Indians Notes: Dye, Bixler, Mauer
MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince opened up his reader mailbag to answer a number of questions about the Tribe and other AL Central topics…
- Jermaine Dye's right-handed bat "would have been a better fit in this lineup" than Russell Branyan, Castrovince notes, but Cleveland needed a first baseman and Dye is a defensive liability in the outfield.
- The trade for, and subsequent DFA of, Brian Bixler is described as "wasted energy" by Castrovince. However, he notes that Jesus Brito (who the Tribe dealt to Pittsburgh for Bixler) is "a little old" to still be in the low minors, in spite of his strong numbers last season.
- Castrovince discusses Joe Mauer's contract extension and says that it "was a special circumstance" given Mauer's Minnesota roots and the fact that the Twins could afford the deal thanks to their new ballpark. He also warns that the deal might not look so good when Target Field stops being a major revenue stream, such as what happened to the Indians after the novelty of Progressive Field (then Jacobs Field) wore off.
- Along those same lines, Castrovince notes that the Tribe didn't have the benefit of a new ballpark to generate revenue when they attempted to re-sign C.C. Sabathia to a long-term deal before the 2008 season.
- Castrovince reports the Tribe didn't re-sign LHP Juan Lara, as they have the last two springs to minor-league deals. The team did allow Lara to train at their Dominican Republic facilities over the winter. Lara hasn't pitched in the majors since 2007 due to a car accident suffered in November of that year, but he returned to appear in 15 games for Cleveland's Arizona Rookie League team in 2009.
Odds & Ends: Orioles, Harper, Hanley
Links for Wednesday…
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports presents a slideshow of ten trades he thinks would make sense.
- In another article, Morosi says Bryce Harper is "one terrible role model." Morosi contrasts Harper with Joe Mauer, who he says had an "uncontrived upbringing" but still became a well-paid star.
- The Mariners acquired minor league infielder Edgar Trejo from the Brewers for a player to be named later or cash considerations, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
- Over at RotoAuthority, I took a look at 2009's top position players and pitchers in terms of fantasy baseball earnings, and what rounds those players were drafted in.
- The Orioles are replacing farm director David Stockstill, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Tony Pente of Orioles Hangout first hinted Monday of impending front office changes.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes that March 31st at 2pm is "the deadline to release players with non-guaranteed contracts and owe just 45-day’s pay." The Yankees' Chad Gaudin is one example, though a year ago with the Cubs Gaudin had a guaranteed contract.
- In light of the news that the Giants are shopping infielder Kevin Frandsen, Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner explains why the Mariners acquiring him "seems like the most obvious move ever."
- Marlins president David Samson told Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post he'd like Hanley Ramirez to retire a Marlin. Fortunately, Ramirez is already signed through 2014.
Could Mauer’s Deal Impact Fielder?
Joe Mauer's contract sent a ripple though baseball over the weekend, as it effectively shed Minnesota's "small market team" label. Not only was it fourth largest contract in baseball history, but it was also the largest contract ever signed by a catcher. As Satchel Price at Beyond The Box Score shows, it's not even close.
Could Mauer's deal have a trickle down affect on Prince Fielder, who is two years away from free agency? Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel spoke to several members of the Brewers' organization about the possibility, including Prince himself. When asked if he thought about how Mauer's deal effects him, Fielder replied "Not really because I don't really think about it. I'm just focused on getting ready. It doesn't really make me think about myself. It's just cool for him."
GM Doug Melvin responded with the rather boring (yet true) line of “You can keep anybody if you want to pay the market price." Milwaukee already has its other franchise player, Ryan Braun, locked up through 2015 at more than affordable annual salaries, though if they give Fielder a Mauer-esque contract, they'll have roughly 40% of their payroll tied up in just two players, assuming they maintain the same $80MM payroll they've had the last two seasons.
Of course, the differences between Mauer and Fielder are obvious. Mauer plays the more premium position and doesn't share the same long-term concerns about his size and athleticism. He also has more hardware, and doesn't employ Scott Boras as an agent. Both are among the best young players in the game, no doubt, but in the end, we're talking about a unique situation when it comes to Joe Mauer because of his status as a true homegrown player.
Joe Mauer Extension Reactions
Joe Mauer's eight-year, $184MM extension with the Twins will be officially announced later today. Reactions from around the web:
- Aaron Gleeman says "the decision was a no-brainer for the Twins despite the incredible amount of risk involved." Gleeman notes that a payroll in the $100MM range will still leave the Twins with "more money to spend than they had in any previous season" despite Mauer's percentage.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post suggests Twins catching prospect Wilson Ramos could "enable the Twins to better preserve Mauer." Or maybe Ramos becomes one of the game's better trade chips?
- How much did Mauer leave on the table? ESPN's Jayson Stark believes he could've gotten $30MM per year and more than eight years on the open market. Stark's colleague Buster Olney says Mauer "might've walked away from the promise of another $60 million to $70 million in free agency."
- ESPN's Rob Neyer discusses the opportunity costs of being locked into a Mauer megadeal, as well as the short-term credibility cost of not signing him.
- Red Sox catcher Victor Martinez told WEEI's Alex Speier that Mauer "deserves every penny he got." Regarding his own extension, Martinez is leaving the ball in Boston's court and hasn't heard anything thus far.
Odds & Ends: Royals, Dodgers, Mauer, Reyes
Sunday night linkage..
- Rookie left-hander and Rule 5 draftee Edgar Osuna has impressed in Kansas City and will likely stick with the club, writes Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.
- Joe Torre has suspended contract extension talks with the Dodgers to avoid becoming a distraction during the season, writes Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.
- Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner (via Twitter) believes that the Twins are paying Joe Mauer what he's worth. Meanwhile, Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets that Minnesota's payroll will likely top $100MM in 2011.
- Social media can be a real headache for GMs, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
- The Hanshin Tigers are looking at three major league pitchers to bolster their rotation, according to a report from Sports Hochi passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. The report lists Jo-Jo Reyes, Eric Stults, and Seth McClung as possibilities. You may recall that another Japanese club, the Chiba Lotte Marines, has previously shown interest in Stults.
- Bobby Jenks will be on a short leash this season, writes Barry Rozner of the Daily Herald. Jenks, who turned 29 on March 14th, is set to earn $7.5MM in 2010 after avoiding arbitration with the White Sox.
- The Padres' Adrian Gonzalez is ignoring all of the trade talk that surrounds him, writes Peter Gammons in a column for MLB.com.
Twins, Mauer Agree To Eight-Year $184MM Deal
Joe Mauer isn't going anywhere. After months of anticipation, the Twins reached an agreement with Mauer on an eight-year, $184MM extension today. The contract will keep the soon-to-be 27-year-old in Minnesota from 2011 to 2018.
The agreement was first reported by Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter) and the Twins disclosed the contract's terms, including its full no-trade clause, via press release. Rosenthal (via Twitter) and ESPN.com's Buster Olney suggested earlier in the day that the sides were nearing a deal.
The deal, which covers Mauer's first eight free agent seasons, averages out to $23MM per year. That's the fourth largest deal in MLB history, topped only by Alex Rodriguez's $275MM contract with the Yankees, Rodriguez's $252MM contract with Texas, and Derek Jeter's $189MM deal.
The Minnesota native outdid himself in 2009, posting .365/.444/.587 with 28 homers in 606 plate appearances en route to his third batting title in four seasons and the AL MVP Award. The Twins and Mauer will make it all official at a press conference tomorrow evening.
It's the news many Twins fans have been waiting for all offseason, but it comes on the same day that Joe Nathan decided to undergo Tommy John surgery. The closer will miss the season, but Twins fans have one less player to worry about, now that the Yankees and Red Sox are not going to have the chance to bid on their star catcher.
Odds & Ends: Crawford, Alvarez, Mauer, Aumont
Some links for your Friday…
- Tom Verducci of SI.com said on WEEI's Dennis & Callahan show that he expects Carl Crawford to sign with the Yankees after the season, because "nobody is going to outbid them." The Yankees and Red Sox both love Crawford, according to Verducci.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Dodgers should spend more aggressively, especially considering they led the league in attendance last year.
- Alex Speier of WEEI.com points out that Mike Lowell, Jason Varitek, Bill Hall and Jeremy Hermida will combine to make only $10MM or so less than the entire Pirates team this year. Why is that noteworthy? All four Red Sox are expected to be bench players.
- Cubs GM Jim Hendry is under contract through 2012, but he tells ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that he knows "these jobs aren't forever."
- The Pirates say Pedro Alvarez needs seasoning above AA, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Sending the third baseman to the minors limits his MLB service time, so it's a sound financial decision by the Pirates.
- The A's haven't called Joe Beimel, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
- The A's worked out Wagner Mateo on Tuesday, according to Slusser.
- ESPN.com’s Buster Olney thinks that the Joe Mauer contract negotiations, which remain cordial, could continue in a few months if the sides don’t reach a deal in Spring Training.
- The Dominican prospect already worked out for the D'Backs and will likely work out for the Indians.
- Twins minor league director Jim Rantz told Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that another Dominican prospect, Miguel Sano, has "tremendous upside." Kovacevic says it's still too early to know how much the Pirates missed out on when Sano signed with the Twins instead of the Pirates.
- Phillies prospect Phillippe Aumont tells Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun that he thought he was heading to the Blue Jays at one point this offseason.
- Carl Crawford tells Tyler Kepner of the New York Times that he's comfortable with the speculation about his future since it "comes with the territory." Crawford is a free agent after the season.
Heyman On Mauer, Beckett, Lowell
Jon Heyman of SI.com expects Joe Mauer and Josh Beckett to re-sign with their current teams. Here are the details from his latest column:
- Heyman hears that Joe Mauer and the Twins are willing to work on an extension once the season begins. Apparently Mark Teixeira's eight-year $180MM deal is a comparable for the Mauer talks.
- According to a person involved in the talks, Beckett is seeking slightly more than the five-year $82.5MM deal John Lackey signed.
- Heyman doesn't think the Red Sox can expect the Marlins to pay as much as of Mike Lowell's salary as the Rangers agreed to take on in December. The Rangers were going to take on $3MM of the infielder's $12MM salary before concerns about Lowell's thumb emerged.
Odds & Ends: Guzman, Sonnanstine, Jukich
Links for Wednesday…
- The Mets have no interest in trading for Cristian Guzman, according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Guzman could have played shortstop in New York while the Mets wait for Jose Reyes to get healthy.
- Dave Allen at FanGraphs thinks the Rays should use Andy Sonnanstine as a long reliever to start the season with an eye towards trading him if something comes up. Sonnanstine is going to get squeezed out of Tampa's rotation in a numbers crunch, but he has minor league options remaining.
- The Cardinals are in trade talks with the Reds in hopes of keeping Rule 5 lefty Ben Jukich, reports Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
- The Indians signed righty Justin Germano to a minor league deal, reports Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Germano, 27, posted a 4.38 ERA, 4.97 K/9, and 1.18 BB/9 in 76 innings for the Softbank Hawks last year.
- After working out for the Diamondbacks, Dominican outfielder Wagner Mateo will audition for at least four more teams according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
- Dan O'Dowd told Tyler Kepner of the New York Times he hopes Troy Tulowitzki retires a Rockie.
- Joe Pawlikowski of River Ave. Blues explains why he does not expect the Yankees to sign Joe Mauer even if the superstar catcher reaches free agency.
- Kiko Calero received calls from a dozen teams this winter, reports Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News.
- Dave Cameron of U.S.S. Mariner finds Seattle to be lacking in middle infield depth.
Mauer Talks Still Progressing
Talks between Joe Mauer and the Twins are not stalled despite an absence of news on the topic, a source with knowledge of the discussions told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Opening Day, which is the likely deadline for Mauer, is still three weeks away.
In November, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports wrote that Mauer would shut down talks at the end of Spring Training. However, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune's La Velle E. Neal III, no deadline has been set.
Rosenthal writes that Mauer is still expected to sign an extension of at least seven years for $20MM per season.