Braves Release Proctor, Place Mather On Waivers
The Braves have released right-hander Scott Proctor and placed outfielder Joe Mather on waivers, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Proctor, 33, signed a one-year deal with the Braves back in November with a $750K base salary. O'Brien tweets that the Braves will owe him a little over 25% of that figure. The right-hander appeared in four games for Atlanta in 2010 and allowed four earned runs in 5 2/3 innings of work. This Spring, the veteran allowed 14 runs (six earned) through 10 2/3 innings of work. He struck out 12 but also allowed 12 hits and walked nine batters.
Mather, 27, was selected off waivers from the Cardinals earlier this offseason (the day after signing Proctor). He owns a .233/.287/.415 line through 211 Major League plate appearances, all coming with St. Louis. Mather has seen time at both infield corners and all three outfield positions with the Cardinals in parts of two seasons.
Braves Exercise Options For Gonzalez, Infante
The Braves exercised their 2011 options for Alex Gonzalez and Omar Infante, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter). The team also signed reliever Scott Proctor to a one-year deal. MLB.com's Mark Bowman reported earlier today that the reliever will likely earn a base salary of $750K or so in 2011. Proctor, who was arbitration eligible, will likely have the chance to earn more through incentives.
The options for Gonzalez and Infante cost just $2.5MM each – a reasonable price to pay for two infielders who exceeded expectations in 2010. Gonzalez, who arrived in the Yunel Escobar trade, batted .250/.294/.447 with 23 hom runs in 2010. He hit most of his homers in Toronto, but added six in Atlanta. The 33-year-old is a good defender with some pop who has a sub-.300 on base percentage in his 12-year MLB career.
Infante, 28, batted .321/.359/.416 this year and made his first All-Star team. He finished third in the league in batting average and played second, third, short, left and right, so picking up his option was just a formality; the Braves weren't about to let him hit free agency.
Braves Notes: Hinske, Gonzalez, Infante, Proctor
The Braves have three free agents and three option decisions; MLB.com's Mark Bowman has the latest.
- Of free agents Derrek Lee, Troy Glaus, and Eric Hinske, only Hinske has a chance of returning. Bowman expects him to survey the market first.
- Billy Wagner still hasn't changed his plan to retire.
- Bowman expects the Braves to announce later today that they've exercised their $2.5MM options on Alex Gonzalez and Omar Infante. They'll be declining on Rick Ankiel and Kyle Farnsworth.
- Scott Proctor, who is arbitration eligible, is expected to agree to a deal with a $750K base salary and incentives allowing him to approach $1MM. The Braves also have Jair Jurrjens, Eric O'Flaherty, Martin Prado, Peter Moylan, and Matt Diaz eligible for arbitration.
Braves Sign Scott Proctor
FRIDAY: David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has details on Proctor's deal.
WEDNESDAY: The Braves signed reliever Scott Proctor to a split contract, according to Mike Graham of TCPalm.com (hat tip to Talking Chop). Proctor's agent Mark Rodgers said the Braves were "very aggressive in their pursuit of Scott." The contract contains performance incentives. Jeff Euston of Cot's Baseball Contracts informed me that Proctor would "have to spend all but about 21 days on the 25-man to qualify as a free agent after 2010." He'll probably need all of April in the minors, meaning the Braves could retain Proctor for 2011 as an arbitration-eligible player if he has a successful '09 campaign.
Proctor, 33 in January, was released by the Marlins a month ago. He had Tommy John surgery in May. Proctor is a low-risk signing; the Braves may need to accumulate relievers in the event Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez both depart via free agency.
Marlins Release Scott Proctor, Dave Davidson
The Marlins released pitchers Scott Proctor and Dave Davidson, according to Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Proctor, 33 in January, was non-tendered by the Dodgers in December of last year. He agreed to a $750K deal with the Marlins in January, but was not able to return from flexor tendon surgery as expected. In May, he decided to undergo Tommy John surgery. Proctor's best year was 2006, when he posted a 3.52 ERA in 102.3 relief innings for the Yankees.
Davidson, 26 in April, was claimed off waivers from the Pirates in April but designated for assignment by the Fish in May. The southpaw worked only 10.6 innings for the Marlins' Triple A club. A June waiver claim of Davidson by Baltmore was voided due to a shoulder injury. Davidson found his way to the big league 60-day DL, earning a few extra bucks in the process. Poor guy earned it – Fredi Gonzalez had him throw 52 pitches in his lone big league inning.
Rosenthal’s & Morosi’s Latest: Halladay, Cabrera, Glaus
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com say that the Phillies and Blue Jays are getting closer on a potential Roy Halladay deal, but nothing is imminent. The Rangers and Dodgers have both expressed interest in Halladay, but did not talk with Toronto on Friday. The Angels have reportedly improved their offer for the former Cy Young Award winner, but it's unlikely they'll match Philadelphia's package. The Yankees have also expressed interest, but Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi has yet to engage them in discussions.
In a separate column, Rosenthal and Morosi fork over a slew of rumory goodness…
- Don't be surprised if the Red Sox "show renewed interest" in shortstop Orlando Cabrera before the deadline. O-Cab was hitting .365-.377-.500 in his last 30 games coming into tonight.
- The addition of Matt Holliday ensures that the Cardinals will look to move Troy Glaus. The Giants, Braves, Rangers and Tigers are expected to show interest in the former AL homerun champ.
- One GM had this to say about the Holliday deal "In light of the current climate, good return on a 70-game guy. All based on what (Wallace) turns out to be. We are not high on the other two guys."
- Meanwhile, a scout offered this about Brett Wallace: "He can hit but he throws like a girl. They acquired a DH — I think he might be Jack Cust Jr. with fewer Ks. (Outfielder Shane) Peterson is the hidden gem!"
- The Jays are pushing Scott Rolen and Kevin Millar in trade talks, while a number of their bullpen arms are drawing interest.
- The Marlins expressed interest in Holliday at one point, but wanted the A's to pick up most of the money owed to him this year. The Reds also inquired.
- A bid to get Holliday ended for the Tigers when the A's asked for prospects Casey Crosby and Scott Sizemore.
- Anaheim is indeed interested in Scott Kazmir, spurred on by input from pitching coach Mike Butcher, who once held the same position with Tampa.
- The Cubs don't appear to be in any serious talks to acquire another catcher.
- One scout familiar with the Reds said they "are listening on about everyone."
- The Rangers have interest in lefty relievers George Sherrill and Scott Downs.
- Sherrill is also on the White Sox's radar.
- Oakland is reluctant to move reliever Michael Wuertz, but there is so much interest in him that the team might get the return it desires.
- A number of clubs are expected to watch Justin Duchscherer on his rehab assignment as he comes back from elbow surgery.
- The article closes with an amusing text message exchange between Skip Schumaker and Mark DeRosa.
Odds & Ends: Proctor, Dunn, Contreras
Links for Tuesday…
- According to Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Marlins reliever Scott Proctor is out for the season with Tommy John surgery. So that's $750K down the tubes, though Rodriguez wonders if they might re-sign him to an incentive-laden deal after the season.
- New blog post at Live to Play, Play to Live chronicling Miguel Angel Sano's 16th birthday party. His day began with a tryout for the Giants.
- Sports Illustrated names the game's best and worst owners.
- WEEI's Alex Speier says that if Daniel Bard never returns to the minors, he'll eventually be the second player to achieve Super Two status under Theo Epstein.
- Sam Miller of the OC Register asks who hangs up on a Jonathan Sanchez for Brandon Wood swap.
- I noticed that Preston Wilson surfaced with the Long Island Ducks. Brad Halsey, Dan Miceli, Ken Ray, and Lew Ford are also on the team, which is managed by Gary Carter.
- Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle has a bunch of new info on the Moneyball movie, which comes out in 2011.
- Adam Dunn told John Shea of the Chronicle that he was open to signing with the Giants but did not hear from them.
- Jose Contreras cleared waivers, which is not a surprise given the $8MM+ left on his contract.
Odds and Ends: Saito, Teixeira, LaRoche
More Tuesday links…
- Over at RotoAuthority, David Chase examines more of the optimistic Spring Training reports of ’08. Particularly interesting: did pitchers follow up on their intention to use a new pitch?
- The Marlins’ Scott Proctor signing is official. Also, Chan Ho Park with the Phillies.
- Carl Pohlad’s three sons will take over for their father.
- McCovey Chronicles trade idea: Randy Winn for Xavier Nady.
- Add Randy Choate to the minor league deals for the Rays.
- Economist J.C. Bradbury says "the economic downturn cannot explain the magnitude of Pat Burrell‘s discount." He believes teams are exaggerating the recession effect.
- Keith Law says the risk in giving Milton Bradley a three-year deal "seems excessive" but notes that Bradley is an excellent hitter and above-average defender.
- Patrick Newman learned that Takashi Saito received almost ten offers last month, including proposals from the Cardinals and Red Sox. Newman also has new reports of various minor league-level Japanese players who want to join MLB organizations.
- Tony Massarotti has all kinds of questions about Boston’s failure to sign Mark Teixeira. Craig Calcaterra offers analysis on the team’s Boras relationship. Check out stuff from today’s Yankees press conference here and here.
- Sox Machine on how Jim Thome staying healthy messed up Ken Williams’ plans.
- Dejan Kovacevic says Adam LaRoche would like to stay in Pittsburgh past ’09, but the team is not considering an extension.
Marlins Sign Reliever Scott Proctor
An industry source told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald that right-handed reliever Scott Proctor has agreed to a one-year deal with the Marlins.
Proctor was 2-0 with a 6.05 ERA in 41 appearances for the Dodgers last season. He fanned 46 batters in 38 2/3 innings. The deal is worth $750,000 in base salary and carries another $250,000 in performance incentives. Proctor is expected to fill the void left by the departure of Joe Nelson via free agency.
Odds and Ends: Nelson, Atkins, Taveras
After a hectic Winter Meetings, it’s been a slow weekend. Today’s links…
- A 3.35 ERA for Phil Hughes next year? Bill James and Co. think so.
- Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe talked to Mark Mulder‘s agent, Gregg Clifton. Clifton said, "He’s ready to go for any team right out of the chute." Clifton shot down talk that Mulder would not be ready in April.
- The Rays have contacted the agents for Joe Nelson and Scott Proctor.
- Keith Law likes A.J. Burnett‘s upside, but notes the risks. Peter Abraham compares the Burnett and Johan Santana deals.
- Law is in favor of the Indians’ Kerry Wood signing.
- Scott Ostler’s baseball source says people are scratching their heads about the Giants’ Edgar Renteria contract.
- Bruce Jenkins says the Rockies would trade Garrett Atkins for Jonathan Sanchez.
- Troy Renck says Willy Taveras has received interest from the Reds, Nationals, and White Sox.
- Drayton McLane says there are a lot of reasons for Astros fans to be optimistic.
- The Yankees like Andy Pettitte over Ben Sheets.