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Derek Lowe

Derek Lowe Retires

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Derek Lowe has retired from baseball, though he prefers not to use the word "retire."  "I'm officially no longer going to play the game," Lowe told Tom Pelissero of USA Today.  He later added, "I'm not going to go to the Hall of Fame, so I don't feel like I need to have a retirement speech. But I was able to play 17 years on some pretty cool teams and win a World Series. So, everyone's got to stop playing at some point, and this is my time."

Lowe, 40, was released by the Rangers in May.  His retirement seemed likely in June, as he told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that he'd told agent Scott Boras not to seek work for him.  Lowe pitched in parts of 17 Major League seasons for the Mariners, Red Sox, Dodgers, Braves, Indians, Yankees, and Rangers.

Lowe was drafted by the Mariners in the eighth round in 1991, joining the Red Sox with Jason Varitek for reliever Heathcliff Slocumb in a 1997 trade deadline deal.  Dan Duquette authored that steal for Boston, besting Woody Woodward and creating history as one of the most lopsided deadline deals ever.  Lowe became the Red Sox closer in 1999, earning an All-Star nod the following year.  He switched back to starting for the '02 season, finishing third in the AL Cy Young vote.  Though Lowe scuffled in the regular season in '04, he came up big for the Red Sox in the postseason, picked up a World Series ring, and parlayed that success into a four-year, $36MM deal with the Dodgers.

The groundballer was durable and quite good for the duration of the Dodgers contract, leading to a four-year, $60MM deal with Atlanta that did not go nearly as well.  Among pitchers hailing from Michigan, Lowe ranks 11th with 176 wins, 10th with 86 saves, and eighth with 1,722 strikeouts.  He earned over $110MM in his career.

Cafardo On Lowe, Blue Jays, Ross, Pirates, Norris

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A few notes from Nick Cafardo's latest column in the Boston Globe:

  • Free agent Derek Lowe seems to have retired, telling Cafardo that he asked agent Scott Boras not to look for opportunties for him. Lowe pitched in nine games for the Rangers this year before being released in late May.
  • The Blue Jays' situation is "a nightmare," Cafardo says, noting that some in the organization don't know whether GM Alex Anthopoulos will stick with the team he has. Toronto is 27-35 after bringing in R.A. Dickey, Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle and others last offseason.
  • Catcher David Ross says the Rays, Yankees and Rangers pursued him, and the Pirates would have been interested in him if they hadn't signed Russell Martin instead. Ross signed a two-year, $6.2MM contract with the Red Sox in the offseason.
  • The Pirates, whose rotation depth has been damaged by injuries to Wandy Rodriguez, Jeanmar Gomez, James McDonald, Jeff Karstens, Kyle McPherson and Phil Irwin, "would now have to be interested in" Astros pitcher Bud Norris, Cafardo says. Cafardo also notes that talent evaluators wonder how Norris, a competitive player currently pitching for a last-place team, will do if placed on a competitive team.
  • It's unclear what the Tigers would do if they lost Jhonny Peralta to a suspension. Peralta has been connected to the Biogenesis scandal, and his production at shortstop would be tough to replace internally or in the trade market, Cafardo notes.
  • The Dodgers have already received calls about Andre Ethier's trade availability, Cafardo says.

Rangers Sign Mark Teahen, Waive Derek Lowe

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The Rangers announced that they have placed Derek Lowe on release waivers.  Meanwhile, they've also signed Mark Teahen to a minor league deal.

Lowe was designated for assignment on Monday to make room for the newly activated Josh Lindblom.  The hurler cleared waivers yesterday and had the option of joining the club's Triple-A affiliate but instead chose to elect free agency.  The Rangers signed Lowe to a minor league deal on March 6th and he subsequently made the team’s Opening Day roster.  In nine relief appearances with Texas, Lowe allowed 13 runs while striking out eight batters and allowing three walks. 

As MLBTR reported earlier this week, Teahen was granted his release from the Diamondbacks and became a free agent.  The D'Backs agreed to trade the veteran to the Reds earlier this month but the deal fell through due to Cincinnati's concerns about his physical.  While Arizona claims to have spotted a red flag or two, both the D'Backs and Teahen say that he is healthy.  Across seven big league seasons, the versatile 31-year-old posted a .264/.327/.409 line for the Royals, White Sox, and Blue Jays.

Derek Lowe Clears Waivers

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WEDNESDAY: Lowe has cleared waivers and now must decide whether to accept an assignment to Triple-A or become a free agent, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter).

MONDAY: The Rangers designated righty Derek Lowe to open a spot on the active roster for Josh Lindblom, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  The Rangers now have 38 players on their 40-man roster.

Lowe, 39, posted a 9.00 ERA, 5.5 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 2.08 HR/9, and 55.8% groundball rate in 13 relief innings this year.  He had signed a minor league deal in March and made the team out of Spring Training, receiving a $1.25MM salary.  That salary should prevent a waiver claim, and result in Lowe becoming a free agent via release.  At that point, a team could sign him for the league minimum $490K with the Rangers picking up the rest of the tab.

Lowe has pitched over 2,600 innings in his big league career with the Mariners, Red Sox, Dodgers, Braves, Indians, Yankees, and Rangers, and has had success as both a reliever and a starter.  His 176 wins rank him 11th all-time among those born in Michigan, and his 86 saves rank tenth.

Texas Notes: Postolos, Ryan, Lewis, Lowe

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Having dropped their last five games, the Astros own a .256 winning percentage, easily the worst in baseball.  Their new division rivals, the Rangers, are at .632, tied for second in baseball.  The two numbers are not unrelated, as the Rangers have won five of six contests against the Astros.  The latest on the two Texas clubs:

  • The Astros announced yesterday that president and CEO George Postolos resigned.  Postolos' role with the Astros had little to do with baseball operations, unlike some other team presidents.  Postolos "specializes in franchise acquisition," wrote Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, and his skill set no longer matched with the job description.  One of Postolos' tasks involved carriage agreement negotiations, trying to get the Astros and Comcast Sportsnet Houston into Houston homes.  CSN Houston is available in "only about 40 percent of Houston's 2.2 million TV homes," writes David Barron of the Houston Chronicle.
  • Asked on ESPN's Galloway & Company show yesterday if he has any interest in the Astros' new job opening, Rangers CEO Nolan Ryan replied, "I don't think so."  Ryan has not been in contact with Astros owner Jim Crane.  There was some springtime drama about Ryan's role with the Rangers, which was resolved in April. 
  • The Astros are running "extended evaluations" at all three outfield positions, writes Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle.  J.D. Martinez, Robbie Grossman, and Jimmy Paredes will hold the starting spots for now, with Justin Maxwell to regain center field when he returns from a fractured left hand.  The Astros have already moved Chris Carter to first base and jettisoned Rick Ankiel and Fernando Martinez, though Martinez cleared waivers and remains in the organization.
  • Carter, a 26-year-old acquired from Oakland in February as part of the Jed Lowrie trade, is tied for fifth in the league with nine home runs.  He also leads all of baseball in strikeouts, however.
  • 33-year-old Rangers righty Colby Lewis, a free agent after this season, "has been diagnosed with a mild case of tendinitis in his right triceps muscle" according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan.  Lewis last pitched in the Majors on July 18th of last year, before undergoing flexor tendon surgery.  His current issue is not related to the surgery, and Lewis could make another rehab start next week after receiving an anti-inflammatory injection.
  • Rangers long reliever Derek Lowe told Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram he didn't pass the "stats test" when hunting for an offseason job, explaining he leans toward the human element.  Apparently mixing stats and scouting, as all teams do, Lowe commented, "If you pump my numbers into the system compared to, let’s say, Tanner Scheppers, of course his stuff is going to outscore my stuff, I’m not naive.  He’s a young kid who throws 98 mph with a great breaking ball. Listen, I know I don’t pass the test."

Quick Hits: Cardinals, Goldschmidt, Upton, Baker

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Another day, another gem from a Cardinals starter.  Adam Wainwright took a no-hitter through 7 1/3 innings en route to a complete game, two-hit shutout in St. Louis' 3-0 victory over the Rockies.  Wainwright's outing was a day after Shelby Miller's complete game one-hitter against Colorado, in the process tying a Major League record for most consecutive batters retired by one team against another.  Between Eric Young's leadoff single on Friday and Todd Helton's fifth-inning walk against Wainwright today, the Rockies sent 40 batters to the plate without success.

Here's some news as we head towards a full slate of Mother's Day baseball…

  • The Cardinals' pitching depth was one reason they were comfortable letting Kyle Lohse leave in the offseason, the latest case of the Cards saving money and still contending thanks to their constant supply of young talent, Tyler Kepner of the New York Times writes.  “I would say it this way: you don’t want to have a situation where you can’t re-sign your best talent, long term, but there are times when you have to pick and choose where you want to invest it," St. Louis GM John Mozeliak said.  "Our model has been, if possible, to have that flexibility within our payroll allocation without going too long and deep.”
  • Paul Goldschmidt is hearing unanimous praise from scouts and is being compared to some of the game's elite hitters, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.  Goldschmidt took a .977 OPS into Saturday's game, and as Piecoro notes, the Diamondbacks' five-year, $32MM extension (with an option on a sixth year) with their first baseman is looking like a major bargain.
  • Also from Piecoro, he hears from Justin Upton and Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers that neither side has hard feelings about the big trade that sent Upton to the Braves in January.  It has particularly worked out for Upton, who is enjoying an MVP-caliber season for NL East-leading Atlanta.
  • Padres backup catcher John Baker could be expendable once Yasmani Grandal returns from his PED suspension.  Baker tells Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune that he enjoys playing with the Padres but is prepared for whatever happens.
  • Matt Eddy of Baseball America recaps the week's minor league transactions.
  • Advanced statistics are taken with a grain of salt by many players, including several in the Rangers clubhouse, Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.  Derek Lowe, for one, believes his unimpressive peripheral stats were part of the reason why it took him until March to find a contract with a team.  Texas, unlike several Major League clubs, doesn't have a full-time statistical analysis department in their front office though the club uses sabermetrics as part of their player evaluation process.
    Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/05/11/4843118/advanced-baseball-statistical.html#storylink=cpy

Article XX(B) Free Agents Update: Tuesday

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Major League Baseball's new collective bargaining agreement contains a provision that allows certain free agents who are signed to minor league contracts to receive a $100K retention bonus if they are not on the team's 25-man roster or the Major League disabled list five days prior to the season.

Free agents who qualify for this distinction are those who have at least six years of Major League service time and had a Major League contract expire at the end of the previous season, but signed a minor league deal ten or more days prior to Opening Day.

MLBTR has confirmed with MLB that the deadline for teams to decide on these players is today at 11am central time. By the deadline, teams with these players in camp need to decide whether to:

  • Add the player to their 25-man roster or Major League disabled list (or agree to do so in writing).
  • Grant the player his outright release from the minor league contract so that he may pursue opportunities with other teams.
  • Pay the player a $100K retention bonus to keep him in the organization beyond the deadline and send him to the minors.

Here's the latest news from around the league on Article XX(B) signees and their roster statuses with their respective teams (newest updates on top).  

Rangers Agree To Sign Derek Lowe

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8:39pm: Lowe will earn $1.25MM if he makes the big league roster, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter).  He can also earn an additional $1.7MM in performance bonuses, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets.

6:26pm: The Rangers have agreed to terms with Derek Lowe on a minor league deal, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter).  The right-hander is represented by Scott Boras, as shown in MLBTR's Agency Database.  While Lowe is not guaranteed anything, he will almost certainly make the team, according to Grant.

Lowe, 39, spent 2012 with the Indians and Yankees, making 21 starts in Cleveland and 17 appearances out of the pen for New York.  While the veteran has stated his preference for being in the rotation in the past, the Rangers plan to use him as a reliever.  In total, Lowe posted a 5.11 ERA with 3.5 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 across 142 2/3 innings of work.

The 6'6" hurler had interest from other clubs this offseason and received a minor league offer from the Rockies more than a month ago.

Rangers, Derek Lowe Nearing Deal

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4:42pm: The Rangers view Lowe as a candidate for the bullpen, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports. Presumably this deal won't affect the Rangers' interest in Lohse.

2:41pm: The Rangers are on the verge of signing right-hander Derek Lowe to a minor league deal, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter).  Lowe, 39, is represented by Scott Boras.

Lowe spent 2012 with the Indians and Yankees, making 21 starts in Cleveland and 17 appearances out of the pen for New York.  In total, Lowe posted a 5.11 ERA with 3.5 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 across 142 2/3 innings of work.  The veteran could provide Texas with pitching depth in the wake of Martin Perez's forearm injury.

Recently, we learned that the Rangers are still talking with Boras about another one of his prominent clients, Kyle Lohse.  However, that pairing doesn't appear to be imminent at the moment and the Rangers may have decided on a less costly support option in Lowe.

Lowe had interest elsewhere and received a minor league offer from the Rockies more than a month ago.

Quick Hits: Johnson, Boras, Givens, Reds, Lowe

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The newest member of the Rays organization, Kelly Johnson, spoke with reporters on a conference call earlier today about his signing with Tampa Bay. The veteran second baseman/outfielder said he respected the Rays way of playing baseball under manager Joe Maddon, which made joining the franchise an easy decision. "I wasn't surprised they were interested. I knew if I wanted to go to Tampa I had to be willing to move around. They called and I was happy hear from them."

Here is what's happening around the league…

  • Scott Boras denied his involvement with the planting of a rumor about his client Jose Valverde and an imminent deal with the Marlins, reports Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. 
  • Mychal Givens will no longer play shortstop in the minors for the Orioles, but rather try his hand at pitching, writes Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com. 
  • Reds GM Walt Jocketty has yet to hear any updates from Scott Rolen while he remains at a stalemate with his four remaining arbitration-eligible players, says Mark Sheldon of MLB.com.
  • Francisco Liriano's deal with the Pirates remains on track to become official, but will not do so until his non-throwing arm heals so the veteran can take a physical, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).
  • Derek Lowe will wait to see what other offers come his way after passing on a minor league deal from the Rockies, writes Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter). 
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