Brewers, Carlos Gomez Avoid Arbitration
The Brewers avoided arbitration with center fielder Carlos Gomez, agreeing to a one-year deal, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. The deal is for $1.9625MM, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The Boras Corporation represents Gomez, who had a projected salary of $1.8MM, according to MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.
As MLBTR's Arbitration Tracker shows, the Brewers have six remaining arbitration eligible players: Kameron Loe, Shaun Marcum, Nyjer Morgan, Manny Parra, Francisco Rodriguez and Jose Veras.
Gomez is arbitration eligible for the third time. The 26-year-old super two player earned $1.5MM in 2011, when he posted a .225/.276/.403 line with eight homers and 16 stolen bases in 258 plate appearances. Gomez projects to hit free agency after the 2013 season.
Trade Market Update: Drew, Gomez, Beltran
Two contenders lost key players in the same game tonight and the injuries could affect the trade market for the remainder of the season. The Diamondbacks announced that Stephen Drew fractured his right ankle and will likely require surgery. Soon afterwards, the Brewers learned that Carlos Gomez fractured his left clavicle. Those events could shape the trade market and so could the following developments from around the Major Leagues:
- Carlos Beltran appears to have recovered from the flu – he homered off of Kyle McClellan (by the way, McClellan pitched well enough, though he may lose his rotation spot if the Cardinals add a starter).
- Old-school GMs might like Ryan Ludwick's 61 RBIs (he added four today), but his on-base percentage is just .309.
- The Yankees are looking for pitching, but they can't complain about Freddy Garcia, who pitched into the seventh and struck out seven without allowing a run.
- Meanwhile, Casey Kotchman improved his trade value by collecting three hits and boosting his season line to .337/.396/.467.
- The Braves used Jonny Venters again in a losing effort to the Rockies. The lefty has now appeared in 54 games this year, so the Braves will want to ease up on the 26-year-old or acquire a reliever to bolster the 'pen.
- Duane Below pitched reasonably well for the Tigers in his MLB debut, but GM Dave Dombrowski continues eyeing starting help. The Tigers, who have used seven left-handed relievers this year, could look to acquire another southpaw after last night. David Purcey walked the bases loaded to kick-start Oakland's four-run seventh.
- Who says the Red Sox need reinforcements? Josh Reddick picked up two hits and a walk and Andrew Miller didn't allow a run in 5 2/3 innings. Still, the Orioles' lineup isn't a powerhouse and Miller walked twice as many hitters (6) as he struck out (3).
- Lyle Overbay was hitless in four at bats for the Pirates, who scored just one run for the second consecutive night. It wouldn't be a surprise to see the Pirates explore ways of getting more production from first base now that Overbay's line has dropped to .236/.304/.357.
- Bruce Chen pitched eight innings, allowing just one run, one walk and four hits while striking out four.
- Frank Francisco and Octavio Dotel allowed home runs to the light-hitting Mariners, which doesn't help the Blue Jays' chances of trading the relievers for valuable pieces.
- The Giants are still having trouble scoring (Cy Young candidate Clayton Kershaw didn't allow a single run against San Francisco).
- Hunter Pence reached base four times and Brett Myers and Livan Hernandez pitched well in a contest between the Astros and Nationals, two teams who aren't in the race.
Contract Details: Bruce, Lee, Jenks, Pirates, Gomez
Here are some recent updates on contracts from around the majors:
- Jay Bruce gets $25.25MM for his four arbitration years and $12-12.5MM each for a pair of free agent seasons, reports MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
- Cliff Lee can earn $50K for winning a Gold Glove or a Silver Slugger and his new deal also includes bonuses for winning the Cy Young Award, making the All-Star team and winning playoff MVP awards, according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.
- Jonathan Papelbon is Boston's closer, but Bobby Jenks' new deal with the Red Sox includes up to $1MM in incentives for finishing games, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.
- The Pirates cannot offer Scott Olsen or Kevin Correia arbitration if they rank as Type A free agents when their contracts expire, according to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch, who has all the details you'd want to know about the contracts for those two pitchers and Josh Fields.
- As MLB.com's Adam McCalvy explains, Carlos Gomez can earn up to $100K in incentives depending on how many plate appearances he picks up next year. The Brewers' decision to trade Lorenzo Cain likely helped Gomez.
Brewers Avoid Arbitration With Carlos Gomez
9:50pm: Gomez's will earn $1.5MM in 2011, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
8:08pm: The Brewers have signed Carlos Gomez to a one-year deal, avoiding arbitration, according to a team press release. The center fielder earned $1.1MM last season as a second-year arbitration-eligible Super Two.
Gomez, who celebrated his 25th birthday on December 4th, hit .247/.298/.357 in 97 games for the Brewers this season. Just last week, the Brewers flirted with the idea of sending Gomez to the Braves in exchange for a young pitcher.
With Gomez back in the fold, Milwaukee now has five players that remain eligible for arbitration: Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, Kameron Loe, Manny Parra, and the recently-acquired Shaun Marcum.
Braves, Brewers Still Talking Trade
The Braves and Brewers continue to discuss trades that would send an outfielder to Atlanta for a young pitcher, reports MLB.com's Mark Bowman. However, the Brewers are more inclined to move Carlos Gomez than Lorenzo Cain. The Brewers requested Mike Minor for Cain, and the Braves balked at trading him or their other top young arms.
Odds & Ends: Dodgers, Garcia, Delcarmen, Gomez
Links for Tuesday, exactly five years after the Blue Jays signed A.J. Burnett to a five-year, $55MM deal. Now with the Yankees, Burnett's part of a Yankees rotation that's very much in flux. Here are today's links…
- The Cardinals announced on Twitter that they avoided arbitration with Ryan Theriot, signing the infielder to a one-year deal for 2011. Fanhouse's Steve Phillips says the deal is for $3.3MM.
- A Los Angeles judge ruled that Frank McCourt is not the sole owner of the Dodgers and the ruling is not expected to impact the team's day-to-day operations, according to Bill Shaikin and Carla Hall of the LA Times. If anything, the Dodgers have spent more aggressively than usual this winter.
- The Mets talked to Freddy Garcia's representatives at some point before the meetings, but the right-hander is not the team's top priority, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post (on Twitter).
- Manny Delcarmen, who was non-tendered by the Rockies last week, is drawing interest from two AL East teams (but not the Red Sox) according to Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com (on Twitter).
- Carlos Gomez is available, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter). The Brewers want pitching for Gomez and are reluctant to part with Lorenzo Cain.
- Quiet day for the Reds – GM Walt Jocketty tells MLB.com's Mark Sheldon that he's had "zero" discussions with teams or agents today (Twitter link).
- The Diamondbacks have some interest in Henry Blanco, but the catcher isn't expected to decide on his next team at the meetings, according to Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona (on Twitter).
- Derek Jeter told reporters, including Ben Shpigel of the New York Times, that he was bothered by how public his contract negotiations became.
Brewers Looking At Keepers, May Try To Trade Fielder
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Tom Haudricourt has some updates for Brewers fans as the organization looks to the future. It appears that Corey Hart's recent three-year extension may only be the beginning as the Brew Crew tries to set itself up for future success.
The Brewers will offer an extension to Rickie Weeks, who's enjoying a fine rebound season after an injury-shortened 2009. The former number-two overall pick is hitting .272/.368/.485 with 23 home runs and seven steals on the year. His speed numbers may be down, but Weeks still remains a power/speed combination and an offensive force at second base. Weeks will need to replace his agent, and once he accomplishes that, an extension will be offered.
One player who the Brewers likely won't be able to agree with is Prince Fielder. The Scott Boras client was offered an extension in the neighborhood of five years and $100MM, but the Brewers completely cut off talks when they learned he was seeking nearly double that amount — likely looking for a deal similar to Mark Teixeira's eight-year, $180MM contract. Haudricourt says that the Brewers won't advertise it for now, but they're likely to shop Fielder this offseason to bolster their rotation.
Losing Fielder leaves a hole in the offense, but it's possible the club is looking to replace him with Mat Gamel, or move Hart to first base and place Gamel in right field. As Haudricourt points out, Hart was drafted as a first baseman, and his 6'6" frame is conducive to the position.
It's possible that Lorenzo Cain dethrones Carlos Gomez as the club's everyday center fielder. The Brewers were clearly looking for more than Gomez's .286 OBP when they traded J.J. Hardy to Minnesota for him this past offseason.
If Milwaukee does indeed try to make Fielder available, there will be no shortage of suitors. While the free agent market does feature Adam Dunn, the majority of others consist of injury risks, fading stars, players coming off career years, or some combination of the three.
Odds & Ends: Branyan, Orioles, D’Backs, Marlins
Links for Sunday..
- Returning to a former team is nothing new for Russell Branyan, writes JR Radcliffe for MLB.com.
- Eric Wedge had a great interview with the O's, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.
- Bob McManaman of The Arizona Republic writes that D'Backs manager A.J. Hinch doesn't want his players to worry about being dealt.
- Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez was sorry to see skipper Fredi Gonzalez go, writes Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald.
- Andy MacPhail said that the O's "gambled" and lost when they gave Garrett Atkins a one-year, $4.5MM deal, writes Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun.
- Carlos Gomez hopes that he can live up to the expectations the Brewers had for him when they acquired him from the Twins, writes MLB.com's Jordan Schelling.
- Former Oriole and current MASN broadcaster Rick Dempsey isn't sure if his upcoming meeting with O's GM Andy MacPhail can be considered an official interview for the managerial position, writes Britt Ghiroli of MLB.com.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer doesn't envision a club taking Jhonny Peralta at the trade deadline.
- Cubs GM Jim Hendry stands by his investment in Carlos Zambrano, writes the Daily Herald's Bruce Miles. Hendry gave the hurler a five-year, $91.5MM extension in 2007.
Odds & Ends: Green, Oswalt, Mets, Gaudin, Werth
Links for Saturday….
- With Rafael Furcal returning to the Dodgers, the out-of-options Nick Green is a candidate for demotion, writes Evan Drellich of MLB.com.
- Roy Oswalt told Houston owner Drayton McLane that he wouldn't mind coming back and finishing his career with the organization, tweets Alyson Footer of the Astros.
- More on Oswalt: Footer (via Twitter) is skeptical about the Mets' chances of acquiring Houston's ace. Meanwhile, manager Brad Mills doesn't expect Oswalt's trade request to be a clubhouse distraction, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.
- At MLB.com, Peter Gammons takes a look at a few underachieving teams who are under pressure to make changes.
- Scott Olsen has been placed on the disabled list, but Stephen Strasburg won't be the pitcher called up to take his roster spot, tweets Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
- Jack Curry of the YES Network (via Twitter) asked Mets GM Omar Minaya if Jerry Manuel is managing to save his job. Minaya answered, "I don't want to say that. I wouldn't say that's the case."
- Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that Chad Gaudin received and turned down a minor league assignment offer from the A's.
- Mike Lowell told Scott Lauber of The Boston Herald that he has no regrets about passing on a four year, $37.5MM contract offer from the Phillies after the 2007 season.
- Jayson Werth said he's "played [his] entire career for this year," according to David Murphy of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Werth, of course, is referring to his contract year and impending free agent payday.
- Chris Iannetta remains the one who got away for the Red Sox, who almost drafted the catcher back in 2004 according to WEEI.com's Alex Speier.
- Joe Christensen of The Star Tribune analyzed the Carlos Gomez–J.J. Hardy trade now that we're six months out.
- John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer notes that the Reds have gotten tremendous production out of their bargain basement left field combo of Jonny Gomes and Laynce Nix ($1.4MM combined salary).
Players To Avoid Arbitration: Tuesday
Noon ET today was the deadline for both the team and player to submit their salary figures for arbitration, however the two sides can come to an agreement at any point before the actual hearing. The hearings are scheduled for the first week of February.
We'll keep track of the players who avoid arbitration today by agreeing to deals here. Make sure you check back in for updates, and be sure to click the "Continue Reading" link to see today's full list of settlements. Yesterday's list can be found here.
- Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times reports that the Angels avoided arbitration with Mike Napoli and Reggie Willits by signing the duo to one-year deals. Napoli will earn $3.6MM in 2010 with a $100K bonus if he makes 120 starts. Willits' contract is worth $625K.
- Zach Duke's one-year contract with Pittsburgh is worth $4.3MM with no performance bonuses, tweets Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- The Padres and reliever Mike Adams have agreed to a contract, reports MLB.com's Corey Brock (via Twitter). Brock's follow-up tweet says Adams' deal is worth $1MM, virtually splitting the difference between San Diego's $875K offer and Adams' $1.2MM demands.
- Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune tweets that the Twins have agreements in place with all eight of their arbitration eligible players. In a follow-up tweet, Christensen reports that Francisco Liriano agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.6MM and Jesse Crain agreed to a one-year contract worth $2MM.
- Marc Carig of the New Jersey Star-Ledger reports that the Mets avoided arbitration with reliever Sean Green (via Twitter). The one-year deal was worth $975K, according to the New York Daily News' Anthony McCarron.
- The Tigers avoided arb with Gerald Laird and Zach Miner as well according to James Jahnke of The Detroit Free Press. MLB.com's Jason Beck tweets the details on the one-year contracts: Laird will earn $3.95MM, Miner will earn $950K.
- Christensen tweets that the Twins avoided arb with Brendan Harris, signing him to a two year deal worth $3.2MM with another $650K in possible incentives.
- The Tigers and Bobby Seay avoided arbitration according to MLB.com's Jason Beck (via Twitter), agreeing to a one year deal worth $2.475MM.
- Thesier tweets that Matt Guerrier agreed to a one year deal worth $3.15MM with the Twins, avoiding arb.
- Amalie Benjamin of The Boston Globe tweets that the Red Sox have avoided arbitration with Ramon Ramirez and Manny Delcarmen, with Delcarmen getting $905K plus incentives according to Joe McDonald of The Providence Journal. Boston avoided arb with Jonathan Papelbon as well.