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Kevin Correia

Cafardo On Suzuki, Oswalt, Correia, Zimmermann

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In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe argues that two best players at catcher and shortstop positions in camp with the Red Sox organization are Ryan Lavarnway and Jose Iglesias and believes that they absolutely should be on the final 25-man roster.  There could be disagreement from different factions of the club about what to do with the two players and it'll be interesting to see how it all turns out.  Here's more from Cafardo..

  • The Rays have been trying hard to get A's catcher Kurt Suzuki but Oakland isn’t crazy about getting Wade Davis or Jeff Niemann in return.  One National League GM points out that those are the type of pitchers that Billy Beane winds up trading and would want a higher grade of pitcher. Right now, the Rays aren’t willing to pay that price.
  • The idea that Roy Oswalt wants to play in the Midwest or South can be overcome with money, according to a major league source.  To get him, Cafardo writes that the Red Sox have to loosen their purse strings.
  • Major league sources say that the Pirates would entertain a deal for right-hander Kevin Correia.
  • The Angels asked the Nationals about Jordan Zimmermann, but there’s no chance unless they part with someone like Mike Trout, and that’s not happening. 
  • Red Sox outfielder Darnell McDonald could get some bites if he gets squeezed out in Boston.  The Indians, Giants, and Braves are all looking for a righthanded-hitting outfielder.
  • The Yankees are being a little careful about trading their pitching depth, but it appears Freddy Garcia would be available at the right price, which may be high.
  • White Sox pitchers Gavin Floyd and John Danks are both available in the right deal, but according to one GM, Kenny Williams will want at least "two A-level prospects and a third that’s a notch below, and that might not get it done."

Players Who Cannot Be Offered Arbitration

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Last offseason, agents negotiated four contracts known to include the bonus of prohibiting the team from offering arbitration if the player received Type A status.  Aside from Orlando Hudson, none of the four came close to Type A (Hudson was a B).  In general, none of the 14 Type As who were offered arbitration in November saw their market adversely affected, though Jason Frasor and Frank Francisco played it safe and accepted.  It was thought that Grant Balfour might have a hard time finding a deal, but the Athletics inked him for two years and $8.1MM.

Three contracts signed this winter prevent the team from offering arbitration if the player is a Type A at the end of the term:

  • Javier Vazquez, ACES.  The Yankees may have been counting on snagging a draft pick upon Vazquez's departure, but he slipped to Type B with a lousy 2010.  If Vazquez pushes himself back to A status with a strong season for the Marlins, they won't be able to offer arbitration.
  • Kevin Correia, Lapa/Leventhal.  This agency snagged the "no arbitration offer" clause for Justin Duchscherer last offseason as well.  Correia signed a two-year deal with the Pirates, so this clause applies to the 2012-13 offseason.  More importantly, Correia has a million bucks in incentives for '12.
  • Carl Pavano, O'Connell Sports Management.  As a Type B after the '09 season, Pavano accepted the Twins' arbitration offer and took the one-year deal.  He moved up to a Type A this winter, and the draft pick cost possibly did give a few teams pause.  After the '12 season, Pavano will not be saddled with that cost.
  • The contract was negotiated six years ago, but Scott Boras client Carlos Beltran can't be offered arbitration after '11.  Beltran was pretty close to Type A for 2009-10 despite playing in only 145 games over that span.  Given his $18.5MM salary the arbitration offer question is probably moot for the Mets anyway.

Contract Details: Bruce, Lee, Jenks, Pirates, Gomez

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Here are some recent updates on contracts from around the majors:

Pirates Sign Kevin Correia

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The Pirates officially signed Kevin Correia to a two-year, $8MM deal.  He can earn another $1MM in performance bonuses; Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the contract breakdown.  The team announced the deal, with this quote from GM Neal Huntington:

"Kevin Correia is a solid major league starting pitcher and a strong addition to our rotation.  We feel he is poised for a return to his 2009 form where he gave his club a chance to win nearly every start while carrying a significant innings pitched workload."

ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick broke news of the agreement.  Correia will join Paul Maholm, James McDonald, Ross Ohlendorf and possibly Scott Olsen in the Pirates' rotation. 

Aside from Yoslan Herrera, it has been 12 years since the Pirates last gave a free agent pitcher a multiyear deal – Cam Bonifay signed Pete Schourek to a two-year, $4MM deal in '98.  Back on November 10th, two MLBTR writers predicted Correia would sign with the Pirates.

Correia posted a 5.40 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 145 innings for the Padres in 2010. The 30-year-old missed time in May after his younger brother died in a tragic accident. He lost his rotation spot to Tim Stauffer after a trio of poor starts in late August. Agents Scott Leventhal and Damon Lapa did much better than I expected them to when I looked ahead to Correia's free agency this fall.

Correia’s walk rate jumped from 2.9 BB/9 to 4.0 BB/9 in 2010, but some of his stats reflect more favorably on his performance. Despite the righty's 5.40 ERA, defense-independent pitching stats suggest he was unlucky. Nearly 15% of fly balls hit off of Correia left the yard, so homers inflated his ERA. He induces ground balls and is just one year removed from a season in which he posted a 3.91 ERA in 33 starts, which likely contributed to GM Neal Huntington's willingness to make an $8MM guarantee.

The Padres offered Correia arbitration, so they'll obtain a supplementary first round pick in the 2011 draft for losing the Type B free agent.

Pirates Rumors: Correia, Accardo, Duchscherer

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4:05pm: The Pirates are interested in Kevin Correia, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

3:25pm: The Pirates are aggressively pursuing Accardo, according to Kovacevic (on Twitter).

2:51pm: The latest on the Pirates:

Odds & Ends: Dunn, Pirates, Correia, Lee

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Ron Santo, the longtime Cubs star and broadcaster, died overnight. Condolences to his family, friends and many fans. Here are today's links…

  • ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick profiles Brewers manager Ron Roenicke, who expects to be a players' manager, partly because his experience as a player allows him to relate to those who are struggling to produce.
  • The Orioles offered Adam Dunn a four-year deal worth about $40MM before he agreed to sign with the White Sox, according to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter).
  • The Pirates have had "ongoing discussions with multiple free-agent starters, and would be pleased to sign more than one starting pitcher to compete for a spot in the rotation," president Frank Coonelly told fans in a chat on MLB.com. The team made Jorge de la Rosa an offer and is also open to upgrading in right field, at first base or at short.
  • The market for Kevin Correia is heating up, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). The right-hander is in "active negotiations" with two or more teams.
  • Ryan Zimmerman tells Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that he wouldn't mind signing a Troy Tulowitzki-like extension (Twitter link).
  • "It's no secret we want Cliff [Lee], and we will do what we can to get him," Hank Steinbrenner told ESPN.com. Lee's agent, Darek Braunecker insists he never said he's looking to match C.C. Sabathia's $161MM deal.
  • MLB.com's Corey Brock suggests Brendan Ryan might be a better trade target for the Padres than Jason Bartlett (Twitter link).

Kevin Correia To Decline Arbitration

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The agent for Kevin Correia says the right-hander will turn down the Padres' offer of arbitration, according to Dan Hayes of the North County Times (on Twitter). Correia is open to returning to San Diego, but is not yet ready to rule out other teams. The 30-year-old pitched to a 5.40 ERA in 145 innings last year and posted 7.1 K/9 with 4.0 BB/9, but lost his rotation spot to Tim Stauffer after slumping late in the season.  Baseball understandably took a backseat in Correia's life this year, as he tragically lost his 21-year-old brother in May.

If you're wondering which ranked free agents have accepted or turned down arbitration in advance of tomorrow night's deadline, check out MLBTR's free agent arbitration offer tracker.

National League Free Agent Arbitration Offers

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11 National League teams have free agent arbitration offer decisions to make, and we'll group them in this post.  For a fantastic customizable chart with all 65 Type A/B free agents and their decisions in real-time, click here.

Odds & Ends: Padres, Choo, Willis, Guillen

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Links for Monday night. with just one day remaining for teams to determine whether to offer arbitration to their ranked free agents…

Free Agent Stock Watch: Kevin Correia

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Like the Padres, Kevin Correia started the season well but slumped down the stretch. There's no question that the 30-year-old's late-season struggles will limit his asking price this winter. Here's a closer look at the right-hander's free agent stock:

The Pros

  • Correia can strike hitters out (7.1 K/9 in 2010).
  • He stayed healthy all year.
  • Teams were showing interest in Correia not long ago; the Brewers and Rays asked about him last offseason. 
  • Despite the righty's 5.40 ERA, defense-independent pitching stats suggest he was unlucky. Nearly 15% of fly balls hit off of Correia left the yard, so homers inflated his ERA.
  • Correia has induced more grounders in the past two seasons (45% ground ball rate in '09, 49% ground ball rate in '10). This suggests he could pitch just as effectively in a considerably smaller park than Petco.
  • He's just a year removed from a season in which he posted a 3.91 ERA in 33 starts.

The Cons

  • He posted a 5.40 ERA last year, allowing more than a hit per inning. Lucky or not, those numbers are ugly.
  • Bud Black took note and removed the right-hander from the Padres' rotation in September. Correia had posted a 6.18 ERA between June and August. That's one long slump.
  • His walk rate jumped from 2.9 BB/9 to 4.0 BB/9 in 2010.

The Verdict 

It doesn't look great for Correia, though he shouldn't have trouble drawing interest. Teams like the Orioles and Brewers will be looking for back-of-the-rotation arms this offseason and Correia's ability to induce grounders would play well in homer-friendly places like Camden Yards and Miller Park. But other free agents (including former Brewer Dave Bush and former Oriole Kevin Millwood) will be vying for rotation spots and Correia doesn't have much leverage given his poor finish. A one-year deal worth $2MM or so seems like a reasonable target for the San Diego native, who may well end up with the Padres again.

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