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NL East Links: Marlins, Bourn, Rizzo, Kazmir, Mets

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Ten years ago today, the Expos claimed Endy Chavez off waivers from the Mets after the Mets claimed him off waivers from the Tigers and the Tigers claimed him off waivers from the Royals. All of that happened in less than eight weeks, and later in his career Chavez suited up for three different NL East teams in the span of 10 months. Here's the latest from his old division…

  • The Marlins intend to "renew" the contracts of their pre-arbitration-eligible players at the league minimum ($480K) according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. That may prompt the union to file a grievance, contending that the team did not operate in good faith.
  • Michael Bourn told MLB.com's Mark Bowman that he hasn't had any contract extension talks with the Braves. The speedy center fielder is a prime extension candidate, and can become a free agent after this season.
  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo spoke to MLB.com's Bill Ladson about a number of topics, including the Gio Gonzalez trade and the team's ongoing pursuit of a center fielder.
  • "We'll see [Scott] Kazmir for the first time [on Friday]," said Mets GM Sandy Alderson (on Twitter). "We have an open mind but a spot on the ML staff right away is not realistic." Kazmir threw for scouts last week and is said to be considering the team that originally drafted him.
  • Brian Costa of The Wall Street Journal reports that the Mets have firm commitments from seven potential investors, but want to line up three more and close all ten deals (worth a total of $200MM) at once (Twitter links).
  • Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com says the smart money is on the Phillies and Cole Hamels working out a new contract to keep the left-hander in Philadelphia beyond this season.
  • The Phillies announced that Marti Wolever has been promoted from director of scouting to Assistant General Manager, Amateur Scouting.

Phillies Links: Victorino, Lidge, Hamels

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A few items to pass along as the Phillies begin their defense of five consecutive NL East crowns …

  • Center fielder Shane Victorino, entering his final season before free agency, said there haven't yet been any negotiations between him and the Phils regarding an extension, but he said wants to remain in Philly, according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. “I don’t plan on going anywhere else,” he said.
  • Brad Lidge, now of the Nationals, said the Phillies reversed course after telling him that they wanted to re-sign him at the conclusion of 2011, according to Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer. GM Ruben Amaro told Brookover that the sides discussed a modest deal early in the offseason but moved on to other options when Lidge passed in favor of seeking closing opportunities elsewhere.
  • Now that Cole Hamels has expressed a willingness to remain with the Phillies — and perhaps even sign at a hometown discount — the onus is on the club to secure the left-hander with a long-term contract, opines Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. Rosenthal adds that even with an already hefty payroll, the Phils can afford Hamels, as they've already sold 3.1MM tickets for 2012.

Quick Hits: Draft Pools, Young, Jurrjens, Prado, Pudge

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The city of Montreal will pay tribute to former Expos great Gary Carter by naming a street or other public place in his honor, reports Linda Gyulai of the Montreal Gazette.  City officials will consult with the Carter family to find an "appropriate" location to bear the Hall of Famer catcher's name.  Carter passed away last Thursday after a lengthy battle with brain cancer.

Some news from around the majors….

  • Jim Callis of Baseball America breaks down how much each team will have to spend in the first 10 rounds of the 2012 draft. The Twins top the list, able to spend as much as $12.37MM to sign their 13 picks over the initial 10 rounds, while the Angels ($1.645MM) have the least to spend on their eight picks over the same stretch.
  • The draft pool totals will shift if Derrek Lee — the last free agent with compensation attached to him — signs a Major League deal with a new team.  As Callis notes, however, it's pretty unlikely that Lee will find such a deal at this point.
  • The Pirates and Phillies both passed on signing Dmitri Young after working him out in Florida this months, reports MLB.com's Matthew Leach. Even if Young's baseball comeback falls short, he says the real victory is his improved health, having lost over 70 pounds.
  • Jair Jurrjens and Martin Prado are both pleased to still be Braves after a long winter of trade rumors surrounding both men, reports MLB.com's Mark Bowman.
  • Ivan Rodriguez isn't prepared to retire and is keeping in shape for a possible job this season, he tells the Associated Press. "It has been a tough market for veterans," Rodriguez said. "There are a lot of guys who have won championships and have playoff experience to offer teams with no jobs. It's hard to believe.''

No Deadline For Hamels Extension

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Phillies lefty Cole Hamels has no deadline in contract extension talks, he told reporters today at a press conference.  MLB.com's Todd Zolecki has a transcript.

Asked whether Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee are good contract comparisons, Hamels didn't say much to reveal his asking price in years or salary.  He also didn't give a "yes" or "no" when asked if he'd take less to stay in Philadelphia, replying, "The only way to answer that is I don’t know any better."  When asked whether his agents are currently in negotations with the Phillies, Hamels said, "I know they're supposed to."

The Phillies will have every opportunity to extend Hamels, explained agent John Boggs in January, though not at Jered Weaver money.  Team president David Montgomery expects it to come down to what each side considers an appropriate length.  I imagine Hamels expects at least six guaranteed years, though that's a guess.

Phillies, Kendrick Agree To Two-Year Deal

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MONDAY: Kendrick's contract pays $3MM in 2012 and $4.5MM in '13, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.  The righty can make up to $500K per season in incentives based on starts.

SUNDAY: Kyle Kendrick has agreed to a two-year, $7.5MM contract with the Phillies, the team announced.  The right-hander, avoided arbitration with the club earlier this offseason by agreeing to a one-year, $3.585MM deal. This new contract will cover the 2012-13 seasons, effectively overwriting that previous agreement. Kendrick, earned $2.45MM in 2011 as he posted a 3.22 ERA with 4.6 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 114.2 innings of work. 

The deal buys out two of the 27-year-old Kendrick's arbitration seasons. As a Super Two player, he'll be arbitration-eligible for a fourth and final time following the 2013 season. As a fellow Super Two starter, Jason Hammel's two-year, $7.75MM extension with the Rockies last year likely served as somewhat of a framework for Kendrick and his representation at SFX. Kendrick's deal looks looks a bit more favorable, as he'll earn slightly less money despite the fact that he has a lower career ERA over more innings with more wins than Hammel did when he signed his deal — all factors an arbitration panel would consider heavily.

MLBTR's Extension Tracker shows that Kendrick joins Hammel, Ryan Vogelsong, Clayton Kershaw, Tim Lincecum, Chris Carpenter, and R.A. Dickey as pitchers to sign a two-year extension over the past two years. A look at our Transaction Tracker reveals that this is the fourth multi-year deal given out by GM Ruben Amaro Jr. this offseason. Jonathan Papelbon, Jimmy Rollins, and Laynce Nix all secured multi-year commitments via free agency.

Tim Dierkes and Steve Adams contributed to this post.

NL East Notes: Phillies, Wright, Mets, Blanton

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This morning we learned that Mike Cameron has decided to retire after 17 seasons in the majors.  The 39-year-old played for eight different teams during his career and won three Gold Gloves.  Here's more on the Nats and other notes from around the National League East..

  • Last week, the three-way trade the Phillies were looking to send Joe Blanton to the Angels for Bobby Abreu, then flip Abreu to the Yankees for A.J. Burnett, sources tell Buster Olney of ESPN.com (via Twitter).  The Phillies' thinking was that two years of Burnett would have provided at least a bit of a safety net if they lost Cole Hamels to free agency, Olney tweets.
  • Cameron's retirement will force the Nationals to get creative in center field and possibly look for another right-handed hitter at the position, writes Mark Zuckerman of Nats Insider.  Alternatively, Washington could let either Rick Ankiel or Roger Bernadina take the job outright or move Jayson Werth to center field and put Bryce Harper in right.
  • Bill Ladson of MLB.com (via Twitter) spoke with Cameron who said Nationals GM Mike Rizzo tried to talk the veteran out of retiring.  The center fielder said that he made up his mind last Wednesday.
  • Third baseman David Wright's future with the Mets is likely independent of the club's performance, writes Dan Martin of the New York Post.  The Mets hold a $16MM team option on the 29-year-old for next season, but Wright can void that option if he is traded.
  • Phillies pitcher Joe Blanton isn't worried about hearing his name in trade rumors, writes Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  The Phillies have reportedly shopped Blanton in order to create payroll flexibility and explored a three-way trade to land A.J. Burnett before he was traded to the Pirates.

Quick Hits: Appel, Angels, Uehara, Garland, Oswalt

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On this day in 1982, the Padres traded Ozzie Smith, Steve Mura, and Al Olmsted to the Cardinals for Luis DeLeon, Sixto Lezcano and Garry Templeton.  The trade was sparked by both Smith and Templeton having issues with their respective teams.  Here's a look at today's links..

  • Stanford righty Mark Appel isn't a lock for the No. 1 pick in the draft, writes ESPN's Keith Law (Insider req'd). Appel touched 97mph in the first inning of his first start, but sat 91-95mph for the next six innings and doesn't command his fastball well enough in the zone to miss as many bats as he should, says Law. Law also looks at some Stanford hitters who should go high in the draft and notes some impressive velocity from around the country yesterday.
  • The Angels have hired former big leaguers Gary Varsho and Jeff Cirillo as scouts, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.
  • Rangers reliever Koji Uehara wants to get his situation settled and know where he's playing this season, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.  Texas has been talking with clubs about a possible deal, including the Athletics.
  • The Indians are still working through details in their talks with Jon Garland, tweets Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.  The pitcher was originally set to undergo a physical on Monday but that now seems unlikely.
  • When asked about adding Roy Oswalt or anyone else, Cardinals GM John Mozeliak told reporters, "We're always open for business here," tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.
  • Dusty Baker only has one year remaining on his contract, but the Reds skipper says that he isn't concerned about it, writes Mark Sheldon of MLB.com.
  • Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner told Hank Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter) that he hasn't heard from the team about a long-term contract yet.
  • Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter) has the contract figures on two minor league signings from earlier this offseason.  Joel Pineiro will earn $1.5MM if he makes the big league roster with the Phillies while Ryan Spilborghs will receive a $1MM base salary if he's in the majors with the Indians.

Quick Hits: Athletics, Phillies, Burnett, Drew, D’Backs

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Here's a look at today's links as players settle in for Spring Training..

  • Athletics skipper Bob Melvin expects to see roster additions on pitching and position player sides before the full camp opens, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter).
  • The Phillies were exploring a three-way trade to land A.J. Burnett, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  A third team would have been brought in to allow the club to unload Joe Blanton.
  • The Diamondbacks might have to find a more permanent solution at shortstop if Stephen Drew doesn't fully recover from his ankle injury, writes Buster Olney of ESPN.com.  Arizona holds a $10MM mutual option on Drew for 2013.
  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter) be surprised to see the Angels make two trades before the end of Spring Training due to the amount of redundancy on their roster.  
  • Manny Ramirez worked out for the Athletics and the club could sign the slugger within the next week, writes Jane Lee of MLB.com.

Quick Hits: Uehara, Burnett, Diamondbacks, Tigers

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Friday Night Links..

  • While one source told Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram that a trade of Koji Uehara could free up enough money for the Rangers to sign free agent Roy Oswalt, another source said that any money saved would be pocketed rather than be used on Oswalt or Mike Gonzalez.
  • The other team involved in the A.J. Burnett talks was the Phillies, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. However, the club would've had to clear Joe Blanton's to make the deal work.
  • The Diamondbacks will be on the lookout for catching depth through Spring Training, Olney tweets.
  • In his blog for the Detroit Free Press, Jamie Samuelsen writes that the Tigers should stay in-house when it comes to their fifth starter position rather than scour the open market for an affordable arm.  The highly-touted Jacob Turner is among the candidates for the backend of the rotation.

Phillies Notes: Soler, Valdez, Wigginton

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Here's the latest from the City Of Brotherly Love…

  • "Industry insiders" consider the Phillies to be a longshot for Jorge Soler, reports Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com.  Though the Phils are known to be one of Soler's top suitors, the team has never been big spenders on the international market and may balk at Soler's price tag.  Salisbury hears from one baseball executive who predicts Soler will end up with the Cubs, who are reportedly ready to offer the 19-year-old Cuban outfielder as much as $27.5MM.
  • The Phillies traded Wilson Valdez to the Reds since GM Ruben Amaro felt his team already had several other utility options in place, reports MLB.com's Todd Zolecki as part of a reader mailbag.  Zolecki says he was personally a little surprised by the Valdez deal.
  • One of those other utility options, Ty Wigginton, is excited to play for a contender, reports Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  In that piece, Amaro mentioned that Wigginton had been highly regarded by several Phillies scouts over the last few years.
  • David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News looks at five key questions surrounding the Phillies as they open Spring Training.
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