NL Central Notes: Snell, Pujols, Samardzija, Prince
Some items of note out of the NL Central as players and reporters alike continue to trickle into Spring Training camps in Florida and Arizona …
- Cardinals non-roster invitee Ian Snell, signed to a minor league deal, cited Redbirds pitching coach Dave Duncan as an incentive for him signing with St. Louis, writes Matthew Leach of MLB.com. Duncan, of course, is known for his penchant for helping down-on-their-luck pitchers get their careers back on track. Snell, who spent 2010 with the Mariners, has had a rough go of it since posting 14 wins with the Pirates back in 2006.
- Is Albert Pujols worth upwards of $30MM for as many as 10 years? That's the question examined at length by Tim Logan of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The baseball community has made great strides in calculating how a player's performance translates to wins in recent years, but even still, it can be tough to pinpoint the connection between wins and return on investment (financially), Logan writes.
- Cubs right-hander Jeff Samardzija is out of minor league options, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, and is therefore all but assured of a roster spot (likely in the bullpen) coming out of Spring Training, lest he be exposed to waivers. Samardzija has been shuttled between the minors and Majors, as well as starting and relieving, since being drafted by the Cubs in the fifth round in 2006.
- Prince Fielder is probably hoping Pujols signs an extension before hitting free agency so that Fielder's market value isn't diminished next offseason, writes Bill Shaikin of the LA Times. Fielder is scheduled to become a free agent after this season, and with fewer teams in need of a premier first baseman as of now, he'll need all the leverage he can get, according to Shaikin.
Heyman On Fielder, Papelbon, Rays, Giants
Prince Fielder is looking to join the $200MM club and the Red Sox considered trading Jonathan Papelbon to the A's or White Sox, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Here are the details and the rest of Heyman's rumors:
- Fielder is looking for at least eight years and $200MM or so when he hits free agency after the season, according to Heyman. Not surprisingly, the Brewers don't like the idea of committing that much to their first baseman.
- The Red Sox talked to the A's and White Sox about Jonathan Papelbon. Boston appeared willing to offer Rafael Soriano a one-year deal and make him their closer. If the sides had agreed to a deal, the Red Sox would have sent Papelbon elsewhere, likely to Oakland or Chicago
- The Rays, who are moving toward a deal with Johnny Damon, have also considered Vladimir Guerrero, Manny Ramirez, Russell Branyan and Nick Johnson.
- The Yankees hope to hear from Andy Pettitte soon, but the lefty is still mulling retirement.
- The Giants appear to be nearing a one-year deal with Andres Torres. As our Arb Tracker shows, Torres filed at $2.6MM and the Giants countered with $1.8MM.
- Heyman says there's "scuttlebutt" that the Rangers could look to lock Josh Hamilton up on a multiyear deal.
- Heyman talked to executives about Joey Votto's new deal and arrived at the conclusion I reached after talking to insiders earlier in the week: the Reds didn't appear to gain much from their deal with the reigning NL MVP.
- Heyman points out that Jose Bautista's representatives will have to convince arbitrators to overlook the string of pedestrian seasons that led up to Bautista's mammoth 2010 campaign. For more on Bautista's case, click here.
Brewers, Weeks No Longer Talking Multiyear Deal
TUESDAY, 6:06pm: MLB.com's Adam McCalvy reports that the two sides have "mutually agreed to change courses and focus on a one-year deal for 2011." Brewers assistant GM Gord Ash said they'll "try to get something done for this year and then continue to talk longer-term and use this as a placeholder, perhaps."
MONDAY, 10:12pm: The Brewers and Rickie Weeks are scheduled to exchange contract figures tomorrow but the two sides continue to focus on hammering out a multiyear deal, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Assistant GM Gord Ash says that all of the talks that he's had with Weeks' agent, Greg Genske, have been for multiyear deals.
"We've focused exclusively on a multi-year deal," Ash explained. "We've never discussed a one-year deal. I'm not concerned about it. One way or the other, it will get resolved."
The two sides have swapped proposals over the past few weeks but Ash says that he doesn't feel that a deal is near. Last month, the talks were characterized as "productive". This is Weeks' final arbitration eligible year as he will become a free agent after the 2011 season.
Haudricourt writes that one of the difficulties in reaching a deal with Weeks is that its tough to find a comparable for him. The second baseman has missed a great deal of time due to injury but stayed healthy in 2010 and hit .269/.366/.464 with 29 homers. Dan Uggla signed a five-year, $62MM deal in his final year of arbitration but Ash says that he isn't a true comparable due to his years of hitting for power.
While Milwaukee looks to hammer out a multiyear deal with Weeks, GM Doug Melvin has taken the opposite approach with Prince Fielder. Melvin tried to work out a multiyear deal last year with agent Scott Boras but couldn't make any headway. The GM declined to comment when asked if he'll again try to workout a multiyear deal with his star slugger.
Players To Avoid Arbitration: Tuesday
Today is the deadline for players and teams to submit arbitration figures. The sides will then settle on a salary between the team's proposed number and the player's proposed number or go to an arbitration hearing. Arbitration eligible players are under team control, so the clubs don't risk losing them – it's a question of how much the players will earn.
Yesterday, 11 players avoided arbitration. We could see just as many agreements trickle in today and we'll keep you posted on them right here and with our Arb Tracker. The latest updates will be at the top of the post:
- The Angels have agreed to terms with Reggie Willits and Howie Kendrick, tweets Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times. Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register tweets that Kendrick will earn $3.3MM, Willits $775K (on Twitter).
- The Giants agreed to terms with Santiago Casilla on a one-year deal worth $1.3MM with incentives, according to ESPN Deportes' Enrique Rojas (on Twitter). The team also announced that they avoided arb with Jonathan Sanchez and Ramon Ramirez (on Twitter). Sanchez will earn $4.8MM with incentives tweets Hank Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle while Ramirez will earn $1.65MM according to Janie McCauley of The Canadian Press.
- The Braves agreed to terms with Peter Moylan and Eric O'Flaherty, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman (on Twitter). Moylan gets $2MM, O'Flaherty gets $895K according to Dave O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter).
- The Mariners agreed to terms with Brandon League, David Aardsma and Jason Vargas, the team announced. Aardsma will earn $4.5MM with plenty of incentives, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times (plus Twitter link).
- The Rangers agreed to terms with C.J. Wilson and Nelson Cruz, according to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan (Twitter links). Cruz gets $3.65MM, and Wilson gets $7.05MM with a chance to earn another $100K according to his agent Bob Garber, via email.
Fielder, Brewers Avoid Arb With $15.5MM Deal
The Brewers avoided arbitration with Prince Fielder on a one-year deal, the team announced. It's a $15.5MM contract, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link). Agent Scott Boras represents the powerful first baseman, who will hit free agency after the season.
The deal makes Fielder the highest-paid Brewer in history, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (on Twitter). Heyman has the details on the contract (Twitter link).
Previewing The Market For Prince Fielder
Earlier today we heard from Scott Boras, who is still trying to find a job for three of his highest profile clients this offseason. His biggest client next offseason, both literally and figuratively, will be Prince Fielder of the Brewers. The first baseman is due to earn upwards of $15MM in 2011, his final trip through the arbitration process, and he'll hit the open market after the season at just 27 years old.
Fielder's credentials are undeniable. He's hit .281/.395/.549 with 162 total home runs over the last four seasons, an average of just over 40 per season. Only Ryan Howard has gone deep more times since 2007, and only a handful of players boast better on-base percentages. Fielder's defense is generally below average and there are legitimate long-term concerns about his size and ability to play the field. His father Cecil Fielder had a similar build and had gone from being one of the game's best sluggers to merely above average by age 30.
Boras will have his work cut out for him, because three of baseball's biggest spenders (Yankees, Tigers, Phillies) already have first basemen locked up to nine-figure contracts. The Cardinals and Red Sox figure to join that group once extensions for Albert Pujols and Adrian Gonzalez are in place, respectively. Other clubs like the Reds, White Sox, Twins, and Nationals don't have a desperate need for a first baseman. Here are some of the clubs that could have interest in Fielder next offseason…
- Angels – Shut out of all the top free agents this winter, the Halos could be an aggressive player for Prince. They already have Kendry Morales at first however, meaning that they'd be locking one of the two into the DH spot for the foreseeable future. Their relationship with Boras isn't great either.
- Blue Jays – If Edwin Encarnacion or Adam Lind can't handle first in 2010, Toronto could try to make a big play for Fielder. It would go against everything Alex Anthopoulos has done to date though. They might also be preoccupied with trying to re-signing Jose Bautista by then as well.
- Cubs – The Cubbies added Carlos Pena on a one-year deal, so the position will be open next winter. Kosuke Fukudome's $14.5MM salary will be off the books as well, so the money seems to be there. We know they've been looking for lefty power for quite some time.
- Dodgers – Ned Colletti is somewhat limited by the team's ownership situation right now, but things could change in the next 12 months. Perhaps a new owner would like to make a big splash.
- Giants – Aubrey Huff just re-signed for two years but he can play other positions if needed, though if he does, it might be in deference of top prospect Brandon Belt. San Francisco will have to start thinking about a long-term extension for Tim Lincecum soon enough, and that is likely to eclipse $100MM.
- Mets – Sandy Alderson has limited his free agent spending this winter, but he'll have Carlos Beltran ($20.07MM), Oliver Perez ($12MM), and Luis Castillo ($6.25MM) coming off the payroll after next season. Some of that money might go to an extension for Jose Reyes, but signing Fielder could free them up to trade Ike Davis for help elsewhere.
- Orioles – The O's made a run at Mark Teixeira two winters ago, so we know they have the ability to support a $20MM a year player. Derrek Lee is on a one-year deal, and Andy MacPhail could choose to add that big power bat just as his young players start to mature.
- Rangers – Texas has still has some Cliff Lee money to spend, but this would still be a long shot. They have several players due sizable arbitration raises in the next two years (most notably Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz), and would probably need to unload Michael Young as well.
We shouldn't rule the Brewers out either, no matter how unlikely it seems. They made a representative offer to CC Sabathia after the 2008 season, so we know they have that kind of money available. Of course that was before they added Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum, and before signing both Corey Hart and Yovani Gallardo long-term. The market for Fielder still has another 11 months to develop, and plenty will change between now and then. At this moment though, there's no clear-cut suitor.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Odds & Ends: Young, Francis, Twins, Fielder, Nady
A handful of links to start the final day of the Winter Meetings….
- The Mets prefer Chris Young to Jeff Francis, and are still trying to sign one of the two veteran starters, says Mike Puma of the New York Post. However, both pitchers are looking for upwards of $4MM for 2011, which is more than the Mets are willing to pay.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the Twins are seeking front-end rotation help, such as Carl Pavano. They're also considering moving arms from their back-end surplus, such as Kevin Slowey.
- The amount of money being spent on free agents this offseason might be making it more obvious to the Brewers that they have little chance of retaining Prince Fielder past next year. As Danny Knobler of CBS Sports writes, that could make Milwaukee more inclined to deal Fielder sooner rather than later.
- The Diamondbacks are talking to Xavier Nady, according to SI.com's Jon Heyman (on Twitter). Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports initially linked the D'Backs to Nady on Tuesday.
- With Jason Varitek and Jarrod Saltalamacchia under contract, the Red Sox are still pursuing another catcher, according to GordonEdes of ESPNBoston.
- Astros GM Ed Wade says he doesn't intend to acquire a left fielder, according to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. If the Astros added an outfielder, it would move Carlos Lee to first base and leave Brett Wallace out of the picture, and the club wants to give Wallace a chance to earn the first base job.
Scott Boras Holds Court
Agent Scott Boras is holding court at the Winter Meetings; here's the latest.
- Boras has not met with the Indians about a Shin-Soo Choo extension and doesn't expect to at the Winter Meetings. He says the Indians being a "developmental team" might stand in the way.
- Boras says Carlos Beltran plans to be a Met this season. Beltran has full no-trade rights.
- Magglio Ordonez is working out for teams today. The Tigers were set to attend, says MLB.com's Jason Beck. The market for Ordonez is said by Boras to be aggressive, with a multiyear deal expected. More specifically, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that Ordonez wants at least two years at $10MM or more per.
- Adrian Beltre hasn't closed the door on signing with the Athletics.
- Prince Fielder is open to extension talks with the Brewers, but Boras did plenty of qualifying.
Prince Fielder Rumors: Tuesday
Nothing's cooking with the Brewers on a potential Prince Fielder trade, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. We'll keep you updated here anyway.
- The Brewers fielded calls from the White Sox, Dodgers and Orioles on Prince, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter). They know they can't sign the slugger long-term.
- The Orioles have had talks with the Brewers for Fielder, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun. He says they're only talks right now, and the O's would want an extension before giving up young pitching for Fielder. Haudricourt says these talks did not go beyond preliminary discussions.
Brewers Notes: Marcum, Prince, Greinke
The Brewers have one of the biggest trade chips in baseball and they actively pursued another one. Here are the details:
- Alex Anthopoulos and Doug Melvin both said Shaun Marcum's desire for an extension figured into the trade that sent the right-hander to Milwaukee, according to Yahoo's Steve Henson (on Twitter). The Blue Jays weren't going to offer him an extension, but that's something the Brewers are open to.
- The Brewers' top trade chip, Prince Fielder, is even more likely to stay put now that the team has acquired Marcum, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link).
- The Royals' top trade chip, Zack Greinke, intrigues the Brewers, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (on Twitter). The team made two passes at Greinke before pursuing Marcum.