Odds & Ends: Yelich, Harper, Tigers, Minaya, Guillen
Links on a Friday night…
- MLB.com's Joe Frisaro reports that negotiations between the Marlins and first round pick Christian Yelich are progressing slowly, but all signs point to a deal being reached before the August 16th deadline.
- Meanwhile, Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post says there is nothing new to report about talks between the Nationals and first overall pick Bryce Harper.
- Like the Marlins and Yelich, talks between the Tigers and their top picks will go down to the wire according to MLB.com's Jason Beck. Four of Detroit's top five selections remain unsigned, including their two first rounders Nick Castellanos and Chance Ruffin.
- When asked about his job security, Omar Minaya responded "The fact of the matter is that I have a contract beyond this year, two years beyond this," according to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. Owner Jeff Wilpon recently implied that Minaya's job is safe through 2011.
- Jack Curry of the YES Network says (via Twitter) we shouldn't expect the Yankees to have any interest in Jose Guillen. We heard this morning that they were going to keep an eye on the recently DFA'd outfielder.
- Mark Feinsand of The New York Daily News spoke to an American League GM who said he can't see Derek Jeter signing anywhere but back with the Yankees after the season. I suspect that's the general belief pretty much everywhere.
- The Tigers have expanded the roles of three front office members, reports Steve Kornacki of MLive.com.
Odds & Ends: Rolen, Yankees, Astros, Jeter
Links for Sunday, as the celebration continues in Spain….
- Since acquiring Scott Rolen from Toronto roughly one year ago, the Reds are 70-42 when he starts and 12-26 when he doesn't, tweets John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
- Ken Davidoff of Newsday (via Twitter) talked to Yankees catcher Austin Romine, who admitted that a trade of Jesus Montero to the Mariners would have benefited him.
- Looking to improve their NL-worst OBP (.295) and SLG (.348), the Astros have replaced hitting coach Sean Berry with Jeff Bagwell, per a team release. Sean Berry was surprised by his dismissal from the Astros, writes MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.
- Last winter, Bob Klapisch of FOX Sports suggested that the Yankees offer Derek Jeter a four-year, $100MM extension. Today, the New York Post's Joel Sherman says that Jeter "hardly looks like a player deserving" of such a contract, except for the fact that he's Derek Jeter. Sherman expects Jeter to be a Yankee past this season, of course, but suggests that the second half of 2010 may be a "salary drive" for the 36-year-old.
- Brian Sabean has no regrets about not promoting Buster Posey or trading Bengie Molina earlier, writes Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News.
- Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer thinks the Indians would like to keep Jake Westbrook, so they have at least one veteran starter in their 2011 rotation.
- Noting that Albert Pujols could have his own "Decision" to make next year, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hopes the slugger doesn't do to St. Louis what LeBron James did to Cleveland.
- Brewers owner Mark Attanasio is reluctant to become a seller because he believes his team can contend next year, if not this year, says Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. Within the same piece, Shaikin indicates the Dodgers could still be in "payroll limbo" this offseason if the McCourts' divorce goes to trial.
- Minor league free agents have come through this year for the Phillies, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Yanks President Expects Jeter, Rivera Back
Yankees president Randy Levine was quoted last night on impending free agents Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera:
"We don’t negotiate in public, but I would find it highly, highly unlikely if both of them were not back with the Yankees. Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera are the Yankees."
The comment came from a New York Times session, as reported by Benjamin Kabak of River Ave. Blues. Kabak notes that despite the pledge to avoid public negotiation, the Yankees may have already reduced their leverage.
Levine and GM Brian Cashman also touched on their approach toward Japanese scouting, the draft, and other topics, so be sure to check out Kabak's summary.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Derek Jeter
Last September, SI's Jon Heyman guessed the Yankees would eventually re-sign Derek Jeter for at least $60MM over three years. Bob Klapisch of FOX Sports suggested in November that the Yankees give him a four-year, $100MM extension beginning with the '10 season. As recently as March, Heyman talked to two rival executives who believed Jeter would seek six years.
We haven't seen those kinds of contract estimates lately. Noting Jeter's reduced range to his left, Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote on May 6th that the length of Jeter's next contract "is one of the toughest issues in the history of the organization." More recently, Sherman wondered if the prices for Jeter and Mariano Rivera will come down as they fail to match their 2009 seasons.
Jeter is currently hitting .276/.320/.396 in 206 plate appearances this season. His walks are down and he's swinging at more pitches outside the zone than ever. It'd easily be the worst offensive season of his career, though he still has plenty of time to right the ship. He had two similar offensive months to start the '08 season, but regained his form in June.
Consider this hypothetical situation. Say the Astros had drafted Jeter first overall in 1992 instead of Phil Nevin. Jeter has the same legendary career in Houston, but still reaches free agency after the 2010 season. With Jeter's game potentially slipping, the Astros decide to part ways and don't offer arbitration. The Yankees need a shortstop. What's their contract offer? I'm thinking three years, $30MM at most. Even three years might be a reach for a 36-year-old player.
Back to reality: Jeter is the face of the Yankees, and an extension seems a near-certainty. Based on Heyman's September guess, Jeter's premium could be in the range of $10MM annually, plus an extra year or two.
Heyman On Lowell, Jeter, Castillo
Jason Heyward and Mike Leake top Jon Heyman of SI.com's list of top rookies so far in 2010. It's hard to argue with those choices, though Stephen Strasburg may steal the show in a few weeks. Here are Heyman's rumors:
- Mike Lowell upset the Red Sox brass when he told the media that he had no role on the team. Heyman says the Red Sox are not eager to release Lowell and eat his $12MM salary.
- The Yankees say they will "definitely" re-sign Derek Jeter, who hits free agency after the season. It is almost impossible to imagine Jeter playing for another club.
- Mets hitting coach Howard Johnson "appears to be in some jeopardy" of losing his job.
- One person connected to the Rockies says they are "not even close" to having enough money to afford Luis Castillo, who makes $6MM this year and the same amount next year. The Rockies are interested in adding infield depth, but it appears that the Mets would have to take on a considerable portion of Castillo's salary for a deal to go down.
Odds & Ends: Marlins, Pena, Jeter, Angels, Prior
Links for Thursday..
- The Marlins will likely need bullpen help before the trade deadline, writes Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.
- Until closer Huston Street returns, the Rockies' late-inning relievers need improvement, writes Troy E. Renck of The Denver Post.
- After Carl Crawford was quoted as saying that he and Carlos Pena would not be returning to the Rays, Pena reiterated his desire to remain in Tampa Bay, writes Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders how long of a contract the Yankees should offer Derek Jeter this offseason. Mr. November will celebrate his 36th birthday in June.
- The Angels will try to turn things around with the pieces that they have, writes Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- Chris Jenkins of the Union Tribune spoke to Mark Prior, who sees similarities between himself and Stephen Strasburg,
- Baseball's highest-ranking executives are absurdly underpaid, says Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Most general managers earn between $500K and $2MM annually.
- Cardinals manager Tony La Russa called the late Robin Roberts a "real gentleman" and a "great man", writes MLB.com's Zach Schonbrun. The legendary Phillies pitcher passed away at the age of 83.
Odds & Ends: Paul, Embree, Zobrist, Wakefield
Links for Monday, as we digest Ryan Howard's $125MM extension…
- Since the Dodgers called Xavier Paul up from the minors, he should be getting regular playing time with Manny Ramirez out, reasons Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times.
- Alan Embree told Dan Barbarisi of The Providence Journal that he won't be extending his contract deadline again. He hopes to be called up by the Red Sox by April 30th.
- The AP has details on Ben Zobrist's $18MM extension with the Rays.
- Though the knuckleballer doesn't say it, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says "it's obvious [Tim Wakefield] isn't keen on his new [bullpen] assignment."
- Jim Callis of Baseball America explores what might happen if MLB allows trading draft picks.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders how long Javier Vazquez will be given to get on track.
- With tongue firmly in cheek, Grant of the McCovey Chronicles predicts free agent-to-be Jayson Werth will sign with the Giants next winter.
- ESPN's Keith Law shares his rankings of the top 100 prospects for the June amateur draft. (ESPN Insider subscription required.)
- Speaking of young players, MLB.com's Jane Lee talks to Athletics director of player personnel Keith Leippman about some of the top prospects in Oakland's farm system.
- ESPN.com's Eric Karabell says that if Matt Capps can keep up his strong start, the right-hander will be a good trade chip for Washington over the summer. Karabell also notes that if Capps is dealt, it will likely be to a team looking for set-up help, not a closer.
- Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times says it's a close call between Derek Jeter or Manny Ramirez for the title of "best big contract in baseball history."
Odds & Ends: Downs, Soriano, Dodgers, Guillen
Here are a variety of news items as baseball wraps up another Jackie Robinson Day…
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Phillies can't take on any extra salary right now and the presence of two Philadelphia scouts at Blue Jays games is just "normal coverage." Rosenthal adds, however, that Jays reliever Scott Downs "makes sense" for Philly's relief needs.
- ESPN's Rob Neyer believes "there's a 50/50 chance" that the Cubs will release Alfonso Soriano before his contract expires at the end of the 2014 season and the club will simply eat what is left of the $90MM owed to the underachieving outfielder.
- The Dodgers are satisfied with rookie A.J. Ellis as their backup catcher and will likely not look to acquire another backstop in the wake of Brad Ausmus' back surgery, reports Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- Tom Van Riper of Forbes Magazine tears down the myth that players step up their production in the last year of their contracts.
- Jose Guillen was the subject of trade rumors over the winter, but the Royals outfielder had a much more traumatic offseason experience as he tells The Kansas City Star's Bob Dutton about a life-threatening health scare.
- Barry Bloom of MLB.com reports that Hal Steinbrenner (unsurprisingly) wants Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter and Joe Girardi to remain Yankees, but isn't willing to break the club's policy of in-season contract negotiations to work on extensions. "I hope everybody is reasonable and we can work it out easily. But there's no doubt I want them here," Steinbrenner said.
- As we approach the 50th anniversary of the infamous Rocky Colavito/Harvey Kuenn swap, Terry Pluto of The Cleveland Plain Dealer looks back at the trade that infuriated Indians fans.
Largest Contracts By Position
We've already looked at the largest contracts by service time, so now let's break it down by position…
Catcher
Joe Mauer: Eight years, $184MM
First Base
Mark Teixeira: Eight years, $180MM
Second Base
Chase Utley: Seven years, $85MM
Shortstop
Alex Rodriguez: Ten years, $252MM
Third Base
Alex Rodriguez: Ten years, $275MM
Outfield
Alfonso Soriano: Eight years, $136MM
Vernon Wells: Seven years, $126MM
Matt Holliday: Seven years, $120MM
Starting Pitcher
CC Sabathia: Seven years, $161MM
Johan Santana: Six years, $137.5MM
Barry Zito: Seven years, $126MM
Mike Hampton: Eight years, $121MM
Kevin Brown: Seven years, $105MM
Relief Pitcher
Joe Nathan: Four years, $47MM
Mariano Rivera: Three years, $45MM
Some thoughts…
- If you want to count DH as a position, which I guess it technically is, then Travis Hafner's four year, $57MM deal would top the list.
- Joe Mauer's contract is more than three and a half times larger than Jorge Posada's four year, $52.4MM deal, the second largest among active catchers. Mike Piazza's seven year, $91MM deal is the second largest for a catcher all-time.
- A-Rod only spent three years of his $252MM at the shortstop position before sliding over to third. The next largest contract ever given to a shortstop belongs to his teammate, Derek Jeter, who signed a ten year, $189MM deal in 2001.
- The Twins are the only team besides the Yankees to employ two of the largest contracts at their respective positions.
- The Soriano, Wells, Zito, and Hampton deals are all ones ownership wish they could take back. Brown spent a lot of time on the disabled list, but he did post a 3.23 ERA in close to 1,100 innings during the life of his deal.
- The Utley and Rivera deals are ones the teams would happily do again, but the jury is still out on the rest.
Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.
Largest Contracts By Service Time
When Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo signed his five year, $30.1MM extension earlier today, it marked the largest contract ever signed by a pitcher with less than three years of service time.
Let's look at the richest contracts by service time, in terms of guaranteed money…
Less Than One Year
Position Player: Ryan Braun. Eight years, $45MM
Pitcher: C.C. Sabathia. Four years, $9.5MM.
One To Two Years
Position Player: Chris Young. Five years, $28MM.
Pitcher: Fausto Carmona. Four years, $15MM.
Two To Three Years
Position Player: Hanley Ramirez. Six years, $70MM.
Pitcher: Yovani Gallardo. Five years, $30.1MM.
Three To Four Years
Position Player: Albert Pujols. Seven years, $100MM.
Pitcher: Scott Kazmir. Three years, $28.5MM.
Four To Five Years
Position Player: Miguel Cabrera. Eight years, $152.3MM.
Pitcher: Justin Verlander. Five years, $80MM.
Five To Six Years
Position Player: Derek Jeter. Ten years, $189MM.
Pitcher: Jake Peavy. Three years, $52MM.
Six-plus Years
Position Player: Alex Rodriguez. Ten years, $275MM.
Pitcher: C.C. Sabathia. Seven years, $171MM.
Some thoughts…
- The most regrettable deals were signed very early in the player's career, Young and Carmona. Might be a lesson in using up those pre-arbitration years before taking the plunge.
- The largest contract signed by a position player with less than one year of service time after Braun's deal is Evan Longoria's, which will pay him just $17.5MM over six years. Is Braun overpaid, or is Longoria underpaid? I think the answer is clear.
- Sabathia's four year, $9.5MM deal nearly tripled Roy Halladay's three year, $3.7MM deal with Toronto, which was the previous record for a pitcher with less an a year of service time.
- One only of the above contracts has expired.
Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.