Few Waiver Claims Contributing So Far
A number of non-tenders are adding value in the Major Leagues this year, as I showed earlier today. Waiver claims – at least so far – haven’t had close to the same success. Former top prospects such as Brandon Wood and Max Ramirez haven’t produced and neither have most of the 30-plus players who have been claimed since last season. Here’s a look at the few waiver claims who have made an impact in the Majors this year:
- Phil Humber (White Sox, from Royals, via Athletics) – The 28-year-old former top draft pick has a 3.18 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 through 45 1/3 innings. Now a member of Chicago's six-man rotation, Humber is finally providing value in his sixth MLB season.
- Pat Neshek (Padres, from Twins) – Neshek is back on the Padres' active roster after a quick stint in the minors. He posted a 1.86 ERA with 10 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings earlier this year. Padres reliever Samuel Deduno (from Rockies) gets an honorable mention, though he's not on San Diego’s active roster.
- Joe Mather (Braves, from Cardinals) – A longtime favorite of the Braves, Mather has a .747 OPS after 24 plate appearances and has appeared at three positions. With respect to Mather, his presence on this list shows how little other waiver claims have impacted MLB rosters so far in 2011.
West Rumors: Beltre, Hultzen, Neshek, Rockies
Some links from the left coast…
- Adrian Beltre told Scott Miller of CBS Sports that he signed with the Rangers instead of the Angels because he felt Texas gave him "the best chance to put a ring on [his] finger." The third baseman wouldn't elaborate on the talks he had with the Halos before signing.
- ESPN's Keith Law hears that the Diamondbacks love Virginia left-hander Danny Hultzen, a projected first round pick (Twitter link). Arizona holds the third and seventh overall picks in this year's draft, and Hultzen owns a 62:4 K:BB ratio in 34 1/3 innings this spring.
- Dan Hayes of The North County Times tweets that new Padre Pat Neshek isn't guaranteed to make the team because he still has a minor league option remaining.
- Troy Renck of The Denver Post (via Twitter) could see the Rockies checking in on Michael Young now that the Rangers are reportedly willing to eat half of the veteran's salary.
- Renck also tweets that if Chone Figgins were made available, Colorado would be interested in him as a player but disinterested overall because of his hefty contract. Figgins is entering year two of a four-year deal worth $36MM, plus a vesting 2014 option for $9MM.
Quick Hits: Astros, Neshek, Castillo, Phillies
Links for Sunday afternoon..
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick says (via Stephen Goff of Examiner.com) it's unlikely the Astros will attend Doug Davis' upcoming workout. Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle reported earlier that the race for Houston's fifth starter was down to Jordan Lyles and Nelson Figueroa, with Ryan Rowland-Smith now vying for a bullpen job.
- Kelsie Smith of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets that the Twins aren't adding anyone to their 40-man roster in light of San Diego's claim of Pat Neshek, suggesting that the team was clearly trying to trade the right-hander but failed.
- David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News writes that the Phillies may not be able to add to their $165MM payroll but believes that they could make personnel moves to create payroll flexibility.
- The White Sox have informed rookie Brent Morel that he's won the starting job at third base, according to Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). This means less playing time for Mark Teahen, whom the club is open to trading.
Padres Claim Pat Neshek Off Of Waivers
The Padres announced that they have claimed right-hander Pat Neshek off of waivers from the Twins. The news was first broken by the reliever himself on his Twitter feed.
Neshek first broke into the Majors with Minnesota in 2006. Over his first two seasons, the side-armer posted a 2.68 ERA through 107 1/3 innings of work with fantastic marks of 10.6 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9. He struggled out of the gates in 2008 and was diagnosed with a partially torn UCL in his throwing elbow. After months of attempting to rehab without surgery, Neshek underwent Tommy John in November of that year.
He returned in 2010 but struggled with an inflamed tendon in his pitching hand leading to a decrease in strikeouts and some command issues. The 30-year-old Neshek has made 132 career relief appearances over parts of four seasons with the Twins. He owns a career 3.05 ERA with 10.5 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9, but his minor league numbers since his injuries (4.35 ERA, 5.9 K/9, 3.3 BB/9) aren't as encouraging.
MLBTR's Steve Adams also contributed to this post.
Twins Avoid Arbitration With Repko, Neshek
The Twins avoided arbitration with outfielder Jason Repko, tweets SI's Jon Heyman, agreeing to a $600K contract for 2011. Repko gets a $100K raise after hitting .228/.324/.346 in 146 plate appearances for the Twins. The former first-round pick played all three outfield positions in 2010.
Minnesota also reached a deal with reliever Pat Neshek for $625K, tweets John Shipley of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Neshek, 30, had Tommy John surgery two years ago and also dealt with a finger injury early this year. He spent most of the year at Triple-A, posting a 3.89 ERA, 5.7 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, and 0.9 HR/9 in 39 1/3 innings. He had the same $625K salary in 2010.
Players To Avoid Arbitration: Tuesday
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.
Players Tendered Contracts
Midnight ET is the non-tender deadline, so we'll keep track of all the players who are offered and/or agreed to contracts today in this post. Keep coming back throughout the day for updates.
- Washington tendered contracts to Josh Willingham, Jesus Flores, Wil Nieves, Jason Bergmann, and Sean Burnett.
- Zach Duke was tendered an offer by the Pirates.
- The Marlins reached an agreement with Ronny Paulino. The deal will be for one-year, $1.1MM.
- The Royals avoided arbitration by reaching one year deals with Brian Bannister ($2.3MM) Roman Colon ($660K), and Kyle Davies ($1.8MM).
- Dioner Navarro will remain with the Rays on a one-year deal worth $2.1MM.
- The White Sox will offer contracts to Bobby Jenks, John Danks, Carlos Quentin, and Tony Pena.
- Milwaukee will tender offers to six players: Dave Bush, Carlos Villanueva, Todd Coffey, Jody Gerut, Corey Hart, and Carlos Gomez.
- Toronto will tender an offer to Jeremy Accardo.
- Kevin Correia will remain with the Padres for one-year, $3.6MM.
- The Rangers have signed Esteban German to a 2010 contract. He'll earn $600K in the majors and $200K in the minors. They offered contracts to their other arbitration-eligible players including Scott Feldman, Chris Ray, Frank Francisco, C.J. Wilson, Dustin Nippert, Brandon McCarthy, and Josh Hamilton.
- Tampa Bay avoided arbitration with Lance Cormier by inking him to a one-year deal. The contract will pay Cormier $1.2MM.
- The Twins will tender contracts to all 30 unsigned players on their 40-man roster. That means Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier, J.J. Hardy, Brendan Harris, Francisco Liriano, Pat Neshek, Delmon Young, and many more figure to be in the Twins' plans in 2010.
- The following eight Cubs will receive offers from the team: Carlos Marmol, Ryan Theriot, Jeff Baker, Angel Guzman, Sean Marshall, Koyie Hill, Tom Gorzelanny, and Mike Fontenot.
- Atlanta tendered offers to relievers Peter Moylan and Boone Logan.
- The Marlins will tender offers to almost all of their arbitration-eligible players – Dan Uggla, Jorge Cantu, Ricky Nolasco, Cody Ross, Josh Johnson, Leo Nunez, and Renyel Pinto.
- The Astros will tender offers to all remaining arbitration-eligible players. This means Michael Bourn, Hunter Pence, Wandy Rodriguez, Matt Lindstrom, Tim Byrdak, Chris Sampson, Jeff Keppinger, and Humberto Quintero are invited back.
- Matt Albers and Cla Meredith have agreed to terms with the Orioles. Albers' deal is worth $.68MM for one-year. Meanwhile, Meredith will recieve $.85MM in 2010.
- Randy Choate agreed to a one year deal. Terms of the deal are one-year, $700K.
Odds and Ends: Perez, Lowe, Garland, Swisher, Neshek
Some Tuesday evening links:
- Odalis Perez is waiting to sign a new contract this offseason, says MLB.com’s Bill Ladson after a conversation with Perez’ agent. Ladson also notes that Nats’ GM Jim Bowden has expressed interest in resigning the lefty starter. Perez did start 30 games last season with Washington.
- The Braves have a significant interest in Derek Lowe, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com. Beyond Lowe, Atlanta may look next at Jon Garland, Randy Wolf, or Oliver Perez. Bowman categorizes the members of this group as potentially "profitable gambles."
- Nick Swisher will play almost exclusively at first base for the Yankees–at least for now, says Ed Smith of the New Jersey Star-Ledger.
- Twins reliever Pat Neshek had successful Tommy John surgery this morning, and will soon begin rehab. He’s targeting Spring Training 2010 for his return, according to Kelly Thesier at MLB.com.
Twins Interested In Street?
According to La Velle E. Neal of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Twins might have interest in Colorado reliever Huston Street. With the news that Pat Neshek will need Tommy John surgery, you have to figure the Twins will bring in a reliever or two. Given the Twins’ rumored interest in Garrett Atkins, maybe some kind of megadeal could come together.
Odds And Ends: Neshek, Gallardo, Casanova, Henn, Haynes
Couple of injuries, couple of designations, and a waiver claim.
- Twins reliever Pat Neshek has an acute partial tear of the UCL. Yes, that’s the Tommy John ligament. He won’t throw for at least three months, so his season is essentially over. There’s no word on whether he’ll undergo surgery. I remember hearing over the winter that Neshek was having elbow problems.
- Not that we didn’t pretty much know this already, but Yovani Gallardo has confirmed that he’ll have surgery on his torn ACL. My fantasy team weeps.
- With Ramon Castro coming off the DL, the Mets have DFA Raul Casanova. The best bet is that he’ll clear waivers and head to AAA.
- The Padres have claimed LHP Sean Henn off waivers. He was DFA by the Yankees last week. He was once a highly touted prospect, reportedly hitting 100 on the gun (though I think those reports were exaggerated).
- With the return of Cliff Floyd from the DL, the Rays have no room for OF Nathan Haynes, and have designated him for assignment.
Posted by Joe Pawlikowski.