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Verducci On Hamels, Shields, Lowe, Manny

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Let’s take a look at the latest from SI.com’s Tom Verducci.

  • Interesting line: "One journeyman reliever, for instance, turned down a $2 million offer, saying he would retire before taking that kind of money."  Many veterans will choose between swallowing their pride and retiring this spring.
  • Verducci makes a comparison between Cole Hamels and James Shields, who were called up 19 days apart.  The extra service time for Hamels gave him Super Two status, meaning he became arbitration-eligible four times instead of three.  That decision probably cost the Phillies more than $10MM.
  • The Mets were willing to give Derek Lowe $14MM per year.
  • The Giants don’t believe Manny Ramirez is anywhere near a decision right now.  He’s a special case for them (they’re not in the market for an outfielder) but they won’t enter a bidding war.
  • The Blue Jays aren’t interested in Orlando Cabrera; they’re content with Marco Scutaro.

Phillies Sign Madson To Three-Year Extension

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TUESDAY: The Madson extension is official, says Scott Lauber.

MONDAY: According to Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Phillies signed reliever Ryan Madson to a three-year extension worth $12MM plus incentives.  The deal buys out his final arb year and two free agent years.  It was previously thought that Madson, a Scott Boras client, might test the free agent market after the '09 season. 

Madson, 28, posted a 3.05 ERA in 82.6 innings of relief this year.

Phillies Considered Trading Myers?

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Reader Connor Garrison has identified an interesting point made in the middle of an article from MLB.com’s Mark Bowman.

The article focuses on the addition of Derek Lowe to the Braves’ rotation, but offers a reason as to why the Braves went so strong so quickly after Lowe.

Says Bowman: "Motivated by last week’s meeting and under the belief that the Phillies might attempt to create payroll space by trading Brett Myers, the Braves acted quickly and provided an offer that Lowe couldn’t refuse."

Myers may have been taken off the block after Lowe signed with the Braves. On the other hand, perhaps a bigger-than-expected deal for Ryan Howard could convince the Phillies to revisit the idea of trading Myers.

Phillies Arb: Howard, Victorino, Werth

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In addition to backing up the facts behind today’s Cole Hamels story, Todd Zolecki has an update on the Phillies’ remaining arbitration-eligible players.

After Greg Dobbs’ 2-year, $2.5MM deal, six players are left on the arb list: Ryan Howard, Ryan Madson, Shane Victorino, Joe Blanton, Jayson Werth and Chad Durbin.

According to Zolecki, "The Phillies have been talking with Madson about a contract extension, but he reportedly turned down a three-year, $12 million offer."

Zolecki also doesn’t expect Howard’s deal to be done anytime soon.

Phillies Agree To Three Year Deal With Hamels

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According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post the Phillies agreed to sign Cole Hamels to a three year contract worth $20.5MM.

Jon Heyman has the details. Hamels makes $4.35MM this year, $6.65MM in 2010 and $9.5MM in 2011. If Hamels wins the Cy Young his contract goes up by $500K the following season and he’ll get a $250K raise the year after a second or third place finish. Presumably he’d get an immediate bonus if he finishes in the top three in voting in the deal’s final year.

According to Sherman, Hamels is in line for additional bonuses of $100K, $75K and $50K if he finishes first second or third in Cy Young or MVP voting. If he’s the World Series MVP he makes $100K and if he’s the LCS MVP or on the All Star team he gets a $50K bonus. Hamels, who has a .390 OPS as a hitter, makes $25K for winning a Silver Slugger or a Gold Glove.

Hamels made $500K last year and was arbitration-eligible for the first time. The new deal doesn’t cover any of his free agent years.

Rosenthal On Andruw, Nady, Lyon, Madson

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The latest from Ken Rosenthal…

  • The Braves are pulling back for the moment in their search for an outfield bat.  They’ll hope for a free agent bargain or the right trade.  Rosenthal says they’re torn about Andruw Jones.  The Braves seek a right-handed hitter but aren’t dead set on it.  They were unwilling to meet the Yankees’ demands for Xavier Nady.
  • Brandon Lyon’s agent is telling teams he has a two-year, $9MM offer in hand (Kyle Farnsworth money).  The Tigers or Twins are possibilities there, while the Cardinals may have offered one year.  Jon Paul Morosi confirms Detroit’s interest, but says they’ve yet to make an offer.  Morosi believes the Tigers have about $5MM left in their budget.
  • Ryan Madson turned down a three-year, $12MM extension from the Phillies.  The Scott Boras client is eligible for free agency after the season.
  • Execs have all kinds of concerns with Oliver Perez: his flyball tendencies, frequent walks, and inability to reach 200 innings.
  • The Yankees have little interest in Ben Sheets and Freddy Garcia.  The Rangers, Mets, and White Sox remain in the mix for Garcia.
  • The Brewers and other teams are in on Braden Looper, while the Orioles and Dodgers have backed off.
  • Edgardo Alfonzo is playing well in the Venezuelan Winter League and could make a comeback.

Stark On The Arbitration Class

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ESPN’s Jayson Stark says we’re headed for a historic arbitration class.  Players file today, and the dollar submissions become known on Tuesday.  If the sides can’t come to an agreement, they go to a hearing and an arbitrator chooses one of the two salary submissions.  Be sure to read the article, but here are a few highlights.

  • Ryan Howard’s dad may be behind the player’s unprecedented salary expectations.  Howard may ask for $15-17MM in his second arbitration year.  He could be a trade candidate in the 2009-10 offseason.
  • Prince Fielder’s numbers and accolades don’t match up to Howard’s, so Scott Boras may have difficulty matching Howard’s first arb year record award of $10MM.
  • Cole Hamels could ask for $5MM or more, but seems more amenable to a long-term deal than Howard.  Will the Phillies offer him more than three years?
  • Other interesting names: Jonathan Papelbon, Kevin Youkilis, Felix Hernandez, Dan Uggla, Zack Greinke, Justin Verlander, Russell Martin, B.J. Upton, Ryan Zimmerman, Jeff Francoeur, and Ervin Santana.
  • Looking for a surprise summer trade candidate?  Stark talked to one AL exec who wondered if Verlander could be made available if the Tigers are out of contention.

Odds and Ends: Smoltz, Cordero, Colon, Byrd

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Links for Thursday…

Mets Confident About Rotation

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Newsday’s Ken Davidoff writes that "the Mets remain confident that they’ll eventually land one of their top two choices" for their rotation: Derek Lowe or Oliver Perez.

The Brewers aren’t interested in Lowe and Davidoff heard from one Phillies official who doesn’t expect him to sign with Philadelphia. The Braves remain a legitimate suitor for Lowe, but if he signs with Atlanta, the Mets could simply bring back Perez. After all, as Davidoff says, "if there’s any competition for Perez, it’s in hiding."

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