Blue Jays, Colby Rasmus Avoid Arbitration
The Blue Jays have avoided arbitration with center fielder Colby Rasmus by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $7MM, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link). This is Rasmus' final year of arbitration eligibility, as he'll be a free agent in the offseason.
Rasmus, 27, is represented by Excel Sports Management. The left-handed swinger batted .276/.338/.501 with 22 homers for the Blue Jays in 2013 and played strong defense in center field according to UZR/150 (+15.2) and The Fielding Bible's Defensive Runs saved metric (+11). Rasmus will be one of the most appealing free agents on next year's market, though he could stand to cut down on this past season's 29.5 percent strikeout rate. His $7MM guarantee tops the projection of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz by $500K.
The Blue Jays originally acquired Rasmus from the Cardinals in a three-team trade that sent Edwin Jackson, Octavio Dotel, Marc Rzepczynski and Corey Patterson to St. Louis. Toronto has successfully avoided arbitration with all three of its arbitration eligible players (the others being Brett Cecil and Esmil Rogers), meaning GM Alex Anthopoulos can boast that he's never had to go to an arbitration hearing for at least another year.
Nationals, Jordan Zimmermann Agree To Two-Year Deal
The Nationals and right-hander Jordan Zimmermann have agreed to a two-year, $24MM deal to avoid arbitration, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter). Zimmermann, a client of Relativity Baseball (formerly known as SFX), will earn $7.5MM in 2014 and $16.5MM in 2015, Sherman adds. The contract buys out Zimmermann's final two years of arbitration but no free agent years.
Zimmermann, 27, has emerged as perhaps the most consistent pitcher in the Nationals' rotation. The former second-round pick has pitched to a 3.12 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 1.8 BB/9 and a 43.8 percent ground-ball rate in 570 1/3 innings since his return from Tommy John surgery in 2011. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had projected Zimmermann to earn $10.5MM in 2014, so he likely took a hit on his 2014 salary in exchange for the security of locking in a significant payday in 2015.
The Nationals have made no secret about the fact that they'd prefer to keep Zimmermann around well beyond his final two years of arbitration, and I'd imagine that they'll continue to discuss a longer contract extension between now and Opening Day.
Brewers Sign Mark Reynolds
9:38am: Reynolds will receive a $2MM base salary and can also earn $500K worth of incentives if he makes the team, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Like Haudricourt, Heyman notes that Reynolds is a "near lock" to make the team.
9:27am: The Brewers have officially signed Mark Reynolds to a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training, according to Brewers director of media relations Mike Vassallo (on Twitter). The two sides were said to be nearing a deal last night. Reynolds is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council.
Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel noted last night that while Reynolds was likely to sign a minor league deal, the Brewers had told him he would almost certainly make the club out of Spring Training and will be in the mix for at-bats at first base.
Reynolds, who is entering his age-30 season, was outstanding for the Indians in the first quarter of the 2013 season, as he slashed a robust .268/.354/.580 with 12 homers in 40 games (39 starts). From May 19 through Aug. 4, however, Reynolds slumped to just a .178/.274/.228 line with three homers in 59 games. That cold stretch led to his release in Cleveland. He eventually latched on with the Yankees and batted .236/.300/.455 in 120 PAs with the Bombers.
Reynolds offers the Brewers a potential everyday option at first base if he can rediscover some consistency at the plate, and he can also serve as a platoon partner for the lefty-swinging Juan Francisco at the very least. A career .233/.329/.464 hitter with 202 homers in 3947 PAs, Reynolds has long been an "all-or-nothing" type of hitter. He averaged 38 homers per season from 2009-11 with the Diamondbacks and Orioles but has also led his league in strikeouts on four separate occasions and still holds the single-season record for strikeouts by a hitter with 223.
East Notes: Braves, Price, Lester, Machado, Cishek
The Braves' front office has a busy day on its hands, notes David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter). Atlanta has seven arbitration eligible players they'll hope to take care of today: Craig Kimbrel, Jason Heyward, Freddie Freeman, Mike Minor, Kris Medlen, Chris Johnson and Jordan Schafer. He also tweets that a multi-year deal is unlikely to be reached with any of the seven. As MLBTR's Tim Dierkes tweeted earlier today, the Braves are one of several "file and trial" teams that either settle before exchanging figures or say they will head to a trial, which means GM Frank Wren and his staff will have their hands full today. Here's more out of baseball's Eastern divisions…
- Rays ace David Price knows there's still a chance that he will be traded even after agreeing to a one-year, $14MM contract to avoid arbitration, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. However, Price wants to remain with the Rays and says that the closer Spring Training gets, the more confident he is that he will stay. Price said that he can't imagine being traded once camp opens, and he thinks making it to February would be a good indicator that he won't be dealt: "Probably Feb. 1 would be a time period that I think would kind of let me know that I would be here."
- Clayton Kershaw's record extension will impact future deals for starters, but its impact on Red Sox lefty Jon Lester is minimal, writes Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. Lauber writes that there are no other players in Kershaw's stratosphere, noting that Lester compares more favorably to Cole Hamels. Boston will likely approach Lester about an extension during Spring Training, he adds.
- The Orioles and Manny Machado received good news yesterday following Machado's visit with Dr. Neal ElAttrache, as one source told the Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly that Machado is six to eight weeks ahead of schedule. That would place Machado ready to contribute on Opening Day, Connolly notes (Twitter links).
- Signing closer Steve Cishek to a multi-year deal has not been considered as a serious option by the Marlins, MLB.com's Joe Frisaro reports in his latest Marlins Inbox piece.
Royals To Sign Brad Penny
THURSDAY: Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that Penny will earn $1MM if he makes the Major League roster, and his deal has an additional $1.5MM of games started/innings pitched incentives included (Twitter link). Penny can opt out of the deal on April 2 if he is not on the Major League roster.
WEDNESDAY: The Royals have reached agreement with pitcher Brad Penny on a minor league deal that includes a Spring Training invite, reports Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (Twitter links). He will go to camp as a starter, according to Cotillo.
Penny, 35, is represented by the Legacy Agency. After sitting out the 2013 campaign, he had reportedly been impressive in workouts over the winter. As Cotillo reported in late November, Penny said he felt refreshed after taking a season off.
Penny produced mediocre results in his last two MLB seasons. In 2011, his last run as a starter, Penny put up a 5.30 ERA in 181 2/3 innings. Transitioning to the bullpen in 2012, Penny struggled to a 6.11 ERA in 28 innings for the Giants. He mustered only 3.2 K/9, nearly half his career figure, against a 2.9 BB/9 rate that matches exactly his cumulative mark. In his best season as a pro, 2007, Penny put up a stellar 208-inning, 3.03 ERA campaign for the Dodgers in which he was worth 5.9 rWAR.
Padres Avoid Arbitration With Kennedy, Cabrera, Ross
10:11pm: The Padres have also avoided arbitration with Everth Cabrera, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Cabrera, also a Boras client, will receive a $2.45MM salary in 2014.
Cabrera, 27, came within nine steals of leading the National League despite playing just 95 games due to a PED-related suspension. The switch-hitter batted .283/.355/.381 in 435 plate appearances. Over the past two seasons, only Mike Trout and Rajai Davis have stolen more bases than the 81 tallied by Cabrera. He topped Swartz's projection by $250K.
In more Padres-related arb news, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Tyson Ross has avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $1.98MM salary (Twitter link). Ross broke out with the Padres in 2013, posting a 3.17 ERA in a career-high 125 innings. The 26-year-old saw his fastball velocity jump nearly two miles per hour, as he averaged 94.2 mph on his heater. That helped him up his K/9 rate to a career-high 8.6, and he posted career-bests in BB/9 rate (3.2) and ground-ball rate (54.9 percent) as well. Ross' agents at the Wasserman Media Group did well to secure a $1.9MM payday. Swartz had projected a $1.3MM salary.
9:53pm: The Padres and right-hander Ian Kennedy have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $6.1MM contract for the 2014 season, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Kennedy is a client of the Boras Corporation. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had pegged Kennedy to earn $5.8MM.
The 29-year-old Kennedy was acquired from the Diamondbacks in a rare intra-division trade this past July. San Diego sent lefty Joe Thatcher, relief prospect Matt Stites and a 2014 competitve balance draft pick to Arizona in order to land the 2011 Cy Young candidate. Since finishing fourth in that Cy Young voting, however, Kennedy has seen his results tumble, leading to the D-Backs' decision that he was no longer vital to the organization's success.
Over the past two seasons, Kennedy has posted a 4.43 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9. He's also posted a fly-ball rate of just 37.7 percent, indicating that the move to the spacious Petco Park from the cozy Chase Field should be beneficial to him. That wasn't the case in 2013, as Kennedy's HR/9 rate actually increased with the Padres, but that trend doesn't seem likely to continue once the sample size is expanded beyond 57 1/3 innings.
Kennedy will join a crowded rotation mix that also figures to include Josh Johnson, Andrew Cashner, Eric Stults and Tyson Ross with rehabbing starters Cory Luebke and Joe Wieland also in the mix in addition to youngsters Robbie Erlin and Burch Smith.
With the cases of Cabrera, Ross and Kennedy now resolved, Padres GM Josh Byrnes will turn his attention to Cashner, Chase Headley and Kyle Blanks, as can be seen in MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker.
Players Avoiding Arbitration: Detwiler, Young, Snider
Click here for background on the upcoming arbitration schedule and how MLBTR is covering it. You can also check in on our Arbitration Tracker and look at MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz's arbitration projections. We'll use this post to keep tabs on players avoiding arbitration today:
- The Nationals announced on Twitter that they have avoided arbitration with lefty Ross Detwiler. The New York Post's Joel Sherman reports (also on Twitter) that Detwiler received a $3MM salary and can earn an additional $50K for reaching 180 innings.
- Sherman reports that the Mets and Eric Young Jr. have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $1.85MM (Twitter link). Young batted .251/.318/.329 in 418 plate appearances for the Mets in 2013 after he was acquired from the Rockies. He also swiped 38 bases in 45 tries, showing off his blazing speed.
- Sherman tweets that the Pirates have avoided arbitration with Travis Snider by agreeing to a one-year, $1.2MM contract. The former Top 10 overall prospect batted just .215/.281/.333 in 285 plate appearances in 2013, though he's a solid defender and is still entering just his age-26 season.
- Sherman also reports that Tim Collins agreed to a one-year, $1.3625MM contract with the Royals, thereby avoiding arbitration (Twitter link). Collins has a strong 3.51 ERA in 190 career innings with 9.7 K/9 in his first three seasons, but he's struggled with command, as evidenced by his 5.2 BB/9 in that time. His control has improved a bit over the past two seasons.
- The Yankees and Francisco Cervelli have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal worth $700K, per Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter). Cervelli, who turns 28 in March, is a career .271/.343/.367 hitter in 623 plate appearances.
Orioles Avoid Arbitration With Bud Norris
7:51pm: Norris will earn $5.3MM on a one-year deal in 2014, marking a $2.3MM raise from his $3MM salary in 2013, Connolly tweets.
5:16pm: The Orioles and right-hander Bud Norris have avoided arbitration, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link). Terms of Norris' deal remain unknown at this time, but MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him to earn an even $5MM in arbitration heading into the 2014 season.
Norris, 29 in March, posted a 4.80 ERA in 50 2/3 innings for the Orioles after being acquired from the Astros in exchange for L.J. Hoes, Josh Hader and a 2014 competitive balance draft pick. Overall, the big righty pitched to a 4.18 ERA with 7.5 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and a 40.2 percent ground-ball rate. Though last season was his first in the American League, Norris managed to limit homers more effectively than he ever has and also matched his career-best in BB/9 rate at 3.4. He's controllable through the 2015 season.
With Norris taken care of, the Orioles have five players remaining, including their most high profile cases. As can be seen in MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker, Orioles executive VP Dan Duquette still needs to come to an agreement with Chris Davis, Matt Wieters, Tommy Hunter, Troy Patton and Brian Matusz.
CC Sabathia Joins Roc Nation Sports
7:39pm: Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal tweets that Sabathia will now be represented by Jay-Z and agent Juan Perez after "formerly" being represented by the Legacy Agency, which indicates that Sabathia has likely cut ties with the Legacy Agency.
7:27pm: Jay-Z's agency, Roc Nation Sports, has added another high-profile client to its ranks. Yankees lefty CC Sabathia tweeted a picture of himself signing a contract with Jay-Z along with the caption: "#RocNationSports La Familia." Roc Nation also tweeted a welcome message to Sabathia.
It's been a huge year for Jay-Z's new sports agency, as he (along with CAA's Brodie Van Wagenen) negotiated a 10-year, $240MM contract between the Mariners and Robinson Cano. Roc Nation Sports has also added the likes of NBA superstar Kevin Durant, WNBA star Skylar Diggins and NFL star wide receiver Victor Cruz.
It's unclear at this time if Sabathia's agents at the Legacy Agency will remain involved in his baseball dealings. As we saw with Robinson Cano, Roc Nation partnered with CAA in negotiating that deal. Roc Nation could be signing on to handle Sabathia's marketing efforts and brand management while serving as a partner in baseball negotiations, or they could simply be taking on every aspect of his representation.
Sabathia's current deal, negotiated by the Legacy Agency, guarantees him at least $76MM through the 2016 season. He struggled through the worst season of his career in 2013, posting a 4.78 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 211 innings with the Yankees as his fastball velocity dipped to a career-low 91.1 mph.
Masahiro Tanaka Rumors: Thursday
We'll keep track of the day's updates on Masahiro Tanaka right here:
- ESPN's Jayson Stark tweets that it was amazing how many owners at the quarterly owners meetings in Arizona were convinced that the Cubs were preparing to blow away the rest of the field with their offer to sign Tanaka.
Earlier Updates
- The Angels are telling other clubs that they are "not seriously involved" in Tanaka negotiations, tweets ESPN.com's Buster Olney.
- The Cubs are "pushing hard" for Tanaka, reports FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal on Twitter. The Angels "remain involved" on the 25-year-old righty, says Rosenthal, along with other teams that have been prominently linked to the Japanese ace (such as the Yankees and Dodgers).
- We have heard previously that the Cubs were prepared to make a major offer to Tanaka. Indeed, as club president Theo Epstein has said previously, he "wish[es] there was a free agent market for young players." Tanaka is about as close as things get to such a market.
- The involvement of the two Chicago organizations in the Tanaka sweepstakes is an indication of his broad market appeal. (The White Sox are one of a few teams confirmed to have met with Tanaka, though some cold water has since been thrown on their interest.) Both clubs have substantial resources, but neither has qualified for the postseason since 2008 and neither looks primed to break up that trend in 2014. Nevertheless, both teams have made substantial free agent commitments over the last two years to relatively youthful players (Edwin Jackson for the Cubs and Jose Dariel Abreu for the White Sox).