Olney’s Latest: Kershaw, Wright, Porcello, Soriano
In today's Insider-only blog post, ESPN's Buster Olney wrote about the character clause on the Hall of Fame ballot as well as Marvin Miller's legacy. Here are his rumors…
- Olney notes that if the Dodgers do sign Zack Greinke to a record contract, it would have a direct impact on the team's inevitable contract extension negotiations with Clayton Kershaw. The left-hander can become a free agent after 2014.
- Some evaluators believe David Wright may not be able to find a nine-figure contract as a free agent after next season if he repeats his 2012 effort because he's not an elite power hitter.
- The Tigers have let other teams know they're willing to discuss Rick Porcello in trades.
- Olney believes the Tigers should target Rafael Soriano and that Brian Wilson could be a good fit for the Red Sox, whom he grew up rooting for.
Quick Hits: Zack Greinke, Rick Porcello, Kyle Gibson
Here's the latest from around the league as Thanksgiving Weekend comes to a close…
- Zack Greinke's camp predicts the talented veteran will not only become the richest right-hander in history, but may also surpass Cole Hamels' $153MM contract, tweets Jim Bowden of ESPN.com.
- While Rick Porcello's future with the Tigers remains uncertain, there's no denying that the 24-year-old may be a top player to watch for a breakout season in 2013, says FanGraphs' Dave Cameron (ESPN Insider required).
- The Twins will utilize the remainder of the offseason to figure out how the team will use right-hander Kyle Gibson as he returns from Tommy John surgery, writes Phil Mackey of 1500ESPN.com. Minnesota plans to look at how the Braves cautiously handled Kris Medlen's return from Tommy John surgery last season.
Rosenthal’s Latest: Nationals, Guthrie, Angels, Porcello
In today's column, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports argues that the biggest trade of the season has already been made. No, not Kevin Youkilis to the White Sox. He's referring to Ernesto Frieri, who's thrown 22 scoreless innings for the Angels team since being acquired from the Padres. Here are the rest of Rosenthal's rumors…
- The Nationals have been poking around for a right-handed hitting corner infielder to replace Mark DeRosa, who is hurt and declining. John Lannan has improved his trade stock by pitching better of late in Triple-A.
- The Rockies have cooled on the idea of trading Jeremy Guthrie for the time being because they feel he could thrive in the bullpen as part of their four-man rotation setup. The team's current stance is that they'll only deal him if a club offers real talent or salary relief.
- The Diamondbacks backed off Youkilis because of concerns about his defense on the hard and fast infield at Chase Field. They expect Stephen Drew to return this week to bolster their infield.
- The Angels were not in on Youkilis but remain on the lookout for bullpen help, specifically a left-on-left reliever who would be an upgrade over Hisanori Takahashi. They're also looking for Triple-A starting pitching depth.
- Rosenthal say talk about Rick Porcello as a trade candidate makes sense given his salary ($3.1MM) and ground ball approach on a Tigers team with poor infield defense.
- The Braves will be a team to watch before the deadline, specifically in the starting pitching market following Brandon Beachy's injury.
Tigers Notes: Martinez, Porcello, Turner, Castellanos
The 34-35 Tigers trail the AL Central-leading Indians by 2.5 games, but owner Mike Ilitch remains confident in the people running his team, Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press reports. “I know we’ve got the right foundation,” Ilitch said, “the right people in place.” Here are more notes on the Tigers from Sharp…
- Ilitch expects the Tigers to enjoy a boost in offense and leadership if Victor Martinez returns this season. “He was really our leader, and he’s starting to come around again,” Ilitch said.
- Sharp wonders if the Tigers would consider trading Rick Porcello for a veteran starter or a right-handed bat with power. GM Dave Dombrowski could make Porcello available now or in the offseason if Jacob Turner is ready for a full-time starting role in 2013. Porcello, 23, has a 4.95 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 80 innings this year and will remain under team control through 2014.
- Turner, Nick Castellanos and Avisail Garcia are as close to untouchable as minor league prospects get, Sharp writes.
Tigers Avoid Arbitration With Rick Porcello
The Tigers avoided arbitration with starter Rick Porcello, MLBTR has learned, agreeing to a one-year deal worth $3.1MM. Porcello recently made the easy decision to take arbitration over a $1.344MM option in the Major League deal he signed when drafted. Porcello started from a higher salary than most pre-arbitration players, at $1.536MM in 2011 from that Major League deal. With two years and 170 days of Major League service, the 23-year-old Hendricks Sports client was arbitration eligible as a Super Two player. His settlement may be relevant for Jordan Zimmermann and others.
The Tigers' remaining arbitration eligible players are Phil Coke, Don Kelly, Max Scherzer, and Delmon Young, as our tracker shows.
Porcello Opts Out Of Contract, Becomes Arb-Eligible
Tigers right-hander Rick Porcello has opted out of his contract and is now eligible for salary arbitration, reports James Schmehl of MLive.com. The 27th overall pick of the 2007 draft, Porcello signed a four-year, $7.285MM pact (plus club options for 2011 and 2012) as his first Major League contract. Porcello, however, had the right to opt out of the final year of that contract and in doing so, the Tigers are spared the no-brainer decision of exercising their $1.344MM option on Porcello for next season. Detroit still has the righty under team control through the 2015 season.
This move was widely expected and became even more of a sure thing once Porcello qualified for Super Two status and gained an extra year of arbitration eligibility. Matt Swartz's MLBTR-exclusive arbitration model projects Porcello to earn a $4.2MM salary through arbitration this winter. Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski said he hadn't exchanged figures with Porcello's representatives about a 2012 contract.
Porcello, who turned 23 last week, has a 4.54 ERA, a 2.04 K/BB rate and a 51.9% ground ball rate in 89 career Major League starts. He has also proven himself to have a durable arm, averaging 172 innings pitched over his three seasons.
David Price Among Those Reaching Super Two Status
Players with two years and 146 days of Major League service time will qualify for Super Two status, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes has learned. This was the same cutoff point that was predicted by CAA in April, and as MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith wrote six months ago, it is "a decidedly late cutoff." In 2010, the cutoff date was two years and 122 days of service, while the 2009 cutoff was two years and 139 days.
Click here to refresh yourself on the details of the Super Two process, but to summarize, Super Two players will earn a fourth year of salary arbitration (as opposed to the usual three) before reaching free agency. So, all players with less than three years of service time but at least 2.146 (two years, 146 days) of service time quality as Super Twos.
This year's crop of Super Twos includes some of the top young arms in the game — David Price, Rick Porcello, Daniel Bard, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann and Tyler Clippard. Ryan Roberts is also a Super Two, so he could be in line for an extra payday in the wake of his breakout 2011 season.
- Jose Arredondo, Reds, 2.168
- Scott Atchison, Red Sox, 2.168
- Daniel Bard, Red Sox, 2.148
- Brad Bergesen, Orioles, 2.147
- Emmanuel Burriss, Giants, 2.152
- Tyler Clippard, Nationals, 2.148
- Dexter Fowler, Rockies, 2.168
- Gio Gonzalez, Athletics, 2.162
- Garrett Jones, Pirates, 2.158
- Don Kelly, Tigers, 2.149
- George Kottaras, Brewers, 2.149
- Steven Pearce, Pirates, 2.165
- Rick Porcello, Tigers, 2.170
- Landon Powell, Athletics, 2.153
- David Price, Rays, 2.164
- Ryan Roberts, Diamondbacks, 2.150
- Adam Rosales, Athletics, 2.171
- Will Venable, Padres, 2.155
- Jordan Zimmermann, Nationals, 2.154
Quick Hits: Brown, Tigers, Bourn, Mets
Let's take a look at some items as we close in on the 3:00pm (CST) deadline..
- Even though he received a number of calls on him, Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. insists that Domonic Brown was never available, writes Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- Meanwhile, Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski says that he never considered trading Rick Porcello or Max Scherzer to the Rockies in a package for Ubaldo Jimenez, writes James Schmehl of MLive.com.
- Several teams, including the Braves and Giants, are interested in the Astros' Michael Bourn, but the outfielder would prefer to stay in Houston, writes MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.
- Even though they're getting hits on several useful chips with expiring contracts, the Mets are likely done trading, writes Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
Ubaldo Jimenez Rumors: Friday
The Tigers contacted the Rockies about Ubaldo Jimenez yesterday and they're far from the only team in the mix. The Yankees, Red Sox, Reds and Indians are still involved and the Rockies are eyeing each team's top prospects in possible deals. Colorado's asking price hasn't dropped, so it will still take multiple top young players to pry the right-hander away. Here are the latest rumors, with the most recent updates up top:
- Danny Knobler tweets that the Tigers are out on Jimenez for now, and while the Indians have tried it looks like the Yankees or Red Sox if there's a trade at all. He says the door is slightly open for the Tigers to have another go at it, but that's not expected to happen.
- A Rockies source pegs the chances of a Pence deal at less than 50%, with the Yankees and Red Sox most likely, tweets Yahoo's Jeff Passan.
- The Tigers have strong interest and are willing to include top prospect Jacob Turner in a Jimenez deal, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Turner is ranked anywhere from #11 to #26 among all prospects by the gurus.
- The Yankees have made no calls to the Rockies thus far today, tweets Ken Rosenthal.
- Others believe the Indians are a big threat to acquire Jimenez, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).
- The Yankees’ interest in Jimenez appears to be waning, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark. However, the Indians are sending signals that their “untouchables” might be available in a deal for Jimenez, according to Stark.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Rockies are "mad" at Jimenez for for the way he has acted this year (Twitter link). However, Troy Renck of the Denver Post weighs in on Ubaldo the person: "There are no questions about his character," Renck tweets. "Zero."
- The Red Sox are aggressively pursuing Jimenez while the Indians, Reds, and Blue Jays are also interested, tweets Jon Heyman of SI. Meanwhile, Heyman says that the Yankees are "lurking".
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post says that the Yankees would only package Jesus Montero and Dellin Betances in the same deal in exchange for a sure thing, and they don't view Jimenez as a sure thing.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post hears that talks between the Yankees and Rockies have not gone well (Twitter link).
- Any Jimenez deal with the Tigers would "almost certainly" include Jacob Turner and/or Rick Porcello, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
- Rival teams expect to know the Rockies’ true intentions regarding Jimenez tomorrow, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney. If the sky-high asking price drops in the next day and a half, other teams will see the price reduction as a signal that Colorado intends to move Jimenez.
Diamondbacks Rumors: Reynolds, A’s, Drew
Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse hears that Arizona’s payroll will sit between $50-60MM next year. The Diamondbacks started the season with a $75MM payroll, but shed considerable salary with a flurry of midseason trades. They now have just shy of $20MM committed to the 2011 team (not including potential free agents or arbitration-eligible players). Here’s the latest on the Diamondbacks:
- Krasovic hears that the D’Backs considered offering Mark Reynolds to the A’s for Kevin Kouzmanoff and Vin Mazzaro before Kevin Towers took over as the team’s GM.
- The club also talked to the Tigers about exchanging Rick Porcello for Stephen Drew earlier in the summer, but Detroit wasn’t interested.
- Krasovic wouldn’t be surprised to see the Diamondbacks sell high on Kelly Johnson, who is heading into his final season of arbitration.