A.J. Burnett Rumors: Wednesday
The free agent pitching market was given a jolt by yesterday's news that A.J. Burnett will return in 2014 and that he's open to pitching for a team other than the Pirates. Here's the latest batch of news and opinions about the veteran right-hander…
- With the Phillies having checked in on Burnett earlier this offseason, Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News notes that the Phillies could be aided by the fact that assistant GM Scott Proefrock is friends with Burnett and they live in the same neighborhood. Burnett and Cliff Lee share an agent in Darek Braunecker.
- Signing Burnett would put the Phillies over their stated payroll limit for 2014, though Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com wonders if the team would spend extra to help attract the fans back to Citizens Bank Park. Trade protection could also be a factor; Burnett would definitely want some type of no-trade protection in his next contract since he wants to be near his Maryland home, and the Phillies only give out partial no-trade clauses.
- In order to fit Burnett into the Pirates' budget, MLB.com's Tom Singer proposes that the Bucs should offer Burnett a one-year, $17MM contract for 2014. Of that sum, $10MM would be deferred, which Singer feels is a win-win for both sides — the Pirates can keep their payroll in check, while Burnett gets to remain in a comfortable situation while still accepting a market-value contract.
- "Burnett might suddenly be the best free-agent starter left," writes Jeff Sullivan for Fangraphs. Burnett has had a better WAR over the last two seasons than Ubaldo Jimenez, Ervin Santana and Bronson Arroyo, and teams would be more amenable to signing Burnett to a short-term deal than taking a chance on a longer-term commitment to Jimenez or Santana.
Quick Hits: Prospects, Cruz, Yoon, Madson, Baker
MLB.com's Jim Callis has an interesting breakdown of the dollars committed to the game's top prospects. Over $228MM has already been committed by teams to the prospects listed among MLB.com's top 100. Meanwhile, ESPN.com's Keith Law has released his own prospect rankings (Insider links), naming the Astros' system as the game's best and tabbing Byron Buxton of the Twins as the best overall prospect. In his own top 101 prospects list, Jason Parks of Baseball Prospectus agrees with Buxton as the top choice, which certainly appears to be the consensus. And Baseball America has completed its listing of the ten best prospects by team.
Here are some more links from around the game:
- The Twins are keeping tabs on free agent outfielder Nelson Cruz, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN, but are a long shot to land him. Minnesota is probably only interested if Cruz drops his price fairly significantly, Wolfson adds, guessing that the club would probably only be involved at two years with an average annual value at or below the $10MM mark.
- Likewise, the Twins are waiting for the price to fall on South Korean hurler Suk-min Yoon, Wolfson reports (Twitter links). When Wolfson floated the number of two years and $10MM total to his source, he was told that cost was likely too steep for Minnesota.
- Free agent reliever Ryan Madson plans to hold a full public workout on February 7th, reports Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (Twitter links). The 33-year-old threw yesterday for an unknown club that is reportedly a leading candidate to land him, Crasnick adds.
- Starter Scott Baker chose the Mariners over offers from the Indians, Rangers, and Royals, reports Wolfson (via Twitter). The Twins never had interest in a reunion, Wolfson adds.
- Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers were discussing a deal in the range of $200MM to $205MM over the summer, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. By waiting until he wrapped up a Cy Young campaign, Kershaw was able to secure a deal with a $215MM guarantee.
David Ortiz Seeking One-Year Extension With Red Sox
WEDNESDAY: Ortiz said today that he is only looking to add an additional year to his deal, telling WEEI.com's Rob Bradford (writeup courtesy of WEEI.com's Alex Speier) that discussions had been productive and pleasant. Ortiz said that the club would "come back to me with their answer at some point," and that "everything is going well."
The club has indicated that it does want to get a deal done, according to the slugger. "[CEO and president Larry Lucchino] was telling me you are the priority for us, so we want to do whatever it takes to do the right thing," said Ortiz. "I believe in them. I hope this doesn't have to be something that gets to be a distraction. I hope that we get to where we want to be, where we need to be, before the season has started. I was expecting that before spring training started, to be honest with you … ." Be sure to check out the piece for more comments from Ortiz.
MONDAY: Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz said yesterday that he wants to retire with the club, but indicated in a television interview with Steve Burton of Boston's CBS4 (quotes via Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com) that a new deal may be necessary for that to occur. When asked what would happen if the Sox were not willing to offer him multiple years, Ortiz responded: "Time to move on."
Of course, it is not clear just what kind of multi-year guarantee Ortiz has in mind. He has previously made clear that he wanted to avoid a lame duck contract season, which could mean that he simply hopes to tack another season onto the back of his present deal. Ortiz will earn $15MM in 2014 as part of the two-year contract he inked back in November of 2012.
Ortiz also said that he is happy with the Red Sox and has every intention of staying put. "As long as they keep offering me a job an I keep doing what I'm supposed to do and the relationship keeps building up," said Ortiz, "I'm going to be there. Hopefully, I won't have to go and wear another uniform."
But the 11-year Fenway resident also made clear that he will continue playing so long as he is performing, and certainly did not rule out the possibility of continuing his career with another club. When asked whether he could envision wearing another uniform, Ortiz responded: "I haven't seen it but if I have to, I've got no choice, I'm not going to quit. As long as I keep hitting the ball the way I have, I've got to keep on giving it a try."
At 38 years of age, Big Papi is still a force at the plate. Last year, in 600 regular season plate appearances, Ortiz posted a 309/.395/.564 triple-slash and 30 home runs. Then, he topped the year off with a ridiculous .688/.760/1.188 line in 25 World Series plate appearances, making him an easy choice for series MVP. Boston GM Ben Cherington recently indicated that the club has interest in working on a new deal and ultimately hopes to keep Ortiz in town until the end of his playing days.
Lance Berkman To Retire
Lance Berkman has confirmed that his playing career is over and that he will retire, reports MLB.com's Richard Justice (Twitter links). The 37-year-old had been expected to hang up his spikes.
Berkman has seen action in fifteen MLB seasons, posting an outstanding .943 OPS over his 7,814 big league plate appearances. He stands at 47th all-time with a 144 wRC+, nestled amongst a group of Hall-of-Fame caliber players. The switch-hitter swung well from the right side, but was devastating from the left. Over his career, Berkman put up a .304/.420/.575 triple-slash against righties, including 316 of his 366 total home runs.
Berkman ended his career with a disappointing 2013 run with the Rangers. He got on base at a .340 clip, but struggled to a career-low .359 slugging percentage over his 294 plate appearances. Hampered by injuries, including hip and knee issues, Berkman can retire comfortable in the knowledge that he was still an excellent player in his last full season of work. In 2011 with the Cardinals, Berkman was good for a .301/.412/.547 triple-slash with 31 home runs while still playing the outfield on a daily basis.
Berkman did most of his damage, of course, for an Astros team that was among the best in baseball during much of his peak. In the aggregate, Baseball-Reference pegs Berkman's career value at 52.8 WAR, while Fangraphs puts it at 55.8 WAR. The Big Puma earned a total of just over $124MM during his time in the bigs.
Bronson Arroyo Says He Has Yet To Receive An Offer
In spite of interest from twelve clubs, free agent starter Bronson Arroyo says that he has yet to receive an actual hard offer from a club, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com reports. "I am a guy who's performed for the last 10 years as consistently as anybody in the game," said Arroyo. "And for some reason, nobody's thrown me an offer yet."
Approaching his age-37 season, Arroyo is represented by Terry Bross. He has posted an earned run average of less than four runs per nine innings in four of his last five seasons, and has made at least 32 starts in every season since 2005. Last year, in 202 innings, Arroyo posted a 3.79 ERA and 5.5 K/9 against 1.5 BB/9.
The pitcher's statements are somewhat surprising in light of the widespread interest he has reportedly received. The veteran's name has been amongst the most-mentioned on MLBTR, in large part due to his outstanding record of durability.
Most recently, Arroyo was said to have fielded two-year offers from no fewer than four clubs, with the market slowly coming around to the idea of giving him a third. The widespread perception on Arroyo has been that he was simply waiting to find another guaranteed year.
Indeed, it is not clear whether Arroyo's claim — he said that he does not "even have an offer to turn down" – is impacted by his stance on what kinds of offers he would be open to receiving. Stark reports that Arroyo spent most of the offseason asking for three years with a guarantee exceeding $30MM. Though Stark does not name the current asking price on Arroyo, an executive predicts that he'll get around $10MM per year over a two-year term, with an option year on the end.
Of course, in his profile of Arroyo's free agent case, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes predicted that the veteran would land a two year deal at $12MM per season. As Dierkes argued back in September, a two year deal was likely the most that could be expected, given Arroyo's age.
Reds To Sign Ramon Santiago
The Reds have reached agreement on a minor league deal with infielder Ramon Santiago, reports CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman (Twitter links). Santiago gets a Spring Training invitation, and will earn $1.1MM if he breaks camp with the club.
The 34-year-old Santiago, who recently joined the Beverly Hills Sports Council, has been a regular utility cog with the Tigers for ten of the last twelve years. Since his one season of everyday playing time in 2003, Santiago has only once exceeded 300 plate appearances, but has received at least 150 in each of the last six campaigns. In 2013, Santiago stepped up to bat 234 times and registered a .224/.298/.288 triple-slash, continuing a downturn in his stat line that began the year before. Santiago still rates out well with his glove, however, and boasts generally solid defensive metrics up the middle and at third.
For the Reds, the switch-hitting Santiago should have a good chance at cracking the roster. Though the team has other infield backup options in the fold, such as Skip Schumaker, Jack Hannahan, and Chris Nelson, none of those players has spent significant time at shortstop. Santiago has played the majority of his big league games at the position, with most of his remaining appearances coming at the second base position.
Angels To Sign Brennan Boesch, Carlos Pena
WEDNESDAY: Boesch would earn $800K if he makes the MLB roster, while Pena would make $1MM.
TUESDAY: The Angels have reached agreement on minor league deals with outfielder Brennan Boesch and first baseman Carlos Pena, reports Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter). Boesch, 28, is represented by CAA Sports, while the 35-year-old Pena is a client of the Boras Corporation. Both deals include Spring Training invites, tweets Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register.
Boesch saw only 53 MLB plate appearances last year, posting a .275/.302/.529 line, before he was released by the Yankees in July. The Yanks had signed Boesch to a $1.5MM deal after he was let go by the Tigers, for whom he had been a regular between 2010-12. Over that stretch, Boesch posted a .259/.315/.414 triple-slash with 42 home runs and 18 stolen bases in 1,487 plate appearances. With just over three years of MLB service to his name, Boesch comes with team control beyond the 2014 season.
Pena, a 13-year MLB veteran, was an everyday player until last season. Spending most of 2013 with the Astros, Pena slashed .207/.321/.346 in 328 plate appearances. As that line would indicate, Pena has hung his hat on his ability to get on base via the walk, which he has done at about twice the league-average rate throughout his career. Once a major power threat — he hit 172 home runs between 2007 and 2011 — Pena's HR/FB rate has dropped from a peak of 29.1% down to around the 15% level in recent seasons.
Cubs Avoid Arbitration With Justin Ruggiano
The Cubs have avoided arbitration with outfielder Justin Ruggiano, who will earn $2MM next season, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports via Twitter. Chicago picked up Ruggiano, who turns 32 in April, from the Marlins in mid-December.
As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, Ruggiano settled for just under the midpoint between his $2.45MM filing number and the team's $1.6MM counter. His 2014 salary lands just above the $1.8MM that MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected.
Ruggiano, who swings from the right side of the plate, had a stellar 2012 season in which he posted a .313/.374/.535 line and notch 13 homers and 14 steals over just 91 games. He took a step back last year, however, receiving a career-high 472 plate appearances but registering only a .222/.298/.396 triple-slash. Ruggiano did knock 18 long balls and swipe 15 bags, but Baseball-Reference valued his contributions at replacement level while Fangraphs credited him at about one win.
Royals Acquire Carlos Peguero, Designate Everett Teaford
2:35pm: The deal is for cash, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com, meaning that no players will head back to Seattle in exchange for Peguero.
12:50pm: The Royals announced that they've acquired outfielder Carlos Peguero from the Mariners in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Left-hander Everett Teaford has been designated for assignment in order to clear a roster spot, according to the press release.
The 26-year-old Peguero offers tremendous left-handed power but struggles against left-handed pitching and has long had a serious problem with strikeouts. He batted .260/.321/.460 in 505 Triple-A plate appearances last season and boasts a career .230 ISO (slugging minus batting average) in the minor leagues. However, Peguero has batted just .195/.242/.380 in the Majors. Baseball America ranked him among Seattle's Top 30 prospects on four occasions but always expressed reservations about his plate discipline. BA noted he has surprising speed and athleticism for his size and could be an average corner outfield defender.
Teaford, 30 in May, has a career 4.25 ERA with 5.3 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a 43.8 percent ground-ball rate in 106 big league innings. The former 12th-round pick saw just one inning in the Majors this season but has a strong track record at the Triple-A level where he's posted a 3.27 ERA with 161 strikeouts against 59 walks in 168 innings of work.
Cardinals Avoid Arbitration With Daniel Descalso
The Cardinals have avoided arbitration with infielder Daniel Descalso, settling at $1.29MM, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Descalso can earn $10K if he reaches 250 plate appearances, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
Descalso, 27, will earn the midpoint between his submitted $1.65MM figure and the club's $930K mark. The case had featured the second-highest relative gulf in filing figures, and club GM John Mozeliak acknowledged that a hearing was possible. Ultimately, Descalso will earn just over the $1.2MM projection arrived at by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.
Descalso has been an important part-timer for St. Louis over the last three seasons, logging at least 350 plate appearances in each one and maintaining an OPS in the .650 range. He has seen most of his action at third or second, but has also played 95 games at short (including 55 last season). In 2013, Descalso saw his playing time dip slightly from prior seasons to 123 games and 358 trips to the plate. He ended up with a .238/.290/.366 triple-slash on the year.