Jonathan Sanchez

Olney’s Latest: Lee, Zambrano, Dodgers, Fielder

By Mike Axisa | July 3, 2010 at 9:27am CDT

In today's blog post at ESPN (Insider req'd), Buster Olney says that even though the Yankees already have five good starters, the tight race in the AL East is enough to keep them engaged with the Mariners about Cliff Lee. They will probably make an offer at some point, but they're unlikely to land him because they've been philosophically opposed to trading prospects for a player they could just sign as a free agent after the season.

Here are the rest of Olney's rumors…

Olney's message to any team looking for bullpen help: Good luck with that. There are no difference-making relievers on the market, and guys like Kerry Wood, David Aardsma, and Jason Frasor are no sure things.
Carlos Zambrano has some value as an innings eater, and the Cubs could probably get a team to absorb $10-15MM of the $45MM left on his deal. If he does get traded, Olney says it would likely be in the offseason.
People in the Dodgers' organization say there is "little or no hope" that money will be available for the team to make moves.
Olney doesn't see the Giants and Brewers matching up in a Prince Fielder trade. Matt Cain is a deal breaker given Tim Lincecum's recent struggles, and Jonathan Sanchez or Madison Bumgarner won't be enough.

Olney On Cruz, Sanchez, Dye

By Tim Dierkes | April 15, 2010 at 11:20am CDT

Buster Olney's ESPN blog is always a good read; here are a few hot stove nuggets to ponder…

Olney reminds us that Nelson Cruz cleared waivers in the spring of '08. That's always a good time of year to sneak a guy through. At 26, Cruz had struggled in the Majors in '07 but raked in 187 Triple A plate appearances. Because he figured things out later in his career, he won't reach arbitration until after this season at age 30.
Olney notes that Jonathan Sanchez "seemed to come off the board" as a trade candidate after his July 10th no-hitter last year. The Giants have Sanchez under team control through 2012. Matt Cain is under contract through '12, and Tim Lincecum is under team control through '13.
Olney on the Jermaine Dye-racism suggestion: "To suggest that there is a general reluctance, across a 30-team landscape, to sign Dye because he is black is completely absurd." Talking to Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe, Bill Hall asks more nuanced questions.

Top Trade Chips: NL West

By Mike Axisa | April 9, 2010 at 7:10pm CDT

Let's take stock of each team's top trade chips, starting today with the NL West…

Diamondbacks: Arizona moved two of its best trade chips this winter in Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth, and there's obviously no way Justin Upton will be moved. The cupboard is a little bare right now, but Stephen Drew could be available for the right price. He has two more years of team control left after 2010. Conor Jackson, who won't be a free agent until after 2011, could be attractive as well. Top prospect Jarrod Parker is recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Dodgers: Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw are deal breakers, but Chad Billingsley could be dangled after popping up in rumors during the offseason. The 25-year-old posted a 5.21 ERA in his final 19 appearances last year, though his peripheral stats were in line with what they had been in previous seasons. He won't be eligible for free agency until after the 2012 season.
Giants: Tim Lincecum and Pablo Sandoval aren't going anywhere and Matt Cain just signed a new extension, so Brian Sabean's best trade chip is lefty Jonathan Sanchez. The 27-year-old owns a career 9.3 K/9 and won't be eligible for arbitration until after the 2012 season. Madison Bumgarner's stock is down while he battles with Missing Velocity Disease, and Buster Posey isn't going anywhere.
Padres: Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell aren't just San Diego's two best trade chips, they're among the best in the game. Gonzalez is one of the baseball's premier power hitters at age 27, and will make just $4.75MM in 2010 with a $5.5MM club option for 2011. Bell has emerged as one of the league's most dominant closers, and won't be eligible for free agency until after the 2011 season.
Rockies: Everyone wants to get their hands on Troy Tulowitzki, but it's just not happening. Brad Hawpe is the player most likely to be moved, and there should be interest given his annual .890 OPS's and 25+ homers. He has a $10MM option for the 2011 season with a cheap $500K buyout, and Colorado has a glut of young and productive outfielders to replace him.

Players To Avoid Arbitration: Tuesday

By Mike Axisa | January 19, 2010 at 8:24pm CDT

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.

Pat Neshek agreed to a one year deal with $625K with another $75K in incentives, avoiding arbitration with the Twins according to MLB.com's Kelly Thesier (via Twitter).
The Nationals have agreed to terms with Jason Bergmann, Jesus Flores, Wil Nieves, and Josh Willingham according to a team press release. All four players avoided arbitration. MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez tweets that Willingham will make $4.6MM next season, while Bergmann will make $750K according to a tweet from MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
MLB.com's Mark Bowman tweets that the Braves and Peter Moylan have agreed to a deal, avoiding arbitration. He gets $1.15MM.
Matt Garza avoided arbitration with the Rays, tweets Topkin. The two sides agreed to a one year deal worth $3.35MM,
MLB.com's Jim Street tweets that the Mariners and David Aardsma have avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one year deal worth $2.75MM.
The Astros avoided arbitration with Michael Bourn, Matt Lindstrom, and Humberto Quintero according to a tweet from MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. Bourn gets $2.4MM, Lindstrom $1.625MM, and Quintero $750K (via McTaggart's Twitter).
Troy Renck of The Denver Post reports that the Rockies and Jason Hammel have avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one year deal worth $1.9MM.
The A's agreed to a one year deal with Kevin Kouzmanoff, reports The Oakland Tribune. Oakland acquired Kouzmanoff from the Padres over the weekend.
Jered Weaver agreed to a one year deal worth $4.265MM with the Angels to avoid arbitration, according to a tweet from Jon Heyman.
Topkin tweets that J.P. Howell agreed to a one year deal worth $1.8MM, avoiding arbitration with the Rays.
According to the team's official Twitter feed, the Blue Jays avoided arbitration with Jason Frasor ($2.65MM) and Brian Tallet ($2MM) by agreeing to one year deals.
Delmon Young avoided arbitration with the Twins by agreeing to a one year deal worth $2.6MM, according to a tweet by Joe Christensen of The Star Tribune. Kelly Thesier of MLB.com tweets that Young will get $25K each for 575 and 600 plate appearances.
According to a team press release, the Royals have avoided arbitration with Alex Gordon and Robinson Tejeda. Terms of either deal was not disclosed.
Heyman tweets that Stephen Drew and the Diamondbacks agreed to a one year deal worth $3.4MM, avoiding arbitration.
The White Sox and John Danks avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one year deal worth $3.45M, according to ESPN Chicago's Bruce Levine.
Ken Davidoff of Newsday tweets that the Mets and Pedro Feliciano have agreed to a one year deal worth $2.9MM, avoiding arbitration. There's another $100K in performance bonuses.
The Star Telegram's Anthony Andro reports that the Rangers and Chris Ray have avoided arbitration. MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan says it's a one year deal worth $975K.
Russell Martin has agreed to a one year contract worth $5.05MM, avoiding arbitration with the Dodgers according to Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times (via Twitter)
MLB.com's Jordan Bastian tweets that the Blue Jays and reliever Jeremy Accardo have agreed to a one year deal worth $1.08MM, avoiding arbitration.
Rafael Perez agreed to a one year deal with the Indians to avoid arbitration according to a team press release. MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince tweets that Perez will make $795K in 2010.
The Orioles and Luke Scott avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one year deal worth $4.05MM according to Dan Connolly and Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun. He earned $2.4MM last season, hitting .258/.340/.488 with a career high 25 homers.
MLB.com's Carrie Muskat tweets that the Cubs have avoided arbitration with Jeff Baker ($975K). Mike Fontenot ($1MM,) Koyie Hill ($700K), Angel Guzman ($825K), and Tom Gorzelanny ($800K). Terms of the deals came from Gordon Wittenmyer of The Chicago Sun Times (via Twitter).
Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports that the Pirates and Zach Duke have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one year deal.
Mike Salk of 710 ESPN Radio reports that Mark Lowe and the Mariners have avoided arbitration, agreeing to a $1.15MM salary for next season.
LaVelle E. Neal III of The Star Tribune tweets that the Twins and J.J. Hardy have avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one year deal worth $5MM. He gets a small raise over last year's $4.65MM salary after hitting .229/.302/.357.
According to the Cardinals' official Twitter feed, the team has avoided arbitration with Ryan Ludwick by agreeing to a one year deal. Heyman tweets that he'll receive $5.45MM next year after earning $3.7MM in 2009.
The Rangers avoided arbitration with Josh Hamilton, giving him $3.25MM plus awards-based bonuses according to a tweet from SI.com's Jon Heyman. It was his first time eligible. Hamilton hit .268/.315/.426 in 2009, missing time with back trouble and a sports hernia.
Mark Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times tweets that the Rays and Jason Bartlett have avoided arbitration, agreeing to a $4MM salary for 2010. He earned just under $2MM in 2009, hitting .320/.389/.490 with a career high 14 homers.
Casey Janssen agreed to a $700K deal for 2010 to avoid arbitration, according to the Blue Jays official Twitter feed. It was his first time up for arbitration.
Juan C. Rodriguez of The Sun Sentinel reports (via Twitter) that the Marlins and Jorge Cantu have avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one year deal worth $6MM. Cantu hit .289/.345/.443 while making $3.5MM in 2009, his first year of arb eligibility.
MLB.com's Adam McCalvy tweets that both Carlos Gomez and Rickie Weeks have agreed to one year deals to avoid arbitration. Tom Haudricourt of The Journal Sentinel tweets that Weeks will earn $2.75MM next year, while Gomez will earn $1.1MM as a Super Two.
Heyman tweets that the Dodgers have avoided arbitration with both George Sherrill and James Loney. Sherrill gets $4.5MM plus incentives in his third year eligible, Loney $3.1MM in his first go around.
According to the Blue Jays official Twitter feed, reliever Shawn Camp has agreed to a $1.15MM deal for 2010, avoiding arb. He was eligible for the second time after posting a 3.50 ERA in 79.2 innings last season.
Clark Spencer of The Miami Herald reports (via Twitter) that Leo Nunez and the Marlins have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $2MM salary for 2010. Sticking with the theme of the day, it was his first time eligible for salary arbitration.
MLB.com's Ken Gurnick tweets that the Dodgers and Hong Chih-Kuo have agreed to a one-year deal worth $950K, avoiding arb. It was Kuo's first time eligible.
Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets that the Mets and Jeff Francoeur have avoided arb by agreeing to a $5MM deal. Francoeur earned $3.375MM in 2009 and hit .280/.309/.423 for the Mets and Braves.
Heyman tweets that Howie Kendrick and the Angels have agreed to a $1.75MM deal with incentives. This was Kendrick's first crack at arbitration.
Heyman tweets that the A's and Rajai Davis agreed to a $1.35MM salary for 2010, plus incentives. This was Davis' first year eligible for arbitration.
Heyman tweets that Jonathan Sanchez avoided arb with the Giants by agreeing to a $2.1MM deal, plus incentives. He posted a 4.24 ERA in 163.1 innings last year, and was up for arbitration for the first time in his career.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Pirates, Twins, Beltre, Giants

By Mike Axisa | January 1, 2010 at 10:56am CDT

On New Year's Day 49 years ago, the stadium on the corner of Michigan Ave. and Trumbull Boulevard in Detroit was officially renamed Tiger Stadium. The then 49-year-old park had previously been known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium. Tiger Stadium would serve as the home of Detroit's ball club until the 2000 season, and was demolished completely in 2009.

Here's a look at what's being written around the baseball blogosphere…

Bucco Fans takes a look at what could have happened if the Pirates had kept their 2008 roster together.
Twins Overlook runs down Minnesota's top seven prospects, led by outfielder Aaron Hicks.
Meanwhile, Nick's Twins Blog examines the current state of the Twinkies' starting rotation.
The Bottom Line looks at how signing Adrian Beltre could affect the big picture in Boston.
DRaysBay compares Matt Joyce to Matt LaPorta, and finds that the gap between the two may not be as big as you think.
Jorge Says No! looks at the potential risk and reward of the Mark DeRosa signing.
El Lefty Malo guesses that the Giants will wait to see how Jonathan Sanchez's arbitration case turns out before deciding on whether or not to move a starter for a bat.
Pinstripes Published suggests David DeJesus as a possible left field solution for the Yankees.

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Odds & Ends: Red Sox, Giants, Nationals

By Howard Megdal | December 21, 2009 at 9:24pm CDT

Lots to get to as we round out another Hot Stove Monday…

Rob Bradford of WEEI.com has the backstory on Mike Lowell, his thumb injury and the trade that wasn't. Lowell expects to be ready for baseball activities by the first week of spring training, but has no idea if that will be with Boston or another team.
MLB.com's Chris Haft answers mail from Giants' fans. He says, among other things, that the Giants are reluctant to trade Jonathan Sanchez straight-up for Dan Uggla-as well they should be.
Washington Post Nationals beat reporter Chico Harlan weighs in on the Jason Marquis signing, noting that Marquis has more career victories than the other starters on the Washington 40-man roster combined.
AOL Fanhouse's Ed Price says that "All we hear out of the Mets camp is that they don't want to be bidding against themselves. Well, the fact of the matter is, the Mets might just have to bid against themselves." This is hard to understand, considering that Jason Bay and Bengie Molina certainly aren't likely to sit out the season rather than accept offers from the Mets.
Lyle Spencer of MLB.com speculates about what it would take for the Angels to acquire Derek Lowe.

Names Discussed In Giants-Uggla Talks

By Tim Dierkes | December 18, 2009 at 2:13pm CDT

2:13pm: A source tells Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com that a deal sending Uggla to the Giants is "not going down."

Crasnick writes that the first obstacle would be financial. The Giants will have to give Tim Lincecum a major raise in arbitration and are already hamstrung by the contracts of Barry Zito and Aaron Rowand. Uggla is expected to make more than $7MM in 2010.

Sabean & Co. are also hesitant to part with Jonathan Sanchez, as his departure would leave the club with only three proven starters.

10:43am: Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald informs us of names discussed in the Marlins' discussions with the Giants for Dan Uggla:

Giants players who were discussed include right-hander Jonathan Sanchez; lefty Clayton Tanner, and a midlevel pitching prospect.

It's unclear from Jackson's blurb who proposed what or if all three pitchers would be a possible return for Uggla. I believe that Sanchez alone would be more than enough for the Marlins – he has three years of team control compared to Uggla's two. Plus, Uggla's projected salary in his final arbitration year (2011) could be pretty steep. I'd be surprised to see Giants GM Brian Sabean move Sanchez for Uggla.

If you're wondering about Tanner, he's a 22-year-old lefty who repeated High A ball for the Giants this year and posted a 3.17 ERA, 7.8 K/9, and 2.7 BB/9 in 139.3 innings. His Baseball America Handbook blurb before this season spoke of shoulder issues but a dependable curveball, predicting he'd spend '09 in Double A. Tanner made Kevin Goldstein's Giants Top 11 for Baseball Prospectus heading into the '08 season, with this synopsis: "Tanner projects as a back-end starter, with a backup plan involving a future as a grounder-inducing reliever."

Giants’ Talk: Catchers, Rotation, Howry

By Mike Axisa | December 4, 2009 at 5:40pm CDT

Andrew Baggarly of The Mercury News and John Shea of The SF Chronicle have some notes on the Giants' for us…

GM Brian Sabean said "nobody thinks [Buster Posey] is ready to catch 100-plus games in the big leagues," however they haven't made any "money offers" to any free agent catchers. He acknowledged that a multi-year deal for a backstop "wouldn't be wise."
As for why they didn't offer Type-A free agent Bengie Molina arbitration, Sabean said the team didn't "need another arbitration case," and that they "have multiple needs and we want to spread the money throughout the roster."
Sabean indicated that the team isn't comfortable paying Brad Penny or Juan Uribe what they want, and neither is likely to return. Both players declined one year deals last week.
Shea says that if Penny leaves, the team probably won't move Jonathan Sanchez in a trade, while Baggarly says there is "less resistance to the idea of Madison Bumgarner beginning the season in the rotation."
The team has informed reliever Bob Howry that they would like to bring him back, but they have not yet talked about money.
The Giants will not forfeit a draft pick to sign a player, which rules out the Type-A's. They hold the 24th overall pick in next year's draft. However, Sabean said that Type-A's who weren't offered arbitration were "more sensible targets."

Giants Notes: Bay, Free Agents, Arbitration Cases

By Mike Axisa | October 31, 2009 at 12:18pm CDT

The Giants had a pretty busy day yesterday, re-signing second baseman Freddy Sanchez to a two-year deal, and outrighting lefty Noah Lowry, making him a free agent. Henry Schulman of The SF Chronicle has some more Giants' rumors for us this morning…

GM Brian Sabean says he sees a "later-developing market. We don't have a relative sense of urgency like last year, which will play in our favor."
Schulman says San Francisco is expected to make a run at free agent outfielder Jason Bay.
Sabean also said the team has had "some level of conversation" with each of their potential free agents, most notably Juan Uribe, Randy Winn, and Bengie Molina. Yesterday we learned that Uribe informed the Giants that he intends to test the market.

Meanwhile, Andrew Baggarly of The Mercury News notes that several of the Giants' core players are eligible for arbitration this winter, including Tim Lincecum, Brian Wilson, Jonathan Sanchez, and Ryan Garko. If Lincecum takes home another Cy Young Award this year, that would be the most awesome first year arbitration case in history.

Odds & Ends: Kikuchi, Bengie Molina, Marlon Byrd

By Tim Dierkes | September 30, 2009 at 11:54am CDT

Links for Wednesday…

NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman says reports suggest the Rangers may be the top suitor for high school lefty Yusei Kikuchi. Newman adds a new team to the mix for Kikuchi based on comments from GM Ed Wade: the Astros.
More from Newman, on what he calls "an interesting counter-point to the Kikuchi situation." Well-regarded Dominican righty Rafael DePaula, who has been suspended by MLB for misrepresenting his age, might head to Japan to begin his professional career.
Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News talked to Giants pitcher Jonathan Sanchez, who hopes the team re-signs catcher Bengie Molina. John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle thinks Molina might be the best catcher in San Francisco Giants history. Molina has a .278/.302/.440 line in his three seasons with the team. He projects as a Type A free agent.
Michael Young says the Rangers have to re-sign outfielder Marlon Byrd, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Byrd, 32, has a .280/.325/.479 line in 590 plate appearances and projects as a Type B free agent.
Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star adds Zack Greinke's recent New York-related quote to a list of Greinke gems.

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