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Marlins Inquire On Ivan Rodriguez

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Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes of the Marlins’ pursuit of a catcher, which has been going on for several weeks now.

The Fish would like to find an upgrade on Matt Treanor, who is currently on the DL with a hip strain.  However, they’re not impressed by available backstops Paul Lo Duca, Yorvit Torrealba, and Dave Ross.  Jackson adds an interesting name – the Marlins asked the Tigers about Ivan Rodriguez, but he’s not available at this time.  They could always sign him in the offseason if the price is right.

We revisited the trade market for catchers about a week ago.  Two names I haven’t heard much for the Marlins are Gregg Zaun and Rod Barajas of the Jays.

Ivan Rodriguez To Lose Playing Time

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Ivan Rodriguez, the Tigers’ $13MM catcher, will now be used in a platoon with Brandon Inge.  They’ll alternate starts behind the plate.

Rodriguez, 36, is hitting .245 (AVG)/.286 (OBP)/.349 (SLG) in 208 plate appearances.  This didn’t come out of nowhere – PECOTA had him at .267/.295/.390.  PECOTA is a projection system developed by Baseball Prospectus.  The PECOTA system uses comparable players to make its estimates.

Hot stove implications of Jim Leyland’s new plan: the Tigers will learn if Brandon Inge can be their everyday catcher in 2009 (Inge is signed through 2010).  If not, the Tigers seem more likely to explore the free agent market than to re-sign Pudge.  What a difference a few months can make – last offseason the Tigers exercised Rodriguez’s $13MM option and tried to trade Inge.

Odds and Ends: Ivan Rodriguez, Hall, Street

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Time for today’s link roundup.

  • MLBTR live chat here at 2pm CST, don’t miss it!
  • Ivan Rodriguez expects to play ball beyond this season.
  • Bill Hall isn’t happy with the Brewers’ callup of Russell Branyan.  Hall is hitting .220/.292/.418 in 196 plate appearances.  He’s signed through 2010.
  • Susan Slusser ponders the future of A’s relievers Huston Street, Alan Embree, Santiago Casilla, and Joey Devine.  Might be tough to deal anyone unless the team drops out of contention.
  • Part 2 of AN’s Billy Beane interview.

Odds and Ends: Perez, Jones, Howard, Burnett

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Let’s round up today’s linkage.

  • No more long-term discussions with Oliver Perez and the Mets.
  • Andruw Jones already wants to talk extension with the Dodgers.
  • The Cardinals are not likely to make anymore acquisitions.  In my view the team has question marks in right field, the middle infield, and the rotation.  Here’s a look at their MLB.com depth chart.  By the way, could Ryan Franklin be a league average starter?  They could try it if the current options don’t pan out.
  • Jim Salisbury thinks the Ryan Howard contract situation is a nonstory.  I think this is partially because (and I hope this doesn’t sound condescending) most fans do not understand the arbitration process.  Anyway Salisbury’s source says the Phillies would match Chase Utley’s seven-year, $85MM deal and might approach $100MM.  He says Howard may want "significantly more."
  • Ivan Rodriguez would like to play beyond the 2008 season and retire a Tiger.  If the Tigers can’t find a taker for Brandon Inge this year, he could be their starting catcher in ’09.
  • Carl Pavano doesn’t seem too popular in the Yankees’ clubhouse.
  • J.P. Ricciardi does not plan to do an extension during the season with A.J. Burnett.  I think Burnett will stay healthy enough to top the two years, $24MM he could get if he does not opt out.

Willis/Pudge Spinoff To Mets?

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UPDATE, 12-6-07 at 8:13am: Adam Rubin’s source still believes Willis could be flipped to the Mets.

UPDATE, 12-5-07 at 9:21pm: Danny Knobler says the Tigers did briefly consider a three-way scenario that sent Willis and Pudge to the Mets.  That permutation was dismissed before anything went public and won’t be revisited.

FROM 12-5-07 at 6:08pm:

According to Sweeny Murti via MetsBlog, the Tigers have looked into the idea of spinning Dontrelle Willis off to the Mets.  I’m sure this would thrill the Marlins, who didn’t want to trade within the division.  No offer has been made, but it’s been discussed. 

The part that doesn’t make sense is the inclusion of Ivan Rodriguez to the Mets as a salary dump.  The Tigers, after all, chose to exercise that $13MM option on Pudge.

Catcher Salaries

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Dan Graziano noted in his column today that Ivan Rodriguez may have set the market for Jorge Posada when his option was exercised.  Posada was the game’s second-highest paid catcher in 2007, with his $12MM salary behind only Jason Kendall’s $13MM.  Posada is coming off a .338/.426/.543 season, so he’s going to break the bank.  Some team is probably going to offer $15MM per year over four years. 

Now that Pudge is locked in at $13MM for ’08, he’s jumped to that top of the list.  Behind him, Jason Varitek makes $9MM and Ramon Hernandez earns $7.5MM next year.  Ramon Castro should prepare for a huge raise – he made $850K in ’07 but could be around $4MM in ’08.

Many catchers will definitely have to take a pay cut.  Kendall won’t get $13MM again, of course.  Paul Lo Duca probably won’t pull $6.25MM.  Jason LaRue will come down from this year’s $5.2MM.  Michael Barrett at $4.6MM?  Probably not.  Brad Ausmus at $3.5MM?  No way.

If you’re interested, Download catcher_salaries.xls.  It’s an Excel spreadsheet with all the 2007 and 2008 catcher salaries.

Tigers Exercise Pudge’s $13MM Option

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According to Baseball Digest Daily, the Tigers have picked up Ivan Rodriguez’s $13MM option for 2008.  It was a $10MM decision for the Tigers given the $3MM buyout price.  The Detroit Tiger Weblog is OK with the decision, given the lack of better alternatives. 

By my count, the Tigers have roughly $83MM on the books plus maybe another $6MM for those making near the minimum.  Ballpark it at $90MM, which is $5MM below their Opening Day ’07 mark.  The Tigers have some holes to fill, but it wouldn’t be surprised to see payroll rise past $100MM.  The Tigers passed the 3MM attendance mark this year for the first time ever.

Boras’s Approach With Pudge

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I don’t have a ton to add on this one; I think Michael Rosenberg nails it when discussing Scott Boras’s disingenuous comments regarding Ivan Rodriguez.  If I had to find one word that best describes, it would be disingenuous.  He’s rarely straightforward and always calculating, and that’s why he’s the best agent in the game by far.

Rosenberg mentions that Boras’s approach indicates that he doesn’t think Rodriguez could earn a $13MM deal on the open market.  I agree – the Tigers probably value Pudge more highly than other teams because he’s symbolic for them.  Rodriguez’s situation has of course been discussed internally by the Tigers, but they’ve yet to meet with Boras or Rodriguez on the topic.

Tigers To Decline Pudge’s Option?

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This one’s been going back and forth for months.  Just about a week ago, the buzz was strongly in favor of the Tigers picking up Ivan Rodriguez’s $13MM option for 2008.  One Detroit writer went as far as to suggest that the Tigers already privately agreed to pick it up.  You may recall that Pudge’s option comes with a hefty $3MM buyout price attached.

Now Danny Knobler of Michigan Live writes that the Tigers are prepared to decline the option.  They’d entertain a lesser one-year deal, but Rodriguez may not be interested.  Remember, he’s represented by Scott Boras.  Knobler indicates that the Mets would get involved if Rodriguez reached free agency.

I’m not sure what the Tigers have in mind here, as they don’t have internal options and the free agent market is weak.  Perhaps they’ll pursue Yorvit Torrealba, Ramon Castro, or Miguel Olivo.

Tigers To Exercise Pudge’s Option?

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Tigers catcher Ivan Rodriguez has a $13MM option for ’08 with a $3MM buyout attached.  Last we’d heard, the Tigers were likely to exercise it for lack of a better option.

Tom Gage of the Detroit News believes not only that the Tigers will exercise the option, but that privately the team has already committed to it.  Gage mentions that Pudge is seen as a symbol of the team’s rebirth and that he’s been far too jovial in the clubhouse for a guy with an uncertain future.  Wow, that last sentence was really poorly written.

Gage also adds that Nate Robertson is the Tiger most likely to be traded.  Robertson’s salary will climb past $4MM in arbitration.  Personally I think they should hang on to him instead of selling low.  But even following an off year he’d be highly sought after this winter.  I like Robertson quite a bit in the NL.  He could have a Ted Lilly-like transformation.

Gage mentions a $20MM escalation in payroll for current players, but I’ve found the net effect to be a $7.5MM increase.

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