd.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Pirates' failure to sign Dominican prospect Miguel Angel Sano was one of the club's low points this year. As Kovacevic says, "not every signing can be an absolute steal."
Athletics Re-Sign Justin Duchscherer
The A's re-signed righty Justin Duchscherer to a one-year deal today. His contract has a base salary of $2MM, with another $3.5MM in incentives for games started and innings pitched. The A's aren't allowed to offer Duchscherer arbitration if he's a Type A free agent, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick first reported the agreement on December 24th. Duchscherer also drew interest from the Pirates, Red Sox, and Rockies, among other teams.
Duchscherer has spent nearly all of his major league career in Oakland, after the Rangers traded him to the Athletics in the spring of 2002. The 32-year-old proved dominant as both a starter and reliever, when healthy, posting a 2.82 ERA in 214 appearances for the A's. Duchscherer missed the '09 season due to elbow surgery and depression, as explained by Crasnick in this article.
Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.
Jay Marshall Designated For Assignment
The A's designated southpaw reliever Jay Marshall for assignment to make room for Justin Duchscherer today, writes Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Marshall, 27 in February, spent most of the last two seasons in the minors. This year at Triple A he posted a 3.20 ERA, 5.3 K/9, and 2.7 BB/9 in 50.6 innings.
Marshall joined the A's as a Rule 5 claim from the White Sox in '06. The A's did their part and kept Marshall with the big club in '07, but the Red Sox claimed him off waivers after the season. The A's were able to claim him back a few months later.