Quick Hits: Mills, Madson, Twins, Danks, Prado
On a day when the Blue Jays adopted a familiar-looking "new" logo, here are some news items to carry us into the weekend….
- If the Astros fire Brad Mills, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports believes Mills could reunite with Terry Francona as the latter's bench coach for a future managing vacancy. Morosi also lists Rangers executives A.J. Preller and Thad Levine and Rays executives Andrew Friedman and Gerry Hunsicker as wish list candidates for Jim Crane if he removes Ed Wade as Houston's general manager. It would be the second stint as Astros' GM for Hunsicker, who ran the team from 1996-2004.
- Ryan Madson could be one of several free agents to lose his Type A status under the rules of the new collective bargaining agreement, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. Such an adjustment would help Madson, as clubs with unprotected first-round draft picks currently have to give up that pick in order to sign the closer.
- Twins GM Terry Ryan tells Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that Denard Span and Ben Revere won't be traded this winter. Minnesota could lose both Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel to free agency this offseason.
- The White Sox didn't add Jordan Danks to their 40-man roster, and Jim Margalus of the South Side Sox speculates that this could be a hint that Chicago is preparing to part ways with John Danks. The elder Danks brother has drawn strong interest on the trade market.
- The Braves "seem to undervalue [Martin Prado's] skills," writes Fangraphs' Jason Roberts, who thinks Atlanta may not get proper market value in exchange for the utilityman in a deal.
- Right-hander Darrell Rasner has signed a new contract with the Rakuten Golden Eagles, reports NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman. Matt Sosnick, Rasner's agent, tells Newman the contract is worth $1.5MM plus performance bonuses. Rasner last appeared in the majors as a Yankee in 2008 and has pitched for Rakuten ever since.
- The Blue Jays, Cardinals, Mariners, Red Sox and Twins are all listed as possible suitors for Kelly Shoppach by ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link).
Tigers Nearing Deal For Gerald Laird
10:34am: The Tigers are on the verge of signing Gerald Laird, according to Morosi and Rosenthal on Twitter.
10:23am: The Tigers aren't close to a deal with Shoppach, according to MLB.com's Jason Beck (on Twitter).
10:04am: The Tigers are close to signing a catcher, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Free agent Kelly Shoppach is one of the team's targets and Morosi reported earlier in the week that the Tigers are considering Jose Molina, Matt Treanor, Ramon Castro and former Tiger Gerald Laird as possible backups.
Alex Avila will start for the Tigers, who want Victor Martinez's bat in the lineup every day. GM Dave Dombrowski has said the Tigers view Martinez as the team's regular DH and third catcher, which means the team is on the hunt for someone who can spell Avila regularly.
Rays Exercise Farnsworth’s Option, Not Shoppach’s
The Rays exercised Kyle Farnsworth's 2012 option while declining Kelly Shoppach's, according to the Tampa Tribune (on Twitter). Farnsworth obtains a $3.3MM salary instead of a $650K buyout and Shoppach obtains a $300K buyout instead of a $3.2MM salary.
Farnsworth posted a 2.18 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 57 2/3 innings out of the bullpen in 2011. Shoppach, 31, hit just .176/.268/.339 in 253 plate appearances, but he led the league by preventing 41% of stolen base attempts. The Rays will look to get more offense from behind the plate in 2012.
The Astros’ Catching Options
Jason Castro's 2011 season came to a quick end when the news broke that Castro had suffered a torn ACL in his right knee. The injury leaves the Astros with Humberto Quintero and J.R. Towles as their top internal options behind the plate, and it's possible that Houston is content to stick with this duo. Quintero is a solid defender, if nothing else, and Towles is just a couple of years removed from being considered a top prospect himself, so the Astros might be willing to give Towles one last chance to prove himself at the Major League level.
As with any notable injury, however, the hot stove is already heating up with speculation about who Houston could pursue if the team looked outside its organization. Brian McTaggart of MLB.com and David Golebiewski of Fangraphs have both already chimed in on the situation, so let's take a look at their possible candidates…
- Ryan Doumit. Pittsburgh is known to be shopping the veteran, and willing to eat some of his $5.1MM salary for the right talent in return. MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch, however, wonders if the Astros would really give up anything of value for just one year of Doumit.
- A.J. Ellis. He isn't exactly a proven veteran, but Ellis could be available. Ellis and Dioner Navarro are battling to be Rod Barajas' backup in Los Angeles.
- Jesus Flores. The Nationals could be the most fitting trade partner here, given the number of catchers on their roster. Flores has looked healthy in Spring Training and could probably be obtained at a low cost.
- Tyler Flowers. His future with the White Sox suddenly became blurry following a mediocre 2010 season in Triple-A and A.J. Pierzynski's new two-year contract with the club. Flowers is just 25, however, and was ranked by Baseball America as the 60th-best prospect in the game heading into last season. It's very unlikely that Chicago has already given up on Flowers.
- Bengie Molina. Unlike these other players, Molina is a free agent, and would cost Houston nothing but money. We heard last month that Molina was on the fence about returning next season since he couldn't find a team that would offer him regular playing time.
- Brian Schneider. McTaggart observes that Ed Wade and Ruben Amaro Jr. have collaborated before, most notably on the deal that sent Roy Oswalt to Philadelphia last summer. Schneider and Carlos Ruiz make a nice lefty-righty platoon, however, and it's unlikely the Philles would want to break that combination up.
- Kelly Shoppach. John Jaso is pencilled into the starting job in Tampa Bay, so the Rays could listen to offers for their veteran backup, who makes $3MM in 2011.
McTaggart also notes the Yankees' minor league depth at catcher, but says they're an unlikely trade partner since the Astros would be looking for a Major League-ready catcher. Besides, New York is dealing with their own injury problems behind the plate, as Francisco Cervelli will be sidelined with a broken foot.
Kelly Shoppach Signs Two-Year Deal
3:20pm: Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times says Shoppach is guaranteed $5.55MM – $2.25MM in '10, $3MM in '11, and a $3.2MM club option with a $300K buyout for '12 (the option year has incentives).
10:30am: Rays catcher Kelly Shoppach signed a two-year, $5.5MM deal to avoid arbitration, writes ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. Crasnick says the deal also includes a club option on Shoppach's first free agent season, 2012. Shoppach was acquired by the Rays with cash from the Indians on December 1st; the Rays ended up sending pitcher Mitch Talbot to Cleveland.
For what it's worth, Shoppach's top Baseball-Reference comparable is Colorado's Chris Iannetta. Iannetta will earn $6.1MM for his last two arb years, writes Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. Other comparisons: Chris Snyder earns $7.75MM over his last two arbitration years and Ryan Doumit gets $8.65MM. It's a reasonable price for the Rays, but they lose the advantage of going year-to-year with Shoppach.
Indians Get Mitch Talbot In Kelly Shoppach Trade
Righty Mitch Talbot is the player to be named later from the Kelly Shoppach trade, writes MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince. The Indians traded Shoppach to the Rays on December 1st. The Rays also received cash in the deal, according to a team press release.
Talbot, 26, pitched mostly at Triple A this year. He posted a 4.47 ERA, 6.6 K/9, and 3.0 BB/9 in ten starts. He missed a few months with an elbow injury, so the Rays had him make six starts in the Arizona Fall League to get more work. He's out of options, so he'll presumably compete for a spot in the Indians' rotation. Heading into the season, Baseball America had this scouting report on Talbot:
Talbot has an 89-91 mph fastball with good movement, a hard slider with impressive late cutting action and a changeup that continues to show better fade and depth.
Shipping Aubrey Huff to the Astros in July of '06 really paid off for the Rays. They received Talbot and eventually spun him into Shoppach. They also received Ben Zobrist, who was immensely valuable this year.
Odds & Ends: Fehr, Indians, Swisher
Sunday night links…
- Former MLBPA head Donald Fehr talked to Daniel Barbarisi of The Providence Journal. Amongst other things, Fehr says that with the current agreement expiring in 2011, he hopes the owners remember the brutal work stoppage of 1994.
- Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (via Twitter) says that we can expect to find out what Rays player will be shipped to the Indians as part of the Kelly Shoppach deal. The Cleveland press release announcing the trade a few weeks ago had said that the "player to be named later" would be revealed today, December 20th.
- While some Yankees fans have talked about the possibility of trading Nick Swisher, Chad Jennings of The Journal News defends the eccentric outfielder, citing his 29 HRs and .371 OBP. Dealing Swisher probably made sense when the club still might have re-signed Johnny Damon. At this point, unless the Yanks plan on signing Matt Holliday, can anyone think of a good reason why they should move Swisher?
Rays Shopping Dioner Navarro
The Rays, who recently acquired Kelly Shoppach, are shopping catcher Dioner Navarro, according to Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports. Navarro is a non-tender candidate, especially since the Rays have Shoppach around. It makes sense for the Rays to explore trade options if they expect to non-tender him this weekend.
The Giants, Mariners, Rockies, Mets and Blue Jays are among the teams with interest in adding a catcher, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Rays work out a deal with one of those clubs.
Four Teams Interested In Pudge?
3:32pm: Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times says not to expect any interest in Rodriguez from the Rays.
11:56am: Yesterday we heard that the Royals were interested in free agent catcher Ivan Rodriguez, and today SI.com's Jon Heyman adds the Rangers, Giants, and Rays to the mix.
Texas could be looking to bring Pudge back for depth after Jarrod Saltalamacchia left winter ball with a shoulder injury, while the Giants and Royals are looking to replace the departed Bengie Molina and Miguel Olivo, respectively. Tampa Bay, on the other hand, currently has both Kelly Shoppach and Dioner Navarro under contract, however both are prime non-tender candidates if the Rays don't like price tags.
The 38-year-old catcher hit .249/.280/.384 last year, and is a Type-B free agent. If he signs elsewhere, the Rangers will receive a supplemental first round draft pick, somewhere around 50th overall.
Rays Acquire Kelly Shoppach
7:40pm: Topkin (via Twitter) reports that pitcher Jeff Bennett was designated for assignment to open up a spot for Shoppach on the 40-man roster. Bennett posted a 9.95 ERA in 11 relief appearances with Tampa Bay last season.
1:42pm: Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times tweets that the Rays have acquired Shoppach for a player to be named later. The deal has been confirmed by an Indians press release, which notes that the PTBNL must be named by December 20th.
1:33pm: The Rays are closing in on a deal with the Indians for catcher Kelly Shoppach, according to ESPN's Buster Olney. Shoppach was a non-tender candidate for the Tribe after earning $1.95MM and slipping to .214/.335/.399 offensively. If the Rays do acquire Shoppach, you have to wonder if they'll non-tender Dioner Navarro.
Shoppach, 30 in April, would make for an interesting pickup for the Rays given his .261/.348/.517 line from '08.