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Phillies Sign Chad Qualls

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The Phillies announced that they signed right-handed reliever Chad Qualls to a one-year, $1.15MM contract. The deal includes performance bonuses for the Hendricks Sports client.

Qualls posted a 3.51 ERA with 5.2 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 56.6% ground ball rate in 74 1/3 innings for the Padres last year. The Phillies point out that the 33-year-old has made more appearances (512) than any other MLB pitcher since 2005. He has a 3.78 ERA with 7.1 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and a 57.5% ground ball rate in eight career seasons.

The Phillies added Jonathan Papelbon and Dontrelle Willis to the bullpen earlier in the offseason. Dave Bush and David Purcey will be among the team's non-roster invitees.

Contract Details: Red Sox, Indians, Reds

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MLB.com’s beat reporters have passed along lots of contract details today. Here they are:

NL East Links: Nats, Mets, Morrison, Cespedes

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As the Phillie Phanatic hangs out with Tina Fey and the gang on 30 Rock, here's the latest from the NL East…

  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told media (including Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post) that the Nats are still "not done with our bullpen," even after signing Brad Lidge.  Rizzo said he is still looking to improve the rotation if possible but said the Nationals will stick with internal options for the center field job.
  • ESPN New York's Adam Rubin looks at the difficulties facing the Wilpon family as they try to keep ownership of the Mets.
  • The Mets could have the biggest one-year payroll drop in baseball history, reports Rubin.
  • Signing Yoenis Cespedes would be a "big risk" for the Marlins, opined outfielder Logan Morrison while appearing on Sirius XM Radio's First Pitch yesterday (passed on by the Miami Herald's Clark Spencer).  Morrison thinks the club should try to sign him, but in reference to Cespedes' athletic feats in his famous YouTube intro clip, Morrison said "…you don't need to catch balls behind your back in games, and you don't need to jump 100 feet in the air and leg press 20,000 pounds, or whatever the heck he's doing. It's all about playing the game the right way and applying your skills to the game. And if he can do that, then he'll be very, very dangerous."
  • The Phillies' payroll and its proximity to the luxury tax threshold is examined by Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Phillies, Pence Avoid Arbitration

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The Phillies avoided arbitration with Hunter Pence, agreeing to a one-year, $10.4MM contract for 2012, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The Phillies announced the agreement, adding that it includes award bonuses. Beverly Hills Sports Council represents the right fielder.

As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, the sides settled at the midpoint between Pence's request for $11.8MM and the Phillies' $9MM offer. The Phillies have now signed all of their arbitration eligible players for 2012. Pence, 28, won't be eligible for free agency until after the 2013 season. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes recently examined his case for a long-term deal.

Phillies Sign Juan Pierre

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The Phillies have signed Juan Pierre to a minor league contract that includes an invitation to Spring Training, the team announced. Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com first reported the deal (on Twitter). SFX represents Pierre, who joins a left field mix that includes John Mayberry, Laynce Nix and Domonic Brown.

Pierre spent the 2011 season with the White Sox and posted a .279/.329/.327 line with 27 stolen bases (44 attempts) in 711 plate appearances as the team's everyday left fielder. The 34-year-old has averaged 155 games played and 50 stolen bases since breaking in as an everyday player with the 2001 Rockies. 

The Mets and Tigers were also linked to Pierre this offseason. He placed 43rd on MLBTR's list of top free agents entering the offseason.

NL East Notes: Cora, Rodriguez, Phillies, Mets

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The latest links from the NL East…

  • Though Alex Cora announced his retirement from winter ball, he intends to play in the Major Leagues this year. He has drawn interest as a coach and infielder, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. According to the Puerto Rican paper El Nuevo Dia, Cora says he'd still like to play in the majors for another year, even though he hasn’t seen official offers yet (translation by Nick Collias).
  • Ivan Rodriguez, who caught for the Nationals last year but hasn’t signed with a new team yet, tells Amanda Comak of the Washington Times that it’s tough not having a job. “At the same time, what you going to do?” Rodriguez said. “You really cannot do anything. The only thing I can tell you is that I'm in good shape.”
  • The Phillies are bottom fishing for infielders, Heyman tweets. ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets that the Phillies could look for someone with a little more power than Wilson Valdez — perhaps Ryan Theriot.
  • The Mets don’t expect to re-sign Jason Isringhausen, though they haven’t ruled anything out, Dan Martin of the New York Post reports.

Phillies Likely To Sign Juan Pierre

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9:55am: The Phillies are likely to sign Pierre, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. It's expected to be a minor league deal.

9:30am: The Phillies have had "serious discussions" with free agent outfielder Juan Pierre about a minor league deal, Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com tweets. The Mets and Tigers have also been linked to the SFX client in recent weeks, though the Tigers' interest in adding position players has diminished now that they've added Prince Fielder.

Pierre spent the 2011 season with the White Sox and posted a .279/.329/.327 line with 27 stolen bases (44 attempts) in 711 plate appearances as the team's everyday left fielder. The 34-year-old has averaged 155 games played and 50 stolen bases since breaking in as an everyday player with the 2001 Rockies.

This post was first published on January 27th, 2012.

Quick Hits: Braves, Fielder, Reds, Cespedes, Dodgers

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On this day last year, the Rangers traded Frank Francisco and cash considerations to the Blue Jays for Mike Napoli.  Toronto pulled the trigger on the swap just four days after acquiring Napoli from the Halos.  Here's a look at tonight's links..

  • The Braves have set a player payroll budget of $94MM for this year, leaving them with several million dollars still to spend, chairman and CEO Terry McGuirk told Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  McGuirk also said that Liberty Media has expressed no intention of selling the club in the near future.  Also of note is that the club is locked into a 25-year local TV deal that will prevent the franchise from cashing in on MLB’s trend toward higher telecast rights fees.
  • The Rangers' bid for Prince Fielder was much shorter than nine years, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
  • The Reds are probably done handing out big league deals this offseason, tweets John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.  Earlier tonight, the club reached agreement on a minor league deal with Jeff Francis.
  • Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (via Twitter) ranked Yoenis Cespedes' most probable destinations in the following order: Cubs, Marlins, Orioles, and White Sox.
  • Peter Ueberroth says he's heard from several groups bidding on the Dodgers but rebuffed them all, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).
  • C. Trent Rosecrans of CBSSports.com examined what's left on the open market.
  • Free agent Raul Ibanez believes that a three-day session that he had in December with Cubs hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo will be key to a bounce back season in 2012.  Last season, Ibanez hit .245/.289/.419 in 575 plate appearances for the Phillies.
  • Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette is zeroed in on improving the club's on-base percentage this winter, writes Eduardo A. Encina of The Baltimore Sun.
  • Rival executives applaud Fielder for signing on with a winning club rather than signing with a struggling club just for the money, Heyman tweets.

NL East Notes: Nationals, Gonzalez, Fielder, Howard

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The Nationals were linked to free agent slugger Prince Fielder for quite some time but yesterday the 27-year-old agreed to a nine-year, $214MM deal with the Tigers.  Here's more on the Nats and other items from around the National League East..

  • The Nats were never close to winning the Fielder bidding, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com.  The club only got as far as discussing parameters of a deal, never specifics.
  • Gio Gonzalez doesn't have a no-trade clause in his new deal with the Nationals, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.  Gonzalez agreed to a five-year extension with the club earlier this month.
  • Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said Tuesday that while he believes Domonic Brown would benefit from more sustained playing time in the minor leagues, he'l have a chance to win the leftfield job away from John Mayberry this spring, writes Rich Hofmann of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
  • More from Hofmann as he writes that Amaro is even happier with Ryan Howard's five-year, $125MM deal after seeing the contracts signed by Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder.  
  • The Phillies looked at Omar Vizquel before he signed with Blue Jays, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.  Crasnick notes that the club still has Michael Martinez as a utility infielder.
  • Washington GM Mike Rizzo says that the club was in the talks for Fielder "until the end," tweets Kilgore.

Reds Acquire Wilson Valdez

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The Reds announced that they acquired infielder Wilson Valdez from the Phillies for left-hander Jeremy Horst (Twitter link). Horst will be in Major League Spring Training as a non-roster player, according to the Phillies, who now have two open spots on their 40-man roster.

Valdez, 33, posted a .249/.294/.341 line in 300 plate appearances for the Phillies in 2011, playing second, third and short. He even pitched an inning, picking up a win against the Reds in May. He'll earn $930K in 2012.

Horst made his MLB debut in 2011, posting a 2.93 ERA with a 9K/6BB ratio in 15 1/3 innings. The 26-year-old also posted a 2.81 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 51 1/3 innings at Triple-A last year.

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