Indians Notes: Payroll, Hafner, DH, Starting Rotation
The Indians have been very busy during the first days of 2013 officially announcing the free agent signings of Nick Swisher and Brett Myers. MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reports the team will open the season with a payroll hovering around $66-68MM (not including the $2.75MM buyout of Travis Hafner's 2013 club option and the $3.5MM sent to the Reds in the Shin-Soo Choo trade). As a result, GM Chris Antonetti has said the team's financial resources have been exhausted. The lone remaining hole in the lineup is designated hitter. Bastian says the Tribe could rely on internal options like Mike Aviles, Yan Gomes, Ezequiel Carrera, Tim Fedroff, and Rule 5 selection Chris McGuiness. Even bringing back Hafner is a possibility according to Antonetti, "I think some of that is going to depend upon other opportunities for Travis and his thoughts on returning, as well as what opportunities we may have for him compared to other guys." Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer has more news and notes concerning the Indians:
- Hoynes adds Matt LaPorta to the list of in-house DH options, but says Antonetti could still sign a hitter or bring one in on a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training.
- Hoynes thinks Delmon Young would look good as the Tribe's DH, but doesn't see it happening at this time because of his asking price and character issues.
- The Indians will still consider trading Asdrubal Cabrera or Chris Perez, but only if the return is comparable to what they received in the Choo deal.
- The starting rotation looks like Justin Masterson, Ubaldo Jimenez, Myers, and Zach McAllister. Trevor Bauer and Carlos Carrasco are the leading candidates for the fifth spot.
- With the flush of spending of this season, does this put extra pressure on the front office to win now? Hoynes doesn't sense any panic in the hallways of power, especially since new manager Terry Francona can opt-out of his deal if certain members of management lose their jobs.
Indians Seeking Four Prospects For Cabrera
There's arguably no better shortstop available via free agency or trade than Asdrubal Cabrera, and the Indians' asking price reflects that reality. Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer writes that the Tribe is looking to get three-to-four prospects in exchange for their 27-year-old shortstop — preferably four.
Hoynes writes that the Indians had a deal in place to acquire a Major League pitcher and two high-level prospects for Cabrera. That trade fell through when Cleveland asked that a third prospect be included in the package. The potential acquiring team would have switched Cabrera's position, for those who would like to play the speculation game.
Cabrera has two years and a total of $16.5MM remaining on his contract. Over the past two seasons, Cabrera has batted .272/.335/.443 with 41 home runs and 26 stolen bases.
In addition to Cabrera, Justin Masterson, Chris Perez and Shin-Soo Choo are drawing interest. The asking price on Perez is substantially lower than Cabrera's, one scout told Hoynes. Like Cabrera, Perez has two years of team control left. He's arbitration eligible for the third time as a Super Two player this offseason, and Matt Swartz has him projected at $7.2MM.
Hoynes notes that the Padres have called regarding both Justin Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez. Masterson can become a free agent after the 2014 season and is projected to earn $5.7MM in arbitration this season. The Indians picked up Jimenez's $5.75MM option this offseason despite a dreadful season and drastically reduced fastball velocity. The Padres are likely attracted to Jimenez's durability and hopeful that a return to the NL West can help restore his numbers.
Indians Exercise Option For Jimenez, Decline For Hafner & Hernandez
The Indians have exercised Ubaldo Jimenez's option for 2013, the team announced. Cleveland also declined their options for Travis Hafner and Roberto Hernandez.
Jimenez, 28, will earn $5.75MM next season after pitching to a 5.40 ERA in 31 starts and 176 2/3 innings last year. Given his track record and age, it's a worthy gamble. The 35-year-old Hafner hit .228/.346/.438 in 263 plate appearances this year, and will receive a $2.75MM buyout instead of a $13MM salary. Hernandez, 32, allowed 15 runs in 14 1/3 innings across three starts this year. His option was worth $6MM.
AL Central Links: Volstad, Masterson, Indians, ChiSox
As the World Series shifts to Comerica Park for tomorrow's Game Three, here's the latest from around the AL Central….
- The Royals' waiver claim pickup of Chris Volstad could be a sign of how the team plans to take a low-cost approach to upgrading its pitching staff, writes Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. Royals GM Dayton Moore said free agents "won’t be a long-term answer for us” because the club hopes to have homegrown pitching prospects in the rotation by 2014. “We’ve got to look internally,” Moore said. “We’ve got to look through trades. We’ve got to look, certainly, through free agency…we might be able to pick off a player or two, but we’re not going to build our team through free agency. It won’t work.”
- Given the Indians' need for pitching and the cost of acquiring new starters, MLB.com's Jordan Bastian believes the team won't deal starter Justin Masterson (Twitter link). The groundball specialist has been rumored to be on the trade market following a disappointing 2012 season.
- Travis Hafner's $13MM team option for 2013 is a sure bet to be bought out by the Indians, tweets Bastian, while the Tribe will likely also decline Roberto Hernandez's $6MM club option. Ubaldo Jimenez's $5.75MM club option for next season is "expected" to be picked up. Bastian thinks it's "hard to believe" that the Indians would re-sign the injury-plagued Grady Sizemore as a free agent.
- The White Sox face four difficult option decisions on Jake Peavy, Kevin Youkilis, Gavin Floyd and Brett Myers, writes Paul Swydan for ESPN (Insider subscription required). Swydan opines that Floyd is a more proven rotation candidate than Myers and "if only one option of the two is picked up, it should be Floyd's," while Youkilis could be a good candidate to be retained given Chicago's lack of depth at third base. Peavy's $22MM option "is difficult to justify" given his injury history, though Swydan notes that Peavy provided close to $20MM worth of value during his healthy 2012 season.
- In other White Sox news, Hahn discussed Peavy's option and more in his introductory press conference as the club's new general manager.
Indians Notes: Lopez, Jimenez
It was on this day in 1952 that the Indians used a record 23 players in a game against the Washington Senators. Despite using nearly their entire roster, the Indians still lost, 7-6, on Pete Runnels' walkoff single in the bottom of the ninth.
Here's the latest from Cleveland…
- Jose Lopez has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. Lopez was designated for assignment on Tuesday so the Tribe could create a roster space for Johnny Damon.
- "Keep in mind, there was risk on both sides of the deal," Indians president Mark Shapiro said to Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer when discussing last year's trade with the Rockies that brought Ubaldo Jimenez to the Tribe. "It's often like that when you trade a lot of pitchers, but they do get hurt [more often than position players]." Shapiro and GM Chris Antonetti both feel it's much too early to evaluate the trade, but Pluto feels the early returns don't favor the Indians thanks to Jimenez's struggles and mechanical issues.
- You can keep up on all of MLBTR's Indians coverage on our Tribe-centric Facebook page, Twitter and RSS feeds.
Knobler On Inge, Donald, Jimenez
The latest rumors from Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (all links go to Twitter)…
- The Tigers have tried hard to interest the Phillies in Brandon Inge without much success. Inge offers steady defense at third and has been learning second base this spring, but he earns $5.5MM in 2012.
- The Phillies tried to re-acquire utility player Jason Donald from the Indians, but Cleveland preferred to keep him. The Phillies drafted Donald in 2006 and sent him to Cleveland in the 2009 Cliff Lee trade.
- Teams inquired on Ubaldo Jimenez this spring, but the Indians don’t have interest in moving him, either.
- Scouts are watching Diamondbacks left-hander Mike Zagurski, since there’s a sense the Diamondbacks might trade him.
Quick Hits: Wuertz, Oswalt, Jimenez, Matsuzaka
Earlier today Chipper Jones announced he’ll retire following the 2012 season. Here are some other updates from around the Major Leagues…
- Michael Wuertz threw for 15 teams today, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets.
- Roy Oswalt doesn’t expect to pitch in the Major Leagues before June, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets. The Cardinals have uncertainty atop their rotation and other openings could emerge around the league, but the free agent right-hander seems content to wait for now.
- Ubaldo Jimenez explained to Yahoo's Jeff Passan that the disappointing ending to his tenure in Colorado wasn't related to money. “It’s not about the contract,” Jimenez said. “People are going to say that. They know what it is.” The Indians are optimistic that Jimenez will put together a healthy season reminiscent of his breakout 2010 campaign.
- Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said Daisuke Matsuzaka could join the rotation by early June, according to MLB.com's Ian Browne. The right-hander is recovering from Tommy John surgery.
NL West Notes: Lincecum, Padres, Moores, Jimenez
Here's a look at some items out of the National League West..
- The Giants offered Tim Lincecum at least $100MM over five years a couple months back, but it now it appears that the two sides are at least $75MM apart, with the right-hander looking for a seven- or eight-year deal, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.
- Jeff Moorad has withdrawn his application to be the controlling partner of the Padres, meaning that John Moores will own the team for the foreseeable future, tweets Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
- Tom Krasovic of Inside The Padres runs down the particulars of what this means for the future of the club. Moorad will remain the Vice Chairman and CEO of the Padres while Moores will remain the majority owner of the team as he has since 1994-95. Krasovic also writes that MLB is likely to approve the 20-year TV deal between the Padres and FOX.
- Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez don't exactly see eye-to-eye with former teammate Ubaldo Jimenez on his dissatisfaction with the Rockies, writes Scott Miller of CBSSports.com. The pitcher said that he was upset with the club in part because Tulowitzski and Gonzalez received lucrative new deals following the 2010 season while he did not.
West Notes: Athletics, Jimenez, Rockies, Hernandez
Items out of the AL and NL West..
- The Athletics released a statement this afternoon regarding recent reports that MLB might not allow the club to move to San Jose due to the Giants' territorial rights. The A's point out that out of "the four two-team markets in MLB, only the Giants and A's do not share the exact same geographic boundaries." The statement also emphasizes that a move to San Jose would benefit other owners when it comes to revenue sharing.
- For the first time, Ubaldo Jimenez openly admitted that he wanted to be traded from the Rockies, writes Tracy Ringolsby of FOXSportsArizona.com. The pitcher watched Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez sign long-term contracts with the club and felt as though he had been put on hold. Jimenez was looking for a trade this time last year but wasn't dealt until July 30th.
- There was some buzz about Felix Hernandez's favorable comments regarding his future in Seattle beyond 2014, but Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times cautions not to read too far into them. Hernandez signed a five-year, $78MM deal prior to the 2010 season and Baker writes that there are no immediate plans to put another deal in front of the ace.
Central Notes: Fister, Pence, Cubs
A few items of note regarding teams from MLB's Central divisions, as the Cards fall behind the Phils in Game 1 of the NLDS.
- The Tigers preferred Doug Fister to Ubaldo Jimenez when they were shopping for a pitcher before the trade deadline, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. Whether that's true, we'll probably never know, but Fister certainly pitched better for Detroit than Jimenez did for Cleveland after the deadline. The Mariners were originally hesitant to move Fister, according to Knobler, but Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski was persistent in pursuing the right-hander.
- The Reds tried to acquire Hunter Pence from the Astros, according to Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News, and GM Walt Jocketty has said he thought he made a better offer to Houston than the one it eventually accepted from the Phillies. McCoy reports that the Astros wanted Devin Mesoraco and adds that lefty Aroldis Chapman was not available.
- The Cubs remain in limbo while waiting to hire a new general manager, writes Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, who notes that the fates of manager Mike Quade, his coaches, and several players are up in the air until someone takes the helm. The Cubs are unlikely to spend lavishly this offseason, according to Sullivan.