Players Avoiding Arbitration: Monday
More 2010 salary agreements are expected in advance of Tuesday's noon deadline for exchanging arbitration figures.
- Chad Durbin has avoided salary arbitration, agreeing to a $2.125MM contract with the Phillies, tweets Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. This marks an increase over the $1.635MM he received by avoiding arbitration last year.
- The Rockies signed Ryan Spilborghs to a two-year deal worth $3.25MM, reports Troy Renck of The Denver Post. The 30-year-old, who was arb-eligible for the first time, could earn an additional $1.15MM in incentives over the course of the deal.
- Arizona agreed to terms with right-handed pitchers Chad Qualls and Aaron Heilman, reports Steve Gilbert of MLB.com (via Twitter). Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated tweets that Heilman gets $2.15MM whereas Qualls will make $4.185MM in 2010. This was the third arbitration-eligible year for both players.
- The Bombers avoided arbitration with their last two eligible players, Chad Gaudin and Boone Logan, according to Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees Blog. This was Gaudin's third arbitration-eligible year and Logan's very first. Marc Carig of the Newark Star Ledger reports that Gaudin will make $2.95MM with incentives while Logan will make $590K.
- The Rangers agreed to terms with pitcher C.J. Wilson on a one-year deal worth $3.1MM, reports T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. The deal represents a $1.25MM raise in base pay for the 29-year-old, who avoided his first potential arbitration hearing this time a year ago.
- The Reds agreed to terms with Jared Burton, their last arbitration-eligible player, reports John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer. This was Burton's first flirtation with the arbitration process.
- The Marlins avoided arbitration with Anibal Sanchez and Renyel Pinto by signing each to one-year deals, according to the Marlins' official twitter page. This is the first go-round in arbitration for both players. Sanchez will earn $1.25MM with up to $100K in bonuses, reports Jon Paul Morosi (via Twitter). Pinto will make $1.075 according to the Associated Press.
- Tony Pena and the White Sox have avoided arbitration, agreeing to terms on a one-year deal, tweets White Sox VP Scott Reifert. Pena will earn $1.2MM, according to Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter). This was the 28-year-old's first time being arbitration-eligible.
- Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla settled at $7.8MM, writes MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. It's a $2.45MM raise for the slugger, who was arb-eligible for the second time. He remains a trade candidate. Uggla told Frisaro he was happy to avoid a hearing, even after winning last year.
- The Brewers signed outfielder Jody Gerut for 2010, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. MLB.com's Adam McCalvy pegs the value at $2MM, a $225K raise. This is Gerut's final arbitration year.
- Blue Jays pitcher Shaun Marcum, who missed '09 due to Tommy John surgery, signed for $850K tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. 2010 is Marcum's first arbitration year.
Odds & Ends: Reed Johnson, Laynce Nix, Counsell
Links for Monday, the first day of the Winter Meetings in Indianapolis…
- The Padres have been linked to Reed Johnson, writes Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
- The Reds are trying to re-sign Laynce Nix, according to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
- The Brewers hope to have a decision one way or another on Craig Counsell by week's end, says Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Also, the Brewers learned that reliever Mark DiFelice needs shoulder surgery, creating a stronger bullpen need (MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reporting).
- The Marlins would listen on arbitration-eligible starter Anibal Sanchez, reports MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.
- Chad Jennings of the LoHud Journal notes that Yanks GM Brian Cashman hitched a ride to Indianapolis with the Levinson brothers, so of course Jason Marquis came up.
- Yahoo's Tim Brown has some petty sniping from Scott Boras' camp toward Whitey Herzog for his comments about Matt Holliday.
- Victor Martinez's agent Alan Nero talked to WEEI's Alex Speier about the prospect of his client reaching free agency.
- The Orioles will meet with the Hendricks brothers about Aroldis Chapman before the Winter Meetings end, according to MASN's Roch Kubatko. ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr. is hearing Chapman might not get much more than $20MM. Tyler Kepner of the New York Times tweets that the Yankees have interest at $15MM or less.
- Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun learned that Orioles outfielder Felix Pie is drawing strong trade interest.
- Chien-Ming Wang will be ready by May 1st, his agent told Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. It'd still be surprising to see Wang tendered a contract on Saturday.
- Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post talked to John Smoltz's agent Keith Grunewald about his client's interest in the Nationals.
- Nationals manager Jim Riggleman suggested to WEEI's Alex Speier that the team would have to be overwhelmed to move Josh Willingham.
- ESPN's Keith Law explains why the Meetings are in Indy and suggests improvements to avoid the cold weather and other issues.
- The Cardinals expect Mark DeRosa to decline their arbitration offer today, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. DeRosa's agent will meet with Yankees GM Brian Cashman this week, tweets Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger.
- Tigers manager Jim Leyland assured John Tomase of the Boston Herald that his team is not having a fire sale.
Marlins Meeting Notes: Uggla, Bullpen, Free Agents
Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald looks at what's in store for the Marlins as the Winter Meetings approach:
- No surprise here, but the Marlins won't be players for any reputable free agents. In fact, were you aware that over the past three offseasons, the most the Marlins have spent on any one free agent was the $2MM they gave Luis Gonzalez in 2007? Needless to say, Matt Holliday and Jason Bay aren't headed to South Florida.
- The Giants have been one of the most outspoken suitors for Dan Uggla, but the Marlins have asked for Madison Bumgarner in any deal for Uggla. The Giants top pitching prospect is a hefty price to pay, and could lead the Giants to pursue other avenues to add some thunder.
- As we've heard before, Renyel Pinto and Matt Lindstrom could very well be moved at the Winter Meetings.
- Even if Pinto and Lindstrom stay put, the Marlins will be on the lookout for affordable bullpen help now that Kiko Calero and Brendan Donnelly have departed.
- The Marlins will turn to internal options such as Gaby Sanchez and Logan Morrison to replace departed free agent Nick Johnson and his monstrous OBP.
- Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco are the team's two locks for the starting rotation. From there, a combination of Anibal Sanchez, Andrew Miller, Sean West, Rick VandenHurk, Chris Volstad, and Hayden Penn will fill out the final three spots.
Spencer closes, quoting Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest: "We'll definitely be active… There's no reason to go there and not do anything. Whether that leads to anything is anyone's guess."
Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Nationals, Padres, Hardy, Smoltz
FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count video up, so let's dig in for some rumory goodness…
- This coming week may the biggest week in Nationals' history. In addition to Monday's midnight deadline to sign first overall pick Stephen Strasburg, the Nats could pick their next general manager as early as Tuesday.
- "The buzz in scouting circles" is that Diamondbacks executive Jerry DiPoto is the frontrunner for the job, but the team has given "absolutely no indication of its plans." Acting GM Mike Rizzo has "generally gotten good reviews."
- The Padres put both Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell on trade waivers Friday. Both are likely to be claimed, but don't count on either getting traded. The team says that the Jake Peavy trade has greatly reduced the pressure on them to move either Gonzalez or Bell.
- If either player is going to be moved, it would most likely happen in the offseason when the Padres could negotiate will all 29 other teams.
- If shortstop J.J. Hardy stays in Triple-A for more than 20 days, he'll remain under the Brewers control for two more years instead of one. Such a move would enhance Hardy's trade value, and it would be tough for him to argue it's unfair given his lack of production this year. However, if service time was an issue, the club should have demoted him a lot sooner.
- Marlins righty Anibal Sanchez was throwing 90-94 in his most recent rehab start, and his return would lessen the pressure on some of the team's other young starters.
- The Marlins and Cardinals are among the teams looking at John Smoltz as a reliever. The Cards are also looking at a number of other righthanded options for their bullpen.
Today’s Signings: Sanchez, Weaver, Galarraga
MLBTR has an update on major league signings for today based on e-mail communication with Sports Illustrated’s Jon Heyman. His article is here.
Florida Marlins – Anibal Sanchez, $400,000
L.A. Angels – Jered Weaver, $465,000
Arizona Diamondbacks – Tony Pena, $430,000
Detroit Tigers – Armando Galarraga, $430,000
San Francisco Giants – Jonathan Sanchez, $455,000
Marlins Catcher Rumors
Mike Berardino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel has the latest on the Marlins’ trade talks for a catcher.
The Rangers could part with Max Ramirez or Jarrod Saltalamacchia, but want a frontline starter type such as Chris Volstad, Josh Johnson, or Ricky Nolasco. The Marlins aren’t willing to do that, but instead could flip Jonathan Sanchez to Texas if they get him. Or, they could send Anibal Sanchez if they add a starter.
The Marlins also have an eye on Pittsburgh’s Ronny Paulino. Meanwhile current Marlin Matt Treanor could be non-tendered or traded for a minor piece.
Odds And Ends: Gammons, Stark, Giles, Royals
And still more minor notes from around the MLBiverse…
First from Peter Gammons:
- Gammons says that the Marlins will not part with Anibal Sanchez for Brian Fuentes and will instead go after Arthur Rhodes.
- The Cardinals now appear to be the favorite for Fuentes.
- No teams seem willing to pay the asking price for Jason Bay.
- The Indians will pay the remainder of Casey Blake’s $2MM salary.
Next from Jayson Stark:
- The Mets are also showing interest in Randy Winn, but one official from another club feels Winn is just a backup plan.
A couple of random notes:
- Bud Black says Brian Giles does not want to be traded and prefers to stay with the Padres.
- Kevin Murphy notes that the Royals haven’t fared too well in the trade market the last few years.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
What Might’ve Been: Beckett And Lowell For Blalock And Danks
At the suggestion of several readers, I’m starting up a new feature here at MLBTR called What Might’ve Been. Basically we’ll look back at rumors and near-deals that did not end up happening, and consider how things would be if they had occurred.
Today’s near-rumor is from November 19th, 2005. That day, the Marlins nearly traded Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell to the Rangers for Hank Blalock and John Danks.
Let’s start with the Fish. They would never have received Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez, and others from Boston. Instead they would’ve gotten Blalock in ’06 and Blalock plus Danks in ’07. Some rough math using Baseball Prospectus’ WARP stat leads us to believe the Marlins would’ve had 11 fewer wins in ’06 and four fewer in ’07 if they made the Texas deal. Take those 11 wins in ’06 and spread them around the NL, maybe the Astros or even Reds win the Central instead of the Cards. Another consequence: Blalock at third might’ve meant Miguel Cabrera remained in left field. Maybe then Josh Willingham ends up catching, doesn’t get his opportunity, or gets traded.
Moving on to the Rangers. Swapping Blalock for Beckett and Lowell might’ve meant an extra eight wins in ’06 (again, rough math for the sake of the exercise). Eight more wins still probably doesn’t put the ’06 Rangers in the playoffs. Eleven marginal wins in ’07 with Beckett fronting their rotation and Lowell at third still wouldn’t have meant a playoff berth, even with an additional boost for not trading Mark Teixeira. In real life, Beckett signed a three-year extension in July of ’06. Maybe he wouldn’t have signed or been offered this by Jon Daniels. Under that scenario Beckett would’ve been a free agent this winter, snagging a massive 5-7 year deal with the Red Sox, Yankees, or some other club. And would the Red Sox have been more active on Alex Rodriguez this winter if they’d never had Lowell? Moreso if they were not the ’07 World Champs?
Speaking of the Red Sox: say they just hung on to Ramirez and Sanchez, for simplicity’s sake. The Sox still would’ve traded Edgar Renteria and signed Alex Gonzalez before the ’06 season, but maybe Ramirez beats him out for the shortstop job. Best case scenario, Ramirez over Gonzalez in ’06 nets the Sox six wins. That’s at least negated by using Sanchez instead of Beckett and whoever instead of Lowell. The Sox still would’ve missed the playoffs in ’06 – even if they’d signed Roger Clemens or A.J. Burnett after failing to acquire Beckett.
The Beckett-less ’07 Red Sox would’ve probably reached the playoffs, given the huge boost in having Hanley instead of Julio Lugo. The Lugo signing never would’ve happened; maybe he ends up with the Cubs or Mets, who made offers in real life. Instead, the Red Sox might’ve tried to lure Aramis Ramirez or settled for Mark DeRosa as their ’07 third baseman. Do the Red Sox make it past the Indians in the ALCS without Beckett? Perhaps, if they had signed Burnett in the 2005-06 offseason and a decent third baseman in 2006-07.
By the way, the White Sox would not have been able to get Danks from the Marlins for Brandon McCarthy. Who knows what Kenny Williams does with McCarthy in this alternate reality.
I’m dizzy. Thoughts on the new feature, and any corrections on my speculation? Any juicy consequences I missed?